Chapter 268 I thought about it and what Magistrate Zhang said is right!
The entire Wanshou Palace hall fell into complete silence.

When Zhang Juzheng called out what method should be used to determine the quota method for recruiting scholars from the special examination list in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty in the future.

Everyone shut up.

just.

People's thoughts are different.

In light of well-known things.

In the current court, Zhang Juzheng, who was demoted to the governor of Shuntian, is a clear-cut reformist.

This Shuntian prefect also retained the official title of Dongge Grand Secretary.

This led to a group of officials in the court who firmly and spontaneously followed the reform faction centered around Zhang Juzheng.

If Zhang Juzheng just wanted to take advantage of the false accusation case in the imperial examination that just happened this year to change the three lists of the imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty to the lists of the two capitals and thirteen provinces, then this would not be a very important matter.

How to replace after all.

The South is always the place with the largest number of scholars.

However, the method proposed by Zhang Juzheng was to determine the number of candidates to be selected in each list based on the number of population and household registration in each prefecture.

This is not aimed at fairness in the imperial examination.

Instead, they went to check the population and household registration of each province.

The census of the population and household registers in each province can be compared with Zhang Juzheng's earlier proposal to survey the land area throughout the country.

This is how Zhang Juzheng took a big detour, extending from the false accusation case in the Spring Imperial Examination to his continued implementation of reforms.

Yan Ne, Paine and others couldn't help but look at Xu Jie.

Just now, you, Lord Xu, said that you support Zhang Juzheng's request to change the three lists into the two capitals and thirteen provinces list.

Then, Lord Xu, do you also support Zhang Juzheng's plan to check the population and household registers in each province, and even to survey the land in the country?

OK!

Should have seen it last time.

You, Xu Jie, are the biggest leader of the reform faction!
Yan Ne immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the three lists of the north, south and center are the two capitals and thirteen provinces. I have no objection."

This is the attitude that needs to be expressed.

That is, he was not opposed to making the spring examination, an important event for the imperial court to select talents and officials, more fair.

Then, Yan Ne said, "But if we reform the system according to the law proposed by Shuntian Prefecture, it would not be a fair approach."

"In the imperial court, the population and household registration of the two capitals and thirteen provinces are all kept in the imperial court. As everyone knows, there are many scholars in Huguang, Nanzhili, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang."

"As for population and household registration, Henan has the largest population. However, Henan has a large population, but fewer scholars than Nanzhili, Huguang, Jiangxi and other places. Does Shuntian Prefecture's request mean that Henan, which has the largest population and household registration, will be the place where the court recruits the most scholars? On the other hand, Nanzhili, Huguang and other places with the most scholars have fewer scholars than Henan because their population and household registration are not as good as Henan, so the number of scholars recruited in the spring examination should be less than Henan?"

"I think this method is not appropriate and is unfair. It does not conform to Shuntian Prefecture's request to change the three lists to the two capitals and thirteen provinces list, which is fair."

After Yan Ne finished speaking, the Minister of Justice Pan En immediately followed up and seconded the motion.

After all, what Yan Ne said were things that the court could find out now.

Among the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, Henan and Shandong had the largest population and registered households. However, when it came to scholars, the largest number came from southern areas such as Huguang and Nanzhili.

The method Zhang Juzheng mentioned of using the population and household registration of each province to calculate the quota for selecting scholars is the greatest injustice.

Zhang Juzheng had obviously already considered the doubts and questions raised by Yan Ne.

He smiled and said calmly, "The Ministry of Rites said that there are many scholars in the south, while there are many scholars in the north. However, the Ministry of Rites is in charge of education, so how could they not know why this is the case?"

Why is the academic atmosphere in the north weaker than that in the south?
Zhang Juzheng raised this issue.

Yan Shaoting smiled faintly immediately.

If we really want to be serious about this matter, we can trace it back to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. If we are too picky, we can trace it back directly to the end of the Han Dynasty.

Since the end of the Han Dynasty, whenever there was turmoil and chaos in the world, the area north of the Yangtze River was the most chaotic, with warlords fighting each other in different places, and everyone could form a team and rule their own area.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Five Barbarians invaded China, and nine out of ten Han households in the north were almost wiped out.

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, those ambitious people devoured the remains of the great Tang Dynasty and fought on the vast land in the north.

The swallows that used to fly before the Wang and Xie halls have long since turned into piles of graves in the city of Jinling.

The distant Guanlong gentry and the five surnames and seven clans of Hedong also collapsed in those catastrophes.

And what about the South?

Because of the natural barriers of the Qinling Mountains, the Huai River and the Yangtze River, it has always been able to survive in a corner.

Once something is really impossible.

The worst that could happen is that he would lead the surrender.

No matter how much blood is shed in the north, there will always be peace and prosperity in the south of the Yangtze River.

Anyone can sit on the throne of emperor.

But the wealthy families of the Jiangnan gentry have been able to be passed down for thousands of years.

One side is at war every year, while the other side lives in peace in a corner.

The academic style can be easily seen.

You can’t even save your life, and yet you still want to study and gain fame?

In this precarious situation, the North is more focused on how to survive.

this problem.

Anyone can understand it.

So Yan Ne didn't explain.

Zhang Juzheng then said: "The former Song Dynasty lost the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun for a hundred years, and it was not until Emperor Taizu Gao of our dynasty launched five northern expeditions to recover the old mountains and rivers. Now, it has only been less than two hundred years since we began to cultivate, and there are already countless scholars and brave generals.

“In the court, Gao Gelao, Guo Shangshu, Gao Shangshu and others are all from the north. Doesn’t this show that the learning style in the north is flourishing?

