The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 513 Wen Tiren and Xu Guangqi

The 26th year of Wanli was the year of the imperial examination.

This year was very important for the dynasty that recruited officials through the imperial examination system.

Those who wanted to enter officialdom through the imperial examination regarded the examination as the most important thing in their life, without a doubt.

The Imperial Examination can be said to be the focus of attention of scholars all over the world. Every year when the Imperial Examination comes, scholars will be as excited as if they have been injected with chicken blood.

Even those who were not qualified to go to Beijing to take the exam would call their friends and talk, making it more lively than the Chinese New Year.

Wanli seemed to think that things were not lively enough, so he dropped an explosive piece of news during the New Year.

He actually wanted to more than double the number of candidates selected in the imperial examination!

This is certainly a good thing for those students from poor families, but it is not a good thing for the gentry who are obsessed with fighting for power and profit.

Wanli clearly wanted to let those scholars from common families take away their jobs.

Unexpectedly, this is just the appetizer.

The imperial examination hadn't even begun yet, but Wanli actually ordered the cabinet to issue a document, asking all officials above the fourth rank in the northern and southern capitals to submit a memorial to explain themselves!

This kind of thing was nothing in the era when officials were evaluated based on the imperial examination system.

Anyway, submitting a memorial to explain oneself was just a formality. No emperor would really remove officials of the fourth rank or above in the northern and southern capitals.

They submitted memorials to the emperor to explain themselves, and the emperor tried to persuade them to stay with his gentle words. This was the customary rule.

No emperor would deliberately break this rule, or in other words, no emperor would dare to risk offending all the civil servants in the court to break this rule.

Therefore, before the Wanli Dynasty, submitting a memorial to the emperor to report one's crimes was just a joke, and no official was afraid of losing his job because of reporting one's crimes.

But things are different now.

The current emperor Wanli is an extremely rebellious emperor.

This guy just picks on civil servants.

What’s even more terrifying is that this guy doesn’t follow any established rules at all.

They submitted a memorial confessing their faults, and this guy might really take the opportunity to remove them!

As soon as the cabinet issued the document, all the major government offices in the two capitals of the north and the south were immediately shrouded in gloomy clouds. I wonder how many officials were thinking about how to deal with this matter with gloomy faces.

If they could, they would naturally not submit a memorial to confess their mistakes.

The problem is that Wanli has issued the decree and the letter from the cabinet has arrived. Anyone who dares not submit a memorial to explain himself would be disobeying the decree.

In the past, disobeying an imperial order might not have been a big deal.

Anyone who dares to disobey the imperial order will be dismissed from office and stripped of his title, which would be the least of his punishment. He may also be confiscated, exiled, or even dragged away and beheaded.

There is nothing they can do.

Wanli was a warmongering guy, and he had countless troops under his command. It was obvious that disobeying his order was tantamount to seeking death, and they had no chance of defeating him.

They could only delay time as much as possible and think of ways to keep their official positions or even defeat the little emperor.

While those officials in the northern and southern capitals who had ulterior motives were still trying their best to delay time, the Wuxu Imperial Examination started on time.

This time, thousands of candidates were selected.

Those candidates who came from aristocratic families were unhappy, but those who came from commoner families were extremely excited.

There were only more than 300 successful candidates out of 5,000 to 6,000 candidates. It was really difficult for them to get their names on the list.

There is no way. Unless you are a genius, no one else can compare with those scholars who have been immersed in books since childhood.

Where do so many geniuses come from in this world?

Most candidates who come from ordinary civilian backgrounds rely on hard work and compete with their own people.

Fortunately, there are not many real gentry in this world, and there are only a few hundred gentry candidates in each session.

Generally, out of the hundreds of candidates from the aristocratic families, only about a hundred will pass the imperial examination, and the remaining hundred or so places are equivalent to more than 5,000 candidates from the common people's families competing for them.

In other words, for candidates from commoner backgrounds, it is equivalent to selecting one Jinshi from fifty Juren. You can imagine how difficult it is.

It’s different now. There are thousands of candidates being recruited this time.

Even if those candidates from the aristocratic families can take half of the places, there are still five or six hundred places left, which means one out of ten for them.

What's more, there may not be five or six hundred candidates from the gentry in a single imperial examination, and not every candidate from the gentry is necessarily better than them.

Among the candidates from the aristocratic families, there were also some who were hopeless or did not study hard.

It is very likely that the number of places left for them is not just five or six hundred, but seven or eight hundred!

Now their chances of passing the imperial examination are much greater.

How could they not be excited?
They are all full of energy these days during the imperial examination. If one of them is selected among a few people, their chances of passing the exam are too great.

So, how many candidates from aristocratic families made the list, and how many candidates from commoner families made the list?
Wanli also wanted to know this.

On the 27th day of the second month, around the hour of Mao, when it was almost dark, Li Tingji and Zeng Tongheng finally arrived together, carrying the huge list of tribute scholars.

The reason why Li Tingji asked Zeng Tongheng to join him was out of respect for this old minister, and also because the list of tribute scholars in this issue was really too large.

When they announce the results, they want the candidates who are far away to be able to see them clearly, so the words cannot be written too small.

In the past, a list several meters long could only list more than 300 tribute scholars.

