Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 789: Ambition and Self-denial

[The number of key officials who entered the government through recommendation was basically the same as the number of military meritorious officials.

Taking into account that the Hu Weiyong case broke out in the 13th year of Hongwu and the imperial examination was reopened 16 years later, it is reasonable to infer that most of the officials recommended for official positions entered the government 13 years before Hongwu.

In the middle of the feudal era, the biggest difference between recommendation and imperial examination was that the power of recommendation was held by the central government rather than the emperor, and the administrative affairs of the central government were coordinated by the prime minister.

To put it bluntly, starting from the sixth year of Hongwu, it was the prime minister rather than the emperor who could decide the future of officials. In the Secretariat, where the left and right prime ministers were supposed to check and balance each other, Wang Guangyang was exiled by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Ultimately, this objectively led to the situation where Hu Weiyong became autocratic starting from the sixth year of Hongwu. Judging from the above data, Hu Weiyong did not hesitate to use his power to promote a new interest group whose number was almost equal to that of the nobles.

It would have been strange if Xiao Hu didn't do something under such circumstances, which led to the Xiao Hu case.

As for why the imperial examination system finally returned in the 16th year of Hongwu, it was not only because of Hu Weiyong's downfall, but also because Zhu Yuanzhang had a thorough understanding of the difference between officials and local officials. This was clearly stated in the opening remarks of the palace examination in the 18th year of Hongwu:
"Those who are capable may be entrusted with their confidants, but they may obey you in public but have different aspirations; those who are virtuous may be given official positions, but they may not be able to achieve anything... If one cannot control himself, what can he do?"

In weighing the two results of "strange ambitions" and "nothing to accomplish", Zhu finally pointed out his standard for employing people, which is "self-discipline".

To put it bluntly, Old Zhu finally stopped asking you Jinshi to have any talent for governing the country and maintaining peace. It is a blessing for the Ming Dynasty that you can be morally shameless. 】

In the Huagai Palace, Zhu Biao felt a little confused.

Turning his head to look sideways, his mother was silent. His fourth brother, who was hiding behind, had his brows twisted into a knot. His fifth brother didn't even raise his head. As for his second, third and sixth brothers, their eyes were basically filled with innocence.

So Zhu Biao, with doubts about the conversation behind the light curtain, looked at the current Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The rage on Dad's face faded away, and he had a thoughtful look on his face. His brows were not as furrowed as Fourth Brother's, and he seemed to have realized something.

"Why, confused?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Haoda'er's expression and joked with a smile.

"Son..." Zhu Biao hesitated to speak.

The upbringing he received as the Crown Prince was extremely caring, and all of his teachers were great scholars of the time.

Recite Confucian classics, read Neo-Confucianism to understand its meaning, learn from the ancient sages, and emulate the benevolent and ambitious people.

However, what Zhu Biao was told about the meaning of being an official at the beginning of the article was completely different from what Guangmu said at this time.

At this time, the emperor and his ministers were all sitting in the Huagai Hall, and Zhu Biao, as the crown prince, sat next to Zhu Yuanzhang. At this time, the emperor simply turned sideways and said:

"Does Biaoer know Zhang Hengqu?"

Zhu Biao nodded and said honestly:

"Mr. Hengqu's four sentences, though simple in words, are profound in meaning and are what the world seeks for all time."

With a sigh, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded in agreement:
"It is what the world wants for eternity, but it cannot govern even one place in the world today."

This was a little harsh, but Zhu Biao knew that his father had something to say, so he didn't refute it, but just stretched his head to listen. But unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed to himself first:
"In the future, people will use past events to guess my character and actions. Even if they are only 50% right, but just think about being placed on the light curtain and being heard by the ancient sage king..."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't say anything, but Zhu Biao guessed that he was probably not very happy, so he comforted him quickly:
"Father, the incident mentioned in the light curtain is from last year. Now it is the beginning of the fourteenth year. After the case is revealed, the things that will be mentioned next are all things that we in the Ming Dynasty can predict. They are also things that Father has not done, so he will not be in the current state."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, and his face became more relaxed:
"Let's continue talking about Zhang Hengqu. What this young man said is right. This is the first time that Dad is an emperor, but he can't learn the licentious behavior of the Hu Yuan emperor. Naturally, he can only figure it out on his own."

"When the imperial examination was first held, my father thought he could select a Zhuge Liang from the candidates. But after the selection of Jinshi, he finally understood why it was said that there was no one like Zhuge Liang in a thousand years."

"Since there is no Zhuge Wuhou, we are still thinking about Wei Zheng, Chu Suiliang, and Ma Zhou. It should not be difficult to find such wise men after screening, right? The result is also nothing."

Zhu Biao watched his father clapped his hands and spread them out. Although he was smiling, his face looked quite lonely:

"No, so Daddy doesn't ask for any wise help. He will give important positions to those who are sensible, know benevolence, and serve the people loyally. But the result is that those who are sensible don't know how to be loyal to the emperor and serve the people, and those who are loyal and good don't know how to do things rationally."

"Now it seems that what father is asking for is greedy. It is enough for the selected people to be loyal to the court and not care about or harm the people."

Zhu Biao felt that his father had the same problem as the young man. He clearly told him to talk about Mr. Hengqu, but he mentioned a bunch of names of good officials from the Han and Tang dynasties. However, he didn't expect Zhu Yuanzhang to change the subject again when he said this:
"So now, looking back, Zhang Hengqu's four-word father is not even worth the wait. If one day all scholars can really follow this, then... the world will be for the public, not for us."

To Zhu Biao, his father's words were somewhat pessimistic, so he frowned slightly and advised:

"Dad, the Hu Yuan still exists, and China has been restored for less than 20 years. The culture and morality are in decline and people's hearts are no longer the same. The evil and seductive spirits are nurtured by treacherous people. It's all because the culture and morality are not flourishing."

"Nowadays, literature and morality are just beginning to flourish. If we persist in doing so, even the stubborn can be educated. When those who are influenced by the style of the Ming Dynasty grow stronger, they will be able to eliminate corruption and promote morality, which is what future generations are looking for."

The Crown Prince's words made Emperor Ming stare:

"It's just the simple words 'promote culture, govern the country, and educate the people'. Why make it so complicated?"

Zhu Biao rolled his eyes, not caring about his father's pride being poked by Xiao Xiao, and said:

"Then the father, the person promoted by Hu Weiyong..."

Zhu Yuanzhang was also quite conflicted when talking about this. In fact, as Guangmu said just now, what he liked most was that the emperor did not expect his subjects to be grateful for the emperor's grace. As long as he did not need to thank anyone, he would be very satisfied.

After the incident of Hu Weiyong was reported last year, although many people were implicated, the higher the position, the more they had to be carefully considered. As a result, many people who were involved in the affairs of the six ministries today started from the sixth to the twelfth year of Hongwu. Are there any who secretly remember Hu Weiyong's kindness? I don't know; are there any who secretly joined the party because of Hu Weiyong's recommendation? I also don't know.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang became quite discouraged and finally turned his attention back to Haodaer.

Although his father didn't say a word, Zhu Biao said consciously:

"I can do the reopening of the imperial examination, but this matter must be announced to the world, and it must be done by Daddy."

This made Zhu Yuanzhang laugh immediately, but then he muttered:
"It's not a bad idea for Biao'er to write an edict..."

(End of this chapter)