Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 394 Two Lists and Four Fillings
The final facts proved that Yuan Huazhong was indeed a gentleman, so upright that he could be called ruthless.

After the imperial decree on the "gathering a crowd to revolt in court" case came to an end, Yuan Huazhong's admiration for Xu Guangqi reached an unprecedented level. He told almost everyone he met that the Grand Master of the Imperial Household had the demeanor of a clean leader and could be a role model for the world.

But ever since Yuan Huazhong joined the "special task force" investigating the Shenyang Incident and read a few of the "rebellious articles," he's become furious and singled out Xu Guangqi for inviting wolves into the house, usurping the throne and causing chaos in China. He seems to want to rank Xu Guangqi with Li Yongfang, the traitor who surrendered to the thieves and caused the fall of Fushun.

If it were not for the repeated persuasion of his colleagues including Zhang Wenda, and if it were not for Johann Adam Schall von Bell speaking out to say that he and many of his comrades came to China not to incite the people or plot evil, but to obtain the authentic scriptures and seek the great way of God, and if he had not read several "articles that follow the trend and admire righteousness" that were very different from the "rebellious articles", this guy would have submitted a separate petition to impeach Xu Guangqi before the investigation report came out, requesting the emperor to order the Jinyiwei to enter the Imperial Examination Hall and arrest him urgently.

Even though the crowd dissuaded Yuan Huazhong from his solo impeachment, his draft remained the most threatening item in the investigative report jointly drafted by the Left Censor-in-Chief and thirteen Supervisory Censors. The scattered case files Yuan Huazhong compiled were essentially all based on the principle that "their intentions, their words, and their crimes warrant the death penalty." During the deliberations, he repeatedly demanded the death penalty for those foreign monks who, despite claiming to be "loyal and devoted," were in reality "disloyal to their king and father." He launched into lengthy speeches, forcing Zhang Wenda to repeatedly interrupt him and reiterate order in the meeting.

After reading this last bulk file, Zhang Wenda finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, this guy with a simple mind didn't make any last-minute changes.

Zhang Wenda looked at Li Zongyan and found that he was still reading the investigation report. So he took out another rope and tied up the loose case files.

After tying the knot, Li Zongyan continued reading. Zhang Wenda simply rearranged the bundles of loose case files according to the order of the inspection report, which also helped him kill time. After all this, it was a while later that Li Zongyan came to the main case and handed the inspection report back to Zhang Wenda.

"General, I have finished reading it." Li Zongyan frowned slightly. He always felt that there was something wrong with the report, but he couldn't tell what it was.

"Isn't this article well-written?" Zhang Wenda asked with a smile.

"The description of the case is plain, well-founded, and impartial." Li Zongyan nodded, then asked solemnly, "But, Governor, is it really necessary to sentence those people to death? Five years ago, the Nanjing case was only sentenced to expulsion."

"These two cases can't be compared equally. I've investigated. Although the Nanjing case also stemmed from Long Huamin, it was mostly based on hearsay, with seriously insufficient actual evidence. But in this case, we have the confession obtained from Shenyang, the joint memorial from the Liaodong Governor and the Liaodong Inspector, and—" Zhang Wenda patted the case file lying nearby, "the vehemently worded 'rebellious article'—all of this is solid evidence. Based on this evidence, either 'heterodox practices disrupting government' or 'high disrespect' could be enough to sentence him to death."

"Then why was there so little evidence in the Nanjing Church Incident, but so much this time?" Li Zongyan looked at the piles of loose case files on the desk.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Wenda narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I don't mean anything else, I just feel it's strange." Li Zongyan said.

"I don't know. If you have any questions, you can investigate them yourself. The memorials and letters we exchanged are still in the Tongzhengshisi. The evidence collected and submitted by Sun Guangyu, then Nanjing's Imperial Censor and now Nanjing's Imperial Household Department's Junior Secretary, is also still there." Zhang Wenda pointed behind him and continued, "But I don't think you need to bother with all this effort. I've reviewed it all, and I can't answer your questions."

"Hmm" Li Zongyan shook his head noncommittally.

Zhang Wenda thought for a moment, then mused, "But if we really want to explain it, we can probably figure it out based on the existing evidence."

"What line?" Li Zongyan asked hurriedly.

Zhang Wenda twirled his beard. "When the Nanjing Incident occurred, these foreign monks moved or destroyed the lethal evidence before the authorities took action. This time, they can't do that."

