Chapter 314: Leaving the Capital

For this third place, Zhu Youxiao had originally wanted to pick someone he was familiar with, but he soon discovered someone far more interesting — a man named Wen Zhenmeng.

According to the original course of history, Wen Zhenmeng should have been the Zhuangyuan of this examination.

When Zhu Youxiao saw his name, he couldn't help recalling some things about this man — he had only passed the jinshi examination at the age of forty-six, having sat for the metropolitan examination ten times before finally succeeding on his last attempt.

Most crucially, after passing on that final attempt, he went straight on to become the Zhuangyuan — which could well be called a legend in itself.

At the same time, this man was the great-grandson of Wen Zhengming. As for Wen Zhengming, he too had failed the examinations many times without ever passing. Wen Zhenmeng seemed to have repeated his great-grandfather's examination career — except that he eventually passed, and even took the top spot as Zhuangyuan.

Zhu Youxiao had originally assumed that the top ranks this time would surely all be filled by members of the Academy.

The reason was simple — these people studied there every day, so their understanding of Xunzi's philosophy was naturally the most thorough. On top of that, they had teachers instructing them daily, and the examination content was exactly what they studied in their ordinary coursework.

Naturally, they would be able to achieve very good rankings.

Beyond that, these people also received the most support. Most importantly, many people still did not accept Xunzi's philosophy, and right now he was forcefully promoting this matter.

So many people would not put much effort into the imperial examinations, or rather, would not put much effort into studying Xunzi's philosophy.

The majority of juren studied Confucius and Mencius instead. Under such circumstances, they naturally would not be skilled at being examined on Xunzi. Zhu Youxiao had long anticipated this, so their chances of passing were low, and their chances of ranking near the top were even lower.

The overlap between this imperial examination and the one in history would certainly be very small.

What Zhu Youxiao hadn't expected was to see Wen Zhenmeng's name here. This former Zhuangyuan — by all rights, he shouldn't have ranked this highly.

The moment he saw that name, an idea struck Zhu Youxiao.

Perhaps selecting those Academy members was indeed a good idea and practice, but selecting someone who was not from the Academy seemed even better at demonstrating fairness, while also setting an example for more people.

And so Han Li drew a circle around Wen Zhenmeng's name — third place would go to him.

As for first place in the second tier, Zhu Youxiao gave it to Zhang Yu. This man's name had to appear among the top ranks, but at the same time he also had to be held down a bit. As for this Zhang Yu — he wanted to use him, but he also had to use him cautiously.

The top of the second tier — commonly known as the Chuanlu — was a rather fitting rank for him.

After circling out these few people, Zhu Youxiao no longer intended to participate in the remaining matters. Handing the list to Chen Hong, who stood at his side, Zhu Youxiao said, "Alright, take it down."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong hurriedly bowed in acknowledgment and received the list with both hands.

"Has the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrested quite a few people?" Zhu Youxiao raised his head to look at him and asked.

"To answer Your Majesty, in these past days quite a few examination candidates have indeed tried to stir up trouble, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard has indeed arrested quite a number of them." Chen Hong quickly replied. "Just the other day, Xu Xianchun was asking how these people should be dealt with."

Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment and said nothing.

In truth, these people were quite troublesome to handle. Killing them was certainly out of the question, and at the same time, he couldn't simply release them either. So Zhu Youxiao said, "Hold them in custody for a while first."

"Also, tell Feng Congwu that the Academy will begin recruiting students shortly — this time, take in more."

"While these examination candidates are still in the capital, we can recruit more talented people." After saying this, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "Alright, you may withdraw."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong acknowledged and bowed as he walked out.

In truth, having the Academy begin recruiting students was largely a means of deflecting conflict. This too had been planned by Zhu Youxiao long ago, and the time had come to implement it.

The juren currently gathered in the capital were the greatest source of instability in the capital.

These people had all read the books of the sages and held their own sense of righteousness in their hearts. Once the results of this examination were announced, it was hard to say whether they would kick up a fuss.

If some people stirred things up among them, these men might well cause some trouble.

At that point, he couldn't truly kill them either — once he killed them, who knew how many would be fired with righteous fervor. When that happened, things would become far too troublesome.

So it was better to have the Academy begin recruiting and give them a way out.

