History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 836 Chai Rong Governs the Country 2
2. Reform of the selection of scholars

Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, a system of selecting officials through imperial examinations has gradually been formed, that is, selecting civil servants through open, fair and just national examinations. In theory, the people can "be a farmer in the morning and enter the emperor's hall in the evening". Regardless of background, wealth or appearance, as long as they have talent, everyone has the opportunity to achieve class transition.

However, since the beginning of the Five Dynasties, the imperial examination system has been basically abandoned, because civil and military officials are often the emperor's "meritorious followers" and their life cycle is very short. Objectively, the ruling class does not need to complete its metabolism through the imperial examination system.

This is like the rapid updating of digital electronic products, which has squeezed out the living space of the maintenance industry.

In addition, conservative forces such as the old aristocracy would also be hostile to and obstruct the imperial examination. The reason is very simple. The new rich who have completed class transition through the imperial examination will inevitably divide the pie of the vested interest groups and break the existing power distribution system. These vested interest groups are of course unwilling to give up their own interests.

For example, when Chai Rong formed his own leadership team, he appointed Fan Zhi, Li Gu, and Wang Pu as prime ministers, and Wei Renpu as privy councilor. Chai Rong's civil service group was basically the legacy left by Guo Wei, and Chai Rong accepted them all. Among them, Wei Renpu did not pass the national qualification certification (imperial examination), so many people with Jinshi degree at that time expressed opposition. Chai Rong overruled the crowd and said that as long as there is talent and learning, there is no need to stick to the formalities. Even Guo Wei's direct lineage and the veterans of the two dynasties were excluded, so the situation of other products without foundation, qualifications, and background can be imagined.

In the first month of the second year of Xian De (955), Chai Rong issued an edict, requiring the civil servants of the court to each recommend a person who could be an official, and to recommend people regardless of their relationship with the person being recommended. As long as the person is capable of being of great use, you can recommend him/her with confidence, but - (emphasis added) the name of the recommender must be signed in the personnel file of the recommended person. If the recommended person turns out to be corrupt, accepts bribes, lacks ability, etc. in the future, the original recommender will be held accountable (the recommender will be held accountable as well).

This answers the two questions above. Later, many officials were punished for their "inappropriate selection of candidates".

Chai Rong's decree was similar to the "Cao Ju System" of the Han Dynasty. There was no need for examinations, but civil servants were directly "recommended" through recommendations from officials.

Of course, we cannot arbitrarily say that Chai Rong took history backwards, because the number of "recommended" places this time was very limited, and "each class in the court nominated... one person." Under such control, the mistakes of the Eastern Han Dynasty would not be repeated.

In March, Chai Rong issued an edict to rectify the imperial examination system. Because the imperial examinations in recent years had deviated from the principles of openness, fairness and justice, some officials had engaged in corruption and the quality of selected candidates had varied greatly, a strict review of this year's examinations was therefore carried out.

It was found that among the 16 candidates who passed the exam, only 4 met the national admission standards, and the other 12 were all rejected. The failure rate was as high as 75%!

Liu Wensou, the chief examiner of this imperial examination (Zhi Gongju), was demoted from the Minister of Rites to the Prince's Secretary for "failing to select candidates". However, Liu Wensou's dereliction of duty was not due to favoritism, but had objective reasons, such as some candidates who had fought for many years and failed repeatedly, and were admitted as exceptions out of sympathy, so "forgiveness and leniency were shown" and Liu Wensou was given a light sentence as appropriate.

In June, an imperial edict was issued that the two capitals and various prefectures and counties were not allowed to recommend judges for garrison, judges for the two envoys, junior officials, and military judges for defense militia. In other words, the second-in-command of a local government could not be appointed by the first-in-command, which effectively prevented the emergence of local separatist forces. In response to the recommendation of officials by the literary class half a year ago, Chai Rong required officials to recommend talents while strictly preventing the drawbacks of the "chaoju system".

