Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 202: An unsolvable conspiracy, a cage to rule the world! [Seeking monthly votes]

It is well known that the Tang Dynasty was a watershed in the development of ancient science.

The pinnacle of cold weapons that we are more familiar with basically all came from the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, developing science in this era actually has certain advantages.

But how to take advantage of this is actually a big problem.

After all, this era was still dominated by the imperial examination system.

In particular, the concepts of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans are still deeply rooted in people's minds.

Of course, Li Chengqian would not develop science blindly.

His original plan was to use Jiangling's small commodity economy to let people see the various novel products brought by science and the various conveniences brought about by scientific development.

Only when science truly benefits the people can they realize the future of science.

This function is the same as taking the imperial examination.

Only when people realized that they could become officials through the imperial examination would they learn knowledge and then take the imperial examination.

The same is true.

When people realize that science can change their lives and their destiny, they will study science and then enter the Academy of Sciences.

Now, after the development of Jiangling in the past two years, people no longer have the initial surprise and disbelief about new things.

This shows that people have begun to gradually accept the change.

Establishing an academy of sciences and promoting science at this time is actually a good opportunity.

That's why Li Chengqian expressed his wishes to Li Shimin at this time.

But when Fang Xuanling and others learned that it was a misunderstanding, after seeing Li Shimin easily chop off the saber with a dagger, they raised new questions.

"May I ask Your Highness, does your academy only do research? Will they be involved in the affairs of the court?" Fang Xuanling asked cautiously.

Li Shimin glanced at him but said nothing.

Although he was very interested in the Academy of Sciences that Li Chengqian mentioned, if so many extraordinary people worked together on research and produced something remarkable, it would be the source of rebellion.

For example, why did Zhangsun Anye and his men dare to rebel? Wasn't it because they had fire bombs in their hands?

Could they have succeeded without the fire bombs?

Obviously not.

So, it was not that Li Shimin did not want to agree to Li Chengqian's proposal to establish an academy of sciences, but that he was really a little afraid of what Li Chengqian would come up with.

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "I think scientific research is a very pure thing. If it is polluted by power, the meaning of scientific research will be lost."

"So, my suggestion is that all researchers at the Academy of Sciences only have honorary positions and enjoy all the benefits of honorary positions, but they cannot participate in politics or discuss politics, and they do not have any power of court officials."

"Ok?"

Li Shimin was slightly surprised, as if he did not expect Li Chengqian to agree so readily.

This not only made him look at him with admiration, but even Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Changsun Wuji and others were a little unrecognizable to the prince in front of them.

After all, this prince once threatened the emperor with a gun for power.

However, when Li Chengqian confirmed that the Academy of Sciences would not participate in politics or make policy decisions, they all felt relieved.

Because the imperial court had limited power, if they divided it a little here and a little there, in the end there definitely wouldn't be enough.

The result of not having enough points is definitely chaos.

Therefore, Li Chengqian's initiative to make concessions was a good thing for them, and also for Li Shimin.

Li Shimin smiled slightly, then played with the dagger in his hand and said, "I agree to this matter, but you have to recruit talents for the Academy of Sciences yourself!"

"Don't worry, Father. I know what's going on with this matter and I'll definitely get it done!"

Li Chengqian happily bowed to Li Shimin.

But then Li Shimin added, "Since you said the Academy of Sciences doesn't participate in politics or discuss government, then it's under the Crown Prince's Office. Official positions and salaries are also determined by your office."

"Ah? Is the salary also paid by my Prince's Mansion?"

"You're well aware of the court's situation. They're still waiting for relief from the locust plague. How can they afford to build an academy?"

"But."

Li Chengqian said reluctantly, "Recruiting scientific research talent requires a huge expenditure."

"I don't care about this!"

Before Li Chengqian could finish his words, Li Shimin interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "You were the one who advocated the establishment of the Academy of Sciences, so naturally you are fully responsible!"

"All right."

Li Chengqian pouted in a feigned aggrieved manner, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "Then can I use this opportunity to recruit scientific research talent?"

Li Shimin frowned, turned his head and glanced at Fang Xuanling and the others, and said in a deep voice: "Isn't scientific research about recruiting skilled craftsmen? Why are you using the imperial examination to recruit talents?"

"Yes, Your Highness, the imperial examination is for scholars, usually literati, not skilled craftsmen!" Du Ruhui said with some amusement.

Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji also found Li Chengqian's request very strange.

But Li Chengqian calmly asked them, "Then may I ask you, ministers, do you know what the real purpose of the imperial examination is?"

"The real purpose of the imperial examination?"

Fang Xuanling and others looked at each other in surprise.

Li Shimin couldn't help but feel a little puzzled, then he said thoughtfully: "The real purpose of the imperial examination is to select useful talents for the court."

"Yes, it also has the function of educating the world!" Changsun Wuji nodded in agreement.

Li Chengqian glanced at them with a smile and spoke eloquently, "In my opinion, the true purpose of the imperial examination is neither to select talents nor to educate the world."

"Why is that?" Fang Xuanling couldn't help but ask.

Li Chengqian uttered four words with great force: "Rule the world through a cage!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin and the other three were filled with surprise.

But Li Chengqian added meaningfully, "Only the imperial examination system can trap all the smart people in the world, allowing them to delve into learning and study until they grow old. In this way, these people will not have the wild idea of ​​rebellion!"

"As long as the scholars are settled, even if there are still people who want to rebel, they are just bandits and will not be able to accomplish anything big!"

"This"

Li Shimin and the other three were stunned by Li Chengqian's words.

They never imagined that this was the real purpose of the imperial examination.

In fact, the imperial examination was simply for selecting talents from the very beginning.

During the Sui Dynasty, the imperial examination system emerged, and was perfected and developed during the Tang Dynasty.

Mingjing and Jinshi were the main subjects of the imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty. The Jinshi exam tested current affairs policies, poetry and essays, while the Mingjing exam tested current affairs policies and the meaning of classics.

The Jinshi exam is more difficult than the Mingjing exam.

Li Shimin was very proud of this policy and once said that all the heroes in the world are in my hands.

However, the real purpose of the imperial examination system is not to select talents.

The Sui and Tang dynasties inherited the legacy of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The Guanlong nobles became the main force in the court. The prime ministers and generals were basically descendants of the Eight Pillars of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Together with the Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats that had been passed down for hundreds of years, they controlled the entire court.

Even the emperor had to take their opinions into consideration. Faced with this situation, starting from Yang Jian, people have been trying to find ways to deal with this group of nobles. This is the real purpose of the imperial examination system.

But in order to hide the real purpose, there were many compromises at that time.

For example, to participate in the imperial examination, one needed to be nominated by aristocrats.

It was not until the reign of Emperor Li Shimin that the imperial examination system reached a level where people from the lower classes could sign up for it themselves.

During the reign of Wu Zetian, the emergence of martial arts imperial examinations marked the basic completion of the imperial examination system.

But the power of the aristocracy is too great.

Soon, people from the lower classes could no longer sign up for the imperial examinations themselves, and the system returned to being nominated by the nobles.

It was not until the Huang Chao Uprising that the Five Surnames and Seven Families and the Guanlong nobles were wiped out, and the imperial examination system truly became accessible to the lower classes.

"The reason why those aristocratic families can challenge my father is because they control the vast majority of scholars!"

Seeing that Li Shimin and the other three were speechless with shock at his words, Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Your Majesty and the other ministers, think about this: if these scholars were common people, with nothing, wouldn't they be able to do whatever they wanted? Would they be able to do whatever they wanted and write whatever they wanted? It's simply disgusting!"

"Yeah!"

Li Shimin nodded in agreement: "It is indeed disgusting!"

But after saying this, he felt that he shouldn't say that given his status, so he glared at Li Chengqian unhappily and remained silent.

At this time, Changsun Wuji did not have so many concerns.

He then pondered for a moment, then said, "Then according to the Crown Prince, if they take the imperial examination, they will behave themselves?"

"hehe."

Li Chengqian smiled and then asked, "Then, in your opinion, why should they take the imperial examination?"

"Of course it's to become an official!" Changsun Wuji blurted out.

Li Chengqian laughed again: "What will happen after they become officials?"

"This"

Changsun Wuji was speechless and turned to look at Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui.

They also looked confused and didn't know what to do.

But Li Chengqian said with a bit of amusement: "If they become officials, they will worry about gains and losses, be timid and reluctant to give up the official hat on their heads!"

"What!?"

The pupils of Fang Xuanling and the other two shrank, as if they had been enlightened, and they looked at Li Chengqian as if they had just woken up from a dream.

