Among the ministers, most secretly lamented.
However, the Grand Secretary’s idea clearly aligned with the old Emperor’s wishes.
Thus, the topic for the Imperial Examination was set in this manner.
In addition, the Cabinet discussed and decided to send Lord Zhou, the Lingnan Governor, to the Southwest as a Governor to suppress the rebellion. Lord Zhou is also Xu Qing’s uncle by marriage.
It could be said that this Imperial Examination was destined not to let the top scorer fall into anyone else’s hands.
Everything was to serve the purpose of suppressing the rebellion in the Southwest.
During the examination, various scholars began to answer questions, and many sighed in despair.
Looking at the topic, Xu Qing could only think that he was the best candidate for the task.
The Grand Secretary and the old Emperor truly regarded him as a workhorse.
However, with work comes power, he could see that the Grand Secretary intended to transfer power to him. The Yang family of Bozhou, unlike usual Tusi, had a presence for hundreds of years in Bozhou, with frequent rebellions yet also frequent pacifications.
Moreover, the Yang family greatly admired Central Earth culture and had introduced many farming techniques from Central Earth. Apart from their geographical location, it somewhat felt like the early Man Qing era of the Manchu Taiji.
Of course, the specific situation still had many differences.
The Yang family’s rebellion was different from the Lotus Sect. They had been rooted in Bozhou for hundreds of years, and the local natives there were accustomed to the Yang family’s rule. Additionally, the Yang family had developed water conservancy locally, benefiting the local natives significantly.
Simply defeating the Yang family did not address the fundamental issues.
It could be said that this effort, seemingly suppressing a rebellion, was actually dealing with a complete small-scale regime.
With a major sect like Heshan Tao supporting it from behind, handling it was extremely difficult.
The Great Yu Dynasty was facing leaks in various directions, and with the reform only at its beginning stages, the support it could provide wasn’t as much as imagined. After all, Bozhou was too remote, and just the loss of military supplies was a significant figure.
Xu Qing also understood why the Grand Secretary relinquished the position of Minister of Personnel to Wang Gong; because if Wang Gong were in the Ministry of Revenue, he might hold them back.
The Ministry of Revenue now had the Grand Secretary’s capable subordinate Chen Fu, who was in charge of the logistics for the suppression, which reassured the Grand Secretary.
This old fox truly handled matters in a tightly connected fashion.
It seemed that the rebellion of the Yang family had long been anticipated by him.
Xu Qing grew increasingly admiring of the Grand Secretary’s governance abilities. Step by step, carefully and without overreaching. The only weakness was the lower quality of the people under his command.
However, at the Grand Secretary’s level, forming cliques excessively would make things difficult, because the old Emperor would not allow the Grand Secretary to form private factions from his position.
The current Reform Faction comprised mainly opportunists.
Achieving such results under these unfavorable conditions was truly remarkable.
Compared to the Grand Secretary, Xu Qing laid his foundation early on, without the concerns of the Grand Secretary, given his lower rank.
But as Xu Qing’s rank rises, he will inevitably face such resistance.
This process is long.
So the old Emperor wouldn’t be too apprehensive.
Xu Qing calculated clearly in his mind, then started writing.
Since it was a policy essay, eloquence was secondary. Xu Qing also drew from a wide range of sources, starting from practical points, talking about the various crucial aspects of the rebellion suppression and the corresponding strategies.
The article didn’t speak of righteousness, but rather applied targeted solutions.
In addition, with Xu Qing’s extensive knowledge and strong memory, he incorporated a considerable amount of related data from the Wenyuan Pavilion, directly reflecting Bozhou’s geography, customs, and populace through statistics.
In his policy essay, the various aspects of a small regime were vividly presented, as if a mental illustration could form in the reader’s mind, more clear than ever.
There weren’t many participants in the examination, and policy essays usually just spanned several hundred words.
Only Xu Qing penned a policy essay exceeding ten thousand words.
This time, Xu Qing was the last to submit, but the sheer length was very noticeable.
Next came the routine of reviewing the papers and ranking the participants.
After the Imperial Examination ended, Xu Qing left.
He felt a wave of relief.
Having crossed time for several years, he was about to achieve consecutive six-time top scores.
Whether it be marital bliss, ranking atop the golden list, or seeking immortality and the Tao, the splendor of this lifetime surpassed his previous by hundreds of times, any way you looked at it, it was worth it.
In his heart grew a sense of great completeness, dispelling concerns of predestined calamity like smoke on paper, losing all significance.