The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 579: Decline of the Nobles
After the Chu vassal state was weakened, gold, silver and other valuables were shipped to the capital in boatloads.

During the imperial examination, the candidates who took the exam were rushing to the capital like hundreds of rivers converging into one.

In an instant, the capital city became bustling again. The streets were full of candidates rushing to take the imperial examinations and common people calling their friends to watch the excitement.

The number of candidates who came to take the imperial examination this time was extraordinary, because the number of candidates who came to take the provincial examination last year increased by nearly one-half, and there were tens of thousands of candidates who came to take the examination.

It was the first time since the Ming Dynasty that tens of thousands of candidates took part in the imperial examination. Fortunately, there were many examination rooms in the imperial examination hall in the capital, otherwise they would not be able to accommodate them all.

On the ninth day of the second month of the twenty-seventh year of the Wanli reign, the imperial examination officially began.

Early in the morning at around 3:00 am, before daybreak, the streets and alleys of the capital were lit up with lights like stars in the sky.

The lights continued to converge towards the brightly lit Imperial Examination Hall. Soon, the square in front of the hall was crowded with people, and those candidates who arrived late were squeezed into the street.

Before the hour of Mao, a long queue of several miles stretched from Zigongyuan to East Chang'an Street.

It can be said that this is an unprecedented imperial examination event.

In the past, there might not be tens of thousands of juren alive at the same time.

So, who can stand out from these tens of thousands of candidates and become the lucky one to pass the imperial examination twice in a row?

Wanli also wanted to know this.

On the 27th of February, at the hour of Wuyin, it was already past the hour of You and it was almost dark when Wang Zhiyuan and Bi Maokang hurriedly came to the imperial study carrying two volumes of the list of tribute scholars.

Wanli was well prepared this time. He and Zhu Changxun even had dinner in advance so that they would have enough time to look at the list.

After the emperor and his subjects exchanged greetings, he even asked, "Ershi, Meng Hou, have you had dinner yet?"

Where do we have the time?

There are tens of thousands of candidates this time, and there are so many test papers that we hardly have time to sleep.

Wang Zhiyuan shook his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, it's okay. We've been eating late these days."

Bi Maokang nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, we have been grading papers these days and we have to eat dinner after the hour of Xu every day. It's still early now and we are not hungry at all."

Okay.

Upon hearing this, Wanli nodded slightly, and then ordered Tian Yi and Sun Hai to unfold the first list of tribute scholars.

Wang Heng, Zhang Yicheng, Xu Xie, Zeng Keqian, Long Sanyi, Wang Sancai?

He had never heard of any of the ones before!
That's a good thing, though.

At this time, most of those who were able to leave their names in history were those who participated in party struggles. He had never heard of these people, which proved that these people did not participate in party struggles.

Sure enough, he saw a famous person behind him, Liu Zongzhou!

A famous general of Donglin, this guy’s mouth is probably as good as Huang Daozhou’s!
He raised his hand without hesitation and said, "This person ranked last on the palace examination gold list."

Uh, this is definitely the last one!

Wang Zhiyuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli continued to read for a long time, and after finishing the first list, he didn't see anyone who would be recorded in history.

Is this because he selected too many scholars last time, or is it because there haven’t been many famous people in recent years?
He was still a little skeptical, so he ordered Tian Yi and Sun Hai to open the second volume of the tribute scholar list and take a closer look.

This guy stared for a long time and finally saw one when he was almost done reading the second volume of the list.

Song Yingsheng!
This person is not very famous in history. The reason why he is remembered in history is because he has an extraordinary younger brother, Song Yingxing.

Song Yingxing is amazing. His "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" is an ancient encyclopedia of industrial technology!

The Ming Dynasty now needs such talents.

The problem is, this Song Yingsheng is not Song Yingxing.

Where is Song Yingxing?
Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "What is Song Yingsheng's background?"

You finally asked.

