Emperor Su He listened to the report from Wang Linjiang, Minister of Education.
He knew that Wang Linjiang's extreme examples showed that the current imperial examination system had many loopholes and it was time to correct it.
But Emperor Su He still felt angry when he heard about the aristocratic family.
The threat to imperial power posed by aristocratic families was more serious than the peasant uprising.
As long as the imperial court does not push the peasants to the point where they have no choice but to rebel, it will be difficult for peasant uprisings to occur.
But as the family grows, it is bound to happen that they evade the imperial power.
The period when the aristocratic families were at their strongest was when Cao Wei introduced the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System.
It is this kind of clan system that has created the behemoth Sima family.
Sima Shi could instruct his men to kill the emperor in the street.
The emperor of the Jin Dynasty was basically a puppet of the powerful families.
Emperor Su He believed that with the existence of the imperial examination system, no matter how the empire became divided into clans, it would not end up like Cao Wei.
But aristocratic families will inevitably erode imperial power.
In the future, the imperial courts of the empire will also be monopolized by certain aristocratic families.
Emperor Su He didn't want to see this happen, even if there was only a slight possibility.
He said firmly: "After hearing what Wang Aiqing said, I really feel that there are some loopholes in the imperial examination system, which is not conducive to the stable development of the empire.
Wang Aiqing's memorial is very necessary for reforms related to imperial examination and immigration.
However, the quotas for this year's joint examination have already been issued, and it is not appropriate to withdraw the quotas for the joint examination before the imperial examination.
Starting next year, immigration through the imperial examination will be strictly prohibited.
All imperial examination candidates must take the imperial examination in their place of origin to prevent imperial examination immigration.
Those who do not have the ability to stand out from the provincial examination are definitely not talents.
Wang Aiqing's memorial mainly talks about the unfairness of the imperial examination and the harm of imperial examination immigration.
Wang Aiqing should have a comprehensive plan for the reform of the imperial examination.
The reform of the imperial examination will affect the whole body, so I have to be cautious. "
Wang Linjiang, the Minister of Education, immediately bowed and said excitedly: "Your Majesty approves my imperial examination reform, and I will work hard to improve the content of the imperial examination reform.
Some details still need to be discussed with colleagues from the Ministry of Education.
Now I would like to talk about the general strategy of the imperial examination reform.
The most important reform was to try to maintain the fairness of the imperial examination.
Each province allocates a Jinshi quota every year. If no one from a province is on the list, the first place in the province will automatically become a Jinshi.
Even if this candidate fails, he will be at the bottom of the Jinshi list.
As for the real thing, it is the list, arranged according to their ranking.
Only in this way can the fairness of the imperial examinations be demonstrated and convince the majority of scholars.
I suggest that the number of people at the bottom of the list should not occupy the total Jinshi quota.
In this way, scholars in other places will not be affected by interests, and there will be no hatred between hells.
The situation in various parts of the empire is that Jinshi from wealthy places are crowded to get there, and every spot needs to be fought for.
In poor places, places are often vacant, and coordination from other places is needed.
Even if there are a few more Jinshis every year, it won't have much impact.
The Empire's Metropolitan Procuratorate was very active and would not cause redundant officials.
The places where these candidates at the bottom of the list work are similar to remote areas like Persia where not many officials are willing to go. "
When Prince Su Shu heard what Wang Linjiang Shangshu said, he almost laughed and quickly controlled his expression.
There were follow-up reports in newspapers, investigating the situation of more than a hundred Jinshi in one term after their five-year term.
Eleven people could not adapt to the constraints of officialdom and chose to resign.
The twenty-eight people were too adapted to the officialdom and were directly taken away by the Metropolitan Procuratorate for investigation.
In just five years, so many officials have left the officialdom.
This is why the number of imperial scholars admitted to the imperial examinations far exceeds that of the previous Ming Dynasty, and there is no redundant official situation like the Song Dynasty.
The officialdom of the empire is in turmoil. Without a certain degree of real ability, it is impossible to survive in the officialdom.
When the gravel falls to the bottom, the remaining gold will stand out.
Wang Linjiang, Minister of Education, observed that the expressions of Emperor Su He and Prince Su Shu did not change much.
Regarding the change in the number of Jinshi scholars, Emperor Su He should support him.
Only then did he feel relieved and continued: "I have just discussed the issue of imperial examination immigration with Your Majesty.
There is another problem, that is, some people still take the imperial examination when they are sixty or seventy years old.
The sixty-year-old Juren and the seventy-year-old Jinshi are completely a burden to the empire.
At such an old age, their thinking has become solidified, and their bodies do not allow it. They are unable to serve the country at all.
