Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 154: The reform direction of the official selection and appointment system

"And how can you still escape unhurt after jumping from a high place? Is it because of the straw?" Li Rusong asked next.

"This is also what a novel says. General Li must not be credulous. Just like the Qing Gong and Qigong in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" that I wrote before." Zhang Xiao replied.

"There are no illustrations, so I don't know what I'm thinking in my head. If this book is officially sold, I'd better draw the clothes and weapons of Assassin and the Knights Templar, so that more people will like to see it."

"I can draw illustrations, but that will come later."

"I didn't expect you to know how to write about assassins, Zhang Zhanshi, and write it in a decent way. When the book comes out, Li will buy more. Firstly, it will increase everyone's knowledge, and secondly, it will also be used in the army. To prevent assassins and spies from carrying out assassinations and sabotage, it is always good to show it to the generals. By the way, does this Assassin organization room really exist?"

"The Assassin organization does exist, but what is written in the novel is definitely different from the real Assassin organization in history. However, there is indeed an Assassin sect that is famous for assassinations, but now the Assassin sect has disappeared. .”

"If he was famous for his assassinations, it wouldn't be surprising if he was killed. It's okay. Li is waiting for Mr. Zhang's masterpiece. Mr. Zhang, Master Xu likes to read your book. If this book is his I must be very happy to see it.”

"When the book is finished, I will send a few copies to Old Master Xu."

Li Rusong said goodbye and left.

"You are an experienced minister, not an ordinary master, and my two princes are not taking the imperial examination. You don't have to be too rigid in class. You can talk about everything you see, think, and hear."

"I will definitely comply with what my boss says." Lu Zhang replied.

"Zhang Xiao is really appreciated by Wang Cifu." Zhang Xiao replied.

"Wenhua, I have to work hard for you again. This is a huge favor. Master Xu has to transcribe all of his poems neatly. He also has to arrange the table of contents according to the genre and creation time of the poems. Whether all poems and essays can be published, or whether only a part can be selected and printed, is a big question. I will give you three hundred taels of silver for expenses first, and you are responsible for sorting out the manuscripts first, and the transcriber you find must be talented enough. , the handwriting must be neat and beautiful, and the pen, ink, paper and inkstone used for copying should also be selected well." Zhang Xiao instructed Lu Zhang.

"Zhang Xiao, you also gave lessons to my two princes. My two princes didn't cause trouble in class, right? Which of my two sons do you think is smarter?"

"Wei Chen is terrified."

"The minister obeys the order."

Zhang Xiao opened the box left by Li Rusong, which contained piles of manuscripts.

However, Zhang Xiao's days of fishing did not last long. Soon Zhang Xiao received another decree, allowing Zhang Xiao to enter the palace to play the right match.

"Zhang Xiao, Wang Cifu has put in a lot of effort to reinstate you this time. Wang Cifu said that without Zhang Xiao, the Fo Langji chapter of "The Rise of the Great Powers" would not be compiled, and the revision of "Yuan History" would not be possible. There’s nothing new,” the emperor said.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiao suddenly felt a chill in his heart. He was only a few-ranking official, so what did it have to do with him who became the prince? But then I thought about it, and it seemed that it really mattered, who made me become the prince's teacher.

In the imperial study, the emperor was playing with the globe with great interest.

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will definitely teach the two princes what I have learned."

"I said at that time, Wang Aiqing, is Zhang Xiao the only one who understands the Western Yi countries in this world? Isn't there a Matteo Ricci right now? Do you know what Wang Aiqing said? Wang Aiqing said that he could not trust these foreign monks and others. When it comes to writing books, he doesn’t have Zhang Xiao’s broad ideas and wide-ranging thinking, and he really can’t stand the manuscripts handed in.”

"Wang Cifu also wanted me to hold a scripture feast for the prince, but I refused. However, I agreed to resume your job of teaching the prince. Now, you should focus on teaching classics and history books, and you don't need to teach about miscellaneous books. . But you may not have taught for a long time, I will give you a month, and then you can teach my two princes three times a week."

"After all, the eldest son of the emperor is a little older, calm and steady, and speaks well. The third son of the emperor is still young, but he can also pay attention to the lectures in class, study hard and ask questions, and is smart." Zhang Xiao said bravely.

"Chang Luo is older, so it is no longer necessary to be enlightened. Just let him learn on his own the things you teach. Chang Xun is still young, so you should teach him more when you give lectures."

"I obey the order." "Then let's do this for now. Just take good classes and I won't hesitate to reward you."

