Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 129: Chen Cang
The ministers looked suspiciously at Chongzhen who was sitting on the dragon chair.In their minds, the emperor has always followed the rules, and when encountering major issues, he discusses with the cabinet ministers before making a final decision. How could such a big matter be decided arbitrarily without even the cabinet knowing about it?
Chongzhen nodded and said: "I do have this intention, but I haven't made up my mind yet!"

Wang Yingxiong went out and said: "Your Majesty Qizuo, the ministers and others are all from the imperial examinations, and they are well aware of the expectations and hardships of scholars. How many people have spent countless financial resources and energy, in order to be named on the gold list one day, and honor the ancestors! If your majesty really wants to do this, then How embarrassing are the tens of thousands of disciples!"

His distant nephew also came to the capital this time, preparing to take part in the examination next year. Wang Yingxiong naturally planned to go through the joints so that his nephew could be on the list next year.Unexpectedly, the emperor suddenly planned to cancel next year's Spring Festival, which made Wang Yingxiong very dissatisfied.I am too old, and I will definitely not be in court after four years. If I ask someone else to entrust it, the result will be hard to say.The future of my nephew is related to the future status of the Wang family, no!This must be stopped!The emperor cannot be allowed to do whatever he wants.

Zhang Zhifa said: "Scholars of my generation read the books of sages and sages in order to help His Majesty govern the country and the people, so as to continue the Ming Dynasty. Enrolling scholars is the most important means for the imperial court to select talents. Now that the situation is gradually stabilizing and people's minds are at ease, how can Your Majesty Can it cause trouble in vain?"

Chongzhen knew the pissing nature of these courtiers.If you say that the light in the room is too dark, let's open a window on the wall, they will definitely list all kinds of reasons against you and persuade you until you agree not to open the window.

But if you say that the room is too dark, let's take off the roof, then they will agree to your request to open the windows while desperately opposing it.

The reason why he let Jinyiwei release the news that he intends to suspend next year's spring is because he wants to retreat and make these ministers agree to his follow-up measures.

Chongzhen said with a smile: "It's just to suspend the spring next year, not to cancel the imperial examination from now on. You ministers are too worried."

Zhang Guowei, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, said: "It has been thousands of years since Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty created the imperial examination, and all dynasties have regarded it as the cornerstone of the imperial court. Tang Taizong once saw a hundred new scholars and uttered the famous saying "all the heroes of the world are in my pocket". Now Although the Ming Dynasty is constantly suffering from natural disasters and frequent banditry, under His Majesty's wise and decisive decision, none of them will succeed. What I want to know is, why did His Majesty have such an idea? The old minister is stupid, so I ask Your Majesty to help me solve the confusion!"

Just kidding, the Ministry of Rites is a Qingshui yamen, and no one cares about it.Although the ministers of the Ministry of Rites can basically enter the cabinet, it is too difficult for the lower-middle-level officials to be promoted.Only when the examination is held once every three years will the Ministry of Rites, which is in charge of the examination, become the eye-catching yamen. At that time, not only will Shangguan earn a lot of money, but even some officials in the book office will get a lot of credit. Everyone looks forward to it. The stars look forward to the moon, and it’s so easy to wait until the moment when you click to stop it. Isn’t this cutting off everyone’s money?

Chongzhen did not have the obligation to answer their questions, but just sat up straight and asked: "Then I came to ask Zhu Qing, what is the purpose of the imperial examination?"

Wen Tiren replied: "Reporting to Your Majesty, in simple terms, I believe that the imperial examination is to select and store materials for the country, so that those who aspire to serve the imperial court have a way and a platform to display their ambitions."

Most of the rest of the people nodded in agreement, there was nothing wrong with Wen Tiren's answer.But Chongzhen believed that the most fundamental purpose of the imperial examination was to limit the content of the examination and instill the idea of ​​superiority and inferiority in everyone's heart, so as to control people's hearts.But the imperial examination did select a lot of talents. The establishment of this system broke the monopoly of the rich and powerful families in the past, and made many geniuses from poor backgrounds stand out. Chongzhen admired Yang Jian who created the imperial examination system.

