The stupid son of Chongba

Chapter 162 Being an emperor is so tiring! I'd rather be an idle prince!

Zhu Ju: “?!”

Hearing the explosion next to his ear, Zhu Ju opened his eyes instantly.

"My lord, please see your Majesty."

Xu Miaoyun turned around and bowed to her future father-in-law.

"Well, get up."

Zhu Yuanzhang felt a buzzing sound in his nose.

Even though I feel unhappy, I can't show my bad face to my future daughter-in-law, right?
"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Xu Miaoyun was about to stand up, but saw Zhu Yuanzhang had already grabbed Zhu Ju's ear!

"You're so comfortable, little brat!"

Old Zhu said angrily,

"Eat the tribute fruit, sip the fragrant tea, and let Miaoyun give you a massage!"

"You really enjoy it!"

Zhu Ju had thick skin and rough flesh, but his ears were his vital point. Once his ears were pulled, his face was immediately distorted.

“Hiss…it hurts, it hurts!”

"Dad, you are such a chicken!"

Zhu Ju bared his teeth and said,
"My job as an invigilator in the imperial examination is so hard and tiring, why don't I just enjoy myself?"

"Let go...if you don't let go I'll bite you!"

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he snorted coldly.

"Haha! You worked so hard to attend the exam? You supervised three whole exams, is it possible that you didn't notice anything wrong?"

Old Zhu sneered,
"I think you are neglecting your duties and not taking this matter seriously at all!"

Hearing this, Zhu Ju immediately became unhappy.

"During these nine days, I have worked very hard, but I have also been diligent and hardworking, right?"

He said angrily,
"Nine days! Do you know how I spent these nine days?"

"Old Song has been talking to me about Confucianism for nights and nights, from the Four Books and Five Classics to the various schools of thought. I have been chatting with a stinky old man every day! Do you know how much torture this is for me? Do you know?"

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

Seeing Zhu Ju making such a huge sacrifice and almost shedding tears of sorrow, his anger dissipated a little.

"Isn't it just presiding over an imperial examination? You sound like you're on the verge of death."

Zhu Yuanzhang muttered something, and finally released the hand on Zhu Ju's ear. He crossed his arms across his chest and said condescendingly,

"Okay, let's not talk nonsense with you!"

"Let me ask you, did you find anything wrong with this examination?"

Zhu Ju sat up from the rattan chair, and Xu Miaoyun also stepped back at the right time to give the father and son some space to talk alone.

"Yes, there are many problems! I can even say that it is completely useless! Dad, how did you come up with the questions? There is no level at all!"

Zhu Ju said,
"This imperial examination is not used to select talents, but to select nerds!"

"Using this method to select talents might not be as good as the recommendation system! Dad, I was just about to tell you about this!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly startled.

and many more.

Didn't I come here to ask for punishment? Why did this guy suddenly start to criticize me?
"What's wrong with the question we asked?"

Old Zhu frowned and said,
"The topic is quite good! It's all selected from the Four Books and Five Classics, and the test questions are from the Doctrine of the Mean! I considered it over and over again before choosing that sentence."

"Let the scholars discuss their understanding and realization of sincerity based on the doctrine of the mean. That's fine!"

This exam question was chosen after he had read through many Yuan Dynasty imperial examination papers. He thought that the level of his choice of topic surpassed that of the Yuan Dynasty examination papers and he was quite satisfied with it!
"hehe!"

Zhu Ju rolled his eyes and said bluntly,

"No problem, it's a big problem!"

"If you want to recruit a group of so-called talented people, so-called good writers, then you can indeed come up with such a topic, but the problem is, is what our Ming Dynasty lacks good writers?"

“In other words, is the article good and useful for national development?”

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned again.

"Is it... useless?"

He said in some surprise,
"From ancient times to the present, talent selection has always been done this way..."

"Has it always been like this? Is that right?" Zhu Ju quickly retorted.

