Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 383 Public Opinion
Guangzhou Imperial Palace, early in the morning, six hundred newly-appointed scholars stood in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony

There is no such thing as failing the palace examination. Unless the examinee disobeys the superior when answering the paper, no one will be expelled.

At this time, more than 600 candidates had successfully become new Jinshi of the imperial court after passing the palace examination.
A group of newly-appointed scholars dressed in blue robes stood at the bottom of the steps, while Zhu Lang led the officials in the court and stood in front of the gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
"Since the Jiashen year, the country has been in turmoil and etiquette has been lost. Today, the court has finally opened the imperial examinations again to recruit talented people."

"You are the first batch of Jinshi admitted by the imperial court after the Jiashen year, and you are also the first batch of scholars selected by me personally after I established the government in Guangdong Province."

"The Eastern Tartars are threatening us, and the country is in a difficult situation. The court is not recruiting officials for their rhetoric, but for those who can do practical work."

"As the old saying goes, a prime minister must rise from the state, and a brave general must rise from the army. You, the batch of Jinshi, should be prepared to endure hardships."

"All the successful candidates selected by the imperial court this time, regardless of whether they are in the first, second or third place, will be sent to prefectures and counties to undergo training after one year."

Behind Zhu Lang, Qu Shisi and others had calm expressions on their faces. His Highness the Regent had already discussed this matter with the cabinet ministers, and none of the cabinet ministers objected.

Whether it was Qu Shisi or Lu Daqi, most of these ministers who had experienced the Jiashen Rebellion had experience in governing a region, and they understood better than others the importance of having practical experience.

The training process of Jinshi in the Ming Dynasty was actually very unreasonable. The third-class Jinshi would be sent out because of their low ranking.

However, the most elite group of Jinshi in the first and second classes would stay in Beijing for training after being selected by the imperial academy.
Many of the selected Jinshi have been serving as officials in the capital since they passed the Jinshi examination. A large number of officials at the level of Shangshu and Shilang did not even have the experience of governing the local areas when they were promoted.

These officials who have been circulating in the capital are good at talking about literature, morality and forming cliques, but they are full of loopholes when it comes to handling practical affairs.

When the Ming Dynasty was peaceful, there was no problem. But in this chaotic world, these officials who can only talk and do nothing are of no use at all.
Why were there so many gentry officials willing to die for the emperor in the face of danger in the late Ming Dynasty? Because these ministers who were born as upright poets had no ability to organize manpower to defend the city against the enemy.

When the bandits approached the city, these people could only die to serve the king.
After Zhu Lang discussed with the cabinet ministers, the Guangdong Provincial Court also changed the training route for new Jinshi candidates. The third-class Jinshi candidates were still to be sent out directly after three months of training.
The first and second class Jinshi first observed government affairs in the six ministries for half a year. After half a year, the court would send senior officials to train these new scholars.

After being taught basic government affairs such as criminal law and grain tax, all the newly promoted scholars were sent to prefectures and counties to serve as grassroots officials.
As for whether these people can fight their way back to the center, it depends on their own abilities and luck.

Zhu Lang wanted people to encourage farming, collect taxes, and stabilize the people, instead of asking a group of scholars from the Hanlin Academy to talk about morality in the court. After all, the court could not rely on morality to drive the Qing court out of the Central Plains.

Zhu Lang didn't care about the reactions of the scholars below. After he finished speaking, he signaled to the official beside him. The official from the Honglu Temple immediately stepped forward and read aloud.

"On March 15th of the Gengyin year, the imperial court held an examination for candidates from all over the country. The first place was awarded the title of Jinshi Jidi, the second place was awarded the title of Jinshi Chuan, and the third place was awarded the title of Tong Jinshi Chuan."

"His Highness the Regent personally selected Chen Yonghua as the top scholar, Li Yong as the second, and Gu Yanwu as the third."

The newly-appointed scholars below finally began to stir. In the envious gazes of the crowd, Chen Yonghua and the other two were led up the stairs by the eunuchs.
Every three years, there are three candidates in each exam. Although the imperial court has a new rule for sending Jinshi candidates to other places, the rankings cannot be faked.

There may not be much difference between the second and third class, but the difference between the first and second class will be very obvious.

No matter how many Jinshi candidates the imperial court selects each year, there are always only three candidates in the first class. Once the candidates enter the official career, everyone will look favorably upon them and they will definitely enjoy preferential treatment when they start their official career.
Chen Yonghua and the other two were led to the stairs. Chen Yonghua and Li Yong's faces turned red. Gu Yanwu was middle-aged after all, but he could still maintain his emotions, but his face was also excited.

Gu Yanwu was originally the first candidate in the list submitted by the Ministry of Rites, but Zhu Lang chose Chen Yonghua and Li Yong, so he ranked Gu Yanwu third.

Among the three people in front of him, two of them were famous people known to Zhu Lang. Zhu Lang had also used some of the ideas proposed by Gu Yanwu in later generations.

Zhu Lang looked at the three people in front of him with a calm expression. He was no longer a newcomer to this world, and he had seen countless people whose names became famous in later generations. If you really count, Leng Sengji, the chief envoy of the Qing Dynasty delegation, was also a famous person in later generations.
Zhu Lang said softly

"You three are the top three selected by me personally. I have personally read your strategies and essays. You are all the best of the time and your talents are outstanding."

"The world is in turmoil right now, it is the time for you to show your talents. I hope you will work hard and become the pillars of the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible."

"We will do our best to repay your majesty for your kindness." Chen Yonghua and the other two knelt down and kowtowed. Zhu Lang gestured to his side, and Li Guoyong quickly came forward with three gold-threaded black hats.