I heard that you like to ask about the backgrounds of the candidates. I have memorized the backgrounds of all these thousand candidates.

This is loyalty and diligence.

Wang Zhiyuan said without hesitation: "This boy should be considered to be from a declining aristocratic family."

Declining aristocracy?

What do you mean?
Wanli was quite curious and asked, "What do you mean by a declining aristocratic family?"

This is a folk saying.

Wang Zhiyuan explained carefully: "Your Majesty, the meaning of a declining aristocratic family is that their ancestors once produced relatively prestigious officials, but in the following generations, no one passed the imperial examination or even became a juren.

However, they were still studying, and there were a few scholars in the family from time to time, so they could barely be considered a scholar family.

This was the situation in Song Yingsheng's family. His great-grandfather was Song Jing, a famous official in the Hongzhi, Zhengde and Jiajing dynasties. He served as the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate and died of illness while in office.

However, neither his grandfather nor his father had any Jinshi or Juren in their two generations, and his father only had the title of Xiucai.

Song Yingxing has such a background?

His great-grandfather was a famous official during the reigns of Hongzhi, Zhengde and Jiajing!
However, none of this matters. The key is that he wants this person.

Wanli thought for a moment, then decisively said, "Yes, after three dynasties of famous ministers, let's appoint Song Yingsheng as the top scorer in the special examination. Let him come to see me tomorrow morning."

what?
You assign the first few people in the order of succession to the last one, and you assign the last few people in the order of succession to the first place in the first class!
Why do you like to do it the other way around?

Wang Zhiyuan was stunned when he heard this.

Fine.

Be loyal to the emperor and work diligently.

Whatever His Majesty says, then that’s how it will be decided.

He was stunned for a moment, then nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Not only was Wang Zhiyuan puzzled by Wanli's actions, but Song Yingsheng was also puzzled.

This time Song Yingsheng was really lucky, because last year he was just a poor scholar.

Who would have thought that suddenly the provincial and metropolitan examinations would be held, and the number of candidates selected would double.

He actually passed the imperial examination and had the hope of getting his name on the list of successful candidates in the imperial examination!

Originally, he came to the capital to try his luck.

He had never expected to be included in the list of tribute scholars, and he had never imagined that the current emperor would summon him.

What is going on here?
The next morning at about noon, he came to the palace with a confused look on his face and went to the imperial study.

When Wanli saw Song Yingsheng's slightly immature appearance, he understood.

This kid is probably only in his twenties, and Song Yingxing doesn’t even know how old he is.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, he feigned admiration and said, "Not bad, not bad, young and promising."

Am I young and promising?
Last year I was still a poor scholar!

This year, I was lucky enough to pass the imperial examination. Song Yingsheng was stunned for a moment, then he said modestly: "Your Majesty, your honor is too great. This young and promising student is truly unworthy of it."

When others say that you are young and promising, it may be a compliment, but it is different for me.

I said you are young and promising, then you must be young and promising!

Wanli then pretended to ask, "Your great-grandfather was Song Jing, a famous official during the reigns of Hongzhi, Zhengde, and Jiajing?"

This is on the submitted resume.

Is His Majesty looking for me to ask about my great-grandfather?
Song Yingsheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, Zhuang Jinggong is my great-grandfather."

Zhuang Jing was the posthumous title given by the court to Song Jing after his death.

Wanli pretended to admire him and said, "Not bad, not bad. You are the descendant of three famous officials, and you are also gentle and modest. You are the top scorer in the special examination."

what?
The top scorer of this year's Enke exam!

Am I on the list of tribute scholars?

I'm going to become the top scholar!
This is impossible, right?
I'm afraid I'm dreaming!
Upon hearing this, Song Yingsheng was stunned.

He is well aware of his abilities.

With his current level of ability, it would be a stroke of luck for him to pass the imperial examination.

He never thought that he would be able to pass the exam this time.

This time he just wanted to feel the atmosphere of the imperial examination, and he also wanted to strive to get his name on the list of successful candidates next time.