Mr. Lu Xun gets another point! This sentence is always effective in dealing with people!

Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang fell into silence.

"In the past, there were the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties! If you wanted to go back to the past, why did you create a Ming dynasty?"

Zhu Ju said again,

"Create, create! Our Ming Dynasty is the new dynasty created by you! A new dynasty should have a new look! Why should we favor the past over the present?"

"Throughout the dynasties, are the most capable ministers the best at writing? Most of them are not! There is often a huge difference between theory and practice, otherwise there wouldn't be the idiom 'talking about war on paper'."

"Those who can answer this kind of scientific examination questions well may be talented, but they are more likely to be empty talkers, dreamers, and nerds. What do you think?"

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

Zhu Ju's words left him speechless for a moment.

What this kid said seems to make some sense!

"Then according to your idea, how should we set the questions?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment before he spoke:

"If you can only criticize but have no solution, then get out of here! The only thing more annoying than empty talkers is the so-called critics!"

Zhu Ju laughed.

"Since I have criticized it, there will naturally be a solution."

He raised his head and said,

"First of all, we must clarify one question: what kind of officials does the Ming Dynasty need?"

"If it was during the heyday of the dynasty, it would be fine to recruit some people who can write beautiful articles. Soft power is also a part of comprehensive strength! But now the hard power of the Ming Dynasty has not caught up, so these writers have to wait a little. What is urgently needed now are practical people with great ambitions! Even some talented students!"

"As far as I know, the country's water conservancy is not working. There is drought in the north and floods in the south. As the saying goes, those who are drought-stricken will die of drought, and those who are flooded will die of floods. Dad, you are also worried about this, right? There are not many water conservancy experts in our Ming Dynasty. We don't know who to find if we want to send people to build water conservancy projects."

After all, Zhu Ju was the one who had followed Old Zhu and stamped so many documents. Although he said he didn't read them, he had actually read quite a few memorials and naturally had a certain understanding of political affairs.

"Yes!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little disappointed when he heard this, and said,

"Building water conservancy projects requires skills! You can't mess around with this stuff. Not only will it cost the people money and time, it may also cause greater disasters!"

"These days, I've also read some records about the Yellow River's diversion. Most of them say that the more it's diverted, the worse it gets. The more it's diverted, the drier it gets! We put in so much effort, but in the end, it's just a mess..."

"It makes me want to go to Dujiangyan to have a look. It is said that the Dujiangyan built by Li Bing and his son is a wonder of the world. I also want to see how he built it."

“Water conservancy… is difficult!”

It can be heard that Lao Zhu's thoughts are still not clear at the moment.

When it comes to water conservancy, you can’t create miracles by just using great force!
"Yes! This is a difficult task. For our Ming Dynasty, it is also a national event! We need some officials who understand water conservancy... or not to mention understanding water conservancy, but at least have ideas in this area, are willing to study, and are willing to work hard to take up the post."

Zhu Ju said seriously,
"Since we need such officials, we have to select talents in this direction! Forget about honesty and morality, they are useless! People always say one thing and do another! But professional exam questions are different. If you know how to do it, you know how to do it. If you don't know how to do it, you don't know how to do it! Don't fire blanks!"

After hearing these words, Zhu Yuanzhang fell into deep thought.

Zhu Ju was not in a hurry either, he knew that his father's mind would be changed, because the number one model worker in the Ming Dynasty was the number one doer!
"It's interesting... But, you can't just take the water conservancy exam, right?"

After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said,

"It's not just the Water Department that's short of officials. There are many departments in the court that are short of officials!"

Zhu Ju sneered.

"Dad, you still haven't come to your senses!"

He said,

"Am I recruiting water conservancy experts? I am using this method to recruit practical people with ideas and abilities!"

"People like this, you ask them to do water conservancy well, but not other things? In fact, they can do it just as well! People like this have mastered the methodology of doing things, they are like a universal nail, no matter where you nail it, it will get wedged in!"

