The most arrogant in history

Liu Ai was a little surprised and pondered:

"Your Majesty, if the court and the grassroots are all filled with retired military officers, I am afraid that the path for scholars in the world to advance will be cut off. And the scholars in the folks will have no place to use their talents, and I am afraid they will also feel resentful."

In the past two years, Ye Kun has employed a large number of retired generals to fill various departments of the court and grassroots organizations across the country.

These retired generals are all considered Ye Kun's own people. They are obedient and have retained their efficient working habits in the army, which makes Ye Kun very satisfied.

Moreover, Ye Kun's use of retired generals and letting them receive salaries was also a means of resettlement and saved a sum of consolation money.

Ye Kun smiled and said, "Who said I blocked the path for common people to make progress? We have imperial examinations, which are held every three years to select talents to serve the country. I'm keeping you in the capital this time to let you preside over this task."

The imperial examination system was experimented with a few years ago.

Each state, county and prefecture selects a group of students according to the population ratio and gathers them in the capital to take the final examination.

There were tens of thousands of candidates taking the exam each time, and one-tenth, or one thousand people, were selected to stay in Zhuo County or be sent to various places to serve as officials.

However, those who are selected through the exam must undergo grassroots training and be selected again before they can take on important tasks.

There are basically no cases where people like Liu Ai, Sang Buzhi and others are directly entrusted with important tasks.

Liu Ai smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, the generals in the army can only conquer the world immediately. To govern the world, they have to be Confucian scholars. I looked at the last imperial examination. The examination content was very wide, including astronomy and geography, but there were not many questions about governing the country. People selected in this way cannot have a general idea..."

Ye Kun shook his head: "It's just paper talk, you know? Being good at writing theories of governing a country doesn't mean you can govern the country. It's nonsense to become a prime minister directly by writing an article.

Moreover, times have changed, and Confucian scholars may not be suitable for governing the country."

"Then...what kind of person is suitable for governing a country?"

“Only those with comprehensive talents, who are good at learning and accepting new things, are suitable for governing the country.”

Ye Kun pointed at the map on the wall and said, "For example, I will never use people who are unwilling to accept that the earth is a sphere. Because such people do not even understand common sense, how can they govern the country? I also don't use people who do not respect facts and repeatedly emphasize the laws of ancestors and the classics of saints.

We have established a complete system of studying things to gain knowledge, and invented electric lights, telephones, and steam engines. You still insist that this thing is the theory of yin and yang and the five elements, so how can I use it? "

The phone has not been figured out yet.

But it's coming soon.

If you extend the wire of the loud speaker a little bit, wouldn't it be a one-way call?

Two one-way telephones combined together, with a receiver and a microphone, isn't that a telephone?

Liu Ai was very disappointed and said sadly: "So, I am not suitable to be an official in the court?"

"You need to learn, understand and accept new technologies to adapt to this ever-changing society. Otherwise, in another ten years, you will only be able to sweep the floor in the lobby of the Ministry of Finance."

Ye Kun chuckled and said, "Go to the Science and Technology City first, find a guide, visit and study for five days, then go to the university, look at the textbooks of various subjects, and talk to the teachers."

Liu Ai nodded, clasped his hands and took his leave.

In fact, Liu Ai can no longer understand many of the university textbooks.

Linear algebra and advanced mathematics, can he understand them?

Can he understand the law of universal gravitation?

Various chemical equations, physical laws and formulas, and the periodic table of chemical elements are enough for him to learn in his lifetime.

After sending Liu Ai away, Ye Kun met Gongsun Erniang.

As soon as they met, Ye Kun felt a pang in his heart and held Gongsun Erniang's hand: "Junior sister, you look much more haggard..."

"Your Majesty, I'm fine."

Gongsun Erniang pulled her hand away and looked at Ye Kun: "It's been a long time since we last met. Your Majesty is in high spirits and looks as powerful as a dragon and a tiger. It's really cause for celebration."

"What do you mean by mighty and powerful? I am old too."

Ye Kun personally poured tea for Gongsun Erniang and said with a smile: "Liaodong is a bitter and cold place. Junior sister, you have worked hard. I have read Liu Ai's report. The governance plan for Liaoze is very promising. In less than three years, it will become a big granary. All of this is due to Junior sister's efforts."

The first phase of Liaoze development has been completed.

We just have to wait for spring to come and for the flowers to bloom, then we can have another tough battle and then we can start large-scale immigration and development.

"I'm not tired, it's just that the civilians have worked hard."

Gongsun Erniang shook her head and reported: "I plan to start the offensive in March. The two small canals and three avenues will be completed this year. By then, water and land transportation will be smooth, and large areas of water will be turned into fertile fields, and the food supply in the north will be guaranteed."

Ye Kun nodded and said with a smile:

"As the population of Zhuo County grows, the food pressure will also increase. Once the Liaohe Plain is developed, we can transport food from the sea to support Zhuo County. When the population of Liaodong increases, I will build several large cities there."

Developing the Liaohe Plain is a national strategy.

Due to the limitations of terrain and natural conditions, Zhuo County does not produce much grain.

The surefire way is to build a large granary in the rear.

The Yuan Dynasty was ultimately defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang and driven back to the prairie, largely because the grain transportation routes from the south were cut off, leading to food shortages in the north and the collapse of the empire.

It was also very risky for Ye Kun to set the capital in Zhuo County.

The most important issue is food.

If a hundred years later, someone in the south started a rebellion and cut off Zhuo County’s food supply, then it would be the end of us.

Therefore, Ye Kun had a far-sighted vision and developed the agriculture of the Greater Northeast. On the one hand, it was to ensure the food security of Zhuo County, and on the other hand, it was to continue to squeeze the living space of the ethnic minorities in the north.

Gongsun Erniang said: "Now that we have coal, the north can indeed develop. But it is better to build more small cities than one or two big cities. Small cities are scattered all over the place, which is more convenient for development."

Ye Kun agreed with Gongsun Erniang's opinion and simply planned several new cities on the map.

Gongsun Erniang said: "Liaodong is my hometown, and I have feelings for it. So, Your Majesty, please leave the construction of Liaodong to me. Give me three years, and I will give you a land of plenty."

"I'm afraid you'll be too tired, Junior Sister. Otherwise, you should..."

"I'm fine. I'm not tired."

"But I have something very important that I need you to do."

Ye Kun sighed and said, "There are still many corrupt officials in the country. I hope that Junior Sister will strengthen the management of the Mohist disciples, become a force to supervise officials, conduct open and secret investigations, and help me clean up the bureaucracy. I also need to discuss with Ma Zhao and others to establish a systematic anti-corruption work regulation and promote it to the grassroots level."

Governing a country is not about governing the people, but governing the officials.

Throughout the dynasties, people have tried their best to deal with corrupt officials, but with little success.

Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty was so harsh that he skinned corrupt officials and punished their entire clans, but it was still difficult to eliminate corruption; even with the huge Jinyiwei organization, it was still unable to eliminate corruption.

The Ming Dynasty was destroyed by rampant corruption!

As long as Ye Kun is alive, he can certainly suppress others.

But Ye Kun was worried that after his death, this huge empire would collapse.