I studied in modern times

Chapter 972: The Rogue Emperor Zhao

The next day, on the 25th day of the first lunar month, at the time of Si, in the quiet room in the east hall of Funing Palace.

Zhang Heng, Wang Zishao, and Fan Bailu bowed to Zhao Xu, who was sitting at the head of the table, and said, "Your Majesty, we respectfully wish you the best of health!"

"Blessings to me!"

"My three dear ministers, please take a seat!" Zhao Xu said with a smile.

After the three of them sat down, Zhao Xu said, "As you three dear ministers know, my mother and I have already decided to hold the imperial examination on March Dingsi to recruit talented people!"

"At the same time, according to the request of the Right Prime Minister Pu Zongmeng and the wishes of Sima Wengong before his death, I have decided to make some reforms to this year's imperial examination to make it easier to select talents..."

If Sima Guang knew that the ten-subject selection method he had proposed would be used by Pu Zongmeng, a villain in his eyes, he would probably be so disgusted that he would die again.

However, he was already dead.

The dead won't object!

Therefore, Zhao Xu could arrange it as he pleased.

Anyway - Sima Guang's last wish was indeed to reform the imperial examination system.

It also mentioned many drawbacks of the imperial examination system.

Although its target was Wang Anshi's idea of ​​selecting officials based on the interpretation of classics (especially the newly learned classics).

However, Sima Guang's idea was to reverse history and restore the selection of officials based on poetry and prose.

But what does this matter?

Look, isn’t this clearing the name?

From now on, history books will only record that Sima Guang pointed out the drawbacks of the imperial examination system before his death, and that in the third year of Yuanyou, the Emperor accepted Sima Guang’s advice and put it to use on the Flying Dragon List!
Therefore, Sima Guang may have an additional title of reformer in future textbooks!
Zhang Heng and the other two listened, and they all stood up, crossed their hands and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty has issued a gracious decree and given us orders, and we should personally follow and obey them!"

"Good!" Zhao Xu nodded, and then said: "My three beloved ministers, please sit down!"

Seeing that the three men were somewhat reserved, he said, "My dear ministers, this is not the first time you have talked with me here... Why are you so reserved?"

Zhao Xu smiled and pointed at the doors and windows of the quiet room and said, "I have already told you, my dear ministers... This is the place where I can sit and discuss philosophy with you all!"

"Don't be too rigid about those conventional rituals!"

"Relax a bit!"

"Otherwise, if you are all so serious and solemn, I will have no choice but to learn from the ways of the ancient kings!"

What is the way of the ancient kings?
This was the etiquette when King Zhaoxiang of Qin went out to welcome Fan Sui - it is clearly recorded in history books: The king knelt (bowed) and asked: "Sir, why do you honor me?"
This is what Emperor Zhaolie of Han did when he wanted to ask Zhuge Liang to come out of seclusion to assist him - he went there three times before he was able to see him.

After hearing what Zhao Xu said, the three of them smiled in relief and put their guard down.

Zhao Xu also laughed.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became cheerful and relaxed.

This is also the reason why small halls and small chambers like these were highly regarded and used by the Zhao officials - it is very tiring to have a stern face and a serious look in all occasions.

Zhao Xu restrained his smile, picked up the teacup, took a sip of the warm tea, and then said: "Today I am here to discuss the details of this year's imperial examination with the three of you, my dear ministers."

"My three beloved ministers are all my loyal assistants. If you have any good suggestions or opinions, please feel free to speak up!"

"My three beloved ministers, you know that here... there are no taboos!"

Zhang Heng and the other two nodded.

This was not their first time in the quiet room.

Naturally, I know the rules here - you can say anything and discuss anything.

There is only one thing - once you go out, you are not allowed to talk to others about anything you said here without a clear purpose.

The reason why they were so reserved before was that the three of them belonged to different factions.

Naturally, you have to be wary of the other party.

"My three dear ministers, please first talk about the system and rules of the imperial examination since our ancestors!"

"Pick the important ones!"

"Yes!" The three of them bowed.

Then, in order, Zhang Heng gave the main lecture on the evolution of dynasties, followed by Wang Zishao and Fan Bailu.

The three of them sat in their respective seats and introduced the imperial examination system from the Song Dynasty to the present to Zhao Xu.

In general, with the development of the imperial examination system to this day, the institutional construction of the Song Dynasty has become relatively complete.

