The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

The Shuntianfu Township Examination is over.

All the candidates left the examination room, and the marking of papers marked the beginning. For Zhang Zhou, he still had to spend a few days in a closed life. After the marking of papers, he could not leave the Gongyuan and go home until late August.

"There has been no news from outside these days."

That night, he just met with several fellow examiners, sat down to have a meal, and discussed the details of tomorrow's marking. After returning to the small courtyard where he lived, Zhang Zhou suddenly felt that this kind of closed life might not be suitable for him. Own.

Selecting talents does not seem to be his life goal.

It is enough to know who has made achievements in history and has this potential, and then appoint this person before he or she becomes successful.

Going downstairs to find out for yourself is a bit of a hard job.

Also, I came here to pursue a different life from my previous life. Locking myself up, no matter how meaningful the things I did, seemed to be contrary to my original intention of coming to Ming Dynasty.

"Master, there are still many days before we can go out. The food and accommodation here are good, but we can't go out. It's quite boring."

Liu Gui felt the same as his own.

Liu Gui also belongs to that kind of extrovert. He used to go out to do some odd jobs to support his wife and refused to do hard work, otherwise he would not have chosen to follow the opportunistic Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou said: "After we go out, we will arrange for you to go to fight. Will you go?"

"How can a young man know how to fight? It's better to stay with me and just run errands." Liu Gui scratched his head.

In front of Zhang Zhou, he did not shy away from his incompetence at all. Anyway, he and Zhang Zhou had known each other since childhood, and Zhang Zhou also understood who he was, so there was no need to pretend.

Just as he was talking, Yang Tinghe's voice came from the door: "Cai Guogong, I wonder if you can come in and talk about something?"

Compared with Zhang Zhou's muddling through the grading matter, Yang Tinghe obviously paid too much attention to the grading of the provincial examination.

After all, this was the first errand assigned by the emperor after Yang Tinghe Shouzhi returned to Beijing, and he still completed it with Zhang Zhou. He also knew that things could not be decided by himself, so he came to "ask" Zhang Zhou for basically everything.

This is also related to the fact that Zhang Zhou's official position and status in the Hanlin Academy were higher than his.

Although Yang Tinghe had more seniority in the Hanlin Academy, the problem was that Zhang Zhou was promoted faster. It was natural for subordinates to obey the orders of their superiors. Even if he left Gongyuan and returned to the Hanlin Academy system, Yang Tinghe would still be a subordinate.

"Just a quick tidy up, I need to talk to Yang Hanlin. Call me tomorrow before the rooster crows. Mark the papers early and show up early!"

……

……

Cabinet value.

Li Dongyang compiled a list of the three test questions for this Shuntian Prefecture Township Examination on paper and showed it to Liu Jian and Xie Qian.

After Xie Qian read it, he smiled and said: "It doesn't look like Zhang Bingkuan's temperament and calm writing of questions, but it looks like Yang Jiefu's handwriting."

People in the official circles of the Ming Dynasty are very good at trying to figure out what others are thinking. When they get a test question, they can analyze whether it is a question asked by Zhang Zhou or a question asked by Yang Tinghe, just like people's personalities and growth trajectories are different. , passages taken from the Four Books and Five Classics can be biased.

Li Dongyang said: "I don't think so, but it is possible. After all three exams, Zhang Bingkuan was the one giving the questions, and how loud could Yang Jiefu make in the examination room?"

This is a reminder to Xie Qian.

Don't forget that Yang Tinghe is now a subordinate, and before he joined the Tribute Academy as an examiner, the emperor personally summoned him, obviously reminding Yang Tinghe that Zhang Zhou's opinion comes first in everything in the examination room.

Based on this premise, it is not surprising that all the questions come from Zhang Zhou.

Liu Jian was obviously not very interested in who wrote the question. He put down the paper with the question written on it and said: "You two have young people taking the exam, so try not to get involved in the exam. Besides, His Majesty chose Zhang Bingkuan this time." Scholar, what you want is a name. The questions and the results of the examination are not important at all. If Zhang Bingkuan really breaks the rules in the examination room, someone will probably secretly leak the news, and it will not be too late to impeach him again."

Xie Qian said: "That's right. Who sets the topic? What's the difference? But the person selected may not be a great talent. If a group of people with nothing but nothing to do will fail the exam next spring, wouldn't it be ridiculous?"

Li Dongyang smiled and said: "Yu Qiao, don't speak too early. What if I win?"

This is making fun of Xie Qian. Don't wait until your son fails the exam and then say that the examiner is not qualified and did not recognize your son's talent.

If your son also passes the exam and you say that the examiner is not qualified, wouldn't that mean that your son is one of those "losers" you call him?

