The Prosperous Era of Longwan

In the main hall of Beijing Gongyuan, officials including chief examiner, fellow examiner, promotion, supervision, supply, collection of examination papers, sealing, transcription, reading, acceptance of examination papers and patrol supervisors gathered here, all wanting to witness the Jinke Conference The appearance of trial members.

Of course, it is said that it is filling in the list, but in fact it is just filling in the straw list.

When filling out the draft list, the relevant examiners also need to proofread the anonymous and transcribed test papers, and "check the numbers" between the "Red Paper" to be admitted and the "ink paper" of the candidates. Those with incorrect numbers will be discarded.

This is actually very cruel, because if the transcriber makes a mistake, even if the candidate's answer sheet is indeed accepted, the candidate will be rejected.

Of course, the transcription is not done by one person, but is sent to the examiner's room after three checks, so the probability of making mistakes is very small.

In other words, in the hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there had never been such a mistake.

"Li Duojian, from Xianyou County, Xinghua Prefecture, Fujian Province, has seventy-four candidates."

As another candidate's information appeared, the inspection officials here began to check the red scroll and the ink scroll, and compared the filled-in examination numbers. They were also meticulous.

"Those are probably the ones in the top three."

At this time, Wang Xilie spoke.

All the checked test papers were put in order, because there was another step at the end that was the process of filling in the yellow list.

Regardless of whether it is the palace examination list or the general examination list, yellow list paper is used, but the palace examination list is the "gold list", which is also the origin of the idiom "gold list".

The test list is simply the yellow list, but its official name is "A list."

The list of the joint examination is called the A list, while the list of the provincial examination is the B list. Candidates for the palace examination must pass the questions on these two lists, so the Jinshi is also called the Jinshi on the two lists.

The two rankings are the A and B rankings for the provincial examination and the joint examination.

However, for candidates, the examination list is of course more important, because the palace examination does not screen candidates. If you enter the examination list, you will definitely pass the palace examination. The only difference is the ranking.

Therefore, their names were on the first list, which meant that they, Li Yuyue Longmen, had official status and became members of the ruling class of this empire.

"Li Sancai, a native of Tongzhou, Shuntian Prefecture, has seventy-three exams."

When a candidate's information appeared, Wei Guangde was slightly startled when he heard it. He felt that the name seemed familiar.

"There is a chance that Li Sancai will enter the second division, but I don't know how talented he is."

Wei Guangde said nothing, but Wang Xilie, the deputy examiner, commented on the person's name.

Wei Guangde smiled slightly after hearing this and said casually: "Perhaps my father believed in Taoism and chose the three talents from Tai Chi, two rituals, three talents, four images, five elements, six paths, seven stars, eight diagrams, nine palaces and ten directions, which may not necessarily mean three talents." ’

"Haha, it's very true. Speaking of which, the late emperor believed in Taoism in those years, and the people followed suit.

Even now, Taoist temples in the capital are still very popular. "

Wang Xilie said.

He is a person who does not believe in gods and Buddhas, so naturally he can't stand these things, so he can't help but praise and criticize them at this time.

"Taizu worshiped Buddhism and Chengzu believed in Taoism. As for you and me, it depends on each individual."

Wei Guangde said casually, but soon realized something, and turned to look at Wang Xilie and said: "Speaking of which, brother Zizhong is just like me, not very interested in religion."

"I don't know what good it is to believe in those things."

Wang Xilie said.

"Tongzhou, Li Sancai"

Wei Guangde smiled casually and then muttered something in a low voice.

But even with all his brain power, he couldn't remember where he had seen this name.

Perhaps, instead of meeting the person in this life, he should have seen this name in the previous life.

Wei Guangde could only think this way. He had long discovered that his memory was mainly good in this life. The memory of things he had seen in the previous life was still relatively vague. He did not remember clearly all the past and present lives like some time travellers.

But even so, he couldn't help but pay more attention to Li Sancai.

Since there are memories in later generations, it means that this person should be more or less a famous figure in the future.

In fact, Li Sancai was indeed a man of great influence in the late Ming Dynasty, stirring up trouble in the court.

Later generations had mixed praise and criticism for Li Sancai, but many of them still had strong personal emotions.

Li Sancai's controversy was actually mainly due to partisanship. Those who praised Li Sancai were naturally the famous and notorious Donglin Party in the late Ming Dynasty, while those who belittled him were the Qi, Zhejiang and Chu Party besides Donglin.

It can be seen that Li Sancai is essentially a standard Donglin Party member, and he has considerable influence within the party.

However, Li Sancai's political achievements are actually not without them.

In the second year of Wanli, he passed the Jinshi examination and was initially appointed as the head of the household department. In the eleventh year of Wanli, he was promoted to the position of doctor of the household department.

Later, when Wei Yunzhen was scolded by the emperor for discussing the court and violating the wishes of his assistant ministers, Li Sancai resisted the order and defended him, but was demoted to Dongchang's official position.

