In May of the second year of Yanxi, a big event happened in Dahan.
That is the emperor of the Han Dynasty issued an edict:
In order to avoid confusion with the official examination method, a special edict was issued to change the Liangzhou talent selection examination method to the imperial examination method, which was listed as the Han Dynasty talent selection system along with the examination and recruitment.
At the same time, he also ordered that the two books "Thousand-Character Classic" and "Zhengyin Dictionary" be listed as essential books for the school.
Although we knew that this day would come sooner or later, when the Emperor made the official announcement, it still shocked those aristocratic families who were concerned about the situation in the world, especially the aristocratic families in Jihan.
Needless to say, "The Thousand Character Essay" is one of the most suitable articles for enlightenment in the world today.
The "Zhengyin Dictionary" has been compiled and renamed several times after more than ten years by gathering famous Han Confucian scholars from the academy. Now it is the most powerful tool to assist literacy.
Not to mention the bonuses of pinyin and printing.
These few things complement each other, making the school's enlightenment efficiency far superior to that of private schools within major families, and the teaching effect is even more dimensionally reduced.
The aristocratic families were horrified to discover that it was no longer a question of whether they could continue to monopolize knowledge.
But if they dare not conform to the ways of the Han Dynasty, the foundation of their livelihood for hundreds of years may be shattered.
It is different from the Shu family's full resistance, and it is also different from Liangzhou Haoyou's half-hearted push.
The wealthy families in Guanzhong, Bingzhou, and Hedong are much more enlightened than the aristocratic families in these two places.
When they heard that the emperor of the Han Dynasty had issued the edict, everyone gave a thumbs up, praising His Majesty for his foresight and foresight, and that the Han Dynasty was expected to prosper.
Not only did he praise him, but he also took practical actions to support the emperor of the Han Dynasty.
For example, they sent messengers to Chang'an to find connections, visit the big shots in the court, and expressed their willingness to provide money and food, and to assist the court in building schools in various places.
Another example is to push outstanding students from each family to participate in the Royal Academy recommendation.
Of course, it is not impossible for the younger ones to be sent to Chang'an Academy to study and then take the college entrance examination in two or three years...
"Here, these are the students recommended to the college from various places this year."
The weather in June is the hottest time in Guanzhong.
Feng Duhu was hiding in an artificially air-conditioned room, looking thoughtfully at the news coming back from the Kingdom of Wu.
The right lady rushed in furiously, slapped a stack of paper on the table with a "pop" sound, then picked up the cold herbal tea and took a few sips.
She drank a little too much, and it made her stick out her tongue.
"It's so hot outside, I don't know why you're so anxious? You're walking so fast, you're covered in sweat!"
While chattering, Feng Duhu stood up, opened the iceberg, took out the cut cold melon, and placed it in front of Mrs. Right.
The right lady sat on the chair, picked up the cold melon, took a few bites, and then sighed comfortably.
"Sweet, sweet and watery, it quenches your thirst! It's such a good thing. Do you want to eat it, Alang?"
Feng Duhu shook his head: "I don't like to eat it, you can eat it."
Compared with the pulp of later generations, which had few seeds or even no seeds, the cold melons of this era were densely packed with seeds, and the flesh was a little floury, so the taste was not that good.
For Feng Duhu, the taste is really bad.
"It's a good thing for you, but it's not a good thing for the people."
"This thing doesn't matter whether it takes up a lot of land or not, but it requires too much fertilizer and can only be sown in a small area, so it is not suitable for promotion."
The right lady glanced at him and spit out a few melon seeds:
"It doesn't matter whether we promote it or not. I don't know how to farm anyway, but my family has fields and land, so I'm not short of money or food."
"Other people can live without this food, but not ours. Every year I eat melons to escape the heat."
Mr. Shunde, a mighty man, what's wrong with taking a bite of melon?
snort!
Feng Duhu looked a little helpless, but looked at Madam Right with a fond look:
"I just said that casually, don't worry, you will definitely be able to eat this."
In fact, the cultivation of cold melons has been continuing in recent years, and Li Xu is still in charge of this project.
Just for the melon pulp with fewer seeds and a sweeter taste.
In which year was he raised? Maybe Feng Duhu likes to eat melons?
After chatting, Feng Duhu picked up the paper sent by Mrs. Right and asked.
"What's this?"
"This year's list of students from various places recommended to enter the academy."
Mrs. Right ate another piece of melon and felt that the heat in her body had disappeared under the influence of the ice mirror, so she moved closer to Feng Duhu and explained:
"All the lists of Shu, Yongliang and other states are here."
After pinching it, it felt a little thick. Feng Duhu asked: "How many people are there?"
The right lady turned her head and thought for a moment before replying: "Six hundred and three."
