Start with detective Li Yuanfang

Chapter 379 Keep an eye on Empress Wu's little spy——Shangguan Wan'er!
"In recent days, the number of new scholars who have been entrusted with entrusting Chen Shi with papers has decreased a lot?"

"There are no more requests for papers, but there are still many poems to praise. Recently, students from other states have been telling each other, and they are all grateful for the grace. Xiao Lang's reputation among scholars is also very good."

Hearing Xu Da's words, Li Yan smiled, nodded and said: "Then accept it, I am too lazy to read it, but if I don't accept it, it will hurt the hearts of those humble scholars."

It will take some time for the news of the reform of the imperial examination system to reach the states, but the students from other states in Chang'an, especially those from poor families, can't help running around to congratulate each other and shout long live.

Li Yan is very clear, although the imperial examination scholars are not the mainstream now, but the proportion of high-ranking officials in the officialdom will be higher and higher for officials of this background.

Because they have real talents and knowledge, they will naturally stand out gradually. They are good at seizing opportunities for meritorious service, and they are promoted faster than other officials.

In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, there were more and more prime ministers who were born as Jinshi, and there were fewer and fewer prime ministers, not to mention the likes of Ban Lang.

Of course, the Shandong gentry should be the happiest now, because that group of people are really good at taking exams. Under fair competition, the proportion of them being officials will definitely increase, so the officials of the Shandong gentry in the court will become strong supporters of the saint .

And the humble scholars from all over the place also have the opportunity to stand out, and the officials who are willing to work for these people will also unite under the command of the saint to form a new political force.

These people are just the capable ministers needed to change the social ills.

Li Yan didn't like to promote reforms in a hurry, and came up with ten and eight new policies, which were rushed and drastic, which caused backlash from all over the place, and finally changed his loneliness.

What he has learned this time is the lesson of the Song Dynasty. Those New Deals are too famous, and there are some famous jokes, such as when Wang Anshi reformed, Wen Yanbo said, "Rule the world with the scholar-bureaucrats, not with the common people."

This sentence can be said to have been passed down through the ages. I don’t know how many times it was mentioned in the marketing accounts of later generations. How arrogant and domineering Wen Yanbo was, how ugly the scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty were.

In the complete version, after Song Shenzong and Wang Anshi refuted Wen Yanbo from different angles, Wen Yanbo said another meaningful sentence, "It is important for people to promote you."

After reading the entire dialogue, Wen Yanbo's meaning is very clear. The reform behavior has touched the interests of the ruling class scholar-bureaucrats, and the scholar-bureaucrats must be allowed to implement it. No matter how perfect the plan is, if there is no reliable person to implement it, the end will not be good. .

Wen Yanbo is a veteran of the three dynasties. He was the prime minister in the Renzong Dynasty. Wang Anshi was promoted by him. When he was young, he watched how the Qingli New Deal failed. When he was old, he watched Wang Anshi and Song Shenzong start a new cycle. Having said that, of course Wen Yanbo is definitely not a good gentleman, but just looking at this matter alone, his words are not wrong.

Not to mention Wen Yanbo, Han Qi, Fu Bi, and Ouyang Xiu, who were still alive at the time, all stood on the opposite side of Wang Anshi without exception. Very sad.

The social structures of the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty were different, but the vested interests who were unwilling to change would always exist. Li Yan knew very well that the most important thing to change a country’s shortcomings is not how perfect the policy is, but to control it. personnel.

The premise of doing anything is people, especially talents who can go deep into local states and counties.

There are no hard-working talents who can sink, and the perfect system is just empty talk and useless if it is only a policy made by the central government.

That's why he will take the imperial examination first, not only for those students who stand out with their real skills, but also to unite more and more officials who are willing to change the current situation.

Even if you want to give poor families a chance, the aristocratic family can't suppress them all. Referring to history, Li Yan wrote two words on the paper and circled them.

Just as he put down the pen, he raised his eyebrows: "Wan'er, come out!"

As the wind picked up, the slender and slim Shangguan Wan'er flashed into the room: "Master!"

Li Yan frowned slightly: "Have you opened your second consciousness?"

Wan'er proudly said: "Yes, after the nose consciousness, I opened the ear consciousness."

Li Yan is very pleased, he is indeed a good teacher: "It takes two years to develop one consciousness, which is quite good among the warriors who practice consciousness-only strength. The other person I saw also spent more than a dozen years of sharpening and fighting all day long. You have only fully developed your five senses in a few years, and you have just turned ten years old this year, so you can be said to have a bright future."

Wan'er clenched her small fist and shook it: "In order to become beautiful, I will definitely practice this strength!"

Li Yan laughed. Indeed, after learning about the characteristic of Weishijin being able to stay young forever, this girl's energy and spirit are different when practicing martial arts. He can't understand this kind of motivation. What he pursues is to rule the roost forever I will practice martial arts all day just for the sake of appearance.

It is good to have a goal, but Weishijin also needs to grasp the mentality, Li Yan pointed out: "Everything should not be rushed, especially in martial arts. You and your mother have also been separated for many years. Now that you are reunited, spend more time with her. "

Wan'er's eyes turned red, and she bowed profusely: "Thank you, Master, for saving my mother and daughter!"

Li Yandao: "Master and apprentice, why bother to say thank you, it's because your mother is blessed to be able to endure hardships and get rid of offending..."

Now both Wan'er and Rongniang are no longer the criminal daughters of Ye Ting. Wan'er resumed her Shangguan surname and has a mansion in Chang'an. Friends from the former Shangguanyi often visit her. .

Wan'er sat down, drank a cup of tea, and thought that Xiao Hei was now with Xie Shi, and she was a little disappointed that she couldn't pet the cat, but her expression soon became serious again: "Master, there is something in the palace!"

