My father is Emperor Wu of Han, how can I be different from him?

Chapter 241: Imperial Examination

After going through the process of treating the guest to a meal and accepting the pet as a dog, the rest of the things will be much easier and you can just follow the steps.

first step.

Small meetings were held for major events. The emperor summoned his ministers to the Xuanshi Hall for several days to discuss the matter and decide on specific additions, reductions, appointments, dismissals and transfers of officials.

Then, the second step.

Five days later, a grand court meeting was specially held in the front hall of the Weiyang Palace to officially announce the reform of the Nine Ministers!
The Minister of Agriculture was renamed the Minister of Finance, who was in charge of the court's finances; the Minister of Administration was renamed the Minister of Rites, who was in charge of the conferring and deposing of marquises and foreign affairs.

The Langzhongling was renamed Guanglu Xun, and an additional Guanglu Cheng was appointed, with several subordinate ministers.

Taifu.

The collection of local post stations, mail, and post offices, as well as the registration of carriages, horses, and ferries were all under the unified management of the central Taifu Temple.

The Chief Justice also had two new posts: Chief Justice Zuo Ping and Chief Justice You Ping, and several subordinate officials.

The Shaofu, Taichang, and Zongzheng were all streamlined.

Once this change is made in the system, the changes in personnel will become more obvious and drastic.

First of all.

Zhou Zhongju, the Minister of Rites and Marquis of Dan, who was the head of the Nine Ministers, was stripped of his title, dismissed from office, and fined to serve hard labor in the city because of his corrupt family traditions and bad conduct.

Three points need to be explained here.

1. Chengdan, a kind of punishment, which required exile to the border, building cities and performing labor for a period of five years.

Second, the reason why the emperor punished him so harshly was, to put it bluntly, because Zhou Zhongju was too arrogant. He also said, "The prince said that he would not pursue the matter, but what does it have to do with me?"

Third, the source of Zhou Zhongju’s accusation of having a bad family tradition and bad conduct was that he once competed with his own son for a singer.

The singer's name was Fan'er.

She died in a dark night, drowned...

of course.

Others were unaware of the elements of Fang'er, drowning, and darkness. Only a woman who ran a teahouse on Zhangtai Street silently remembered this grudge.

As for the fact that the emperor was unaware of the inside story and punished Zhou Zhongju based on the rumor of "father and son fighting for a concubine" a year ago, this move may have just proved that -

When it is useful, nothing is a problem; when it is useless, the problem is everything!
Zhou Zhongju bowed out.

The person who succeeded the Minister of Rites was Du Xiang, Marquis of Yangping.

Another person who left in a similarly embarrassing manner but was in a slightly better situation was Taoyang Marquis Liu Shouyan. His nephew submitted his resignation, and the emperor approved it with a wave of his hand.

The person who will replace Zongzheng is not a member of Liu family, but Andao Hou, Han said!

The changes in the Nine Ministers are not over yet.

The former Minister of Agriculture Kong Jin retired and was promoted to Minister of Agriculture and concurrently Palace Attendant Sang Hongyang, who was appointed Minister of Agriculture!

Ni Kuan was transferred to be the Zhong Daifu and appointed as Guanglu Cheng, with a salary of 1,000 dan; Zhang Anshi was transferred to be the Shangshu Ling and appointed as Taixue Jijiu, with a salary of 2,000 dan.

There were so many changes in the other nine ministers, and even in the officials who were not ministers, that it was hard to tell how many there were...

Only a few people are worth talking about.

For example, Kong Xingye was promoted to be the governor of Jizhou.

Kong Xingye was the son of Kong Jin. It was obvious that Kong Jin retired to make room for Sang Hongyang, and the emperor made corresponding compensation.

Even if you are the emperor, you have to consider human feelings, right?
Besides.

Ren An, the former attendant of the general, was recommended by Wei Qing and appointed as the governor of Yizhou; Wang Heng, the commander of the grain-collecting army, was recommended by the crown prince and appointed as the minister of agriculture.

Cai Cheng, the engineer of Shanglin Temple, had not yet been recommended by the crown prince, but the emperor, mindful of his merits in flood control and his skill in construction, promoted him to become the chief architect...

no doubt.

