A century-old family that runs through the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 46 Binding the world!
Yan Ji wrote vigorously and vigorously, but before he knew it, the ink in his pen was exhausted.

He dipped ink in the inkstone and looked up unintentionally. Unexpectedly, he met Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes!
Emperor Hongwu's eyes were wandering among the scholars, observing their behavior, but at this time Yan Ji's actions attracted his attention.Seeing the other person raise his head, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded lightly at him as if encouraging.

Yan Ji quickly lowered his head, not daring to face the holy face again, but his heart was already filled with turmoil. Your Majesty, Your Majesty, he nodded to me!

This is a great honor!
Even just one glance made him firmly remember Zhu Yuanzhang's appearance.

His Majesty has a face with a Chinese character, a beard, a serious face, not angry and self-powerful, which is very consistent with the image of the emperor in fantasy.

Just by looking at it from a distance, you can feel the great pressure.

Is this your Majesty?The emperor who the elder brother said had great skills and talents?

As that majestic face continued to circle in his mind, a memory from the past slowly emerged.

It was a meeting of high-level family members, and Yan Ling solemnly told them:

"Your Majesty hates merchants, so my family's overseas business will be stopped and the money will be used to purchase land."

"Your Majesty hates corruption, so if you become an official in the future, remember not to be corrupt."

"Your Majesty hates those who rely on power to do evil, so even if you are in Mingzhou, you must not rely on your family to do evil."

"You must remember that you must not do anything that violates the law. You must know that now that I am in the court, the Yan family is different from the past. If you do anything illegal, even I will be implicated! I will work hard for half a life and pay it forward. flow!"

He looked down at the rice paper that had already written more than half a page, and recalled the test questions.

This seems to just require them to discuss the strategy of governing the country and how to maintain a healthy life. However, will the first imperial examination of the new dynasty really be that simple?

Is it...

He had other thoughts in mind.

But if he guessed His Majesty's thoughts wrongly... He was sweating. Not to mention fighting for the first-class position, he was afraid that it would be difficult for him to even pass the imperial examination...

How to do?
A fierce struggle broke out in Yan Ji's brain.

For a long time, he stared hard, gritted his teeth, and finally made up his mind: give it a try!
Only strange tricks can have miraculous effects!
He pulled the rice paper violently, crumpled it into a ball and threw it aside. The big movement attracted the attention of many people, even Zhu Yuanzhang looked over.

Seeing him behaving like this, Emperor Hongwu couldn't help but show a little disappointment in his eyes.

Seeing that he has a dignified appearance and looks a bit like an old friend, and his behavior is generous without any panic or restraint, I thought he was a promising talent and just encouraged him a little bit.

I didn't expect that I would be so frivolous. How could such a person understand my deep meaning?

He lowered his head in frustration and continued to read the memorial.

Two hours, fleeting.

With the crisp sound of the gong, Hongwu's four-year palace examination officially ended!The scholars left Fengtian Palace one by one, and a palace official respectfully presented the roll of paper.Because the emperor is personally judging the matter, there is no need to copy the name. If you have the ability to go to the emperor through the back door, there is no need to take the imperial examination.

Taking a sip of tea, he began to review the test paper.

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally had a profound meaning when he came up with this topic.

The Yuan Dynasty lost the world because of its generosity. This so-called lenience does not refer to a series of magnanimous and people-benefiting actions by benevolent monarchs in the traditional sense, but refers to the fact that its management of bureaucrats and businessmen is too relaxed!
The emperors of the Yuan Dynasty pursued "inaction". They managed their subordinates in an extensive manner and basically did not care much about their bureaucrats. This led to the entire Yuan Dynasty in 98 years of extreme corruption. Officials used clever names, exploited the people in various ways, and embezzled funds, resulting in the people's deprivation of life. !
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang purged officials, which may not be without this factor.Because he had many surrendered ministers of the Yuan Dynasty under his command, they brought this style to the Ming Dynasty, so that corruption became common, and an early dynasty was like a middle and late period!If he didn't carry out a large-scale killing to quell this trend, his Ming Dynasty might be destroyed by another second generation!

Moreover, because the system of the Ming Dynasty was stricter than that of the Yuan Dynasty, many ministers and literati had their hearts set on the Ming Dynasty. They believed that the Yuan Dynasty was a more suitable regime for them than the Song Dynasty. There was even Wu Dexin who shouted, "I am born as a Huangyuan person, and I die as a Huangyuan ghost." , I swear not to obey you!" Even important ministers like Song Lian missed the Yuan Dynasty, which made Zhu Yuanzhang extremely angry and strengthened his determination to strengthen the management of officials!
Similarly, it was the Yuan Dynasty's loose management of merchants that made commerce extremely developed, but what Zhu Yuanzhang hated the most were merchants!

He believed that it was these people who corrupted the world's morals and made people's hearts slippery. At the same time, they held a large amount of property and were a huge unstable factor, affecting the ruler's rule from two aspects. He wished that everyone would Just like farmers, just farm in the fields!
Therefore, he must not only be strict with officials, but also be strict with people!He wants the whole world to live within his rules and regulations, and they must never go beyond them!Only in this way can his dynasty last forever!

This is the real crux of this policy question. What Zhu Yuanzhang wants to see is a young man with the same ideals as him as the future of the empire.

However, none of the scholars sitting below thought of this.

They thought it was the pre-Song Dynasty, an era when "officials could not be punished", an era when maritime trade was developed and wealthy merchants emerged.

Such answers are naturally diametrically opposed.

After reading several policy papers, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were full of disappointment.

He didn't see the answer he wanted.

In this article, it is said that we should treat the people well, which is certainly not wrong, but there is a long article in which it is discussed that officials should be tolerant, which is completely opposite to Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention!
That article was talking about the orthodoxy of the throne!If it weren't for the palace examination, he would really like to drag this person down and behead him!How can you discuss the ownership of the throne?

He read dozens of articles, but none of them answered to the point. They were either completely irrelevant, or they were mediocre descriptions of how to recuperate and be kind to the people, which did not meet his expectations at all!

Not only that, although their writing, although they tried their best to follow the eight-legged standard, it can be seen that it is very rigid, and some parts are mechanical and not smooth.

Emperor Hongwu sighed tiredly, put the strategy in his hand on the table, and rubbed his brows.

Although there was still half of the answer sheet that he had not read, he could predict that the remaining half would probably be similar. It had nothing to say, and was just talking about some old talk about frivolous corvée and meager gifts.

Ugh.

Although he was thinking this way, he finally picked up the next policy paper. After all, it was the answer sheet for the Gong students. Even if it didn't work, he had to read it and choose the ranking.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he picked up the next article, the title made his eyes light up!
"On the Tolerance of Yuan and the Advantages of Luyin"

　I took a nap today and dreamed that Emperor Chongzhen and Queen Zhou were looking at me with a smile under the setting sun.I remember very clearly that Emperor Chongzhen was sitting on a stone pier, and Queen Zhou was standing next to him, with the setting sun behind him like blood... Then I suddenly felt very sad...

　　Could it be that he asked me to write better for him w(Д)w
　　It's quite a pity, alas.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)