Chapter 397 Lu Wan's Plan

In March, BJ was still cold, and it was not until the Waking of Insects that there was a hint of spring. The newly blossomed trees cast green shadows, and the trees leaned against the wind, mesmerizing the spring.

On the tenth day of the third month in the ninth year of the Zhengde reign, the Zhengde Emperor ordered Yang Tinghe, the Junior Tutor and Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, Liang Chu, the Junior Tutor and Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, the Minister of Personnel, the Grand Secretary of the Jinshen Palace, Fei Hong, the Minister of Revenue, the Grand Secretary of the Wuying Palace, Ou Zanghua, the Right Vice Minister of the Chancellery of the Chancellery and the Minister of the Honglu Temple, Gu Qing, the Attending Academician of the Hanlin Academy, and Lu Wan, the Junior Tutor and Minister of War of the Crown Prince, and fourteen other court officials to serve as readers of the palace examination.

On March 15th of the ninth year of Zhengde, led by Huo Tao, who ranked first in the joint examination, 497 candidates entered the palace in uniform and began their last imperial examination - the palace examination!

Gu Qing, a bachelor of the Imperial Academy, looked at the huge group of tribute scholars and asked hesitantly, "Are the number of people admitted this time too many?"

You should know that before this, there were usually more than 10 people passing the imperial examination, and the admission rate was about %.

This time, nearly 500 people went ashore, which was the first time in the Ming Dynasty.

Standing next to Gu Qing was the Minister of War Lu Wan. After hearing this, he smiled and said casually: "This is the order of His Majesty."

Gu Qing couldn't help but look at Emperor Zhengde who was sitting right above him. He saw that his majesty looked neither happy nor sad, and had no reaction to the appearance of so many tribute scholars.

Looking at the expressions of the three cabinet members Yang Tinghe, Liang Chu and Fei Hong, they were also unusually calm.

Gu Qing sighed secretly. Recently, the wind direction in the court was a little strange, so much so that even people like him were a little confused. He had no choice but to keep a low profile and protect himself.

After nearly 500 candidates sat down, the palace examination officially began. The test questions were set by Emperor Zhengde himself:
I believe that the book "The Great Learning" has substance and is useful, the source of sacred learning and the foundation of governance.
The book has two main outlines: first, the order of the emperor's governance, second, the emperor's foundation of learning, and then divided into four main parts: the key to knowing through investigation of things, sincerity and uprightness of mind, self-cultivation, and family management.
I have paid attention to this book in my spare time, hoping to learn the knowledge of ancient emperors and enhance the rule of my ancestors.
If a minister does not know the Great Learning, he cannot fully correct his ruler. You, my fellow students, have long expounded on this principle. Now, as a minister, you should answer me carefully, without any superficial or indirect remarks. I will personally read it.

Ou Zanghua stood below, watching Emperor Zhengde setting test questions, and couldn't help but smile. The boss is really becoming more and more mature!
To sum up, there are four questions:

First, the essence of "The Great Learning" is to give equal importance to theory and practice, which is the foundation of governing the country with sacred learning.

Secondly, the order and basis for an emperor’s study and governance should be to study first and then govern. Any deviation from this will lead to the country’s downfall.

Third, as a mirror of history, future generations should learn lessons from previous dynasties. How should they surpass the Song Dynasty and strengthen their own dynasty?
Fourthly, the ministers’ responsibility is to study the Great Learning to assist the emperor in governing the country, and they must answer the questions in detail, for the emperor will personally check them.

Emperor Zhengde played a subtle trick here. The Ming Dynasty had already surpassed the achievements of the Song Dynasty, but he was asking how to surpass them. This is a problem: what advantages did the Song Dynasty have that the Ming Dynasty needed to surpass?

In terms of military achievements, the Ming Dynasty recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, a task that the two Song Dynasties failed to accomplish in their entire lives.

When it comes to politics, Song poetry is undoubtedly the pinnacle of Chinese literary history, but Ming novels are equally strong.

The Song Dynasty had Neo-Confucianism, and the Ming Dynasty had the School of Mind.

In the Song Dynasty, there were Cheng Hao, Zhou Dunyi, Lu Jiuyuan, and Zhu Xi; in the Ming Dynasty, there were Cao Duan and Wang Shouren; and later there were Li Zhi, Fang Yizhi, Wang Fuzhi, Gu Yanwu and other great masters.

