After that, the two of them stepped up the stairs of Qianqing Palace with an uneasy mood.
As soon as they entered Qianqing Palace, the two of them followed the usual practice of kneeling on the ground respectfully and said in a deep voice.
"I bow to your majesty, long live my emperor!"
Jiajing, who was sitting on the dragon chair, heard this and looked at Yan Song and Xu Jie up and down before giving the order in a leisurely manner.
"Well, you two get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After receiving Jiajing's permission, the two slowly stood up from the ground. At this moment, their faces were full of anxious and uneasy looks.
Jiajing saw the expressions on the faces of Yan Song and Xu Jie, and asked directly without hesitation.
"Do you know why I came to you two today?"
After Jiajing finished speaking, Yan Song stood up and responded respectfully.
"I don't know, but I hope your Majesty will make it clear!"
Seeing this, Xu Jie on the side also added.
"I hope your Majesty will make it clear!"
When Jiajing heard this, he responded in a subtle way and immediately spoke.
"To be honest, yesterday evening, the British Duke came to me suddenly. He hoped that I could give a small amount of "compensation" to the nobles and the clan."
"I came to see you two here today just to discuss this matter!"
As Jiajing's words fell, Yan Song and Xu Jie felt an inexplicable pressure shrouding themselves, and even breathing began to become difficult.
They didn't know if it was Yan Song and Xu Jie's misunderstanding. They just felt that Jiajing's tone on the word "compensation" was particularly heavy!
"Sure enough, you can tell from His Majesty's tone that this matter is not simple!"
Yan Song and Xu Jie thought so, and immediately began to hold their breath and concentrate as much as possible to avoid missing what Jiajing said next.
"In addition, the compensation proposed by the British Office is to hold separate examinations for the clan and nobles in addition to the imperial examinations, and select suitable talents from them!"
"Yan Song, Xu Jie, what do you two think of this proposal?"
As Jiajing said this, he turned his attention to Yan Song and Xu Jie beside him.
At this moment, after listening to Jiajing's narration, Yan Song and Xu Jie fell into a sluggish state, perhaps because they were too shocked. They knew very well that this was a blatant act for the clan and the honorable nobles. Open the door of convenience.
After being stunned for a long time, Xu Jie came to his senses first and warned Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, you must not do this!"
"Since ancient times, if officials want to enter the official career, they must go through various levels of selection through the imperial examination before they can become the talents needed by the court!"
"If according to the proposal of the British Duke, in addition to the imperial examination, separate examinations for the clan and nobles are held, there are too many things that can be done. Just based on their status as royal relatives and nobles, No official would dare to go against them!"
"Because of this, these clans and their descendants can easily pass the exams and enter official careers!"
When Xu Jie said this, the expression on his face became more and more excited. Immediately, he knelt down on the ground with a thump and said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for bluntly saying that the officials selected through this method are simply not able to play the role of sharing your worries!"
"Because during this process, because officials were concerned about the identities of those clans and noble disciples, they were not able to conduct a comprehensive inspection of their respective abilities, conduct, etc.!"
"Your Majesty, there is a saying that if virtue is not matched, there will be disaster. Do you want to see a large number of people whose virtues and talents are incompatible with their position?"
"If things continue like this, it will do a lot of harm to our Ming Dynasty but no benefit at all. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"
After Xu Jie finished speaking, he bowed to the ground and waited for Jiajing's decision.
After hearing what Xu Jie said, Jiajing nodded slightly and gave instructions.
"Well, you're right, get up!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
After that, Xu Jie stood up from the ground tremblingly, then lowered his eyes and said no more words.
After Jiajing understood Xu Jie's views on the matter, he turned his attention to Yan Song and asked.
"Yan Song, let me ask you, what do you think of this matter?"
Yan Song saw Jiajing asking him about this, and after thinking about it for a long time, he gave a response.
"Your Majesty, the views of this humble minister are the same as those of Mr. Xu Ge. This matter will be harmful to our Ming Dynasty but not beneficial at all. I hope your Majesty will think twice!"
