The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 62 Institutional helplessness
It’s not surprising that Beiyuan thought this way. Even within the Ming Dynasty, they believed that the court was going to fight a big war.

There was a lot of discussion among the people, and the military's reaction became even more intense.

All border troops from various places are in place and ready for action.

But the military generals were not happy. It was naturally a good thing that the emperor supported the war, but now was really not the time for a full-scale attack.

Forcibly starting the fight would be too dangerous and the damage rate would be high.

So several commanders reported to the court one after another.

Since the imperial court has not yet clearly issued a decree to start the war, it is difficult for them to express their opinions directly.

I can only express my opinions under the guise of reporting work.

Basically, they introduce the situation between the enemy and ourselves, and then implicitly express that the time is not yet ripe for war.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't laugh or cry when he saw these reports.

However, he did not explain that it would be good to take this opportunity to make the military more vigilant and at the same time shock other countries.

Chen Jingke was quite speechless when he learned about this.

Why is the military involved?

But this is good, and no one will doubt the court's true intentions.

By then, the reform of Baochao will be carried out more smoothly.

This can be regarded as a different kind of meaning, building the plank road openly but secretly building it.
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Amid all the turmoil, the much-anticipated imperial examination is finally coming.

This imperial examination is the first in 13 years, and it is still Enke.

Therefore, the event was not held in February, but in November.

The registration method is also special. You only need to take an exam in the county. After obtaining the quota, you can directly go to Beijing for reference.

Next year's formal subjects will be held in February, which is the fixed time for the Beijing Examination to be held in previous dynasties.

This arrangement is also beneficial to the candidates.

If you don't pass the exam in November, you can just live in the capital for a few months and then take the next year's exam, eliminating the need to travel back and forth.

There are also some candidates who are relatively far away, such as the candidates in Yunnan, who may not have time to participate in the Enke in November.

You can only take the main course in February next year.

Things will not be so easy in the future. You must first take the exam to be a scholar, then take the exam to be a juren, and then you can take the Beijing exam.

The registration conditions were unprecedentedly relaxed, resulting in a large number of scholars gathering in Yingtianfu.

Not to mention the two sides of the Qinhuai River, all places where people can live are occupied.

Even the large and small inns in the city are all full.

Many candidates couldn't find an inn, so they found a way to stay in ordinary people's homes, which was considered an early type of B&B.

Some candidates stayed overnight in temples and Taoist temples.

The gathering of so many young people has also boosted consumption in Yingtian Mansion, and various businesses have made a lot of money.

The painted boats on the Qinhuai River work day and night.

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and issued a series of edicts to stop this trend.

But scholars know everything, and there are still many people who sneak in and enjoy it in private.

I just don't dare to be so blatant anymore.

This is the first time that Zhu Xiongying has seen so many scholars gathering together, and he is very interested.

I told Zhu Yuanzhang that I wanted to see him.

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally would not stop him, but only told him not to reveal his identity.

As a reading companion, Chen Jingke must be by his side.

The group left the palace in disguise.

First, he walked around the city. Zhu Xiongying felt that it was not enough, so he went to the Qinhuai River.

But even if Chen Jingke was brave enough, he didn't dare to let him go to a brothel to have a boat ride, so after walking around for a while, he went to the largest restaurant in the area.

Squadron Building.

It can be seen from the brand new plaque at the gate that this name is most likely newly changed.

Chen Jingke also had to admire the owner of this restaurant for being a good businessman.

The Number One Scholar Building is worthy of being the Number One Scholar Building. It is very luxurious and has three floors.

Every floor is full.

Among them, the first and second floors are the busiest.Countless students gathered together, some talked about poetry, some talked about knowledge, and some talked about national affairs.

Zhu Xiongying suddenly couldn't walk anymore and said: "We have been walking for a long time, let's take a rest here and have something to eat."

Chen Jingke didn't object, but he looked around and saw no seats.

However, he was not in a hurry. Instead, he came to the counter and took two special banknotes:

"Find us a table on the first floor, serve some specialty dishes and have a pot of good tea."

Nowadays, Guanbao banknotes can be exchanged for more than 600 copper coins, and two coins equal nearly [-] copper coins.

It was a huge sum of money.

The shopkeeper's mouth was almost crooked with a smile: "Okay, okay, gentlemen, please wait a moment."

He took action personally and didn't know what he said to others.

The two smaller diners chose to share a table, freeing up one table.

Chen Jingke then sat down with Zhu Xiongying, chatting and listening to the bragging of these scholars.

After a while, Zhu Xiongying shook his head and said: "No wonder Huang... Grandpa said that scholars are easy to talk but have poor ability to do things. I finally understand why."

Chen Jingke shook his head and explained: "Actually, it's not their fault, the system is like this."

"The imperial examination is like thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge, and the competition is very fierce."

"Besides, the imperial court stipulates the scope of examination questions, so it's useless to learn anything else."

"They can only put all their energy into it to be able to compete with others."

Zhu Xiongying frowned slightly, unable to understand these words.

Chen Jingke shook his head secretly. After all, he was young and grew up in the palace.

If you cannot truly understand how difficult it is to cultivate a scholar, you will naturally not be able to understand the difficulties of being a scholar.

It can be said that scholars with high scores and low abilities are the fault of the imperial examination system.

But on the other hand, the court also had a lot of helplessness.

Just like the college entrance examination in previous lives, many people criticize exam-oriented education and advocate quality education.

However, the question arises, what is quality education?

A piano lesson costs several hundred yuan. Do ordinary people have this condition?

Go abroad to participate in certain activities to gain gold. Do children from ordinary families have this ability?

Or to put it more bluntly, a child from a rich family, a child from an ordinary family.

Who has a better chance of becoming the 'qualified' person to be admitted to the university?

There is no need to say the answer anymore.

The so-called 'quality' requires a lot of money.

If we really carry out comprehensive reforms and carry out so-called quality education, [-]% of those specially recruited will be children from wealthy families.

It is more difficult for children from ordinary families to go to college.

There are many problems with exam-oriented education, but at least it gives children from ordinary families a chance to work hard.

The current problems facing the imperial examination are the same. The more subjects there are to be tested, the narrower the path for ordinary people.

Chen Jingke also thought about setting higher requirements for the imperial examination and taking more subjects.

However, considering the actual situation, this idea can only be abandoned.

After listening for a while, Zhu Xiongying suddenly said: "Jing Ke, the suggestion of your two-year swordsman and pen clerk is indeed necessary."

"Otherwise, I really can't imagine the consequences if these people directly become officials."

Chen Jingke sighed: "Actually, there are many loopholes in this method. There will definitely be people who use their connections to avoid becoming officials, but right now there is really no better way than this."

Zhu Xiongying also nodded. They had analyzed this before.

Ordinary people will abide by this rule, but there are many ways for the children of officials to escape, such as being seconded.

But this system is better than nothing.

Even if only a small number of people are tempered by swordsmen and pens, it is a blessing for the country.

While he was talking, the restaurant suddenly became quiet.

Chen Jingke and Zhu Xiongying thought something big had happened. When they were confused, they suddenly heard someone shouting:
"Fang Xiaoru, it's really him."

(End of this chapter)