If they want to take the imperial examination, in addition to studying for a lifetime and taking the exam to prove themselves.
The most important purpose is to see the benefits that the empire provides to successful candidates and Jinshi.
I previously thought that this problem could be easily solved by limiting the age for scientific examinations.
I briefly investigated the situation of the elderly scholars in the capital.
Discover the motivation that supports them to survive, that is, test for merit.
Once the age limit is crudely imposed, the dreams of these people will be completely shattered.
No one can guarantee what they will do.
What appears to be a gain for the empire will actually be a loss elsewhere.
The method I think is to cancel the benefits brought by fame and transfer them to the benefits of the official system. "
After Emperor Su He heard this reform opinion, he immediately waved his hand and said: "This approach is not advisable.
The benefits of being a candidate and being a Jinshi are not as much as those of a seventh-rank official.
The reason why so many people resign in the officialdom is because after resigning, they can still retain their honors such as Jinshi.
He has a welfare that can at least provide him with food and clothing. This status also makes it easier to run for parliament and gain the trust of the people.
The presence of Juren and Jinshi, especially in remote areas, will play a cohesive role.
Under the leadership of these people, the Han people gradually established themselves in the area, and this area became the core territory of the empire from then on.
Wang Aiqing, when doing things, don’t just look at the gains and losses of one department, but consider everything comprehensively. "
Wang Linjiang heard the emperor Su He scolding him in a slow voice, and the sweat on his forehead kept flowing down his cheeks.
He still didn't stand high enough and didn't look at the problem from the court's perspective.
Wang Linjiang immediately admitted his mistake and said: "I was wrong. Your Majesty did not think carefully.
I don’t understand the underlying reasons why the imperial court provides benefits to the juren and jinshi. "
Emperor Su He saw Wang Linjiang's sincere attitude in admitting his mistake.
He ordered: "Continue to talk, these reforms will not be introduced this year.
As I see in the memorial, there are several reforms with immediate effects that can be implemented this year. Wang Aiqing will elaborate on them. "
Wang Linjiang breathed a sigh of relief. It was true that being with a king was like being with a tiger. He was almost doomed.
In the future, you can no longer be so impetuous when doing things, you must think about all situations.
When Wang Linjiang heard Emperor Su He's order, he immediately introduced: "Your Majesty, the situation I mentioned before involves the fundamentals of the imperial examination and has reached the point where it cannot be done without changing it.
What I will say next is just the icing on the cake to make science and technology better.
These two reforms were mainly aimed at adjusting the examination content and examination arrangements of the imperial examination.
I think the current imperial examination subjects are too complicated and there is no need to take so many exams.
I believe that the imperial examination only retains three major subjects: economics, history, mathematics, and policy theory, so that enough talents can be selected.
There are too many schools of thought such as Confucianism, Mohism, and Legalism. In addition, new ideas collide every year, and new schools of thought emerge.
The imperial examination tests the content of which school and does not test the content of which school. This is unfair to some candidates.
I think it would be better to condense these messy elective subjects into one subject.
Choose the thoughts of ancient sages and current distinctive thoughts to examine the candidates' situation.
At most, there are a few elective questions. As long as the candidate answers one of them correctly, it will be considered correct.
The history of China must be placed in a correct position and become a content that attaches equal importance to the thoughts of the sages.
It would be really embarrassing for the imperial scholars not to know that Qin Shihuang unified China.
People with high math scores have strong logical thinking.
Only this kind of person can handle emergencies well.
Officials with certain mathematical abilities will not be deceived by petty officials using simple data.
Policy theory has always been very important. This is the subject that can truly select between geniuses and mediocre people.
As for other subjects, such as law, which was originally chosen.
There is absolutely no need to keep it.
Nowadays, many college students participate in the imperial examination, and they are all familiar with the relevant subjects.
Even if he does not know these things, it will not affect his ability to be an official.
I believe that when the relevant yamen select Jinshi, they can add relevant conditions, and the imperial examination does not need to test these contents. "
Emperor Su He waited until Wang Linjiang finished speaking.
He looked at the prince Su Shu next to him and asked: "Shu'er, what do you think of this matter?"
Prince Su Shu is learning relevant knowledge through discussions between his father and Wang Shangshu.
Hearing his father's question, he thought for a moment and replied: "I think there is not much resistance to the implementation of Wang Shangshu's policy.
Wang Shangshu did not add any content, but instead reduced some content to the imperial examination.
What they learned was not invalidated in this imperial examination.
Erchen thinks that Wang Shangshu is right. The imperial examination is to select talents for the country. The performance of these subjects is enough to screen out talents.
The reduction of imperial examination subjects will also make it easier for candidates.
My father often said that the best way to eliminate a nation is to eliminate their writing and history.