On August 957, 8, the fourth year of Xiande, Zhang Zhao, the Minister of War, submitted a memorial suggesting that the imperial examination system be restored based on the experience of the Tang Dynasty. Chai Rong thought it made sense, so he ordered Zhang Zhao to take the lead in formulating relevant laws and regulations and promulgate them for implementation. At that time, Chai Rong had been emperor for four years, and the old power system had been rectified. It was time to add fresh blood through the imperial examination system.

In October, Chai Rong issued an edict to formally resume the imperial examination system to recruit officials, setting up three categories: the category of virtuous, upright, and outspoken people who could make extreme suggestions; the category of excellent and profound knowledge of classics who could serve as teachers and role models; and the category of meticulous officials who could educate the people.

The exam does not restrict background or qualifications. Common people and serving officials can sign up to take the exam, and the best candidates will be hired based on their exam results.

In March of the fifth year of Xian De (958), which was the first national examination after the reform of the imperial examination system, the chief examiner Liu Tao brought the newly successful candidates to meet Chai Rong, who ordered Hanlin scholar Li Fang to re-examine them.

Re-examination results: Liu Tan and five others "had slightly better poetry and prose" and passed the exam; Wang Fen, judging only by his writing style, "was not precise either", but he had failed many times and kept trying, so he was allowed to pass as an exception; Xiong Ruogu and Chen Baoheng "were both from far away", so the standards had to be lowered and they were admitted as exceptions. The two benefited from ethnic policies, just like today's "college entrance examination immigrants" or the sudden change of ethnic composition before the exam; and Guo Jun and seven others were PASSED.

The failure rate was over half, so Liu Tao, who was in charge of the imperial examinations, was also demoted.

The prosperity and stability of the Song Dynasty was largely due to the reform measures of the Later Zhou Dynasty. The comprehensive reforms such as the imperial examination system and the imperial guard system changed the soil for the separatist regimes, strengthened the centralization of power, and made it possible for Zhao Kuangyin, who held the military power of the imperial guards, to directly establish the Song Dynasty. This is a later story.

3. Open up channels for communication

In February of the second year of Xian De (955), Chai Rong issued an edict to open up the channels for communication. Without a doubt, this was another perfect essay written by the Hanlin scholars.

At the beginning of the edict, it states:
“Those who are good at managing cannot achieve perfection, and those who are good at managing themselves cannot be without mistakes.”

——No one is perfect. Even though I am so awesome, I sometimes start with 2B or S and end with B.

Then he said that even saints like Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang could make mistakes, and they were constantly looking for unpleasant advice and bitter medicine, let alone me? Then, Chai Rong criticized the civil and military officials in the court.

"But no one in power has pointed out my mistakes, and no one who receives salary has ever commented on the right and wrong of current politics. Is it because I am too ignorant to be talked to?"

——You never criticize me, do you think I'm too stupid, too stupid to be saved? You look down on me, don't you?

"A gentleman will receive a big salary if he talks big, and a small salary if he talks small."

——From now on, your salary and benefits will be linked to your criticism of me and included in your performance appraisal. The more incisive your criticism is, the more money you will get.

"If what I say does not go through, the fault is mine; if what I say does not go through, who shall be held responsible?"

——If you say it and I don’t change, then it’s my fault; if you don’t say it, whose fault is it?

After talking about the general principles, specific implementation measures were given:
"If I have any shortcomings, I can speak out; if there are flaws in current politics, I should not hide them." - Target of criticism: me, the court and current politics. Please be civilized and don't criticize randomly.

"We should seek fame and reality, not empty splendor."

——Don’t flatter people in fancy ways, and avoid saying things like “the leader works too hard and needs to rest more.”

"If one is not good at writing, one can just write down the facts directly..."

——No need to beat around the bush, no need to talk about the first three empresses and five emperors, or use parallel sentences and six poems, or quote from classics. After all, not everyone is a Hanlin scholar. Just get to the point.

"If someone's words offend others, they must be kept here, so that they can be fully realized and avoid any worries."

——If it involves a specific person, I will talk to you alone in private. Don’t worry about offending anyone. I will keep it confidential for you.

"All those who are in charge of government affairs... should not follow the old ways, which will lead to errors and mistakes."

