Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 326 The Placement of Filial Piety and Integrity
Liu Bian and Liu Fu talked all night until dawn.

After Liu Fu entered the palace, he did not return home all night. This commotion was clearly seen by discerning people, who knew that the emperor valued Liu Fu highly.

To everyone's surprise, Liu Fu did not end up in the Imperial Secretariat, but was instead assigned to the Ministry of Civil Affairs as a junior official.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs was in charge of repairs, construction, and gardens, meaning it was responsible for all civil engineering projects.

In the 105 commanderies and kingdoms of the Han Dynasty, the construction and repair of all bridges, roads, and cities had to be reported to the imperial court for approval.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs is responsible for approving project proposals, assessing their necessity and feasibility, and setting a quarterly limit on the number of corvée laborers. The Ministry of Agriculture conducts a second review of the finances, and if there are no objections, funds are allocated in batches.

If water conservancy projects are involved, the Department of Agriculture will dispatch officials skilled in agriculture to supervise the site selection and construction, provide advice, and have the right to audit the accounts of money and grain at any time.

Liu Fu's ability to manage water resources was beyond doubt, but through a long conversation that lasted all night, Liu Bian also realized that he lacked a comprehensive vision.

For example, it is necessary to determine the balance between the scale of the project and the amount of corvée labor so as not to exhaust the people's strength and delay the farming season, and to determine how much food and money will be consumed. Also, it is necessary to determine where to source earth, timber, sand and stones, and how to transport them to reduce costs while ensuring the quality of the project.

In short, it's the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Therefore, compared to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, which served as the emperor's advisory body, the Ministry of Civil Affairs was the most suitable department for Liu Fu to gain experience.

Besides Liu Fu, among the candidates for the civil service examination this spring, there are also Liu Xian and Liu Xiang from Lingling County, and Liu Pan from Shanyang County.

Liu Xian was learned and had a good memory. He was particularly fond of Huang-Lao philosophy and was well-versed in Han dynasty historical allusions. He entered the Imperial Secretariat as a scribe.

Liu Xiang was the son of the late Liu Yao, the prefect of Cangwu. He was well-versed in general affairs and familiar with the customs and traditions of Jiaozhou. Therefore, he entered the Guest Office and served as a Guest Secretary.

Well... actually, Liu Xiang's talent and learning were only average. The fact that he was able to enter the Ministry of Personnel as a Gentleman instead of one of the three departments was due to a smear from the clerk, who said that Liu Xiang's wife had given birth to a son a month ago, named Liu Ba.

Liu Pan was Liu Biao's cousin. His father died early, and Liu Pan only had a rudimentary understanding of the classics. He was recommended for the position of filial and incorruptible official entirely because of his uncle Liu Biao, who served as the chancellor of Zhongshan State.

Although Liu Pan passed the civil service examination through personal connections, his answers to military questions, while not particularly outstanding, were always in accordance with military principles.

Moreover, he was ambidextrous, skilled in archery and horsemanship, and possessed extraordinary strength.

Therefore, Liu Bian assigned him to the Zhongjian Camp, where General Huang Zhong assessed his military abilities and ultimately appointed him as a squad leader, commanding fifty soldiers.

Besides members of the Liu clan, Sun Qian, recommended by Qin Zhou, the Chancellor of Beihai, was also among those who participated in this examination for filial piety and incorruptibility.

Twenty-two-year-old Sun Qian graduated as an outstanding graduate at the beginning of this year. Liu Bian also participated in the graduation ceremony of the Imperial Academy students at the beginning of this year and personally conferred official titles on this group of outstanding graduates.

The Imperial Academy had no set number of years of study. Compared to schools in later generations, the Imperial Academy was more like a vast library that brought together the world's most famous teachers and great classics.

The students of the Imperial Academy mainly studied on their own, while the Five Classics Doctors regularly held banquets to lecture on the classics and answer the students' questions.

There are no strict age restrictions for the Imperial Academy to admit students. In the past, it only admitted students aged 18 and above, but there was no upper age limit.

As many "child prodigies" who were not yet 18 years old but were well-versed in classical studies emerged, the Imperial Academy gradually allowed students under the age of 18 to study as "child prodigies".

The Imperial Academy would provide its students with three meals a day and their daily lodging. As long as you had enough wealth to support your family's expenses, you could even study at the Imperial Academy from the age of 18 to 80.

Every year at the end of the year, the Imperial Academy would hold an annual examination on essay questions. The questions were written on bamboo slips and arranged according to difficulty, with subject A being the most difficult and subject B the next most difficult. Students could choose to participate in either subject A or subject B. Students would randomly draw a bamboo slip from their chosen subject and answer the questions on it. The drawn slips could not be changed.

Because the answers must be relevant to the question, like shooting at a target, it is called "shooting strategy".

The assessment of performance was based on both the difficulty of the questions and the quality of the answers. Those who achieved the best results in the first category were appointed as officials such as Langzhong or Taizi Sheren, while those who achieved the next best results in the second category were mostly appointed as clerks in various government offices (responsible for document work).

