GBP Chapter 194 Zhu Chongba finally went astray!
Chapter 194 Zhu Chongba finally went astray!
After careful consideration, Liu Bowen gritted his teeth and said, "First, send someone to invite them. If they refuse, the local officials will force them to comply. If they still refuse..."
Emperor Zhu smiled helplessly, "If you still don't comply, what can you do? Xia Boqi and his nephew are examples of that."
Liu Bowen's expression stiffened slightly, and he sighed helplessly, saying, "If they still refuse to comply, the Emperor cannot treat them the same way as Yao Shurun and Wang E. In my opinion, it would be better to strip them of their titles and treat them as ordinary citizens, levying taxes and corvée labor on them. However, this would mean..."
Emperor Zhu glanced at Liu Bowen, then suddenly burst into laughter and said, "But in doing so, we will bear the infamy for all eternity. These scholars who have been stripped of their titles and honors will surely curse us, Zhu Chongba, as incompetent and tyrannical."
"It's just a pity," Emperor Zhu's face gradually turned cold, and he said with murderous intent, "They touched my Zhu Chongba. I've herded cattle, been a monk, and begged for food all my life. Do you think I'm afraid of their curses?"
Emperor Zhu glanced at Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen and said, “Starting tomorrow, every prefecture and county in the country should inquire about those famous scholars and great Confucianists and invite them to the capital. We will grant them official positions. If they are unwilling, then just tie them up and send them over.”
"As for Xia Boqi and his nephew... the reason they have any support is simply because they think we won't kill them for the sake of our reputation. It's a pity that this uncle and nephew would rather cut off a finger than work for us. Even if we keep them, will they remember our kindness?"
"Behead them all and confiscate their property."
Both Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen were startled. They immediately stood up, cupped their hands in a salute to Emperor Zhu, and said, "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
Liu Bowen said, “If Xia Boqi and his nephew are unwilling to serve as officials, it would be enough to strip them of their titles and reduce them to commoners. However, if their heads are beheaded and their property confiscated, I fear there will be widespread criticism and it will damage your reputation.”
Li Shanchang chimed in, "If the emperor can kill Yao Shurun and Wang E for refusing to serve as officials, and kill Xia Boqi and his nephew for refusing to serve as officials, then there are hundreds or thousands of scholars who are unwilling to serve. Does the emperor intend to kill them all?"
Emperor Zhu sneered and said, "If they are unwilling to serve as officials, we can at most demote them to commoners. Why kill them? But Xia Boqi and his nephew are loyal to Hu Yuan. Why should I, as the emperor, keep them around? Are we going to use them as Hu Yuan's inside agents when Hu Yuan launches a counterattack? Or are we going to keep them around to ruin our reputation among the people?"
At this point, Emperor Zhu snorted coldly and said, "Anyway, we don't care about our reputation, so let's just kill them and save them from getting in our way."
Seeing that Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen wanted to persuade him again, Emperor Zhu said directly, "Brother Shanchang and Brother Qingtian, there's no need to persuade us anymore. Our minds are made up. Besides, we have something else to discuss with you."
Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen exchanged a helpless glance, then bowed and said, "Please give your orders, Your Excellency."
Emperor Zhu grunted in agreement, pacing back and forth as he said, "Didn't the Ministry of Rites' five-year plan mention building a certain number of prefectural schools, county schools, and community schools? Some people also say that farming is hard for ordinary people, and that students who want to study should be given some preferential treatment."
"We've been thinking about this for the past few days and we feel that the people really work hard in the fields. Therefore, we've decided to exempt all the students from their fees and have the imperial court provide them with food and clothing. If they pass the imperial examinations, their families will also be exempt from corvée labor and half of their taxes."
"However, we have overlooked one problem: the amount of land in our Great Ming Dynasty is ultimately limited, while the number of people will continue to grow. If everyone can study and take the imperial examinations in the future, I'm afraid the national treasury will lose half of its tax revenue, and there may even be nowhere to collect corvée labor."
"Therefore, we thought of making some changes—the food and clothing of the community school and county school students will remain provided by the imperial court, but community school students who fail to enter the county school after three attempts will be allowed to return home as commoners. County school students who fail to enter the prefectural school after three attempts will be granted the same degree as Xiucai and will also be allowed to return home as commoners. All preferential treatments such as not bowing to officials and exemption from taxes and corvée labor will be waived. They can study at home on their own. Community school students can take the county school exam again, and county school students can take the prefectural school exam again."
"Those who are admitted to the prefectural school become scholars. In addition to studying, they must also serve as minor officials in the local prefectural and county governments for ten days each month. The local instructors will assign points based on their abilities: one point for the excellent, half a point for the average, and no points for the incompetent. Those who accumulate ten points are allowed to participate in the imperial examinations. Those who fail the provincial examinations three times in a row will be granted the title of Juren. Others will be released back to civilian life, stripped of their preferential treatment, and allowed to study on their own and take the exams again, on the same level as those in the community schools and county schools."
"Those who pass the provincial examination are allowed to study at the Imperial Academy. They must serve as minor officials in one of the six ministries for ten days each month. The ministers of each ministry will assign them points. Those who accumulate ten points are allowed to participate in the metropolitan examination and the palace examination. The rest are treated the same as those who attend the prefectural schools."
"..."
As Emperor Zhu Chongba opened and closed his mouth, Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen's eyes widened even more.
If it weren't for the presence of Emperor Zhu Chongba, Li Shanchang would have even wanted to pull Liu Bowen along to investigate what kind of stimulation Emperor Zhu received from Xia Boqi and his nephew that led him to make such a heinous decision.
Or perhaps, this insane strategy was actually conceived by Emperor Zhu himself, or was it suggested by an unnamed county magistrate behind the scenes?
Isn't this blatantly giving all scholars two paths to choose from? The first is to quickly respond to the call of Emperor Zhu and the court to become an official, and the second is to lose all preferential treatment and, apart from being literate, be no different from ordinary commoners.
Two paths, choose for yourself.
What's even more frightening is that this kind of approach will force future students entering community schools, county schools, prefectural schools, and even the Imperial Academy to study desperately, otherwise they will have to bear the dual pressure from their families and lives.
Of course, this is not the most important thing.
Most importantly, students from the prefectural schools had experience as minor officials in local areas, and students from the Imperial Academy had experience as minor officials in the Six Ministries. If they wanted to participate in the imperial examinations again after being dismissed from the prefectural schools or the Imperial Academy, instead of returning home to farm, their best option would be to enter the Six Ministries or become minor officials in prefectures, states, or counties. This would immediately alleviate the shortage of manpower in the imperial court and local governments.
Just as the two were secretly feeling sorry for those scholars, Emperor Zhu Chongba added, "How about this, we'll hold a county and prefectural examination this year, and then a provincial, metropolitan, and palace examination next spring. Brother Shanchang and Brother Qingtian, you might as well think about what we've said when you get back, and then compile a memorial for us."
Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen were completely numb.
Damn it, the innocent and kind-hearted Zhu Chongba of yesteryear has finally gone astray!