Xie Qian curled his lips and said: "Yi Zhong is still young, and there will be many opportunities in the future. But it's the one from your family, Bin Zhi, who should be inseparable this time, right?"

"identical."

Li Dongyang also felt emotional.

While criticizing the examination hosted by Zhang Zhou for being biased, and at the same time having his own children taking the examination, as Liu Jian said, since the two of you have direct interests involved in this provincial examination, it would be better not to discuss it.

Otherwise, if your child fails, the outside world will say that you are seeking revenge against Zhang Bingkuan.

Even if your child wins, others will say that Zhang Bingkuan gave it to you in private to give you both face... People with discerning eyes, or people with general knowledge, know that this is impossible, but it is difficult to stop all sentient beings from talking.

……

……

Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youtang was also looking at Zhu Houzhao's essays from three exams, and it felt like... he couldn't bear to look at them.

"Your Majesty, the prince is young after all. This is the first time he has written such an article. Besides, even the students taking the exam in Gongyuan may not be able to write such an article." Xiao Jing also knew that the prince's article was too poor. Make peace as much as possible.

Zhu Youtang said: "Perhaps my expectations are too high. It is reasonable to be able to write two solid articles. This article should not be able to pass the child test, right?"

Xiao Jing couldn't answer.

He has never presided over a children's examination, so how can he know what the articles usually read in children's examinations are like?

Moreover, the eunuchs in the palace, even the eunuchs who were responsible for the ceremonial examination, had studied knowledge, but compared to the civil servants in the court who had a background in imperial examinations, their knowledge was still far behind.

Xiao Jing knew very well that even if he took the exam himself, let alone the prince, he might not be able to pass.

Zhu Youtang put down the paper and said: "When Bingkuan comes back, let him take a look. But in my opinion, no matter how good the prince's article is, if he does not have compassion for heaven and humanity, he will still not be able to achieve a great cause. The article is It can select talents, but when it comes to running the country, the quality of the article cannot play a decisive role, it can only be used as a reference."

"Yes." Xiao Jing agreed.

"Most of the people who write good articles about the imperial court can only write books and write in the Hanlin Academy. In the affairs of the imperial court, it depends on their decisiveness and courage in doing things. But how to select them among the vast number of sentient beings? Although there is a bias in selecting talents based on articles, it is still a standard. Scholars who write well have a greater chance of developing talents in governing the country than those who write poorly, right?"

Zhu Youtang's words seemed very profound.

Even Xiao Jing was surprised. It seemed that the emperor had a big prejudice against China's imperial examinations that had lasted for thousands of years.     Is this a decision... to reform the method of selecting officials?

"The Yanwu Hall established by Bingkuan can be said to be an innovation. Excellent military attachés are sent there to study. Those with good ability are sent to important errands, and those with poor ability are allowed to complete the most basic tasks. Errands. In the future, people can also be employed in this way in addition to the imperial examination, such as mining, iron smelting, and as Bingkuan said before, building railways requires extraordinary talents. Mere knowledge of reading is almost useless. ." Zhu Youtang said.

Xiao Jing asked: "Your Majesty, are these people selected to serve as officials in the court, or... to find jobs for Cai Guogong?"

Zhu Youtang stood up and said: "Of course I want to assign official positions to them. Some people will say that this is me nepotism, but choosing people with special skills to be officials, isn't it just meritocracy? Bingkuan employs people, That is to say, I am employing people, in other words, the court is employing people. Why not give official positions to the people Bingkuan wants to employ?"

Xiao Jing said: "I'm afraid that the officials in the court won't agree."

Zhu Youtang's face turned cold and said: "If you listen to them in everything, the Ming Dynasty has not even had a new cannon, and the Tatars will still invade the country from time to time, and they will have to deal with it in a hurry every time. Even the people will not be able to have a bite of peace. Rice, are these the rules they call? What I want is peace and order for the country and the people, not abiding by the rules!"

"Yes."

Xiao Jing obviously did not agree with the emperor's point of view.

But now he doesn't have the courage to refute. If he works as a close errand for the emperor, shouldn't he obey the emperor's orders in everything?

"Recently, I plan to go out among the people. I will wander around the capital to observe the people's livelihood and see if the prices in the capital are as good as what the official said. I will also send people to various places to check. Is there any natural or man-made disaster, but the local officials did not report it? I am also afraid that the officials below will deceive the superiors and conceal the truth. Especially when I thought the world was peaceful and peaceful, but in the end, the people are still living a difficult life. I can't bear to see it. It’s hard work for the people.”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Also, frugality will be practiced in the palace from now on. Ever since Bingkuan entered the court, I have not emphasized frugality for a long time."

