Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 93 Scholars Cause Trouble, Duke Wei Arrives to Rectify (Part 1)

Wei Zhongxian has started acquiring land again.

This guy led thousands of imperial guards out of Anding Gate and headed straight north. Behind them, tens of thousands of imperial guards surged to Anding Gate and Desheng Gate like rivers flowing into the sea, and then followed closely behind the imperial guards out of the city.

Immediately afterwards, the magistrates of Daxing and Wanping were taken away by the Imperial Guards.

When he puts on airs, he really makes a big show of it.

However, this time not many people paid any attention to him.

The people of the capital had seen it all before and were numb to it. They were already grateful that the Grand Eunuch Wei didn't bother them. How could they dare to pay any attention to this great villain?

The civil officials from the outer court who dared to pay him any attention were all too busy at the moment.

All of this is because the results of the provincial examination are about to be released, and they are all waiting for the list of successful candidates to be published.

The Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party both wanted to take this opportunity to deal with Xu Guangqi and Wang Zheng, to give the young emperor a hard time, and to create chaos in the capital.

As for Wei Zhongxian, they couldn't be bothered with him no matter how much airs he put on, because they couldn't deal with him anyway, so it was better to leave him alone.

According to regulations, the list of successful candidates must be published on the 28th of the second month.

Moreover, it must first be submitted to the reigning emperor for review.

There were only twelve or thirteen days in total, and it was impossible to know how many exam papers they had to grade and rank. The chief examiner, co-examiners, and graders were all extremely busy.

On the 27th day of the second month, around 5 PM, when the sun was almost setting, Xu Guangqi and Wang Zheng arrived at the Yuxi Palace with the completed list of successful candidates.

Zhu Jue was sitting in the main hall waiting at that moment.

He also wanted to see if there were any truly talented individuals among this year's candidates who could make a name for themselves in history.

Of course, the "useful talent" he refers to is someone who is proficient in investigating things and acquiring knowledge, not someone who is good at writing essays in the traditional eight-legged essay style.

After the emperor and his minister exchanged greetings, he raised his hand and said, "Just unfold it on the table. There's no need to hold it up. It's too much trouble. I'll just get up and look at it."

After saying that, he stood up.

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangqi and Wang Zheng quickly joined forces to unfold the huge list of successful candidates on the large desk that had been pieced together.

Fortunately, this large desk is big enough, otherwise it really wouldn't be able to hold this list of successful candidates that is several meters long.

When Zhu Jue walked to the starting position, he saw that the first one was indeed a capable talent who would be remembered in history.

Sun Yuanhua was from Jiangdong, Jiading County, Suzhou Prefecture, Southern Zhili.

This person seems to know how to make cannons; he seems to have seen related records somewhere.

He nodded slightly, then asked, "Zixian, Sun Yuanhua's hometown seems to be very close to yours, right? Do you know him?"

Oh, how do I put this?

Xu Guangqi thought for a moment and then said truthfully, "Your Majesty, Sun Yuanhua once studied in the private school I run. Therefore, I am his mentor. I not only know him, but I also taught him how to grow sweet potatoes."

There were also blueprints for Western breech-loading cannons, which I explained to him in detail. He had made meritorious contributions in casting cannons when he was defending Ningyuan, but he was later dismissed from office and stripped of his official rank for offending Duke Wei.

He came to me to reinstate his degree as a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination) and see if he could find some work. I think he is quite good at studying the principles of things and the extension of knowledge, so I strongly encourage him to participate in this metropolitan examination.

Originally, I should have avoided suspicion, but who knew that he would be ranked first among the candidates after the examination results came out!

"Your Majesty, I truly did not expect this. Moreover, the names and hometowns of the candidates at the beginning of the examination papers were sealed beforehand; they were only opened to record the names and hometowns after the ranking of the candidates was determined."

Oh, this person was originally your student.

That would be great.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue asked with great interest, "You can also make cannons?"

I mentioned this when I submitted a memorial to the late emperor.

Xu Guangqi nodded repeatedly and said, "Your humble servant only has a slight understanding and cannot compare to Lord Meng's expertise in firearms."

You're being modest.

However, I am not asking you to develop new types of artillery.

Your agricultural policies are just as important as artillery.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Yes, very good. Let Sun Yuanhua be the top scholar, and let him work with Lord Meng to develop cannons. That way, Lord Meng will have a successor."

