Chapter 342 The Sky of Ming Dynasty is Changing

Yan Shaoting shrank his head.

He felt a gust of cold wind blowing from behind him.

Let yourself feel cool all over.

Well known.

With the dynasties learning from history.

Since the Song Dynasty, the Central Plains dynasties have imposed extremely strict restrictions on the crown prince.

After the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty founded the country.

And after Emperor Taizong entered Nanjing City during the Jingnan Rebellion.

Although there were two wise crown princes who were granted extremely high authority by the emperor for a short period of time, the power of the crown prince was strictly restricted afterwards.

For the crown prince of the Eastern Palace, going out to study is the most important and only task before ascending the throne and becoming the new emperor.

To a certain extent, it effectively prevents the possibility of the crown prince threatening the monarch, and is also conducive to instilling more ideas about governing the country into these crown princes.

of course.

This is the situation in a kind of optimal state.

And the facts are well known.

Sometimes, the reigning monarch did not even have enough time to train a crown prince for the empire.

But the system and unspoken rules are still passed down in this way.

For the current dynasty.

With Prince Jing's enfeoffment last year, Prince Yu Zhu Zaigui has become the only undisputed candidate for the empire's crown prince.

It was only because of well-known reasons that Prince Yu had never been given the nominal title of Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace.

and so.

This year, Prince Yu left the palace to serve as the principal of Changping Academy, but this did not cause much noise or opposition in the court.

After all, being the president of an academy means nothing to the nominal crown prince of the Ming Dynasty. It is actually not much different from being a scholar, and he does not hold real power.

But at the moment.

today.

The old Taoist priest actually gave Prince Yu Zhu Zaigui the official title of Chief Academic Officer of the Imperial College.

Although it is also just a title, not an actual award.

But what difference does it make?

If Zhu Zaigui wanted to have some opinions on the affairs of the Imperial College, or on the personnel recommendation system for students to become officials that the court was about to implement, would Gao Gong, who actually held the position of the Imperial College's chief academic officer, disagree?
Yan Shaoting looked at the old Taoist priest on the platform with a restrained gaze.

This was the first time that the old Taoist priest surprised him.

This is equivalent to giving Prince Yu considerable real power within the court system.

No.

It is a great real power.

Personnel power!
After all, if nothing unexpected happened, the Imperial College would inevitably be given the nickname of a minor official department.

Yan Shaoting was not the only one who was surprised by the emperor's sudden offer of a reward.

Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng were even more shocked than Yan Shaoting.

This is a first-of-its-kind thing!

Don’t mention Crown Prince Yiwen and Emperor Renzong!
Those two are special cases under special circumstances.

Don’t you even consider whether there are any other crown princes like them since Emperor Renzong?
However, although Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng were shocked, they had different feelings in their hearts.

Zhang Juzheng was surprised, but also a little surprised. After all, no matter what, his relationship with Prince Yu's Mansion was not bad.

Not to mention that Yan Shaoting said today that Prince Yu was the first person to propose the system of recommendation for students waiting to become officials, which undoubtedly shows that Prince Yu is a potential reformer.

Xu Jie was worried.

In addition to the unexpected, there is deep worry.

That’s Prince Yu!

Although he does not have the title of crown prince, he is the only prince who remains in Beijing in reality!

Moreover, this prince is also the principal of Changping Academy.

Now Prince Yu has been conferred the title of Chief Academic Officer of the Imperial College.

In the future, students of Changping Academy, even if they fail the imperial examination, will be able to enter the court through the Imperial College's recommendation system.

When he thought about looking back and seeing that the entire court was filled with people from the Changping clique, Xu Jie wished he had not come to this cold Wanshou Palace today!

But no matter what.

It cannot be changed now. The situation of the Ming Dynasty is about to change!
It is a first for the crown prince to hold an actual position in the court. There is no doubt that from today on, Prince Yu's status in the court will rise sharply.

The sky is changing!
If the emperor can confer the title of chief academic officer of the Imperial College on Prince Yu today, he may be given other duties tomorrow.

Below that.

Step by step, Prince Yu really achieved the status of Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace in reality, without being the Crown Prince in title!

but.

No matter what the three of them thought.

The emperor has already spoken, how can his words be changed?
Yan Shaoting was also the one who reacted the fastest.

"The headmaster is diligent in his studies, well versed in the writings of ancient and modern sages, and has memorized the Four Books and Five Classics. He is also gifted with the ability to enlighten people's minds and has unique insights in government affairs."

