Chapter 193 Autumn Examination of the Fifth Year of Qianyou
It's mid-autumn, when the melons are ripe and their stems are falling off, and the fields are harvesting, everything on the earth is rendered golden by the autumn mood. In Tokyo, new autumn fruits are on the market, and all industries are prosperous.
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Every autumn, Liu Chengyou is in a good mood. After all, it is the harvest season and the weather is refreshing. Liu Chengyou is in high spirits and reads the list of autumn games submitted by the Ministry of Punishment.
"This is the second batch since the beginning of autumn, with a total of ninety-seven people. All of them have been checked by the Ministry of Criminal Justice and verified in Dali. The evidence of guilt is conclusive and the sentences are the same!" Li Fang explained simply.
"There are quite a few people who violate the imperial ban and smuggle for profit!" When human lives are involved, Liu Chengyou takes a closer look. He raises his head and asks, "There are more than thirty people selling illegal salt alone?"
Feeling the emperor's doubts, Li Fang said: "This is the Huainan salt case. Yangzhou merchants and salt farm officials colluded internally and externally. The chief envoy and the prince found out that they were all captured. According to the law, they should be killed. The final case was submitted. Waiting for approval!”
Wang Pu did a lot of things in Yangzhou, up and down.
"Thinking back to the early days of the country, people who committed illegal salt and distiller's sake were punished with death no matter how much they had. I am going too far with this method, so I issued an edict to try to determine the crime and sentence as much as possible to make sure there is a difference!" Liu Chengyou said: " But I never thought that as a result, the number of smugglers would not decrease, but would even intensify, colluding with both internal and external parties to steal and sell national property for personal gain!"
"Your Majesty enacts laws with benevolence in mind. The traitors, merchants and people do not appreciate his kindness. They are greedy and violate the law. All they need to do is deal with them in accordance with the law. Your Majesty does not need to worry too much!" Li Fang probably thought that the emperor was unhappy, so Li Fang explained.
However, where could Liu Chengyou have the sadness and sadness? He wrote directly and said coldly: "Return to the Ministry of Punishment, and all criminals will be dealt with according to the law! The law has no mercy, let alone such treacherous people!"
"yes!"
"This is the list of scholars who will come to Beijing for this year's imperial examination, as reported by the Minister of Rites. Your Majesty, please take a look at it!" After a pause, Li Fang reported to Liu Chengyou with a smile on his lips.
With the reform and centralization of power, it was vigorously launched. In order to make up for the vacancies in the Han court, prefectures and counties, after Liu Chengyou returned to Beijing from the southern expedition, he issued an edict to hold an examination in Tokyo to select talents.
Since the early years of Qianyou, only Qianyou has not done so for three years, and the rest have done so almost every year. However, with the development and recovery of local academic affairs, starting next year, the third-level scientific examinations belonging to the Han Dynasty can also be officially launched. .For scholars all over the world, it can be regarded as a bonus in the last year before the return to the imperial system. The talents admitted in these years, regardless of their size, are basically directly awarded official positions.
For example, those who were Jinshi in the first year of Qianyou, such as Wang Pu and Wang Pu, have already become high officials in the Taoist government. And those who are most expected by scholars, if they can go to high school, enter the eyes of the emperor, and serve in the imperial court, they will have a smooth career and a bright future. It’s immeasurable. Just like Wang Pu, Wang Zhu, and Li Fang before them, they set an example and a goal for everyone.
Therefore, this autumn's examination has the largest number of people and the largest scale since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Liu Chengyou is a bachelor of Jixian Palace, Minister of Rites and Ningzhi Gongju.
"There are quite a lot of people coming from all over the country, including Huainan and Fangzhou!" Liu Chengyou chuckled and said, "The students are very active and enthusiastic about taking the exam this autumn!"
"In the six years since the founding of the Han Dynasty, the situation has become increasingly stable. The Holy Lord came to the court and wanted to recruit talents to rejuvenate the country. It is known to everyone that His Majesty reversed chaos and valued scholars. How can the talented people in the world not be pleased? Yearn to serve the imperial court!" Li Fang replied.
"Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, there have been more than a thousand talented people selected through the system!" Liu Chengyou asked, stroking his beard.
"Exactly!" Li Fang said.
"Go, let the generals select officials and select the ones with the best resumes for me to see!" Liu Chengyou ordered: "There are so many people, I want to see how many of them have gained experience! "
"Yes!" Li Fang responded, and at the same time he secretly thought in his heart that the emperor really valued scholars, and he valued talents even more.
If Liu Chengyou knew Li Fang's thoughts, I'm afraid he would say from the bottom of his heart that he did not value scholars, but only valued the forces that were beneficial to his dynasty's rule. Scholars were just one of them.
"The exam is about to start. I need to ask Your Majesty to formulate the questions as soon as possible!" Li Fang said again.
