Chapter 858

In Tian Yijun's plan, he wanted to gradually detach the military from the Emperor's control. His idea was very simple: to expand the scope of the struggle from the border troops to the Capital Garrison. Although there was no overly detailed plan, Tian Yijun felt it was achievable.

Because it had happened in history, during the Xuande and Zhengtong eras.

The Great Ming army, which was invincible during the Yongle era, began to systematically decay during the Xuande and Zhengtong eras. In particular, the Duke of Wei, Zhang Fu, who was a regent, was marginalized to the point where he couldn't attend court during the Zhengtong era. In the second year of Zhengtong, Wang Ji used a secret decree from the Emperor to kill the Regional Military Commissioner An Jing.

In the second year of Zhengtong, the Ming Emperor Zhu Qizhen was only ten years old and couldn't even recognize all the characters. He only started school in the third month of the first year of Zhengtong; how could he have issued a secret decree to Wang Ji?

It happened in history, so Tian Yijun thought he could do it too, just by following the path. But Tian Yijun overlooked the fact that Zhu Yijun was not Zhu Qizhen, and Zhang Juzheng and Wang Chonggu were certainly not the "Three Yangs."

Zhu Yijun finished reading the complete case file. The "cheap scholars" led by Tian Yijun believed that the Great Ming Capital Garrison had a fatal flaw: it could not turn its blades inward.

With the Great Ming Emperor and General Qi Jiguang cooperating, since the seventeenth year of Wanli, the Capital Garrison had gradually formed a military spirit of "reporting to the Son of Heaven and saving the common people." This guiding principle was the biggest problem.

A Capital Garrison that couldn't turn its blades inward was naturally invincible in foreign wars, but as soon as it was deployed to suppress rebellions, internal divisions would arise. As soon as there were divisions, it entered the territory familiar to the "cheap scholars."

Now, the Great Ming was united, rallying around the Emperor to carry out the Wanli Reform. There were no overly serious divisions; the drama the "cheap scholars" had been dreaming of—the Emperor and the Grand Tutor turning against each other after the Emperor took power—never even played out. In the fifth and ninth years of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng returned power so easily.

And after the Emperor took power, he did not liquidate Zhang Juzheng, who had been extremely strict in his constraints.

The divisions the "cheap scholars" had been waiting for never appeared, making them anxious. Yang Wei was like this, and so was Tian Yijun.

Tian Yijun felt that the Great Ming army couldn't turn its blades inward, or else divisions would appear.

But in fact, they were completely wrong. The Great Ming army could suppress rebellions. This was the unrealistic fantasy of the "cheap scholars"; they had no idea how the word "power" was actually born.

The birth of power is not about telling stories, not about creating narratives, and certainly not about relying on a glib tongue.

Power is the realistic violent sorting of production relations. Based on production relations, morality evolves; morality gives birth to order; and under order, there is power. In this evolutionary process of violence, production relations, morality, order, and power, violence is the only reality.

When Qi Jiguang first entered the capital in the first year of Wanli to meet the Emperor, he said during their conversation: when he was suppressing the Japanese pirates, the foundation for the Southern troops to maintain their combat effectiveness was military discipline. And the reason the soldiers accepted military discipline was that they received eighteen taels of silver in military pay per year; if they won, the rewards wouldn't be embezzled, and if they lost, everyone would be punished together.

【858-17】 (Continuation of previous line)

The Great Ming Capital Garrison was the same. The reason the soldiers completely accepted the strict military discipline was that from enlistment to retirement, from birth to death, they were provided for. This was the realistic foundation for the formation of consensus.

The "cheap scholars" didn't treat the poor and the laborers as human beings at all. In their eyes, the soldiers of the Capital Garrison were nothing more than desperate men who were easily swindled and would obediently act according to the nonsense they stirred up. But they never thought about what kind of material investment it would take to disrupt the Capital Garrison.

They didn't even want to pay money, yet they wanted the elite troops to rebel with them?!

