Prodigal Son of the Ming Dynasty

  Chapter 589 Palace Examination

  The palace examination in the 16th year of Hongzhi was highly anticipated.

   Mainly because I lost too hard.

   Outside of Xishan Academy, almost no one has a bright face.

Among them, the tenth place is a Gongsheng student from Jiangxi. Logically speaking, the top ten is considered to be among the best, but... it is still like eating flies. In this world, some people only remember the first, not necessarily the second, and they may remember the first. Two, even third, fourth, fifth... But what the **** is this tenth?

  Emperor Hongzhi woke up early in the morning, first washed up, and then ate breakfast. The early morning breakfast was a bowl of rice porridge with some side dishes.

only…

  The taste of this rice porridge...

   Those royal chefs are really reckless.

  In the rice porridge, although there are a lot of ingredients, it feels like something is missing when you eat it.

   As for side dishes…

   Not good!

  Emperor Hongzhi raised his eyes: "Why didn't you put some thirteen incense?"

Xiao Jing understood: "Your maidservant remembered, the day before yesterday, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent some food to Kunning Palace, what kind of radish is it... the empress likes it, said it is spicy and delicious, it is said that Mr. Wen pickled it himself made."

  Emperor Hongzhi shook his head. Although it was considered filial piety to send it to Kunning Palace, even if it was sent to the palace, but he pointed out that it was sent to Kunning Palace. What the **** is this?

  Emperor Hongzhi said: "Get some. I heard the word Mr. Wen, and I feel that the food here is not to my appetite, but I am salivating at Mr. Wen's food. Come, go and get the radish."

  Emperor Hongzhi didn't like to eat radish, he always thought it tasted weird.

  Mr. Ke Wen's radish, but you must try it.

  Xiao Jing hurriedly went to serve a bowl of shredded radish. The radish was strip-shaped and contained a lot of sauce, especially the sauce, which looked scary and bright red.

  Emperor Hongzhi glanced hesitantly, then picked up a radish and took it in.

Since I ate hot pot last time, I tasted the spiciness. Although it was too spicy, but I thought it was a bit interesting afterward. Put some spicy thirteen incense, and Emperor Hongzhi gradually got used to it.

As for the shredded radish, Emperor Hongzhi chewed it, it was very crisp, without the usual taste of carrots, but the hot, sour feeling immediately stimulated the tip of his tongue, it was a bit 'painful', he hung his head in a hurry Drank a bowl of gruel, huh...

   Let out a long breath.

   It's a little interesting.

  Continue to drink porridge with spicy sticks. After a while, Emperor Hongzhi is sweating profusely. But I feel refreshed and dripping. For the first time, breakfast is so refreshing.

Comfortable…

   Wiped the sweat from his forehead, pointed at the shredded radish and said, "You can't buy this thing with a thousand dollars."

Xiao Jing said with a smile: "I heard people say that this shredded radish is rouge from radish, but this chili is not made of spicy thirteen spices, but minced chili, which is also pickled. Your Majesty, it is said that this small plate is not worth much money, only a dozen or so, and it is said that at this price, it is still profitable."

Emperor Hongzhi laughed dumbly: "This is called turning decay into magic. Mr. Wen is like this. Many things in Xishan, like the balloons, are the same. They are just a few pieces of whale skin, which can make people float up in the sky. Used in border towns, it becomes a sharp weapon."

  Emperor Hongzhi got up: "Let's go, today is the imperial examination, I would like to see how capable the students of this subject are."

  A few moments later, Emperor Hongzhi arrived at the Jinshen Hall and ascended to his throne. All the officials and tribute students had been waiting for a long time and saluted Emperor Hongzhi one after another.

Emperor Hongzhi looked at all the students with a smile, especially those at the head, headed by Liu Jie and others, all of them were in high spirits. Emperor Hongzhi said: "I have accepted the destiny of heaven, and it has been sixteen years, and I have asked the tribute students five times. , Now that I am getting older, my body is not in good condition occasionally, and I can see that all the people here are in good spirits. I will soon enter the court and become an official. They all say the three great pleasures of life, among them is the title of the gold list. Heroes, today's policy question to you is to discuss the merits and demerits among the heroes. National affairs involve the well-being of tens of millions of soldiers and civilians. Therefore, those who are ministers need to guard against arrogance and caution; The common people think about it. In the future, you will be both ministers and officials, and it is not enough to enter the officialdom simply by relying on stereotyped essays. You should be careful to have a strategy to stabilize the country, so as not to lose the name of the sage."

  The Gongsheng students were gearing up one by one, and then they began to roll their names, unroll their papers, and then praised and saluted.

  Emperor Hongzhi settled down: "It's time for me to come up with a question..."

   Seeing countless pairs of eyes looking at him, Emperor Hongzhi mused, "How can I convince everyone?"

   "..."

  As soon as this question comes out.

  Liu Jie has bowed his head.

  How to convince everyone? This is a 'people-friendly question'.

  I thought His Majesty would test Ma Zheng, but unexpectedly, this question was actually tested.

   To put it bluntly, the purpose of this question is how to convince the people.

