The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 92 Zhu Di: Granting Favors to Li Qi
Inside the imperial palace, Li Qi had his own chair, so he didn't have to stand all the time.

His body no longer allows him to stand all the time.

During his last coma, he didn't wake up for a full day and a half, and his deteriorating health was becoming increasingly difficult to conceal.

"Next year will be the first talent selection ceremony since my ascension to the throne. We must select the most talented people. I intend to appoint Xie Jin as the chief examiner for the provincial examination and also as the chief examiner for the provincial examination in Yingtian Prefecture next month. Jinghe, what do you think?"

Xie Jinzhi's talent is beyond doubt, and now he is the chief editor of the history books, so his reputation is also sufficient. Given that Li Qi cannot serve as the chief examiner, he is indeed the only suitable candidate.

After thinking for a moment, Li Qi said, "Xie Jin cannot serve as the chief examiner alone. Huang Huai has talents that are no less than those of the other scholars and is qualified to be a prime minister. Moreover, he is from Zhejiang. Let him serve as the chief examiner as well. He will surely be grateful to His Majesty."

"I believe it would be more appropriate to send Xie Jin to Zhejiang as the chief examiner and have Huang Huai preside over the provincial examination in Yingtian Prefecture."

Zhu Di fell into deep thought; he understood Li Qi's meaning.

The Zhejiang region had just experienced a major disaster that nearly wiped out all the scholars, and the court and the public were in a state of anxiety. If we could show kindness at this time, it would be like sending charcoal in snowy weather, and we could win over the hearts of the people of Zhejiang with ease. I dare not say what will happen in the future, but at least we will definitely support the emperor in the Yongle court.

Whether it's moving the capital in the future or Zhu Di's persistent desire to launch a northern expedition, if he could gain the support of officials from Zhejiang, the pressure on the court and the public would be much less.

"Jinghe is truly a man of great talent; I cannot live without you for even a day."

"Your Majesty flatters me. There are discerning judges of horses and fine horses, but fine horses are common while discerning judges of horses are rare. During the Jianwen reign, I also possessed the same abilities, but I could only remain a wealthy and idle man in my residence. If it weren't for Your Majesty's trust and support, how could I have had the opportunity to devise strategies for the Ming Dynasty?"

It was still Li Qi's classic words. Every emperor would gain boundless confidence from his flattering rhetoric and trust him even more. What emperor wouldn't like a minister who was both eloquent and capable?

For Li Qi, criticizing Jianwen was not out of genuine anger, but merely to provoke the Jianwen Emperor into fleeing. Praising Zhu Di was not because Zhu Di was truly wise and without fault, but simply to curry favor with Zhu Di.

Fan Zhongyan once said, "Do not be elated by external gains, nor saddened by personal losses." Li Qi did the opposite. He could make people happy or angry with a single word. He controlled both joy and anger with his words, and national affairs were accomplished with these words.

This is the realm of handling heavy tasks with ease and light tasks with great difficulty.

Zhu Di was very pleased to be flattered. "Recently, Xianmu has become very famous in the Imperial Academy. All the great talents have admitted defeat, and it has even reached my ears."

He's going to participate in this year's provincial examination in Yingtian Prefecture and next year's metropolitan examination, right? The first top scholar appointed by me since I ascended the throne, it can't be Xianmu, can it?"

Zhu Di was just joking at first, but the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

There's been a lot of talk about this at the Imperial Academy lately. After all, since Li Xianmu enrolled, he has consistently outperformed everyone else in every exam, both in speed and quality, leaving all the other students far behind.

At first, some people were unconvinced, but after several times, no one had the time to challenge Li Xianmu anymore.

The Imperial Academy of today is no longer the place in the later period of the dynasty where anyone could get in by paying money, and it was a place where the sons of the powerful and wealthy would gild their resumes.

The Imperial Academy today truly gathers the best talents from all over the country. The successful candidates here are all outstanding individuals, many of whom are top talents from various prefectures and counties, and only those who can enter the Imperial Academy can do so.

If Li Xianmu is the top candidate here, then in the subsequent provincial and palace examinations, he will face the same group of people and be completely outmatched.

Li Xianmu will only be twelve years old next year, right?

A twelve-year-old top scholar?

Li Qi said softly, "I have great confidence in my son's talent. He is more talented than I am. I was too young to attain enlightenment and my lifespan is even shorter. He will only be twelve years old next year. If a twelve-year-old can become the top scholar in the Yongle era, it will be a great event that will showcase the brilliance of literature."

Zhu Di's eyes lit up. Indeed, a twelve-year-old top scholar was destined to be recorded in history. The fact that such a prodigy was born in the Yongle era proved that the era under his rule was one of cultural prosperity.

"If Xianmu really becomes the top scholar at the age of twelve, I, as his uncle, don't even know what official position to assign him."

"Your Majesty need not worry about this matter."

Li Qi smiled.

Zhu Di looked at Li Qi with a puzzled expression, not understanding what he meant. According to custom, the top scholar should at least be granted the title of compiler in the Hanlin Academy. Li Qi pointed to himself and said, "It is already a blessing that my body can hold out until next year's palace examination. Even if he is lucky enough to become the top scholar, he will probably have to observe three years of mourning first. By the time he is granted an official position, he will already be fifteen or sixteen years old, which is not surprising."

