My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 406 Are you stupid?
"Scarcity makes things valuable~"

"If there were more scholars, if there were no shortage of officials in the world, I would probably say: You can do it if you want!"

"If you don't do it, someone else will!"

"If there really comes a day when I still have to listen to these idiots' chatter?"

Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Palace.

Upon learning that there was a lot of discussion outside the palace, especially among the officials, ministers, nobles and relatives of the imperial court, who were all dissatisfied with his frequent actions, Liu Rong smiled bitterly and also complained rarely.

Liu Rong didn't need to think about the reason for this situation - he could figure it out with just his knees.

It's nothing more than the four big words "bureaucratic monopoly" that have given some idiots the illusion that "the world can't do without me, the Han Dynasty can't do without me", and "the world can't do without us officials, and Your Majesty can't do without us officials".

Liu Rong clearly remembered that he had such a discussion in his previous life.

——Why is the national iron rice bowl examination conducted every year?
The bureaucratic system is clearly saturated and even overcrowded, so why should we continue to absorb talent?
Under this discussion, some people who only care about themselves said: If there are no exams and no recruitment because of overcrowding, what should I do?
We can’t stop future generations from taking a shit just because the previous generations have taken over the place, right?
There are also barbarians, lackeys and patriots who talk about such absurdities as "governing the country with eight-legged essays" and "retaining talents".

In addition, there is another very niche view that Liu Rong did not pay much attention to or agree with in his previous life;

It was not until this time, when he personally experienced the arrogance and dominance of the bureaucracy, that Liu Rong realized belatedly: that viewpoint was probably the most perfect answer.

——Liquidity!
The reason why the state apparatus needs to continuously absorb fresh blood is precisely to maintain internal fluidity so as to prevent the administrative system from becoming stagnant.

For example, a cadre may lose heart because he missed a promotion opportunity and decide to stay like this until retirement;
Even at this time, I still hold negative thoughts like "seniority is the key" and "it will be my turn to get promoted sooner or later".

At this time, if the bureaucratic system really spends within its means, that is, maintains a fixed number of people and recruits a new one only when one is missing, then the end result will most likely satisfy the politician.

But a steady flow of fresh blood will ensure the fluidity of the entire system and provide healthy competitive pressure from top to bottom for the entire system.

By seniority?

Ugly in appearance, but wishful thinking!
——If you dare to lie down, there will be many young people who will overtake you. Five years ago, you were called a leader, and five years later, you will be called Xiao Wang!

To put it more simply, it is the saying that is familiar to people in later generations: If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will!
This is still the case in later generations, even in those times when the civilization process and political structure are much more advanced, let alone the Han Dynasty, which is such a backward feudal era.

In fact, the situation of seniority-based promotion and one person per job reached its peak in the feudal era.

For example, in the Han Dynasty today, as long as the prime minister does not retire, the chief censor will always be the chief censor - until his death.

When the prime minister dies of old age, or gets into trouble and is dismissed, the pit becomes vacant, and it is the turn of the Imperial Censor to occupy it.

Only when the Grand Censor occupies the Prime Minister's position can the Internal Secretary take his place, and only the best among the other Nine Ministers can try to grab the Internal Secretary's position.

Similar situations were extremely common in the feudal era.

——When a high-ranking official is promoted, there will be a series of replacements.

The governor of a county was promoted to Chang'an, the lieutenant of a county was promoted to governor of a county, the deputy governor of a county was promoted to governor of a county, and the postal officer of a county was promoted to deputy governor of a county.

At the next level of county-level units, the county magistrate was promoted to the county government, the county lieutenant was promoted to the county magistrate, and the county magistrate was promoted to the county lieutenant...

This almost pathological "orderliness" will inevitably lead to the rigidification of the bureaucratic system, turning it into a stagnant pool.

The magistrate does not need to work hard at all;
All he had to do was wait for the county magistrate to be promoted to Chang'an, and then he would have the opportunity to go to the county government office.

The sheriff does not have to work hard either;
As long as one of the Nine Ministers becomes vacant, he will have the opportunity to be promoted to Chang'an.

It was the same in Chang'an - the Nine Ministers waited for the others to die, so that it would be their turn to become the head of the Nine Ministers; the Internal Secretary waited for the Prime Minister to die of old age and the Imperial Censor to be promoted to the position of "Second Prime Minister" so that they could become the Imperial Censor...

It's like standing in line.

No one said a word, just competing to see who could endure longer and live longer.