The "cheap scholars" didn't treat the soldiers as living, breathing individuals. Soldiers were not just numbers; they had their own thoughts, their own persistence, and their own convictions. They had their own friends and family, and they had their own judgments and understanding of the world.

However, the success of corrupting the Capital Garrison during the Zhengtong era made Tian Yijun believe he could do it too.

The "cheap scholars" didn't acknowledge that violence was the fundamental root of power, nor did they acknowledge the deep meaning of the phrase "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." Because in the eighth year of Jingtai, the Jing Emperor and Yu Qian, who controlled the Capital Garrison, were ousted by the "Duo Men" (Seizing the Gate) incident led by the nothing-of-a-Retired-Emperor, Zhu Qizhen.

Yu Qian even surrendered without a fight. Three days after the "Duo Men" incident, Yu Qian was beheaded by Zhu Qizhen's decree. The new Capital Garrison formed in the fourteenth year of Zhengtong was completely disbanded in the first year of Tianshun.

The occurrence of the "Duo Men" incident gave the "cheap scholars" reason to believe that power did not originate from violence.

But under the circumstances at the time, what could Yu Qian do? What should he have done? The Jing Emperor Zhu Qiyu had no heirs; was Yu Qian supposed to take the Capital Garrison and replace him?

They had never truly understood what "reporting to the Son of Heaven and saving the common people" meant. In the minds of most soldiers, saving the common people was reporting to the Son of Heaven, and reporting to the Son of Heaven was saving the common people. These were never two contradictory concepts.

For the Capital Garrison, if the Emperor issued a decree to turn their blades inward, it must be because there were thieves who needed to be killed. To punish the wicked and comfort the people is the way of the royal army, because after "reporting to the Son of Heaven and saving the common people," the next line is: "Wherever the Emperor's sword points, the Great Ming soldiers' blades follow!"

The 100,000 soldiers of the Capital Garrison received over thirty-five taels of silver in salary annually—twenty-five taels of basic pay and ten taels of various rewards. Moreover, these salaries were paid monthly. For example, if the salary for the current month was paid on the fifth day of the second month, the salary was already in hand before the second month had even passed.

They enjoyed the military city of the Northern Camp, the three-level schools directly belonging to the Great Ming Capital Garrison, and the Lecture Halls. They enjoyed infinite glory, and every soldier who died in battle had his name carved on the Shrine of Loyalty.

For the soldiers of the Capital Garrison, it used to be "good men don't become soldiers," and they were called "thieving hillbillies." Now, they could stand tall and be human beings. Sometimes, the soldiers would even wonder: since the Emperor gives so much money, when exactly are we going to start a rebellion?

Otherwise, holding onto so many things really felt a bit hot to the touch.

If the "cheap scholars" really

expanded the struggle to the Capital Garrison, the final result would only be the Emperor leading the Capital Garrison to conquer the world all over again.

"Tian Yijun still hasn't confessed." Zhu Yijun sat on the Five Phoenix Tower, watching the bits and pieces of information coming in continuously, his brows furrowed. These "cheap scholars" were a bit difficult to deal with. Facing the ironclad facts and the 6,000 scholars under the stage, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Tian Yijun still felt it was his own bad luck, rather than a problem with his direction. This was not the situation Zhu Yijun wanted to see.

"Your Majesty, the 'cheap scholars' don't feel they are wrong because they have already cast aside the facts. How could people who don't even discuss facts, but only discuss their own guesses and subjective assumptions, feel they are wrong? It's the world that is wrong." Zhang Juzheng explained why Tian Yijun refused to admit his mistakes. These kinds of "cheap scholars" existed yesterday, exist today, and will exist tomorrow.

When facts are favorable to them, they talk about facts;

When rules are favorable to them, they talk about rules.

This is the basic sophistry logic of the "cheap scholars."

Zhang Xueyan looked at the execution platform and shook his head, saying, "Tian Yijun is a person who is lazy and ignorant of the world. He still doesn't think he deserves to die because he is a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, a third-rank official. According to the 'Eight Deliberations' law, he can be deliberated for his virtue, ability, and nobility."