When that time came, if they had a path to take, they naturally wouldn't think of making too much trouble. Zhu Youxiao had thought of this long ago — if he blocked off all their options now, their stirring up trouble would be a real problem.

Scholars are prone to hot-headedness — this has been true in ancient times and today alike.

At the same time, they were also the people most receptive to new ideas, so the work of guidance had to be done well. These men were all future talents of the Great Ming, unlike the corrupt officials in the court, so they had to be guided properly.

After arranging this matter, Zhu Youxiao stood up and stretched his limbs.

Then he turned and walked toward Empress Zhang's side. Now that Empress Zhang was pregnant, she was the great treasure of the palace — he should spend time with her and keep her mood cheerful.

For Zhu Youxiao, it was merely a matter of a single sentence, but the people below him immediately began bustling about.

First, the Academy announced its recruitment plan and opened registration. Then came the day the results were posted. Fewer people paid attention this time than last, but there were still many waiting.

At the same time, because rankings now existed, everyone's nerves were even more tense.

Especially those who had passed the metropolitan examination — after all, everyone knew that this ranking determined their future development, and this point was extremely, extremely important.

Still at Desheng Tower, still in that same private room, several people gathered inside.

Unlike last time, although everyone was filled with eager anticipation, they were not so anxious. Because last time, if you failed, you would have to wait another three years.

But this time was different — this time there was no longer any worry about failing the examination.

What everyone was waiting for was just a ranking. Still, everyone knew this ranking was very important, but the atmosphere was much better, and the group chatted and laughed among themselves.

At that moment, it suddenly became lively outside.

Evidently the results had been posted, and the street erupted in noise once more. Some people even set off firecrackers — clearly those who had already seen the list and confirmed they had passed.

Below Desheng Tower suddenly grew lively as well, with countless people starting to make a commotion.

Just then, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open, and Song Yingxing strode in from outside, his face alight with excitement as he said, "Incredible! Absolutely incredible!"

Everyone turned to look at him, their gazes urgent.

Song Yingxing looked toward Lu Xiangsheng and said directly, "Brother Lu, congratulations — you've placed first as Zhuangyuan, top of the first tier." After saying this, he turned to look at his own elder brother and said with a loud laugh, "Brother, second place in the first tier — the Bangyan!"

Hearing this, the room instantly erupted.

No one had expected that the room would claim the top two spots of the entire first tier of three — an extremely high ranking, and at the same time an extremely remarkable achievement.

Upon hearing this news, neither Lu Xiangsheng nor Song Yingsheng could snap out of their daze.

Lu Xiangsheng couldn't believe it — how could he have managed to become the Zhuangyuan? That was the Zhuangyuan! Among those present, there were many who studied better than he did — how could it possibly fall to him to be the Zhuangyuan?

Song Yingsheng also came back to his senses at this moment. He looked at his younger brother and asked, "What about the others?"

Upon hearing his elder brother's words, Song Yingsheng quickly said, "Brother Zhang Yu — top of the second tier, the Chuanlu."

Upon hearing this ranking, everyone's gazes fell upon Zhang Yu, and the atmosphere in the room turned somewhat strange.

If anyone could be said to have studied the best, it was Zhang Yu.

But in the metropolitan examination, it was Song Yingsheng who took first place. This time, Song Yingsheng placed second (Bangyan), Lu Xiangsheng took the Zhuangyuan, and Zhang Yu ended up fourth (Chuanlu).

Seeing the others looking at him, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Why are you all staring at me? Think I'd be dissatisfied?"

"You all underestimate me, Zhang Yu, courtesy name Zhitui. The palace examination is ultimately decided by a single policy essay. Performing well or poorly is inherently unpredictable."

"Besides, I placed first in the Second Class — that's not bad at all, is it?"

Hearing this, the others suddenly burst into laughter. Wu Xiang stood up and said, "If word of that got out, plenty of people would be chasing after you to beat you up."

"Alright, alright — with results this good for all of us, we ought to celebrate properly."

Zhang Yu said with a smile, "Have food and wine prepared right away — we're not going home until we're drunk."

"Fine, I'll arrange it." Song Yingsheng also said with a smile.

Meanwhile, Wu Xiang turned to look at Song Yingxing and asked, "You've seen all of theirs — what about ours? Oh, right, your own — have you seen yours?"

