Chapter 107

The popularity of "Traveling to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination" has broken through its original audience and attracted many casual viewers. Xu Ying's most direct feeling is that the money in her account has increased.

Writing novels, producing TV series, selling copyrights... Xu Ying now has more and more ways to make money, and money has become just a string of numbers to her.

She sat in the living room, listening to the news broadcast on the television in front of her, and decided to take out a portion of the money in her account to donate.

Recently, Zhou Rong City experienced an exceptionally heavy rainstorm, which caused flooding that resulted in the deaths and disappearances of more than 300 people, with other economic losses amounting to tens of billions of yuan.

Faced with such a severe flood, Xu Ying did not hesitate and generously donated 20 million yuan.

She donated anonymously.

She donated the money for the resettlement of the people, not to promote her own fame and fortune. If the donor's identity is revealed by the authorities, the focus of public opinion will likely shift to her, which is not what she wants.

Netizens are also quite concerned about the disaster situation in Zhourong City.

People with money contributed money, and those with strength contributed their efforts. Celebrities in the entertainment industry also followed the trend and donated money. Recently, the hot search has been very lively. Today it is a male star who donated one million, and tomorrow it is a young actress who donated two million.

Even a donation of one or two million yuan can make it to the trending topics, let alone an anonymous person suddenly appearing on the list who donated 20 million yuan.

- Twenty million? Who has the guts to spend that much?

This is a truly genuine donation. Wealthy people get things done discreetly, unlike those in the entertainment industry who donate a little money and then try to recoup it all through trending topics.

- Don't say that. As long as you donate, you're doing a good deed. Don't worry about how much or how little others give. Even if celebrities donate less, they still give more than us.

- You don't even look at how much they earn. Compared to what they earn, what they donate is negligible.

- Celebrities earn a lot because they're capable, but to get into trouble for donating money without stealing or robbing is just too unfair.

Who's really feeling sorry for celebrities? Feel sorry for yourselves, you're just lowly laborers who only earn a few thousand dollars a month!

......

What should have been a simple donation drive turned into a heated argument among netizens in the comments section.

Xu Ying was relieved when she saw it; thankfully, she had kept it anonymous.

She only wanted to donate quietly and had no intention of stirring up trouble. It seems that staying anonymous was the right thing to do. If she hadn't stayed anonymous, she would be the one being put on the hot seat now.

Spending 20 million in one go is indeed eye-catching.

However, the donors were unwilling to disclose their names, and the recipient organizations naturally did not force them to do so. As a result, netizens were left to speculate in the comments section, but there was no official response and no voluntary claim from the donors.

Now everyone understands that the big shot genuinely wants to do good deeds anonymously, so netizens wisely stop digging into his private affairs.

*

Having donated a large sum of money, Xu Ying felt she had done her part, and then focused her attention back on writing.

In "Traveling to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination," the male protagonist serves as a county magistrate, engaging in wits and courage against powerful local gentry, building bridges and roads, adapting to local conditions, and boosting the local economy... There's so much to write about that she ended up having the male protagonist spend dozens of chapters in the countryside.

"This novel is getting longer and longer!"

"It'll take forever to write the finale," Xu Ying thought, starting to doubt herself.

Her original plan was to have the male lead transferred to at least two places as county magistrates, so that his intelligence and ability to adapt to local conditions could be fully utilized, and the people in the court could see his ability to govern the local areas.

The male protagonist has already been struggling in just one place for so long. If he were to write about another place, the end of this book would be a long time coming!

Xu Ying had finally finished writing the scenes in Huzhou Prefecture, and now she was starting to struggle with the next part of the plot. Should she write about the emperor transferring the male lead back to the capital, or should she write about someone interfering and causing the male lead to be transferred to a local post again?

Both authors have their own advantages and disadvantages in their writing styles, and it all depends on what she, as the author, decides. Unfortunately, she is currently wavering and probably won't be able to make up her mind anytime soon.

never mind.

Since she couldn't figure it out, Xu Ying decided to stop thinking about it for now. She simply turned off the computer, stood up, and walked out of the study. It was almost lunchtime, so she might as well go and cook.

Chopping vegetables and cooking is a great way to clear your mind and calm your thoughts.

By the time Xu Ying finished cooking and eating, an hour and a half had passed, and she had a fairly certain idea of ​​the direction of "Traveling to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination".

She ultimately decided to follow the initial plan and transfer the male lead to a local post for further training.

She sat back down at her computer and continued writing, picking up where she left off. In her story, the emperor's decree sent the male protagonist to the impoverished north.

However, the male protagonist had made great contributions in Huzhou Prefecture. This time, when he was transferred to the north, he was no longer a minor county magistrate, but was promoted to the fifth-rank prefect, in charge of managing the affairs of a prefecture.

In just two years, Cao Hongjing rose from a seventh-rank county magistrate to a fifth-rank prefect.

This promotion is too fast!

Some officials in the court were wary, but the emperor had already made up his mind. The court officials had previously blocked Cao Hongjing from returning to the capital, and if they were to manipulate his promotion or demotion again, it would probably displease the emperor. So everyone had no choice but to accept him as the prefect.

The term of office for a county magistrate is four years, but Cao Hongjing was promoted to prefect in just two years. Although he was transferred to a poor and remote place, he was not unwilling. After all, with more power in his hands, he could do more things.

Furthermore, this promotion also shows that the emperor still values ​​him.