"'Punishment does not reach the high officials'; if they commit a crime, it is deliberated according to the severity of the eight categories, not by the penal code."

"Punishment does not reach the high officials" is annotated to mean that if a high official commits a crime, the severity of the error is deliberated by the eight categories, and the punishment is not based on the penal code.

After court deliberation, the court officials believed Tian Yijun deserved to die because he was a rebel and a traitor.

For example, Shen Li, who was currently shrinking his head like a quail, was usually talkative, but today, he didn't say a word.

Because Tian Yijun was a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and since such a thing had come out of the Ministry of Rites, he, as the Minister, bore a certain degree of joint responsibility. Wan Shihe himself was a "cheap scholar" by background and had managed the Ministry of Rites for more than ten years without incident. When it came to Shen Li, this "stiff-necked" official, such a thing had happened instead.

"They just can't stand to see the Great Ming doing well, can't stand to see the people well-fed and clothed, can't stand to see the poor and laborers living a few days of steady life. He'll know he was wrong when he dies." Shen Li looked at Tian Yijun, his mouth twitching with a bit of resentment. Tian Yijun messing around like this meant his three years of work had been in vain.

Shen Li had finally obtained imperial favor through various performance evaluations, only for it all to be returned at once because of this Tian Yijun.

After Wang Chonggu announced the verdict, the public trial was declared over. Tian Yijun would still live for a while; only after all the traitors had been captured would they be screened one by one, to prevent the occurrence of miscarriages of justice similar to Xu Wei being unjustly imprisoned for seven years.

Hu Zongxian dying in the celestial prison was also a political case, and Xu Wei was implicated and convicted.

The scholars left the venue in an orderly manner under the arrangement of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. This might also be the only opportunity for some scholars to see the Emperor in their lifetime. Most chose to return home after failing the exams. In fact, very

many scholars also knew they wouldn't pass; they had just studied for so many years and wanted to give themselves an answer.

When Xia Zongyao returned to the inn, he discovered that the inn had changed owners. He opened his book box and looked at the brand-new, finely printed books inside: *On Contradictions*, *On Public and Private*, *Illustrations of Production*, *On Class (Two Volumes)*, *Great Ming Arithmetic*, *On Evolution*, *On Human Selection*, *Illustrations of Dissection*, *Health Prevention and Simple Prescriptions*, etc.

Xia Zongyao opened *On Contradictions* and immediately furrowed his brows, because it was completely different from what he had read in the past. The content was the same, but the annotations were worlds apart. The *On Contradictions* he had now was annotated by the Emperor himself. Many things he hadn't been able to figure out in the past were suddenly clear.

For example, *On Contradictions* states at the very beginning that it is not a classic, but a method for observing the infinite principles of all things. Contradictions follow one another, and they don't appear suddenly; they appear on the basis of "unity of knowledge and action" and "attaining conscience."

For example, *On Contradictions* emphasizes the universal connection of all things. The wind moves the surface of the pond, wrinkling the spring water and scattering the reflection of the moon, and the reflection of the moon is the inverted image of the moon.

The universal connection of all things reveals another truth: every decision made by every person in the Great Ming ultimately shapes the final direction of the Great Ming state. Don't feel that your choices are useless; every choice made by every person is quietly changing this world.

For example, "contradictions follow one another" means that when one contradiction is solved, a new one appears. Songjiang Prefecture solved the human-land contradiction through the "Return the Land" decree, but soon the labor-capital contradiction became the main contradiction in Songjiang Prefecture. This new contradiction posed a new test for the Great Ming state. Past experience no longer provided reference; the Great Ming had to walk a new path.

Such things as these—when Xia Zongyao finished reading the *On Contradictions* annotated by the Emperor, he suddenly realized that not understanding it wasn't his fault; it was that someone had deliberately distorted the key points during the dissemination of *On Contradictions*.

