Chapter 332: Civil and Military Zhuangyuan, the Imperial Mind

"Among the four barbarian peoples there is internal strife—the west supports while the east falters—and it is not that we have failed to drill our soldiers. Yet the punitive campaigns have not been fully carried out: the sons of noble families who guard the jade tallies are soft and spoiled, lacking the ability to repel invasion and withstand insult; the crude conscripts who draw the strong bows are ignorant of the arts of advance and retreat, of the orthodox and the unorthodox."

"The troops consume their upkeep, yet the state gains no use from them—why not tighten the standards of selection and broaden the avenues of appointment?"

"The accumulated grievances of the common people disturb the harmony of heaven and earth, and when the oppressed cannot find redress, how can auspiciousness be summoned? Thus the penal laws must be taken seriously! This principle Your Majesty understands deeply; therefore, those who revive the dead, restore flesh to bones, and conduct interrogations with thorough clarity are rewarded with extraordinary honors, while those as harsh as autumn's bitter herbs are shown no mercy—and thus no grievance goes unredressed. This too Your Majesty understands deeply."

"The wealth produced by heaven and earth is originally meant to supply the needs of the state, yet with false claims and irregular expenditures, how can there be lasting sufficiency? Thus reckless spending must be prohibited. Therefore, those who hoard bamboo shavings, cherish wood chips, and manage income and outlay with restraint are commended for their loyalty in enriching the state; while those who still recklessly squander are punished without pardon—and thus no wealth shall be lacking! This is what Your Majesty does not know."

Xia Wanchun seemed to have considered his words very thoroughly before coming, and his speech was well-structured and logically ordered, listing the ills of current governance and their solutions one by one. Combined with the commercial tax reforms the Chongzhen Emperor had recently carried out in Jiangnan, his arguments appeared all the more cogent.

As he spoke, Xia Wanchun wore a look of deep contemplation, and then said solemnly:

"When a law is established, one says: I uphold the institutions for Heaven, and do not privately debate their reform or abolition; when a coin is paid out or taken in, one says: I guard the treasury for Heaven, and do not privately expand or contract it. When an office is filled, one says: I appoint the virtuous by Heaven's mandate; when a villain is rooted out, one says: I punish the guilty on Heaven's behalf."

"For when a sincere heart is established first, and practical governance follows after, the transformation toward great peace is not difficult to achieve—why even speak of Emperor Xuan of Han! As for the methods of law and clean governance, Your Majesty already knows them, so I shall not speak further."

Having said this, Xia Wanchun let out a breath, then suddenly realizing himself, bowed and said: "Your servant has failed to observe propriety and has presumed upon Your Majesty's august dignity. I tremble with fear and dread beyond measure, and beg Your Majesty to forgive your servant's crime of overstepping."

The Chongzhen Emperor had in fact only understood half of what was said. Xia Wanchun spoke at a rather quick pace—unlike Qu Changwen earlier, who spoke slowly enough to be understood while listening—Xia Wanchun's words were more detailed and his speed several beats faster, so the Emperor could grasp only the general gist.

Hearing Xia Wanchun beg forgiveness, the Chongzhen Emperor did not immediately react and at first made no indication at all. He picked up the examination paper and looked it over carefully for a moment, then merely turned his head and said:

"Huang Yuanyao, Hou Xuan Yan—the two of you, speak as well."

"As Your Majesty commands!" Huang Yuanyao and Hou Xuan Yan exchanged a glance, and it was Huang Yuanyao who stepped forward first to begin his court examination.

The procedures for the civil palace examination were very complex, and the Chongzhen Emperor naturally had to take great pains in his selection, hoping to secure for himself new-era ministers who understood matters clearly and were not bound by conventional thinking.

The ranking order drawn up by the Ministry of Rites and the four chief examiners, including Ni Yuanlu and Fang Fengnian, satisfied most of the ministers' expectations, but it diverged greatly from the Chongzhen Emperor's own thinking, and so it was revised again and again.

By comparison, the military palace examination was far more straightforward—go out to some spacious imperial garden, set up some basic bows, arrows, sabers, and spears, and test whether these men had actually gotten in through connections. That was all there was to it.

Thanks to the close surveillance of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, the military juren candidates in this palace examination each possessed genuine ability. Xu Yanqi, for instance, was a man of extraordinary strength—the only one in this military examination who could wield a hundred-jin saber with a whistling, wind-whipping flourish.

There was also one called Li Wanliang, whose name was vulgar and whose appearance was equally vulgar, but one cannot judge a man by his looks—this fellow's legs were more agile than his hands, and among all the martial candidates none could match him, earning the admiration of many.

