I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 434 Southwest Concept ([-])

Seeing Zhu Guozhen say this, Zhu Youxiao was slightly startled.

He didn't expect Zhu Guozhen to care about this matter, but he could understand it if he thought about it.

The imperial examination has always been a top priority for scholars, and the number of places in the imperial examination is related to the probability of each scholar passing the examination.

If more people pass the examination in Guizhou, then there will be more candidates taking part in the examination, which will invisibly increase the difficulty of subsequent examinations and palace examinations.

"The difference what Mr. Zhu Ge said is unfair to scholars from other provinces. It is fair to Guizhou scholars because there are very few imperial examination places in Guizhou."

What Zhu Guozhen said immediately aroused dissatisfaction among others, and Shen Guan immediately stood up to refute it.

But Zhu Guozhen didn't care when he heard this, and said without being humble or arrogant:
"Old Shen Ge has misunderstood. I am not against increasing the number of places in Guizhou's imperial examination. On the contrary, Zhu Xieyuan's proposal is very good, but I just feel that the number of places should not be too many, otherwise it will be too much."

"Then how much does Zhu Aiqing think it should be increased?"

Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but become curious after hearing this. Seeing the emperor's inquiry, Zhu Guozhen slowly replied:
"Your Majesty, in the 14th year of the Jiajing reign, Emperor Sejong wanted many scholars from Guizhou to go to Yunnan to participate in the joint examination. The journey was tiring and dangerous, so the imperial court approved the opening of the rural examination in Guizhou Jiangongyuan, with a quota of 25 people.

Therefore, I think that if we want to increase the number, we can add at most ten more people, for a total of 35 people.This amount is not much compared to other Chief Secretary’s amounts, but it is not too small either and is just right for Guizhou Chief Secretary. "

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youxiao secretly shook his head and felt that this quota was too few.

In the Ming Dynasty, the number of places for the joint examination in each province was not fixed. The specific number was determined based on the tribute and cultural level of each province, and was adjusted according to actual needs.

According to his current knowledge, there are currently about 140 and [-] people in the South and North Zhili, and most of the other chief secretaries are around [-] to [-]. However, the three chief secretaries of Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou are special. Due to their poor culture and education, the number of seats is very limited. few.

Among them, there are about 58 people in Guangxi, 48 in Yunnan, and the worst in Guizhou, with only 25 people.

Now even if ten more people are added, the number will only reach 35. Compared with other provinces, the number of admissions is far insufficient.

"The amount of adding ten people is too little."

As soon as Zhu Guozhen said this, without Zhu Youxiao's objection, Shen Guan felt that it was inappropriate.

At present, Yunnan has 48 people. Guizhou cannot catch up with Yunnan if it adds ten more people. What is the use of this.

"Your Majesty, Wei Chen thinks that there should be an increase of 20 people. Even if it is a little less than other provinces, it is at least not much different from Yunnan Province."

Upon seeing this, Shen Guan directly objected and put forward his own suggestions, but Zhu Guozhen became anxious when he heard this and thought it was really nonsense.

"Mr. Shen Ge, Guizhou Culture and Education is already weak compared to other chief secretaries. Now it is extremely inappropriate to rashly increase the number of 20 people. It goes against the original intention of the imperial examination to draw materials for the country."

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Zhu Youxiao waved his hands quickly.

"Okay, I will make my own decision on this matter!"

Shen Guan, who was about to refute, saw that the emperor had spoken, and did not dare to say anything more. Instead, he bowed and listened to the emperor's instructions.

"In my opinion, Shen Aiqing is right. Twenty places should be added. In my opinion, these twenty places are still too small. It's just that it's not good to add too many rashly. However, it can also be increased. Some places for the Chief Secretary of Guizhou to supervise students.”

As soon as Zhu Youxiao said this, Zhu Guozhen immediately handed over his hand and said:

"Your Majesty, you must not do it. Guizhou's culture and education are indeed weak. There are not many academies. It is really inappropriate to expand the number of places."

Zhu Youxiao laughed, and Zhu Guozhen explained with a smile:

"Zhu Aiqing, I do know what you said. However, it is precisely because Guizhou is weak in culture and education that the quota should be expanded. Moreover, I also think that we can temporarily grant permission to other Chief Secretary's scholars to go to Guizhou to take exams as appropriate."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was surprised. Since ancient times, people from certain places can only take exams in certain places. How could the emperor suddenly allow other chief secretaries to take exams in Guizhou?

Zhu Youxiao was not surprised to see the doubts on everyone's faces.So I explained it slowly.

"As Zhu Aiqing said, Guizhou's culture and education were originally weak compared to other chief secretaries. Now that Shuixi and Shuidong have been pacified, the imperial court has set up prefectures and counties in these two places, including no less than ten county seats.

These places are newly established prefectures and counties, and the conditions are difficult. Not to mention whether the scholars are willing to go there to carry out enlightenment, but whether there are enough scholars in Guizhou to fill so many places is a big problem, so I thought of this. Method.

The imperial court could temporarily grant permission to other chief ministers' scholars to take exams in Guizhou as appropriate, but there was a prerequisite that these scholars must go to Guizhou's official schools or private schools to teach for a period of three years. As long as they taught for three years, they could take the Guizhou exams. Rural examination. "

Zhu Youxiao's method is very simple, which is to copy the policy of later generations to encourage talents to support difficult and remote areas. When the time comes, you can add points or give priority to admissions in exams.The imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty required thousands of troops to cross a single-plank bridge, and it was even more difficult than the college entrance examination.