At the same time, in terms of fairness, in this medieval era, things were as fair as possible.

However, it still has some defects.

But this is the limitation of the times and technology.

At least for now, in the competition in the imperial examinations, family background, background, and teachers are no longer important.

Even a prominent family background could become a burden for scholars.

For example, the sons and nephews of the prime minister or the ministers of the six ministries, even if they participated in the imperial examinations, would have their rankings deliberately lowered to avoid suspicion.

For example, the current imperial examination no longer has any restrictions on the household registration or identity of the participants.

Whether he is a farmer's son, a soldier's son, or the son of a landlord or merchant.

As long as his father and grandfather for three generations were not restricted from taking the imperial examinations.

And if he successfully obtained the quota from his military prefecture, he could take part in the imperial examination.

The most important thing is that members of the royal family’s side branches are also allowed to take part in the imperial examinations!

At this point, Zhang Heng had already talked about the regulations and restrictions made by previous emperors on the royal family's participation in the imperial examinations.

"Taizu and Taizong prohibited the royal family from participating in the imperial examinations because of their high status and prestige, and only appointed officials through examinations..."

"When it came to the Ren Temple, the distant descendants of the royal family outside the five generations of mourning were allowed to participate in the imperial examinations..."

"So, a member of the imperial clan, Zhao Shushao, presented his essay. The Emperor Renzong read it and ordered him to be examined at the Academy of Scholars. He passed with distinction. The Emperor Renzong was overjoyed and summoned Shushao to encourage him: "There are not many members of the imperial clan who are eager to learn, but you are the only one who has won the title of Jinshi with your essay. This has never happened before!" So the Emperor Renzong granted him the title of Jinshi!"

"Later, another member of the royal family, Zhao Kesong, presented his poems and essays, and was also summoned to the Academy for examinations..."

To put it simply, although the Zhao officials allowed members of the royal family to take part in the imperial examinations, it was unlikely for them to do so.

So they were given a shortcut - as long as they passed the examination of the Academy of Bachelors, they would be given the title of Jinshi.

However, the value of this achievement is too low and is not generally recognized.

This is easy to understand. Would you dare to take the medicine prescribed by a 4+4 medical doctor?
As for the imperial family scholars who passed the examination at the Academy of Scholars, you can tell just by thinking about it that there is a lot of water in their content!
"During the reign of Emperor Yingmiao, the ban on sons-in-law of royal family members from taking the imperial examinations was lifted..."

When Zhao Xu heard this, he asked, "Mr. Zhang, do you remember the original text of the imperial edict issued by the Ying Temple that year?"

This is the legal basis he is looking for.

"I remember..." As the top scholar on the Millennium Dragon and Tiger List in the second year of Jiayou, Zhang Heng's talent and memory far surpassed others.

Especially in terms of memory, he is a younger version of Zhang Fangping.

It can be called a mobile human hard drive!
Zhang Fangping memorized all the documents from Chongwenyuan.

Zhang Heng memorized all the documents of the Ministry of Revenue from all dynasties (including the documents and data of the three departments in the past).

When Zhao Xu appointed him as the chief examiner of the imperial examinations, he spent a day in Chongwenyuan, writing down all the imperial edicts and court documents related to the imperial examinations throughout the dynasties.

This kind of thing is a fantasy for most people.

But for Zhang Heng - it's a small matter!
This is the value of being number one on the Millennium Dragon and Tiger List!

Zhang Heng just recalled for a moment, and then began to recite the original text directly: "In the first year of Zhiping, the Imperial Examination Hall reported: According to the imperial edict of the fourth year of Huangyou: Those who marry royal daughters to get an official position are not allowed to take the exam! According to the regulations of the Imperial Examination Hall, those who pay tribute and those who are extraordinary and unusual in business and industry are also allowed to take the exam! Nowadays, royal sons-in-law have been receiving salaries for three generations, and they can only be appointed if someone has a guarantor. They are better than those who pay tribute and get an official position in business and industry. How can they be connected to the royal family by marriage and become the same as those who are corrupt and guilty? Please allow them to take the exam to expand the way to seek talents! Your Majesty agrees!"

After hearing this, Zhao Xu laughed and clapped his hands, saying, "Good!"

"Our ancestors were wise and benevolent, and I should emulate them!"

"How can the world's talents be buried because of their birth, marriage or other reasons?"

