They were all newcomers who had not yet been "immersed" in officialdom. Although they each had their own ulterior motives, overall they were more righteous than the seasoned veterans who had been in officialdom for many years.
They still retained the naiveté of someone new to officialdom, or in short, they were "easy to fool."
Many people felt the same way after hearing this, thinking that Kangxi's consideration made sense. Besides, it was only a short stay in the capital, and if they performed well during this time, they would have more opportunities.
After studying for so many years, how could they not have ambition? But most of them have mediocre backgrounds. If they were really sent out to work elsewhere, they would have to accept their fate and be prepared to never return to the capital for the rest of their lives.
Now that such an opportunity is available, in reality, most people don't lose out.
So everyone went along with Kangxi's wishes and began to be grateful for his actions.
Emperor Kangxi, seeing that it was about time, drank a cup of wine and then left.
At the banquet, Emperor Kangxi drank three cups of wine, and the scholars' dissatisfaction with the treatment they received disappeared.
When the banquet ended that day, well-informed court officials learned of what had happened and couldn't help but marvel at Kangxi's methods.
The reason why Emperor Kangxi was able to successfully appease these people was because he had planned it step by step.
First of all, the situation of this year's Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) is special.
For them, passing the imperial examination a year earlier meant they could stay in the capital for a while, even if it meant becoming a minor official, which wouldn't seem like a loss.
Those who passed the additional examination were somewhat apprehensive. They cherished this opportunity even more, as many of them knew their own limitations. If they had followed the normal procedure, they might never have achieved the title of Jinshi in their entire lives.
They were genuinely grateful to Emperor Kangxi, so they had no complaints about his orders.
And then there were Kangxi's words just now, which gave them a way out.
As a result, Emperor Kangxi was naturally pleased.
But it's not so friendly to some people.
"His Majesty is truly scheming, plotting and planning step by step. In the future, all the successful candidates in the imperial examinations will probably have to go through this process."
Emperor Kangxi did not issue an official order for reform, but in fact, he was subtly implementing reforms. However, his first step was small, and many people did not notice it.
The newly appointed scholars, full of energy, quickly entered various departments in the capital for "internships," each one eager to strive for a bright future.
"Take a look at these. I just compiled them. Take them to your newly established Institute of Natural Sciences. They should be useful."
"What is this?" Kangxi asked, looking at the thick stack of books.
"I found this in the system. There's some stuff on it that I think might be useful to you."
Upon hearing this, Kangxi glanced at the stack of books. It was impossible for him to read them all, but after a quick look, he noticed that the first few pages were the table of contents, from which he gleaned quite a bit of information.
Half of the items were books on mathematics, and the other half were some very sophisticated objects for Emperor Kangxi.
For example, the internal diagrams of clocks are exquisite.
For example, there are blueprints similar to but smaller than those for a textile machine, as well as two-wheeled and three-wheeled vehicles.
...
What surprised Kangxi the most was a steam pump. Just by looking at the description of its function, Kangxi felt it would be very useful.
Looking at these things, Kangxi felt that he should pay more attention to the treatment of the Academy of Natural Sciences. If it could be successful, even if the effect was only half of what was shown on the drawings, the Qing Dynasty would undergo earth-shattering changes.
"Your Majesty, everyone has arrived."
"Let them in!"
Kangxi wanted to meet a few people who had performed well in this special examination. These people were not very old, and they had all been at the bottom of the list when they passed the provincial examination. They came to the capital to participate in the special examination to broaden their horizons. As expected, they failed the special examination, which was not surprising to them.
They took the extra test with a "let's give it a try" attitude, and they actually passed, which they never expected.
They were simply assigned to the Institute of Natural History, a newly established government office. For the past few days, they could only look at the books in the courtyard; they couldn't do anything else and didn't know what to do.
These past few days, they had countless thoughts in their minds, and when they learned that His Majesty wanted to see them, these thoughts immediately turned into excitement and trepidation.
Even the top scholar in the special imperial examination among this group was not summoned by Emperor Kangxi; they simply served in the Hanlin Academy as usual.
They didn't think they could compare to the top scorer, so while they were excited, they were also very uneasy and uncertain. Even though they knew it probably wouldn't be anything bad, they still couldn't help feeling uneasy.
There's nothing I can do about it; I lack experience. I'll get used to it as I see more of the world. Right now, I still need more experience.
Several people entered Kangxi's study with excitement and trepidation. They greeted him respectfully, and Kangxi was quite friendly to them. He asked Liang Jiugong to bring chairs and said, "Please sit down. I have some things to tell you."
Upon hearing this, the group breathed a sigh of relief, now they were certain it wouldn't be a bad thing.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," the group said in unison.
After they all sat down, Kangxi asked about their recent situation.
"How have you been at the Institute of Physics lately? Is there anything you're finding difficult to adjust to?"
The eldest among them, Lu Kunming, spoke up: "Your Majesty, the Gewu Academy is excellent. There's nothing I'm not used to. It's just that there's not much to do, so I've been reading books in the academy these past few days."
What kinds of books are you reading?
"These are books placed in the courtyard. The books are quite interesting, and we, your humble servants, have found them quite interesting and have studied them a bit."
Emperor Kangxi was satisfied; it was good that he knew how to improve himself.
"I have summoned you here today because I have some things to tell you."
"Please give your orders, Your Majesty."
Kangxi then instructed: "The Academy of Natural History is an academy I personally established. It is not under the control of any institution in the court. It is directly under my command. Do you understand the implications of this?"
The group of people were all taken aback upon hearing this.
Their official rank was the lowest, the ninth rank. However, if they were directly under the emperor's command, this ninth rank would become valuable. In officialdom, rank cannot be simply determined by grade.
It depends on the department, whether they have real power, and who their superior is.
These are all things to consider.
They all thought they had probably been assigned to a lowly or obscure government office, but it turned out that the office they thought was obscure was actually directly appointed and controlled by the Emperor, and suddenly it was no longer "obscure".
Seeing their expressions of joy and anger, Kangxi continued, "The Academy of Natural History is a newly established department. I intend to make some changes. Are you willing to help me?"
Several men's eyes blazed with astonishing fervor as they declared, "Your Majesty, we swear to serve you to the death."
There's no need to swear allegiance to the death, and the things Kangxi asked them to do weren't life-threatening either.
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