White-robed Minister

Chapter 243 0241 [Magazine Launch]

Why did Xu Lai raise the score list for selecting scholars at this time?

Just a few days earlier, Wang Anshi had officially promulgated the new imperial examination law.

Scholars who had passed the provincial examinations could take the provincial examinations again, and then the provincial examinations were completely abolished.

The Mingjing examination was immediately cancelled.

Because a large number of scholars from the five northern routes took the Mingjing examination, a certain number of Jinshi (highest degree) positions were specifically reserved for them. These positions were created due to the abolition of the Mingjing and other examinations.

Note that the quota for Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) allocated to scholars from the five northern routes was a temporary policy to promote reform. It could be cancelled at any time!

Zhao Xu regularly went to pay his respects to Empress Dowager Gao.

In the past, they had only exchanged a few casual words, but today Empress Dowager Gao said, "I've heard that the imperial examinations will now select candidates through separate lists?"

Zhao Xu quickly explained, "It's still under discussion."

Empress Dowager Gao said nothing more. In recent years, she had been very disciplined and had not interfered in the affairs of the court at all.

But today's question serves as a reminder to Zhao Xu that many powerful figures oppose this matter.

That evening, Zhao Xu returned to Empress Xiang's palace to rest, and Empress Xiang even asked him about the results of the imperial examinations.

Although his mother and wife did not express their opinions, they put Zhao Xu under great pressure, as he had to consider the force behind them.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Wang requests an audience."

"Please let him in."

Wang Anshi came to present the "Three Houses Method".

After reading it, Zhao Xiang nodded in approval.

The educational resources in the five northern circuits are terrible. This time, special quotas for Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) are being allocated, and official schools will be built extensively in the north. This is a perfect opportunity to implement the Three-Tier System.

In other words, the three-way system was not immediately rolled out, but was first piloted in the five northern routes.

The system of education was divided into three levels: county schools, prefectural schools, and imperial academies. In areas where conditions permitted, primary schools (elementary schools) could also be established.

At every level of school, children of officials can be admitted without taking an entrance exam.

Children of commoners needed to take an entrance exam and also required two successful candidates in the imperial examinations to act as guarantors. However, those of good character could be recommended by local officials and admitted without taking the exam.

Each level of school is further divided into three grades: outer dormitory, inner dormitory, and upper dormitory. Students who excel in their daily performance and exam results can be promoted to higher-level schools.

Previously, principals of official schools were appointed by local officials, but now they must be appointed by the imperial court.

Students with excellent academic performance could be recommended by the academic officials to enter the Biyong (a preparatory school for the Imperial Academy), or directly enter the Imperial Academy for further study.

Graduates of the Imperial Academy who achieved outstanding results were directly appointed to official positions. Those who achieved the next highest results were exempt from the Ministry of Rites examination and could directly participate in the palace examination. Those who achieved the lowest results were exempt from the preliminary examination and could directly take the imperial examination for the highest degree.

Didn't Xu Lai propose selecting officials by ranking them? Wang Anshi then brought up the Three-Tier System for discussion.

As expected, the "three-rounding method" sparked another argument.

Because this method was first piloted in the five northern regions, northern officials praised it highly. This was because their children and relatives could be admitted to official schools without taking the entrance exams, and then pursue official careers through the Imperial Academy.

However, they also liked Xu Lai's separate system of selecting officials, believing that the two methods could be used in parallel.

Officials from Beijing were more supportive of the three-tiered system and most opposed the separate examination system for selecting officials. The remaining officials from Beijing, while not opposed to the separate examination system, remained silent, fearing that speaking out would invite criticism from their fellow townsmen.

Zhao Xu summoned Xu Lai and inquired about his attitude towards the Three Houses Method.

Xu Lai asked, "Your Majesty, who supervises the school officials? It seems that the entrance exams for each level of school are not anonymous. As long as one can bribe the school officials or teachers, cheating in the official school exams is too easy. Even if the grading is anonymous, one should still consider the student's usual conduct. Whose conduct is better is ultimately decided by the professors."

Zhao Xu was taken aback.

Xu Lai then said, "For a commoner's son, two successful candidates in the imperial examinations are needed to guarantee his admission to an official school. Where can a poor boy like me find two successful candidates to guarantee his admission?"

