The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 200 Who will leave his name in history?

On March 15, the Gengxu day of the third month in the fourteenth year of the Wanli reign, the emperor went to the Huangji Hall to test the tribute candidates.

The palace examination questions are: cultivate oneself, manage the family, govern the country and bring peace to the world.

This is not difficult.

There is a lot that candidates can discuss.

You can cultivate your character, support your family, study things to gain knowledge, govern the country and bring peace to the world.

The palace examination is just to determine the ranking. As long as there are no unexpected events, the candidates will be able to pass the exam, so the candidates are not too nervous.

The ranking of the palace examination is supposed to be determined based on how well the essay is written.

However, Emperor Wanli had absolute say in this matter.

If he feels that the ranking is not to his liking, he can change it.

Originally, the ranking was to be decided on the second day after the palace examination. The eight examiners only had half a day to mark the papers, and the results would be posted on the third day.

The time is extremely tight because each examiner has to look through the test papers of all candidates in turn and determine their quality.

In other words, no matter how many examiners there are, each of them has to carefully read the test papers of more than 300 candidates.

You know, the essays written by the candidates who were able to take part in the palace examination were all very good. Some were so good that one of their essays could attract the examiners' attention for a long time. Half a day was really not enough to review so many essays.

After the sixth year of Hongzhi, the marking time was extended by one day to one and a half days.

In other words, from then on the ranking of the palace examination was determined on the afternoon of the 17th.

Just after noon on March 17th, when the sun was shining brightly in the sky, Wanli came to the Wenhua Hall to determine the ranking.

The examiner Shen Li presented the papers of the top three and second-class students, and the reader began to read them.

This is actually just a formality. Generally, emperors will not change the ranking.

Wanli listened to the essays of the top three candidates and felt that they were fine, so that was enough. He generally would not read the papers of the second-place candidates.

However, he was a notoriously rebellious person and he refused to do so.

After reading the test papers of the top three students, he raised his hand and ordered Shen Li to present the proposed ranking.

This thing has a very long scroll. Although it is not as big as the imperial edict, when it is fully opened, it cannot even fit on the dragon table.

Wanli just looked at the top three in the first class and the top twenty in the second class, and couldn't help but frown.

Peng Zungu was actually ranked 17th in the second class, Huang Chengxuan was only 7th in the second class, and Zhu Yibin was 9th in the second class.

He had no impression of the top three: Tang Wenxian, Yang Daobin, and Shu Hongzhi.

This is not okay.

He said very straightforwardly: "Peng Zungu will be ranked first in the first group, Huang Chengxuan will be ranked second in the first group, and the others will be ranked later in order."

this!

Shen Li was stunned when he heard this.

However, he didn't say much.

Although this arrangement is a bit absurd, it is acceptable if the emperor insists on it.

He was stunned for only a moment, then quickly bowed and said, "I obey your command."

Peng Zungu, who came from a family of craftsmen, unexpectedly became the top scorer in the imperial examination!

As soon as the imperial edict was posted, all the candidates who came to see it were stunned.

Over the past two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, the highest-ranked candidate among the craftsmen seemed to be Zhao Zhenji, but he was only second in the second class.

Why did Wanli choose Peng Zungu as the top scholar?
The reason is actually very simple, because Peng Zungu was a carpenter.

He was about to start shipbuilding, which was related to carpentry. Yongnian Earl Wang Wei and his family were in charge of all the craftsmen. They were too busy to manage the hundreds of thousands of craftsmen in the capital alone, so they certainly had no time to take care of shipbuilding.

Deng Zilong, the commander-in-chief of the navy, had told him several times, but he had not started preparing yet. Lack of money was only one reason, and lack of trustworthy people to be responsible for shipbuilding was another reason.

Therefore, he wanted to train a trusted person who came from a craftsman family to be responsible for building naval warships.

Peng Zungu doesn’t know all this yet.

He knew that he would definitely be on the list of successful candidates, as he had participated in the palace examination, so he would definitely be on the list. However, he never expected that he would be the top scorer.

Next, he was still confused after going through a series of processes such as the parade of the top scholar, the Qionglin Banquet, the imperial gift of banknotes, etc.

Originally, the top scholar would be appointed as an editor in the Hanlin Academy, where he would write articles and study for several years.

The day before, when he arrived at the Hanlin Academy to take up duty, he was afraid of being late, so he got up at around yin time when it was still pitch black outside. Before the morning time, he had already arrived outside the main hall of the Hanlin Academy to wait for the report.

Originally, Li Tingji was not the one who called in the papers in person, because he was very busy and rarely came to the Hanlin Academy to sit on duty.

Unexpectedly, Li Tingji came in person that day, and after the roll call, he called the new top scorer Peng Zungu and the second place Huang Chengxuan to ride their horses to the palace.

Huang Chengxuan was stunned by this.

They don’t even know where their duty room is, so why are they in such a hurry to go to the palace?
Li Tingji even brought them directly to the imperial study to meet the emperor.

