The beloved baby has a space

Cui Xiang was a conservative, and in his view, the imperial examination system had many drawbacks.

It is clearly wrong for some young people who have never been involved in important matters of the court to be able to enter the court and become reserve talents simply by writing a few articles and making a few grand pronouncements.

True talent requires accumulating experience, starting from a lowly assistant officer and undergoing selection every three years. Only by climbing the ranks step by step based on personal ability can one become a truly needed talent.

By this standard, not to mention Wang Chuangui, who was selected as the prefect, even Qin Hanlin, who is still quite a few years away from being twenty, is far from qualified.

There was another conservative faction in the court. Most of them shared the same ideas as Prime Minister Cui, but when it came to talent selection, they placed more emphasis on family background and academic achievements.

The Great Chang Dynasty previously relied mainly on the recommendation system. By the time of Emperor Minghua, the system had become deeply entrenched in corruption. At the beginning of the regime change, key officials and powerful families joined forces to protect themselves.

Empress Qin acted decisively, personally punishing high-ranking officials with a cane in the main hall. Three of the six ministers were dismissed by her, and even a vice minister was killed in the palace.

Standing behind Empress Qin was the Duke of Yong, and even their rival, the Duke of Anguo, supported Empress Qin, along with all the military officers who stood up for her.

The ministers were so frightened they were speechless and dared not utter a single sarcastic remark.

Empress Qin became famous after the battle, but from then on she voluntarily withdrew to the inner palace and stopped concerning herself with the affairs of the court.

But from then on, talent selection became mainly based on the imperial examination system.

For some reason, seeing Qin Huai standing dignifiedly in the hall today, they vaguely saw the shadow of Empress Qin. Some of the older people couldn't help but shudder when they thought of those days.

"Whether Prefect Wang is talented or not is not something you can decide by gossiping here," General Hua, who had been silent until now, suddenly said. "Our Emperor is not a fool; he has probably already sent people to find out the truth. Instead of arguing here, why don't you gentlemen come up with two conclusions? If Prefect Wang is indeed talented, then we should consider how to reward him. If he is exaggerating or concealing information, then we should deal with him in another way. Is that so difficult?"

Seeing that no one spoke, General Hua interrupted, "In my opinion, if that Prefect Wang is indeed capable, since he overthrew the Prefect, wouldn't it be better to let him remain the Prefect and take advantage of the situation to rectify the local situation?"

Cui Xiang couldn't help but say, "General Hua, you are just a military officer, so you shouldn't get involved in deciding on the rewards and honors."

I don't know what His Majesty was thinking, that he would leave General Hua behind. What could a roughneck like him possibly know?
They're just spouting nonsense.

Qin Huai said, "It's just everyone expressing their own opinions, what's wrong with that? Don't be angry, Prime Minister Cui. No matter what, this reward belongs to Prefect Wang, it won't fall into anyone else's hands."

Cui Xiangyi choked: "When did I say I was going to give it to someone else?"

“Ahem!” Minister Lu of the Ministry of Personnel coughed heavily and said slowly, “What Hanlin Qin said makes sense. Since everyone is expressing their own opinions, they can speak freely.”

Some people complained: "Minister Lu is so generous. Your grandson is even serving as a page to Qin Hanlin. Who knows if you two had already secretly planned this beforehand?"

When Minister Lu heard this, he simply smiled and did not reply.

He was a true gentleman, but he never suffered a loss.

Emperor Minghua remained silent throughout, watching his ministers argue below. Initially, everyone's attitude was relatively mild, but later, someone started a fight, and the scene became chaotic.

Cui Xiang was pushed to the ground, and his trouser leg was almost stepped on.

The others weren't faring much better; tea was spilled all over them, and even their official tablets fell to the ground. As they bent down to pick them up, they were kicked by water.

The scene was chaotic for a while.

General Hua was highly skilled; he had already pulled the elderly Minister Lu and others aside beforehand, and then went to greet the younger Qin Huai.

The crowd sat on the sidelines and watched the show.

By the time the Empress Dowager and the Empress arrived, the officials had already lost all decorum.

Their court robes were loose and baggy, their hair was disheveled, and their faces even had various red marks, whether from being hit or bumping into something, it was unclear. The Empress Dowager couldn't help but turn her head away and suppress her laughter for a while before instructing the eunuch beside her to announce her arrival.

"The Empress Dowager has arrived—the Empress has arrived—"

The officials were startled and hurriedly bowed.

"Greetings, Empress Dowager! Long live Your Majesty!"

"May Your Majesty rest in peace."

The Empress Dowager looked up: "Rise."

After the commotion, everyone looked haggard, which was nothing in itself, but the presence of the Empress Dowager and the Empress changed the nature of the situation.

They were only thinking about finding a crack in the ground to crawl into; they had no interest in discussing these things.

Qin Huai was ordered to recount the whole story. After he finished speaking concisely, he stepped aside.

After pondering for a moment, the Empress Dowager said, "General Hua is not wrong. I think it is quite feasible. What do you ministers think?"

The officials, dejected, said, "The Empress Dowager is wise."

The Empress Dowager then looked at Emperor Minghua: "Emperor, what do you think?"

Emperor Minghua withdrew his smile and said seriously, "What the Empress Dowager said is absolutely right. Let's do it this way. According to the opinions of the ministers, if Prefect Wang is indeed talented, he shall be granted the title of Earl of Shouzheng, enjoying the salary of an earl and a fief of three hundred households. If he is not talented, we shall proceed with the normal three-year reporting process and make a decision after he returns to the capital."

The ministers, bewildered, all replied, "Your Majesty is wise."

Qin Huai quickly drafted the imperial edict on the spot and had the eunuch copy it. After the imperial seal was lowered, the ministers, including Prime Minister Cui, realized that something was amiss.

Why did things turn out this way?
But they still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that if Prefect Wang was deliberately exaggerating, they would give him a good beating.

Unexpectedly, two months later, the people sent by Emperor Minghua returned on horseback with the news that Prefect Wang had not only eradicated the corrupt county, but also subdued a bandit force that had been entrenched near Chang'an County for two or three decades.

Not only did they recruit all of the enemy's people, but they also led them to reclaim wasteland on the spot, where the crops grew lush and green, and it looks like they will have a bumper harvest this year!
Court officials: !!
This is completely different from what they imagined!

Afterwards, Wang Chuangui was not only promoted to prefect in the same place, but was also granted the title of Shouzheng Earl.

Along with the mountain that was reclaimed, it also fed the local people, helping them successfully survive the subsequent famine. Of course, that's another story.

Afterwards, Cui Xiang still couldn't understand it, so he went to Qin Huai alone and asked him, "Your future is bright, why do you have to get involved with those people from poor families?"

Qin Huai said, "Prefect Wang is not from a poor family. His niece is the commander of the Astrology Bureau and is also the Jade Lady, personally bestowed by the Emperor. How can she be considered from a poor family?"

"What is a mere village head? Besides, what makes her capable of becoming Prefect Wang's backer? You're confused."

"Because I am her fiancé!" Qin Huai said, word by word. "If she weren't a woman, even if I were the top scholar, I might have to give her my position. If the status of Lady Yuxiang is not enough to support her family, then I, Qin Huai, will support them. If that's not enough, my maternal grandfather and the Prince of Xiaoyao would probably be happy to support her family as well."

We have no choice but to hold on.

Cui Xiang: "..."

As expected, young people shouldn't be allowed in the court; they can't reason with you naive kids!