Zhao Xu said, "We can change it to a joint guarantee from fellow villagers, instead of forcing those who have passed the imperial examinations to act as guarantors."

Xu Lai continued, "If my family were wealthy, could we bribe the professors at the county and state schools, saying that my son is of excellent character, and then gain admission to the county or state schools without taking the entrance exams?"

"Surely the officials appointed by the court wouldn't be so greedy and treacherous?" Zhao Xu said.

Xu Lai said, "In the early stages of the Three-Tier System, it should have been fairly fair. But what about ten years later? I can assure you that in order to get into the Imperial Academy, students from the prefectures will do everything they can to curry favor with and bribe the academic officials. This is different from the prefectural schools now."

"What's the difference?" Zhao Xu asked.

Xu Lai explained, "Currently, the professors of the prefectural schools are hired by the prefect. Students rarely have contact with the prefect, and the prefect doesn't really care about such small bribes. However, after the implementation of the Three-Tier System, the professors of the prefectural schools are appointed by the imperial court, so it's impossible to appoint officials of too high a rank. These lower-ranking officials, as professors, see the students daily, making it easy for the students to curry favor with them."

Bribe them.

After the Three-Tier System was implemented for many years, corruption and fraud were frequently exposed. Even the top five students in each state had to rack their brains to please the principal, because each state only had a limited number of places for students to enter the Imperial College each year.

You should have no problem getting first place every time, but the principal also needs to be mindful of the public opinion surrounding you.

But if you sometimes rank second and sometimes fifth, you should think twice, because the student who ranks tenth is "better" than you.

Whether someone is of good or bad character is determined by the principal and student leaders.

Student leaders often form cliques to be in charge of performance evaluations. Relying on their good relationship with the principal, they wield significant power in evaluations and enjoy immense prestige at school.

Alternatively, someone could use their financial power to bribe student leaders instead of the principal, thus achieving a perfect score on their evaluation.

Some student leaders even delayed their advancement to higher education, lingering in the school every year to accept bribes and make money, while also participating in the regular imperial examinations.

Later, Emperor Zhezong abolished the imperial examination system and only used the three-stage system to select officials, which made the situation even more chaotic.

An angry student at the Imperial Academy beat the petition drum, but the prefect of Kaifeng imprisoned him for false accusation. The case eventually escalated into a political purge, with even the son of the vice prime minister being found guilty of corruption.

After carefully listening to Xu Lai's views, Zhao Xu wrote them down and planned to discuss them with Wang Anshi to strengthen oversight measures to plug the loopholes.

The uproar in the court and among the people was too intense, so Zhao Xu decided to wait and see.

He disagreed with both Xu Lai's separate examination system for selecting officials and Wang Anshi's three-tiered system. The emperor ordered the officials to continue their discussion for three to five months before making a final decision, as he wanted to gather more opinions from the officials.

Xu Lai returned home and acted as if nothing had happened, going into his study to write.

Today, he wrote a short story called "The Boat Woman".

During the Qingli era, there was a boat-dwelling family named Zhang Yi in Guangdong who made a living by fishing.

One day, the sea wind howled and the waves crashed against the houseboat. His wife, Lin, was mending the nets, looking after their three young sons, who were suffering from hunger and cold and had fallen asleep. Lin was worried about her husband's return, and the sound of the storm only increased her sorrow.

Suddenly, he thought of a widowed woman on the neighboring boat, who had lost her husband the previous month and was destitute. She left behind two young children, whose fate was unknown. He went to the neighboring boat, but received no response when he called out to her. He pushed open the door and entered. He saw the woman lying on a plank bed, her face pale and stiff. Her two young children were still suckling at her breast, unaware that their mother was dead.

"Lin took off her clothes, wrapped her two sons, and carried them back to her boat. She placed them on the bed and covered them with tattered cotton."

Leo Tolstoy's "Poor Folk"!

China has a long history of works depicting the lives of the poor and lower classes, but these are mostly long poems. Xu Lai felt that the scholar-official class of the Song Dynasty severely lacked a perspective on the lowest levels of society, so he decided to try his hand at writing a novel.

Yu'er personally brought the late-night snack into the study. Xu Lai hadn't finished writing yet, so she stood beside him and read.

