Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5024: Confucian Dilemma
"Gongyuan?"

Xu Jingzong fully agreed with the idea of ​​building new buildings for the imperial examinations. After all, the imperial examinations were hosted by the Ministry of Rites, and the person who would benefit the most from the additional buildings would naturally be him, the Minister of Rites. However, he was a little confused about the name "Gongyuan".

Fang Jun looked at the students who entered the examination hall after being searched and checked one by one. "Things presented to the emperor are called 'tribute'. The imperial examination recruits talents from all over the world to serve the emperor, which is also a kind of 'tribute'. The place where the examination is held can naturally be called 'Gongyuan'."

Xu Jingzong thought for a moment and was filled with admiration: "The commander's words are thought-provoking! The commander's views are insightful!"

When facing the imperial examination, Emperor Taizong once said, "All heroes in the world are within my grasp," which shows that he regarded all students in the world as his own. Now Fang Jun regards students as "tribute" and presents them to His Majesty, which is another interpretation of "All heroes in the world are within Your Majesty's grasp," which instantly elevates His Majesty's status to the supreme position.

No matter what you think in your heart, whether it is "the world does not belong to one family or one surname" or "national interests are above all else", such "above the king" remarks will make Your Majesty feel valued and the imperial majesty will be demonstrated.

In terms of the level of "flattering superiors", Fang Jun is unique among all the civil and military officials in the court.

There were actually censors who angrily called Xu Jingzong a "flatterer" and a "traitor". How unjust! Compared with Fang Jun, he should definitely stay away...

Fang Jun glanced at Xu Jingzong and warned him, "The imperial examination is not only a national talent selection ceremony, but also the foundation of our reform. Don't try to do anything with it. Otherwise, once discovered, the consequences will be unbearable. Don't be confused for a moment and ruin your bright future. It will be too late to regret it!"

Although this guy is greedy for money and has low moral character, he is indeed a good knife to use. As long as he is given enough benefits, he dares to kill anyone who stands in his way. He is bold, capable, and has a low bottom line. He is always successful in doing things he doesn't want to do.

But precisely because they are so bold and have such low bottom line, and disregard morality and laws, if we are not warned at all times, they will probably go astray.

It would be a shame if the blade of a weapon that you use is bent...

Xu Jingzong's heart trembled, and he hurriedly said: "The imperial examination has condensed a lot of efforts of the general. I know that the general has high hopes for this, and I want to go all out and serve with all my heart. How dare I interfere and destroy the overall situation? Please rest assured, general, no matter how confused I am, I will never dare to use my brain on the imperial examination!"

"Haha," Fang Jun sneered, "Do you dare to say that no one has approached you privately to ask you to tamper with the imperial examination?"

The night sky was dark and the breeze was cool, but Xu Jingzong was sweating profusely. He swallowed his saliva and said, "Someone did come to me, but how dare I agree? I absolutely don't dare!"

Fang Jun patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Not only do you have to stick to the bottom line, but you also have to keep a close eye on the people below you and don't let them play tricks on you. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, you, the examiner, will be held responsible and you won't be able to clear yourself of the blame even if you want to."

Since ancient times, cheating has been a problem in any exam. How to prevent cheating and ensure fairness is an extremely difficult task. Although he has come up with many ways to prevent cheating, it is still difficult to implement them in a hurry. In order for their children to pass the exam and achieve good results, the aristocratic families not only have endless ways to cheat, but also use money, beauties, power and other means to win over and corrupt the invigilators, making it difficult to prevent.

Xu Jingzong looked solemn, nodded and said, "Don't worry, General, I understand."

He gritted his teeth and vowed to keep his eyes open, keep a close eye on everything, and not give anyone the chance to betray him!

If he received benefits that were hard to refuse, he would be willing to take the risk, but if he did not get any benefits at all and was cheated by a low-level official, he would be so upset that he would hang himself!

Let him take the blame while others get the benefits?

Absolutely impossible!

Not far away, officials outside the yamen searched the examinees and found cheating items on them. According to the rules, they expelled them on the spot and their documents were invalidated. Afterwards, their names would be recorded in the files of the Ministry of Rites, they would be banned from taking exams for life, and their descendants would be implicated. Naturally, the examinees were not convinced. They first struggled and shouted, and stubbornly denied it. Then they knelt down and begged, and cried bitterly. However, the rules of the imperial examination were as heavy as a mountain and could not be changed. Several Jinwu guards came forward and dragged them away. The sound of their cries could be heard from far away in the night. Their sadness was so great that those who heard them felt sympathy.

Fang Jun said, "You see, right? The imperial examination is the only way to enter the government, and too many people take the risk. After all, once you pass it, you are like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, and rising to the top is just around the corner. No matter how big the risk is, you can bear it."

Xu Jingzong felt sympathetic and assured again: "I will definitely not take it lightly. No matter who it is, I will not show any mercy once I investigate!"

"Just keep it in mind, don't lose the big picture because of the small."

"Here."

