Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

All the corpses next to the door had no breath, their entire faces were purple, their eyes were tightly closed, but their posture showed a desire for life.

None of them wanted to die, and they had just kept begging to people outside, but it was this door that cut off all of them's way of life.

Rescue workers on the scene poured water inside several times. Although the flames were temporarily extinguished, thick smoke continued to billow from inside, making no one dare to get closer.

"Quick, everyone spread out around the house, make sure to prevent the fire from spreading!"

The magistrate of Huarong County knew that it was impossible to extinguish the fire in Liu's mansion, so he organized manpower to deploy controls around Liu's residence to prevent the fire from spreading from Liu's residence.

Worried about "flying fire", some people were even arranged to go to the roof next to it.

"Mother?"

"Lady?"

"The third child?"

…

Liu Daxia had already pushed away the restraints of others and came to a place more than ten feet away from the door. When he saw clearly the identities of the pile of corpses, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

He was originally the founder of the Liu family's most glorious family for hundreds of years. Although all four sons had no future, it did not prevent the Liu family from becoming the "king" of Huarong County.

It's just that today was originally the Mid-Autumn Festival for family reunion, but in the end, just a fire turned him into a loner, and he was experiencing the greatest tragedy in his life.

When Liu Daxia saw clearly the bodies of his mother, wife and children, he suddenly vomited out a mouthful of blood, then collapsed to the ground and burst into tears.

The fire had spread to the door. The silk and satin worn by the Liu family were very flammable, and many bodies were set alight.

Liu Zhong looked at the rescue workers who were trying to prevent the fire from spreading. He turned to look at Liu Daxia, who was crying sadly, and shook his head gently.

It's not that he wants to sympathize with Liu Daxia, he just feels sorry for the fact that the Liu family was buried in the flames, but Liu Daxia is entirely to blame for this situation.

Just now, Liu Daxia's wife and children were calling for help from behind the door. Even Liu Daxia's old mother begged, but Liu Daxia refused to let go.

In fact, he knew that Liu Daxia was taking a chance, but he hoped to solve the problem by doing nothing.

If the people inside Liu's house successfully put out the fire, or if he, the governor of Huguang, stepped forward and ordered the door to be opened to save people, then Liu Daxia would not need to be threatened by Wang Zhi.

But Liu Daxia seemed to have forgotten that the bargaining chip Wang Zhi used to threaten was the lives of his entire family. Although he chose to reveal the truth at the last moment, it was too late.

"Wang Zhi, you are dead, you are dead! My whole family died tragically in your hands. The world can no longer tolerate such evil people as you. All sentient beings in the world will surely eat your flesh and blood!" After Liu Daxia's grief, , he pointed at Wang Zhi and loudly condemned him.

At this moment, deep hatred surged in his heart.

He knew that the death of his family was irreversible, but what Wang Zhi had just done was also fatal. Officials all over the world would use this to attack Wang Zhi until Wang Zhi went to hell.

Wang Zhi was actually a cold-blooded person. Even though Liu Daxia's family members all died tragically in front of him, he didn't have much trouble in his heart, and he even continued to sit leisurely on the chair and watch the show.

Facing Liu Daxia's accusation, he said without any fear on his face: "What are the scholars in the world? The Zajia family only has Your Majesty in their hearts!"

"You locked up my house and killed dozens of my family members in a sea of ​​fire. Scholars all over the world must be angry with both men and gods, and Your Majesty cannot protect you!" Liu Daxia pointed out bitterly when he found out that Wang Zhi didn't know that the emperor also wanted to "comply with public opinion." fact.

Liu Zhong knew that once the news here spread, those scholars would probably fabricate another kind of truth. Not only would Wang Zhi get into big trouble, but he would also be affected, and he felt a little worried in his heart.

In fact, it is not that Liu Daxia is exaggerating, but that the reading community in this era is indeed very powerful.

Although the Ming Dynasty did not advocate "ruling the world with the scholar-bureaucrats", once the scholars could find a strong reason to attack, they would cooperate with the important officials in the court internally and externally, thus forming a force that even the emperor was afraid of.

Just like a certain literary website, although the writers are the targets of the website, if the writers can truly unite as one, the website will have to make certain concessions.

Liu Daxia became famous all over the world when he burned Zheng He's archives, and was promoted as a model for scholars.

Now it is a fact that Wang Zhi closed the door and threatened Liu Daxia with the lives of the Liu family. It is also a fact that the Liu family members were burned to death collectively. In addition, there were many officials in the Ming Dynasty who hated Wang Zhi. This matter is bound to cause an uproar.

"Whether the Zajia family is guilty or not, His Majesty has the final say! But you, on the other hand, you could have rescued people sooner if you confessed earlier, but in the end you pretended not to hear your wife and children's cries for help. Shouldn't you take a good look at yourself?" Wang He always believed in the emperor, but he complained in turn.

Although Li Wei knew that Wang Zhi was deliberately teasing Liu Daxia, he still turned to look at Liu Daxia. Liu Daxia did have to bear a certain responsibility just now.

