Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

In the capital, twenty days after the imperial examinations concluded, the results for each subject were finally announced.

Officials from the Court of State Ceremonial loudly announced the names of those on the list, especially the most eye-catching leader:
"Top performers in the Imperial Examination: Zhang Pu, Wu Weiye, Zhang Zhengchen..."

"Top Scholar in the Ming Dynasty Calculation Examination: Zhang Pu".

"Top Scholar of the Ming Dynasty: Zuo Maodi".

As each name was mentioned, the candidates who heard it immediately stirred up an uproar.

Zhang Pu's name appeared in both the Jinshi and Mingsuan examinations, while the other top scorers only appeared once.

what does this mean?
This means that, according to the new method of determining the top scholar in the imperial examination, Zhang Pu is the top scholar in this imperial examination.

Considering Zhang Pu's achievement of becoming the top scholar in the Jiangnan provincial examination last year, something unthinkable is already happening:

"Winning three consecutive championships!"

"This is going to be a triple crown!"

"Zhang Pu is a literary star descended from heaven!"

With a shout from someone, the news that Zhang Pu was about to pass the imperial examinations in three consecutive rounds spread among everyone.

Almost everyone who heard it believed it:
There was no other candidate besides Zhang Pu to be the top scholar in this imperial examination.

Given the emperor's favor towards Zhang Pu, and considering his previous successes in the provincial and metropolitan examinations, becoming the top scholar in the imperial examinations was practically a certainty.

The current emperor will definitely appoint Zhang Pu as the top scholar in the palace examination.

People in the capital were spreading the word about this, and even some tabloids were already touting Zhang Pu as the reincarnation of the God of Literature.

Some people even believe this is a gift from heaven to the emperor:
It is because of the current emperor's diligent governance that heaven has bestowed such auspicious omens.

Zhang Pu's name truly became famous in the capital, no longer limited to the press.

Many parents, when teaching their children, began to take Zhang Pu as a role model and explain what the Seven Records and Seven Burns were.

Previously, Zhang Pu's articles published under the pen name "Master of Qilu Studio" were also very popular. Some people even collected old newspapers and cut out Zhang Pu's articles.

This frenzied situation even startled Zhang Pu, who was now unable to leave the house and could only hide with Chen Zilong.

Seeing this, Chen Zilong laughed and said:
"Brother Tianru, you've become quite famous this time! Many people are collecting your writings!"

"If you ask me, we should just publish our own book. You can handwrite those articles again."

These words were meant as a joke, but Zhang Pu took them seriously after hearing them.

With his current fame, he has no trouble selling his books.

They can even receive the highest royalties, which is a quarter of the total.

With the current emperor regulating the publishing market and clearly defining the revenue share for authors, this copyright usage fee that must be paid to authors is called royalties.

Writing and selling books has become a choice for many writers, and they do not shy away from discussing it.

In particular, Zhang Pu knew the emperor's hatred of corruption and never considered becoming a corrupt official.

Therefore, other legitimate sources of income become very important, and selling books is one of them.

So he laughed as well:

"Zilong's suggestion is good."

"I haven't been able to go out much lately, so I've been organizing my old articles."

"I'll also need to trouble Zilong to help me edit and print it into a book for publication."

It was named "Qiluzhai Collection" (from the first to the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign) as a collection of writings from this period.

Chen Zilong was dumbfounded, never expecting Zhang Pu to actually do this.

This left him momentarily speechless, pointing at Zhang Pu.

After Zhang Pu turned the tables on him, he burst into laughter and said:
"It's settled then!"

“There are other rising stars, and Zilong can also help them publish books.”

The plan is to use the publishing resources of Ming Pao to recruit these capable classmates.

Chen Zilong said with a hint of helplessness:
"Who else is the most famous in this imperial examination besides you and your master?"

"You are the top scholar in both the provincial and metropolitan examinations, and your disciple Wu Meicun is also the top scholar in the metropolitan examination."

"Now everyone outside is saying that you two are 'two outstanding masters and two scholars from the same family.'"

"Otherwise, why would so many people buy your writings?"

This is what makes Zhang Pu so remarkable: he not only became the top scholar in the imperial examinations by himself, but also taught his disciple Wu Weiye to become the top scholar.

This is even more incredible to many people, and it makes people realize Zhang Pu's abilities even more.

There are indeed people who believe in the saying that "the God of Literature has descended to earth".

Some candidates preparing for the Mingjing and Mingshu examinations sought Zhang Pu's writing. Among them was Yang Tingshu, who only made it onto the supplementary list and did not pass the provincial examination.

Zhang Pu was extremely puzzled when he heard about this:
“Vidou is a man of profound learning, how could he have failed the exam?”

"He was the top scholar in the Book of Documents in Jiangnan. How many people in this examination are proficient in the Book of Documents?"

I don't think that with Yang Tingshu's talent, he couldn't even pass the imperial examination.

