Chapter 268

Su Qiao let out a relieved breath, slowly stood up, and said,

"Tell those outside that we are preparing for the next round."

"Yes!"

The deputy supervisor ran out of the Xingyong Warehouse.

Soon, silence fell over the area outside the Chengtian Sect.

Many merchants who had just heard the news hurriedly asked,

"What is going on? Have all the houses been sold?"

"No, we heard they are releasing houses in another district. Su my lord has arrived!"

Upon seeing Su Qiao, the common people outside the Chengtian Sect immediately grew agitated.

"Su my lord, you have finally come out!"

"Are there still houses available? We can pay more!"

"..."

This time, everyone present wore plain clothes, yet each carried some amount of jewelry.

Clearly, this group was different from the one in the morning.

These were merchants who had just heard the news and arrived.

Su Qiao nodded slightly and said,

"Of course there are houses. This time, this official is preparing several districts for the second phase of the New Jin Ling."

"Everyone, please look!"

As the second massive map was unfurled.

Su Qiao somehow held a bamboo pole in his hand.

"Our second-phase districts are mainly concentrated near these Viceroy Yamen!"

"Compared to the first phase, our second-phase residences have larger areas and all possess independent courtyards!"

"Furthermore, they are relatively close to the various government offices, making it much easier to handle affairs!"

Hearing Su Qiao's words,

these merchants did not care at all.

They hurriedly asked,

"Su my lord, we do not care about that; the key is whether our descendants can also attend the community schools?"

These merchants did not lack money to begin with.

Their children would naturally attend school.

But merchants are like this: today they may be prosperous,

but no one can ensure they will remain prosperous tomorrow.

A slight misstep could reduce them to their original state.

Such a residence undoubtedly gave them a guarantee.

Not too little, not too much; at the very least, it ensured a floor for their family's future!

Su Qiao looked at the merchants before him and smiled,

"Of course they can! Moreover, this official can guarantee to everyone that the community schools in the second-phase residential districts will select some outstanding students annually and recommend them directly to the Great Ming Imperial Academy!"

The moment the words fell.

These merchants immediately froze in place.

Recommended directly to the Imperial Academy?!

Once one enters the gates of the Imperial Academy, one starts at the level of a Xiucai!

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, students of the Imperial Academy and Xiucai were originally of equal status.

Although the Xiucai was the lowest tier of academic title,

a Xiucai was a "Scholar," not a "Commoner"!

These merchants immediately erupted into chaos.

"Su my lord! Where do we pay?!"

"Don't say more; anywhere is fine. Even if you sell me the gate of the Imperial Academy, I will prepare the silver right now!"

These merchants did not lack money to begin with.

What they cared about was their status.

Buying a house now not only guarantees that future generations can attend school, but if they perform well in the community school, they can enter the Imperial Academy directly!

Competing within the community school is far better than competing against the entire county!"

It was just that Su Qiao did not notice.

In the distance, Zhu Yuanzhang's face had already turned iron-green.

He could not help but mutter,

"Selling official positions for profit; is this not selling official positions for profit?!"

"Su Qiao cannot be allowed to cause trouble like this anymore!"

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's expression, Jiajing immediately spoke up,

"Emperor Taizu, wait!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Jiajing angrily and asked,

"You brat, are you going to speak for Su Qiao again?"

Jiajing, with a face full of excitement, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said,

"This son does not wish to speak for Su Qiao, but to tell Great-Grandfather that this son has finally thought of the Method to break the deadlock!"

"This son has found how to suppress all the Physicians of the court!"

In an instant, the Emperors in the chat group perked up.

Everyone stared fixedly at Jiajing.

"What method?"

Jiajing said leisurely,

"Let every child of the common people under heaven become a Physician; then will there not be no Physicians under heaven?"

"During the Former Tang, the struggle between the Niu and Li factions was precisely a struggle between scholars of the Han Sect and scholars of the aristocratic clans."

"What Su Qiao intends to do now is likely to leverage the might of the Taizu to stage a struggle between the Niu and Li factions of unprecedented scale."

"Use the scholars of the Han Sect under heaven to oppose the wealthy gentry of our Great Ming!"

"It takes ten years to grow trees and a hundred to raise men; with Su Qiao's method, it will probably take more than ten or twenty years before results are seen."

The Emperors in the chat group frowned in unison.

The struggle between scholars of the Han Sect and scholars of the wealthy gentry is in fact far more than just the Niu-Li factional strife.

In fact, in every factional struggle throughout the ages, the vicious battle between scholars of the Han Sect and scholars of the wealthy gentry has been indispensable.

Jiajing and Zhu Houzhao were precisely the two who had just experienced such a vicious battle.

When Zhu Houzhao was on the throne,

he first trusted Liu Jin, and Liu Jin's external support in the outer court was Jiao Fang, who came from extreme poverty.

After Liu Jin fell,

Li Dongyang, who came from military households, and Xie Qian, who came from the wealthy clans of the southeast, began to struggle for power in the court.

Then came Yang Tinghe.

It was only after Yang Tinghe and his son were demoted and exiled from the capital, and Jiajing truly and completely seized power,

that Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were each posthumously titled 'Duke Wen Zheng'.

Only then did this factional struggle, which lasted thirty years, come to a complete end.

Yet this was not the final conclusion.

By the end of the Ming, those clinging to Wei Zhongxian were mostly also of Han Sect scholar origin.

They were as incompatible as fire and water with the Donglin Party, which was of wealthy gentry origin.

The principle behind this is in fact very simple.

Scholars of the wealthy gentry have disciples and former associates everywhere; relying on the lingering favor of their ancestors, they can hold their ground in the court.

But scholars of the Han Sect are entirely different.

They have no relatives or connections in the court.