Even though he was a meritorious official in the Zhenguan period and one of the eighteen scholars in the Qin Palace, and few in the court could match him in terms of seniority, Xu Jingzong was respectful and reverent in front of Fang Jun, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

Chu Suiliang, who dared to go against Fang Jun in the academy back then, look at where he is now?

As an extremely beloved and trusted minister of Emperor Taizong, a famous scholar and calligrapher of the time, he was forced to retire early and return to his hometown to enjoy his old age...

The sky gradually brightened, and a pale sky appeared in the east. The grass leaves at the foot of the wall were covered with dew, and they were crystal clear.

All candidates have entered the examination room.

Kong Yingda came quickly surrounded by a group of officials from the Ministry of Rites. He nodded slightly to Fang Jun and Xu Jingzong who were standing in front of the door, then entered the yamen and walked into the examination room. He took out the examination questions from the bamboo tube he carried with him and posted them on a wooden board.

An examiner held a wooden board and walked around during the opening so that all the candidates could see it clearly.

The gongs rang "Dangdangdang", the doors were locked, the Jinwu guards isolated the inside and the outside and sealed the doors, and the exam began.

A red sun broke through the clouds, radiant and majestic.

In a duty room, Fang Jun, Kong Yingda and Xu Jingzong were eating breakfast with bowls in their hands. After the doors were locked, no one was allowed to enter or leave during the three-day examination period. They had to eat and sleep in the yamen, otherwise there would be suspicion of leaking the exam questions. This was to prevent the examiners from colluding with outsiders to commit fraud.

Kong Yingda drank porridge and ate side dishes, and praised Fang Jun: "The series of anti-cheating methods you suggested are really incredible but reasonable, especially the 'masking names' and 'transcription', which basically eliminate the biggest possibility of cheating. In addition to these separate examinations and prohibitions on entry and exit, it is extremely difficult to cheat."

What is the biggest drawback of the imperial examination? Naturally, it is how to prevent cheating.

After Fang Jun's advice, a series of measures including setting questions, transporting test questions, body searches, examination room discipline, covering names, transcription, etc. can eliminate all kinds of cheating methods to the greatest extent and ensure the fairness and justice of the imperial examination to the greatest extent possible.

As long as people all over the world recognize the fairness and justice of the imperial examination, this method of selecting talents for the country will surely become a permanent system.

Confucians do not reject the imperial examination, but they reject the imperial examination if it does not conform to their interests...

Fang Jun put down his bowl, took the handkerchief and wiped the corner of his mouth, shook his head and smiled: "The higher the virtue, the higher the evil. Defense is always in a passive state. There will always be people who will have some strange ideas to try to break through the layers of defense we set up. So we can't be complacent because of the temporary results, but should always be vigilant and never relax, so that the road to advancement for thousands of candidates can be guaranteed to be smooth."

Any society must ensure a path to advancement and give the lower classes a chance to leap up the social ladder, so that it can be harmonious and stable. Without this path, the children of farmers will always be farmers, and the children of princes will always be princes. Anger and resentment will inevitably accumulate and explode, overturning everything.

In the vast ocean raised by the people, any royal power will be overturned to the ground.

Kong Yingda swallowed the last mouthful of porridge in his bowl and said with relief: "This is natural! Times have changed, and we should keep pace with the times! This imperial examination was well organized and ran smoothly. Various systems were prepared in advance very perfectly. If there are no accidents, it can be said to be the most perfect one since the imperial examination system was established! Thousands of years later, we will definitely be recorded in the history books and our names will be passed down in history!"

Since ancient times, scholars have attached great importance to fame. As long as their names could be recorded in history, even a great scholar like Kong Yingda would be extremely excited.

Fang Jun took the tea handed over by Wannian County Magistrate Li Anqi, took a sip, and shook his head, saying, "The establishment of the imperial examination system provides a relatively fair way to recruit scholars, but it still has many unreasonable aspects. It must be continuously improved and perfected during the implementation process to recruit as many scholars as possible who are useful to the country, rather than stubborn and stubborn nerds who hold on to one thing. If that happens, the imperial examination system may become the sorrow of the Tang Dynasty."

The imperial examination is indeed a great feat of China, with far-reaching influence, covering the humanities, country, society, literature and other aspects.

However, due to the control of Confucianism, various drawbacks were difficult to conceal, and its essence of "focusing on classics and neglecting science" was deeply criticized by later generations. Especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties, Confucianism "castrated itself" in order to cater to the rulers, and even deviated from the core of Confucianism. The "eight-part essay" greatly poisoned the innovation of the Chinese nation.

Seeing Kong Yingda's thoughtful look, Fang Jun continued, "Scholars all over the world should reach a consensus on what kind of talents should be selected from the imperial examination in order to better govern the country, and should not treat it as a mere tool to stabilize society. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty 'abolished all schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone', Confucianism has been the only one that is respected. This is not a good thing, because Confucianism is high above and only cares about maintaining its own rule, but has long lost the advantage of keeping pace with the times and pioneering and enterprising. In the long run, Confucianism can only become a tool for the rulers, but loses its core academic knowledge."

Kong Yingda deeply agreed with this.