There were countless martial candidates like Li Wanliang who each had their own special skill, yet within the same cohort, Xu Yanqi remained a rarity among rarities. Though he had lost to Zheng Guan, he had still taken first place in three events of the military examination—the great saber, boxing and footwork, and standing archery—and remained the undisputed number one.

In Chongzhen's view, these men were all fine seedlings who could be cultivated into loyal military commanders for the court in the future, and perhaps among them were several famous generals who had never appeared in history.

Around the third morning after the palace examination, notices were pasted by the imperial guards and government clerks on all gates inside and outside the imperial city, as well as throughout the streets and alleys, and the relevant news immediately spread everywhere.

"... Civil examination: by imperial decree, first rank, first place, Xia Wanchun; first rank, second place, Huang Yuanyao; first rank, third place, Qu Changwen... second rank, first place, Hou Xuan Yan; second rank, second place, Xu Jinhua... third rank, first place, Du Dengchun; third rank, second place, Hou Xuan Jie..."

"... Military examination: by imperial decree, first rank, first place, Xu Yanqi; first rank, second place, Li Wanliang; first rank, third place, Qi Yuangong... second rank, first place, Qi Chief Grand Secretary; second rank, second place, Dong Shichang; second rank, third place, Han Zhong... third rank, first place, Liu Kegui; third rank, second place, Wu Zhongyin; third rank, third place, Qi Tianliang; third rank, fourth place, Qi Yuanbi..."

After the palace examination results were posted, the triennial great examination came to a temporary conclusion. Though there were those among the onlookers who sighed with regret, most maintained their composure, offering congratulations to one another with mutual respect.

After all, everyone knew very well in their hearts how they had performed before the Emperor and the examiners in the hall. In fact, many could roughly guess their ranking before the results even came out, so this outcome was hardly surprising to them.

"Congratulations, congratulations! Brother Wanchun has leaped over the dragon gate—truly a cause for celebration!" Du Dengchun, seeing Xia Wanchun staring blankly at the ranking list, stepped forward to offer his greetings with the intent of forging a connection.

Unexpectedly, Xia Wanchun seemed not to have heard his words at all and remained completely unmoved. Du Dengchun was mortified and felt a surge of anger within. At that moment, Qu Changwen hurriedly smiled and stepped in as a peacemaker, saying:

"Brother Du has placed as the top of the third rank—a minor Zhuangyuan—and is truly learned and wise. Changwen admires you."

"You flatter me, you flatter me." Since a face-saving path had been offered, Du Dengchun took it without hesitation, waving his hands repeatedly and saying with an embarrassed smile: "Brother Changwen has reached the first rank, so surely your future accomplishments will be considerable. When that time comes, don't forget your humble younger brother here."

"Brother Du, have you never heard the saying: better to be a chicken's head than a phoenix's tail? At present, I, Qu Changwen, am the phoenix's tail, while you, Brother Du, are the chicken's head. In my future career, I shall have to rely on Brother Du's support."

"Hahaha, mutual support, mutual support!"

Du Dengchun laughed heartily, completely forgetting the earlier unpleasantness, and after leaving went to find Huang Yuanyao, the second-place civil candidate of the first rank, and chatted with him most amiably.

In truth, this result was quite difficult for many to understand. During the palace examination, when facing Qu Changwen's proposal of "sincere hearts practicing practical governance," the Chongzhen Emperor had shown signs of being moved, yet when listening to Xia Wanchun's memorial, his expression had not changed at all—this alone had already set people to wondering.

In fact, not only Zhang Ruitu, but even Ni Yuanlu and Fang Fengnian had felt that Qu Changwen ought to be this year's civil Zhuangyuan. Yet who could have imagined that the civil Zhuangyuan ultimately chosen by imperial decree would not be Qu Changwen, but rather Xia Wanchun—the one whom everyone felt had spoken somewhat too radically.

Qu Changwen, who had carried the high hopes of the several chief examiners and the various co-examiners of the Ministry of Rites, did not even secure second place, barely holding onto the position of tanhua—third place—in the civil examination. When Ni Yuanlu heard the news, he shook his head and sighed:

"This imperial mind is truly unfathomable."

While everyone was rushing to spread news of the palace examination results, the Chongzhen Emperor, together with Dong Qi and Wang Xiantong, privately summoned a prisoner in the Grand Secretariat—none other than Zheng Guan, the deserter who had been imprisoned some days earlier.