Back to the end of the Ming Dynasty when the emperor

Chapter 227 The Emperor Enters the Examination Room
Merchants are the product of the development of human history to a certain stage. There is no social class of merchants in primitive society, slave society, and future communism. The appearance and activities of merchants have promoted the development of human history. People criticized it, so the label of "no business, no evil" was put on.

However, the merchants in the late Ming Dynasty were not the same as those in other eras. Due to the specific historical stage, they engaged in special activities and were branded with the brand of shameful history.

This mainly refers to the big Shanxi merchants at that time and the big merchants in the south of the Yangtze River, especially the eight major Shanxi merchants in the late Ming Dynasty. Food, grass, intelligence, etc. are their means of making money. These businessmen are rich and powerful, but they are placed on the shelf of shame in history, because they are veritable traitors. Benefit.

It can be said that when the Qing army entered the customs and the Ming Dynasty perished, these big profiteers could hardly escape the blame.

Zhu Yousong, who has been there, is of course aware of these things. How long before he traveled, every time he read these things, Zhu Yousong would stand up and scold them again and again, wishing to cut these big profiteers into pieces. , even as an emperor, he had to calm himself down and be cautious.

Zhu Yousong is now going to make a decree to arrest and punish these businessmen, tributes and all the big profiteers. He has the right and the strength to do so. Will collapse, he must not do such a stupid thing.

The emperor's power is unlimited, but it can't be abused. It's not what he imagined before. As an emperor, he can do whatever he wants, let whoever lives live, and whoever dies die. Over the past few months, Zhu Yousong has deeply I deeply understand that the emperor is also restricted. It is not the cabinet or the ministers who restrict him, but the authority. Power does not necessarily mean prestige.

If the emperor loses the support of a dynasty, the dynasty is not far from extinction. This is not only the insight he learned from the books of later generations, but also the profound experience in the past few months. The strength of the Ming Dynasty still exists, but Emperor Chongzhen did not flee south. In order to raise food and salaries, Chongzhen, as an emperor, took the lead in fundraising and even knelt down to beg his courtiers. The faction fought against the country, and the generals refused to listen to the court. These are the sorrows of the emperor and the helplessness of the imperial power.

The current Nanming has managed to improve, with hundreds of thousands of loyal troops, and the limelight of the party struggle has also been stopped, but the economy of the Ming Dynasty is still on the verge of collapse. The long-term war, coupled with continuous natural disasters in various places, the people are struggling. , the treasury was short, the soldiers mutinied, and the economy determined politics. At present, only businessmen can reverse the situation. In the near future, taxes and taxes will be increased to increase Ming’s income. The support of the Ming’s army mainly depends on them, and farmers and agriculture have no hope in the short term.

Moreover, Zhu Yousong knows that the influence of these big profiteers is definitely not inferior to that of the Donglin Party, which is disastrous to the country and the people. They will all be arrested and punished without evidence. Simply and brutally cutting off all the Donglin Party is like chopping off hands for hand disease and chopping feet for foot disease. Dealing with these treacherous businessmen is no different from a battle, and it also tests his wisdom. Can't be too hasty.

Thinking about this, Zhu Yousong calmed down.

At this time, Fan Jinzhong’s riding and archery competition was over, and he hit all nine arrows. He successfully entered the next procedure and waited for the infantry test. Now the No. 2 Gongshi began to take the riding and archery test. His score in the preliminary test was seven out of nine. In this life, when galloping on a horse, bending the bow and setting the arrow, each arrow is shot with concentration and breathlessness, but it is not easy to hit nine arrows in a row on the rake eighty paces away while riding on a galloping horse. Martial arts or Kung Fu, there must be no falsehood, this life is not bad, the first eight arrows are hit, but the last arrow is off, and the result is regrettable that nine hits and eight out of the list.

Then Gong Sheng, ranked No.3, appeared on the stage. Zhu Yousong watched quietly, because it was related to the future and destiny of a candidate. After many years of hard training in martial arts, success or failure depends on a single thought. All civil and military officials are also holding their breath. , The big scene with tens of thousands of people was so quiet, except for the movement of the martial arts field, you could hear the drop of a needle.

Waiting for all the 28 Gong students to finish the riding and archery test, only 18 of them entered the infantry shooting. That is to say, ten were eliminated in the first round. You must know that these ten eliminated are all elites who have passed the test all the way to victory.

To Zhu Yousong's relief, after the four martyrs, all passed the test smoothly and entered the next round, the infantry test.

The standard for passing this level is to shoot arrows at a fixed point, and within a hundred steps, nine arrows will be hit.After half an hour of intense competition, another five Gongsheng students were eliminated.The remaining thirteen must take the top nine, and they will be the top three. Even if they are ranked last, it is a gratifying thing. The emperor personally bestowed the same warrior background, so he can go directly to the local area as a low-level military officer. For a student, this is undoubtedly an honor for having achieved something in his studies.

What Zhu Yousong is concerned about now is that the Ma brothers and sisters, Lu Xiao, and Zhang Huan are all among the thirteenth. Among them, it is still unknown whether the four martyrs can all enter the top nine. If one or two of them are eliminated, Zhu Yousong will feel uneasy, but the closer to the last moment, the less he can change his face, let alone It is easy to reveal the relationship between them.

At this time, it was noon, and the final martial arts competition of the thirteen elites was only scheduled for the afternoon. After the chief examiners Zheng Hongkui and Liu Zhaoji came to report to Zhu Yousong, they announced the results of the morning's scientific examination and the arrangements for the post-examination.

The so-called exit does not mean exiting the martial arts field, but leaving the examination venue temporarily.

Because the lunch break is not long, only one hour.The martial arts examiners ate, drank and took a break in the martial arts field.Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhu Yousong called Lu Jiude, the admiral of the East Factory, and Gao Hongtu, the Minister of the Ministry of War, to his eyes, and soon the two chief examiners, Zheng Hongkui and Liu Zhaoji, ordered people to post two notices .

The notice showed that the tributes Zhu Tian and Zheng Damu were half an hour late due to special circumstances. The emperor Lombok was gracious and sympathetic to the hardships and difficulties of the martial arts. Try, the second student has successfully entered the list of tributes. After entering the field in the afternoon, the second student will first try the arrow method, and then the martial arts. I hereby inform you.

Soon there were people around the notice, gesticulating. At this time, the Ma brothers and sisters, Lu Xiao and Zhang Huan also came to the front of the list. When they saw the notice clearly, they all cheered.

(End of this chapter)