When Xia Zongyao opened *On Class*, his face turned livid! This time, it wasn't just a matter of annotations, but deletion and revision!

The *On Class* he had seen before had been heavily deleted and revised. Not only were things deleted, but they were also modified, making the entire *On Class* unrecognizable. Not to mention that it was obscure and difficult to understand, reading it meant reading it wrong; many contents were completely off the mark.

The first volume of *On Class* discusses class, that is, the division of the various strata of the Great Ming. For example, in the *On Class* he had read in the past, there was no stratum of "poor and laborers," and the local gentry and scholars were at the bottom. In this way, the local gentry and scholars were the foundation of the state, and the question of whether the poor and laborers were human beings constantly troubled Xia Zongyao.

They were all living, breathing people, yet there was no trace of their existence in the national records. Now, he was no longer confused!

Such errors were everywhere, causing huge confusion in the dissemination of *On Class*. If even scholars couldn't understand it, let alone the students and children, it would be a miracle if they could read it clearly.

The important ideological and political achievements of the Great Ming Wanli Reform had been artificially distorted during the dissemination process.

Xia Zongyao slammed the table hard and said angrily in a loud voice, "The Emperor said to read more books and be less deceived by scholars! It's really true; it's simply abominable. How dare they modify the classics! Then again, they even dare to modify the facts!"

The scholars had to wait for the results of the Metropolitan Examination. During these few days, the scholars in the capital frequently attended various "Luming" gatherings, hometown associations, and poetry gatherings. In fact, these were just interpersonal interactions: if someone became successful, they could say, "I drank with him," and if something happened later, they could ask for help.

Once they gathered, the topic of the public trial at the Huangji Gate was unavoidable. As they talked, they began to discuss the Emperor's gifts. Some said the Confucian robes issued were divided by region—the North received thick, finely spun wool, while the South was mainly cotton. Others said the book boxes were made of extremely expensive wood.

This discussion naturally led to the books in the book boxes. It would have been better if they hadn't talked about it; once they discussed it, everyone discovered they had been swindled!

Every region had its own way of swindling, but none of the books were complete, and the ambiguities were extremely serious.

Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli didn't attend any of the gatherings because they were students of Zhang Juzheng, and no one dared to come to the Quanchu Guild Hall to call them.

Xiong Tingbi had long been used to it. He was too lazy to go to those poetry gatherings. They were all "youths who don't know the taste of sorrow, forcing themselves to write poems about sorrow." Nonsense was one thing, but the key was that the poems they wrote weren't even good—not even as good as the Emperor's.

The poems written by the Emperor were already rebellious enough, not even following the rules of prosody.

Yuan Keli was very fortunate. He had only brought seven taels of silver when he entered the capital; how could he afford the attire to attend the gatherings?

To attend a poetry gathering, you needed a set of silk and satin, accessories, a folding fan, and hair ornaments. When you were away from home, you had to have a carriage. Others all had luxurious ones produced by the Imperial Estates. If you weren't rich enough, you had to rent one. And most importantly, these poetry gatherings had companions, and these companions were also a way to compete in beauty and splendor.

The poetry gatherings in the capital were no different from those in Henan, and the capital was even more extravagant. If the companion you brought wasn't presentable, you would be laughed at, and this kind of mockery was very direct—no one would talk to you at all.

These poetry gatherings were no longer about reciting poems, discussing principles, or talking about ideas; they had become a kind of invisible competition of wealth.

Yuan Keli had been too lazy to go in Henan. Going to these poetry gatherings and suffering those inexplicable humiliations was not as good as reading two books at home.

"When the grass grows and the orioles fly in the second month, the willows brushing the dikes are drunk with spring smoke." It was very difficult to see such a magnificent scene in the North; you had to go to the Jiangnan that Li Chengliang was always thinking about. Although Li Chengliang had been assigned the task of exploring the Western Regions by the Emperor, Li Chengliang felt that he must die in Jiangnan in the future; Liaodong was truly too bitter.

