Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

The sky is filled with clouds and clouds.

Suncheon Gongyuan is a standard rectangular building. The front area is guarded by soldiers. The rear area is Zhigongtang where the outer officials live and the Jukuitang where the inner officials live. The largest area in the middle is the dormitory number of the candidates. .

A wide corridor runs from north to south. In the center of the corridor is the Mingyuan Building, which is used for giving orders and for invigilating exams. On both sides are low houses facing north and south. The low houses are separated by two meters of walls and are the examination rooms for candidates.

Before coming in, many candidates were still angrily accusing the imperial court of shielding the Marquis of Huichang, and some even wrote a few articles condemning the imperial court when they were reviewing their studies.

By the standards of future generations, these people are genuine keyboard warriors.

Snapped! Snapped! Snapped!

Retribution came so quickly, it was like a slap in the face.

"...If you were the presiding judge, how would you decide this case?"

When Tan Bo saw the test questions, he smiled contemptuously. Even though he was ready to execute the Marquis of Huichang according to his previous ideas, when the tip of the pen was extended to the paper, a bead of sweat slid across his cheek.

Of course, he could use the laws of the Ming Dynasty and directly execute the Marquis of Wuchang, but could he really turn a blind eye to the iron certificate of the Alchemy Book of the Marquis of Huichang Mansion? Can Emperor Yingzong's promise be regarded as fart?

Although the laws of the Ming Dynasty are very important, you can't be a disloyal minister, right?

After putting up such an answer sheet, if the examiner Wang Yue directly dismissed him, he would really have nothing to say.

At this moment, beads of sweat continued to appear on his forehead, and he finally realized that this case was far more difficult than imagined.

Executing the Marquis of Huichang can be regarded as a sign of disloyalty, but if he changes his position and supports exempting the Marquis of Huichang from the death penalty, this approach is also inappropriate.

Just as they had criticized earlier, because of the iron seal of Emperor Yingzong's elixir, he ignored the laws of the Ming Dynasty and spared such a treacherous and evil person. This move undoubtedly protected the evil thief.

how so?

Tan Bo's thoughts suddenly became confused. They had always thought it was a very easy case to decide, but when things happened to them, they realized that it was far more troublesome than they thought.

He had scolded him so harshly earlier, but now he was so entangled in his heart.

Unfortunately, this is a question in the general examination, but there is no way to avoid it, unless they take the initiative to give up the best opportunity to win the gold list.

Although the National Examination is held every three years and can be taken again next year, the number of places admitted to Enke this time is 600, which may be their only chance to become a high school scholar in this life.

No, I absolutely cannot give up, but... there is no solution at all!

It’s over!

When Tan Bo was hesitating about how to answer the question, he suddenly saw a drop of ink falling from the tip of the pen onto the paper, and he suddenly felt like the world was falling apart.

According to the rules of the examination room, once a mark appears on the test paper, the test paper will not be sent to the examiner for review, but will be detained as a blue list.

Originally, he had been answering in a draft first, and then copied the answers onto the test paper. But he was too confident about this question just now, so he took out the answer sheet directly.

A drop of ink fell on the white test paper and soon bloomed like a flower.

Tan Bo's heart suddenly broke. He hurriedly wiped it with his sleeve, only to find that the more he wiped it, the darker it became. Seeing that his skills were ruined by this small loss of concentration, he couldn't help crying.

With his talent and learning, he should have gone to high school easily, but this little mistake happened.

This cry quickly attracted the officers and soldiers who maintained order. Facing this young man who had lost his temper, they immediately took Tan Bo away for disrupting the examination room.

Candidates in the same alley mistakenly thought that Tan Bo was tortured by the test questions, and sighed helplessly, and then continued to think hard about the answer to this question.

The second exam has always been regarded as the least important, but now it has become bad news for many people.

Although the mainstream public opinion in the capital was to execute the Marquis of Huichang, ignoring the Danshu Tieguan and Emperor Yingzong was also a sign of disloyalty. Even the dignified emperor cannot ignore Emperor Yingzong, not to mention their small actions, which are simply asking for death.

At this moment, they also truly understood the emperor's difficulties. This case cannot be blamed on the emperor at all. It is basically a dilemma case.

After all, many candidates were not polluted by the officialdom, and realized that they had been affected by inappropriate public opinion earlier, and could not help but shed tears of regret.

Now how to do? Do you really want to fail in front of this question in your ten years of hard work?

The ancient ink is lightly rubbed and filled with fragrance, and the new bath in the inkstone shines with new light.

