It was March 3rd of the same year again, just like two years ago, Chongzhen still failed to go to Huaiyang to burn incense and worship his ancestors to show off his martial arts skills. As an unqualified faint king, Chongzhen had many secret meetings with Zhu Youcong.
During the conversation, they understood a truth. The reason why they were able to completely convince the scholars this time was because the little fat guy who appeared unexpectedly did not play according to the rules set by the scholars.
However, nearly three hundred years after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the struggle between imperial power and scholarly power has been ongoing, including the seemingly peaceful present. Although Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang did not know a few Chinese characters, he was talking about his relationship with the scholars.
When sharing the world, he did not forget to keep a hand. Whether it was cutting salaries or promulgating edicts in addition to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, they showed determination and courage, and warned those officials who spoke of benevolence, justice and morality not to go too far. Experienced officials
When Chengzu came to the throne, he still kept the scholar-bureaucrats in submission by relying on his tough methods and decisive courage.
Even though the scholars were very arrogant and liked to scold the emperor, in these two dynasties, there were really few who dared to jump out. The reason is also very simple. One of these two is semi-literate. It would be impossible to really piss him off.
If I don't reason with you, I will just drag him out and use a big knife to greet you. If you are not afraid of this, there will be peeling grass and Lingchi scraper waiting for you.
The other educated man was slightly better, but he often turned a deaf ear to the words of the scholars. He just said that the emperor guards the country, and he didn't care whether the courtiers were willing to give up their wealth, let alone the son of a daughter.
The nonsense of not being able to sit down in court forced the ministers to say goodbye to Jinling Fengyue in tears and move their families to the bitter cold places in the north. Even Zheng He's voyages to the West, which were widely criticized by civil servants, weren't they allowed to do it whenever they wanted?
But even the two toughest founding monarchs could not get any advantage from the resilient scholar-bureaucrats.[
For the semi-literate Zhu Yuanzhang, they chose to pinch their noses and endure it, but they secretly deceived the emperor's grandson, so that even after Zhu Di launched an army to rebel, the kind-hearted Emperor Jianwen was still shouting "Don't kill my uncle, or put him on my back"
The crime of killing my uncle!"
As for Chengzu, who always loves to conquer by himself, that can be easily dealt with. On the surface, he is still opposed to it. He lets the emperor relax his guard, but secretly makes all the preparations and waits for the emperor who is so happy to get out of the house. They are good
Use old tricks to take control of the capital and continue to fool the prince.
Although the scholar-bureaucrats had many ways to deal with the powerful emperor, they were accustomed to weakening the ministers around them first and then making progress slowly. After all, intellectuals in this era had too many worries. When doing a big thing, they always need to plan for a year and a half.
After balancing the interests of all parties, choose an appropriate time.
In the Ming Dynasty, there were many emperors who were in unlucky situations for no apparent reason, but whether it was Ying Zong who was deceived into a civil fort where supplies were suddenly cut off, causing the entire army to mutiny, and he was captured alive, or Wu Zong who accidentally fell into the water, and Wu Zong who has now escaped to
Apocalypse in Luoyang can often lead a comfortable life for a few years.
Of course, Guangzong doesn't count. Who made him think that just because the scholars helped him drive away his biggest rival, King Fu, he could do whatever he wanted? He was so short-sighted when he was the prince, always thinking about reviving the discipline and promoting new ones.
Officials are such an ungrateful person. If you don't give him two red pills, who will be left to enjoy them?
Although the unacademic Zhu Youcong couldn't think through these things, he also understood that he would die miserably if he followed the scholars' methods. Therefore, he could only start from scratch and take advantage of the scholars' negligence to create an epoch-making new army.
, he may not be able to destroy the Tatars at that time. But he can definitely defend the capital and throw out the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty as scapegoats.
While continuing to use force to maintain deterrence, Zhu Youcong and Chongzhen chose a path that seemed dangerous but was evasive. Lianheng and Zong made full use of the scholar's preference for internal fighting to make them bite each other, but they chose not to do anything.
The foundation of the scholars in Jiangnan has always given them hope of making a comeback.
Another characteristic of the scholars is that their talent is inversely proportional to their courage. Since they have not been forced to a dead end, they do not need to take huge risks to fight with that fat man who kills without blinking an eye. Recently.
The surrender of Zhou Yanru and others also shows that this method is still effective. The higher the position, the more things they have to worry about. As long as they are given enough benefits, they will be able to betray their comrades.
Very happy.
