Chapter 179: Long Live the Emperor

Zhu Houzhao looked at Fang Jifan with a nauseating gaze.

His sickening stare immediately made Fang Jifan feel very uncomfortable. He couldn’t help but shiver. Fang Jifan’s clear eyes lifted and glanced at Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao, however, seemed to be keeping something back. He didn’t say much, just giggled foolishly, his facial expression resembling that of a brainless idiot.

This guy is crazy.

He should be the one getting acupuncture.

Fang Jifan thought to himself.

In the Warm Pavilion.

Emperor Hongzhi looked around, appearing anxious.

He had slept for only a little over two hours yesterday. A great victory was truly exhilarating.

But this very victory had made him overly excited.

Any policy discussion or memorial response, no matter how reasonable or well-presented, whether it was lofty talk, empty boasting, or contained insightful foresight.

In the end, it had to be backed by actual results.

With this great victory, all doubts were swept away.

Emperor Hongzhi had woken up early, but Fang Jifan and the Crown Prince had not arrived yet.

So he glanced around and couldn’t help but ask a eunuch nearby, “Has it been two hours already?”

“Yes, Your Majesty…” The eunuch smiled at Emperor Hongzhi and reminded him, “Your Majesty, isn’t today the day for posting the results?”

“Hmm.” Emperor Hongzhi could understand. Five of Fang Jifan’s disciples had taken the Palace Examination. He must be very anxious and rushed to see the rankings.

Emperor Hongzhi could sympathize with this, so he specifically instructed that Fang Jifan be summoned to the palace only after the Imperial Examination Rank List was posted.

Thinking about how the list was dominated by Fang Jifan’s disciples, Emperor Hongzhi couldn’t help but smile and shook his head at the eunuch.

“When he sees that list, he will be overjoyed. Five disciples passing, ranking in the Top Three Candidates and Second Rank, five Jinshi from one mentor—the whole world will take notice.”

Upon hearing this, the eunuch chuckled. He seemed to want to say something but hesitated, as if he had swallowed a fly, the words stuck in his throat.

Emperor Hongzhi seemed to notice the eunuch’s hesitation. He stroked the Imperial Desk and spoke calmly.

“Speak.”

“At the Examination Hall, things got very unpleasant.” The eunuch carefully observed the emperor’s expression and measured his words.

“Very unpleasant?” Emperor Hongzhi was stunned. He frowned slightly and asked, very puzzled.

The eunuch swallowed hard before explaining to Emperor Hongzhi.

“I heard that as soon as the list was posted, Xu Jing tried to kill himself, crying and begging Fang Jifan for forgiveness. Fang Jifan was also furious, his face turned green. He gave the Second Rank Metropolitan Graduate Xu Jing a severe beating, almost to death. In the end, Fang Jifan ordered his disciples to kneel outside the Examination Hall… for three days and three nights… as punishment!”

“Hoo…”

Emperor Hongzhi felt his scalp go numb. His frown deepened. Three days and nights on their knees.

This Fang Jifan… is really strict.

But… it seems quite effective.

Emperor Hongzhi couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. His bright gaze fixed on a spot, lost in thought, as if he had developed even greater interest in this matter.

“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince and Fang Jifan have arrived. Nanhe Bo is on duty at the Five Chief Military Commissions and might be late.”

A eunuch entered and spoke softly.

“Summon them.” Emperor Hongzhi’s eyes snapped open, and he perked up.

Zhu Houzhao and Fang Jifan entered the hall. Zhu Houzhao had been full of energy just moments before; even as he entered, his eyebrows were dancing with excitement.

An incredible victory!

When he saw the victory report, Zhu Houzhao almost jumped for joy. He mistakenly felt as if he had become the Grand General of the Mountain Brigade, leading them into battle and slaying countless bandits.

This sense of victory joy lingered in his heart, making him very happy.

“Your son and servant greets His Majesty.” Zhu Houzhao stepped forward first to salute.

Emperor Hongzhi looked at the Crown Prince with complex emotions.

This was his only son, his sole bloodline, the hope of his entire life, and the future ruler of the Great Ming Empire.

So, his gaze inevitably showed deep paternal affection.

But behind this affection also lay other hidden meanings.

“Oh.” Emperor Hongzhi only nodded lightly, not showing excessive warmth or fondness.

Zhu Houzhao started to rise: “Imperial Father…”

“Wait.” Emperor Hongzhi gestured for Zhu Houzhao to stay down with a press of his hand.

Zhu Houzhao was somewhat surprised and asked, puzzled, “Imperial Father, what’s wrong?”

“Kneel first.” Emperor Hongzhi seemed very calm, without anger or blame.

“Im… Imperial Father, what… what does this mean?”

Zhu Houzhao didn’t understand. He couldn’t help but frown, pout, and ask Emperor Hongzhi with some grievance.

“Kneel properly.” Emperor Hongzhi shot him a glance and spoke somewhat sternly.

Zhu Houzhao immediately felt a bit intimidated and hurriedly knelt back down obediently.

Emperor Hongzhi waved at him again: “Kneel in the corner, not in the middle of the hall. I have something to say.”

“…”

Zhu Houzhao was utterly confused but dared not disobey. The excitement on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a wave of nameless resentment.

He didn’t dare act out. Moving on his knees to the corner, he leaned against a lamp stand, pouted pitifully, and asked.

“Imperial Father, is… is here alright?”