"Besides, if I were to set the test questions, it would not be a dry question on water conservancy! I would definitely quote classics and add some connotations. In this way, it can be a test of both politics and cultural literacy."

"I can't explain it to you this way... How about this, I'll write you a sample exam question later, and you'll understand after you read it!"

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang looked a little suspicious.

Look at this kid's serious look... Could he really be as good as he says?

"Okay, it's just talk. Just write out the questions and we'll know the ins and outs of them."

Old Zhu said in a deep voice,
"However, the key to this imperial examination is not here. Do you have any other discoveries?"

Regardless of whether Zhu Ju's suggestion is reliable or not, the fact that he put it forward shows that this guy at least used his brain while presiding over the scientific examination, rather than just slacking off.

Naturally, Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude changed from blaming to testing.

"Yes, I found that most of the candidates for the imperial examinations are from the south."

Zhu Ju said seriously,
"There aren't many people from the north. I've estimated based on their facial features that only a little over 20% are from the north, only half of half, and the rest are all southerners."

"But in fact, the territory in the north is more vast, and the population is not declining. Logically, even if it is not half, it should be at least 30%, right? But in the end, it is less than 30%."

"The imperial examination is the only way for ordinary people to rise. If all the Jinshi quotas are occupied by southern students, I am afraid that the northerners will not accept it. The Ming Dynasty has just succeeded in the Northern Expedition, and the people are not yet convinced. If a chain reaction occurs because of the imperial examination, it may shake the foundation."

He paused.

"Dad, you came to me today, probably for this matter, right?"

"Is it true that among the thirty-six Jinshi scholars, there is not a single northerner?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked stern.

"You kid, you're really smart!"

Old Zhu sighed,
"You really predicted it! That's right... the list submitted by Li Shanchang and Song Lian has 36 names, all of them are southern students, not a single northerner!"

"If we publish the results, how can we convince everyone? The northern students will definitely not accept it! We are also worried that they will make a fuss and cause a bad influence..."

"Besides, we don't want to see all the court officials be from the south, making our Ming Dynasty look like a separatist regime in the south! Besides, there are already enough people from these parties in the court in Huaixi and Zhejiang. What we need is fresh blood to add vitality to the court, not to strengthen the facade of those old guys!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ju nodded slightly.

Although the "North-South List Case" in the early Ming Dynasty occurred at the end of the Hongwu period, in fact, the imperial examinations in the early years were also unsatisfactory, otherwise Zhu Yuanzhang would not have abolished the imperial examination system for ten years.

The results of the scientific expedition were contrary to his expectations, so he might as well rely on his vision to identify people!

"There are few scholars in the north to begin with, and with years of war, their resources are simply not as good as those of the southern scholars, so naturally they can't pass the exams as well as the southern scholars."

Zhu Ju said firmly,

"So, you don't have to be angry, old man. No one cheated in the imperial examination. If anyone dares to cheat in the first imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty, you don't need to do anything. I will lead people to kill him!"

"Whether it's Li Shanchang or Song Lian, they are both innocent. I can guarantee that. All 36 people are scholars from the south. This is an objective fact."

His analysis also made Zhu Yuanzhang calm down completely.

Think about it too.

Li Shanchang has always been cautious and prudent, and Song Lian is even more famous for his fairness and integrity.

It is unlikely that the two of them could manipulate the imperial examinations.

"It's the truth, we can accept it, but can the northern scholars and the people accept it?"

Old Zhu sighed.
"This is no longer a simple test. Now, it has risen to the level of politics. It is a difficult problem for us!"

Instead, he hoped that someone was committing corruption for personal gain.

Killing a few people and losing a few heads can calm the anger of the northerners. It's very simple.

No one cheated...that just made things complicated!

"I heard from Master Song earlier that there is another factor that causes the scarcity of scholars in the north."

Zhu Ju suddenly said,

"Yingtian is too far for scholars from remote areas in the north. Some of them even take a long time to travel."

