Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 337: Chu Xian
Wu Fu, Wu Zhigao, Li Tingzhu, and Li Yu sat on both sides of the hall.

Like Li Tingzhu, Li Xun was also born in Chaozhou Prefecture, but Li Xun was born in Chengxiang, and his family background was not as prosperous as that of the Li family in Chaozhou.
Li Tingzhu looked at Wu Zhigao beside him and said

"Brother Cheng Wan, has there been any reply from Elder He?"

Wu Zhigao's face was gloomy when he heard this. He said

"Just now, the servants in the mansion came back to report that the gifts were returned. Just like Chen Jisheng, they also refused to meet."

Wu Zhigao's face was also angry when he said this.

"He Longyou and Chen Jisheng, these two are both respected figures in our Guangdong Province. Now that our hometown is in trouble, these two are only concerned about their own future and are shrinking back. They are really cowardly."

Wu Zhigao yelled angrily, but Li Tingzhu and the others did not agree.
Li Tingzhu and his partner were both very upset. The fact that two cabinet ministers from Guangdong Province were not present at the meeting showed how difficult this matter was.
But the problem is that they have no choice now. His Highness wants to punish the gentry of the two prefectures and confiscate the land of the two provinces.
If they don't find a way to save themselves now, the knife will be cut down on them.
The atmosphere in the field was depressing. After a while, Li Tingzhu spoke again.

"Brother Cheng Wan has always been resourceful. Now the two elders are unwilling to speak for the scholars of our two governments. What should we do?"

Wu Zhigao thought for a moment, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes, and he said in a deep voice
"We can't just sit there and wait for death. Chen and He don't dare to come forward, so we will do it ourselves."

"The gentry of Chaozhou and Huizhou are not alone in the court. We must work together to defend our hometown!"

Wu Zhigao's face darkened, and he continued
"How unfair the court is! Last year, our Chaozhou and Huizhou prefectures paid 30% of the taxes of Guangdong Province. The gentry of our two prefectures donated everything they had to help the court, but now the court wants to seize our lands."

"The land and property of the gentry in our two prefectures was accumulated through the hard work of our ancestors for several generations. Your Highness only favors the soldiers in the army and ignores the contributions of the gentry and civil officials like us."

"Now you are even trying to seize the land and property of our gentry and distribute it to the soldiers. Your Highness has already lost his way. If you still don't know how to correct it, you will lose the support of the people of the world."

"As for surrendering to the enemy, people from Fujian, Zhejiang, Huguang and other provinces have surrendered to the enemy. Why is the imperial court targeting our Chaozhou and Huizhou prefectures?"

"There must be some treacherous villains in the court who are trying to deceive the emperor. We must not let His Highness be deceived by these treacherous villains!"

Li Tingzhu and the others still looked unhappy when they heard this.

In fact, several people knew the truth in their hearts. If this matter was really caused by the slander of a villain in the court, then they would not have to be so cautious now.

Wu Zhigao ignored their expressions. With a determined look on his face, he looked at Li Xun beside him and said

"Brother Qichu, this is an extraordinary time. You should immediately send a letter to the village and ask the gentry in the village to make efforts in the local area and create some momentum in the two governments. Only then can we respond in the court."

"The imperial court should rule the world with scholars like us, not relying on a group of soldiers. If it continues to be violent and brutal, what difference will there be between the imperial court and those barbarians outside the Great Wall?"

"If the court wants to keep the local area stable, it will ultimately have to rely on the service of gentry like us. Now we need to let the court see the people's hearts and minds in Chaozhou and Huizhou."

Wu Zhigao's face was cold, and then he looked at Li Tingzhu on the side.

"Brother Tingzhu, the Li family is the most respected family in the two governments. Please unite the colleagues from the two governments in the court. We must all advise against this evil policy and never allow it to be implemented, which will harm the people in the village."

In the hall, the three of them discussed in low voices for a while, and then dispersed immediately, each of them began to contact the local officials in the court.
The various parties in the court were in contact with each other, but Zhu Lang was summoning Su Guansheng in the palace at this time.

"How is the matter of Chuxian Hall going?"

Before Zhu Lang set out to conquer the southwest last year, he ordered Su Guansheng to open a talent recruitment hall in the name of recruiting talented people from the people. At the same time, he held imperial examinations in the three prefectures to recruit scholars.

Of course, some officials in the court wanted to stop it after learning about it, but it was useless. His Highness the Regent wanted to recruit talented people and hold an imperial examination to select scholars. It was a solemn and important matter. Who dared to stop him?
Moreover, His Royal Highness the Regent was quite sensible and only asked for the title of Juren for the Chuxian Hall. At that time, Fujian Province had just been established, and the court held imperial examinations in various provinces to recruit scholars, which could also stabilize people's hearts in various places. The ministers in the court accepted this matter with a pinch of their noses.
The examination subjects of the Chuxian Hall were basically similar to those of Zhang Huangyan's Enke in Yunnan Province, which only tested simple classics and mathematics. Zhu Lang opened the Chuxian Hall mainly to train grassroots officials.
In addition to these two subjects, the Chuxian Hall also has a military test to test bravery and military strategy. These people are prepared to be military supervisors. As the number of soldiers in the court increases sharply, the army needs more and more missionaries.

Su Guansheng bowed and replied

"Last year, I conducted examinations in the three provinces to select scholars according to the items of classics, mathematics, and military strategy set by Your Highness, and finally selected 216 scholars."

"Among them, 126 are from the civil service category and 90 are from the military category. These 200-plus people are now all in the Chuxian Hall."

