The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 188 The Twelfth Year of Yongle: Descendants
The arrogant eagle on the grassland ultimately failed to kneel down. So the emperor of the Ming Dynasty drew his bow, faced the orange-red sunset over the grassland, and shot that arrow. With a mournful cry, the eagle fell to the ground.

The Oirat forces scattered in panic.

This was Zhu Di's second northern expedition, and he proved with facts that the Ming army was still invincible in open field battles.

The army returned south.

When they returned to the capital, the time was frozen in July of the eleventh year of the Yongle reign.

When it came time to reward merit, Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue who had been all smiles a few months earlier, now wore a mournful face as he distributed large sums of money, grain, and cloth to the soldiers.

Zhu Di was in high spirits and held a banquet in the Fengtian Hall, inviting officials of the fourth rank and above from the capital. He also offered sacrifices to the ancestral spirits at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Li Xianmu knew that the emperor actually wanted to boast about his achievements to the late emperor.

"Father, look how well your son has governed the Ming Dynasty. Can that useless Emperor Jianwen compare to your son? I'm afraid even my elder brother is no match for me."

In the golden autumn of August, the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination attracted tens of thousands of candidates from Beizhili and other provinces who were taking the exam in the capital, all vying for the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination).

Li Xianmu's doorstep was practically worn down by the constant stream of scholars from the School of Mind, who came to visit him as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Although Li Xianmu did not achieve any academic prowess and was not a great Confucian scholar of his time, he was the successor chosen by Li Zhongwen and made outstanding contributions to the promotion of the School of Mind, gradually gaining some prestige among scholars.

However, Li Xianmu politely declined all the students' requests to meet him, saying, "As I am serving as the chief examiner for the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination, it is not appropriate for me to meet with the students before the examination, so as to avoid suspicion of cheating."

After these words were spoken, the trend gradually subsided.

The School of Mind has embarked on a bright path, and everyone knows that Li Xianmu is the biggest beneficiary.

Since that's the case, there's no need to keep jumping around and making a scene that's annoying.

Li Xianmu presided over the provincial examination in the eleventh year of Yongle's reign without any major mishaps. After the debate between the School of Mind and the School of Principle in the tenth year of Yongle's reign, about 20% of the candidates in this year's provincial examination chose the School of Mind. In particular, in provinces such as Zhejiang and Beizhili, where the School of Mind had already gained considerable influence, the number of candidates choosing the School of Mind far exceeded expectations.

This actually illustrates one thing: the philosophy of mind, which evolved from and subverted the philosophy of principle, is far superior to the philosophy of principle and more popular. Anyone with insight can see this. If the philosophy of principle continues at this pace and does not improve, but remains in its current form, it may be defeated by the philosophy of mind in fifty years.

Neither Li Qi nor Li Xianmu knew that Wang Gen had taken in a disciple in Zhejiang who was very compatible with him, named Yu Qian. Wang Gen believed that Yu Qian could inherit his mantle and would inevitably become one of the key figures of the School of Mind.

Yu Qian participated in the Zhejiang provincial examination in the twelfth year of the Yongle reign and was admitted. In Zhejiang, there were many ambitious young people like Yu Qian who joined the School of Mind. Most of these people had one thing in common: they were able to set aside sectarian and regional prejudices.

Although it did not form a modern political party with a constitution, the philosophy of mind, which advocates bridging the North and South and uniting the world as one family, was still thoroughly implemented.

After the results of the provincial examinations were released, an unexpected person sent a letter to Li Xianmu; it was the Duke Yansheng.

Holding the letter, Li Xianmu felt both amused and exasperated. He slowly suppressed his laughter and fell into deep thought. Of course, he knew why the Duke of Yansheng had written the letter. The future of Neo-Confucianism was bright, and his father Li Qi's status would inevitably rise again. At the same time, the Li family held political power and became the pillars of Confucianism.

The Duke Yansheng's Mansion held such a high position because of Confucian scholars. Regardless of what the Confucian scholars thought in their hearts, on the surface they all respected Confucius and his descendants, because Confucius was their tool to oppose the emperor.

Li Xianmu remained silent for a long time before replying to the Duke of Yansheng. In the letter, he greatly praised Confucius's status and contributions as the teacher of all ages, and even quoted the Southern Song Dynasty poem "If Heaven had not given birth to Confucius, the world would have been in eternal darkness." The reason for this was simple: the School of Mind or the Li family could not replace Confucius's position at present.

The capital city became even more bustling after the provincial examinations, as preparations for the metropolitan examination were in full swing, with candidates from all provinces heading to the capital to participate in the metropolitan examination in March of the twelfth year of the Yongle reign.

