The next day, as a new day began, in the streets and alleys of the capital, the newsboys riding bicycles and selling newspapers shouted loudly.
"Sell newspapers~ sell newspapers~"
"A large number of students are dissatisfied with their failure and shout that they are shitty Jinshi~"
Following the shouts of the newsboy, the entire capital suddenly seemed to wake up. People came out of the streets and alleys one after another. In the blink of an eye, a large number of pedestrians appeared on each road.
In a teahouse, many teagoers are already waiting for the new day's newspapers.
Yesterday, the list of high school students was announced, and a lot of people in Beijing paid attention to it. Many wealthy families were even preparing to catch their son-in-law when the imperial list was announced, leaving a story that will last forever.
Therefore, he was very concerned about this list and had already ordered people to inquire about the situation beforehand.
The new Jinshi is relatively young, has good looks, is there any marriage at home, etc. After all, you can’t just catch a son-in-law randomly. If you catch someone who already has a wife at home, you can’t let your daughter go there to be a baby, right?
.
The imperial examination, which is held every three years, is definitely the favorite thing for young and old men in the capital to talk about. There are countless topics to talk about every time.
Talents and beauties are an eternal topic, and there are also poor scholars who once went to high school and became serfs and sang. In addition, there are also heartless people who married the daughter of a high-ranking official after high school and abandoned his wife; and so-and-so brothel.
A popular girl in the Chu Academy fell in love with a certain talented man and spent her years of savings to ask the scholar to redeem her or something.
When the list was announced, not only the students who made reference were extremely nervous, but also the young and old men in the capital were waiting for all kinds of news to come out.
"Everyone, look at it, look at it~"
"This man named Jiang Wannian actually wrote about building toilets in the imperial examination. No wonder he was scolded for pissing off the Jinshi~"
"The key is that he is still in high school. How can he convince other students?"
"So what if you're not convinced? If you don't have a high school, you won't have a high school."
"This guy named Jing Yang is indeed very talented. Take a look at his articles. He quotes from classics and his literary talent is brilliant. He is full of knowledge. It is really unjustifiable that he failed the list."
"Yes, yes, this article is indeed beautifully written~"
"However, Liu Gong's examination questions on today's Ming Dynasty are obviously not to let people praise the prosperous age of Ming Dynasty, but to test these students' understanding of today's Ming Dynasty and the world, and to be able to discover the existence of our Ming Dynasty.
Some problems and then put forward some corresponding solution strategies."
"Although this Jing Yang is talented and the articles he writes are quite beautiful, it is a pity that they just praise the prosperous times, and the content is empty talk and has no actual content."
"Although this man named Jiang Wannian has average literary talent, he has discovered the problems that exist in the city. Now in Beijing and Tianjin, our cities are huge and have a large population. It is true that people urinate and defecate everywhere. Sometimes you have to be careful when going out.
, this suggestion is very good.”
"Yes, yes, this is the key~"
"When the imperial court selects talents, it selects those who can govern the country, not those who can only write beautiful articles. Those who praise virtues are just flatterers and have no effect on the country or the people. Only people like Jiang Wannian can truly
He knows the difficulties of our people and will find ways to solve them."
"Yes, yes, if we can build a large number of public toilets, there will be far fewer people urinating in the city, and there won't be so much bad smell."
"So, this Jiang Wannian High School is also reasonable?"
"No, the court just needs more officials like this so that it can do more practical things for us people."
"That's right. I think it's very good to propose large-scale railway construction like this one. If the railway can be built to Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, it will be really convenient."
"There is also this talk about paying attention to the rest protection of urban workers. I think it is also very good. Some factories and workshops are becoming more and more excessive. Sometimes they have to work seven or eight hours a day. Apart from eating and sleeping, they are all working
, over time, people can easily get into trouble."
"The topic Liu Gong proposed is naturally to select truly useful talents. In contrast, although these people from high school have average literary talent, the suggestions they put forward are indeed for the long-term stability of our Ming Dynasty."
"Hmm~"
"..."
In the Jinluan Hall, the morning dynasty was in progress.
"Your Majesty, the list of the imperial examinations was announced yesterday. A large number of students who failed felt that the selection of candidates was unfair. Those who were talented in literature failed, and those who spoke vulgarly were in high school. There was actually a student who wrote that he wanted to build a large number of people in the city.
Toilet, writing such dirty things at the time of the ethics ceremony, what’s even more incredible is that he is still in high school.”
"So much so that the students who failed in the examination were shouting in unison that they pissed themselves into the imperial examination to express their unfairness towards the imperial examination!"
A minister came forward to report to Emperor Hongzhi what happened in Gongyuan yesterday.
"Is there such a thing?"
When the ministers heard this, they were immediately in an uproar and started discussing among themselves.
"Your Majesty, I happen to have two papers here. One is from Jing Yang, a talented scholar from Jiangbei who failed the exam, and the other is from Jiang Wannian, who wrote about building latrines."
Jiao Fang also stood up, took out two copied articles, and read them out loud.