But even though all the important ministers in the dynasty were forced to take refuge. The arrogant officials were reduced to the point where everyone was shouting for beatings, and a good atmosphere of public opinion gradually formed among the people. However, there was still a huge hidden danger that could not be eliminated. In order to be able to completely
Only by solving this problem can Zhu Youcong keep the most powerful new army in the country, and only then can he deceive Chongzhen into taking charge when the people in the north have recovered. Even Li Guopu, who stayed in the capital, did not have the courage to make any crooked ideas.
Nanjing.
And Jiangnan is worthy of being a good place for outstanding people. Those scholars who are rushing up and down secretly to take the exam have shown that this concern is not unfounded. In order to cooperate with this final crackdown operation, Kong Yanzhi kept a secret when arranging courses. All official schools
In the first year, only Confucian enlightenment readings were taught. On the one hand, it was to help the people develop a correct moral outlook from an early age. On the other hand, it was also to give the Jiangnan scholars an illusion.
Although the main lecturers in the official school are students from Luoyang Academy, they still have the reputation of being scholars. You must know that the war in the North in the past few years has produced as many down-and-out scholars as crucian carp crossing the river. Who else is there?
How much time do you have to slowly conduct research? Moreover, the person in charge of this work is Yan Shenggong, and he still teaches Confucian classics, as the Master said in Shiyun. Therefore, even if the scholars are worried that there will be more people competing for their jobs in the future, they just choose to prepare for a rainy day.
They used team-up tactics to prevent possible opponents, but they would never have guessed that this was a ruthless move that would break their foundation.
What the scholars did not expect was that the imperial examination in the sixth year of Chongzhen's reign was a big trap. The imperial court not only wanted to select the best talents, but also completely cut off the future of the corrupt Confucians. Chongzhen and the imperial party's traitors wanted to take advantage of this.
This is an opportunity to let everyone in the world know that Confucian classics must be learned as a means of self-cultivation. But if you want to sneak into the court and be superior to others just by relying on this, there is no way. At most, you can only go to the Hanlin Academy to retire, and every month
With that pitiful salary, you can watch others live a good life.
The arrangement of the residence this time also took great pains by the traitors of the imperial party. No matter how bad the traditional scholars are behind their backs, they will always be sanctimonious and righteous people in front of others. Since the place has now been completely cleared of the past romance,
Why don't they continue to dress themselves up and look noble?
So now the people living by the Qinhuai River are either the mysterious candidates who came from Luoyang Academy, or the deviants who followed Song Yingxing. Even if there are a few Confucian scholars, they are the kind of straightforward and informal people like Huang Zongxi.
Romantic figures, these people are exactly what the Ming court needs.
"Your Majesty!" Kong Yanzhi knew very well that after this scientific examination, his remaining prestige among the scholars would be gone. But he could not refuse the bait Zhu Youcong gave him. He was deceiving the emperor and waiting for the barbarians.
Between the unreasonable foreign invasion that completely destroyed Chinese civilization, and the idea of sailing around the world to turn Confucian culture into the ruling doctrine of all foreign countries, he has always firmly chosen the latter.
"How's it going? Are you ready with the test questions?" Even if it was just a chat game, Chongzhen was not willing to be too perfunctory.
"The topic I ordered this time is all about the golden mean..." Is the study of saints really the way to govern a country? Even Kong Yanzhi himself didn't bother to answer this question. It goes without saying in the court. Why don't you point it out?
How did the caller fool the emperor? But among the local government, whether it is the prefect or the county magistrate, it is rarely used when dealing with practical matters, because the ones who really maintain the normal operation of the yamen are those Xingming masters who failed in the scientific examination, or
He was a small official who knew two words but knew how to calculate. So the questions Kong Yanzhi gave this time were so simple that even those who had studied for two days could sneak into a nursing home and stay there.
"Yeah!" Chongzhen was very confused about this arrangement. If the first level that everyone must participate in is too difficult, what is the difference between it and the scientific examinations in previous years?
"The other ones are the questions from the Qin Tian Jian and the Ministry of Household Affairs. The Nine Chapters of Arithmetic and the Geometry Elements translated by Xu Guangqi in his early years are both involved. According to them, more than half of the rotten Confucians will be eliminated by then!" [
"Hmm!" The remaining half may not be able to write good articles or poems, nor may they all enter the Imperial Academy, but they can be used to handle affairs within the yamen.
"Then there's the Xiyi that Devine sent over this time. According to the evaluation of the masters of the institute, at most 10% of the people in the Ming Dynasty can solve the questions he asked!"
