Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 210 The Most Suitable Ranking
"The Holy Lord has arrived!"

The setting sun outside the hall gilded the white marble railings with a golden edge. As Zhu Houcong hurriedly stepped inside, the officials in the Fengtian Hall breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, the emperor did not necessarily have to be present for the palace examination. There were times when the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs performed the duties on his behalf. To give an example, this happened twice during the reign of Emperor Wuzong.

But His Majesty is not Emperor Wuzong. The purpose of the palace examination is to allow the emperor, who is the chief examiner, to get closer to his students. If the Grand Secretary were to take his place, he would probably regret it afterward and cause trouble.

Zhang Cong had served that person for over a decade and understood her temperament, so he preferred to send someone to the inner palace to urge her and wait silently rather than overstep his bounds.

Fortunately, the emperor has finally returned. Zhang Cong stepped forward without hesitation and presented the selected answer sheets: "Your Majesty, we have chosen the answer sheets of the successful candidates for your perusal!"

"Ok!"

Zhu Houcong absentmindedly reached out, took the documents, placed them on the table, and began to examine them one by one.

His thoughts were still on those palace maids in the inner court who dared to harbor rebellious intentions.

After years of debate over the Great Rites Controversy, Zhu Houcong originally believed that he had already dealt with the previous dynasty, suppressed the civil and military nobles, and the harem was even more so. Empress Dowager Zhang could put them under house arrest at will, and even the eunuchs guarding various places were withdrawn. Once in the palace, their lives were still at the master's command.

He never had a good impression of eunuchs.

Admittedly, eunuchs were indeed a group with extremely close ties to imperial power and were extremely loyal. However, they were also a political group that was extremely corrupt, detrimental to the country and the people. They were more harmful to the people than the bureaucratic group. Only some weaker emperors needed eunuchs in the inner court to check and balance the civil officials in the outer court. Zhu Houcong did not need them.

Without the need for eunuchs to exert their influence, the bureaucratic group could be brought under control. Therefore, the removal of the garrison eunuchs greatly reduced the burden on the people in various regions and won the support of many insightful people, which led to the implementation of the new policies.

But now it turns out that these servants cannot be ignored either. The thieves have infiltrated everywhere, and even the inner court has not been spared, which has caused him to have no children to this day!
Upon realizing this, Zhu Houcong's eyes flashed with anger. He took a deep breath and looked at the answer sheet again.

He quickly glanced at the first article, then immediately snorted and rebuked, "Benevolence in governance, sincerity in administration... This is just another old cliché. If all the advice I seek from my talented advisors is like this, what use is it?"

Zhang Cong was slightly taken aback.

This article was written by Lin Chun, the top scholar in the imperial examination. He was a member of the orthodox school of Neo-Confucianism. The whole article takes rectifying the mind and making the will sincere as its guiding principle and expounds on the essentials of Zhu Xi's investigation of things and extension of knowledge. Although there are no surprising words, every word is like a lotus from Lianxi. The skill is evident in the purity. It should be a model for later generations. How come His Majesty gave it such a low evaluation?
As for benevolence in governance and sincerity in administration, it is indeed empty talk, but it is correct empty talk. Back then, Zhang Cong repeatedly emphasized it when he took the exam. How did it become a point of dislike?
However, Zhang Cong quickly realized that His Majesty was in a bad mood and seemed resistant to being advised to implement benevolent policies. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Lin Chun has run into someone who's being targeted by anger; his ranking in the palace examination is going to be bad...

Not only Lin Chun, but the next few answer sheets selected by Zhang Cong were also criticized to varying degrees.

Zhu Houcong found all sorts of platitudes and empty rhetoric distasteful, and this exceptionally intelligent emperor could, with just a few words, pinpoint their flaws and render them utterly worthless.

The officials remained silent, trembling with fear, until Zhu Houcong picked up the sixth document. He raised an eyebrow, his expression finally changing, and he murmured, "This is indeed a good article!"

The policy essay in his hand directly points out the many ills of the Ming Dynasty at present. The argument is clear and insightful, and the measures are effective and practical. What is even more commendable is that it is fluent and unrestrained, and the writing is sharp and plain, making it a pleasure to read.

Compared to the previous ones, it is clearly inferior.

Zhu Houcong had only seen a small portion of the answer sheet when he turned to the sealed name on the answer sheet. His eyes lit up: "Lin Daqin! So it was him! Excellent! Excellent! No wonder he is the top scholar of Shuntian Prefecture. Such a talented person, no wonder he is favored by Minister Zhang!"

Zhang Cong replied in a clear voice, "Yes!"

The palace examination was initially conducted anonymously, as the important officials in the court each had their own preferences, and not concealing names would inevitably lead to bias. However, it was not easy to write, and if they really wanted to favor their own people, they could tell who answered the paper by looking at the familiar handwriting and writing style.

Zhang Cong was quite fair in this regard. He didn't know who the specific respondents were, but rather that they suited his taste. More importantly, the ideas they expressed needed to align with his governing philosophy and the implementation of his new policies.

Therefore, Lin Daqin's paper was selected. This student was indeed exceptionally talented, and his strategy was outstanding and substantial. His performance in the palace examination was of such high quality that he was worthy of being remembered for generations.

But after selecting the answer sheets and opening the sealed names, Zhang Cong couldn't help but move Lin Daqin's and another person's papers to the back.

Zhu Houcong was well aware of these subtle actions. He deliberately made a sarcastic remark, enjoyed Zhang Cong's embarrassed expression, and felt much better. When he looked at the last seventh answer sheet, his eyebrows immediately lifted again.