When Xu Hong, who was wearing a long blue lining, faced the question, he seemed to be calmly holding the ink stick and grinding it in the inkstone. He smelled the fragrance of ink in the air, and his eyes flashed with determination.

Since I had already thought about this problem outside, and even discussed the case with Hai Kuan and others, I actually already had an answer in my mind.

Xu Hong twisted his sleeves and splashed ink, his face looked extremely focused, and he soon began to write eloquently.

He has never been an arrogant person, but he answers on the draft step by step, and then copies the written answers onto the test paper.

Haikuan and others were also unhurried. They were reminded by Xu Hong, so they were also prepared.

Since they are serving as ministers, they should share His Majesty's worries instead of attacking indiscriminately.

Since this case is a dilemma, we should not blame the court alone, but should try to find a solution that has both ends.

Empty talk will harm the country, but hard work will prosper the country.

Xu Hong and other scholars have never seen these eight mantras, but they are all practitioners of them.

Their methods may not be perfect, but their hearts are toward the emperor and they strive to use their wisdom to relieve the emperor's worries.

Shuntian Gongyuan and Jukuitang.

Huh?

Wang Yue had already begun to review the answer sheets of the first test candidates, but suddenly he looked up to the south with a feeling, and seemed to see a burst of talent soaring into the sky.

This time, he was recruiting talents for the country and for the Metropolitan Procuratorate that he was about to take charge of.

Unlike those officials who favored officials who could write good articles, he preferred officials who could talk less and do more, so this time he selected candidates who were more talented and not rigid.

That's why the test paper he focused on this time was neither the Four Books and Five Classics in the first session, nor the Current Affairs Policy in the third session, but the second examination that was currently underway.

As for the question given by the emperor, it can only be said to be a stroke of genius. This is the best test question for selecting talents.

The sky is very blue and the capital is still prosperous.

Since Suncheon Gongyuan was locked up for nearly nine days, the outside world did not know what happened here, as if it belonged to another world.

The examination may be important to ordinary people, but to the Ming Dynasty it was just an examination to select reserve cadres.

Naturally, it is impossible for the imperial court to stop because of a general examination. While the examination of Shuntian Gongyuan was in full swing, various yamen were already operating silently.

The Ministry of Personnel is responsible for external inspections, the Ministry of Industry is responsible for engineering, the Ministry of Households is responsible for taxation, and the Ministry of Rites is responsible for sacrifices, etc., and is assisting the emperor in governing the two capitals and thirteen provinces in an orderly manner.

Regarding the case of the Marquis of Huichang, although there were still many voices of opposition in the capital, the emperor, the Ministry of Punishment and the Shuntian Government Office adopted the drag-and-drop strategy in a tacit understanding.

Although Song Cheng was obsessed with justice and was a staunch representative in requesting the execution of the Marquis of Huichang, he was also aware of the emperor's difficulties.

As Xu Hong said, if the emperor really wanted to protect the Marquis of Huichang, it would be impossible for him to support him in investigating this case so thoroughly. Now forcing the emperor to kill the Marquis of Huichang regardless of the iron certificate of the elixir and the promise of Emperor Yingzong is a sign of disloyalty.

Song Cheng even went to the palace to meet the emperor for this purpose. When he learned that the emperor had put the case on the examination paper, even his coffin-like face wanted to laugh.

The troublemaking scholars were talking loudly earlier, but now that the case is in front of them, they may really feel the difficulty of the case.

It is completely conceivable that those scholars must be scratching their heads and either give up this trial, or they can think about how to have both sides of the case.

As for how to deal with the Marquis of Huichang, although the emperor did not agree to directly push the Marquis of Huichang to the guillotine, at least he did not acquit the Marquis of Huichang.

Judgment is naturally a fixed process.

The emperor picked out a few flaws in Changhou's case and called it back. The Shuntian government office spent several days going over it again, and then slowly submitted it to the Ministry of Punishment.

The Ministry of Punishment also delayed handling the case of Marquis Huichang for a few days before starting to deal with it. As a result, after holding several ministry meetings, the Ministry of Punishment found another mistake and sent the file back to Shuntianfu Yamen.

You say the case is not being handled, but he has been handling it seriously. But if you say they are handling it, their processing speed is indeed slow.

"Damn it, hate it, they are just playing hooligans!" Ma Wensheng and others hiding in the dark could only stare, seeming very angry and accusing.

The oldest man in gray clothes also sighed with emotion: "We really underestimate this little emperor, his skills are even smoother than that of the late emperor!"

