Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 59: Lottery Results! Donglin's 108th Single Number Will Be Revealed! (Please Vote!)

Inside the Directorate of Ceremonial, the place was bustling with noise, and the spacious duty room was sweltering.

This was the central hub of the Ming Dynasty's inner court, the place closest to imperial power, and the pinnacle that countless eunuchs could only look up to in their lifetime.

The air was filled with a unique smell, a mixture of paper, ink, and a slight odor of urine.

The eunuchs holding pens and attending to the court carried stacks of documents half a person's height, shuttling back and forth in the huge duty room, each of them with anxiety written on their faces.

"Where's the list from the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission? Why hasn't it arrived yet! Send someone to urge them again!"

"The verification in Shaanxi is complete! Who can do a second verification? There's a guy named Hong Chengchou here, his resume doesn't match the official records!"

"Who has the list of successful candidates in the imperial examinations of the 44th year of the Wanli reign? Has it been used up? Bring it to us immediately, we need Bi Zisu's entry!"

One of the eunuchs seemed to be getting impatient, and his voice suddenly rose to a high pitch, becoming sharp and shrill, drawing stares from those around him.

The high-pitched voices mingled with the rustling of papers turning, rising and falling throughout the grand hall, creating a symphony of activity bordering on chaos.

However, in the very center of this commotion, Gao Shiming, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, sat quietly in a large armchair, motionless, like a clay statue.

His gaze was unfocused, drifting aimlessly into the void, his thoughts already wandering to the ends of the earth.

The noise around him gradually faded away, as if through a thick layer of cotton wool, until only the emperor's resounding words echoed repeatedly in his mind.

"Why not make my aspirations your aspirations!"

When the emperor uttered these words in an almost matter-of-fact tone, even with a hint of expectation, Gao Shiming, relying almost entirely on his instincts honed from decades of experience navigating the palace, instantly made the most correct response.

He knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly, swearing oaths and professing all the loyal words a subject or a servant could utter.

What about "I would gladly die for Your Majesty"? What about "I am so fortunate to have met Your Majesty in this life, I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's boundless grace, and I have no regrets even if I die"?

He acted with such sincerity and emotion that the young emperor had to help him up himself, offering kind words of advice and gentle comfort, his words even carrying a hint of helplessness.

Finally, seeing that he was so "excited" that he was somewhat disoriented and could not even speak properly, the emperor took pity on him and let him go.

Let him come to the Directorate of Ceremonial to urge the local officials on the list, as a way to give him a change of scenery and calm his mind.

But only now, as he sits in the duty room of the Directorate of Ceremonial, surrounded by countless noises, does that belated, deep-seated fear completely overwhelm him like a tidal wave.

At that time, before the emperor, what could he say? What did he dare to say?

Aside from kowtowing in gratitude and swearing oaths, he could do nothing else.

They could only try to get by on the surface, even if it displeased the emperor.

It's just... it's just that His Majesty's words are too shocking!

It frightened him even more than the phrase "The Ming Dynasty is doomed"!
Gao Shiming spent his entire life in the palace, rising from a lowly sweeper to the powerful Director of the Imperial Household Department. He has seen too many people and experienced too many things.

He witnessed Emperor Wanli's negligence in governance, Emperor Taichang's haste, and personally experienced Emperor Tianqi's tyranny.

He knew that serving a ruler was like serving a tiger; the mind of a monarch was the most unpredictable thing in the world.

But what's on the emperor's mind today...

But which history book's path to becoming a sage ruler did he ultimately follow?

Since ancient times, emperors have always consulted their ministers for advice, and fathers have always sought their sons' aspirations.

Everyone says that one should serve one's ruler as one's father, but that is ultimately just a grand and respectable saying. How many rulers would truly treat their subjects as their sons?

He had read countless history books and heard countless stories, but he had never heard of an emperor asking a minister about his ambitions.

Not to mention, there were even emperors who said that their ambitions should be the ambitions of their subjects!

How terrifying! And how blessed!
Gao Shiming felt that even if he was ignorant, even if such a thing really happened in the history books!
That should have happened between a timeless ruler and his minister, like King Wen and Taigong Wang, or Emperor Wu of Han and Marquis of Champion.

How could it be... how could it be a castrated man with incomplete limbs!

What right does a servant girl have to have her own ambitions? A servant girl's ambitions are nothing more than the master's preferences.

Thinking of this, Gao Shiming felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest, half fire and half ice.

The flames were an unprecedented act of kindness; the iceberg, however, represented the chilling prospect of an unknown fate.

Just as he was feeling agitated, a figure carrying a stack of rosters hurried past him, stirring up a gentle breeze.

"Liu Ruoyu".

Almost instinctively, Gao Shiming called out to the man in a somewhat hoarse voice.

The eunuch holding the register was taken aback, clearly not expecting to be stopped. He quickly turned around, bowed, and asked, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

The visitor was none other than Liu Ruoyu, an oddball in the palace.