"This is not the teaching of the saints, the way of the ancient kings, and it is certainly not the way to revitalize the country!"

At this point, Zhao Xu looked at Zhang Heng and asked, "What do you think, Mr. Zhang?"

Zhang Heng lowered his head and said, "I am stupid, please enlighten me, Your Majesty!"

This kind of thing cannot be guessed.

There must be direct instructions.

Besides, this is a quiet room.

There are no taboos, anything can be discussed and anything can be said.

There is no need to worry about saying the wrong thing and being impeached by the censor, nor is there any need to worry about offending the emperor because of inappropriate words - this young master has a very high tolerance for private discussions and conversations.

He even allowed his ministers to argue with him - if he won, he would not blame him; if he lost, he would at most curse at him a few times, but he would never accuse him of anything afterwards, nor would he keep a record of it in his heart.

This was Zhang Heng's own personal experience over the past three years - during his time here, he had argued with His Majesty many times over financial, expenditure, and budget issues.

Every time Zhang Heng won, the emperor would mutter something like, "If Zhang Dun were here, he would never argue with me about these things. He would only feel sorry for me and find ways to get money for me," and "If it were Cai Jing, he would have agreed long ago," and so on.

At first Zhang Heng was still nervous, but he soon discovered that the Majesty really trusted professionals like him when it came to professional matters.

I would mutter a few words to vent my anger, and finally use his suggestions.

Naturally, Zhang Heng also got used to it and spoke his mind directly in private.

That is, if His Majesty is determined to do something and does not get support, he will act like a rogue and give Zhang Heng a headache!
I just heard the official say with a smile: "Don't you think that there are too few people applying for the Ming Law and Ming Mathematics exams this year?"

"The court has set aside 20 quotas for each of these two subjects, but so far, there have been no more than a hundred applicants for each subject!"

"Twenty out of a hundred is too lenient!"

"You are knowledgeable about the imperial examinations. You should encourage scholars, especially the sons of royal families and merchants, to actively sign up for the Mingfa and Mingsuan imperial examinations!"

"What does your majesty mean?"

"I was thinking, should the Imperial Examination Hall give me some advice..."

"Just like the advice that the Imperial Examination Hall gave to the Temple of the Emperor in the first year of Zhiping..."

"Rehabilitate the reputation of the Ming Dynasty Law and Ming Dynasty Mathematics Scholars!"

Zhang Heng swallowed and asked, "Rehabilitate your name?"

What's the name?

Tell everyone in the world, does the future of Jinshi in Mingfa and Mingsuan be the same as that of Jinshi in regular subjects?

Can Dutang agree?
Would the scholars be willing to do so?
After all, the scholars who are willing to take the law and mathematics examinations nowadays are either children of merchants or children of clerks.

The serious scholars and officials all specialized in studying classics and articles.

Even though the current emperor likes arithmetic, he has repeatedly expressed his encouragement for students to study arithmetic and law, which were considered as alternative paths, detours, and minor paths in the past.

Therefore, Zhang Heng could only bow his head and say: "Your Majesty, if this is the case..."

Before he finished speaking, he heard the familiar rogue voice of His Majesty.

I just heard him say, "I just want to seek talents, what's wrong with that?"

"Besides, the Imperial Examination Hall only makes suggestions!"

"If the city hall objects and public opinion objects, I can just not accept it!"

"Besides, this is done in the name of the Imperial Academy, not in your name, so it won't implicate you!"

“No big deal!”

The young official smiled and said, "Lord Wang is here!"

"The capital and public opinion will only target Lord Wang Ai, and will not harm Lord Zhang's reputation!"

Wang Zishao listened and said with a smile: "That's right! That's right!"

"Minister Zhang, don't worry about me!"

"Anyway, I've already been scolded enough by the public opinion and the people of the world. I don't care if they scold me as a villain or a traitor a few more times!"

This Yanei Zuan is indeed a clinging person!

The stigma that others would avoid at all costs is like a medal of military merit to him.

I just wish I could bear more insults and more charges.

The worst that can happen is that you’ll get scolded!

Our predecessor Deng Wan said it long ago - you can laugh at me or scold me, but I will be the good official myself!

Zhang Heng and Fan Bailu listened to this fellow's shameless words and looked at the face of the Shangguan family on the throne who was amused by Wang Zishao.

What else can be done?
They could only hold their noses and agree.

(End of this chapter)