The Ming Dynasty: Starting with taking Old Zhu on a journey to the future

"Xu Huizu also sensed the Prince of Yan's ambition and tried to advise Emperor Jianwen to detain his two sons in the capital."

"Even after the Prince of Yan entered the capital, Xu Huizu never submitted to him."

"Therefore, the Duke of Wei's mansion and Prince Yan, Zhu Di, did provide a lot of help, but it was limited to the virtuous woman Xu Miaoyun."

These words left Zhu Yuanzhang speechless for a moment.

Since Zhu Di was not buried with the Duke of Wei's mansion.

Who is behind him?

"Don't tell me that there's no one behind that traitor."

He doesn't believe it.

If Zhu Di had no one to support him, he wouldn't have been able to capture Yingtian Prefecture.

Lan Chen slowly said, "The Prince of Yan does indeed have supporters behind him, and this force is even greater than Your Majesty imagines."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

"who."

Lan Chen paused deliberately, whetting Zhu Yuanzhang's appetite, before slowly saying, "Northerners."

Northerner?

Isn't this a concept from the Yuan Dynasty? Mongols, Semu people, Northerners, Southerners.

"Northern people" usually refers to Han Chinese from the north.

"You mean, the entire north supports the Prince of Yan?"

"That's impossible! Although the fourth prince has distinguished himself in battle, a vassal king has no administrative power. How can he win the hearts and minds of the people throughout the north?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not believe Lan Chen's explanation at all.

"If the fourth prince had the support of the people of the entire north, would there be any need for Yunwen to ascend the throne? He could have directly opposed us."

Lan Chen continued.

"Before I tell Your Majesty the reason, I would like to ask Your Majesty a question."

"explain."

What percentage of the successful candidates in the imperial examinations during the Hongwu reign were from the north?

Imperial examination? Northern scholars?

Zhu Yuanzhang placed considerable importance on education.

Naturally, they knew a great deal about the imperial examination system.

Zhu Yuanzhang calmly replied, "The north has suffered from war, and its economy and culture are still being rebuilt, so it is at a greater disadvantage in education."

Simply put, with constant warfare in the north, no one had the time or inclination to study.

"Therefore, the proportion of scholars from the north who passed the imperial examinations was probably between 20% and 30%."

"In good times, it's close to 30%, and in bad times, it's close to 20%."

"If I remember correctly, the best year was the eighteenth year of the Hongwu reign, when we reopened the imperial examination system."

"A total of 472 scholars were admitted to the imperial examinations, of whom 132 were students from the north." (Approximately 28.0%)

"The worst year was the 21st year of the Hongwu reign, with 24 compared to 97." (Approximately 24.2%)

That's right, the year with the fewest students from the north was not the year of the founding of the dynasty, but the year of the Hongwu Emperor's fourth year of the reign, when the north was in dire need of rebuilding.

It was the twenty-first year of the Hongwu reign.

Even though it was already the 26th year of the Hongwu reign.

In fact, the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty were only held four times.

This refers to the first imperial examination held in the fourth year of the Hongwu reign (1389), the year the dynasty was founded.

The 18th year of Hongwu, the 21st year of Hongwu, and the 24th year of Hongwu.

Even in the fourth year of the Hongwu reign, the first imperial examination held after the founding of the dynasty.

The proportion of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) from the north was actually no less than 20%.

Educational resources in the North are indeed worse than in the South, but they are not as bad as they are in the barbarian era.

"What does this have to do with the fact that the fourth prince has gained the support of the entire North?"

Lan Chen spoke slowly.

"Even in the worst times, scholars from the north could still occupy 20% of the seats in the imperial examinations."

"This percentage has consistently hovered between 20% and 30%, with some fluctuations but not significant differences."

"But in the thirtieth year of the Hongwu reign, this number was zero."

"Your Majesty has ruled the country for many years; you should know better than I what this means."