Other palace eunuchs entered the palace, either voluntarily or involuntarily, due to poverty or ambition.

This guy, whose father was the General of Liaodong, somehow managed to enter the palace because of some strange dream, and thus he has always been out of place with the rest of the people in the palace.

Gao Shiming's gaze did not look into his eyes, but instead fell on the area above Liu Ruoyu's lips.

There, there were faint, bluish stubbles that had recently sprouted after a shave.

Unlike him, whose face has always been smooth, he will never experience that rough, prickly texture.

He suddenly felt a little lost.

After a long while, he asked softly in a voice that even he himself found unfamiliar.

"Ruoyu, what are your ambitions?"

Liu Ruoyu was startled, and suddenly raised her head, her face full of confusion.

……

In the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youjian rubbed his hands together, his face filled with barely suppressed excitement and anticipation, like a child about to unwrap a New Year's gift.

He could finally take a closer look at the list of people dismissed during the Tianqi era for their factionalism!

Draw a card! Draw a card! Draw a card!

This sounds like a list of just over two hundred people, which could be written in a few pages.

But in reality, the amount of work involved in compiling this list is staggering.

Li Guopu not only listed everyone's name.

Furthermore, it details in detail why the person was dismissed and in what year, all of which are cited from the memorials and edicts of the Ministry of Justice, demonstrating meticulousness.

Gao Shiming meticulously copied the list again using a table format from later generations.

After each person's name, their place of origin, age, and current status were noted in tiny characters: deceased, exiled, in office, or retired.

Even earlier, deceased figures who were involved with the Donglin Party have had their biographies prepared, such as Gu Xiancheng and Qian Yiben.

At this moment, this thin stack of Donglin names, along with their corresponding more than three hundred detailed manuscripts, resembled a small mountain, occupying a large portion of the imperial desk.

Zhu Youjian picked up the list.

Suddenly, a string of names that shine brightly in history books came into view.

Li Sancai, Ye Xianggao, Zhao Nanxing, Zuo Guangdou, Yang Lian...

"Yes, yes, yes! That's the real cheat code for time travelers!"

Zhu Youjian slammed his hand on the table in excitement, his heart filled with satisfaction.

Since his transmigration, he has been like a tightly wound puppet.

Every day, he was preoccupied with his own safety, control over personnel, the transition of power, and how to patch up this empire riddled with problems. Every moment, he felt as if he were walking on thin ice, unsure if he would eventually reach the other side.

This was the first time he had come into contact with so many names of people known to later generations.

This feeling is so much more exciting than Li Guopu, Yang Jingchen, or Huang Liji!

It's like playing a long-awaited historical strategy game. After finally getting through the tutorial, you can finally open the list of generals you want to see.

—And behind each name here lies a magnificent story.

Gao Shiming was incredibly meticulous; this eunuch, whom he didn't recognize in his later life, was practically an SSR-level secretary gifted to a newbie by the system.

He not only noted the place of origin and age after each person's name.
Even the nicknames given to these people in the "Donglin Generals' List" compiled by Wei Zhongxian's faction were neatly marked next to them.

Zhu Youjian looked at the names that kept popping up on the list: "Li Sancai, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," "Miao Changqi, the Wise Star," and "Gao Panlong, the Cloud-Piercing Dragon."

The nerve that had been taut for days finally relaxed completely, and he couldn't help but slap the table and burst into laughter.

He simply skipped over the Donglin bigwigs and went straight to the list to find a few names that he was more familiar with in his later years.

Soon, a series of surprises began to appear.

—Sun Chengzong, a dragon emerging from a short forest!
Sun Di Shi, what exactly is wrong with you, hahaha, that's why you got this nickname!
—Qian Qianyi, a prodigal son of the Heavenly Star!

This nickname is actually pretty good.

Zhu Youjian recalled the card he drew when he ate MasterChef instant noodles in his previous life—this should be Yan Qing, right?

The nickname "The water is too cold" actually fits quite well with it!

—Li Banghua, the Di Yongxing Bing Yuchi!
It's just so-so.

—Liu Zongzhou, the Red-Haired Demon of the Celestial Star!
Hahaha, Liu Zongzhou should be an old man with the image of a great Confucian scholar, right? And what is this "Red-haired Devil"?
—Hou Xun, the Earthly Star with a Long Arm!
Haha, this young master from Jiangnan is actually a gibbon!
As Zhu Youjian flipped through the list, he laughed so hard behind his desk that he almost cried.

This is so much fun!

These literati of the late Ming Dynasty were truly ruthless yet talented when it came to political struggles, far more exciting than any poker-card wanted posters of later generations.

However, as he laughed, his laughter gradually stopped.

In the empty Qianqing Palace, only his gradually calming breathing and his own heartbeat remained.

Finally, all the laughter turned into a long sigh.

Yes, that's really interesting.

