Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 473: Selection and Sorting
Shen Yourong's forehead began to sweat. The garrison commander left the station without permission and sneaked into the capital, which was a serious crime that would bring disaster to his family!
He quickly reached into his bosom, and only when his fingertips touched the envelope containing the Ministry of War did he feel a slight sense of relief. "I have come to Beijing to report on my duties in accordance with this ministry's official letter," Shen Yourong said as he pulled out the envelope and unfolded it. "Here is the Ministry of War's seal and the signature of this soldier, Mr. Cui. Young Sima Zhang, please review it."

Because the title of "Minister of War" can be used as an additional title for the governor or governor-general stationed in the border areas, and there is also a Nanjing Minister of War in Nanjing, so in the Beijing Ministry of War, the Minister of War who holds the official seal of the ministry and assists the emperor is also called "Benbing" to distinguish him.

Zhang Jingshi took the official letter and looked at it. He found that it indeed had the seal of the Ministry of War and the signature of Minister Cui Jingrong. "This is indeed the seal of my Ministry of War." After confirming that the seal and signature did not appear to be forged, Zhang Jingshi handed the official letter back to Shen Yourong. "You keep it for now."

"Mr. Zhang, isn't Mr. Cui in the yamen now?" Shen Yourong took the official letter and let out a breath.

"No," Zhang Jingshi nodded slightly, then turned and walked towards a commonly used wooden shelf, which displayed a large number of archives and memoranda recording military affairs throughout the country.

"Then where did he go?" Shen Yourong also followed, while Yuan Jin and Li Zhong were still standing there, with their heads down and silent.

"He's gone to the Wenhua Hall to review the papers," Zhang Jingshi pondered for a moment before standing in front of the shelf. He then retrieved a memorandum from a convenient location, specifically used to record the receipt and dispatch of official correspondence. "Mr. Cui is one of the examiners this year." With the exception of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, which were absent, the remaining four ministries were supervised by the chief officials.

"Oh! I see." Shen Yourong then remembered that the new emperor had opened a special examination and the palace examination was in progress in Beijing.

Zhang Jingshi flipped through the memorandum and found the date the letter was sent, which only deepened his confusion. On the corresponding page, there was no record of a letter sent to Shandong, only to the Liaodong Governor's Office and the Shaanxi Three Border Governor's Office.

There are only two possibilities: one is that Cui Jingrong was old and forgetful and forgot to record this incident in his memorandum; the other is that Cui Jingrong not only made a fake seal document, but also had it stolen and used by someone else. If it is the former, it is easy to deal with it. The Ministry of War can cover it up and pretend nothing happened. But if it is the latter, then what awaits Cui Jingrong is disgrace, impeachment and dismissal, and even imprisonment and trial.

"Deputy General Shen." Zhang Jingshi deliberately restrained his expression.

"What instructions does Young Sima Zhang have?" Zhang Jingshi responded immediately.

"Since the official report was signed by Lord Cui, it's only natural that he should personally hear it," Zhang Jingshi said, closing the memorandum and returning it to its place. "But he probably won't be returning to the yamen today. You should find a place to stay first and come back to the Ministry of War later."

Shen Yourong was acutely aware that something must be amiss within the Ministry of War. However, he was a seasoned man, and since Zhang Jingshi was intent on covering it up, he simply followed suit, saying, "So, when should we come to the government office again?"

"After the Ceremony of Announcement of Imperial Nobles," Zhang Jingshi said with a faint smile. "Just a reminder: since you've arrived in the capital in a hurry, you still have to come. Otherwise, you'll definitely be impeached by the Military Affairs Department." On the day of the Ceremony of Announcement of Imperial Nobles, all civil and military officials in the capital, unless they were unable to attend due to special circumstances, such as serious illness or mourning, were required to attend the ceremony.

"Okay, thank you, Young Master Zhang, for reminding me." Shen Yourong bowed and said goodbye, "I will take my leave now!"

"No delivery."

Turning around, Zhang Jingshi's face slowly darkened.

--------

Nearing the time of Shen, before the court was dismissed, the door of Deputy Assistant Ye Xianggao's house was opened from the inside out.

Every time at this time, the old doorman of the Ye family would come out to greet their master and young master.

From afar, the old doorman spotted a familiar figure approaching. A look of confusion and disbelief crossed his face at first, but as the figure drew closer, he was certain. He approached and greeted them warmly, "Oh! It's Mr. Shen from Ninghai!" Ninghai was Shen Yourong's self-proclaimed nickname, and it was also a universally recognized nickname.

"It's been four years since we last met?" Shen Yourong responded with a smile.

The old doorman thought for a moment. "Less than four years."

