Chapter 73 Golden Palace Examination
Zhu Qizhen's head was certainly valuable, but it was not necessary for Zhu Yuhuan.
Zhu Qizhen's throne had been abolished and his legitimacy had been lost, and the greatest significance of his life was just staying alive.
Although Mindashili looks like a woman, she is Yesen's mother, a former Ming person, and the backbone of the Oirat people who are now captured by the Ming Dynasty.
For the Oirat people who were forced to migrate to the northern Zhili area, Mindashili was the only one who could make the decision and negotiate with the Ming officials. If Mindashili was not there, who knows what these Oirat people would do.
From this point of view, Zhu Qizhen's value is obviously not as good as Minda Shili, and Zhu Yuhuan certainly would not be so foolish as to exchange Minda Shili for Zhu Qizhen.
Moreover, given Minda's incapacitated status, if he suddenly disappeared, the officials would also find it strange. How could it be possible that he disappeared "without anyone knowing" as Yesen said?
Such behavior would only undermine the prestige of Emperor Zhu Yuhuan. As the king of a country, he actually acted so secretly in order to "kill all the enemies". Once the news got out, he would surely be ridiculed.
Huang Jinfeng saw that Zhu Yuhuan was silent, so she asked cautiously, "I would like to ask Your Majesty what your plans are..."
Zhu Yuhuan came back to his senses, smiled faintly, and said, "While the Oirat are not completely destitute now, they are constantly being depleted by internal strife. He is only holding an ordinary Han prisoner. What qualifications does he have to negotiate with me? Besides, Mindashili may not be willing to return to the Oirat."
Although Mindashili had lived in the Oirat for many years, she still recognized her Han identity in her heart. Otherwise, after being captured, she would not have actively helped the Oirat people adapt to the farming and grazing life in northern Zhili, making it easier for them to integrate into the Ming Dynasty.
Mindashili would never forget how she ended up in Wala, because of war. It was understandable that she didn't want the people around her to be caught up in war again.
Huang Jinfeng quickly said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right."
Seeing that she still looked a little troubled, Zhu Yuhuan said with a smile: "I have other things to entrust to you. This mission to Wuliangha is just the beginning."
During this mission to Uriankhai, Zhu Yuhuan did promise conditions of tribute and trade, which were higher than those of the Oirat, but the number of people was still limited.
After all, Toghtobugha's ex-father-in-law was Shabhutan, the leader of one of the Uriankhai tribes. Although Shabhutan was indignant about Toghtobugha's "abandonment", Toghtobugha now has a certain initiative. Who knows whether Shabhutan will consider controlling Toghtobugha to unify the grassland.
Fortunately, the Uriankhai were short-sighted, and Shabhutan hated Toghtobukha even more deeply. At this time, they could easily take revenge on Toghtobukha by joining forces with the Ming Dynasty. Not to mention that if they could get Toghtobukha's head afterwards, they could also exchange it for things from the Ming Dynasty. Why not do it?
Sha Bhutan was also very confident in Toghtobuha, his "good son-in-law", and was sure that he would definitely go to his former father-in-law, so he was eager to take advantage of Zhu Yuhuan's bounty.
Huang Jinfeng immediately said, "As long as Your Majesty commands, I will do my best to fulfill it."
"I plan to send people to the Western Ocean again. You and the Shen family should select some people to form a caravan."
Huang Jinfeng was a little surprised and said, "A merchant caravan sailing to the West? It seems that the old rules did not allow civilians to participate..."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "This is a different time now. Besides, sending caravans to the Western Ocean isn't just for promoting national prestige and promoting trade; there are more important things to do."
Huang Jinfeng has always trusted Zhu Yuhuan's gaze. Hearing the affirmation and confidence in her tone, she felt more at ease.
"I understand."
After Huang Jinfeng left the palace, Zhu Yuhuan looked at the letter from Zhu Qizhen in his hand.
Han Guilan saw her thoughtful look and couldn't help but feel a little worried. "Your Majesty, are you worried that he might cause trouble outside the Great Wall..."
Zhu Yuhuan shook her head and said, "The stone tablets of the defeats of Tumu and Datong have been engraved. How could the eunuchs and border generals not understand this? Besides, Yesen only has him in his hands now. Yesen has long known that Zhu Qizhen is a useless chess piece and just wants to test him one last time." After that, she handed the letter in her hand to Han Guilan.
Han Guilan looked at her and understood what Zhu Yuhuan meant. She walked aside and set the letter on fire.
Zhu Yuhuan knew what the content of the letter was without having to guess. It was nothing more than a plea for mercy like the one at the city gate.
As long as he could come back, Zhu Qizhen was willing to guarantee anything. As for what would happen next if he really came back, of course he had "no idea".