"Can you tell me in detail?" Li Zongyan asked.

"Actually, there's nothing worth explaining in detail. You'll understand if you just think about it." Zhang Wenda's eyes were fixed on the patch on Li Zongyan's chest, and he was obviously lost in thought.

"The Nanjing Incident began in May of the 44th year of the Wanli reign, when Lord Shen Shen submitted his memorial to the emperor, 'Memorial to the Distant Barbarians.' However, it wasn't until July of the 44th year of the Wanli reign that Sun Shaoshen, acting on orders from the then Nanjing Minister of War, now known as the Grand Minister of Justice, led his troops to arrest the perpetrators. This was a full two months' gap, more than enough time for them to move or destroy the damning evidence."

"But in this case of the Shenyang Incident, it took only a few days for Liaodong to decide to issue a royal decree and report the case later. Afterward, Liaodong used express courier to rush the memorial and evidence to Beijing. The day after the memorial arrived in Beijing, the Northern Pacification Office was dispatched. Just by looking at Officer Tang's movements that day, you can get a glimpse of the swiftness and suddenness of the Shenyang Incident."

"That morning, he left his house in Zhengxifang to report for duty at the Imperial Observatory. Upon learning that Zhengxifang and the surrounding streets were blocked off, he hurried back to investigate. After being driven away by the imperial guards, he unexpectedly went to the Imperial Examination Hall to see the Grand Master of Imperial Clan Affairs. It's fair to say he was completely lost, completely disoriented. The case was progressing too quickly, leaving them no time to move or destroy evidence. Or, conversely, the Nanjing Incident was progressing too slowly, giving them ample time to react."

Li Zongyan nodded deeply and murmured, "I heard that many people spoke up for them at that time."

Zhang Wenda suddenly looked up and asked in surprise, "Who are you trying to drag into this?"

Li Zongyan shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, no, no, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that because someone helped to speak, it disturbed the emperor's hearing and therefore delayed the time."

"It's best not to spread your opinion," Zhang Wenda complained. "The government has finally stabilized a bit, and we can get some serious work done. Killing a bunch of foreigners will be enough to give an explanation to the government and the people, both Chinese and foreign. There's no need to drag one into another."

"Yes. I understand." Li Zongyan suddenly realized why he had felt so strange when reading the inspection report. The report was full of blood and gore, and it was really aimed at killing people. But at the same time, it could be said that the report was fair and balanced, neither extreme nor swayed.

Aside from Xiong Tingbi and Yang Lian, who initially reported the incident, and Johann Adam Schall von Bell, who actively participated in the case and was highly relevant to it, the report mentions no other officials. Even when these individuals are mentioned, they are merely briefly mentioned, stating the facts without comment. Even Schall von Bell is similarly mentioned. In retrospect, this may have been intentional on the part of the lead author, Zhang Wenda.

"I'm glad you understand." Zhang Wenda withdrew his gaze and turned to the last page of the investigation report. As he picked up his pen to sign, he asked Li Zongyan, "Would you like to sign your name?"

"I didn't participate much, so how can I sign my name on it?" Li Zongyan leaned forward slightly, but immediately pulled back.

"Why not?" Zhang Wenda flipped the report over and held out the brush. "Didn't you manage the translation office's roster and verify the identities of applicants? Sign it." Zhang Wenda asked Li Zongyan to sign, essentially giving him credit. "Then I'd be remiss not to do so." Li Zongyan took the brush and signed his own name after Zhang Wenda's.

"Okay." Li Zongyan let out a breath and returned the brush to Zhang Wenda with both hands.

Zhang Wenda took the pen and held it in his hand, then pulled out the two lists Li Zongyan had given him earlier. "I need to say a few words about the rectification of the baojia system."

Li Zongyan immediately put on an attitude of listening attentively. "Please tell me, General Secretary. If there is anything wrong, I will correct it immediately."

"I think the assignments and responsibilities are fine, but the schedule will have to wait." Zhang Wenda first took out the list with the candidates and regional divisions and signed his name in the blank space. This way, the list was signed and approved. Li Zongyan could then assign people to the team according to the list.

"Is it too tight or too loose?" Li Zongyan asked.

"Neither. It's fine." Zhang Wenda handed the signed form back to Li Zongyan and pointed at the schedule. "But you have to go to the Jinyiwei first and talk to the co-organizers. Put it forward in a consultative tone. Once they agree, you can write it down on the spot."

