Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 166 The Imperial Examination is Coming (Third Update)
The June wind, carrying the fragrance of locust blossoms, swirled through the vermilion pillars of the Imperial College and into the courtyard in front of the Yixin Hall.

A few snow-white petals drifted down onto Hai Rui's headscarf, but he was completely unaware, as he listened intently to Wang Shenzhong's lecture in the hall.

“Gentlemen, please take a look at this question, ‘Confucius said that benevolence is loving others.’ When you break the question, you must get straight to the core and not be long-winded. When you continue the question, you should be as smooth as flowing water and avoid abrupt transitions.”

"Although the eight-legged essay emphasizes the format, its essence lies in 'speaking on behalf of the sages.' If one only knows how to imitate the form but not the spirit, one will ultimately fall into inferiority."

Yixin Club is officially expanding its recruitment.

Apart from Tang Shunzhi, who has not yet returned to Beijing, Wang Shenzhong, Chen Shu, and Xiong Guo have all accepted Zhao Shichun's invitation.

In Haiyue's view, this is not only an increase in the number of people, but also a great opportunity to hold cram schools for the imperial examinations!

After all, just look at this lineup—elites from both lists gathered, an unprecedented level of luxury.

Lin Daqin, the top scholar in this imperial examination, was already a teacher in himself. He had already consulted teachers on classical studies. Talent cannot be learned later, but that doesn't matter. With more teachers, one can learn by analogy.

For example, this Wang Shenzhong, as he spoke, was no longer satisfied with just explaining exam strategies, and began to predict exam questions: "Annam is in turmoil, the Mo family has usurped power, the Le family is seeking help, our dynasty is the overlord, should we raise a righteous army to punish the guilty and comfort the people, or should we remain cautious and observe the situation? Try to analyze the advantages and disadvantages to clarify the way of governing the country!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall was shocked, and even Yan Shifan, who had been listening absentmindedly, became excited.

The Annamite civil war had been a hot topic for a while last year, but as the chief minister Zhang Cong rectified official corruption, the attention of the officials turned back to the court's internal affairs.

But not long ago, with the arrival of a major piece of news, the topic of Annan once again took center stage.

The Mo family sent envoys to the capital to pay tribute, but they were assassinated en route.

Yes, the envoy sent by the traitor Mo Dengyong was killed before he even reached the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, if this accident hadn't happened, Mo Dengyong would have presented his letter around the end of the tenth year of the Jiajing reign, which was also the time when Haiyue arranged for Xu Jie to enter the Ministry of Rites to prepare for his participation in this diplomatic event.

The Ming Dynasty would certainly not recognize a traitor who seized power by murdering the emperor, but the Mo family is indeed the current ruler of Annam. If the Ming Dynasty is really preparing to send troops, it is crucial to know the enemy and oneself. It might be worthwhile to listen to what the Mo family's delegation has to say.

It is now June, and even though it is a long journey from Annam to the capital, they should have arrived long ago, but the other party died on the way.

First, the Li family delegation detoured through Hainan to Beijing. While crossing the sea, they were overtaken by a group of assassins led by Mo Zhengyong, the adopted son of Mo Dengyong. Li Weining and Li Yuying, the brother and sister, escaped. Later, Li Weining died in Qiongshan, and only Li Yuying represented the legitimate Li family to enter the capital.

Now, the men sent by the traitorous Mo clan have also been assassinated.

Is this a turn-based game?
As a result, the court quickly split into two factions.

One faction believes that the intense internal strife in Annam, and the fact that the Le family was able to assassinate even the Mo family's delegation, proves that they have accumulated great power and lack due respect for their suzerain state, the Ming Dynasty. They are only narrow-minded and only seek revenge. Otherwise, they should have sent a second delegation to the capital in advance!

In that case, the Ming Dynasty need not send troops immediately; it would be better to wait.

Just like one of Wang Shenzhong's choices of the topic, "Maintain composure and remain calm to observe the changes."

Another faction believes that the so-called assassination of the Moh envoy was nothing more than a case of the thief crying "stop thief!" by the Mohs in order to buy time to quell the domestic unrest. Moh Dengyong's biggest fear was that the Ming army would march south and destroy his already fragile regime!

In that case, we cannot give Mo a chance to catch our breath. We should immediately send our army south and take back Jiaozhi in one fell swoop.

The official purpose was also perfectly legitimate: "to raise a righteous army to punish the guilty and comfort the people."

This is the source of Wang Shenzhong's question.

The students in Yixintang are not just ordinary students from the Imperial Academy. The dozen or so people in this room now have considerable influence in the court. When faced with this kind of topic, they naturally became very interested and picked up their pens.

Haiyue knew that the imperial examination was extraordinary, and that such questions would not be asked in the first two provincial and metropolitan examinations, but he also wanted to see how good he was.

As soon as the articles were written, before the ink was even dry, Wang Shenzhong began to review them: "They combine classical interpretations with factual records, discuss the responsibilities of vassal states, and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of border troops. They are substantial and can be considered top-notch!"

"This article only discusses one aspect of war and peace, but the citations are appropriate, so it can be considered of medium quality!"

"Tsk, this one is too empty talk. There is no such thing as a true king. It's unrealistic. A temporary effort for lasting peace is just empty talk. It deserves to be rejected!"

Wang Shenzhong was the foremost of the "Eight Talented Scholars of Jiajing" and one of the "Three Great Masters of Jiajing." He was the first to establish a new style of Tang and Song literature and had extremely high literary attainments, but he was clearly not very adept at interpersonal relationships.

Yan Shifan's face turned black.

The only article that was rejected by Wang Shenzhong was the one he wrote.

You junior are really disrespectful to your seniors!

Wang Shenzhong, however, did not think that way at all.

