After the three of them stood up, Yunxi immediately turned around and ordered a guard beside him: "Immediately tell Qin Song, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, about this and ask him to send someone to Qingpu County to copy the local household registration book. Once again." Although Yunxi believed that mistakes made before the promulgation of the law should not be pronounced with late legal provisions because of the judicial concepts left over from his previous life, and allowed two people named Xiao to participate in the imperial examination, it does not mean that he can allow this loophole to continue. exist.
"You send someone to inform the Six Ministers and the Imperial Censor. No, there is no need to inform the Minister of War. I will go to Qianqing Palace after the court tomorrow. I have something to discuss with them." After the Ming Dynasty, it is likely that prefectures and counties will be established. This loophole It must be fully made up legally.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Several guards agreed, then turned their horses and rushed to Jin Yiwei and other Yamen.
"Xiao Zhuo," after giving the instructions, Yunxi turned to look at Xiao Zhuo again and said to him: "You didn't lie to me, you are quite honest."
"How dare a villain to deceive Your Majesty?" Xiao Zhuo immediately said: "As a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, and Your Majesty as the Son of the Ming Dynasty, no one in the world would dare to deceive Your Majesty."
"Haha." Hearing Xiao Zhuo's words, Yunxi laughed twice, glanced at the two people kneeling behind him, and asked: "One of you is called Xiao Tong, and you are Xiao Zhuo's nephew. His name is Xiao Yong, and he is Xiao Zhuo’s son.”
"Yes." Xiao Tong and Xiao Yong agreed.
"Xiao Zhuo," Yunxi said to him again: "Although it is easier to take the provincial examination in Zhili than in Zhejiang, if you are a third- or fourth-class scholar, you will definitely not be able to pass the examination; and before I judge that you are not wrong in this matter, Even if these two people in your family pass the exam, they may be deposed, which is a big risk."
"It can be seen that these two people must be very outstanding people. They are sure to be able to pass the examination and can be regarded as young talents of the Ming Dynasty."
"Your Majesty," Xiao Zhuo said after careful consideration: "The Ming Dynasty is so big and there are countless talented people. The people who serve as officials in the court are all talented people. How can these two people in my family come into your Majesty's eyes? They are not worthy of His Majesty's words. of young talents.”
"You don't have to be too modest. How do you know that the two of them can't pass the Jinshi exam? If they can pass the Jinshi exam, they will be worthy of my young talents."
Just after Yunxi finished saying this, he suddenly remembered something, pointed at Xiao Tong and said: "I suddenly remembered that Xiyang once mentioned to me that a man named Xiao Tong was his friend, could it be you?"
"Xi Yang? Who is this?" Xiao Zhuo didn't react for a moment, and Xiao Yong also looked confused; but Xiao Tong himself already knew who Yun Xi was talking about, and replied in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, sir. The officer does recognize Xue Qianshi."
"That's you. Since you are his friend, you don't have to be so polite to address him." Yunxi said first, and then said: "Xi Yang praised you very much and said that you are very talented. Sooner or later, people will definitely be able to pass the examination."
"Since Xiyang admires you so much, I will give you a test today. Come with me." He thought for a moment, then said to Xiao Zhuo and Xiao Yong: "You two will also come with me."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The three of them agreed in unison, then stood up and followed the guard.
"Father, Ninth Brother, that Xue Qianshi is the person called Xiyang by Your Majesty, right? Who is he? Why did Your Majesty, upon hearing that he praised Ninth Brother, test you against Ninth Brother? And, Father, what's wrong with Your Majesty? Will I recognize you?" Xue Yong couldn't help but ask. He had been in his hometown before and was concentrating on studying and not participating in other things, so he didn't know many things.
Xiao Zhuo glanced at the guard in front of him and whispered: "Xue Qianshi is the empress's younger brother. Although he comes from such a family, he is a progressive man. He passed the scholar examination four years ago and will also take part in the provincial examination this year. He
Since he is a scholar, His Majesty will pay more attention to the scholars he praises."
"As for why Your Majesty knew my father, it's a long story. It has something to do with our family's business. I will let you know the details after the provincial examination."
Xiao Yong looked even more curious, but he finally understood the seriousness. Perhaps because he was usually afraid of his father, he didn't dare to ask any more questions.
Not long after walking, they left the vicinity of the Father and Son Temple and came to a place where civilians lived. Yunxi stopped his horse at the door of a small restaurant on the street. A guard dismounted and walked in. After a few glances, he came out and faced Yunxi again.
