Princess Anqing and Princess Ningguo entered the palace in a majestic manner. Now they are princesses, but it won’t be long before they will become eldest princesses.

As long as Zhu Yunhuan ascended the throne, the princesses of his aunt's generation would automatically be promoted to eldest princess.

Xu Miaojin complained a little, "Aunt, I told you to bring your sister with you. Even if you don't want to see Wen Yao, you should let His Highness see him."

Speaking of her precious daughter, Princess Anqing was helpless. "No, that girl is too wild. Not to mention me, I guess even her grandfather is not afraid of her. If I really bring her here, it will definitely make your royal grandfather unhappy."

Xu Miaojin couldn't persuade him much, after all, everyone knew Lao Zhu's character. On the other hand, the little cousin was not a pushover either, she was spoiled to the point of being lawless.

Princess Ningguo asked, "Who is being restless in the palace again?"

Xu Miaojin said helplessly, "Not really, but it's important to His Highness right now. It's just some complaints, I guess he wants to say something to ask for benefits from His Highness."

Princess Anqing's expression suddenly turned cold. "She has a good idea! Now it is urgent for Yun Hun, and it is not her turn to meddle in other people's business! If it weren't for Yun Hun's kindness, she would still be well-fed in the palace now!"

Although this may sound a bit cruel, it is the reality.

If there really was something going on, no one in the palace would be able to leave without a sound. Even if she was the Crown Princess, she was just a Crown Princess who had lost her power, and essentially not many people would care about her.

If it is to avoid unnecessary rumors, some information can be concealed temporarily. For example, the time of death, a former crown princess who has lost her status, not many people care about her movements.

Princess Ningguo also said somewhat unhappily, "If this matter gets to the ears of the emperor, I'm afraid it will affect her offspring. I used to think he was gentle and sensible, but now it seems that he is just a little clever!"

"My brother likes her!" Princess Anqing complained, "She always likes to win people over with small favors. In the past, everyone in the palace said that she was virtuous! If she was really virtuous, Yun Hu wouldn't have been talked about for thirteen or fourteen years!"

Led by the two emperor's daughters, they walked towards the You Palace in a majestic manner, to help Zhu Yunhuan get back his face.

Perhaps it could also be said that this was a warning to completely extinguish the little thoughts that had just arisen in Princess Lu's mind.

In the past, some people were unwilling to make things difficult for her as a widow, just because Zhu Yunxi was too young. It didn't mean that they could do whatever they wanted, nor did other people's concessions mean that she could take a further step.

Zhu Yunhuan, who presided over the morning court, naturally did not need to pay too much attention to these matters. He carefully inquired about the evaluation of some officials in the Ministry of Personnel, and carefully inquired about the tax payment and storage in various places.

These are the absolute big things for him. As the crown prince who is about to ascend the throne, he needs to focus more on some political affairs at this time. These are the key things he needs to pay attention to.

After the court session, Zhu Yunhuan called Ru Rong to the Wenhua Palace and said, "You are the official of the Ministry of Personnel. You should know some things without my telling you. The current administration is not as clean as in previous years. You should also know this."

Ru Heng suddenly felt a little pressured, and at this time he quickly apologized, "I know my crime!"

It is an indisputable fact that the administration in the early years of the founding of the country was extremely harsh. It can be said that severe laws and punishments were used to severely control the official corruption left over from the Yuan Dynasty.

Even though some people think this is a bit too much, it has to be done.

In times of chaos, severe punishments must be used. If this kind of trend is not properly eradicated, it is very likely that the Ming Dynasty's administration will not get off to a good start from the very beginning.

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "You are not to blame for these things, but I have to tell you. Now that the imperial examinations of my Ming Dynasty have been opened, many talented people have entered the official career. The officials of my Ming Dynasty should be people of my Ming Dynasty!"

Ru Hong felt the pressure now, but she didn't think there was anything wrong with this matter. Some things did need to be put on the agenda, and the time could be considered ripe.

Zhu Yunhuan’s meaning was actually very simple, which was to carry out some blood changes in the officialdom. In his opinion, the time was naturally ripe, so there was no need to be polite.

