The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 89 Instant Sainthood
The atmosphere in the arena had completely changed, transforming from cold and solemn to noisy and boisterous.

The scholars from Zhejiang Province enthusiastically surrounded Li Qi. They were not fools; Li Qi must have intervened, otherwise why would His Majesty have retracted his order?

At the edge of the crowd, a child of only four or five years old held his father's hand and stared wide-eyed at the scene.

In the decades that followed, he would always think back to everything that had happened that day, recall the sacred words spoken by his predecessors, and then calmly face all hardships and difficulties. He has a resounding name in history—Yu Qian.

Scholars from all over the country watched the scene unfold with complex expressions; it was an outcome no one had anticipated.

Li Qi, who was always sharp and pioneering, and who was also the leader of the Northerners, actually let the Zhejiang School go.

Although judging from the current outcome, the scholars of eastern Zhejiang all owe a debt of gratitude to Li Qi, they can be considered to have arrived at the same destination despite their different paths.

"There's no need to take you under my wing. But if you're truly interested, I have something to say to you all."

"Lord Jinghe, please speak."

“What Lord Jinghe said must have profound truth to it.”

"How could we not listen to what Lord Jinghe said?"

As the voices reached his ears, Li Qi's reputation on his system panel also soared. It had been a long time since he had seen such a big surge since reaching 94, which showed how bountiful his harvest was today.

"Everyone in the world knows that I was once the son of a duke or marquis, but I was exiled to the outskirts of the capital. I attained enlightenment in Jiangpu, and fortunately, the late emperor took pity on me and allowed me to return to the capital, which is why I am where I am today."

Hearing Li Qi recount this story, everyone was deeply moved. He was truly a legendary figure; perhaps only such an extraordinary person could accomplish such an extraordinary feat!
"Therefore, my view of the world is different from that of ordinary people. I have seen scholars from the north lamenting the difficulty of passing the imperial examinations, while all the successful candidates in the imperial examinations have gone to the Jiangnan, Huguang, and Fujian regions. There are even words of resentment and hatred."

These words resonated deeply with the scholars from the North. Although Northerners still couldn't achieve good rankings, with Southerners dominating the top spots in the first and second classes, it was much better than before when they couldn't even get a decent number of places. Back then, they were truly crushed in the imperial examinations.

"The Ming Dynasty covers all four directions, so how can we distinguish between them? Therefore, I proposed the system of separate examinations to the late emperor. Its original intention was to bridge the gap between the North and the South, not to favor one side. Over the years, Xie Jin, a talented scholar from Jiangxi, has been my friend, and Wang Gen, a scholar from Jiangxi, is my disciple. If there are any outstanding talents in the court, I will recommend them regardless of whether they are from the North or the South."

But prejudices in people's hearts are like mountains, so difficult to shake. I am still called the leader of the Northerners, and even the imperial palace thinks so.

Therefore, I fear that all of you here today, and indeed all people throughout the world, believe that I have come to Zhejiang to avenge a great humiliation, to suppress Zhejiang, and to unleash my full power!

Li Qi sighed, his words filled with boundless desolation and an indescribable sense of emotion.

Many of the students from Zhejiang East who surrounded him lowered their heads in shame, and most of the people in the room looked somewhat unnatural. At this point, they had to admit that they had been judging a gentleman by their own petty standards.

"Today, Zhejiang has been reborn, and new learning has been created with the Ming Dynasty as its guiding principle. I earnestly hope that you will set aside regional prejudices and generously teach the northerners so as to spread more academic knowledge. If you can promote the Ming Dynasty, you will not have failed to live up to today's expectations!"

After Li Qi finished speaking, there was a moment of silence in the room, followed by a flood of bows and salutations.

Whether they were from the south or the north, they all looked at Li Qi with complicated expressions, and only one sentence echoed in their hearts—there really are people of such noble character in this world!
There really are legendary saints in this world!

No one expected that after reasoning with them and appealing to their emotions, Li Qi only hoped that the Zhejiang School could abandon its North-South divide and work together to revitalize the Ming Dynasty.

He had no selfish motives whatsoever, only a desire for the public good!
Li Qi sighed inwardly. If he had another ten years, he wouldn't have needed to say these things. Ten years would have been enough to establish an academy, recruit people from both the North and the South, and build a school of thought that would transcend the differences between the North and the South, so as to lay the foundation for a political party in the future.

But he only has less than ten months left.

He could only try to influence as many people as possible. He remembered that Yu Qian was from eastern Zhejiang. As long as he could influence more people like that, all his efforts would not have been in vain.

As for completely changing the North-South divide with just a few words, he doesn't think he's that powerful. Time is a great force; all feelings and favors will eventually fade away.

Moreover, he only had a favor to the Zhejiang East School. Jiangnan is so vast, and there are also Sichuan, Huguang, and Fujian. Bridging the north and south is not so simple.

"Duke Jinghe!"

"Duke Jinghe!"

"Duke Jinghe!"

The shouts echoed through the heavens, filled with boundless longing and respect.

[Clan Chief Reputation +1, Current Reputation 95.]

[Clan Chief Reputation +1, Current Reputation 96.]

【…】

[Clan Chief Reputation +1, Current Reputation 98.]

Suddenly, a system voice came through, and Li Qi discovered that his reputation was rising at an alarming rate.

