The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 338 Auspicious
On April 26, the second year of the Tianqi reign, Kang Yinggan, the prefect of Xingguo Prefecture, sent an envoy from Japan to present a white deer and a red rabbit as auspicious signs to the emperor.

The two Japanese spirit beasts caused a sensation in the capital before they even entered Chongwen Gate.

People went out to watch, and the two sides of Chang'an Avenue were crowded with spectators. Countless people were trampled to death or injured. Finally, the Bingmasi had to send out soldiers to maintain order.

The people of the capital, who have been oppressed for so long, just want to get a little bit of the blessing from the spiritual beast.

On that day, Liu Zhaosun accepted tributes at the Meridian Gate on behalf of the emperor and rewarded gold, silver, cloth and silk to the envoys from Handong and the elders and gentry in the capital.

The dedication ceremony ended and the whole city was filled with joy.

The so-called "auspicious signs from heaven in response to the virtue of the ruler."

The next day, rumors began to spread in the capital:

The Duke of Protectorate worked day and night, devoted all his energy to state affairs.

It was his wisdom and benevolent governance that moved God.

Therefore, auspicious signs were bestowed upon the newly surrendered Andong Province.

On that day, the Duke of Huguo presented Red Hare to Emperor Tianqi.

The emperor promoted Kang Yingqian to the position of Governor of Tianjin for his meritorious service and immediately transferred him back. Yuan Chonghuan also served as the prefect of Xingguo Prefecture.

Liu Zhaosun took the white deer back home.

When Yang Qing'er, Jin Yuji and Zhang Yan saw the white deer, they were all amazed. The three beauties surrounded the deer, pointing and talking, and laughing from time to time.

"Do you like it? This is a deer. Come, touch it. Deer meat is delicious."

The Duke of Huguo held the one-and-a-half-year-old Liu Yufei in his arms and helped his daughter ride on the back of a white deer.

Jin Yuji was terrified, fearing that her daughter would fall, but she heard Liu Zhaosun say loudly:

"Bring a basin of water."

Everyone was confused and stared blankly.

Yang Qing'er thought her husband was going to kill Xiangrui to serve as a meal for his Korean concubine's daughter, so she hurried forward to stop him.

At this time, the maid Shaoyao had already brought over a basin of clean water.

Liu Zhaosun put his daughter on the ground. Liu Yufei couldn't speak yet and stared at her father blankly.

Jin Yu Ji hurried forward to carry her daughter away, and glared at Liu Zhaosun as she left.

The Duke of Huguo was not in a hurry. He sprinkled water on the white deer's back and began to scrub it.

The three women stared at their husbands as if they were idiots.

Liu Zhaosun dipped his handkerchief in water and then carefully wiped the white deer fur.

When I looked closely, the handkerchief had not changed color.

He couldn't help but have a little more respect for Kang Yingqian.

"Old Kang really found a white deer. Amazing! It seems no one is more professional than him when it comes to the technical skill of offering auspicious signs."

~~~~~
With Kang Yingqian taking the lead, the rest of the people were unwilling to fall behind.

Although the Duke of Protector of the Country did not give any hints or reminders, the unspoken rules of the exercise of power made all those who desired power dare not hesitate.

The prefects and county magistrates of northern Zhili and Shandong immediately followed suit, presenting more auspicious signs to Emperor Tianqi to prove that they were living in an unprecedented era of prosperity.

It can be called the "Apocalypse".

Of course, everyone knows that the creator of this prosperous era is none other than the Protector of the Country.

So, in the next half month, Liu Zhaosun had the opportunity to witness various supernatural phenomena.

These supernatural phenomena are a hundred times more magical than what we have seen in previous lives, such as the Bermuda Triangle's ten unsolved mysteries, the secret of the Loch Ness Monster, and the most authentic UFO abduction experience.

On April 27, the county magistrates of Wendeng, Qixia, Penglai, and other places jointly reported:
On the 15th day, a star appeared in the east, stretching across the sky.
Translated into vernacular:

A comet appeared in the sky, its pale light like a silk thread, pointing straight from the northwest to the constellation Capricornus.

Then, officials from Zhaoyuan, Qingzhou, and Jinan also reported in their reports that a large number of rare birds, such as the gray bird and the red goose, as well as plant wonders such as the blooming of mallow pods and the growth of zhicao appeared in the areas under their jurisdiction.

Finally, officials in Heze, Jining, Tai'an, Liaocheng, Jinan and other places close to the Yellow River were afraid of being overshadowed by their colleagues, so they directly launched a big move.

More than a dozen prefects and county magistrates solemnly declared to the emperor in their reports that in their counties, there appeared rare meteorological wonders such as the River Map and Luoshu, as well as the falling of sweet dew and rain, which were rare in a thousand years.

In order to prove their credibility, these officials who were loyal to the Ming Dynasty also found a group of fat and big-eared elderly gentry to provide evidence to the emperor.

Everyone said: I saw it
Everyone said he saw it.

He saw that the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and that this prosperous world was just as you wished.

Even God couldn't help but speak for our emperor.

That’s why there is auspiciousness.

Then, congratulatory messages praising the emperor's wisdom arrived. In May, ministers from inside and outside the court presented congratulatory messages one after another.

From the Cabinet to the Six Ministries, from the Three Judicial Departments to the provincial governments.

Even the censors of the Censorate forgot their duty of reporting rumors and started writing furiously.

Everyone used gorgeous and moving words to praise Zhu Youjian to the Duke Huan of Qi, Liu Xuande.

Zhu Youjian is not the focus.

The key point is to compare the Protector of the Country to Guan Zhong of Qi and Kong Ming of Shu Han.

In early May, the congratulatory letters received by the Duke of Huguo's Mansion every day had to be shipped in sacks.

The local official had just written about the astronomical wonder of fireflies guarding the heart in the Tangbao and sent it out when he heard that a three-legged golden toad had appeared in a town or village under his jurisdiction, so he quickly wrote another congratulatory letter and sent it to the capital.

However, while officials were wasting people's money and resources to become heroes who followed the emperor, people in northern Shaanxi were eating Guanyin soil, grass, tree bark, and even humans.

In Jiangnan, Huguang and Fujian, where the Kaiyuan Army was out of reach, officials watched the farce of their northern colleagues as if they were watching monkeys.

Shen Lian's Suoyi Guards stationed in Nanzhili, Yangzhou, Fuzhou and other places sent back intelligence saying:

Southern officials did not have a very good impression of the Grand Tutor of the Ming Dynasty, the Grand Pillar of the State, the Grand Secretary of the Jianji Hall... and the Eastern Archbishop.

With the support of local gentry, the princes of Jiangxi and Hunan are recruiting soldiers and forging weapons, just waiting for the Duke of Protector to make another act of usurpation, and then they will immediately raise the flag of rebellion.

I didn't expect that I almost became a clown.

Liu Zhaosun decided that he would not take another step forward before resolving the chaos in Shaanxi - because taking another step forward would mean persuading the emperor to ascend the throne.

He ordered people to throw all the piles of memorials and congratulatory letters written in the Taige style into the kitchen.

Let Chef Tan Er use it to start the fire when cooking.