When Zhu Yuanzhang conquered the world, he swept through like a whirlwind and conquered the world in less than twenty years.

At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang had a large group of civil and military officials under his command, but the grassroots officials needed for local governance were basically taken over from various regimes and those officials were allowed to stay.

Officials from the Yuan Dynasty, officials from Chen Youliang, officials from Zhang Shicheng, or officials left behind by Ming Yuzhen, Chen Youding, He Zhen and others.

There is no way around it. Local governance requires a large number of grassroots officials. Training a group of grassroots officials is not an easy task, and it is not something that can be accomplished overnight.

The Ming Dynasty has now been in power for thirty years, and it can be said that a generation has grown up. Naturally, some things can be said to have a smooth transition at this time.

"If some officials are capable, they can be retained," Zhu Yunhuan said. "If not, those who should retire should be dismissed, and those who should retire should retire."

Ru Hong replied cautiously, "Your Highness, if that's the case, then there's probably a shortage of county magistrates and teachers in various places."

It is not easy for grassroots officials to be promoted. Although Zhu Yuanzhang can be said to be a man who recruits talents without any restrictions, he still cares about the officials' backgrounds and so on.

Even if they work directly under him, come over early, or follow him when the situation has been decided, there are still some differences in their treatment overall.

Zhu Yunhuan naturally understood this truth. "I naturally know this. There are many officials in the Imperial College, and there will be an additional special examination next year. You should also prepare in advance."

This means that we need to prepare some "potential opportunities", but in Ru Hong's opinion, there is no problem at all, and all of this is very consistent with everyone's cognition.

The same is true for the imperial examination. The number of Jinshi selected in each subject is never a fixed number. It needs to be judged based on the vacancies of officials.

It can be dozens of people or hundreds of people, and it doesn’t matter too much.

Moreover, for grassroots officials, it would be OK to directly select some students from the Imperial College to take up the post. Even candidates who have passed the provincial examination can be registered with the Ministry of Personnel and can be selected as officials at that time.

The Ming Dynasty has been established for 30 years, and has cultivated a large number of scholars. Although there may not be many talents, such outstanding people are not so easy to appear. Zhu Yunhuan continued to instruct, "My Ming Dynasty has always treated scholars well, but you also know that some people are conceited that they can point to the country after reading a few books. This is really ridiculous!"

Ru Hong suddenly felt the pressure. He could vaguely guess why the Crown Prince said this, which was obviously a bit dissatisfied.

Zhu Yunhuan emphasized, "My grandfather had already made rules before that scholars should not engage in idle talk or make irresponsible comments on state affairs, but I'm afraid these people have forgotten it!"

Ru Rong quickly apologized and said, "I am stupid, I accept the blame!"

Zhu Yunxun asked unhappily, "You admit your guilt? Are you stupid? Well, tell me where you are stupid. And tell me clearly, since you admit your guilt, how do I punish you?"

In an instant, Ru Heng was sweating profusely. Confessing guilt, taking responsibility, etc., these are common routines of some officials. These are mostly just the ministers expressing their attitudes when the master is venting his dissatisfaction.

To say that one really knows he is wrong, or accepts the punishment without complaint or dissatisfaction, etc., is naturally out of the question. This is just "politeness".

But now, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's intention is very clear, that is, to make Ru Hong tell him his "crime" in detail, and make it clear how to deal with him!
Seeing Ru Hong hesitating and not knowing how to answer, Zhu Yunhuan snorted coldly, obviously very dissatisfied with such an attitude, but he would not dwell on it too much, as everyone was used to some routines.

Although Zhu Yunhuan was often ruthless when in power, it was just a matter of letting it go at this time. It was not appropriate to make things difficult for Ru Hong.

"This matter is not your fault. If you want to blame someone, blame the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial College and the Censorate!" Zhu Yunhuan said unhappily, "But you should pay attention to the Ministry of Personnel. Some scholars who make irresponsible comments on state affairs will not be able to enter the officialdom smoothly!"

It can be said that Zhu Yunhuan's words almost cut off the official careers of many people. This seems to be extremely unfair. After all, those scholars also studied hard for decades.

