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It was already getting late at night outside the window, but the lights in the imperial study were still on, and Qin Mu was still marking the palace examination papers under the lamp.
According to the intelligence sent back the night before, Duoduo's army has already moved south from Kaifeng. At Duoduo's current speed, he will be able to reach Huainan in eight or ten days at most. Time is urgent, Qin Mu needs to finish reading the palace examination papers in one day and one night, and finish the imperial examination as soon as possible so that he can devote his energy to the war.
Yang Zhi was worried that he was hungry, so she brought him some snacks herself, poured tea and water for him, and lit incense for him.
In order to avoid being accused of interfering in government affairs, she seldom came to the imperial study.
On this cold winter night, she felt distressed when she saw her husband still awake at midnight. "Husband, this snack is still hot. Eat some before you look at the paper."
"Oh, bring it here." Qin Mu picked up a piece of snack and stuffed it into his mouth while looking at the test paper. After chewing it for a few times, he looked up in a daze and asked, "What time is it?"
"Husband, it's almost three o'clock."
Qin Mu patted the back of her hand and said, "It's cold, my lady, don't hold on any longer. Go back to sleep first. There are still a few papers left. I will go back after I finish reading them. You don't have to worry."
Yang Zhi smiled gently and said, "My dear husband, look, I'll serve you." She took the chopsticks, cut the snack into small pieces, and then fed Qin Mu mouthful by mouthful as if feeding a child.
Han Zanzhou, who was guarding the door, saw this scene and felt quite emotional. In the past, he had only seen intrigues in the Ming Dynasty Palace. It was difficult to see the warmth of such an ordinary family.
The queen's virtue and gentleness made Han Zanzhou respect her. With her around, the King of Qin didn't have to worry about the affairs of the harem and could devote himself to military and political affairs.
Accompanied by Yang Zhi, Qin Mu finally finished reading the test papers. In general, the candidates' arguments for the first two questions of this palace examination were quite adequate;
Especially those who are called Chen Zhenyuan's discussion on the second question. They are very profound in thought, with Confucianism as the skin, Taoism as the flesh, and law as the bones. Although it is very obscure, it is very precious to have the courage to write such a discussion.
Only on the third question, "Westerners often use the name of preserving land to gain benefits, while China often seeks the name of the Celestial Empire but loses benefits." All the answers are fierce criticisms of Westerners' emphasis on benefits over morality.
Moreover, everyone's understanding of the West is very superficial. No one can discuss it from the perspectives of politics, economy, history, humanities, etc. They just blindly apply Confucianism's benevolence and righteousness to criticize it.
Qin Mu was deeply disappointed by this.
Confucianism has been the only dominant school of thought in China for nearly two thousand years. It is impossible to change this situation all at once.
Why did the Qing Dynasty's hair-shaving order arouse so many people to rebel? The reason is that the hair-shaving order really touched upon the core Confucian ideas of "filial piety" and "propriety", so that many people who had originally surrendered resolutely rose up to resist the Qing Dynasty.
The Qing dynasty could suppress with a butcher's knife and forcefully implement the order. Could I challenge the status of Confucianism with such bloody means? No, if that were the case, I would not be the one to raise the butcher's knife. Instead, I would be waiting for the butcher's knife to be put on my neck.
Qin Mu felt that in order to change the situation where Confucianism was the only one in the world, in addition to slowly guiding it and slowly introducing some Taoist and Legalist ideas, he also needed to introduce some Western ideas, just like in the late Qing Dynasty, so that Eastern and Western ideas could have a violent collision. Only then could there be a change.
He agreed to let Johann Adam Schall von Bell build a church, not because he really wanted to make Catholicism popular in China, but because he wanted to introduce Western ideas through this channel, and to gradually change the reality of Confucianism being the only one that flourished.
Qin Mu finally selected Chen Zhenyuan as the top scholar, Han Jing, the best scholar, as the second place, Zhu Tong as the third place, and Sima Kai, who was quite insightful in policy essays, as the first place in the second class.
On the day of the announcement, all the people in Jinling City emptied the streets and flocked to the Imperial Examination Hall to see the list. Chen Zhenyuan ranked outside the top 50 in the joint examination, but became the top scorer after the palace examination. This was beyond many people's expectations, but such things were common in previous dynasties.
After the answer papers of the top three candidates in the palace examination were posted, everyone rushed to see them. Chen Zhenyuan's discussion caused widespread discussion. Amidst this discussion, the Qionglin Banquet given by Qin Mu in the West Garden by the Mochou Lake began.
Three hundred and sixty-two newly-crowned Jinshi scholars wore red flowers and rode on large horses through the streets of Jinling City. They left the city through the Sanshan Gate and went to the West Garden for a banquet. The streets were crowded with people, and countless people rushed to watch. This was the most glorious moment for the Jinshi scholars.
Xiyuan is located on the south bank of Mochou Lake. It was originally a property given to Xu Da by Emperor Hongwu. It covers half the area of the palace and is now owned by the royal family.