This is obviously not right.

It is obviously wrong to use the length of life as the basis for judging whether an official is "qualified to hold a certain position".

But in the feudal era, there was no way around it.

——First of all, being old and living a long life must mean that this person, regardless of his or her abilities, at least has rich experience.

To put it bluntly, it means having rich experience, but in most cases, experience also means being skilled and steady.

Therefore, in this era, using years in office as the core basis for official promotion review is both a last resort and the only effective method.

For example: If one can serve as the Internal Affairs Secretary for five years without any mistakes and manage the affairs of the Internal Affairs Department in an orderly manner, then he can be considered for promotion to the Grand Censor.

Why do you say?
Because he was the only one who proved that he was "not too bad" in his position as the Internal History, and no one else could be sure how low his lower limit was.

Many times, most things in the feudal era were based on the bottom line.

——Generals don’t need to be as good as Wei Huo, but at least they should have been on the battlefield and seen blood, so as not to make a joke of talking about war on paper or being an amateur guiding the underworld;

Officials do not need to be as good as Xiao He and Cao Shen, but they should at least understand the basic principles of the body so that they can handle their work more appropriately.

It seems stupid, but in fact, it is the lowest-cost and most cost-effective means of identifying officials in this era.

This has led to the current situation where Liu Rong, a visitor from later generations, is very unhappy and even complains secretly.

The bureaucracy is spoiled.

They think they have a stable job and don't have to worry about not being able to get promoted. They just need to take good care of their health and live longer, and sooner or later it will be their turn to get promoted.

The only external incentives that can urge them not to lie down and just wait for seniority to gain experience: fresh blood and internal mobility, simply do not exist in this era.

——In later generations, thousands of students took the exam to become officials, which was like a thousand troops crossing a single-plank bridge. The competitive pressure was enormous.
But in this era - in the current Han Dynasty, let alone being a qualified reserve cadre;
Even qualified intellectuals who can write, recognize, have basic reading and writing skills, and logical thinking ability are sought after by all parties.

Can you write hundreds of common characters?

——Writing letters for others earns as much as farming!
Can you also do addition and subtraction?
——If a merchant visits you three times at your cottage, he will ask you to be his accountant!

As for those scholars who have read serious classics and have a certain level of knowledge, their future is even brighter.

Those who have no ambition can teach and enlighten the children of wealthy families;
Those who have the least material desires can recruit disciples and teach them the teachings of the sages.

If you are more motivated and have connections, you can become an official. If you don't have connections, you can become a retainer of nobles and princes, and then climb up little by little. There will always be a day when you can get ahead. In this context, there will be a problem that will never exist in later generations, but in the feudal era, there is almost no way to fundamentally solve it.

——The bureaucratic group is irreplaceable.

That is to say: without the existing bureaucratic group, the emperor would not be able to do anything, and even the most basic state administrative operations would be impossible to guarantee.

In other words, due to its irreplaceable nature, the bureaucratic group has the power to counter the central court, especially the emperor himself.

When something touches their interests and makes them unanimously dissatisfied, they have the ability to make the central government change its decision by simply saying, "Oh, I suddenly want to resign and go home."

Of course, this is not something that can be accomplished by just one person, or even a few individuals.

——If officials from a certain county unite, Liu Rong will most likely send troops to "suppress the rebellion";
If a county is stubborn, Liu Rong will most likely "only kill the main culprit", and then transfer other officials from their original positions one by one, and then slowly deal with them.

But if all the bureaucrats in the world, under the leadership of the court, unanimously oppose a certain decision, then Liu Rong can only give up the idea to avoid the government of the entire country coming to a standstill, which means "the country will no longer be a country" in the physical sense.

For example, this time, Liu Rong planned to change the system of three dukes and nine ministers in the central court;
As a result, some self-important fools jumped out without knowing the consequences and planned to stage a farce like "jointly admonishing" to force Liu Rong to back down.

What should Liu Rong do?
If it were in later times, Liu Rong would definitely yell: Are you still going to hold this position?

If you can do it, do it. If you can’t, get out!
If you don’t do it, others will!
But now the situation of the Han Dynasty is somewhat reversed.

It was the bureaucratic group that said to the emperor: Emperor, are you still capable?

If you don't do it, there are people named Liu who will do it!
From the perspective of objective conditions and the background of the times, Liu Rong’s best choice is actually to reconsider.