"Our dynasty will last forever, and it will be passed down from generation to generation. After two hundred years of cultivation, countless people from the north have served the country. How can people today know that the learning style in the north will be inferior to that in the south in the future?

Your Majesty is wise and benevolent, ruling with ease, inheriting the legacy of your ancestors, nurturing the descendants of the dragon, and keeping the royal family in harmony. We can expect a prosperous era for our dynasty, long-term peace in the north, and a flourishing learning atmosphere. By then, how can the scholars in the north be inferior to those in the south?"

Yan Ne used the differences between the scholars in the north and south of the Ming Dynasty to oppose Zhang Juzheng's proposal to recruit scholars based on the population and household registration quotas of each province.

Zhang Juzheng used things that might happen in the future to oppose what Yan Ne said. You Yan Ne can't say that our Ming Dynasty can't last forever.

Then you, Yan Ne, have committed the crime of high treason.

And if the Ming Dynasty could last forever and be passed down from generation to generation, then the north would have time to recuperate and there would be no war. The academic atmosphere would naturally become stronger year by year, and the number of scholars would naturally increase year by year.

and so.

Reforming the quota of candidates for the spring examination in accordance with the population and household registration system of each province will be a matter of great benefit to future generations, and it concerns the well-being of Jiangnan during the Ming Dynasty for generations to come.

After Zhang Juzheng refuted Yan Ne, he immediately bowed and looked at the emperor above.

He said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, what I am requesting today is not just for the present, but for the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty that Your Majesty will usher in, and for future generations.

Your Majesty has ruled with ease, and is wise and unparalleled. You have inherited the past and succeeded the future. The North has enjoyed peace for 200 years, and will enjoy peace for 10,000 years in the future. The law you have changed today will be a great achievement that will benefit future generations and the descendants of the Ming Dynasty!"

Yan Ne frowned immediately.

Zhang Juzheng did this to him.

This matter became something directly linked to the Ming Dynasty's national destiny and future emperors.

How can I object?

To oppose it is to say that the Ming Dynasty is doomed to perish and cannot last forever.

Don't you object?

Do we have to let Zhang Juzheng openly check the population and household registration of the two capitals and thirteen provinces across the country?

Once Zhang Juzheng has found out the truth, he might be able to find out all the land in the world quietly as well.

What a sinister intention!

Yan Ne looked at the person in front of him and said in a deep voice, "Do the cabinet elders think so? What do Elder Yan and Elder Xu think about this matter?"

On the bright side.

Yan Ne was asking for the opinion of the entire cabinet.

But in fact, he was actually targeting Xu Jie.

He, Zhang Juzheng, is your student, Xu Jie.

As a teacher, you still care about this matter.

Xu Jie was also very angry.

What is this now?

He turned around and looked at Zhang Juzheng, whose eyes were clear and his face was serious.

this student.

How did it become like this?

He originally thought that the emperor's demoting this student to the position of Shuntian prefect would stop him from wanting to reform.

But is he really not afraid?

Aren't you really not afraid of being demoted again and again, to the ends of the earth?
just now.

Even Yan Ne ignored the rules and questioned him directly.

Xu Jie said softly with a sullen face, "Since the purpose is to ensure fairness in the selection of candidates for the Spring Examination, why do we have to go to such great lengths to make the government and the people busy checking the population and household registration in various places?
Since the court has accounts and the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the country's taxes, we can directly draw a road based on the court's past archives, and each province can directly determine it based on the past archives."

The matter was related to Zhang Juzheng and the Ming Dynasty's country and people.

The change of the three lists into the two capitals and thirteen provinces lists cannot be directly prevented.

However, instead of checking the population and household registration in various places, the court directly used the existing archived data to make the allocation.

Do you really want Zhang Juzheng to check the population and household registration in all provinces across the country?

Should all the local tenant farmers and the common people who had no choice but to become slaves in the wealthy families be identified and have their household registration returned?

How do we live like this then?
As Xu Jie spoke, Yan Ne felt relieved.

As long as Xu Jie, the second assistant, does not share the same idea as Zhang Juzheng and can clearly oppose the population and household registration check.

Then the situation is still controllable.

but.

Zhang Juzheng was obviously well prepared.

Is it time to confront Mr.
Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment.

Then he said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, how can the number of people and households in the world that the court has archived in the past be compared with the current number?"

"During the Hongwu reign, Emperor Taizu Gao issued two decrees to check the population of the country, and both times the population was around 60 million. During the Chengzu reign, the population was around 65 million, and by the 22nd year of Chenghua, the population was still around 65 million."

"Until now, the population registered by the various ministries and offices of the imperial court has been based on the Chenghua period, which is about 65 million. But since the Chenghua period, in the dozens or nearly hundreds of years, how is it possible that the population of the world has not increased?"

"How can such a thing be possible in the world? I believe that the number of people registered in the world today is definitely more than 65 million. It must have doubled long ago!"

"If the court wants to recruit officials fairly, it must check the population that should be registered. Moreover, the court has not checked the population that should be registered for nearly a hundred years. The Ministry of Revenue has been collecting taxes based on past records, but the extra population has not been taxed. Isn't the court losing a huge amount of tax silver that is unknown?"

After saying that.

Zhang Juzheng glanced at Yan Shaoting silently.

Yan Shaoting was moved.

It seems that Lao Zhang has also learned from me that everything he says has something to do with money.

He immediately took a step forward.

Bow and nod.

"Your Majesty, I have been thinking about this for a while, until I realized what Magistrate Zhang just said."

"I think what Magistrate Zhang said is right!"

…………

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(End of this chapter)