Yunxi whispered something. Yunxi then dismounted and walked into the restaurant under the protection of the guards.
Yunxi firmly believed that only by observing the lives of the people with his own eyes could he not be deceived by the officials, at least not by the officials in the capital, so he insisted on leaving the palace incognito and walking around in and around the capital to take a look; but recently there were several people in the capital.
There is a person suspected of being a White Lotus cultist. Although they did not assassinate him that day, the possibility of being a White Lotus cultist is further reduced, but there may not be other dangers in the city, so be careful.
So after that, Yunxi stopped going to crowded places and shops with limited space, and ordered his guards to be more vigilant outside the palace, thinking that this was enough to ensure safety. In history, emperors such as Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Zhanji, and Zhu Houzhao all went on tour incognito.
Although Zhu Houzhao's death was strange, some people suspected that it was a civil official who killed him, rather than being assassinated after leaving the palace.
But there would be times when he wanted to rest after walking outside for half a day. In order to solve this problem, Qin Song sent several Jinyi guards to conceal their identities and open shops in the city as a place for the emperor to stay.
When Yunxi walked into the restaurant, there was no one in the restaurant, so he randomly picked a table, asked Xiao Tong to sit opposite him, and asked questions.
Xiao Tong was indeed what Xi Yang said. He was very smart and had a photographic memory of reading. Not only did he memorize the Four Books and Five Classics thoroughly, but he also learned a lot of complicated things and knew a little bit about everything. When he was following the guards, Yunxi also turned around several times to pay attention.
His footsteps confirmed that he was also good at martial arts. In order to determine how good he was at martial arts, he pushed the table aside and let him demonstrate.
"Not bad, not bad." Yunxi said with a smile.
"Your Majesty, you are so complimentary." Xiao Tong was happy when he heard the emperor praise him, but he still bowed and said. But what he didn't know was that just as he was bending down to salute, Yunxi took a closer look at his appearance.
Of course, Yunxi specifically asked him to come over for questioning. During the Chinese New Year, he had talked to Xiyao about choosing a consort for Yun Yun. Yunxi decided to improve the status of the merchant, and marrying the princess into the merchant's family would be the most effective way.
Ways to express your thoughts.
But if the marriage is directly granted to ordinary merchants, even very wealthy merchants who can pay to repair the walls of the capital, it will not work, because this will arouse opposition from civil servants, and military generals and nobles will not support it.
After all, scholars, farmers, industry and merchants have been shouting for who knows how many years. Businessmen have always had the lowest nominal status, and officials and nobles will subconsciously reject them.
But if a marriage is given to a juren who comes from a merchant family, the Jinshi is different. Ever since Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, China has emphasized that heroes should not care about their origins. Even if a juren is from a merchant family, they are still members of the bureaucracy and will not be ostracized by officials.
Of course, he was still not satisfied: the princess should be married to an honorable family! But no one would confront the emperor because of such a thing. At most, they would express their dissatisfaction verbally.
So Yunxi had the idea of marrying Yun Yun to a member of the merchant family, a Jinshi. He initially liked Xiao Tong, but after hearing Xi Yang's introduction, he started to choose other candidates for the sake of Yun Yun's lifelong happiness. people.
However, after secretly ordering Jinyiwei and Zhensi to investigate, they submitted a report in early July: Although the relatively wealthy merchant families in the Ming Dynasty all have scholars, they do not have any candidates. Moreover, based on various sources, there are scholars who are likely to pass the examination. There is only one Xiao Tong.
In this way, Yunxi could only pick up Xiao Tong again, and planned to ask Xiyang to call him to the capital after the provincial examination (Yunxi thought he was taking the examination in Zhejiang at the time), and then 'encounter' him in Xue Mansion and have a few words with him in person.
Unexpectedly, I met him by chance in the capital today. Yunxi changed his plan and took the opportunity to test him.
'It is indeed as Xi Yang said, he is very smart, good at martial arts, and good looking. He is a good candidate.'
'However, he is too smart. A person who is too smart is not suitable as a husband. Although I want to take advantage of Sanmei in this matter, I must also consider her lifelong happiness.'
'But if you don't choose him, all businessmen from a family who want to find someone who can pass the examination will have to try their luck. Yun Yun is already eighteen years old. If no one succeeds in this examination, she cannot be like Yun Lan. Marry after twenty, right? There is a special reason why Yun Lan got married so late. Yun Yun got married too late, so there is no excuse. One step ahead is a genius, two steps ahead is a madman, I can't get too far ahead.'
