Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2419: The Duke is not an assistant, but a regent (X) Proposal to reform the imperial examination system

In the meeting room of the cabinet's main room, six goat-horn lamps illuminated the golden bricks. The first enlarged cabinet meeting of the first year of Taichang was in progress.

Gao Youshi slammed his red brush on the table, and the ink spread all over the yellow silk memorial, startling the swallows under the eaves and making them fly up. The new Minister of Personnel, Ye Xianggao, seemed to be sitting still with a solemn expression, but in fact he didn't dare to breathe.

"It was rumored a few days ago that the Prime Minister wanted to change the imperial examination again, with 70 points for the written examination and 30 points for the selection examination," said the new Minister of Rites Guo Zhengyu with a solemn face. "Although I don't know whether it is true or not, the scholars in the capital heard about it and said that this move will shake the foundation of the eight-legged essay system for selecting scholars, and the public sentiment is overwhelming and cannot be stopped..."

Gao Youshi looked sullen and asked, "Do you remember that in the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination last year, not a single student could calculate the amount of water that could flow through the water gate?" He sneered, "And when the dam in Yucheng collapsed, an official actually proposed to use the "Yu Gong" to control the flood!"

Guo Zhengyu's beard trembled under the light: "The Tribute of Yu is a classic on flood control, so this suggestion does not count..."

"Classic?" Gao Youshi sneered, and took out the "Report on River Engineering" from a pile of memorials at hand and threw it on the table. "Last year, the Huai River burst its banks, and someone in the River Administration used the method of "Yu Gong" to 'lead the Huai River into the sea'. As a result, the people of three counties were drowned, more than a thousand died, tens of thousands were displaced, and seven or eight out of ten houses and fields were destroyed!"

His finger slid across another yellowed report. "Grand Master, take a look. This is a report from the magistrate of Suqian County. The county hired three graduates from the Jinghua Artisan School, one of whom graduated from the Department of Mathematics, and two of whom graduated from the Department of Physics. These three surveyed the local embankment in advance and reinforced the dangerous sections before the flood season. As a result, both upstream and downstream were breached, but the Suqian Golden Urn was intact."

Yu Shenxing, who had just joined the cabinet from the position of Minister of Rites, coughed lightly, intending to smooth things over for Guo Zhengyu. He glanced at the two memorials on the desk and said, "The Prime Minister's intention is to make up for the lack of classics with practical work." The new Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace looked at the snow-covered mountain scenery outside the window and sighed, "But I'm afraid I have to take into account the public opinion of the scholars..."

"Before the late emperor died, he held my hand and said," Gao Youshi suddenly changed to the tone of an imperial teacher, "Governing a country is like treating an illness. We must not only strengthen the foundation but also prescribe the right medicine for the disease." - He is the only one left of the three ministers that Zhu Yijun entrusted to him before his death. He can say whatever he wants.

He tapped his fingers heavily on the word "mathematics". "You may not know that the graduates of the mathematics department of Jinghua Academy, in groups of ten, can calculate the loss of a million taels of silver in the course of transport within one stick of incense."

As the Minister of Rites, Guo Zhengyu could not retreat at this moment no matter what he thought. He could only say, "Prime Minister, you know that in the past few years, the three 'elective' subjects were added to the imperial examinations. When the candidates' essays were equally matched, the results of the elective subjects were used to determine the rankings. This has already caused the gentry in Jiangnan to jointly submit a petition, saying that this move 'uses strange skills and lewd tricks to corrupt people's minds'?"

"Then let them come to the capital to debate." Gao Youshi's finger traced over the word "Gewu". "Last year, during the Huguang Prefecture exam, there was a candidate who had read the Elements of Geometry brought by Western missionaries, and integrated it into his knowledge, creating a more accurate method for measuring the area of ​​unequal-sided fields. Shouldn't such talents be well cultivated and reused?"

"Prime Minister," Yu Shenxing suddenly spoke, "I think that although the reform of the imperial examination system is beneficial to the country, we must also take into account the inheritance of culture and virtue." He paused for a moment, "Zigong asked about politics, and Confucius said, 'If there is enough food and enough soldiers, the people will trust it.' These three things all require practical work, but 'people's trust' is ultimately based on culture and education."

Gao Youshi smiled slightly: "What the elder Yu said is very true." He nodded, but then said, "But Mencius also said, 'The wise are in office, and the capable are in job.' If you don't have the ability to study mathematics, agriculture, and the study of things, how can you be a 'capable person'?

I have been assisting the government for a long time, and I often see people advising the late emperor to be frugal when discussing finances. Little do they know that if the late emperor spent 100,000 more or 100,000 less a year, it would not have much impact on the country... But Jinghua promoted the new curved plow in Henan a few years ago, which increased the output of the province by 600,000 shi, which was helpful to the country and the people. This is what a capable person should do."

Guo Zhengyu felt that he had found a loophole in Gao Youshi's words, and immediately said: "If the Prime Minister says so, then there is no need to be frugal? I'm afraid it's like the water in the reservoir, pouring out from the upper reaches and opening the gates downstream... no matter how much production is increased, it will all be wasted!"

