Chapter 162 The imperial struggle for the top prize
Although the ranking in the palace examination was decided by the emperor, Zhu Yijun's decision still caused an uproar in the palace. Guo Pu actually knew that the article must have been written by Gao Pingshi after reading the article just now, although as a rule he could not dismantle it before submitting it to the emperor. Seal, but there are no official transcribers in this palace examination, that is to say, the essays submitted are the candidates' ink scrolls, only the names and other information are sealed separately.
Gao Jingshi was his student, how could he not recognize the calligraphy of Gao Jingshi? And he was basically convinced that the emperor also knew the calligraphy of Gao Jingshi. Otherwise, the emperor only took a look at the ink scroll when he got it. Why? Do you have a "raised brow" look?
But even if this paper is highly pragmatic, Guo Pu must stand up and oppose Zhu Yijun directly selecting him as the number one pick.
At this time, His Majesty Dan was in an uproar, and Guo Pu quickly came out to report: "Old minister, I have something to report."
Zhu Yijun had already written the six words "No. 1, A, No. 1" at this time. When he saw Guo Pu coming out, he still nodded: "Yuan Fu, please tell me if you have anything to say."
Guo Pu's face was solemn, he raised the phoenix board with both hands, and said loudly: "The old minister expressed his appreciation for this article just now, but the old minister objected that the emperor decided on the ranking of this volume at this time."
Zhu Yijun frowned slightly and asked, "Why?"
"Your Majesty, there are a total of 303 tribute students who came to the palace to take the examination today. The first batch of people who submitted their papers just now was only sixty. The ministers have already reviewed less than thirty people. And the Emperor personally read the paper, and even this one is the only one. So. It was decided that the number one candidate in this list was extremely unfair to the remaining 302 candidates. Therefore, I asked the emperor to take back his order, read other articles, and compared them in detail before making a judgment. I think it will be more fair."
Generally speaking, Zhu Yijun still respects Guo Pu, the only remaining minister who cares about life, and has never directly opposed his opinions, at least in terms of face, but today it seems that he is going to indulge in foreign food.
Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment, then stood up and said: "I have written the imperial inscription on this volume."
As soon as the emperor said this, there was an uproar in the palace again!
Because the lethality of this sentence is really quite big - as we all know, "The emperor has no joke." The emperor follows what he says, and what he says must be fulfilled, let alone what has been written down?
However, the most lethal thing is not that the "No. 1, No. 1" on the paper cannot be changed, but the emperor's attitude. This is definitely not the style and temper of the late emperor Mu Zong, but the style of Emperor Shizong Jiajing!
This is what I want to do, what do you do with me?
Anyone who started serving as an official during the Sejong Dynasty would not be shocked after hearing this sentence. After all, no one wants to live in fear every day - racking their brains every day to figure out what the emperor is thinking, and one bad thing is to be demoted. , being beaten to death with a royal stick is not a life that people live in!
However, Zhu Yijun was not as tough as his grandfather after all. Seeing that the situation was a little out of control, he felt a little nervous and added: "The selection of talents for the palace examination is only based on the emperor's decision. Every word in this article is not easy to read, and it is all in line with my wishes. Why can't I do it?" Number One Scholar? But you can still continue to read the paper. If there is a better article than this one, I will consider it again."
Guo Pu thought to himself that it was terrible: If the emperor persists to the end and doesn't care about the opinions of the ministers, then that's it. After all, the employment of personnel is indeed a matter decided by the emperor. But now the emperor has made another decision. This shows that his will is still not as resolute as his ancestor, Emperor Shizong. I am afraid that not only will the ministers not appreciate his sentiments, but they will think that they should take this opportunity to nip the signs of this "deep Xiao Shizong" in the bud to avoid After he came into power, he was really like Emperor Sejong who regarded the civil and military affairs of the court as trivial, refusing to listen to advice and going his own way.
But this is where Guo Pu is in trouble. Although the consistent purpose of the "Gao Dang" is to govern the world's affairs with the help of the divine will, after all, the members of the Gao Dang are still civil servants! He, Guo Pu, is certainly the leader of the Gao Dang today.
, but he is also a civil servant and must also consider the interests of civil servants. If the emperor is really like Sejong in the future, for Gao Dang... I am afraid it will hardly be called a good thing.
After such hesitation, he failed to immediately stand up and express his agreement.
But his attitude undoubtedly inspired others, thinking that this was Yuan Fu's hint that the dynasty system cannot be taken lightly and must fight back against the emperor's attitude of ignoring hundreds of officials!
