Chapter 90 Old events from those years
In the East Palace.
The prince was also asking for advice, but he was asking Fang Xiaoru.
What Fang Xiaoru saw was only the information revealed before. It didn't seem like much, but with Fang Xiaoru's ability, he had figured out a lot.
Fang Xiaoru said, "Your Highness, I thought that Your Majesty was not satisfied with the current imperial examination method. The imperial examinations in the Sui Dynasty were different from the imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty. The imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty were different from the imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty. The imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty were different from the imperial examinations in the Yuan Dynasty. Because every generation is prosperous, there must be its own method. Although Master Song's imperial examination is a lot of trouble, His Majesty is the hero after all. It is normal to have disagreements with Master Song."
"It's just that the imperial court's method of selecting talents cannot be delayed any longer."
"Since the imperial examination was abolished ten years ago, the imperial court has mostly used recommendations. Every year, the number of recommendations ranges from a thousand to hundreds. Local officials are responsible for promoting talents. But most of them follow the old tradition and recommend either relatives and friends, or local powerful people. These Over the past few years, major cases have occurred repeatedly in various places because the level of officials is not high. This matter has become a serious problem for the Ming Dynasty and must be changed."
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In He Mansion.
He Xi is also asking for advice.
What Yao Guangxiao was holding in his hand was also He Xi's simple words. It is to explain some contents of the special examination of the Coal and Iron Division.
Yao Guangxiao said: "My lord, you chose the time very well. You know why ten years ago, His Majesty abolished the imperial examination. It was specifically for recommendation."
He Xi said: "I would like to hear the details."
Yao Guangxiao said: "Because of two problems, first, the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the cultural context, and the truly powerful people everywhere were not scholars. At least not when the Ming Dynasty had just established its throne. The second reason was that the scholars were not of the same mind as the Ming Dynasty. To the Red Turban Army. I don’t know, do you know, sir, what is the attitude of the literati and officials towards the Red Turban Army?”
He Xi knew without thinking that it was not a good thing to say. But he still said: "Mr. Yao, please speak."
Yao Guangxiao casually pulled out a volume of "History of the Yuan Dynasty" from the bookshelf, flipped through two pages, and showed it to He Xi.
He Xi saw it and immediately smiled bitterly. It reads: "In that month, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty raised his troops, crossed the river from Hezhou, and took the Taiping Road. Since the red scarf demon bandits started the rebellion, many counties in the north and south were sunk, so the Ming Dynasty took it."
He Xi has read Yuan History. There are simply countless details like this. This is still the official history of the Yuan Dynasty. We can see the attitude of the Ming Dynasty scholar-bureaucrats.
Yao Guangxiao said: "What do you think of Your Majesty?"
He Xi said: "A commoner, who conquered the world in fifteen years, expelled the Tartars, restored China, and brought justice to the country, is no better than the Ming Dynasty. He is the first hero in the world today, and even in the history of history, he is also among the top ten. "
Yao Guangxiao said: "Your Majesty will definitely be impressed after hearing this, but what the scholar-bureaucrat is thinking is that he is just a stinky beggar. Maybe he was begging for food at my door. He was lucky for a while, but today, how can he convince me?"
"Therefore, after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the world's scholar-bureaucrats were divided into two groups, one was a relic and the other was a recluse. Reclusiveness was fine, but there were too many killings in the Yuan Dynasty. Many of the scholar-bureaucrats avoided trouble in the mountains and forests, and later generations were unwilling to serve as officials. Not only in the Ming Dynasty If he does not serve as an official, he did not serve as an official in the previous dynasty. But the so-called left ministers are those who served as officials in the Yuan Dynasty and always missed the Yuan Dynasty. By the way, even Liu Bowen had such a mentality. Many people had no choice but to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty. "
"Your Majesty first wanted to win over these people and gave them all kinds of preferential treatment. But in the end, he found that only villains and women are difficult to raise. Your Majesty also couldn't do the meticulous work, so in the battle between Huaixi and Zhejiang, Huaixi won. Huaixi won. Although the West is domineering, it is the domineering officials of the Ming Dynasty. Regarding the east of Zhejiang, Your Majesty does not know what his heart is."
"Therefore, Your Majesty abolished the imperial examination and promoted recommendation. Your Majesty does not know that the power of recommendation lies in the hands of local officials. Doing so will cause local officials to become powerful, and the so-called disciples and former officials are everywhere in the world. Most of the people recommended by the local government are from the rich. He is one of the local powerful people. He may not be a good person."