As she read, Yu'er's eyes welled up with tears, and she quickly raised her hand to wipe them away.

This novel actually made her cry.

Yu'er asked, "Husband, is this true?"

Xu Lai put down his pen and said, "It could be true or false."

The Tanka people of Guangdong were also registered as households. Because of this registration, they were subject to taxes and corvée labor, with particularly heavy corvée duties. Their lives were extremely difficult!

The next day, Pianpian also read the novel and sat there sighing.

The Ding siblings initially recruited twenty Tanka warriors; fifteen remained in Xihe, four left with Ding Zhengchen, and one stayed at Xu Lai's house.

After finishing the novel, Dingxiang gave a reward to the Tanka servant who stayed behind, telling him to go and buy something to eat.

Xu Lai put the novel aside and began writing academic articles.

He plans to develop his own academic system and political ideology through magazine serializations.

Another month has passed.

The imperial examination system, which involved selecting officials based on their chosen subjects and implementing the Three-Tier System, was shelved for discussion. The appointment of Xu Lai as Deputy Privy Councilor was also left unresolved.

The focus of the debate in the imperial court quickly shifted to the Baojia system.

Su Shi was demoted to Hangzhou for criticizing the Baojia system, which led him to embark on a culinary journey and, incidentally, build the Su Causeway in Hangzhou.

Chancellor Han Jiang was also demoted and banished from the capital for instigating a mutiny.

The current Secretariat consists only of Chancellor Wang Anshi, and Vice Chancellors Wang Gui and Feng Jing.

Wang Gui didn't care about anything.

Feng Jing criticized Wang Anshi every day.

Just then, Xu Lai received a reply from Ouyang Xiu.

Ouyang Xiu wrote a letter criticizing Xu Lai, saying that it was wrong to use separate examinations for selecting officials. He argued that scholars from all over the country flocked to the capital, and that they should be judged on their abilities and pass the imperial examinations.

If Xu Lai's suggestion is followed, many scholars with poor academic performance will pass the imperial examination, while those with better academic performance will fail.

There were quite a few officials who shared Ouyang Xiu's ideas, but they generally did not speak out publicly.

After criticizing Xu Lai, Ouyang Xiu also attached his new work from half a year ago, "Biography of the Hermit of Six Ones".

During his journey to exile, Su Shi also sent back a poem entitled "Seven Quatrains of Haozhou: The Tomb of Yu Ji".

Although Sima Guang recently supported the separate examination system for selecting officials, he was clearly not on the same page as Xu Lai. This year, he opposed the court's military campaign against the Western Xia and opposed recruiting soldiers in the famine-stricken Guanzhong region.

In short, we can't fight anymore; we must have a proper peace talk with Western Xia.

What's the point of talking if there's no war?

Xu Lai had originally intended to ask Sima Guang for a manuscript, but because Sima Guang opposed sending troops and even opposed the continued expansion of Xihe, he didn't want to have any further communication with Sima Guang. How infuriating!

Another half month later, the magazine was published.

The magazine was titled "The Sound of Bells".

It can be interpreted as "The Bell Tolls," but it has a deeper meaning.

Lu Dian passed the imperial examination last year and was initially appointed as the Prefectural Inspector of Caizhou. This was a minor official position, the third rank of the selected candidates, and not an actual post.

A dignified second-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) was only granted a substantive post after a year's delay.

Because he had a falling out with Wang Anshi!

During Wang Anshi's period of mourning, Lu Dian followed him closely and was a student whom Wang Anshi highly valued.

Just last year, Lu Dian said that the new laws were good, but their implementation was problematic, especially the Green Sprouts Law, which was quite disruptive to the people. Lu Dian also pointed out that Wang Anshi was unwilling to listen to advice and hoped that Wang Anshi could humbly accept criticism.

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Wang Anshi did not explain anything, but only asked his son to persuade him privately.

But Lu Dian wouldn't listen, so Wang Anshi left him hanging, refusing to grant him any real position. This year, when he was to appoint educational officials in the five northern circuits, Wang Anshi sent Lu Dian to be the principal of the Yunzhou Prefectural School.

A second-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) appointed as a professor at the state school—this was still forcing Lu Dian to obey.

In a few days, Lu Dian would be leaving the capital to take up his post. He strolled alone to the bookstore and saw a small booklet displayed in a prominent position.