This confused them. Why did the Emperor call them? Why didn't the newly crowned third place scholar Tang Wende come, but only the two of them came?
After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli carefully looked at the top and second place winners he had personally selected.

The two were both strong young men, looking only in their twenties. Peng Zungu had a thin face and looked relatively upright, while Huang Chengxuan had a square face and looked relatively resolute. He nodded slightly and then asked, "Danyang, can you build a ship?"

Uh, this.

Although I come from a family of craftsmen, I studied to take the imperial examinations. You ask me if I can build a ship!

Peng Zungu thought about it carefully, then said carefully: "Your Majesty, my father once served as a laborer in several shipyards in Huguang. I only helped him a little and did some odd jobs, but I never built a ship myself."

Oh, you also went to the shipyard.

Wanli nodded slightly and asked, "You should know how ships are built, right?"

Of course I know this.

Peng Zungu nodded quickly and said, "When I was at the shipyard, I was doing odd jobs. I liked to look around and think about things. I still know how ships are built."

Well, it’s good to have this foundation.

Nowadays, most educated people have never done any physical work, let alone building a ship.

Peng Zungu's sturdy physique proves that he must have helped his father with work.

Wanli nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "Your family's carpentry skills must be passed down through generations, right? Did your father pass on the craftsmanship to your brother Xiyang?"

This is also one of the reasons why he chose Peng Zungu as the top scholar.

Because both brothers had passed the imperial examinations, winning over one of them would mean having two more helpers in charge of shipbuilding.

Unexpectedly, Peng Zungu actually shook his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, my eldest brother is also a scholar. My father passed on the carpentry skills to my second brother."

Oh, there are more than two brothers in your family.

Very good, the more the better.

Wanli asked with great interest, "What are your brothers doing?"

Peng Zungu said without hesitation, "I have four brothers in my family. My eldest brother, Haogu, took the same imperial examination as me. My second brother, Shugu, works as a carpenter at home. My third brother, Xingu, was fortunate enough to be admitted as a military scholar in the Kuiwei imperial examination, ranking third and staying in the Jingying camp. He was initially appointed Assistant General of the Shenji Right Battalion, and last year he was promoted to Guerrilla General of the Shenji Right Battalion for his meritorious service."

You also have a third brother who was a military scholar in the 11th year of Wanli!

well.

Wanli nodded slightly, then pondered, "It's just right. The navy is about to be expanded. I will first transfer your third brother to the Imperial Guards as a commander, and then transfer him to the navy as deputy commander-in-chief."

Such a rapid rise!
Peng Zungu bowed repeatedly and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked Huang Chengxuan, "Xingcan, you are Maozhong's son, right?"

Huang Chengxuan nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

This is also the reason why he chose Huang Chengxuan among so many military candidates.

Huang Chengxuan's family is very remarkable. His grandfather Huang Qi was a Jinshi in the 35th year of Jiajing, and is currently serving as the Deputy Censor of Huguang.

This guy's uncle Huang Zhengse was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Wanli, and is currently the Deputy Director of the Water Conservancy Department of the Ministry of Works. This guy's father Huang Hongxian was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Longqing, and is currently the Bachelor of the Hanlin Academy and the Right Secretary of the Right Spring Office.

If he can win over this one, he will have four more available confidants.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Well, that's right. Coming from a military family with four successful Jinshi scholars in one family, that's really not bad. You can stay by my side and help me out for now. I'm about to go to war."

It turns out that His Majesty wants to lead him to the army in person!
Upon hearing this, Huang Chengxuan could not help but bow repeatedly and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

Wanli nodded slightly, then instructed: "Er Zhang, arrange for them to stay in Wanshou Palace first. I need some helpers, and they are just right."

These two guys became rich.

Li Tingji quickly bowed and said, "Your humble servant obeys your order."

To be honest, he didn't understand why Wanli attached so much importance to these two guys.

In fact, Wanli felt that this type of Jinshi was safe to use.

None of the successful candidates in this subject left their names in history, which proves that they did not participate in the party struggles. If they had participated in the party struggles, there would always be some of them who would appear in history.

It is precisely because they do not participate in party struggles that we can use them with confidence.

As for abilities and fame, these are actually secondary.

They were able to pass the imperial examinations step by step and even rank among the top, which proves that they have the ability.

The issue of fame is really not important.

Historically, they did not participate in party struggles, so they are not famous.

Now that they have been appreciated and valued by him, these two can at least be promoted to the level of Shangshu of the six ministries.

Whether an official in the court can leave his name in history is actually decided by the ruler.

In the late Wanli period of history, the Donglin and Qi, Chu and Zhejiang parties took turns in power, so many officials of the Donglin and Qi, Chu and Zhejiang parties left their names in history.

Now that he is in power, the people he trusts will definitely go down in history.

Who says this year’s candidates are not good enough?

If he says yes, then it's okay.

(End of this chapter)