After being demoted from the capital, he successively served as a doctor in the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, a minister in Shandong, a counselor in Henan, a counselor in Nanjing's general affairs, and a Shaoqing in Dali.

In the twenty-seventh year of Wanli, the censor of Youqiandu was in charge of water transportation and patrolled all the prefectures in Fengyang. During this period, he made clear the harm caused by mining tax several times and laid off the mining tax envoys. Because of his meritorious service in regulating the Huaihe River, he was promoted to Minister of Household Affairs.

In the thirty-eighth year of Wanli, some court officials wanted to introduce Li Sancai to the cabinet, and slanderous remarks about him spread.

The Donglin Party members tried their best to defend him, thus forming a party dispute.

In the thirty-ninth year of Wanli, he returned home. In the forty-third year of Wanli, he was impeached by the censor and demoted to a commoner.

In the first year of Tianqi, the imperial court wanted to appoint him because of the lack of people to manage Liaodong, but it was shelved due to endless arguments among the courtiers.

In the third year of the Apocalypse, he was finally appointed as the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing. He died before taking office at the age of seventy-one.

It should also be noted that Li Sancai's ancestral home is Rencunli, Lintong County, Shaanxi Province, and he lives in Zhangjiawan, Tongzhou, Shuntian Prefecture. It can be seen that his family is still very wealthy, otherwise it would be difficult to move to the vicinity of Gyeonggi, or in Tongzhou.

Therefore, many people in later generations believed that he was seriously corrupt when he was in charge of water transportation, which is actually not surprising.

It can be said that Li Sancai's family is probably a member of the profit-making group of water transportation.

At the same time, he became a representative figure of the Donglin Party and also played a pioneering role in fighting against the mining tax of the late Emperor Wanli.

At that time, the most arrogant among the mining supervisors and tax envoys was Chen Zeng. He was deeply favored by Emperor Wanli and no one dared to touch him.

At this time, Li Sancai was in charge of Fengyang and Huaiyang, which was the area where Chen Zeng collected taxes. He used a trick to remove Chen Zeng's right-hand assistant Cheng Shouxun, which suppressed Chen Zeng's arrogance and "win the hearts of the people by reducing taxes and supervising taxes." This won the support of many courtiers.

In addition, the only political achievement that Li Sancai could achieve was the control of the Huaihe River.

When he was in charge of Fengyang, Li Sancai managed the Huaihe River, which often flooded in his jurisdiction, and it was said that the effect was very good.

If Wei Guangde knew this, he might become interested in him.

To put it simply, Li Sancai is very capable but not honest.

Of course, Wei Guangde doesn't really care about being incorruptible, because he himself is not considered incorruptible.

He accepted all the property that was given to him by the officials and disciples below, even those far away in the south of the Yangtze River. Yu Dayou, who used to have a clean life, learned bad things. Every year, a lot of ice and charcoal gifts were sent to his house.

What Wei Guangde likes to use is still capable. Others are just trivial matters, as long as they don't make people angry.

Making money within the rules, Wei Guangde naturally has no ability to reverse this situation.

Perhaps, people in later generations yearn for an officialdom that is loyal, upright, and honest. They think that the so-called high salary to support integrity can promote such a trend and give the officialdom a new look. But in fact, these are just fantasies.

No country or system can solve the problem of integrity. The only difference is whether you know it or not.

Most of the unspoken rules of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom were still within an acceptable range. As long as there were no external threats, they could actually continue to operate.

After the draft list was completed, Wei Guangde and Wang Xilie personally checked the papers of the top ten candidates.

After the review is correct, Wang Xilie will personally "fill in the list."

In two days, all the work was completed and a copy of the list was sent to the palace. The official list was hung outside the Beijing Gongyuan for candidates to see.

At this point, the first meeting hosted by Wei Guangde is over.

Back and forth, everyone was locked up in Gongyuan for nearly a month, and they were suffocating too much.

After the examination, everyone immediately dispersed and returned home.

Speaking of which, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty appointed examiners very suddenly.

Once selected, an edict was issued immediately. After receiving the edict, the eunuchs would be "escorted" to Gongyuan immediately. Many officials had no time to arrange their family affairs after being brought in.

When Wei Guangde came out of the Gongyuan, the mansion's sedan chair had already been waiting outside the Gongyuan.

After all, there are traces to follow. The yellow list has been issued, so naturally my master will come out.

"Brother Zizhong, let's say goodbye."

When I came out of the Gongyuan with Wang Xilie, Wang Xilie always looked down upon this pavilion that was much smaller than him, perhaps because of the lack of contact.

After this month of contact, it seems that I have also discovered many advantages of Wei Guangde, which is decentralization.

He will only hold on to what he knows, and let go of what he doesn't understand, while he watches from the side.

From the beginning when Wei Guangde went to the Tribute Academy, because he was not very familiar with the rules of the examination, most of the arrangements were made by Wang Xilie.

After I became familiar with the rules, I gradually took over.

