Xia Yuanji immediately felt a bit of pressure, almost comparable to when he met the Hongwu Emperor in his early years. If one's mental fortitude wasn't strong enough, one would tremble with fear.

This is absolutely no joke. As the emperor's power grew, it naturally meant increasing psychological pressure on civil and military officials. Even though Emperor Yingshi seemed more benevolent than Emperor Hongwu, this tolerance was still relatively limited.

The fact that Emperor Hongwu did not continue to sit on the dragon throne did not mean that the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty could relax, because Emperor Yingshi was a replica of Emperor Hongwu, having been taught by him.

Even though it may not seem as harsh as the Hongwu Emperor, and it doesn't involve implicating relatives or others, the Ying Shi Emperor was very stingy.

Emperor Yingshi was relatively magnanimous; as long as the civil and military officials behaved properly, there wouldn't be any major problems. As long as these people didn't engage in corruption or bribery, Emperor Yingshi wouldn't seem so harsh.

After all, this emperor is very similar to the Hongwu Emperor. Both of them were emperors with great ambitions and were both wise and powerful. Most importantly, everyone can see that although both of them were indeed harsh on their officials, they were also among the most benevolent emperors in history.

Zhu Yunying had considerable confidence in both Yu Xin and Xia Yuanji. Both of them were quite capable, and as long as they worked diligently, there would be no problem.

Yu Xin now hopes to continue to hold the Ministry of Revenue, so that he can retire smoothly and leave his mark on history. This can be considered the ambition of a scholar.

As for Xia Yuanji, his career has not yet reached its peak. He knows he still has many more opportunities, so he will not slack off at this time and needs to continue to work hard.

After the two chief officials of the Ministry of Revenue left, Zhu Yunying did not have much time to review the memorials before Li Jinglong came to request an audience.

Zhu Yunying wasn't particularly harsh on this so-called "Great War God of the Ming Dynasty." After all, Li Jinglong's background was extremely special, and he was a capable assistant to Zhu Yunying in controlling military power. Zhu Yunying had no intention of throwing his own hands into disarray.

After all, there don't seem to be any more suitable candidates right now. If the imperial clan wants to control some military power, Li Jinglong is undoubtedly one of the most suitable candidates. The legacy left by Li Wenzhong is indeed quite substantial.

"Cousin from Jiujiang," Zhu Yunying greeted with a smile, "Wang Daban, please offer a seat to the Duke of Cao."

Although Li Jinglong was expressing his gratitude, he also felt it was only natural. Even though he had once suspected that he was being sidelined by Zhu Yunying, he no longer needed to worry about such things.

Furthermore, even when the current emperor was still the crown prince, he actually showed Li Jinglong enough respect. Li Jinglong had long enjoyed the honor and treatment of being granted the authority to command troops, a privilege that ordinary nobles could only dream of.

Moreover, Li Jinglong was not entirely foolish; he possessed considerable political acumen. Having gained fame in Yingtian Prefecture in his early years for his extensive knowledge of military strategy, Li Jinglong increasingly understood Zhu Yunying's intentions: ultimately, he needed someone of sufficient status and ability to restrain the other members of the imperial clan.

"Your Majesty, the world has been at peace for a long time, and the founding nobles have long since left the court." Duke Cao said with a serious expression, "In this expedition to Goguryeo, I believe there are quite a few people who should be given experience."

Very few of the founding nobles are still in the court today, and Fu Youde can be considered 'still vigorous in his old age'. Lan Yu, who used to be a young general by Chang Yuchun's side, is now slowly entering the ranks of veterans, while veterans like Guo Ying and Geng Bingwen are already very old.

At this time in the Ming Dynasty, not to mention the second generation of meritorious officials, even the third generation were gradually entering the imperial court. In the Five Military Commissions, there were indeed a large number of sons of meritorious officials holding the second or third rank.

Of course, there are some talented individuals with family backgrounds who have potential, but we cannot rule out the possibility that some are simply occupying positions without contributing anything, and whose abilities and potential are indeed not worthy of the emperor's further cultivation or delegation of power.

Zhu Yunying looked at Li Jinglong and said with some helplessness, "In the early years, the Five Military Commands of our Great Ming were very prestigious. Only some meritorious generals with long-standing achievements could command the Five Military Commands. Nowadays, the Five Military Commands are mostly filled by the sons of meritorious officials and nobles who have been specially granted official positions. There are just too many hereditary officials."

This is true. In the early days, the Five Military Commands were arguably superior to the civil administration system. In the early period of the Five Military Commands, all the commanders-in-chief were military generals who had made military achievements and were promoted.

However, things are not so good now. The current Five Military Commissions are far less prestigious than those during the Hongwu era. In fact, at first glance, the Left and Right Commanders of the Five Military Commissions were basically all meritorious military officers. It's just that overall, there are indeed many more officials who received their positions through hereditary privilege.

"This is also why we put my cousin in charge of the Martial Arts Academy. Although we advocated that the succession of noble titles should be evaluated in the early years, it is easier said than done." Zhu Yunying said with some helplessness, "If those people are to say they are opportunistic, they really know how to fool us."

This is not an exaggeration; it is simply the truth, because these things have already happened and are constantly happening.

In his early years, Zhu Yunying was indeed worried that the military merit system was too idle and unreliable, so he also put forward an evaluation system for military merit succession to avoid some military merits making jokes such as not being able to ride horses or draw bows when inheriting their fathers' and grandfathers' titles.

However, over the years, these assessments have become largely superficial. They are not enough to guarantee that the sons of nobles are all highly capable, nor are they sufficient to demonstrate that the Ming Dynasty's noble system still maintains enough vitality and fresh blood.

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