~~~~~
On May 12th, the Duke of Huguo, on behalf of the emperor, gave a banquet to honor the successful candidates in the imperial examinations.

In the second year of the Tianqi reign, the Spring Examination was originally scheduled to be held in the Imperial Academy in mid-February, but it was postponed to April because of the Kaiyuan Army's "supporting the king" action.

By the time the joint examination was over and the palace examination was held in the Baohe Hall in the Forbidden City, it was already mid-May.

Liu Zhaosun wanted to establish good relations with scholars all over the world, and he was determined to cultivate a group of "Taishi disciples".

After this group of people become officials, they will play a great role in their own layout and planning.

On May 12, the Duke of Protector of the Country, dressed in elegant attire, sat in the Baohe Hall.

At the beginning of the morning hour, the examinees filed in from the west gate.

After going through the cumbersome formalities of calling the roll, distributing the papers, praising and bowing, and performing rituals, the Protector of the Country began to distribute the essay questions and the examination officially began.

Liu Zhaosun paced back and forth in the hall, chatting with the Gongshi (those who passed the imperial examination) who were scratching their heads below.

The imperial civil service elites who were answering the questions knew, of course, that the young examiner before them was the all-powerful Duke Protector of the Nation.

The emperor is just his shadow.

This year's policy topic was also formulated by Liu Zhaosun, and the topic was:

"The world situation is changing day by day, financial resources are drying up, Western learning is spreading to the East, and talents are needed to take up tasks. Firearms, foreign trade, industry, and navigation are all beyond the ability of uneducated people to manage. If you want to take on a heavy task, you must first broaden their knowledge and experience. The responsibility of cultivating them lies with the superiors. However, the schools set up in various provinces and the clerks they recruit are mostly just formalities. The superiors ask for sincerity, but the subordinates respond with hypocrisy. It is advisable to formulate good laws to revitalize them."

A group of candidates stared at the test paper and sighed. If the Duke of Protectorate was not present, they would have probably cursed the examiner who set the questions.

This is completely different from the eight-part essays they recite every day. Salt, iron and firearms are fine, but what kind of industrial and navigation equipment are these?
Do I have to hand in a blank paper?
Seeing this, Liu Zhaosun smiled.

It's so hard to travel through time, so of course pranks are inevitable.

What's more, the next focus of his reforms will be maritime trade and industry.

In the distance, several tribute students were writing furiously.

Liu Zhaosun's eyes lit up.

"The Ming Dynasty still has talents."

The palace examination papers were handed in at dusk.

While waiting for the examiners to review his papers, the Duke of Protector of the Country continued to be busy.

He only slept two hours a day and often worked all night to review memorials. The next day, his eyes were swollen like a big rabbit.

Despite Yang Qing'er's assistance, everything was complicated and urgent.

Review memorials, supervise the training of new recruits, deal with the chaos in Shaanxi, and win over southern officials.

After a busy day, he only has one hour of free time to take care of three women.

Therefore, we often neglect one thing while focusing on another, and fail to achieve universal love and benefit everyone equally.

At this time, Liu Zhaosun would feel infinite emotion and admire the dark, fat and energetic time management master from Taiwan in his previous life.

(End of this chapter)