Chapter 398 I'm going big, you can do whatever you want

At noon on March 17th, Emperor Zhengde arrived at the Wenhua Hall, and it was up to him to decide the top three places in the first class.

Yang Tinghe, Liang Chu, Fei Hong and other bigwigs lined up in turn and read the test papers in front of Emperor Zhengde.

After listening to the top three examination papers selected by the examiners, Emperor Zhengde signaled to continue. The fourth examiner, Yang Yiqing, came on stage, followed by Lu Wan, Minister of Works Li Sui, Ou Zanghua, and Right Vice-Censor-in-Chief Shi Jie of the Censorate.

This time, Emperor Zhengde listened to the fourteen examiners and raised his hand to signal them to stop. "Tang Gao is already forty-five years old, and he is already in his forties, but he is indeed talented. Let's select him as the runner-up! Peng Zhanqi is the first place, and Cai Ang is the third place. Huang Chu, Ma Li, and Li Zhong can be the top three of the second place. What do you think?"

The fourteen examiners had no objection and all bowed their hands and said, "Everything depends on your majesty's judgment."

"That's it!" Emperor Zhengde smiled, and everyone saluted again and then filed out.

After receiving the test papers, the ministers immediately rushed back to the East Pavilion. They had to fill out the yellow list before evening and then hand it over to the Shangbaosi to seal the list with the emperor's seal. The officials in the Imperial Edict Office would then write the notice announcing the results.

The yellow list was given to the Minister of Rites, and the notice of announcement was given to the Minister of the Honglu Temple to prepare for the announcement ceremony early the next morning.

Ou Zanghua traveled quickly back to the Honglu Temple to prepare for tomorrow's ceremony. Tian Jingxian was in charge of all matters in the Ministry of Rites.

On March 18th, the weather was sunny and the sky was blue.

In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Emperor Zhengde awarded the title of first-class Jinshi to Peng Zhanqi and three others, the title of second-class Jinshi to Huang Chu and 155 others, and the title of third-class Jinshi to Wang Wen and 339 others.

Zhu Yunming, Wu Ying, Yan Shouzhong and Zhao Pengshan were all from the third class of Jinshi, while Jiang Fuling, Ouyang Xuan, Deng Shangyi and Liu Fu were from the second class of Jinshi.

On March 19th, Emperor Zhengde granted a banquet to the Jinshi Enrong at the Ministry of Rites, and the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites Ou Zanghua and Xinning Earl Tan You were responsible for the reception.

On March 20th, Emperor Zhengde bestowed court robes, a crown and a belt, as well as banknotes for other Jinshi candidates, on the top scholar Peng Zhanqi.

In the following days, the top scholar would lead the successful candidates to express their gratitude, and then go to the Confucius Temple to perform the ceremony of offering food to the great sage. Finally, the top scholar Peng Zhanqi was promoted to be a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, and the second place Tang Gao and the third place Cai Ang were promoted to be editors.

Until this step, the imperial examination in the ninth year of Zhengde was considered to have completed all the procedures.

In the Leopard Room Martial Arts Hall, Ou Zanghua and Emperor Zhengde looked at the map in front of them, and the atmosphere was somewhat silent.

"The former Gansu governor Zhang Yi has been dismissed and investigated. A few days ago, Wang Zhuo, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War, wrote a letter to the court, begging for the court to send a capable and skilled warrior to the northwest to stabilize the overall situation. I also think so."

Emperor Zhengde looked at Ou Zanghua and asked, "Minister of War Lu Wan recommended Peng Ze. What do you think, Lord Ou?"

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Ou Zanghua's mind. When Lu Wan told him on March 16, he knew that the old man Lu Wan did not want Peng Ze to stay in the capital and threaten his position.

From a national perspective, sending Pengze over is a good choice. After all, Pengze is knowledgeable about military affairs.

But Gansu is a little different. It is too complicated and I don’t think Pengze can handle it.

"Your Majesty, I would like to recommend someone who can take back the Xi'an Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty."

"Oh?"

Emperor Zhengde was stunned, and asked with a smile: "Is there such a capable person in our dynasty? Could it be Qiu Qing?"

