Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 139: Lao Zhu's choice, making friends is almost exposed
Old Zhu said, "Let's limit the content of the imperial examination to the Four Books and Five Classics. Those poor scholars who come from poor families, have no books at home, no money to buy books, and even no connections to borrow books, only need to study these few classics, and they will have a chance to become famous in the imperial examination and enter the official career."

"As for those who have been scholars for generations, have a family background in learning, or whose families have no shortage of money to buy books, they are limited by the Four Books and Five Classics, so their advantage in the imperial examinations is not too great."

"The same principle applies to the selection of scholars based on the eight-legged essay system. Even if scholars with good family backgrounds, connections, and wealth are taught by famous teachers, they are constrained by the eight-legged essay format, and their essays will not be much better than those of poor scholars."

"On the other hand, poor people do not need to possess profound knowledge or superb skills to show a certain talent and talent in the art of eight-legged essay writing."

"So, if the imperial court selected scholars based on the Four Books and Five Classics and the eight-legged essay, wouldn't that make the imperial examination a little fairer?"

"It does make the imperial examination fairer." Liu Kuan nodded when he heard it.

He understood that there was no absolute fairness in this world, and even if he pursued fairness, he could only get as close as possible.

This is the case with the college entrance examination and civil service examination in later generations - it is already good enough if it can be relatively fair.

But he couldn't help but ask, "Then why is Your Majesty confused about this matter now?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was displeased and pointed at Liu Kuan, saying, "Are you playing dumb with me? Now that I've learned about future generations from you and understand the importance of science and technology, how could my thoughts on the imperial examinations not change?"

"I previously wanted to use the imperial examination system to ensure the continuation of the Ming dynasty because, among all the schools of thought I knew, Confucianism was indeed the most conducive to our rule over the world."

"But now that we know the benefits of science and technology, and the changes they will bring to future generations, we have a better choice."

"This is actually the same principle as our previous discussion on whether to choose between 'divine right of kings, the interaction between heaven and man' or 'developing science and technology.'"

"Since we have decided to prioritize the development of science and technology, the content and format of the imperial examinations should naturally change as well."

After hearing these words, Liu Kuan finally understood what Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking.

So, after a little hesitation, he proposed to add classics of historians and legalists to the compulsory entrance examination content.

In this way, an ideological and educational model with Confucianism as the core and history and law as supplementary elements was formed in the content of the imperial examination.

Add to that mathematics, as well as the content of document writing and case judgment that existed in the imperial examinations of the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, and it becomes a bit similar to the combination of the college entrance examination and the civil service examination in later generations.

Both Liu Kuan and Lao Zhu understood that it was difficult to achieve reform in one step.

It’s not that there are any obstacles - in this era when Zhu Yuanzhang controlled the court, most obstacles to reform would not be too big, and even if there were, they would be crushed by Zhu Yuanzhang with an iron fist.

What makes reform difficult to complete in one step is the unknown changes after the reform.

Although Liu Kuan was a person of later generations and knew about the systems of later generations, he could not blindly copy them to the early Ming Dynasty. After all, the national conditions of the early Ming Dynasty were different from those of later generations. Directly copying a mature system of later generations might not be a good thing.

It was just like what Liu Kuan and Zhu Yuanzhang had discussed earlier about "promoting agriculture and suppressing commerce."

There is no doubt that agriculture is the top priority for major countries, both in ancient times and in modern times.

But how should we emphasize commerce specifically? Can we simply copy the policies of later reforms? Obviously not.

The reform of the imperial examination system, or more accurately, the reform of the talent selection system, is also like this.

This time, Zhu Yuanzhang reopened the imperial examinations, and the various measures he took seemed drastic, but in fact, in terms of the reform of the talent selection system, it was just a trial run...
When Liu Kuan was recalling the discussion he had with Zhu Yuanzhang about the reform of the imperial examination, a strange noise came from the lobby on the second floor of Yuesheng Tower, which brought him back to his senses.

A scholar with a clear voice shouted, "Brothers, please stop complaining about the new imperial examination policy!"

"I just learned from a professor at the provincial school that the current emperor has issued an order to equip all local government schools with a new set of public books. These will primarily include the classic works on mathematics, history, and law that will be tested in the provincial and metropolitan examinations after the reform of the imperial examination system."

"You can calculate how many official schools there are in the Ming Dynasty today. If each official school is equipped with such a set of books, how much money would it cost the court?"

"Please think about this with all your conscience. Since the second year of the Hongwu reign, when the emperor promoted official education, how many official schools have been established, and how many people who were previously unable to go to school have been able to learn to read and write."

"Now, instead of appreciating the emperor's kindness, you are now complaining and even slandering him because of a few unfavorable policies regarding the imperial examinations. Do you have any conscience? Where have all those years of reading the sages' books gone?!"

After this person finished speaking, the lobby and the compartments on the second floor fell silent for a moment.

When Liu Kuan heard these counter-current words, he couldn't help but applaud secretly.

He immediately walked out of the cubicle and looked around the lobby.

Then I saw many tea drinkers looking towards the stairs with expressions of surprise, thoughtfulness, or shame.

There stood a short but tall young scholar.

Obviously, it was this person who said those words just now.

At this point, the guests in the hall had also come to their senses, and someone immediately asked, "Is what this friend said true? Did His Majesty really order additional books for the official school?"

