The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 236

After the imperial examination ended, a few days later, the marking results came out soon.This morning, Liu Xuan, Yang Gongren, and a group of Shangshu who were marking teachers, escorted by a team of internal guards, brought a sealed leather bag to Chaoyang Hall of Shenwu Palace.

Yang Tong has been waiting for a long time.

Liu Xuan saluted and said, "See Your Highness!"

"Mr. Liu, you have worked hard these days!" Yang Tong asked with a smile impatiently, "How did it turn out, who is No.1?"

Hearing this, Liu Xuan shook his head and said, "Your Highness, regarding No. 1, the old man and the adults have different opinions. Please make a decision, Your Highness!"

After Yang Tong heard this, he couldn't help being stunned for a moment, but then he was overjoyed. In his impression, Du Ruhui was truly No.1. Who would have thought that No.1 would be controversial, which also meant that Du Ruhui's rank There are many characters.

He glanced at the crowd, and asked with a smile, "Is it a dispute if there are different opinions? Tell me!" He stretched out his hand, motioning for everyone to sit down and talk.

After everyone sat down, Liu Xuan said: "It can't be said that it is a dispute, but there are five candidates, each with their own strengths!"

Examination subjects have scriptures, which are like filling in the blanks and silent writing in modern examination papers.The teacher who writes the question selects a sentence from the ancient Chinese classics, and according to this line of text, candidates should fill in the context associated with it.After that, give an explanation to test the candidates' knowledge reserves.

The second subject of the examination is Poetry and Fu. When the subject was set up, some people thought that the Mingjing mostly copied meanings, and the discussion only talked about old strategies, which could not show the examinee's true talents and learning. It was suggested to add two essays (one poem and one Fu) So there is poetry and fu.

The third subject of the exam is also the most important "policy question": policy question, that is, discussion.According to the relevant classics or political issues raised, let candidates express their opinions and propose countermeasures.Policy questions cover a wide range, including politics, education, production, management, etc. Compared with posting scriptures and composing poems, they are more difficult, and some of them have some practical value.Equivalent to a modern essay topic,
Policy questioning has always been the subject that examiners and Yang Tong pay the most attention to. If you write a good essay on policy questioning, even if you get zero points in the test of scriptures and poems, you will still be admitted and use it, because policy questioning is the most important subject. It is a subject that shows the candidates' actual talents, and the other two subjects are all accompanying guests.

But this time, it is difficult to choose No. 1 in the part of policy questioning. The question of policy questioning is 'how to strengthen the country'?
Some candidates write articles from the military point of view, while others write from the perspectives of morality, law, diplomacy, people's livelihood, etc. The angles are different, and the articles have connotations, so it is naturally difficult to judge No. 1.

After knowing the cause of No.1 dystocia, Yang Tong said to Liu Xuan: "Grand Liu, first show me the No.1 policy article in your mind."

"Here!"

Liu Xuan presented an examination paper and sighed: "Your Highness, this is the No.1 selected by the old man, and he is also the most talented young man I have ever seen, probably only comparable to Zhong Yuan."

"Really?" Yang Tong was surprised, it's really amazing to be able to compete with Kong Yingda.Kong Yingda once learned from Liu Zhuo. He recited thousands of words every day, was familiar with classics and biographies, and was good at poetry and chapters. At the beginning of Sui Daye, he was selected as "Ming Jing". To put it bluntly, he is a 'troll' with real talents and skills.

Yang Tong hurriedly opened the examination paper, and looked at the name first. It had the words "Xu Jingzong" written on it. Seeing this name, Yang Tong's expression changed.

Xu Jingzong in history is a very controversial figure.Xu Jingzong served repeatedly as Zhongshuling and the prince's junior teacher. This was not only because of his support for Wu Zetian as the queen, but also because he supervised the history of the country and was the emperor's teacher. He was personally talented.This is also one of the reasons why Li Shimin, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian appreciate him.

The reason for the controversy is that he supported Li Zhili and Wu Zetian as the queen.In the official history of feudal dynasties, Li Tang was always regarded as the orthodox, and Wu Zetian was called usurper, so Xu Jingzong became a flattering snob.After Xu Jingzong's death, the posthumous essay drafted by Yuan Sigu, a doctor of the current dynasty, was generally objective: "Jingzong was promoted only after he was promoted, and he has been in the ranks of the Qing Dynasty..."

Yang Tong's first thought was to kill him as a bastard, but on second thought, forget it.

In history, Xu Jingzong was a good official during Li Shimin's rule. Why did he change during Li Zhi's period?
Political needs!
The emergence of certain controversial figures is inevitable. Wu Zetian, who is in power, needs Xu Jingzong as a sharp knife for her to control the court. This has created the controversial Xu Jingzong. If there is no Xu Jingzong, someone else will do it for Wu Zetian Breaking things.That's why there is the saying that "time makes heroes".