"Too many!" Feng Duhu threw the list directly back on the desk, lay back on the chair, with a look of displeasure on his face: "I didn't expect them to be so greedy!"
Logically speaking, the recommended talents should be recommended according to the proportion of the population in each place.
However, after the Battle of Guanzhong, so much old land was recovered at once, and the problem of insufficient officials in the imperial court, counties, and counties began to be exposed.
Based on the current development trend of the Han Dynasty, the imperial court indeed needs to reserve talents.
In addition, this recommendation is indeed quite special.
To put it bluntly, it is to win over the hearts of scholars from all over the world. This is also an act of integrating the internal resources of the Han Dynasty.
So that we can march eastward as soon as possible.
Therefore, there is no specific number of people recommended for talent recommendation this time.
But Feng Duhu still underestimated the greed of the aristocratic families.
"How many people does Dahan have now? Not to mention that there are not so many students recommended by schools in various places."
"If you add in the number of recruits from various places, it would be several times the number of students in the college. What do they want to do?"
The simultaneous implementation of imperial examinations, police examinations, and conquests is not a compromise, but a matter of helplessness.
Even though Feng Duhu had been poaching the aristocratic family for more than ten years, the foundation of more than ten years was still too weak in the face of a foundation that was more than a hundred years old.
Whether it's inspection or recruitment, basically only the children of aristocratic families can meet the requirements.
To be honest, the children born in Cangtou Qianshou's family will not only go to the battlefield, but also gain fame and fame in their narrow escape.
The only way out is to enter the Royal Academy to study, so that you can compete with the children of the aristocratic families. And most of them may not be able to compare with the children of the aristocratic families in the end.
In this troubled world, if you don't have a vision beyond the times and the courage to cure the poison,
Who has the patience to farm step by step, continuously invest huge amounts of money and food, spend an unknown amount of time, and painstakingly re-establish another talent training system?
Not to mention the huge risks that must be taken during this period.
Either it was destroyed from within, or the external enemies did not give you a chance. It is even more normal for internal and external collusion to occur.
With this energy and money and food, it is better to raise more armies and unify the world as soon as possible.
So, wouldn’t it be nice to be a child of an aristocratic family who can use it directly?
This time, Feng Duhu, for the sake of the overall situation, rarely gave these wealthy families a lot of face.
Unexpectedly, the other party didn't appreciate it at all.
I only heard Mrs. Right laughing and saying:
"Don't you really know what their plan is? They just want to test the bottom line of the court."
"After all, this is the first year of the official imperial examination. If we can allow many of our children to enter the academy, we will have a head start."
Feng Duhu showed a sneer on his face:
"The bottom line of the imperial court is that most of the students in the college must be recommended from the school, and recommendation can only be a way of assistance."
From now on, the imperial examination can only be continuously strengthened and cannot be weakened.
The investigation and conquest are exactly the opposite and can only be continuously weakened.
Intellectual resources must not continue to be monopolized by aristocratic families.
After so many years, it is estimated that the aristocratic families have also figured out the court's intentions.
Therefore, while the students trained by the college had not yet become the mainstream of Han officials, they crazily recommended their own people to seize the position.
"For hundreds of years, the Han Dynasty has mainly focused on the imperial examination. Now that Alang wants to implement the imperial examination, it is understandable that everyone has not changed for a while."
The right lady sighed, "To be honest, right now, the children of aristocratic families are indeed much better than the children of ordinary people."
"With so many people recommended from various places, I'm afraid not all of them can be considered intentional..."
Feng Duhu nodded:
"How could I not know this? But for the long-term consideration of the Han Dynasty, the imperial examination is imperative."
Mrs. Right pointed to the list on the table: "What about this?"
Feng Duhu did not answer immediately, but stretched out his right hand and pressed on the list.
Madam You thought he was going to pick it up, look at it carefully, and select people. Unexpectedly, Feng Duhu clicked on the list and started tapping the paper with his index finger.
This is a small gesture of his thinking.
"It's not good to just fight back. After all, this is the first time His Majesty has selected talents on a large scale in the Han Dynasty since he returned to the old capital."
"If we call them back and ask them to re-elect, it's a small matter if someone sees a joke. It's a big deal if we lose the emperor's face and undermine his prestige."
The right lady frowned slightly:
“But it’s not appropriate to put all of it into the academy!”
Is this considered a counterattack by the family?
As long as there is a chance, they will not let it go.
When Feng Duhu thought of this, he suddenly smiled strangely:
"Aren't the students recommended from all over the country full of ambitions to serve the country? We can't let them lose their hearts!"
The right lady was startled and looked at Feng Duhu.
Feng Duhu tapped his index finger rapidly several times, and then he continued:
"People's livelihood in Guanzhong is exhausted. The first priority now is to resume production, but many counties below are short of manpower."
