The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 515: Civilian Crisis

On the ninth day of the third month, Guisi, the emperor went to the Huangji Hall to test the candidates.

The decree says: Only scholars are capable of regulating the people’s production.

This question comes from "Mencius. King Hui of Liang, Part 1".

All the candidates who were selected into the imperial examination knew this.

What Wanli was actually testing was not only the ability of the scholars, but also the strategy of controlling the people's production, but the strategy of stabilizing the country.

All candidates are aware of this.

So, how can we maintain national security and stability?

This depends on how the candidates solve the problem.

At around 9:00 PM, the sun was shining brightly.

The palace examination had been underway for over an hour. Some candidates were already writing furiously on their manuscript papers, while others were still sitting cross-legged, frowning and thinking.

Wanli was also sitting on the steps in front of the Huangji Palace, deep in thought.

He was still holding little Zhu Changxun in his arms.

Actually, this is a bit against the rules.

It is true that young Zhu Changxun is the designated crown prince.

There was no problem with him bringing the future prince to supervise the exam.

The problem is that he can't hold little Zhu Changxun in his arms.

According to the rules, he should have someone put a small chair next to him and let little Zhu Changxun sit on it.

However, this is a stupid rule set by civil officials. It has no meaning for the emperor or the Ming Dynasty.

The civil officials used etiquette and morality as an excuse to restrain the emperor in various ways, so that the emperor would gradually get used to being restrained and slowly become an obedient puppet.

This is actually a subtle means of influence. Naturally, he will not be influenced obediently, and he will not follow the stinking rules set by the civil servants.

On the contrary, he wanted to do the opposite and influence the civil servants subtly. He wanted to hold little Zhu Changxun in his arms every day and wherever he went.

He wanted to tell all the civil officials in this way that little Zhu Changxun was still a child in the arms of adults, and it was unreasonable to submit a petition to be named crown prince at this time.

Little Zhu Changxun seemed unusually calm. He had been sitting in his arms for a long time without moving at all.

The problem is that being an invigilator is really boring, especially when you are invigilating for the emperor or the prince. You basically just sit there like a statue with nothing to do.

Little Zhu Changxun sat for over an hour before finally asking, "Father, can the invigilator speak?"

What's wrong with this?
Even if there are rules that forbid you from speaking, you can still speak.

The emperor should be the one who makes the rules, not a puppet who is controlled by the rules made by civil officials.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Speak whatever you want to say. Remember, we don't have to follow all the rules. We only need to follow the rules that are beneficial to us and the Ming Dynasty.

As for the filthy rules set by the civil officials to constrain imperial power, we don't need to follow them. If you can't even say what the emperor says, then what kind of emperor is he? You can say whatever you want, no matter the occasion."

Oh, so you can talk.

I thought I couldn't speak.

Upon hearing this, little Zhu Changxun asked curiously, "Father, how did you choose those candidates? Did you just go by your instincts?"

Uh, this question really stumped me.

Can I tell you that I came from the afterlife?

It’s better not to tell this secret.

Wanli thought about it and said simply: "This is a secret, I can't tell you."

what?
secret!

When little Zhu Changxun heard this, he was stunned.

He really didn't expect that the answer to this question would be a secret.

Seeing this, Wanli explained in detail: "It will not be difficult for you to choose a candidate you like in the future.

You can order the Ministry of Personnel to submit the resumes of all the candidates on the list of tribute scholars to you, or you can order the secret guards to investigate.

That would just take some time. Your father doesn't have time to understand them one by one now, but you will definitely have plenty of time in the future.

In short, as long as you have a clear idea of ​​what kind of talent you need, it is not difficult to select them."

Oh, there is a way.

Little Zhu Changxun nodded slightly and asked again, "Father, it seems that you haven't selected the same kind of talents. They all seem to be good at different things. What is the purpose of selecting them?"

This is more complicated to explain.

Wanli thought for a moment and then summarized: "They are actually a kind of talent. They are all talents who can get things done. Most of the civil servants nowadays can only write articles, and there are very few who can get things done.

The emperor chose Xu Guangqi so that he could use his expertise to increase grain production.

