Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 250 Selecting people!

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao and sighed: "If your mother saw you like this, she would be very happy."

"This is our good son."

"For these people below, we must let them know to be afraid."

"We can tolerate them for now because they have been through thick and thin with us. If we act ruthlessly, we will be somewhat in the wrong. But we have already drawn a line for them. It's just that we didn't expect that Xia Zhibai would come up with something we haven't seen before after all his tinkering."

"These people below are bullying me because I have no knowledge."

“I thought I didn’t understand anything.”

"They all wanted to enrich themselves and stuff all our things into their own pockets. I wanted to tolerate it at first, because I thought that the Northern Yuan Dynasty was still there, and we still needed these people to help us solve the border problems in the north. But now that there is a better way, we will naturally not turn a blind eye."

"You are responsible for this matter, Boss."

"Since it is a rule."

"We have to let them know who owns this world!"

Zhu Biao cupped his hands and said, "I obey your order."

A few moments.

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered again and said, "The issues in the south are not that easy to resolve. Although you are the crown prince, it is not convenient for you to personally deal with it. Let Xia Zhibai handle this matter. He was the one who caused these issues, and he should be the one to resolve them."

"We'll let Tanghe help."

"But on the surface, soup and soup will still be the main dishes."

Zhu Biao nodded and said, "I understand."

"I don't think it's that troublesome. From Xia Zhibai's memorial, I understand something. The chaos in the south is caused by the ownership issue. Once the ownership issue is established, I don't think these officials in the south will dare to go against the court."

"Moreover."

"Even if the court imposes heavy taxes."

"You can still make money, but you're making less money."

"And this part of money was not supposed to be earned by them. Now the court is generous and allows them to earn a part of it. This is already the most benevolent thing. If they still don't know what's good for them, the court doesn't mind taking direct action."

"The South is the South of Ming Dynasty."

“Not the South for Southerners.”

"Local people and officials must understand this principle."

"If they don't understand, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Ming Dynasty will make them understand!"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head.

Zhu Biao thought everything was too simple.

He has always been wary of the influence of the South. In the past, he relied on the Zhejiang East Group to fight against the Huaixi Group. However, as he gained power, he began to slowly cut back. His original intention was to wait until the Northern Yuan Dynasty no longer posed a threat to the Ming Dynasty before taking action.

Of course, I also took a lot of action in private.

Whether it was the Hu Weiyong case or the Guo Huan case, both were intended to strike back and weaken the South.

However, the south was very vigilant, and would immediately stir up trouble in the local area whenever the imperial court made any move. Then, officials headed by Li Shanchang began to submit memorials in unison. Later, it was not only civil officials who submitted memorials, but even military officials got involved.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang even more fearful and angry, but he could only hide his thoughts secretly.

The South cannot be in chaos.

Xu Ben’s memorial was based on this.

This is also the point where Zhu Yuanzhang has been hesitant and conflicted.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "I know you want to sort out the south, but the situation in the south is not ordinary after all. Most of the civil and military officials in our court are from the south. We have targeted them in the past, but after targeting them, we still have to use southerners in the end."

"The South does produce more talented people than the North."

Zhu Biao nodded.

He sighed and said, "How could I not know?"

"But it is precisely because I know this that I am even more worried."

"Even with my father's prestige, the local governments have been making small moves and have been trying to get the court to take action. From the imperial examination system, to the land survey, and now the salt policy, every time the Ming Dynasty implements some policies, it encounters many difficulties in the south. The good and benevolent policies of the court have turned into bad and harmful policies once they are implemented in the local areas."

"Get to the root of it."

"It's because local officials pretend to obey but actually disobey."

"And the reason why they dare to pretend to obey but secretly disobey is because they know that the imperial court dare not let the South be in chaos, right?"

“That’s why they are so fearless.”

"The court cannot keep retreating, otherwise the local authorities will become more and more passive. I now understand Xia Zhibai's ideas more and more. We must use various new things to continuously break the local authorities' cage so that the court's supervision can be truly implemented."

"This time the local authorities want to test the reaction of the court."

"The court should let them take a good look."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with satisfaction.

He sneered and said, "I just don't want the world we worked so hard to conquer to fall into chaos again. But if these people are really so ignorant, I don't mind sending troops to the south again. When we destroyed Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng, we killed many local landlords and gentry."

"We dared to kill back then."

"Why would I be afraid now?"

"Ugh."

"But after all, he has been with us for so many years, and I still feel a little bit reluctant." "We will let Tang He take 5,000 elite soldiers with him."

"Also let Jiang Li go with you."

"Now that we've shown this attitude, they should be able to understand our attitude." A cold look flashed across Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

As an emperor, although he holds power over the world, he cannot really do whatever he wants in many cases. There are many things he needs to consider. He does not want chaos in the South. There are many people in the South, and once chaos breaks out, it will easily lead to a disaster.