It is precisely because of the inheritance of history that the Han nation was formed.
And Chen believes that history is extremely important and deserves to be remembered by everyone. "
After Emperor Su He heard this, he said with satisfaction: "The reform direction of the imperial examination was well chosen.
The subjects of the imperial examination have been adjusted from simple to complex.
I find that whether the subjects of the imperial examination are complicated or not has basically nothing to do with whether outstanding talents can be selected.
The imperial examination was too complicated and unnecessary.
The purpose of writing eight-part essays like the Ming Dynasty was to restrain the smartest people.
This is completely putting the cart before the horse and talent is wasted.
If the empire really wanted to develop, it could not only take the imperial examination. "
Shangshu Wang Linjiang felt relieved when he heard that his reform had been approved by Emperor Su He.
As long as this is recognized, the Ministry of Education will have something to do this year.
In order to prevent the secrets of the scientific examination from being leaked, the Ministry of Education always sends experts to closed places to give questions half a month ago.
The imperial examination test papers have not yet been released. After the reform is confirmed, the Ministry of Education can adjust the content of the test papers in time.
Shangshu Wang Linjiang continued: “Since the emergence of the imperial examination in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there have been endless incidents of candidate fraud.
In order to prevent candidates from cheating, Gongyuan's search of candidates is extremely strict.
They were basically naked, and all the places on their bodies that could hide things were checked.
The imperial examination inspections in the empire were not that strict, and everything was carefully inspected.
However, you must also take off your clothes to prevent candidates from being entrained.
The Imperial Imperial Examinations used a person-to-person system. Even so, some people bribed the people who were being followed to cheat.
The exams in the Gongyuan last for several days, and they eat and drink in the Gongyuan.
Candidates who are thin and weak cannot persist at all.
The smell inside the examination room was also extremely unpleasant, and candidates could not concentrate on the examination at all.
In order to maintain fairness before the imperial examination, there was no way.
But as technology advances, there are definitely solutions.
Chen discovered a movie camera, which is a good thing.
As long as the situation in the examination room is photographed, anyone cheating can be clearly seen.
Gongyuan does not use this extremely serious and humiliating method to examine candidates.
Just make a quick check that the candidate is not carrying a book or cheat sheet.
Record the situation in the examination room. If someone really cheats, that can provide the most powerful evidence. "
Emperor Su He looked at Wang Linjiang with bright eyes. This gave the Minister of Education the opportunity to think of monitoring based on the existing technology.
He is indeed a very capable official.
Emperor Su He knew that he made this suggestion, but why didn't he say it out loud?
Since the Tang and Ming Dynasties, imperial examinations have been reserved exclusively for men. Even if this kind of examination is insulting, they can tolerate it for the sake of official status.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, some emperors believed that eunuchs were suitable for office, and officials in the dynasty had to castrate themselves.
Before the founding of Suhe, women were allowed to participate in the imperial examination.
The current situation in the empire is more open than that of the Ming Dynasty, but most people are still very conservative.
Some parents learned about the examination before the scientific examination, and they did not allow their daughters to take the scientific examination.
Wang Linjiang's reform made it easier for imperial examination candidates and allowed people who did not want to take part in the imperial examination for various reasons to make up their minds to take part in the imperial examination.
Emperor Su He agreed: "Wang Aiqing, you can give it a try first.
As long as there are no major mistakes, I will accept this model. "
When Wang Linjiang, the Minister of Education, heard that Emperor Su He agreed, he immediately bowed and promised: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that I will lead the Ministry of Education to go all out.
Let this imperial examination come to a perfect end and select talents for the country. "
"Get a free life!" Emperor Su He waved his hand, "The imperial examination must be treated with caution. The Ministry of Education is trying to reform the imperial examination, but I will not allow you to make mistakes.
In the event of an error, candidates must be able to use the unreformed test paper to answer questions. "
Wang Linjiang stood up and repeatedly promised: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that our Ministry of Education will never let you down."
After Emperor Su He understood all the situation, he asked the young eunuch to see off the guests.
He looked at the prince who was writing and writing down the contents.
Emperor Su He asked: "You listened to the entire discussion.
Do you think this reform of the imperial examination will go smoothly? "
Prince Su Shu scratched his head and thought for a moment before saying: "My son thinks that all this depends on the support of my father.
My father supports Wang Shangshu in carrying out the imperial examination reform, and this imperial examination reform will definitely be implemented.
His father did not support the reform of the imperial examination, so Wang Shangshu could easily fall into trouble this time. "
Emperor Su He looked at Prince Su Shu and said with a smile: "I can see things quite clearly. I have been practicing for a long time." (End of this chapter)