"Especially this time, you held the examination in a hurry. The southerners were able to make it, after all, they were nearby, but many northerners missed the exam. By the time they arrived in Yingtian with great effort, the exam was almost over. In the next two exams, I received many northern scholars in this situation, and they were all frustrated and crying."

"Or, can you give those candidates who are short of exams another chance?"

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and paced back and forth in the yard.

“No, no…”

He said softly,

"The imperial examination has its own rules. How can there be a make-up exam?"

"However, what you said before also makes sense. Ming is a newly created country, so there is no need to be so old-fashioned..."

"Well... still no, I can't open this door..."

"We have to think about it, think about it carefully..."

As Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking, he slowly walked towards the door.

"His Majesty……"

"Don't disturb me! I'm thinking about something!"

"……Yes."

The eunuchs who were accompanying him were interrupted by Zhu Yuanzhang and could only follow him respectfully, not daring to go too far or too close.

Just like that, Lao Zhu walked away without even saying hello.

"Father, what is he doing..."

Xu Miaoyun walked into the yard cautiously and asked in a low voice.

Zhu Ju shook his head.

"Oh! Being an emperor is hard! You see, there are so many things to consider when selecting a few officials. You have to consider the impact of this and that. It's not as easy as you imagine. I guess Dad won't be able to sleep tonight."

He sighed,

"This is why I don't want to get involved in politics. It's too stressful! If you want to be a wise ruler, you will definitely lose many years of your life!"

"This is totally contrary to my goal of immortality!"

"Wife, from now on, we will be an idle prince, and you will be an idle princess. We will roam freely in the world and enjoy the mountains and rivers, okay?"

Hearing this, Xu Miaoyun pursed her lips and smiled.

"The husband sings and the wife follows. I will listen to you."

She gently massaged Zhu Ju's shoulders and spoke softly.

Zhu Ju smiled, touched Xu Miaoyun's hand, closed his eyes again and enjoyed the massage.

……

A few days later.

Inside the Fengtian Hall, a group of newly-appointed scholars stood in several rows, all looking somewhat nervous and expectant.

Soon, they will be able to see the emperor of the Ming Dynasty!
If you could be chosen as the top scholar by the emperor, your name would definitely go down in history!

Da da.

Da da.

The sound of two footsteps caused all the scholars to look up.

I didn't see His Majesty, but I saw a familiar face -

The President of the Imperial Examination, His Royal Highness the King of Wu!
So it is obvious that the man wearing a bright yellow dragon robe beside King Wu is the current crown prince!
"Is this the newly-appointed Jinshi of the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Biao carefully looked at the scholars and asked curiously,

“I don’t know how well they learn.”

Zhu Ju glanced at it for a few times and then looked away.

After nine days of dealing with each other, these people have become familiar faces.

"Dad has probably been racking his brains to think of ways to test them these days."

He smiled and said,
"Let's just watch the show."

As soon as he finished speaking, a majestic and tall figure walked out from the back hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked into the hall with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, and glanced at the new scholars with a majestic gaze, with no expression of emotion on his face.

"See Your Majesty!"

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

Li Shanchang, Song Lian and a group of officials from the Ministry of Rites hurriedly knelt down and led the thirty-six Jinshi to kowtow to the emperor.

clatter! clatter! clatter!
Zhu Yuanzhang walked up the jade steps towards the dragon throne. The sound of his footsteps seemed to be stepping on everyone's heart, making them twitch with nervousness.

Swish!
Zhu Yuanzhang flicked his sleeves and slowly sat down. After he was seated, he raised his hand and said:
"Be flat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Shanchang and Song Lian looked at each other and saw the look of surprise and suspicion in each other's eyes.

Logically speaking, His Majesty should be happy today! Why is he so serious?
Before they could think about it, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "The imperial examination is an important system for the country to select talents. It is a national ceremony! The first imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty, from the provincial examination to the metropolitan examination, and then to the current palace examination, has never had any mistakes. Li Shanchang and Song Lian, you have made great contributions to this."