Li Yan understood: "Since you came out of the palace, something must have happened in the palace, let's talk about it."

Shangguan Wan'er said: "The Empress Dowager has installed more doctors in the harem, expanded the scale of the Inner Literature Museum, taught the court ladies to read and write, and is also planning to call women to serve in the palace to enrich the forbidden female officials."

Li Yan narrowed his eyes slightly: "It's really a good time to choose, the saint is selecting talents, and the queen mother is not idle."

Shangguan Wan'er said: "This is the empress's business, but now the empress is more than eight months pregnant, and she will give birth in more than one month, so she can't care about that side at all, so she was taken advantage of by the empress dowager."

Li Yan thought to himself that even if Empress Pei was not pregnant, ten of them would not be the opponent of Empress Wu alone. The timing he said was not that, but the current situation in the foreign court was turbulent. Empress Wu's entry point was undoubtedly excellent. How many people are called into the palace?"

Wan'er said: "All the prefectures should have gone."

Li Yan asked: "Next time, you pay attention to the specific personnel, especially the wives of the gentry in the Guan."

Wan'er said blushingly: "I didn't pay attention to this, but I knew that the most beautiful one is the Seventh King's concubine Webster."

This Webster is the concubine of the British King Li Xian, the daughter of Wei Zhenxuan, the magistrate of Fufeng County whom he met in the past, and also the Queen Wei in history. Li Yan was curious: "Does the Queen Mother value Webster?"

Wan'er shook her head: "According to what I've inquired, the Empress Dowager looks down on this Mrs. Webster's, saying she's flashy, but she's really beautiful..."

Li Yan secretly lamented Empress Wu's accuracy in judging people, and asked: "Where did you get the news? Could it be that everyone around the Empress Dowager was bribed by you?"

Wan'er smiled and said: "How can you say that you bought it? Wan'er made many friends in the palace...Master, what is the Queen Mother doing all this for?"

Li Yandao: "To put it nicely, it means that the talents from the inner court gather together. If it is divided into colors with the outer court and undertakes one or two government affairs, it is also a beautiful thing. The queen mother is well-intentioned. If it is ugly, the queen mother will grab it again Right."

Wan'er wondered: "If the empress dowager's prestige goes down again and again, can she still succeed?"

Li Yandao: "Of course it is possible, because summoning the wives is a matter within the authority of the empress dowager and the empress, and the Wai Dynasty is powerless to stop them. It is precisely these wives who can have close ties with the Wai Dynasty. After coming and going, the connection is established?"

Shangguan Wan'er in history was the top figure of the female official group under Wu Zetian, and more female officials were life wives, wives of ministers.

Those women helped Wu Zetian handle government affairs, and the most powerful among them could even help Wu Zetian revise memorials.

For example, Pei Xingjian's wife, Kudi, is also Su Weiwei's mother-in-law. Historically, she was one of the chief female officials. Well, Shangguan Wan'er is much more famous than her, but the power she can exercise may not be comparable to this one.

Of course, this does not mean that Shangguan Wan'er is incapable, but that she does not have the support of her family after all. The role of a married woman lies not only in themselves, but also in their husbands and the family behind them.

Therefore, later generations said that Wu Zetian fought for women's rights. It is a pity that this is the same as advocating that Wu Zetian is the master of the poor, and it is wishful thinking for the ruler.

In Wu Zetian's eyes, female officials are just pawns to better control the court situation, and they don't consider how these female officials will live in the future, whether their marriage is happy, and how they will be accommodated in their husband's family in the future. They are exactly the same as Li Zhi mean and unkind.

Wan'er didn't know that, and when she heard that a married woman could really be a female officer, she blinked her eyes: "That's amazing, these married women's husbands are all high-ranking officials, and with the support of the Queen Mother, maybe becoming a female official can really take power!"

Li Yan shook his head: "Not to mention the thoughts among the wives, take a step back, even if they can unite and become a political force that cannot be underestimated, it will not last long."

Wan'er was puzzled: "Why?"

Li Yandao: "Looking at the past dynasties, a stable political group, in addition to the right to speak from the upper echelons of the court, must also have the power rooted below. Power is like a big tree. The tree will flourish and survive for a long time, such as famous families in various places."

"The female official is like duckweed floating on the water. Even if it can cover a piece of it, it will drift with the current and have no foundation at all. Once there is a problem with the water source below or the scorching sun in the sky, it will soon wither."

This is indeed the disadvantage of the female officials of the Wu Zhou Dynasty. They did not have any actual power, and they could only be regarded as the eyes and arms derived from Wu Zetian. turn up.

Wan'er remembered Master's words: "I understand that a stable political force must have a lower foundation..."

Li Yanning said: "Although this is the case, it is indeed easy to cause chaos if a married woman is used by Empress Wu, but I can't intervene in the affairs of the harem."

Wan'er's eyeballs rolled around, the corners of her lips were slightly raised, and she said in a low voice: "Master, do you know that Wu's children are also studying in the Inner Literature Museum, and the distance between the two sides is not far away, and according to the sisters in the palace, those thieves Seeing the gaze of the life-wife, something is not quite right!"

Li Yan was startled: "Could it be that they..."

Halfway through the conversation, he also realized that he was a child of the Wu family, and he couldn't do anything, and a cold light suddenly appeared in his eyes: "Wan'er, after all, he is a member of the Queen Mother's family, how can he be called a thief on weekdays?"

Wan'er was a little strange, she groaned, and then heard the master continue: "Keep an eye on them, if they dare to be disrespectful, take them down immediately, I will personally decapitate the warrior!"

(End of this chapter)