Cao Pi's political IQ is not low. He actually knows the situation he is facing now.
In order to become emperor, Cao Pi did give up to a certain extent the strategy of semi-cooperation and semi-confrontation with the aristocratic families that Cao Cao left behind, and made a certain degree of compromise with the aristocratic families.
But this does not mean that Cao Pi did not know the risks of doing so.
Especially in the past few years after he ascended the throne, Cao Pi could clearly feel that his control over government affairs was not as arbitrary as his father's, and he lacked the imperial demeanor of "making decisions with just one word."
At first, Cao Pi also thought that it was because he was not as capable as Cao Cao, but later, especially after seeing the Luoyang Tuntian Dingkou register, Cao Pi finally realized that these aristocratic families had actually been invisibly cannibalizing the Wei Dynasty. of the foundation.
But Gui Gui realized that although Cao Pi also knew that he could not let the family go down like this, he really did not have the courage to solve these problems immediately.
There are too many aristocratic families in the Central Plains and Hebei, and their influence is also astonishing. To put it bluntly, the number of aristocratic families in Soochow and Xishu combined is not more than half of the number of aristocratic families in the Central Plains and Hebei.
This is a very terrifying force.
Facing this power, Cao Pi really didn't dare to act rashly.
Cao Pi also knew that he was not as courageous as Cao Cao, but in his early years, Cao Cao made concessions to celebrities. As a result, his friend Chen Gong rebelled against Lu Bu, and almost everyone in Yanzhou rebelled.
Since then, even Cao Cao finally chose to temporarily compromise and cooperate with the aristocratic family. It was not until he destroyed Yuan Shao and captured Hebei that he took advantage of the contradiction between the Hebei aristocratic family and the Yingchuan aristocratic family to control the situation. .
How could Cao Pi completely handle things that Cao Cao couldn't handle? !
Therefore, the best Cao Pi can do is to learn from Cao Cao and support and balance between the Central Plains family and the Hebei family. The last reform of the Three Gongs and Nine Ministers system was completed under this situation, allowing Cao Pi to take back some central powers. .
Nowadays, if Cao Pi really wants to imitate Shu and adopt half-hearted talent selection methods, I am afraid that neither the Hebei family nor the Central Plains family will agree.
Even if the Shu thieves' method of recruiting soldiers looks like the ninth-grade Zhongzheng system, the actual core is still different.
To be honest, although the shortcomings of the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System are very bad, compared with the previous Chaoju System in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it has made some progress after all.
The core of the nine-level Zhongzheng system is actually to allow talents to do their best, to expose some so-called celebrities who do not live up to their reputation, or officials who only talk empty words and cannot manage the people, so as to improve the administrative efficiency of the central government.
The most important thing is that the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System clarified the selection criteria for officials for the first time. It is no longer the same as the previous official selection system, where the quality of officials depends entirely on the words of their peers.
Today's Cao Pi, and even Cao Rui later, actually have good control over the central court. They also have very effective control over all levels of Zhongzheng and Grand Zhongzheng. The talent selection system is fairly fair, and the nine-level Zhongzheng system has not gone awry. The Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System really started to go awry when Cao Shuang was in power, and his cronyism allowed the wealthy families to see that this system could also be used as a tool for their own personal gain.
Then this ninth-grade Zhongzheng system went completely wrong.
At least for now, this nine-level Zhongzheng system is still very consistent with the actual situation of the Wei Dynasty, and it can also select effective talents for the Wei Dynasty.
In Cao Pi's view, the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System also has its own set of selection standards, but this set of standards is in the hands of the aristocratic families. If you learn the selection method of Shu thieves, it is equivalent to using an examination method to select This set of selection criteria rose to the hands of the emperor himself.
Although this can effectively strengthen the imperial power and weaken the influence of aristocratic families on the appointment of personnel in the court, overall, the difference is not big.
After all, the ticket for talent selection is still in the hands of the aristocratic family, and the selection of the Shu thieves cannot be completely separated from the influence of the aristocratic family.
In this case, there is really no need for Cao Pi to risk offending the family by making similar reforms to the more complete ninth-grade Zhongzheng system.
This is the conclusion that Cao Pi, Sun Zi, and Liu Fang, the two dog-headed military advisors, came to after discussion.
In fact, Cao Pi's consideration was right.
The Nine-Rank Zhongzheng Production System is a talent selection system with a long history in China, and has been used for more than 600 years. It is not really without merit. At least in this era, the probability of aristocratic families producing talents is indeed much higher than that of poor families, and even more Not to mention that the people in Guizhou don't even have the opportunity to read and learn.
The system is not about who is more advanced, but about who is more suitable.
Even in Jihan, Liu Bei was actually under considerable pressure when he adopted such a talent selection model.
After all, it was a strategy that even Pang Tong and Huang Quan were disgusted with, and Zhuge Liang felt it was a bit hasty.
You know, because of the nonsense of a time-traveling native dog, in Ji Han's ruling area, with the promotion of woodblock printing and the popularization of paper, the proportion of reading among poor families and common people has increased, but it is still unable to keep up with the progress of hundreds of years. Compared with the aristocratic families, if these aristocratic families are really annoyed, God knows what they will do.
Even Liu Bei could only use the excuse that Guanzhong was exhausted and lacked talents, so he could only do this. Yes, this is what Liu Bei said to Qin Mi, the Minister of Rites, who arrived in Chang'an.
On the way, Qin Mi heard about Liu Bei's talent selection method. He immediately became anxious and quickly accelerated his journey to Chang'an. He must make it clear to Liu Bei.