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang and Song Lian quickly stepped out.

"Your Majesty, I dare not take credit for anything. The successful completion of the imperial examination was due to the wise planning of His Royal Highness the King of Wu."

Li Shanchang bowed and said,

"We all worked under the guidance of His Royal Highness the King of Wu. If we talk about merit, His Royal Highness the King of Wu should be the first."

Song Lian also bowed and said:
"I second the proposal."

All the officials from the Ministry of Rites also nodded in agreement and attributed the great credit to Zhu Ju.

Zhu Ju shrugged.

"No need to shirk responsibility. I will reward those who have made contributions."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and said

"However, the imperial examination is over, but it has not yet been successfully completed."

"I need to personally test the caliber of the thirty-six Jinshi candidates."

"Come on, bring the stuff up!"

He was so used to saying "we" that he was a little uncomfortable with saying "I".

But there was no other way. After all, it was an occasion like the palace examination. Old Zhu had to try his best to appear solemn and not too casual.

dong dong!

At the command, several imperial guards came in. Two people in a group moved three large baskets into the Fengtian Hall.

Boom!
Three large baskets fell to the ground, causing the Golden Throne Hall to make a dull sound.

The newly-appointed scholars looked curious, but did not dare to look around. They could only stretch their necks to take a few glances.

"What will you be tested on in the palace examination?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice,

"When it comes to writing articles, everyone who can stand here is an expert. It won't be a problem for you."

"As for reciting poems and writing couplets, I am not the emperor of the Song Dynasty. I have no interest in romance, and those poems and songs cannot help the country prosper and maintain peace."

"After thinking about it, I will ask you a simple question! Whoever gives the best and most accurate answer will be the first number one scholar of the Ming Dynasty!"

Hearing the words "the first number one scholar in the Ming Dynasty", all the new scholars became excited and were ready to show their talents.

"Before you are three baskets of rice!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said,

"You can observe with your eyes, or you can touch it with your hands."

"Our task is to identify the origin and quality of these three baskets of rice, as well as the differences between them."

"The time is a quarter of an hour, let's get started!"

Scholars: “???”

Li Shanchang, Song Lian: “???”

Upon hearing this question, everyone in the hall was confused, except Zhu Ju who burst out laughing.

"There really is a dad, haha..."

He smiled and said,
"How can we expect these scholars who are dressed in fine clothes and fed with delicious food, who are oblivious to the world outside and who only focus on reading the books of sages, to distinguish between rice and grain?"

"If we call an old farmer here, he would probably be able to become the top scholar! But they... are in a tough situation."

Zhu Biao stroked his short beard.

Could it be that this is the test question that my father has been pondering over these days?
He walked forward and casually glanced at the rice, also a little confused.

It’s true, if this test question was given to him, he would also scratch his head!
At this moment, all the scholars walked to the rice baskets, looked left and right, but were still completely confused.

"Why is this the exam question... Isn't it too weird?"

"Yes, I prepared the article and practiced the poetry and songs, but in the end, this happened..."

"I have been eating rice for more than 30 years, but to tell the difference, it's really hard... I have never even washed the rice..."

"..."

The group of talented people were puzzled when looking at the three baskets of rice.

Of course they can talk nonsense, but they dare not speak nonsense in front of the emperor!
"How come, among so many people, no one can tell the difference?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was slightly cold, and he said unceremoniously,

"Are they all nerds? Useless people?"

"Any old farmer in the countryside can identify these three baskets of rice, but none of you can do it?"

Hearing the comment of "nerd", Song Lian looked a little indignant and said:

"Your Majesty, isn't your test question... a little too different?"

“Even if we don’t test essays and poems, we should test practical issues and policy papers, so that the new scholars can show their talents.”

"Just because they can't tell the difference between rice and wheat doesn't mean that all the Jinshi are useless. I dare to speak up for them."

