The Emperor looked over the list again and read the spy's message once more before he said to the Crown Prince, "Lord Zhou's subsidy can be extended to all the provinces."
Nowadays, there were too many officials of noble birth in the court; even the Emperor could not afford to select only those without a background for every examination, nor did he regard all those from humble origins as noteworthy. It was difficult for an Emperor to maintain balance—he sighed inwardly, thinking how hard it was to reclaim the powers that the Founding Emperor had once exercised.
The Crown Prince pursed his lips, "Emperor, expansion will be difficult."
The noble families in various places would not like to see too many poor students taking the exams.