"I thank your Majesty for your kindness. However, I have one more thing to report. When the Japanese conquering army returned, a group of Korean scholars also followed the army to the capital. This group of Korean scholars wanted to come to participate in the imperial examination of the Celestial Empire. Wei Chen thought , the imperial court still has to take care of these Korean scholars. After all, North Korea is newly broken. If these scholars can pass the imperial examination of the Celestial Dynasty, they will definitely be reused by North Korea when they return. They might as well form a good relationship. Even if the scholars who do not pass the exam want to stay In the Celestial Dynasty, I suggest that some outstanding students can be selected to study in the Imperial College. If the Imperial College cannot accommodate these many people, I will also ask you to set up a specialized school to recruit these Korean students. Of course, if you really want to run a school, it will definitely not only recruit Korean students. Students from other countries who want to study can also enter this school. If they study well, they can also become interpreters and other positions. At present, there are too few interpreters in the court. If I can write some books, I am actually getting some glory. Listen more. These books were written after reading some stories about the Western Yi people. If the imperial court has more translators, it will be able to know ourselves and our enemies and prescribe the right medicine."

"Your idea is quite interesting. However, the establishment of such a school requires a thorough discussion between the cabinet and the Ministry of Etiquette. These Korean scholars were recently devastated by the annihilation of the country. Their situation is pitiable, and the court should take care of them. Theory. But how do these scholars learn? If we can't recruit a few, it's really not good."

"Your Majesty, North Korea, like Annan, promotes imperial examinations in the country. Confucianism is prosperous in North Korea, and the imperial examinations are all imitated in the Ming Dynasty. This group of scholars was summoned by me at the request of North Korea. They are all the best scholars in North Korea. You still have some knowledge, Your Majesty, don’t worry too much.”

"That's good, but it's hard for you. You can still think of this during the war. It's great to have friends from far away, not to mention they are also scholars who read the books of sages. I will ask the Ministry of Rites to take care of them."

"Your Majesty is wise."

"I suddenly remembered that in the book "The Rise of Great Powers", you have already written about the Timur Kingdom and the Ottoman Kingdom, and now you are writing about the Franchi Kingdom. I don't seem to have noticed how you mentioned the selection of officials in these countries. How to employ people? When talking about the Ottoman Empire, I mentioned that the Ottoman monarch promoted ministers from the new army." The emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, the Timurid Kingdom has been on war for a long time and has not had much time to engage in civil governance. Generally speaking, it is a nepotism. The kings have civil war, and the country will perish. The Ottoman Kingdom does not believe in kinship, and the Ottoman Sultan relies on the new army to deter both internal and external forces, so It is natural for ministers to be promoted from the new army. Although the country of Folangji is a country, its politics are basically the same as the feudalism of the Zhou Dynasty. However, one good thing about Folangji is that it is willing to seal off the benefits, so Columbus and others have made great achievements. , Cortés and others contributed to the destruction of the country. Although they were of humble origins, they were all named Hou Bo and gained huge wealth, so that the Franco Kingdom could flourish. In fact, Britain is a bit similar in this regard. Although he was born in the Qing Dynasty, Drake was a commoner, and he was engaged in robbing families and homes at sea. Because he could rob the French people, the Queen of England knighted and rewarded him, and worshiped him as a general and a Buddhist monk. The decisive battle with the main fleet of the machine made Drake famous in the Western Yi countries."

"Then the talented scholars from the Western Yi countries will have a hard time getting ahead if they don't have military merit?"

"Yes, so the talented scholars in Western Yi either went to the monarchs and nobles to serve as literary ministers, or they became priests early. Just like Matteo Ricci, his family is also quite wealthy, but Only by becoming a priest can you learn some real skills. Therefore, the priests of Western Yi are actually the most knowledgeable people among Western Yi. Many nobles and even kings of Western Yi are actually not very knowledgeable. The imperial examination is the key to the governance of China. good system."

"When the imperial examination was first established, it was intended to win over the world's heroes. If the Western Yi were to learn the imperial examination method, would the Western Yi also be able to reach a higher level?"

"Your Majesty, in fact, the monarchs of the Western Yi countries are also concentrating power now. If the centralization is not completed smoothly, even if there is an imperial examination, the talents who come out of the imperial examination will have nowhere to go, but will bring disaster to the monarch. The reason why the imperial examination was so successful in the Sui and Tang Dynasties It came into being during the Song Dynasty and reached its peak in the Song Dynasty. It was because the imperial court was centralized and the power of the gentry was relatively weak. The advancement of papermaking and printing technology led to the popularization of books, and the imperial examination system could continue to operate. Even so, there was also the traitor Li Linfu at that time. A ridiculous story about using cunning tactics to prevent anyone from being accepted into the imperial examination. Even when Emperor Taizu of the Chinese dynasty was in power, there were still major cases involving the Northern and Southern Rankings."

