In the eighth year of the Qianlong reign, there were three most eye-catching things in Tokyo this spring. The first was the city-wide celebration of the Lantern Festival, and the fireworks show that night is still talked about by Tokyo residents; the second was the Huaidong-Tokyo corruption case, which was a major event that caused turmoil between the government and the public, and was discussed a lot in temples and among the people.
The third is the upcoming scientific examination for another year. After several years of system construction, the Han Dynasty's tribute examination and scholar selection have been back on track. From local Daozhou examinations to Tokyo provincial and ministerial selection, it has become a system.
On this matter, civil servants both inside and outside were very dedicated to the construction, and there was rarely any delay. After all, warriors have been rampant for many years, and promoting scientific research, education, and culture is an effective way to restrict warriors, at least in the court.
The imperial examination time of the Han Dynasty was not fixed, it was all based on the situation. After returning from the expedition to Huaihe River in the fifth year of Qianyou's reign, the imperial examination was launched. In the sixth year of Qianyou's reign, the Autumn Games were held together, and the seventh year ended, and now in the spring of the eighth year, the regular games are held again.
Liu Chengyou's idea was very simple, to reserve talents for the court. The next strategic direction of the court was to flatten the southern countries and unify the world. By then, even if some officials from various countries are retained, the talent gap will conceivably expand, especially political talents, and the cultivation of talents requires cycles.
That's why the frequency of the Han Dynasty recruiting scholars and selecting talents is so high. Of course, there are gains and losses, because the selection is too harsh. In fact, the quality of the scholars has been declining over the years. Compared with the years before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the gap is even more obvious. In the early years, there were Wang Pu and Wang Pu, and later there were Wang Zhu and Li Fang. Now they are all high officials of the country.
However, even so, the intensity of selecting candidates has not relaxed. It was the early Han Dynasty, and any elder with a certain skill could be trained and appointed, and there was no room for pickiness. And for those whose talents and qualifications are not outstanding, this kind of opportunity can only be found in the special period like the beginning of the Republic of China, when the world is uncertain.
In a peaceful and prosperous age, if you don't have amazing abilities, outstanding talents, or a profound background, it will be extremely difficult to get ahead. Of course, in recent years, most of the scholars selected by the country will be trained as middle-lower and subordinate officials. Their starting point will not be high, at least much lower than those in the early years. Liu Chengyou has no expectations for them. too high,
However, there are no absolutes in things. There is no guarantee that there will be no leftover pearls in every subject, but that requires them to work hard in the officialdom. If you raise a thousand Gu worms, some Gu kings and Gu generals will always emerge...
This year's scientific examination is scheduled for three consecutive days from March 13th to 15th. It is the first regular examination since the founding of the People's Republic of China. It is the first time in spring that several subjects that Liu Chengyou thinks are still useful have been resumed and added. (Of course, the focus is always on Jinshi and Mingfa). In the past, the exams were held in the fall.
Since the first month of the year, scholars have been coming to Beijing from all over the country to prepare for the exam. As of the deadline, a total of 3,427 scholars have registered with the Ministry of Rites with their interpretation documents, which is the largest scale in the history of scientific examinations.
As for the reason, it is very simple. The imperial court opened a few more doors and released the news early. The number of scholars this time was far more than in previous years, several times higher. This attracted many scholars to be interested. . In addition, there are scholars from Huainan and Qinfeng.
Especially for places like Qinfeng and Hanzhong, which were not yet stable, whether for the purpose of treating everyone equally or to win over people's hearts, Liu Chengyou directly issued an edict that for the scholars who were born here, the government offices along the way must provide convenient accommodation. And this is a very popular policy, at least among scholars, it has received great respect. This is a sign of the prosperity of the dynasty.
As scholars from all over the world entered Tokyo, Kaifeng City became more elegant and lively. Although the newly expanded city of Kaifeng is still divided into internal and external, noble and poor, rich and poor, since the boundaries of the city and the city have been broken, the entire city has become more and more prosperous. Although the government's management costs have increased dramatically, the vitality of the entire city has been obvious. promote.
The most direct benefit is the increase in commercial taxes, which is visible and tangible.
Several previous markets are still preserved and expanded. When the city was built, transportation was specially improved. Today, it is still the choice for business travel and trade, especially large-scale transactions.
Similarly, on the basis of the original markets and businesses, some new markets have been developed, among which the most famous one is Xiangguo Temple. The Buddhist forbidden area has long been contaminated by the smell of folk fireworks, bordering the world of mortals, and can no longer be said to be pure. Although the imperial court suppressed Buddha, it was still difficult to control people's hearts. Many people liked to go to Xiangguo Temple to get closer to "my Buddha's bliss" even if they were doing business.
In view of the special situation of Xiangguo Temple, Kaifeng Prefecture specially sent a team composed of city officials and city soldiers to be responsible for the maintenance of order and tax management. The original hundreds of monks' rooms have also been developed into hotels and guesthouses, where travelers are bound to stay overnight.
