Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 492 Sima Yi: No one can defeat me! Not even Zhuge Village Man! (Happy New Year)

After Liu Xie's order was issued, Guo Jia and Jia Xu started to prepare for their own actions, and Guo Jia was the first to take action.

He directly announced to the public that the emperor had ordered the reopening of the Hongdumen School established by the previous emperor, and renamed it the Imperial Academy, selecting students to study there.

Students who enter the Imperial Academy will be provided with free food and accommodation, books, pens, ink, paper, and inkstones by the court, and will also study subjects set by the emperor himself.

As soon as the news spread, it instantly attracted the attention of the court and the country, and the whole Chang'an was shocked.

"Hongdu School? Your Majesty actually wants to reopen Hongdu School?"

"What is Hongdumen School?"

"You don't even know about Hongdumen School. This is a school established during the reign of the previous emperor. The previous emperor personally selected students to enter. They don't study classics like the Four Books and Five Classics, but the Huangxi Pian written by the previous emperor."

"As long as one is good at writing poems, painting or calligraphy, he will be appreciated by the late emperor and become an official in the court."

"Ah? Isn't this nonsense? In our Han Dynasty, Confucianism is the only doctrine that is respected and governed by Confucianism. What's the big deal about being able to write poems, paint, or write calligraphy?"

"Yes, can such a person be an official and govern the country well?"

"I don't understand either. Your Majesty is a wise ruler rarely seen in history. Why would you make such an absurd decision?"

"Heretical, truly heretical!"

"How dare you! His Majesty has his reasons for doing this. How dare you, a corrupt scholar like you, discuss His Majesty privately?!"

"That's right! Your Majesty is a saintly ruler comparable to Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Guangwu. How can ordinary people like us understand what your Majesty is thinking?"

"I, I'm just speaking the truth!"

……

A group of people gathered in front of the notice board at the Chang'an city gate, and started arguing while discussing.

If there weren’t soldiers defending the city nearby.

They might just start fighting.

There is considerable controversy regarding Hongdu School, both among the common people and among scholars.

Since Emperor Wu of Han abolished all schools of thought, Confucianism has become the main subject studied by scholars, and has also become an important criterion for judging whether a person is qualified to become an official.

However, Emperor Lingdi took a different approach and established the Hongdumen School. It was inevitable that others would find it absurd to have a group of people who could only compose poems, paint and write calligraphy to govern the country.

At that time, many people privately cursed Emperor Ling for being stupid.

But only a few smart people who understand the essence of it know what the purpose of Emperor Lingdi's doing so is.

It is to gain control over the appointment of talents and their promotion channels.

But even if they knew, they could not say it openly, because it was not in line with the political and academic correctness of the Han Dynasty, and would be criticized by scholars from the aristocratic class.

If you don’t even learn Confucianism, what else do you want to learn?
Therefore, the Imperial College established by Liu Xie still cannot be understood by most people, who think it is the same absurd behavior as that of Emperor Ling.

And this news was soon known to the officials in the court.

The Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty.

After reading the report in his hand, Yang Biao fell into deep thought for a while, and then he asked someone to call Yang Xiu over.

"What's the matter, father? I am preparing to enter the palace."

After Yang Xiu walked into the study, he asked that today was his turn to go to the Xuanshi Hall to work like a cow and horse to handle government affairs, and he must not be late.

Yang Biao handed him the official report in his hand and said, "Take a look at this first."

Yang Xiu was a little confused, but still reached out to take it. After just one glance, he was stunned.

"Imperial Imperial College?"

"Ah."

Yang Biao nodded and asked, "You are involved in the affairs of the Central Committee. Haven't you heard any news or rumors about this matter?"

Yang Xiu shook his head decisively and said, "Your Majesty has never mentioned this matter to us. This decree was just issued today."

"But the fact that Guo Fengxiao is in charge of the Imperial College shows that Your Majesty attaches great importance to this matter... It seems that Your Majesty wants to emulate the late emperor."

Yang Xiu certainly knew the nature of the Imperial College.

This is the emperor's attempt to take control of the promotion path.

Yang Biao frowned and said, "Your Majesty didn't even discuss such an important matter with you?"

Hearing this, Yang Xiu smiled bitterly and said, "Father, you may have forgotten that among the people currently involved in the Central Committee, apart from Guo Fengxiao and Jia Wenhe, who else has a poor background?"

"This kind of matter involves a lot of things, so naturally, Your Majesty will not discuss it with us."

The Imperial College circumvented the recommendation system and allowed the emperor to have his own unique promotion channel, which was contrary to the interests of the aristocratic families.

