Chapter 310: The Imperial Examination Begins

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Chen Sihai was moved inside, but even more than that, he was worried.

Chen Sihai didn't know what His Majesty intended to do, and feared His Majesty might stir up something that couldn't be contained, so he stepped forward and said softly: "Your Majesty, we should still plan this carefully."

"Though those people all deserve death, we cannot act rashly, or there will still be trouble. If it truly comes to that point, it will be hard to clean up."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Chen Sihai, saw the worry on his face, and smiled as he said: "I will not act recklessly, rest assured. Go back and prepare well—don't fail to deliver when the time comes to use you."

"Your Majesty rest assured, your servant will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty." Chen Sihai quickly acknowledged.

Nodding lightly, Zhu Youxiao said: "The Staff Office will be established soon. I intend to set up a Military Justice Office under it, and I want to put you in charge of that bureau, to be used specifically for investigating military commanders. You must handle this matter well."

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Chen Sihai was immediately stirred with excitement, and hastily bowed as he said: "Your Majesty rest assured, your servant will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty."

The idea of this Military Justice Office had been around for a long time; Zhu Youxiao had always wanted to establish it, but had simply never had the opportunity.

This time, taking advantage of establishing the Staff Office, he would set up the Military Justice Office as soon as possible, specifically to investigate cases within the military. In this way, the military could be separated from the civil official bloc—the most important thing being to keep the military from being so constrained by the civil official bloc.

In fact, many people had never understood one thing: the so-called separation of civil and military was not about separating scholars from military officers. Rather, military affairs belonged to the military, and government affairs belonged to the government.

There could also be educated men within the military, and there could be soldiers within the government; the two did not conflict. The so-called separation of military and government was actually the separation of two administrative systems.

The current Ming officialdom had no such principle—"controlling the military through letters" had trampled military officers completely into the mud.

The interests of the civil official bloc were not aligned with the interests of the state. They controlled the promotion of soldiers and controlled military discipline, which was of no benefit to the soldiers at all.

This kind of power would be abused, and at the same time it would make soldiers even more subservient to the civil official bloc. Under such a political ecology, even if civil officials were corrupt, military officers dared not speak out, because they couldn't bear the consequences.

But if these two powers were stripped away, it would greatly weaken the civil official bloc's control over military commanders.

Transferring these two powers to the Staff Office meant transferring them into the Emperor's hands.

The Military Justice Office executed military law, and while the Staff Office did not involve itself in local affairs, it could still dispatch local government offices like the Grand Secretariat did, achieving dual jurisdiction.

The military would no longer accept the jurisdiction of local government offices, but would be directly subordinate to the Staff Office; the Staff Office was answerable only to the Emperor—it could be said this greatly strengthened the Emperor's power.

Therefore, establishing the Military Justice Office as a bureau was imperative.

As for who would lead it, Zhu Youxiao had long since chosen Chen Sihai; telling him now was merely a matter of notifying him.

Seeing that Chen Sihai had agreed, Zhu Youxiao smiled and said: "The matter hasn't been announced publicly yet, so don't go showing off about it everywhere."

"Your Majesty rest assured, your servant is not that kind of person." Chen Sihai quickly said.

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao laughed and said: "I was just saying it casually—you needn't take it to heart."

Chen Sihai was covered in cold sweat.

You said it casually, but who would dare not take it to heart?

"Alright, you may go," Zhu Youxiao said as he waved his hand, signaling Chen Sihai to withdraw.

Chen Sihai said nothing more, only bowing as he said: "Then your servant takes his leave."

After saying this, Chen Sihai turned and walked out.

After Chen Sihai had left, Zhu Youxiao let out a gentle sigh of relief.

After all this time, he had finally sorted out the court affairs into some order; the tangled mess of relationships had finally been arranged into a reasonable state, and for now there was no need for drastic action.

Within the Grand Secretariat, several people checked each other, and for the moment it was stable.

The power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot had not been weakened either. Both the Office of Transmission and the Military Justice Office would make use of the Embroidered Uniform Guard; as for the Eastern Depot, in the future they could be given a shift in their work direction.

The new army had been trained to a nearly complete state; though the numbers were not large, for now they were sufficient.

As for finances, the Imperial Household Department was already generating revenue. They had been preparing all year, and after the new year they would begin spreading channels across the country. The estates of the nobles paying taxes would temporarily let him catch his breath.

On the ideological front, the Imperial Academy was just about ready as well, and taking advantage of this imperial examination was the perfect time to roll it out.

Earthquakes had occurred in places like Shandong, and he could take this opportunity to clean things up there too.

