Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 271 The Scholar Bowing Down
Zhu Zhanhe's move caused all the scholars present to become conflicted once again. After all, most of them were scholars from poor families, not privileged scholars from wealthy and powerful families. Otherwise, why would they all agree to the Prince of Han's recruitment?

When all the scholars faced the Han Crown Prince's act of rebellion, which was almost identical to that of the Han Prince, they hesitated, but they were not entirely opposed to it. Some even felt secretly fortunate. They simply kept telling themselves that the Han Crown Prince was not rebelling, but rather expanding the territory of the court.

But Zhu Zhanhe's bombshell announcements to the scholars were far from over.

Looking down at the scholars whose expressions were constantly changing, Zhu Zhanhe continued to bombard them with messages. He decided to once again attack their fragile psychological defenses and make them submit to him more quickly.

"I, the Crown Prince, have decided to establish the Six Ministries of the Prince's Palace in Yunnan. Among all the virtuous and capable individuals, those with the best governing abilities will be promoted to fill positions in the Six Ministries and the Prince's Palace Cabinet after achieving outstanding results in their respective regions!" Zhu Zhanhe dropped another bombshell, telling all the scholars, "I will select the most capable people from among you to enter the decision-making level of the Prince's Palace!" Instantly, many scholars' eyes gleamed with intense light.

They knew that the Prince of Han was rebelling, and the Crown Prince of Han was expanding his territory. If the Prince of Han really succeeded in raising an army, it would be another Jingnan Campaign! And the Crown Prince of Han, as the only adult eldest son of the Prince of Han, was most likely to be the future Crown Prince! If they joined the Six Ministries and the Cabinet secretly established by the Crown Prince of Han now, wouldn't they be doing a great service to the emperor if the Crown Prince of Han were to be named Crown Prince or even ascend the throne in the future?

Therefore, at this moment, the eyes of countless scholars looking at the Crown Prince of Han began to gleam with intense light.

"You must understand that I, the Crown Prince, will not stop here after conquering Annam. I will continue to expand outwards. Therefore, I will establish a new Military Council to specifically advise on my external expansion!"
Furthermore, I am not afraid for all of you wise men to know that Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and even the entire Indochina Peninsula are all my future targets! Therefore, I need countless talented people to spread Confucian culture in foreign lands and to govern the people in various places.

Of course, as you all have probably heard, His Highness will distribute land to the soldiers as part of the newly developed territories.

"And as an official who participated in the development of Yunnan, I will also be allocated a portion of the land!" Zhu Zhanhe dropped another bombshell, one that combined idealism with reality.

For these poor scholars present, land was undoubtedly the most irresistible temptation! Moreover, if the Crown Prince of Han could distribute so much land to over 100,000 soldiers, wouldn't he be even more generous to the officials, who were far more important than the soldiers?! Would they receive even more land?! The temptation was simply unimaginable!
The immense achievement of educating the people and the overwhelming temptation of dividing up land confronted the unparalleled scholars in the Hall of Imperial Decree. In an instant, countless scholars' eyes reddened, and their breathing became rapid.

"For any new territory to be developed, I, the Crown Prince, will dispatch all kinds of officials, including prefects, magistrates, sub-prefects, assistant prefects, deputy envoys, and vice commissioners, all at once."

Once you esteemed scholars arrive in your respective prefectures and counties, firstly, I, the Crown Prince, will have the local garrison assist you in carrying out public education and moral guidance. As for what official positions you will be assigned, that will be determined based on your performance evaluations.