"Yes! The last time I visited the Lord was in the first month of the 45th year of the Wanli reign, more than four years ago." Shen Yourong had a deep impression of the day he last visited Ye Xianggao. Not long after, another old friend of his, Chen Di, passed away in his hometown of Lianjiang, Fuzhou.

"Hey, hey!" The old doorman patted his head and laughed, "Mr. Shen is older than me, but his memory is better than mine. Where can I go to reason with him?"

"Let's go in and talk." Shen Yourong took out the gift list and small change from his sleeve pocket and handed it to the doorman. He didn't bring any servants with him, so he had to keep these things in his pocket.

"Mr. Shen is always so polite." The old doorman happily accepted it and invited Shen Yourong in. "But Mr. Shen, please wait a little longer. We are the only servants watching over the house now."

"I know. The court hasn't ended yet." Shen Yourong nodded and walked into the Ye family's gate with Yuan Jin and Li Zhong. "Master Cheng Min and Master Cheng Chang are still in Fuqing?" Shen Yourong asked casually.

"The second young master followed and is also in the yamen now." The old doorman did not follow him in.

"Young Master Cheng Min has received the emperor's favor?" Shen Yourong understood at once.

"Yes, it's still Yin Shangbao Sicheng." The old doorman waved his hand towards the hanging flower gate. "Mr. Shen, go straight through the hanging flower gate. They know everyone there. They will take you to the tea room."

"it is good."

--------

Outside the Imperial City, the old gatekeeper welcomed Shen Yourong into the Ye family's residence. Meanwhile, in the Wenhua Palace, Deputy Minister Ye Xianggao was still discussing the order of the papers for this reading with other cabinet members. This order was crucial, as it would have the greatest impact on the rankings for the palace examination.

Even before the palace examination officially began, the cabinet decided to reserve only six spots for itself, leaving the remaining eleven spots to be decided by the other eleven examiners. Upon learning that the cabinet had allocated eleven spots, the eleven non-cabinet examiners each selected one of the fifty papers with the most circles and presented it to the cabinet.

These eleven papers, selected by non-cabinet examiners, would be ranked again by the cabinet members along with the six papers retained by the cabinet. This meant that the top seventeen candidates for the imperial examination would be chosen from these seventeen papers.

This clearly demonstrated a harmonious attitude of co-governance between the cabinet and the ministers. The examination readings had always been led by the cabinet. If the cabinet or the prime minister was strong enough and willing to act forcefully, they could have acted as a dictator. The order of reading the papers was determined in one breath. Prime Minister Fang Congzhe spoke first: "I think we should select one of these eleven papers and place it in the top three."

Fang Congzhe said "first class" instead of "first class" because the ranking of the palace examination could only be determined by the emperor. If the emperor went crazy and insisted on performing performance art by putting the last-placed paper with all the crosses in the first place and naming it the top scorer, the examiners would have no choice but to accept it with a pinch of salt.

"What the Prime Minister said is absolutely right!" Shen immediately agreed, with a sincere look on his face.

Liu Yirong quickly got to the point and posed this potentially offensive question to Shen. "Which minister's paper do you think should be chosen?"

"Haha. Since Lord Liu asked, I'll go ahead and say it with a smug look on my face," Shen said with a bright smile. "I suggest choosing the paper recommended by Xu Libu. Xu Libu has a keen eye for talent and a shrewd vision. He's also one of the top examiners. There's no better choice."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, wondering what was going on with Shen again. Liu Yirong, who had brought up the topic, especially had his mouth slightly open.

"Brother Mingzhen is absolutely right! I second the motion." Shi Jixie nodded with satisfaction, regardless of whether he believed it in his heart. At least at this moment, he hoped that Shen was making this decision out of a desire to bridge the divisions within the court. As for the content of the answers, it was unimportant. After rounds of screening, the answers couldn't be any worse, and there couldn't possibly be any treasonous or absurd language.

Fang Congzhe's mind was as clear as a mirror. He guessed that Shen was just being tantamount to responding directly, aiming to disgust Liu Yirong. If he could sow a seed of distrust between Xu Guangqi and the other Donglin members, that would be even better.

As expected, Shen Xian smiled at Shi Jixie and said to Liu Yirong, who was still in a state of shock and contemplation, "Lord Liu, I hope you can put aside your vague prejudices and give it some careful consideration."

"Hehe." Liu Yirong looked as if he had swallowed a fly. "Since you, Lord Shen, don't have any prejudice, what else can I have?"

"Everyone!" Ye Xianggao suddenly spoke up. "I think we should take another look at the essays and deliberate carefully. After all, the imperial examination is about literary talent. Don't rush to judge based solely on the number of successful candidates."

Ye Xianggao's words sounded nice, but in fact he was opposing the inclusion of the papers selected by Xu Guangqi in the top three.

