Chapter 2587

It was almost noon when the three of them came out of Shi Diwen's official residence. Ning Zijing suggested to find a place to eat and rest first. So the three of them found a nearby quiet hotel and asked the waiter to open a private room.

Ning Zijin saw that Bai Letong seemed to be not very interested, so he took the initiative to take over the task of ordering, ordering Longjing shrimps, fish balls in clear soup, raw eel slices, eight-treasure chicken, braised bamboo shoots and other Hangzhou dishes.

Finally, I ordered a pot of fine Shaoxing flower carvings.

"After working hard for so many days, this troublesome matter is finally over! Letong, you can have a good sleep tonight!" Ning Zijing dismissed the waiter after ordering the dishes, not forgetting to comfort Bai Letong with a few words.

Bai Letong's mood was not very relaxed. He shook his head slightly and said, "Actually, we haven't solved any problems. We just roughly figured out the truth of the matter."

Ning Zijing advised: "The problems we think may not be problems at all in the eyes of the Executive Committee. The facts we find difficult to accept may already be the best solution."

"What you said is indeed correct, but I still feel very frustrated." Bai Letong sighed: "When I set out from Sanya, the instruction I received was to supervise that the rural examination in Donghai Region could be held in a fair and just manner.

On the way to Hangzhou, I also imagined various situations that I might encounter, but I never imagined that in the end the people who undermine fairness and justice are actually ourselves."

Tao Hongfang said: "No matter how the provincial examination is finally held and what the admission standards are, of course the national interest should be given priority. This is also the goal we want to achieve. The so-called fairness and justice is not absolute, nor should it be placed above the national interest.

Above all, Letong, don’t be too pushy!”

After hearing these words, Bai Letong realized something and nodded solemnly: "Hongfang is right. I put the cart before the horse and failed to understand the truth. Fortunately, you are here with me today. If I were

If you come to see Uncle Shi on your own, you will inevitably have a dispute with him, and it may become difficult to end!"

Tao Hongfang said: "The dispute between you and Uncle Shi is trivial, but if you mess up his plan, it might cause a big mess!"

Bai Letong thought about it carefully, and it turned out that if he made the matter bigger, and even forced Shi Diwen to investigate the fraud case thoroughly by announcing the news to the outside world, then this year's provincial examination would probably be completely disrupted, and Shi Diwen was

All the arrangements made here will be in vain, and the losses caused by this are really incalculable. As soon as he thought of this, cold sweat broke out on Bai Letong's back, secretly thinking that he was lucky.

For these three young people, it was the first time they had ever been exposed to such a complicated situation as the Hangzhou Provincial Examination. Of course, it was difficult to have any perfect way to deal with it. Fortunately, they were quite prudent and did not take any risks.

However, he took an extreme approach, so even though this happened several times, it did not undermine Shi Diwen's plan in the end.

Ning Zijing saw that the atmosphere was a little heavy, and he quickly changed the subject and said, "Speaking of which, who do you think the relatives of the emperor who came to Hangzhou to take the imperial examination this time are?"

Tao Hongfang said: "I think the princes and grandsons of Beijing should be excluded first. Although Chongzhen chose to hand over governance to our country, he never stated that he would serve our country. Since the signing of the peace treaty between the two countries, he

I have never planned to go to Sanya for an audience. I don’t think Chongzhen would allow the Zhu family members around him to give up their royal status and become ministers of our country by taking the imperial examination."

Ning Zijing said: "Then according to what you said, it is probably the local vassal clan?"

Tao Hongfang knew a little bit about this and talked about it eloquently: "During the more than two hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the emperors of the past dynasties have conferred more than 60 vassal kings. Excluding those who ascended the throne and proclaimed themselves emperors, and those who were deposed for some reason, there are also

There should be about thirty families whose titles have been lifted without descendants. Speaking of which, these families are all descendants of the Zhu family, blood of the royal family, and relatives of the emperor. Their conditions are in line with what Uncle Shi said.

."

Bai Letong said: "Since there are dozens of candidate families, it shouldn't be too difficult to find someone who is willing to get close to our country and hope to have a bright future for the family."

Tao Hongfang said: "That's not necessarily the case. They are also the royal family of the previous dynasty. Our country also promised to continue to treat them as nobles during the peace talks with the Ming Dynasty. There are not as many people who are willing to lower their status as you think.

And if they want to stand in front of the stage and serve our country, it is equivalent to abandoning their royal identity, and there is no way back. Who would make such a choice if it is not necessary?"

Bai Letong said: "According to this, it is probably some down-and-out royal family members who would choose this way to give it a try?"

Tao Hongfang nodded and said: "I think this situation is more likely."

There were so many feudal kings in the history of the Ming Dynasty, and the resources they could obtain would certainly not be exactly the same. Life would naturally be good and bad. If the fiefdom was in a land of fish and rice rich in products, then of course it would have no worries about food and clothing, and peace of mind.

A wealthy and idle person is enough. But if you are unlucky enough to be entrusted to an area that frequently encounters natural and man-made disasters, then even a vassal king will not have a good life.

Due to climate change and war, the vassal kings in the Central Plains region who were enfeoffed to North China have not had a good time in the past twenty years. For example, when the Qing army went south to attack Jinan City in 1638, the German king Zhu Youshu and his family were captured by the Qing army.

He was taken away, his family property was naturally plundered, and he died outside the Great Wall a few years later.

Although the title of King De was inherited by his cousin Zhu Youjue, he really just inherited an empty title. Not only could he not get any support from the dilapidated Jinan City after the war, but he had to use his family property to assist the court and local governments.

The government provided relief to war refugees and organized reconstruction work. Then there were droughts, locust plagues, banditry, and constant food shortages in Shandong. Of course, the vassal king's life was not much easier.

Although situations like King De's cannot be said to be a common phenomenon, they are indeed not uncommon in the past few years. According to some internal information that Tao Hongfang has access to, Haihan also secretly helped some Ming Dynasty officials in his early years.

The vassal kings helped him overcome the difficulties of material shortage. Of course, such assistance was not free. When Haihan later launched peace talks with the Ming Dynasty, many vassal kings wrote to Chongzhen suggesting that he accept the conditions proposed by Haihan as soon as possible.

However, they had lived in the south for a long time, and their understanding of the many vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty was only limited to a few pieces of paper information. It was difficult to come up with a specific result from a discussion like this. The three of them soon turned their attention to food, especially

Because of this, Bai Letong, who had not thought about food or food for several days, now solved the biggest knot in his heart and his appetite suddenly became better.
Chapter completed!