"Shopkeeper, what is this?" Lu Dian asked.

The bookseller smiled and said, "It's called 'The Sound of Bells.' Compiled by Scholar Xu, who self-financed its printing and consigned it to my shop. It also contains a new work by Minister Ouyang."

Lu Dian opened the title page and the first thing he saw was the inaugural message.

"During the reign of Emperor Xining, the country underwent a complete transformation—the affairs of the world change daily and are renewed monthly; the hearts of the scholars and officials are sometimes agitated and sometimes compliant, and none can be unified. I have heard it said: principles cannot be clarified without debate, and the Way cannot be widely disseminated without transmission—"

"Though I am not particularly clever, I wish to emulate the ancients, gather like-minded people together, compile our thoughts into a concise book, and publish it under the title 'The Sound of the Bell.' The bell is not used for military campaigns, but for striking the wood to alert the masses—"

"This journal seeks truth and practicality in its publications. It may discuss the similarities and differences between classical texts, examine the gains and losses of historical events, or describe new innovations in medicine and techniques—anything beneficial to self-cultivation, family management, and governance is included in its collection."

"I have often thought: what makes a scholar a scholar is not merely to obtain official positions and wealth. It is to establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations. I wish to work together with you gentlemen on these four goals. Though the sound of the bell may be faint, my ambition is here; though the space may be small, my wish is contained here."

Lu Dian stood there in shock, feeling a chill run down his spine. He muttered to himself, "To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations."

He came to his senses, read several articles in a row, immediately took out his money to buy the magazine, and then ran wildly to Wang Anshi's house.

The master and apprentice were as close as father and son; they were just having a disagreement, but they hadn't really fallen out.

Sending Lu Dian to be the principal of a state school was merely a temporary measure by Wang Anshi. If Lu Dian continued to disobey, Wang Anshi would still promote him, but only to an official position at the Imperial Academy, preventing him from handling actual political affairs.

"Yuanze, Yuanze!"

When Lu Dian arrived at Wang Anshi's house, he was let in directly by the gatekeeper without even needing to announce his arrival.

Wang Pang emerged from the study, delighted, and asked, "Has the Master of Agriculture figured it out?"

Lu Dian took out the book "The Sound of the Bell": "Yuanze, take a look."

After reading the inaugural message, Wang Pang's expression changed drastically; he already knew what Xu Lai was up to.

There's no need to guess; the inaugural message is written very clearly.

Wang Pang quickly flipped through all the articles and found that none of them directly criticized the new law, but this made him feel even more troubled.

If Xu Lai had dared to use magazines to criticize the new laws, it would have been easier to deal with, as it would have definitely displeased the emperor. However, Xu Lai did not do that, and even his work "The Tanka Women," which reflects the plight of the poor, was said to have taken place during the Qingli era.

There were also new policies during the Qingli era, so it could be said that Xu Lai was alluding to the Xining Reforms. However, given Xu Lai's current status and the emperor's favor with him, a little allusion is nothing.

I reckon even the emperor would find it fascinating to read.

"That's not right."

Wang Peng stared at the magazine and said, "This is printed. They went to the trouble of woodblock printing just for a small booklet? How much does it cost?"

"It's only 100 coins a book," Lu Dian said.

Prices in Kaifeng were high; even a breakfast with pork offal at a roadside stall in the city would cost at least 20 or 30 coins.

The magazine was priced at one hundred coins, which was very cheap.

Wang Pang thought for a moment: "Some time ago, Xu Xingzhi was promoted to Academician of the Longtu Pavilion, seemingly for his contributions to education, and it seems he's working on something called movable type printing. Could it be movable type printing?"

Lu Dian said, "It should be."

Wang Pang stared at *Duo Sheng* magazine: "If he can publish this journal, why can't we? His name is *Duo Sheng*, ours is *Xin Sheng*. The Voice of the New Laws!"

(Some say that 45% of the spots in the Southern List are too many, but that includes more than just Jiangdong, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian. It also includes Huainan and other areas.)

Chengdu's Fu Road and Zizhou Road were the most competitive areas for the imperial examinations, and after the results were announced, it remained the most competitive, with the pass/fail ratio being among the lowest in the country.

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