Emperor Hongzhi seemed somewhat satisfied and nodded: “Yes.”

Fang Jifan was dumbfounded.

What heinous thing had the Crown Prince done this time?

Thankfully, thankfully, he had been very busy lately and hadn’t gotten involved with him, otherwise he would have suffered too.

Fang Jifan forced a smile, trying his best to look infinitely joyful, and saluted: “Your minister Fang Jifan greets His Majesty…”

Emperor Hongzhi, fully prepared, waved him off: “Stop right there. No need to say what comes next.”

He seemed to have anticipated that it would be more of those words like ‘sagely,’ ‘vigorous,’ etc.

“Your Majesty is so sagely! Your Majesty sees everything clearly and even knows that your minister had more to say. This shows Your Majesty understands his minister. Though Your Majesty attends to myriad affairs of state, you still know your minister so well. From this, one can see how sagely Your Majesty is. Throughout history, wise rulers all had virtuous ministers assisting them, leading to tales of mutual understanding between ruler and minister. Your Majesty’s broad-mindedness truly moves your minister. No wonder the soldiers and civilians of the world constantly praise Your Majesty’s benevolence. Previously, your minister did not fully understand, but now, seeing one leaf tells autumn, glimpsing a leopard through a tube, I realize Your Majesty is a ruler like Yao and Shun, whose benevolence covers even the grass and trees, who loves his ministers and people like his own children… Long Live the Emperor!”

Watching Zhu Houzhao heading for trouble, Fang Jifan felt a sense of urgency, like mourning for a hare when the fox dies—sorrow for one’s kind. Saying he wasn’t afraid would be a lie. Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger.

The only way to deal with Emperor Hongzhi was to flatter him relentlessly. Anyway, praising someone’s excellence doesn’t cost him a single hair. The key was to extol the emperor’s benevolence, liken him to Yao and Shun, put a high hat on him—then he himself would be safe.

“…”

Emperor Hongzhi never expected this guy to be so pervasive.

He decided to get straight to the point quickly, not bothering to engage in idle chatter with Fang Jifan. So a faint smile appeared on his face.

“There is a memorial here. Take a look first. Here, give Jifan a seat and serve tea.”

Fang Jifan looked back at Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao looked utterly dejected, as if he wanted to die.

Fang Jifan sighed inwardly. Sorry, I’m a bit tired.

He sat down. A eunuch served him a cup of tea. He took a small sip, then received the memorial brought by the eunuch. Opening it, Fang Jifan almost jumped up.

“Your Majesty, this… this Victory Report, it can’t be fake, can it?”

Five thousand bandits killed.

Are you kidding me? In his previous life, he had studied so many historical records of the Ming Dynasty, seen plenty of victory reports with all sorts of exaggerated claims, but this report… honestly, it seemed like fantasy.

How could there be such a miraculous achievement? It completely looked like a false military report.

Emperor Hongzhi, seeing Fang Jifan’s doubtful expression, immediately scowled.

“I also had doubts initially. But after cross-checking multiple sources, I am now certain it is true. What, you still don’t believe it? Hmph, if I say it’s true, then it’s true.”

Fang Jifan was persuaded.

Honestly, was it really that important if it was true? His Majesty was right; if he said it was true, then it was true.

The Mountain Brigade had actually accomplished such a miraculous feat—something Fang Jifan had not anticipated.

Even if this achievement was exaggerated, it still exceeded Fang Jifan’s expectations.

All at once, Fang Jifan understood everything.

No wonder his four disciples directly dominated the top four places in the Palace Examination. It might not necessarily be because their Policy Essays were excellent, or because his own ideas had any particular merit.

Think about Wang Shouren, who had a deep understanding of military affairs. Historically, he indeed built extraordinary merits based on his passion for military strategy.

With his Policy Essay and his knowledge, how could he possibly be beaten by bookworms like Tang Yin and Ouyang Zhi, or so-called ‘talented scholars’?

So… it was because of this great victory.

This great victory made establishing the Mountain Brigade the textbook standard answer for this Palace Examination.

As for other answers, no matter how reasonable, even if you argued until you were blue in the face, even if all the court officials and the emperor found them convincing, so what?

Fang Jifan took a deep breath. His heart was beating very fast.

A great merit!

But at this moment, Fang Jifan wasn’t foolish in the slightest. Faced with such a miraculous achievement, he quickly turned to Emperor Hongzhi with a grin and said, “Long Live the Emperor!”

“…”

Fang Jifan stood up and bowed to Emperor Hongzhi: “Your Majesty, congratulations! Your Majesty is Sagely and Wise! If not for Your Majesty establishing the Mountain Brigade, how could we have this great victory in Guizhou? Your Majesty’s civil governance and military achievements…”

Emperor Hongzhi chuckled.

He immediately understood Fang Jifan’s intention. Fang Jifan clearly wanted to attribute this immense merit entirely to himself.

Such a great merit, to be honest, even an emperor couldn’t help but be tempted.

Who wouldn’t want to be known for both civil governance and military prowess, to let the world know that the Mountain Brigade’s great victory was all due to the emperor’s strategic planning and decisive command from a thousand miles away?

The idea had come from Fang Jifan, but he never mentioned it. This clearly showed that Fang Jifan wanted to pin this immense merit entirely on Emperor Hongzhi.

But Emperor Hongzhi just sneered, glared at Fang Jifan, and called out softly.

“Minister Fang…”