Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5036 Imperial Examination
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On June 15th, there is a court meeting.

The Wude Hall was packed with people. Although it was not a grand court meeting, and the participants were only officials of the fifth rank and above, it was still crowded. People in purple and red lined up in the hall, all with solemn faces. Even those who knew each other did not dare to whisper to each other. The censors and eunuchs on the side had sharp eyes, waiting to find them to make mistakes, and then impeach them and make a name for themselves...

The ministers naturally did not want to become stepping stones for the career advancement of these young censors, so they watched their hearts with their eyes, and were as steady as a rock, without a single flaw in their bodies.

The censors were somewhat disappointed, so they all turned their eyes to Fang Jun, who was at the head of the right queue. They stared at him for a long time and saw that this guy just whispered a few words with Li Ji beside him and did not do anything else that was out of line, so they became more disappointed.

Once upon a time, Fang Erlang was the most popular among the censors. He was regarded as a "magic tool" for "boosting reputation" and "brightening political achievements". He had a bad temper and was daring. He dared to hit people even in the court, let alone shouting. How lucky the censors were at that time. They only needed to catch this man and impeach him severely a few times, and they would immediately become famous and well-known in the court and the country.

But now the higher his position, the less courageous he is. His past style of "running rampant in the court and without scruples" has disappeared. He actually wears a purple robe, wears a goldfish, and pretends to be a gentleman. As a result, the court is calm and peaceful, without the noise and excitement of the past. It is really boring...

……

Soon, Li Chengqian arrived in the hall under the guidance of the eunuchs and sat on the throne. After the ceremony between the emperor and his subjects, the ministers knelt on the cushions one after another.

Li Chengqian looked around and said, "The results of the imperial examinations have been announced to the world, and the selection of officials by the Ministry of Personnel must be accelerated. Although the imperial examinations were established in the previous dynasty, the scale of the examinations was extremely small and the scope of admission was extremely narrow. Not only did it fail to become the main body of the court's official selection system, it was not even a supplement. When Emperor Gaozu established the country, he continued the imperial examinations, but they were no different from those of the previous dynasty. When Emperor Taizong was determined to reform, he established many subjects, causing the influence of the imperial examinations to spread throughout the country. This time, the imperial examinations have been drastically reformed on the basis of the Zhenguan Dynasty. It can be said that the whole country has put in a lot of effort and no mistakes can be made!"

After stewing a meal, he said in a stern tone, "The imperial examination is to collect the opinions of the people from all walks of life, and it represents the supreme interests of the empire. The whole country must fully cooperate and join hands to make it the only way for the empire to select officials. Be firm and unwavering, and rest with the country! Anyone who dares to sabotage the imperial examination privately, whether by cheating, favoritism, or inciting ignorant people to resist the central government, will be regarded as an act of treason and will be severely punished!"

All the ministers in the palace responded in unison: "Yes!"

The whole audience was silent. The sound reverberated in the hall, shaking the eardrums and the hearts of the people.

Li Chengqian's expression was relaxed, not meaning to suppress others, and he said gently: "The imperial examination may seem to affect the interests of some people, but it is not the case. I think you all know the pros and cons very well."

The ministers were silent.

The real purpose of the imperial examination cannot be hidden. It was to completely overturn the control of aristocratic families over education and to eliminate the aristocratic families' monopoly over politics. It was necessary for the selection of state officials to be through examinations rather than mutual recommendations or private transfers among aristocratic families.

But in fact, everyone knows that aristocratic families have controlled education for hundreds and thousands of years. Common people don't know what books are and cannot recognize a single character. Even if they attend classes and read for a few days in the village or county school, how can they pass the exams better than the children of aristocratic families who have been familiar with classics and taught by great Confucian professors since childhood?
Even if there are one or two gifted people from humble backgrounds, they are unlikely to overturn the general trend, and in the end, the successful candidates in the imperial examinations are still those from aristocratic families.

However, with the imperial court selecting officials, the appointment of hundreds of Jinshi scholars could no longer be privately granted as in the past, and they could no longer be placed in places managed by families to use power to protect the family's wealth and status.

But this is also the bottom line of the court: your children can continue to serve as officials, but what kind of officials they serve and where they serve will be decided by the court.

On the surface, the aristocratic families acquiesced to this and did not object.

But secretly they must have made plans to arrange for the successful candidates to serve as officials in places that are more in line with the family's interests...

Li Chengqian looked at Li Xiaogong and said, "Uncle Wang is in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and is in charge of selecting officials. He must be careful and make sure that the new Jinshi can make full use of their talents and not be affected by any special influence."

Li Xiaogong knelt on the ground and bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I have formulated the rules. For all new Jinshi, a list will be made for each of them. Their place of origin, character, talent, and family background will be listed on it. The selection of each Jinshi must be jointly discussed by at least one assistant minister, one doctor, and two principals. No matter what position is awarded, the reason must be recorded on the list, and then it must be signed and sealed by me before it can be implemented."

The ministers looked at Li Xiaogong, seeming to want to say something but stopping themselves.

This move is really too cruel. Unless the entire Ministry of Personnel can be convinced, it would be a pipe dream for anyone to privately grant or appoint an official position.

Because since it is on the record, it means that if any violation occurs, there will be accountability!
Besides, Li Xiaogong is now old and has no aspirations for a career in officialdom. He only wants to work steadily as the Minister of Personnel and retire when he is old and weak. After his death, he will be given a beautiful posthumous title and buried in Zhaoling Mausoleum. This will make his life complete.

