Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 347, List of Candidates for the Imperial Examination

Fang Yong's lips twitched slightly as he read Ma Laohei's report.

Old Ma has learned to hide his true colors.

There were some minor complaints.

The intelligence gathered by Li Ni's Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) was not like that.

The Imperial Guards presented the Jianghu figures in Xiangyang City with their exact evaluations of Fang Yong.

For example:
"Fang Yong, you old devil, slaughter Buddhas and harm the Dao!"

"The Demon Lord has descended upon the world, destroying mountains and temples, and bewitching the people. We must unite to fight against this demon."

"Xiao Jueke sold his daughter for personal gain, a disgrace to the martial arts world! We should remove his title of one of the Five Greats and seek another senior martial arts master to fill it."

"We also need to elect a martial arts alliance leader!"

"That demon has destroyed my lineage; he deserves to die a horrible death! I will avenge him, drink his blood, and devour his flesh!"

"You devil, damn it..."

In fact, Fang Yong's reputation in the martial arts world was not particularly bad.

Before going to Beijing, many people in the martial arts world still approved of Fang Yong's actions.

It was only because Fang Yong later slaughtered Buddhists and Taoists and forcibly arrested tens of thousands of monks and Taoists in order to build Hezhou that his reputation was ruined in the martial arts world.

Especially later, when Ma Laohei conquered Henan and massacred a large number of aristocratic families, many of the family members fled to the Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, the head of the Northern School, for refuge. Ma Laohei then took the opportunity to wipe them out as well, and all the monks inside were captured and sent to Hezhou to build the city wall.

This action completely triggered panic in the martial arts world.

There's not much to say about the specific actions involved in this matter.

In his report to Fang Yong, Ma Laohei only compiled some figures, glossing over the rest.

After all, you can't expect a grand marshal who commands hundreds of thousands of troops to destroy a Shaolin Temple and keep detailed records. It's probably just that one of his lieutenants led a few hundred men and did the job.

Formations like the Eighteen Arhats Formation or the Shaolin Bronze Man Formation are clearly no match for ballistae and cannons.

In short, Buddhism and Taoism suffered a devastating blow.

More than half of those martial arts sects are extensions of Buddhism and Taoism.

When the nest is overturned, naturally no egg remains intact.

The advance of organized armies would be devastating for these martial arts sects.

They basically can't run yet, because the mountain gate is right there.

In this situation, it would be very difficult for them to survive.

The Huaiyin army attacked the mountain and destroyed the temple, eventually destroying the mountain gate. Those who managed to escape went south and eventually gathered in Xiangyang, where they banded together for warmth.

The headquarters of the Beggars' Sect, the largest gang in the world, is located in this area.

Now, the Beggars' Sect is also under great threat because of Fang Yong, and is almost unable to survive. Therefore, these people have gathered together, with the intention of targeting Fang Yong.

Of course, no matter how loudly they shouted the slogans, none of them had the courage to actually face an army of hundreds of thousands.

It's obvious that if they really wanted revenge, they wouldn't have gone south; they would have gone north to the capital to seek revenge long ago.

This group had limited power, and neither Fang Yong nor the local powerful families took them seriously.

A bunch of refugees, stinking beggars.

What kind of so-called martial arts alliance leader is he? He's nothing but a nobody.

He Ai from Changsha has been bringing good news lately.

After a long period of development, He Ai had already established a considerable influence in the local area, extending from Changsha outwards, south to Hengyang, and north to Dongting Lake, all of which were within He Ai's territory for farming.

Under He Ai's rule, the local cities and countryside were separated. The cities were governed by the original official families of the imperial court, while the countryside was under He Ai's control. He Ai led the people to build water conservancy projects and reclaim wasteland, achieving self-sufficiency, and the local people all followed suit.

Because there were no large-scale conflicts with the local powerful families, He Ai's army was not particularly large, only more than 60,000 men.

However, the people who followed him to cultivate the land often underwent corresponding militia training, and in times of crisis, they could mobilize an army of hundreds of thousands of people to fight at any time.

With He Ai's troops, it can be said that half of Hunan is basically under their control, and there is little resistance in the remaining areas, so there is unlikely to be any major accidents.

Recently, Shen Tu has been traveling around Beijing, selecting suitable talents.

Currently, the import situation is generally stable.

The main reason was that the Kong family somewhat looked down on Shen Tu.

What kind of merchant would try to associate himself with the Kong family?
grassland?

How much money can you make in that shabby place?
Fang Yong was somewhat amused and exasperated by this.

He went to find Zhaolin.

The young girl plucked the strings of her zither in the pavilion, dressed in a light plum blossom and snow-covered long dress. The melodious music was beautiful and captivating.

Fang Yong thought to himself that next time he would come alone using his lightness skill to see what this girl was really like!
Fang Yong told her about the Grassland Trading Company, saying that it was a major event involving the subjugation of the grasslands and affecting the economies of many places. Although the company was of low rank, it held great power, and he was not comfortable entrusting it to others. He hoped that the Kong family would send someone to join.

Upon hearing this, Kong Zhaolin's eyes lit up, and she gently tugged at Fang Yong's sleeve, saying:

"Zhaolin doesn't understand anything about power or influence, but since it's the King's request, Zhaolin will definitely do it for the King. The King has been working so hard these past few days, and Zhaolin feels sorry for him!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Yong smiled, grasped Zhao Lin's slender wrist, and pressed it onto the piano stand.

"What hard work? I'm not tired at all..."

With her long dress billowing, Kong Zhaolin's face was flushed as she called out softly.

The voice gradually became more urgent.

Fang Yong gently plucked the strings of the zither with his fingers, breaking them all to prevent Zhao Lin's fair and smooth body from being cut by the strings.

Then he held Zhaolin upside down on the zither.

Kong Zhaolin refused with shame:
"Your Majesty, no! This is too terrible!"

Despite saying that, the little hand behind her back was still holding onto Fang Yong's clothes and didn't let go.

……

Fang Yong worked tirelessly for the country.

A few days later, it was the end of March.

The final list of candidates for the imperial examinations, determined through extensive discussions, was handed over to Fang Yong for review.

The list included 284 candidates, of whom 206 came from prominent families. Wu Yuan noted the backgrounds and family influence of these individuals and compiled them into a separate book for Fang Yong to consult.

Of course, this is only the result of the provincial examination. There is another palace examination afterward, but generally speaking, the palace examination is just a formality and rarely results in the loss of academic honors.

Wu Yuan doesn't count.

Wu Yuan was not directly dismissed at first. Emperor Kangning initially only demoted him to the second rank. It was Wu Yuan who wrote a poem mocking Emperor Kangning on the throne that ultimately led to him and Li Hao becoming commoners.

Therefore, this current list is basically the final list of successful candidates in the imperial examinations.

In addition, there were some talented students who failed the exam.

Some of them were deliberately dismissed by Wu Yuan.

Lin Ruhai selected from these people and finally drafted a list of 173 people to study abroad.

However, the people on this list are not the final result. Although they were not admitted, they are already scholars who have passed the imperial examinations. They are not ordinary people. They are people of the same level as Guo Chun's father and have the opportunity to fill vacancies and become officials. They may not be willing to go abroad to study.

(Guo Chun, the young master in "The Bao Family".)
(End of this chapter)