Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 672: Chapter 329: Xiao Shi Goes Missing

In the Imperial Study of Chengguang Hall, the emperor was reviewing the county examination questions drafted by several courtiers. This was the tenth version of the exam questions he had reviewed.

Minister Li stood quietly beside him, anxiously waiting for the emperor to finish.

The person responsible for hosting the creation of the county examination questions this time was Minister Li. During this period, he and other courtiers had combed through the Four Books and Five Classics, and had also reviewed examination questions from various dynasties, to come up with these county examination questions.

The emperor was very particular about the exam questions for the county examination. He found the previous questions drafted by Minister Li and others either too pedantic or too rigid, generally unsatisfactory, and had asked Minister Li and the others to redraft the questions.

The civil service examination must not only test the content of the Four Books and Five Classics but also practical content that relates to the people’s livelihoods. Only by truly understanding the people’s conditions can scholars effectively serve the people once they assume office.

Minister Li and others derived questions from other fields, such as agriculture, water conservancy, and arithmetic. They revised it ten times and were unsure if it would meet the emperor’s approval this time. If still unsatisfied, it was feared that they would not make it to the county examination in time.

The emperor examined each question very carefully and studied each one meticulously. After finishing, he looked up at Minister Li.

Minister Li’s heart tightened, and he immediately stood up, bowing to the emperor: "Your Majesty, are you satisfied with the exam questions this time?"

The emperor smiled slightly and praised: "The exam questions this time are well done, I am very satisfied." If Minister Li and the others’ questions still hadn’t satisfied him, he would have had to reluctantly accept them due to the pressing time constraint.

Upon hearing this, Minister Li immediately felt a wave of relief.

"From now on, all exam questions should be drafted according to this standard, merging the content of the Four Books and Five Classics closely with the people’s conditions." The emperor also said, "However, the difficulty of the upcoming Prefecture and Academy examinations should be increased."

"Your Majesty, as this is the first year of holding the civil service exam, shouldn’t the difficulty be reasonable?" The difficulty level of the questions drafted by Minister Li and others was ten times harder than the entrance examination of the Imperial College. If it was made even harder, very few scholars in the whole country would pass.

"Do you mean that all three rounds of this year’s provincial examination should not be too difficult?"

"Yes, I believe that if the first civil service examination is too challenging, very few scholars will pass, which may intimidate students nationwide from attempting the civil service examination," Minister Li said respectfully, "We suggest that the first civil service examination not be too difficult, showing students across the country some hope, encouraging more scholars to participate in it."

The emperor felt that Minister Li and the others’ suggestion was good, nodded in agreement, and said, "Then let it be as you suggest; this year’s civil service examination will be simplified."

"Your Majesty is wise."

The emperor’s expression suddenly turned very stern, and his gaze became very sharp: "The questions you drafted haven’t been leaked, have they?"

Minister Li hurriedly knelt down and said: "Rest assured, Your Majesty, we have not leaked the exam questions and do not dare to do so."

The emperor’s face remained cold, his tone chilling and sharp: "If anyone leaks the civil service exam questions secretly, I will not spare them lightly."

Minister Li felt a chill in his heart, his face showing an expression of terror. He said even more respectfully: "We would not dare!" Even if given a thousand nerves, they wouldn’t dare leak a single question.

The emperor nodded slightly and immediately instructed: "There is not much time left before the county examination begins, and you should quickly reproduce the county examination questions."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Once the county examination questions are reproduced, you can consider the questions for the Prefecture examination," the emperor thought to himself, feeling grateful that his young son invented movable type printing technology; otherwise, reproducing the county exam questions within over two months would have been nearly impossible.

"I obey," came the response.

The emperor further cautioned Minister Li and finally dismissed him.

After Minister Li withdrew, the emperor called over Prime Minister He, Grandmaster Liu, and Taichang Xue.

Just when Zhao Yao went to Jiangnan, Grandmaster Liu finally returned from Shu. During his time in Shu, he had arranged all matters there properly. Before his return, the emperor had already appointed new officials to serve in Shu.

The emperor told Prime Minister He and the others that the county exam questions for this year had been prepared, and it was time to officially prepare for the civil service examination.

"Your Majesty, although the noble families in Jinling Prefecture and Suzhou Prefecture have not openly opposed the civil service examination for now, not one of them has registered for it," Prime Minister He reminded the emperor, "Those families don’t participate in the civil service examination and don’t allow scholars from humble families to participate either."