Who would have known that this time he not only passed the imperial examination, but also became the top scorer in the first class!
If this isn't a dream, then what is?
The imperial examination has just ended. What's the point of being on the list of successful candidates or being the top scorer?

Can you become the top scholar by being gentle and humble?
This was a dream.

I'm afraid I'm just daydreaming.

This guy actually reached out his hand quietly and pinched his leg hard.

Whoops!

Not awake?

This is real!

Song Yingsheng pinched himself so hard that he grimaced and almost cried out.

Seeing this, Wanli couldn't help but ask curiously: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Song Yingsheng shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, no, Your Majesty, I am not feeling unwell anywhere."

Oh, you probably won't believe this is true.

That’s right, you are not capable enough to be the top scorer.

However, your brother Song Yingxing's ability is more than enough to match that of ten top scorers!

Wanli thought for a moment and simply asked, "Do you have any brothers at home?"

Of course there is.

Song Yingsheng was still a little confused at the moment. He actually thought about it for a while before nodding quickly and saying, "Your Majesty, I have four brothers in my family."

Oh, you have more than two brothers.

So where does Song Yingxing rank?
Wanli continued to ask: "What are their names?"

Do you have to ask this?
Song Yingsheng quickly replied, "Your Majesty, my eldest brother's name is Yingding, my second brother's name is Yingxing, and my third brother's name is Yingjing."

Oh, it turns out that Song Yingxing is the third among the four brothers.

This means that Song Yingxing may not be even fifteen yet.

However, this is not the point.

Wanli thought for a moment and then asked, "How are their studies?"

You still ask this?
Song Yingsheng thought for a moment, then said carefully, "Your Majesty, my eldest brother Ying Ding is not very talented. He has studied very hard for over ten years but still hasn't passed the entrance exam to become a student.

The student's second brother Yingxing was very talented. He could write poems at the age of eight and passed the examination to become a student at the age of twelve.

As for my third brother, Ying Jing, he is only nine years old and has not yet taken the entrance exam, so his qualifications are still unknown."

A student is a scholar.

This means that Song Yingxing has passed the imperial examination and become a scholar.

Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "Is your second brother so talented? Why didn't he come to the capital to take the imperial examination?"

Alas, my second brother is not as lucky as me.

Song Yingsheng sighed inwardly and quickly explained, "Your Majesty, my second brother Yingxing is only thirteen years old this year. He only passed the examination for a student last year and didn't make it to the provincial examination."

It turns out that Song Yingxing is only thirteen years old.

Is it possible to start training at such a young age?
Wanli thought for a moment, then continued, "Does he have any other specialties?"

How do you say this?

Song Yingsheng hesitated for a moment, but still said honestly: "Ying Xing is a little obsessed with farmland water conservancy equipment, and he has quite a bit of experience.

This should be considered a specialty. After all, if I can become an official in the local area in the future, being able to make farmland water conservancy equipment can also benefit the local people.

However, my father said that this would affect his studies and it would be too early for him to delve into these things before he passed the college entrance examination.

If he were to delay his studies because of this and fail to pass the imperial examination, it would be a waste of his talent for studying."

Knowing son Moruo father.

Song Yingxing’s father was right.

In history, the genius Song Yingxing failed to pass the imperial examination because he was obsessed with Taoism.

But things are different now.

This kid has become obsessed with farmland water conservancy equipment, and it's time to start training him.

As for his studies, there is no need to study. I guarantee that he will be the top scholar.

Wanli thought for a moment and said simply, "Your second brother is not bad, he is exactly the person I am looking for.

How about this, you write a letter, and I'll send a fast navy ship to your hometown to fetch your second brother to accompany Xun'er to study."

what?
You want my second brother to accompany the future prince to study!

What a grace this is!

I have never heard of such a good thing!
Song Yingsheng was completely confused.

He really couldn't understand why so many incredible good things happened to him all of a sudden.

(End of this chapter)