What I fear most is the coming winter. If I die then, it will delay Mu'er's life. Historically, Li Qi died in the winter of the first year of Yongle. In this generation, Zhu Di entered Yingtian a year earlier. Therefore, the provincial examination of the second year of Yongle was actually in August of the fourth year of Jianwen, which was also August of the thirty-fifth year of Hongwu.

Historically, it was unlikely that Li Qi would survive this winter. He could only try his best to live a little longer and get through the winter.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di could no longer laugh. He looked at Li Qi with a complicated expression, and was speechless at Li Qi's magnanimous attitude in the face of life and death.

But he felt a little sad. Since the two met in the third year of Jianwen's reign, it had only been a year at most, but Zhu Di felt that he and Li Qi hit it off immediately. He never thought that he would trust a minister so much.

But Li Qi's actions and words made him realize that there really were such sincere gentlemen in this world. He witnessed a saint being born, just like in the ancient books. Sometimes it really felt magical.

He stood up and paced around the hall a few times, then instructed Hong Bao beside him: "Go and summon all the ministers and scholars of the Wenyuan Pavilion here, and then summon the Minister of Rites to the palace. I have an important matter to announce."

Li Qi was somewhat curious about what Zhu Di was going to do.

The Wenyuan Pavilion was located within the palace, and these cabinet ministers arrived quickly. Because the emperor had summoned them urgently, everyone wore expressions of intense curiosity, wondering what had happened. Upon entering the hall, Xie Jin and the others saw Li Qi there and gestured with their eyes. Li Qi returned a look that indicated he didn't know what was going on either.

Now all the cabinet ministers were somewhat uneasy. Li Qi was right there, completely unaware of what had happened, or what exactly had occurred.

After the Minister of Rites hurriedly entered the palace, he saw a group of people standing in the hall. He was immediately flustered and quickly stepped forward to pay his respects to the emperor. Then, he quietly observed the atmosphere in the hall. It was somewhat tense, but not stagnant, which made him relax a little.

When Zhu Di saw that everyone had arrived, he said, "Just now, Li Jinghe and I discussed the provincial examination next month and the spring examination next year."

"Jie Jin, I intend to appoint you as the chief examiner in Zhejiang."

Xie Jin was taken aback. He had thought he would be the chief examiner of Yingtian Prefecture, as the chief examiner of Yingtian Prefecture was the chief examiner of the metropolitan examination according to custom.

Does His Majesty intend to appoint Li Qi as the chief examiner?
Although he was taken aback for a moment, he immediately accepted the order.

"Besides being the chief examiner for Zhejiang Province, I also intend to appoint you as the chief examiner for next year's metropolitan examination."

Xie Jin was not only delighted, but also deeply puzzled. He was delighted that he had been chosen as the chief examiner. His reputation would greatly increase after he was appointed as the chief examiner. But why was he not the chief examiner of Yingtian Prefecture?
"Huang Huai, you will serve as the chief examiner of Yingtian Prefecture, and next year you will serve as the chief examiner of the metropolitan examination together with Xie Jin."

Because of the Yuan Dynasty history incident, Huang Huai, who was usually low-key among the cabinet members, was stunned. He could hardly believe his ears. How could the position of chief examiner of the imperial examination have fallen on him?

The emperor's words made everyone understand why Xie Jin would go to Zhejiang to serve as the chief examiner. There are three provinces in Jiangnan. Xie Jin is from Jiangxi, so he naturally cannot go to Jiangxi. That leaves only Zhili and Zhejiang.

Since Huang Huai is from Zhejiang, the only option is to send Xie Jin to Zhejiang and Huang Huai to Yingtian Prefecture.

As for why Huang Huai didn't go to Jiangxi, it's because even if Xie Jin didn't serve as the chief examiner of Yingtian Prefecture, his prestige was still enough to qualify him as the chief examiner of the provincial examination.

However, Huang Huai needed the title of chief examiner of the provincial examination in Yingtian Prefecture to build up his qualifications.

Huang Huai snapped out of his daze and immediately stepped forward to perform the three kowtows and nine prostrations. Almost instantly, tears streamed down his face as he choked out, "Your Majesty's great kindness is unforgettable. The millions of students in Zhejiang will forever praise Your Majesty's great kindness and virtue!"

Zhu Di said in a deep and authoritative voice: "Zhejiang is also my territory, and you are all my subjects. I will treat you all equally. You should keep in mind what Jinghe said that day and be loyal to the Ming Dynasty. I will forgive and forget everything that happened in the past."

Huang Huai kowtowed several more times, his sincerity so earnest that anyone could believe him, "Your Majesty's grace will be spread throughout Zhejiang, so that the people of Zhejiang may know of Your Majesty's benevolence."

The assembled officials in the hall, including Xie Jin, who had been deprived of his position as chief examiner of Yingtian Prefecture, were all amazed by the emperor's move, which had so easily won over the hearts of the people of eastern Zhejiang.

Xie Jin looked at Li Qi, feeling that this method seemed familiar. Li Qi often used this approach. Li Qi shook his head slightly, and Xie Jin looked away.

He sighed inwardly, “Jinghe is truly a saint. Although Zhejiang has outwardly submitted, who knows what he is really thinking?”

For the sake of national stability, they actually recommended the Zhejiang School of thought, allowing them to completely extricate themselves from the previous turmoil, and yet they didn't take credit for it.

Zhu Di waved for Huang Huai to rise, and then said to the crowd in a deep voice, "I summoned you all here today not for this matter."

Everyone knew, of course, that the appointment of two chief examiners was not worth such a grand display, and they stood quietly listening to the emperor's instructions.

(End of this chapter)