There are pavilions, terraces and terraces, a rainbow bridge over the water, Shengqi Tower, Dianqiu Hall, waterside pavilions, Baoyue Tower, Lakeside Pavilion, winding corridors, etc., hidden among the mountains, rocks, pines, bamboos, flowers and green trees, presenting a pleasant scenery of "If you want to compare her with Xi Shi and Mo Chou, it is difficult to judge right and wrong in the smoke and waves. But you feel that the West Lake has lost a move, and the river sails are flying beyond the clouds."
The newly-appointed Jinshi "received the imperial edict to enter officialdom, and returned to the throne to look upon the emperor's face". They all looked excited. During the banquet, the top three had to pick flowers and present poems, as this was their special honor.
A grand banquet took half a day, after which the Jinshi went to the Confucius Temple to pay homage to Confucius. The Ministry of Rites then engraved the names of the Jinshi on a stele in the Imperial College, which was called the "Jinshi Name Stele."
What was different from previous dynasties was that this time, the successful candidates on the list had to be led by the Minister of Rites and take a boat to Jiangyin and Yangzhou for a grand ceremony and patriotic education before they were eligible to be released as officials.
All in all, although time was tight, the procedure for this imperial examination was still held in a grand manner, which played a great role in winning the hearts of scholars and at the same time demonstrated the majesty of the court.
If we did what Zhang Xianzhong did, by randomly picking some people to take the exam and turning it into a farce, it would only make people laugh and would not do anything to increase the people's loyalty to the court.
Qin Mu was quite satisfied with this special examination, and rewarded officials from the Ministry of Rites and examiners such as Fu Qingzhu. At the same time, he appointed Fu Qingzhu as the Grand Secretary of Zuo Chunfang in the Zhanshi Mansion.
The Zhanshi Mansion was the institution in charge of the affairs of the Eastern Palace, and the Grand Secretary was mainly responsible for the education of the Crown Prince. Although Qin Ye was only a little over one year old and not yet of school age, Qin Mu decided to build an imperial academy, located in the East Garden to the east of Wuyi Lane, so that the hundreds of "emperor's disciples" from Yuelu Academy could all study in the imperial academy, and when Qin Ye grew up, he would also study in this academy.
Qin Mu plans to use Fu Qingzhu to preside over this academy. Of course, he will also take time to attend classes. This will be a very special academy.
In the Ming Dynasty, there was a martial arts school behind the Yingtian government office, occupying an area of one block. In addition to building the Royal Academy, Qin Mu also planned to expand the martial arts school and move it to the side of the Shenjiying outside the Zhengyang Gate, so that students of the martial arts school would not only receive classroom education, but also train with the garrison troops, so as to cultivate military talents who are strong in both theory and actual combat.
Qin Mu also ordered the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the first military examination, which will be held in March next year.
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The newly-appointed scholars went to Jiangyin to offer sacrifices, and the war atmosphere in Jinling City became increasingly intense. The news that Duoduo's army was making a comeback spread like wildfire, and people were talking about it. However, everyone was still relatively confident in the Qin army, and it did not cause too much panic.
Qin Mu also devoted all his energy to preparing for war, convening ministers at the decision-making level for discussions every day.
In the side hall of the palace, a huge sand table was set up. The Minister of War He Liang said: "According to the intelligence sent back from the front, Duoduo has gathered 80,000 troops. Together with the troops originally stationed in Fengyang, Shouzhou, Xuzhou, and Suqian, the total number is about 120,000. Among them, the Green Camp troops are mainly from Zuo Menggeng's troops;
It is worth mentioning that Duoduo now has food and can recruit more troops at any time.
At present, Duoduo's army has arrived in Qi County, but the main attack direction has not yet been determined;
However, based on the direction of Duoduo's advance, the Ministry of War analyzed it and believed that Duoduo's main attack direction might be Huai'an, because the Huaiyang area south of Huai'an was originally a wealthy place. The last time Duoduo went south, most of these areas surrendered without a fight and suffered relatively little damage from the war.
Once the Qing army breaks through Huai'an, they can get corresponding supplies from the Huaiyang area, which will greatly help reduce the logistical pressure of the Qing army. Based on the above analysis, the Ministry of War believes that it is more likely that Duoduo's main attack direction will be Huai'an. "
He Liang's analysis is in line with reality, and Sima An, Gu Junen, Li Yuan and others present all agree with the results of this analysis.
Zhuge Min pondered for a moment and said, "King Qin, since the Qing army is most likely to attack Huai'an, I suggest sending a central minister to Huai'an. This is the most appropriate way."
Zhuge Min's words had another meaning. In addition to his doubts about Jin Shenghuan's ability to guard Huai'an, more importantly, Jin Shenghuan was once a subordinate of Zuo Menggeng.
This time, Zuo Menggeng followed Duoduo south and let Jin Shenghuan take charge of the Huai'an defense line. If Jin Shenghuan made any unusual moves, the consequences would be disastrous.
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Please give me a monthly ticket!
Please give me a monthly ticket!
Please give me a monthly ticket!
.(To be continued..)
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