The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 506: Nine-Rank Justice
In Chang'an City, at the residence of Chen Qun, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, he held a memorial in his hand with a hint of hesitation on his face, as if he was considering something.

"Long article."

Zhong Yao and Xun You arrived together.

All three of them came from Yingchuan families. Although Chen Qun was not as good as the other two in terms of official position, he was not much worse than them in terms of talent.

Privately, the three of them have a good relationship.

"But what problem occurred in the Tang Code?" Xun You asked.

New laws for a new dynasty. As the Tang Dynasty could not use the laws of the previous dynasty. Chen Qun was well versed in laws, so he participated in the formulation of Tang laws, along with Zhong Yao and Xun You.

"I invited you two here this time not because of the laws of the Tang Dynasty, but because of this matter." Chen Qun hesitated for a while before handing over the memorial in his hand.

When Zhong Yao took it, he saw the words "Memorandum on the Selection of Officials of the Tang Dynasty" written on it. He immediately opened it and read it carefully, and a complicated expression suddenly appeared on his face.

Chen Qun's memorial described the Tang Dynasty's official selection method. To put it simply, it was to set up "Zhongzheng officials" in each state and county to evaluate local talents. The evaluation criteria included family background, moral character, and talent. According to the evaluation results, talents were divided into nine grades: top-top, top-middle, top-bottom, middle-top, middle-middle, middle-bottom, bottom-top, bottom-middle, and bottom-bottom. The talents were recommended to the court for appointment. The grade directly determined the starting point of the official position. Those with high grades were appointed to high positions, and those with low grades were appointed to low-level positions.

This series of policies can be collectively referred to as the Nine-Rank System.

Xun You also took it, read it carefully, and a hint of hesitation appeared on his face.

Xun You put down the memorial, pondered for a moment and said: "The policy proposed in this article can indeed solve the current problem of selecting officials for the imperial court. The country has just been settled, and talents from all over the country are of varying quality. If there can be a Zhongzheng official to evaluate and select the best ones for use, it would be a good idea."

Zhong Yao frowned slightly: "This method seems fair, but using family background as the first factor in the evaluation may help to strengthen the power of powerful families. Has Changwen ever thought that if this happens, it will be even more difficult for children from poor families to succeed?"

It was not fear, but Zhong Yao knew that this was inevitable. After all, the officials in charge of the assessment were from aristocratic families. After all, it was impossible for this Zhongzheng official to fall into the hands of a poor family. Especially at the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

Chen Qun sighed softly, "What Yuan Chang said is very true. But now the gentry has a deep foundation. If we completely ignore our family background, it may cause resistance from the aristocratic families. This strategy is also a temporary measure. We should stabilize the government first and then try to reform it."

Zhong Yao and Xun You looked at each other, both of them were skeptical. Whether Chen Qun did this for the court or for other purposes, perhaps only he knew.

Xun You nodded and said, "That's right. The most important thing right now is to restore the court as soon as possible. However, we can put more weight on virtue and talent to balance the influence of family background."

Zhong Yao still had some concerns: "I'm afraid that corruption will arise over time. If the Zhongzheng officials are controlled by the aristocratic families, the Nine-Rank Assessment will inevitably become a tool for the aristocratic families to monopolize official positions."

Chen Qun looked solemn. "So I would like to ask you two to submit a joint memorial. With your prestige in the court, you may be able to suppress the aristocratic families and enable this system to truly select talented people. Your Majesty is about to go to war, and I would like to submit this memorial to the emperor before your Majesty goes to war, asking your Majesty to issue an order and implement it as soon as possible."

Xun You and Zhong Yao looked at each other and finally said in unison: "Okay, we are willing to share this responsibility with Changwen."

Inside the palace, Qin Shou looked at the memorial in his hand, then glanced at the three people, and immediately understood that this was the so-called Nine-Rank System, and the person who came up with the idea was Chen Qun.

In the early days, it took both talent and virtue into consideration, ended the chaos of the Han Dynasty's recommendation system, and provided the government with a relatively systematic talent selection mechanism in the short term.

But later it gradually evolved into "no poor family in the upper class, no powerful family in the lower class", and family background became the main criterion, resulting in the aristocratic families monopolizing high positions and making it difficult for poor children to be promoted. "Although it can provide a large number of talents for our Tang Dynasty in the short term, in the long run, I am afraid that this world will no longer belong to our Qin family, but to those aristocratic families."

Qin Shou shook his head and threw the memorial in his hand aside.

When did the aristocratic families begin? They began in the Eastern Han Dynasty and reached their peak during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Sui and Tang Dynasties. If it were not for the great man Huang Chao, it would probably have continued for some time.

Chen Qun heard this, sweat oozed from his forehead, and he bowed his head quickly: "I was not thoughtful enough, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Zhong Yao and Xun You looked at each other and saw surprise and admiration in each other's eyes.

Qin Shou turned around, his eyes were sharp: "However, the system of 'Zhongzhengguan' proposed by you is indeed innovative. I think the following adjustments can be made-"

"First, the Zhongzheng officials are directly appointed by the imperial court and rotated every three years. Local people are not allowed to be appointed."

"Secondly, the evaluation criteria are based on 'talent' first, 'morality' second, and 'family background' only as a reference."

"Third, the 'imperial examination' system will be established. Each state and county will recommend talented people to take the examination in Beijing every year. I will personally preside over the palace examination and select the best candidates for recruitment."

The three of them were all shocked when they heard this. Zhong Yao was the first to react, and said excitedly: "Your Majesty is wise! This way, we can recruit more talented people and prevent the aristocratic families from becoming too powerful."

Xun You was thoughtful: "The imperial examination system is wonderful! If a poor scholar is really talented, he can directly hear the emperor's ears, without being restricted by the evaluation of Zhongzheng."

Chen Qun looked worried: "Your Majesty, this move may lead to opposition from the aristocratic families."

Qin Shou sneered: "Objection? I am taking this opportunity to rectify the noble families. From now on, all prefectures and counties will check the land of noble families. Any land that exceeds the regulations of the court will be nationalized and distributed to the landless people!"

When this heavy blow fell, the three of them immediately realized that the atmosphere of the new dynasty would be completely different.

"In addition," Qin Shou walked back to the imperial desk and wrote on the memorial, "Although this memorial of Mr. Chen Ai has some shortcomings, his loyalty is commendable. You are promoted to the position of Chief Censor and responsible for revising the Tang Code. It must reflect the spirit of 'a prince who breaks the law is subject to the same punishment as a commoner.'"

Chen Qun was surprised and delighted, and kowtowed immediately: "I accept your order and will definitely live up to your trust!"

That night, undercurrents surged in Chang'an City. The heads of several major families gathered secretly to discuss the emperor's new policies.

"I heard that Qin Shou wants to implement the imperial examination system and also conduct an inventory of land areas!" The head of the Cui family slammed the table and said angrily.

The head of the Lu family said sinisterly: "When he was able to gain the world, our family contributed a lot. Now you want to destroy the bridge after crossing it?"

Only the young master of the Pei family, Pei Ji, groaned and said, "My dear uncles, I think the new dynasty is no longer the same as before. It is better to take the initiative to cooperate with the new policies of the court, and perhaps we can save our family."

"What does that little kid know?" Everyone sneered.

In today's world, those who can hold positions in the court, apart from aristocratic families, are celebrities, but those from humble backgrounds are very rare. In addition, with the Tang Dynasty's feudal policy, how could these aristocratic families give up the benefits to those children from humble backgrounds?
(End of this chapter)