"Since Grand Master of the Imperial Clan said so, why don't you answer a question?" Gao Youshi chuckled. "Suppose there is a reservoir that can store 100,000 liters of water. There is currently 10,000 liters of water. Now the question is: every hour, 3,000 liters of water is injected from the upstream, and 1,000 liters of water is released from the downstream gate. How long will it take for the reservoir to be filled?"

Guo Zhengyu was stunned, as if he had some clues in his mind, but when he thought about it carefully, he really couldn't figure it out. His face flushed and he argued: "Such affairs should be handled by clerks. Why should officials do it themselves?"

"If an official does not know, he is being deceived by the officials." Gao Youshi shook his head and said, "A tall building starts from the foundation. If a high-ranking official does not know how much the yield per mu is and how to increase it, but advises the emperor all day long that 'every grain of rice is hard-earned', isn't it ridiculous?"

He sighed, and took out another picture and spread it on the table, "Please look, everyone, this is the new wheel-axle tipping cart made by Jinghua. One person can be as strong as ten people - isn't this the work of a 'capable person'?"

Song Yingchang suddenly clapped his hands: "Students, give me an example!" He pulled out the "Military Settlement Report", "The year before last, the military settlement in Datong Town had an output of only 1.2 dou per mu. The Prime Minister sent people to investigate and found that in addition to abnormal climate, the locals did not know how to intercrop.

So, last year, more than a hundred agricultural students were transferred from Jinghua School to provide guidance. As a result, the disaster was obviously worse last year. The wheat yield per mu was only one dan and one dou, while the intercropped sweet potatoes yielded nearly four dan, and were worshipped as gods by the locals... The students thought that in the future, it might be possible to set up an agricultural subject in the military examination to facilitate farming."

[Note: Today, wheat and sweet potatoes are interplanted, and the yield per mu of wheat is about 300-400 kg, while the yield per mu of sweet potatoes can be as high as 2500-3000 kg. This book takes into account the fact that the early introduced sweet potato varieties have not yet been fully "localized", the planting technology is not scientific enough, and the local disasters mentioned above, so it is only set as "nearly four stones", and readers do not need to pay too much attention.]

"Mr. Song is right." Gao Youshi nodded. "If the Ministry of War does not know about agriculture, how can it plan military settlements? If the Ministry of Revenue does not understand mathematics, how can it dispatch food and grass? If the Ministry of Works does not understand the study of things, how can it build river works?"

Seeing that Guo Zhengyu could hardly find any more reasons to refute, Ye Xianggao bowed and asked, "Master, after the reform of the imperial examination system, how will the selection criteria be adjusted?"

Gao Youshi tapped the table with his five fingers of his right hand in turn and said, "After three years of examinations, in addition to the original items, there will be an additional practical assessment." He paused and added, "Those who have made contributions to river management, machinery manufacturing, disaster response, and farming will be promoted first." Yu Shenxing suddenly coughed lightly and said, "Prime Minister, although the reform of the imperial examination system is for the benefit of the country and the people, it may need to be done step by step." He pondered and said, "Nowadays, there are academies and private schools in various places that teach the Four Books and the Five Classics, but there are very few that teach mathematics, agronomy, and the study of things. If it is changed rashly, I am afraid that the scholars will be in an uproar, and countless students will be at a loss as to where to go to study..."

Gao Fusi nodded secretly in his heart. Yu Shenxing's words hit the nail on the head. Although the three subjects of mathematics, agronomy, and the study of physics had been added to the "electives" in the past few years, there was no clear "exam score ratio". They were only added as an extra weight when the examiners were unable to decide the winner of the eight-part essay exam between two or more candidates. Therefore, although some scholars began to devote a little effort to the exam, they still did not take it too seriously - how could there be so many papers that made it difficult for the examiners to decide the winner?

Since the demand is insufficient, the number of teachers who can teach these three subjects will not increase explosively. To put it simply, most of them come from Jinghua Craftsmen School. But the problem is that although Jinghua Craftsmen School is not small in scale, it is simply a drop in the bucket to rely on it to meet the national demand. What's more, the graduates of Jinghua Craftsmen School will be diverted to many places and many projects?

"So I only added 30 points to the elective exam," Gao Youshi replied. "The language and literature still account for 70%, which not only preserves the literary theory, but also supplements the practical knowledge."

"But there is something lacking in this sir..." Yu Shenxing continued to ask.

"It is indeed insufficient." Gao Youshi nodded and said, "But the whole world is insufficient, so it is still fair overall. And year after year, as long as the court insists on holding examinations, corresponding talents will naturally emerge and fill this shortage."

Yu Shenxing wanted to say something, but seeing Gao Youshi's determination, he thought about it and gave up - after all, Gao Youshi's words were not completely unreasonable, and the Jiangnan scholars, who were most likely to cause trouble, would be the first to gather people who were capable of teaching these three subjects because of the overall prosperity of the region. In this way, they would have an advantage over other regions. As long as the Jiangnan scholars understood this truth, I'm afraid the smart people among them would be secretly delighted.

