Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 27 Outsider
This examination paper was made public.

Whether Yan Maoqing liked it or not, the Emperor had already forcibly placed him on the opposite side of most of the court officials.

Although these court officials now fear the emperor's iron-fisted methods, they dare not directly advise him on matters of metaphysics.

But why would they care about Yan Maoqing, a newly appointed scholar? They would definitely use a group attack to express their stance. Even if they couldn't kill him in a short time, they would certainly make him infamous.

Therefore, from this moment on, Yan Maoqing was destined to be a lonely official who was isolated from everyone.

The emperor's favorite type of minister is the loyal and solitary minister.

Huang Jin had reason to believe that as long as Yan Maoqing was not too dull-witted, he was very likely to rise to prominence like Duke Guo Xun, and even reach the top in one step.

However, Yan Maoqing will also have to pay a heavy price in this process.

His first concern was how to successfully navigate the immense pressure that every junior scholar had to endure during the three-year period of study at the academy, a period that would be unbearable for most people.
Being selected as a junior official is only a decent start; it's far from a time when one can rest easy.

For the next three years, the junior scholars will enter a three-year period of study at the academy.

In addition to completing the study of classics, history, philosophy, and literature, students sometimes need to simulate handling current affairs and political matters in order to accumulate practical experience.

The Hanlin Academy established a strict assessment system to evaluate the learning and simulated practice results of the probationary scholars.
—The Imperial Examination.

The Imperial Examination was actually a monthly examination system.

Each month, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet will personally set the exam questions, which will cover both the understanding of the classics and views on current affairs.

Furthermore, the examination results of each probationary scholar would be recorded in detail, serving as an important basis for evaluating their learning performance during their time at the Hanlin Academy.

If one's performance remains consistently poor, consistently ranking last in the imperial examinations, there are precedents of being stripped of one's probationary status and expelled from the Hanlin Academy...

Currently, there are only two Grand Secretaries in the Cabinet:

One was Grand Secretary Xia Yan, and the other was Vice Grand Secretary Zhai Luan.

Although Zhai Luan had entered the cabinet twice, he was quiet and unambitious.

Many years ago, when he was in charge of the cabinet alone, newly appointed cabinet members Lee Shih and Fang Hsien-fu rose to prominence. Instead of competing with them, he took the initiative to give way.

Upon re-entering the cabinet, facing the even more powerful Grand Secretary Xia Yan and the rapidly rising Minister of Rites Yan Song, he consistently managed to avoid offending either of them, maneuvering between them in an attempt to maintain his own position and remain unscathed.

For this reason, the emperor did not like Zhai Luan very much, believing that he was not up to the task and was quite reluctant to approve his second entry into the cabinet.

Xia Yan is the other extreme.

From the moment he entered the cabinet, he forcefully seized control of the government, and neither the then Grand Secretary Li Shi nor the cabinet minister Gu Dingchen dared to contend with him.

Later, Li Shi passed away in the winter of the same year, and he naturally succeeded him as the Grand Secretary. The following year, he was promoted to Junior Tutor, Grand Master of the Palace, and Grand Pillar of State.

It is worth mentioning that "Shangzhuguo" is a supreme military honor.

Since the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, no court official had ever been granted the title of Shangzhuguo. This title was actually added by Xia Yan without authorization when he drafted the proposal.

Zhu Houcong was well aware of this.

However, compared to Zhai Luan, Zhu Houcong was more inclined to appoint and indulge people like Xia Yan, and without saying anything, he ordered the Directorate of Ceremonial to approve the document...

Therefore, Huang Jin could foresee this.

During the upcoming period of classes, Xia Yan will become a big problem for Yan Maoqing, while Zhai Luan will likely just go with the flow.

This means that Yan Maoqing must withstand the pressure from the entire cabinet in order to survive the three-year period of study at the academy and finally enter officialdom.

Only at that time could Zhu Houcong rightfully promote and give him important responsibilities.

After all, some systems are not easily changed even by Zhu Houcong, unless he breaks with most of the court and has another major "Great Rites Controversy".

However, wasn't this also a test set up by Zhu Houcong for Yan Maoqing? Perhaps in Zhu Houcong's mind, only if Yan Maoqing could withstand this test would he be worthy of becoming his personal shield.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be unreasonable to use it and then discard it...

……

Ministry of Rites.

"..."

Just as Gao Gong had imagined.

Once Yan Maoqing's selected essays were published, the uproar instantly vanished, and all the newly appointed scholars fell silent.

Even though almost everyone approached Yan Maoqing's selected articles with a critical mindset, they were all unable to help but feel ashamed of their own shortcomings.

nitpicking?

That also requires being stronger than the other party in some aspect.

Especially when nitpicking at highly specialized works like poetry, prose, essays, and policy proposals, it's not just idle gossip among country bumpkins. When nitpicking, you have to say something truly convincing.

Yan Maoqing's selected articles, whether in terms of literary style or ideological strategy, were clearly beyond the scope of these newly appointed scholars' expertise.

Don't you see what those dense circles and dots on these articles are?
Those are all expressions of appreciation and affirmation from Grand Secretary Xia Yan, Second Grand Secretary Zhai Luan, and a group of scholars from the Hanlin Academy. Below are their handwritten signatures and real-name certifications!

If they still raise questions now, it's unacceptable.

That was no longer just questioning the Ministry of Rites, but openly questioning the Grand Secretariat and the Hanlin Academy, questioning the most prestigious academic institutions of the Ming Dynasty!
What ability do they have to dare to betray their master and ancestors like this?

Moreover, how many of them truly believe they could write such brilliant articles?
They even began to suspect that Yan Maoqing might have underperformed in the palace examination, which was why he ranked last in the third class.

Otherwise, given the quality of these articles, he might very well have had a chance to become the top scholar in the imperial examinations...

Gradually, some of the newly appointed scholars fell silent and left dejectedly.

Some, however, came before Yan Song with a bit of ulterior motives, apologizing for their previous rudeness in questioning him.

Yan Song stood with his hands behind his back, a warm and approachable smile always on his face.
"Hehehe, this is the foundation of the Yan family. How dare you, such petty and despicable people, act so presumptuously?"

"Yan Maoqing has really gotten a great deal out of the Yan family this time, but..."

"It won't be long before this bastard learns what it means to be overjoyed and then suffer!"

……

The Liu Family Courtyard.

"What's going on?!"

Upon learning that the "Selected Articles" had been made public, not only was there no exposure of favoritism or corruption, but it also made him, a junior scholar, a universally recognized and well-deserved title. Yan Maoqing felt as if his brain was about to burn out.

Although he knew early on that the officialdom during the Jiajing reign was corrupt and filled with the word "cannibalism" from top to bottom.

But no one expected that the court during the Jiajing reign would be so treacherous.

How could someone who hadn't even submitted an article for the selection of scholars be chosen as the top candidate for the civil service examination, and how could he do it so flawlessly? In fact, the person involved was an outsider who was kept in the dark from beginning to end. What else could this be but a mystery?
Just when the "outsider" was completely baffled and began to feel a growing sense of panic.

"Scholar Yan! Scholar Yan!"

Suddenly, Manager Liu's voice came from outside the courtyard.
"Scholar Yan, come out quickly to greet him! The Duke of Yi has come personally to congratulate you!"

(End of this chapter)