The imperial court was in an uproar. The matter of this imperial examination was about to trigger a public opinion storm. The civil officials were all in high spirits, arguing their case.

Since it was an imperial examination, it naturally had to follow the words of the sages. Not only were the scholars from the north mediocre in their writing, but their examination papers were also poor in both composition and reasoning, and contained taboo words. Such a level was not worthy of being a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the country.

Although some have suggested that the newly incorporated northern regions are a good thing, the general literary talent of the scholars from the north seems acceptable. The dynasty needs to win over the hearts of the people, give hope to the students in the north, and revitalize the academic atmosphere in the north. This imperial examination is the opportunity.

Such remarks also aroused strong dissatisfaction among Liu Sanwu, Fang Xiaoru and others. Since it was an imperial examination, it naturally needed to be fair and just in order to be worthy of the scholars' ten years of hard study.

If we want to foster a flourishing academic atmosphere in the north, we should naturally open more schools there and send great scholars and instructors there, rather than giving northern scholars a certain number of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) based on their place of origin, which would be unfair to southern scholars.

It's easy to say, but it's incredibly difficult to do. Zhu Xiong Ying also felt that it was a very unprofitable thing to do.

Teaching and nurturing students is never a simple matter, nor can it yield immediate results. If we start vigorously developing education now, and see some positive effects in ten years, Zhu Xiong Ying can be secretly delighted.

Although the Ming Dynasty is becoming increasingly powerful, it has many expenses and does not have enough resources to invest in education, which is a bottomless pit.

The most important thing is that education is carried out according to the current model, which is basically based on the Four Books and Five Classics, producing only classical scholars and literati. Zhu Xiong Ying's limited resources will definitely be invested in 'new learning', and he has no intention of cultivating a large number of 'liberal arts students'.

To put it more realistically, although the invention of papermaking lowered the barrier to education somewhat, it's still not easy for children from poor families to rise to prominence. There are certainly examples of students achieving success through education, but nowadays, the gentry and officials have better resources.

Zhu Xiong Ying was already suppressing the civil service, so if he were to cultivate some scholars now, wouldn't that be a losing proposition? He certainly wouldn't do such a thing; he wouldn't fall for the civil service's tricks.

There were many arguments and debates in the court. Old Zhu and Young Zhu seemed to be silent for the time being, just watching things happen.

Some civil officials genuinely care about the country and its people, while others seek fame among scholars or have their own interests. The court is bustling with activity these days, and it seems everyone has their own motives.

Liu Sanwu was exiled from Beijing and became a professor in Beiping Prefecture. He was a ninth-rank civil official in charge of education. To put it bluntly, Liu Sanwu appeared to have been completely abandoned, becoming the most hurt person in this incident.

Fang Xiaoru wasn't much better off; he became an instructor, in charge of Confucian temple sacrifices and educating the students under his jurisdiction. However, this was the instructor position in Jian'an County, Jianning Prefecture, which was practically without rank, as the county magistrate was Fang Xiaoru's superior.

Zhu Xiong Ying was very determined, and Old Zhu showed no mercy at this time. Those who were causing trouble among the scholars and officials in the court were demoted or imprisoned, and naturally, some were dismissed from their posts.

Zhu Xiong Ying, expressionless, looked at the secret document, then smiled. "This top scholar of the Jiaxu year is really something. He's originally from Zhejiang, and he still dares to stand out at this time?" Zhu Xiong Ying was amused, but also a little annoyed. "Is this person just young and impetuous? He still needs to be properly disciplined."

Zhang Xin, this compiler in the Hanlin Academy, is quite talented. After all, he was a top scholar in the imperial examination, and he's only just begun to rise to prominence; he's definitely a young talent. However, this guy seems to be getting a bit arrogant and needs some discipline.

Remembering something, he realized that Zhang Xin couldn't be killed yet; he needed to be kept alive and tempered. "Wang Chengen, go to the Marquis of Chengyi's residence and have the Marquis of Chengyi enter the palace tomorrow."

This matter had to be handled by his uncle-in-law, as Zhu Xiong Ying had more faith in him. This was Liu Bowen's grandson, and the natural leader and standard-bearer of the Zhejiang civil official group. Although Liu Zhi's performance in recent years had disappointed some civil officials, he still held considerable fame and status.

Old Zhu arrived cheerfully, teasing Zhu Xiong Ying. "Ying'er, your little schemes have probably been seen through. Right now, some civil officials are making a fuss, and some scholars from the south are joining in. But the Confucius Mansion is keeping silent."

"This Wenzong may not be good at much else, but he is very good at protecting himself." Zhu Xiong Ying was also a little helpless, but then he joked, "But that's normal. Many people in the Kong family have long lost their backbone. They will not only run away when something happens, but they also dare to bluff about matters of right and wrong."

Seeing Zhu Xiong Ying get the short end of the stick, Old Zhu laughed even harder. "Those families have been passed down for thousands of years. Besides having good ancestors, those people are also full of cunning ideas. If you ask us, those people will probably just keep living like this forever."

Indeed, the lineage of the Duke Yansheng is absolutely unshakeable. It can probably only be compared to the lineage of Zhang Tianshi. One is a representative of Confucianism, and the other is a religious family. They are more powerful than any emperor. It doesn't matter who is the emperor, they have been passing on their lineage.

Old Zhu stopped being sarcastic and asked out of curiosity, "Those who should be demoted have been demoted, and those who should be punished have been punished. Tell me, what are you planning to do next?"

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