The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 80 The Events of Yuan History Finally Begin
In the front courtyard, while Li Qi was talking with Zhang Fu, Xie Jin and Chen Ying arrived together. After exchanging pleasantries, Xie Jin and Chen Ying were both surprised to learn that the two families actually intended to arrange a marriage alliance.

While jokingly telling Li Qi that he had kept the news a secret, Xie Jin said to Zhang Fu, "Lord Xin'an, you've found a son-in-law who is one of the best in the entire Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Fu's eyes narrowed. He and Xie Jin had no old relationship; they were merely nodding acquaintances. Xie Jin, on the other hand, had known the Li family for many years and naturally had a very high level of understanding of Li Xianmu. Moreover, Xie Jin was one of the most talented men in the Ming Dynasty, yet he still praised Li Qi's youngest son so highly, which meant that this youngest son of Li Qi was indeed extraordinary.

He originally intended to marry Li Qi, but after Xie Jin's suggestion, he now has some expectations for Li Xianmu.

What Xie Jin and Chen Ying were even more curious about was why Li Qi would choose Zhang Fu as a marriage partner for Li Xianmu. The Zhang family was not particularly prominent among the nobles; they were merely a count's family. Neither the Duke of Cheng's family nor the Duke of Ding's family were ordinary people. If Li Qi wanted to arrange a marriage, the two dukes' families would probably be willing.

"Is Jinghe planning to make Xianmu famous throughout the world?"

Chen Ying, however, sensed something else in it. Over the years, Li Xianmu's reputation had mainly circulated within a small circle, and most people were unaware that Li Qi's youngest son was so outstanding.

Li Qi smiled faintly and said, "I plan to have Mu'er participate in the provincial examination in Yingtian Prefecture this August."

Xie Jin immediately clapped his hands and laughed, "Then this year's top scholar in Yingtian Prefecture will undoubtedly be Xianmu!"

Chen Ying also laughed and said, "Not only the top scholar in the provincial examination, but also the top scholar in the imperial examination next spring. Apart from Xian Mu, who else in the Ming Dynasty can be the top scholar in the palace examination?"

Six top scholars achieving the highest honors in the imperial examinations, the best in the Ming Dynasty, will be here next year.

Li Qi waved his hand modestly and said, "Don't say that. Anything can happen in the examination room. If an examiner thinks that he is too young and his temperament is not stable enough to be the top candidate, he may be relegated to second place."

Zhang Fu's eyelids twitched upon hearing this. If he didn't know the identities of these three people, he would probably think they were bragging.

A scholar who achieved the highest honors in six examinations—the county, prefectural, and provincial examinations, the metropolitan, and palace examinations—is so accomplished that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he is a reincarnation of the God of Literature.

Of course, it is difficult, but there is always hope. If he remembers correctly, Li Xianmu is six years older than his daughter. He was born in the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu. In the autumn of this year, the second year of Yongle, he would only be eleven years old.

By the time of the imperial examination the following spring, he would be just twelve years old!
He still had some belief that someone could pass the imperial examination at the age of eleven, after all, there has never been a shortage of child prodigies throughout history.

He already thought it was a bit far-fetched that the person passed the imperial examination at the age of twelve. After all, which person who passed the imperial examination was not a dragon among men? If it were so easy to pass the imperial examination, who would risk their life and die on the battlefield to fight for a future?

Now, Xie Jin and Chen Ying say that Li Xianmu was able to win the top three honors in six imperial examinations at the age of twelve. He really wanted to say it was ridiculous, but he couldn't help it. Then a crazy thought arose in his mind: Could it be true?

Before he could think further, Li Qi turned to Xie Jin and asked, "Jinshen, His Majesty has appointed you and me as chief editors of the history compilation. This is a major matter concerning the orthodoxy of the nation. Do you have any ideas?"

Xie Jin and Li Qi exchanged a glance. Xie Jin had mentioned that he would take care of this matter when they were drinking together on a snowy night. Now Li Qi was asking him how he planned to do it. "Since it is a chronological history book, we should first list the years, then extract the major events of the time from the historical materials, and finally select examples that can corroborate the history of the dynasty."

Although Song Lian and Wang Yi's history of the Yuan Dynasty was poorly compiled, it contained a wealth of historical materials. If one were to compile history, one would not be able to do without reading it. Therefore, I plan to first select from the history of the Yuan Dynasty.

This historical revision cannot be rushed; it should be completed within ten years.

After saying this, Xie Jin glanced at Li Qi and saw that Li Qi nodded slightly in agreement, so he was relieved.

Some things shouldn't be done too deliberately. Zhu Yuanzhang's various major cases were criticized by later generations because they were too deliberate, and he also alienated his ministers, turning what was right into wrong.

If it weren't for the high prestige of the founding emperor, a major incident would have occurred long ago. Even Zhu Yuanzhang, due to the overwhelming public discontent, could only issue several edicts to shift the blame, which were essentially explanations.

Looking at Li Qi's actions, each one seemed accidental, yet each time he managed to garner popular support on his side.

Xie Jin did a very good job this time. If he had directly brought out those things from the History of Yuan, even if the evidence was conclusive, it would have made it seem like Xie Jin and Li Qi were deliberately using this to attack someone, and that they already knew about this matter. This would have made it seem like a conspiracy.

Now, if we first use a grand reason to compile history, and then in the process of compiling history, we will naturally have to reread the Yuan History, and then let an insignificant little person discover this matter, then it will be completely different. As the chief executive officer, if he knows about this matter, how can he hide it?
Everything proceeded very smoothly.

