Although the Ming Dynasty joint examination had three consecutive examinations like the provincial examination, it only focused on the first session. The first session tested the meaning of the scriptures, and only the first three chapters were focused on, so the next two examinations could not be mentioned.
After the third exam, Gao Pragmatic relaxed and rested at home. He even briefly looked at the news and requests from various industries in Jinghua, and most of them only approved them for them to look at. manage.
Guo Pu and Zhang Siwei both sent people to ask about his exam status, but Gao Pragmatic just answered "normal performance". When he met Zhang Taizheng in the examination room that day, he learned that Zhang Siwei refused to serve as an examiner. In addition to avoiding his suspicion of being pragmatic, he also avoided his son's suspicion.
The so-called resting at home after the exam is actually not accurate. In fact, until the examination is completed and the results are released, the candidates can participate in many banquets, a small banquet every three days, and a large banquet every five days, all of which are allocated by the imperial court. There are many names, but it can generally be seen as the imperial court's tacit approval of the people to deepen their friendship with each other, whether it is friendship from fellow townspeople or friendship from the same age.
Gao pragmatic did not attend all the banquets. He only attended a small banquet for Henan Juzi as Henan Jieyuan, and a large banquet that all three Juzis from North and South China attended.
Nothing special worth mentioning happened at the Henan banquet. Gao Pragmatic, as Jieyuan, didn't want to talk too much, lest he steal everyone's limelight when he opened his mouth. He pretended to be a little depressed, saying that he was too tired to prepare for the exam today and had to go early. He said goodbye and went back home.
However, during the San Juan banquet, he discovered some interesting people and things. In addition to several pairs of brothers for reference, Gao Pingshi also discovered two Nanjuan candidates who deserved attention.
One of these two people is named Huang Kezuan, courtesy name Shaofu, from Meilin, Fujian. Gao Pragmatic only vaguely remembers that he was later called "Huang Wubu" in his hometown. He doesn't know if he took turns to be the five ministers; the other person was more He was famous, his name was Gu Xiancheng, courtesy name Shushi, a native of Wuxi, Changzhou Prefecture, Nanzhili Province, and later the founder of Donglin Academy, the first of the so-called Donglin Eight Gentlemen.
Gao Pragmatic couldn't remember their historical rankings in this spring, but it was almost certain that they were all undergraduates, so he was quite concerned.
Especially for Gu Xiancheng, Gao Pragmatic was very concerned. He has the historical experience of later generations, so he is quite unhappy with the Donglin Party.
In addition to internal and external troubles, rigid systems, constant natural disasters, etc., another very important reason for the decline of the Ming Dynasty was the disaster of party strife. In the early years before he traveled through time, the Eunuch Party had been shouted at and killed, but later on, the Donglin Party was undoubtedly the most hated.
Speaking of the Donglin Party, I am afraid that few people have never heard of it, because the name of the Donglin Party is very resounding whether it is in movies, TV series or textbooks. There is also "Tombstone Story of Five People" in Chinese textbooks. The upright and unyielding images of a group of "Donglin gentlemen" such as Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou make people have a good impression of the huge political group behind them. But people who are really familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty, especially the history of the late Ming Dynasty, mostly scorn the Donglin Party, and even think that the Donglin Party is the culprit of the demise of the Ming Dynasty. Why?
The Donglin Party is actually a political freak that originated during the Wanli period and was born under a special political and cultural environment. It was a group of politically frustrated activists represented by Gu Xian who formed such a political group with a strong voice among the people in the name of giving lectures at Wuxi Donglin Academy.
But they were different from other political groups. At the beginning, they did not have strong support from high-level political forces. They relied entirely on the academy as a link to integrate the political power of merchants, landlords, and scholar-bureaucrats in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Compared with other political groups that have clear demands for power, the Donglin Party has set up a very high tone since its inception, using "helping the world" as its clear slogan. Its representative characters, such as Gu Xiancheng, Zhao Nanxing, Zou Yuanbiao and other banner characters, are all idol-level scholar-bureaucrats who have a strong reputation among the people all year round. At first glance, people feel as if the sun is shining brightly and the darkness is not born.
What are the facts?
In fact, most of the Donglin Party members were admirers of Yangming's philosophy of mind, but they advertised the concept of conscience, but could not achieve the unity of knowledge and action like Wang Yangming.
From Wanli to Chongzhen, they were at the center of power. Faced with the country's political dilemma and crisis, they almost did not make any constructive methods and policies.
Since they were unable to provide practical methods and policies, they devoted their attention to "troublemaking." When Xu Guangqi proposed ideas such as technological reform, the Donglin Party suppressed them with curses; when Xiong Tingbi made a splash in Liaodong, they continued to attack Xiong Tingbi with public opinion.
They talk loudly but have high ambitions and low intentions. They cannot do what they can and do not allow others to do and change the country. It was this group of Donglin Party members who claimed to be noble and talented, which seriously hindered the reform and governance in the late Ming Dynasty, causing the Ming Dynasty to miss the last opportunity to reform and save itself.
A political group must have its own interests. As representatives of emerging businesses and landlords and literati, the Donglin Party did not hesitate to harm the interests of the country and the people in order to maximize their own interests.
In fact, emerging capitalism has sprouted since the Long and Wan dynasties, especially in the Jiangnan area where business has been unprecedentedly prosperous. The fiscal reform that took place during the Tianqi period introduced industrial and commercial taxes and mining taxes for industry and commerce, which effectively alleviated the financial tension of the Ming Dynasty at that time.
However, such a policy harmed the interests of Jiangnan landlords and businessmen represented by the Donglin Party. When the Donglin Party came to power, it immediately abolished all this series of policies.
In the face of internal and external troubles, fiscal and taxation is particularly important. Suddenly, without industrial and commercial taxation, it is conceivable that the financial situation will be tight. But the court can't really follow the trend. In this way, the Donglin Party will have no choice but to pass on the taxes to the ordinary people. The people will be overwhelmed and have no choice but to rebel.
The Ming Dynasty, where capitalism was booming, was unable to increase tax revenue through industry and commerce for a long time. This strange and unimaginable thing in ancient human history was due to the Donglin Party.
What's even more interesting is that when the country really can't come up with money and needs donations from them, they all flaunt their integrity and cry about poverty. But after the city was destroyed, tens of thousands of fortunes were found in their homes. It was really a great irony. As for the Donglin Party, which has always believed in the idea of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, when the Ming Dynasty was destroyed, they either fled or surrendered, causing various farces such as "the water is too cold". How can we have a good impression of such a pragmatic Donglin Party?
Therefore, when he saw the young Gu Xiancheng for the first time, Gao Pragmatic even considered one thing: Should he criticize this guy in advance and then step on ten thousand people?
To be honest, Gao Pragmatic's overall impression of Nanjuan Jinshi was not very good. Compared with some Shanxi merchants in the late Ming Dynasty who smuggled food to feed the Jin Tatars, they only suffered from scabies. In traditional Chinese medicine, it can only be called a superficial disease. It is an easy problem to deal with, but these "gentlemen" are the internal cause of the death of Ming Dynasty, and it is very difficult to deal with.
Gao pragmatic decided to observe carefully before making a decision, but what he never expected was that although Gu Xiancheng kept talking loudly with others during the banquet, he actually kept criticizing Xinxue in his words!
What the hell is going on? Is this guy still a practical disciple?
Gao Jingshi was dumbfounded: I am of the Shixue lineage, will I be dragged down by you in the future?