Those who pass the annual examination and are granted an official position are considered to have graduated.

Many students of the Imperial Academy devoted their lives to studying classical texts, yet failed to pass the annual imperial examinations, resulting in a considerable number of them "entering school as children only to return home empty-handed in old age."

Relying on the imperial examinations to obtain official positions was merely a common path for wealthy and poor families to enter officialdom. People like Liu Fu and Sun Qian, who came from distinguished backgrounds, did not need to go through this route to enter officialdom, and therefore they never accepted the official positions granted by the imperial examinations.

However, the starting point for those recommended for officialdom through the recommendation system was actually the same as that for outstanding graduates of the first-class imperial examinations who were granted official positions: the position of Langguan (a minor official rank).

However, those recommended for officialdom through the recommendation system (specifically, the "filial piety and incorruptibility" system) had a more prestigious resume, as their path changed from "excellence in learning leads to officialdom" to "excellence in both character and scholarship." In terms of long-term career development, the upper limit for those recommended for officialdom through the recommendation system was higher than that for students of the Imperial Academy who entered officialdom through the annual examinations.

Therefore, after graduation, Sun Qian resigned from his official post and returned to his hometown, waiting for Qin Zhou, the Chancellor of Beihai, to recommend him as a filial and incorruptible official before formally embarking on his official career.

Sun Qian was skilled in studying the "Rites of Zhou" and the "Zuo Zhuan". He was not an ordinary scholar who only talked about literature, so he entered the Imperial Secretariat as a scribe.

Another person was Yu Fan, the son of Yu Xin, the governor of Rinan, and a native of Cixi. He was twenty-three years old and studied the ancient texts of the classics. He was proficient in the "Fei Shi Yi" and the "Zhou Guan Li". He served as a clerk under Guo Yi, the governor of Kuaiji. He was known for his clean administration, diligence and integrity as an official, and was therefore recommended as a filial and incorruptible official.

However, Yu Fan's temperament is truly a headache.

Yu Fan was highly learned. When the Three Dukes, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, the Left and Right Vice Ministers, the Two Attendants, and the officials of the Three Offices asked him about the classics, Yu Fan spoke eloquently and calmly, displaying the demeanor of a renowned scholar.

However, Yu Fan's answers to the policy questions contained many critical comments on various government policies.

It is not surprising that people disagree with the imperial decrees; many decrees need time to prove themselves, and Liu Bian also allowed scholars to speak out.

However, the mainstream channels of discourse were in Liu Bian's hands, and through the "Great Han Gazette," the influence of scholars and elders on the common people was greatly weakened.

However, Yu Fan's aggression seemed a bit too strong, directly accusing the officials of being "either treacherous or mediocre," thus deceiving the emperor. Even the usually mild-mannered Grand Commandant Yuan Pang thought Yu Fan was a madman, too unrestrained and unruly.

Ultimately, Yu Fan was not employed by the Three Dukes' Office, the Ministry of Personnel, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, or the Three Departments. Clearly, no one was willing to take on this hot potato and recruit this eccentric scholar as an official.

Yu Fan was talented in both classics and general affairs. Although he criticized the politics of the time, he never criticized the emperor but instead reprimanded the officials. Of course, what the emperor cared about most was that Yu Fan dared to point out the problem of powerful clans and tyrants. He said that powerful clans and tyrants in various places evaded taxes and resisted the law, and even dared to gather together to obstruct tax collectors from collecting taxes. He said that a large army should be sent to suppress them!
This is a fanatical advocate of loyalty to the emperor, but Yu Fan is not very good at using him. After all, he is a double-edged sword, not a single-edged sword like Guo Tu, who will never point his blade at him.

Sending him back to his hometown and denying him the examination would make the court seem intolerant of talent. Liu Bian also regretted his talent, but if he were to be appointed, none of the four prefectural governors were willing to appoint him.

When Liu Bian convened a group of important officials to discuss Yu Fan's future, he originally planned to send him to the Imperial Academy to take up a sinecure and then, after a few years, grant him the title of Doctor to study classics and teach students at the Imperial Academy. However, he was worried that this would affect the 30,000 students of the Imperial Academy who were already frequently taking to the streets to protest because of current affairs, and that under Yu Fan's education, they would become even more uncontrollable.

Zheng Xuan suggested that he be placed in the Eastern Pavilion and appointed as a proofreader.

However, Zhang Zhao, the Imperial Censor who was late due to official business, was greatly impressed upon hearing this. He believed that Yu Fan was outspoken and dared to remonstrate, and was a promising candidate for Imperial Censor, exactly the kind of talent the Censorate was looking for. He took the initiative to request the Emperor to hand Yu Fan over to the Censorate for employment.

Therefore, Yu Fan, who had become a hot potato, was eventually appointed as a censor.

(2369 words)
(End of this chapter)