As for the revision of the Ming Ancestral Instructions, it's enough for Old Zhu and Young Zhu to know this; there's no need to let others know for the time being.

As for Zhu Yunying continuing to reside in Qianqing Palace during this period, many people already know this, and even if they do, it's not a big deal. This is commonplace; the current emperor frequently stayed overnight in Qianqing Palace when he was the crown prince.

These things are nothing to worry about. The main thing is to know what needs to be known and carry out the necessary actions. They don't actually have any impact on important court affairs; things should proceed as planned.

Ru Chang, Mei Yin, and Liu Zhi were quite busy at this time, as they attached great importance to this imperial examination in the first year of Ying Shi's reign. They had also prepared the questions, all of which needed to be reviewed by Zhu Yunying.

Zhu Yunying couldn't help but laugh. Just two days ago, he had told Old Zhu that he wanted to revise the "Great Proclamation," and now the title had appeared.

In fact, Emperor Zhu personally compiled four editions of the "Great Proclamation," which he used as a textbook for political education of his subjects, and its implementation was quite effective. This included making the "Great Proclamation" a compulsory course for all levels of academic education throughout the country, and using it as the basis for questions in the imperial examinations.

Emperor Zhu also ordered the officials of the Imperial Academy to strictly supervise the students in thoroughly studying and explaining the *Da Gao* (Great Proclamation) for future examinations, with those who disobeying to be punished for violating regulations. The *Da Gao* was also used as the subject of both school curriculum and the imperial examinations. In order to pass the imperial examinations, over 150,000 students studied the *Da Gao* in Yingtian Prefecture!

Zhu Yunying didn't pay too much attention to the questions in this imperial examination; he would set the questions himself for the palace examination.

Remembering something, Zhu Yunying asked, "Ru, you are the chief examiner for this imperial examination. Do you have any knowledge of the scholars from various regions?"

"Your Majesty, Chen Yi, a scholar from Yingqian County, Fujian; Yin Changlong and Chen Haisang, scholars from Taihe County, Jiangxi; and Rui Shan, a native of Southern Zhili, may all pass the imperial examinations."

Zhu Yunying nodded slightly, then continued with a smile, "These people are all scholars from the south. Are there any talented scholars from the north?"

Ru Chang dared not speak, but Liu Zhi stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I have brought some essays today. If scholars from the north were to pass the imperial examination, their highest possible ranking would be at the bottom of the second class.”

Although he knew that the economy and culture of the south were superior to those of the north in the early Ming dynasty, and that the south had historically produced many scholars, Zhu Yunying was still not satisfied with the answer; the gap seemed too large.

It was clear that the Emperor was not satisfied with this answer, but Ru Chang and the others were helpless.

The North has indeed historically been weaker in terms of scholars, and this isn't unique to the Ming Dynasty. It's just that currently, it might be affecting some of the Emperor's plans, or perhaps hindering his efforts to win over the hearts and minds of the people in the North.

No wonder there were separate lists for the North and South. It might seem like the treatment of Southern scholars was being weakened, but it was actually a way to protect them.

After all, having a large number of students from the south, with people from different regions observing and the north and south being switched, is actually not a good thing. If the court is full of scholars from the south, it might cause some trouble, and the purge would be particularly severe.

"After reviewing the papers, select candidates according to their place of origin," Zhu Yunying said to Ru Chang and the others. "After reviewing the papers, bring the papers of the top twenty students to me for my personal review."

This was a fairly common practice. Those who passed the provincial examination were basically all Jinshi (进士), though at the time they were called Gongshi (贡士), since the palace examination had not yet taken place. However, the emperor would personally review the papers and select about ten or twenty scholars who had written outstanding essays in the provincial examination.

Ru Chang and the others had no objections. It was only natural for the Emperor to do this; it was his responsibility. Moreover, they all knew very well that the Emperor was a relatively diligent ruler. Although he didn't personally handle every matter, he needed to be aware of many things.

In terms of control, the current emperor is no less than the retired emperor.

After Ru Chang and the others left, Marquis Guo Ying of Wuding immediately came to report, "Your subject, Marquis Guo Ying of Wuding, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"No need for such formalities, Your Excellency." Zhu Yunying smiled and said to Guo Ying, "With the court launching this military campaign, we hope Your Excellency will stay behind to oversee the rear and make proper preparations for supplies."

Guo Ying clasped his hands in a fist and said with absolute certainty, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

Xu Huizu went to Liaodong, and the veteran generals now in the court are Marquis Guo Ying of Wuding and Marquis Geng Bingwen of Changxing. Both of them are over sixty-five years old and have not taken up arms, but they need to stay in Yingtian Prefecture to oversee the supply of provisions and to plan for meritorious service.

This made the two veteran generals quite happy. Although they could no longer go to the battlefield, they were not simply waiting to die. Even if they could not directly receive military merits, as long as they prepared the supplies for the emperor's first battle after his ascension to the throne, they could still create more opportunities for their descendants.

Zhu Yunying dared not be careless and asked many questions carefully. Perhaps it was because he was too controlling, so he needed to clarify certain things. Furthermore, this was his first battle after ascending the throne, and naturally he hoped for a resounding victory.

Otherwise, Zhu Yunying wouldn't have sent out all his trusted confidants. Moreover, the three armies of the Ming Dynasty can be said to be the three strongest generals in the Ming Dynasty at present. The combination of the old, middle-aged and young generations looks perfect.

Fu Youde, needless to say, is a veteran general who fought alongside Zhu Yuanzhang to establish the empire. Lan Yu was also a founding hero, having been granted a marquisate at the time, though he was generally regarded as Chang Yuchun's brother-in-law, or even a brother he treated like a son. As for Xu Huizu, the current imperial brother-in-law and the eldest son of Xu Da, the Prince of Zhongshan, he is a rising star in military command.

Three outstanding commanders, plus Marquis of Jingchuan Cao Zhen, Marquis of Huaiyuan Cao Xing, Marquis of Huining Zhang Wen, Marquis of Heqing Zhang Yi, Marquis of Quanning Sun Ke, and others. These were all veteran generals of the founding of the dynasty. Although they were now showing signs of aging, they still had the strength to fight.

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