Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 123 What to fight for

Li Qing picked out three papers, read the articles again, and reviewed the papers. These three people were the best, and no one else could find any faults. No matter who among the three is the Huiyuan, no one else can find fault.

These three papers are also very particular. Judging from the content, we can see the author's academic stance. The content of this one shows that he has a background in psychology, and the clear point of view of "unity of knowledge and action, unity of conscience" is revealed. As the examiner of the joint examination, he is of the same lineage as Xinxue, so it’s not too much to choose him as a Hui Yuan, right? Let’s look at another one, “Preserving Heaven’s Law and Destroying Human Desire” is full of B-ness, and its academic stance is biased towards Cheng and Zhu. The article is wonderful, but the stance is different, so I’ll let him be the second best. The third one was more influenced by Yasheng Mencius, and he had a strong tendency to achieve success based on the content.

Well, these three are in the top three!
Li Qing gritted his teeth but still couldn't make up his mind. He hesitated for a moment and picked up Jia Lian's paper and read it again. Hey, this is also a monster. Li Qing, who wanted to be a civil servant leader, was cruel in the end. Lin Ruhai was selected as the top candidate. Although he was appointed by the Supreme Emperor, as the first assistant in charge of the imperial examination, he was violently impeached by the civil officials afterwards. The fundamental reason was that you did not choose Lin Ruhai. The top ten would be fine, but it was the first assistant's fault for giving Lin Ruhai a chance to be in the top three.

Of course, the charges that the civil servants impeached had nothing to do with the palace examination. It was always because the chief minister's ass was dirty.

This is also why after Lin Ruhai, no noble disciple will try to be in the top three, and it will be even more outrageous. At that time, Wang Zhiwang also let Jia Lian be fourth because of this reason. Wang Zhiwang was just unlucky. He caught up with someone trying to become a demon and was directly implicated.

The palace examination was appointed by the emperor, and the provincial examination was controlled by civil servants. There was a tacit agreement that no noble son would be ranked among the top three.

Li Qing did not dare to risk the disapproval of the world. This matter cannot be discussed openly, and everyone will implement it like this.

Another problem is Jia Lian's own problem. The style of his articles is too distinctive, and his arithmetic scores are always full marks. If you know a little bit about Jia Lian, you will know it is him when you get the paper. Can't you cover it up? If you make a few wrong calculations, you will get a few points deducted.

Li Qing finally ranked the top ten, then summoned the two deputy examiners and handed them the top ten papers for review.

The two of them looked at the papers one after another, and then looked at the rankings, showing admiration for Li Qing. How long has it been since Wang Zhiwang's bad luck? Is Mr. Li Ge so brave? Li Qing knew the inside story, so of course he would not explain the reason for Wang Zhiwang's misfortune. It involved someone acting as a monster, and the pull of two generations of emperors, and the former came to kill Old Man Liu.

I’m convinced, I’m really convinced!
Seeing that no one had any objections, Li Qing said calmly: "If you have no objections, just open it."

When he walked out of the side door of Gongyuan, the corners of Qiu Shian's mouth twitched slightly. His Majesty had already dealt with the examination of the provincial examination. He would not deal with the examination of the general examination this time, right? No way? No way?

After listening to it with a smile on his face, Emperor Chenghui was still slightly surprised, and immediately laughed out loud: "Interesting, really interesting."

Back in the palace, Emperor Chenghui got up in the morning and was having breakfast.

Knowing clearly what happened to Wang Zhiwang, he forcibly gave Jia Lian fourth place during the test.

These two are also veterans of the Hanlin Academy, because without the experience of grassroots officials who are close to the people, it is impossible to join the cabinet in this life. They belong to the Buddhist type in the officialdom. After the examination, these two will probably be released as chief secretaries. If they can get to the governor before retirement, they are very lucky.

How to say it? Do it knowing it’s impossible! Just like the quote from Mencius in the third volume [A scholar must be ambitious! 】

Without Old Man Liu's support, the Qingyun Academy's signboard would have to be replaced, and Wang Zhiwang would be in trouble.

Qiu Shi'an, who had never had much sense of presence and was sitting in the shadows, quietly stood up and left without saying hello. Li Qing and the two deputy examiners saw him and pretended not to see him, and did not dare to call him out. The biggest characteristic of Qiu Shi'an, the big boss in the inner court, is that he is unassuming and behaves in a low-key manner.

Of course, Emperor Chenghui also wanted to beat the civil servants.

After saying that, he turned around and asked Queen Zhou: "Xiangnu, tell me, during the palace examination, I won the first place against Jia Lian, what do you think?"

Especially when compared with Dai Quan who is beside the Supreme Emperor, Qiu Shian's presence is like that of a passerby.

In fact, Qiu Shi'an knew very well that 99% of the time he wouldn't be able to do it, but if he couldn't stand it, there was still 0.01%.

The two old Hanlin officials immediately expressed their agreement, and then summoned a group of examiners. After the top ten papers were circulated, everyone looked at Li Qing with a sense of recognition that belonged to the literati.