As the leader of the scholars, he did not agree with the emperor's arbitrary evaluation.

"Alternative? Not necessarily!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said,
"On the contrary, this exam question is the most down-to-earth and closely related to people's livelihood!"

"What is the purpose of holding the imperial examination to select officials? It is to go to every county in the country and do practical things for the people! It is not to select a group of women who have never touched water and can't even tell the quality of rice!"

"Such a simple test question stumped everyone. How can we entrust you with the heavy responsibility of being a county magistrate or prefect? ​​Can you do anything when you are in the local area?"

"Let's give him another chance. Who can tell the difference? You don't even need to tell us where it comes from. Just tell us its quality and quantity, and we'll give him the top spot! Of course, if he can't give a good reason or is just making random comments, then we'll definitely label him a mediocre person and never hire him! If he can't even tell the difference between the grains of rice he eats every day, he's definitely a first-rate idiot!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Fengtian Hall fell into complete silence.

No one wants to be defined as a fool by the emperor and never be hired!

"No one volunteered? Then let's call the roll!"

Zhu Yuanzhang coldly glanced at the newly-appointed scholars in front of him, pointed to one at random, and ordered,
"It's you!"

"Come out and answer! Tell me, which of these three baskets of rice is good and which is bad?"

The scholar who was selected shuddered all over and his face suddenly turned pale!

"Hurry up! Don't dawdle!"

Zhu Yuanzhang continued to exert pressure.

How could the scholar bear the emperor's gaze? He was already at a loss. He glanced back and forth among the three baskets of rice. Seeing that the middle basket seemed to have more rice, he gritted his teeth and pointed, saying:

"This is the best basket!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened.

"Oh? Why? Tell me your reasons."

"Because of it, because of its full grains..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face suddenly changed

"What's wrong with your eyes? Is this the best basket?"

He scolded,

"Look carefully, are all the grains really full?"

"Touch down there. Don't you feel it's a little damp inside? Bend down and smell it. Don't you smell a musty smell?"

"Let me tell you, this basket of rice is the grain handed in by a certain county down there. They put a layer of plump rice on top, but underneath is all damp and moldy old rice. They are trying to use this crude trick to deceive the Ministry of Revenue and us!"

"All that glitters is rotten! This sentence refers to this basket of rice, to the county magistrate who was beheaded for his evil intentions, and to you!"

Pfft!
The scholar's face turned pale and his whole body was shaking. The next second, he couldn't stand the pressure and ruthless scolding from the emperor and fainted in the classroom!

However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not even look at him, nor did he call for the imperial physician. He just glanced coldly at the other scholars.

"Is this the kind of person selected through the imperial examination? We are very disappointed!"

For a moment, the atmosphere in the Fengtian Hall was stagnant.

The newly-appointed scholars all looked depressed. They had thought that they had come here happily to compete for the top spot, but they ended up being scolded by the emperor and criticized for all their good deeds!
Who can bear this?

"Your Majesty, calm down."

Li Shanchang stepped out and said,

"The new scholars...may not be what your majesty wants, but I think they write good essays and can be considered promising talents."

"No one is born omniscient and omnipotent. Abilities also need to be cultivated. I believe that as long as Your Majesty needs them, they will definitely learn diligently even if they don't know how to do it. For example, if Your Majesty wants to assign them to the prefectures and counties to identify rice, they will surely be able to quickly learn how to identify and take charge of county administration."

What he said does make sense.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand impatiently and refuted:
"That's really good! It sounds better than singing!"

"Abilities can be cultivated, but the question is, do we have enough time to cultivate people? And will they become useful if we cultivate them?"

"You should know that the Ming Dynasty now has many real vacancies to fill! What is needed is people who can roll up their sleeves and work hard as soon as they take office, rather than people who know nothing and only know how to recite poems and write articles!"

"In the final analysis, it's the selection system that has problems! Previously, we didn't consider it thoroughly enough. If we really want to select talents, this shouldn't be the case!"