Especially since it specifically mentions bringing glory to the ancestors' legacy later on, it's almost an explicit statement.

Emperor Zhengde deliberately expanded the number of students to nearly one hundred, hoping to select students from this group who were willing to keep up with his pace.

As the questions were handed out, the students began to write furiously.

Ou Zanghua stayed for a while, then walked over to check the students' answers. He was just curious and didn't mean to scare these newcomers.

After walking around for a while, he felt bored and returned to his seat.

As time passed, the setting sun became more and more beautiful. The sun shone obliquely on the Forbidden City, dyeing the sky and the earth golden.

The palace examination came to an end with the sound of evening drums. All the candidates put down their pens and, under the leadership of Mingzan from the Honglu Temple, left the hall one after another. The paper collecting officer came on stage, collected the candidates' papers, and then handed all 497 papers to the sealing officer.

The sealing official stamped the seal on the papers and sent them to the examiner. Due to time constraints, the black papers of the palace examination did not need to be transcribed into red papers. They were sent directly to the examiner in the East Pavilion and waited to be read on the morning of the 16th.

On March 16th, before the roosters crowed, Ou Zanghua got up at Qu Feiyan's urging and came to the East Pavilion at the hour of Mao. The other thirteen examiners arrived at about the same time. Led by Yang Tinghe, they entered the East Pavilion and began to review the test papers.

Since there were a large number of people taking part in the palace examination this time, and everyone only had one day to mark the papers, the time was very tight.

The first thing that was handed to the fourteen people was the test papers of the top ten in the imperial examination. As everyone looked at them, they drew a circle behind the wonderful sentences with a red pen. Finally, the number of circles was counted and whoever got the most circles would be the first.

Huo Tao from Guangzhou Prefecture, Guangdong Province; Cai Ang from Huai'an Prefecture, South Zhili Province; Tang Gao from Huizhou Prefecture, South Zhili Province; Ma Li from Xi'an Prefecture, Shaanxi Province; Li Zhong from Ji'an Prefecture, Jiangxi Province
Even though each of them was a well-known local figure, they were still a little immature in front of the fourteen examiners in the East Pavilion.

The world is vast and full of talented people, but those who are fortunate enough to step into the threshold of Dongge are rare after all.

Some people spend their entire lives studying hard just to have a chance to get their exam papers into the Dongge.

At this point, hard work and talent seem insignificant.

Among the fourteen examiners, Ou Zanghua was an exception. Compared with Yang Tinghe, Liang Chu and others, he was not only younger, but also more agile, especially with his pair of eyes as sharp as torches. With just one glance, the 2,000-word article seemed to freeze in his mind in an instant, with clear words and sentences and clear logic. While others were still savoring the charm of the first article, he had quietly picked up the third one.

After an unknown amount of time, the Minister of War Lu Wan patted Ou Zanghua on the shoulder and kindly reminded him, "Minister Ou, eat something first to fill your stomach!"

Ou Zanghua came to his senses, glanced at the clepsydra not far away, and found that it was already noon.

"Thank you, Sima, for the reminder," Ou Zanghua bowed in return and touched his stomach, feeling extremely hungry.

He and Lu Wan left the East Pavilion together and went to a side hall to eat.

This time they only had to prepare meals for the fourteen examiners. The people in the Guanglu Temple finally showed some skills, and what they made was no longer the inedible pig food.

After the two sat down, Lu Wan asked with a smile: "What do you think of the affairs of Hami, Turpan, and U-Tsang, Minister Ou?"

Ou Zanghua said calmly: "These three places each have their own characteristics. It's a pity that when I paid tribute last time, I was busy with military affairs and was not in the capital, so I was unable to communicate with the envoys."

"It may be difficult for Minister Ou to communicate with them in the future!"

Lu Wan took a sip of tea and slowly recounted the actions of the three places in the past year. Finally, he sighed and said, "If we want them to live in peace and pay tribute again, we can only use strong coercion!"

"What does Da Sima mean?"

Lu Wan said seriously, "Gansu and Shaanxi need a strong man who is proficient in military affairs to take charge of the overall situation! I think that Zuodu Yushi Pengze is the best choice."

Ou Zanghua was stunned. Peng Ze has only been back to the capital for a few days, and you are so impatient to drive him to the northwest? !

(End of this chapter)