So someone immediately stood up and said: "Your Majesty, the selection of talents for the country is of course the responsibility of the emperor, but it is also the responsibility of the world. What's more, the country has its own ancestral codes, and the holy ancestors and gods are still in the world. It was formulated like this at that time, how could it not be
What’s the deeper meaning? Your Majesty, you can see a leaf without realizing it, and you can peek at a spot and think you’ve seen the whole leopard. I think that’s not possible. Please think again, Your Majesty.”
Zhu Yijun was secretly annoyed, but he was also afraid that if he insisted on going his own way, he would be sued by his mother, saying that he had tampered with the ancestral system. Although the mother rarely interfered with political affairs, she was more protective of the ancestral system. If this happened, she would have to
I will be punished by my mother to kneel down...
After the official finished speaking, everyone saw that the emperor did not immediately refute, and they immediately became energetic. Someone stood up and said, "Your Majesty, how can the regulations of the country be changed without authorization? I ask your Majesty to think again."
"Not only should we not easily decide who will be the No. 1 Scholar, but this article has just caused controversy. Doesn't your Majesty understand that if you listen to both sides, you will be enlightened, and if you listen to one side, you will be dark? I ask the Emperor to withdraw his order and make an exception for this article that only seeks wealth and competes with the people.
Deposed!"
"Nonsense, this palace is trying to discuss policies. All participants are pillars of our Ming Dynasty. No matter whether the proposed policies are feasible or not, they are all for the country. Besides, you just said that listening to both sides will make you enlightened, and listening to one side will make you dark. Why do you have different political opinions from others?
, so you want to be deposed at every turn?"
"Yes, since Zhang Yuan in the Northern Song Dynasty, there has never been anyone who was deposed from the palace examination. What is your motive for raising this issue?"
This time it was good, it turned into a quarrel, and the quarrel broke out over an old case in the Northern Song Dynasty where people were exempted from the palace examination and dismissed.
In the early Song Dynasty, there was an examinee named Zhang Yuan. This person was quite unlucky and was eliminated from the palace examination many times (in the Song Dynasty, candidates were not allowed to participate in the examination indefinitely and were required to pass the examination all the way). So the angry Zhang Yuan and one of his surnamed Hu
A friend (Wu Hao) rushed to the border. They hired a few people to drag a large stone slab in front of them. On the stone slab were engraved poems about two people lamenting their lack of talent. The two of them followed behind, chanting poems and crying, hoping to
This attracted the attention of the border commander.
The border commander actually met them, led them into the big tent and chatted for a while. Perhaps he felt that the conversation was not suitable, so he sent the two people back. After returning to his hometown, for some unknown reason, Zhang Yuan was arrested by the local people.
The county magistrate was beaten up. This insult made him determined to defect to Xixia.
Before leaving, he passed by Xiang Yu's temple. "He emptied his bags to sell wine, drank to Yu Ji, poured wine into clay statues, and sang the words 'The Emperor of Qin was ignorant, Liu Xiangqi annexed'. After a long day of lamenting, he fled in great mourning."
"So Zhang Yuan rebelled against Song and defected to Xia.
However, in fact, Zhang Yuan was a very outstanding talent, and his defection caused great losses to the Song Dynasty, which led to the Song Dynasty's repeated defeats in the war against Xixia.
After this incident, the ministers of the Song Dynasty discussed the pros and cons of the elimination of the imperial examination. The ministers blamed the elimination system of the imperial examination. History records: "So the ministers suggested that it be blamed on the imperial examination. Neither the Jinshi nor the imperial examiners were deposed. Luo. This is a rebellious scholar who will bring endless benefits to future generations of scholars in the world."
Zhu Yijun didn't expect that the debate over this matter would go off topic. He was extremely annoyed and his complexion became worse and worse.
Guo Pu glanced at Shen Shixing, and Shen Shixing sighed softly and said: "It's true that he was deposed, but it is indeed inappropriate for the emperor to single out the number one scholar without looking at his papers. It's just..."
He sighed: "Now that the emperor's approval has been issued, any further changes would be detrimental to the emperor's authority. I think the number one candidate is worthy, but the emperor should do some self-examination to avoid today's unnecessary dispute."
Zhu Yijun breathed a sigh of relief and said hurriedly: "Old Shen Ge is a mature man who has made suggestions for the country, and I appreciate it very much. You can review the reading volume again, and I will review it carefully to show fairness."
Guo Pu didn't say a word, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.