Huangming

Chapter 210 The Emperor's Decisive Actions Reform Abuses and Revitalize Imperial Power

What is meant by "catching a son-in-law after the imperial examination results are announced"?

"Catching a son-in-law after the imperial examination results are announced" was an absurd yet prevalent custom during the imperial examination era.

Every year on the day the results of the imperial examinations were announced, the powerful and wealthy families of the capital would, like wolves smelling blood, send their servants to surround the examination halls.

As soon as the list of successful candidates was displayed, the servants pounced on them like hungry tigers, dragging the young talents into the mansion and forcibly shoving them into red robes and black hats, forcing them to marry their daughters.

This practice of "catching a son-in-law" was so prevalent that even married scholars who had passed the imperial examinations were not spared.

The powerful and wealthy don't care about the saying "a wife who has shared hardship should not be abandoned".
With just a casual remark like "The letter of divorce has been prepared for you," and a chest full of gold and silver as "betrothal gifts," the scholar who had studied diligently for years was transformed into a wealthy and beautiful son-in-law in the blink of an eye.

Imagine:

On one side were the beautiful women and immense wealth of a noble family, and on the other side was his wife from his hometown, dressed in simple clothes.

When the path to success meets old friendships, how many "Chen Shimei" (a notorious character in Chinese folklore known for abandoning his wife) are born in this brightly lit wedding hall?

As for why the powerful and wealthy are so eager to find sons-in-law...

Ultimately, it all boils down to the word "interests".

Firstly, becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) is a stepping stone to officialdom.

Passing the imperial examination once means stepping onto the fast track to an official career.

Those who passed the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty were destined to become high-ranking officials or prime ministers, wielding immense power and influence.

If a wealthy family can form a marriage alliance with a son-in-law, they can not only consolidate their family's status by leveraging the son-in-law's official reputation, but also weave a network of interests involving "collusion between officials and businessmen," making it an extremely profitable venture.

Secondly, the number of successful candidates in the imperial examinations was scarce, leading to fierce competition.

During the Ming Dynasty, only two to three hundred people were selected for each imperial examination, while the capital was filled with powerful nobles, wealthy merchants, and noble families, making the number of candidates far exceed the number of available positions.

If one adheres strictly to etiquette and proceeds with the marriage proposal step by step, the slightest hesitation could cause the good son-in-law to fall into someone else's trap.

Therefore, on the day the results were announced, each family had no choice but to tear off their masks and stage a "battle for the son-in-law".

Upon hearing the emperor's somewhat cold question, Fang Congzhe's heart tightened, and he quickly bowed and replied:

"Your Majesty, it is true that various families in the capital are secretly preparing for this matter of 'selecting a son-in-law after the imperial examination results are announced.' However, this is not a new practice in our dynasty; previous dynasties had this custom. This old minister is foolish and truly does not know what is wrong with it."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youxiao's eyes flashed even colder as he coldly stared at the Grand Secretary before him, his voice laced with sarcasm: "Oh? Does the Grand Secretary truly not know of the impropriety involved?"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Fang Congzhe's forehead, but he dared not raise his hand to wipe them away.

He knew perfectly well that most of the officials in the court had come from the imperial examination system, and who didn't understand the importance of this marriage alliance for building a network of connections in the officialdom?
Therefore, we have always turned a blind eye to such matters.

Now Your Majesty is vigorously rectifying officialdom and strictly investigating corruption. Many officials in the court have been imprisoned, and countless others have been dismissed and investigated.

These vacant official positions will need to be filled sooner or later.

Those newly appointed scholars only need to train in the Hanlin Academy for a few years before they can fill these official vacancies.

The powerful and wealthy were scrambling to find sons-in-law, ostensibly to select husbands for their daughters, but in reality, they were not fighting for people, but for official positions, wealth, and the rise and fall of their families for centuries!

Fang Congzhe sighed inwardly. How could he not know the intricacies involved?
However, in this imperial court, some things are simply not meant to be said.

What Fang Congzhe was unwilling to reveal was precisely the root of trouble that Zhu Youxiao was determined to eradicate.

In the imperial court, factional strife was already raging: the Donglin Party boasted of its integrity, the Qi, Chu, and Zhe Party was deeply entrenched, and now, due to the emperor's power and the rise of eunuchs, the Emperor Party and the Eunuch Party were added out of nowhere.

If we continue to allow the powerful and wealthy to arbitrarily "select sons-in-law from among the successful candidates" and use the newly appointed scholars as bargaining chips to fight and divide up, wouldn't this factional strife grow like weeds and never have a peaceful day?

