Wanqingsi

Chapter 149 Imperial Examination
When I received Ping An's post, I couldn't help laughing, it's so fast, it's Ping An's birthday again.Thinking of congratulating her on her birthday last year, she was still a naive and innocent child, and now she is still naive and innocent, but she is already a little woman with her own heart.

I thought I would meet the daughter of a high-ranking official who was congratulating Man Yuanzi on her birthday again, but I didn't expect Ping An to only invite Su Ling and Luo Shang'er, plus that little boy Feng Qing, all familiar faces I met once last year.When the young masters saw me coming, they stood up and saluted: "I have met Mrs. Ronghua."

"Don't be too polite." I smiled, feeling a little funny. When I met them last year, I was still a humble brothel girl. Now I have become a wealthy lady. The fate of people is really full of drama.

"That's right, Ma'am and Ma'am are so awkward, just call me Sister Ye." Ping An said with a smile, "Why is Sister Ye so old?"

Everyone laughed.Su Ling said with a smile: "I met my sister last year. We sisters have always admired Sister Ye. My sister's song "Laughing in the Red Dust" is extremely wonderful and unforgettable to this day."

"That's right." Luo Chang'er said, "It was only then that Chang'er realized that women can be so free and unrestrained without giving way to men."

"There are a lot of women who don't give up to men, like Hua Mulan who joined the army for her father, the female general of the Yang family who fought against the Jin soldiers, and a generation of empress Wu Zetian, all of them are legendary women who don't give up to men." I smiled. , "A lot of men can't compare with them."

"Why haven't we heard of the Hua Mulan, the female general of the Yang family, and Wu Zetian that Sister Ye mentioned? Are they the people in the story?" Feng Qing asked in surprise.

"Huh?" Knowing that I made a slip of the tongue, I could only agree, "Uh, it's in the story."

"By the way, the story told by Sister Ye is also very nice. The "Journey to the West" you told the queen mother in the palace has already spread to the people. I heard that some people use this story to tell stories in teahouses." Ping An said with a smile. , "Sister Ye, why don't you tell us the story of Hua Mulan, the female general of the Yang family and Wu Zetian?"

"So much, I can't finish talking for days and nights." I laughed.Pingan said: "My sister just talks today, as much as she can talk, we all want to know how legendary these daughters are."

I smiled slightly, thought for a while, and said, "The story of Hua Mulan begins with a poem, 'chirp chirp chirp chirp, Mulan is weaving at home. I don't hear the sound of locomotive looms, only the sigh of a woman...'"

I slowly narrated the long-spread folk tales of my time and space. The young ladies listened with gusto, probably about joining the army, and even the boy Feng Qing listened attentively.After the story was told, everyone was amazed, Luo Shang'er said: "There are such strange women in the world, it is really fascinating!"

"Where did my sister get these wonderful stories?" Su Ling asked with a smile, "I have read a lot of books, and I have never heard of such a novel story. This Hua Mulan is really a brave heroine!"

"It's folklore!" I smiled awkwardly.At this moment, someone outside asked: "Who is Hua Mulan?"

Turning my head, I saw the emperor and Ji Jingyun walking in, I quickly stood up, the young master Qianjin present saluted the two of them, and heard Pingan shout with joy: "Uncle Yu, second uncle, you are here!" Knowing that the daughters present did not know the identity of the emperor, they only owed them a blessing: "Young Master Yu, General Ji!"

"What did Madam Ronghua say again? To make you happy?" The emperor glanced at me and said with a smile.

"Sister Ye just told us a story about Hua Mulan who disguised herself as a man and served in the army instead of her father. It was very interesting!" Ping An said with a smile, "Sit down and listen."

The emperor was not polite at all, he just sat down, followed by General Ji, and said with a smile: "I have heard that the stories told by Mrs. Ronghua are interesting, I am lucky today."

"The general made fun of it." I smiled.Feng Qing urged: "Sister Ye, tell me what's going on with the female generals of the Yang family? I can't wait to find out!"