The people of the world had just recovered from the war, and now they have to go through another war. It is really too painful for them.

And it will take more time to recover.

He doesn't have that much time.

Zhu Yuanzhang hunched over, with his hands behind his back, and a somewhat bleak look in his eyes.

He also knew that he was a little indecisive. If he were young, and someone dared to do these little tricks in front of him and use public opinion to threaten him, he would definitely chop these bastards to pieces without saying a word.

but now.

He had to think more about it.

He was not worried that he could not control the situation, but that he did not want to leave a mess for his successor.

The father and son had almost finished their conversation, and Zhu Biao was about to leave. However, just as he reached the palace gate, he saw Pu Gou'er trotting over. Zhu Biao frowned and asked, "Eunuch Pu, what's the matter?"

Pu Gou'er bowed respectfully, took a deep breath, and said, "Your Highness, Xia Zhibai just sent a memorial to the palace."

"There was a murder in the city last night. An engineer under Xia Zhibai was assassinated."

Zhu Biao looked slightly strange and said, "Show me the memorial."

Pu Gou'er did not dare to hesitate and quickly handed over the memorial.

Zhu Biao flipped through the memorial, his face suddenly turned gloomy, and he ordered: "I will send this memorial to His Majesty, you can leave first."

Park Gouer nodded repeatedly.

Zhu Biao weighed it in his hand and decided to return to the palace.

Seeing Zhu Biao coming back, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything else you didn't tell me?"

Zhu Biao said, "Father, Xia Zhibai submitted a memorial. Someone committed a crime in the city last night. According to Xia Zhibai, the perpetrators may be related to the imperial consort of the Ming Dynasty. These people want to grab the blueprints from Xia Zhibai in advance so as to prevent the court from reforming the salt administration."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly: "The prince consort?"

"It seems that our own people are equally unclean."

"never mind."

"We originally wanted to give them more time, but since they are so unrepentant, we don't care whether they live or die. Boss, send someone to tell Xia Zhibai, Tang He, and Jiang Li to leave immediately and head south."

"We want to see what Xia Zhibai can do to the South."

Zhu Biao nodded.

Zhu Biao placed the memorial on the table and retreated again. When he walked out of the hall, he looked up at the clouds in the sky and suddenly felt as if the clouds were pressing down on his heart. How could he not know that the affairs in the south were affecting more and more people.

Isn't this also a test and a "forcing the emperor to abdicate"?
Just as Zhu Biao sent someone to convey the order, Zhu Yuanzhang also announced the decision.

Upon hearing that the court had adopted Xia Zhibai's suggestion, Li Shanchang, Xu Ben and other officials frowned, feeling uneasy. Xia Zhibai, Tang He, and the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard - it was obvious that they were not here to solve the problem.

It's more like solving people's problems!
Li Shanchang already smelled a scent of blood.

After all, Your Majesty could not tolerate the current situation in the South.

He raised his head, looked towards the south, and sighed, "These people are still too confused to see the current situation. Your Majesty is just old, not incapable of lifting the knife. Who says that Your Majesty will never lift the knife again after lifting it once?"

"I just hope that they will see that Your Majesty is serious and not do anything extreme, otherwise..."

“The situation could get out of control.”

"Summer White."

"Is this what you want?"

"Will you be content only if you cause unrest in the South?"

Li Shanchang shook his head.

He had begun to feel timid. His Majesty's attitude was too tough. He was determined to "solve" the southern problem. If it was not solved well, Xia Zhibai and others would never come back. Tang He, Jiang Li and others were there to protect Xia Zhibai.

The South has hit a wall this time.

When Xia Zhibai received the imperial edict, he was in the Hanlin Academy.

He just glanced at it indifferently and put the edict aside.

In fact, he had already made preparations to go south.

Been waiting for this decree.

He pondered for a moment, took out a piece of rice paper and started writing on it. Since he was in charge of the salt administration, he naturally had to select some people to help him. The people he could choose at present could only be those he was familiar with and the scholars in the Hanlin Academy.

Xia Zhibai thought for a moment and wrote down a list.

In the end, he did not choose the scholars from the Hanlin Academy. The Hanlin Academy was a place to train talents and foster reputation. It was better to let these scholars continue to train talents and foster reputation. Moreover, compiling textbooks was also a big thing, and he did not want to disrupt it.

He selected those who were Jinshi of the same year as himself.

Looking at the list above, Xia Zhibai revealed a strange smile. Now Hua Lun, Lian Zining and others actually held higher official positions than him. He felt a little strange when he wrote their names on the list.

But he didn't have much choice.

(End of this chapter)