Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4996: A Group of Traitors

When I first heard Fang Jun's suggestion, it was indeed inspiring and fascinating. If it could be implemented, the whole world would be filled with Confucianists, and from then on, Confucian disciples would dominate the court.

But Confucius and Yan were not corrupt scholars who were ignorant of worldly affairs. Not only were they profoundly learned, but their ways of dealing with the world were also honed through thousands of trials and tribulations. They were able to be born and raised in troubled times and gained fame throughout the world. How could they be easily matched with such people?

After a brief excitement, he calmed down.

Kong Yingda shook his head: "Your Majesty will definitely not agree."

Yan Shigu also said: "This plan goes against the national policy and is extremely difficult to implement."

They both had the same idea: Are you deceiving us?!

Since ancient times, the scarcity of books has made it difficult to spread knowledge. The production and copying of a book not only costs money but also requires the labor of literate people. Therefore, books can only be owned by wealthy families and inherited by princes and nobles.

To this day, the foundation of Confucianism lies in aristocratic families. Whether they are from poor families or common people, those who cannot even afford to buy books are not even expected to understand the interpretation of the scriptures?
The imperial examination system can indeed cultivate outstanding children from poor families and common people in the future, but this requires not only long-term efforts but also some luck.

Therefore, the imperial examination formulated by Fang Jun included not only the Mingjing subject, but also Mingsuan, medicine, astronomy, physics and other subjects. As long as one passed the examination, he would be granted an official position by the court... Children of aristocratic families never learned these messy things. This was an opportunity for the poor and common people.

If the current imperial examination were to be based entirely on Confucianism, the court would inevitably be filled with members of the nobility and the rich, and wouldn't all the efforts made by Emperor Taizong to suppress the aristocratic families be wasted?
There is no way Li Chengqian would accept such advice.

Moreover, the current imperial examination system was modified by Fang Jun based on the old system of the former Sui Dynasty. How could he destroy the Great Wall?

It's obviously a fraud.

Fang Jun waved his hands in disapproval, speaking earnestly and sincerely, "I just said that nothing in the world is absolute! Even if Your Majesty agrees, do you two really think that Confucianism can monopolize the world's schools and everyone in the world will be a Confucian disciple? When the water is full, it overflows; when the moon is full, it wanes. This is the truth of heaven and earth."

Kong Yingda understood what Fang Jun meant and nodded, "So, I think what you said is feasible."

He looked at Yan Shigu: "What do you think, my dear brother?"

The latter pondered for a moment and said, "We can give it a try."

He just asked for a high price and paid it back on the spot. Although he was a world-famous scholar, he was not ignorant of political means.

What is politics?

Just constant attack, retreat, and compromise.

Mathematics, physics, even chemistry and astronomy can all be retained, as they can enrich the cultural heritage, but when it comes to the meaning of classics, there is only Confucianism.

*****
On the second day of February, Minister of Rites Xu Jingzong returned to Chang'an from Shandong. During this trip, he traveled to Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other places, measuring land and checking taxes. He was so famous that he shocked everyone. This time he returned to Beijing to report on his work not only to be commended by the court for his achievements and to boost his prestige, but also to prepare for the upcoming imperial examination.

The imperial examination system of the Tang Dynasty was partly inherited from the previous Sui Dynasty and partly initiated by Fang Jun. Not to mention the subdivided subjects, just in terms of the rules, it was divided into provincial examination, Ministry of Rites examination, and palace examination.

The imperial edict ordered that "all the scholars in various states who have already won the title of Mingjing, Xiucai, Junshi and Jinshi, who are knowledgeable about principles and well-respected by the people in their villages, should be entrusted to take the examination in their own counties. The governors of the provinces will repeat the examination and select those who are qualified. They should present tribute with gifts in October every year." This is called the "provincial examination", which is conducted in advance by the state and county governments. Those who are selected will go to Beijing "every October" to take part in the "Ministry of Rites Examination" held by the court.

Once one passes the "Ministry of Rites Examination", one can be granted an official title by the imperial court, and after being reviewed and assigned an official position by the Ministry of Personnel, one can officially embark on a career in officialdom.

The subsequent "Palace Examination" ranked the students selected in the "Ministry of Rites Examination"...

The most groundbreaking rule was the "submit a ticket and respond" rule created by Fang Jun. All students participating in the "provincial examination" did not have to be recommended by the government as in the Sui Dynasty. Poor scholars from the lower classes who could not be recommended "were also allowed to recommend themselves" and "enter the court with integrity and advance themselves without any suspicion." As long as they had talent, they could "recommend themselves" and "advance themselves."

Education has been monopolized by aristocratic families for thousands of years. Even though any student can "self-promote", in reality only those who are selected are children of aristocratic families. Most of the children of poor families and common people are eliminated in the first round of "provincial examinations" and fail.

However, the opening of this path has left a ladder for the children of poor families and common people to ascend to heaven. With the popularization of books and the cheapness of paper, the monopoly of education has been cracked...

……

At the beginning of the afternoon, Li Chengqian, who had gone through many ceremonies of offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors, dragged his tired body back to Taiji Palace. After eating a few bites of food, taking a bath and changing clothes, he went to the imperial study in Wude Hall to meet Xu Jingzong.

After listening to Xu Jingzong's report, Li Chengqian's depressed spirit perked up and a smile appeared on his face.

I am very glad that I listened to Fang Jun's advice and, against all odds, appointed Xu Jingzong to be responsible for measuring land and checking taxes. This Minister of Rites, who was submissive and able to get along with everyone when he was in the central government, was ruthless and resolute when he went to the local level, and his rectification made the local aristocratic families complain bitterly and cry without tears.