Perhaps because he was worried that his words were too pale, Yan Song added after a moment.
"Your Majesty, I feel that if we hold separate examinations for the clan and nobles in addition to the imperial examinations, it will easily lead to redundant officials and low efficiency. Moreover, having to support so many officials will be very difficult in terms of finances. It’s also a big burden!”
"You know, the number of nobles and clans in our Ming Dynasty totals millions of people!"
When Yan Song said this, he glanced at Xu Jie beside him and continued to speak.
"As Mr. Xu Ge said before, apart from the imperial examination, holding separate examinations for the clan and nobles will not be able to select talents for the imperial court at all!"
"In addition, the abilities of these clan members and nobles are greatly lacking compared with those scholars who have read poetry and books since childhood. Please forgive me for speaking frankly, they are not worthy of the important responsibilities!"
Xu Jie on the side saw that Yan Song was so bold, and he pointed out directly in front of His Majesty the problem of the lack of ability of the clan and nobles without concealing it.
"This Yan Song is really messing around. Didn't Eunuch Lu remind you before coming here? Try not to offend Your Majesty. Really!"
Thinking of this, Xu Jie turned his gaze to Jiajing without leaving any trace, and kept observing the expression on his face, fearing that Jiajing would be offended by Yan Song's words and implicate himself.
But to Xu Jie's expectation, after hearing Yan Song's words, Jiajing not only did not get angry, but also nodded.
Just when Xu Jie was quite confused about this, Jiajing's rather indifferent voice sounded in their ears.
"Well, not bad, what you two said makes sense, but..."
When Xu Jie heard Jiajing's words, he couldn't help but feel a thump in his heart, and the expression on his face suddenly became extremely ugly. He said to himself: "Oops, your Majesty seems to have other ideas!"
As expected, Jiajing continued to add after clearing his throat.
"As Mr. Yan Ge said before, the number of nobles and clans in our Ming Dynasty totals millions of people!"
"How can I ignore their voices?"
Hearing Jiajing's words, Yan Song and Xu Jie couldn't help but fell into silence: "Yes, no matter what, your Majesty cannot ignore the voices of those nobles who have shed their blood for the Ming Dynasty, and the millions of clan members!"
Just as the atmosphere in the Qianqing Palace became extremely solemn, Jiajing chuckled, turned his eyes to Yan Song and Xu Jie, and then spoke.
"I have a solution to the problem here. I wonder if you would like to hear it?"
When Yan Song and Xu Jie heard Jiajing's words, they immediately became energetic and said in unison.
"I am stupid, I hope your majesty will give you some advice!"
Jiajing took in the expressions on the faces of Yan Song and Xu Jie, and after sorting out the words in his mind, he spoke his thoughts.
"As long as the clan and nobles who have not entered the official career through the imperial examination have to set up an insurmountable barrier on their heads, for example, a civil servant can only serve as a fourth-grade official, and a military attaché can only serve as a partial general. The point!”
"There are no restrictions on those clans and nobles who took part in the imperial examination and successfully obtained rankings. What do you think?"
When Jiajing finished speaking, Yan Song and Xu Jie on the side did not respond for a long time.
They knew in their hearts that this was the greatest concession the emperor could make. If they continued to argue with reason, they would only make His Majesty unhappy.
Time passed by so slowly. I don’t know how long it had passed, but Yan Song came back to his senses and suggested to Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. How about putting this matter on the next cabinet meeting for discussion?"
After hearing what Yan Song said, Jiajing nodded in a subtle way, and then expressed his attitude.
"Well, that's right. In that case, let's formally discuss this matter at the next cabinet meeting!"
Seeing that the emperor agreed to his proposal, Yan Song couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. As long as the matter has not been completely settled, there is still room for maneuver.
"Oh, this matter is really difficult to handle. We have to take into account the interests of the clan and nobles without causing too much opposition in the court!"
When he thought of this, Yan Song suddenly felt anxious. Soon, he took a deep breath and managed to calm down.
After that, Jiajing turned his attention to Yan Song and Xu Jie, pretending to mention it casually in front of them.