After blocking out some unimportant news, Zhu Yuhuan felt much more relaxed. After meeting with the three officials from Yunnan, Zhu Yuhuan personally selected several officials to carry out the policy of converting native peoples into officials.
Because of what happened last year, both the Autumn Examination and the Spring Examination were postponed for a while. The civil and military examinations were held separately. The questions and answers were held in the Fengtian Hall, and after changing clothes, the candidates went to the Western Garden to take the riding and archery tests.
Although the imperial examinations are divided into civil and military subjects, there is also a reason not to be biased towards one subject.
The emperor himself was present at the palace examination, clearly placing high hopes on this group of candidates. Furthermore, the emperor was Zhu Yuhuan, who had recently ascended the throne, so the candidates who had already made the list were inevitably nervous, yet also curious about this special emperor.
Although Zhu Yuhuan had the name of the late emperor, the will of the empress dowager, the support of many ministers, and even "signs of heaven's will", it was difficult to avoid controversy.
When Zhu Qizhen presided over the imperial examinations, the palace examinations for the civil and military examinations were held separately. Each side had its own focus and was unrelated to the other. However, Zhu Yuhuan put the two palace examinations together. One reason was to make it easier for her to compare the gap between the two sides, and the other was to let these civil and military candidates see each other's strengths.
In particular, those who came from the civil examination often looked down on those who passed the military examination. These people thought they were outstanding, but their abilities were obviously not good enough, and they wanted to exclude capable people. This was what Zhu Yuhuan least wanted to see.
Zhu Yuhuan was summoned to attend the palace examination together with Yu Qian, Xu Yun and Chen Xun. The three of them had a good relationship and had prepared questions in advance under Zhu Yuhuan's instructions to reduce his burden.
The three of them were a little nervous when they met, but they didn't show it on their faces and just smiled.
The Chief Minister Zeng Heling had presided over the Shuntian County Examination, and the cabinet had other matters to attend to, so the three of them accompanied the emperor.
Among the three, Chen Xun was the oldest. He had presided over the imperial examination before, but this was his first time to accompany the emperor in the palace examination. He was extremely excited. The old man in his sixties stroked his beard excitedly, even more excited than the tribute scholars who were about to be named on the imperial examination list.
Xu Yun and Yu Qian, who were originally a little nervous, felt a lot more relaxed after seeing this person's situation.
Even the veterans are like this, so it's inevitable that they are nervous.
As the tribute scholars lined up in the hall, the Fengtian Hall fell silent, and then the voice of the eunuch was heard announcing the arrival of the emperor.
The tribute scholars bowed their heads and saluted, and no one dared to offend the emperor.
Zhu Yuhuan wore a Yishan crown and a robe with a twelve-chapter dragon pattern. The dragon in front of him looked lifelike. She glanced around and then looked at the three people standing below. She saw that they were obviously dressed up carefully, and their beards were well trimmed. She couldn't help but laugh.
The emperor sat down, and the eunuch beside him finally said, "Stand up."
After that, the normal process was followed. Zhu Yuhuan also had questions prepared long ago, and the people from the Hanlin Academy recorded the answers of the candidates in a book.
In addition to the interview, the palace examination also has a simple test paper, which is then graded and corrected uniformly. The more outstanding candidates are selected and submitted to the emperor, who decides the top candidates.
The tribute students answered questions below, while Zhu Yuhuan reviewed the memorials above.
Taking advantage of this gap, some tribute scholars dared to sneak a peek at the emperor at the top. However, the distance was too far, so they naturally could not see the emperor's appearance clearly. They only judged from his figure and clothes that there seemed to be nothing special about this emperor who ascended the throne as a princess.
Some people previously thought that women were short, so they speculated that the emperor might not be tall. In addition, Emperor Zhu Yuhuan had experience of personally fighting in the battlefield, so many people believed that the emperor was short and strong.
But now the emperor was bowing before the desk to review it, looking calm and dignified, which was very different from the rumors and was quite surprising.
Zhu Yuhuan could sense those cautious gazes and guess their inner thoughts, but he didn't take it to heart.
Anyway, there will be tests on horseback riding, archery, and swordplay tomorrow, so there will be plenty of opportunities to watch then.
Because the palace examination lasted longer, the Guanglu Temple prepared a banquet at noon and was responsible for the candidates' meals. They were then led to the designated palace for a brief rest and then answered the papers in the afternoon.
Emperor Zhu Yuhuan had to attend a lecture in the afternoon and would not pay attention to the specific situation of the palace examination. In addition, she had something to remind the three people who were accompanying her in the exam today, so she asked them to have lunch together.
This meal was not like the previous banquet in the palace, and there was no music or ceremony. The three of them were obviously a little restrained.
