The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 453: Your friend actually managed to pass?

At this time, the county examination of Wei had also ended.

Unlike the county examination, the pass rate of this round of examination was extremely low, with less than 10% of the scholars passing the examination.

This actually shows that the talents of scholars in the world today are really limited.

Many scholars even fell seriously ill after the examination and were unable to recover for a long time.

The difficulty of this assessment made many people suddenly sober up. After leaving the government office, they rushed to their own county government office to see if there were any vacancies for county officials.

They no longer wanted to continue taking the exam. The difficulty was beyond their limits. They believed that even if they continued to study hard, they might not be able to pass such an exam.

After all, the people who prepared the papers this time were all county magistrates and the like. The two thousand stone officials personally set the questions to ask for strategies for governance, and there were also county chancellors who set math questions and difficult problems in litigation and criminal law. It was really difficult to pass the test.

Cao Mao did not stipulate the age of the reference scholars. In theory, anyone of any age could participate.

At this round, those who passed were generally over 30 years old, and some were even very old.

Of course there are young scholars, but not many.

After all, these things cannot be learned just by reading books, they need to be analyzed in combination with actual conditions.

Classic examination questions will not ask you to write the second half of a sentence, but will directly give you several difficult governance problems and ask you to solve them using methods from the classics.

Agricultural science questions are no longer simple tests on farming time, but have become practical questions about revitalizing agriculture in a county.

After this round of examination, the failed candidates began to work as county clerks in the county government. According to the system, after working as county clerks, they would be eligible to continue taking the exam in the future.

However, we have to wait until the temple holds the examination again.

They were also keenly aware that to pass such an assessment, it was not enough to just stay at home and study, but they also had to have some talent for governing.

Moreover, if one performs well in the position of county official, he may be able to be promoted directly without having to wait for the next exam.

Through this examination, the government successfully filled the huge problem of official vacancies.

Although the problem has not been completely solved and many positions are still vacant, the government offices will no longer be empty.

New people have been brought in to various places, replacing those who used to get promoted through bribery and flattery, which has made the situation somewhat different.

The original Wei Dynasty, although less than forty years old, already had a feeling of being old.

The government is bloated and incompetent, and the local areas are in a mess.

It's like an empire that has reached its end.

In fact, this situation is understandable. After all, although Cao Wei was conquered by war, it was built on the basis of the Later Han Dynasty. Many problems of the Later Han Dynasty were not well solved in the Wei Dynasty, although the kings made attempts.

This led to the Great Wei being somewhat decadent from the very beginning, completely lacking the vitality that a new empire should have.

Cao Mao's vigorous reorganization gave the empire a brand new look.

Cao Mao did not dare to say that the personal ethics of these new people were necessarily good, but at least they had come up based on their own abilities. Even if they had to perfunctorily deal with the people, they knew what methods to use and would not just beat them out like the previous officials.

What's more, these people all have the idea of continuing to move up. As petty officials in the past, they had no chance to get ahead. They probably served as petty officials in order to facilitate their work in the local area and seek benefits, so they were very cruel to the people.

It will probably be much more restrained now.

Those who passed the county examination were now divided into two groups. One group decided to work in the county with peace of mind, while the other group wanted to go one step further and see if they could get in front of the emperor.

In the Taiji Hall, the Sili Commandant Wang Jing sat solemnly aside, telling Cao Mao about the situation in the Sili region.

Wang Jing was actually equivalent to the governor of Sili Prefecture.

He was also a very outstanding governor. He was born into a peasant family and had a very good understanding of the situation at the bottom. He was also upright and unwilling to go along with those people.

"The Heyin County Magistrate has been arrested and interrogated. He failed to supervise the examination properly and did not even search the scholars who took the exam. This is truly infuriating!"

"From a prominent family?"

Cao Mao asked calmly.

Wang Jing nodded. "He was born into a prominent family and originally served as the Magistrate of Gaolu County. He was promoted to the Magistrate of Heyin County for his meritorious service. I was planning to promote him, but I didn't expect him to be such a piece of shit!"

"This man is called Yang Jun, from the Hongnong Yang clan."

Cao Mao immediately understood. It turned out to be this person. There was nothing strange about it.

Showing leniency to the wealthy is what this person is best at.

Yang Jun was Sima Anshi's father-in-law, but Anshi's wife had not been born yet, so Yang Jun was still very young and was still serving as a county magistrate.

There was no hesitation on Cao Mao's face. "Even if it's the Yang family of Hongnong, they have committed such a serious crime, they cannot be pardoned. Let's handle it according to the law."

Wang Jing lowered his head, "Yes."

"Si Li has always been the standard for all places. Please, my lord, you must deal severely with these traitors so that other places will follow your example!"