It's March now, which is also one of the busiest times of the year in Xiangguo Temple. Standing in front of the original mountain gate, looking around, there are layers upon layers, row upon row, everything you see is bustling, and your ears are full of noise, but Liu Chengyou looks very intoxicated.
Finally, the government still left some dignity for Xiangguo Temple, at least they did not let people set up stalls in the Buddhist temple. To this day, there are still monks practicing Buddhism in the temple, tourists are still watching, and believers are offering incense. The temple is still glorious, but it lacks the previous glitz that made Liu Chengyou unhappy.
Speaking of which, it has been almost five years since the large-scale movement to exterminate Buddhism. But I have to say that the vitality of Buddhism is really tenacious. Under the new situation, Buddhist temples preserved in various places are still surviving with difficulty and even adapting to some extent.
After all, although Liu Chengyou claimed to "destroy the Buddha," he was destroying his influence, taking away his property, and taking away his mouth. To explain it in terms of profit is thorough enough. To this day, part of what was gained that year still remains in the emperor's internal funds. Even with reduced control over social resources, Liu Chengyou still tolerated the existence and development of Buddhism.
In recent years, the biggest government action against Buddhism has to be that after the capture of Huainan, two officials, adhering to the court policy, renovated (plundered) local Buddhist temples. Among them, we were the most thorough. Wang Pu, the chief envoy to Huaidong.
At that time, there was some conflict with Chen Sirang, the commander of the Huaidong capital, because Chen Sirang couldn't stand Wang Pu's approach and because Chen Sirang believed in Buddhism. It is also a phenomenon. In the current world, there are many military generals who spend their whole lives in the army, killing people and never taking human life seriously. They believe in Buddhism. The more they get into their later years, the more they become like this. They are probably influenced by the idea of "putting down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha immediately." "Confused.
However, how could Chen Sirang be able to defeat Wang Pu? In the end, he felt the pressure from Tokyo and had to hold his nose and send troops to cooperate with the Chief Secretary's Yamen. The renovation of the Buddhist temples in Lianghuai added tens of thousands of people to the Han Dynasty, and the post-war restoration also benefited from the property of the Buddhist temples.
At the same time, because many military and political ministers like Chen Sirang sympathize with Buddhism, "exterminating Buddhism" can only become a sustainable policy.
"Mr. Lang, there are so many people coming and going here, it's really not the place you should stay. Now that you've seen it, you'd better go back to the palace early!" Zhang Dejun was waiting closely at the side, with a trace of anxiety on his delicate face. Advised Liu Chengyou.
Because he had to be nervous, Liu Chengyou had gone on tour incognito more than once before, but he had never gone as deep into the market as he did today.
Hearing this, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but look around a few times, pointed at the guards who were closely guarded around him, and opened a gap. With wide eyes, everyone looked like a gangster, and said: "If you are more nervous, you are really going to kill me." Everyone’s attention is attracted!”
Basically, everyone passing by would cast a curious look at Liu Chengyou and others. It was true that he had never seen dignitaries traveling around the city, but there were almost no such behavior.
Of course, Liu Chengyou did not blame the guards for disturbing his interest, nor did he have the ridiculous idea of going deep into the folk and integrating with the people.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Chengyou turned to look at Concubine Zhou Shu who was following him, and asked softly: "Are you tired of shopping?"
It has been three years since Liu Chengyou acquired the "Queen of the Great Zhou Dynasty". Although she is less than twenty, she has become more and more lovely after the emperor's development, just like the flower buds blooming in spring. Regardless of appearance, temperament or figure, she is full of An alluring flavor.
However, among the concubines in the Han Palace, the one who was most neglected by Liu Chengyou was the Lady Zhou. Liu Chengyou went to Shuhua Palace very rarely. Although I can indulge in vocal music, write lyrics, compose music and choreograph, it's just for sex, and the loneliness in the palace is always hard to resist.
As time passed, Sheng Sheng transformed from a lively young girl into a worried young woman. There was lingering sorrow and sadness in that beautiful face. When Liu Chengyou saw it, no matter how hard his heart was, he would soften a bit.
This time she came out of the palace on occasion, probably out of pity for her, so Liu Chengyou specially called her to accompany her. Faced with the emperor's sudden invitation, the young lady was flattered and could not help but show off her beauty. They went touring the streets of Tokyo together, and the sadness on her face was obviously relieved.
At this time, leaning next to Liu Chengyou, hearing his question, her beautiful eyes looked at the prosperous scene in front of Xiangguo Temple with some nostalgia, obviously lingering, but soon a hint of sadness emerged. Facing Liu Chengyou's questioning look, Da Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, as if waking up from a dream, and showed a delicate smile: "I'm tired from walking, so let's go back to the palace!"
