Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

So the middle period of the sea became emo again.

Emperor Chongzhen winked at Wang Chengen, who was serving in the hall, and Wang Chengen immediately refilled tea for his associates present.

He sat calmly and comfortably in his seat, with four words written all over his face - steady as an old dog.

Before Zhang Shikang entered the court, not only would there be quarrels at every court meeting, but the most important thing was that even if the quarrels lasted until the end, the problems would hardly be resolved at all.

Most of the time, Emperor Chongzhen not only had to act as a peacemaker, but also had to rack his brains to think of countermeasures, because he did not trust the cabinet ministers at the time.

But now it is different. Whenever he has a problem that he thinks is important and difficult to solve, he only needs to ask Zhang Shikang and he will get the answer soon.

In fact, most of the time, this guy would come up with the idea on his own without him even mentioning it, and often also come up with a package solution.

It seemed as if there was no difficulty in this world that could stump him.

For example, during this court meeting, he would just sit here and drink tea calmly. He would even be distracted, and his thoughts would unconsciously drift to the garden not far from the Qianqing Palace.

Spring comes soon after the Chinese New Year. What should we plant in the spring?

The potatoes taste good, and the fried sweet potatoes are even more flavorful. You can ask Mr. Song for some chili seeds.

Wuji said that chili pepper is a magical thing. When you eat it, the upper part of your mouth feels spicy, and then the lower part of your mouth becomes spicy.

Emperor Chongzhen was very puzzled by this and decided to grow some himself next year.

Being distracted during court meetings was something that I had never dared to think of before. Now I can handle state affairs in the morning and go to farm in the afternoon. It is really a blessing.

Thousands of words can be summed up in one sentence: this kid Wuji is really useful!

"Your Majesty, if you really want to do this, based on my understanding of the current reserve of officials, there may not be enough to send down," said the Minister of Personnel Ni Yuanlu.

Last year, tens of thousands of officials were killed in one fell swoop, resulting in a shortage of officials in the court in the past two years.

Even though two special imperial examinations were held last year and this year, they only filled the gaps at the court and prefecture levels, and there are still hundreds of vacancies at the county level.

At present, these county governments are basically run by local scholars with some abilities who are acting as county magistrates.

There are many chieftains in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and even Guangxi, and if they are to be replaced by officials, they must still be re-planned based on counties and prefectures.

The areas of these four provinces are not small, and they may require at least thousands of officials. The shortage of officials in the imperial court will be even greater.

"Your Majesty, according to regulations, the imperial examination should be held next year, and more people may be admitted in the spring examination." said the Minister of Rites Cai Guoyong.

Last year there was a special examination, this year there was a special examination, and next year the spring examination will be the official examination, and each time many Jinshi were admitted.

In recent years, it can be said that it is a cause for celebration for candidates from all over the country.

"Oh, so, next spring, the science and engineering departments should also officially begin recruiting candidates for the imperial examination, right?" Zhang Shikang interrupted.

The additional special examinations were still only for Jinshi candidates, but when the imperial examination system was reformed last year, it was discussed in court and passed to officially include science and engineering subjects in the imperial examination.

Entry does not count. The official course will start next year. If science and engineering are not added, Zhang Shikang will flip the table.

"Minister Zhang, I have already discussed with the officials of the Ministry of Rites that next year's spring examination will definitely include science and engineering subjects.

It’s just that the officials of the Ministry of Rites are still discussing the assessment method for the spring examination for science and engineering. This is really the first time, and it is really a bit overwhelming. I hope Minister Zhang can understand. "Cai Guoyong explained.

The conventional Jinshi examination in the Ming Dynasty selected scholars from the academy examination, juren from the provincial examination, and jinshi from the metropolitan examination. The entire process lasted for a thousand years, and the country had a wealth of experience in the test questions, examination format, and even specific rules.

But it’s different for science and engineering. For example, how do you test blacksmiths and carpenters? Do you really let blacksmiths forge iron and carpenters saw wood?

There are also students who are skilled in smelting. Could it be possible that they would be asked to smelt iron on the spot?

How to set the questions, how to arrange the exam format, and how to evaluate who has superior skills and better results all require careful study.

But the problem is that every single one of the officials in the Ministry of Rites doesn’t understand any of this at all.

If you ask them to quote classics, write eight-legged essays, or evaluate the essays written by candidates, they can do it with ease. They can evaluate from all aspects and dimensions, and their words are convincing.

But if you ask them which wood is sawed better or which student has the highest smelting level, I'm sorry, as this involves their blind spots in knowledge.

"Why don't Lord Cai go to the General Administration of Manufacturing to ask Song Yingxing or Bi Maokang for advice?" suggested the Minister of Industry Fan Jingwen.

Last year, with the emperor's approval, Song Yingxing, Bi Maokang, Mao Yuanyi, Wang Zheng and others from the Manufacturing Bureau formulated a complete system for the treatment and promotion of craftsmen.

Not only were all the craftsmen in the world classified into different categories, but they were also divided into different levels. For example, the lowest level was the apprentice, and above that were the first, second, and third levels.

Different categories have different level caps. For example, carpentry is only divided into three levels, smelting is divided into five levels, and some unpopular categories are divided into eight levels at most.

The treatment for each level is improved. The higher the level of the craftsman, the more generous the treatment. The highest level ones can also receive special subsidies from the court.

This is somewhat similar to the professional titles of later generations. The power of evaluation is temporarily held by the Ministry of Revenue, but is subject to the supervision of the General Administration of Manufacturing.

Once this set of policies to boost the enthusiasm of craftsmen was promulgated, it received strong support from craftsmen all over the world, and the overall enthusiasm of craftsmen was greatly improved.

The Minister of Works, Fan Jingwen, once studied this system carefully and thought it was really brilliant.

Perhaps the problems that were worrying the people in the Ministry of Rites were nothing to the experienced old craftsmen in the General Administration of Manufacturing.

"What Lord Fan said makes sense. This is the first time that science and engineering examinations are being held. Since the General Administration of Manufacturing is experienced and not as good as the chief examiner for science and engineering, you, Wuji, should take the position." Emperor Chongzhen said with a smile.

Zhang Shikang was taking the opportunity to slack off, and he almost spit out the tea he just took a sip of.

Why is this guy's speech so illogical? The General Administration of Manufacturing is very experienced, so why don't you let someone from the General Administration of Manufacturing be the chief examiner?

Although he was in charge of the General Manufacturing Bureau, he had no experience at all. The officials from the Ministry of Rites could not see how to saw wood or forge iron, and he could not see how to do it either.

This is also his blind spot in knowledge.

Compared to this, Song Yingxing, Bi Maokang, Wang Zheng and others are much more experienced.

"Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. I also think that it is appropriate for Zhang Gebu to be the chief examiner for science and engineering."

"I second the proposal."

"I also second my opinion."

Before Zhang Shikang had time to refute, he saw that several other cabinet ministers had approved the matter one after another.

Zhang Shikang was completely numb.

……