"Well, I understand, you go and do your work!"
...
In the fifth year of Qianyou's reign, on August 10, as time passed, the silence of Gongyuan was broken. The scholars, all alone, walked out of the majestic Gongyuan one after another. Nearly two thousand people were taking exams in Beijing at the same time. For the Han Dynasty, As far as I'm concerned, this is the first time.
Discussions continued, and people formed small groups, each looking for friends and companions. No matter what time or generation, people who had just finished the exam would talk about nothing more than the test questions.
As in previous years, most of the scholars applied for Jinshi, and the proportion increased year by year. Several young scholars went hand in hand and talked freely along the way.
Most of them looked sad. Obviously, this year's test questions were very annoying. The exam questions were all simple. According to Liu Chengyou's wishes, in addition to testing the basic quality of calligraphy and rhyme, it was the practical and policy issues that Liu Chengyou valued most. .
"The candidates who have memorized "Mencius" are in luck this time. Most of the questions on the four books are based on this!" One person said with emotion: "If I had known this, I would have memorized it again."
"It won't be difficult for me to read through the Four Books and Five Classics more and fill in the blanks!" Another person shook his head and said: "It's the practical work that is more troublesome. The topic I won was to list a case and write the following The adjudication process is based on laws and regulations. This is clearly a subject of the Law Department!"
"That's pretty good of you. The question I answered actually asked about the cultivation of corn. Wouldn't it be better to let farmers answer it?" One person's tone was full of lamentation.
"What I won is a tax issue, which needs to be calculated mathematically..."
"I thought that the most difficult question was the policy question, but I didn't expect that this practice is so cunning and intolerant!" A scholar looked like he didn't answer well and was full of lamentation.
"I came to Beijing from afar, just to serve the imperial court and serve the country. I never thought that what I learned would be useless in the examination questions. Could it be that the imperial court was deliberately making things difficult?" This man was already dissatisfied, so he took advantage of this knowledge and was not far behind. .
"Brother Li, please don't lie. It is said that this time the emperor proposed the question himself. The actual practice is different from the usual practice. I'm afraid it is also the emperor's wonderful idea!" The man who had the acumen hurriedly advised.
As he said that, he glanced at the young man next to him, who was elegant and smiling, and asked: "Mr. Lu, I see that you are calm and calm. I guess you have a plan in mind?"
The scholar surnamed Lu is very young. Even if he is described as a boy, there is nothing wrong with him. Others couldn't help but cast their eyes on him. They saw the corners of his mouth slightly raised, showing a sense of arrogance, and said: "From now on Judging from the questions asked by the emperor, they are all related to the national economy and people's livelihood, and political affairs. What they are looking for, as the name suggests, requires practical talents. What the emperor wants is not just scholars. If you feel unfair, have not shown your ability, or If you feel that your literary talent is outstanding, you should not apply for Jinshi..."
After he finished speaking, some people were stunned, and some were dissatisfied, and felt that he was arrogant. On the other hand, the scholar who raised the question seemed calmer, and he opened his mouth to relax the atmosphere and asked: "I don't know what question Lu Langjun chose. Is it a common question?" Shu policy, or north-south strategy?”
Lu Langjun smiled and did not answer. He walked with his hands behind his back, his face full of confidence and intimidation.
In the Han Palace, preparations for the Mid-Autumn Festival were already underway. Liu Chengyou walked to Jixian Hall, where examination papers were reviewed. The examiners, except for the chief examiner He Ning and two Hanlin officials, were all transferred from the Si Yamen who were involved in the examination. Each of the officials will review their questions and score them according to the ten-point system.
Two thousand test questions were worked on day and night, and were solved in less than two days. When Liu Chengyou arrived, the ten marking officials were all tired, unkempt, and very embarrassed. After all, they were restrained in the palace from eating, drinking, and defecating.
Liu Chengyou picked up a practical paper and looked at it. He gave a lot of answers about criminal cases. The calligraphy was beautiful, the scriptures were quoted, and the content was detailed. To sum it up, it was one word: sentencing according to the law. However, it was not implemented in practice. How to follow the law, which law to follow, the process of judging the case, precautions, etc., are not mentioned at all.
"Is it too difficult for these scholars to answer such questions?" Liu Chengyou asked He Ning.
He Ning obviously understood the holy meaning well and replied: "If you only know how to read, you will not be able to see things. A literary official must also be familiar with the laws and regulations!"
Of course, this time the talent selection and practical questions are only attempts, which are bonus points. The real basis for ranking and recruitment is still the writing and policy questions. This time, the practical requirements for scholars are not high, so after all, it can It was obtained through study and experience. But it was different after that. He also wanted to use this system to create a trend, name a direction for the world's scholars, and rejuvenate the country through practicality.
"Have you ever judged the number one?" Liu Chengyou asked He Ning.