Even Li Shimin looked at him in disbelief.

Because Li Chengqian's words completely refreshed their three views.

In fact, the real peak of the imperial examination system was not in the Tang Dynasty, but in the Song Dynasty.

In the Tang Dynasty, less than 20% of officials became officials through the imperial examination system, while in the Song Dynasty, 40% did.

The reason is that the aristocratic families in the Tang Dynasty controlled the vast majority of official positions.

In order to completely change this situation, in addition to eradicating the harm caused by the aristocratic families, the imperial examination system must also be reformed.

"Then why should I ask my father to grant me an additional special examination?"

"This is actually an unsolvable conspiracy!"

Li Chengqian continued to talk to himself, "What is the Enke? It is an imperial examination that bestows favors on scholars throughout the country and wins the hearts of scholars. But is the Enke for the purpose of selecting talents? No! It is to trap scholars controlled by aristocratic families in a cage, making it easy for them to enter but difficult to leave."

"This"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's eyes instantly lit up, and he was so excited that his breathing became a little rapid. After a moment, he suppressed his excitement and said solemnly, "Okay! I'll leave the Enke matter to you!"

"Don't worry, Father. I will never let you down!"

Li Chengqian smiled slightly and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The looks that Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Changsun Wuji gave him all began to become complicated.

Although among them, only Zhangsun Wuji was a Guanlong noble, they were also considered new nobles.

If all goes well, their family may develop into a new aristocratic family.

If Enke's goal is to restrict the development of aristocratic families, then it will probably be difficult for their family to become a new aristocratic family in the future.

So, deep down, they are still opposed to the imperial power, but in this situation, Li Shimin and his son are the dominant ones, and they can do nothing about it.

at the same time.

Pei Ji's residence.

Cui Renshi, Li Zhen, Li Shushen, Zheng Shanguo, Lu Chengqing, and Wang Gui were sitting in Pei Ji's mansion with embarrassed looks on their faces, filled with righteous indignation.

"Your Majesty and the Crown Prince are simply going too far! They killed our family's children and ruined our family's reputation. How can this be done by a wise monarch?!" Cui Renshi complained with a grim face.

Li Zhen echoed indignantly, "Those damned peasants are absolutely lawless! Do they think that if Your Majesty grants them special privileges, they can pass the imperial examinations and enter the government? That's just wishful thinking!"

"That's right! I will never let them succeed!" Zheng Shanguo also said with a frown.

Although Wang Gui did not join them in complaining about what happened today, seeing Pei Ji drinking tea as if it had nothing to do with him, he could not help but ask him helplessly, "Pei Sikong, what do you think about this matter?"

"When your nephews and nephews did those things before, I warned them not to go against the prince. They didn't listen. Now it has become like this. It's their own fault. Who can you blame?" Pei Ji mocked without any hesitation.

Upon hearing this, the faces of the family heads became even uglier.

But this time they came to Pei Ji to discuss things, so they naturally wouldn't turn against Pei Ji easily.

So, after suppressing his dissatisfaction, Cui Renshi took the initiative to say in a friendly manner: "Pei Sikong, we know that they brought this upon themselves, but we just can't swallow this anger!"

After saying this, he glanced at the other family heads and asked tentatively, "Could it be that Pei Sikong can really swallow this?"

"Ah!"

Pei Ji sneered, then picked up the teacup again, took a sip, and said with a faint smile: "Isn't this easy to swallow?"

"Uh"

Cui Renshi's mouth twitched, and he didn't know how to respond for a moment.

But then Lu Chengqing smiled again and said, "Pei Sikong is an old minister of the retired emperor. Now that the retired emperor has been driven to Taiyuan by His Majesty, don't you want to welcome him back?"

"Oh?" Pei Ji raised his eyebrows, then continued with a faint smile, "Do you have a solution?"

"This"

Lu Chengqing showed hesitation, then turned to look at Master Cui Ren.

Cui Renshi said with a gloomy face: "If Pei Sikong can help us, after the matter is completed, we will join you in welcoming the emperor back to the throne!"

"Is this true!?"

When Pei Ji heard this, he instantly became energetic.

Seeing this, all the family heads smiled, and he couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Then, he slammed the teacup on the table and said in a low voice, "Master, you can come in!"

As soon as these words came out, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the door: "Amitabha!"

　Please give me a monthly ticket. Please give me a monthly ticket.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)