"Your Majesty, I am impeaching Liu Jin, the Minister of Civil Affairs. The imperial examination is a ceremony of ethics and talent in the court. It is for your Majesty, for the court, and for the Ming Dynasty to select talents to govern the country."
"However, Liu Jin selected randomly based on his own personal preferences, so that the truly talented people were eliminated, while the incompetent and vulgar people were in high school."
"I have reason to suspect that Liu Jin took bribes and opened the door for others to facilitate the imperial examination."
Jiao Fang was serious when she spoke, but then she made a fuss about the matter and even said that Liu Jin was taking bribes.
"Ah~"
When the officials heard this, they were immediately stunned.
Who is Liu Jin? He is the God of Wealth. He has endless money. He spends millions of taels of money on new schools every year.
Now you say he took bribes?
Aren't you the most ridiculous person in the world? He needs to accept bribes?
"Your Majesty, Jiao Fang is simply talking nonsense. Everyone in the world knows that Mr. Liu has always been fair, honest, upright, clean-minded, honest as an official, and loyal to the emperor and the country. How could he accept bribes?"
A minister immediately stood up to speak for Liu Jin.
"If there was no bribery, then why didn't a talented person like Jing Yang go to high school, but a shitty guy like Jiang Wannian got a high school scholarship?"
"Everyone, take a look at Jiang Wannian's article. It mentions building toilets in the Luncai Ceremony. It is so vulgar and dirty. It is simply an insult to the imperial examination ceremony."
Jiao Fang said seriously and excitedly.
"Your Majesty, gentlemen~"
Liu Jin, who had been watching with cold eyes, stood up. When the officials saw it, they immediately became silent and quiet, wanting to see how Liu Jin would defend himself.
"Thanks to His Majesty's grace, I have the honor to preside over this imperial examination. I dare not slack off, let alone engage in any malpractice for personal gain."
"As Minister Jiao Fang said, the imperial court's ethics and talents ceremony is for your majesty, for the court, and for the Ming Dynasty to select talents to govern the country. Therefore, when I asked the topic, I did not follow the usual practice, but asked
Today’s Ming Dynasty.”
"This question is to test students' understanding of today's Ming Dynasty, to see if they can understand that our Ming Dynasty is in an unprecedented situation, recognize some of the problems that our Ming Dynasty has, and then propose some solutions to these problems.
Find a way."
"Only by being able to fully understand the situation of today's Ming Dynasty and see some of the problems that exist in our Ming Dynasty can we truly assist the emperor in governing the country, do some practical things for the people, and do something useful for the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty."
"Jing Yang, whom Jiao Shilang just praised, is indeed talented, and his articles are extremely beautiful. However, everything he said in the article was to praise virtues and praise the prosperous age of the Ming Dynasty. He only mentioned some problems that existed in the Ming Dynasty.
Although he is talented, he is not suitable to be an official. He cannot assist the emperor and govern the people well, so what is the use of him?"
"Although the article written by Jiang Wannian is vulgar and the things mentioned cannot be considered elegant, the things mentioned are indeed related to the lives of ordinary people and the long-term prosperity of the Ming Dynasty."
"With the rise of factories and workshops, a large number of people have concentrated in cities. The urban population is growing day by day, which has brought many problems. Among them, the problem of public livelihood is unsound and the people are suffering unspeakably. Jiang Wannian mentioned
It can solve the urgent needs of the people and make the city cleaner and more beautiful."
"Therefore, I feel that such people are the true rulers of the country. They can assist the emperor at the top and benefit the people at the bottom."
"This is also the standard that I will follow when recruiting scholars this time. The only purpose is to select real talents for your Majesty and the imperial court."
"Just now, Mr. Jiao impeached me for accepting bribes. I ask your Majesty to order someone to investigate the matter thoroughly to clear my name. I have always been fair and honest, loyal to Your Majesty, and devoted to the country. I have never accepted bribes.
Even the so-called filial piety and the like were not accepted."
"On the contrary, Minister Jiao. As far as I know, the filial piety collected every year is not a small amount. I would like your Majesty to order someone to investigate thoroughly. If I have done anything illegal, I am willing to accept the punishment."
Liu Jin's voice was sonorous and powerful, and his words were extremely upright.
"Suffer~"
Hearing Liu Jin's words, Jiao Fang suddenly secretly thought that was bad, and at the same time, many big shots in the court also frowned.
Naturally, there are many officials who accept bribes, but most of the time they do so in a filial way. Even the big bosses in the cabinet are not clear about this. For example, Liu Jian had many officials from his hometown visiting him before.
I'll give you a polishing fee for each word or something.
This kind of thing is almost the default in the officialdom, and everyone has always been like this.
After all, in the past, the salary of officials was really low. If we relied on the salary to live, everyone would starve to death. Without some respect from the officials below, it would be difficult for everyone to be decent in this capital.
That is to say, now, salaries are rising again and again, and life is much easier. In addition, many officials' families are opening factories, workshops, plantations, etc. They have money and life is much easier.
But the default rule of filial piety has always been there. You Jiao Fang said that Liu Jin took bribes, and now Liu Jin is directly attacking your vital points.
