The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

"So... Mr. Chen means," Wei Zheng's spirits lifted, "that the candidates' papers and their scores cannot be judged by a single examiner."

"Furthermore, shouldn't all examiners be officials from the Ministry of Personnel? Shouldn't examiners be jointly appointed by the Hongwen Academy, the Imperial Academy, and the Ministry of Personnel, and should the evaluation be conducted jointly and comprehensively?"

Changsun Wuji shook his head and said, "No, the Hongwen Academy, the Imperial Academy, and the Ministry of Personnel are too few. I think there should be at least six examiners. The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel should each send one official to serve as examiners."

"This greatly reduces the possibility of examiners colluding with corrupt officials."

Wei Zheng did not refute this, but instead supported it, saying, "That makes sense, but six examiners are too many. There should be a chief examiner to make the decision."

"That makes sense," Du Ruhui chimed in. "The position of chief examiner could be filled by the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."

"With the prime minister as the chief examiner, he's qualified no matter how you look at it, and... the fairness can be greatly improved."

Li Shimin agreed with this, because he would never give the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel to just anyone.

Once given, it proves that you have gained his absolute trust.

Such a person is fully qualified to serve as the chief examiner and is worthy of Li Shimin's trust.

"No, no, no!"

As everyone was discussing the matter, Chen Huai'an suddenly said, "The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is certainly qualified, but I think that since we have already decided to reform from top to bottom, we might as well be thorough."

"Why not let His Majesty personally serve as the chief examiner?"

"How about we add a final palace examination, held in front of His Majesty, where he will personally decide who will be selected—the so-called 'top scholar' in popular parlance?"

Upon hearing this, the Xiande Hall fell into complete silence.

Wei Zheng, Du Ruhui, and the others stood there stunned, instinctively looking up at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin was stunned for a moment.

Should we appoint him as the chief examiner?

The emperor personally presided over the examination?

This... this...

That's absolutely brilliant!

Li Shimin's smile was harder to suppress than an AK.

What does it mean for the emperor to be the chief examiner?

This means that these people will all be the emperor's protégés in the future, and all of them can be considered as having been promoted by him.

They were naturally close to the emperor.

Having the prime minister preside over the examination is certainly a good idea; conventional thinking would find it perfectly acceptable.

Li Shimin initially thought so too.

However, there are also hidden dangers here.

That means the prime minister's power might increase, since the chief examiner, to some extent, is already considered a teacher.

With this relationship in place, the prime ministerial staff inevitably underwent changes.

Although Li Shimin was confident in controlling everything and did not care about the excessive power of the prime minister, what about the emperors who followed the Li family?

Who dares to guarantee that forever?

Chen Huai'an's method can be said to have solved the problem once and for all!

More importantly, who wouldn't be confused by the title of "disciple of the emperor"?

Wouldn't that better motivate children from poor families to participate in the imperial examinations?

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!

After realizing what was happening, Li Shimin stood up, shaking his head and clapping his hands, saying, "Good, good, good!"

"Besides 'good,' I can't think of any other adjective to describe it!"

"Huai'an alone is worth 100,000 elite troops!"

"That's what we'll do!"

Li Shimin did not give anyone a chance to refuse, and made the decision directly, leaving no room for doubt.

The others fell silent.

Because everyone has realized the deeper meaning behind it, unless someone is foolish, virtually no one will object at this point.

"Kemin, Xuanling!" Li Shimin turned and called out.

"Your Majesty, we are here!" Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling rose and bowed.

"This matter is entrusted to you to draft a detailed set of regulations. I want to see a complete system in place within a month!" Li Shimin declared firmly.

"Your Majesty, we obey!" The two men accepted the order.

Changsun Wuji felt a slight pang of sadness, but he didn't say anything and silently glanced at Chen Huai'an.

Li Shimin entrusted this matter to Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, but not to Chen Huai'an, who proposed the reform, nor to him, who was currently the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

He immediately understood the profound meaning contained within it.

Chen Huai'an absolutely cannot continue to play the game with the powerful families at this point. Even if the two sides have reached a tacit understanding, they should prevent Chen Huai'an from doing anything if possible.

Firstly, Chen Huai'an was indeed very busy with official duties, overseeing two ministries, both of which were closely related to people's livelihoods.

Even teaching the crown prince required setting aside time, so he was never free.

Furthermore, having Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui do the work would also alleviate some of the pressure from the powerful families on Chen Huai'an.

We can't let Chen Huai'an shoulder all the burden alone.

As for Changsun Wuji himself...

He knew in his heart that it was time for him to resign!

He can no longer remain in the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel!

"Huai'an, do you have any other suggestions?" Li Shimin asked casually, in a very good mood.

Chen Huai'an smiled and said, "I also have some minor suggestions; would Your Majesty like to hear them?"

"Oh? There's more?" Li Shimin became interested. He had only asked casually, but he didn't expect there to be more.

How many more surprises can Chen Huai'an give him?

"It's like this..." Chen Huai'an pondered for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "I think it's not quite appropriate to place all the weight of the imperial examinations on the Ministry of Personnel; the Ministry of Rites should be in charge."

"This makes it more suitable for the emergence of the palace examination."

"Because the Ministry of Rites has a very simple set of responsibilities, it is easier for His Majesty to manage it."

Li Shimin raised an eyebrow slightly: "Transferred from the Ministry of Personnel to the Ministry of Rites?"

"This is no small matter."

Chen Huai'an nodded: "It is indeed no small matter. Your Majesty can discuss the specifics with the officials of the Ministry of Personnel."

"I was just offering some minor suggestions."

"Finally..." he paused, "I think we should add a system for reviewing imperial rankings."

"A system for reviewing imperial rankings?" Wei Zheng asked, puzzled. "What does that mean?"

Chen Huai'an explained directly, "It's very simple. The so-called 'Imperial Review of the List' system means that before the provincial examination results are released, all lists and copies of the examination papers are sent to the palace for His Majesty to review personally. He has the authority to add or remove candidates!"

"..."

Li Shimin's feelings at this moment were hard to describe in words.

are you happy?

Is that even a question?

Are you excited?

I was so excited I couldn't speak.

Chen Huai'an truly carved out a path from the bottom up, tearing open a gap for children from poor families to break free from layers of monopoly.

At the same time, this channel was handed over to him to control!

"..."