Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 13 Guo Chong’s quick wit!

Zhu Biao is gone.

He left with this "anti-article".

All the officials were still kneeling on the ground, but they kept thinking about the last sentence in their minds.

What does Zhu Ming’s world have to do with the people!

What does it have to do with officials?

Does the current emperor really treat these officials as officials? If he is not satisfied with them, he will beat, scold, and kill them, without giving them any dignity at all.

They are your Majesty's farmhands.

Those who manage the "Great Zhu Family" for Your Majesty have always been on guard against and threatened by Your Majesty, fearing that their power will be encroached upon.

They don't care about that.

But they have served Your Majesty, so they should get some due rewards, right? Not to mention the status, just talk about the salary. Has there been any dynasty in history that was lower and more stringent than that of the Ming Dynasty?

No.

As officials in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, they felt that their salaries were insufficient, let alone the local officials and clerks?
The reason why corrupt officials in the Ming Dynasty could not be stopped despite repeated bans, and even increased in number the more they were banned, might be because of this reason: their meager salaries were not enough to support their families, and they could not survive without being greedy.

These words were advised by officials at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, but were all severely rejected by His Majesty. In the end, His Majesty chose to emphasize that officials should have moral character.

But can virtue be eaten?

However, after seeing one censor after another who gave advice were killed, no one in the court dared to mention it anymore. Now that it is mentioned again, they feel deeply convinced and sigh.

After Zhu Biao left for a while, all the officials stood up in a daze, wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads, and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Li Shanchang glanced at the officials who looked slightly surprised and reminded them in a cold voice: "All the ministers have heard the contents of this anti-article."

"But you should all know that many of these words are malicious slander and defamation. How could outsiders know your majesty's wisdom and bravery?"

"Ignorant and fearless!"

"In addition, all the ministers know your Majesty's temper. If this gets out and reaches your Majesty's ears, it will be hard to say."

There was a cold light flashing in Li Shanchang's eyes, and the threat and warning in his words were barely concealed.

Zhao Mao, Tang Yougong and the others were startled. They also knew the violent temper of the current emperor, so they said quickly, "Thank you for reminding us, Duke. We know about this and will never reveal a single detail to anyone."

"Please rest assured, Duke."

"That's good." Li Shanchang nodded.

At this time.

At the back of the hall, Wu Gongda discovered something unusual. Everyone else in the hall had stood up, but Guo Chong was still kneeling on the ground.

As if still in this great shock.

He called out softly a few times: "Brother Zixiang, Brother Guo, Minister Guo! Wake up."

boom.

A muffled sound was heard.

Guo Chong fell directly to the ground, frightened to the point of fainting by this incident.

The muffled sound was not loud, but at this moment, it seemed particularly loud. Li Shanchang, Zhao Mao and others all looked over.

Seeing Guo Chong in such a miserable state, Li Shanchang, with a look of contempt and disgust on his face, raised his hand and shouted outside the hall: "Come, carry Guo Chong away."

"You couldn't even handle this, and you fainted from fright. It's really embarrassing."

"Take it away."

"Wait until he wakes up and tell him that he doesn't need to come for subsequent examinations."

Li Shanchang had a look of disgust on his face. He forcefully decided what to do with Guo Chong. Then he shook his sleeves and strode out of the hall.

After Li Shanchang made the decision, a clerk immediately entered the hall and carried Guo Chong out of the hall.

Just as the officials in Wenhua Hall watched Guo Chong being carried away, someone asked about something.

“Who wrote that anti-article?”

"Does anyone know?"

The hall was silent, and everyone shook their heads.

The examination papers have not been reviewed yet, and the final rankings have not been determined yet. The names on the examination papers are sealed with special mud seals, so they cannot be read at all. They are not allowed to be read.

But after this question was asked, everyone fell silent, because the imperial examination consists of three tests. If this person dared to do such a bold and suicidal thing, would he really only write one test?
Does that mean there are two more?

When Guo Chong encountered this kind of thing, he was so frightened that he fainted on the spot. If the same thing happened to them, what could they do?
Will he perform better than Guo Chong?
Think of this.

Everyone's face darkened, and their eyes revealed deep worry and uneasiness.

Wu Gongda sat in his seat, but his eyes were fixed on the direction where Guo Chong was carried away. If he saw it correctly, Guo Chong's eyelids clearly moved when he was carried away.

Guo Chong was not frightened to death.

Instead, he was pretending to be unconscious in order to get out of this possible political storm, and Guo Chong deliberately "played crazy and stupid", the benefits of which were obvious.

Although it damaged my reputation, it also reduced the possibility of His Majesty's wrath and allowed me to escape from possible controversy over the examination papers.

Wu Gongda sighed in his heart: "Brother Zixiang, after so many years, you finally let go of your pride and started trying to protect yourself."

"But what should I do?"

Wu Gongda frowned.

He was just a minister, which was actually a high position, but it was still not enough compared with the other officials who were reviewing the papers.

Therefore, once His Majesty gets angry, they are the ones most likely to get into trouble and be affected, so he can't help but worry.

If possible.

He even wanted to switch places with Guo Chong.

It is difficult to be an official in the Ming Dynasty.

……

Wuying Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang was resting in the hall.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard Zhu Biao's request for an audience, he smiled and yelled at the eunuchs around him, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and let the prince in."

"We've already said that."

"The prince is coming. There is no need for us to ask for instructions. Let him come in directly."

"Why don't you listen?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, his words filled with dissatisfaction and displeasure.

At this time.

Zhu Biao's voice came from far away: "Father, this is what I asked for. Father, please don't blame these eunuchs."

"The monarch has his own way, and the minister has his own way. As a minister of my father, I should strictly abide by my duties as a minister. How can I overstep my bounds?"

Zhu Biao bowed respectfully to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "You are our son, unlike those ministers. You don't need to bother with these etiquettes with us."

"We don't like it either."

immediately.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao and asked in confusion, "Didn't I ask you to preside over the examination? Why are you here now?"

"Did you discover some talented person?"

Zhu Biao took out the test paper from his sleeve and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I came here rashly because I have something important to report."

Zhu Biao paused for a moment, then said solemnly: "Father, in this imperial examination, some candidates wrote anti-Chinese texts on their examination papers."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole hall fell silent.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang looked calm, as if he was not affected at all. His expression was terrifyingly calm. He just nodded: "Yeah."

"We get it."

"We actually expected this."

"In fact, there have always been many scholars who miss Yuan."

"We're used to it."

(End of this chapter)