Well, Wang Xilie observed Wei Guangde's behavior in the later stage of the general examination, and felt that at least he was not as unbearable as he thought at the beginning, and he still had merits.

So now, although the relationship between the two is not so good that they can call each other brothers, they can finally stand together and discuss things calmly.

This may be the last thing the people who arranged it wanted to see, but it can actually happen.

"Lending well and walking slowly."

Seeing Wei Guangde's sedan approaching, Wang Xilie did not turn around and go to his own sedan, but stood aside, waiting for him to get on the sedan first.

But just when Wei Guangde was bending down to get on the sedan, a green-robed scholar hurried over from a distance.

"Mr. Wei Ge, Mr. Wei Ge, wait a moment."

When Wei Guangde heard the shouting, he stood in front of the sedan. When someone approached, he recognized the person. He was a person walking in the cabinet, or a clerk.

"What's the matter?"

Seeing the person coming in a hurry, I already guessed that there was an urgent matter with the cabinet, so I sent someone over as soon as possible.

"Mr. Ge, something happened over there in Liaodong. Sir Chief Assistant, please leave the Gongyuan and go back to the cabinet first to discuss how the court should respond."

The man from the middle school whispered in Wei Guangde's ear.

"Liaodong?"

Wei Guangde was stunned after hearing what he said, knowing that something big must have happened in Liaodong, and it didn't look good.

However, although the imperial court is preparing to use troops in Liaodong, that will only happen in the second half of the year. Is the war going to start now?

Noticing that Wang Xilie was still there, he said apologetically, "There is something going on in the court, so I will take my leave first."

So Wei Guangde quickly got into his sedan chair and ordered the bearers to carry him to the palace gate immediately.

Now he is too lazy to ask what happened in Liaodong, but he is still thinking about the worst outcome.

When it comes to military affairs, Wei Guangde usually makes the decision in the cabinet. Zhang Juzheng will express different opinions, but will not interfere easily.

In fact, even if he wants to intervene, the prerequisite is that the Ministry of War will listen.

You should know that cabinet ministers actually have no power to manage the minister.

As for Wang Xilie, he stood outside the Gongyuan and watched Wei Guangde leave in his sedan chair.

He more or less guessed that something was going on, and it was a big deal, so he quickly got into his sedan chair and asked the bearers to carry him home immediately.

It is too easy to find out about major events in Beijing.

Before, it was inconvenient to inquire in Gongyuan, but it was not impossible.

When it comes to restricting candidates' freedom, examiners don't have so many restrictions. In other words, in order to avoid suspicion, everyone voluntarily gave up some of the conveniences they could exercise.

Once you get out, you can naturally contact your friends and ask what major events happened in the capital during this period.

In the previous conversation, Wang Xilie only vaguely heard about Liaodong, so now he is also curious.

When the sedan arrived outside the palace gate, Wei Guangde got off the sedan and hurried through the palace gate to the cabinet.

After arriving at the cabinet, he was directly invited by Zhongshu to be the first assistant on duty.

"Uncle, what happened in Liaodong?"

After entering the check-in room, Wei Guangde didn't even have time to say a few words and asked directly.

"This is the report from the governor Zhang Xueyan, the imperial censor Liu Tai, and the chief military officer Li Chengliang."

Zhang Juzheng stood up and asked Wei Guangde to sit down first, then took out three memorials from the desk and handed them to him.

"Just take a look and you'll understand. It's a bit troublesome."

Wei Guangde read the report from Governor Zhang Xueyan, and then frowned.

After quickly browsing Zhang Xueyan's memorial, Wei Guangde picked up Liu Tai's memorial. The content was similar to Governor Zhang's, but more precise.

After all, Liu Tai arrived in Changdian and saw the battlefield of that battle and the remaining dense mounds of soil.

"The Liaodong strategy is a plan set by the imperial court. Why did both Governor Zhang and Yushi Liu issue letters requesting a suspension at this time?"

Having said this, Wei Guangde reached out and picked up Li Chengliang's memorial and read it.

"The casualties of our army in this battle were too heavy. We lost nearly 6,000 soldiers and civilians. Governor Zhang may have thought of this idea because he expected that the border wall would continue to be built and he didn't know how many people would be killed or injured."

Zhang Juzheng said at this time.

"Wang Gao's movements were fast, accurate and ruthless. He caught us off guard."

Wei Guangde shook his head slightly, feeling that he had made a mistake.

But after all, he was not familiar with Wang Gao's character. Who knew he would launch a surprise attack on the Ming army so quickly and use tactics.

In fact, let alone Wei Guangde, even Zhang Xueyan and Li Chengliang, who had been in contact with Wang Gao, did not expect Wang Gao's decisiveness to take action now. They all thought that the war would not break out until the city was halfway through building the city.

"It seems that we can't wait any longer. We must follow Li Chengliang's suggestion and start early to get rid of Wang Gao."

Wei Guangde had already read the memorial and knew Li Chengliang's idea, which was to go to war directly. (End of chapter)