"According to what you said, is the Ming Dynasty's imperial examination system perfect now?"

"Your Majesty, in fact, the imperial examination system can still be reformed. For example, if the scholars from North Korea who come to take the imperial examination are admitted, they will occupy the quotas for the thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. In fact, separate quotas should be given to overseas scholars. After all, Overseas scholars who passed the imperial examination had to return home. It was unnecessary to occupy the quota of Ming Dynasty candidates. There were too few candidates selected for the annual examination. Some candidates, ranging from young students to old people, failed to obtain fame and were wasted. A lifetime.”

"A separate quota for overseas scholars? Zhang Xiao, do you also want to take the imperial examination again? If you want to take the examination, now you at least have the status of a supervisor. There will be no problem starting from the provincial examination."

"I have received His Majesty's favor and entered the court as an official. How can I dare to ask for the honors of the imperial examination. There are only a lot of Chinese people overseas. If we can give some places, we can make the overseas Chinese people love the Ming Dynasty. This is still a good deal."

"Let's put aside the matter of the number of overseas scholars for now. You said that there are too few candidates selected, are you thinking of expanding the imperial examination? But there are so many officials in the Ming Dynasty. Now the imperial treasury can no longer make ends meet. If there are more officials, the imperial court will not be able to make ends meet. Can the treasury withstand it?"

"Your Majesty, the number of officials cannot be increased or decreased at will, but it is not necessarily the number of officials that is increased. Instead of collecting mining taxes, it is better for the court to actually run some industrial and mining enterprises. Enterprises naturally need management, and the treatment of managers should be based on the official setting . Nowadays, many scholars in the Ming Dynasty are relying on it. It is better to carry out more local education and build more schools. They are built according to the financial resources of each place. The training of teachers inside is paid by the local government. Whether the school is good or not depends on it. It can be counted as part of the official examination. Nowadays, there is no age limit for the imperial examination. Instead of letting scholars waste their lives, it is better to turn around as soon as possible. For example, if you are over 35 years old, you do not need to take the scholar examination, and if you are over 45 years old, you do not need to take the provincial examination. If a wealthy person If you really want to serve His Majesty, you can also make donations to the imperial court or buy national debt, as my previous minister said, and you can become a candidate official. If there are really talented candidates among the candidate officials, you can also be hired as an exception."

"Ignoring the rest for the time being, if these scholars who are studying are not allowed to take the exam because of their inability to read the Holy Scriptures, wouldn't that lead to a tragedy in the world?"

"Your Majesty, naturally this matter cannot be one-size-fits-all. We can use the old methods of the old and the new methods of the new, and give a transition period of five or ten years. After the transition period, the new law will be officially implemented. Those who have taken the corresponding examination before the implementation of the new law, You can continue to take the exam. In this case, the impact can be minimized. After all, the officials of the Ming Dynasty worked too hard. If they are too old and barely pass the exam, their knowledge is enough, but they may not be able to keep up with their physical strength. It’s also difficult to get promoted.”

"That's okay. If you have any other ideas about the imperial examination, let's talk about it together."

"Your Majesty, that's all the imperial examination matters for the time being. However, I have one more point. Your Majesty is studying for the opening ceremony. But after officials pass the imperial examination, they only have classes and no examinations. Class examinations are certainly important. , but learning is also indispensable. Your Majesty can also consider establishing a school to give classes specifically to officials, and ask important ministers to give lectures, or even your Majesty can give lectures in person. This can be called training. Officials must be inspected after completing the class If you don't learn enough, you don't necessarily need to pass the exam. You can let the officials give speeches and write articles to see if they have learned it. The content of the training is not limited to the learning of saints, but revolves around the current major events of the court, so To live and learn, it is not just His Majesty who listens at the sutra banquet, officials must also learn well. Of course, this move is mainly aimed at middle and lower-level officials. After all, when the Sutra banquet is held, it is equivalent to His Majesty and the important ministers of the court studying together. ”

"Oh? I have never heard of this practice. So what should this school be called?"

"Call it the School of Continuing Education."

"Zhang Xiao, why do you sometimes have good ideas, but the names you always come up with are weird and weird." The emperor shook his head.

(End of this chapter)