Especially those who can study at the Imperial College or reach the level of Juren can be regarded as seeds of literature and have outstanding abilities.

After all, there is a certain threshold for studying in this era. There is indeed a possibility that a noble son will emerge from a poor family, but not everyone can leave their job and continue to strive for the imperial examination.

But Zhu Yunhuan didn't care so much. Those who could study at the Imperial College were generally no longer teenagers, but at least young adults or even middle-aged.

If you are not mature enough at this age and do things that go against the system and the law, then you can only blame yourself.

Don't say that they are just keyboard warriors or something like that, or that they are just bookworms. Sometimes such people just won't change. Such people just rely on their talents and so on and look down on others.

Since these people are no longer reliable, there is naturally no need for Zhu Yunhuan to use them. He does not think there is anything to regret. After all, there are still quite a few scholars in the Ming Dynasty.

Ru Hong now seems to have an idea of ​​what to do. He will probably have some sense of propriety in the selection and evaluation of officials in the Ministry of Personnel.

After Ru Hong left Wenhua Hall with mixed feelings, Zhu Yunhuan asked, "Master, do you think that if I do this, will there be some discussion among scholars?"

Daoyan immediately replied, "Your Highness, I think there have been a lot of discussions about Your Majesty and Your Highness over the years. Although we should open up channels for people to know their opinions, we should not listen to the voices of scholars alone."

Zhu Yunhuan was very satisfied with Daoyan's answer. These scholars had a channel to speak out, and they naturally wanted to make comments on the country, assist the country, and perhaps even become opinion leaders.

But if it were only their voices, it would obviously be an inappropriate thing to do, and there is nothing much to say about that.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "That's right. The Ming Dynasty is too kind to scholars, so some people are becoming more and more presumptuous."

Daoyan couldn't comment on this. If you say that the Ming Dynasty was good to scholars, then it was definitely good. Not to mention tax exemption and corvée exemption, even local officials would not punish scholars easily if they had achieved honors.

In this age when traveling long distances requires a travel permit, scholars can travel around with a sword, or they can send a visiting card to the hands of some officials. These are all benefits of being a scholar.

All things are inferior except reading. This is not just a casual statement. The Ming Dynasty still has the due respect for knowledgeable scholars, and will certainly not lack the due preferential treatment.

Everyone likes talents, and this is also a normal thing. The Ming Dynasty needs a large number of scholars to serve as grassroots officials.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Daoyan and asked, "Do you feel that there are more and more scholars in the officialdom now? These nobles are no longer in charge, so the voices of scholars have become louder?"

Daoyan suddenly felt like sweating profusely, because these topics were too sensitive. It was also very easy to offend people, and it was really difficult to answer them.

As the confidant of the Crown Prince, if some words were to get out, it would mean that he, the great monk, was bewitching the Crown Prince. If possible, Daoyan really didn't want to answer these topics.

But it was obvious that he had no choice. Zhu Yunhuan was staring at him with a burning gaze, and now he wanted Daoyan to give an answer. It was obviously not so easy to get away with it, and it was not even allowed.

Daoyan pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness, the Five Military Command was very powerful in the past few years, and it is still the same now."

This is not a lie. Although the country has been founded for 30 years and the nobles have been replaced, the reality of the Five Military Governors' Office being strong cannot be changed. The nobles still have absolute advantages over civil servants.

Daoyan then continued, "It seems that nowadays, more scholars are entering the officialdom, and most of the scholars who can enter the officialdom are not simple people."

Yes, for scholars to enter officialdom, they need to pass layers of imperial examinations, and they must be extremely outstanding talents.

As for the Five Military Commanderies and the nobles, although there were some seemingly good talents, their basic base was there, the population base was small, and the range of choices was also small, so naturally their talents were not as good as those of the civil servants.

Therefore, in every dynasty, the nobles were always powerful in the early years of the founding of a country, but after peace was restored under the heavens, the civil servants would rise rapidly and seize the dominant position.

Zhu Yunhuan naturally didn't want some things to happen, and some things really needed to be prevented, otherwise there would really be no benefit. (End of this chapter)