"The civil servants are being taught by a group of veteran officials about the collection of grain taxes, bookkeeping, and the method of measuring fields. Some outstanding scholars have been sent to the Ministry of Revenue to serve as clerks in the Ministry of Revenue for the time being, handling practical matters."

Su Guansheng presented the memorial in his sleeve, which recorded the current situation of the Chuxian Hall and listed the names of outstanding scholars in various provinces.

Zhu Lang casually flipped through the list and found that the two people at the top of the list in Guangxi Province were named He Zhaoning and Huang Heming.
Zhu Lang glanced at the brief introductions behind the two people's names, but chuckled and said, "A student, and a horse trader. It seems that the gentry of our Ming Dynasty do not think that my Chuxian Hall can really cultivate talents."

He Zhaoning and his partner are already two of the most outstanding members of the Guangxi Province. Given their backgrounds, one can imagine the backgrounds of the others.
This also shows the attitude of the court scholars towards Zhu Lang's Talents Academy. Your Majesty, the Regent, can hold an imperial examination to recruit scholars, but the serious gentry of our Ming Dynasty will not take the examination.

When a group of flatterers and scoundrels are recruited into the Chuxian Hall and they make a fool of themselves, His Highness the Regent will naturally know that the world will ultimately rely on these serious scholars.

Zhu Lang looked at the list of Guangdong Province's first department. The top two were Zhang Jiazhen and Ma Yingfang. Zhu Lang also had no impression of these two names.
However, after Zhu Lang read the introductions behind the two names, a hint of surprise flashed across his face, and he looked at Su Guansheng in front of him.
"Is Zhang Jiazhen Zhang Jiayu's younger brother?"

Su Guansheng heard this and replied

"Yes, Zhang Jiazhen is the younger brother of Governor Zhang, and he is also the most outstanding person in this Guangdong Province exam. Ma Yingfang is a disciple of Chen Lingbin." Chen Bangyan took the name Lingbin.

Zhu Lang smiled and said

"The Zhang family is at least a family of Jinshi scholars. My Chuxian Hall is a place for mixed people. How could Zhang Jiayu exile his own brother to my Chuxian Hall?"

Su Guansheng heard this, but his expression did not change, and he spoke directly

"The Chuxian Hall was established by His Highness himself, and the people in the hall are all talented people who have passed the imperial examinations in various provinces and were selected."

"The Chuxian Hall is for cultivating talents for the country, and it is also the right path for the court. How can there be any miscellaneous streams?"

Zhu Lang chuckled but did not respond. To Zhu Lang, there was no such thing as the right path or the wrong path.
But it was not the case for the scholars at that time. Not to mention the Chuxian Hall established by Zhu Lang at that time, even if they were all Jinshi, they could still make different grades.

Zhu Lang also understood Zhang Jiayu's intention of sending Zhang Jiazhen to Chuxian Hall. Zhang Jiayu was now completely under Zhu Lang's command.

As for Chen Bangyan, he had already boarded Zhu Lang's boat and couldn't get off.

Zhu Lang flipped through the memorial and looked at the Fujian Province section. Zhu Lang looked at the names on the list and suddenly exclaimed. He actually recognized one of the two people from Fujian Province.

The first two people from Fujian Province were named Liu Guoxuan and the second was Lin Xingzhu. Zhu Lang had no impression of Lin Xingzhu, but he knew Liu Guoxuan very well.
Liu Guoxuan was a general under Zheng Chenggong in his previous life. He came to power during the reign of Zheng Jing. Although he eventually surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, he was the only general who could be shown off in the late Ming Zheng Dynasty, and his military record was quite good.
"What is the situation with Liu Guoxuan?"

Su Guansheng heard the question and replied with a bow.
"Among all the military students in the Chuxian Hall, this person has the most talent for military command. I have verified his background and found that when he was only a little over ten years old, he had already led the villagers to repel local bandits."

"Lin Xingzhu is also very brave. These two people are both military missionaries. At this time, the military missionaries are responsible for military training."

Zhu Lang nodded, but did not ask any more questions. Past lives are past lives. In the past life, Liu Guoxuan really showed his talent decades later.

At this time, Liu Guoxuan was only in his twenties. In his previous life, Liu Guoxuan was able to stand out because the Ming Zheng and the Qing court had fought for decades along the coast of Fujian Province, giving him ample opportunities to lead troops into battle.
Without the decades of chaos in Fujian Province, no one knows whether Liu Guoxuan in this life can become a famous general like in his previous life.

Zhu Lang put down the memorial in his hand and stopped asking about the matter of the Chuxian Hall. Zhu Lang looked at Su Guansheng below and said softly:
“Has the news spread?”

"It has been spread, and all departments should now know the two governments' disposal plans."

Su Guansheng hesitated for a moment and then spoke again

"As far as I know, there are already censors in the court preparing to submit a memorial to impeach this matter."

Zhu Lang heard this, but his face was calm, and he said softly
"Don't worry about them. This matter is not so easy to get over. I am afraid I will be a tyrant again this time."

"Notify Chen Bangyan and ask him to be ready. If necessary, ask him to bring back the officials of the Guanzheng Hall and be ready to fill the court at any time."

"Choose a group of people from the Chuxian Hall. If Chen Bangyan and his men come back, send them to the two prefectures."

"The land between the two governments must be divided, and the new system must be implemented. No one is allowed to interfere with this matter."

Su Guansheng's face turned serious when he heard this, and he immediately spoke in a deep voice

"I will do it when I get down there"

Zhu Lang waved his hand to the people below, Su Guansheng bowed to the Regent, and then hurriedly left the hall.

(End of this chapter)