"Since these students want to serve the country, let them go downstairs to help first, and at the same time understand the people's sentiments and observe the sufferings of the people."
When Liangzhou took the exam, I don’t know how many people from aristocratic families could not bear the hardships at the grassroots level, forcing many to quit halfway.
Hearing that Feng Duhu wanted to repeat his old plan, Mrs. Right was a little worried:
"The Liangzhou examination is to select talents to serve as officials, so that candidates can understand the people's sentiments. There is nothing wrong with that."
"But when I entered the academy, my first priority was to acquire knowledge. How can the two be the same? I'm afraid there is something wrong with Alang's move."
"Don't worry." Feng Du smiled confidently, "Students from the academy will also have a one-year internship period in the end."
Reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles may be an exaggeration in ancient times.
But after students reach adulthood, it is normal and even natural for students to go on study tours and increase their knowledge.
The internship arrangement in the last year of the college is actually another nominal study tour for students. The difference between it and individual study tours is that this is a study tour uniformly arranged by the college.
"These recommended students are all talented people from all over the country. Are there any weak ones? Let them start internships in advance."
The right lady still has a worried look on her face:
"What about the students who are recommended by the school? I'm afraid someone will say that it's unfair to treat them differently."
"It's just to make them feel unfair." Feng Duhu looked calm, "It's just to let them know that students who enter the academy from the academy are the genuine students of the Royal Academy."
"That is, they are more valued by the court than the recommended students."
No matter how many disadvantages the imperial examination had, it could still be said to be the fairest way to select talents in the feudal era.
Whether it does more good than harm to a country or does more harm than good depends on what purpose the ruler wants to achieve with the imperial examination.
Take the imperial examinations in the early Tang Dynasty as an example, they were mainly based on "current affairs policies".
Because it involves real problems in the country's society, it requires readers not only to be familiar with the scriptures, but also to face society, observe, think about problems, and propose solutions.
In addition to the imperial examination, Wu Zetian even created the martial arts examination.
This made the imperial examination and talent selection show a vigorous and progressive nature in the Tang Dynasty, forming a golden age of cultural development.
It is a pity that the Song Dynasty emphasized literature over martial arts, which not only castrated Confucianism, but also used the imperial examination to suppress the minds of scholars.
This gave future generations a very bad start.
Eventually, the imperial examination in the Ming and Qing Dynasties gradually developed into the eight-part essay examination.
It makes scholars become industrious, unable to distinguish between grains and grains, and can only talk about "what's wrong".
It is completely different from the scholars who traveled around the world with swords in the Han and Tang dynasties.
However, even in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the imperial examination was never the only way to become an official.
Obtaining official documents, being an official, donating to prison, etc. are all supplementary ways to enter the officialdom.
But no matter which one they are, most of the time their status cannot exceed the imperial examination.
Officials who entered official positions through the imperial examination had stronger backs than officials who entered official positions through other means.
What Feng Duhu ultimately wanted to create was this kind of effect.
Of course, in the beginning, the status of the officials who were recruited into the imperial examination, the imperial examination, and the official positions were all basically the same.
It's just that he had to consciously raise the status of the imperial examination slowly and gradually and subtly.
Squeezing the examination and recruitment bit by bit is a disguised form of squeezing the space for the children of aristocratic families to enter officialdom.
In the end, they were forced to retreat to the same starting point as ordinary people, at least in the academy.
This is the ultimate that Feng Duhu can achieve to break the family's monopoly on intellectual resources.
It is also the greatest fairness that can be given to all students in the world.
At the same time, it also allows big men to unite the broadest level of society.
Mrs. Right knew that there would be a lot of resistance, so she thought about it and suggested:
"How about this? If someone really performs well within a year, he can be directly promoted or promoted to an official position. What does Alang think?"
When Feng Duhu heard this, he couldn't help but said "Hey" and looked at Mrs. Right with admiration:
"Xi Jun is indeed my daughter Zhuge. This statement is very reasonable."
Anyway, now the imperial examination and examination are carried out in parallel, and there is no distinction between high and low. Being able to enter the official position early must be in line with the wishes of many people.
You can also block someone’s mouth at the same time:
If you have the ability, you can directly pass the examination and become an official.
If you don't have the skills, just pass the exam and enter the academy to learn the skills.
If you can't even pass the assessment, you are incompetent and have no talent!
Even if you are incompetent and have no talent, you still want to join the official class of the Han Empire?
Is it true that a big man is like the Wei thieves who put more emphasis on family background than character and talent?
Thinking of this, Feng Duhu leaned back in his chair again:
"Let's do it this way. When the time comes, make another copy of this list and send it to the Chancellor's Desk for arrangements."
"Alang, don't you take a look?"
"Don't look anymore, there's nothing good to see."