If the emperor discusses the matter with them, someone will definitely raise objections, so it is better to make a decision directly.

This can also be seen from personnel appointments.

After listening to this, Yang Biao frowned, and a look of deep worry appeared on his old face.

Seeing this, Yang Xiu couldn't help but ask, "What is father worried about?"

He could see that his father was very worried.

Yang Biao sighed and said, "Your Majesty is a monarch with great talent and strategy, and he is also very ambitious."

"Your Majesty's military achievements are enough to unify the country. What is needed next is civil governance, and civil governance is nothing more than reform."

"From your majesty's move to establish the Imperial College, we can see your majesty's ambitions. I'm afraid our family will have a hard time in the future."

Martial arts is about expanding territory and unifying the world.

Civil governance makes a country prosperous.

And what does it mean for a country to be prosperous?

It's very simple. The people live and work in peace and contentment, the treasury is full, the court is politically clear and full of talented people.

But to achieve this, it is inevitable that the interests of the aristocratic families will be affected.

It can be seen from the fact that the emperor did not consult with others and directly issued an order to open the Imperial Academy that he did not trust people from aristocratic families at all.

The purpose of doing this is also to compete for the right to promotion.

Yang Biao's intuition from his years of service as an official in the court told him that the emperor's opening of the Imperial Academy was just the beginning, and there were bigger plans that had not yet been revealed.

Once the day comes when it is revealed, I am afraid that the entire court structure will change.

Yang Biao's words made Yang Xiu fall into deep thought. He had to admit that what his father said made sense. The Imperial College was most likely just the beginning.

Given the emperor's character, he would either not do anything at all, or if he did, it would definitely be a big deal. Small-scale actions are not in line with the emperor's usual style.

"Let's wait and see what happens. I'll ask around in the palace today to see what's going on."

Yang Xiu said that there was no more information at the moment, so he could only go into the palace to ask other colleagues for the inside story.

……

Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi.

The three people responsible for handling government affairs in the palace today are Zhuge Liang, Yang Xiu and Lu Su.

Oh, there is also a Sima Yi.

Although it was not Sima Yi's turn to be on duty today, as the most recognized person in the court, he was basically present every day. When others were resting, he was working; when others were working, he was still working.

It truly demonstrates what it means to work hard.

It was already the morning of the morning when Yang Xiu arrived at the palace, and everyone had already started their busy work for the day.

Sima Yi, as usual, had dark circles under his eyes and was working at his desk... Oh no, he was writing furiously behind the desk.

Zhuge Liang and Lu Su seemed much more leisurely. Although they also wrote constantly, they were not as busy as Sima Yi.

The two would chat and drink tea from time to time.

After Yang Xiu entered the Xuanshi Hall, he first greeted the two, then glanced at the empty seats of Guo Jia and Jia Xu and asked, "The Grand Marshal and the Grand Tutor are not here today?"

"No."

Zhuge Liang shook his head, then smiled and said, "Situ Guo is now busy running a school and recruiting students for the Imperial College. How can he have time to come here?"

"What about Da Sima?"

"I don't know about that. The Grand Marshal has been very busy recently. I heard that he is working on an important task assigned to him by His Majesty."

Zhuge Liang said he didn't know either.

Lu Su on the side said: "Everyone has their own responsibilities, and we can't slack off."

"Oh, by the way, Minister Zhuge, your majesty asked for two people from the King of Zhongshan yesterday. One is Xu Shu and the other is Pang Tong. They will be transferred from Yizhou to the central government in a while to handle government affairs with us."

"His Majesty has incorporated them into the Imperial Censorate and has also instructed you, the Minister of Justice, to take good care of them and train them, saying that both of them are talented."

Lu Su remembered what the emperor had instructed him to do when he came yesterday.

Zhuge Liang didn't come yesterday, so he didn't know about this.

This was not the first time that the emperor had done this. Zhuge Liang was promoted directly from a commoner to the top of the government by the emperor.

But facts also proved that the emperor's vision was correct, and Zhuge Liang's talents were indeed worthy of this position.

Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks for the reminder."

Hearing the conversation between the two, Yang Xiu's heart was slightly moved, and he said, "Before the empire was not settled, it was understandable that Your Majesty promoted talents to the central government, but now that the empire is unified, Your Majesty is still promoting talents so casually. Wouldn't it cause criticism if it gets out?"

There is a system for selecting officials.

Even the emperor cannot arbitrarily place people into the court's official system, because this is the rule.

If you can easily sit in a high position by getting the emperor's appreciation, then there is no need to read books and all you need to do is to please the emperor.

The selection mechanism has become a mere decoration.

