Chapter 92: Learning is Boundless, Hard Work is the Boat

Emperor Hongzhi seemed to notice the doubts in everyone’s eyes and smiled, looking at Wang Ao. “Tutor Wang, I heard you have a nephew taking the Metropolitan Examination this year.”

Everyone suddenly understood.

So Wang Ao had a relative taking the exam. In that case, he had to avoid any appearance of favoritism.

But… why hadn’t they heard about this before?

Wang Ao smiled. “Yes, my humble nephew passed the provincial exam in the third year of Hongzhi. But then his father passed away, so he went home for mourning. That made him miss the Metropolitan Examination in the eighth year of Hongzhi. Now his mourning period is over, so he qualified from the Southern Metropolitan Region to come to the capital for this year’s exam.”

Everyone nodded quietly. So that was why they hadn’t heard anything earlier.

Wang Ao was from Wuxian County, so his nephew naturally came to the capital as a Provincial Graduate from the Southern Metropolitan Region. By the way, Wang Ao was also from the same hometown as Tang Yin.

Emperor Hongzhi showed more interest. “How confident is your nephew?”

Speaking of his nephew, Wang Ao became animated. Clearly, among all the young men in the Wang family, this nephew was his favorite. “The boy is honest and hardworking. Though not the smartest, he studies very hard. He spent ten years studying without slacking. I wouldn’t say he’s immensely learned, but… this time, he has a good chance.”

Ancient people were usually modest. Even if someone had talent, they would call their son “my worthless son” or “my disobedient son.” But Wang Ao wasn’t modest today. Clearly… he had great expectations for this nephew.

Emperor Hongzhi smiled. “Then I hope he passes with high honors. By the way, Tang Yin is from your hometown too.”

Emperor Hongzhi suddenly asked.

Wang Ao was startled, then said, “Yes.”

“How are his studies?”

Wang Ao answered without thinking. “People call him the Talented Scholar of Wu. Some even say he’s the top scholar in Jiangnan. I’ve read some of his essays. They are very mature and skilled. Even I admire them. Besides, he already topped the Southern Metropolitan Region exam as Jieyuan, which shows his extraordinary ability. My humble nephew is far behind him.”

Emperor Hongzhi laughed. “I heard he’s not even thirty. To achieve so much at such a young age, he’s truly outstanding. I also heard he made a bet with Fang Jifan. Betting might be childish, but… I want to see… the fun.”

Usually, Emperor Hongzhi was very serious.

But now, he seemed quite interested in this bet.

“Your Majesty, I’ve heard some things too.” Xie Qian collected his thoughts. “I heard this bet has attracted much attention since the New Year. In the capital, many neighborhoods have secretly started gambling on it. This trend is really worrying. Your old minister also heard that the Marquis of Shouning and the Earl of Jianchang joined the bet. They bet a lot, tens of thousands of taels of silver.”

Hearing about the Zhang Brothers, Emperor Hongzhi frowned, showing displeasure. Honestly, these two brothers were a disgrace to the royal family.

But… aside from feeling unhappy about these two brothers-in-law, he couldn’t do much. He just said, “Oh, I’ll reprimand them next time.”

The word “reprimand” could be big or small. If it were ordinary officials, being reprimanded by the emperor would scare them badly. Some might even resign and go home. But for guys like the Marquis of Shouning and the Earl of Jianchang, with faces as thick as eight feet, what use was scolding them for three days and nights?

“Issue the decree. Appoint Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat and Minister of Revenue Li Dongyang as chief examiner. Right Vice Minister of Rites Cheng Minzheng, Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate Fang Yan, Chancellor of the Imperial Academy Zhu… and others will assist!”

…

The list was posted at the Examination Hall, causing an uproar in the capital.

Many candidates saw Li Dongyang as chief examiner and beat their chests in frustration.

Because before, there were many guesses that Wang Ao would definitely preside over the exam. But unexpectedly, there was a big reversal.