"The noble families in Jinling and Suzhou secretly oppose the civil service examination, surely with the support of the Crown Prince and Prince Dai," Grandmaster Liu said more bluntly.

Xue Taichang spoke up: "Your Majesty, the noble family descendants in the capital have also not participated in the civil service examination. However, they don’t dare threaten the scholars from humble families."

The emperor had predicted these situations long ago and said in a normal tone: "It was within my expectations."

"Your Majesty, those in Jinling Prefecture and Suzhou Prefecture are busy seizing Runzhou Prefecture’s grain transport and salt, what do you plan to do, let them continue to fight among themselves?" Grandmaster Liu said with a frown, "If they continue to fight like this, Jinling Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, and Runzhou Prefecture will become increasingly chaotic."

Prime Minister He agreed with Grandmaster Liu’s statement: "Your Majesty, the issues in Jinling Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, and Runzhou Prefecture cannot continue like this, or it will arouse dissatisfaction among the people in these three places."

Xue Taichang also said: "Your Majesty, if these three regions are not stable, the civil service examination cannot be held there." He added, "Many scholars in Runzhou Prefecture are participating in the civil service examination, and they must be allowed to take the exam."

The emperor understood what Prime Minister He and the others were getting at, smiled, and said, "Lao Zheng is in Jinling."

Prime Minister He and the others were very surprised when they heard this: "Zheng Xilin is in Jinling?!"

"After Mr. Meng fell seriously ill, Lao Zheng went to visit him, and he has stayed in Jinling ever since." The emperor said, "When I learned he was in Jinling, I wrote him a letter, asking him to pay attention to the matters over there."

Prime Minister He was very surprised: "Zheng Xilin agreed?"

Grandmaster Liu was also full of disbelief: "How could Zheng Xilin agree?"

As close friends of Zheng Xilin, Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu were well aware of his character. He had resigned and returned home without hesitation back then, and no matter how much the emperor tried to persuade him afterward, he was unwilling to return. Why would he agree to stay in Jinling and handle matters over there this time?

Xue Taichang, however, was genuinely pleased: "With Grand Commandant Zheng in Jinling, the civil service examination can be held smoothly."

Prime Minister He looked at the emperor and asked: "Your Majesty, what kind of deal did you make with Lao Zheng to get him to agree to stay in Jinling?"

"He has always been hard-hearted towards me; how could he agree with me on anything?" The emperor felt a bit sour at the mention of this. "He agreed with Mr. Meng, not with me. Mr. Meng was deeply concerned about the civil service examination on his deathbed and asked Lao Zheng to stay and help."

Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu were enlightened upon hearing this.

"I see."

"With Lao Zheng around, there is no need to worry about the matters in Jinling, Suzhou, and Runzhou," the emperor said with a smile that wasn’t a smile, "If he can’t resolve the issues in these three places, I will look down on him."

"If he can’t even solve such minor issues, it only means he’s lived in vain all these years," Grandmaster Liu, although a close friend of Zheng Xilin, was also a rival. To him, Zheng Xilin was the only one whose strategies matched his own.

Prime Minister He was not worried about Zheng Xilin’s abilities; he was concerned about the Crown Prince and Prince Dai.

"Your Majesty, what are your plans for the Crown Prince and Prince Dai?"

At the mention of his two sons, the emperor’s expression turned cold. He said in a deep voice, "It’s time to discipline them."

"Over the years, the Crown Prince and Prince Dai have extorted a lot of wealth from Jinling Prefecture and Suzhou Prefecture, causing the Cao Group and Salt Gang in these areas to grow increasingly rampant. If it continues, their ambitions will become greater, and they will eventually seize other prefectures in Jiangnan," Prime Minister He pondered, "Your Majesty, Jiangnan must not become the private domain of the Crown Prince and Prince Dai."

"I am well aware," the emperor said sternly, "This plan has been laid for so many years, and now it’s time to close the net."

Just as he was speaking, Sun Doudou hurried in with a secret letter in hand, passing it to Sun Kui.

When Sun Kui saw the envelope from Hidden Guard A, he hurriedly presented it to the emperor.

When the emperor saw it was a secret letter from the Dragon Guards, he opened it quickly, and then his expression suddenly turned gloomy, his eyes becoming icy cold.

Prime Minister He and the others sensed the emperor’s sudden anger, becoming tense, and hurriedly inquired, "Your Majesty, what has happened?"

"Little Ten is missing."