Really, whenever you want to move the capital to Chang'an, we can discuss it again. This talent selection system cannot become the norm.
Qin Mi himself was from a noble family in central Shu, and he knew very well where the interests of the noble families lay.
Moving the capital will affect the interests of the aristocratic families in central Shu. The aristocratic families in central Shu do not want to bear this kind of loss, so they will inevitably react. But more often than not, it is just to make a fuss and let you, Liu Bei, know what everyone thinks. Try to be as considerate as possible. That's it.
But this talent selection system cannot be changed at will. This is not just a matter for the Shuzhong family. When the time comes, even the Jingzhou family will not sit idly by.
Well, there are also Yongzhou and Liangzhou aristocratic families, but the aristocratic families in these two places. In terms of size, the two states combined are not half the size of the Yizhou aristocratic family, and they can basically be ignored.
Qin Mi was really anxious, so he hurried to Chang'an and made suggestions to Liu Bei. At the same time, he also specially reported to Liu Bei and impeached Huang Quan, Pang Tong, and Zhang Xi.
Qin Mi impeached the three people without knowing the seriousness of it, and at the same time it was a bit over the line.
You Huang Quan is a general, Pang Tong is the official in charge of executive supervision in the province, and Zhang Xi is the Minister of War. This matter of talent selection has nothing to do with you! ! !
Talent selection is a matter of our Ministry of Rites. If the talent selection system needs to be changed, it should be discussed between Zhuge Liang of the Zhongshu Province and Qin Mi, the Minister of Rites. After we decide together, we will report it to Your Majesty. After His Majesty approves, then Fa Zheng of the Shangshu Province is also responsible for the execution. The Zhongshu Province, the Ministry of Rites, and the Shangshu Province have not said anything. Why are you messing around? !
Another question, is this thing you are discussing an implementable system? !
A system must have a basis for implementation across the country. If you try this system in Shuzhong or Jingzhou, see if those aristocratic families will incite people to riot, or even rebel in person.
As a member of the aristocratic family, Qin Mi's focus in some aspects is different from Cao Pi's.
Cao Pi is the emperor, and he cares about the pros and cons of the entire system of selecting scholars, while Qin Mi considers things from the perspective of aristocratic families. He will only see the disadvantages of this system to the aristocratic family first - this method of selecting scholars through examinations, although The admission ticket is still in the hands of the aristocratic family, but the final criterion for determining talent is in the hands of the emperor.
Not to mention, Liu Bei's recruitment of scholars in Chang'an also had one more requirement - scholars could get a license to take the exam through the recommendation of state and county officials.
In other words, as long as the central court has sufficient control over the local areas, Liu Bei has found a way to bypass local aristocratic families and directly obtain talents.
This is something that aristocratic families will never allow.
That is to say, in Guanzhong, all the really large aristocratic families have been moved away by Cao Wei, and what remains are just some small aristocratic families that have no influence. It is okay for you to do this temporarily. If you really want to form a system, then it will be promoted nationwide. It's better to bring out Ma Su's stuff from Yuexun County. Let's discuss it and refine it. Maybe it's still possible for the family to accept it.
How can you create such a strange thing and make it known all over the world? !
It was rare for Qin Mi to get so angry that he directly attacked the three powerful figures, but there was nothing Qin Mi could do.
On the one hand, this matter caused such a big fuss that even Zhuge Liang, who returned to Chengdu to take charge, felt a little uneasy after hearing about this matter. He felt that this matter was a bit too eager. If it was not good, the situation in Chengdu would not be his and his hands. Twenty thousand elite Confederate troops could control it.
On the other hand, Qin Mi also has his own sense of responsibility.
He is the Minister of Rites, and is about to preside over Liu Bei's ancestor worship ceremony. He will be a world famous person and a great scholar in the world. He cannot allow such a half-baked system to appear during his term of office.
I can't afford to lose this person.
Under Qin Mi's aggressive approach, and Zhuge Liang's relatively tactful letter of advice arrived in Chang'an, Liu Bei had to make concessions and told Qin Mi that this was just a helpless move, and that he was thirsty for talents and was indeed out of consideration. .
But the emperor's edict has been issued, and everyone in the world knows about it. If he goes back on his word, it will make people in the world laugh at him. It would be better to just do this once and not to do so next time.
In fact, what Qin Mi wants is this "never happen again".
There is no way, Qin Mi needs Liu Bei to give himself an explanation, and he also needs Liu Bei to give an explanation to the Shuzhong and Jingzhou families, and cannot destroy the existing profit distribution method.
As for Liu Bei's face, everyone still sells it. This matter has been made known to the world. It is not practical to take it back. It is better to think of making amends.
Let Liu Bei do this first, but after that, a talent selection system must be introduced that can serve the interests of Liu Bei Group and various aristocratic families at the same time. We can't continue to be so confused.
To be honest, this group of aristocratic families are quite wary of Liu Bei's practice of talking to each other, and they would even rather compromise on Yuexun County's talent selection system.
Although they are all exams, the kind of exam selection in Yuexun County means that even those who pass the exam are destined to only become officials. Even assistant officials cannot become such officials. The starting point of such officials is too low, and children of aristocratic families would not look down on them in the first place. Eyes, it's impossible to do it.
Although doing so opened another way for the poor people to rise, relatively speaking, that method was relatively controllable, and it was much better than what Liu Bei did in Chang'an.
Liu Bei's "Chang'an Recruitment of Scholars" meant that if the children of poor families really found a talented person, they would not be officials, but directly become officials, and at least the chief official of a county.
This gap must not be opened, and the imperial power cannot be allowed to take the initiative in talent selection.
(End of chapter)