Zhu Yuhuan didn't take it seriously. He looked at Xu Yun and said, "Did you give your beard some special care, right?"
Xu Yun had never expected Zhu Yuhuan to bring this up first. He subconsciously lowered his head to touch his chin, but luckily he restrained himself in time. He quickly stood up and replied, "Your Majesty, I dare not lie to you. This beard was taken care of by my wife."
He was the youngest among the three, and could not hide his excitement for such an honor. Naturally, he took care of his appearance early in the morning, fearing that there would be anything wrong with him.
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but laugh and said, "I think it's well taken care of."
"I thank Your Majesty for the compliment."
With Zhu Yuhuan's interruption, the atmosphere suddenly became much more relaxed.
After finishing the meal, Zhu Yuhuan said, "The three of you will oversee the afternoon palace examination. The midday court session and the imperial lecture are still waiting for me."
"yes."
Zhu Yuhuan glanced at the three of them and got straight to the point. "The transformation of the native system into a commoner system in Guizhou has already been arranged, and this will inevitably lead to some expenditures from the national treasury. A few days ago, I ordered Shang Lu and others to submit a report on replenishing the national treasury as soon as possible. Do you three have any opinions?"
Among the three, only Chen Xun had served as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and had a relatively better understanding of the revenue and expenditure of the national treasury.
Chen Xun immediately said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the transformation of the aboriginal system into a commoner system is a matter of great importance to the nation. Moreover, the nation has just suffered losses, and the treasury is currently under strain. We should prioritize economy and avoid extravagance and waste."
Zhu Yuhuan nodded and said, "Saving money is certainly important, but increasing revenue is the only way to ensure a full treasury."
Chen Xun understood the emperor's words and immediately said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right, but increasing revenue is no small matter. I'm afraid we need to discuss this in detail."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled slightly and said, "I will soon be thirty years old."
Hearing her suddenly bring up this topic, Chen Xun was stunned. For a moment, he couldn't figure out what Zhu Yuhuan meant, but when he thought about what Zhu Yuhuan had just mentioned about open source, Chen Xun vaguely understood what she meant.
It seems that Zhu Yuhuan is planning to find another way.
Zhu Yuhuan noticed his cautiousness and continued, "When Emperor Taizong was still alive, all nations came to pay tribute. I wouldn't dare compare myself to him, but the change of emperor is no small matter. Aside from Korea, other smaller nations might not even know about it. This is truly unreasonable. What do you think?"
Xu Yun had always been a staunch supporter of Zhu Yuhuan's decisions. Upon hearing this, Chen Xun commented, "It's just that informing the small nations is time-consuming and laborious. The tributes they pay annually aren't worth the hassle. Besides, the nation must currently focus on the reform of the aboriginal system... If the maritime ban is lifted, it will likely cause trouble, and we'll then have to deal with the negative consequences of lifting the ban."
Seeing that he had finally hit the point, Zhu Yuhuan said, "If you don't have enough money, you can recruit merchants to go south to the sea, just like the grain transport system. Allow them to bring their own goods to sell, and pay a portion of the proceeds to the state as tax. Merchants who participate in the caravan must pay a certain fee before they can join. Limit the number of people and the amount of goods."
When Chen Xun heard her say this, he knew that the emperor had thought of this method a long time ago, and was just taking this opportunity to say it out loud.
From this point of view, I'm afraid Zhu Yuhuan said those words just now on purpose... No wonder Shang Lu was so busy before and didn't care about the consequences. He must have fallen into the emperor's "trap".
"The last time we sailed to the Western Ocean was twelve years ago. It's been so long since we last sailed. Now we're suddenly recruiting civilian merchants to go sailing with us. I'm afraid these people are inexperienced and can't handle this important task."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled faintly, his expression filled with determination. "It's only been twelve years since the last voyage to the West. The Nanjing Navy is still there, and there are still some of the people who sailed there. Why can't we go there again?"
Chen Xun said cautiously, "Your Majesty intends to ease the pressure on the national treasury and promote the prestige of the Ming Dynasty, but merchants are cunning. If someone takes advantage of this opportunity to smuggle and attracts pirates, it will not be a good thing for the country."
Although he said this, he knew in his heart that this master had already dabbled in business before he ascended the throne and was very familiar with these matters.
As for recruiting merchant caravans, it was a ready-made thing for Zhu Yuhuan. It would be better to say that Zhu Yuhuan meant that he and the national treasury would each contribute half, and then the state would mobilize manpower and material resources to form a fleet to sail to the West.
Zhu Yuhuan looked at him and said, "Even if we don't lift the ban on sea trade and stop sailing to the West, smuggling and piracy will continue over time. If that's the case, why doesn't the Ming Dynasty take the initiative to control customs authority?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