Chongzhen nodded and said: "What Wen Qing said is true. Under the imperial examination system in the past dynasties, many amazing talents have indeed been born, which make people look up to. It’s only after being promoted in the imperial examination that you can show your talents. But have you noticed that there are more mediocre people in the imperial examination?”

These words were a bit of a slap in the face, but none of the officials thought that the emperor was referring to him.

Wen Tiren said: "The old minister dares to ask Your Majesty, what is mediocrity?"

Chongzhen sternly said: "The current situation is very clear to everyone. What the Ming Dynasty needs now is to know the sufferings of the people, and the party in power has the methods and abilities to make advantages and eliminate disadvantages, so that the people under the rule will not worry about poverty, disease, or exploitation. , people who can live comfortably without worrying about food and clothing, not the crown of Confucianism who can only make fuss in allusions and seek answers in scriptures!"

Li Banghua played: "Your Majesty's words are really thought-provoking. As far as I know, many of the officials spend their days in books and know little about the world. For example, what is the price of local salt? How much does it cost to produce salt? How much rice and flour do adults need a day?" How much? How much food does one family need to have food and clothing? This is related to the livelihood of thousands of households, and this is something that officials must know. If you dare to bet with others, your majesty will let them go to the streets and alleys at will Interviewing a scholar, it is absolutely impossible for him to know such details! In the eyes of these candidates, a person who has read poetry and books is already a superior person. This kind of person is the official party after the list, so we can know what the situation of the people under his rule is!"

All the people in the palace were secretly disgusted with Li Banghua, and thought: It seems that you know the price of salt, so to be an official should be like those lowly subordinates?If you are like ordinary people in the market, you will know everything in the fields, streets and alleys every day, but what's the fun of being an official?

Chongzhen praised loudly: "Li Qing is right! This is my worry! I think that the four books and five classics have been memorized by the masters, and it is enough for self-cultivation. Next, we should know the things that are closely related to people's livelihood. It's over! If you don't know the needs and worries of the people, once you are selected as the prefecture and county magistrate, you will easily be deceived by the clerks and government officials, and you will be given a chance to do things up and down, which will eventually cause complaints and ruin your reputation! It makes me laugh Yes, everyone thinks they are dragons and phoenixes among the people, but in the end they are deceived by people who don’t know how to write, don’t you think it’s a shame? Even for the honor of scholars, all living beings should reflect on themselves!”

Everyone was silent. Although they felt that the emperor's words were a little extreme, they made sense.It's just that the emperor's words seemed to look down on scholars, so everyone didn't support them, and only a few people agreed with Chongzhen's words.

Wen Tiren said: "The old minister agrees with His Majesty's words, but if this is used as a reason to terminate the examination, how will all the candidates deal with it? But all those who pass the examination are those who have read thousands of volumes and are extremely intelligent. But it doesn't fit your majesty's selection criteria. The old minister thinks that as long as he puts aside his poetry and books and focuses on miscellaneous studies, he will definitely be much better than those subordinate officials!"

Wang Yingxiong continued: "What Elder Wen Ge said is true. In terms of brains, how can his generation compare with scholars? The only thing that is lacking in life is practice! As long as you give him time, I believe that he will not disappoint His Majesty!"

Xiong Rulin, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, said: "The so-called talents of managing the world need to be honed for decades. Your Majesty, relying on his own thinking, wants to cut off the hope of promoting his sons. It is really similar to Master Zhu Shaozhengmao! I think Your Majesty should give everyone a chance!"

Chongzhen said impatiently: "What kind of opportunity is this? It took me a long time to come up with this idea. Everyone who regards the scriptures as sacred scriptures on weekdays, how can you put down your body and do something that you hate in your heart? Don't mention this matter again!"

