Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 70 Jie Yuan
A group of palace servants walked into the banquet, quickly removed the food and wine, and then placed the writing brush and ink on the table.

Yang Yandi stared at the writing brush, inkstone and inkstone on the table with a blank look on his face. He didn't know why his huge chicken drumstick suddenly disappeared and turned into these white pages and yellow tubes in front of him.
At this time, the palace servants left, the writing brushes and ink were placed on the desk, and the place suddenly became quiet for a moment.
All the generals held their breath and looked at His Royal Highness the Regent above.

I saw His Majesty from above walk into the arena, look around, and then speak calmly

"Since this is an imperial examination, there should be test questions. Since I am the examiner today, I will set the questions."

"Your Highness, please give me a topic," all the generals said in unison.
"In the past, Taizu was originally a commoner from Huaiyou. Seeing the chaos in the world and the people's misery, he took up arms, ordered the heroes, led the men of the Han family, crossed the river, drove out the barbarians, and restored the Central Plains."

"Taizu received the mandate from Heaven, swept away the invaders, cleared the country, re-established the world, and restored the Han Dynasty. It has been 207 years since then."

"Now is the end of the world. The Eastern barbarians are knocking on the gates, killing people and brutally atrocities. The Han Dynasty is once again in danger of extinction. At this time, we should re-discuss the difference between Chinese and barbarians to clarify why China is China and why the barbarians are barbarians."

"Therefore, the topic of this exam is the debate between Chinese and barbarians. Generals, please try to discuss what is Chinese, what is barbarians, and what is the way to drive out the Tartars and restore China."

After the young Regent finished explaining the test questions, he walked back to the main seat above and quietly looked at the generals in the arena below.

The eunuchs standing nearby were also shouting and repeating the words of His Royal Highness the Regent.
"This exam is about the distinction between Chinese and barbarians. The time limit is one hour. Please try to explain what is Chinese, what is barbarians, and what is the purpose of expelling the Tartars and restoring China."

The eunuchs' loud shouts echoed throughout the courtyard and outside the garden. There was also a faint commotion outside the garden, but it soon died down.
Several officers in the field looked at His Highness the Regent, who was calm, and their faces suddenly became solemn.
They finally knew the real purpose of today's banquet.
Today's banquet is not for entertaining the generals, nor for the oath of the Northern Kingdom. This test question is the real purpose of today's banquet.

Your Highness, this test question was not given to them at all. Although they are answering the questions in the arena, the people who really need to answer the questions are outside the arena.

Several of the chief officers had serious expressions on their faces, but the generals below couldn't care less.

Some generals pondered the test questions, and vaguely remembered the story of loyalty that had just been performed. They immediately felt that they had grasped the key points of the answer, and laid out a little on the paper, and then began to open the paper to answer.

Some generals even felt regretful in their hearts, wondering why they didn't listen to the "Jing Zhong Ji" carefully just now. If they had memorized all the lyrics just now, wouldn't they have something to write down now?
The palace servants had already left, and the only people in the garden were His Royal Highness the Regent, who was sitting at the top, and a few eunuchs who were standing by his side.
There was silence in the field, and only the slight sound of brushes writing could be heard.

An hour passed in a flash, and soon it was the end of the time limit. Some generals who wrote quickly had already put their papers aside, waiting for the palace servants to collect them, while others were still concentrating on writing, occasionally looking at the clepsydra in the arena, with a few drops of sweat on their cheeks.

His Highness the Regent had been sitting in deep concentration for more than half an hour. He stood up and walked to the center of the field to inspect.

Most people were either writing or concentrating on checking, but there were also a few who sat in the room with a calm demeanor, their faces looking calm and relaxed.

His Highness the Regent walked closer and took a look, only to find that the answer sheet on the table in front of the confident and burly general was completely blank, without a single word on it. He could not help but shake his head and laugh.
"General Yang, the time is almost up, why don't you say a word?"

"Your Highness, I am illiterate, so I will not answer you a single word."

Yang Yandi, who was sitting at the table, looked at His Royal Highness the Regent in front of him and answered confidently:
Liu Yong and several other Guangdong Army generals laughed when they heard this, but then they found the Regent was beside them and quickly hid their laughter. They just looked at the burly man next to them with a playful look.

Of course, Yang Yandi also noticed the other party's chuckle. When he found that the young lieutenant Liu Yong next to him dared to laugh at him, he immediately looked furious.

"What are you laughing at? I am illiterate, but I know what Your Highness is asking. If I could read, I would be able to answer it as well."

Several Guangdong generals did not argue with Yang Yandi at this time, but just sat quietly in front of the table, but their eyes looking at Yang Yandi were increasingly contemptuous.
This made Yang Yandi even more angry. He stared at the people next to him with his big eyes. If His Royal Highness the Regent was not standing next to him, Yang Yandi would have stood up long ago to let these people know why the flowers were so red.

The young Regent did not take it seriously. He glanced around and found that most people had stopped answering. So after a brief thought, he chuckled and said:

"Since General Yang thinks he can answer the question, why not just answer it directly?"

"General Yang thinks that in this debate between Chinese and barbarians, what is Chinese and what is barbarian? What is the point of expelling the Tartars and restoring China?" "How difficult is that? The Chinese are our Ming Dynasty, and the barbarians are the Tartars. Expelling the Tartars and restoring China means killing the Tartars and defending our Ming Dynasty."

