The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

When Liu Mu returned to the dragon throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he saw the scholars still writing diligently. He immediately ordered the palace maids to bring them tea and some pastries.

These are all scholars from the north, who will be Liu Mu's sharp sword to suppress the gentry and wealthy merchants in the southeast. Naturally, he must demonstrate the demeanor of a benevolent ruler.

There's a saying that goes, "There is no compromise in politics. Only when one side completely overwhelms the other can it get what it wants or achieve its goal."

Those people in the southeast will definitely have to be dealt with.

Don't talk about the birth of capital; that's all nonsense. Because in his previous life, Liu Mu always thought that capitalist countries were good, only to find out later that they were a cancer.

The reason the British were able to capitalize and be the first to initiate the Industrial Revolution was not because the British were particularly capable, but because they had a group of weak and easily bullied people.

Can the people of China tolerate being without land and being forced to send their three- to six-year-old children to capitalists to clean chimneys as human labor in order to save costs?

The answer is definitely no.

If things really came to that, the people of China would rise up in rebellion and smash the imperial power and capital to pieces.

But the British are different. They not only tolerate their own children cleaning chimneys, but also tolerate capitalists' unlimited use of child labor, resulting in a 60% mortality rate among five-year-olds.

This is also the main reason why France, with its large population and strong mainland backing, couldn't compete with Britain during the same period, because British capitalists were more ruthless.

After four full hours, the palace examination finally came to an end. This was the only time in most scholars' lives that they would see the emperor. In order to avoid being disrespectful in front of the emperor, many scholars even endured not going to the toilet.

The palace examination only ranked candidates without eliminating any. After all the scholars left, Li Guangdi and others began grading papers all night long.

However, this time there were more people, almost all the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) from Beijing who had passed the formal imperial examinations were brought over to review the papers.

The next day at noon, all the examination papers of the top three scholars and the other scholars who had passed the imperial examinations arrived at Liu Mu's desk.

Each document had a colored sticker to cover the scholar's name, and there was also ash on the side to prevent the examiners from opening it and to ensure the fairness of the examination.

Look, this is what a court should look like! It's a political system perfectly suited for managing a large country, even without an increase in productivity!

Even Westerners in later generations didn't understand this thing, yet they kept practicing democracy and ended up with "democracy" instead.

When Liu Mu opened the seal, as expected, Xie Bo'an was the first place winner. Whether it was his calligraphy or his ability to solve Liu Mu's problem with the foreign tribe, his skills were top-notch.

But why is such a powerful person so unknown in history? It should never be like this. Liu Mu couldn't help but open Xie Bo'an's file and was shocked after reading it.

He passed the imperial examination at the age of ten and became a scholar at the age of twenty-eight. After writing a poem to bid farewell to the Yongli Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty, who had just been strangled by Wu Sangui, he was discovered by the Eight Banners Deputy Commander stationed in Taiyuan at the time, and his family was exterminated.

From then on, he and Qi Yanzhao, whose family property was also confiscated, hid in the Taihang Mountains for refuge. Over the years, the two survived by farming, studying, and hunting in the mountains.

Xie Bo'an is the main character without any cheat codes, right?

Liu Mu did not recognize the remaining two. The second-place scholar was Xue Jianian from Chang'an Prefecture, who was 51 years old, and the third-place scholar was Pan Jihe from Hejian Prefecture, who was 55 years old. Both of them were diligent scholars.

Liu Mu did not intend to meet with the two men, and instead appointed Xue Jianian and Pan Jihe as local prefects.

According to the custom of the Ming Dynasty, the second and third place winners, as appointed by the emperor, would enter the Hanlin Academy as compilers of the seventh rank due to the emperor's natural trust in them. They would then be promoted and given important positions, and would rise to prominence in a short period of time.

But Liu Mu didn't need that. He already had six ministers, including Zhou Peigong, and now he had Xie Bo'an, the top scholar, as a reserve, which was enough for him.

On the contrary, it is the local prefectures and counties that need real talent for governing the country. Letting them go down to gain experience for a few years and become local governors is not a waste of talent.

As for the other Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), they were all appointed as seventh-rank officials and entered the Six Ministries for internships. With their qualifications, they could quickly rise to prominence and become the foundation of the Han Dynasty.

After arranging these people, Liu Mu tapped on the table.

"Pan Feng, summon the newly appointed top scholar, Xie Bo'an, to the palace to see me. Remember, there must be gongs, drums, and firecrackers. Also, bring a Ferghana horse from the Imperial Stables!"

Xie Bo'an now has no family or political affiliation. All a genius scholar like him wants is to be remembered in history, and the emperor should try his best to satisfy that.

Upon hearing this, Pan Feng, who was guarding the gate, immediately went to greet the person with excitement. This was a great opportunity to have direct contact with the future high-ranking civil official, which would give him more support in the future.

……

At this time, Xie Bo'an was unaware that he had become the top scholar in the imperial examination and was congratulating his friend Qi Yanzhao on being chosen by the emperor to be promoted to governor of Jilin.

However, the two had no money, so they could only use their status as tribute students to buy two jugs of wine on credit from Pan Feng's mother-in-law.

As the two men clinked glasses, even though it was just two bowls of plain noodles and cheap wine, they still laughed heartily. This is the romance between men.

After several rounds of drinks...

Qi Yanzhao recalled his conversation with Liu Mu on the steps of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and picked up his wine bowl with a sigh.

"His Majesty's ambition to expand the territory is probably the greatest among all emperors throughout history, but this is also what we, his subjects, hope for. A true man should take up his sword and fulfill the emperor's duty!"

"Come on, keep drinking!"

Xie Bo'an, whose face was flushed from drinking, shook his head upon hearing this and got up to walk unsteadily.

"I, Xie Bo'an, have no such grand ambitions, nor am I interested in expanding territory. All I seek is peace and tranquility for the world, so that the people can live and work in peace!"

"Of course, if I could destroy the Manchu Qing dynasty in my lifetime, capture their Tartar emperor, and have Xie oversee his execution, then I would have no regrets in this life!"

Xie Bo'an had barely finished speaking when he collapsed to the ground with a thud, calling out the names of his parents that were hard to hear, tears welling up in his eyes.

Upon seeing this, Qi Yanzhao quickly stepped forward to help Xie Bo'an up, and then let out a sigh.

"Sigh, getting drunk is a good thing, unlike me who can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, I don't even have the chance to drown my sorrows in alcohol!"

Just then, Pan Feng's mother-in-law came over, spitting the sunflower seed shells she had just cracked out of her mouth onto the ground. With a frown, she began to habitually complain about the two of them.

"You two are supposed to be scholars who passed the imperial examinations, yet you've gotten this drunk from a few coins' worth of cheap wine. Don't you dare throw up in my guest room! My son-in-law is the Commander of the Imperial City Guard; he might just arrest you and send you to jail!"

Just as Pan Feng's mother-in-law was about to continue her gossip, she heard the sound of drums and music coming from outside the door, so she immediately ran out to watch the excitement.

However, they found that their son-in-law, Pan Feng, dressed in military uniform, was leading more than thirty soldiers from the Imperial City Guard, carrying big red flowers and plaques, and coming towards them.

"The newly crowned top scorer, Xie Bo'an!"

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Upon seeing this sign, Pan Feng's mother-in-law nearly choked on a melon seed. Without thinking, she turned and ran back to the shop to find Xie Bo'an.