Even though the imperial court had not yet issued the decree, everyone knew that the chief examiner for the metropolitan examination would inevitably be Li Xianmu, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Zheng Huan, the former Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was promoted to Minister of Rites as he wished. This was actually a promotion that bypassed his rank, because although the Minister of Rites held real power in the lower three ministries, he was nominally the head of the six ministries. According to custom, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites would first be transferred to one of the other six ministries, such as the Ministry of Works or the Ministry of Justice, before being promoted to Minister of Rites.

Li Xianmu did not fill the vacancy of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites; the court transferred the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Once the appointment was issued, shrewd people in the officialdom knew that Li Xianmu's time in the Ministry of Rites would not be long, and he would likely be transferred out of the Ministry of Rites after the provincial and palace examinations.

Rumors circulated in the capital that Li Xianmu entered the Ministry of Rites with two missions: to punish Hu Ying and to reform the current imperial examination system. Now that he had accomplished both, it was time for him to leave.

In reality, Li Xianmu felt that he could no longer play a significant role in the Ministry of Rites. After all, he could not create another upheaval of conflict between the heart and reason in the short term. Therefore, after the northern expeditionary army returned to the court, he requested the emperor to transfer him to another post.

Zhu Di agreed after only a brief consideration.

Time flies, and soon the capital city was filled with desolate autumn leaves. Winter fell unnoticed until the cold wind blew and the capital was covered with snow, and only then did people realize that winter had truly arrived.

It's New Year's Day again!
On the first day of the Lunar New Year in the twelfth year of the Yongle reign, the Li family held a ceremony to worship their ancestors. The clan head, Li Xianmu, led a group of Li descendants to offer incense to their ancestors in the ancestral hall.

[System update complete. Current version: 2.0.2 (Yongle Tianxia). Please accept.]

The prestige and rank of the Li family will not be determined solely by the patriarch and direct descendants, but will encompass the broader Li family.

As Li Qi received the incense offerings and felt his body becoming more solid, the system sent another update notification.

"The Li family in a broader sense."

Li Qi's gaze fell, filled with endless emotion. He had finally waited for this day, although the rule that only direct descendants of the Li family could be considered as members of the family was still not broken.

In other words, once the direct line of the Li family is extinguished, the family is considered extinct.

However, this update solved the biggest problem plaguing the Li family's strength: population. Li Qi turned his attention to Li Fang and Li Mao outside, as well as their children. In the future, these children will become the backbone of the Li family. In fact, they will not only be able to rely on legitimate sons, but also illegitimate sons. The strength of the Li family will surely expand rapidly.

Whether in ancient or modern times, unity among people brings great strength.

If the Li family continues to pursue the path of being isolated and loyal, they will have no power to resist any risks, and they will be powerless to fight back if the emperor were to confiscate their property and exterminate their clan again.

Although the Li family cannot be emperors, they can become shadow emperors, establishing a deep government to control everything.

They even went so far as to completely shut down imperial power through constitutional struggles, believing that only by restricting the emperor could the Li family continue to exist for a long time.

As the Li clan members performed their sacrifices, Li Qi could feel the incense burning brightly, and he could sense that his connection with the clan leader, Li Xianmu, had grown stronger. Li Xianmu felt this most deeply. When he knelt in the ancestral hall, he experienced a completely different feeling than before. He could clearly feel a faint, almost imperceptible gaze upon him. He forcefully suppressed his excitement and presided over the ceremony.

After the ceremony, Li Xianmu stayed in the ancestral hall for a year and began to pray for news of the first day of the first month of the twelfth year of Yongle.

This time, the message he received was only blue. This was the first time Li Qi realized that there weren't always purple messages, and there were only three blue messages.

Sixteen Years of Drought in Shandong

This is the information Li Xianmu received this time. Upon reading it, he frowned deeply. The information that would make his father waste his once-a-year opportunity to personally give him advice must be more than just a simple drought.

In any case, preparations must be made first. Li Xianmu kowtowed again and left the ancestral hall, pondering how to deal with the severe drought in Shandong in a reasonable way without arousing suspicion.

Most people assumed that Li Xianmu would attach great importance to this year's imperial examination, after all, it was his first time serving as the chief examiner, and the first time that the School of Mind had entered the imperial examination system. People guessed that he would definitely make a big show of it.

Even the emperor summoned him to the palace, subtly instructing him to prepare well, but not to go too far.

But that's not the case.

Some things are over the moment they are decided.

The mind-based approach to breaking the ice was enough for Li Xianmu. He didn't pursue doing anything more now. Although he said that ten thousand years was too long and that one should seize the day, that was because Li Xianmu had too many things to do. He was still very cautious in implementing each and every matter.

The final imperial examination passed uneventfully amidst everyone's shock. Contrary to popular belief, Li Xianmu did not necessarily select candidates based on the principles of the School of Mind. Instead, he allowed anyone who wrote well to receive excellent comments.