But who could understand this joy, in this vast Forbidden City, in this expansive Ming Dynasty territory, in this lonely time and space, except for himself?
When he saw "Qian Qianyi the Prodigal Son", the joke "The water is too cold to play" came to mind, and he also thought of the passion contained in the "Three Games of Go".

When he saw "Liu Zongzhou, the Red-Haired Devil," he thought of the cruelty of this great Confucian scholar who starved himself to death.

These tired jokes that have spanned four hundred years, these laughs and sorrows that have settled in the dust of history, are ultimately only understood by him.

Upon realizing this, Zhu Youjian's desire for amusement vanished considerably.

A slight sense of loneliness quietly welled up in my heart.

He suppressed his smile, turned his gaze back to the list, and his eyes became serious.

In fact, after a cursory glance, it seems that not many people in this so-called "Donglin list" are actually useful to him, or that he knows them well.

The names of upright and resolute officials like Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou, whom he was familiar with from "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty," were all heavily framed in black ink by Gao Shiming.

Next to the frame are two small characters.

—Already dead.

Of the remaining survivors, he knew only a dozen or so.

One type is people like Ye Xianggao, Zhao Nanxing, and Han Kuang, whom he vaguely remembers as leaders of the Donglin Party.

But he had no idea what specific abilities he possessed or what he was good at.

Using these people is just like using Yang Jingchen and Li Guopu – it's like the blind men and the elephant, a gamble.

In his view, the so-called "pure stream" (a group of upright officials) were not necessarily as useful or capable as the treacherous officials.

The other category consists of people who became familiar to him through various books and short videos in later generations.

But upon closer examination, there are only five people: Sun Chengzong, Qian Qianyi, Li Banghua, Hou Xun, and Liu Zongzhou.

Of these five, only Sun Chengzong and Li Banghua are truly capable of getting things done.

As for the other three, given his meager knowledge of history, they didn't seem to be known for their practical skills either.

Qian Qianyi was a leader in the literary world, Liu Zongzhou was a moral exemplar, Hou Xun... he only remembered that he was the father of Hou Fangyu, one of the "Four Gentlemen of the Late Ming Dynasty".

Zhu Youjian's fingers slowly traced the list, his gaze sweeping over one familiar or unfamiliar name after another.

Suddenly, his fingers stopped.

A sense of unease rose from the depths of my heart.

"Gao Shiming."

He called out instinctively.

However, the hall was empty, with only his own voice echoing faintly among the beams and pillars.

Zhu Youjian then realized that the scene had been too "explosive," and he had already sent Gao Banban to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs to calm down.

He sighed, deciding not to call Gao Shiming back, and simply picked up a pen and paper and started writing and drawing on them.

He first wrote down the three characters "Donglin Party", and then drew a big circle.

Then, as he flipped through each person's notebook, he wrote down the names on the list one by one and connected them with lines and the circle.

Sun Chengzong, Ye Xianggao, Li Banghua, Qian Qianyi...

As he drew out the names and relationship diagrams, his brow furrowed more and more.

He discovered that these so-called "Donglin Party members" came from all over the country and had different backgrounds. Some were teachers and students, some were from the same hometown, and some were born in the same year. Their relationships were intricate, but they seemed... not so close.

This is unlike the tightly organized political parties of later generations; it is more like a series of loose political alliances and academic circles.

Something seems off about the Donglin Party.

—Aren't they supposed to represent the interests of the landlords in Jiangnan?

　The list of successful candidates in the imperial examinations is a bit like a yearbook, isn't it?
　　The records would show the age at which each scholar passed the imperial examination, as well as information about their parents and even grandparents.

　　Interestingly, because the Hanlin Academy and the Censorate generally did not accept people who were too old, some people would deliberately give a false age in an attempt to get away with it.

　　The largest collection of Ming Dynasty imperial examination records in China is currently preserved in Tianyi Pavilion in Zhejiang Province, which was first built in the 40th year of the Jiajing reign (1561).

　　-
　　Eunuchs who are castrated from a young age will not have beards, but those who are castrated when they are older will have beards, such as Tong Guan.

　　-
　　Qian Qianyi's "The water is too cold" is also a widely circulated anecdote.

　　Many people only remember these three words, but do not know "three games of chess".

　　His life was full of ups and downs, and he only served as an official in the Ming Dynasty for 65 months.

　　If you are unfamiliar with this period of history, you can refer to the article "Qian Qianyi's Life—Humorous, Shameful, and Resilient" in the related section of the work.

　　-
　　Gu Xiancheng, Qian Yiben, and others were the original founders of Donglin Academy, but they are already dead. This book will not mention them much; they will only be used as background information.

　　-
　　After the next chapter is released, I will release the Donglin list together with the list of those dismissed from their posts during the Tianqi era. At that time, everyone can compete to see who can identify the most people.

　　The protagonist was created based on my understanding of history before I wrote this book, so the people he knows are probably not as numerous as you all.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)