Fu Shanhe

Chapter 548 Teammate Automatic Matching Mechanism
Nanjing City.

“Brother Songlin, the Annam Protectorate intends to reform the imperial examination system. Such a rebellious act must be stopped by us scholars.”

However, those treacherous officials who bring disaster to the country and its people are thousands of miles away. We should go to Yong'an to eliminate these traitors for the sake of the nation.

Your invitation to this gathering is probably pointless!

The white-haired old man frowned as he spoke.

Injustice has its head, and debt has its owner.

Those who were advocating for reform of the imperial examination system did not hold any official positions in the court, so even if they turned Nanjing upside down, it wouldn't make any difference.

The best option to eliminate the potential danger is to go directly to Yong'an and persuade Li Mu to abandon this terrible idea.

If possible, it would be best to find a few more scapegoats and let them accomplish the great feat of "eliminating traitors for the country".

The plans that had been discussed beforehand were suddenly disrupted by Kong Songlin when it was time to set off.

The original plan to gather in Yong'an has changed to a gathering in Nanjing.

If the Nanjing court can control the Annam Protectorate, then directly contacting the Nanjing court would be a good option.

The situation is now quite the opposite: local powers are strong, while the central government is weak.

When the cabinet was in power, it was often manipulated by local governors and viceroys.

They couldn't even control the local area, let alone the Annam Protectorate, which was in a semi-independent state.

If someone recklessly points fingers and makes irresponsible remarks, they could easily end up hurting themselves.

"Brother Jun'an, please calm down."

"The imperial examination is a matter of great importance to all people and cannot be taken lightly."

Moreover, this matter involves the meritorious Marquis of Hanshui, so we must be even more careful in our actions.

To date, the Annam Protectorate has never held a single imperial examination.

A few days ago, the Marquis of Hanshui submitted a memorial stating that this autumn, the Annam Protectorate and other prefectures would hold the imperial examinations together.

At present, all the rumors about changes to the imperial examination system are just that—rumors. No definite information has been obtained, and at least no official document has been issued.

"So we're just going to their door to demand an explanation? What do we want to ask?"

Kong Songlin asked in return.

The reason these great Confucian scholars reacted so strongly was mainly because the imperial examination system concerned the interests of all scholars.

As a representative of the Shilin community, I cannot remain silent at this time.

Whether for profit or to boost reputation, one must actively participate.

Scholars who were physically able joined the boycott.

Unfortunately, they have all gathered, but the rumors remain just rumors, and no official information has been released.

Whether or not to reform the imperial examination system, and how exactly to reform it, is unclear to anyone at this point.

Going there blindly without any concrete information would only lead to humiliation.

The Marquis of Hanshui is not someone to be trifled with. If they were to cause trouble in the past, they might end up losing their lives.

The chaos has begun; two emperors have already died, let alone these scholars.

"Brother Songlin, do you mean we should postpone our trip to Yong'an and wait for the Annam Protectorate to issue a proclamation?"

Meng Junan said with a displeased expression.

Nanjing is quite far from Yong'an Prefecture, and most of these people are pampered and cannot endure the hardship of long journeys by carriage.

If they can't set off in advance and wait for definite news before taking action, they might not even arrive at the destination before the others have already finished their exams.

Once a fait accompli has been established, it won't be so easy to stop it.

Those who achieve academic success are the best supporters of the new system.

These so-called Confucian scholars are unparalleled in their verbal combat skills, but when it comes to a real life-or-death struggle, they're just a bunch of weaklings.

Not only are they lacking in martial arts skills, but all scholars in the world are severely lacking in martial arts skills.

Once the Marquis of Hanshui discovers that as long as his executioner's blade is sharp enough, they are nothing but cowards, and then they will be completely finished.

"Of course not!"

"According to the rules, although the imperial examinations in various regions were organized by local government offices, the imperial court would also send people to inspect and supervise them."

As long as we turn the officials in charge of supervision into our own people, we will have the initiative.

When the time comes, everyone will go south together and strictly follow the law. I don't think the Marquis of Hanshui will be able to say anything about it.

"If anyone dares to disrupt the imperial examination system, we won't take them lying down!"

Even after hearing Kong Songlin's explanation, everyone's expressions remained grim.

The seemingly cautious and perfect plan was actually based on the premise that others followed the rules.

Once they're actually in the territory of the Annam Protectorate, no one can say for sure how much of an effect the imperial laws will still have.

Over the years, the Annam Protectorate has issued many local regulations, some of which even conflict with the Da Ngu Code.

It even triggered an impeachment by the censors, causing a great uproar in the imperial court.

Of course, the matter ended once the commotion was over.

The imperial court only sent someone to inquire symbolically, and after receiving a reply from the Protectorate General's office, the matter was considered closed.

Afterwards, all those who knew the truth kept silent.

