The third year of the English Examination has quietly arrived, and for many people, the most important thing to focus on now is the upcoming spring examination.

The selection of officials was an important event for any dynasty, for the rulers, and for the civil and military officials. This was especially true for the civil service, who needed a constant influx of fresh talent to strengthen their power.

Even though the Ming Dynasty had been established for more than 30 years, the power of the civil service group seemed to be constantly growing.

However, it is clear to everyone that the current civil officials, let alone the emperor who holds all the power, are always at a disadvantage when facing the powerful aristocratic groups.

The idea of ​​governing the country together with the scholar-officials, or the emperor ruling by doing nothing, was something the civil officials could only dream about.

Zhu Yunying was in a good mood, probably because the government was doing well.

After the court session, Zhu Yunying went to the Wuying Hall, where Li Jinglong also arrived.

"Your Majesty, the Martial Academy is ready." Li Jinglong got straight to the point and said to Zhu Yunying, "The Martial Academy will be open for enrollment after the first month of the lunar calendar."

Zhu Yunying shook his head and said, "There's no need to wait until the end of the first month. Let's celebrate after New Year's Eve. The martial arts instructors and lecturers are all veterans of the court. You'll need to put more thought into how to manage their time."

As the Director of Studies at the Martial Academy, Li Jinglong held a very high position and wielded considerable power. He was essentially the deputy head of the academy, akin to a vice-principal. The reason he wasn't the Chief Instructor of the Martial Academy was, of course, because military power rested solely with the emperor, who personally served as the Chief Instructor.

In fact, the positions at the Martial Academy seem to be the same as those at the Imperial Academy, including managing all faculty, staff, and students below the rank of Doctor. For example, there was the Registrar who was in charge of the seal and documents, and the Chief Clerk who supervised the clerks to ensure they fulfilled their duties. Or there were the Doctors who were in charge of teaching and lecturing, and so on.

The only difference is that the Imperial Academy is for civil officials, while the Martial Academy is for military officers.

Li Jinglong continued, "Your Majesty, the Martial Arts Academy is divided into three levels: advanced, intermediate, and basic."

"We know that," Zhu Yunying said with a smile. "The generals in the court ultimately rely on their military merits. But remember this, Cousin Jiujiang: if you encounter a talented person, you should value them. The dynasty is not lacking in brave and capable generals, but a commander-in-chief is hard to find."

In fact, Zhu Yunying knew that the old Zhu was extremely serious about the military academy. Even before that, the Ming Dynasty did have a 'military academy,' but it was somewhat rudimentary and lacked a systematic structure.

Zhu Yunying now has more requirements. He not only needs to cultivate some capable generals, but also some commanders who can lead the three armies.

Of course, it is also necessary to have some 'advisors' and strategists, and some strategists with strategic vision.

Being able to lead troops into battle is certainly a good thing, but if they are all just good at charging into battle, that's obviously not a good thing either. Zhu Yunying, in fact, has some concerns about this as well.

After all, Lan Yu and Fu Youde were the only ones in the Ming Dynasty who could command a large army.

However, Lan Yu was no longer young, and Fu Youde was an absolute veteran. Zhu Yunying was actually quite unsure how long these two could hold on.

As for founding generals like Guo Ying and Geng Bingwen, their age is one thing, but whether they can lead a large army is another.

Take Geng Bingwen for example. He was indeed a veteran general. However, he had only led a large army on his own a handful of times. Even during the great victory at Buyur Lake, Geng Bingwen was just one of Lan Yu's deputy generals.

Among the younger generation is Xu Huizu, who appears young. However, Xu Huizu is actually not young anymore; he's forty years old, which seems like middle age. But at this age, he's truly not young anymore.

This is not a good thing. Back then, Zhu De had a large group of talented commanders such as Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Tang He, and Feng Sheng, while Fu Youde, Lan Yu, and others could hardly be seen to shine at that time.

But now, Zhu Yunying has very few 'generals' under his command, which is one of the things that worries him.

After all, Zhu Yunying had many plans for deploying troops, and he needed a great general who could command thousands of soldiers.

After discussing the Martial Arts Academy with Li Jinglong for a while, Zhu Yunying no longer needed to worry too much. Most of the matters concerning the Martial Arts Academy were basically decided by Old Zhu himself.

Zhu Yunying greatly admired Zhu Yuanzhang's military leadership skills, and it's said that Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were renowned generals throughout history. However, one should not mistakenly believe that Zhu Yuanzhang was incapable of leading troops. Even if he hadn't become emperor, he could still have been a great general commanding thousands of soldiers and sweeping across the land.

Yu Xin arrived at this time as well. The Minister of Revenue would not discuss certain matters in court; he needed to report to the Emperor first.

To be honest, Yu Xin, the Minister of Revenue, has had a tough two years. The emperor wanted to establish a bank and now he wants to merge the poll tax into the land tax. These things mean that the Minister of Revenue needs to be extremely busy.

Gu Qi

Although the emperor's 'spur-of-the-moment' decision added a lot of work, Yu Xin could not ignore the fact that he also needed to do his job as Minister of Revenue.

"Your Majesty, I believe Xia Yuanji is suitable to assist in the bank's promotion," Yu Xin said, recommending someone he greatly admired.

Xia Yuanji was almost forty years old. Born into a poor family, he passed the provincial examination ten years ago and was subsequently recommended to enter the Imperial Academy. He was then selected to write imperial edicts in the palace. After being appreciated by Emperor Zhu, he was promoted to the position of Principal Clerk in the Ministry of Revenue. Because of his orderly handling of affairs, Yu Xin also appreciated this "rising star".

Zhu Yunying nodded with a smile and said, "I've heard of this Xia Yuanji. He's a filial and upright person. With some experience, he could be put to good use."

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