After Zhu Lang took the gauze hat, he personally put it on for the three people.

The scholars below looked at the three people kneeling on the ground, being crowned by His Royal Highness the Regent himself, with envy on their faces.
Not to mention Jinshi, even if they were ministers in the court, I'm afraid no one had ever had the courtesy of being crowned by His Highness himself. From now on, as long as these three people don't make big mistakes, their careers will surely rise rapidly.
"You three have won the first place in the imperial examination, and you should be the top students. However, this place is simple, so I will put the Jinshi crown on you."

"Although there is no top official in the palace, there are still official parades. Today is the day for you to get your names on the list. Go out and see the list."

Zhu Lang smiled and waved to the three people. The ceremonial officer of the Honglu Temple shouted, and the new scholars knelt three times and kowtowed nine times. Then, led by Chen Yonghua and the other two, they walked out of the palace.
Outside the palace, the streets were decorated with lanterns and colorful lights. Chen Yonghua and his two companions were dressed in the imperial robes of a jinshi, wearing black hats with gold threads, and riding astride red-maned horses.
Chen Yonghua was preceded by a group of officials with flags and banners, and followed by hundreds of other successful candidates.
Among the crowd, the people on the road looked at Chen Yonghua, who was sitting on a tall horse in the front, holding the bright yellow imperial edict in his hand, and couldn't help but sigh softly.
"I heard that Chen Zhuangyuan is only sixteen years old this year. He has already won the first place in the imperial examination at such a young age. He is truly a literary star descended to earth."

Chen Yonghua led a group of scholars to the road, and there was a thunderous cheer on the road. In the distance, there were even firecrackers.

Countless people were looking out from the restaurants on both sides of the road, cheering and congratulating each other, and the streets were bustling with activity.
A group of scholars wore spring flowers in their hair, and walked through the streets with their heads held high amid the cheers and applause of the crowd.
Scholars all over the world study hard for ten years, just to have a chance to see all the flowers in Chang'an in one day.
Their future fates may be different, but no matter what, today's situation will be forever engraved in their memories.

The imperial court's opening of the imperial examination was a major event. After the imperial court announced the results, Xingming Times also worked overtime.

On the second day after the imperial examination results were announced, the imperial examination supplement of Xingming Times was published.
The front page of the supplement published by Xingming Times reported that His Royal Highness the Regent met with a group of newly-appointed Jinshi in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The remaining three pages published the full text of the articles by Chen Yonghua and three other top-ranked scholars.
As soon as the supplement to Xingming newspapers was published, it immediately triggered a rush to buy by scholars in the city. Everyone wanted to see what the top scholar's article looked like.
On the second floor of the Zhuangyuan Building, a group of scholars filled the hall, but at this moment, the place was completely silent. All the scholars were concentrating on reading the newspapers in their hands.

After an unknown amount of time, a thin scholar by the window put down the newspaper in his hand and said:

"The first place essay is all about money and taxes, which is really vulgar. On the contrary, the essay of Gu Tanhua is really profound and brilliant."

"If you ask me, this Gu Tanhua is worthy of the title of No. 1 Scholar."

A tall scholar on the opposite side raised his head and said

"Whether he is the top scholar or the third scholar, it has nothing to do with us. What matters is what we can learn from it."

"This year, the top two candidates in the Gengyin exam wrote essays that were based on the practical affairs of the court, which is why they were chosen by His Highness."

"After these three examination papers are released, the next provincial and municipal examinations will certainly test practical economics."

"In the next three years, we should spend less time on the classics and more time on practical policy discussions. This is the right thing to do."

The thin scholar at the table was stunned at first, but then he agreed with it and nodded repeatedly.

If the superior likes something, the subordinates will like it even more. His Highness has personally selected two practical policy essays this year, which is even more obvious to the whole world. The examiners who set the questions in the next session of each province will definitely be affected.

The scholars in the court were concerned about the changes in the imperial examination questions, while the gentry were more concerned about the changes in the wind direction in the court.
The seven-bull grain system advocated by Chen Yonghua is not to be mentioned. The new system implemented by Chaozhou and Huizhou governments has attracted the attention of all parties.

Under the seven-bull grain system, these gentry had to pay taxes together with the common people. How shameful!
The seven-bull grain system made many gentry dissatisfied, and Li Yong's policy of selecting officials based on their merits and opening up the ranks of clerks to officialdom also drew criticism from many scholars.

Li Yong believed that one should select people based on their talents and employ the virtuous and capable, but some people also believed that one should cultivate virtue first before becoming an official.

These scholars have studied for ten years and learned the sages' classics, propriety, justice, integrity and shame. Only then can they serve as officials and educate the people.

A group of clerks are ignorant of the teachings of the saints and are only concerned with their own interests. If such villains who do not understand etiquette and morality can also get official positions, then the world will surely go downhill and people's hearts will be corrupted.
The scholars in the public debated endlessly about the essays of the top two candidates, but the court remained calm. The court officials said nothing about the debate among the people, as if they were completely unaware of it.

According to the imperial court management, after the palace examination, all the examination papers of Jinshi candidates must be sealed in the Ministry of Rites. Zhu Lang published the examination papers of Chen Yonghua and the other two, which was actually not in line with the old rules.

Zhu Lang took great pains to publish the examination papers of the three candidates in the Gengyin year, hoping to use the hot topic of the imperial examination to stir up public opinion in the court and among the people. How could he really let the cabinet ministers let this go?
(End of this chapter)