Li Shanchang and Song Lian were confused after hearing these words.

They don't quite understand what the emperor means...

Is this to deny the imperial examination system?
Thinking of this, Li Shanchang suddenly changed his mind and said:
"Your Majesty, what you said does make sense."

"The Song and Yuan dynasties both implemented the imperial examination system, but there were not many people who could become officials through the imperial examinations who were truly capable. The weakness of the Song dynasty and the chaos of the Yuan dynasty are both lessons from the past."

"On the contrary, the previous system of recommendation and recommendation was able to discover some talents who were capable of taking on important tasks."

"I think that under the system of recommendation, those who are selected must have their own unique qualities, and such people are often what Your Majesty needs, and they are the ones who can roll up their sleeves and work hard when they take office."

"Therefore, although I am the chief examiner of the imperial examination, I am also opposed to abolishing the recommendation system and the recommendation system, and only the imperial examination system is respected."

For him and the Huaixi Party behind him, selection and recommendation are beneficial, while the imperial examination will cause damage to their interests. Why not follow the emperor's words and demote the imperial examination system?
"I don't agree with what Lord Li said."

Song Lian quickly objected,
"The imperial examination system may have its drawbacks, but the recommendation and recommendation system has even more drawbacks!"

"The imperial examination is the only way for ordinary poor students to enter the official career. How can the Ming Dynasty cut off the only dream of poor students? Besides, the so-called recommended officials are often nepotism, and there may be shameful activities behind the scenes!"

"Your Majesty, I still support the imperial examination system. Even though it has certain drawbacks, we should gradually improve it and never abolish it!"

As a righteous man, Song Lian must speak his mind if he has something to say!

No matter whether the other party is Li Shanchang or Liu Bowen, he will not remain silent because of fear of the other party!

"Master Song is right."

Zhu Biao secretly cheered and praised from the side.

"Hehe, you two don't need to get excited."

Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly,

"No matter what kind of system it is, there is only one purpose, which is to select talents for the country!"

"Song Lian's last sentence is right. The imperial examination has its drawbacks, so we should improve it! Previously, we were lazy and followed the Yuan Dynasty's system. Now we find that this doesn't work, so... we decided to restart the examination and give questions that are truly used to select talents!"

"What do you think?"

Everyone present: “!!!”

Restart the imperial examination?

Are they going to revoke the titles of these thirty-six new Jinshi and send them back to take the exam again? !

For a moment, all the scholars' faces turned green!

They wanted to protest and oppose, but facing Zhu Yuanzhang's power, no one dared to speak.

Whoever speaks up may be able to win benefits for his colleagues, but he will definitely die a miserable death!

But if I don't speak up, the fame and fortune I've achieved will just disappear... No one would want that!

For a moment, the faces of the Jinshi candidates were different, each uglier than the other, and Song Lian and Li Shanchang were also terrified.

"Your Majesty! No!"

Song Lian was surprised.

"The imperial examination has its own system. How can we just retake it? From ancient times to now, there has never been a retake of the imperial examination!"

"If you abolish it at will, it will damage your majesty's prestige! The people of the world will also be suspicious!"

The emperor's proposal really scared him!

"Ha! We didn't make this decision on impulse, nor do we cancel it at will!"

Zhu Yuanzhang flicked his sleeves and said seriously,
"We have two legitimate reasons to restart the imperial examination!"

"First, we are not satisfied with the selected Jinshi in this examination! We also think that they are not qualified for future work!"

"Since they are incompetent, what's the point of keeping them? Let them eat the court's salary for nothing and harm the people?"

"Of course, this is also my fault. As I said just now, the questions I set were not rigorous enough. I will not make this mistake again in the second examination."

"As for the second point, we are also considering it for the sake of the scholars!"

He paused.

"Biao'er, tell me the news you got."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved to Zhu Biao.

"Yes, Father."