Take Pei Ju and Yu Shiji as examples. When Yang Guang was wise, the two were first-class ministers who governed the world, and they were great heroes who assisted Yang Guang in conquering the illustrious territory. The capable ministers and officials of the people did not turn them into treacherous prime ministers until they were repeatedly dealt with by Yang Guang.

In fact, as long as the emperor is wise, then Xu Jingzong, Li Yifu, and Li Linfu are capable ministers and officials. "What is good at the top will be good at the bottom" is the truth.
If he continues to be wise, will Xu Jingzong's life change accordingly?

This is a false proposition, and no one can get an accurate answer.

If one day Yang Tong becomes the later Yang Guang, who can guarantee that Yang Gongren, Yang Shidao, Fang Xuanling... will not become so-called treacherous ministers?
Therefore, it is undoubtedly unfair to Xu Jingzong to look at him with the eyes of future generations.

In the blink of an eye, Yang Tong had already thought of a lot, and then carefully read Xu Jingzong's article.

Xu Jingzong has a brilliant literary talent and superb calligraphy, and his understanding of Confucianism and the rule of virtue is quite profound and thorough!However, although Xu Jingzong wrote the section on "Theory of War" that Yang Tong valued, although Xu Jingzong wrote it with arrogance, it gave him the feeling that an atomic bomb was used to blow up Li Yuan's family, which is very unscientific and unreasonable.

After thinking for a while, Yang Tong looked at the expecting Liu Xuan and said with a smile: "In terms of the overall structure, it is a great article with great momentum and ups and downs! Although it is unrealistic in terms of military theory and law, it is very important for Confucianism and the rule of virtue. He has unique insights. No one is perfect, and it is impossible to do everything. It is quite remarkable to be able to focus on one thing and achieve amazing results. A country can only prosper if it implements the policy of governing the heart with virtue and governing with the law! This majestic essay written by Xu Jingzong is rare."

Hearing this, Liu Xuan suddenly smiled.

"Liu Gong is worthy of being the number one Confucianist in the contemporary era. Xu Jingzong will definitely become a capable official in the court in the future! Although I haven't read other people's articles, in my opinion, the top four should not be a problem." There are a total of eight articles, and the comments given to the first four are already considered very high.

"Your Highness is wise!"

It doesn't matter whether Liu Xuan is No.1 or not, as long as he comes into Yang Tong's sight, his goal has been achieved.

At Liu Xuan's level, he no longer cared about personal gain or loss. The reason why he insisted on letting Yang Tong read Xu Jingzong's articles was nothing more than worrying that the country would miss a great talent.

Yang Tong smiled and said: "This article just now expounds on the rule of virtue, whether there is a rule of law."

"Really!" Wei Zheng said with a smile, "This is an article jointly recommended by Liu Zhenghui and I."

The article jointly recommended by a minister of punishment and a minister of imperial affairs is naturally related to law.

The article they recommended was written by a man named 'Hanshu', the article is simple and real!
Hanshu takes Xunzi's idea of ​​"human nature is evil" as an argument, and believes that human nature is like a baby, and in the process of growth, it can be transformed into evil or good.Because of the ignorance of human nature, it is easy to be influenced by bad people. Once a person becomes bad, moral influence will not work. Therefore, "criminal name magic" must be used to deter him, so that he can understand how huge disasters will be brought to himself and his family by doing bad things. .At the same time, it also emphasizes the necessity of the existence of the law and the importance of perfecting the law, and emphasizes the separation of legislation, judiciary, and supervision.

Today, there are two laws in the Sui Dynasty. One is the "Kaihuang Law" formulated by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty. The "Kaihuang Law" represents the highest achievement of Sui Dynasty legislation. , supplemented and perfected, further systematized and standardized the compilation of the feudal code, and made an extremely valuable contribution to the finalization of the law of the "Kaihuang Shengshi".

After Yang Guang came to the throne, he created the "Daye Law" based on the "Kaihuang Law". Two of the "Ten Evils" were removed and included in the corresponding articles, and the three articles of household marriage, stables and thieves in the "Kaihuang Law" were divided into 6 articles, and 3 more articles were added, making a total of 18 articles. And absorbed the essence of "Northern Qi Law", the chapter style is more concise, which is better than "Kaihuang Law".