The first day of the third month was the day the results of the Metropolitan Examination were posted. Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli took a carriage together to the East Prosperity Gate. Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli were not familiar with each other. Yuan Keli had been fully preparing for the exams after entering the Quanchu Guild Hall. The two were students of the same master but

hadn't really spoken much.

"Actually, you should go. The Quanchu Guild Hall has carriages and female companions." Xiong Tingbi finally couldn't help but speak up, telling him that if he really wanted to go to the poetry gatherings, the Quanchu Guild Hall had everything. The various carriages bestowed by the Emperor were so numerous that they had to be sent to the Yicheng Marquis's Mansion in the Western Hills.

Zhang Juzheng's home was in the Yicheng Marquis's Mansion in the Western Hills, covering 3,000 mu. Although most of it was gardens and water, the building area was over 300 mu. It was the second most luxurious residence in the capital. The first most luxurious residence was Qi Jiguang's Duke of Fengguo Mansion, which also covered 3,000 mu.

"I won't go. Going just means spending money, and I don't have that much silver." Yuan Keli looked at the bustling crowd outside the window and shook his head, saying, "Actually, it's meaningless. I don't like the tone of the poetry gatherings. Just talking about 'mind and nature' with folded hands—what can you talk out of that?"

"I don't like it either. Brother, you might not know, but sometimes even the 'cheap scholars' hate the 'cheap scholars'!" Xiong Tingbi smiled. Everyone hated the "cheap scholars"—this was a common topic!

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details." Yuan Keli found this very interesting. He felt that his possible enemies in the future would be these "cheap scholars." Of course, he had to pass the Jinshi examination first.

"One of the legacies left by Hai Wenzhong (Hence Hai Rui) is the 'Censor's Water-Carrying Duty'." Xiong Tingbi randomly chose a subject and began to tell how the "cheap scholars" made things difficult for the "cheap scholars." This was a piece of gossip in the capital.

After Xiong Tingbi finished speaking, he concluded, "The interesting thing is that since then, the Censors of the Censorate have never impeached officials for things like coughing. Most of the Censors' memorials haven't caused the Emperor's thunderous rage either. It's probably because they lost the sharp knife of the Censor, so some people hiding in the back had to come out in person."

Hence Hai Rui's reform of the Censorate was effective.

"Is it because they are afraid of the Emperor's punishment?" Yuan Keli always felt that the Censors were afraid of the Emperor increasing the punishment. The Censors could argue to the point of fighting over a water-carrying shift—this was completely losing all sense of decency.

Carrying water was one thing; if you had to do the work, you did it. But the road from the Censorate to the Sweet Water Well was too difficult to walk because the shops along the street were doing business by "watching the monkey show." The second floors of the shops along the street were all filled with onlookers who had come for the reputation. The Censors carrying water was one of the four great scenes of the capital.

People all like to watch the excitement; it's not just the Great Ming Emperor.

These four scenes were: throwing chili peppers at the Quanchu Guild Hall, Wang Chonggu killing his son, the Censorate carrying water, and Li Yashi sitting in prison. They were known as the four great scenic lines of the capital.

The scenic line of Li Yashi sitting in prison was mainly due to the interesting jokes he compiled. The reason they were jokes, rather than rumors, was that much of the content no longer fit the current situation. Past problems had been solved or greatly improved, and everyone would just smile knowingly when they saw them, rather than associating them with the court situation.

If the problems weren't solved, what Li Yashi compiled would be rumors, and 10,000 heads wouldn't be enough to behead.

If the Emperor intended to solve the

problem, it was one of the scenic lines. For example, Li Yashi had sharply criticized the issue of military pay arrears for border troops, saying that the imperial court pretended to pay the military, and the soldiers pretended to fight. The fact that there was no rebellion even without pay meant they were already loyal and devoted, which had already been solved.

Xiong Tingbi shook his head and said, "Not necessarily. In the past, the 'cheap scholars' would shoot the arrow first and then draw the target. Now that doesn't work, because the target will fight back."

