A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

With such a small force, it was simply not enough to warrant the intervention of these powerful figures. Yang Jian could have easily suppressed any rebellions by redeploying the team he had built to the empire to various parts of the country.

You can't beat them in a fight, and they won't listen to reason.

The answer is: I am a tyrant.

He simply went his own way, and Yang Jian had a large number of civil and military officials following him, making it impossible for the powerful families to do anything about it.

After a year, Shen Ye finally completed the preliminary preparations for the imperial examination.

The academies in each prefecture also officially began assessing candidates for the imperial examinations in the capital, and all officials of the fifth rank and above began actively making recommendations.

To Yang Jian's surprise, the major aristocratic families were extremely cooperative in this matter.

Could it be that the major families have already admitted defeat?

No, no, that's impossible.

Yang Jian thought it was probably because the powerful families wanted to occupy all the spots, making the so-called imperial examination system for promoting people from poor families a joke.

This was exactly what they expected; they simply wanted to create a hole in the vast network of powerful families and officials.

However, Shen Ye offered a different perspective.

"Your Majesty, what do you think would happen if aristocratic families made up the majority of the candidates, and then collectively boycotted the imperial examination on the day it began?"

Yang Jian, Gao Ying, and the others all gasped in shock.

They really hadn't thought of that.

If the disciples of these aristocratic families collectively choose to boycott the exam, based on the full force of the aristocratic families, it is likely that 6% to 8% of those participating in the exam will come from aristocratic families.

If they all boycotted the imperial examination on the day of the exam, it would be an absolute disaster for the imperial examination system.

After Shen Ye's reminder, they realized that other aristocratic families had done similar things.

For example, everyone submits a blank paper, everyone participates in the imperial examination, but after being admitted, they refuse to become officials.

Each of these was a huge blow to the imperial examination system.

"What you say is absolutely right, Shen Qing. If it weren't for you, the imperial examinations would probably have become a joke."

"Does Minister Shen have a plan to deal with this?"

"Your Majesty could use the first imperial examination as a pretext to summon students from all over the country to the capital."

"Therefore, these students could not participate in the imperial examinations, but they were still honored to be bystanders."

"If these aristocratic students really refuse to take the exam, we can simply fill the vacancies by admitting students from lower-ranked schools according to their rankings."

Shen Ye suggested.

"This method is excellent!"

Yang Jian first praised them, "But what if they participate in the assessment and hand in a blank paper?"

"Your Majesty may declare the examination invalid, and on the grounds of contempt for the examination hall and the court, declare the examination results invalid, expel all these people from the examination list, and ban them from participating in the imperial examinations for the rest of their lives, and ban them from serving as officials in the court for the rest of their lives."

"Then, following the previous method, supplementary enrollment will be conducted, and new exams will be held, or rankings will be made directly to bring those poor scholars who are not controlled by powerful families into the imperial court."

"No matter what I say, it will have some impact on the imperial examination system. But as long as this imperial examination is officially launched and some students from poor families enter the imperial court through the examination, it will be a success for the imperial examination system."

"It will greatly inspire hope in the hearts of the people, and then His Majesty will be able to revive this game."

"What if they take the exam normally, but after the results are announced, they choose not to attend court, resulting in a lose-lose situation for both sides?"

Gao Ying suggested another possibility.

"There is no other way. They just don't want to be officials. It doesn't count as disrespecting the court, and we can't use that as an excuse to punish them."

"We can only hope that one of those students from poor families can come out on top, and then we can save face."

Shen Ye shook his head. Faced with this mutually destructive approach by the powerful families, he didn't have any good ideas.

"However, the powerful families are not an impenetrable wall; Your Majesty still needs to divide and win them over in advance."

"The imperial examination system is the lifeblood of the entire aristocratic family! Wouldn't some families turn against us?"

Su Wei couldn't believe it.

"The powerful families in the world cannot be completely eliminated; we can only reduce their influence on the court as much as possible."

"Putting everything else aside, a hundred years from now, the families of everyone here will all become new aristocratic families; this is inevitable."

"All the powerful families understand this principle, so as long as His Majesty offers enough benefits, they don't mind turning around and stabbing the powerful families in the back."

"After all, the world's resources are only so big. If there are too many powerful families, they will have less to eat. If there are fewer powerful families, then they will naturally have more to eat."

Su Wei and Gao Ying looked at Yang Jian. Although they were not commoners, they were not from aristocratic families either.

Yang Jian nodded. His Yang family had once been one of the most prestigious families, so he naturally knew what kind of families they were.

"I will arrange this matter."

Although the Yang family has now become royalty, they were once the most prestigious family in the world, and they still wield considerable influence among aristocratic families.

He currently has influence over quite a few powerful families, and turning some of them against their will is absolutely no problem.

Yang Jian suddenly realized that Shen Ye was not as simple as he seemed, and he suddenly began to admire Shen Ye.

"Currently, there is no one to fill the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Shen Qing is the only suitable candidate."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Shen Ye understood that this meant Yang Jian had accepted him from the bottom of his heart.

If he performs well, the position of Minister of Rites will be his.

Shen Ye has served the Sima family like a slave for so many years, and in the end, he is only a fifth-rank official.

The Vice Minister of Rites was a third-rank official, while the Minister of Rites was a second-rank official.

It was something he never dared to even imagine before.

With a single thought, the world expands.

It turns out that joining a powerful family was the best way out.

He got it.

Xu Ye seemed to have grasped the secret to promotion and wealth, his eyes shining.

Yang Jian quickly learned through various means that the aristocratic families had been making frequent contact recently.

However, apart from the top few, we can't get any specific information about the others, we only know that they have some big plans.

To maintain secrecy, the other prominent families were unaware of it.

However, apart from the Yang family, several top families have reached a consensus, requiring the other families to obey orders.

A few days before the imperial examination, they would tell others about their plans and claim that they would definitely deliver a fatal blow to Yang Jianzhi, rendering the imperial examination system worthless and a dead letter.

Clearly, Shen Ye's guess came true; it's just a matter of which option the major families will choose.

Hopefully, it won't be the worst of the worst.

Yang Jian was also quietly making his plans, waiting for the moment when the powerful families would reveal their true intentions, so that he could expose his own hand and thwart their schemes.

Now it all comes down to whose methods are more sophisticated and covert.

Both sides are gambling. If the aristocratic families succeed in their scheme, the imperial examination system will become a joke, and Yang Jian's prestige will be greatly damaged. He was already unstable in establishing his country because the Wei family did not attend court. If he suffers another blow, his throne may be shaken.

If Yang Jian succeeds, his imperial examination system will gain the recognition and admiration of the people, and with this huge popular support and prestige, he will be able to secure his rule.