My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 649 Imperial Examination and Official Transfer
The fact that a big man turned a local official into an official had almost no impact on the people. At most, some well-informed people discussed it in private, or some caring people began to think of ways to enter the yamen as subordinate officials.

But this incident was undoubtedly a huge earthquake for the entire Han Dynasty officialdom.

Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, everyone in the officialdom has known that there was a shortage of officials in various yamen. Many people originally thought that the imperial court would hold imperial examinations to select talents to fill the officialdom.

After all, since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the imperial examination has become an important method for the court to select officials. After improvement in the Song Dynasty, until the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial examination has almost become the only channel to enter the officialdom. If there are officials who are not from the imperial examination, they will be embarrassed when getting along with other officials. Feeling a little shorter.

As a result, no one expected that Zhu Zhanhe and Yang Shiqi did not use the imperial examination, but instead promoted talents from subordinate officials. Although these subordinate officials did not have high official positions, they also broke the limit of the highest seven grades, and there would be promotions in the future. possible.

Faced with this situation, the officialdom of the Han Dynasty had mixed reactions. Some people even held opposite opinions and argued endlessly among themselves.

This is mainly due to the complicated origins of the officialdom of the Han Dynasty. Some of them came from the imperial examination, such as the former officials of the Han Dynasty, and there were also scholars recruited by Zhu Zhanhe. These scholars were not only scholars, but also candidates and even Jinshi. They They are all the strongest defenders of the imperial examination.

However, in addition to these defenders of the imperial examination, there are many remaining officials who think it is good to transfer from official to official. Most of these officials are from low-level backgrounds, such as those who came from noble management backgrounds. There are also some who joined Zhu Gaoxu in advance and were awarded official positions. people.

These people have one thing in common, that is, they do not read much, and they also know that there are too few scholars in the Han Dynasty, and it is difficult to find a Confucian son who is proficient in learning.

In contrast, those Jinshi, Juren and Xiucai who came from the imperial examination are themselves well-educated people and can teach their children to read by themselves. Some of them are even heirs of poems and books. Even if they don't have time, they can still hire people from the Ming Dynasty. Teach children.

Therefore, if the Han Dynasty adopts the imperial examination system, only these officials who came from the imperial examination will benefit in the end, and those officials who come from the grassroots will only suffer a dumb loss.

But now it’s better. Talents are selected directly from the subordinate staff. No matter how knowledgeable you are, if you want to enter the officialdom in the future, you have to start from the lowest level of subordinate staff. Only by outstanding performance can you be promoted. This is more important in the eyes of many people. fair.

There is a building behind the bank headquarters. Zhu Zhanhe's Zhanshi Mansion is here, and he usually handles official business here.

"Prince, there is news from Beizheng Branch. The preliminary preparations are almost complete. They plan to open in the middle of this month. As for Lion Port, there is no news yet because it is too far away."

Li Qi reported the banking situation to Zhu Zhanhe. The bank headquarters in Xijing was on track, and the two branches were about to open. After all the banks in the three places were opened and information was exchanged, the initial banking network in Dahan would be established. It's established.

"Let them take care of the opening. As for the Lion Port, it is indeed a bit far away. A dedicated delivery route must be established. You ask the Beizheng Branch to prepare a fleet, which will be used exclusively to communicate with the Lion Port in the future. Contact the Hong Kong branch!”

Zhu Zhanhe gave instructions again, and Li Qi immediately wrote them down. Then the two chatted about some things about the bank. When Zhu Zhanhe had no more instructions, Li Qi was ready to say goodbye and leave.

But at this moment, Zhu Zhanhe suddenly stopped Li Qi and asked: "I heard that officials are now discussing the transfer of officials, and some people are even quarreling over it. Li Qi, what do you think of this matter?"

Hearing Zhu Zhanhe ask his opinion, Li Qi also hesitated for a moment and then said: "I heard that when your Majesty first came to Tianzhu, because there were not enough officials under his command, he recruited some stewards from noble families as officials, such as Zhang Shilang, the minister in the imperial court, is from a stewardship background."

"Why did you suddenly mention this matter?"

Zhu Zhanhe also asked with some confusion after hearing this.

"I am reporting this to the Crown Prince, because the lower officials feel that the transfer of officials to officials is the same as recruiting stewards as officials. It can only be a temporary measure!"

Li Qi did not beat around the bush, but directly expressed his thoughts.

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

Zhu Zhanhe asked again, with an expression of interest on his face.

Recently, there has been a lot of noise in the officialdom because of the transfer of officials, so Zhu Zhanhe wanted to hear what people like Li Qi thought.

"When Emperor Taizu established the Ming Dynasty, he also allowed subordinate officials to be granted official positions after their nine-year term had expired and after passing three assessments because there were not enough officials. However, this was only a temporary measure. When the Ming Dynasty stabilized, officials would be selected through the imperial examination. It also satisfies the needs of the officialdom. As a result, the transfer of officials to official positions has almost disappeared, so the lower officials have this view."

Li Qi replied solemnly.

