"Let me think carefully about the matter of recovering the debts, and let's talk about the autumn examination first." Chongzhen said to Fan Jingwen.
"Yes," Fan Jingwen took out the booklet he carried with him, opened it and read, "This year's autumn examination list is still the same as in previous years. The number of candidates for the Northern and Southern Zhili provinces is 130 each, Jiangxi has 65, Yunnan has 40, and the rest of the provinces have increased and decreased, but the maximum number is no more than 100, and the minimum number is no less than 65."
Chongzhen nodded first, then raised his head and asked, "What about the candidates from Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces?"
"This..." Fan Jingwen replied after a moment's silence, "These two provinces have temporarily fallen into the hands of Li Chuang, and although there are vacancies, no candidates are taking the exam."
What Fan Jingwen meant was that Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces were Li Zicheng's territories, and even if local candidates took the imperial examinations, they were taking the Dashun imperial examinations, not the Ming Dynasty's.
Chongzhen thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "No, I think the scholars of the world still have their hearts set on the Ming Dynasty."
"Spread the word that this year's examinations for Shanxi and Shaanxi will be held in the capital. For candidates from the two places who take the exams, the court will cover their round-trip travel expenses."
"Also tell the chief examiner that all candidates from Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces who come to take the exam this autumn will be admitted as long as their scores are not too bad."
Fan Jingwen nodded and kept this information in mind.
"Your Majesty, will the chief examiner for this year's autumn examination still be nominated by the Provincial Administration Commissioner, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, and the Imperial Censor from among the current instructors as per the previous practice?"
Instructor is the abbreviation of teaching officer.
The Ming Dynasty established schools in prefectures, states, and counties, and appointed officials to manage the schools and educate students.
"Well, let's follow the tradition of previous years," Chongzhen said.
He has no intention of changing the current status quo of education.
The reason is productivity.
The scale, speed, structure, major, content, methods and means of education are all constrained by the level of development of productivity.
Under the premise of low productivity, try not to implement new types of education.
Otherwise, it will be regarded as heresy by scholars all over the world and will shake the foundation of the country.
What's more, he has already divided education into two streams, with the liberal arts taking the imperial examination route and the science taking the manufacturing bureau and research institute route.
There is no need for a new type of education.
Just as he finished talking about the Autumn Examination, Li Ruolian stepped in and said, "Your Majesty, Qufu County Magistrate Kong Hongyi and Garrison Commander He Shun have been ordered to come to the capital and are currently being questioned at the Metropolitan Procuratorate."
Seeing this, Fan Jingwen bowed and left, giving Li Ruolian a strange look before leaving.
Li Ruolian was a little confused. She wanted to ask but had no chance. She could only glare at Fan Jingwen's back.
After Fan Jingwen left, Chongzhen stood up and told Wang Chengen: "Change my clothes, disguise myself and go to the Censorate to watch the fun."
Last year, the Jiannu invaded the pass and went south to plunder. The defenders of Qufu surrendered without a fight, resulting in the looting of the Confucius Mansion.
This incident caused a huge uproar.
Not only him, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but also the court and the people were watching the development of the situation.
Under the repeated requests of civil and military officials in the court, Chongzhen had to summon the magistrate of Qufu and the garrison commander of Qufu to the capital to question them.
After some disguise, Chongzhen became Li Ruolian's follower. Surrounded by a group of Jinyiwei, the two came to the outside of the Censorate.
The earliest duty of the Censorate was to impeach officials, and it did not have the responsibility to try cases.
Although they occasionally participate in trial, the trial results are not enforceable.
Other related government offices basically ignore the Censorate.
Later, the power to hear cases was increased, and the department was mainly involved in hearing major cases, important cases, and cases involving officials.
The Censorate was responsible for the initial trial and drafting of charges, and after the trial, it was sent to the Dali Temple for review.
The group arrived at the gate of the Censorate. Li Ruolian scanned Chongzhen's face and then took him into the back hall of the Censorate.
The moment he opened the door, Chongzhen's face turned red.
The entire back hall was filled with people.
In addition to the four members of the cabinet, there were also assistant ministers and doctors of the six ministries, officials from the Dali Temple, Taichang Temple, Guanglu Temple, Taifu Temple, Honglu Temple, Hanlin Academy, Imperial College and other government officials.
These people are here to eat melons.
There were so many people that many had no place to sit and had to stand.
Wang Tingmei, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, who was standing at the door, saw Li Ruolian push the door and walk in, and immediately extended his hand to greet him: "Commander Li, please come in, I've saved a seat for you."
Li Ruolian was stunned. He never expected that there were so many people inside.
The emperor is behind him. Should he go in now or not?
If His Majesty goes in, he will be recognized, which will damage the reputation of the royal family.
If you don't go in, you won't be able to eavesdrop, and His Majesty will be unhappy.
Wang Tingmei saw Li Ruolian standing still and thought he was annoyed by the crowds, so she advised: "Commander Li, please don't be picky. There are too many people here to watch the fun today. Just make do with what you have."
While speaking, he grabbed the door with his left hand, put his right hand on Chongzhen's shoulder and gently pushed: "Brother, don't push in. Only those above the third rank are qualified to come in."
In order to conceal his identity, Chongzhen wore the common double-breasted armor of the Jinyiwei and a large brown hat.
The palm hat is woven with palm rattan and has brims all around. The one with a big brim is called a big hat, and the one with a small brim is called a small hat.
Chongzhen had his head lowered, and the brim of his hat completely covered his face.
Unless you lower your head and look carefully, it is difficult to see his appearance clearly.
Li Ruo Lian reached out and grabbed Wang Tingmei: "Don't..."
"What do you mean by other? Only those above the third rank can enter this room. He is not of high enough rank." Wang Tingmei broke free and pushed Chongzhen again.
When Li Ruolian wanted to continue stopping him, Chongzhen waved his hand to stop him.
He sighed and expressed regret for what Wang Tingmei said.
If the emperor is not of high enough rank, then no one in this room is of high enough rank.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
