The next day, Prince Qin's Mansion, study room.
Every time Xiao Yuan returns to the capital, the first problem he has to face is definitely the nagging of Prime Minister Liu Yuzhi.
He was really annoyed with Xiang Guo sometimes and wished that this guy would disappear from his sight.
But there is no way.
If the entire Qin State is compared to a family, then Xiao Yuan is the master of this family, and Liu Yuzhi is the big steward of this family.
It is conceivable that what he reported must be related to major events.
Looking at the bamboo slips on the table, Xiao Yuan couldn't help but said: "Prime Minister."
"Ah? I'm here." Liu Yuzhi quickly lowered his body slightly.
Xiao Yuan pointed to his official uniform: "Are the cuffs of your official uniform too loose? How many bamboo slips can be hidden in it?"
"Haha, this..." Liu Yuzhi laughed dryly.
Xiao Yuan sighed helplessly, then changed the topic and asked: "Is the national treasury still full now?"
"No money." Liu Yuzhi returned directly.
"You!" Xiao Yuan choked.
Liu Yuzhi explained: "The king has been fighting for years, and wars cost a lot of money. During this turmoil in the Central Plains, our Central Army mobilized almost all fronts. Countless grains, grass and weapons were consumed, and all the materials stored in the war were exhausted."
"The gold and silver from the Liang Kingdom's treasury have all been transferred to our treasury. It's not as serious as the Prime Minister said, right?" Xiao Yuandao said.
Liu Yuzhi said: "According to your Majesty's wishes, I have the idea of touching the gold and silver of the national treasury. However, I suggest that sufficient military expenditures must be reserved. The gold and silver of the national treasury should not be touched rashly."
"What if there is a natural disaster in the place? Will gold and silver be enough to provide disaster relief?" Xiao Yuan asked again.
"If we have some reserves, the country will be able to cope with it." After Liu Yuzhi finished speaking, he said seriously: "However, if the king wants to build a palace or carry out large-scale construction, I will firmly oppose it."
"I didn't say that, I just asked." Xiao Yuan glanced at him dissatisfied, this guy.
"Yes." Liu Yuzhi responded.
Next, the monarch and his ministers talked a lot about the current government affairs.
While chatting, Xiao Yuan also turned the topic to national education issues and asked: "How are the schools in various places going?"
"Everything is going well. Under the national policy, the number of students from all over the country has increased sharply." Liu Yuzhi returned.
"Without education, it is impossible to revitalize the country. Regarding tuition fees, those who should be exempted or exempted should still be exempted. The Qin State supports children from farmers' families in studying. This policy must be implemented by the Prime Minister." Xiao Yuan said uneasily.
"Wei Chen understands."
After a pause, Xiao Yuan continued: "Besides, on the way back from Liangdu, I was thinking that the problems faced by officials in Liangdu and Jin were still not satisfactory."
"What does the king mean..." Liu Yuzhi asked tentatively.
Xiao Yuandao: "We still need to conduct a national examination to fully prepare for the country's talents. Even the name of this time has been thought of by the king. It is called: Enke promotion. We are just waiting for implementation. What does the prime minister think? ?”
"The king is saying that our country's talent recruitment will continue?"
"Yes, continuously." Xiao Yuandao: "Some local officials are actually incompetent, but for the temporary stability of the political situation, I have no choice. With the expansion of Qin Guodong's publishing map, our officialdom needs to be further improved. Let’s straighten things out in one step.”
After listening, Liu Yuzhi nodded slowly: "Your Majesty has thought deeply about this, and I have no objections to this."
"Since the Prime Minister thinks it's feasible, let's let it be decided." Xiao Yuan made the decision immediately.
Early morning the next day.
"I will see you, Your Majesty. I will be king for ten thousand years——"
In the palace hall, after all the ministers knelt down, Xiao Yuan waved his sleeves and took a seat directly above.
"Everyone is safe."
"Thank you, Your Majesty—" People shouted in unison again, and after standing up, they also lined up on the left and right.
Before anyone could speak, he got straight to the point and brought up the matter of taking the exam.
After listening to what he said, the ministers first looked around, and then Shangguan Wenruo stood up, raised his hands and said, "I strongly agree with this policy of the king, but I don't know who will be responsible for this."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Shiwei, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, hurriedly came out and said first: "Students from all over the country are taking the exam, which involves household registration in many places. I suggest that the Ministry of Household Affairs should be in charge."
Xiao Yuan looked at him, and before he could say anything, Yan Ming, the Minister of Rites, stood up: "Your Majesty's establishment of Enke this time is not only related to official promotion, but also to the etiquette system. What does it have to do with the Ministry of Households? Yi Chen The Ministry of Rites should be responsible for this."
Hearing this, Zheng Shiwei chuckled lightly and said, "Master Yan's words can actually involve the exam-taking students in the Ministry of Rites. It's really ridiculous."
"That's right." Li Zhengfang, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, stood up and said: "This matter is of great importance, and the Ministry of Personnel is responsible for the evaluation of officials' performance and the selection of talents. No matter from any aspect, they should be officials. The Ministry will take charge, and I hope the King will learn from it."
Zheng Shiwei and Yan Ming wanted to take over this matter, but the officials interfered, and they were both a little anxious.
The former said: "Although Mr. Li's words are reasonable, the matter of taking the examination is for students to become officials, not for officials."
"Yes, it would be inappropriate if the officials were responsible for this matter."
The two began to target the officials, preparing to suppress their powerful rivals first and then fight at the end.
Li Zhengfang said calmly: "When it comes to selecting officials, do the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Household Affairs have experience in the Ministry of Personnel? Is there a system for the Ministry of Personnel to be formed?"
"this!"
Three ministers started arguing about this.
Why do they all want to take charge of this matter? It's because everyone understands that this is related to the appointment of officials later. You can imagine how much real power they have. Who doesn't want to fight for it.
Watching them debate in the court, Xiao Yuan, although they were so noisy that one of them was louder than the other, did not stop them. Instead, he waited for them to argue for a while before saying in a deep voice: "Okay."
The three people quickly fell silent, bowed their hands and returned to the train.
Xiao Yuan began to think about it, and after a moment, he said: "The Enke preliminary examination is the responsibility of the local universities. After the students pass the local preliminary examination and arrive in Qinzhou, the Ministry of Civil Affairs will be responsible for this matter."
This is because he has considered the existing responsibilities of the Ministry of Personnel. If he is responsible for it, it is indeed better than others.
Moreover, Li Zhengfang is a talented person, not just a loser.
When the latter heard this, he immediately beamed with joy, hurriedly knelt on the ground, and said in a trembling voice: "My lord, I will obey the king's order!"
Yan Ming and Zheng Shiwei obviously looked disappointed, but the king's order had been issued and the result could not be changed. They could only follow the ministers and salute and said:
"I will obey the king's order——"
After giving the gift, Shangguan Wenruo said again: "But Your Majesty, now that the North has been established, no school has been opened. If Liangdi scholars also want to take the examination, what should we do?"
"This is easy to handle. We will immediately issue a royal order to allow students from all places under the Qin State to go to various institutions of higher education to take exams, regardless of their status and household registration."