The hall fell into a brief silence again. Finally, Shen was the first to speak, smiling and asking, "Which answer sheet does Ye Ci Fu like?"

"If you ask me," Ye Xianggao said, moving to a paper and gently tapping on it with his fingertips, "this paper is an excellent one that addresses current issues and has substance."

Everyone gathered around and took a quick look, and found that it was the answer sheet chosen by the clerk Zhou Jiamo.

Fang Congzhe immediately understood that Ye Xianggao's so-called "reading chapters and commenting on scrolls" was just a superficial rhetoric. His original intention was probably to take the opportunity to distance himself from Xu Guangqi without appearing to deviate from his consistent political inclinations.

Fang Congzhe understood this. Although the case against the Westerner had been concluded, the aftermath lingered, with some officials still arguing that the punishment was too lenient and that the entire group was not sufficiently implicated. Furthermore, it had been revealed that Ye Xianggao had met with the Western astronomical official at his home during the investigation. It was a difficult situation to express.

But Fang Congzhe would not publicly express his support for Zhou Jiamo, as supporting him on such an occasion would be a deviation from his own consistent position. At this time, silence was the best support.

While Fang Congzhe pretended to read the article, he observed and waited for Liu Yirong and Han Yu to speak out of the corner of his eye.

Liu Yirong, as expected, took up the question. He didn't specify who had chosen the correct answer, but instead pointed to a sentence on the paper and recited, "'Today, what we call right and wrong is all praise and criticism. Praise and criticism are so extreme that even the Duke of Zhou and the Xinmang dynasty cannot be determined. But for thousands of years, the verdict will be that there is no Xinmang dynasty and no Zhougong dynasty. This is simply a matter of fact. There must be evidence, and the evidence must be based on personal experience. Once the personal experience is solid, then empty talk and imaginary stories will not sell.'"

After reading it, Liu Yirong added, "The gossip in the court and the people, the restlessness of the people, has been something that has remained unresolved for years. This member uses the words of Zhou Gong and Wang Mang to criticize the current ills, truly transcending the mundane and idle talk of ordinary affairs and delivering a resounding public opinion. It is truly a fine volume."

Han Yu followed Liu Yirong's instructions as he read the scroll. He felt as if he had seen this font somewhere before. He looked at it carefully again, observing the subtle strokes, and suddenly realized that this was not the same font as Liu Yirong's.
Han Yu quickly collected his expression and said in a calm voice, "This is indeed an excellent piece of work. Furthermore, rumors have been circulating for years and have become rampant recently. If this work can be published and distributed throughout China and abroad, it may help to calm the world's discord." Only the top three papers would be officially printed and sent to provincial schools. This was a gesture of support.

"Lord Han, have you heard any rumors recently?" Shen interrupted Han Yu as soon as he finished speaking.

Han Yu looked at Shen and smiled, "Xunzi once said, 'A stray arrow stops at Ouyou, and a rumor stops at the wise.' Lord Shen is a man of great wisdom, so it's best to listen less and spread less."

There have been too many rumors lately: about foreigners, about Liaodong, about noble relatives, about the palace, and in addition to these independent rumors, there are also intertwined gossips. As the saying goes, trouble comes from the mouth. Speaking means knowing, knowing means taking an attitude, and once an attitude is expressed, outsiders are also involved.

Han Yu's answer was impeccable, and Shen could only accept the ridicule and smile awkwardly. "My wisdom is far inferior to yours. I appreciate your advice."

Han Yu was really disgusted, but at this time he had to smile and bow to show his humility.

Ye Xianggao asked with a smile, "So, Shen Mingzhen also agrees to select this article for the first three volumes?"

"Since the Deputy Prime Minister and Lords Liu and Han all agree to abandon the Book of Rites and adopt the Book of Officialdom, I should just agree with them." Shen Mingzhen responded with a smile.

"Where is Shicheng?" Fang Congzhe looked at Shi Jikai.

"My Lord Prime Minister, I agree with everyone." Shi Jikai was very happy. It was such a harmonious scene.

"In that case, this one will be ranked first." Fang Congzhe acted humbly, open to public opinion. "The remaining ten papers will be ranked according to the old rules."

Thus, the remaining ten papers were unreviewed and entered into the "regular ranking" process. If nothing unexpected happened, they would occupy the eighth to seventeenth places in this palace examination. The cabinet's stance was clear: even if it was intended to demonstrate a harmonious co-governance between the cabinet and the ministers, the cabinet should take the lead. One of the eleven papers would be ranked first, and the six papers selected by the cabinet would be ranked seventh at the lowest.

As for whether the emperor wants to make adjustments, that is another matter.

(End of this chapter)