Even if we don't make concessions in the end, we should at least symbolically appease those self-important but truly irreplaceable fools.

But between these two options, Liu Rong suddenly thought of a third and very interesting option...

"Where is the Usher?"

Liu Rong spoke in a deep voice, and Ji An, the former Prince's attendant and current Minister of Imperial Ceremony, immediately walked into the hall and bowed silently to Liu Rong.

Liu Rong nodded with a smile on his face, and then looked outside the palace door with burning eyes.

"Prepared imperial edict."

"——I have heard that a town of ten households must have a loyal person, and a town of a hundred people must have a talented person."

"But today, scholars either hide in the mountains and forests and are not famous, or hide in the market and do not serve as officials;"

"The court suffers from a lack of capable officials, and scholars suffer from a lack of opportunities to serve the country - the hungry do not know where to get food, and the food vendors do not know where to get customers."

“Isn’t this a great absurdity?”

...

"It has been nearly sixty years since my great-grandfather Emperor Gaozu founded the Han Dynasty with great difficulty."

"However, there are talented and extraordinary people in the world. Some are called upon to serve but do not respond, some respond but decline, some are recommended but do not serve, some serve but flee."

"There are only one or two people who are filial and honest, hardworking, virtuous and upright each year, but there are tens of thousands of vacancies in the country."

"I am not the only one - all the rulers of Han Dynasty have suffered from lack of useful people for a long time."

"Now, I want to give all the knowledgeable and ambitious people in the world a good opportunity to serve the country."

"I hereby announce to the world: On the 15th day of the eighth month in the autumn of the second year of Xinyuan, I will hold a literary examination in Chang'an to select the heroes and scholars of the world to serve as officials and clerks.

All households with agricultural registration, nobles (first-class) and above, whose fathers and grandfathers have no traitors or traitors for three generations, can go to Chang'an to take the exam. "

"Whenever a scholar takes the exam, the local county shall not hinder him, and he shall be promoted and recommended as soon as possible."

As Liu Rong spoke one sentence after another, Ji An's pen fell again and again, recording every word that Liu Rong uttered on the light yellow silk cloth.

But as he remembered it, Ji An's originally calm expression, as if he could remain calm even when facing a collapse of Mount Tai, became more and more "brilliant".

——Examination!

This examination system has almost nothing in common with the past Han Dynasty system, which relied almost entirely on recommendations from people and had the emperor personally examine their knowledge!

As a descendant of an official family, no one could feel better than Ji An how terrifying the power of this edict, which had just been drafted or not even completed, was.

Over the past few hundred years, Ji An's family had been officials for generations. During the reign of the previous emperor, Ji An served as the prince's groom to the crown prince Liu Rong, meaning that seven consecutive generations had been officials.

The foundation of the "official family" laid by these seven generations began with three consecutive generations of "ministers and officials" from the Ji family's ancestors.

Each subsequent generation, in addition to their own abilities and strong moral character, also relied on the help provided by the family's connections.

To put it bluntly: the reason why Ji An could become the groom of the crown prince of Liu Rong was because his surname was Ji and he was from the Ji family of Puyang;
If not, even if Ji An had real talent and knowledge, it would be impossible for him to start from the Prince's Palace and be born with the top political buff of a "crown prince team".

It can be said that Ji An, the rising star in the political arena, is the brilliance that resulted from the accumulation of nearly ten generations of the Ji family.

As for others, unless they also have a family background like Ji An, as well as knowledge and virtue;
Otherwise, let alone the start of the crown prince team - the admission ticket alone is enough for them to spend most of their lives, and they still may not get what they want.

But now, with Liu Rong's "fantastic" edict, everything will be different.

From now on, people like Ji An can take the path of awareness and start their political career from a starting point that is far beyond the reach of others;
And those "ordinary people" can also demonstrate their abilities through an exam that only focuses on knowledge but has nothing to do with identity or background.

Although it was still impossible for someone to stand on the same starting line as Ji An just by taking an exam, at least there was an entry ticket;
As for the follow-up - the master leads you to the door, but the practice is up to you.

Once you enter the officialdom, your future development will naturally depend on your own ability.

But in this case, those bureaucrats who are still fantasizing that "we are irreplaceable" and waiting for Liu Rong to "bow" to them...

"Your Majesty, what kind of person is he?"

"Why is it that the longer I stay with His Majesty, the more I cannot see through him..."

While writing down the imperial edict, Ji An couldn't help but think so in his heart.

(End of this chapter)