Yang Tong also wants to further improve on the basis of "The Law of the Great Industry", but even if he is a time-traveling person, a time-traveling person is still a human being, not a god!Human energy is always limited.His strength lies in mastering people's hearts, knowing and employing people, and it is impossible to take over everything, not to mention whether he has the energy, ability alone is not enough.Therefore, he just put forward an outline, and threw it to Wei Zheng and Liu Zhenghui, asking them to form officials who are proficient in the law to compile it.

And this Hanshu, the most refreshing thinking is: Different places have different customs and people's values ​​are also different, just like governing a place, in addition to laws, different customs and customs must also be considered.Therefore, he advocated the formulation of "sub-laws" suitable for different regions and national customs, but not too far away.

In the eyes of Yang Tong, this is the primary version of the concept of national autonomy, but in the eyes of people of this era, it is a novel thinking that deserves attention and development.

After reading it, Yang Tong said with a smile, "Han Shu is not a descendant of Han Feizi, is it?"

"It's really possible." Wei Zheng's heart moved, and he said with a smile: "In the article "Han Feizi Xindu", it is said, 'The sage's rule of the people is based on the basics, not following his desires, and only expecting to benefit the people. Therefore, it is with it. Punishment is not for the evil of the people, it is the root of love... Therefore, it is also the rule of the ruler to govern the country, to reward the people and encourage the people to make meritorious deeds; Lost, lost leads to shortage, shortage leads to no governance, and no governance leads to chaos'. That is to say, it is human nature to love leisure and hate work. To overcome this problem, we must rely on severe punishment and severe laws. The laws of the Qin Dynasty are also very comprehensive, but they are so harsh that they destroy human nature. Therefore, people have only fear and no respect for Qin Fa! However, Han Shu’s thought attaches great importance to human nature. If he is really a descendant of Legalism, it can be seen that Legalism has undergone earth-shaking changes, which is quite gratifying progress .”

"Ok!"

Yang Tong nodded and said: "Hanshu has a unique vision. His ideas of 'seeking common ground while reserving differences', 'harmonizing differences', and 'big but different' law-making ideas are also extremely advanced concepts of governing the country and deserve attention! Order local officials to improve local County annals and county annals provide the basis for governing the country.”

"Here!" Yang Gongren bowed in response.

"Your Highness, this Hanshu article..." Liu Zhenghui said.

"Great talent! Top four"

"Give it to our imperial department."

"That won't work!" Wei Zheng said loudly: "The imperial department is only responsible for supervision, and the task is simple, but our criminal department needs to handle a lot of cases, and we need such great talents as Hanshu."

"Who said the mission of the imperial department is easy! Who said the mission of the imperial department is easy!" Liu Zhenghui said without giving in: "If the imperial department does not have a large number of talents who advocate law and are proficient in law, how can it supervise and supervise local officials? Serve the people wholeheartedly. Don’t forget, the officials of the Ministry of Justice investigate first, and then go to the Ministry of Punishment to enforce the law. If there is no Ministry of Justice, how can your Ministry of Punishment solve the case?”

A trace of anger also appeared on Wei Zheng's face, he raised the decibel, and said angrily, "According to what Liu Shangshu said, our Ministry of Punishment is picking on your Imperial Ministry to take advantage of it and eat dry food?"

Facing Wei Zheng's loud shouts of anger, Liu Zhenghui did not change his face and said: "You said that!"

"Liu Zhenghui, you..." Wei Zheng was even more annoyed, his eyes almost swallowed Liu Zhenghui up. Liu Zhenghui's words clearly ignored the efforts of the Ministry of Punishment. No matter how well-bred Wei Zheng was, it was unbearable. Niu, so the two started to do it, each telling the value of the department they belonged to, and provoking each other's thorns.

In the era when Confucianism was dominant, there was no soil for legal talents, and it was very rare.Now that the world is divided, there are even fewer forces assigned to the Great Sui side. In addition, Yang Tong does not want children from aristocratic families, and those who end up in the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Imperial Affairs are extremely rare.It can be said that Wei Zheng and Liu Zhenghui have been robbing legal talents for a long time. This quarrel seems to be out of control.

Yang Gongren's face was scorched, and Fang Xuanling was helpless.

The two are both top leaders in the legal department. They are loyal and unyielding, and they have a very good personal relationship. However, both of them are the kind of people who admit death. They have done a lot of work in public affairs.

Yang Tong took all the examination papers and read them carefully one by one, but he just ignored them.

The more the reason is debated, the clearer it is, and the more the theory is, the clearer it is!
The minister is happy to think about state affairs, rather than Wen Tian and Wu Xi. This is definitely a good thing he likes to hear.

These literati are very bloody, and the hearts full of Chicheng are more fierce and ruthless than generals.They can quarrel as much as they like, and it doesn't matter if they fight, as long as they don't die or become disabled.

(End of this chapter)