"The water-carrying incident made the Censors understand a truth: if you don't carry water, you don't have water to drink. This sounds a bit like nonsense, but before that, the Censors didn't understand how the water-well system worked at all. This piece of nonsense, instead, let some of the Censors realize that you can't cast aside the facts."

Just like how the head should grow on the neck, the nonsense of "if you don't carry water, you don't have water to drink" actually allowed the Censors to initially come into contact with the concept of "practice it, and you will believe the truth."

Once people understand this concept, it's like being poisoned; it's very difficult to pretend to be unpoisoned.

This change in the atmosphere of the Censors was the result of Hence Hai Rui's reform of the Censorate. This was a huge correction to the public opinion of the Great Ming.

"Does the Master have a grudge against Hai Wenzhong? I heard many bad rumors in Henan." Yuan Keli finally asked the question he most wanted to ask: the relationship between Zhang Juzheng and Hence Hai Rui.

Many people said that Zhang Juzheng and Hence Hai Rui were mortal enemies, and that Hence Hai Rui had been trying to put Zhang Juzheng to death for sixteen years because Zhang Juzheng was greedy and corrupt, and shielded his subordinates. Zhang Juzheng took money from generals like Qi Jiguang, Li Chengliang, and Wang Rulong.

"The posthumous title 'Wenzhong' was advocated by the Master." Xiong Tingbi sighed and said, "How could the Master and Hai Wenzhong have any grudge? It was all for the state, all for the revival of the Great Ming. If there was a grudge, it was an irresolvable grudge with Wang Chonggu."

Zhang Juzheng refused to let Hence Hai Rui return to court back then because he was afraid Hence Hai Rui would get in the way. After all, a serious illness required strong medicine, and the Wanli Reform had some unconventional moves, while Hence Hai Rui was a famously hard bone.

The posthumous title "Wenzhong" was something Zhang Juzheng had fought for with all his might. The Ministry of Rites had originally decided on "Zhongjie," but the Emperor didn't approve. Zhang Juzheng specifically communicated comprehensively with Shen Li on this issue, and finally, the Grand Secretary suppressed the opposition from the Ministry of Rites and determined this posthumous title, which was second only to "Wenzheng."

Although Hence Hai Rui had pointed at the nose of the Jiajing Emperor and scolded him very harshly, Hence Hai Rui was his own loyal minister, the loyal minister of the Shizong Emperor, the loyal minister of the late Emperor, and even more so, the loyal minister of His Majesty.

"So that's how it is!" Yuan Keli finally understood the full picture. Zhang Juzheng's reputation among the scholars was poor, largely because after the late Emperor passed away in the sixth year of Longqing, Zhang Juzheng didn't allow Hence Hai Rui to return to court to be an official.

Hence Hai Rui was a good person, so Zhang Juzheng must be a bad person—this kind of binary opposition was a very common concept. But Hence Hai Rui never felt that Zhang Juzheng was wrong. Hence Hai Rui said that Zhang Juzheng was "skilled in planning for the country, but clumsy in planning for himself." Zhang Juzheng had sought the posthumous title "Wenzhong" for Hence Hai Rui.

"Then, is the story about throwing chili peppers at the Quanchu Guild Hall

true?" Yuan Keli looked left and right and asked in a low voice about the gossip regarding his Master.

"Uh, that is indeed true. The Master is addicted to spicy food, to the point where he can't live without it. The Emperor tried to persuade him several times to no avail, so he directly used methods. In the last two years, there's been less throwing, because..." Xiong Tingbi leaned in and smiled, saying in a low voice, "Because the Agricultural Academy developed a kind of non-spicy chili pepper, which came from the Mexico Governor's Office. It's called a green pepper, one of the gifts Antonio gave to the Emperor back then."

"When the Master wants to eat chili peppers, the kitchen puts in green peppers. Later, the Master could only sigh helplessly."

You want to eat chili peppers? Fine, the kitchen puts them in. But you can't say there are no chili peppers, right? Aren't green peppers chili peppers?