"This story is very long, and I can't finish it in a while. Let me pick a few paragraphs to tell." I smiled, seeing that they agreed, and told the background of the story: "The story of the female general of the Yang family happened in a country called Song State. One year, the Xixia Kingdom, the neighboring country of the Song Dynasty, invaded the border of the Song Dynasty. Marshal Yang Zongbao of the Song Dynasty, who was guarding the border, led his troops to fight against the enemy. When he was exploring the gourd valley, he was killed by an arrow in the dark. The situation was urgent, and the frontier sent people back to the court. Asking for help. In the Tianbo mansion of the Yang family in the capital, the [-]-year-old Taijun She is hosting a banquet to celebrate the [-]th birthday of his grandson Zongbao. The sad news came, the whole family was in grief, the court was shocked, and wanted to cede the land to seek peace. Taijun She restrained her grief and led her widowed daughter-in-law , grandson's daughter-in-law and great-grandson Wenguang impassionedly refuted the fallacies of the court's peacemakers. Madam She took command awe-inspiringly and led the female generals of the Yang family to the border to fight against the enemy and save the country..."

Perhaps this story was more shocking than Hua Mulan, and it attracted their attention from the very beginning. Not only the little ghosts listened intently, but even the emperor and Ji Jingyun listened attentively.I made a few jokes and stopped for a sip of water.This girl Ping'an is very careful today, she didn't prepare tea for me, but instead prepared honey water to moisten my throat, it seems that she has prepared long ago to keep me from being idle.Putting down the cup, I smiled and said, "Okay, let's stop here today, and let me rest too."

"Is there really such a loyal woman in this world?" Feng Qing said seriously, "I didn't expect women to have such loyalty and courage. Compared with those generals in our Tianzhao Kingdom who support their soldiers and self-respect, they are really inferior to women... ..."

"Feng Qing! What nonsense!" Ji Jingyun scolded him. I remember that Feng Qing seemed to be the son of a general under General Ji. Saying such inappropriate words.

Feng Qing was scolded by General Ji, and immediately shut up, not daring to say anything more.I saw that the emperor's face was calm, and he was not displeased by Feng Qing's slip of the tongue.On the contrary, Ping An agreed: "Feng Qing is right, those people are not even as good as women..."

"Madame Ronghua is just telling stories. How can there be a woman in command in this world?" The emperor gave me an indifferent look.Pingan said unconvinced: "Why is there no more? Sister Ye said that a woman can not only enter the court as an official, but also be an emperor..."

"Peace..." I hurriedly stopped her, why did this child speak so inappropriately.Sure enough, the emperor's eyebrows were raised slightly, and the corners of his lips curled up in a half-smile: "A woman is the emperor? Where did you hear about it?"

I took a breath and thought about how to answer his words: "Actually, when I was young, I heard people say that overseas and far away in the West, women are just like men, they can study, become officials in the court, and serve the country. some."

"Then tell me, how does the empress govern the country?" The emperor insisted on this question, and I felt a chill in my chest. Seeing the emperor's intransigence, don't try to fool me. After thinking about it, I said cautiously : "My concubine has heard that there is an overseas country called Tang State. There is a female emperor named Wu Zetian. During her reign, she attached great importance to the development of agricultural production, eliminated the current disadvantages, improved the imperial examination system, and broke the concept of elites. Strong centralization, social stability, economic development, a promising empress."

"Improve the imperial examination system and get rid of the concept of aristocrats?" The emperor was stunned, "What is an imperial examination?"

"Huh?" I just realized that there is no imperial examination system in this time and space, and the selection of officials is similar to the "chaju" system in the Han Dynasty. Chaju means inspection and recommendation, and it is also called recommendation.The local governors of Hou Guo and Zhou counties inspect and select talents in their jurisdictions at any time, recommend them to their superiors or the central government, and then appoint officials after passing the trial assessment.In fact, most of the inspections are monopolized by the aristocratic family, boasting to each other, cheating, forming cliques, and few people who can really select useful talents for the country.Another form is "requisition".Recruitment is the emperor's recruitment of social celebrities to fill important positions in the court.Bi refers to the appointment of subordinate officials by senior bureaucrats of the central government office or officials of local governments, and then recommend them to the imperial court.In short, to seek an official position in the court, you must be recommended, just like the poetry competition organized by the Yun family and the Cangdu family, it is to put it bluntly that it is to form cliques.

I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse to tell these things out, I hesitated, the emperor looked at me with menacing eyes, and pressed on step by step: "Mrs. Ronghua?"

"Imperial examination refers to a system in which the imperial court selects officials through examinations." I took a breath, thinking about how to explain the imperial examination system as simply as possible to the emperor, "Because the method of selecting scholars by division is adopted, it is called imperial examination. A perfect imperial examination It is divided into four levels: the college examination, the township examination, the general examination and the palace examination. The content of the examination is basically Confucianism.