When I heard that in the thirtieth year of the Hongwu reign, the number of scholars from the north who passed the imperial examinations was zero.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked on in astonishment, then followed closely behind, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"How is this possible?! Are you sure it's zero? Not a single one?"

Lan Chen nodded.

"A total of fifty-one people were admitted, and none of them were scholars from the North."

After receiving a definite answer.

Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his fist on the dragon throne in anger: "These bastards! How dare they!!!"

The imperial examination symbolized the only upward mobility for ordinary people.

No matter how backward the North is.

He ruled for decades, and there was a constant flow of immigrants.

Moreover, it involved relocating wealthy families from the Jiangnan region to the north.

He knew and understood the imbalance in reading resources between the North and the South.

Therefore, he turned a blind eye to the situation where most of the successful candidates in the imperial examinations were from the south.

There's nothing we can do about it.

Even if the North was inferior, the number of people who passed the imperial examinations could not be zero!

The entire north! Nearly ten million people.

What does zero mean? Doesn't this mean the entire North has reverted to a barbarian era?

Let's not talk about the top three scholars (first, second, and third place).

But they can't even produce one top-three scholar. What's the difference between that probability and a windfall?

Has the North suddenly regressed to a barbarian age in terms of intelligence and memory?

Even if the gap between the North and the South is widening, there should at least be a transition period, right?

If you say that it gradually decreased from 20% to 10%, and then to less than 10%, he could understand.

It can suddenly become zero.

Zhu Yuanzhang tried his best to calm himself down and asked, "How did we, in the future, act?"

"The chief examiner, Liu Sanwu, was spared the death penalty due to old age and was exiled to the Northwest."

"The review examiner Zhang Xin and others were sentenced to death, and the officials involved were exiled or severely punished."

"The top scholar Chen An was torn apart by chariots, and all the successful candidates on the list were dismissed. You personally presided over a new examination, and the list was filled with scholars from the north."

Finished.

They only killed the key figures.

The remaining individuals involved were severely punished, but no further investigation was conducted.

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent: "Given my personality, is that all? No follow-up?"

In the past, Guo Huan's corruption case resulted in him killing all the ministers of the six ministries.

Blood flowed like a river in the Fengtian Hall.

While cheating in the imperial examinations was not as serious as embezzlement, it was no less severe.

It could even be said that it completely shook the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

Thirty years, he used a full thirty years.

This gradually gave the people of the North a sense of belonging, letting them know that they were also Han Chinese, also citizens of the Ming Dynasty, and that in the Ming Dynasty, there was no distinction between southerners and northerners.

If he hadn't handled this imperial examination fraud case properly, all his efforts over the past thirty years would have been in vain.

After all, scholars from the north would tell their hometown people about all the unfair treatment they had suffered.

They would say that there are no northerners in the imperial court.

The country was thus divided.

Such a heinous act, and all he did was kill a few examiners, re-administer the exam, and appease the scholars from the north, and then there was no follow-up?

After asking the question, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly thought of something.

He then asked, "When...when did I die?"

Lan Chen looked into Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

From Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, Lan Chen understood that Zhu Yuanzhang must know why he hadn't purged the court.

"The 10th day of the intercalary fifth month of the 31st year of Hongwu."

Was it the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign?

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed softly. In the past, in the case of Guo Huan, he had even investigated and implicated some landlords.

Many wealthy households and landlords went bankrupt as a result.

During the Guo Huan case, he had the energy to fight against this group of people and was not afraid of them at all.

But when the North and South List Case came up, he backed down, unlike before.

As he ages and his health declines, he will likely find it difficult to handle even his daily duties.

Delving deeper into this won't benefit anyone.

Zhu Yuanzhang's brows furrowed: "Did the fourth prince seize upon this point, which is why he launched the rebellion?"

Clearly, Zhu Yuanzhang still believes that Zhu Di initiated the rebellion.

"Actually, Your Majesty has wronged Zhu Di."