"Your Majesty has appointed the headmaster of Changping Academy as the chief priest of the Imperial College, which is justified. I dare to believe that the headmaster will be able to reform the old and establish the new, and make our dynasty a new one!"

夸！
At this time, all you need to do is praise mindlessly.

Anyway, Prince Yu, the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty, is also from the Changping faction.

Now, after this incident, Zhu Zaigui has gained some power in the court. Could it be that President Zhu would still be partial and not help the students of his own academy to enter officialdom?
Who says that government clerks are not worth mentioning?
If that's true.

Otherwise, things wouldn't have turned out like this.

Perhaps we should use some tricks to get some experienced clerks from various government offices to the academy, and offer a course on official clerkship specifically for the students?

Yan Shaoting has a lot of creative ideas in his head.

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

You can't use your own tricks.

It should be that Principal Zhu and Chief Academician Zhu took the initiative to add a course on civil servants for the students of Changping Academy!
This is the first thing Zhu Shanchang did after receiving his new position!
Yan Shaoting kept this matter in his heart.

He asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, I still have a doubt..."

Jiajing felt like he was floating in the air at this moment.

The son is successful.

Yan Shaoting constantly praised his son for his talent.

This undoubtedly proves that one's own seed is good!

He immediately smiled and waved his hand, saying, "If you have any doubts, just tell me. I have told you before that you can speak freely in front of me!"

Xu Jie, who was overtaken by Yan Shaoting, could only hold his mouth and lower his head.

If you take one step slowly, all steps will be slow.

Zhang Juzheng showed a hint of envy in his eyes.

There is no other official in the country who can be as strict as Yan Runwu.

Yan Shaoting smiled and asked, "The headmaster has been promoted to the position of Imperial College Priest, but the headmaster still has to continue to take charge of the affairs of the academy."

His face showed an expression as if he was afraid of having another burden on his shoulders.

Jiajing immediately burst into laughter and pointed at the guy with his finger.

"How can we change the order of teaching and educating people overnight!" "Let him continue to take on the responsibility and cultivate talents for the court!"

Yan Shaoting's face clearly showed a look of relief.

Jiajing was delighted to see him like this.

But there was another consideration in my mind.

Changping is now completely different from other places in the country, and I must add some sand into it.

My son is the most suitable candidate.

Otherwise, I would not have let Prince Yu be the president of Changping Academy last time.

And the same is true today.

Although the authority to recommend students as officials was placed in the Imperial College by local government officials, they had to ensure that their sons were also in this position.

Even though Gao Gong was still the one in charge.

But having a son around can sometimes play a restraining role.

Although Gao Gong had a hot temper, when it came to matters like this, especially the teacher-student relationship between him and his son, he always had to consider Prince Yu's Mansion when selecting students.

And more importantly.

I hope my son can become familiar with the techniques of selecting and employing people in advance.

The situation now looked very good for Yan Shaoting.

Xu Jie lowered his head, as if there was a lump of air in his chest.

He could not help but speak in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the recommendation system for official students proposed by Shanzhang and Yan Binke today is feasible, but I still have some concerns. If you want to implement this method, you should think twice for the stability of the country."

Jiajing immediately raised his eyebrows and looked at the second assistant.

Yan Shaoting also glanced over.

Even at this point, Xu Jie still refused to give up.

"Go ahead, Mr. Xu."

Jiajing responded casually, then leaned back on the table and looked at Xu Jie.

Xu Jie nodded and said, "Although the recommendation system for students waiting to be promoted is good, the imperial court has made it known to the world. Although we have also considered many things for the students in the world to relieve their worries, serving in a different place will inevitably involve traveling. We still have to consider whether all the students in the world are willing to do so..."

In fact, what Xu Jie wanted to say was that he could work in the government from a different place.

Not to mention whether the local gentry and powerful people who originally held power in the local government would be happy, even the students and their families would be willing to go to other places to work in the government.

Xu Jie then said, "Besides, although the system of recommending candidates for official posts is almost exhausted now, the local government already has clerks and yamen runners working there, and it may not be possible to replace them all in a short period of time."

Jiajing raised his eyebrows.

And in Yan Shaoting's sight, the old Taoist priest's eyes were looking at him clearly.

This is because I hope to answer Xu Jie's question myself.

I thought about it quickly in my mind.

Yan Shaoting turned around and said, "Lord Xu, nowadays, the clerks and servants in the local government offices are not appointed by the court, but are all employed by the local government. In this way, the court and the local government can naturally dismiss them calmly.