"By the way, I plan to transfer Hu Zongxian from Zhejiang back to the capital to take up a post in a while. What do you think?"
After Jiajing finished speaking, Yan Song and Xu Jie seemed to have heard something incredible, and their brains suddenly shut down.
At this moment, Xu Jie's face was full of hesitation, as he thought in his heart.
"What, did I hear that right? Your Majesty actually wants to transfer Hu Zongxian from Zhejiang back to the capital to serve!"
"After Hu Zongxian was transferred from Zhejiang to the capital, wouldn't his position as governor of Zhejiang and governor of Zhejiang become vacant?"
"As long as one of our own people can take over Hu Zongxian's position, when the mulberry seedlings in Zhejiang mature, we can follow the original plan and purchase raw silk from the people at low prices. This will save trouble. few!"
Just when Xu Jie was planning to take this opportunity to recommend his candidate to Jiajing, Yan Song spoke first.
"Your Majesty, I feel that although the Japanese pirates along the southeast coast have been pacified, the local mulberry seedlings in Zhejiang are about to mature. Is there anything inappropriate in transferring Hu Zongxian to Beijing at this time?"
When Jiajing heard this, he glanced at Yan Song and explained unhurriedly.
"Yan Song, you don't have to worry about this. My original plan was to wait until the local mulberry seedlings in Zhejiang are completely mature before transferring Hu Zongxian to the capital!"
"What's more, this is also the promise I made to Hu Zongxian before. After the Japanese pirates along the southeast coast are completely pacified, I will transfer him back to the capital to take up a post!"
After Yan Song heard this, he knew that the emperor's determination to transfer Hu Zongxian to Beijing was unstoppable. He couldn't restrain his curiosity and turned to Jiajing to ask.
"May I ask Your Majesty, what position do you plan to confer on Hu Zongxian?"
When Jiajing heard this, an inexplicable smile appeared on his face, he looked away from Yan Song and said in a deep voice.
"I intend to award Hu Zongxian a bachelor's degree in Zhongji Palace, to enter the Meridian Gate, and to be a member of the Wenyuan Pavilion!"
"What, let Hu Zongxian join the cabinet!"
After Jiajing finished speaking, the faces of Yan Song and Xu Jie suddenly showed expressions of shock that could not be concealed, and they immediately lost their voices.
Hearing this, Jiajing raised his eyebrows, glanced over Yan Song and Xu Jie, and asked coldly.
"Why, is it possible that you have any objections to my decision?"
At this moment, both Yan Song and Xu Jie had clearly noticed that the emperor's eyes were becoming more and more unkind. Seeing this, Xu Jie quickly stood up and explained to Jiajing.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, you... you misunderstood. We have no objection to your decision!"
"Hu Zongxian worked hard and deserved to be treated like this. We are just surprised by this!"
When Xu Jie finished speaking, Yan Song on the side also followed suit.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Xu Ge is right, we are just shocked by this!"
After listening to Yan Song and Xu Jie's explanations, Jiajing slowly looked away and nodded, barely agreeing with their explanations.
After this incident, beads of sweat appeared on the foreheads of Yan Song and Xu Jie, and the expressions of surviving a disaster appeared on their faces.
"This Hu Zongxian is truly favored by His Majesty!"
The two of them thought so and immediately skipped the topic in a tacit agreement.
Not long after, Xu Jie organized the words in his mind, and then he boldly asked Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, since Hu Zongxian is about to join the cabinet, has your Majesty thought of a suitable candidate to take his place?"
Yan Song on the side heard Xu Jie's words, and the expression on his face suddenly became extremely gloomy, and he cursed secretly.
"This damn Xu Jie is pretty quick to strike, but you don't want your people to get involved in Zhejiang. I, Yan Song, absolutely disagree!"
Yan Song thought so and began to search for suitable candidates in his mind.
When Jiajing heard this, an inexplicable smile suddenly appeared on his face. He turned his gaze to Xu Jie and asked.
"Oh, is it possible? Does Mr. Xu Ge have a suitable candidate to recommend to me?" (End of Chapter)