Zhu Youxiao tapped his knuckles on the imperial desk, the sound as sharp as a blade, and said, "Marriage alliances are a natural human practice; but if one uses force to seize property, how is that any different from bandits in the marketplace?"

His gaze swept over the assembled officials in the hall, finally settling on Fang Congzhe.

"Old precedents of the previous dynasty? Ha! Haven't we learned enough from the accumulated problems and downfall of the previous dynasty? Does the Grand Secretary intend to follow the example of those pedantic scholars, using the old ways of the previous dynasty to strangle the current one?"

This question struck like a thunderbolt. Fang Congzhe trembled and immediately prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing: "Your subject... Your subject would never dare!"

His inner garment was soaked with cold sweat; how could he not understand the hidden meaning in the emperor's words?
The so-called "catching a son-in-law after the imperial examination" is ostensibly a romantic tale, but in reality, it is a fig leaf to cover up the collusion between the powerful and the scholars.

Those scholars who were forcibly married into the family became pawns on the chessboard of factional strife in the blink of an eye. Once the ropes of family and marriage were tied, how could they have any room to be honest and upright officials?

"Since you dare not, then tell me, Your Excellency, should this bad habit be tolerated or eradicated?"

Fang Congzhe's throat bobbed, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw that his colleagues on both sides were holding their breath and bowing their heads. He could only grit his teeth and say, "Your Majesty is wise. This is a bad habit and should be eliminated."

"it is good!"

Zhu Youxiao clapped his hands and sneered, his voice echoing throughout the palace.

"From this day forward, this outdated practice of 'grabbing a son-in-law' from the list of successful candidates will be abolished. Anyone who dares to do so will have their entire family imprisoned by the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

There was no room for negotiation at this point.

The emperor then glanced at Sun Ruyou and Sun Shenxing, his tone suddenly softening, yet even more chilling:

"My two beloved ministers might as well convey a message for me: What I seek are honest and upright officials, not cunning and manipulative ones. If anyone is greedy and dares to dream of rising to the top in one step..."

He picked up the teacup with his fingertips, then suddenly let go. Amidst the sound of shattering porcelain, the emperor said, word by word, "The feeling of being lifted high and then dropped low is not as simple as just breaking a cup."

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines upon hearing this, and the air in the hall seemed to freeze instantly.

The shattered teacup scattered sharp shards of porcelain on the ground, the crisp sound of which seemed to strike the spines of everyone, causing the three of them to involuntarily tense up.

Fang Congzhe quietly clenched his sleeves, his knuckles turning white; Sun Ruyou lowered his head, staring at the tips of his boots, not daring to even tremble his eyelashes.

At this moment, even breathing became a dangerous act, for fear that even the slightest heavy breath would attract the sharp gaze from the throne. The emperor's act of appreciating the talent of the Gengshen examination graduates was, in the eyes of the three, clearly a meticulously planned political maneuver.

Fang Congzhe's temples were soaked with cold sweat. He could clearly see the young emperor forging the imperial examination system, which had remained unchanged for thousands of years, into a ladder to power that belonged exclusively to the emperor.

If all the newly appointed scholars are allowed to be incorporated into the emperor's faction, the balance of power in the court over the past three hundred years will be overturned.

The memorials from the Six Ministries will be reduced to mere imperial edicts, and the councils of the Nine Ministers will become nothing more than a transmission of the Emperor's will. At that time, who in the Hall of Supreme Harmony will dare to utter a single word of dissent against that nine-dragon throne?

But when Sun Shenxing caught a glimpse of the shattered porcelain pieces on the ground reflecting a cold light, his Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.

The newly appointed Minister of Rites, who was showered with imperial favor, suddenly realized that the emperor had smashed far more than just a teacup.
That was clearly a bloody line drawn for all the civil and military officials. Those who crossed this line would have their porcelain shattered today, and their entire family's life and property would be shattered tomorrow.

Do you dare to stop me?

Among the officials of the court, who would dare to make a rash move under the thunderous might of the emperor?
The imperial examination system was originally intended to select pillars of the state for the emperor.

Those who passed the imperial examinations and whose names were on the list of successful candidates had their lives and deaths determined by the emperor's whim. What right did the courtiers have to object?
not to mention.
Fang Congzhe, the Grand Secretary, was nothing but a puppet made of clay, while Sun Ruyou and Sun Shenxing were the emperor's own trusted subordinates. The invisible rope around their necks had long been held in the palm of the one in the Qianqing Palace.