"You should think about how to deal with this matter. The longer Wuchang Hou's matter drags on, the worse it will be for us. He knows a lot about us, so we can't let him bite us randomly, let alone ruin our financial path. !" The old man who had been silent all this time sighed secretly and reminded him seriously.

The reason why they wanted to promote public opinion about the Marquis of Huichang and discredit the current emperor was partly because they also wanted to deliberately create inappropriate public opinion to induce the emperor to quickly deal with the Marquis of Huichang to quell the dispute.

It's just that the current situation is not what they thought. No matter how they incite public opinion, the emperor is dragging it out in a high-sounding way.

Ma Wensheng knew that everyone present was concerned about his own interests, so he expressed his position confidently: "Don't worry, you guys! When the examination is over, the public opinion storm among the scholars will force them to sit idly by and ignore it. The imperial court will definitely give this opportunity as soon as possible." An explanation of the case!”

Xiyuan, Yangxin Hall.

As a dignified Ming emperor, Zhu Youtang naturally could not limit himself to a small case, but had already focused on major national affairs.

Since he did not plan to use the two million taels to build the outer city of Beijing, he already had three million taels at his disposal without imposing additional taxes on the people.

After all, we have to face a maritime era. After discussing with Jia Jun, Minister of Industry, the construction of Tianjin Royal Shipyard was officially put on the agenda.

Contrary to what many people think, building a seagoing ship is not about adding a table, chair or bench, and the cost is even comparable to building a palace.

Fortunately, the imperial court's finances are still relatively healthy. Although it cannot suddenly build a fleet like Zheng He's voyages to the West, it can create the most powerful shipyard in the world.

After Zhu Youtang finalized the decision on the Royal Shipyard, he came to Wei Juan again and told him: "I know that you are a person with business talents. Today, the production capacity of the Royal Cotton Cloth can only be increased but not reduced! I know that the female weavers in the capital have indeed made a difference. Lacking, didn’t you do the Guangdong Municipal Shipping Bureau promotion in Guangdong? You can personally identify people who are qualified for the big job, build the royal weaving branch factory in Guangzhou, and make sure to let Ming Dynasty’s cotton go overseas! "

"Your Majesty, can this slave really prepare to build a royal weaving branch factory in Guangzhou?" Wei Juan asked seriously after swallowing his saliva when he learned that he could actually move towards Guangdong.

Zhu Youtang knew that sometimes it was necessary to appropriately delegate power, so he immediately said with a serious face: "Remember: I don't care what you do. What I need to see now is to increase the production capacity of the Royal Weaving Factory so that more people can benefit from it." Gain!”

The cloth advantage of the flying shuttle loom was too obvious. It was already very difficult to supply North Korea and Mongolia. As a result, the domestic market became hungry, and Annan was even more eager for Ming Dynasty cotton.

It is said that the Royal Weaving Factory's annual production capacity of 100,000 pieces cannot be considered low, but it cannot meet the current market demand at all. However, the interest of the powerful people in the capital is still relatively low in cotton cloth.

Since he could not rely on the help of this group of powerful people, he decided to personally take up the production side of textiles and strive to build the Royal Textile Factory into the largest cotton cloth manufacturer in the world.

To his great surprise, these eunuchs who had been devalued as worthless by the literati showed great talents and abilities in the business field.

"Your Majesty relies on you, and I will definitely live up to your Majesty's expectations!" Wei Juan felt the emperor's trust and realized what path he should take, so he solemnly expressed his loyalty.

Zhu Youtang raised his hand and asked Wei Juan to leave. Although there were a lot of affairs in the two capitals and thirteen provinces, he always kept in mind the matter of Daming cotton going to sea.

Only when Ming Dynasty becomes the true world textile center, Ming Dynasty's finances will not need to continue to exploit the people, and China can achieve real take-off with the help of overseas resources.

At dusk, the whole world suddenly darkened.

Zhu Youtang didn't want to be trapped outside the palace, so he decided to take the dragon chariot back to the palace in advance. As a result, when he entered Xihua Gate, snowflakes were already falling from the sky.

Snowflakes were falling all over the sky, falling in the Forbidden City, making it look very beautiful.

Zhu Youtang looked at the snowflakes falling from the sky and said with emotion: "It's snowing again!"

"Your Majesty, the auspicious snow heralds a good harvest. This is a good sign!" Liu Jin immediately complimented with a smile on his face.

A bitter look appeared on Zhu Youtang's face, and he asked seriously: "I asked the river channel to strengthen the inspection of the Fengqiu Jinglongkou river embankment a few years ago. Can you get a reply on this matter?"