The young scholar immediately swore, "If I tell a lie about this matter, I will never pass the imperial examination in this lifetime!"

This was indeed a poisonous oath for the scholars, so most people believed what the young man said.

In fact, with just a little analysis, it is clear that this young man could not have lied about the emperor's order - that would be punishable by death.

So several tea drinkers dressed as scholars covered their faces and left in shame.

Although the tea drinkers were discussing the reform of the imperial examinations again, the tone was different from before—no longer complaining about Zhu Yuanzhang's lack of care for poor scholars, but instead exchanging their knowledge of the classics of mathematics, history, and law required for the provincial examinations. Seeing that the attention lingered on the young man had decreased, Liu Kuan approached, bowed, and asked, "Your Excellency's words just now, which defied the current, truly had the power to clear the air and were very impressive."

The man bowed and said, "I am just speaking from the heart. I don't deserve such praise from you, brother."

Liu Kuan smiled slightly and said, "My name is Liu Chang. I wonder if I could be your friend?"

"My name is Xu Zhen. It's an honor."

Liu Kuan immediately invited the man to the compartment to have tea together.

When Xu Zhen went in, he found that there were two guards standing inside. He immediately realized that "Liu Chang" had an extraordinary family background.

What Xu Zhen didn't know was that Liu Kuan had more than two guards in Yuesheng Tower - there were a few in the lobby on the second floor, a few on the first floor, and dozens outside!

Although Xu Zhen treated Liu Kuan as a young man from a wealthy family, he remained neither humble nor arrogant.

After getting to know each other for a few words, Liu Kuan learned that Xu Zhen was from Liyang and was able to enter Yingtian Prefecture School because of his excellent academic performance.

Then Liu Kuan asked, "Is Zhishan (Xu Zhen's courtesy name) going to take part in this year's provincial examination?"

Xu Zhen nodded, "It's a rare opportunity for the imperial court to reopen the imperial examinations, so of course I'll take part."

"Are you confident of passing the imperial examination?"

Xu Zhen smiled bitterly, "This imperial examination reform is so significant, who knows if I can pass it?"

Liu Kuan had a favorable impression of this person. Although he couldn't reveal his identity, he still gave him some advice: "I think that although the imperial examination reform has added three classics, namely mathematics, history and law, as you said, this is the first time the exam has been held, so the questions will probably not be too difficult."

"On the contrary, the imperial examinations focusing on Confucianism were held countless times during the Song Dynasty. If we were to hold another Confucian examination in the Ming Dynasty, the questions would most likely not be easy, and might even be quite difficult."

"So, I privately think that instead of working hard on Confucianism, I might as well take advantage of the six months left before the provincial examination to read through the classics of the three schools of history and law, which might be of great help in achieving success in the imperial examination."

Xu Zhen pondered for a moment and nodded, "Brother Liu, what you said does make sense."

Liu Kuan continued, "If Zhishan is interested, he can also learn a little about natural sciences and various crafts."

"If the compulsory content of the provincial examination is too difficult, you can also consider improving your score by taking the optional examination questions, which can also help you enter the official career."

Xu Zhen shook his head slightly after hearing this and said, "Don't worry about Brother Liu making fun of you, I have no interest in the art of craftsmanship."

"I've read the two issues of Natural Science magazine, but I still have trouble grasping the key points. I'm afraid it will be difficult to improve my grades by using them."

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "I do have some understanding of 'Natural Science'. If there is anything that Zhishan doesn't understand, please tell me."

Xu Zhen was surprised and happy to hear this, "That's great!"

Then he asked several questions from the "Natural Science" magazine, and Liu Kuan answered them one by one.

After discussing several questions, Xu Zhen couldn't help but exclaim, "Brother Liu, your understanding of natural science is far more than just a passing comprehension. It's clearly a thorough understanding."

"I've discussed these issues with many classmates and friends. Brother Liu's answers are far superior to theirs. I'm afraid only Prince Consort Liu, who edited Natural Science, can compare."

At this point, Xu Zhen suddenly stopped talking, looked at Liu Kuan again with suspicion, and asked: "Brother Liu, could it be that..."

He didn't say anything else, but his meaning was very clear.

Liu Kuan quickly denied it, "What are you thinking, Zhishan? I just happen to have the last name Liu and I have some knowledge of natural sciences."

Liu Kuan was worried that if he continued, his lie about his identity would become untenable, so he stood up and hurriedly said goodbye.

After leaving Yuesheng Tower for more than a hundred steps, they met up with other Yiluansi officers led by Wang Guangyue in a place that was out of sight from the second floor. Then they rode on Wuyuntushixue again. Liu Kuan said, "Let's go to the Lead Movable Type Project Team."

As Liu Kuan had more contact with Zhu, he discovered that Zhu was very steady in planning and doing things, both in military and political matters.

For example, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that the reform of the content of the imperial examination was not beneficial to poor scholars, and he had long ago come up with a way to make up for it.

Providing a batch of books on mathematics, history and law to local official schools is only the first step.

Another important measure to match this is to lower the price of books, expand the scope and quantity of book printing, so that scholars from ordinary backgrounds can easily obtain various classics related to the imperial examinations.

In this matter, the development of lead type is obviously the top priority.

　First update.

　　Grandma has been cremated, and the funeral will probably take another two or three days to complete.

　　I will try to update as long as I can spare the time at home.

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(End of this chapter)