"Of course, if someone's performance is not ideal, there are still countless county magistrate positions available for everyone to choose from!" Zhu Zhanhe told all the scholars, "I need many officials and will send you all to govern various places. However, as for what kind of official position you will actually be assigned, you will have to rely on your own abilities to choose. If someone's performance is very poor and they cannot be selected for a prefectural-level position, there are still county-level positions to choose from. So, you don't need to worry about being left behind; I, the heir apparent, will arrange everything!"
Zhu Zhanhe's candid words greatly pleased the scholars. After all, ten years of study were merely for the sake of a single official position, and wasn't this the perfect opportunity?! Moreover, even the worst outcome would be a county magistrate position! As for a high-ranking official of the third rank, that wasn't out of the question—it was certainly worth a shot!
"I wonder, are you all satisfied with my words, my esteemed scholars? Are you willing to expand the territory of our Great Ming? To enlighten the world for our Great Ming?" Zhu Zhanhe stood up, raising his hand to ask the many scholars before him. He deliberately made his plans for expansion sound grand and lofty. Zhu Zhanhe knew that if he were to actually say he wanted to rebel, the scholars before him wouldn't be too opposed, perhaps only feeling a little uneasy. But if he described it as expanding the territory and enlightening the world, then that was the ideal of a harmonious world in the minds of the scholars! They would surely convince themselves to agree. This was the art of language!
"We are willing to serve Your Highness!" In the end, the two hundred proud scholars, under Zhu Zhanhe's temptation, brainwashing and sugar-coated bullets, all lowered their proud heads without exception!

"Your Majesty, you have misjudged him!" Xia Yuanji, standing below the high platform, looked at his son-in-law, who was so powerful and influential on the platform, and silently looked up at the roof of Chengyun Hall, as if speaking to the Yongle Emperor in the sky, and murmured.

"Sigh~!" Mu Sheng, who was closest to Xia Yuanji, naturally heard Xia Yuanji's mutterings. Then, he also looked at the Han Crown Prince on the high platform with complicated eyes and couldn't help but sigh. He didn't know whether he felt relieved or disappointed.

"Xia Fubi, conduct an evaluation of these esteemed scholars today! And make the results public as soon as possible!" Zhu Zhanhe smiled with satisfaction as he watched the scholars bow their heads. In the blink of an eye, he immediately arranged for his father-in-law to begin evaluating the group, hoping to motivate these scholars to quickly generate value for him!
"Your subject receives the imperial edict!" Xia Yuanji stepped forward without hesitation, bowed to Zhu Zhanhe, and accepted the edict. After all, he had already prepared the examination questions.

Upon hearing Xia Yuanji's voice, countless scholars turned their gazes towards him. After all, they recognized him as the Minister of Revenue during the reign of Emperor Taizong. And after witnessing Xia Yuanji receive the imperial edict from the Crown Prince of Han, their eyes gleamed with renewed interest. After all, the Minister of Revenue during Emperor Taizong's reign was deeply intertwined with the Crown Prince of Han, marrying his own daughter to him as his principal wife and personally supporting all of the Crown Prince's actions—how could these scholars not have high hopes?
"I wish all of you esteemed scholars a successful examination! Furthermore, the top three in this evaluation will be directly added to the Six Ministries of the Prince's Palace!" Zhu Zhanhe glanced at the numerous scholars below the platform, offering them another huge lure. Then, without giving anyone time to react, Zhu Zhanhe turned and left with a flick of his sleeve.

"Respectfully seeing off Your Highness!" The scholars, once again overwhelmed with immense joy, radiated an even more fervent enthusiasm. They shouted their farewells loudly to Zhu Zhanhe's departing figure.

After leaving Chengyun Hall, Zhu Zhanhe turned around and went to the study in Cunxin Hall. Liu Erniu and the others were already waiting there.

"Your Highness!" As soon as Zhu Zhanhe entered the room, Liu Erniu and Wei Jizhong stepped forward and bowed to him.

"No need for formalities, let's get straight to the point." Zhu Zhanhe sat down in the main seat after entering the room. Xiao Xizi, being very observant, brought over a bowl of soup. Zhu Zhanhe looked puzzled. Wasn't tea served? Where did this soup come from?

"Your Highness, this is ginseng soup personally prepared by the Crown Princess. She said that Your Highness has been busy with state affairs these past few days and needs to nourish your body, so she had Sister Xiaozhi bring it over." Seeing the Crown Prince's surprise at the ginseng soup, Xiao Xizi quickly bowed and said, bringing the bowl over. Xiao Xizi wanted to tell the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, please rest. You've been so busy lately that you haven't been eating or resting properly, and the Crown Princess is very worried about you." But Xiao Xizi also knew that the Crown Prince had been busy with important matters recently, and she didn't dare to distract him.

(End of this chapter)