Behind the high frequency of official transfers is a reform that affects the entire government and the opposition!

Fortunately, there was the previous process of "treating guests to dinner", so the ministers were able to vent their dissatisfaction, and the necessary explanations, warnings, and amends were all made.

Many court officials were replaced, but it didn't cause any major problems. When everything was settled, the officials looked around and it seemed...

It’s not that hard to accept?
After the court was dismissed, outside the front hall, on the high steps, all the officials of the General's Office gathered together, all smiling proudly, and the two leaders bowed repeatedly:
"Haha, Brother Cai, we must cooperate sincerely in the future."

"Master Craftsman, please forgive me for my dishonor. In the future, I will need your guidance and cultivation." Cai Cheng, with a dark face, lowered his posture and took the initiative to show goodwill.

This taciturn Qin Mo disciple has been in officialdom for so long that he must have some tricks up his sleeve.

"Ha ha!"

Seeing this, Zhang Cheng stroked his beard and smiled, thinking: "If I don't rely on the power of the prince to become powerful, I will have less trouble in the future..."

The two chief officials in the General's Office had a very pleasant conversation, and the ministers gathered beside them also got along well with each other. Now the scene in the General's Office can be described as everyone is happy!

The situation here is similar to that of other small groups such as the Supreme Court, the Imperial Household Department, etc. If they had not had to consider the Minister of the Imperial Household and the Minister of the Imperial Clan, they would have laughed out loud long ago.

There is no need to mention the various worries and hesitations before the reform.

Your majesty is wise!

The prince is wise!

As the saying goes, some are happy and some are sad. If the joy and sorrow of the above couples are expressed implicitly, then the next couple is openly cursing.

"Pooh!"

"The villain succeeds!"

On the corridor leading to the North Palace, General Li Guang was cursing, not caring at all about the glances that were cast at him from time to time.

In fact, Li Guang was cursing for the people around him to hear. He cursed when he was unhappy.

One of the people who heard the old man Li's scolding also responded openly with just two notes -

"Humph!"

The newly appointed Zongzheng Han Shuo put on airs and glanced at the Li father and son with a forced smile, then left with the officials of the Zongzheng Mansion.

Seeing this, the officials who were leaving the palace all looked away tacitly.

Han Shuo and Li Guang... No, to be precise, the feud between the Han family and the Li family has a long history and is well known to everyone.

When attacking the Dongyue Kingdom, Han Shuo arrived at the capital of Dongyue before Li Gan. Not only did he receive the surrender of the Dongyue monarch and his ministers, he also received the only merit of being conferred a title of nobility.

Li Gan's mood at that time can be summed up in two words:
"M's!"

The reason why he had such intense emotions was that someone got ahead of him, but the main reason was that the person who got ahead of him was Han Shuo!
Well known.

Li Gan was the third son of Li Guang. His elder brothers Li Danghu and Li Jiao died many years ago. Among them, Li Danghu died the earliest, leaving behind a posthumous son, Li Ling.

Before Li Danghu's death, he had been serving as a palace attendant.

Coincidentally, Han Shuo also had an elder brother named Han Yan, who was also a close minister to the emperor.

But unfortunately.

Once when Han Yan was accompanying the emperor, he behaved in a presumptuous manner, and Li Danghu beat him up in public. This beating created a grudge between them!
Today, Li Danghu has passed away, and Han Yan has been sentenced to death by Queen Mother Wang Zhi. The grudge between the Li and Han families has not been eliminated with the passage of time, but has become increasingly deeper.

The Han family, who were able to challenge the Longxi Li family, were certainly no ordinary people.

Yingchuan Han family.

The prosperity of the Han Dynasty began with Han Xin...

This is not the Han Xin who said "Han Xin recruits soldiers, the more the better", but the Han Xin, a king of a different surname who was granted the fiefdom of Yingchuan in the early days of the Han Dynasty. He is known in history as: Han Wangxin!

And it's more than that.