Ou Zanghua said calmly: "With Qiu Hou's ability to command troops, it is naturally not a problem to conquer Hami and Turpan, but the subsequent governance is a more troublesome matter. The man I mentioned can not only conquer Hami and Turpan, but also govern the local area well."

"Mr. Ou, please tell me quickly, who is this person?" Emperor Zhengde asked immediately.

“Wang Shouren, the Minister of Honglu Temple of Yingtian Prefecture!” In the ninth year of Zhengde, Wang had completed his enlightenment in Longchang and officially entered the realm of a saint.

As the saying goes, God will entrust great responsibilities to those who are capable. Since I have already become a saint, we might as well give him some more challenges.

As for Hami, Turpan, and U-Tsang
Sorry, I've turned it up high, you guys do whatever you want.

"Wang Shouren!" There was some hesitation in the words of Emperor Zhengde. He did not have a deep impression of Wang Shouren, but he knew that he was a talented person.

"That's right," Ou Zanghua nodded and told the story, "This man was once demoted to Longchang, Guizhou, and served as the postmaster of Longchang Posthouse. There were thousands of mountains and dense forests there, and the Miao and Liao people lived together. It was an uncivilized and barbaric place. But Wang Shouren did not complain about the heavens or the earth, but instead civilized and taught the locals according to their customs, and thus was loved by the people."

"Looking at Gansu, it is located in the border area, connected to Hami and Turpan in the west, and now there are Mongolian Yibula tribes entrenched in it. The situation is complicated and undercurrents are surging. Only Wang Shouren can deal with this situation."

"Since Lord Ou trusts him so much, let him go!" Emperor Zhengde thought for a while and continued, "In addition, promote Zhao Jian, the Right Governor of Shaanxi, to the position of Governor of Shaanxi."

Having said that, Emperor Zhengde paused, wondering whether to let Peng Ze serve as the governor-general of the three borders or let Wang Qiong go.

The court discussed this matter for the next few days.

Of course, the main subjects of discussion were Wang Qiong and Peng Ze. The Ministry of War strongly promoted Peng Ze, while Yang Tinghe and Liang Chu also wanted to throw Wang Qiong out because they felt that it was inappropriate for a Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel to be on good terms with Qian Ning and others.

And only after Wang Qiong left could Liang Chu better control the Ministry of Personnel.

Amidst the noise, Ou Zanghua received Ma Li, Li Zhong, Zhu Shang, Ouyang Xuan and Zhang Jinghua in the Zhanshi Mansion.

As Jinshi, they are currently waiting for the Ministry of Personnel to arrange jobs for them, which is the most glorious time in their lives.

Ma Li, a native of Shaanxi, has a handsome appearance, slightly dark skin and bright eyes.

Li Zhong, a native of Jiangxi, is handsome with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes.

Zhu Shang, a native of Hebei, has a round face and looks very friendly.

Zhang Jinghua, a native of Shandong, is tall and strong. You can tell at first glance that he is a man of both literary and martial talents.

Ou Zanghua looked at the five people and said calmly, "I have always believed that writing is the expression of one's mind and the reflection of one's character."

“The writing reflects the writer, and this is true, because the writer’s moral cultivation and attitude towards life can all be subtly reflected between the lines.”

"I read your essay when Wen Ge was marking the papers, and I liked it very much."

In fact, Ou Zanghua is not much older than the five others, but his resume is really amazing.

Winning the first place in the provincial examination, the third place in the palace examination, suppressing the Jiangxi Rebellion, destroying Liu Liu and Liu Qi, being in charge of the Honglu Temple and the Zhanshi Palace, these achievements might not be too great for officials in their thirties or forties, after all, many people have achieved them, but for young people in their twenties, it is somewhat excessive.

Especially the fact that Yao Yuan and Wang Cheng were pacified without bloodshed and they were also guided onto the right track, this move really attracted these young people.

Therefore, among the five people, Li Zhong from Jiangxi admired Ou Zanghua the most.

When he heard his idol say that he liked his article, he smiled especially happily.

(End of this chapter)