On May 15th, Chongzhen received a report from Lu Daqi.

"Good, very good!" Chongzhen patted his thigh and handed the Tangbao to Wang Chengen, who turned around and handed the Tangbao to Fan Jingwen.

Fan Jingwen also served as the Minister of Rites, and was discussing the upcoming autumn examination with Chongzhen.

The provincial examination is also known as the autumn examination.

The Ming Dynasty had a law that stipulated that provincial examinations would be held in the two capitals and the provincial capitals in August of the Zi, Wu, Mao, and You years.

The eighteenth year of Chongzhen was the Year of the Rooster in the lunar calendar, a sure year for the provincial examinations.

Students from all over the country are looking forward to achieving good results in the provincial examination so that they can continue to participate in the metropolitan examination in March next year.

There were three levels of imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty.

The first level of examination was the provincial examination, and passing it gave one the status of juren.

The first place in the provincial examination is called Jieyuan.

The second level is the joint examination held in the capital the following year, and those who pass the examination will obtain the status of Gongshi.

The first place in the imperial examination is called Huiyuan.

(Gongshi is also called quasi-Jinshi. All Gongshi need to take the Jinshi exam. However, this exam is very simple. As long as you take the exam, the chief examiner will admit you as a Jinshi.)

The third level of examination is the palace examination, also known as the court examination, which is the highest level examination in the Ming Dynasty.

The first place in the palace examination is commonly known as the zhuangyuan.

Winning three prizes in a row means winning the first place, the second place and the third place successively.

To win three places alone means that after winning the first place in the imperial examination, one failed to pass the imperial examination the following year, and only won the first place and the second place in the imperial examination consecutively after a few years.

Whether you win three prizes consecutively or win three prizes alone, it is very difficult to achieve this goal.

In the nearly three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, only two people won the top three prizes in the imperial examinations.

The first one was Huang Guan from Zhili in the 24th year of Hongwu, and the second one was Li Ma from Fujian in the 16th year of Yongle.

At that time, Emperor Yongle thought this name was not nice and changed it to Li Qi himself.

In fact, throughout the 1,300-year history of the imperial examination system, there were not many people who even won the top three places, only fifteen (the top scholar in literature).

(The imperial examination began in the second year of Daye in the Sui Dynasty (606 AD) and ended in the 31st year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1905 AD))

Fan Jingwen collected his thoughts, took the newspaper handed over by Wang Chengen, and frowned after reading it.

"Your Majesty, Lu Daqi is indeed a talented leader, but... it is a bit strange that Hukou, Pengze, and Wangjiang counties surrendered without a fight."

"Yes, it's very strange." Chongzhen put away his previous smile and the corners of his mouth drooped slightly.

The surrender of these three counties directly exposed Anqing, the gateway to Nanjing, to Zhang Xianzhong, and had a great impact on the entire situation.

If they had not surrendered, Yuan Jixian would have been able to provide support immediately and block Zhang Xianzhong on the south bank of the Yangtze River.

In this way, Lu Daqi can gather troops to pursue and suppress Li Zicheng.

In addition, with Qin Liangyu attacking Wuguan, Li Zicheng was forced to return to Guanzhong for defense.

Without Li Zicheng's rebellion, the war in the Central Plains would have been quelled soon.

Chongzhen stared at the names of the three counties for a while, and whispered to Wang Chengen: "Write an official document to Lu Daqi and ask him to investigate this matter thoroughly."

Just as Wang Chengen was about to leave, Fan Jingwen coughed lightly and said, "Your Majesty, I think I know some reasons."

"Oh?" Chongzhen looked up at Fan Jingwen, "Tell me about it."

Fan Jingwen usually keeps a low profile and acts like a leisurely person who knows nothing.

In fact, Chongzhen knew that these were all his disguises.

The real Fan Jingwen was decisive and efficient in his work, and he understood all the affairs of the six ministries.

He is a truly all-round talent.

Fan Jingwen bowed deeply to Chongzhen and said, "Your Majesty, the reason why Hukou, Pengze, and Wangjiang surrendered without a fight is probably related to the disaster relief provided by the imperial court."

"Disaster relief?" Chongzhen didn't quite understand. "Why do you say that?"

Fan Jingwen looked around and saw that there were no other outsiders present before he said with relief: "Your Majesty, the court is collecting the tax arrears while providing disaster relief."

"Those who owed taxes were basically local gentry and wealthy families. In order to avoid paying the taxes they owed, they teamed up with local officials to surrender the city. After the bandits entered the city, they burned the account books recording the taxes so that there would be no evidence."

"When the imperial court investigates, we will put the blame on the bandits."

etc...

Chongzhen first stood up and then sat back down.

This kind of thing happens in every dynasty: fire.

Whether it was a real fire or arson, burning the evidence is the simplest and most effective way.

Fan Jingwen paused and continued, "In fact, it's not just Hukou, Pengze, and Wangjiang counties. Earlier this month, the court sent an imperial envoy to Shandong to provide disaster relief. Before the imperial envoy's team arrived in Shandong, one prefecture and four counties caught fire one after another, and the account books recording tax payments were burned down by the fire."

Chongzhen sat on the dragon throne in silence.

After more than a year of rectification, most of the officials in the court were "bribed" by him.

Those who want power will be given power; those who want money will be given money; those who want fame will be given fame.

Without saying too much, at least the cabinet, the six ministries and even most of the officials in the capital shared the same aspirations with him.

but...

The officials below are the key to governing the country.

At the beginning of his time travel, he realized that the party struggles had shifted from the court to the local government.

Although they are grassroots officials, they face the people directly.

They were cruel, and the people thought that the court was cruel.

They are kind, so the people think that the court is kind.

And what about the people?

Except for Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong who chose to resist, most people would choose to endure.

This kind of behavior will make the rulers treat the people as cattle and horses in prosperous times and cannon fodder in troubled times.

In prosperous times, their strength is squeezed; in troubled times, their lives are taken.

To put it in a famous saying, peace is brought about by heroes, and peace cannot be achieved without heroes.

Chongzhen clenched his right fist, slammed it heavily on the dragon desk, and said, "Since the officials and gentry are colluding, then chop them all off."

Fan Jingwen's face changed slightly, and he advised: "Your Majesty, this is not the case. Some prefectures and counties caught fire without the intention of the officials."

"After arriving at a place, officials usually choose to visit famous local gentry in order to familiarize themselves with the local situation and maintain stability. With their help, they organize government personnel and make the government run smoothly."

"The government offices were full of gentry. When they heard that the court was collecting unpaid taxes, they took the opportunity to have loyal officials secretly set fire to destroy the evidence."

“In fact, most officials are not aware of it at all.”

"Even if we know, there is nothing we can do unless we carry all the account books with us. Otherwise, once the other party seizes the opportunity, a fire will happen sooner or later."

Chongzhen frowned after listening to Fan Jingwen's analysis.

The situation is so complicated!

but...

Chongzhen will not give up the struggle.

The more this situation is, the more we should fight on.

If you can’t defeat the sky and the earth, can’t you defeat people?

Fighting with others is endless fun!