"If you ask me, we should let Yunhu know," Old Zhu said, half-jokingly. "Those people like Zhang the bandit and those Tartars, we have to teach them a lesson."

Zhu Yunying grew anxious and immediately said, "Grandson still needs to consider this. Those with talent should be dismissed. Those without talent or those who are mediocre can be sent to the north. War is about to break out, and we need to find some good reasons for this. Those who kill my Ming Dynasty officials should be taught a lesson."

Old Zhu was displeased and said, "If those traitors die, they still died for our Great Ming, so we should still give them compensation!"

"If he's dead, he's dead. If he's not, he can mine for us." Zhu Yunying was also ruthless and didn't care much. "I was also planning to recruit some traitors. It's a pity they were killed by rebels when they were on a diplomatic mission to foreign lands."

Song Zhong lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to say anything. He knew he knew far too many secrets. If he couldn't remain loyal, if he couldn't keep the secrets, he wouldn't just escape unscathed; his family would be in danger.

Old Zhu thought for a moment and said, "Alright, these people are dead, so be it. We're not short of a little money."

"Right?!" Zhu Yunying chuckled and said, "People always have to die. It's better if those people die so we don't have to worry about them and hate them. If they can't be officials of our Great Ming, let them die at the hands of their masters. I think it's a good idea. Those useless people should be put to good use."

Old Zhu was quite pleased; his grandson was basically the same person as him, exploiting officials to the extreme. Anyone receiving a government salary should not expect to become a parasite; he would not let them leave unscathed without squeezing them to death.

He outlined some methods for dealing with those unruly scholars, which was only to be expected. No dynasty could tolerate traitors, especially since those scholars were likely to rise to become officials of the Ming Dynasty or local gentry.

We can't let them yearn for their homeland while also thinking about the benefits of the Ming Dynasty. It's better if the petty Zhu Yunying doesn't know; if he did, he'd definitely take some action. The 500,000 who traveled here don't count; those people aren't even traitors, since they don't seem to have done anything substantial.

Don't say Zhu Yunying was mean; that's just his nature, and he had the right to make such decisions.

Ignoring Song Zhong's trembling fear, Zhu Yunying continued, "Do you know how many people the court will select for this imperial examination?"

“Only 120 people will be selected, and only 30 of them will be from the north. In Shandong, I’m afraid not a single student will be selected.” Zhu Yunying said to Song Zhong, “Why is the literary style so poor in this place that produced Confucius? The five northern provinces of Beizhili, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong, and Henan have been the battlegrounds of every dynasty, producing many famous scholars and capable ministers.”

Song Zhong quickly looked up, because his master stopped talking after saying that, and Song Zhong could only look pleading.

Old Zhu was furious and said irritably, "You idiot, Mao Xiang is much smarter than you!"

I can use my brain, but those who use their brains die quickly, especially those in this line of work! Mao Xiang used to be powerful, but now he's just wandering around Korea and Japan. If he didn't still have any value in living, he might have died long ago!

Even if Song Zhong was complaining in his heart, he dared not say anything, and could only say things like "Your subject is foolish" and "Your subject deserves to die".

Zhu Yunying didn't keep them in suspense any longer and said directly, "Tell your men to be more discerning. Before the imperial examination, the scholars in the north should know certain things. When the results are announced, I want to see not only jubilation and sorrow, but also outcry from the northern scholars against the court's injustice!"

Whether or not it would jeopardize the futures of some scholars was something Zhu Yunying couldn't really care about. He couldn't please everyone; all he could do was ensure that the Ming Dynasty appeared to be thriving. It was impossible to satisfy everyone, and Zhu Yunying didn't force it.

Having obtained the trump card, Song Zhong naturally knew what to do and felt more confident.

Old Zhu was also very pleased; his grandson was indeed ruthless and cunning. This made Old Zhu very proud—he took after him!