How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 244 The Way to Defend the World, Discussing the Truth of the World

As the year draws to a close, Beijing is bustling with activity, and the Jiangnan Guild Hall next to Qianmen Street is no exception.

Inside the spacious and bright main hall, over a hundred scholars from Jiangnan, who would be taking the imperial examinations the following year, were crammed together. The aroma of tea, the scent of ink, and the white breath exhaled by the people mingled together.

A young scholar dressed in a blue robe stood on a bench, holding a newly delivered copy of the "Imperial Ming Bulletin" in his hand, his voice strained as he read the article from the front page.

The article title was a long string of words:
"It is certainly right to show compassion to relatives and princes, but how can the imperial examination system be implemented without proper methods? — A rebuttal to Zhu Siwenjun"

The signature at the bottom is Wei Daozi.

The article is written in a refined and literary style, but its meaning is quite sharp.

First, they say things like "a strong branch and a weak trunk lead to internal strife," using the Rebellion of the Seven States in the Western Han Dynasty and the Disaster of the Eight Princes in the Western Jin Dynasty to scare people. They say that if members of the imperial clan are allowed to take the imperial examinations to become officials, over time, the court will be full of people with the surname Zhu. Aren't you afraid that your own family will seize your throne?
It is also said that the imperial examination is a "national instrument" that emphasizes fairness. If Your Majesty uses it to reward your own relatives, you are breaking the rules and will lose the trust of all scholars in the country.

Finally, the emperor brought up the Han and Tang dynasties, in which there were no restrictions on members of the imperial family entering officialdom, and said that if the emperor continued to do this, sooner or later "members of the imperial family and relatives of the empress would fill the court with favors and rewards, excluding those from humble backgrounds, leading to the corruption of the government, leaving those from humble backgrounds with no way out, and ultimately causing their demise."

Each time a passage was read aloud, a buzzing sound would erupt from below.

After the reading was finished, the hall was quiet for a moment, then erupted into chaos.

"Excellent! Mr. Wei Daozi is truly a wise and shrewd strategist!" A young scholar surnamed Li jumped up first, his face flushed red. "Every word he said hits the nail on the head! Once the imperial family seizes power, will there be any way for us poor scholars to survive?"

An older scholar surnamed Wang standing nearby frowned and said, "Brother Li, you can't say that. What Mr. Zhu Siwen said is true. There are starving people everywhere in Shaanxi and Henan. It's a good thing that the imperial family donated grain to save lives. It's unreasonable to deny them any way to survive."

“A way out?” The Li family scholar retorted, “There are countless ways out, why insist on the imperial examination? It’s the foundation of our scholars’ livelihood! Mr. Wei said we could emulate the Song Dynasty system, establish the Zongke and Nanban official examinations, and provide them with generous salaries to support us!”

In a corner, a dark-skinned northern scholar in an old cotton robe suddenly interjected: "A generous salary? Where does the money come from? It's just added to the burden of us farmers! I think the Emperor should let members of the imperial family take the exam too. If they pass, it's their ability; if they don't, they shouldn't complain. That's true fairness!"

"What do you know!" The scholar surnamed Li turned his head and glared at him. "How much do you, a northerner, know about the ins and outs of this? Do you think that just because everyone is sitting in the same examination hall and taking the same paper, it will necessarily be fair? They have plenty of connections."

They argued back and forth, their faces flushed. Most people thought the righteous man was right and had a deep understanding of the situation. A few thought Zhu Siwen was right, or like the northern scholar, they felt that both sides had their own agendas.

No one noticed a young man sitting in the corner by the window. Dressed in slightly worn blue clothes, he stood upright, like an ordinary candidate for the imperial examinations. He held a cup of tea, sipping slowly, his eyes half-closed, as if he were dozing off, or perhaps listening intently.

This is Emperor Chongzhen, who came out incognito.

As he listened to a young scholar speaking with a Wu accent quoting classical texts, praising "Wei Daozi" to the skies and refuting "Zhu Siwen" to utter utter discredits, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, as if there was a hint of a smile, but not quite.

Cao Huachun leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Master, every word Qian Muzhai said was like a knife to the heart. If we let them talk, it might ruin everything."

Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand gently, without saying a word. But he understood perfectly well what was going on.

He's not afraid of anything that could undermine his moral compass! What he fears least is a "great debate on the truth," as long as everyone's concerns are brought to the table, things can always be clarified. What he worries about is people not speaking up to his face but stabbing him in the back.

He left a few copper coins for tea, got up, and quietly left the guild hall. A gust of cold wind made him feel more refreshed.

He already knew what his next move should be.

……

As evening approached, candles were already lit in the Wenhua Hall of the Forbidden City.

Emperor Chongzhen had changed back into his everyday clothes and was seated behind his desk. Yang Sichang and Niu Jinxing stood below him. Niu Jinxing, who also served as the chief editor of the "Imperial Ming Bulletin," wore a worried expression and held a stack of documents in his hand.

“Your Majesty,” Niu Jinxing spoke first, his voice tinged with urgency, “This article by Wei Daozi is full of classical allusions and alarmist rhetoric, and it has a great influence among scholars. If we allow it to ferment, I fear… I fear that the proposal to ‘lift the ban on feudal domains’ will fail before it even begins! Should I write an article immediately to refute it?”

Yang Sichang also bowed and said, "Juming's concerns are very valid. What is even more worrying is that if speech is completely unleashed, some villains may take the opportunity to slander and incite trouble, and the situation may be difficult to control."

Emperor Chongzhen looked at them with a calm expression, even a knowing smile on his face.

“Refute? Of course we must refute.” His voice was steady. “But it’s not you who will refute it; it’s me personally.”