Li Guang's ancestors can be traced back to Li Xin of the Qin State. The ancestors of the Han family can also be traced back to the Warring States Period, and they are even more prominent, as they are descendants of King Xiang of Han!
The clans are equally powerful, and the leaders of the two families are not humble people. If they are in the court together in the future, there will probably be some trouble...

After the court meeting in the front hall ended.

The turmoil in the court and Chang'an City ended, but it also meant that actions affecting local counties and kingdoms were about to come.

For example, official schools. Led by the chief minister Zhang Anshi, government orders were issued to local counties to start the establishment of official schools.

According to the local level, such institutions are called "school" in the county, "college" in the township, and "xu" in the village.

The Ministry of Works will supervise the construction and local governments will cooperate to complete the construction of official schools as soon as possible.

The details of teaching subjects, student qualifications, teacher ranks, etc. were all formulated by the chief academic officer and the emperor.

at the same time.

Another major event that concerns the people of the world has been made public.

Following the system of conscription and appointment and the system of recommendation, the emperor issued an edict to add another system of selecting officials, which was to implement the system of recruiting scholars through imperial examinations, namely: the imperial examination system!
The imperial edict specifically stated that the imperial examination was different from the imperial examination. Although the court would question the filial sons and honest officials recommended by the imperial examination, it actually emphasized recommendation rather than examination.

But the imperial examination.

Retake the exam and skip the recommendation step!
In other words, there is no need to obtain a letter of recommendation from the prefect. Anyone who has made achievements in the five subjects of Mingjing (classics), Jinshi (poetry), Mingfa (law), Mingzi (writing), and Mingsuan (arithmetic) can enter the capital to take the examination.

The best among them will be selected as court officials!

After the imperial edict was promulgated and published in official newspapers, it was disseminated to all directions. One can imagine how the aspiring people, the poor, and even the down-and-out people without any family background reacted.

For a while.

Those who rush to Chang'an are like nobles crossing the river!

Considering that when the imperial court was recruiting soldiers to join the army, some princes obstructed it. Yes, I was talking about Liu An, the King of Huainan. This time, the emperor issued a special decree:

"All citizens of the vassal states may also participate in the imperial examinations. If any vassal king secretly prevents this, once discovered, don't blame me for being rude!"

The vaccination was given.

If there are still people who run into the muzzle of the gun, then Liu Che doesn't mind letting one of his uncles and brothers die...

As Chang'an became increasingly lively, a small incident occurred.

Among the five subjects of the imperial examinations promulgated by the emperor, the topics for subjects like arithmetic and rhetoric are very intuitive. Even for the law subject, the framework of the topic selection must be within the Han law.

It can understand the classics, that is, the study of Confucian classics.

The examination scope of this subject was artificially framed, and in fact it was chosen by the emperor. The classics chosen by the emperor were not limited to Confucian "The Book of Filial Piety", "The Analects of Confucius", "Gongyang Zhuan", etc.

There is also "Han Feizi".

The latter is the legalist classics!

This is not a simple matter of selection, just like the Five Classics Doctors in the Imperial College only have the Five Classics of Confucianism.

The only channel for selecting officials is Confucian classics and Confucianism, which means that the officials selected must be Confucian scholars!

The addition of the Legalist classics opened up a Legalist way of selecting officials, and the monopoly of Confucianism was instantly challenged.

The court officials who came from Confucian schools reacted quickly. Their first thought was to find Dong Zhongshu, but unfortunately, Dong Zhongshu had returned to his hometown, Guangchuan County, at some point.

Guangchuan is far away in Qi and Lu, and it is impossible to find it in a short time.

Immediately.

The Confucian officials in the capital city approached the newly appointed Guanglu Cheng, Ni Kuan. It was also a suitable person to find because the person in charge of the imperial examination was Ni Kuan.

In the future, the 'disciples of the emperor' selected through the imperial examination will also be placed under the Guanglu Cheng. After much calculation, he is the most suitable person to be chosen.

however.

However, Ni Kuan said to his fellow students who came to look for him, "The imperial examination was proposed by the crown prince. Do you think the appearance of the Legalist classics in the Mingjing exam is a coincidence?"

"You want me to take the lead in resisting the Legalist classics that the crown prince stuffed in?"

"Forgot Master Kong?"