——Reform proposals can be boldly put forward, and conventions and old practices can all be broken. That’s reform.

"When ministers return from diplomatic missions abroad...they will hear more widely."

——Those who are on diplomatic missions abroad hear a lot, see a lot, go deep into the people, and have a better understanding of their sufferings and the actual implementation of policies, or know the true faces of certain local officials. They have more say, so please tell me everything in detail and without reservation.

"Among the ranks and positions...those who are dedicated to public service should be promoted, while those who are timid should be demoted."

——Officials in office, when discussing promotions, should also include petitions and comments in performance appraisals. Those who speak up will be promoted, and the “nice guys” should be kicked out.

"The Hanlin Academy and officials of the two ministries are in the position of attendants, which is the place for remonstrance and criticism; the officials of the Censorate are in charge of the legal system, which is the place for criticism and criticism. In terms of their duties, they are particularly different from other officials."

——Hanlin scholars and imperial censors, your job is to find faults for me and the officials. Others are amateurs, you are professionals, so I have to be more strict with you!
"For those who are recommended as replacements by officials, when the month is up and they are ready to be transferred, the Secretariat should first report to the emperor for promotion or demotion."

——This is similar to the death row prisoner suddenly shouting "I want to make merit! I want to expose XX!" when dying, and then the execution is suspended, and the punishment is rescheduled after observing his meritorious performance. Chai Rong stipulated that when officials were transferred (especially demoted or downgraded), if they had made meritorious performance by reporting and exposing others, their transfer would also be suspended.

This is where the book is valuable.

Take a look at the timeline and put yourself in Chai Rong's shoes, and you will understand the political implications hidden therein.

As mentioned above, Chai Rong's biggest crisis was his lack of direct lineage. Cultivating direct lineage confidants and strengthening their influence was his top priority after ascending the throne.

This crisis was fully manifested in the Battle of Gaoping. The performance of the civil officials in the imperial conference and the performance of the military officers on the battlefield showed that the civil and military officials had not yet been closely united in the leadership system with Chai Rong as the core, and most of them were wavering and taking a wait-and-see attitude.

Therefore, during the "Battle of Gaoping", Chai Rong took ruthless action and killed more than 70 senior generals in one go, purged the army, and continued to purge the army in subsequent wars.

The purge of the civil service group is usually mild and long. Time is also the resource that Chai Rong lacks the most. He cannot wait. He needs to take the initiative to create conditions, such as this "widening the channels for speech".

This edict was issued in February of the second year of Xian De (955), half a year after the Battle of Gaoping. If you look closely and savor it carefully, you will see that Chai Rong has planted a huge bomb for all civil and military officials.

First, by encouraging denunciations and reporting, Chai Rong would have a lot of negative information, thus taking the initiative in the political struggle. In simple terms, if he wanted to get rid of someone, he would take out the negative information about that person and get rid of him openly.

Secondly, including criticism of current affairs in performance appraisals was Chai Rong's second trump card. If Chai Rong wanted to get you, but couldn't find any evidence against you, then, did you report someone else? Did you criticize your brother? Did you criticize the court? Good guy, go away.

Finally, if this person is truly upright and has nothing to fear, and has also proposed a good and unpleasant suggestion in time, will Chai Rong be helpless? No, this is precisely his final trap. If you successfully avoid the second one, then you will surely die in the third one - killing someone with a borrowed knife. You have reported Zhang San, right? Okay, Zhang San, look, this is the memorial of someone impeaching you.

Chai Rong can easily use your political enemies to deal with you. At that time, as an arbitrator, Chai Rong only needs to take sides and pretend to be confused, and he can easily kill someone with a borrowed knife.

I do not deny that Chai Rong was great, glorious, and correct, nor do I deny that he was sincere in opening the way for people to express their opinions and accepting advice with an open mind. But I will not be naive on cruel political issues.

Listen to the voice of the speaker and the sound of the gong and drum. This edict can be seen as Chai Rong's melodious clarion call for a major purge of the civil service group.

(End of this chapter)