Zheng Zhilong ranked among the three Dukes, Zheng Sen entered the cabinet and was in charge of the Ministry of Industry, Zheng Jing served as the military governor of Dongning, Zheng Cong (the second son of Zheng Sen) was granted the title of Duke of Sulu, Zheng Du (the third son of Zheng Zhilong) became the governor of Quanzhou Prefecture, Six personnel appointments related to the Zheng family, including the appointment of Zheng En (the fourth son of Zheng Zhilong) to Ryukyu Mansion (belonging to the Dongning Army), were announced on the same day on February 25, the 20th year of Hongxing.
For the Zheng family in Anping, this is truly a blessing!
In addition, 11 girls from the Zheng family have entered the top 100 in the preliminary examination of Jinling Women's University, which greatly increases the probability that the princess will come from the Zheng family.
The Zheng family is now so popular that it has surpassed the Queen Wu Sanmei's natal family in one fell swoop and has become the most powerful noble in the Ming Dynasty!
However, these are still extraordinary times. Empress Wu Sanmei's brother Wu Sangui is still besieged by Li Dingguo in Lueyang, and his life or death is uncertain.
Therefore, the Zheng family, who are happy at the end of their lives, must keep a low profile, so as not to give people the impression that a villain has gained power. Therefore, the Zheng family did not hold a grand banquet to celebrate, and even closed the door to thank guests. Even the southern courtiers who were in their party could not enter the Zheng family's mansion in Donghu Town.
But being unable to enter the house does not mean that you cannot meet privately. Donghu Town is built near the water. All the tall mansions built in Donghu Town are built along the water. They have private docks, and you can go boating on the lake in your free time...
On the evening of the 25th, a very simply decorated boat sailed silently on the lake near Quanguo Duke's Mansion, and finally sailed into a secluded harbor. Stopped. There was still smoke coming out of the chimney at the stern. It was obvious that someone was having a dinner on the boat.
The owner of this low-key looking boat is none other than Zheng Zhilong, the Grand Duke of Kenanquan, the Taibao.
"You, old man, are really frugal in your life. This boat has become so old, and you are not willing to buy a new one. It's a happy occasion, and you are not willing to treat everyone to some delicacies from the mountains and seas. So I just fished some fish and shrimps from the East Lake for dinner. Are you a guest?"
The one who was holding a wine glass and looking at a table of bland fresh fruits and vegetables from the river and joking was Grand Duke Luo, Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The last champion of the Ming Dynasty, he is already over fifty years old this year and has reached the age where he needs to take care of his body for a long life. , I no longer care about delicacies from mountains and seas.
"This is called low-key!" Ji Kun, the minister of Dali Temple, said lightly, "Your Majesty's plan has always been to control the south with the north, but now among the eight ministers, southerners occupy five seats, only the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of War In the hands of northerners. Now even the position of the first noble is occupied by southerners."
"You can't say that," Shen Tingyang, who had just taken office as the Ministry of Household Affairs, shook his head and said, "among the Yingtian nobles, the majority are from the north, at least seven-tenths, and they are all from military families, very powerful!
Unlike us southerners, most of whom are industrial and commercial scholar-bureaucrats, even if they have military merits, they are from the navy and cannot be compared to those from the army. "
What he said was not that he looked down upon the navy, but that it was difficult for the navy to play a decisive role in the political life of the Ming Dynasty!
The Ming Dynasty was a country with a large army, and the number of the army was close to 1 million. The navy has a total of fifty or sixty thousand people, and they are all stationed outside. Yingtian Mansion and Wuhan Mansion don't have many navies.
"But the southerners are rich!" Ma Shiying's son, Ma Luan, the prefect of Wuhan, said with a smile, "The wealth of the world is gathered in the southeast. The wealthy businessmen in one province in the southeast are often equal to the number in one province in the north. With money We can open a large number of schools and cultivate talents... In recent years, more than 80% of the students in the three major universities in Yingtian, Wuhan and Tianjin, as well as Nanjing University, Nanyang University and Beiyang University, are southerners. Only the military academy is dominated by northerners."
As he spoke, he glanced at Zheng Zhilong again, "Now His Majesty wants to use examinations to select concubines for the crown prince and other princes... I'm afraid this crown prince is probably a talented girl from the south!"