Naturally, there were people who pretended to obey but actually disobeyed and resisted in various ways, but there was hardly anyone in the court who was more sinister and cunning than Xu Jingzong... In front of Xu Jingzong, they were just showing off their skills.

"Your Excellency's actions this time will benefit the country and future generations. I hope you can keep your original aspirations in mind and keep working hard!"

Li Chengqian praised and affirmed Xu Jingzong's political achievements.

He thought he was not as good at judging people as Emperor Taizong, so he would keep using any useful minister he found, making the best use of him, and would not stop until he died of exhaustion...

"I am a servant of Emperor Taizong. Fortunately, I am able to serve Your Majesty with the support of Emperor Taizong. I will do my best to serve the king!"

Xu Jingzong's face was flushed and his expression was excited. Naturally, he was tired from running around and engaging in intrigue, but he understood that this achievement would most likely become an extremely solid foundation for his official career, enough to ensure that he would enter the Council of State one day in the future, or even be the chief minister or one of the disciples. No matter how hard and tiring it was, he would be happy to do it.

Li Chengqian smiled and invited Xu Jingzong to drink tea. Although he knew that this person had some problems with his character and was repeatedly suppressed by Fang Jun, he had to admit that it was a pleasure to get along with him, and that he was talented and indeed useful.

"The empire has expanded its territory and its territory is vast. In the past two years, the state has been prosperous and changing with each passing day. The court is in urgent need of more talents to fill various positions, so I have discussed with the prime ministers and decided to add an imperial examination this year to select talents. The provincial examinations in various places have been gradually carried out. You should stay in the capital and preside over the examinations of the Ministry of Rites to share my worries."

"This is my duty as a minister. I must rise early and sleep late, and I dare not slack off!"

Xu Jingzong quickly expressed his opinion, and then looked at Li Chengqian's face and said carefully: "But I have heard privately that many great Confucian scholars have communicated with each other, intending to advise Your Majesty to abolish the subjects of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, etc., and only retain the subject of Mingjing, and use Confucian classics as the subject... When I returned from Shandong, the public opinion in the places I passed by was in turmoil. The Confucian students raised their arms and shouted loudly, the momentum was like a tide, and the people were excited, and they were determined to win."

Li Chengqian looked unhappy and said, "Two days ago, the two great scholars, Confucius and Yan, jointly wrote a letter to me about this matter. I haven't made a decision yet, but the whole world is already in an uproar. It can be seen that they have planned it all along, and they want to collude with people from all walks of life and the government to put pressure on me!"

Xu Jingzong said no more, just listened attentively, waiting for Li Chengqian's decision.

Li Chengqian was filled with anger, but it disappeared in an instant and he sighed dejectedly.

Although he was an emperor and ruled the world, he seemed to be shrouded in an invisible net. He relied on this net to rule the world and issue orders, but in turn he was bound by this net, unable to move, and even having his throat tightened, making it difficult for him to breathe.

When he was very young, he was canonized as the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty. His father taught him the ways of being a monarch. The most important thing was the word "checks and balances". Yes, it was "checks and balances", not "balance", because his father told him that nothing in the world is absolute, there is no absolute "balance" at all. At any time, any force is in an unbalanced state. Constantly checking and balancing various forces to achieve balance is the art of being an emperor.

But now?

The power of the empire is nothing more than military and political power. The military is powerful and difficult to control, and there is a risk of it getting out of control. Even the civil service is unwilling to remain dormant, and intends to build a ruling framework under him as the emperor, to put him on a high pedestal, and in fact, they will be the ones to implement the rule...

In Li Chengqian's opinion, these civil servants who talk about benevolence, righteousness and morality are not as good as Fang Jun. At least Fang Jun has never concealed his political inclinations. "The interests of the empire are above all else" is Fang Jun's philosophy. He may not be loyal to the emperor, but he is absolutely loyal to the country.

And what about the civil servants?

Just like the aristocratic families behind them, they only wanted to sideline the emperor, rely on the common people to suck their blood, and maintain their so-called noble heritage...

Taking a deep breath, Li Chengqian waved his hands and said in a deep voice: "The Tang Dynasty belongs to all people in the world, not to one family or one surname, and certainly not to one school or one sect. Confucianism has a long history and is a prominent discipline in the world, but mathematics, physics, astronomy, medicine, etc. are also worldly disciplines. How can we distinguish between the two? You can't measure mountains, rivers, and canals, study things to gain knowledge, and treat patients with the books of sages, right?"

After a pause, he said, "Confucianism is the main focus, and miscellaneous studies are supplementary. This is the original intention of Emperor Taizong in governing. I am not virtuous enough, so I dare not change Emperor Taizong's national policy. The whole world should also follow it."

He knew that Xu Jingzong was being asked by those great Confucian scholars to test his bottom line, so he told them his bottom line directly: It was okay to focus on Confucianism, but it was not okay for Confucianism to unify the world.

This was not only his bottom line as an emperor, but also the bottom line of the military including Fang Jun and Li Ji. The flourishing encyclopedia and the combination of civil and military affairs in Zhenguan Academy were enough to show Fang Jun's will.

Of course, the fact that Confucianism has suddenly become so high-profile and so disdainful and fearless towards the military must mean that the two sides have reached some kind of contract in private.

Between advancement and retreat, it is just a matter of compromise after struggle.

But in this case, who cares about his dignity as an emperor?
A bunch of traitors.