"First Class First Class, Taicang Shen Mingxin. First Class Class Second, Ganzhou Fengyuan, First Class Class 3, Fuzhou Lin Shen, Second Class Class First Class, Shuntian Prefecture Jia Lian, Second Class Class 2..."

After Emperor Chenghui put down his chopsticks, Qiu Shian stepped forward to report on the rankings in the competition.

"I also think this matter is quite interesting."

When the emperor called her by her baby name, Empress Zhou felt warm in her heart. She hadn't called her by her baby name for many years. Maybe it's because the third child has behaved quite well recently, and His Majesty doesn't blame me for being partial anymore.

When they saw that Jia Lian was indeed fourth, everyone breathed an unexpected sigh of relief. In a sense, everyone was in the same boat. Taken together, Jia Lian's articles and arithmetic scores rank among the top eleven, and there is nothing wrong with it. It was a great blessing for everyone that Jia Lian was not defeated and the emperor was forced to read the unsuccessful papers.

Qiu Shi'an first saluted Emperor Chenghui and then Empress Zhou. After quietly looking at Empress Zhou's face, he silently came to the conclusion that His Majesty stayed here last night and performed well. I will go back and ask if Your Majesty has used Tiger Wolf Medicine. Alas, it is not easy to be the general manager. Every eunuch around His Majesty is trying every possible means to please Your Majesty.

Emperor Chenghui laughed loudly after hearing this: "First place in the second level of the college examination, first place of the second level of the provincial examination, first place of the second level of the general examination, first place of the second level of the palace examination, this is a quadruple series. It can also be regarded as an interesting anecdote in the imperial examination of this dynasty. ”

Qiu Shi'an added in a low voice: "Sage, Jialian is fourth in the county examination and fourth in the government examination."

After Emperor Chenghui heard this, his expression suddenly froze, and he suddenly fell into silence.

After burning the incense, Emperor Chenghui stood up and said to Queen Zhou: "It's time for me to go. I was born to work hard."

Empress Zhou bowed solemnly: "Your Majesty has inherited the glory of Taizu and hopes for a hundred years of peace in the Great Zhou Dynasty. You dare not slack off. The descendants of future generations must be proud of your Majesty."

Emperor Chenghui heard that the solemnity on his face disappeared, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised: "The one who knows me is Xiangnu!"

Emperor Chenghui returned to the Qianqing Palace. His face no longer showed any displeasure, but there was a bit of ridicule on his face. He walked around the palace alone, walking back and forth for more than ten times before saying to himself: "There is a tacit understanding between the king and his ministers." What?"

Qiu Shian wished he could become deaf! Huddled at the desk and pretending to be a sculpture, not daring to make a sound.

Emperor Chenghui's entanglement did not last long, but some people still have to remind some people that the so-called tacit understanding was just that the emperor did not want to break it, not that he was unable to break it.

As the announcement of the list was ongoing, Li Qing was anxious, waiting for the final verdict.

By the time the announcement of the results was over, all the examiners had left Gongyuan, and Li Qing did not wait for the verdict. The three examiners, one chief and two assistants, went to Qianqing Palace to resume their duties together.

Emperor Chenghui seemed to be in a good mood. After a few words of encouragement, he dismissed the two deputy examiners and left Li Qing alone.

When the monarch and his ministers were alone, Emperor Chenghui's tone was not so polite.

"I looked at the top three papers in the first class, judging from their literary talent, and there is no distinction between them. The final ranking is based on your personal preference. I think there is nothing wrong with it, but you should be careful. The thoughtful people in the Procuratorate may be restless."

Emperor Chenghui's attitude is very clear. I think the little tricks you have done are harmless, so I won't argue with you. But it's not that I don't know, it's clear. Finally, if someone from the Metropolitan Procuratorate uses your ranking to impeach you, don’t expect me to come forward to help smooth things over. You can figure it out yourself.

From the perspective of Emperor Chenghui, the ranking of the top three in the general examination is very interesting. At least three cabinet ministers are dissatisfied. Emperor Chenghui is still very confident in the ability of those people who are the elders of the pavilion and who have no soldiers or generals under them.

Especially Huiyuan's paper, the temperament of the Xinxue lineage can be felt from a dozen steps away.

The academic dispute between the Cheng-Zhu lineage and the Luwang lineage has been fighting for more than a hundred years from the Ming Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty, and it has no intention of stopping. They are all from the lineage of saints, why are they fighting? It’s a long story to talk about.

In the early Han Dynasty, the emperor used the Taoist theory of Huang and Lao to govern the country. At that time, Confucians were discriminated against in various ways. Empress Dowager Dou knew that she had done something, throwing a Confucian scholar into a pig pen to fight with wild boars. At that time, it was Confucianism, and within itself there were many factions that were working against each other and disliked each other.

Until Dong Zhongshu appeared and reached an agreement with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he dismissed hundreds of schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone.