He knew whose it was without even asking.

I read "Journey to the West" every few days, and I'm extremely familiar with this elegant handwriting.

Zhu Houcong carefully read through the answer sheet.

Having just read Lin Daqin's policy essay, the contrast was quite obvious. This man's talent was inferior to Lin Daqin's, but his writing was more composed, and his explanation of Emperor Wen of Han was more satisfactory to him.

Whether it was a coincidence or she deliberately found out his preference for Emperor Wen of Han, she put in effort.

Shouldn't the imperial examination take into account the emperor's likes and dislikes?
Yixin Society truly produces talented individuals!
Even more loyal ministers will emerge! Even so, Zhu Houcong did not rush to express his opinion, but turned to Yan Song: "Minister Yan, do you also have a great talent to recommend?"

Yan Song presented the three answer sheets, saying, "Please review them, Your Majesty."

Zhu Houcong read through the articles one by one, only glancing at Hai Rui's without showing much liking for him, merely finding them acceptable. Finally, he nodded and said, "He is indeed a talented person. It's still not easy to choose the top scholar in this year's imperial examination!"

As he spoke, he laid the two answer sheets side by side and looked at the officials who were reading the imperial examination papers: "I like both of these policy essays very much. One is sharp as a sword, pointing directly to the deep-seated problems in officialdom, while the other is full of pearls, fully explaining the fundamentals of governing the country. I intend to select one of them as the top scorer. What do you gentlemen think?"

The courtiers exclaimed in unison, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhu Houcong said, "Gentlemen, please help me choose! Which of these two strategies does Minister Zhang prefer?"

Zhang Cong looked at the two answer sheets.

One was Lin Daqin's, and the other was Hai Yue's. He had chosen them both, but deliberately placed them last. In the end, the Emperor still took a liking to them at first glance.

That's fine, but now Your Majesty is not deciding who should go first and asking the ministers for their advice. Is it because you really can't make up your mind, or do you have other intentions?

After all, it is common knowledge that Haiyue's courtesy name was bestowed by this person, and the small academy he founded within the Imperial Academy also caught the eye of the court officials.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Cong decided to cater to His Majesty's preferences in this regard: "I believe that Haiyue's strategy is the best and his political theory is the most insightful. His policies of equal land distribution and selection of officials, eliminating redundancies and reducing expenses, expanding land and levying light taxes, promoting commerce and prohibiting extravagance are all good policies for governing the country. His policies also detail the process of merging miscellaneous taxes such as village head and corvée labor into silver, and even take into account the differences in the silver-to-copper exchange rate in various places. It can be called a golden rule for governing the country."

Upon hearing Zhang Cong's words, a host of officials, including two other Grand Secretaries, offered their praises, showering his writing with compliments.

It's not about blindly agreeing; to be fair, for a scholar with no governing experience, this strategy can't be described as merely excellent. It discusses the pros and cons without resorting to empty talk, demonstrating exceptional talent. The imperial examination system, which selects officials for the country, is exactly the kind of talent it needs.

Zhu Houcong nodded slightly, then turned to Yan Song: "Minister Yan, which one do you prefer?"

Yan Song slowly said, "In my opinion, Lin Daqin's strategy is better!"

Zhu Houcong's brow twitched: "Oh? Why?"

Yan Song first praised Lin Daqin's strategy, and then added, "My son Deqiu is a classmate of Hailin. He knows that Haiyue respects Lin Daqin as an elder brother, and he also admits that his talent is insufficient..."

Zhu Houcong chuckled, waved his hand, and said in a casual tone, "These are just humble words. They're not really brothers, so there's no need for modesty. Who wouldn't want the top scholar position?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Song immediately lowered his head: "It was an old minister's slip of the tongue..."

"It's not a slip of the tongue. I find Haiyue's writing to be excellent, but compared to Lin Daqin, it still lacks a bit of talent. Appointing her as the champion now is like picking a flower in early spring, which misses the opportunity for her to grow naturally!"

Zhu Houcong changed the subject and said seriously, "Moreover, although Haiyue is to my liking, the talent selection ceremony should be based on talent. If I were to ruin the public instrument for personal reasons, wouldn't I be letting down the scholars of the world who have studied hard for ten years?"

'Sure enough! '

The courtiers were already used to his methods, and could only sigh silently that he had said all the right things, good and bad, so what else could they do? They could only show their sincere admiration for the emperor who had defied all opposition: "Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhu Houcong smiled with satisfaction.

He originally intended to select Haiyue as the top scholar after the imperial examination.

But that was by no means well-intentioned; it was driven by ulterior motives.

Scholars whose literary talent is not enough to surpass others may be promoted to the top spot simply because they received a title from the emperor at an early age. Like a bamboo shoot growing too fast, whether they can withstand the trials and tribulations of life depends on their own destiny!
However, considering the loyalty of the Yixin Society, the progress of the investigation into the Liyuan Society, and Li Yuying's filial piety towards Empress Dowager Jiang, Zhu Houcong ultimately withdrew this idea and gave the most appropriate ranking.

Outside the Fengtian Hall, a group of tribute students awaited their final fate in the evening breeze.

It was early evening, and the lanterns were just coming on. They stood on both sides of the steps, watching the lights in the palace light up, their eyes burning with increasing intensity.

at last.

Drums and music resounded.

The official in charge of issuing decrees was summoned.

The roster announcement begins.

(End of this chapter)