The emperor's eyes lit up, shining brightly, and he interrupted me: "Confucian classics? Four books?"

I was so annoyed that I almost wanted to bite my tongue off. Seeing the emperor's excited expression, I knew I couldn't fool him without an explanation, so I swallowed and said with difficulty: "In that place in the Tang Dynasty, there was a sage named Confucius in ancient times. He advocated a theory called Confucianism, which became the mainstream of culture, the policy of emperors governing the country, and the guiding ideology of Chinese people. The Four Books refer to some classic documents of ancient saints in their place, and they are the core of Confucianism."

"Then what is the Confucianism advocated by the Confucius? What is written in the Four Books?" The emperor narrowed his eyes and said aggressively.

How do I know?I have never read the Four Books and Five Classics!I bit my lip and said with a forced smile: "Confucianism advocates 'benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith'. 'Benevolence' is the core content of Confucianism, and Confucianism regards 'benevolence' as the general outline of morality and ethics. It mainly observes the sentiments of the people, cherishes the power of the people, opposes tyrannical government, and implements benevolent government. It advocates governing the country with propriety and justice, restrains people's behavior and cultivates people's temperament with "propriety" and "joy". I've only heard of these stories, but I haven't read the books in them."

The emperor looked at me fixedly, with a deep and unpredictable expression. After a while, the corners of his lips twitched slightly: "Continue to talk about your imperial examination."

I breathed a sigh of relief, and then said: "The imperial examinations are also called Tongsheng Examinations and Children's Examinations. They mainly refer to the local imperial examinations hosted by the provincial education administration. Anyone can sign up to take the exam, regardless of age, family background, high or low background, the opportunity is equal. After passing the college exam, you can get the student qualifications before you can enter the prefecture, state, or county school to study, so it is also called the entrance exam. Anyone regardless of age is called Tongsheng."

The emperor's eyes became brighter and brighter: "Go on."

"The township examination is an examination held every three years in the provincial capitals of each province. Only children can participate. It is usually held in autumn and August, so it is also called Qiuwei. The examiner is appointed by the emperor. After the examination, the official and deputy lists are released. The one taken is called Juren, and the No.1 is called Jieyuan." I tried to search for some vague memories in my mind, "The examination is also an examination held in the capital every three years, usually held in spring, so it is also called Chunwei. The examination It is presided over by the Ministry of Rites, and the emperor appoints the principal and vice-president, and all provinces across the country can take the exam, and 1 of them will be named tributes, and the No. [-] is called Huiyuan."

The expressions of General Ji and his daughters are unimaginable. After all, in this era when being an official is naturally recommended by a family, such a mechanism that relatively speaking provides a fairer opportunity for the whole people to take the exam is too shocking to them.The emperor looked at me with piercing eyes: "What about the imperial examination?"

"The palace examination is the highest level of the imperial examination system. The emperor personally asks the tributes admitted in the imperial court to determine the first rank. Sometimes the emperor also appoints ministers to take charge of the palace examination, and does not personally ask the questions. The admission is divided into Three-A: First-A and three, given the title of "Jinshi and No. 1", No.2 is called No. 3 Scholar, No.1 is called No. [-], and No.[-] is called Tanhua; several second-A, given the title of "Born Scholars"; several top-three , bestowed the title of 'same Jinshi origin'. The second and third class No.[-] are all called Chuanlu, and the first, second and third class are collectively called Jinshi, because the palace examination is administered by the emperor, so the folks also call high school Jinshi disciples of the Son of Heaven." I said it in one breath, my throat was a little dry, I picked up the water glass and took a sip of the honey water.

Looking up, he saw that the emperor's eyes were frighteningly bright, and his tone was a little restless: "Student of the Son of Heaven?"

"Yes. The emperor's disciples." I nodded and looked at him calmly. "These people are talents selected by the emperor. They are loyal to the emperor and safeguard the interests of the country, not the intertwined interests of the family. If the emperor does not want to The imperial examination is the best way to be restrained by the aristocratic family."

"Mrs. Ronghua..." Ji Jingyun looked at me in surprise, and the young masters present also looked at me as if they were monsters. The emperor was staring at me with complex emotions in his eyes, and his chest was obviously heaving. .

——2007, September, 1
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