"What if they disagree?"

"Just discuss it with them," Zhang Wenda said. "The Imperial Guard is a co-organizer, not a subordinate to the Xiantai. You can't just issue a warrant and ask them to execute it. That would offend them."

"Understood. I'll go to the command headquarters right away." Li Zongyan nodded in agreement and was about to leave when Zhang Wenda stopped him. "Wait!"

"What else does the General Secretary have to teach?"

"Let's go tomorrow." Zhang Wenda said.

"Why?" Li Zongyan turned and glanced at the sky. "Isn't it time to dismiss the court yet?"

"The people from the Street Office are still patrolling the Imperial Examination Hall. Wait until they finish their current work before going." After saying this, Zhang Wenda called out, "Someone come!"

"Chief Inspector." A bailiff on duty quickly ran to the side of the desk, clasped his fists and waited for orders.

"Go get the censors involved in this case to sign their names." Zhang Wenda nodded at the pile of files. "And have them pack them up in the order I've arranged them."

"Yes." The bailiff ran away in a hurry again.

--------

After three days of discussion, the work of filling in the list of the Enke examination was finally completed on the evening of the 28th.

The reason why it takes so long is mainly because the list needs to be filled out in four times.

The first list I filled out was for the 19th place and above. This list was the longest, but it was largely uncontroversial and filled out very quickly.

The second round of rankings was to rank the top five from the remaining eighteen papers. Strictly speaking, this round of rankings involved two rounds of competition: the first was to select the top five candidates, and the second was to rank the top five candidates.

Normally, these two rounds of competition would be fierce. However, this time, the two chief examiners had already reached a consensus beforehand, eliminating internal strife within the chief examiners, a potential risk of tearing the examiners apart and disrupting the harmony of the list-selection process. Instead, they focused on reconciling conflicts among fellow examiners. As a result, the two disputes during the second round of list selection were kept within a reasonable range. Finally, after nearly a full day of reading and appreciation, the top candidate, selected by the five examiners—Yuan Keli, Gu Bingqian, Wei Guangwei, Huang Shijun, and Xue Sanxing—was named the "Five Classics Champion."

The third time the list is filled out, the sixth to eighteenth places will be filled in. There will also be controversy this time, but the intensity of the competition is far less intense than the competition for the Five Classics Champion. Overall, it is still relatively peaceful.

The reason why the above situation of "three fillings in the main list" arises is that there are always eighteen examiners in every imperial examination. Each examiner has his or her favorite first place winner, and hopes that the first place winner he or she chooses can be ranked as high as possible, preferably the first place winner, and the second place winner in the classics.

As for the other candidates besides the top candidate in each room, while their essays might not be bad and they might be highly regarded by their own examiners, compared to the eighteen examiners, the hundreds or even thousands of candidates selected, and the system of selecting one candidate for each exam, such regard was insignificant. It was unacceptable to say that the second-place candidate in one room should squeeze the first-place candidate in another room out of the top eighteen; that would be too disruptive to the harmony, and there was no need to offend colleagues for the sake of a candidate.

Because candidates outside the top 18 rarely made a splash in the palace examination, the rankings after the 19th place didn't matter much.

It can even be said that the examiners did not attach as much importance to the first list as to the last list, which was to fill in the secondary list and select the candidates on the secondary list.

The so-called "Fu Bang Ju Ren" (juren on the "second list") were candidates who performed well in the imperial examination but were not officially admitted due to quota restrictions. This was considered an "extraordinary admission" outside the designated quota. Because the imperial examination had few objective admission criteria beyond the eight-legged essay format, these candidates on the "second list" could be considered candidates whose essays were well-written, but not quite good enough. Typically, each examiner could select one or two candidates for the "second list," but the total number of candidates on the second list generally did not exceed the number of examiners.

Because these vice-list candidates were outside the official admission quota, they did not participate in the palace examination and naturally could not be on the gold list. However, since they were not on the gold list, they were not considered Jinshi, so they could continue to participate in the subsequent joint examination in order to be on the main list.

Failing to pass the palace examination, not making the gold list, and having to take the exam again next time, this characteristic makes it seem as if those on the vice list were not on the list at all, like a consolation prize. However, this consolation prize should not be underestimated, as it may be a prize that many failed candidates will never receive in their lifetime.

(End of this chapter)