Li Zhi was sitting in the third hall of Prince Qi's Mansion, looking at the imperial edict sent to Tianjin by the emperor, and was silent.
Theoretically, Tianjin was also the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Since the emperor wanted to stop the imperial examination throughout the country, he would naturally send an imperial edict to Tianjin.
Of course, this imperial edict was not actually announced in Tianjin, but was sent directly to Prince Qi's Mansion and placed on Li Zhi's desk as a document.
Li Zhi didn't even see the eunuch who announced the decree.
One town and nine provinces are now highly independent. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is an independent country. Overall, one town and nine provinces are more like a vassal state under the Ming Dynasty, with its own set of things.
What worried Li Zhi was that the memorial only proposed to suspend the imperial examination for one year, but did not propose alternative methods for selecting officials.
The imperial examination system is a system for selecting officials. Most of the civil servants in the world are from Jinshi, and a few are from Juren. Now that the imperial examination has been stopped, there will be no new officials to join the officialdom. Logically speaking, another one should be introduced at this time.
A system for selecting officials has been developed, such as the civil service examination based on public ethics.
However, the emperor Zhu Youjian did not come up with any official selection system to replace the imperial examination. The imperial edict only said that the imperial examination was suspended.
In Li Zhi's view, the emperor's suspension of the imperial examination was only a temporary measure, and his sincerity was really lacking.
Zhong Feng raised his hands and asked, "Your Majesty, our army has been stationed in Tongzhou for more than ten days. Do we want to withdraw it now?"
Li Zhi put the emperor's edict on the table and said, "The emperor's edict seems to be a bit reluctant and delayed."
Zhong Feng frowned and said: "The Emperor said he would suspend the imperial examination for one year, but did not say what to do after one year. This is obviously prevarication for us. Your Majesty, I think the Tiger Army should advance another thirty miles to the capital to put more pressure on the Emperor."
Cai Huaishui thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, maybe we can hold a joint exercise involving rocket vehicles and tanks near the capital, and invite the eunuch and eunuch Wang Chengen to come and take a look."
Zheng Kaicheng's eyes widened and he said, "Isn't that too domineering? If the emperor is made to hold a grudge, I'm afraid the gain will outweigh the loss."
Hong Chengchou thought for a while, then raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the emperor has agreed to suspend the imperial examination for one year. This is a huge concession. The next matter can be discussed, and it is not appropriate to force the emperor too much."
"The Ming Dynasty is getting old, and Tianjin is getting stronger day by day. Time is on our side. According to the estimate of the veteran, if the emperor delays for two or three years, he will definitely be overwhelmed by Tianjin's strength and finally agree to complete the nationwide
Stop the imperial examination and implement a new type of examination to select officials with public morality as the core."
Li Zhi frowned when he heard Hong Chengchou's words.
Glancing around his subordinates, Li Zhi said: "I used to run a soap business in Tianjin, and the official Lu Huarong came to provoke me. After finally getting rid of him, there were also Chao Pichang, Luo Yangxing and other treacherous people who wanted to start a business.
It is said that the road is full of obstacles, and you have to overcome thorns and thorns. Those calamities back then, if you were not careful, you would be shattered into pieces."
"I rely on immortal Taoist priests to teach me skills, and I have so many inventions and creations, but I still can't benefit the people safely. How can those capable people with lofty ideals who are determined to do some bright things rise in the malicious environment of the Ming Dynasty?"
"For one more year if private morality rules the Ming Dynasty, public morality will be suppressed for one more year."
"If the emperor delays for one year, the villains of the Ming Dynasty will have one more year to succeed and oppress the good. If the emperor delays for three years, maybe in the end those ambitious talents will bow to the darkness. If the emperor delays, he will have to suppress the good. The king can wait, but the Ming Dynasty cannot afford it!"
The officials in the palace looked at each other for a while, and they all found that King Qi's jealous and hateful side was really rare in the world.
If ordinary people want to suppress the ugliness around them and prevent it from humiliating themselves, King Qi is determined to overturn all the injustices in the world. The so-called taking the world as one's own responsibility is nothing more than this.
Putting down the imperial edict, Li Zhi said: "Let Cui Changwu report to the emperor and request that preparations for the public ethics examination be carried out across the country immediately. At the same time, the Tiger Army will advance ten miles to create pressure on the emperor."
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In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youjian was sitting on the throne, his face full of anger.
"In Li Zhi's eyes, does he still regard me as the emperor?"
Standing up suddenly and throwing his hand, Zhu Youjian threw Cui Changwu's memorial to the ground.
"This Cui Changwu is pressing me so hard! I have already suspended the imperial examination in violation of the ancestral system, and he wants me to immediately start the civil ethics examination to select officials!"
"Absurd! Ridiculous! In this Ming Dynasty, am I the emperor or is Li Zhi the emperor?"
When Wang Chengen heard this, he knelt on the ground and said: "Your Majesty, it's impossible to say! These words are impossible! If King Qi knew that you were so angry, what would King Qi think? Now that King Qi has strong soldiers and horses, King Qi can't even think about it. You will do unspeakable things, and you must not let King Qi know that you are dissatisfied with him!"
Zhu Youjian's eyes widened and he shouted angrily: "Li Zhi can send troops to the suburbs of Beijing to threaten me, but I can't even send out fire?"
Wang Chengen kowtowed on the ground and said: "Your Majesty, the situation at this time is extremely delicate. Your Majesty, please think twice!"
When Zhu Youjian heard Wang Chengen's words, he became really wary. He sneered and sat back on the throne.
"Wang Dehua, have the Huben army retreated now?"
Wang Dehua was lying on the ground, and he couldn't help but feel nervous when he heard these words. In the cold weather of November of the lunar calendar, a stream of cold sweat actually ran down his forehead.
"Wang Dehua?"
Wang Dehua kowtowed to the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, the Huben army has not withdrawn. The Huben army has moved ten miles closer to the capital. Now it is only sixty miles away from the Chaoyang Gate of the capital."
After hearing Wang Dehua's words, everyone in the Qianqing Palace changed their expressions. Some of the young eunuchs were obviously panicked, and even had expressions of fear.
Now all the civil servants in the court have fled, and people are panicked. Some eunuchs who are close to the civil servant group are also afraid, fearing that Li Zhi will enter the Forbidden City and start a killing spree.
Li Zhi's bloodiness is no joke.
When Zhu Youjian heard this, he closed his eyes and didn't speak for a long time.
After at least twenty seconds, he waved his hand and said to Wang Chengen: "Cui Changwu's memorial is correct, let him prepare for the national ethics examination."
Wang Chengen breathed a sigh of relief, quickly agreed, and picked up Cui Changwu's memorial from the ground.
But before he could let go, he heard the emperor's suppressed voice sound again.
"Summoning the admiral of the capital camp, Yang Guozhu, into the palace?"
Wang Chengen raised his head in panic and asked: "Your Majesty? How about summoning Yang Guozhu at this time?"
Zhu Youjian said word by word: "Li Zhi bullied me so much that I have no soldiers. I want to train my troops! Train new recruits in the Beijing camp!"
Wang Chengen opened his mouth wide and asked: "How much practice?"
Zhu Youjian gritted his teeth and said, "Practice as much as you can!"