He was a serious Jinshi, but he did not object to the transfer of officials. However, in his opinion, this kind of transfer of officials would not last long, and sooner or later they would be replaced by the imperial examination.

Hearing Li Qi's words, Zhu Zhanhe picked up the teacup and took a sip, then smiled slightly and said: "Then what if I tell you that in the future, the Han Dynasty will not hold imperial examinations, and all officials must be selected from the subordinate staff layer by layer. Come up?"

"Prince, do you really plan to abolish the imperial examination?" Li Qi was shocked when he heard Zhu Zhanhe's words, and even looked at him with wide eyes in disbelief.

In fact, with the advancement of official transfer, there is already a saying in the court that Zhu Zhanhe does not intend to adopt the imperial examination system, but will use official transfer to replace the imperial examination. However, this statement is too outrageous for many people , so many people don’t quite believe it.

"I mean, if, if there was no imperial examination, what would you scholars think?"

Zhu Zhanhe asked with a smile again.

In fact, Li Qi didn't know that Zhu Zhanhe had people quietly spread the rumor about the abolition of the imperial examination and the selection of talents from officials to officials in order to test the official reaction.

"Although I have always believed that studying is for understanding reason and not just for preparing for the imperial examination, I also have to admit that without the imperial examination, I am afraid that most people will lose the motivation to study. It will not take long by then, and I am afraid that there will be no How many people are willing to study? If we Han people don’t study, what is the difference between us and the native people in Tianzhu?”

When Li Qi spoke to the end, his expression became a little excited. As a traditional Confucian scholar, he really couldn't imagine what the consequences would be if there was no imperial examination?
"No, you are wrong. Even if you are transferred from an official to an official, it does not mean that you will stop studying. On the contrary, it will make more people study!"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Zhanhe shook his head and disagreed with Li Qi's idea.

"How is it possible? If the imperial examination is gone, how can anyone be willing to study hard for ten years?"

Li Qi asked in disbelief after hearing this.

"The imperial examination is not gone, but it has changed the imperial examination from selecting officials to selecting officials. People from the outside who want to work in yamen at all levels must pass the examination. Only after passing the examination can they enter the yamen and start at the grassroots level. If they perform well, Only then will you be promoted, so whether you are an official or a clerk in the future, reading is the necessary foundation!"

Zhu Zhanhe patiently explained.

In fact, his idea came from the civil service examination of later generations, and the civil service examination is only the threshold for entry. If you want to be promoted in the future, it depends on your performance.

Of course, promotion based on ability is only an ideal state, and things such as forming cliques for personal gain and nepotism will definitely happen. But this only requires strengthening supervision, which is the responsibility of Jin Yiwei and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

"But there are a huge number of subordinate officials. If you pass the exam to select officials, the questions will definitely be very simple. In other words, you only need to have a thorough knowledge of the Four Books and Five Classics to pass the exam. If these people become officials in the future, wouldn't they be just cheating?"

Li Qi still didn't turn around and asked Zhu Zhanhe again.

"Even if a person is only proficient in writing, but as long as he is capable, he deserves to be promoted to an official position. On the other hand, if a great talent writes colorful articles but has no practical knowledge, if he is really allowed to become an official, he will only harm the people. .”

When Zhu Zhanhe said this, he suddenly glanced at Li Qi and smiled.

"Li Qi, you were also a Jinshi. You served as county magistrate after passing the exam. Were you able to handle everything in an orderly manner when you first took office?"

"This……"

Li Qi also blushed when he heard this. He was only in his 20s when he passed the Jinshi examination. When he first took office as the county magistrate, he was in a hurry. Even his subordinates deliberately made things difficult for him, causing him to suffer a lot secretly. It was not until later that he slowly After slowly becoming familiar with the affairs of the county government, he used his status as county magistrate to take good care of the subordinate officials.

"Li Qi, you are a talented person. Even if you are not used to it at first, you can gradually use your talents. However, there are more people who write good articles but do not understand the things in the yamen. Even if they do Officials will eventually be ignored by their subordinates, and even if their subordinates commit crimes, they will be pushed out of the top cylinder. You must have heard of this kind of thing!"

Seeing that Li Qi was silent, Zhu Zhanhe gave him another heavy blow.

Li Qi once again showed embarrassment when he heard this, because what Zhu Zhanhe said was true. At the beginning, he had several Jinshi scholars in the same department, and they usually exchanged letters. After they took office, some of them were killed by his subordinates. The subordinate officials were arrogant, and they served as county magistrates for several years. They did not get their turn for good things, but they had to take the blame for bad things. It couldn't be more miserable.

"So, people who study well do not necessarily become officials. Some people just can't study, but they are quite talented. Just like the Minister Zhang you mentioned before, he was originally a steward of the British government. , has not read a few books, but is very good at financial management. If his father hadn't given him the opportunity, he would have only been a manager in his life, but now he can use his talents in the officialdom. "

Having said this, Zhu Zhanhe paused and continued.

"So, lowering the threshold for entering the officialdom can give more people the opportunity to display their talents, instead of all scholars having to squeeze through the single-plank bridge of the imperial examination!"

(End of this chapter)