  This topic seems to have a small structure, but in fact, it is very scary. It can be convinced by the people. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, everyone has advocated it like this. How many people can do it?

  Liu Jie thought about it for a while, and then he drew up his pen directly. He was deeply touched by this, and first drew up his pen to break the title: "Treat the people as human beings, and the people will obey them."

He then wrote: "The way of a sage lies in benevolence, and the way of benevolence lies in the people. Standing in the world, it is nothing more than clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. Therefore, if you want to serve the people, you should see the changes in the sky and look at the warmth and coldness of the people, and the food and clothing of the people..."

  He writes quickly, and the theory is probably only about 2,000 words, but there are not many restrictions on the subject matter, you can write whatever you like.

  Emperor Hongzhi sat high behind the court case. In fact, this question has been hidden in his heart for a long time. Ministers must obey the public before they will be regarded as parents by the public.

  This seemingly simple question can no longer be simpler, but its essence is the most essential question surrounded by the core idea of ​​benevolent government in the entire Confucianism.

   Everyone was silent, while Emperor Hongzhi waited patiently.

   Coming out of the gate of **** this time, he has too many emotions.

  In the evening, the palace examination had just ended. The eunuchs collected the papers, and all the students got up again to salute Emperor Hongzhi.

  Emperor Hongzhi didn't say much. He treated all candidates equally, but...needed to find an answer.

  Emperor Hongzhi got up immediately.

  At this time, someone said: "Your Majesty..."

  Emperor Hongzhi looked back.

The ministers of these two classes have been silent all the time, and the ministers who are here to accompany the examination include both the Imperial Academy and the officials of the Ministry of Rites. Of course, the cabinet scholars are also here, but Liu Jian did not come because he wanted to avoid leisure time. Li Dongyang Both Xie Qian and Xie Qian were there.

  Li Dongyang and Xie Qian never expected that at this juncture, there would be a scene of disharmony.

  The two of them blushed slightly. The Grand Scholars of the Cabinet are the patriarchs of the officials. They are the heads of the officials and manage the officials for the emperor.

  If there is something that suddenly disrupts the order of the court, in general, it means that the Cabinet Grand Scholars cannot suppress the matter and cannot convince the public. Otherwise, with the Cabinet Grand Scholars here, who would dare to make noise and make trouble at will.

This kind of low-level officials, jumping out to make troubles at every turn, was only in the Chenghua Dynasty when people laughed and scolded them as paper-paste cabinet elders and clay sculpture ministers. People had no respect for the cabinet elders and the six great scholars. Someone stood up and directly confronted the superior and made accusations. Moreover, such officials can be said to be successive.

On the contrary, after the three of Liu Jian entered the cabinet, there were fewer such incidents. The main reason was that the three cabinet scholars were majestic and respected. No one dared to bypass the cabinet and blatantly sabotage order.

  So, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were in a hurry to plead guilty.

  Emperor Hongzhi pressed his hand, and he glanced at the person who spoke from a distance, it was Yang Tinghe.

  Yang Ting and Dayi stepped forward awe-inspiringly. He is a bachelor of the Imperial Academy, and concurrently serves as Zhan Shifu of Zhan Shifu.

   This is the clear stream of clear streams.

  However... because of his notoriety, his official career in this life may come to an end.

  Because of this, he has nothing to be afraid of: "Your Majesty, I have something to do, let me start."

  Emperor Hongzhi nodded: "I love you, but it doesn't matter what you say."

  Whether Emperor Hongzhi liked Yang Tinghe or not, he was also willing to show an attitude of accepting advice.

Yang Tinghe said: "I heard that Xishan Academy, His Royal Highness the Prince, taught the strategies of all students in person a few days ago. I think this is very unfair. The Crown Prince is the heir. He knows His Majesty's mind. He came to teach The students of Xishan Academy will certainly let the answers of the students of Xishan Academy win His Majesty's heart."

  Emperor Hongzhi thought for a while and said, "Is this not possible?"

  Yang Tinghe said: "If this is the case, then the students of Xishan Academy will definitely be among the best in the policy theory. I am only afraid that if this happens, it will be very unfair to other candidates."

   "Then, how can we convince the public." Emperor Hongzhi was not angry. He thought that although Yang Tinghe was a mess, a person like him also represented the views of some subjects. If so, why should he be angry?

   Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were very angry. Yang Tinghe broke the rules, but although they were angry, their faces were calm and at ease.

  Yang Tinghe said sternly: "I think that since this is the case, why not read it out in public for this palace test, and then please Your Majesty to judge in person, and I am waiting here to listen. I wonder what Your Majesty thinks?"

  Emperor Hongzhi glanced at the sky: "I'm afraid it's getting late."

  Yang Tinghe said: "Your Majesty, this matter is related to the ceremony of recruiting talents. In order to select good talents, even if it takes some time, why not? The original intention of the court is to attract talents."

   "Your Majesty." Xie Qian had a bad temper and stood up: "I think what Li Shi said..."

  Emperor Hongzhi smiled, and he pressed his hand: "There is no need for Xie Qing's family to be angry. His words are not unreasonable. If that is the case, why not follow what he said?"

  (end of this chapter)