After a while of thinking about the conflict, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Modern Literature School and the Ancient Literature School started to work together again.

This can be understood as a battle between traditional families and rising stars.

The next stage will be an external stage. After the invasion of Buddhism, it grew rapidly and even suppressed Confucianism.

From the middle and late Tang Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty, Buddhism almost always had the upper hand.

How to explain this? Everyone needs the spiritual world. Compared with Buddhism, Confucianism has a much higher threshold.

How to talk about sects? It has obvious advantages in the sinking market.

However, the life of Buddhism has not been smooth sailing. There are many emperors in the past who have tried to destroy Buddhism.

The specific reason is that the temple owns land and does not pay taxes. The emperor, who wanted to do something a little bit, said he couldn't bear it when he saw this. I gotta do it! What’s more, the forest is big and there are all kinds of birds. Whether it’s a temple or a Taoist temple, there are always some unorthodox fake practitioners. Then he used the power of faith to amass money and engage in all kinds of extravagance and money chaos.

You have raised a fat pig for yourself, and you have no ability to protect yourself. What will the emperor think when he sees it?

After being dealt with repeatedly, in this land where only the imperial power has the right to communicate with God, religion has become a tool to assist the emperor's rule. If you are not willing to be a tool, just go and die.

Back in the Northern Song Dynasty, in order to fight against the invasion of foreign religions, a generation of Confucian scholars conducted introspection and in turn studied Buddhist classics and incorporated some useful things into their own system.

The main representatives are Er Cheng, Zhu Xi, Lu Xiangshan, and later Wang Yangming, who inherited and carried forward their academic achievements. In a sense, the dispute between Neo-Confucianism and Xinxue is a battle of academic ideas between brothers.

It's just that the two brothers, Er Cheng, never imagined that their students and juniors could be so stupid.

So what are these two factions fighting over?

Naturally, it is the right to speak, the right to interpret Confucian classics! If Zhu Yuanzhang hadn't interfered and insisted on using Neo-Confucianism as the prominent school, forcing those who took the imperial examination to learn from Zhu Xi, perhaps the two schools of scholars in the Ming Dynasty could have fought more ferociously.

Closer to home!
Emperor Chenghui's beating was neither light nor heavy, just to let Li Qing understand that I will not interfere in the academic dispute between you. But if you want to fool me, there is no need to think about it.

Of course Li Qing understood what Emperor Chenghui meant. Each emperor's governing style was different. Li Qing understood Emperor Chenghui's style, so he naturally had to make a clear statement: "I thank your Majesty for your generosity. I know that your Majesty is determined to restore the emperor's power." The style of the Han and Tang dynasties, but today's Confucian leaders are mostly conservative and sluggish people. Many of them are inconsistent with your majesty's ambitions. Therefore, I secretly believe that it is the right time to destroy the old and establish the new." Li Qing is also ambitious. , but he recognized the reality and must make changes if he wanted to change.

In this sense, Li Qing's artistic conception is higher than Zhang Tingen's.

"Oh, in my opinion, how can we destroy the old and establish the new?" Emperor Chenghui became interested and asked Qiu Shi'an to move to a new place.

Li Qing thanked him and sat down. When he looked at the emperor with his head raised, a strong fighting spirit surged in his heart.

"I believe that Taizu of the Ming Dynasty emphasized farming and neglected industry and commerce, which laid the foundation for the financial bankruptcy of the late Ming Dynasty. The reason why Taizu of this dynasty has improved is because at the beginning of the founding of the country, he sought stability in everything and made slight adjustments. Later, due to the opening of the sea The profit greatly alleviates the financial difficulties. The old power is too huge, and many things have been delayed. Your Majesty has the style of Taizu, and I am willing to be a pawn across the river. I do not seek for a moment, but for a lifetime."

Needless to say, Li Qing expressed his attitude clearly and neatly.

In layman's terms, it can be understood this way: I have long been unhappy with the bunch of bugs in the court. When I submitted a memorial to clear my debt, the crowd attacked me. I have to avenge this. The traditional power is too huge, so we should find ways to bring new power into the field. I could spend a lifetime working with these people until I die.

The so-called new ones naturally refer to the industrial and commercial sectors, which seem to be very weak now.

Li Qing's view is highly consistent with Emperor Chenghui's staged goal of solving the court's financial difficulties.

In fact, every dynasty is similar. The cost of governance is not high at the beginning. The cost of governance becomes higher as the years go by. At the same time, the growth rate of fiscal revenue lags far behind. This contradiction cannot be resolved and will always exist, going from stage to stage. It can be understood as a cycle, but it is not an economic cycle.

In the era of agricultural centralization, there was no so-called economic cycle, and there was no inflation. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, silver from all over the world was pouring into China, and the overall price did not see much fluctuation. The reason is that silver did not turn into capital, and capitalism did not appear. This is the inevitable result of institutional suppression of industry and commerce.

The five-stage theory of the former Soviet Union was copied mechanically, and a phenomenon of budding capitalism was forcibly copied.

(End of this chapter)