After the examination, a total of 371 tributes were admitted to Fengtian Hall to participate in the palace examination.
Only after participating in the palace examination can one call himself a disciple of the emperor. Only then can one be qualified to call himself a student in front of the emperor. Not just any official can call himself a student with the emperor.
The palace examination was about policy questions, and Emperor Longqing unexpectedly asked three questions on how to deal with the empty national treasury, the lack of food for the people, and the sluggish army.
Normally speaking, although the general palace examination will test some state-governing strategies, it rarely involves such a big question. How do you answer this?
Those who can pass the Jinshi examination are not ordinary people. Many people know why the treasury is empty and know what to do, but few dare to tell the truth.
In the understanding of most tributes, this court belongs to the emperor, the ministers, and the wealthy families, but not the mud-legged people who dig in the fields.
Almost one-third of the civil servants in the imperial court were from the Donglin lineage, and they represented the interests of all ethnic groups in the south of the Yangtze River.
Therefore, almost most of the tributes answered the question about the empty treasury and the people's lack of food in an evasive manner. Only about the army, everyone tried their best to answer the question.
After Emperor Long Qing wandered around, looking at the nonsense written on each test paper, he felt angry in his heart, but kept silent and continued to lead Xia Shouzhong around.
Suddenly, Emperor Longqing stopped. He saw that on this paper, the flaws of the national tax system were written directly, as well as the national policy of recommending that officials and gentry pay taxes together. Emperor Longqing's eyes lit up and he glanced at the paper.
Name: Ni Yuanlu.
Ni Yuanlu not only has the world in her belly, but also has good handwriting, which can be said to be graceful and wonderful, which is pleasing to the eye.
Emperor Longqing's mood was like clearing the clouds and seeing the sun. He got better. After going around for a while, he finally found someone who dared to tell the truth. Leng Tou Qing was great, he liked Leng Tou Qing.
Emperor Longqing looked around again and found another talented person named Fan Jingwen, but he looked too thin and thin.
After this round, Emperor Longqing had made every effort and found only two people who were considered to be the most talented people in the country. The remaining people may also have talents, but they did not dare to tell the truth.
Emperor Longqing secretly wrote down the names of the two people, and then sat back on the throne.
The examination paper must be handed in before sunset. The examiner gathers the examination papers and sends them to the sealing officer. The sealing officer seals them and sends them to the examiner. The examiner then sends them to the east pavilion for review and reading by the examiner.
Juan officials are selected from high-ranking court officials with Jinshi background.
Since Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, most of the officials who passed the imperial examination were from the Donglin lineage and were from Jiangnan.
Therefore, Emperor Longqing specially selected a few trusted ministers to go and review the papers.
After the palace examination, one day was spent reading papers to be divided into first, second and third grades. The Ming Dynasty stipulated that all those who participated in the palace examination would only be ranked first and not lose.
After the officials divided the scores, they presented them to Emperor Longqing for review. Emperor Longqing took a quick look and saw that Ni Yuanlu and Fan Jingwen were among the first-class students.
It is worth mentioning that these two people also have a background in the Donglin lineage, but it does not matter to Emperor Longqing. As long as they are loyal to the Ming Dynasty and are determined to do practical things.
Although he wants to clean up the Donglin Party, he will not kill them all indiscriminately. A qualified emperor should be used by good people and traitors, as long as he is placed in the right position.
Another day passed, and on the Golden Palace, all the ministers gathered. Xue Hong, also wearing a crimson official uniform, stood among the ministers.
After the biography was over, the next step was for the top three to parade around the streets to praise their officials.
Originally, the ceremony ended here, and the next step was the Qionglin Banquet.
But Emperor Longqing, who was sitting on the dragon throne, suddenly spoke: "My dear friends, in recent years there have been constant natural disasters, and the people have not had enough to eat. This is not only a natural disaster, but also a dereliction of duty by me and you."
"I am guilty!"
Although I don't know what the emperor wants to do, actively admitting his mistakes and not repenting are the necessary skills for a minister.
Emperor Longqing: "If I say that there is a crop that can produce more than fifteen shi per mu. Although it consumes a lot of fertility, if it is rotated every few years and maintained carefully, it may not be able to relieve the hunger of our Ming Dynasty!"
As soon as this statement came out, the officials were in an uproar.
Now in the Ming Dynasty, the best fertile fields, even if people are carefully maintained, can only produce more than three shi of grain per mu! If it exceeds 15 shi, is Emperor Longqing sleepy?
Emperor Longqing: "Why, don't you believe it? But I tell you, I have found this crop. It was found from Luzon by my son, Xue Hong, the doctor of Zhongshun, and Chen Chen, the Chen family of Yingchuan.
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"Moreover, it has been verified by me. After three years of trial planting in the manor, I have figured out the complete planting method and crop habits! Now, the seeds of this crop are in my hands!"
