I am Da Song

Chapter 270
As Chen Dong said, the turmoil in the final analysis is Zhao Huan's vigorous establishment of schools, and the growth of the student class derived from it.In the end, fierce conflicts broke out with the scholar-bureaucrat class who occupied too many privileges.

In the Song Dynasty, there were hundreds of folk colleges that only trained adult students, and all of them were prominent.Among them, Bailuzhou Academy and Xiangshan Academy are even more famous through the ages.

The government also promoted the national policy of school education and set up schools across the country.

This makes the number of students produced every year extremely large, not to mention reaching the level of tens of millions in later generations, or one percent of the level, there are still some in the scale of [-].

It is impossible for these people to flood into the officialdom to become officials, and the whole country of the Song Dynasty cannot provide so many official positions.

Moreover, these official positions are obviously monopolized by scholar-bureaucrats, and a complete road to selection and examination has been established.

In response to Chen Dong's situation, Zhao Huan asked: "The hundreds of thousands or hundreds of thousands of students every year are all precious talents of our dynasty. It is impossible for these people to flood into the officialdom. How do you plan to arrange them?"

Chen Dong immediately replied decisively: "I think these students are not as aloof and arrogant as the scholar-bureaucrats. They don't want to be the chief officials and important officials of the court as soon as they walk out of the school."

"Previously, the official selection examination was mainly based on the selection of officials, which is no longer suitable for the current situation."

"That's why I think the scope of selection should be expanded."

Zhao Huan understood a little after listening.

"Thirty old Mingjing, fifty young Jinshi."

Unlike the scholar-officials who want to be a Jinshi because they have a poor head and poor scriptures, the students have relatively low requirements.

This is also related to their lack of national privileges.

Their pursuit now is to find a reliable way out for the entire class first.

Therefore, the focus of the current struggle among the students is that the scholar-officials can continue to control the upper class, and the students can start from the grassroots.

To expand the scope of the selection test is to give students a way of birth.

But Zhao Huan frowned, very dissatisfied with Chen Dong's proposal.

The plan was full of compromises.This is also where reform is not as good as revolution, and the elimination of long-standing evils is not thorough.

In fact, Zhao Huan had the determination and perseverance to launch a sweeping sweep of the country, using the hands of students to completely sweep the scholar-bureaucrats into the dust of history.

This feudal remnant force is really a drag on the country's development.

But the students did not want to set off a bloodbath and drag the country back into turmoil.The intention is to coexist with the scholar-officials, and then rely on the huge number of advantages to gradually replace the dominant position of the scholar-officials.

So Zhao Huan asked: "Since Taixue proposes to expand the scope of the selection test, how to determine the candidates for the selection test? Confucian students who studied in private schools and studied the Four Books and Five Classics, followed by students who studied in Taixue and studied mathematics, astronomy, agriculture, and law. Which one is eligible to participate in the selection test?"

"How to classify? If you study the Four Books and Five Classics, you can be an official in the central government. If you study astronomy and arithmetic, you can go to the local government to work in politics. Which college in the world will teach mathematics, astronomy, and medicine?"

Confucianism had just been scolded face to face by Zhao Huan, and the ministers dared not jump out and say that reading the Four Books and Five Classics is noble, and studying "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius" is noble.

Half of the "Analects of Confucius" ruled the world. No one dared to mention this sentence since King Zhao Huan came to the world.All the ministers who publicly publicized this sentence were all released and demoted from Tokyo.

If Emperor Zhao and Song could lift "The Analects of Confucius" to the sky, Zhao Huan could also trample it down into the dust.Tell all the elites of the Great Song Dynasty with an incomparably clear attitude that the scholar-bureaucrats in the Central Plains have studied "The Analects of Confucius" for thousands of years, and it has no practical significance to study it.The few words that Confucius said are completely inappropriate for the current situation of the Song court.

Therefore, even if Confucian scholars memorize these few sentences thoroughly, no one can compare their interpretation research.It is also of no practical use at all, and cannot be exchanged for any background.

When Zhao Huan brought up this sharp topic, the scholar-bureaucrats also fell into deep thought. Facing the official family in the heyday of the Spring and Autumn Period, the scholar-bureaucrats can't twist their arms, so where is their way out?
If studying "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius" can't change one's background, where should Confucianism go?

Chen Dong took a deep breath, and said, "I'm just a teacher of the Taixue, and I can't control the affairs of scholars. Therefore, I only manage the major academies in the world, and I will study Dashi and issue degrees to all students uniformly."

"Those who study the law will be awarded a law degree, and those who are academically outstanding will be awarded a doctorate in law."

"Those who study mathematics will be awarded a degree in mathematics, just like Zu Chongzhi, who has made extraordinary contributions. His academic works are classics of a generation, and he is also awarded a doctorate in mathematics."

"As for those who study the Four Books and Five Classics, I plan to award a Bachelor of Arts uniformly, and those who are knowledgeable will be awarded a Doctor of Literature."

"So the selection test will also repeat the eight-subject selection test set in the "Six Classics of the Tang Dynasty", which is divided into medical science, system science, Ming law, Ming arithmetic, Ming classics, various history, Jinshi, and business. A degree certificate is required to participate in the selection test."

"Traditional Chinese medicine examines "Materia Medica", "Treatise on Febrile Diseases", etc., various historical sciences examine "Historical Records", "Hanshu", "Hanshu", "Three Kingdoms", etc., Ming Law examines laws, orders, and court laws "Song "Punishment System", Trial Policy, all disciplines are similar."

Zhao Huan waved his hand, not agreeing, and said: "Eight subjects to obtain a scholar, the former Tang Dynasty has failed, reduced to embellishment, and finally there are only Jinshi subjects, examination of the Four Books and Five Classics, poetry and poetry. In the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examinations were not as perfect as ours. .”

"If you just want to restore Guzhi, it's meaningless."

Chen Dong immediately explained: "I think the two are very different. In the former Tang Dynasty, eight subjects were selected as scholars, and they were officials. In one dynasty, only 29 people were admitted as Jinshi, and the other seven subjects were all subordinate officials. This made Jinshi pay more attention to it. Almost no one cares about the seven subjects, and they have been terminated one after another.”

"But I think that the rise and fall of a country lies in the administration of officials; the gains and losses of administration of officials depend on the employment of people."

"But just in our dynasty, the corruption of officials has never been seen before. The misfortune of the subordinates has ruined the government's policies, frequently leading to local darkness and corruption, and rebellions have arisen."

"So much so that there is a clear situation where officials are strong and officials are weak."

"Crafty officials are often treacherous because they are fearless at the top and fearless at the bottom. This is because the number of subordinate officials in my court is dozens of times that of officials, but they have no official status, and it is almost impossible to be promoted. Fearless and hopeless, they quickly turned to corruption and collusion with the gentry."

"However, if the eight subjects are restored, the students can replace the subordinate officials who monopolize the locality. It will significantly reduce the darkness and corruption in the locality."

"And there is one very crucial point. The students of the Jinshi department must also be promoted from the grassroots level, and they are not higher than the other eight subjects."

After listening, Zhao Huan's expression lifted, and he felt very interested.

The term "corrupt officials" became a turning point starting from the Song Dynasty.

Before the Song Dynasty, corrupt officials were even more hated by the people at the bottom.Since the Song Dynasty, corrupt officials have made the people even more desperate.

This is because since the Song Dynasty, officials have become two complementary classes.

The treachery of subordinate officials has become a problem that has caused headaches for the whole society from top to bottom.

It will undoubtedly be a very exciting thing if this time, taking advantage of planning a way out for the students, and solving the long-standing abuses of treacherous officials.

(End of this chapter)