Some people like sweet, some like salty, some like spicy. People are all like this—sour, sweet, bitter, spicy. Some have their own biased preferences, but the spiciness had already affected Zhang Juzheng's health, so Zhang Juzheng couldn't make the decisions himself.

These years, Zhang Juzheng's health was better than before. He had to exercise every day, and his diet had to be healthy. But "healthy" naturally meant low oil, low salt, low spice, and no irritants—it was tasteless, and his mouth was as bland as a bird's.

Once, Zhang Juzheng lost his temper at Luo Sigong, saying that the prisoners in the celestial prison ate better than he did. If the constraints were any stricter, he would go to the celestial prison to eat with Li Yashi!

Luo Sigong didn't speak, just kept throwing in chili peppers, telling Zhang Juzheng to go lose his temper at the Emperor. He was just following orders. Moreover, Luo Sigong also said that even if he went to the Imperial Prison to eat, he would still be the one in charge—he was an Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhang Juzheng flicked his sleeves angrily several times, but was powerless to do anything.

"We're here." The coachman stopped the carriage, and Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli, the two scholars from the Quanchu Guild Hall, got off and stood before the East Prosperity Gate.

Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli saw their names at a glance. The Huiyuan (first place in the Metropolitan Exam) was Xiong Tingbi, the Bangyan (second place) was Yuan Keli, and the Tanhua (third place) was Wu Daonan. Their three names were placed on a separate list, and the font was very large, so they could see it from far away.

"Hey, I passed, haha, I passed! I passed the exam!" Suddenly, someone in the crowd jumped very high, grabbed the person next to him, shook him hard, and shouted loudly, "I passed, I passed!"

This person was Xia Zongyao. His liberal arts scores were good, and his arithmetic—or science—scores weren't bad, so his comprehensive score reached the top 400. Xia Zongyao didn't care about the eyes of others at all, his face was flushed red, and he told everyone he met that he had passed.

Some scholars didn't even have the courage to check the list themselves, waiting for people to beat drums and gongs to report the news. If someone asked for a reward, it meant they were on the list; if no one asked, they had likely failed.

"I passed, haha, uh..." Xia Zongyao grabbed Xiong Tingbi and shook him, but found he didn't move. He grabbed Yuan Keli and shook him, but he didn't move either, so he changed to someone else to shake. Xia Zongyao, who had passed the Metropolitan Examination, was a bit crazy. This kind of excitement usually lasted for several days.

Xia Zongyao ran far away, jumping three steps at a time, without any sense of decency.

"Have you practiced?" Xiong Tingbi looked at Yuan Keli with some

surprise and asked. Yuan Keli didn't look much like a weak scholar.

Yuan Keli nodded and said, "In the first year of Longqing, there was a flood in Henan. Refugees were everywhere, and bandits were rampant. I learned a little martial arts for self-defense. Yue Fei is from Tangyin, Henan."

There were many temples to Yue Fei north and south of the Yellow River, and many people practiced martial arts because bandits were rampant.

"Don't look at me. I can't beat you. You could even go take the Wu Yi Examination, but I can't." Yuan Keli saw the look in Xiong Tingbi's eyes and knew it was bad—Xiong Tingbi wanted to fight and was eager to try.

"The poor study literature, the rich study martial arts." Yuan Keli had only learned a little martial arts, barely counting as being proficient in both literature and martial arts, but he really couldn't go to the battlefield to kill enemies. He had only led villagers and cooperated with yamen runners to wipe out mountain bandits when he was sixteen.

Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli looked at the list, their emotions very stable. Xiong Tingbi was even a bit guilty because the Emperor had changed the exam questions, and they were all in his area of expertise. If he couldn't get first place, he would be sorry for his reputation as a genius.

Yuan Keli was very surprised because he had criticized current affairs and hadn't sung the praises of the Wanli Reform, yet he had received the highest evaluation.

When Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Keli took the carriage back to the Quanchu Guild Hall, they learned that a guest had visited, and the guest was looking for Yuan Keli.

Lu Shusheng had come knocking.