As soon as these words came out, even the prince's camp turned their attention to Zhu Hui. No one expected that the famous "prostitute" king in the capital would actually do such a big thing quietly!
The second prince, the third prince, and the fifth prince all expressed their congratulations to Zhu Hui with different words. Only the prince and the fourth prince were sincere.
And many civil servants and military generals also turned their attention to Xue Hong.
Many people secretly speculate: Three years of trial planting? That means this thing was brought back after three years. Xue Hong's age is pushed forward by three years, that is, fourteen years old. How green will the tomb of Xue Gongzu be?
Smoke! No, this has to be the kind where the ancestral grave is on fire and even heavy rain cannot extinguish it. Only then can we pick up the son who revived the Xue family.
Next, the ministers knelt down and worshiped together: "God bless the Ming Dynasty! Long live the Holy Emperor!"
Emperor Longqing once again released bombshell news: "If you don't reward your merits, you are not a wise king.
This time, the three of them saved the people of Ming Dynasty from hunger..."
"Blessed King Zhu Hui has granted the title of "Fifteen Thousands of Households".
Zhu Hui: "I accept the order and thank you!!"
Emperor Longqing: "Xue Hong of Jinling is young and intelligent. He has the ability to improve firearms and leads troops north to defeat the enemy. Now with this crop called sweet potato, he can be made a Marquis!"
I designate you, Xue Hong, as the Marquis of Bowen! You can live in a city with thousands of households, and I grant you the title of hereditary title for three generations and one more before you can be demoted to the next rank!"
As soon as these words came out, the censors immediately had something to say: "Your Majesty, I have my ancestral training in the Ming Dynasty, and the civil servants..."
Emperor Longqing raised his hand fiercely and stopped the censor from saying: "I will always remember the instructions of my ancestors. But times are different now. Failure to reward meritorious service is a recipe for chaos in the country!"
"I also want to tell the world that as long as they have made contributions to the country, the country, and the people, no matter whether they are civil or military, even a young man can be named a marquis and worship the prime minister!"
As soon as these words came out, the civil servants immediately borrowed the donkey. Who wouldn't want to be knighted? However, the conditions for the knighthood of civil servants in the Ming Dynasty were very harsh, and there were regulations, and the highest was only a first-class earl.
Now that Emperor Longqing has taken the initiative to set an example, does that mean that they will have a chance in the future? In the face of interests, no one will hold on to the ancestral precepts and not let go. If so, the officials will automatically solve it for Emperor Longqing!
After Xue Hong received the order to thank him, Emperor Longqing suddenly said: "Xue Aiqing, I remember that you are the son of Duke Xue, right? Do you know who your biological parents are?"
Xue Hong: "When my father was still alive, I sent people to investigate the Northland. I should be the son of a farmer who was imprisoned in a village. But now the whole village has been massacred by aliens. In the end, this matter cannot be solved because there are no clues."
That’s it.”
"My biological parents have passed away, but I was raised by my father. My kindness in life is greater than that of Heaven, and my kindness in nurturing is greater than Heaven. Therefore, after my father's death, I still take Xue as my surname."
Emperor Longqing: "Well, I am very pleased to be grateful and aware of filial piety. Xue Qing, the son of Ziwei, devoted himself to his duties during his lifetime and occasionally achieved meritorious deeds. His son Xue Hong, young and sharp, has made meritorious service to the country."
I would like to posthumously confer Xue Qing, a member of the Ziwei family, as Zhongyi Dafu."
"Since Xue Aiqing is not actually related by blood to the Xue family, today, I grant Marquis Bowen another favor and order him to leave the family tree and establish a new clan, starting with Xue Hong."
At the same time, the word used by Emperor Longqing was "fate", not "quasi", which meant, "This is all my idea, don't think about causing trouble for Xue Hong."
Emperor Longqing's approach completely severed the little connection between Xue Hong and the nobles.
For example, when everyone in the Jia family called Xue Hong from now on, except for Jia's mother, everyone should salute and address themselves as Marquis. They could no longer take the arrogance of relatives and elders.
Xue Hong ignored the surprised expressions of the courtiers and accepted the order to thank him.
With the Xue family tree out of the way, establishing a separate clan will not have much impact on Xue Hong's psychology.
As a modern person, the clan consciousness was very weak. The reason why Xue Hong always helped the Xue family was because of Xue's father's kindness and his feelings for Xue Pan and Baochai.
Now Xue Pan has grown up, not to mention that he has a lot of troubles, but at least he can keep the Xue family's property.
It doesn't matter whether Xue Hong stays in the Xue family tree or not.
Since then, the relationship between brother and sister, which was gained through raising Tian En for thirteen years, has come to an end in terms of logic.
Emperor Longqing: "Xuan, Chen Chen enters the palace.
Chen Chen was granted the title of Marquis of Ying, and he was granted the title of Marquis of Ying. He lived in the city for thousands of households, and was hereditary for three generations until he was demoted to the rank of Duke."