Li Qi looked around at the crowd cheering in unison and understood why: Zhejiang East had gathered more than 70% of the most renowned Confucian scholars in the world.

This was a grand gathering of scholars, unprecedented since the Song Dynasty. Regardless of what these people might think in the future, at this moment, he was universally recognized as a sage!

His reputation should naturally be unparalleled in the world!
……

The outcome of the Zhejiang East Conference was even better than the best result everyone had expected.

A grand reconciliation between Li Qi and the people of the South, a patriotic education for the Ming Dynasty, and a grand ceremony to crown Li Qi as a saint.

"My brother-in-law's loyalty truly moves me. If everyone in the world were like him, what problem could the Ming Dynasty not solve?"

Li Qi gained immense prestige in eastern Zhejiang, but Zhu Di showed no fear whatsoever. He was deeply impressed by Li Qi's academic achievement of "taking the Ming Dynasty as the guiding principle," and his fondness for Li Qi surpassed that for anyone else.

"In the future, many more loyal and devoted officials will serve the Ming Dynasty. I am not the first, nor will I be the last!"

Zhu Di shook his head and said seriously, "Jinghe, you are the first and the most important one. Your actions have extended the Ming Dynasty's fortunes by at least fifty years. I really don't know how to thank you enough."

You are already a living saint. I promise you that after your death, you will be honored in the Temple of Literature, ranked after the Ten Sages.

He is worthy of being enshrined in the Confucian Temple!

The highest pursuit of scholars is even more important than being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The Imperial Ancestral Temple represents meritorious officials, while the Confucian Temple represents the highest academic achievements.

He was a saint in life, and he will be enshrined in the Temple of Literature as a saint after his death. From then on, whether in history books, classic texts, or when people think of him, they will respectfully call him "Master Li".

For Li Qi, what he really wanted to know was whether there would be any achievement items as a reward after being honored in the Confucian Temple, since that was no simple matter.

"I thank you, Your Majesty, I..."

Before he could finish speaking, he felt the world spinning around him, and then everything went black before his eyes. He no longer knew what the world was.

After he slowly regained consciousness, he noticed through the decorative patterns that he was still in the palace. The eunuchs who were serving him rushed out of the inner palace with great joy when they saw that Li Qi had woken up, obviously to call for someone.

About fifteen minutes later, Li Qi saw Emperor Zhu Di hurry in, followed by the Empress and Zhu Gaochi, all three with worried expressions on their faces.

"Lie down properly, don't bow."

"Jinghe, you're finally awake. If you hadn't woken up, I wouldn't know how to explain myself to Lin'an."

Zhu Di's expression showed his genuine anxiety. "You have been unconscious for three hours. Just now, without saying a word, you vomited a large mouthful of blood, which was mixed with black blood. I thought you had been poisoned."

Li Qi remained calm, even smiling, and said, "I know my own body very well; I'm just at the end of my life. It's Your Majesty, the Empress, and Your Highness who have worried me; it's my fault."

Zhu Di was practically ready to curse, but in the end, he reluctantly retracted his words, saying, "You should take good care of yourself..."

The Empress comforted him, saying, "Jinghe, your health is the most important thing; matters of state can wait..."

"Life and death are preordained, wealth and honor are determined by fate. If a body cannot be properly restored no matter how much you try to cultivate it, then it is best to make it do more work."

Li Qi himself did not expect that his health would deteriorate so quickly, and that it would even take the form of a coma. This time he was unconscious for three hours, what about next time?
An indescribable sense of urgency arose in his heart.

"Your Majesty, I have always known that I have a serious health problem, but I expected that I would have another year or two. However, I never expected that I would fall into a coma. This time I was unconscious for three hours. Next time it may be for a day or even two days. In the end, I may never wake up again."

These words left the emperor and his two companions somewhat disheartened and alarmed, for Li Qi's words were very realistic. There were many such cases in history, and if this happened to an emperor, it could even change the fate of a country, because it was easy for false edicts to be conveyed while he was in a coma.

"I have always had a matter of great importance to the nation on my mind, but I felt that I should wait for a more appropriate time. Now that this matter has suddenly occurred, I do not know what the next situation will be like. Since Your Majesty and the Empress are both here, I will just speak directly."

The Emperor and Empress exchanged a glance and asked in unison with curiosity, "Is it for an important matter?"

"What could possibly be so worrying to you, Li Jinghe, that you still can't let go of it even in these circumstances?"

"This matter can only be known to the Emperor and Empress."

Zhu Gaochi was taken aback when he heard this, and then he met Li Qi's eyes. He instantly shuddered, and a tingling sensation traveled from his spine to the back of his head!
"Father, Mother, I will wait outside the palace."

He lowered his head, concealing his reddened eyes and the tears that were about to fall, and walked out of the hall.

Stepping outside the palace, the setting sun was already sinking in the west, its crimson hue carrying a hint of impending doom. Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but think of Li Qi's terminally ill body.

And this dying man is about to make one last desperate gamble, for him—

Zhu Gaochi!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Li Zi, in his time, served his superiors with loyalty, treated others with sincerity, presented himself with virtue, and made friends with integrity. He always kept his word and fulfilled his promises. As the ancient saying goes, "A promise from Ji Bu is worth more than a hundred pounds of gold." People at the time said, "Ji Bu is kept at a distance, but Li Zi is right in front of us!" — *The Official History of Confucian Scholars*

(End of this chapter)