Both of them were startled and looked up at the emperor.

"These past few days, I've been traveling incognito and have overheard a lot of talk from the common people and scholars." Chongzhen stood up and walked into the hall, the candlelight casting a long shadow of him. "Wei Daozi has made his point clear, good! He's laid bare all his little schemes. That's actually a good thing."

He stopped and glanced at his two ministers: "In managing the Yellow River, is it more effective to block it or to dredge it?"

Before the two could answer, he replied, “Of course it is to guide. ‘Opening up the borders’ is something that must be done. It concerns the fate of the nation and involves the interests of many people. It is even more important than river management. If we do not first make the reasons clear to the people of the world and expose all kinds of selfishness and concerns, and just push it forward, we will definitely run into obstacles everywhere and achieve half the result with twice the effort.”

“Therefore,” Chongzhen said resolutely, “my mind is made up. In the next issue of the Imperial Ming Bulletin, I will personally write an article under the name ‘Zhu Siwen’ to respond to the defender of morality! If he wants to argue, I will argue with him thoroughly!”

Upon hearing this, Niu Jinxing hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is wise! However... however, Your Majesty, with your supreme status, personally engaging in a battle of wits with your subjects, is that...?"

"Is this improper?" Chongzhen took up his words, smiled slightly, "I am not afraid. Today I will tell the world that this world does not belong to me, Zhu Youjian, alone, nor does it belong to the scholar-officials. It belongs to all the people! Since it concerns the people, the principles should be put before them!"

He looked at Niu Jinxing:

"Juming, immediately open a 'Readers' Comments' section in the newspaper! We welcome submissions from scholars and commoners across the land. Whether you agree with 'Zhu Siwen' or support 'The Defender of the Way,' as long as your comments are substantive and do not involve personal attacks, we will select excerpts for publication! I want this truth to become clearer through debate!"

Yang Sichang pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty's heart is as vast as the four seas, and we, your subjects, are in awe. However... in doing so, it is inevitable that dissenting voices will arise. If some ignorant commoners are misled by those with ulterior motives and utter rebellious words..."

"Since I dared to speak out, I'm not afraid to hear different opinions!" Chongzhen interrupted him. "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. What I want is not an officialdom that is all talk and no action, incapable of doing anything right! What I want is an officialdom that is open to discussion, dares to think, and is full of vitality! Only in this way can my various new policies take root in people's hearts and be truly implemented!"

His gaze was intense as he looked at his two trusted advisors:

"I reasoned with them to make everyone understand that they are also part of this world! You, Minister Yang, Minister Niu, and even all the scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants of the world, all have a part!"

Yang Sichang and Niu Jinxing stood frozen in place. These words, like thunder in their ears, were a truth they had never heard before, despite their extensive reading of Confucian classics and their experience in the ups and downs of officialdom. "The world belongs to all the people." This statement seemed somewhat contrary to the ancestral rules of the Ming Dynasty!

The two exchanged a glance, deeply shocked, and after a long while, bowed and replied:
"Your subject... will obey Your Majesty's decree!"

Emperor Chongzhen nodded, then turned to look at the deepening night outside the window. An unprecedented storm was about to be unleashed by his own hands.

He firmly believes that the truth will become clearer through debate.

……

At roughly the same time, thousands of miles away in Hanyang, North Korea, a completely different world was unfolding.

In a side hall of Changdeokgung Palace, the charcoal brazier crackled and popped, but it couldn't dispel the bone-chilling cold.

Huang Taiji leaned back in the main seat covered with mink fur, his eyes half-closed. Fan Wencheng, Ning Wanwo, and several Han officials, as well as Park Changbeom and Han Run, several Joseon officials, all stood with their hands at their sides and bowed, barely breathing.

Fan Wencheng carefully considered the wording as he reported the regulations for the "Korean Imperial Examination":

"Your Majesty, the regulations for the special examination have been drafted. To avoid any unforeseen complications, I suggest that this examination may only test the classics and the eight-legged essay, without testing policy essays. The eight-legged essay format is rigorous and not easy to conceal treachery, which can prevent those Korean scholars from hiding rebellious words in their essays and expressing their longing for their homeland."

He spoke cautiously, displaying typical servile thinking: prioritizing stability and eliminating all potential risks.

Huang Taiji didn't even lift his eyelids, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest, when he suddenly let out a low, ambiguous laugh.

"Not going to test your policy essays?" He slowly sat up straight, his gaze sweeping over Fan Wencheng like a brush, then over Park Chang-beom and Han Run, who were trembling even more violently below.

"Mr. Fan, you're always thinking about blocking and preventing," he said calmly, yet with a heavy weight in his voice. "Can you really stop them from using their pens, and stop them from getting what they want?"

He stood up and walked into the hall. The light from the charcoal fire cast his tall shadow on the wall, swaying like a ghost.

"Eight-legged essays are nothing more than a stepping stone; how can they reveal one's true thoughts? What I need are not wooden figures who can only recite the classics."

He stopped in front of Park Chang-beom, looking down at the head that was almost hitting the ground, his voice suddenly turning stern:
"I'm granting them a path to advancement, and I also want to see who among them is truly loyal and who is merely going through the motions!"

He turned abruptly and gave Fan Wencheng his order, his words as firm as iron:

"By my decree: the special imperial examination in Korea must include an essay section! The topic is fixed—'On the Way of Loyalty to the Emperor and Obedience to His Majesty'!"

A cruel smile appeared on his face:

"Let those scholars write and speak for themselves how to be loyal and obedient! I want to use this exam to see which ones have queues on the back of their heads but no queues in their hearts!"

(End of this chapter)