Zhu Yunying knew perfectly well what kind of people his own younger brother and nephew were. They were like father, like son; like mother, like daughter.

Zhu Yunwen and Madam Sang were both rather unruly. Even the best children would turn into little rascals in their presence.

Looking at Zhu Su, Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "Fifth Uncle, the imperial examination has begun, but as things stand, there are relatively few promising talents in this field. Perhaps we should wait and see. It would be good if these individuals could accumulate knowledge and skills and then make a breakthrough."

Zhu Su was somewhat disappointed; it seemed that this imperial examination would produce no outstanding talents again.

Remembering something, Zhu Yunying said, "The Xiaokang Encyclopedia is different after all. It should be a great work that demonstrates the power of the country and benefits future generations. Although many people have been recruited now, it is still not enough."

Zhu Su naturally understood this principle. In fact, even though he had compiled a work like "Emergency Relief Herbs," Zhu Su knew he wasn't a literary figure. Without some talented people to guide him, he certainly wouldn't have been able to do these things well.

"Jie Jin is indeed quite talented. He was originally the top scholar in Jiangxi Province. He could write at the age of seven and had read all the Four Books and Five Classics by the age of twelve. Although he was punished by the Emperor in his early years because of Li Shanchang's obstinacy, he has made some progress in recent years. His mother's funeral has just ended, and we plan to transfer him to Yingtian and appoint him as the Chief Administrator."

Zhu Su immediately said, "Your Majesty, Jiang Yongwen is suitable to be the vice president."

The Xiaokang Encyclopedia was naturally compiled under the supervision of Zhu Su, and nowadays, some talented people are needed to take charge of the specific tasks.

Xie Jin, a man of great talent, is undoubtedly capable of being entrusted with important responsibilities. As for Jiang Yongwen, he possessed a photographic memory from a young age and primarily studied medicine after his father's death. He is highly skilled in medicine and is currently an imperial physician of the Ming Dynasty.

During the compilation of "Emergency Relief Materia Medica", Zhu Su highly regarded Jiang Yongwen.

Zhu Yunying naturally nodded with a smile and said, "Fifth Uncle can make these decisions. We trust your abilities. The results of the imperial examinations are about to be announced, and I suggest that Fifth Uncle and Yunwen come and help us review the papers. Fifth Uncle knows about my situation; my literary talent is limited."

Zhu Su could no longer tolerate this and said seriously, "Your Majesty, please do not be modest. Your Majesty's literary talent is outstanding. If Your Majesty intends to excel in the imperial examinations, you will surely pass with flying colors. Who in the whole world does not know that Your Majesty's poetic talent is absolutely amazing?"

Well, although Zhu Yunying, the plagiarist, was not a "poet immortal descended to earth," the poems he once "recited casually" were indeed widely circulated.

There was also an element of Emperor Zhu's influence in this, as he was further shaping the image of Emperor Zhu. This is also because the literary talent of the Ming Dynasty was indeed inferior to that of the Tang and Song Dynasties, at least at this stage.

Zhu Yunying was no longer embarrassed. Although he hadn't written many poems, he was truly remarkable in the early Ming Dynasty. After all, those poems were classics that could be passed down for thousands of years, and their quality was beyond question.

Zhu Yunying didn't care about being accused of deceiving the world and stealing fame anymore; that's what everyone said anyway, and he was almost convinced himself.

While discussing the "Xiaokang Grand Ceremony" with Zhu Su, he also brought Zhu Su and Zhu Yunwen over, and even included Zhu Chun, the Prince of Shu, who was one of the more literary members of the imperial clan.

In essence, even Zhu Yunying needed to demonstrate an attitude, showing the scholars of the world the importance the Ming imperial family placed on intellectuals. Even if it was just a formality, such a show could sometimes win people's hearts.

Since this would make it relatively easy to win people's hearts, and the cost and trouble seemed low, Zhu Yunying was naturally quite happy to do it. This was one of the most cost-effective things for him.

As for Zhu Su and the others, they should also feel quite happy. They themselves love reading, which shows their virtue and the emperor's trust in them.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty is currently undertaking quite a few major projects, and it's not just about compiling books.

The "Xiaokang Grand Ceremony" is considered by many to be a grand literary event, and many scholars are excited and proud of it.

Meanwhile, the Longjiang Shipyard and Quanzhou in Fujian Province during the Ming Dynasty were also vigorously building ocean-going vessels. This was in preparation for further developing long-distance ocean-going capabilities, and also in preparation for the upcoming "going to Southeast Asia" to demonstrate national power.

Many people simply haven't realized this, given the Maritime Trade Office's considerable development over the years and the Ming Dynasty's navy's continuous growth. The idea of ​​sailing to Southeast Asia is familiar to most, though many may perceive it as something distant from their lives.

Whether it was literary or military affairs, or some seemingly long-term plans, Zhu Yunying always tried his best to do them.

Chinese civilization has always been an agrarian civilization, and it has not actually placed particular importance on the sea.

Despite the impressive maritime trade during the Tang and Song dynasties, there were still fundamental differences in values ​​and a general consensus that land was more important than the ocean.

Gu Shen

Zhu Yunying naturally understood this principle. He knew very well that even though he was the emperor, he could not forcibly change the stubborn ideas of some people. All he could do was try to gradually get people to accept and change some of their thoughts.

Actually, things are not so bad now, because the Maritime Trade Office continues to bring in considerable revenue, including finding endless silver mines in the seemingly barbaric East Japan, which has made some people start to have doubts.

It seems that beyond the land of China, the outside world isn't necessarily a barren wasteland; there might be some valuable things there. These valuable things might even surpass those found within the land of China, which has surprised and baffled many.

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