"But His Majesty did it anyway. Do you know why?"
He Xi had never thought about the problem from this perspective. She leaned forward slightly and said, "Sir, please don't show off."
Yao Guangxiao's triangular eyes were slightly proud. He had already shown off his talents, so he thought about it today. It is estimated that there is no one here except him who can say it. It is not something that the so-called corrupt scholars in the world can understand.
It is the art of strategizing and the art of emperors.
Yao Guangxiao said: "Because of the two harms, whichever is the lesser, it is time for the world to be settled. But in many places, only soldiers are stationed, and the place is still the same as before. If the Ming Dynasty wants to consolidate the government and the opposition, a large number of civil servants must participate Governance. But His Majesty does not have it in his hands. Each of these civil servants misses the previous dynasty. Your Majesty can only retreat and settle for the next best thing."
"There is even an intention to let local powerful people become officials of the Ming Dynasty. Do you know the beauty of it?"
He Xi said: "If local powerful people become the families of officials of the Ming Dynasty, then their family affairs must be done for the sake of being an official. If the local powerful people are committed to the Ming Dynasty, there will be no trouble."
Yao Guangxiao said: "Your Excellency is wise."
He Xi felt a lot for a while and thought of many things.
He always thought that Zhu Yuanzhang did not rub sand in his eyes. There is zero tolerance for corruption. Now it seems that Zhu Yuanzhang also has a very soft figure.
It can even be said that Zhu Yuanzhang was much smarter than Li Zicheng in doing so. From a materialist historical perspective, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly became the general agent of the feudal landlord class from a progressive rebel army. But this represents the stability of the Ming Dynasty. Li Zicheng did not turn around so quickly, and was defeated by the Qing soldiers.
When the Qing Dynasty entered the country, it did something similar, which was to sell a large number of officials and let rich and powerful people become officials of the Qing Dynasty. In later terminology, it was clearly integrated with the big landowning class. However, the regime was stabilized.
He Xi said: "It's not that I am wise, but that your Majesty is wise."
Yao Guangxiao thought to himself: "He Xi really has a future. Even in a place with only two people, he can't stop flattering him. How could Zhu Yuanzhang not put this thought into practice."
Little did he know that He Xi really admired Zhu Yuanzhang.
He Xi knew many theories. But don't know how to use it. But Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know. But he knew what to do.
As the saying goes, the state is a tool of class rule. He Xi just memorized it. But what Zhu Yuanzhang did before was to demonstrate how a local government with no support could quickly gain world power. That is to make Ming Dynasty a tool of class rule.
Suddenly the Ming Dynasty's rule was stable.
Of course, there are a lot of costs involved. But we can only say anything else if we first gain a firm foothold. If you don't stand firm. Everything else is bullshit.
Yao Guangxiao said; "Actually, this is also the last statement of the Han Dynasty Langguan, and His Majesty only used it. And it is really because of Your Majesty's cleverness. In the past ten years, the Great Ming Dynasty has been consolidated, and the things of the past are no longer needed. The people of the past have also been No need. Therefore, the recommendation policy needs to be changed, and the group of people back then also needs to be replaced."
In the Han Dynasty, if you wanted to be an official, you had to pay money. It can be considered that he sold his official position very early. Selling one's official position sounds unpleasant and seems to be the worst of all evils. In fact, sometimes it has a positive meaning. It can only be said that many times the beauty of policies lies in single-mindedness.
But Yao Guangxiao's words shocked He Xi very much.
He Xi secretly thought: "So, is this the reason why major crimes occurred frequently during the Hongwu period?"
Why Huaixi Group is so powerful. Because in the past, officials were recommended to serve. Some people even worshiped Li Shanchang first and then the emperor after arriving in Nanjing. This recommendation relationship will not end when Li Shan becomes an official.
Those who entered the official position after such a long period of time between five years after Hongwu and the imperial examination again. Not all of them may be from the Huaixi Group, but most of them may not be from Zhu Yuanzhang.
It’s just that Zhu Yuanzhang is an ordinary monarch.
But Zhu Yuanzhang is not. The reason for being wronged back then was for the sake of the imperial court's grand plan, but now that the world is stable, it's naturally time to kill the donkey. And it's not that Zhu Yuanzhang can't tolerate it, but the level of these officials is really problematic.
There is still a chance that the imperial examination will be fair, but recommendation is almost the same as giving and receiving in private. Through connections, some people even recommended him to become an official but failed to do so, and some recommended him twice or three times.