As the group was talking, all the guests who had been invited arrived. "Gentlemen, please come with me to pay your respects to the princess first, and then we can talk at the banquet."

Inside the mansion, Li Xianmu arrived with Zihua and saw his mother chatting intimately with a rather beautiful woman. He knew that this was his future mother-in-law, Madam Zhang. He stepped forward to pay his respects and then sat down properly at the lower end of the table.

Zhang took an immediate liking to Li Xianmu upon first sight. He possessed an exceptionally refined and elegant temperament, was incomparably handsome, and had clear and bright eyes. His overall demeanor was truly unlike anything she had ever seen. Such a person would be more than a match for anyone.

Princess Lin'an watched Zhang's expression change the whole time, and a smile rose in her heart. Her Mu'er was the most outstanding in the world. If her husband had not chosen the Marquis of Xin'an's family, even if she was the eldest daughter of the Duke's family, she would only be a barely acceptable match.

"Such a gifted and outstanding person is truly worthy of being the son of the princess and Duke Jinghe, the son of a sage, and possesses extraordinary talent."

After Li Qi's personal reputation surpassed that of the 90s, each step forward was a huge breakthrough. After his reputation in the court greatly increased, he was already a universally recognized sage, and some people even called him a saint. Li Xianmu was very happy to hear someone call his father a saint. "You flatter me, my aunt. Father's talent is beyond my reach."

The two chatted for a few more minutes, and Zhang was already very satisfied with Li Xianmu.

Princess Huaiqing's voice came from outside the hall, and Li Xianmu immediately stood up, "Mother, the ladies of the family are coming here, it is not appropriate for me to stay here, so I will take my leave first."

"Alright, you may go first."

Princess Huaiqing walked through the hall, followed by a group of women who had indeed come to pay their respects to Princess Lin'an.

The front yard and back hall were bustling with activity, the vibrant flowers and lively voices dispelling the former desolation of the mansion.

Even in winter, the sun shines warmly.

Amidst congratulations and the sounds of opera, Li Qi exchanged pleasantries with everyone in the front courtyard, while Princess Lin'an received compliments from the women of various households in the back hall.

In this life, one cannot escape these worldly affairs. A complex web of relationships grows from these things. It is easy to be a lone official, but how difficult it is for a lone official to live forever in this world.
Li Qi would not be a lone minister, nor would he allow his descendants to be lone ministers.

It is out of necessity that we depend on the royal family for life and death, but if this continues for generations to come, wouldn't that be absurd?

……

The following day, as the sun rose high in the sky, all the noise in the princess's residence was silenced.

Although Li Qi was one of the chief editors of the history compilation, he was only nominally in charge. Compiling a history book that is logically rigorous, consistent, and ideologically unified is an extremely long process.

It should be noted that the Qing dynasty spent a century compiling the History of the Ming dynasty, which is why historians generally regard it as "a good history book with very low historical value."

It is considered to have low historical value because it contains a lot of fabricated information, and other books from the same period, such as the Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty, are well preserved, so it is not useful for verifying history.

It is considered a good history book because its structure is clear, unlike historical books such as the History of the Song Dynasty and the History of the Yuan Dynasty, which can even get the events of the people wrong.

This historical book, which concerns the fundamental ideology of the Ming Dynasty, is not only a historical book, but also a literary work that is to be passed down through the ages, and therefore has extremely high requirements.

Just as Xie Jin said, it will take at least ten years to complete!
Li Qi wouldn't live that long, so this matter ultimately had to be left to Xie Jin.

Moreover, although Zhu Di is now in a relatively legitimate position and is not in a hurry to create achievements to prove himself, he did not start compiling the Yongle Encyclopedia when the country was in decline, as is the case in history. However, it is possible that he will have to compile it in the future.

The historical records from the late Song Dynasty onwards would take ten years to complete.

Li Qi was nominally responsible for compiling history, so he didn't have to go to the Hanlin Academy, but he still needed to go to the palace every day. After Zhu Di learned that Li Qi was not long for life, he preferred to discuss national policies with him. There weren't many specific matters, but there was a lot of content about the construction of the Ming Dynasty's system.

Li Qi wanted to take this opportunity to introduce the cabinet system at the end of his life.

In the history of the Ming Dynasty, the cabinet system developed step by step. The cabinet's power increased mainly because the emperor was increasingly unwilling to manage affairs, and there was no power vacuum. As a result, the civil officials naturally and unconsciously eroded the imperial power step by step.

However, the cabinet system in history was fundamentally flawed, lacking any theoretical basis to support its necessity. This was something Li Qi hoped to change.

However, this was no easy task, after all, this was the Ming Dynasty, which had abolished the prime minister system, and Zhu Di was at the height of his life, extremely wary of his subjects interfering with power.

Even Li Qi could only find a suitable opportunity to explain to Zhu Di the necessity of the power of the prime minister.

Li Qi went to the palace.

In the Hanlin Academy, Xie Jin looked at the officials buried in piles of old papers and felt a surge of pride. He thought, "Those who labor with their minds govern others; those who labor with their bodies are governed by others. This is the truth of the world!"
"Scholar Xie, there is a great treason recorded in the History of Yuan!"

In the Hanlin Academy, where only the sound of turning pages could be heard, a rather sharp voice suddenly rang out, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

There is one more chapter

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(End of this chapter)