Emperor Hui looked at Yu Yansong, who was usually fearless, and his frustration with him was relieved. He said in a friendly manner, "It's rare that my dear Yu Yansong shares the same ideas with me. It seems that you really have a heart for talent. All right, all of you stand up. The person who wrote this article must be a great talent. It's normal that you dare not judge for the time being. I will discuss this matter with the Ministry of Works later."
Everyone then breathed a sigh of relief.
Emperor Hui then selected the seven candidates from the first class, the other two from the second class, and handed the rest over to the examiners to rank them.
He also sent someone to invite the Minister of Works and Prime Minister Shen to discuss with them whether the methods in the article were feasible.
After reading it, Shen Yu'an thought it was feasible and said, "If we rebuild it, it will cost a lot of manpower and financial resources, but it is not a one-day job. We can try this method in one place first. If it works, it won't be too late to repair it all at once."
After seeing this, the Minister of Works Liu Guangxue and his subordinates' eyes lit up and they also agreed with this move.
"Your Majesty, these prevention and control measures are so detailed. Flood diversion and afforestation will reduce the severity of floods. Building embankments, digging canals and building sluice gates can greatly prevent flood backflow. This is truly a permanent solution, Your Majesty!"
"I also think this is feasible. So, I plan to set up a water conservancy department under your Ministry of Works, with one doctor and two assistant doctors, to be in charge of the government of rivers, canals, ponds and ponds throughout the country, to guide ditches and canals, and to dam and block rivers and canals. Do you have anyone to recommend?"
"Your Majesty, there is a man named Xi Ming in the Ministry of Works who is quite talented in water management. It would be best if he could go!"
"Well, you should discuss it carefully with Prime Minister Chen, pick a good candidate and then report it to me."
Emperor Hui discussed with them again and only kept Prime Minister Chen, letting the others go back.
He ordered someone to open the sealed envelope and take a look at who had done the test paper.
"Chen Li from Linjia Village, Yun'an County, Yunzhou, sounds familiar..."
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something, pointed at the test paper and said with a smile: "This person can be the first. I wonder what Prime Minister Shen thinks?"
"Your Majesty, don't worry. Although this man is from a farming family, he is a rare talent. Nowadays, there are too many mediocre children from aristocratic families. They are all arrogant. We can use this as a chance to teach them a lesson."
Emperor Hui sighed, looking at Prime Minister Chen, who was already white-haired, and could not help but say, "I am ashamed of Prime Minister Chen! Every time I think of Yan Qing, I feel so sad, but not long ago, I received a piece of news that Yan Qing's child is still alive."
Shen Yu'an looked at Emperor Hui in shock, his hands shaking with excitement. He asked tremblingly, "Your Majesty, is the news true?"
"Nine out of ten times, Yan Qing's son is naturally excellent. Why don't we personally verify it at the Qionglin Banquet?"
Shen Yu'an walked back home in a daze. When his wife Bai Mingzhu saw him, she quickly helped him sit down and asked worriedly what had happened.
With red eyes, he pressed the hand on his shoulder and choked up, "Madam, Yu'er is still alive! The emperor told me so himself today!"
After hearing this, Bai Mingzhu almost fell down. She held onto the table for a long time, then raised her hands to cover her face and cried with joy.
Then she hurriedly pulled Chen Xiang and cried, "Master, is Yu'er really still alive? Wuuuuuu... My poor grandson, let's go and bring him back!"
Shen Yu'an helped her up and comforted her, "Madam, don't worry. Qiong Linyan, please come with me to the palace. According to the emperor, Yu'er is probably among the new Jinshi!"
"What?" Mrs. Shen screamed, and quickly clasped her hands together and chanted: "Ancestors bless you! My Yan'er in heaven bless you! Woo woo woo... my Yan'er! His children will surely be as outstanding as him!"
"Madam, you are not in good health, don't be too happy or sad!"
Shen Yu'an secretly wiped away his tears and helped her sit down. Thinking of his only son, he was also extremely sad. He thought that his bloodline had been cut off. God took pity on the Shen family and sent the young missing grandson back to them!
Two days later, a ceremony of announcing the names of the bestowed officials was held in the Taicheng Hall, during which an imperial edict was issued and official positions were granted.
Emperor Hui was very pleased when he saw the new number one scholar standing before him. As expected, he was somewhat similar to Shen Yanqing, and more like his mother.
Next was the Qionglin Banquet. Emperor Hui ordered a grand banquet to be held in the Qionglin Garden. Moreover, this banquet was also the Shen family's family recognition banquet, so of course it could not be sloppy.
This year's third and second place winners are both from aristocratic families, especially the third place winner Yu Yuanqing. His father was the Salt and Iron Commissioner and his sister was the favorite concubine of Emperor Hui. He was outstanding in terms of talent and family background, and was a well-known young man from an aristocratic family in the capital. So he couldn't stand Chen Li, just because he came from a peasant family and was superior to them in every way.
The officials in the capital were all shrewd men and did not dare to offend the Yu family. They could only raise their glasses to congratulate Yu Yuanqing and leave this year's new top scholar aside.
The officials in the Ministry of Works admired Shen Li very much because they had read his articles. They did not care about the petty intrigues of those people and came together to congratulate him. They also asked him to visit the Water Conservancy Bureau when he was free to discuss water conservancy issues. Chen Li agreed with a smile.
The banquet officially began when the court ministers and Emperor Hui arrived.
During the period, Emperor Hui wrote a poem to encourage the new scholars who had just entered the officialdom. He also gave them hairpins, flowers and books. However, he left the table early because he had to go back to deal with government affairs.
As soon as the emperor left, the banquet became less restrained, and many officials came forward to curry favor and win over the emperor. Only Shen Li's table remained deserted.
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