Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

The next morning, as dawn broke, a large crowd had already gathered in front of the examination hall...

As the sun rose higher, the sound of a gong echoed throughout the crowd: "The results are out! The results are out!"

The Imperial Guards, carrying the golden list, slowly walked to the notice board, posted it, and then stood on either side of the list, their hands resting on their embroidered spring knives.

Everyone was searching for their name on the list.

Full of confidence, Wei Zaode looked from back to front but couldn't find his name, and stood there stunned... He felt he might not be able to get into the top three, but he was at least in first place, and now he had searched twice and still couldn't find his name...

"Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang, you've won!" A child who had been queuing up to check the results rushed to the inn and shouted.

"How many places did Brother Zhang get?" Yang Weizhi asked enviously from the side.

"First place!"

"First place in the first division! Top scholar!!!"

After the child finished speaking, everyone in the inn rushed out and surrounded Zhang Huangyan...

"Brother Yang, I saw you too! You're behind Brother Zhang, you're the second-place finisher!!!" the child continued.

"Really...really..." Yang Weizhi asked incredulously.

When Wei Zaode said he shouldn't have discussed the emperor's vacancy, he began to regret it. This was an imperial examination, not a memorial to the throne. Although he was acting in the public interest, he realized he had been somewhat impulsive... He never expected to be chosen as the second-highest scorer by the emperor...

The emperor's virtue is no less than that of Emperor Taizong of Tang!

"It's true! The officials are coming..."

"Congratulations to you both! Congratulations to you both!" Everyone gathered around Zhang Huangyan and Yang Weizhi, offering their congratulations...

"Brother Yang, your plan for disaster relief has been selected by the Emperor!" Zhang Huangyan congratulated Yang Weizhi.

"Your Majesty, on the path of accepting counsel, you can be on par with Emperor Taizong of Tang!" He then burst into laughter: "To repay your kindness, I will wield my sword and die for you!"

A scholar's original aspiration is commendable, but it remains to be seen whether he can maintain it throughout his life...

Before long, the Imperial Guards arrived at the inn to deliver the good news...

"By imperial decree, Zhang Huangyan, the top-ranked scholar in this year's imperial examination, and Yang Weizhi, the second-ranked scholar, are hereby granted an audience with the Emperor!!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!" Zhang Huangyan and Yang Weizhi bowed deeply...

.......

Meanwhile, inside the Wuying Hall, military and political ministers Sun Chengzong and Li Banghua, Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan, and cabinet member Cheng Guoxiang stood beside Zhu Jian.

"Your Majesty, there are now more than 3,000 top-ranking scholars in the imperial examinations. How should they be arranged?" Xue Guoguan, who was standing to the side, bowed and reported.

Originally, there were fewer than 300 top-ranking scholars in each imperial examination, who were typically assigned to the Hanlin Academy, local counties, and other functional departments. However, the number has suddenly increased to 3,000, making their placement a major problem.

"According to the usual practice of previous years, there are not enough staff to accommodate everyone. Should we arrange for more staff than the quota?" Cheng Guoxiang asked.

After listening, Zhu Jian glanced at the four men and slowly said, "I intend to designate the nearly ten million mu of land currently under my control as reclamation areas, directly under the jurisdiction of the Agricultural Reclamation Department of the Military and Political Bureau. You four will draft an administrative plan! Assign all these Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) to the reclamation areas!"

"Administration? Reclamation area?" Li Banghua muttered to himself.

The four then looked at each other, puzzled, and turned to Prosecutor Zhu.

Zhu Jian said softly, "According to the county-level administrative plan, it is independent of the prefecture and county, and is under the jurisdiction of the Reclamation Area Administrative Commissioner, who is at the same level as the county magistrate, and is not under the jurisdiction of the provincial government!"

Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan stepped forward: "Your Majesty, could this be interpreted as splitting up the county seat and creating a new county?"

Upon hearing Xue Guoguan's words, two words immediately came to everyone's mind—reform!

Zhu Jian waved his hand: "It's not about setting up separate counties, it's about establishing new reclamation areas!"

