Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 115 Southerners and Northerners
Generally speaking, the Imperial Examination was in charge of the Ministry of Rites, and the Hanlin was responsible for marking the papers. The procedures for sealing, transcribing, proofreading, marking the papers, and filling in the list during the examination were the same as those for the provincial examination.

As for the number of candidates who passed the imperial examination, the emperor might set a number. However, he would not interfere with the rankings, etc. At most, the examiners would select the top ten essays and send them to the emperor for review. Even the top ten essays, the emperor might not be willing to read.

But this time it was different. The Crown Prince Zhu Yunhuan directly asked someone to send the top ten articles.

Mei Yin was a former nobleman from Shandong. Although he had the bloodline of a relative of the emperor and a noble, he was also well versed in classics and history. In the eyes of Zhu, who was a family member who valued his family, Mei Yin was a great Confucian scholar.

Zhu Yunhuan took a look at the article and thought it was indeed well written. If he were asked to write it, he would definitely not be able to do it. But it was still okay.

After taking a quick look, Zhu Yunxun asked, "Uncle, what do you think of these articles?"

Mei Yin nodded with a smile and said, "Your Highness, I think these articles are all excellent works."

Zhao Mian and the others were naturally confident, although they could be somewhat subjective when reviewing articles. However, the articles they selected this time were basically of very high quality.

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "The top ten candidates look good."

Zhu Yunhuan then stopped smiling. "Zhang Xin is from Dinghai, Ningbo Prefecture. Dai Deyi is from Fenghua, Zhejiang. Hu Sizong is from Xiaoshan, Zhejiang. Shi Yunchang is from Dinghai, Zhejiang. Lu Guanxiao is from Changshu. Tang Tai is from Fuzhou. After looking around, I found that this Jing Qing is from Zhengning, Gansu."

Jing Qing is also a famous person. In history, he assassinated Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di, and then his family was exterminated, his hometown was searched, and he was falsely accused of being involved. This is also what many people call "punishing ten clans", and he is on par with Fang Xiaoru.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhao Mian and said, "It seems that the flourishing literary style in Jiangnan is true."

Zhao Mian's heart trembled, but he still said, "Your Highness, the literary style in Jiangnan is flourishing, and the scholars' articles are excellent!"

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "That's true. The imperial court has held the imperial examinations for the fifth time. I flipped through the results a few days ago. In the previous examinations, I felt that Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi had the most prosperous literary styles, accounting for half of the successful candidates in each examination."

Others were still listening patiently, and they didn't think there was a big problem with this matter, because the actual situation was like this. Not only were these places rich in literary style, but they were also places where Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was concentrated and flourished.

Zhu Yunhuan opened his mouth and said, "Send ten more."

Zhao Mian and others seemed to realize that something was wrong, but they still quickly ordered someone to send ten more papers over.

Zhu Yunhuan basically did not read the content of the article, but only looked at the birthplaces of these people.

"Send ten more!" Zhu Yunheng snorted coldly and said, "Our Ming Dynasty court really has to rely on the southerners!"

As soon as Zhu Yunhuan finished speaking, some people reacted and realized the reason why the Crown Prince was somewhat dissatisfied.

A total of twenty papers were submitted, and there were only two people from the North.

This is still relatively restrained. It is not like the year in history when the 51 people on the list were all from the south! Moreover, they were from Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi, accounting for 44 people. The rest of China, whether from the north or the south, only had nine people on the list!
Zhu Yunhuan looked unhappy. He handed over a hundred papers, and nearly 60% of the candidates from Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi passed the exam. The northerners combined accounted for less than 15%!

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhao Mian and asked directly, "Tell me, the Ming Dynasty has been established for nearly 30 years. Grandfather Huang has worked hard to govern the country and promote education. Why is it that it is not as good as the Yuan Dynasty?"

Zhao Mian immediately knelt down, kowtowed and said, "Your Highness, I dare not!"

"Don't dare, I think you dare!" Zhu Yunhuan snorted coldly and said, "Go back and review, the number of scholars in the north must not be less than 40%!"

As soon as Zhu Yunhuan finished speaking, Zhao Mian immediately shouted, "Your Highness, how can the imperial court divide the quotas based on region when selecting candidates for the imperial examination? This is unfair to the southern scholars!"

Isn't it fair?

It may be a little unfair. To be honest, the literary style in some places in the south is indeed more prosperous. As for the imperial examination, these people have a higher chance of passing the exam, which is also based on their strength.

However, the imperial examination is not just a simple ceremony to select talents, it is also a part of politics.

Zhu Yunhuan snorted coldly and said to Zhao Mian, "Since you are not convinced, order Liu Sanwu and the other Jinshi candidates and the Hanlin Academy to review the results! Of the 100 candidates, no less than 40% must be from the north!"

Zhao Mian and others were startled, but they did not necessarily take Zhu Yunhuan's instructions to heart.

They insisted on their own views and believed that selecting people based on their abilities was the right way. They did not need to care about the emperor or the crown prince's considerations.