Since some people in the court were making things difficult for him and didn't want him to come to the capital, he would stay in the countryside and work diligently, letting those senior officials in the court see what it meant to "encircle the cities from the countryside."

Amid the reluctant gazes of the people of Huzhou Prefecture, Cao Hongjing set off once again for his new post. Before leaving, he did not forget to compile his governance experience over the past two years into a booklet for local officials to use.

Of course, he also presented another copy to the emperor. He believed that good deeds should be remembered, which was his consistent style of doing things.

......

*

Time flies, and the cold wind brings news of winter.

"Traveling to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination" is still being serialized.

The protagonist in the book was not idle in the north either. Under his governance, the region quickly became prosperous and powerful. In just two years, it became famous throughout the country and became one of the top taxpayers in the country.

In the third year, the local prefect passed away, and with an imperial edict, Cao Hongjing naturally took over the position of local prefect.

In his fourth year serving in the north, Cao Hongjing was finally transferred back to the capital and became the Vice Minister of Rites.

Another promotion beyond his rank.

The prefect was a fourth-rank official, while the vice minister of the Ministry of Rites was a second-rank official. Cao Hongjing rose from the fourth rank to the second rank in just two years, a speed of promotion that was simply unheard of.

This time, however, the court officials were also powerless against the emperor and Cao Hongjing.

Cao Hongjing did an outstanding job in his local area. No matter how poor and remote the place was, he could always come up with a bunch of tricks to improve the local people's livelihood.

That's really strange!

Now, even if the opposition is unwilling, they cannot go against the opinions of the majority of the court officials.

Indeed, many ministers in the court have now switched sides, and they genuinely admire and appreciate Cao Hongjing's solid achievements.

Especially the Ministry of Revenue.

The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of money. In previous years, when the national treasury was empty, the Ministry of Revenue could only be stingy, which earned them a lot of criticism from the other five ministries.

However, since Cao Hongjing was transferred to a post outside the capital, his local governance methods have been promoted, and grain tax revenue in various places has increased by different proportions, which has also made the national treasury much fuller. Based on this alone, the Ministry of Revenue is a staunch supporter of Cao Hongjing.

Support is support.

There were still quite a few people in the court who did not want Cao Hongjing to return to the capital.

These people weren't entirely malicious; a large part of them actually harbored selfish motives, hoping that Cao Hongjing would take up his post in their hometown and help improve the lives of the local people, thus helping them escape poverty and achieve prosperity.

Whether their intentions were good or bad, these people's plans were completely thwarted by the emperor's decree.

Cao Hongjing has returned to Beijing safely.

However, less than a month after his return, he was impeached by the Censorate during the morning court session. The Censorate officials ranged from the Grand Secretary to local officials, and the scope of the impeachment was all-encompassing.

However, the accusations against Cao Hongjing this time left him somewhat dumbfounded.

The Censorate actually impeached him for being married for many years but having no children, which was considered unfilial and disrespectful to his parents.

Cao Hongjing served as an official in a remote area for six years and made numerous contributions. The censors, having exhausted all other avenues for impeachment, resorted to desperate measures and seized upon his private family affairs.

No one expected that this seemingly absurd impeachment would inadvertently make Cao Hongjing famous in the capital once again.

Cao Hongjing was already famous enough.

He was previously known for his reputation as an honest official, but this time he has captured the hearts of countless women.

Because of this impeachment, the people of the capital learned that he only had one wife, who had been infertile for many years. They said that of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is having no offspring. The fact that Lord Cao could insist on not divorcing his wife or taking a concubine was considered by women in ancient times to be a model husband.

For a time, countless people in the capital admired Lord Cao.

......

The male protagonist was transferred back to the capital and became the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. No one was more excited than the readers who had been following the story. As soon as Xu Ying released this chapter, the comment section of "Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination" was filled with excitement.

Xu Ying posted her article, and within just three hours, the comments section had already received over a thousand messages. It's undeniable that everyone is incredibly enthusiastic.

-Great, the male lead has finally returned to the political center.

- I can't wait for the next episode! I want to see the male lead become a Grand Secretary and overpower all the other officials! Just thinking about it makes me feel so excited!

- These ministers in the court are hilarious! The male lead has only just returned to the capital and they're already spreading rumors that he's the second Zhang Juzheng. Just how afraid are these people of Zhang Juzheng?

- Zhang Juzheng is so charming, could you please write more about him?

-Why write so much when the person is already dead? [doge emoji]

-The male lead is amazing! I also really enjoyed the parts about local governance. I haven't had enough, author! Could you write about a couple more places?!

- I'm dying of laughter! The male lead served in a post outside the capital for six years, and when he returned, he was still a handsome young man in his twenties. Hahaha, the reactions of those courtiers when they saw him were hilarious.

-Exactly! Just thinking about how the male lead goes to court every day and is faced with a group of old men with wrinkled faces makes him suddenly seem less awful, hahaha!

The male lead is only twenty-six years old and has already reached the second rank. I can't even imagine how powerful he will be in the future. He could probably outlive all these old guys.

Are the people in the Censorate serious? They can't find any faults in the male lead's official career, yet they're impeaching him for not having children?!

The male protagonist is 26 years old and still has no children, which is indeed a disadvantage in ancient times.

- The censor is quite pitiful. He was rendered speechless by the male lead's lecture in court, and then got a scolding from his wife when he got home, who said he was jealous of the male lead, hahaha!