"That's not necessarily the case!" Prince Consort Zheng Jiangong shook his head and frowned, "Princess Kunxing said that the two girls from the Wu family are both stunning, not only beautiful, but also charming, and can be ranked among all the women who took the exam. Top two!"
Under Zhu Cixiang's promotion, both Princess Kunxing and Princess Zhaoren also received new education, and both had excellent academic performance. Therefore, the two of them, Xu Erlin and Jin Dongzhu, Zhu Cixiang's concubines, the eldest daughter of Zhu Cixiang and Wu Sanmei, and Zhu Tianfeng, who was already engaged to Luo Xiushen's son Luo Kedi, were also caught by Zhu Cixiang and participated in The enrollment of Jinling Women's University was prepared. If they can master the teaching materials of Women's University under Zhu Cibing's guidance, then they will become teachers of Women's University and become the first generation of professional women in China...
Although the two girls sent by the Wu family to Wuhan to take the exam were not outstanding academically, they were both beautiful in appearance.
"Don't be afraid," Ma Luan shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter if Wu Ake is as beautiful as a fairy. She is the prince's cousin. His Majesty has already said that cousin marriage is not allowed."
"But Wu Ake is not the most beautiful," Zheng Jiangong said, "Wu Ahuan is the most outstanding-looking among all the women who took the exam... The cousin marriage your Majesty refers to refers to blood relatives, not adopted sons. So. This Wu Ah Huan can become the crown princess!"
The Ming Dynasty already had a rule against cousin marriage, but it was not strictly enforced and there were many loopholes - because this rule was not based on biology but ethics. In order to prevent the future emperor of Ming Dynasty and the vassal monarch from giving birth to a brain-dead heir due to consanguineous marriage, Emperor Zhu stipulated that the determination of cousin marriage should be based on blood.
So Wu Ake cannot run for the crown princess, but Wu Ahuan can!
"Isn't Wu Ahuan ranked outside the 200th place?" Grand Duke Luo asked, "She shouldn't be able to get into the women's university, right?"
One of Grand Duke Luo’s daughters also passed the preliminary examination and ranked fifth! A real top student! So he is also concerned about who can become the crown princess... and naturally knows Wu Ahuan's ranking.
"The first test only has a literary competition but not a martial arts competition, but the second test has a martial arts competition." Zheng Jiangong said, "This Wu Ahuan is not only stunningly beautiful, but he has practiced martial arts since he was a child, including horse riding, shooting, shooting, fencing, and lances. She’s not good at it. She’s also proficient in military science! She’s ranked 255 in literary studies and should be ranked first in martial arts. There’s no problem in being admitted to a female university.”
After hearing what he said, several people present understood. Wu Ahuan of the Wu family "customized" it for Zhu Hexing according to Zhu Cixiang's request.
"Prince-in-law," Grand Duke Luo asked, "do you know what the re-examination will be about?"
"It's not confirmed yet," Zheng Jiangong said, "but martial arts and military studies will definitely have to be tested... because the crown prince and the vassal's princess and wife will have the opportunity to regent and supervise the country, and it is not enough to not understand military skills.
In addition, financial management must also be tested! Only with money and soldiers can the emperor's throne be secure. If the king does not have the ability to control the army and manage finances, he will have to ask his concubines to assist him. "
Zhu Cixiang's approach broke the rules, that is, a ZTE hero like him could do it. But if you think about it carefully, it makes sense. Because the range of choices for the crown prince and crown prince is not large, and they cannot be selected through examinations!
But their wives can be carefully selected, and of course they must choose women who are capable of helping their husbands and sons run the country. In fact, in the past, the Ming Dynasty draft conditions were also very strict, but the standards were wrong. They did not test the talent, military, strategy and financial skills, but selected a bunch of "female Durban". When they were needed to help the little emperor or the lazy emperor govern, It is basically unreliable, so power can only be controlled by civil servants and ministers.
What's worse is that because the emperor, empress, and queen mother don't understand, they can't tell who is loyal and who is traitorous in the court, who is a capable minister and who is a braggadocio.
Because they were determined to test military strategy and martial arts, several important southern ministers present felt uncertain, and everyone turned their attention to Zheng Zhilong.
Zheng Zhilong glanced at everyone and said slowly: "The key now is not what to take the test, but how to produce a crown princess? Excluding the crown prince's surname and cousins, should the one with the highest test score become the crown princess? This matter has not been finalized yet! "