Even if the government is reluctant to do so, as this is the time for the country to rectify the administration of officials, I think Mr. Gao would be willing to do more to speed up the rectification of government officials and kick out those officials who have committed illegal acts in the past!"

This method can be said to be completely ruthless and extremely crude.

Xu Jie opened his mouth immediately, but closed it in an instant.

trap!

Yan Shaoting is digging a hole for himself again!

If I had just blurted out that this method was not possible, I would probably have suffered.

Because what Yan Shaoting said was not wrong.

No matter how much local power the government clerks hold, in theory, these people have no rights at all.

Not to mention decency.

If one wants to dismiss an official appointed by the imperial court, one needs a legitimate name and reason, but to dismiss these clerks, it only takes a word.

Can you say that the local gentry and powerful people disagree?
Doesn't that mean that the local gentry and powerful people are resisting the imperial court?
Would the Ming Dynasty's second prime minister be afraid of local gentry and powerful people?
I was afraid that as soon as I said this, Yan Shaoting would have to ask himself which side he was on.

Yan Shaoting stared at Xu Jie quietly, and when he saw Xu Jie open and close his mouth, he couldn't help but feel sorry for it.

The old guy didn't take the bait.

He had no choice but to say, "As for Lord Xu's concern that students all over the world are unwilling to work in the government from other places, it's even simpler!"

Zhang Juzheng immediately raised his eyebrows: "Oh? How can it be so simple?"

While asking the questions, Zhang Juzheng also glanced sideways at the good gentleman from his past.

Yan Shaoting immediately bowed and turned to look at the old Taoist priest on the platform.

He smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I remember that in the second year of Hongwu, Emperor Taizu Gao issued an edict to announce to the world that schools should be set up in all prefectures, counties and districts across the country. The prefectures have prefecture schools, which are supervised by professors. The states have state schools, which are supervised by schoolmasters. The counties have county schools, which are responsible for education.

"Among the various schools, there are students who receive food, students who receive additional food, and students who receive additional food. The government provides food and rice for students who receive food and additional food. There are 40 students in the prefecture school, 30 students in the state school, and 20 students in the county school.

"Over the past 200 years, most scholars in the country have received official education and received food and grain from the court. Now the court is in need of talents. If the system of recommending students to be officials is introduced, it will also increase the path for scholars in the world to pursue official careers.

The imperial court has supported scholars from all over the world for 200 years, and has given countless honors and privileges. Now that the imperial court is employing people, scholars from all over the world should repay them for their service.”

When Yan Shaoting uttered the five words "Taizu Gaohuangdi".

Not only Xu Jie, but also Jiajing, Lu Fang, and Huang Jin, everyone understood that Yan Shaoting would definitely not be wrong in this matter.

Although the exact time is not clear.

But he still spoke subconsciously: "It was indeed announced to the world in the second year of Hongwu."

Yan Shaoting smiled and nodded, and continued, "Therefore, today I have another suggestion on the recommendation system for candidates for official posts. I ask the emperor to approve it."

Jiajing smiled and nodded.

No sound was made.

Yan Shaoting said immediately: "Your Majesty, if you approve the system of recommending officials to be admitted to the imperial court, then the officials should be given priority! First, the officials who can receive food and rice from the imperial court must first be examined by the imperial school and have good conduct. Second, the officials who are treated well and supported by the imperial court should also work for the imperial court. Third, the officials who are admitted should not be banned from the imperial examinations, so the imperial court will not cut off the official students' undergraduate prospects."

These are the public reasons and statements.

In Yan Shaoting's view, although not all official students were of impeccable character, they were often a way for the children of powerful local families to gain more benefits from the court.

But in the final analysis, most of the official students came from poor backgrounds or had good conduct.

Use these people.

Compared with recruiting scholars and juren from all over the country, I can feel relatively more at ease.

Jiajing smiled faintly.

His eyes turned to Xu Jie.

"Mr. Xu Ge."

"Do you think there are any omissions in what Yan Shaoting said that need to be addressed, Lord Xu?"

Xu Jie lowered his head, his face gloomy.

Can you say that official students are not available?
That means that he, the second-in-command of the cabinet, is slapping the face of the imperial court.

Think about it.

Xu Jie found that he could not say anything more about this matter.

He raised his head, his face filled with a rich and brilliant smile.

Xu Jie looked at Yan Shaoting.

I am full of bitterness at this moment!

The emperor was not asking himself whether there were any deficiencies that needed to be checked and filled.

This clearly allowed me to express my stance!

…………

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(End of this chapter)