The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 54 Weird Palace Examination Questions
In order to avoid suspicion, Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing did not compete for the position of chief examiner of this imperial examination.

What they do seems fair, but it is not fair at all!
Because the examination questions have to be submitted to the cabinet for approval, the chief minister of the cabinet must know the examination questions.

Before the Jiajing Dynasty, the descendants and even relatives and friends of the chief minister of the cabinet generally did not participate in the imperial examinations in those years. This was called true avoidance of suspicion.

Unfortunately, after the Jiajing Dynasty, no one talked about this rule anymore.

Because Yan Song and his son even sold the examination questions in order to make money!

After the 26th year of Jiajing, during the more than 10 to 20 years when Yan Song and his son were in power, all kinds of monsters could get their names on the imperial examination list, while few talented people emerged from the imperial examinations during those years.

Therefore, the list of Jinshi in the Dingwei year of the 26th year of the Jiajing reign is hailed as the best list of imperial examinations in the Ming and Qing dynasties. This list not only included the two chief ministers of the cabinet, Zhang Juzheng and Li Chunfang, but also a large number of cabinet ministers and six ministers.

It can be said that after the downfall of Yan Song and his son, the political situation in the twenty or thirty years until the early Wanli period was dominated by the Jinshi who passed the Dingwei exam in the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing.

In fact, it is not that the Jinshi candidate of Dingwei in the 26th year of Jiajing was really the best in Ming and Qing Dynasties. The main reason is that many Jinshi candidates in the subsequent imperial examinations during the reign of Yan Song and his son were garbage who bought the exam questions. That is why the Jinshi candidate of Dingwei in the 26th year of Jiajing seemed so awesome.

What Yan Song and his son did caused the subsequent cabinet chiefs to stop observing the rules.

For example, during the period when Zhang Juzheng served as the Prime Minister, his eldest son Zhang Jingxiu, second son Zhang Sixiu, and third son Zhang Maoxiu all participated in the metropolitan examination and the palace examination, and Zhang Maoxiu was the top scorer and Zhang Sixiu was the second!
For example, Zhang Siwei.

This guy is actually even worse.

Why do you say that?
After the imperial examination was over and the list of successful candidates was released, it was usually submitted to Emperor Wanli for review before it could be posted.

The day before the results were announced, around 5 p.m., when it was almost dark, Yu Youcai finally hurried to the imperial study holding the huge list of successful candidates.

Wanli really wanted to see how shameless Zhang Siwei was.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, he ordered Duke Chengguo Zhu Yingzhen to come forward and help unfold the huge list of tribute scholars and scan the names one by one.

Sure enough, Zhang Siwei’s son Zhang Jiazheng and Shen Shixing’s son Shen Yongmao were both on the list, and even Yang Bo’s grandson Yang Yuanxiang was on the list, and they were all at the top!

This guy not only told his son the test questions, he also leaked them to his relatives and friends!
Why do you say that?
Because there were many historical celebrities on this list of tribute scholars, Ye Xianggao, Fang Congzhe, Cui Jingrong, Li Hualong and others were all on the list, and they were ranked behind Zhang Jiazheng, Shen Yongmao and Yang Yuanxiang.

It's really a big joke in the world!

Seeing this, Wanli couldn't help but snort coldly.

Yu Youcai shrank back in fear upon seeing this, and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, but is there something wrong with this list of tribute scholars?"

The problem is huge.

But, it's not your problem.

Wanli thought for a moment, then pointed at the names of Ye Xianggao, Fang Congzhe, and Cui Jingrong and said, "The results are all in. There's nothing more to say. Just don't accept these three as your disciples."

what?
why?
Yu Youcai didn't dare to ask, he could only nod repeatedly and then rolled up the list of tribute scholars.

Then, he pulled out a stack of manuscript paper from his bosom, handed it over respectfully, and said carefully, "Your Majesty, these are the palace examination questions issued by the cabinet. Please take a look."

Aren’t the palace examination questions set by the emperor of the time?
Why did it become the cabinet that came out?

In fact, the emperor of the time rarely set questions for the palace examination because it was too troublesome.

The palace examination questions are generally eight-part essays of about a thousand words, and there are more than one essay, at least five or six alternative essays.

The questions in this palace examination are for those who have already become tribute scholars and are about to be named on the list of successful candidates.

Can an emperor write an eight-part essay better than the average Jinshi to test others?

