The minister named Zeng Bai was born in a peasant family in Jiangxi. He was very sensible since he was a child, helping his parents cut wood and feed pigs. Zeng Bai is clever and studious. He was admitted to Juren in his twenties, and everyone in Shiliba Village said that he would be a big official in the future. In A.D. 1404, the second year of Yongle, Zeng Zhuo took a few rags and some dry food to Beijing to take the exam, and reached the final with the first place, that is, palace examination, who was personally the examiner by Ming.
The emperor read Zeng's paper and was deeply impressed by his talent. He gave such an evaluation: "Learn through the classics and history, and be a man of heaven." There is the knowledge of giving lectures and the sincerity of loyalty and love. I am the best in the world, and I am civilized. I am still worthy of enlightenment, but I am good. "In this way, Ceng Zhuo was awarded the monthly discount and was appointed as the top scholar. Later, Ming Chengzu put the talented Jie Jin in charge of compiling Yongle Dadian, and Zeng Bai was appointed as an agreement, ranking second only to Jie Jin.
As a gifted scholar, Zeng Meng is proficient in poetry and calligraphy, which is similar to the poet Li Bai. Before writing poems, he always likes to drink happily, and when he is half drunk and half awake, he creates well-known poems. Yang Shiqi in the Ming Dynasty once commented on Zeng's poems: "If the garden is in spring, all flowers are blooming. Brilliant, you can play and enjoy. Ode must obey the Tang people. When you are in the mood, the pen keeps waving. Writing is very interesting. "
According to historical records, Ceng Zhuo's drinking habit was formed from a very young age. He was familiar with his relatives and friends, admired his capacity for drinking, and even nicknamed him "Dionysus". After becoming an official in North Korea, Ceng Zhuo would only have a few drinks alone after work to prevent alcoholism, and his colleagues didn't know much about his alcohol consumption.
One day, an envoy from a vassal state came to pay tribute. This man claims that a thousand cups are not drunk. Ming Taizu Judy thinks he is too arrogant, but he can't just kill him, otherwise it doesn't fit the style of being a big brother. So, after Judy arranged the residence for the emissary, she summoned officials from the civil and military departments to find a minister who could drink, so as to suppress the emissary's prestige and show him what a thousand cups are not drunk.
Ministers looked at each other and knew it was not a good job. If the envoys of the vassal countries get drunk in the wine field, they will not only lose face, but also damage Daming's national prestige and maybe be demoted. Seeing that no one took the initiative to go, Ming Chengzu said angrily, "Don't you all drink well on weekdays? How can you be timid now? " Do you want me to go out in person? "
Just then, Zeng Bai stood up and said that he was willing to go and promised to pour the messenger. Because Judy didn't know Zeng Bai's capacity for liquor, she asked with some concern, "How much is it?" ? I once said three words with confidence: "No matter how many." "That is to say, I have never been drunk since I was born. Judy almost jumped for joy and immediately asked Ceng Zhuo to teach the little messenger a lesson.
From noon to midnight, the foreign emissary was drunk and unconscious, but Ceng Zhuo kept his face straight. It was not until noon the next day that the messenger woke up, but he was still unconvinced and told Zeng Bai to go for a drink and compete with him. Ceng Peng thought, "I have been asking you yesterday. Don't blame me if you dare to challenge today." This time, the messenger was more drunk than yesterday. He slept for three days and nights, but Zeng Ba was still not drunk. The messenger was so convinced of Zeng Ba's capacity for drinking that he never dared to invite him to drink again.
In the imperial court, Ming Chengzu rewarded Zeng Bai and praised him in front of all the officials: "I don't want to learn, but I can drink this amount of alcohol, and Bai Zi (Zeng Bai) can also be the number one scholar in our court." From then on, ministers knew that Ceng Zhuo was too good at drinking, and no one dared to challenge him.