In the twenty-sixth year of the Hongwu reign, the imperial court formulated a system for evaluating the performance of school officials, which could be considered a performance assessment of 'public schools' and 'education commissions'. Prior to this, the imperial court had also promulgated the "Responsibilities of Various Departments," which distinguished between the ranks of various departments and the size of their administrative duties.

After the court session, both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yuanzhang looked unhappy, and the father and son hurried towards the Qianqing Palace.

Old Zhu snorted coldly and said, "Those scholars just aren't on our side!"

“That’s normal. Most of these scholars still think that powerful families can control the channels to officialdom,” Da Zhu added. “Now that the examination system for academic officials has been established, based on the number of students who pass the imperial examinations, ordinary people have more opportunities to rise in society, but powerful families are probably resentful. Even those noble instructors and professors are under a lot of pressure.”

Old Zhu said irritably, "Since you've taken our salary, you should do your job. You can't just take our salary and think about going to brothels and visiting prostitutes all day long. You should teach and educate people properly and cultivate some useful talents for us."

The elegance and dignity of scholars would be hard to maintain during the Hongwu reign. Once the examination system for academic officials is implemented, the pressure on them will be even greater.

Da Zhu thought for a moment, but didn't feel embarrassed. "If we keep arguing these next two days, I'll drag Ying'er to court tomorrow. With his temper, he might end up arguing with those scholars. The scholars' dignity will be completely ruined."

Hearing his son say this, Old Zhu laughed. "I'm afraid it's not just that scholars have lost their dignity, but that the dignity of scholars' ancestors has been torn down by Ying'er. Fine then, let him go to the court and make a scene. Scholars have many thoughts."

It wasn't just Lao Zhu who had this idea; Da Zhu also had some similar thoughts.

In fact, this has been the case throughout history. Generally speaking, at the beginning of a dynasty, military generals and nobles certainly held a higher status. However, as a dynasty stabilizes and develops, scholars quickly rise to prominence. Even if they engage in internal strife, they often form strong alliances to suppress other groups.

The Ming Dynasty is now showing such momentum, which naturally aroused the vigilance of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and Emperor Taizong.

Even though they have suppressed scholars in recent years, there are some things that cannot be helped. Even someone as powerful as Zhu Yuanzhang cannot completely ignore the feelings of scholars. He also needs to govern the country and cannot rely solely on his military generals to govern it.

Zhu Xiong Ying was unaware of these matters; he was simply focused on reviewing memorials in the Qianqing Palace, which was his job.

Back in the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu De exchanged a glance, the father and son understanding each other perfectly. The next step, naturally, was to lure a young man, unaware of the situation, into their trap—a simple matter they were very confident about.

As usual, Old Zhu and Big Zhu sat naturally in their seats and began to review the memorials.

About half an hour later, Old Zhu spoke up, "Ying'er, take a look at this memorial, study it carefully, we're going to test you."

Zhu Xiong Ying took the memorial and read it carefully. The memorial was about the "Record of Imperial Edicts" issued at the beginning of the year, which also concerned the meritorious officials. Old Zhu personally wrote the preface and issued it to the meritorious officials because many of them were military men who were illiterate and often became arrogant and domineering because of their merits, overstepping the bounds of propriety, and even indulging in extravagance and disregarding the law.

There were some effects. For example, Xu Yungong, in accordance with regulations, handed over the extra family members and entourage to the relevant officials. Emperor Zhu ordered that the surplus people be sent to Fengyang to be registered as commoners. Emperor Zhu also ordered the Ministry of Rites to strictly prohibit the extravagance of the duke and marquis system.

Zhu Xiong Ying felt that this matter was correct. The speed at which the nobles were corrupting was astonishing and shocking. If this was not stopped, these nobles would not need to wait for the civil service group to break their backs; they would become hopelessly corrupt themselves.

This was not in line with the rulers' wishes. It was undesirable for the powerful nobility to become too strong, nor was it acceptable for the civil officials to be too dominant. In particular, some civil officials frequently thought of "ruling the world together with the scholar-officials," which was a thorn in the side of imperial power.

Zhu Xiong Ying looked at it carefully, and then Da Zhu suddenly said, "Ying'er, as soon as the 'Record of Examinations' of the nobility came out, the civil officials were happy, but the nobility were in a dilemma. Now that the examination method for academic officials has been established, those noble scholars have also started to make trouble."

Zhu Xiong Ying muttered to himself, "Seventy-six generations of family slaves, twenty-five dynasties of traitorous officials."

Old Zhu looked up and asked, "What are you saying?"

Zhu Xiong Ying immediately said, "I'm talking about the affairs of the Confucius family. Today, the Zhu Emperor's family has the best civil officials, but tomorrow it might be the Niu Emperor's family's Duke Yansheng. If the Gou Emperor attacks, the Duke Yansheng might immediately urge him to ascend the throne."

Both Zhu the Elder and Zhu the Younger knew that Zhu Xiong Ying was dissatisfied with the lineage of the Duke of Yansheng, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Confucius held a special position, and scholars throughout history considered themselves his disciples. Even a powerful figure like Emperor Zhu had to acknowledge the status of Confucianism, and there were indeed some things that couldn't be done against the will of the people.

In fact, Zhu Xiong Ying had also embarrassed the lineage of the Duke Yansheng, because the lineage of the Duke Yansheng had produced two branches, one in the north and one in the south.

Zhu Xiong Ying then spoke up, “Grandfather, I will find a reason another day. The Duke of Yansheng’s status is too esteemed. Confucius is one thing, but his unworthy descendants are not worthy of being the first-rank official and the head of the civil officials in our Great Ming.”

In fact, during the Song Dynasty, the Duke Yansheng was equivalent to an eighth-rank official, and during the Yuan Dynasty, he was promoted to a third-rank official. However, in recent years, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang elevated the Duke Yansheng to a first-rank official. Because of the glory of his ancestor Confucius, the Duke Yansheng became a special duke in Chinese history who enjoyed a long and prosperous reign, with generations of high-ranking officials and a prominent position. He was closely associated with the imperial court, which is why his position has remained so for so long.

In fact, the Jurchens and Mongols used this to win over the people, which is why they were quite lenient with the Duke Yansheng. But the Ming Dynasty didn't necessarily need to do so.

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