Under such circumstances, he would not give face to anyone.

Li Chengqian was very satisfied with this: "Uncle Wang, this is a strict and meticulous move, which is indeed a good policy. However, Uncle Wang does not need to worry about such hard work. I will let the Censorate assist you. All the censors in the world have the power to supervise the selection of officials. Once they find any violations, they can report them directly to the emperor. I will investigate and punish them severely!"

Li Xiaogong: "..."

I have worked so hard, do I still need the Censorate to monitor me?

The faces of the censors in the hall were all glowing red. Even the Imperial Censor Liu Xiangdao and the newly appointed Imperial Censor Sun Chuyue were very excited. The former said loudly: "Your Majesty, rest assured. The Imperial Censorate will investigate illegal activities and rectify disciplines. We will never allow the national talent selection ceremony to be desecrated. Anyone who dares to take advantage of it or give or receive money privately will be found out and impeached!"

The matter of selecting officials involves interests, how can it be clean and without any tricks?

The children of the aristocratic families who have spent all their resources to cultivate must be placed in a good position so that they can feed back to the family, otherwise, wouldn’t all the previous efforts be wasted? For example, Xiao Shu, the grandson of Xiao Yu, ranked first in the southern list this time. The entire family’s resources must be poured into him, and he is regarded as the next pillar of the Lanling Xiao family. If the Ministry of Personnel allows him to be placed in remote or barren places such as Shuzhong and Hexi, and the family cannot help him, and he is left to struggle, if he wants to be promoted from the seventh rank to the third rank, he will not only need to spend his whole life, but also need the help of the time. Finally, he will be in charge of the ministry but he is too old to create benefits for the family. What is the meaning of this champion?
Therefore, there are bound to be many interests involved behind the selection of officials. No matter how strict the rules are or how cautious the attention is, there will always be people who take risks.

To root out these parasites one by one, trace their origins, and rectify the government is the duty of the Censorate, and also its political achievement.

For Liu Xiangdao and Sun Chuyue, a feast was already before them.

Li Chengqian was quite complacent, but he did not forget to give his ministers a bowl of chicken soup: "Such a huge empire has never existed before, and it is governed by me and you. Not only are there ten circuits, 360 states, and 1,557 counties, but there are also foreign territories and overseas concessions. There are more than thousands of officials needed. Now that the court is full of upright people and the administration is clean, the path to promotion is smoother than ever before. No matter who you are, no matter where you are, you can be selected and promoted as long as you make achievements. Let's write a glorious chapter together! I and you encourage each other."

All the ministers stood up, stood in the hall, and bowed to the ground.

"May Your Majesty live forever! May the Empire last forever! Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty, long, long live His Majesty!"

……

Inside the Wude Hall, all the ministers expressed their loyalty in unison, and the sound inevitably leaked out as it shook the hall. The surrounding guards, eunuchs, and officials all looked at them in astonishment.

"Long live the emperor" cannot be shouted casually. Unless the country has an unprecedented victory on the border, once an official shouts "Long live the emperor", he will almost certainly be targeted by the censors and charged with "flattering his superiors" and "deceiving the king". If he does not die, he will be skinned alive.

There were several such grand occasions during the Zhenguan reign where all the ministers shouted "Long live the emperor" in unison, but this was unprecedented during the Renhe reign. After all, the ministers had always looked down upon His Majesty...

When the news reached the harem, the queen, who was talking to Princess Jinyang, suddenly smiled with joy. She put one hand on her chest and held Princess Jinyang's hand with the other, saying with relief: "Since your majesty ascended the throne, people from all walks of life have been questioning and criticizing you. The ministers even ignored and despised you, thinking that your majesty is unworthy of the position... Until today, the shouts of 'Long live your majesty' resounded throughout the palace, which can be regarded as the recognition of your majesty."

Although Li Chengqian was the crown prince canonized by Emperor Taizong, and it was a natural thing for him to inherit the throne, his abilities were not recognized by people in the court and the public. They believed that he was not as good as the Prince of Wei and the Prince of Jin. Even when the Prince of Jin rebelled, there were still many people who claimed that "Emperor Taizong had long intended to change the crown prince," thereby echoing the rebellion.

As the person who slept with Li Chengqian, how could the Queen not know how nervous and worried Li Chengqian had been since he ascended the throne?
Finally, all the hard work has paid off. One can imagine how happy Your Majesty is.

Princess Jinyang was pretty, demure and elegant. She held the empress's hand and smiled to comfort her, "Your Majesty has made drastic reforms to the imperial examination system and has been able to stand up to the aristocratic families. This means that you have already gained control of the central power. The people of the world can only follow and cannot disobey. This day will come sooner or later."

The girl is well-versed in history books and has great talent, so she can easily see through the current trend of the political situation.

When the imperial examination was forcefully promoted throughout the country by the central government in a nearly completely changed form, it meant that the aristocratic families, who had suffered repeated blows and were unprecedentedly weak, had no choice but to compromise.

Once a compromise is made, the initiative will be in the hands of the central government, and the aristocratic families can only abide by the rules of the imperial examination, otherwise they will be completely abandoned by the imperial examination system.

Therefore, in the girl's mind, the ministers' shout of "Long live" was not a submission to His Majesty, but a submission to the imperial examination, to the man who reformed the imperial examination and made it the only way to select officials in the empire...

Even if I hide behind His Majesty, who can block the dazzling light?
The girl's eyes are bright and her face is sparkling, and her heart is filled with pride.

That was the man she had her eyes on...