Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 66: Imperial Palace Cuju (First Order)

Tai Chi Palace.

To the east of Jinshui River and north of Donghai Pool, there is a stadium pavilion.

This is the only polo field in the imperial palace.

Li Zhi, Wu Meiniang, Concubine Zheng, Xu Chongrong, and Liu Chong'er were sitting on the viewing platform next to the stadium, watching the princes and princesses playing Cuju below.

After Li Zhi met Li Hong last time, he planned to strengthen the physical training of the princes.

He specifically contacted Chongwenguan and asked them to organize the princes to play Cuju every ten days, which could also be considered as a physical education class for them.

Because this was the first time, Li Zhi personally organized the Cuju game.

When Empress Wu and other concubines heard about it, they also came over and brought two little princesses with them.

Princess Gao'an and Princess Yiyang naturally would not miss such a fun thing, so they also clamored to participate.

Li Zhi had only six princes in total, and the one-year-old Li Xian certainly could not attend, so the number of people was too small, only five.

After adding the two princesses, Li Zhi asked Xiaoji and several other eunuchs in their teens to participate in a seven-on-seven jumping ball game with the goal set in the middle.

On the court, the little princes and princesses were having a lot of fun.

Li Hong also ran around happily, but unfortunately he couldn't even touch the ball.

Twelve-year-old Li Zhong was the best kicker, having already shot into the center of the goal four times, which frightened Liu, who was watching the game, and she kept secretly observing Empress Wu's expression from time to time.

Wu Meiniang didn't care about these little things.

She was just a little curious as to why Li Zhi suddenly held such an event.

Just then, Wang Fusheng came to report that Xue Rengui wanted to see him.

Li Zhi said hello to Wu Meiniang and the others, left the viewing platform, and came to the nearby Donghai Pool.

Xue Rengui was already waiting on the shore.

Li Zhi said, "Mr. Xue, is there any news about Gao Youdao?"

Xue Rengui bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Gao Youdao has been persuaded by me to take part in this year's imperial examination. Furthermore, I also saw Di Renjie at his home."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Xue Qing, you have worked hard. Send someone to secretly protect Gao Youdao and don't let what happened last year happen again."

Xue Rengui immediately accepted the order and withdrew.

Li Zhi stood by the pond, gazing at the water and thinking for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Summon Di Renjie to the palace for an audience."

When Di Renjie entered the palace, it was already dark and the Cuju game in the stadium pavilion had ended.

Li Zhi met Di Renjie in Ganlu Hall.

"Mr. Di, I would like to appoint you as the supervisor of this imperial examination. Are you willing?"

The task of the examiner is to supervise the examiners and prevent them from falsifying the papers for personal gain. He is a specially appointed official of the procuratorate.

Di Renjie bowed and said, "I obey your command."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "I heard that before every imperial examination, a general list is released first. Mr. Di, has the general list for this examination been released yet?"

During the Tang Dynasty, people with high status in politics or academia could recommend talents to the chief examiner. These recommended people were listed on a list called the "Tongbang".

The general ranking list is like the seeded players.

In some sports, the athletes' fame is taken into account when scoring, and scores are increased accordingly. Those who are unknown often have their scores invisibly lowered.

The same is true for the imperial examinations. The general list has a great influence on the chief examiner, and those on the list will have a greatly increased chance of being admitted.

In order to increase their chances of passing the exam, candidates would compile their daily poems and essays into scrolls and present them to people of status in order to seek recommendation and be listed on the list. This was called "ganye".

This kind of scroll is called "xingjuan".

Gao Youdao was quite talented in his time, but he was not included in the general list because he disdained to bow to the powerful.

Di Renjie said, "Your Majesty, the general list is usually released three days before the exam and is posted in the Ministry of Personnel's separate courtyard."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "When the list is released, please come and tell me. I want to see who is on it."

Di Renjie's mind was stirred, and he thought to himself, "His Majesty seems displeased with the list. Should I try to persuade Brother Du not to be on the list?"

On second thought, he realized that Du Yijian already had real talent and knowledge, and even if he was on the list, he would not make any mistakes under the emperor's questioning, so he gave up the idea.

The next day during court, Li Zhi mentioned Wu Meiniang's second proposal at the court meeting, hoping to test the reaction of the ministers.

As for the palace examination and the anonymous examination, they have not been mentioned yet.

As expected, when he proposed to add an additional examination item, the ministers did not directly object.

"Your Majesty, since two new questions have been added, the standard for Grade A remains unchanged, but the admission standard for Grade B should be raised to eight questions," Han Ai said.

Li Zhi said, "There are only a few places available for the imperial examination each year. If we raise the number of questions to eight, I'm afraid there won't even be ten people passing the second-class exam. Wouldn't the imperial examination become a joke?" Han Ai said, "If we lower it to six, the number of second-class candidates will surely increase dramatically, which is also inappropriate!"