This time there are thousands of candidates, and it is impossible for them to write a list that is more than ten meters long. Even the public list is not that long.

They could only write on two pieces of paper several meters long, with each person carrying one.

It was already time for dinner, and little Zhu Changxun was so hungry that he was touching his stomach, but he still sat in Wanli's arms and waited with great interest.

Because the imperial examination is so important for governing the country.

Now is the time to create a prosperous era, so Wanli is engaging in military expansion and expanding territory to lay the foundation for his prosperous era.

When the world is truly peaceful, the focus will not be on waging wars everywhere, but on dealing with the civil servants in the court.

This is the case with the Taiping Emperor. Although military force still needs to be maintained and even continuously developed, there are basically no wars to fight, and conflicts generally focus on the struggle for interests within the dynasty.

Civil servants were the most eager to fight for power and profit, so to regulate the civil servants in the court, the imperial examination was the most important task. Wanli had already taught him this in detail, and he was naturally full of anticipation for the first list of tribute scholars he would see in his life.

The lights in the imperial study were bright.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli ordered Ke Yong and Sun Hai to slowly unfold the first list.

Soon, he saw a familiar name.

Zhao Bingzhong!
This person is not famous in history because of any extraordinary achievements.

The key point is that this guy's top-ranking examination paper is the only top-ranking examination paper of the Ming Dynasty that has been passed down to later generations.

In other words, in history, the first place in the imperial examination of the 26th year of Wanli was Zhao Bingzhong.

This guy's test paper was really well written. His handwriting was neater and more beautiful than printed ones, which was admirable to look at.

Wanli couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's Zhao Bingzhong's background?"

After the imperial examination list came out, the Emperor liked to ask about the candidates' resumes.

Li Tingji had experienced this once before, so he was naturally very clear about it.

He would naturally remember what His Majesty wanted to know.

Otherwise, if the Emperor asks this and he cannot answer, he will not be qualified as the examiner.

Therefore, as the chief examiner, he has been checking and recording the resumes of the selected candidates in the past few days, and other matters have been left to the co-examiner Zeng Tongheng.

He memorized the resumes of thousands of tribute scholars!
Now, His Majesty really started asking questions.

He said without hesitation: "Zhao Bingzhong is considered a member of an aristocratic family. His father, Zhao Xi, passed the imperial examination during the Jiajing period and served as the magistrate of Wenshui County in Shanxi.

"I have also investigated Zhao Xi. He has a good reputation as an official and often uses his salary to help the poor. He also named his fourth son Zhongzheng Gongzhi, which shows that his inherited ideals are quite good."

Oh, that’s not bad.

You checked it so clearly.

This Zhao Bingzhong is not bad, at least he has good family education.

Wanli nodded slightly and continued reading.

This time, he saw another celebrity.

Li Zhizao.

The reason why this person is remembered in history is not because of any extraordinary achievements.

The reason why this guy left his name in history was because of the "Kunyu World Map" he drew, which was later called a national treasure in the map world.

Now all he needs is someone who can draw maps.

Wanli asked directly: "What is the background of this Li Zhizao?"

You'll definitely like this.

Li Tingji said without hesitation: "Li Zhizao is a member of the garrison army, under the Zhejiang Dusi. His father once served as the deputy commander of the Zhejiang Dusi.

This person was good at drawing maps. In the 13th year of the Wanli reign, when he was only 20 years old, he hand-painted a very detailed map of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. The woodblock printed map of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty in Nanzhili was based on his hand-painted map.

Oh, this guy has been famous for drawing maps for a long time.

Well, not bad.

Wanli nodded slightly and continued reading.

As a result, when he saw a person's name, his face turned dark.

Wen Tiren!
This guy is a prime example of a civil servant fighting for power and profit. He is a famous treacherous minister in history who does nothing but fight for power and profit.

How can I allow a treacherous minister like you to harm my descendants?
The problem is that this guy hasn't even entered officialdom yet, and hasn't had time to do anything bad, so he can't be killed for no reason.

How to do?
Then don't give this guy a chance to do bad things.

Wanli said with a dark face: "The three words 'Wen Tiren' make me angry just by looking at them. I ranked last in the palace examination."

what?
Are you angry just looking at this?
This person is not available!
OK, I remember.

Li Tingji nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Zeng Tongheng was so confused when he saw this.

You just make me angry when I see you, so you rank someone last?

Wanli continued to look down with a dark face.

However, his expression soon softened.

Because he saw a talent he wanted.

Xu Guangqi.

This person seems to be a bit controversial in later generations.

However, this guy is the most famous agronomist in history.

This is enough.

He needs such talents now.

As for controversy, there will be no controversy when it comes to the people he chooses.

He asked directly: "What is Xu Guangqi's background?"

This person is also quite famous.

Li Tingji said without hesitation: "Xu Guangqi is from Huating County, Songjiang Prefecture, Nanzhili. He was born into a farming family and won the first place in the Nanzhili provincial examination last year.

This man seems to have a special fondness for farming. Before he passed the imperial examination, he had already published several books on agricultural policy. Unfortunately, I have not yet read them."

Well, not bad.

I just need someone who is good at agricultural administration.

(End of this chapter)