Volume 5: Overlord of the Sea Chapter 581 True Gold is Not Afraid of Fire
In November of the seventh year of the Chu calendar, a ceremony to confer office on those who passed the imperial examination was held in the Humin Temple outside the city of Jinling...
Originally, the public was welcome to watch this ceremony from the outside. This time, due to the special circumstances, the State of Chu strongly encouraged onlookers and made a lot of special preparations on the venue!
Regarding the "backdoor theory" that was increasingly fermenting among the people, on the surface the major official newspapers did not make any "excuses", but in fact they did have some guiding ideas, such as... secretly suggesting that if there really was a backdoor, Deng Ai would only embarrass himself when he was appointed.
After discovering some clues in the first imperial examination, starting from the second examination three years ago, the State of Chu would make the imperial examination appointment very grand, in order to stimulate the "strategic" awakening of those who ranked at the top.
If Deng Ai is not good enough, the result will not be satisfactory, and his reputation will suffer...
After offering sacrifices to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country, Jinling Ji appeared under the auspices of Kong Rong. In full view of the public, she awakened the official seals for the newly-qualified scholars, and those who already had official seals would also have their seals "processed".
As the top of the six lists, Deng Ai was naturally the first to step forward.
After bowing to the Monument to the Land and Grain on the Humin Temple Square, thousands of golden and purple lights gathered towards Deng Ai. Soon... an official seal of the highest grade and rank with a gold seal and purple ribbon appeared in front of the still somewhat childish Deng Ai!
Gold seal and purple ribbon!
Normally, only the three highest officials can reach this level of official seal...
This alone is enough to prove that Deng Ai is truly talented and has real knowledge, and that his career is not over yet.
Then, purple-gold "entries" condensed out of thin air and penetrated into the official seal.
Although it didn't last long, I couldn't see clearly what the entry said, unlike the time after Bai Tu improved the papermaking and printing techniques, but... I roughly counted and there were probably more than a dozen entries!
In other words, Deng Ai already possessed more than a dozen strategies when he first awakened his official seal, far more than the number of strategies that topped the list...
This achievement alone is enough to prove his ability, which is simply beyond the reach of being at the top of the six lists. Naturally, the "backdoor theory" is even more absurd under this golden and purple light.
All of a sudden, all the doubts about Deng Ai turned into admiration, and... under the "rhythm", it turned into hatred towards the person who spread the rumors!
Bai Tu could also see that, because of the change in Chu's foreign attitude, many people were secretly trying to take advantage of the opportunity to undermine Chu's talent selection system and reduce Chu's attractiveness to talents...
If Deng Ai had not been really powerful and had not won the championship by a complete crushing victory, they would have created some controversy even without a backdoor.
The only thing they overlooked was that Deng Ai, who was only fifteen years old, was actually so outstanding.
Naturally, Deng Ai's background could not be hidden from those who were interested in the investigation - it was just a byproduct of a typical case that Bai Tu handled when the State of Chu was first established in order to promote the new policy of weakening the clan system...
It is said that when Bai Tu adopted him as his adopted son, he couldn't even speak clearly...
Although Deng Ai later enjoyed a good reputation in Jinling, after he was given the title of "the adopted son of the King of Chu", all the compliments he received were eventually questioned.
Especially since he was still young, it was difficult for him to get comments from "undisputed" and highly respected bigwigs like Sima Hui at this age - after all, if he was commented on at such a young age, people who didn't know would think he was trying to please the King of Chu!
In this way, no matter how much you don't underestimate Deng Ai, you can only regard him as a young talent in the process of growth...
Even if he is really number one, he can still use his identity to make something of himself!
If Deng Ai was just an ordinary top-ranked candidate, it can be said that it was the top-ranked candidate in the imperial examination that enabled him to achieve such an achievement.
But now...
Deng Ai's auspicious performance made all the slanders seem ridiculous!
The State of Chu was unscathed and even got some "advertising", but some of the hidden pieces that were exposed were completely eliminated by Bai Tu this time.
Afterwards, this imperial examination actually recruited talents such as Yin Mo and Shen Dan who "left a mark" in history for the State of Chu.
However, when it comes to his performance at the investiture ceremony, he seemed to be overshadowed by the example of Deng Ai.
At the same time, many people also noticed that the State of Chu had expanded the enrollment of the second and third lists this year, adding a large number of candidates for grassroots officials.
These people will be trained in Jinling. Not only Hanzhong, but also Xichuan and other places will need a large number of grassroots officials to move in as the war continues!
The dormant development period of the Chu State has passed. Next, Bai Tu will strive to unify the "world" in the shortest possible time while avoiding excessive casualties among the people, preferring a short pain rather than a long one.
Not only the entire Han Dynasty, but also some possible places around and even overseas were included in Bai Tu's goals.
Even the actual was kept secret by the State of Chu, because... Bai Tu was planning to send him to Yizhou!
To be precise, it is the Nanzhong area of Yizhou!
Bai Tu did not want to attack from Jiange or Jiangzhou to the south. Firstly, it was because he would be distracted at sea. Secondly, it would be most cost-effective to instigate the people of Nanzhong to go north and cooperate with Meng Da and other Xichuan spies. There was no need to compete with the natural barrier of Bashu.
However, there are two difficulties. The first is to restrain the people of Chu in the south. After all, they have only been in Chu for a short time and are far away in the south. For the time being, there are still some differences between them and the native Chu people. If they go north uncontrollably, it may lead to the embarrassing situation of "barbarian invasion from the south", which will not only be a blow to the prestige of Chu and not conducive to the return of Xichuan, but also... it is not what Bai Tu wants to see!
If the price to be paid is losing the support of the people, then Bai Tu might as well be honest and spend a few years to completely blow up Jiange and advance openly.
Another difficulty is to appease the surrendered generals from Xichuan...
There was nothing much to say to a general like Meng Da who was determined to surrender to Chu. Bai Tu had already prepared rewards for him, so there was no need for him to hesitate.
However, Meng Da alone cannot accomplish anything. The real hope is on those military generals and local nobles who have a certain tacit understanding with the State of Chu but have not completely surrendered to Chu!
Only by making them completely at ease can the State of Chu take control of Xichuan relying solely on the people of Nanzhong. Otherwise, once the front line is deadlocked, the people of Nanzhong with a weak foundation will easily run out of steam.
Originally, Chen Gong was in charge of this matter. He was capable and wise enough to take on the task, but now he has been recalled because he is going to enter the palace.
Bai Tu was ready to hand this matter over to Deng Ai...
At first glance it may sound a bit too dependent, after all, Deng Ai is still young.
However, from the perspective of gaining people's trust, Deng Ai's identity as "the adopted son of the King of Chu" will definitely enable him to achieve twice the result with half the effort. As for how to unite the people of South Central Chu, Bai Tu also believes that he will have a way.
It's not like there will be any action right away. It's already winter, and the focus next year will be on competing with Wei for supremacy on the sea. I believe Deng Ai has enough time to manage and prepare...