Chen Zilong sighed and said:

“Wei Dou passed the exam on the classics, but he failed the essay section, so he was relegated to the second-highest score.”

"He himself was very unwilling to accept this, but there was no way to change it."

This was a rule set before the exam, and the policy essay exam was also very simple, as the questions were drawn from the provincial exams of previous years, so most candidates felt there was no problem with it.

Logically speaking, Yang Tingxu shouldn't have made a mistake in this matter, but a problem did arise.

Now, Yang Tingshu plans to participate in the special imperial examination as a supplementary candidate, to take the Mingjing examination, which only focuses on the classics.

Zhang Pu frowned slightly, his expression grave, and said:
"The Enko exam is not easy to pass."

"Once someone passes the imperial examination, regardless of whether they are on the main list or the secondary list, they will be appointed to an official position."

"If you pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi, that's fine, but if you only pass the supplementary examination, your future in officialdom will be limited."

Chen Zilong also sighed and said:

"Who says it's not?"

"However, the ancient text of the Book of Documents was removed by Your Majesty and is now being examined by many people to determine its authenticity."

"After reading some articles, Vidou realized that what these people said made sense."

He had lost confidence in taking the next exam and only wanted to take the special exam to study diligently.

This was a major event in the field of classical studies, and also a disturbance caused by the emperor's order to collate and annotate the Four Books and Five Classics.

After the emperor believed that the ancient text of the Book of Documents might be a forgery, many people began to examine and verify it.

This book is controversial and cannot withstand close scrutiny. After many people pointed out its flaws, they are increasingly inclined to believe it is a forgery.

Yang Tingshu himself was well-versed in the Book of Documents, so he could naturally understand these texts. Because of this, he became increasingly distressed, realizing that what he had previously studied might have been a forgery.

It's a testament to his strong will that he didn't break down under such a blow. Now, all he wants is to pass the imperial examinations as soon as possible and focus on his studies.

Even if he failed the special imperial examination, he planned to attend Liu Zongzhou's Mingjing class and never take the imperial examination again.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Pu repeatedly expressed his regret, but he didn't know how to comfort Yang Tingshu. He could only write down the sixteen-character Heart Sutra, which originated from the ancient text of the Book of Documents and was recognized by the emperor and many ministers, to wish Yang Tingshu good results in the exam.

Among his other friends, Wu Changshi also failed the imperial examination. However, he was not so devout in his studies of the classics, and after learning that the next examination would still test the current interpretation of the classics, he planned to try again in three years.

Among the other successful candidates, Zhang Zhengchen was the most noteworthy.

This was not only because he was Liu Zongzhou's grand-nephew and disciple, but also because he had fallen from his horse and broken his arm while traveling to the capital for the imperial examination.

But he did not back down. He insisted on passing the imperial examination with calligraphy on his left arm and even became the top scholar.

This legendary experience is also a topic of great interest, and people believe that he truly deserves to be called Liu Zongzhou's disciple and is a talented individual.

Zhu Youjian held the same view, and what he valued most was Zhang Zhengchen's background as a member of the Imperial Mausoleum Guard—

This person is born with the mark of royalty and can only serve as a loyal subject in the future.

Therefore, he took special care of Zhang Zhengchen and sent an imperial physician to treat him to prevent him from becoming disabled.

Zhang Zhengchen was deeply grateful, overwhelmed with gratitude for the emperor's high regard for him.

When other candidates heard this, they also believed that the current emperor valued scholars.

Although there were some criticisms of the emperor's changes to the imperial examination system and his revisions of the Four Books and Five Classics, many more people supported the current emperor.

In particular, this examination, in addition to the eight hundred successful candidates and four hundred supplementary candidates, also required four hundred candidates to pass the imperial examinations.

Many people were eager to get a chance to become officials.

Pan Xiucai, who was granted the title of Juren by Zhang Pu and others without taking up a quota, was one of them.

Although he failed the imperial examination for mathematics, he was given the opportunity to participate in the special imperial examination because his ancestors had been commoners for three generations.

He plans to take the Mingjing examination this time, even if he fails, he will still apply to the Mingjing class. He is determined to enter officialdom and change his own and his family's fate.

Many candidates eagerly awaited the examination, while a debate arose over whether those who passed the imperial examination outside the Jinshi category could participate in the palace examination.

Previously, in order to gain the approval of his ministers to establish the Mingfa and Mingsuan examinations, Zhu Youjian set the number of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) in the two examinations as only the fourth and fifth grades, without a palace examination like the military examinations.

Those who passed the previous exam had no objection to this, but those who were well-prepared for this exam began to complain after passing the Legal and Mathematical exams.

They joined together with other candidates who participated in the Mingjing and Mingshu examinations, believing it inappropriate to only be ranked as fourth or fifth class Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest level of the imperial examinations). They argued that Jinshi from the Siming examinations should also have the opportunity to compete for the top three positions.

Even before the palace examination was held, various controversies arose. Many people awaited the emperor's judgment. (End of Chapter)