Liu Yiju, the leader of the Donglin Party, was known for his integrity, but would he dare to emulate Han Kuang's bloody act at Zuo Shunmen?
The cold glint of the broken porcelain in front of the palace is still vivid in my mind, and the lesson of Han Kuang's exile to Qiongzhou is still fresh in my memory.

His Majesty is truly capable of killing, and truly dares to kill!
Those fools who thought the emperor was young and easy to bully are now buried with grass three feet tall.

The cries of torture still echo in the Imperial Prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard; the bloodstains on the bluestone slabs of Caishikou, still unwashed, silently tell the story of the disobedient.

reputation?

His Majesty has never cared about empty fame!
Is the pen of history like a knife?

Then let the blade dull!
Public opinion among scholars?

It's just the clamor of a bunch of pedantic scholars.

Imperial power is supreme; why should it need to be explained to the world?
As for public opinion?

Under heaven, whose mouthpiece can compare to the Huangming Daily?
This official report, directly controlled by the inner court, was as sharp as iron and as deadly as a knife.

It can make a poor student famous overnight, or it can ruin the reputation of a high-ranking official.

Which of those newly appointed scholars didn't treasure the "Huangming Daily" like a precious gem?
Under the meticulously crafted narrative of a sage ruler, they were filled with fervor and firmly believed that the current emperor was a wise and enlightened ruler, a rare talent throughout history.

And what about those corrupt officials who were named by the Huangming Daily?
Corrupt officials were thoroughly criticized.

Incompetent and negligent officials are condemned and will be remembered for their infamy for eternity.

Those who defy imperial orders and become traitors will be nailed to the pillar of historical shame, never to rise again!
With such methods, who would dare disobey the emperor's orders?

In the imperial court, all the officials remained silent, as if trembling with fear.

In the far reaches of the martial world, powerful figures and gentry lived in constant fear.

When the emperor was angry, he laid down millions of corpses!

A single thought from the Holy Heart can change the very fabric of the universe!

This is the terrifying aspect of imperial power:
We want not only your life, but also your reputation!

nowadays.

The torrent of imperial power has already overflowed the imperial palace. The era when the power of the prime minister secretly suppressed the power of the emperor is about to be gone forever.

But isn't this just the cycle of nature?

From the Longqing Emperor's neglect of governance and the Wanli Emperor's abdication of court to the Taichang Emperor's short reign, the power of the prime minister has eroded the emperor's power over the past fifty years. The cabinet's drafting of proposals has become a fixed practice, and the nine ministers' court recommendations have become a formal system.

Now, Zhu Youxiao is merely wresting back, inch by inch, the scattered power, the scepter that rightfully belonged to the master of the Forbidden City, from the fingers of the civil official group.

that is it.

The hall was silent, with only the wisps of smoke rising from the bronze crane incense burner, slowly drifting under Zhu Youxiao's cold gaze.

He surveyed the crowd, his voice neither hurried nor slow, yet carrying an undeniable air of authority:
"When will the palace examination be held?"

Sun Ruyou, Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion and Minister of Rites, immediately stepped forward, bowed, and replied:

"Your Majesty, the palace examination will be held on the ninth day of the fourth month."

The ninth day of the fourth lunar month is only a few days away from today.

Zhu Youxiao nodded slightly, his gaze deep, and then gave the order in a deep voice:

"Every procedure must be arranged properly."

Sun Ruyou and Sun Shenxing, the Minister of Rites and chief examiner of the Gengshen imperial examination, immediately accepted the order solemnly and said in unison:
"Your Majesty, rest assured, we will do our utmost to ensure that the palace examination goes smoothly without any mishaps."

Zhu Youxiao nodded, his face expressionless, but his mind was in turmoil.

What questions should be asked in this imperial examination?

Is it a test of their strategies for governing the country and ensuring its stability? Or is it a probe into the attitudes of the newly appointed candidates towards the court's new policies?

as well as……

Who should be chosen as the top scorer?
Should we choose that talented and sharp-witted scholar from Jiangnan?

Or should we choose the steady, prudent, and experienced scholar from the north who is good at governing the country?
The title of top scholar is not only a matter of personal honor and disgrace, but also affects the political landscape and the direction of the nation.

Zhu Youxiao lowered his gaze slightly, tapping his fingertips lightly on the imperial desk, already having made up his mind.

(End of this chapter)