'That's all, after Xiao Tong succeeds in the examination, take Yunyun out of the palace and find an opportunity to let her take a look at Xiao Tong. If she likes him, she can choose him as the consort. If she doesn't like him, she will be the consort.'
'But even if Xiao Tong is so smart, there is no guarantee that he will pass the imperial examination this year. The imperial examination is very random. Not to mention Xiao Tong, even if Jieyuan takes the provincial examination again this time, he may not be able to pass it. What should I do if I didn't pass the exam? Give up this plan?" Yunxi sat on the chair, frowning and thinking. No one knew what he was thinking, and they didn't dare to disturb him. Suddenly the store became very quiet, not to mention the mosquitoes. The "buzzing" sound can be clearly heard even if the wind blows the leaves.
After a while, Yunxi made up his mind: 'If no one from this business family succeeds in the examination, I will assign a child of a certain noble family to do business, and then marry Yun Yun to this person. As a workaround.'
After making up his mind, he raised his head and saw that everyone was sitting upright on their chairs, not daring to move. The teacups on the table had already gone cold and no one was changing the water. He smiled and said, "What are you doing sitting like this? I can't help but look at it." It’s uncomfortable; and the tea has gone cold, why don’t you ask the waiter to change it?”
After hearing Yunxi's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, moved their bodies, and asked the waiters to change the water.
"Xiao Zhuo, come here, I have a few questions to ask you." After that, Yunxi encouraged Xiao Tong a few words, and then called Xiao Zhuo to his side to ask questions.
"Your Majesty, countless people from Nanyang have been sold into the Ming Dynasty as slaves. It is impossible to calculate how many villains there are in total, but there are always tens of thousands."
"General merchants like to buy Nanyang slaves. The price of Nanyang slaves is much lower than that of Han slaves, and they can be beaten and scolded at will, and they are not paid a cent. They are very convenient to use, so they all like to buy them. But people like this The purchased Nanyang slaves worked in the Ming Dynasty for a few years and became able to speak Chinese. They often wanted to escape. After successfully escaping, they pretended to be refugees and went to work in other shops. Although the wages were lower than those of people with household registration, they were still better than those of people with household registration. The more masters you have, the better your life will be."
"Officials also like to buy it, for the same reason as merchants, the price is cheap. However, officials all pay attention to face, and it is not easy for Nanyang slaves to understand the rules of the Ming Dynasty, so most of the disciples in the family are still Han."
"Of course the honorable people also like it, but they are not like businessmen or officials who sell their former slaves and buy cheap Nanyang slaves at low prices. The original slaves still work for them as servants, but the new slaves are mainly from Nanyang.
But the personal attendants who serve the master and young master, the maids who serve the mistress personally, the book boys who accompany the students, and the officials in charge are still Han people, and they will not be replaced by Nanyang people." Xiao Zhuo introduced the situation of Nanyang slaves in detail.
Yunxi asked a few more questions, and Xiao Zhuo answered them one by one. Seeing that Nanyang's slaves were selling well, he was about to praise him, but suddenly remembered something and said: "Nanyang countries are poor and people's lives are extremely difficult. Even if they come here
Being slaves in the Ming Dynasty, even in the households of ordinary merchants, will lead a better life than in Nanyang. Letting them come to the Ming Dynasty to be slaves is to rescue them from a life of poverty, and it is a good deed."
"What your Majesty said is true. The people of the Nanyang countries are living a very hard life. It is better to be a slave in the Ming Dynasty than to be a citizen in Nanyang." Xiao Zhuo agreed seriously.
"Ahem," Yunxi coughed a few times, and then said, "I'm just telling you this, you don't want to talk nonsense with other people."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Xiao Zhuo bowed and agreed.
After saying this, Yunxi had nothing to say to them. He was about to stand up and ask them to leave when he suddenly caught a glimpse of Xiao Yong's eyes and saw him looking at him with expectant eyes. When he saw himself looking at him,
He lowered his head again, with a thought in his heart, and said: "Xiao Yong, I have a few words to say to you." After all, he is a scholar, and it is no big deal to encourage him a few words. Maybe he will pass the exam just because of these few words of encouragement.
There is a candidate for the exam, Yunxi thought.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Xiao Yong agreed excitedly and came over to listen to Yun Xi's teachings.
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Thanks to the book friend Yijian 68, Leakuang Pingbi, this is such a shame. (To be continued)