Especially in areas with strong literary styles, such as South Zhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places, the difficulty of scientific examinations is comparable to hell.

On the other hand, in remote provinces such as Yunnan and Guizhou, there is a shortage of talents and even insufficient students. The difficulty of the imperial examination is very low. Candidates from the Jiangnan area go there and it is simply a dimensionality reduction attack, and they can easily pass the exam.

As a result, the so-called imperial examination immigrants appeared. In order to make it easier to pass the imperial examination, their families moved to the southwest.Even though the imperial court strictly checks household registration and qualifications every time it takes a scientific examination, it is afraid that this phenomenon will happen, but it still prohibits it repeatedly.

Everyone present was a smart person. After hearing the emperor's explanation, they slowly realized the emperor's intention and couldn't help but marvel at the exquisiteness of the emperor's idea.

Guizhou's roads are rugged and there are many toasts, so the economy is sluggish.Even though the imperial court has been encouraging the Chief Secretary of Guizhou to implement enlightenment, Guizhou's culture and education are really not good enough.

But this move is really clever. Any scholar who is the Chief Secretary can take the Guizhou Provincial Examination as long as he has taught in a government school or a private school for three years in Guizhou.

This will definitely encourage scholars from many provinces to go to Guizhou, and not just one batch, but many continuous batches, which will definitely improve Guizhou's culture and education in the long run.

"Your Majesty, I have been taught. This method kills two birds with one stone. It will not only give those who failed the exam a better chance, but also promote Guizhou education. I think many scholars will be happy with this method. I am grateful for His Majesty’s kindness.”

When Liu Yishen heard this, he immediately raised his hands and praised him.

"What Mr. Liu Ge said is true. It is better to block than to open up. It is not uncommon for people to impersonate themselves in the imperial examination. If this is the case, then let go of the restrictions and encourage them to come to Guizhou to take the exam. This will do no harm to the people.

Wei Chen thought that this method could be used not only in Guizhou, but also in Yunnan and Guangxi, and could be vigorously promoted. "

Sun Chengzong also agreed. He felt that this method was very good and could kill two birds with one stone, so it should be promoted in the southwest region.

Even Zhu Guozhen, who was originally opposed, found it difficult to object, and upon seeing this, he bowed down to support.

The purpose of his original opposition was to blindly increase the number of places. This would be unfair to other provinces, and they would definitely have criticisms at that time.

But the emperor's method not only solved the problem perfectly, but also gave these candidates a new way out. After hearing about it, they would only feel that Guizhou's quota was not too many, but too few.

"Well, this method is also my simple idea. As for how to implement it and whether there are any requirements, you still need to think more about it. Once it is determined, it can be implemented on a pilot basis in Guizhou. Once it has effects, it can be implemented as Sun Aiqing said , continue to be implemented in Yunnan and Guangxi."

Seeing that everyone nodded in agreement, Zhu Youxiao also nodded with satisfaction.

Talented people always like to get together and go to places like Jiangnan or Beizhili. They avoid these southwestern places and don't want to go there.

This method can promote the flow of talents, and he is naturally very happy. Not only in the southwest, but also in all frontier areas in the future, this method can be vigorously promoted to promote the spread of culture.

"Your Majesty is wise, and I will obey your orders!"

After hearing this, everyone raised their hands and said yes. They were naturally willing to do this kind of thing that promotes kingship and is beneficial to the world's scholars.

"Our dynasty has always attached great importance to education. When Taizu founded the country, he encouraged the people in prefectures and counties to establish alliances and social schools. The purpose was to use the words of saints to educate the people and prevent them from causing trouble.

However, the southwestern chieftains were afraid of power and lacked morality, which led to them being disobedient to the imperial court, unable to restrain themselves, and causing rebellion many times.And because of this, it is even more necessary for the court to punish them with swords and educate them with the words of saints.

Therefore, I think it will be stipulated in the future that the chieftains of Guizhou and all the chieftains appointed by the imperial court must send their children to official schools to study, as they are custom-made and cannot be changed. "

Zhu Youxiao saw that they all agreed, and then made another request for Guizhou's education.

In Zhu Youxiao's view, the control of these chieftains was too loose before, and allowing these chieftains to act arbitrarily led to these troubles.
Therefore, there are so many chieftains in the southwest, so he can't send troops to eradicate them all. He might as well adopt the method of boiling frogs in warm water.

Allowing these chieftains to receive unified education with the children of Tumu officials will not only make it easier to control them, but also allow these chieftains to gradually become Chinese through education from generation to generation, increasing their centripetal force towards the court.

Liu Yishen and others nodded silently after hearing this. The Ming Dynasty originally had a system for letting the children of chieftains enter school, but it was not mandatory. Now it is just mandatory.

They felt that they were incompetent, so they all accepted it.At this point, Zhu Youxiao and others in the cabinet basically decided to implement enlightenment in Guizhou and increase the number of imperial examination places.

In the eyes of Liu Yisui and others, increasing the number of imperial examination quotas and promoting education are top priorities, so they attach great importance to it.

But from Zhu Youxiao's point of view, the most important thing on his mind has not yet been said.

Now that the matter of the Southwest Imperial Examination and Education has been settled, we can discuss the matter carefully.

(End of this chapter)