The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 661 As You Say
When Pei Xiu reached the door of Taiji Hall, Cheng Ji stopped him.

Cheng Ji looked up and down at the person in front of him. This person was a rare guest.

Among all the Shangshu, this one comes the least and is only seen a few times a month.

He sent someone in to report, and soon, a close attendant brought Pei Xiu into the palace and headed to the East Hall.

When he reached the door of the East Hall, Pei Xiu heard laughter coming from inside.

Pei Xiu could tell from the hearty laughter that it was from the Minister of Revenue, Lu Zhi.

Pei Xiu remembered that this man was a calm and serious person.

Why do you sound so happy today?

Pei Xiu walked into the hall, and sure enough, Lu Zhi was sitting next to the emperor. She looked very happy, with a smile on her face that was rarely seen on ordinary days.

The moment he saw Pei Xiu, the smile on Lu Zhi's face disappeared and he immediately became solemn again.

Cao Mao looked at him in surprise, "Minister Pei is here! What a rare guest!"

"Minister Pei is extremely busy with all sorts of affairs, yet he still has time to come to the Taiji Hall to report on government affairs!"

Pei Xiu pretended not to understand the sarcasm. He saluted the emperor and then paid his respects to Lu Zhi. Although they held the same official position, the other was older after all.

Cao Mao then let him sit aside and asked, "Mr. Pei came here suddenly. What big thing happened?"

Pei Xiu said, "The Imperial College has reached a conclusion. From this year on, before taking the examination, Imperial College students must first serve as academic officials in the local area for a year. Their performance will be observed, and they will participate in the examination after they have completed their studies."

"And to reward such behavior, those who perform well during their term can be directly granted an official position within the county."

Today's Taixue students have lost their advantage over others. During the Cao Pi period, only Taixue students could participate in the Five Classics examination to become officials, but now everyone can participate. If there is no subsidy, I am afraid no one will be willing to go to Taixue anymore. Therefore, the Secretariat also gave certain rewards to this behavior after consideration.

In fact, there were similar incentives during the reign of Emperor Wen. Those commoners' children who were not qualified to take the examination had to serve as academic officials, and if they performed well, they would have a chance to be promoted.

Of course, Cao Mao knew about this a long time ago.

He knew that Pei Xiu had gone to see Wang Chang, and Wang Chang summoned all the ministers and quickly discussed and came to this conclusion.

Pei Xiu distributed the tasks assigned to him to the entire Secretariat, and even the doctors in the Imperial College did not dare to object to the conclusions reached by the Secretariat.

Cao Mao didn't know what to say to this guy.

However, he did complete his instructions.

"Okay, Minister Pei, now that we've reached a conclusion, I'll have to trouble you with the next steps. Don't be too anxious. Things like this often take more than a decade to see results. The key is to avoid major problems. I believe Minister Pei can do that!"

Pei Xiu quickly agreed.

Starting from Emperor Wu of Han, the government attached great importance to local teaching issues. Emperor Wu of Han established many schools in local areas and encouraged enlightenment education. This is also the reason why there were so many talents in the Western Han Dynasty. There has never been a gap in talents in the Western Han Dynasty.

By the Eastern Han Dynasty, the main focus of the government gradually shifted from local areas to the Imperial College, and no decent policies were formulated. Local education continued the old path of the former Han Dynasty and had never changed.

During the reign of Cao Pi, Cao Pi forcibly set the threshold for participation in the assessment, and those who did not meet the threshold were all sent out to engage in local education.

His behavior had both advantages and disadvantages. Once the threshold was set, officials became children of powerful families, but it did play a good role in promoting local education.

By the time local education developed to the Ming and Qing dynasties, even village schools began to appear. In certain periods, the local education system dominated by the government reached the village level.

Of course, today's human and material productivity cannot be compared with that time. The difference between the two is too great.

At present, Cao Mao’s only requirement is to surpass the period of Cao Pi and reach the point where every county has a county school.

In addition, the schools established by the temples today are not the same as the schools in later generations. Today's schools all teach classics, and they do not enroll children, but people from local areas who are willing to study. There is no clear age requirement.

For things like classics, if there is no teacher to explain them, it is impossible to learn them with books alone, unless you are a genius.

However, the cost of becoming a disciple of a famous scholar is too high, and not everyone who wants to study can do it.

At this time, you can go to the temple to study.

The students in the local schools of the imperial court were basically from humble backgrounds. Those from high backgrounds disdained to learn classics in local schools. They didn't even think highly of the Imperial College. They either studied at home or went to learn from great masters.

If one wants to become an official, classics are a compulsory course, so local schools are of great significance.

The quality of the scholars coming out of them is certainly not as good as those from the big families, but as long as their number is large enough, they can always break the monopoly of the big families on official positions and knowledge.

We cannot allow the big families to monopolize all knowledge and paths to advancement.
Pei Xiu left this place respectfully.