Maybe, but there are very few such emperors.

Moreover, there is no need for the emperor to rack his brains to write five or six wonderful eight-part essays.

Therefore, the questions for the palace examination were usually written by the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet and then given to the emperor to choose.

Wanli decided not to choose.

He took the test paper, nodded slightly and said, "Well, I'll take a look at it first."

As a result, he kept watching for several days, and until March 14, when the palace examination was about to begin, he still hadn't been selected.

The cabinet was extremely anxious. Yu Youcai was being pressed by Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing, who came to ask questions every day. Their reason was that the palace examination questions had so many words that it would take time to copy over 300 copies or to typeset and print them.

Of course Wanli knew why they were so anxious.

These two guys were afraid that he would mess up again, so they didn't choose the palace examination questions set by the cabinet.

If this is true, Zhang Jiazheng, Shen Yongmao and Yang Yuanxiang will probably make a fool of themselves.

Without prepared answers, the essays written by Zhang Jiazheng, Shen Yongmao and Yang Yuanxiang would probably not even be as good as those of the Juren candidates!

Wanli really didn't plan to choose the palace examination questions set by the cabinet, he planned to set the questions himself!

Can this work?
of course can.

Because the questions for the palace examination were nominally set by the current emperor, even if the essays were prepared by the cabinet, they were still considered to be set by the current emperor.

There is no problem at all if he wants to make up his own test questions.

It was impossible for Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing to hold his hands and force him to choose a palace examination question set by the cabinet.

On March 15, the eleventh year of the Wanli reign, Dingyou, the emperor went to the Huangji Hall to test the tribute candidates.

At about the hour of Mao, when the sky was just getting light, all the civil and military officials lined up in neat rows in the square in front of the Huangji Palace as if they were attending a court meeting.

The successful candidates who passed the imperial examination were guided by officials from the Ministry of Rites and lined up in two neat square formations on both sides of the steps in front of the Huangji Hall.

"Pa pa pa pa", the whips sounded nine times, and all the civil and military officials and all the tribute students knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor".

Wanli got off the dragon chariot, walked slowly up the steps, and sat on the dragon throne. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he smiled wickedly. Then he raised his hand and said, "No need to be polite. Stand up."

Next, the ritual officer of the Honglu Temple will ask for the examination questions.

Wanli did not choose the test questions set by the cabinet, so where did these test questions come from?
After the ceremonial officer of the Honglu Temple stood at the steps in front of the dragon throne with his hands clasped and bowed according to the palace examination etiquette, Li Xuancheng came up with a tray.

Originally, there should have been a pile of copied or printed palace examination questions on the tray.

This time, there was a scroll on the tray!
Wanli picked up the scroll and put it into the hands of the ceremonial officer of the Honglu Temple, then said majestically: "Read out the examination questions."

what?
The palace examination questions are usually eight-part essays of thousands of words. Can the candidates remember them after reading them once?

At this moment, all the candidates were still standing on both sides of the steps with their hands down, waiting for the examination questions to be distributed, but they had no paper or pen in their hands.

The ceremonial officer of the Honglu Temple was stunned for a moment, then he respectfully took three steps back holding the test questions, then turned around and unfolded the scroll.

This time, he couldn't help but be stunned. How should he answer this question?

He was stunned for a moment, but still said in a loud voice: "The questions of the palace examination are simple and in the emperor's heart!"

Then it was gone.

The palace examination questions are just these four words.

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials and the tribute students were stunned.

Are the palace examination questions set like this?

Don't say it, there really is.

Historically, after the dispute over the foundation of the country, the emperor and his ministers broke off completely. Wanli ignored state affairs and often did not choose the questions for the palace examinations. On several occasions, he did not choose the questions set by the cabinet. It was not until the palace examination was about to begin that he lost his temper!
For example, the examination questions for the imperial examination in the 20th year of Wanli's reign were: folk customs and laws and regulations.

For example, the examination questions for the Wuxu Palace Examination in the 26th year of the Wanli reign were: The emperor’s politics and the emperor’s heart.

For example, the question for the imperial examination in the Jiachen year of the Wanli reign was: The ruler and his ministers overcame difficulties.

In history, he really messed up.

It's still good now. "The letter is in the emperor's heart" at least comes from the "Four Books and Five Classics". Although it is a bit weird, it is also a standard palace examination question.

(End of this chapter)