"Did Brother Cong get fooled again? Is that old guy really a genius?" Chongzhen was also very interested in this statement. You must know that there are hundreds of thousands of students coming to take the exam this time, but one person can actually get it.
Eliminate 90%?
To say that Devigne's luck was really good, just when he returned to the West with the Dutch caravan and prepared to fool the Pope, he actually met an unlucky guy in Rome who had been mentioned many times by Zhu Youcong. For that dream
The red book in the book. Devigne was also cruel this time and followed Zhu Youcong's example and went directly to the church to buy someone. However, Devigne was relatively poor, so what he exchanged was a plum vase worth six taels in the Ming Dynasty.
Well, that's right. That's six taels! The exquisite porcelain worth six taels of silver was exchanged for a woman who was about to be tried in the convent of Santa Maria. In the end, even if she was not burned to death on the spot, she would be imprisoned forever, and was regarded as a scourge by the Inquisition.
This scourge not only dares to promote heresies, but also dares to slander the Pope for being simple-minded and conservative. And the name of this scourge is Galileo Galilei!
What these six taels of silver were exchanged for was the Inquisition's decision to send Galileo to the East to harm the rich Ming Empire. During the long voyage, Devigne casually took out the two items he had requested from the Luoyang Research Institute.
Toys, and then completely conquered Galileo's heart. One is a model of the solar system made of mud, proving that heliocentric theory has been accepted by the world as a basic theory in the East. The other is two vacuum tubes.
Only when he saw the iron ball did Galileo realize how primitive his experiment on the Leaning Tower of Pisa was.
And when Devigne took out his cherished catadioptric astronomical telescope and let Galileo see the craters on the moon with his own eyes, the nearly seventy-year-old scourge went completely crazy. He had five out of twelve hours a day.
He spent three hours observing the astronomical phenomena and revising his works, and spent six hours pestering Devigne to learn Chinese. Because the Ming Empire in the East not only possessed the knowledge he desired, but also had a very devout Catholic and a kingdom that was unknown in the legend.
General, he must communicate and learn in a language that others are familiar with! It’s okay to scold the emperor and laugh at the pope in that country, because it is the most civilized empire in the world, and its only requirement is that it must be mastered proficiently.
language.
Devigne was also very aware of General Zhenguo's desire for talents. He believed that this old guy could get him a red book. Therefore, after half a year of sailing, he did not stop in Macau with Reyoz and others.
It was in the first month that Galileo was sent to Nanjing.
When the exhausted Galileo set foot on this magical land and saw the high-tech products produced by the research institute in Qintian Prison, he believed it. He believed that the Ming Empire in the East was his final destination. So there was no need this time.
The factory guard who had been prepared long ago tortured and extorted a confession, and he began to show off his knowledge. Not to mention asking him to help come up with two questions to test the students of the Ming Dynasty, even asking him to compile a long book to prove that he was an idiot.
No problem with novels.
"Replying to your majesty, according to the masters of the institute, this question asked by the Westerners is not difficult. However, our students from the Ming Dynasty have more practical experience and are still insufficient in theoretical research, so they only know how to solve the problem.
I don't know why..." Kong Yanzhi was right. Even without Zhu Youcong's troubles, Ming Dynasty's technology was still ahead of the world, but it had gradually shown signs of fatigue in basic subjects, and was very popular with the West.
The danger of catching up. Galileo and those elites who will soon be sent over by the Westerners themselves will completely reverse this situation.
"Okay! Tell the factory guard that he must empty out the little knowledge he has before the emperor brother and brother Cong come to rob him, lest those two shameless people make my work in vain!" After finishing his scolding,
Brother, Chongzhen said again: "What about the questions from the institute? After their assessment, how many good horses can be selected for me?"
"This..." Kong Yanzhi blushed and said a little embarrassedly: "Including the students who came from Luoyang Academy, there are probably less than a thousand people who can pass their screening!"
"Talent! Talent! This is what our Ming Dynasty lacks the most now. I am an emperor who is also the dean of the Imperial College, but there are only a thousand people?" Chongzhen smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It seems that in terms of education,
We have to hurry up. Fortunately, with these seedlings, we can still see some hope..." Knowing that this kind of matter cannot be rushed, Chongzhen could only wave his hands helplessly and said to Kong Yanzhi: "Kong Aiqing, please go first.
Go down and make the regulations of this scientific examination public first! In two days, we will select talents for the Ming Dynasty!" (To be continued...)