Even these great Confucian scholars weren't entirely clear on what exactly happened.

The only certainty is that the Great Yu court now has very little control over the Annam Protectorate.

If it's about rules and regulations, they'll respond; but if it's about interfering in the internal affairs of the Protectorate General's office, they'll simply ignore it.

Officials dispatched by the central government to local areas all became mere echoes of the Marquis of Hanshui.

Those who refuse to be yes-men will lose their positions within three months.

Given these past lessons, it is easy to imagine how difficult it would be to rely on a few officials dispatched by the imperial court to influence the decisions of the Annam Protectorate.

Kong Songlin was well aware of everyone's reaction.

Even he himself wasn't very confident about the plan.

But given his status and position, as the most renowned Confucian scholar in the Great Yu Empire, he had to do something at this time.

They foolishly formed a group and headed south, ran up to the Marquis of Hanshui and started spewing insults. It looked fun, but the problem was that the aftereffects were serious.

If they're lucky, they might get a scolding, but they're thick-skinned and don't care.

But if you accidentally cross someone's bottom line, whether you can come back alive is unknown.

In chaotic times, the status of a great Confucian scholar is worthless.

……

Wenyuan Pavilion, Nanjing.

"Influenced by the Annamite civil service examination reform, great scholars from all over the country gathered in Nanjing."

If not handled properly, it could cause quite a mess.

Wan Huaijin said with a worried expression.

There's already enough chaos in the country, and they really don't have the energy to interfere with the Marquis of Hanshui's antics in the Annam Protectorate.

But now, renowned scholars from all over the country are gathering here, clearly intending to cause trouble.

Li Mu, who was thousands of miles away, was able to disregard the influence of these great Confucian scholars because their territories were completely different.

These people were able to rally scholars within the territory of Dayu, but that did not mean they could influence scholars within the territory of the Annam Protectorate.

Li Mu did more than one or two unorthodox things, but they didn't cause any serious consequences because they weren't brought up in public.

From the very beginning of its construction, the schools of the Annam Protectorate were filled with unorthodox and heretical ideas.

In the past, the Protectorate General did not have the imperial examination system, so everyone thought that the Marquis of Hanshui was training craftsmen and soldiers, who were only learning some strange and frivolous skills that were not worthy of being presented in a refined manner.

No one expected that these things they considered beneath their notice would one day be included in the imperial examinations.

Although the Annam Protectorate has not issued any official documents, the fact that rumors have been circulating suggests that the truth is not far off.

"Let them make trouble if they want to. At worst, the imperial court will issue an imperial edict ordering them to go to the Annam Protectorate to rectify the corrupt practices in the imperial examinations there."

Whether they can complete the task depends on their own abilities.

He Zhengze said calmly.

If you can't solve the problem, then solve the people who created it.

Their inability to carry out a brutal killing does not mean that the Annam Protectorate will tolerate these guys.

As long as they communicate well with the Annam Protectorate in private, no matter how much trouble arises, it will have nothing to do with them.

If possible, he wouldn't mind adding a bunch of troublemakers along with him.

If one dies on the road, it is as if the court has reduced its redundant officials.

"It's no use. These old guys are all cunning and treacherous."

The reason they act so proactively in public is mainly because they are burdened by their reputation.

Scholars all over the world are watching them. When faced with such a situation, they must do it no matter how unwilling they are.

When it comes to concrete implementation, they won't directly oppose the Marquis of Hanshui.

Bai Jinwen shook his head and said.

He knew better than anyone what kind of people these great scholars were.

They are all fame-seeking scoundrels; expecting them to risk their lives against the Marquis of Hanshui is impossible.

Don't be fooled by their current emotional outbursts and calls for war; once they arrive at the Annam Protectorate, these same guys will be the first to kneel down.

If we don't give them a push behind the scenes, these people might just finish their empty talk and then shift the blame to the imperial court.

After all, compared to the murderous gang of officials in the Annam Protectorate, the civil officials in the court were much easier to talk to.

"Whether they like it or not, since they have chosen to wade into this murky water, the Annam Protectorate has to go through with it."

Rather than keeping them around and causing us trouble, we should send them away.

It is said that the southern regions lack the teachings of sages; perhaps when they reach the Protectorate General of Annam, the Marquis of Hanshui will detain them.

Shi Qingchen made the suggestion with a cold smile.

Theoretically speaking, these cabinet ministers were also graduates of the imperial examination system, and there was no conflict of interest between them and these great Confucian scholars.

However, the great Confucian scholars of the Great Yu Dynasty were not a group of people who simply pursued knowledge, but rather losers in court struggles.

Born into a prominent family but with no hope of a career in government, many chose to return to their hometowns to pursue education in order to demonstrate their integrity and indifference to fame and fortune.

