Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

Zhu Jianji paced back and forth in the hall angrily, and after circling around a few times, he stopped in front of Pei Yuan.

"My dear minister, you have always been resourceful. Since those old officials are no longer suitable, do you have any good plans to recruit a group of talented people to manage the accounts and affairs of the Royal Trading Company?"

Pei Yuan stood there calmly, having already prepared a plan.

"In my humble opinion, not all scholars in the world are pedantic Confucianists who merely memorize the Four Books and Five Classics and can only compose poems. There are also many practical talents in the common people who are proficient in mathematics, water conservancy, construction, and firearms."

"Because the imperial examination system exclusively relied on the eight-legged essay, these talented people repeatedly failed the exams and were thus wasted, ending up in the marketplace."

Pei Yuan lifted the corner of his robe, knelt on one knee, and spoke in a loud voice, exuding an aura of domineering power that broke with the old and established the new.

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you issue an imperial edict to hold an additional practical examination! It shall not test knowledge of the Four Books and Five Classics, nor the eight-legged essay. It shall only test mathematics, architecture, and the customs and products of foreign lands!"

"All those who pass the imperial examination will be granted the title of Jinshi (a high-ranking scholar) and directly assigned to positions in the Imperial Commerce Bureau and the Tianjin Naval Force!"

"In this way, we can not only solve the urgent problems of the Commerce Bureau, but also select a group of truly capable and reliable ministers for the Emperor!"

After these words were spoken, a brief silence fell over the side hall.

Even Wang Zhi, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial who had been standing in the corner pretending to be a wooden figure, couldn't help but gasp and look at Pei Yuan in shock.

The holding of an imperial examination was a very important event for the court.

Abandoning the eight-legged essay and replacing it with practical mathematics exams is tantamount to digging up the ancestral graves of all scholars in the world!

If this decree is issued...

Those civil officials who see the imperial examination as their lifeline are probably really going to rebel.

Zhu Jianji was also stunned for a long time.

His gaze shifted back and forth between the room full of gold and silver jewelry and Pei Yuan.

The emperor was not stupid; he knew all too well how much resistance there would be to this move.

This was tantamount to declaring war on the entire civil service of the Ming Dynasty, completely shaking the very foundation upon which they could enter officialdom.

Seeing the emperor hesitate, Pei Yuan knew that he had to add fuel to the fire.

He stood up and walked to the box filled with silver.

He casually picked up two ingots of official silver, tapped them together, and they produced a crisp and enticing metallic clang.

"Your Majesty, look at this silver. Could those scholars who only know how to write beautiful essays conjure up this much silver for you?"

"They only stand on moral high ground, criticizing the emperor for extravagance and accusing me of greed."

Pei Yuan turned around and stared intently at the emperor.

"The Ming Dynasty's territory could not be defended by a few essays in the eight-legged essay style. The Tatars were knocking on the gates from the outside, refugees were displaced from the inside, and those barbarian tribes at sea were eyeing us covetously."

"What we need are craftsmen who can build fast ships that can travel a thousand miles, accountants who can calculate every single ounce of fuel consumption, and geniuses who can forge heavy cannons with a range of ten miles!"

"If His Majesty is concerned about the reputation of those civil officials, then the Royal Commerce Bureau will be nothing more than an empty shell."

"The wealth of the four seas will ultimately slip through our fingers. Your Majesty, there's no turning back now that the sea ban has been lifted. The rules of the court must be changed!"

These words struck Zhu Jianji's heart, which was filled with imperial ambition and greed, like a heavy blow.

Yes, I am the true emperor!

In this world, those who obey me prosper, and those who defy me perish.

I want to employ people to manage my money and manufacture cannons; why should I have to put up with the whims of those poor, pedantic scholars!

The hesitation in Zhu Jianji's eyes was instantly replaced by a cold and decisive look.

He whirled around abruptly, waving his sleeve, and shouted sharply, "Wang Zhi!"

"Yes, sir!"

Wang Zhi quickly stepped forward and knelt down.

"Go! Summon the cabinet ministers to draft an imperial edict immediately! I am grateful for Heaven's blessing and the great victory of the navy, and hereby grant an additional special examination on practical skills. Right Vice-General Pei Yuan will serve as the chief examiner and will be in full charge of this matter."

"All citizens of the Great Ming Dynasty, regardless of their background or past, whoever is proficient in practical mathematics may take the examination! Anyone who dares to obstruct it will be punished for disobeying the imperial decree!"

"On behalf of the Great Ming Dynasty, your humble servant kowtows in gratitude for the Emperor's grace!"

Pei Yuan bowed deeply, completely concealing the hint of triumphant mockery in his eyes.

This shocking imperial edict swept through the entire capital like a whirlwind in less than half a day.

Outside Xuanwu Gate, where the inner and outer city walls meet in the capital.

This place was home to a large number of provincial guild halls, and it was also the place where poor scholars who came to Beijing to take the imperial examinations or who were stranded in the capital after failing the examinations repeatedly often lingered.

In a teahouse called "Deyuelou".

The place was already bustling with noise and people were indignant.

A dozen or so scholars dressed in blue robes were sitting around an octagonal table.

One by one, their faces turned red, and they slammed their fists on the table and smashed their chairs.

"Absurd! This is utterly ridiculous!"

A nearly forty-year-old, unsuccessful scholar with a goatee on his chin suddenly smashed the teacup in his hand on the ground, shattering it into pieces.

"The imperial examination is a grand ceremony for selecting talents for the country, choosing those who can understand principles, cultivate themselves, and govern the country and bring peace to the world! Now, that treacherous Pei Yuan has actually bewitched the emperor to hold some kind of special examination for practical matters."

"Testing mathematics? Testing business acumen? This is clearly equating us, the disciples of Confucius and Mencius, with those petty, greedy merchants! This is trampling on scholarship and disgracing the sages!"

"Brother Wang is absolutely right!"

Another young scholar stood up indignantly, his eyes red-rimmed.

"That Pei Yuan levies exorbitant taxes in Jiangnan, builds military towns in Tianjin, and now he's even extending his reach to the imperial examinations."

"If this continues, won't the imperial court become the domain of accountants and craftsmen? What use will our ten years of arduous study of the Four Books and Five Classics be then?"

"Let's go! To the Imperial College! Let's sit in silence outside the Examination Hall!"

"Even if it costs us our future, we absolutely cannot allow this corrupt and disorderly imperial examination to proceed!"

The group of scholars were outraged and, chanting slogans, were about to go out and cause trouble.

In the corner of the teahouse, at a dilapidated wooden table, sat a young man who seemed out of place with his surroundings.

The young man was in his early twenties, and his patched gray cloth gown was spotless.

He was thin, but his face was extremely resolute, and his eyes were deep and bright.

There was no tea in front of him, only a plate of the cheapest fried soybeans.

In his hand, he was holding a charcoal pencil, rapidly writing and drawing something on a flat wooden board.

If you look closely, you'll find that the wooden board is covered with complex geometric shapes and arithmetic symbols that look like gibberish.

This man was named Song Yin, a failed student from Suzhou Prefecture.

Song Yin was intelligent from a young age, but he had absolutely no interest in the Four Books and Five Classics or the eight-legged essay.

He was obsessed with mathematics, including the "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art" and the study of water conservancy.

During the provincial examination, his essay was utterly nonsensical.

However, in the blank space of the exam paper, a model of water management in Suzhou Prefecture was deduced.

As a result, he failed the exam and was criticized by the local examiner for neglecting his studies and indulging in frivolous pursuits.

He wandered in the capital for several years, barely making ends meet by falsifying accounts for shops... no, by balancing accounts.