The others were similar. Li Zhizao was chosen to draw maps, Bi Maokang was chosen to study firearms, Wang Xiangjin was chosen to increase the output of fruits and vegetables, and Wang Zheng was chosen to develop equipment.

The Ming Dynasty needs such talents now, so the emperor selected them."

Oh, it turns out that you choose according to your needs.

Zhu Changxun thought for a moment and then asked, "Father, aren't we expanding our territory right now? Why don't you select someone who's well versed in military tactics?"

You have a wrong idea.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then said solemnly: "You must remember that in the future, you cannot allow civilian officials to be commanders and control military power.

The power of civil officials is already great enough, and if they also control military power, it will be disastrous.

Think about it, if they are in charge of both civil and military affairs, then what is the need for an emperor?
Once they gain control of the military power, they will feel that you, the emperor, are nothing, not as smart or capable as them, and are more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything.

You must remember that the military power of a dynasty determines the ownership of power. Only when you control the military power will the civil servants be honest and obedient.

If you let civilians control the military, they'll find ways to keep you in line, understand?"

what?
Are the consequences of civilian officials controlling military power so serious?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun nodded solemnly and said, "I understand."

The father and son chatted for a whole day and the palace examination was over.

The next step is to get your name on the list of successful candidates.

As a result, Xu Guangqi actually won the first place in the first class.

No one thought there was anything fishy about this, because Xu Guangqi was already the first in the Nanzhili provincial examination, and this was considered him winning twice in a row.

As for why Xu Guangqi won the first place in the first class, it was because he was lucky.

The passage in "Mencius. King Hui of Liang, Part I" was exactly related to the agricultural policy he was good at. The production of the people mainly referred to the land property. This problem was like a piece of cake for him.

The other four were not as lucky as him. Wang Xiangjin was somewhat lucky, so he got second place in the first class.

Bi Maokang and Wang Zheng ranked third in the first class and first in the second class respectively based on their writing skills.

Li Zhizao was the most unlucky. He was good at drawing maps, which had little to do with governing the country and maintaining peace. He could only be ranked second among the top two.

After passing the imperial examination, there are a series of activities, such as the parade of the top scholar, the Qionglin Banquet, the selection of the imperial scholars, etc.

The capital city was really bustling with activity.

Wanli seemed to think that it was not lively enough, and he actually issued an edict at this time to promote Li Tingji to the cabinet to assist in the administration!

At this moment, the officials in the court who had ulterior motives suddenly felt their hair stand on end.

They have already smelled the danger, and Wanli is most likely preparing to purge them from the court!

Because before the imperial examination began, Wanli had already issued an order for officials of the fourth rank and above in the northern and southern capitals to submit memorials and explain themselves.

The fact that Wanli asked them to write a letter to explain themselves was a sign of his intention to purge them.

Now that Li Tingji has entered the cabinet again, his intention to purge them is very obvious.

Who is Li Tingji?

This guy can be said to be Wanli's lackey!
The key point is that this guy was a Jinshi in the 11th year of Wanli.

This means that the Jinshi who passed the imperial examination in the 11th year of Wanli could enter the cabinet to assist in government affairs, and the Jinshi who passed the imperial examination in the 11th year of Wanli and the 14th year of Wanli could all serve as ministers of the six ministries!

There were many lackeys of Emperor Wanli among the candidates in those two categories, the so-called imperial party.

They submitted a memorial to explain themselves, and Wanli took the opportunity to remove them and replace them all with members of the imperial party. Then all their people would be purged from the court!

What should I do now?

This is exactly what Wanli thought.

However, he did not want to alert the enemy by letting Li Tingji join the cabinet to assist in government affairs.

He was laying the groundwork for Li Tingji to become the chief minister of the cabinet in the future.

Li Tingji was the prime minister he had already chosen, and he had made up his mind many years ago.

Therefore, he felt it was normal to promote Li Tingji to the cabinet to assist in government affairs.

Who knew that this would actually arouse the vigilance of those guys.

Will those guys just sit there and wait to be cleaned up?

This is naturally unlikely.

In all likelihood, they will struggle to their death!
(End of this chapter)