Li Zhi said sternly: "Why is it inappropriate?"

Han Ai said, "The court has a limited number of official vacancies each year. If too many people pass the imperial examinations, some will find it difficult to pass the selection process and take up local posts. If this continues, the list of officials waiting for selection will grow longer and longer, making it difficult to place them."

Li Zhi asked Liu Rengui: "Are there few vacancies in government posts these days?"

Liu Rengui said, "Your Majesty, in the past month, many officials have been impeached and dismissed from office, leaving quite a few vacancies in the court."

Han Ai said anxiously, "That's just a special case this year. It's not certain that so many officials will be impeached next year. This situation won't last long."

Li Yifu said with a smile: "Why not raise the threshold for admission? That way, more official positions will be vacant."

There are four sources of officials in the court.

The first was through family connections, which was the largest number of people. The second was through the imperial examination. The third was through being recommended by local officials to succeed him.

The last type is to be promoted from an official of lower rank to an official of a certain rank.

Officials outside the imperial court were also called high-ranking officials, such as the clerks and clerks in various government offices. They were divided into six grades, with very low salaries and extremely high workloads.

Their only hope is to work their way up step by step and eventually become an official of high rank, which would bring honor to their family.

In the early Qin and Han dynasties, officials and clerks were not separated, and it was very easy for clerks to get promoted. However, in the Sui and Tang dynasties, clear boundaries emerged.

During the Song and Ming dynasties, these clerks were looked down upon and their descendants were not allowed to take the imperial examinations, which left them with no hope and forced them to exploit the people and accumulate wealth.

Li Yifu's proposal undoubtedly harmed the interests of these officials outside the government.

What he said was very pleasing, as it not only catered to the emperor's goal of increasing the number of imperial examinations, but also did not harm the interests of the official group.

However, this change will greatly damage the interests of middle-level officials.

They pass feedback downwards, and the only ones who suffer are the people at the bottom.

Li Zhi said nothing and glanced at Li Yifu.

Li Yifu was startled, realizing he had flattered someone and had hit the wrong horse. He quickly made amends, "Since that's the case, why not raise the standard for 'yin bu'?"

This statement again made the officials unhappy, and several officials immediately came out to oppose it.

These people are all fifth-rank officials.

They are just stuck at the threshold of "yin subsidies". If the standards are raised, their interests will be directly harmed.

The Tang Dynasty law stipulated that the sons of officials of the fifth rank and above could all be appointed through inheritance, the great-grandsons of officials of the third rank and above could be appointed through inheritance, and the grandchildren of officials of the fifth rank and above could be appointed through inheritance.

The grandson is demoted to the son by one rank, and the great-grandson is demoted to the grandson by one

As for officials below the fifth rank and above the seventh rank, it is an indirect benefit. The children of their families can go to the "Six Schools" to study, become students, and directly participate in the imperial examinations without taking the provincial examinations.

When Li Zhi saw those fifth-rank officials, they were all blushing and arguing with the Prime Minister Li Yifu in Ganlu Palace.

This shows that when it comes to their own interests, most people will not give in easily.

Li Zhi said solemnly, "There's no need to argue. Let's try it out first. When there really aren't enough vacancies in the future, we can find a solution."

Han Ai was about to say something else, but Lai Ji pulled him back and shook his head at him.

……

After the regular court session ended, all the ministers left Ganlu Hall.

Li Yifu quickly caught up with Xu Jingzong.

"Lord Xu, what are you talking about today, Prime Minister Han and Prime Minister Lai? With the change to six questions for the second exam, the number of admitted students will inevitably increase. This involves the interests of the aristocratic families. Why don't they fight His Majesty to the end?"

Xu Jingzong smiled and said, "Your Majesty's authority is growing day by day. Who dares to go against your will?"

Li Yifu nodded, but thought to himself, "Old fox, you're starting to hide things from me." He bowed to him and headed towards the Secretariat.

After each regular court session, the prime ministers would hold another meeting in the Council of State.

When Li Yifu arrived at the Council Hall, most of the other prime ministers had already arrived.

Because Zhangsun Wuji and Li Ji only attended the new moon and fifteenth day court sessions, there were only six people left in the Council of State when matters were discussed.

They are: Yu Zhining, Cui Dunli, Lai Ji, Han Ai, Liu Rengui and him.

The six people sat on the left and right, Yu Zhining and Cui Dunli sat in the two seats at the top, and Li Yifu and Liu Rengui sat in the two seats at the back.

Although the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, the Secretary of the Imperial Household and others had no right to speak, they could still participate in the meeting and stand in the hall.

There was no need to discuss what had just been discussed in the court again. Lai Ji only had to repeat it so that the Secretariat could take note of it and directly draft the imperial edict later.

There are only a few minor matters that were not discussed at the court meeting just now, which need to be discussed again by the prime ministers.

(End of this chapter)