I, Kangxi, am here to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming!

After dealing with these trivial matters, Hung Hei-kwun turned his attention to the grand "blood transfusion plan".

The Manchu nobles were a pack of wolves that could not be tamed, while the Lower Five Banners were a bunch of brainless pigs.

To truly gain a foothold in this foreign court, and even to dismantle Manchu rule from within, these swine and dog slaves are not enough.

He needs people.

We need a group of Han Chinese elites who read the classics, talk about the great principles of loyalty between ruler and subject, and can be brainwashed by their own "wise and enlightened emperor".

"Next year will be the Year of Dingwei, right?"

Hong Xiguan asked casually.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The young eunuch Liang Jiugong, who was serving nearby, quickly replied, "According to custom, the imperial examination will be held next February, also known as the 'Spring Examination.' At that time, candidates from all provinces will gather in the capital. This is a grand event that happens only once every three years!"

"The imperial examinations..."

Hong Xiguan's eyes lit up, his gaze like that of an old farmer looking at the chives that were about to ripen in the field.

The imperial examination is essentially a large-scale job fair!

This is a good opportunity to select Han Chinese elites to serve as officials in the imperial court.

Next year's imperial examination will be the eleventh imperial examination since the Manchus entered the Central Plains.

In the past, the imperial examinations were either interfered with by the Manchus or only admitted timid and spineless individuals.

But this time was different; it was the first imperial examination presided over by Hong Xiguan after he assumed power!

"deliver an imperial order."

Hong Xiguan turned around, his voice brimming with excitement: "I will personally oversee next year's imperial examinations. As for the selection of the chief examiners..."

He mentally reviewed the list of Han Chinese officials in the court.

He must be learned, able to command respect, obedient, and a trusted confidant. Ideally, he should also possess a certain "Han Chinese integrity" to attract those refined scholars.

Hong Xiguan quickly came up with a candidate.

"Xiong Cilu, the Han Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, is appointed as the chief examiner of the metropolitan examination."

Master Xiong was a renowned scholar of Neo-Confucianism and held a very high position in the hearts of scholars. Appointing him as the chief examiner would reassure all the scholars in the country, making them feel that the current emperor respected Confucius and Mencius!

"Feng Pu, the Minister of Justice and Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall, was appointed as the deputy chief examiner."

Feng Pu was an even more interesting old man. He was a leader in the literary world and had a stubborn temper. Back when Ao Bai was all-powerful, he dared to write a memorial to impeach him.

Using this person can send a signal to the outside world: the imperial court needs tough guys!

"This servant obeys the decree!" Liang Jiugong quickly wrote it down.

Hong Xiguan looked out the window, in a great mood.

Did the Manchus think they could secure their rule by riding and archery?

too naive.

Once I cast the net of the imperial examinations, I will gather all the brilliant minds in the world, making them know only the Emperor and not the Banner Master.

At that time, whether there are more Manchu speakers or Chinese speakers in the Qing Dynasty court will be beyond your control.

What's this called?

This is what it means to defeat magic with magic and assimilate the Manchus with Han Chinese systems!

......

In order to prepare for the first imperial examination after assuming personal rule, Hong Xi spent his days reviewing the regulations of previous imperial examinations.

I scanned everything, from the rules to the exam papers.

Inside the South Study, the underfloor heating was burning brightly, making it as warm and cozy as a large steamer.

Hong Xiguan sat behind his desk, holding a past year's examination paper in his hand, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a mosquito.

After staring at it for a while, he finally couldn't take it anymore and slammed the test paper on the table: "utter nonsense!"

The two examiners, Xiong Cilu and Feng Pu, standing below, were startled and looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Your Majesty, this..." Xiong Cilu carefully picked up the examination paper: "This is the examination paper of the top scholar in the twelfth year of the Shunzhi reign. The writing is gorgeous, the parallelism is perfect, and the question is brilliantly answered. It is..."

"What is it? It's just a piece of waste paper!"

Hong Xiguan pointed at the scroll, his face contorted with constipation: "It's full of Confucian sayings and poems, just a series of permutations of the sage's words. I've looked at it for a long time, and all I can see is that this person knows how to play word games; I don't see any ability to govern a country whatsoever!"

He stood up, paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, and his inner monologue was already flooding the screen:

Is this the Eight-Legged Essay? Is this the legendary stuff that countless scholars spent their lives studying and researching?

Isn't this just an ancient version of "cloze test" plus "assigned essay"?

Moreover, it's the kind of cosplay essay that requires you to imitate the tone of voice of ancient people!

Selecting talent?

They're basically choosing a language repeater!

If the country is governed by a bunch of bookworms who only know how to speak on behalf of sages, then pigs can fly if the country is to prosper.

"What I need are people who can get things done, not parrots who can only write pretty words!"

Hong Xiguan stopped and stared intently at the two Han officials: "If the Yellow River breaches its banks, can they devise a strategy to plug the breach? If the Grand Canal is disrupted, do they know how to manage grain ships? If there is a severe drought in the region, do they know how to appease the displaced people?"

"Are these things taught in the Four Books and Five Classics?"

Xiong Cili and Feng Pu remained silent.

Although they were also graduates of the imperial examination system and beneficiaries of the rigid eight-legged essay, they were also renowned ministers of their time and naturally knew that the emperor was speaking the truth.

The imperial examination system, which required candidates to take the eight-legged essay, produced mostly "empty and useless" individuals who were completely clueless when they arrived in their local posts and relied entirely on their clerks for assistance.

"What does His Majesty mean?" Feng Pu asked tentatively.

"change!"

Hong Xiguan waved his hand decisively: "Starting from this year's examination, the eight-legged essay is abolished! All those clichéd phrases like 'opening the topic,' 'continuing the topic,' 'beginning the discussion,' and 'entering the topic' are to be thrown into the trash can!"

"The imperial examination will be changed to three parts: policy essay, memorial judgment, and practical examination!"

"The first exam will test practical application of knowledge! For example, the topic could be about taxation in Jiangnan and the reform of the Grand Canal. Let the scholars stop focusing on studying the emperor's belt all day and start looking at how the nation's money and grain are managed!"

"The second test will be on judging cases! We'll give the candidates several real cases to see how they adjudicate according to the law. Don't let them become officials and still be unable to distinguish between plaintiff and defendant!"

"The third test will be on arithmetic and agriculture! An official who can't do accounting is just a tool for corrupt officials, and an official who doesn't understand agriculture is just a scourge to the people!"

The release of this series of reform proposals was like throwing a depth charge into a calm lake.

Xiong Cilu broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this.

Isn't this a huge leap? It could easily lead to disaster!

"Your Majesty, this...this is an ancestral law, used for hundreds of years..."

"The laws of our ancestors?" Hong Xiguan sneered. "Those were rules established by the former Ming emperors, originally intended to suppress thought. Now I am the ancestor of the Great Qing! If I say change, then change!"

"Set the exam questions according to my instructions! Anyone who dares to write another formulaic essay, throw the exam paper in their face and kick them out!"

"Yes, sir..."

The two elderly men wiped their sweat and left.

They had become accustomed to the young emperor's unconventional methods.

If this had happened during the Ming Dynasty, reforming the imperial examination system would certainly have met with opposition from a host of officials, who might even have pointed their fingers at the emperor and cursed him.

But this was the Qing Dynasty, and those Han officials were suppressed by the Manchu officials, so they were all more obedient than anyone else.

Oppose?

nonexistent!

As for the Manchu officials, they didn't care about any of that.

Because they simply don't understand!

……