Ultimately, they were able to pass the imperial examination and become Jinshi. No matter how useless they were, they still had some knowledge of Confucian classics.

If you have good speaking skills, it's easy to stand out.

As time went by, with the support of his family, he gradually became a renowned scholar in the region.

After gaining fame, some people gave up their desire to enter officialdom, but many more still held great expectations for a career in government.

Cultivating personal reputation is also a shortcut to entering officialdom.

If one's reputation is great enough, it's not impossible for them to directly join the cabinet.

As a second-best option, becoming the prince's tutor is also a good choice.

This group of Confucian scholars entered Nanjing together, seemingly to oppose the reform of the imperial examination system, but in reality, they each had their own ulterior motives.

According to the tradition of the Dayu Dynasty, the royal family had always had the custom of hiring great Confucian scholars to serve as tutors to the princes.

The young emperor is still very young and needs to learn.

As a renowned Confucian scholar, he naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity.

The reason they didn't take action earlier was because they wanted to save face; since the imperial court hadn't hired them, they naturally wouldn't offer themselves up.

In order to enhance their own status, they usually had to be summoned by imperial decree, and would only accept the post if they could not refuse.

To demonstrate his respect for scholars, the emperor was happy to give them this face.

Now that the emperor is young and the cabinet is in charge of governing, the situation has changed.

For political reasons, the cabinet members naturally wanted to keep the young emperor under their control, and his education was of paramount importance.

Many powerful ministers in history met tragic ends in their later years, the biggest problem being their alienation from the emperor.

To prevent their home from being raided, the young emperor's early education was always personally overseen by them.

This action effectively cut off the path to rapid advancement for great Confucian scholars.

Although the two sides may not have had any conflict, they have actually been on opposite sides for a long time.

If these Confucian scholars gained immense political prestige from opposing the imperial examination reforms, then naturally someone would recommend them to be the young emperor's tutors.

Public opinion was loud enough that they couldn't refuse.

From a personal standpoint, even if the Annam Protectorate were to successfully reform the civil service examination system, these great Confucian scholars should not be allowed to rise to prominence.

"The Annam Protectorate covers a vast territory, and there are definitely not enough people to supervise the local imperial examinations."

As the sage said: When there is work to be done, the disciples should do the work.

The imperial court is not heartless; it would be better to grant their filial wish.

He ordered the disciples and followers of many great Confucian scholars to travel south together to complete this task.

Bai Jinwen then delivered the final blow.

It's not enough to just get rid of these potential threats; we also need to take this opportunity to eliminate their influence in the court.

These guys have many disciples, so it's unrealistic to send them all away, but we can send away as many as we can.

The organization of the Annam Protectorate had never been accurately defined by the court, so this was a good opportunity to deal with it all at once.

Where prefectures should be established, prefectures should be established; where counties should be established, counties should be established.

Once the organizational framework is clarified, a whole host of official positions will inevitably be created, and then they can be legitimately turned into local officials.

The court has issued the appointments; whether they can actually gain real power is their own problem.

The imperial court could even grant an official title, leaving the specific post location to the Marquis of Hanshui, as a favor.

When it comes to the Marquis of Hanshui, even if the local governors and viceroys have their own thoughts, they can only keep them to themselves.

It would be even better if things escalated, allowing the cabinet to conveniently reveal to the Marquis of Hanshui that these great Confucian scholars were backed by local governors.

Even if they don't launch a counterattack immediately, they will still lean more towards the cabinet in subsequent court disputes.

Gaining Li Mu's support is equivalent to gaining the support of the Great Yu military.

Even though Li Mu resigned from his position as Grand Secretary, his influence in the military did not diminish.

Perhaps some frontline generals have developed inappropriate ideas, attempting to establish their own independent system within the military.

However, due to its own insufficient strength and lack of a stable base to support its troops, it now needs a large tree to shelter it from the wind and rain.

"Lord Bai's words are truly those of a wise and experienced strategist."

"The imperial examinations are a very complex matter, and the Annam Protectorate covers a vast area, so the officials sent down must depart in advance."

If no one has any other opinions, the Ministry of Personnel will work overtime tonight to finalize the list.

This matter can be finalized at the morning court session tomorrow, lest anything unforeseen arises!

He Zhengze said with a serious expression.

This is a large-scale personnel reshuffle, and to ensure its smooth progress, it must be handled swiftly and decisively.

The purpose of drafting the list of officials to be dispatched overnight was to catch the other side off guard and give them no time to react.

To build momentum, the group of Confucian scholars created a great deal of publicity in Nanjing before they even entered the city.

They're just going with the flow now.

Without any prior preparation, the cabinet simply overwhelmed the issue with its own sense of justice, and once an official agreed, it was difficult for others to refuse.

"it is good!"

"That's it!"

……

(End of this chapter)