Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later
Chapter 449 Imperial Examination System
Historically, after Yuan Shao eliminated Gongsun Zan, he led his troops south without any rest and launched the Battle of Guandu. As a result, he was defeated in the first battle and lost almost all his property. He himself also shortened his life because of the failure of this battle.
The current Lu Bu is much stronger than Yuan Shao of that period in terms of territory, military strength, and internal politics, but his economic strength is not good enough. Therefore, after listening to the reports from the previous departments, there is no need to discuss the next overall strategic plan. It is just to recuperate, store food, build more ships, repair equipment, and wait for the time to be ripe.
"The general direction is correct, but I feel the details still need to be discussed."
Xu You, the host of today's meeting and Zhang Mo's key advisor, stood up and said, "I heard last night that the princess had Commander Du send several transfer orders to Changshan, Julu, and Anping, intending to transfer Guan Anren, Zhao Zilong, Xu Gongming, and other troops to Weijun and Qinghe State."
Zhang Mo nodded, "Yes, that's true, is there anything wrong with it?"
Xu You said, "Not really. The princess's orders were absolutely correct. It's just... now that the people have been transferred here, instead of leaving them idle, it's better to create some trouble for Cao Mengde!"
"Talk about it!"
Xu You twirled his beard and smiled, "Cao Mengde has been rubbing his hands in anticipation of his recapture of Liang Province to annex Yuan Shu. Princess, why don't you send some elite cavalry to raid the border areas of Yan Province to create some pressure and create a crisis for him? This will also be more conducive to our army's capture of Qing Province and Mount Tai."
Zhang Mo said, "I originally wanted to dispatch troops to intimidate Yanzhou, but Ziyuan is right. The standing army is idle anyway. So, let Anren, Zilong, Gongming, Yuansi and others take turns leading troops to cause some trouble for Cao Mengde. This will also allow some movement in Chenliu."
She looked at Qu Yi and Gao Shun and said, "I'll leave this matter to you two to arrange. Just conduct small-scale harassment and don't mobilize a large army."
"Yes!" The two of them said with cupped hands.
"One more thing. I propose setting up grassroots supervisory departments in each township. Each township will select five soldiers to serve as these departments. They will not receive any salary. Their sole responsibility will be to report public opinion and to report violations of law and discipline by lower-level officials to the county and prefecture levels. Do you think this is feasible?"
Chen Gong asked, "Each prefecture and county has its own supervisory department, and there's also the Flying Eagle Squadron working in secret. Isn't this unnecessary?"
Zhang Mo explained, "The supervisory departments and the Flying Eagles have limited resources, so there are bound to be omissions. The reason we set up grassroots supervisory departments is, on the one hand, supervision, and on the other hand, to give the people the opportunity to be the masters of their own affairs, to have a place to redress their grievances, and to have their opinions heard."
"While this is good, it will greatly increase the workload of the county. If people keep petitioning for trivial matters, the county will have to send people to handle them every time. Even if each village only petitions once a month, it will still be a very labor-intensive task."
Zhang Mo nodded slightly, "Gongtai's words make sense!"
She looked at everyone, "Do you have any solution to this problem?"
Xu Shu said, "This is actually very simple. If you're seeking feedback, you're only allowed to petition once a month or once a quarter. If you're reporting illegal behavior by an official, there's no time limit. However, the petitioner must represent the opinions of at least 80% of the village residents, not just one individual. This way, we can prevent some people from petitioning out of personal vendettas and maliciously slandering officials."
"The common people are actually very honest and simple. Unless they are forced into a desperate situation, they will not and dare not cause trouble for the officials."
"Let's follow Yuan Zhi's advice and try it out in Hongnong County first," Zhang Mo said, making the final decision. She looked at the clerk who was taking notes, "After the meeting, make a separate copy of this matter and pass it on to Sizhou Mu Du Bohou. He will handle it. Try it out for a year. If there are no major problems, we can then expand it to other prefectures and counties."
"Yes!" the clerk replied as he wrote.
Zhang Mo continued, "The last thing on the agenda for today's meeting is the reform of the examination system."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone below couldn't help but hold their breath. This was the highlight of this year's annual meeting!
"Mr. Cai has just reported on the enrollment situation of schools in various places. The earliest schools at all levels in Bingzhou, Hedong, and Henei are already quite complete, and the number of students enrolled in elementary schools and classics schools has also increased. Yongzhou, Jizhou, Shanzhou, and Henan Yin have also successively established many schools. Therefore, a corresponding assessment system must also be established. I intend to implement the imperial examination system in the Tang Dynasty to select talents. Simply put, it is to select scholars according to their disciplines, regardless of their background or family background, only their knowledge."
She gestured for her attendant to open the blueprint hanging on the wall. "I've briefly outlined the assessment levels, subjects, and methods. The specific details still need to be refined and supplemented. Feel free to raise any comments or suggestions you may have. This matter will be assigned to Bo Ji, Ji Gui, Yuan Zhi, and Zi Yuan. They must develop a workable and practical examination system and procedures within six months, and pilot it in Bingzhou, Hedong, and Henei a year later."
Everyone looked eagerly and saw a hierarchical flow chart on the drawing, which went from the lowest level of elementary education to the study of classics, then the most basic provincial examination in classics, all the way to the highest level of palace examination. There was a progressive screening process with elections for comprehensive talents and professional talents, and there were dozens of examination subjects.
Everyone could not help but admire her after watching it. The princess was truly a genius. From her improvement of papermaking and invention of printing, to her creation of schools at all levels and construction of libraries, to today's reform of the talent selection system, she made steady progress and everything came to fruition naturally.
The most crucial thing is that she has been committed to suppressing the powerful families, reducing the number of troops, and splitting up the families since she occupied Bingzhou. Today, there is no family in the Tang Dynasty that can oppose this reform. Even a meritorious family like the Cui family can only split up the huge family under the overall trend.
All families have split up, even the princess's maternal family, the Taiyuan Wang family. Look at the top Hongnong Yang family, which was deadlocked for so long and finally compromised. If you, the Cui family, don't know what's good for you and split up yourselves, you may not even be able to protect the future of your own family in the end.
Zhang Mo looked around the room at all the civil and military officials, and found that no one stood up to oppose the implementation of the imperial examination system. She knew that she had taken advantage of the chaotic times and successfully overwhelmed the aristocratic families with the power of the people.
She smiled with satisfaction and looked at the hourglass beside her. It was already around noon and her stomach started to growl.
"Today's annual meeting ends here. If you have any other matters, please submit a petition and we will discuss it again after the New Year. I believe everyone is hungry now. This princess has specially prepared a banquet. Please enjoy the New Year's Eve dinner in advance!"
After that, he said to the attendant beside him, "Tell Butler Mei to prepare the banquet!"
When it was time for dinner, everyone started to relax. Some went to the restroom, some gathered together to chat. Servants came to collect the documents on the table. Soon, maids came in with various dishes and drinks, and musicians played music. When they had almost finished eating, there were singing, dancing and acrobatic performances. It was not until dark that everyone went home after eating and drinking their fill. Only then was the annual meeting officially over.
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