Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

"What else do you want?"

The emperor frowned, a look of displeasure on his face.

The reward has been given, and the position of Minister of Revenue also belongs to Liu Shouren, so don't cause trouble again, kid.

Chu Ning's face straightened, and he said in a deep voice: "Father, after the incident at the Ministry of Revenue, I think the officials in the court are too seriously influenced by the aristocratic families, and the recommendation system is too limited, which makes it impossible for talented people to display their talents."

As soon as these words were spoken, the prince, who was already unhappy because his position as Minister of Revenue was taken away, sneered.

"Eighteenth brother, we all know that you have a bad relationship with the aristocratic families, but this does not mean that we can deny the recommendation system that has been used in our dynasty for many years."

Even the Second Prince mocked him: "Eighteenth brother, you have never cared about the affairs of the court, why are you so concerned this time?"

If you take away the position of Minister of Revenue, I will not let you off easily.

What's more, this recommendation system involves many people. If it is abolished, everyone will be implicated.

Without the recommendation system, how can the wealthy families take the initiative to send money and ask for recommendations in the future?

Chu Ning looked at the two people who objected and said calmly, "My two brothers, you underestimate me too much.

Although I don't have a good relationship with the wealthy families, it is impossible for me to deliberately target them.

It is indeed the recommendation system that restricts the talents of our dynasty. If the people at the bottom want to come up, they must curry favor with the powerful and rely on the major forces in order to be recommended. This has led to the officials of our dynasty being such snobbish people.

If this continues for a long time, our dynasty will become weaker and weaker with each generation, and the ministers in the court will also have inextricable ties with the aristocratic families, which will be detrimental to the long-term foundation of our dynasty!"

These impassioned words left the emperor silent.

Although they don't want to admit it, almost all the ministers in the court were recommended, and these people do have connections with aristocratic families.

If Chu Ning hadn't taken the initiative and caught the wealthy family off guard, the matter of misappropriation of treasury funds would not have been resolved so easily.

This is indeed a big problem.

But it’s difficult to solve!

However, Chu Ning took the initiative to bring it up. Could it be that he has a solution?

Thinking of this, the emperor narrowed his eyes, stared at Chu Ning, and asked in a deep voice: "After saying so much, what do you think? You can say it."

What's the use of talking about it? Whether it will be adopted in the end depends on me.

The prince also sneered at this moment and asked: "Yes, everyone can talk about the big principles, but can Eighteenth Brother come up with an effective way to solve this matter?"

Chu Ning grinned and said, "It's very simple to solve this problem. We just need to find a way to dig out those people who have real talents but are unwilling to curry favor with the powerful.

I believe that an imperial examination can be held, with each state taking the lead in conducting the provincial examination. Those who pass the examination will be called Juren, and the first one will be called Jieyuan.

Afterwards, candidates from each state came to Kyoto for the joint examination. Those who passed the examination were called Gongshi, and the first one was called Huiyuan.

Finally, all the candidates took part in the palace examination, and the first one was called the top scholar!

After the exam, officials will be awarded according to their scores. This will gradually replace the recommendation system and give talented people at the bottom a chance to realize their ambitions!"

After the words fell, the whole place fell into silence.

Even Liu Shouren stared at Chu Ning in disbelief.

If such a plan is implemented, it will not only be time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly, but will also completely eliminate the recommendation system, which will greatly weaken the influence of aristocratic families and officials in the court.

Without recommendations, their power would be limited.

How could officials in the court agree to such a plan?

Sure enough, a moment later, Prime Minister Yang Wende was the first to stand up and oppose.

"Your Highness, Prince Chu, your idea is good, but it is extremely difficult to implement. It will cost a lot of money to have so many people gather together for the exam."

After Yang Wende finished speaking, he turned to look at the emperor, his face full of sternness: "Your Majesty, I think this is not advisable!"

He knew that what the emperor cared about most was money, so he brought up this matter deliberately in order to make the emperor wary.

As long as the emperor doesn't give money, the so-called imperial examination becomes a joke.

Sure enough, the emperor raised his eyebrows and hesitated.

Chu Ning’s plan is indeed good. If it can be implemented, it can greatly weaken the power of the wealthy families and officials, which can strengthen the imperial power!

But conducting a national assessment would certainly require a lot of money!

I just got some money back from a wealthy family. Does this kid Chu Ning want to squander it all on me?

While thinking, the second prince Chu Ming took a step forward and said in a cold voice: "Father, the aristocratic families already have complaints against the royal family because of the eighteenth brother's confiscation of property and extermination of the clan. If you target them again, I'm afraid there will be trouble!"

The imperial examination must not be implemented, otherwise the power in their hands will be weakened, which is not good news for all the princes.

They can recruit talented people because they have the power of recommendation!

If becoming an official is only possible through the imperial examination in the future, and everyone takes the examination, who will come to join them?

The other princes reacted and spoke out in opposition.

Seeing that the princes took the lead, the ministers certainly did not want to be left behind and all stood up to oppose.

For a moment, Chu Ning and Liu Shouren were the only two people standing in the entire hall, while everyone else bowed and made requests.

Liu Shouren glanced at Chu Ning secretly, and for a moment he didn't know whether he should speak.

Not everyone has the courage to stand against everyone.

What's more, he had just been appointed as the Minister of Revenue. It would be extremely unwise if he offended all the officials in the court at the same time.

Just as Liu Shouren was hesitating, Chu Ning chuckled and said, "You are so afraid of the imperial examination, it's nothing more than worrying about the power in your hands.

This king is devoted to the court, but you all are devoted to yourselves. You all make a big fuss about just a few pieces of silver.

This time, I have recovered hundreds of millions of silver for the national treasury, which is enough to cover the court's expenses for the next two to three years. We only need to spend a small part of it on holding the imperial examination. What's wrong with that?

If you think that the money problem is the biggest problem that prevents this, then I am willing to personally preside over the imperial examination. If there is a money problem in the future, I will definitely not trouble you!"

After saying that, Chu Ning looked at the emperor and bowed respectfully: "Father, I have absolutely no selfish motives. I just want to recruit talents for the court. I hope you will understand!"

From what he said, it seems that Chu Ning wants to pay some money himself?

If that's the case, then of course I have no problem with that.

The emperor narrowed his eyes, slowly stood up, and said in a deep voice: "My son's heart for the country, I feel the same, but this is after all the business of my Great Chu, it is not appropriate to ask you to pay for it.

How about this, you write a memorial to me regarding the imperial examination, and after I approve it, the Ministry of Revenue will allocate funds, and you will be personally responsible for the specific matters. "

The prince's face changed drastically when he heard this: "Father..."

"okay!"

The emperor glared at the prince fiercely and said, "I have made up my mind. No need to say more. If there is nothing else, please leave the court!"

"Farewell, Father (Your Majesty)!" Everyone bowed and watched the emperor leave.

Then, Chu Ning looked around at everyone, laughed, turned around and was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, at this time, the prince sneered and said, "Eighteenth brother, don't be too happy too soon. You still have an enemy, so you'd better be careful."

Chu Ning paused, turned around and squinted his eyes at the prince: "Brother, what do you mean by this?"