Outsiders like him couldn't distinguish the voices of people calling for help inside, but Liu Daxia should have known that those were his mother, wife and children, but they didn't respond the whole time.

Rather than saying that Wang Zhi was cold-blooded, it would be better to say that Liu Daxia was far from superficially filial, and was actually a hypocrite.

There was a chance to open the door to save people this time, but Liu Daxia refused to let go, resulting in the best opportunity being missed. Liu Daxia will undoubtedly bear some responsibility.

"I am here to save the millions of people in the southwest from the war, and for the Ming Dynasty to usher in the resurgence of China!" Liu Daxia responded with a righteous look, and then knelt down sadly to the corpse at the door and said: "Mother, the child is unfilial!"

"For the sake of the people of the Southwest! Not to mention whether your point of view is right or not, why did you recruit again in the end? Have you failed the millions of people in the Southwest?" Wang Zhi deep in his heart did not think that people like Liu Daxia could To really pretend to be a commoner is to deliberately find fault with others.

Liu Zhong and others nodded slightly, feeling that what Wang Zhi said made sense.

Putting aside the fact that the Annan archives belong to the imperial court, Liu Daxia chose to relent in the end, and his so-called righteousness was also lost.

"I was coerced by you, and the emperor's order cannot be violated!" Liu Daxia argued with great concern as most of the tears in his eyes disappeared.

The corners of Wang Zhi's mouth raised slightly, and he said with a murderous look: "The emperor's order cannot be violated, but you violated it! As for coercing you, I knew you were afraid of being coerced. The Za family should have tortured you, not your whole family." My life is threatening you! After all, you are the real culprit who killed your whole family!"

"Wang Zhi, don't mess around here! You killed dozens of people in my Liu family. Heaven and earth can prove it. I, Liu Daxia, and you are sworn in. Everyone in the world will definitely kill you!" Liu Daxia looked like one. Gritting his teeth, he looked at Wang Zhi and cursed.

Wang Zhi knew that those scholars would definitely make a fuss about this matter, so he patted his butt and stood up and said: "The Za family does not have scholars in their eyes, and I advise you not to use chicken feathers as tokens. You should take care of yourself first! If If the southwest files are still not found, you, Liu Daxia, will definitely die, or even be punished by Ling Chi!"

In fact, the matter is not over yet. Not to mention whether Liu Daxia just lied, and the files he hid may not be there anymore.

That's why the most important thing now is to send the information about Liu Daxia's confession back to the palace, so that His Majesty can search for the Annan files hidden by Liu Daxia and formulate a more reasonable combat route.

The next day, Wang Zhi led the Shenji Battalion directly to Lianzhou Prefecture, Guangdong, while Liu Zhong sent someone to escort the prisoner Liu Daxia to the capital, where his life and death would be decided by the imperial court.

In the capital, at the gate of Shuntian Gongyuan.

"The topic of our policy discussion this time is very tricky!"

"Isn't it? There are geometry problems!"

"Fortunately, I have been paying attention to Diao Min's register, otherwise I really don't know how to answer!"

…

After nine days and six nights of hard work, more than 3,000 candidates left the gate of Gongyuan one after another, ending their current Enke Township Examination, but they all found themselves sighing.

The imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty have been going on for a hundred years. Those seniors who have painstakingly pursued fame have dissected the Four Books and Five Classics paragraph by paragraph, and have already figured out excellent essays, such as "Wenfu Dati" and "Wenfu Xiaoti". All key test questions have been covered.

The current eight-part essay question actually only tests the memory of the candidates. They only need to remember the standard answers to each sentence in the four books and then write them down.

The sub-questions of the eight-legged essay can be broken down into ever-changing formats. Since you can choose half a sentence or complete it, the final result is that the candidates have to memorize more articles.

The four-book questions in this year's provincial examination appear to be quite satisfactory, but the difficulty lies in the policy theory, and the five policy theory questions are beyond the scope of the past.

"I am not negotiating with you! This dynasty has always focused on practical matters, so there is no need for vague articles. Your Majesty has granted the extension of the review for another seven days, so we have plenty of time to review the documents. We can proceed slowly and review the documents. Be clear about the policy papers for the third session!" Song Cheng, who was wearing a third-grade official uniform, sat in the Jukui Hall and gave instructions to the other five examiners.

At this time, Lin Han, the deputy examiner of the Hanlin Academy, was the only Hanlin official. Faced with such a powerful Song Cheng, he was finally forced to respond in a dignified manner.

After the new king came to the throne, their Hanlin officials, who were respected by the world, became the biggest losers.

More and more Ci ministers are unable to get ahead, and now the examiner of the provincial examination that originally belonged to them has actually fallen to this Shuntian Fuyin who was not born in the Imperial Academy.

What’s even more desperate is that this arrangement will become custom-made.

Song Cheng knew that he was the experimenter of reform, but now countless pairs of eyes were staring at him, but he ignored the thoughts of Lin Han and others and continued to devote himself to his review work.