You even named him the top scholar!

Many people in the outer court know that he is my student!

I was already being criticized if he ranked first on the list of successful candidates, but if you keep ranking the top scholar, I'm afraid I'll be drowned in the spittle of the other candidates.

Fine, fine, let Wei Zhongxian handle the spittle then.

Xu Guangqi thought for a moment and then said simply, "Your Majesty, this imperial examination and palace examination are related to Yuanhua. I must avoid any appearance of impropriety and dare not make any rash comments."

"What's the big deal?" Zhu Jue nodded slightly and continued reading.

Liu Ruozai was from Huaining County, Anqing Prefecture, Southern Zhili.

Don't recognize it.

He simply asked, "What is Liu Ruozai's background?"

Xu Guangqi said cautiously, "Liu Ruozai comes from a scholarly family. His father is Liu Shangzhi, the Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shandong. However, judging from his writings, he seems to be a gentleman and does not have the air of a playboy."

A gentleman?
Zhu Jue pondered and said, "Let's forget about his official status and let him stay in the Hanlin Academy to see how he performs."

This means they will not be recruited into the inner court.

Xu Guangqi nodded quickly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhu Jue continued reading.

Guan Shaoning was from Wujin County, Changzhou Prefecture, Southern Zhili.

I don't recognize them.

He thought for a moment and then asked, "What does it matter what Shao Ning's background is?"

I have paid special attention to this person.

Xu Guangqi replied without hesitation: "Guan Shaoning is of commoner origin and a farmer. Judging from his writings, he is very knowledgeable about farmland irrigation and crop growth habits. He must have been a frequent farmer."

Yes, Not Bad.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "If you think it's acceptable, then take me as your disciple and train me carefully."

I'm looking for a disciple to inherit my mantle.

Xu Guangqi nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhu Jue continued looking down, but it seemed he didn't recognize anyone else.

It's not necessarily a bad thing that they don't recognize each other. If these people aren't well-known in the officialdom during the Chongzhen era, it means they don't have much connection with the Donglin Party or the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party.

Wait, Shi Kefa!

He looked at dozens of them before finally spotting a famous figure who would go down in history.

This man appeared to be a loyal and virtuous person, but because of his deep ties with the Donglin faction, he was isolated by the eunuch faction of Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng during the Hongguang reign of the Southern Ming Dynasty. The tragedy that followed was precisely caused by his Donglin background.

This is already a big problem because it's too deeply entangled with the factions within the outer court; it's better not to invite trouble upon ourselves.

He thought about it carefully, and then decisively said, "This Shi Kefa seems to be a disciple of Zuo Guangdou of the Donglin Party. He cannot be used."

"You can decide what to do with the others. Those from farming, artisan, or military families can be considered for training, but forget about registering them as scholars; keep them in the outer court to observe their future performance."

Xu Guangqi nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Why don't you ask how to observe the consequences?

Forget it, your minds aren't on officialdom, so I'll observe from your side.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, and then solemnly said: "This time, all those who pass the imperial examination, except those who will be trained in the inner court, will be given a set of the Complete Book of Agricultural Administration and a book of Sweet Potatoes, so that they can understand them on their own."

If someone can achieve results locally, vigorously promote the planting of sweet potatoes and potatoes, or even significantly increase crop yields through the construction of farmland irrigation systems and the application of fertilizers, we will retain them for important positions in the future.

Those who are unaware of the situation, only want to follow the clique, and even engage in corruption and illegal activities, will be dealt with along with the clique.

Oh, so that's how they observe the effects.

Xu Guangqi nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Well, let's do it that way then. The list will be published first thing tomorrow morning."

Uh, that's it?

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangqi cautiously said, "Your Majesty, if this list of successful candidates is posted out like this, there's a high chance that the candidates will cause trouble."

Let them cause trouble if they want.

Do you think I'm afraid of them?

Zhu Jue waved his hand dismissively and said, "Don't worry about this. I'll have Wei Zhongxian handle it."

Sigh, I'm destined to bear this infamy.

Perhaps I shouldn't have let Yuanhua participate in this imperial examination in the first place.

Xu Guangqi sighed inwardly, then quickly gathered the list of successful candidates with Wang Zheng, bowed, and took his leave.

(End of this chapter)