Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 26 Checks and Balances
The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

"Yan Song was a loyal minister."

After hearing Huang Jin's report, Emperor Jiajing, Zhu Houcong, nodded slightly.

Huang Jin bowed down and smiled in agreement:

"It's all thanks to His Majesty's discerning eye. I was just following His Majesty's orders and hinting to Yan Song to select Yan Maoqing as a probationary official. He actually made Yan Maoqing the top candidate in this selection. Even I am ashamed of my loyalty."

"Top of the list?"

Upon hearing Huang Jin's words, Zhu Houcong suddenly frowned again.

Huang Jin instantly noticed that Zhu Houcong's expression was off, quickly suppressed his smile, and cautiously replied:

"This servant just sent someone to the Ministry of Rites to check the list of selected probationary officials, and this Yan Maoqing is indeed at the top of the list..."

"hehe."

Zhu Houcong sneered.
"Huang Ban, today I will teach you another way of being an official. If in the future I ask you to do something and you don't want to do it but dare not disobey, then you might as well try to do it twice as hard. Perhaps it will have a miraculous effect."

double?
Huang Jin felt increasingly uneasy as he listened, and immediately knelt down with a thud.
"Your Majesty, I was castrated and entered the palace in the early years of the Zhengde reign. Soon after, I was selected to be Your Majesty's study companion in the Prince of Xing's residence."

"From that time on, I have been the Emperor's servant, and the Emperor is my master. I will never dare to disobey my master's orders, not even to the point of death!"

Zhu Houcong glanced at him noncommittally, remained silent for two seconds, and then asked:
"Did Xia Yan and the others raise any objections after this list was released?"

"His Majesty's foresight is divine. Before the list was even posted, Grand Secretary Xia stormed into the Ministry of Rites, threatening to expose the Ministry's cheating in the selection process and to impeach Yan Song for his inadequate supervision."

Huang Jin quickly bowed his head and answered.

"So, after this list was published, did any of my newly appointed scholars raise any objections?"

Zhu Houcong asked again, unhurriedly.

"Nothing can be hidden from His Majesty!"

Huang Jin immediately answered truthfully:
"After the newly appointed scholars saw the list, some immediately questioned whether there was any inside story in this selection process. They gathered around the Ministry of Rites and demanded that the selection papers submitted by Yan Maoqing be made public..."

Before he could finish speaking, Huang Jin finally understood just how significant Zhu Houcong's words were in official circles.

Those who obey orders are naturally loyal.

However, those who obey orders and work even harder may not be truly loyal; they might have ulterior motives.

As in this case, if Yan Song had simply followed the imperial edict and quietly selected Yan Maoqing as a probationary official without arousing any doubt from Xia Yan and the other newly appointed scholars, he would naturally be considered a loyal minister.

However, Yan Song not only selected Yan Maoqing as a probationary official, but also placed him at the top of the list, which has aroused widespread doubts and added a lot of uncertainty to the matter. Yan Song's loyalty naturally needs to be re-examined.

At the same time, Huang Jin's gaze toward Zhu Houcong grew increasingly respectful.

There's a saying among the people: "You can tell a lot about a person's future from childhood to old age."

He has been by his master's side since the latter was a child, and it has been nearly thirty years since then.

However, this statement makes no sense when applied to this master. On the contrary, the longer he stayed with him, the more he appreciated the unfathomable nature of this master.

Just as his master had just taught him the way of being an official, if he truly believed he was being taught how to conduct himself, then he was already on the path to his death…

Zhu Houcong then asked:
"Xia Yan stormed the Ministry of Rites, and the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) did it for the sake of the Ministry of Rites. What happened next?"

"Yan Song ordered his men to bring out Yan Maoqing's selected articles for a face-to-face confrontation. Since these articles all had Xia Ge Lao's personal annotations, Xia Ge Lao had no answer and left in a huff."

Huang Jin turned around, immediately lowered his body even further, and answered truthfully.
"As for those newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), I heard from my servants that they have been invited into the Ministry of Rites. Yan Song seems to intend to grant their wish and, exceptionally, publish the essays submitted by Yan Maoqing for the imperial examinations." "I wonder what Your Majesty's intention is, and whether I should go and stop it!"

"No need for that. Yan Song was able to make Xia Yan suffer this time, so why would he let these newly appointed scholars gain an advantage?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong shook his head and laughed, saying with great interest,
"I just can't help but think that this Yan Maoqing's article could receive Xia Yan's personal annotations, leaving him speechless. He seems to be quite talented. I just wonder how well he writes his eulogies?"

"I don't know..."

Huang Jin felt that his mind was increasingly unable to keep up with his master's unpredictable thinking, and he had to use all his strength just to keep up with the conversation.

"Alright, let's leave this matter aside for now."

Zhu Houcong flicked the sleeves of his Taoist robe and said again,
"Yan Song wants to publish his articles, and so do I. How much of Yan Maoqing's palace examination paper do you still remember?"

"While I dare not claim to be entirely accurate, I do remember most of it..."

Huang Jin immediately recalled Yan Maoqing's very interesting answer sheet for the palace examination.

Most of the eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty were not illiterate; in fact, many of them were scholars who could rival literati.

Especially during the Jiajing reign, although Zhu Houcong always limited the power of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the eunuchs, all the eunuchs who were given important positions were truly capable individuals.

For example, Zhang Zuo, the current Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, as well as eunuchs such as Bao Zhong, Cui Jing, and Mai Fu, all originally came from the Imperial Library and possessed considerable literary talent.

Even Feng Bao, the Grand Eunuch who only became the chief eunuch at the end of the Jiajing reign and later joined forces with Zhang Juzheng to reform the government in the early Wanli reign, was appreciated and promoted by Zhu Houcong because of his excellent calligraphy skills...

Huang Jin had been Zhu Houcong's study companion since childhood, and naturally, he was no exception, possessing a remarkable memory.

"Then make a copy for me and find a few clean people to leak it out of the palace."

Zhu Houcong immediately issued an imperial edict.

"This……"

Huang Jin was startled upon hearing this, and out of loyalty, he had no choice but to immediately voice his concerns.
"Your Majesty, the examination papers have now been stored in the Grand Secretariat. If the contents of the papers are leaked, I'm afraid someone will seize on them and not let it go."

Zhu Houcong's smile gradually blossomed like a chrysanthemum:

"That's a matter for those examiners and the Grand Treasury. What does it have to do with me? If anyone insists on pursuing this, I'll grant their wish."

"Yes, ma'am..."

Huang Jin caught a glimpse of Zhu Houcong's smile out of the corner of his eye, and felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly kowtowed in response.

At this point, he finally roughly understood Zhu Houcong's true intentions.

In summary, it can be summed up in two words:

Checks and balances!

When Zhu Houcong saw that palace examination answer sheet, and when he had previously asked Yan Song to select Yan Maoqing as a probationary official, it was all for this moment.

Nowadays, the various forces and events in the court are mutually restrained, making it difficult for any one party to dominate.

Just like the nobleman Guo Xun, who opposed the civil officials;
For example, when Yan Song rose to power, he restrained Xia Yan;

However, in matters of metaphysical cultivation, the balance of Yin and Yang is disrupted, and the opposition is overwhelmingly powerful, with no one in the court able to counterbalance them.

This repeatedly forced Zhu Houcong to personally intervene, earning him the reputation of a "tyrant".

(End of this chapter)