If a new county were to be established, it would still be under the jurisdiction of the original prefecture. What difference would that make from not establishing a new county? The reclamation area is different. It is not a county. It is an administrative unit that is re-planned on land controlled by Zhu Jian and belongs only to the Agricultural Reclamation Department of the Military and Political Bureau. This administrative unit does not receive leadership from the provinces, prefectures, or the Six Ministries and the Cabinet. It is directly under the Agricultural Reclamation Department of the Military and Political Bureau, which means it is under the direct jurisdiction of the emperor.

"Your Majesty, what is the function of this reclamation area?" Sun Chengzong asked.

"Originally, the imperial estates were under the jurisdiction of the inner court and managed by the eunuch in charge of the estates. Now, the personnel in charge of each place are from the provincial governor's office! This is quite inconvenient!" Zhu Jian replied slowly.

At first, the provincial governors' offices were only temporarily in charge of these lands. If they were to take over for a longer period, they might become part of the governors' offices. Therefore, before any signs of this happen, Zhu Jian plans to take these lands back.

After a moment of contemplation, everyone was still puzzled and didn't understand what Zhu Jian meant. Li Banghua spoke up, "Although I don't understand what this means, I think it would be acceptable for the Military and Political Bureau's Agricultural Reclamation Department to uniformly plan the affairs of the imperial estates!"

He paused, then asked, "But besides the Reclamation Area Administrative Commissioner, what other administrative departments are there in the reclamation area?"

"The Reclamation Area Administrative Commissioner oversees the Reclamation Area Inspector and the Reclamation Area Garrison Commissioner! These three commissioners constitute the highest administrative authority in the reclamation area!" Prosecutor Zhu responded.

Zhu Jian's idea was to have the Agricultural Reclamation Division of the Military and Political Bureau directly lead the three envoys of the reclamation area, bypassing the provincial and prefectural governments, and to form a two-level governance system. This was also an administrative regulation specifically designed to deal with natural disasters!

Currently, officials and clerks in the provincial and state governments are rife with extortion and bribery. If disaster relief food and supplies are distributed, a large portion of them will be embezzled. Therefore, Zhu Jian decided to separate the land under his control and send disaster relief supplies directly to the reclamation area, bypassing the existing disaster relief system.

After listening, Sun Chengzong nodded slightly. He now understood the general idea. The emperor wanted to expand the number of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) so much because he wanted to establish a new official system on top of the existing one. This new system would be directly connected to the military and political bureaus. In this way, the original officials would not be needed for disaster relief and the distribution of disaster relief grain, greatly reducing the risk of being swallowed up by the existing system.

"Your Majesty's suggestion should be implemented immediately, with administrative areas refined according to the mountains and rivers of each region!"

"I agree with Grand Secretary Sun's words!" Li Banghua chimed in from the side.

Cheng Guoxiang and Xue Guoguan nodded slightly in agreement.

The current core of power has already been granted by the emperor. Even if they disagree, the emperor could change and things would proceed in the same way. They might as well agree and go along with it, since at least they don't see any harm in it.

"The four of you, along with Minister of Revenue Fan Jingwen, must produce a plan within three days! All land deeds collected from various regions are registered with the Ministry of Revenue!"

"Your Majesty, we obey!" the four men said in unison.

"Grand Secretary Sun, the top scholar of this year's imperial examination, and the second-ranked scholar will be assigned to the Military and Political Bureau to assist the Ministers in their duties! The third-ranked scholar will be assigned to the Hanlin Academy as an editor!" Zhu Jian said softly.

"Should we explain to these new scholars that, according to custom, the top two scholars (状元 and 榜眼) both enter the Hanlin Academy?" Sun Chengzong asked.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was a tradition that only those who had passed the imperial examinations could enter the Hanlin Academy, and only those who had passed the Hanlin Academy could enter the Grand Secretariat. The Hanlin Academy was equivalent to the talent pool of the Ming Dynasty.

Prosecutor Zhu waved his hand: "No need!"

Traditional customs and ancestral rules cannot be broken overnight. As long as a different mindset is sown in everyone's hearts, a new set of rules will gradually form. As for the cabinet, it's already largely ineffective...