On the contrary, during the palace examination, the emperor personally selected some papers on the philosophy of mind and placed them at the front. This move made more people see the current reality. At least on the surface, the current emperor prefers the philosophy of mind. As for the reason, it is probably because the Li family has served as advisors for two generations.

After the palace examination, Li Xianmu received a new appointment. The court appointed him as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works and concurrently as the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. Then, two important tasks were assigned to him: to be responsible for the final sealing of the imperial mausoleum and to expand the palace city and build a royal garden. These were all of the highest importance.

The position of Vice Minister of Works is straightforward, but the position of Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture is quite complex.

As is well known, the Ming Dynasty had fifteen provincial-level units, namely the two capitals and thirteen provinces. The chief officials of the thirteen provinces were all provincial administration commissioners, but there were no provincial administration commissioners in the northern and southern directly administered territories, let alone the Zhili Governor-General of the later Qing Dynasty.

The Northern and Southern Zhili regions were directly governed by the Six Ministries. For example, the Ministry of Revenue was responsible for taxation, and its thirteen offices were responsible for a portion of the prefectures and counties. The Ministry of Justice was responsible for judicial matters, and so on.

Therefore, the prefects of the Northern and Southern Zhili regions did not have provincial-level superiors. However, the prefects of Yingtian and Shuntian were of a higher rank, implicitly assuming the role of provincial-level officials.

This position was given to Li Xianmu, which can be said to be a result of great effort.

After all, Li Xianmu was already a third-rank official. If he were to be transferred to a provincial administration commissioner of the second rank, it would be a promotion on the surface, but in reality, officials in the capital were one rank higher. For a second-rank provincial administration commissioner to be transferred to the capital as an official was a promotion.

Moreover, Zhu Di did not want Li Xianmu to leave the capital for an extended period of time, so he chose the position of Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

Li Xianmu neither confirmed nor denied this. He had another idea in his mind, but he couldn't say it outright. That was the governor of Beizhili.

After receiving the appointment from the imperial court, Li Xianmu did not take up his post, but instead busied himself with important matters of his life.

His fiancée, with whom he had been engaged since the first year of the Yongle reign, finally came of age in the twelfth year of the Yongle reign, and their marriage was naturally put on the agenda well in advance.

Zhu Di was both Li Xianmu's maternal uncle and Zhang Wan's paternal uncle. Given their double kinship, he generously allowed Li Xianmu to prepare for the wedding and take office only after the wedding.

Zhang Wan's coming-of-age ceremony was a grand affair. She was the eldest daughter of Zhang Fu, the Duke of Ying, the most distinguished nobleman in the Ming Dynasty. Her aunt was the favored Consort Zhang, and her future husband was Li Xianmu, the most prominent and promising man in the Ming Dynasty.

She has never suffered since birth, and her future is already set for a smooth life. The hardest thing she has ever experienced in her life is probably medicine.

She was born well and married well; she had two chances to be reincarnated in her life, and she drew the best fortune in both.

Every noblewoman in the capital envied her good fortune. Even Zhang Wan herself felt that she was lucky. Over the years, she often reflected on whether her actions were worthy of her current glory.

She did develop a gentle and virtuous personality.

Who could have known that she died in childbirth in history, passing away at the young age of teens?
Marrying into the Li family in this life was a fortunate thing for her, as it changed her fate.

Duke Zhang Fu of Yingguo did not have many children. His eldest son was in poor health, and he only had a few daughters, all of whom were favored. In particular, his eldest daughter, Zhang Wan, was unable to keep a low profile at her coming-of-age ceremony because the emperor had sent gifts. This attracted the attention of half of the capital's powerful and influential figures.

This grand occasion failed to excite Zhang Fu; instead, a deep, hidden sorrow lingered in his eyes.

Li Xianmu naturally accompanied his mother to his fiancée's coming-of-age ceremony. He noticed his father-in-law's worries but didn't know how to comfort him.

The Duke of Yingguo, the number one military leader of the Ming Dynasty, and Li Xianmu, who is destined to become the number one civil official of the Ming Dynasty.

Every promotion by the emperor was like a deadly blade.

"Xianmu, after you and Wan'er get married, I will gradually step down to the second line. Unless His Majesty summons me personally, I will gradually relinquish my military power. I can't stand in your way."

The father-in-law and son-in-law were silent for a while, then Zhang Fu suddenly said this.

Li Xianmu sighed slightly. It wasn't that simple. In his opinion, the emperor didn't care about the two of them, father-in-law and son-in-law, at all.

At least for now, there are no concerns.

It is impossible for Zhang Fu to shirk his responsibilities.

When Li Xianmu voiced his guess, Zhang Fu sighed softly. How could he not know?

(End of this chapter)