In the tenth year of Chongzhen, March 15th.
In the Forbidden City, in the majestic Jianji Hall, rows of tables and chairs have been placed. Behind each table sat a tribute scholar who was sealing a book.
The so-called Gongshi refers to those who passed the imperial examination and passed the palace examination. If they don't make any serious mistakes, they will be awarded the title of Jinshi.
Unlike the general examination, which takes three consecutive days, the imperial examination can usually be completed in half a day. Moreover, this half day is not all used for writing. It also includes etiquette such as roll call, dismissal of papers, praises, salutes, etc. The time actually used for writing is very short.
The question in the palace examination is a current affairs policy, also known as policy question...or bragging! In his previous life, Chongzhen liked officials who could brag the most - of course, the premise is that the bullshit cannot be blown, otherwise he will die miserably! However, when writing strategies for the palace exam, you can brag as much as you want, and it doesn't matter if you brag to the sky. After all, Gongshi is not an official with actual duties. He has no authority and therefore no responsibility. So no matter how much you brag, the one who brags is not guilty. If the boast makes Emperor Chongzhen happy, it will be much easier to get promoted and make a fortune in the future.
However, in this life, Zhu Youjian did not follow the promotion. No matter what the people below him said, he turned a deaf ear. And his criteria for promoting and re-employing officials are strange. Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangsheng, Li Zicheng, Sun Yingyuan, Huang Degong, Zhou Yuji, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Jin, Niu Jinxing, Li Xin, Zheng Zhilong, Shen Tingyang... This group of middle-level officials, new scholars, pirates and profiteers were inspected by Zhu Youjian , even people who were promoted from the bottom can do amazing things.
To be honest, these people are not very good at horse skills, they are not very good at boasting, and they come from all kinds of backgrounds. Some of them didn't even look good. They either looked like robbers or traitors. How could they be discovered by Zhu Youjian's discerning eye?
What makes it even more difficult for everyone to understand is that in the imperial examination competition held in Chongzhen for four years, the essays of Niu Jinxing, the number one scholar, and Li Xin, the number two scholar, were really not very good. The fact that they were not poor has made people suspect that there was fraud in the exam, but they actually won the number one scholar. , second place.
Because of this matter, the examiners who presided over the four-year competition of Chongzhen were almost drowned by the censor's bullets... But Niu Jinxing and Li Xin were stunned to reach high positions in just a few years.
Among them, Niu Jinxing became the chief minister of Chongqing, and he also managed the Chongqing government that was abandoned due to the Anshe Rebellion to prosper. In the past few years, the money and food handed over by Chongqing exceeded 1.5 million, which was more than the money and food handed over by the entire province of Sichuan. , fifty percent more. Moreover, Chongqing is still very stable locally, and its industrial and commercial industries have not withered due to heavy taxes.
Li Xin was sent to North Korea by Zhu Youjian to become a warlord. He worked for several years, pulling the team from a few thousand people to more than 10,000 people, and also controlled thousands of new North Korean troops. Although he lost most of North Korea's territory to slave thieves and Japanese pirates, he still gained Zhu Youjian's trust and firmly secured his position as the commander-in-chief of aiding Korea... In fact, Li Xin What was lost in Korea was the territory of the Joseon Kingdom, while what was preserved was the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Now the General Department of Military Aid to Korea has greatly increased its ability to control parts of Chungcheong Province and Jeolla Province, and has the power to replace North Korean officials who were unfavorable in the anti-slavery and anti-Japanese wars.
With examples such as Niu Jinxing and Li Xin, the tribute scholars who have participated in the Chongzhen Ten-year Palace Examination already know that Zhu Youjian does not like frivolous and bragging articles... The policy still needs to be written more pragmatically.
However, the questions Zhu Youjian asked this time were a bit off.
The topic Zhu Youjian prepared for the Chongzhen ten-year palace examination is: Since the early years of Chongzhen, there have been successive disasters. Drought has become more severe, from the northwest to Zhongzhou, and from Zhongzhou to the north. It has not slowed down even for ten years, causing people to have difficulty in living, and thieves. With the four outbreaks, the foundation of the country has been shaken, which is a catastrophic event that is rare in ancient times.
In the past two hundred years, European countries have embarked on a great voyage of navigation, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean, and from the Indian Ocean to the Southern Ocean. They have traveled thousands of miles to reach their country's borders and expanded their boundless territories across the ocean. This is something that has never been recorded in previous history.