In late August, candidates in the capital ended their exams, but many people became even busier.

In the north of the city, in a private house near the city wall, the yard was kept clean, and there were two chickens raised next to it, one a hen and one a rooster.

Liu Ying went out holding a piece of white cotton cloth and said to her eldest daughter who was playing: "Da Ya, take care of your brother at home. Mother took the cotton cloth in exchange for money and will bring you sweets when she comes back!"

When Da Ya heard that there was candy to eat, she immediately swallowed her saliva and nodded in agreement.

It used to take more than ten days to weave a piece of cotton, but since the emergence of this magical machine, the project has been shortened to five days, and she only spent two and a half days this time.

Liu Ying came to the entrance of the Royal Cloth Store with a piece of cotton in her arms. She followed the sign at the door to the cloth inspection area on the left, feeling a little uneasy.

Things have to start before the Mid-Autumn Festival, when a public search for weavers who know how to weave is conducted throughout the city.

After these female weavers received a few days of training in the courtyard behind the shop, the shop provided them with a flying shuttle loom, and the cloth they woven was brought here to be exchanged for money.

Although there has been no expenditure and even free meals during the training period, the cotton cloth in my hand is the result of two and a half days of hard work.

Even so, she was still worried that this was a carefully arranged lie.

"Liu Ying from Jintaifang in the north of the city?" There is an elderly shopkeeper here who is responsible for inspecting the cloth. He raised his eyes and looked very serious about verifying his identity.

Liu Ying was so nervous that her palms were sweating, and she immediately nodded seriously: "It's the slave family!"

"If there is any problem with the shuttle loom, just inform our people and we will send people to repair it! But remember, you cannot dismantle the loom without authorization!" Shopkeeper Sun warned seriously while carefully inspecting the cotton.

Liu Ying is a rule-abiding person, and this request is very reasonable, so she nodded heavily: "Please remember this!"

"The piece of cotton you weaved has passed the inspection! Two cents of silver will be deducted from your earlier twenty kilograms of cotton yarn, and eight cents of silver will be deducted from the shuttle loom usage fee. So now I will give you three cents, please keep it!" Shopkeeper Sun After settling the accounts, a three-cent silver coin was handed over.

Liu Ying took the three coins that fell into her palms with both hands. Feeling the weight of the three coins, she couldn't believe her eyes and said, "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, you deserve this! Eunuch Wei has already told us that we have a long-term cooperation, so you have to pay attention to your health!" Shopkeeper Sun has been working for decades, and now he likes his current position very much.

While they were talking, a middle-aged eunuch walked in from outside. His face was white and beardless, his features were straight, and his eyes seemed to be shining with wisdom.

"Eunuch Wei!" Shopkeeper Sun saw Wei Juan appearing and hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.

Wei Juan waved his hand to signal Shopkeeper Sun not to be too polite, and asked with concern: "Shopkeeper Sun, our cotton cloth is sold to North Korea or Mongolia, as long as it meets the standards, don't do anything to find fault with the Za family!"

He was originally promoted as a merchant eunuch in Guangdong and was favored by Emperor Chenghua. However, in the new dynasty, he was impeached by civil servants for embezzling the treasures carried by Ali of Tianfang Kingdom and other crimes.

Fortunately, the new king did not listen to those civil servants, but he also called himself back. It turned out that he was on errands in the Qianqing Palace, but not long ago, Tan Gui enriched his own pockets, and he took over Tan Gui's position.

Wei Juan knew that His Majesty was not pursuing profits, but wanted to advance the capital's production capacity to meet the needs of Mongolia and North Korea, so as to obtain more vassal supplies through cotton trade.

"Eunuch Wei, how dare you do such an unconscionable thing? I just received a piece of fabric that is even better than the weavers in our cloth factory!" Shopkeeper Sun showed the cotton cloth he had just collected with a look of pride on his face. .

Wei Juan noticed the plain-looking woman next to him, and after asking for her name, he also said in good faith: "Do a good job! You are already a member of our Royal Cloth Store! Who would dare to bully you in Beijing? , you tell the Zajia, and the Zajia will stand up for you!"

"I haven't thanked Eunuch Wei yet!" Shopkeeper Sun reminded him immediately.

"Thank you, Eunuch Wei!" Liu Ying felt that Eunuch Wei was very powerful, so she said gratefully.

Wei Juan raised his hand to let Liu Ying leave, but his face was not overly excited.

This was his first important task when he returned to the capital. Whether it was for loyalty to the emperor or for his own status, he needed to go all out.

Three denarii?

Liu Ying's hand was still tightly holding the silver she had just exchanged for weaving, and she felt a long-lost happiness in her heart.

It seems that getting rich through hard work is really possible.

She felt extremely at ease at the moment. If she could really exchange money through weaving for a long time, she would definitely be able to get rid of her previous life of not having enough to eat.

The most important thing is that although Bu's life is boring and busy, he is able to support his children through his own hard work. This is like a dream.

When Liu Ying left, Zhao Laosi's eldest son and daughter-in-law walked in with cloth tickets.