This was terrible. Just because everyone guessed it would be Wang Ao, his essays were sold out in the market. For the past half year, countless people studied Wang Ao’s essays hard. Wang Ao’s writing style was very balanced and steady, so his preferences were clear. Thus, many people tried hard to change their own writing styles. Now… it turned out to be Lord Li…

Lord Li was very clever, to put it bluntly, he liked to show off his smarts. He looked down on ordinary people. His writing style was completely different.

How were they supposed to survive this?

So, everyone started searching for Lord Li’s essays. Unfortunately, it was too late. The exam date was getting closer. Trying to cram at the last minute was probably impossible.

…

In the House of the Crown Prince.

A loud bang made the doors and windows rattle.

Then, there were shouts. “Not good, not good! Get a doctor, get a doctor!”

Several eunuchs from the House of the Crown Prince, like Zhang Yong and others, carried Liu Jin and rushed toward the Left Chunfang.

Liu Jin’s face was burned black. His clothes were steaming, and his whole body smelled of gunpowder smoke. When he opened his eyes, the whites showed starkly against his blackened skin, as if his eyes were glowing. He looked around in shock, his eyes still filled with fear.

His bright eyes suddenly welled up with tears. He cried.

He said weakly, “My heavens… what did I do wrong… I entered the palace, lost my descendants, can’t enjoy blessings…”

Zhu Houzhao watched the eunuchs’ backs worriedly, deep in thought.

Fang Jifan looked a bit awkward. “Uh… Your Highness… seems we used too much gunpowder. Next time… we need to adjust, do more research.”

“Alright…” Zhu Houzhao nodded. “Next time, let Zhang Yong light it.”

Fang Jifan shook his head. “I think it should still be Liu Jin.”

“Really?” Zhu Houzhao said. “Isn’t that a bit unfair, always using him?”

Fang Jifan said seriously, “Eunuch Liu has gained a lot of experience in lighting things. It’s like how long illness makes a doctor of a patient. On the path of Science, sacrifices are unavoidable. But as long as Your Highness and I forge ahead bravely and face difficulties, we will surely succeed. Only success can justify Eunuch Liu’s fearless sacrifice.”

Zhu Houzhao nodded, thinking it made sense. “Then hurry, let’s make some changes. By then, Liu Banban’s injuries should be mostly healed.”

People invented gunpowder. Some saw its value in making firecrackers. Others saw firecrackers and fireworks, but also saw their military value.

Generally, people in the Central State loved peace. Most thought of firecrackers and fireworks.

But there were a few odd ones, like Zhu Houzhao. His only thought was to put these big firecrackers into crowds and see how many Tatars they could kill.

If fireworks that shot high into the sky could be used as firearms, wouldn’t they be more powerful? At least more powerful than the bird guns, triple-eyed firearms, and cannons of that time.

Zhu Houzhao had loved the battlefield since he was young. So… he decided to study gunpowder with Fang Jifan. Of course, on the surface, they were just setting off fireworks.

On this point, Fang Jifan shared his interest. So, in the House of the Crown Prince, every now and then, there would be earth-shaking explosions.

As for Liu Jin… yes, Fang Jifan wanted to mess with him. This guy was Zhu Houzhao’s favorite and acted a bit too cocky. Since you’re so cocky… Young Lord Fang has ten thousand ways to make your life difficult.

Zhu Houzhao loved how Fang Jifan used the term “scientific spirit” to describe setting off firecrackers. Truly, Old Fang, who had mentored three Provincial Graduates, was different from others. When others set off firecrackers, it was called playing, called not attending to proper duties. But Old Fang’s words sounded so nice. Setting off firecrackers could be called “Science.” It almost sounded like studying.

The two of them went back into the pavilion.

Inside the pavilion, there were brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, covered with countless drafts.

Fang Jifan knew the best ratio for black gunpowder. Mastering this could greatly increase gunpowder’s power. Besides that, there was the issue of purifying gunpowder. Of course, it also involved the amount of gunpowder used, and so on. Generally, knowing something was one thing, but how it worked in practice was another.

So… they needed to explore, to research.