He was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the fifth year of the Jiajing reign. In terms of seniority among scholars, most of the people present were juniors, and even his peers respected his knowledge. His presence at the Imperial Academy to give lectures was already out of respect for the Yixin Society.

Now, after focusing on commenting on the articles by Haiyue, Hairui, and Lin Daqin, I saw them listening attentively and discussing with each other, which also showed their appreciation for the young man's potential.

Seeing Yan Shifan's rather unpleasant expression, he ignored him and moved on to the next topic. At the end of the lesson, everyone saw the talented scholar out and expressed their sincere gratitude.

Yan Shifan followed at the back, casually finished bowing, rolled his eyes, and came up behind Hai Yue, whispering, "Mingwei, let's talk in private!"

Haiyue led him to a corner outside the hall: "What brings you to the East Tower?"

Yan Shifan chuckled softly, "Mingwei, do you know that the examiners for the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination have already been chosen?"

Haiyue asked in surprise, "It's settled so quickly?"

Yan Shifan said reservedly, "It hasn't been announced yet, but my father got the news, and I'm sharing it with you first!"

This is not an exaggeration.

Just half a month ago, Gui E resigned from her position as Vice Grand Secretary.

His condition was getting worse and worse, to the point that even Tianma powder could not suppress it. After the Imperial Hospital made a diagnosis, they reported the truth to Jiajing. Jiajing was moved by the old minister's dedication and gave him 100 taels of silver, two bolts of silk, and 3,000 strings of cash, allowing him to retire and return to his hometown.

Therefore, Gui Zai was not at the Imperial Academy at this time; he had left the capital with his elderly father and gone to their hometown of Guangzhou Prefecture.

Historically, Gui'e passed away on June 27th at the age of 54. Now, perhaps she can live a little longer, until the second half of the year, or perhaps around the same time, she will die of illness on her way home.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the career of a Grand Secretary who was loyal to the country, had the talent to manage the world, but was also ruthless and fond of excluding dissidents had come to an end.

Gui'e's retirement due to illness also signifies that the once-powerful new elites of the Great Rites Controversy have begun to gradually withdraw from the historical stage.

This time it wasn't that Jiajing didn't trust them; it was simply that time waits for no one, and the pressures from all sides during their reign made these high-ranking officials age more easily.

Gui E was the first to give up, Fang Xianfu was the second, and if Zhang Cong were to retire prematurely, there would be no one left to lead. Huo Tao was far too lacking in both seniority and prestige to be the leader of a faction.

Now that this trend has emerged, the officials' attention has turned to the rising star...

Yan Song!

Yes, his rise to fame has truly astonished many people.

I thought that after Zhang Cong, Xia Yan would be the one to gain trust and respect, since the method of gaining imperial favor through ritual and sacrifice to heaven and earth was all too familiar. But I never expected that it would be Vice Minister Yan, who had always kept a low profile but steadily risen through the ranks.

Because Yan Song had stepped forward in the case of the two Zhangs and personally dealt with forty-three officials, including Tang Mu, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review; Yao Jingyang, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice; and Zhang Run, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

Among them, Tang Da, the son of Tang Mu, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was executed by slow slicing along with Hao, the wife of Zhao Bao, for having an affair with her and conspiring with her to murder Zhao Bao and frame Jiang Da. Tang Mu protected his son, and his crime was unforgivable. He was also beheaded, and the rest of his family members were exiled to the border.

Six officials, including Yao Jingyang and Zhang Run, were subsequently exiled to the frontier and never pardoned.
Nine officials were exiled to the border garrison.
Eleven officials were dismissed from their posts and reduced to commoners.
Seventeen officials were dismissed and left idle.

Such punishment was praised by everyone in the court and among the people.

Compared to the Zuo Shunmen Crying and Pleading Incident and the Li Fuda Case, at least this time there was not much bloodshed, which is already a mercy.

The key point is that the downfall of more than forty officials from the six ministries has not yet caused turmoil in the central government.

Because of His Majesty's pardon, more than 30 officials who had previously been convicted, including Yan Yishou, Minister of Justice; Liu Yu, Vice Minister of Justice; Mao Bowen, Left Vice Censor-in-Chief; and Wang Yuan, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, were recalled to fill the vacancies.

For a time, Yan Song's prestige soared to its zenith.

Therefore, once Gui E left office, Fang Xianfu, the Minister of Personnel, should have entered the cabinet to work with Zhang Cong. However, now there are calls from both the court and the public to have Yan Song enter the cabinet instead.

This can be seen from the fact that many students in the Imperial Academy would often hang around in front of Yan Shifan, whether they had something to do or not.

It was from that time that Yan Shifan stopped paying much attention to the lectures of talented scholars such as Wang Shenzhong.

Are the top two Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) really that great?

Once you figure out the examiner's mindset, coupled with his intelligence, passing the imperial examination will be a piece of cake.
In the presence of such a powerful figure who had direct access to the examiners, even a so-called great scholar was like a green recruit!

Haiyue neither agreed nor disagreed with this mentality, but she did agree with Yan Shifan's assessment of the examiners.

In his view, the imperial examination was just an exam, and it was extremely subjective. There was no need to mythologize it. It was important to understand the examiner's preferences and stance, as long as it wasn't outright cheating.

Haiyue nodded: "Now that the examiner has been chosen, it is indeed necessary to understand his temperament and preferences in order to avoid inadvertently violating taboos in the writing."

"That's how it should be!"

Yan Shifan was overjoyed: "This year's spring imperial examination will surely be a time for our Yixin Society to shine. When we pass the exam with flying colors and parade through the streets adorned with flowers, we will create a beautiful story in the medical field and leave a lasting legacy for future generations!"

(End of this chapter)