"I saw mine — eleventh in the Second Class. As for you, Brother Wu, seventeenth in the Second Class. Liu Xian, Brother Liu, thirty-sixth in the Second Class."

"So I really am the worst." Liu Xian said with a smile, "I'll have to rely on all of you for guidance and support in the future."

The others all shot Liu Xian a glance at the same time. Lu Xiangsheng said, "Being able to study together is already a kind of fate, and ranking among the jinshi on the same list is an even greater fate."

"As fellow students and fellow graduates, we should naturally support one another in officialdom."

While they were chatting and laughing, things outside had also grown lively. The messengers bearing good news rushed in, and congratulations and felicitations rang out in a chorus — these people had all come to collect reward money.

Some households rejoiced while others worried; those with high rankings were naturally overjoyed, while those with low rankings were naturally disheartened.

In an inn not far away, Wen Zhenmeng had already sent away the well-wishers, then returned to his room and sat down. Beside him was his excited page boy.

At this moment, Wen Zhenmeng still found it hard to believe that he had actually placed third (Tanhua) in the examination.

Forty-six years old, having taken the examination ten times — he had actually passed, and placed second at that. Thinking of all the hardship he had endured in those years of examinations, Wen Zhenmeng's heart was filled with a welter of emotions.

The days that followed were naturally given over to celebration.

The parade through the streets in honor of the new graduates and the Grace and Favor Banquet — these were the most joyful times for newly minted jinshi. Some cursed injustice, some celebrated — in that moment, the capital displayed all the varied faces of life.

Some departed in dejection, some prepared to take the academy examinations, some cursed in fury — all manner of reactions, too many to enumerate.

In the depths of the imperial palace, Zhu Youxiao's face showed little expression. That matters had passed smoothly and steadily was already a comfort to his heart — nothing going wrong was better than anything else.

Now Zhu Youxiao understood the meaning of that saying: stability trumps everything.

Lying in his rocking chair, Zhu Youxiao swayed his body. The expression on his face held some hesitation, but even more of it was calm detachment. His mood was quite cheerful, because he was about to leave the capital.

Chen Hong came to Zhu Youxiao's side and said softly, "Your Majesty, they have arrived."

Zhu Youxiao nodded, then said, "Then have them come in."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong acknowledged, then turned and walked out. Before long, he returned leading several people from outside.

At the head was Lu Xiangsheng, followed by Wen Zhenmeng; behind them were Song Yingsheng and Zhang Yu.

The top four in the imperial examinations — Zhu Youxiao had summoned them today, first to meet them, and second to assign them their duties. This matter ordinarily wouldn't have required Zhu Youxiao's personal attention, but since he had things to discuss with them, he chose to meet them in person.

After the four entered, they hurriedly knelt and performed the ritual of obeisance.

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "Enough, all of you, rise."

The four quickly stood up, and then two of them froze — Lu Xiangsheng and Song Yingsheng. For a moment, the two truly couldn't collect themselves.

They recognized this young man before them, and had seen him more than once.

Though he had changed his clothes now and the setting was different, they still recognized him at a glance. Their hearts pounded, and they were nearly tongue-tied.

"What, you don't recognize Us?" Zhu Youxiao looked at them and said with a smile.

Among them, the one who had known Zhu Youxiao's identity the earliest was naturally Zhang Yu. However, although he knew Zhu Youxiao's identity, he didn't dare tell the others.

"We did not know Your Majesty's identity — please forgive us, Your Majesty." Song Yingsheng hurriedly said.

"Enough, enough, let's not speak of that." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, then said, "I've called you here today, first to meet face to face, and second — I also have matters to discuss with you."

"In this court examination, you all ranked among the top — you did very well."

"According to the usual practice, all of you should enter the Hanlin Academy. But this year is different — I want to arrange your postings separately, so I'd like to ask whether you're willing."

This question was really asked in vain — when the Emperor had spoken, could you possibly say you weren't willing?

"The court has newly established a Staff Office, which needs to select several talented new jinshi. Those selected won't need to enter the Hanlin Academy — they'll serve directly as staff officers."

"As for you few, I know something of each of you. Lu Xiangsheng, Wen Zhenmeng — would you two be willing to enter the Staff Office?"

These two had been chosen by Zhu Youxiao after careful deliberation. As for the remaining two, Song Yingsheng and Zhang Yu, they would go to the Hanlin Academy.