The entire court had basically been sorted into order; what remained was fine-tuning, and for now there was no way to make any drastic moves.

Because he was about to shift his direction—if there were any subsequent actions, they would probably have to wait a few years.

What he needed to do now was to wait methodically, step by step. Wait until the time was ripe, then begin the next major move.

Inside the palace, things had quieted down, but outside, they had not.

Regarding the matter of the Staff Office, everyone was busy working their connections, but until the list was finalized, no one knew what twists and turns the matter would take.

Time passed day by day, and the imperial examination finally arrived.

The scholars who had been longing for this day finally welcomed the examination that would decide their lives.

This examination was called the metropolitan examination. As the saying went, "the metropolitan examination gathers all in one place to compete in the examination arts." It was presided over by the Ministry of Rites and held in the capital.

The metropolitan examination was held at the examination hall in the southeast of Beijing's inner city. The two chief examiners were called "chief supervisors." The examinees were juren from each province, and those admitted were called "tribute scholars," with the top scorer called the "huiyuan."

The metropolitan examination was held in three sessions, one every three days. The first session was on the ninth day, the second on the twelfth, and the third on the fifteenth; candidates also entered a day early and exited a day late.

The subjects tested in the three sessions were essays on the Four Books, five-character eight-rhyme poetry, essays on the Five Classics, and policy questions—the same as the provincial examination.

Only, unlike every previous metropolitan examination, this time a group of people appeared. They were all dressed in blue long robes, looking different from the others, yet their clothing was relatively neat and tidy, all of the same style.

Everyone knew that these people were students of the Imperial Academy.

Wherever these people went, the atmosphere there would turn strange, and the looks other scholars gave them were full of hostility; even if not hostile, they would instinctively keep far away.

As for the students of the Imperial Academy, everyone knew what the story was.

In the eyes of the literati, these people were all disciples of Feng Congwu, studying Xunzi. Compared with those of them who studied Confucius and Mencius, they were completely at odds—or rather, utterly incompatible.

The two sides were just short of coming to blows; it could be said the struggle was fierce. At the same time, the imperial examination was also a single-plank bridge that ten thousand people crossed.

This time, the examiner was Feng Congwu, the libationer of the Academy, which had already made many people dissatisfied, feeling that he would favor the students of the Imperial Academy. Now the Imperial Academy students were putting on such a show of ostentation, which obviously made everyone quite displeased.

But the Imperial Academy students didn't care at all—each and every one of them did as they pleased.

At the very front of the Imperial Academy student procession, Zhang Yu stood there expressionless, with the Song brothers on either side of him.

There was also Lu Xiangsheng. Beside Lu Xiangsheng was Liu Xian, whom he had dragged along to take the examination for the Imperial Academy.

Compared with the others beside him, Liu Xian wore a look of helplessness, truly not knowing what to say.

Wearing the Imperial Academy student uniform to take the imperial examination—that idea had come from Zhang Yu. Liu Xian himself had not approved, because in his view it was just fanning the flames.

But who could have imagined that once this suggestion was raised, these people would respond with universal acclaim—even the always steady Lu Xiangsheng had joined in the excitement.

Liu Xian truly didn't know what to say anymore. Forced into a corner, he had no choice but to go along with them.

In Zhang Yu's view, doing it this way was tantamount to declaring to everyone: we have arrived.

It wasn't as if their group had no foundation at court — they had nothing to fear from exclusion. From Chief Grand Secretary Han Kuang at the top of the Grand Secretariat down to their colleagues at the Imperial Academy, they would all support one another in the future.

Even if they didn't do this, they would still be ostracized once they entered officialdom. So they might as well go all out with a resounding bang and let the official world see clearly that their kind had arrived.

That was why Zhang Yu had decided to do it this way, and as it turned out, one call brought a hundred responses.

Glancing at the people beside him, Zhang Yu's heart swelled with heroic pride. Once their group set foot in officialdom, all those others would be finished — they could get as far away as possible.

Glancing at the two men standing beside Lu Xiangsheng, Liu Xian felt quite helpless.

At the Imperial Academy, the few of them formed a small clique. In terms of literary studies, the ones who excelled were Zhang Yu, Song Yingsheng, and Song Yingxing.

Zhang Yu was a deep one, skilled in scheming; Song Yingsheng was devoted to scholarship and a man of great integrity.

As for Song Yingxing, he was the most free-spirited of the lot — full of ideas, interested in everything, especially skilled at carpentry, and always wagging his head as he recited, "A workman must first sharpen his tools if he would do his work well."

As for Lu Xiangsheng, he could be called accomplished in both letters and arms. Of course, his stronger suit was martial prowess — he could fight exceptionally well, and when he wielded his great saber, he was simply invincible.