After giving a few instructions, Cao Mao sent Wang Jing out of the East Hall gate.

"Maoxian!" "Maoxian!!"

Cao Mao shouted several times, but Zhang Hua did not come in. Instead, it was Guo Ze who came in.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang went to Liu Lu's residence yesterday and is not in the palace."

Cao Mao laughed, "I actually forgot about this."

"Would you like me to go to Liu's residence and call Mr. Zhang?"

"No need to do that. Let him be busy. Mr. Guo, go and invite Mr. Zhong over now. It's Mr. Zhong."

Cao Mao specifically reminded him that as an emperor, he could call anyone by their name, and the ministers were also required to call him by his own name when they saw him. However, Cao Mao still respected the ministers he valued more and seldom called them by their names.

Guo Ze accepted the order and left in a hurry.

Cao Mao touched his chin. He was a little uncomfortable without Zhang Hua. He had wanted to discuss the Imperial College affairs with him.
Guo Ze was very prompt in his work. Cao Mao didn't have to wait long before he brought Zhong Yu here, but he also brought one more person with him.

Zhong Yu and Sima Yan appeared here at the same time.

Cao Mao asked the two of them to sit in front of him and asked Guo Ze to serve at the door.

"Mr. Zhong, I heard that few of the students at the Imperial College passed the county exam this time. What's the reason?"

This county examination truly demonstrated the strength of Wei's talents.

Facts have proved that the scholars of the Wei Dynasty are better at boasting and commenting, but are completely incapable of doing practical work.

Previously, the most popular candidates were from the Imperial College. Many people thought that the county and state examinations would be monopolized by the Imperial College students. After all, they were the most outstanding talents carefully selected by the Wei Dynasty.

As a result, who would have thought that some of these people even failed to pass the county exam, and there were only a few who passed the county exam.

This ratio is a bit too exaggerated.

Is this what the future pillars of the Wei Dynasty will look like?
Sima Yan hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I believe this is mainly due to problems with the assessment itself."

"Oh? Is there a problem with the assessment?"

"What do you think is the problem?"

Sima Yan replied, "The problem is that the test is too difficult."

"Many of my friends took the test, and after coming out, they told me that it was too difficult, so they failed."

After hearing this, Cao Mao was a little surprised.

That's not right, your friends can pass the county exam?

Sima Yan added, "I've also heard them say that this assessment is absurd, and the content is irrelevant and definitely not classic."

"They said the questions had nothing to do with the classics. Instead, they were all about governing a place, calculating cultivated land, what to plant each month, resolving lawsuits, and so on. They had absolutely nothing to do with the orthodox teachings."

Cao Mao looked directly at Zhong Yu.

Zhong Yu said, "Your Majesty, this is because the world is so frivolous these days that scholars can't even master the classics. They have no understanding of the knowledge that governs the world. The teachers in the Imperial Academy teach only the profound theories of the classics and patiently explain them. However, the examinations don't just focus on the classics. If they encounter other subjects, the candidates will fail."

Cao Mao interrupted him.

"So there's something wrong with the teaching at the Imperial College, is that what you mean?"

Zhong Yu was stunned for a moment, then said, "That's right."

Cao Mao then said, "What kind of books are the most popular, not only in the Imperial Academy but also in the local areas? The most popular are books like Taixuan, Yi, and Shi. Scholars study these all day long, and after studying for most of the time, they go to take medicine and drink."

"And there are very few people who seriously study law, agriculture, and governance. This is why the county exams have become so difficult."

Zhong Yu said again: "That is exactly what your Majesty said."

Cao Mao asked: "Then is there any way to change this?"

Zhong Yu immediately replied, "We can ask the teachers in the Imperial Academy to change their teaching methods. They can give more rewards to those who pass the examinations, and not give official titles to those who fail. In this way, the scholars will surely begin to study these knowledge of governing the country."

Cao Mao then looked at Sima Yan.

Sima Yan listened to their stories and understood what the emperor wanted to do. He asked, "Your Majesty, should local official schools also change accordingly? Should they begin teaching these four doctrines?"

"But you have now issued an order that everyone can participate in the assessment."

"In the past, those from poor families and commoner backgrounds couldn't participate in the examinations. After completing their studies, they could only go to local schools to take up teaching positions. Now that they are all participating in the examinations, what will happen to these official schools?"

"Just improve the treatment and rank of the academic officials."

"Right now, the most important thing is the Imperial Academy. After the provincial exams, who knows if anyone will be left in the Imperial Academy to pass. Every subject must receive good evaluations. If all the students in the Imperial Academy fail, it will be a great disgrace to the Wei Dynasty and to all students in the world!"

"Your Majesty, I will definitely find a way to solve it!!"

(End of this chapter)