China has experienced successive catastrophes, and the rise of the Western Sea is actually a major change in more than 3,000 years. Are you lucky to be experiencing such changes that have not happened in three thousand years? Is it sad?
To be honest, this strategic problem was extremely difficult for the native Chinese in the 17th century. The one who can discover unprecedented opportunities from the seemingly great changes of internal and external troubles is no longer looking at the world with open eyes, but looking at the world with a telescope!
And such talents, of course, have to travel across the ocean to explore the world!
...
"Duke Xuan Song Jiang Luo, Tongcheng Fang Yizhi, Yangzhou Ji Kun... have an audience!"
In the Wansheng Hall, summonses were heard, one after another, until they reached the ears of Grand Duke Luo, Fang Yizhi, and Ji Kun who were waiting with excitement outside the hall to be summoned by Zhu Youjian.
These three are now extraordinary, they are the first-class Jinshi in Chongzhen's ten-year imperial examination competition!
That is, the top pick, the second pick, and the third overall pick!
Among them, Grand Duke Luo won the title of No. 1 Duke in the world and became the No. 1 Duke in the ten years of Chongzhen with a policy and essay titled "The changes in the situation that have not happened in three thousand years are a blessing for the Ming Dynasty and a sorrow for the mediocrity."
Tongcheng Fang Yizhi won the second place among the three tripods with a policy and argument titled "The publication of Confucius' last chapter will bring great luck to the three thousand changes."
The third flower belongs to Ji Kun, a "cool official" and diplomat in his previous life... His strategy is "The barbarians can come, and I can also go far and close to attack to cope with the situation."
I have to say that these three people have a different way of looking at the world... Especially Grand Duke Luo, who very keenly pointed out that whether the changes are for the better or for the worse, the key lies in the emperor who led the Ming Dynasty, I Ok!
This is not a great Confucian. Who is a great Confucian?
The three great scholars entered the Wansheng Hall and bowed to Zhu Youjian who was sitting on the dragon throne. Then they heard Zhu Youjian say: "Give me a seat!"
First, give each of the three people an embroidery pier - the three of them will soon travel thousands of miles, so don't be tired if you can rest now.
The three of them thanked each other and sat down in a polite manner.
"Do you understand Latin?" Zhu You asked.
Grand Duke Luo, the champion, said: "I know a little Latin."
"Oh?" Zhu Youjian asked, "Who did you learn it from?"
Luo Dagong said: "I learned it from the Westerners who preached in Songjiang area."
"Are you Catholic?"
Grand Duke Luo shook his head: "No...but Chen and Xu Wedding (Xu Guangqi) translated seven thousand Western books together, so I learned Latin."
The so-called Seven Thousand Books of the West refers to the "library apologetics movement", that is, the Jesuit missionaries relied on spreading Western scientific knowledge to preach in China... The Western books that arrived in China with the Jesuit missionaries at that time It is said to have 7,000 volumes!
In the southeastern coastal areas where there were many contacts with Western missionaries, many scholar-bureaucrats were attracted by the "Seven Thousand Books of Western Books" and became believers. There were also some who were not religious, but also learned Latin and helped the Jesuit missionaries translate these books.
Zhu Youjian laughed and said: "So you did well in the test of "Confucius' Legacy"?"
Grand Duke Luo smiled and said: "The highway between the East and the West is still open."
"Of course!" Zhu Youjian nodded, "Heavenly principles, immortality, and God are all the same. The difference is that Western religion claims revelation, while Confucianism emphasizes seeking the Tao... Since the Western Tao is different from ours The Tao is the same, are you willing to go to the Western mainland to see their Tao, and then bring back the beneficial Tao?"
"I am willing..." How dare Duke Luo say that he is not willing?
This is a Western distribution!
Zhu Youjian nodded: "Okay! You can become the envoy to the United Provinces of the Netherlands!"
"I obey the decree!"
"Fang Yizhi and Ji Tanhua," Zhu Youjian certainly would not let Fang Yizhi and Ji Kun go. "You guys can go too...become deputy envoys to the Netherlands. Our diplomacy in the West, It is centered on the Netherlands, but it cannot be limited to the Netherlands. So you have to travel more in Western countries and learn more. If you see any good things that China does not have, buy them back as much as possible. Not only If you want to buy something, you have to buy back the knowledge of manufacturing and invite their master craftsmen... By the way, there are many universities in the West. You can find a way to get their teaching materials and give them to me. return!"