"Your Majesty, it's because Duke Cai Guo has brought a lot of extra income to the inner government."

"Who says it's not the case? Bingkuan is very capable, and no one in the palace is gossiping about him. Why? It's because everyone has seen the results. Originally, the expenses of the Ministry of Revenue have also been reduced a lot, but the people in the court have The bad impression of Bingkuan is because Bingkuan helped the palace to eliminate its dependence on money coins, which may be something the Ministry of Revenue does not want to see."

"Your Majesty, you are worrying too much."

"It's not that I worry too much, it's that I have understood everything a long time ago. If I have more money on hand, the people in the court will feel that I will act randomly and they will not be able to control me. In the past, I did feel that this court It is the court of ministers, but now it seems that they are not here to help, but to cause trouble."

At this point, Zhu Youtang didn't say any more.

But Xiao Jing also understood.

The emperor felt that ministers were dispensable. As long as he had Bingkuan alone, it seemed that the Ming court could drive away other ministers.

How partial is this?

While Xiao Jing was sighing at the magic power of Zhang Zhou, he had to admit that it was because the emperor saw the great changes that Zhang Zhou brought to the Ming Dynasty's military and finance after his appearance that he had such a deep-rooted impression. No matter what civil servants in the DPRK do, they can't compare to Zhang Zhou's hair.

……

……

East Factory.

Li Zhang sat upright, and Mou Bin placed a detailed case in front of him.

"Eunuch Li, this is a strategy based on the current criminal's confession. We will only wait for it to be reviewed by Cai Guogong. If there are no problems, we can report it to His Majesty."

While Zhang Zhou was presiding over the provincial examination in Gongyuan, Jin Yiwei was not idle either.

The case in Yongping Mansion has been dragged on for two months, and there are discordant voices in the local area. Mou Bin is also stepping up to give out strategies, so that all he needs is Zhang Zhou's nod, and then even if he turns around and finds that there are major problems with the verdict , and it is entirely possible for Jin Yiwei to take the blame.

This is for Zhang Zhou's sake.

Li Zhang said: "There were twelve families before, but now there are only four."

Mou Bin asked: "Father-in-law, do you think it's a little missing?"

"Why should we keep four or five families? Duke Cai Guo has spent so much time in the court, shouldn't we add a few more families?" Li Zhang meant that originally four families were enough.

But who gave Zhang Zhou such great initiative in power?

By selling out the ordnance materials, as well as the blueprints and craftsmanship for making cannons, Zhang Zhou completely took the initiative, leaving even the ministers who opposed him speechless.

When the situation is so good, it is a bit unnecessary to compromise to this extent on the conviction.

Mou Bin said: "If we add a few more companies, we are afraid that the matter will be serious and it will not end well."

Li Zhang looked sideways at Mou Bin and said, "When did you start to learn to be timid?"

"Despicable and incompetent." Mou Bin quickly admitted his mistake.

Li Zhang said: "Although many of these large households in Yongping Prefecture have told Liu Yu, the governor of Jizhen, that they can donate money and food to the shipyard, the people who have been sealed off are not those who don't donate, but those who don't." Just copy it and confiscate it. Cai Guogong has done a lot of things in the past two years, but he said that there are more and more places to use money. Shouldn't we share his worries? "

"Then... how many more copies will you copy?" Mou Bin swallowed.

This is really enviable.

Originally, Jin Yiwei also wanted to do this kind of thing, turning the wealth of local wealthy families into his own. This incident stemmed from the conflict between Jin Yiwei and the local government.

But now, even if Jin Yiwei robs these large households, the property still has to be transferred to Zhang Zhou.

Li Zhang nodded and said, "Just think of it as our family giving Duke Cai a meeting gift, okay?"

"Yes."

Mou Bin was naturally a little reluctant.

How come you, Li Zhang, have taken advantage of all the good things?

"The 50,000 taels of your Jinyiwei, not a penny, is still yours. Other than that, don't be greedy anymore. As long as everyone gets a share of the benefits, that's enough. Originally, when Cai Guogong was opening the mine, didn't he also get a share? Are there many of you?"

Li Zhang said, "After Cai Guogong leaves the Tribute Courtyard, our family will personally greet him. This is regarded as a meeting gift. Please sort it out again. As for the details, there is no need to write them too clearly here. This is all to cope with the rhetoric of the ministers of the DPRK. In fact, there is no need to list it too clearly, His Majesty also understands what is going on."

Cases and so on are all meant to fool people.

The emperor knows what's going on, Zhang Zhou knows what's going on, and you and I both know it well.

Why do you need to explain so much to the minister? (End of chapter)