Zhu Biao stepped forward and said in a deep voice,

"This imperial examination was held in a hurry, so many candidates were absent, especially those from remote areas in the north. There were more than 130 candidates who were unable to take the exam on time due to the long journey!"

"These scholars went through so much hardship and traveled so far to Yingtian, but they were unable to take the exam. You can imagine how bad they felt! They jointly appealed to the court, asking for an additional exam. This matter has caused quite a stir in Yingtian, and many people have stood up for them."

Hearing this, Li Shanchang and Song Lian were both stunned.

They also knew that the northern candidates would be absent from the exam, so when the examination was about to begin, many of them came running in. When they learned that they could not take the exam, some burst into tears, some collapsed on the ground, and some even made a loud noise. In the end, they were all stopped by the soldiers and did not disrupt the examination room.

Unexpectedly, they changed their approach and issued a joint statement, which also triggered public opinion.

"It was indeed difficult for the candidates from the north to travel all the way to Yingtian Prefecture. Some of them had to travel thousands of miles to take the exam, but when they arrived, they found that they could not catch up... This was indeed not fair to them."

Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice,

"Since the success of the Northern Expedition, the north has also been the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the northerners are also the people of our Ming Dynasty! They have suffered a lot from the war. As the emperor, I should give them preferential treatment, so I also need to consider their demands."

"After all, our Ming Dynasty is no longer a separatist regime, and we no longer only control half of the country! In fact, we have some objections to your examination papers, but we just don't want to pursue them seriously!"

The last sentence has a hint of hidden meaning.

"Father Emperor Shengming!"

Before everyone could react, Zhu Ju had already taken the lead in expressing his opinion, shouting,
"The people and scholars of the north will surely be moved to tears by your benevolent actions!"

"I am a humble subject, but I would like to thank you for your kindness on behalf of all the northern subjects and scholars!"

"Long live Long live Long live!"

Pfft!
In full view of everyone, Zhu Ju knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times and nine times to his father.

As he raised his hand, he raised his eyebrows at Zhu Yuanzhang.

This is quite a show of support, Dad!

Zhu Biao also reacted quickly and kowtowed:

"Father Emperor Shengming!"

"I also support my father in reopening the imperial examinations to give northern scholars a chance. This will also allow the Ming Dynasty to select some truly talented people!"

He followed Zhu Ju and also bowed three times and kowtowed nine times.

Both princes firmly supported it. The remaining officials looked at each other, not knowing whether to oppose or support it. They all stood there in a daze.

If it had been the Song Dynasty, the emperor would have been criticized by the literati at this time. They would have definitely said things like the ancestral laws cannot be changed and the system cannot be disrupted.

But this method doesn’t work in the Ming Dynasty!
ancestors?

Sorry, I, Zhu, am the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, and the laws are set by me!

system?

We also set the system! Not only do we control the system, we also control your lives!
If we say we should retake the exam, who dares to object?

Is it that the head is no longer wanted, or the nine clans are no longer wanted, or, are they no longer wanted?
After a moment of ideological struggle, Li Shanchang chose to surrender.

"Your humble servant...will obey your majesty's order."

After he knelt down, Song Lian and other officials had no choice but to kneel down and obey his order.

At this point, the thirty-five new Jinshi in the hall, as well as the Jinshi who fainted on the ground, became the group of people with the shortest Jinshi title in history!

At the emperor's command, they were beaten back to their original form and had to take the exam again!
At this moment, they wanted to cry but had no tears!

However, no one cared about their feelings. They could either take the examination again, which might give them a chance to regain their fame, or simply give up the exam... then they would have nothing.

They only have such a pitiful choice.

"Okay, it seems everyone agrees with our move."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand.

"That's settled then! We will announce the date for the re-examination! During this period, all the scholars who come to Beijing to take the exam can stay in the inn, and all the food and lodging will be covered by the court!"

"We will give them some time to rest and ensure that all the scholars can take the exam with the best spirit!"

"This time, we must select some truly talented people!"

(End of this chapter)