The homeland of these people was, of course, the Yuan Dynasty.
Moreover, after the Ming Dynasty restored the imperial examination system, the southerners monopolized the path to officialdom through the examinations, which aroused the nostalgia of the northern scholars for the Yuan Dynasty.
The Yuan Dynasty stipulated that 300 people from various regions should be selected to participate in the metropolitan examination, of which 100 would be selected, including 25 each from the Mongol, Semu, Han, and Southern groups. In addition, among the 300 people who took the metropolitan examination, 75 were Han and 75 were Southern.
The antagonism between the North and the South was also quite intense at this time. If it weren't for the subjugation of Nahachu in Liaodong and the great victory over the Northern Yuan at Buyur Lake, which essentially eliminated the threat to the Northern Yuan forces from the north, many people in the North might still be longing for their homeland.
This is the reality: many people in the north do not identify as Han Chinese and have little sense of belonging to the Ming Dynasty.
Wearing hair loose and fastening the robe on the left is a custom that people from the north are accustomed to.
Shi Jingtang rebelled against the Tang Dynasty and established his own regime, pledging allegiance to the Khitans as father and son, and ceding the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun to them. Several dynasties in the Central Plains that followed were unable to fully recover these areas, and five hundred years have passed since then.
The Khitans, Jurchens, and Mongols ruled the north for too long. Under the rule of these foreign peoples, the Han people in the north had lost their Han traditions and become accustomed to foreign rule.
For Zhu Xiong Ying, the next thing to consider is the issue of belonging to the North. Naturally, he will also have to teach those scholars and officials who yearn for the Northern Yuan, or those local tyrants, a lesson.
This isn't about having knives or having a strong army. People's hearts and minds aren't something that can be changed overnight, and changing customs and habits takes a long time to show any results.
Old Zhu arrived excitedly and said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "Ying'er, come with us to the Imperial Horse Stables. We've found you some fine horses."
Zhu Xiong Ying chuckled and said lazily, "Grandpa, I have high standards. If it weren't for a fine horse, I wouldn't even look at it."
Old Zhu grabbed Zhu Xiong Ying's arm, quite excited, "I'll give you an Akhal-Teke horse, is that alright?"
The Akhal-Teke horse is incredibly famous, having thrived in China for over a thousand years, from its introduction in the Han Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty. However, its numbers have drastically decreased since the Ming Dynasty.
The Akhal-Teke horse, while fast, is relatively slender and not particularly strong at carrying heavy loads. Furthermore, due to factors such as introduction, crossbreeding, improvement, backcrossing, and eventual extinction, the Akhal-Teke horse population in China has dwindled.
Mongolian horses are also hardy and suitable for large-scale cavalry training, which naturally led to a decline in the status of Akhal-Teke horses.
Old Zhu didn't care about all that. His precious grandson wasn't going to fight on the battlefield himself, so of course he needed a tall horse. Zhu Xiong Ying usually rode horses as well, including Mongolian horses, Hequ horses, and Iron Hoof horses, which were all his previous mounts for practicing riding skills.
"We never expected to get such a fine horse!" Old Zhu said with a beaming smile. "Our Ying'er is so lucky. She's about to go to Beiping, and she already has such a good horse!"
Zhu Xiong Ying smiled broadly, looking quite expectant. "Grandpa Emperor, then this time your grandson won't hold back."
"You've taken it, and Grandfather will be happy!" Old Zhu said happily to Zhu Xiong Ying, "Our grandson is a young hero, and he should ride the best horse!"
Zhu Biao, who went to the Imperial Horse Stable with him, felt a pang of jealousy. "All of these best things used to be mine!"
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