However, Yu Shenxing could understand this truth, but couldn't Gao Youshi? Of course, Gao Youshi understood it, but he couldn't change the economic structure formed by the "location advantage", but he could change the system of selecting officials in the imperial court - the Ming Dynasty already had the North and South Lists, and he could make some minor adjustments according to the situation.

According to Gao Youshi's idea, it is a good thing that Jiangnan has a developed economy and good academics, but it cannot occupy most of the positions in the court because of this, which will cause chaos. Therefore, it is acceptable to have slightly more officials from Jiangnan, but this "slightly more" must have a limit and cannot expand infinitely - anything that is out of balance will be bad.

Perhaps he realized that the matter of the imperial examination had basically been settled by now - in fact, as long as Gao Youshi insisted, it would be settled whether he talked about it or not - Song Yingchang suddenly flipped through the "Draft of the Military Examination Outline" in his hand and said, "Prime Minister, I have one thing I don't understand." He pointed to the subject of "tactical deduction" and frowned, "How can we test deduction without actual combat experience?"

Gao Youshi nodded and pointed to the sand table model of the Ming Dynasty (actually, it should be East Asia) beside the meeting hall, "The court will open nine military academies in Baoding, Liaoyang, Datong, Nanjing, Wuchang, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an, and Yili. The nine military academies will have 'sand table simulation' courses and set aside an area in the local area for real battlefield teaching.

As for scoring, of course, there must be generals who have actually been on the battlefield and have combat experience in the relevant terrain. If there has been no war in the terrain for a long time, they must also be evaluated one by one based on the military books and strategies compiled by their predecessors.

Outstanding students from the nine military academies will have the opportunity to enter the Royal Military Academy for further studies through two channels: examination scores and recommendations. At least 90% of them will be admitted through examinations, and the remaining 10% or less will be selected through recommendations. "

Everyone had their own thoughts after hearing this. The percentage of those who passed the exam was as high as over 90%, while the percentage of those who were recommended was only 10% at most. This meant that the hereditary system of military households in the Ming Dynasty would be greatly changed.

Originally, your ancestor was a commander, so you can inherit the position of commander. Although you still have to go through an assessment, the assessment is simple and relaxed, and basically anyone with a healthy body can pass it. It’s just... well, you just have to bring some silver to the capital and lobby the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commanders' Office.

It is different now. "Recommendation" is obviously still reserved for military families, but the proportion has been greatly reduced, while examinations account for more than 90%. I don't know how many children of military families must be excited to study hard since childhood.

Song Yingchang was a little excited. He had led troops before and he entered the cabinet to take over Zhou Yong's job and continued to be in charge of the Ministry of War. He certainly knew Gao Youshi's courage to do this - only this Prime Minister, Duke Jingguo, who had made great military achievements throughout his life, would dare to make trouble for the generals of the world!

Thinking of this, Song Yingchang was suddenly startled: Liu Jing came to the capital to take charge of the Imperial Guard, but Li Rumei went to Anxi to govern. Could it be related to this incident?

He didn't dare to think too much, so he could only ask: "Yuan Fu, are there any changes to the subjects and scores of the martial arts examination?"

Gao Youshi nodded and said, "There are nine military academies for the military examination. The subjects to be studied and tested are horse riding and archery, military tactics (including deployment of troops), equipment, physical fitness, and tactical deduction. Each subject is worth 20 points, with a total score of 100."

Song Yingchang bowed in response without saying much.

Gao Youshi's eyes swept over the ministers in the hall, and the candlelight cast uncertain shadows on their faces. Guo Zhengyu's beard was still trembling slightly, and he was obviously unwilling to give up; Yu Shenxing's eyes fell on the snow outside the window, as if he was weighing the pros and cons; Song Yingchang's hand was on the "Draft of the Military Examination Outline", and he seemed to have made up his mind; Xiao Liangyou sat upright all the time, and it seemed that he had made up his mind to just implement the decision of the prime minister; Ye Xianggao lowered his head and flipped through the draft of the imperial examination, and seemed to be calculating various details.

"Everyone," Gao Youshi broke the silence, "The reform of the imperial examination system is not a one-day job, and it requires the wisdom of all." He unfolded the "Draft Opinions on the Reform of the Imperial Examination System", "From now on, send a copy to the six ministries and the Censorate and other government offices. After the ministries have discussed it properly, the specific implementation details can be submitted to the cabinet for negotiation within seven days."

Finally, Gao Youshi said in a deep voice: "I just want the various ministries to add details on this matter. No objections are needed. If anyone is stubborn and unyielding, they should know that the late emperor entrusted his son to him..."
-

Thanks to the book friends "Yun Fu Yue Yu", "Xing Shang Xing", "Yuan Yue Ban Dao Murder", "First Login", "gz2010", "Xiao Ai Gu Yue", and "Book Friends 20190605084815175" for their monthly ticket support, thank you!