lcionline Chapter 171: Abolition of the Recommendation System and the Promotion of the Imperial Examination Sy
Chapter 171: Abolition of the Recommendation System and the Promotion of the Imperial Examination Sy
Outside the general's tent, the empress, dressed in a bright red dragon robe and extremely gorgeous, got off the dragon chariot and walked towards the general's tent accompanied by palace maids. She saw Shen Changgong head-on.
Shen Changgong walked over, without any greeting, and naturally took Yan Fuyao's hand, saying as he walked,
"Look at you, you came here quietly again. We're still in the middle of a battle. What if the enemy has ambushed them outside? Wouldn't you be in danger?"
Yan Fuyao had a playful smile on his face.
"Oh? Lord Shen cares about me so much, is it because he cares about the country, or because he cares about me?"
At this time, they had already reached the door of the general's tent. Shen Changgong said with a smile,
"Without a country, how can there be a home? You are my home. I have to protect this country before I can protect you, my home."
Yan Fuyao smiled sweetly, and as soon as she entered the door, she saw King Nan.
"My lord, pay homage to Your Majesty!"
The Southern King saluted.
Yan Fuyao's face was embarrassed for a moment, and he quickly said,
"Uncle Wang, please stand up and sit down."
Then she suddenly shook off Shen Changgong's hand and whispered,
"Don't make such a noise for me in the future."
Shen Changgong laughed heartily, the empress was really thin-skinned.
The empress naturally took over Shen Changgong's position, and then saw Prince Nan sneering at Shen Changgong.
Shen Changgong looked a little embarrassed.
"What is Uncle Wang looking at?"
"Your Majesty, I am looking at a man of integrity and true character."
"Oh? Uncle Wang actually has such a good impression of Chang Gong?"
"That's right, Prince Shen really put on a great show of changing his face for me."
Shen Changgong said awkwardly,
"What nonsense are you talking about? This king has always been upright and honest, and he is consistent in his words and deeds."
When Yan Fuyao heard this, he guessed what Shen Changgong had done, otherwise he wouldn't feel so guilty.
"Uncle Wang, Chang Gong, the Yuhuatian tribe is now unable to escape. Yesterday, I received news from Lu Bing that they have successfully rescued Yuhuatian's parents and will reach Yaoguan in about five or six days.
Should we tell Yu Huatian about this news?"
"Of course not."
Shen Changgong said decisively,
"If we want to subdue Yuhuatian, we must use both kindness and force.
Well, that means sparing his life, giving him his family, promoting him to a higher position, and showing full trust in him.
To be powerful, we must beat him into submission, make him completely desperate and with nowhere else to go, and only when he is convinced by our defeat will he be willing to submit to us.
Neither of these two methods includes threats. If you threaten him with his family and force him to submit, he will bear a grudge.
Of course, if he was defeated and we told him that if he did not commit suicide, we would not kill the prisoners, he would be willing to surrender for the sake of those people.
But surrender does not mean submission, there will be further mercy."
"Okay, you're the man, you're the boss, I'll just listen to you."
Yan Fuyao said with some ambiguity.
"Alas, I will obey your Majesty no matter what you say. Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and you are a wise ruler who will be remembered for all time."
The husband's small flattery and praise satisfied his wife's vanity. Yan Fuyao smiled and turned to the Southern King and said,
"Uncle Wang, our four-step plan is almost complete. After you capture Yaoguan, you can recruit troops in southern my country and prepare for war. We plan to march south in two months, after the autumn harvest. Firstly, we will have food and fodder. Secondly, Kun Country is rich and produces a lot of grain. We can seize their food."
"Okay, I understand."
The Southern King nodded and said,
"Tomorrow I will lead 20,000 Southern Guard troops to assist in the siege. We will capture Yaoguan Pass within a day. The remaining 30,000 will remain here. Once we have defeated the enemy, I will have them march south to Yaoguan Pass to find me."
"Okay, you and Chang Gong can discuss the war. I will be responsible for managing internal affairs, selecting officials, and managing national finances, taxation, grain, production, and other matters.
I will be your strongest support and provide you with all the military equipment you need."
At this point, Shen Changgong said seriously,
“The system for selecting officials needs to be changed.”
"Hmm? Why do you say that?"
Yan Fuyao asked.
"In Great Yan, along with other countries, the selection system we implement is the recommendation system. This system has a great drawback, that is, officials at all levels can easily be controlled by the aristocratic families.
Originally, official positions were controlled by the gentry. When they grew old and retired, in order to protect the rights and interests of their families, they would definitely recommend people from each other's families to other gentry, and eventually the gentry formed aristocratic families.
A flowing dynasty, an iron-clad family.
The Enfeoffment Order had little effect on the aristocratic families because their official positions were not inheritable and they relied on mutual recommendations.
The aristocratic families monopolized official positions, focused on family interests, and ignored the country and the people.
Can such a person govern the country well?
If you want truly talented people to come to the fore, you have to use a fair, just and confidential selection system, and that is examinations.
I call this system the imperial examination.
The selection of scholars began from the counties and prefectures. Regardless of whether they were commoners or nobles, the examinations were treated fairly. The examiners were all imperial censors who supervised each other. All the names on the examination papers were sealed and could only be opened after they were corrected on the day of the announcement.
The selected scholars would then go to the capital to take the unified examination, and finally the emperor would personally set the questions for the selection examination.
Every candidate is a disciple of the emperor, and their official positions are directly appointed by the emperor. If they want to be grateful, it is to the emperor and they should be loyal to the emperor, rather than to the aristocratic families who recommended them.
What the hell is this about selecting filial and honest officials? Isn't that something you can buy with money? "
Shen Changgong's words shocked Yan Fuyao, Southern Prince Ma Ling, and Gongsun Wan'er. Everyone's eyes lit up, and they kept reviewing the new policy system that Shen Changgong mentioned in their minds.
Yan Fuyao nodded slowly and said,
"That makes sense. If you want to centralize power and give the monarch more power, you must not only control military power, but also political power. Only when all military and political officials are promoted by the monarch himself can they be loyal to the monarch. Only by combining the strength of the entire country can we become stronger.
Otherwise, if officials in various departments only care about themselves and their families, how can we talk about governing the country?
While the powerful and wealthy in the capital have been swept away, we can first replace the high-ranking officials in the court with our own people, and then implement new policies in the local areas. It will be much easier, and those aristocratic families will not be able to cause any big waves."
In fact, Shen Changgong knew that the imperial examination system would eventually lead to factionalism, but for now, nothing was more suitable for Dayan than the imperial examination system. He couldn't use the recommendation system again.
Moreover, in this era, most of those who could afford to go to school were from the gentry. Which family could spare a young and strong laborer to study instead of working? It would be a problem to have enough food and clothing, let alone study?