Yang Yandi stood up, bowed to the regent in front of him, and then spoke loudly
Yang Yandi spoke loudly, and everyone shook their heads and laughed when they heard it.
If that was the answer, then it would only take a few words to finish. Why would Your Highness need to give them an hour to finish?

The generals in Li Mingzhong's army looked embarrassed, and the generals in the Guangdong army even smiled secretly. But at this time, His Royal Highness the Regent suddenly spoke loudly.

"Okay, well said, but General Yang forgot one thing. Killing the Tartars is not only to defend our Ming Dynasty, but also to protect the Han people in this world from being bullied and harmed by the barbarians."

"Yes, expelling the Tartars means killing them, protecting the Han people, and revitalizing our Ming Dynasty," Yang Yandi immediately agreed.
"General Yang said it well. If all the generals of the Ming army could fight bravely and fight to the death to protect the Han people, and make the Tartars tremble in fear and flee in terror when they hear the Han soldiers, then China will naturally be China and the barbarians will naturally be barbarians. What else is there to discuss?"

"Based on what General Yang said, I think he deserves to be the first place in martial arts. What do you think?"

Everyone's faces grimly heard the words. They haven't even handed in their papers yet, and the winner of today's martial arts exam has already been announced?
"Your Highness is wise and wise, and we admire you."

However, everyone looked at His Majesty the Regent in the field and did not dare to say much. They could only shout "Holy Wise" in unison. As for Yang Yandi, no one mentioned him.
Today's martial arts examination was originally a reward from His Highness. Not to mention a champion, even if His Highness wanted to confer the title of Wu Jinshi on Yang Yandi, they would have no choice. If they offended His Highness at this moment, then their status as martial arts candidates today would be ruined.
Everyone in the field responded in unison, and His Royal Highness the Regent decided the first place for today's martial arts examination before anyone handed in their papers.
At this time, the time limit had just arrived, so the eunuchs walked into the arena and took away the papers from the generals.
After the papers were collected, they soon gathered on the desk of His Royal Highness the Regent, who actually began to review the papers in front of everyone.
The generals looked at each other, but they didn't dare to say anything. They could only look at the prince who was marking the papers above, with a worried look on their faces.
After about half an hour, His Royal Highness the Regent finally put down the last paper, and the generals stared at the figure above.
"You are all talented soldiers. You all answered the questions very well. I really can't choose."

His Highness the Regent glanced at the tense crowd below, a smile appeared on his face, and he spoke again in a loud voice.

"Since this is the case, I will be the master. Today, I will examine all the generals who are on the list and grant them the status of Juren."

The generals were stunned, and then, led by someone unknown, they all walked out of the case, lined up in two rows, and bowed to His Majesty the Regent above.

"We thank Your Highness for your grace."

His Royal Highness the Regent called everyone to his room, and then waved to Li Guoyong beside him.

Li Guoyong hurriedly withdrew, and soon after, a group of palace servants came into the venue carrying dozens of trays. On each tray was a brocade robe and pieces of gold and silver tokens.
The top ten people in this martial arts examination were all awarded gold medals. Nine of them were lieutenant generals, and only one was a guerrilla officer.
The gold medal in front of Yang Yandi was inscribed on both sides. One side read Bingxu Ke, and the other side read Wu Ju Jie Yuan.
Liu Qijiao ranked second, and on both sides of the gold medal were written the words "Bingxu Class, Second Place in the Military Examination"

The third place was Guan Can of the Guangdong Army, the fourth place was Deng Yao of the Guangxi Army, and the shapes of the tokens for the rest were the same, with only the numbers changing, all the way up to the fifty-sixth place.

All 56 officers in the field were included in the list, all of them were successful candidates.

The generals looked at the brocade robe tokens in front of them, and a flash of realization flashed in their eyes. They were afraid that no matter what they answered on the paper today, His Majesty had already prepared to grant them the status of Juren.
If we hadn't been prepared, how could we have taken out so many robe tokens at once?
The generals did not have time to think about it at this time. They all shouted to the top to thank the emperor, and then took the robe token from the palace servant with both hands.
"I am very pleased to be able to see many pillars of the Ming Dynasty's army in this garden today."

"Today's revelry is over. I would like to offer you another glass of wine. This glass of wine congratulates you on your success in the imperial examination. I also hope that you will continue to work hard, be loyal to the court, make achievements as soon as possible, and recover the Han Dynasty."

"If you can restore our Ming dynasty, I will not be reluctant to accept your reward. When that time comes, I will drink with you again in the Snow Garden in the North."

The Regent took the wine glass from the table, raised his hand, and spoke loudly.

"I will do my best to serve your Highness and revitalize the Ming Dynasty."

The young prince raised his head and drank the wine in the cup, and the new candidates also took the wine cups handed by the palace servants, shouted in unison, and then drank it all in one gulp.
As the sky gradually darkened, the six cups of wine in the garden were finished, and His Royal Highness the Regent had quietly left.
A group of generals, holding their robe tokens, led by palace servants, left the garden with different expressions.

As the generals left, what happened in the garden today was quickly summarized and appeared on the desks of various ministers in the city.
This is the end of the banquet. It actually took a lot of time to prepare for this banquet. I think the following chapters are also well written. But after reading everyone’s comments, the pace was indeed slowed down in order to introduce the Guangdong Army. Starting tomorrow, we will enter a new plot, which should be more compact.

There is another book that broke the record yesterday. The number of new collections reached an astonishing three. I almost ran away with my face covered.

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(End of this chapter)