Before the empire was settled, talent was a scarce commodity, and no one thought it was wrong for the emperor to transfer and appoint officials at will.

After all, it was a time of chaos and the original order had collapsed. It would take a long time to select talents slowly by relying on the system of recommendation.

This is also why it is easy to rise to the top in troubled times. As long as you have talent, there is a great chance that you will be appreciated by your superiors and achieve fame and success.

But this does not work for a well-governed country. A well-governed country requires rules, and the power of the emperor cannot override the rules.

Because rules are an important stabilizing factor of imperial power.

Now that the world is unified, if the emperor continues to promote people from the lower levels to the core of the court as he did in the past, he will inevitably be condemned by both the court and the public.

"Perhaps... Your Majesty has his own plans."

Lu Su said this somewhat awkwardly. He actually felt that this approach was somewhat inappropriate, but he didn't know how to say it.

Because he himself was also a beneficiary promoted by the emperor.

Originally, he was a criminal who committed treason.

Sima Yi, who was writing furiously, looked up and said calmly, "Xu Shu and Pang Tong both have military merits. They played an indispensable role in capturing Yizhou and defeating Cao Hong and Cao Xiu."

"I see."

Yang Xiu suddenly realized what was going on, and then asked, "You said that His Majesty is opening the Imperial College to change the existing selection mechanism?"

When this topic was mentioned, the room fell silent.

This question is indeed quite sharp.

Zhuge Liang smiled faintly and said, "I don't know the details, but I heard that your majesty asked Guo Situ to focus on selecting scholars from poor families to enter the Imperial Academy."

"But he heard from Situ Guo that the subjects studied in the Imperial Academy were not the Huangxi Pian written by the previous emperor when he opened the Hongdu Gate Academy, nor were they poetry, songs, or Confucian classics, but some more practical subjects."

Yang Xiu was stunned for a moment, then asked doubtfully, "Practical?"

"Correct."

Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "For now, we have only set up four major subjects: criminal law, mathematics, engineering, and politics."

"Criminal law mainly studies the law, how to judge cases, etc., as well as finding loopholes in the law; mathematics is more special, including astronomy, the Book of Changes, numerology and other complicated subjects that require calculations."

"There are more things to learn about metallurgy, such as the mechanical arts of the Mohist school, the art of Qimen Dunjia, as well as digging rivers, building embankments, and constructing fortifications."

“Politics is about learning how to govern local affairs.”

"Students who enter the Imperial College can choose to study any subject, or study both."

Zhuge Liang briefly explained to Yang Xiu the four major subjects established in the Imperial College, and the latter was shocked after hearing it.

Because the subjects set up by the emperor in the Imperial Academy are perfectly in line with the needs of national development!

Criminal law, mathematics, metallurgy, and politics!
If unified teaching can be achieved, a group of talents with expertise in different fields can be screened and trained very quickly!

"The court is really going to change..."

A deep and complex look flashed in Yang Xiu's eyes. No wonder Zhuge Liang said that the subjects set up by the emperor were very practical.

Criminal law corresponds to the court law; mathematics and metallurgy are the same field, corresponding to agriculture and the Metallurgical Bureau; politics is the direct training of talents for local governance.

This is totally contrary to the purpose of promoting Confucianism as the only doctrine!
Is the emperor planning to overthrow the laws established by his ancestors?

Just when Yang Xiu was in a complicated mood, Sima Yi raised his head, frowned and asked Zhuge Liang suspiciously: "How do you know so clearly?"

The Imperial College was just announced to be established today, but Zhuge Liang has already figured out all the subjects to be set up, which is a bit unusual.

"Guo Situ told me."

Zhuge Liang did not hide anything and said with a smile: "Guo Situ said that I am quite accomplished in mathematics, metallurgy, and politics, so he wanted to invite me to the Imperial Academy as a lecturer to teach the students."

"The Imperial College is beneficial to the country and the court. I have already promised Situ Guo."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sima Yi's breathing suddenly became rapid.

There was a dull twitching pain in my heart.

Why... is there Zhuge Cunfu again, but not him?

He can also go there to teach!
Lu Su noticed that Sima Yi's face looked a little strange, and couldn't help asking, "Sima Zhongshu, what's wrong with you?"

Sima Yi laid on the table with his hands covering his chest for a long time, until the pain subsided, and then he let out a long breath.

Then he put down the pen in his hand, stood up, and walked out of the pavilion without saying a word.

Only Zhuge Liang with a smile on his face, Yang Xiu who was still in shock, and Lu Su who looked confused were left.

(ps: Happy New Year, my dear friends. I came to Orange Island in Changsha today to celebrate the New Year and pay tribute to the great man.)
(End of this chapter)