The emperor and his men need to consider the whole world, while Zhao Mian and his men only consider Jiangnan, or even a state or a prefecture, and their reputation among the literati.

Moreover, the past year has given many civil officials enough confidence that they can try to challenge and test the emperor. After Zhao Mian and others left, Zhu Yunhuan said, "Let Jiang Lin and Zhu Zhong start to prepare something. Send someone to stop my second uncle's carriage and block the gate of Changxing Marquis's mansion."

Zhang Fusheng immediately remembered these things in his mind. He knew a lot about some things. However, the most important thing was not his attitude, but how to handle these things.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Yunxun said, "Uncle, what do you think?"

Mei Yin smiled and said, "Your Highness, I will contact one or two people. I was the academician of Shandong in the early years. I dare not boast, but I have some reputation."

Zhu Yunhuan asked with a smile, "What if we beat the drum to protest our grievances? Will this work?"

Mei Yin smiled and said, "Your Highness, don't look down on those people. Although they seem to be upright and speak the sutras, there are only a few such people. Most of them are opportunists."

Zhu Yunxun laughed and said, "That's true. You talk about morality but you think about business."

Zhu Yunhuan then said, "This matter is settled. My uncle is in charge of the Imperial College, which has been somewhat neglected over the years."

It’s not that the Imperial College has become obsolete, but that the students there are not as hardworking as before.

In the past, students of the Imperial College had to study hard. Being sent to the Imperial College basically meant one foot in the officialdom. Now, many officials and even the imperial court of the Ming Dynasty are directly served by students of the Imperial College.

In the past few years, if students of the Imperial College did not study, professors and others would directly punish them. There were even cases where the discipline was too strict, so much so that a student of the Imperial College committed suicide.

Once you arrive at the Imperial College, you have to study. If you want to lie down, the academician and professors will beat you with sticks!
Mei Yin said, "Your Highness, if I were to take charge of the Imperial College, the scholars would certainly have some opinions."

"Discuss?" Zhu Yunhuan sneered, "In the past few years, we were strict, so they didn't dare to discuss. Now that we are lenient with them, they are discussing. If we give in a little more, shouldn't they ask us for official positions and better treatment? When my cousin was here, how dare they say anything?"

Mei Yin didn't say anything, because he could also see some clues about some things.

Think about the time when Li Wenzhong was in charge of the Imperial College. Not only were the students well-behaved, but even the great scholars were very honest.

Because the Duke, who had joined the army when he was young and had made many military achievements, really dared to kill people! Even if they were so-called famous teachers, if they dared not to do their best, Li Wenzhong would not show mercy.

"It is said that I have been suppressing the nobles in the past two years. Those scholars should soon know how I treat everyone equally!" Zhu Yunhuan showed his big white teeth, looked at Mei Yin and said with a smile, "Uncle, send my cousin to the palace in a few days."

Mei Yin immediately said, "Your Highness, my son is very naughty, I'm afraid this is not appropriate."

"Cousin Shunchang is naughty?" Zhu Yunhuan laughed and said, "That's even better. Let him serve in the Five Military Commandery."

Mei Yin quickly said, "Your Highness, my son is still young, I'm afraid it's not appropriate now."

"It's too early to take office, so you should study." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "It doesn't matter if you don't accompany me to study, just accompany the emperor's uncles to study. But uncle, don't let cousin Shunchang study. He is a relative of the emperor and a nobleman. Don't let him get involved in the circle of scholars."

Mei Yin's heart tightened. The Crown Prince was warning him!

Zhu Yunhuan was in a good mood as the North-South List case was about to officially begin.

On the streets, rumors began to spread more and more. The scholars who were waiting for the results or reveling in peace could no longer remain calm.

It is true that the economy and culture of the South are more developed than those of the North. But it is said that this time, no one in the North took any.

The reason is that the examiner took the money, the reason is that the examiner doesn't like northerners, the reason is that the examiner and others only choose people from their hometown
Even though the results have not been announced yet, all the news makes people feel uneasy.

Liu Sanwu, who was a man of profound knowledge and profound conduct, and well versed in current affairs, also heard some of the news, but he did not take it seriously. "I have read these papers, and the northern scholars' papers are not well written and some of them violate taboos. If they fail, it is only natural."

Zhao Mian said with some concern, "It's just that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that 40% of the people in the north should be recruited."

"Forty percent?" Liu Sanwu was full of righteousness. "In my opinion, it is a great fortune for 20% of the northerners to be included in the list! Their writing is not as good as others, it's just that they don't read enough! If Your Highness favors the northerners, I will take off my official hat and hit my head against the jade pillar!"

Glancing at his son-in-law, Liu Sanwu said, "Believe it or not, if I do this, there will definitely be great scholars who will follow my example! If scholars like us give in now, how can the imperial examination be fair! How can the talent selection ceremony gather the best talents in the world!"

Zhao Mian also laughed, "My father-in-law is right. Scholars like me should have a noble spirit in our hearts!"

It's no big deal to fight with the emperor and the grandson. I've fought with him several times before, and I won every time!
(End of this chapter)