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, it seemed that the emperor had a deep prejudice against the scholars who could only study hard, and I don't know which treacherous minister gave the emperor a bad idea, what should I do?
Wen Tiren said: "Your Majesty, the capital has gathered hundreds of candidates from all over the country, and many others are coming. If your majesty insists on going his own way, when the time comes, everyone will go to the capital with untold hardships. When they hear that Chunwei is cancelled, there will be trouble , I am afraid that it will make the world ridicule, and it will also chill the hearts of thousands of scholars!"

Li Erxi who was beside Chongzhen muttered, "Why are you afraid of making trouble? It's just a group of big headscarves, Jinyiwei can wipe them all out with a hundred households!"

Li Banghua pointed his halberd and yelled loudly: "Hey! How dare you, an eunuch, speak such evil words! Scholars are the conscience of the world! If you really want to gather people, you can only comfort them with good words, how can you meet with swords and guns! That is not the same as Meng Yuan Hulu What's the difference?!"

Chongzhen stared sideways and shouted: "Get lost!"

Li Erxi dodged obediently, lowered his head and stuck out his tongue.This is taught by the emperor, let him see the right time to say these words.This old man of the Inspectorate is really a murderer, he looked like he was going to eat people just now.

Wen Tiren continued: "What the old minister said just now came from the bottom of his heart, please think twice, Your Majesty! Feel free to propose any regulations, but it is really inappropriate to cancel the policy of next year's Spring Festival!"

Chongzhen said with a stern face: "Let me think about it! I'm tired, all the ministers should step down!"

In the next few days, the students were still noisy.Wen Tiren and others conveyed the emperor's intentions to a group of juzi, and said that the emperor knew that the juzi were all talented people, but what they lacked was the practical ability to govern the local area.Nowadays, there are many famines and banditry, and the people really can't stand the toss.If Chunwei continues and the imperial court sends Xinke Scholars to local officials, for the people who do not touch Yang Chunshui, they will know nothing about how to deal with local government affairs and how not to be deceived by subordinate officials. Not only was his personal reputation damaged and his promotion hopeless, but even the emperor had a bad reputation of being fatuous.For the emperor who cherishes his feathers, this is simply unacceptable, so I hope you can understand the painstaking efforts of the court.Wen Tiren and interjected that the emperor couldn't bear to wait another four years. As long as the people get in touch with the people's livelihood more, study more real things, and read more miscellaneous books such as the Law of the Ming Dynasty and the Complete Book of Agriculture, things won't be certain. If there is no turning point, there will be even bigger surprises.

Except for a few pedantic people, which one of these is not a human being?Elder Wen Ge has already pointed out the crux of the matter. What the Holy Majesty wants is talents who can do practical things, not talented people who can only recite poems and fight against each other.

In an instant, miscellaneous books such as the Law of the Ming Dynasty, the Complete Book of Agriculture, and the Essential Techniques of the People were snapped up in bookstores in the capital.Some scholars bought dozens of books of one kind, in order to keep them for those who had not yet arrived in the same province. This was considered a great favor.The prices of such books in bookstores began to increase, and various bookstores began to work overtime to print these miscellaneous books that could not be sold on weekdays, which can be regarded as a small profit.

In the end, after Wen Tiren and other important ministers persuaded him several times, Chongzhen reluctantly agreed to continue the trial next year.But the test questions are not from the scriptures, the test is about policy theory, and there must be something to say, otherwise you will be dismissed on the spot.

So far, Chongzhen Ming's plan to secretly hide Chen Cang by repairing the plank road has finally succeeded, and it has finally taken a small step to change Daming.

　Today's two updates, continue to be cheeky and ask for votes.The book friend said that the first few chapters were a bit mentally handicapped, well, I admit it, for the sake of my sincerity, give me the monthly pass!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)