It wasn't that no one could match him. For instance, the man beside him named Cao Wenzhao was also a formidable fighter, skilled in archery, horsemanship, and mounted combat alike — and his spearwork in particular was nothing short of miraculous. Cao Wenzhao was always challenging Lu Xiangsheng to spar.

As for the other man beside Lu Xiangsheng, his name was Wu Xiang. He treated others kindly, was always smiling, and no matter what happened, he never seemed to get anxious — just like a Maitreya Buddha.

As for Liu Xian himself, he wasn't particularly outstanding within this small clique — it seemed he knew a little of everything but excelled at nothing. Yet Liu Xian knew his own strength: he was a good judge of people.

In Liu Xian's estimation, when it came to officialdom, Zhang Yu was the most formidable of the group — no one could surpass him. If Zhang Yu were to one day enter the Grand Secretariat and become a Grand Secretary, Liu Xian wouldn't be surprised in the least.

As for Song Yingsheng, if he didn't change his temperament, he probably wouldn't be well received.

Wu Xiang, on the other hand — that man might have a future.

As for Lu Xiangsheng, Liu Xian didn't know what to say either. The man was upright and full of passionate zeal. If he could meet an enlightened ruler, then naturally there would be nothing more to say; otherwise, his ending probably wouldn't be too good.

Song Yingxing, by contrast, was free-spirited and carefree, with an air of wanting nothing — and that was precisely why he might end his days peacefully.

But now their group had stepped into the torrent of history with both feet. How the future would unfold was hard to predict — all they could do was take it one step at a time.

Liu Xian gently waved the folding fan in his hand. Even though he was always composed, he felt a stir of excitement at this moment. To be swept into the torrent of history was already something to be thrilled about.

Up ahead, everything seemed just about ready, and the appointed hour had arrived.

The gates of the examination hall opened, and everyone began filing inside in order. The imperial examinations were about to begin.

In a teahouse beside the examination hall, Zhu Youxiao stood by a window on the second floor, dressed in a white long robe, radiating an air of refined elegance.

He held a folding fan in his hand and occasionally waved it — not for coolness, of course; the weather wasn't that warm yet. The early spring air was still slightly chilly. He carried the fan mainly to look handsome.

His gaze fell on the crowd below, and Zhu Youxiao didn't know what to say. Especially those scholars from the Imperial Academy — their attire was perfectly uniform, and from the look of it, they were clearly in a posture to stir up trouble.

Zhu Youxiao felt quite helpless. It seemed these fellows were all thorns and prickles. The Great Ming officialdom was bound to get lively.

His gaze landed not far away, and Zhu Youxiao spotted a carriage. Caught off guard, he turned to Chen Hong beside him and asked, "That's Xu Guangqi's carriage, isn't it?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, that is indeed Grand Secretary Xu's carriage." Chen Hong hastened to reply.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and watched a man step down from the carriage. The man was a stranger — Zhu Youxiao didn't recognize him. He was quite advanced in years; by the look of him, he had to be over fifty. But judging by his attire, he appeared to be here to take the imperial examinations.

Zhu Youxiao watched him, wanting very much to say: you have successfully caught my attention.

To be honest, people who came to take the exams at such an age did exist, but they were already few and far between. Moreover, this man had arrived in Xu Guangqi's carriage — now that was rather interesting.

So Zhu Youxiao turned to Chen Hong and said, "Do you know who that man is?"

"Your Majesty, this servant does not know, but this servant will go find out at once." Chen Hong hastened to reply.

"Go on then!" Zhu Youxiao nodded and waved his hand, sending him off to investigate.

Chen Hong wasn't gone long, however, because he brought Shen Tingyun back with him. As Minister of Rites, Shen Tingyun naturally had to be present here — though since he wasn't the chief examiner, he couldn't enter the examination hall itself.

"Your subject Shen Tingyun pays respects to Your Majesty." Upon seeing Zhu Youxiao, Shen Tingyun hurriedly performed the ritual greeting.

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "No need for such formalities out here." After Shen Tingyun straightened up, Zhu Youxiao asked, "How did you come to be here?"

"Your subject was simply worried, so I came to have a look. I ran into Eunuch Chen downstairs, and learning that Your Majesty was here, I came up." Shen Tingyun explained.

"Then do you know who that man is?" Zhu Youxiao said to Shen Tingyun.

"Yes, Your Majesty, your subject knows." Shen Tingyun hastened to reply. "That man is called Wang Zheng, a native of Jingyang County, Xi'an Prefecture, Shaanxi."