Thinking of the now infamous Kong Anguo, the hot-headed Confucian officials felt as if someone had poured a basin of ice water on a summer day, chilling them to the core!
It was impossible to boycott, so everyone just laughed it off and went back to their homes...

but.

Having said that, Ni Kuan could see that Liu Ju was trying to sabotage the supremacy of Confucianism, so how could the emperor not see it?
Another point.

The emperor appointed Ni Kuan, a Confucian disciple, to be in charge of the imperial examinations, which was in line with the national policy of Confucianism as the only orthodox doctrine. However, he also appointed Zhang Tang's son Zhang Anshi as the chief academic officer of the Imperial Academy.

The meaning is worth pondering...

Fallen leaves yellow.

The autumn wind is blowing.

Just south of Qingming Gate in Chang'an, the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall, which was affiliated with the Guanglu Temple, was wide open, and a group of people, some excited and some frustrated, filed out.

Following the local accent, everyone quickly divided into small groups and dispersed to their destinations in Chang'an.

On the westbound main road of Front Street.

A group of people speaking in Qi accents were having a heated discussion.

"It was a close call. Fortunately, I didn't slack off when I was studying with the teacher. I almost couldn't answer it. Hey, how did you guys answer?"

"I dare not compare with Brother Dongfang's Mingjing, but I did answer roughly the Mingsuan subject."

"Well, Brother Liu, you are too polite. The meaning of the classics and the art of calculation are the same." The well-dressed and talkative young man named Dongfang said modestly, and then tried to test:
"Brother Liu, you are..."

"It's a misunderstanding." The shy man surnamed Liu knew what his fellow villager was thinking and waved his hand quickly: "Although my surname is Liu, I come from a merchant family and I don't dare to curry favor with the royal family."

"profound……"

The young man named Dongfang nodded, laughed, and chatted with him for a few words without any contempt, and then looked at the other people who were traveling with him very naturally.

"Like Brother Liu, I passed the math exam and was OK."

"You're humble, aren't you?"

"I took the Mingzi exam, I don't know how well I did."

"Wow, Brother Zhang's calligraphy is absolutely amazing!" The young man named Dongfang has a solid foundation in supporting roles.

Looking at this family's unique skills, and seeing that this person's surname is Dongfang and he is from Qi, there is no need to keep us in suspense. That's right, this person is Dongfang Shuo's second son.

Dongfang Jing.

At this time, an elderly villager who was traveling with him glanced at Dongfang Jing and saluted, "I am a law student, but I don't know if it is good or bad."

"Oh?"

When they heard the three words "Ming Fa Ke", the people around them all looked at them. How could they choose law in the first imperial examination?
"I used to be a clerk in the county and I am well versed in Han laws, so there is no need for me to review and prepare in advance." He reported truthfully to the calm man.

Dongfang Jing's supporting role also came out without hesitation:

"Great!"

This statement is not mindless praise. There were so many petty officials in the Han Dynasty. How many of them could memorize Han laws or even be familiar with them?

Moreover, the general trend nowadays is to be modest. If the other party says he is "well-versed", he is probably at a higher level in the study of the law.

Dongfang Jing didn't care about the man's past as a minor official, nor did he care that his origins seemed to be seen through. He had inherited his father's true teachings.

As thick-skinned as a city wall!

"My brothers are so talented. It just so happens that I have a little spare money. I will treat you all to a banquet today. Come together, come together. We are all from the same hometown. We should take care of each other in the future."

The people traveling together were a little hesitant. After all, they had not been together for long. Some did not want to owe favors, while others were a little wary.

"You're welcome!"

Dongfang Jing pretended to be guilty and lowered his voice, "According to gossip, after the Guanglu Cheng unified examination, the best candidates will be able to enter the Weiyang Palace to meet the emperor."

"Your Majesty will personally ask!"

"If you enter the palace, you will be in the emperor's heart and have a promising future. Even if you fail to enter the palace... do you know what the result will be?"

As expected, everyone was attracted by the words and asked cautiously:
"What's the result?"

"Well, it's hard to explain in a few words. Let's go to the restaurant and talk while we eat..."

(End of this chapter)