Cao Mao knew that this guy's seriousness might not last long, but there should be no mistakes in the tasks assigned to him.

Lu Zhi remained silent until Pei Xiu left, then he asked, "Your Majesty, is it inappropriate to let him do this?"

Cao Mao took a sip of his tea and asked, "Why not?" "Your Majesty, Pei Xiu is not without talent, but he places too much emphasis on family ties and maintains close ties with many prominent families. I've heard that prominent scholars often visit his residence, present him with gifts, and seek to become his friends. Their goal is to become an official."

"Your Majesty now wants to promote local learning. Local learning is mostly for people like this old minister who come from humble backgrounds."

Cao Mao quickly interrupted him, "Duke Lu, I remember that you come from a prominent family and your family has served as officials for generations."

Lu Zhi sighed deeply, "Your Majesty, when I was just over ten years old, my father was killed by the traitor Guo Si. Since then, I have been displaced and did not settle down until I was seventeen. I wanted to study, but I had no way to do so. Finally, I learned the classics in a local school and was recommended by local officials for an official position."

"My origins may not be humble, but I know all too well the pain of being humble."

Cao Mao nodded and said, "Please continue."

Lu Zhi added, "Pei Xiu is a man who looks down on some of the great frontier clans. He doesn't even take the great clans of Youzhou, Liangzhou, and the Southern Kingdom seriously, let alone those who come from commoner backgrounds."

"Your Majesty has asked this person to be in charge of these matters, but I'm afraid he won't be able to complete them well."

Cao Mao knew that Pei Xiu suffered from a serious disease that was common among children of wealthy families, which was also what Lu Zhi was worried about.

He looked up and explained seriously, "Duke Lu, don't worry."

"Pei Xiu may seem lazy, but he's actually quite intelligent. He's well-versed in the political affairs of the country. Moreover, after returning from Yongliang last time, he already understood the pros and cons."

"He dared not neglect these matters. Otherwise, he would not have gone to Wang Chang."

"If we leave this matter to others, they will face numerous obstacles. If we leave it to Pei Xiu, with his clan's influence and his extensive network of contacts, I'm afraid no one will dare to embarrass him, and things will go much more smoothly."

"Don't worry about him, but think carefully about what I told you."

Only then did Lu Zhi stand up, bow to Cao Mao again, and leave.

After seeing Lu Zhi off, Cao Mao was no longer willing to stay in the Taiji Palace, so he hurried towards the Changqiu Palace.

What he had just discussed with Lu Zhi was a series of policies after the abolition of the military farming system. If it could be used well, it would greatly increase the income of the temple. Once there was money, everything would go much more smoothly.

When Cao Mao arrived at Changqiu Palace, Zheng Xian was working hard to teach the little one to speak.

"Father, ah~~father!"

The little guy sat in the crib, listening to Zheng Xian's teaching word by word, but just looked at her and smiled foolishly, with no intention of speaking at all.

When Cao Mao walked in, the little guy turned around and looked at Cao Mao with a silly smile again.

Cao Mao smiled and picked him up.

Zheng Xian said with a sad face, "No matter how much I teach him, he won't learn. He won't even open his mouth."

Cao Mao glanced at her and said, "You're not even a year old yet, how can you speak?"

Zheng Xian couldn't help but say, "I heard someone say there's a child prodigy who can speak in April and write in October."

"Oh, that's right. When they grow up, they can use their body heat to melt ice and snow, and their tears can even make bamboo shoots grow. How can my children compare to them?"

Zheng Xian was very serious, "My father said it was all true!"

"Of course. Would your father still be a famous scholar if he didn't say that?"

Zheng Xian was suddenly speechless.

Cao Mao liked to hold Awen upright and put him on his shoulders. Awen would also put his head on his shoulder obediently, looking forward with his eyes twinkling. But he would not do that to others. Even if his head was pressed down, he would not easily put his head on it.

Just as Cao Mao was singing an unknown song and carrying his son around, footsteps were heard outside the door.

The person who came was Sima Yi. Sima Yi was a little surprised to see the emperor was also here, but she hurriedly bowed to greet him.

She came to give the child new clothes, and after delivering them, she left in a hurry.

Zheng Xian looked at her from behind and could not help but say to Cao Mao, "Your Majesty, since Awen was born, you have rarely visited my sister. This is really not good. My sister is virtuous and has helped me a lot. Your Majesty should not neglect her."

Cao Mao was even more surprised. "I never thought my queen could say such sensible words."

"Does Your Majesty think I'm a jealous woman?"

"Hahaha, the Queen is certainly not one of them."

"As for the Queen Mother, Your Majesty should also visit her more often. She has been very worried lately, often asking about Your Majesty's condition, and she seems quite absent-minded."

"Okay, okay, let's do as the Queen says!"

(End of this chapter)