Great Warriors of Sui and Tang Dynasties

Chapter 1054

in the palace.

Luo Cheng closed his eyes and lay on the couch, listening to Changsun's recitation of the imperial examination proposals for him.

Two palace servants were kneading and massaging the emperor. The eldest grandson's voice was soft and rhythmic, with clear enunciation, which was very comfortable to hear.The memorials of most officials have no content and nothing to say.

These are probably the excerpts of those generals, many princes and generals, but they can't read a few words.Of course, there are also military generals with good backgrounds, but the suggestions put forward by the imperial examinations are completely off the mark.

As for those civil servants, some of them talked eloquently for a long time, but many of the contents did not conform to the meaning of the emperor.

The purpose of the imperial examination is to obtain scholars for the country, and the examination is just a means to select a sieve that meets the needs of the imperial court.

From a certain point of view, as some famous figures in history said, the imperial examination itself is not important. No matter what you take the exam, the purpose is to first bring those scholars into the system and let them come take an exam.

Then pull out the sharp points from it.

Very smart people, no matter what kind of examination system, they can always be top-notch.

If a scholar doesn't even want to take an exam, or if he can't even pass a certain exam method, it means that they are not good enough.

Although Luo Cheng did not fully agree with this statement, there was some truth to it.

This is also the reason why in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, stereotyped articles developed to the extreme and took the tricky way, all because at that time scholars from all over the world had been incorporated into this system, and what the imperial court needed was from tens of thousands of scholars. Among scholars, pick the top ones.

Therefore, there is no need to choose any poems and songs that are well-done, or some good strategies and theories, but just select words and fragments from the Four Books and Five Classics and let them write them. The purpose is actually to increase the difficulty and pick out the sharpest Come.

This seemingly unreasonable system has its practicality.

But Luo Cheng is still the one who opposes this.

Of course, he was even more opposed to the imperial examination method in the Sui Dynasty. There were two types of imperial examinations in the Sui Dynasty: regular subjects and special subjects.

The Xiucai subject is the most difficult subject to take. Often, only one subject is offered every few years, and only one or two students are admitted to each subject.Because the exam is too difficult, all the scholar subjects are of no practical significance to Luo Cheng.

In the imperial examinations of the Sui Dynasty, Mingjing and Jinshi were the most tested.

The Mingjing subject mainly takes Confucian classics as the examination content, and tests some Mojing pasted questions, etc. To put it bluntly, it only tests a few designated scriptures, such as the Book of Filial Piety and the Book of Changes, and then fills in the blanks and silently writes questions, etc. Classical meaning, reading comprehension questions.

Generally speaking, scholars from the gentry are very fond of examining Confucian classics, because the Confucian classics are inherited by their families, and they also have their own lectures on Confucian classics. This is a natural advantage of family learning.

Ordinary students are more willing to be admitted to the Jinshi Department, because many of them do not have the conditions to read many classics, even if the Mingjing Department considers designating one or two classics as their specialty, and only take these two classics, but for many people, this era The cost of reading is high, and a set of scriptures is something they can't afford, so they can only learn by borrowing, copying, etc.However, Jinshi subjects are different. Jinshi subjects mainly focus on current affairs and policies, and the pros and cons of articles and words are used as marks for the examination.

Relatively speaking, Mingjing subjects need more background knowledge, and it is much easier to take the exam, and rote memorization of scriptures is enough.The Jinshi department is more pragmatic and pays more attention to literary talent and writing style, but its mastery of scriptures is not so high. Those scholars with high talents but poor conditions may often show their talents in the Jinshi department.

However, relatively speaking, Mingjing is much simpler, so there was a saying that there were thirty old Mingjing and fifty young Jinshi in the imperial examination in the Sui Dynasty.In the examination of the Mingjing, it is considered old to pass the examination at the age of 30, but it is considered young to pass the Jinshi examination at the age of 50, which is enough to explain the difference between the Mingjing and Jinshi subjects.

As for the three subjects of explaining the law, Mingshu, and calculation, they are actually testing the professional talents of calligraphy, law, and arithmetic. Generally, after admission, they are all officials.

Luo Cheng still intends to innovate this time, and will no longer follow the old path of the Sui Dynasty.

The six subjects of the Sui Dynasty were not tested every year, and were often interrupted.Luo Cheng plans to take one subject a year, only the Jinshi subject, and cancel the Mingjing, Mingfa, Mingshu, Mingshu and Xiucai subjects. But at the same time, he also set up a graded examination system. Send it to Luoyang.

What matters now is the content of the test.

Many officials of gentry origin insisted that the examination of Mingjing should be based on classics, and they even proposed that the three rites and three biography together with "Yi", "Book" and "Poetry" should be included in the imperial examination bibliography.The three rites are Zhou Li, Yi Li and Li Ji, while the three Zhuan are Zuo Zhuan, Gongyang Zhuan and Gu Liang Zhuan.

Of course, Luo Cheng disagreed with only taking the Nine Classics.

If only the Nine Classics are tested, wouldn’t it be the same as stereotypes in the future, only a bunch of nerds who only study the Nine Classics and memorize by rote?
"Your Majesty, the content of this memorial is quite novel."

Changsun picked up a memorial, opened it, and his eyes lit up. He read the memorial for the emperor for several days in a row, and he read thousands of memorials. Changsun now knows the imperial examinations very well.

"Oh, I can let Guanyin's maidservant say yes, it seems that there is some content, which minister's words are it?"

Changsun covered her mouth and smiled lightly, "Your Majesty is wrong this time, this is a military general's notebook, the memorial of Zuo Qinwei Zhonglang General, the founder of Wushui County Chang He, this word is very well written .”

Hearing Chang He's name, Luo Cheng immediately laughed and said, "Chang He is just a vulgar person who doesn't know a whole lot of words, and those words are written like a dog crawling. It must have been written by a staff member in his mansion. , Read it first and listen."

Chang He’s memorial was indeed written by Ma Zhou. Ma Zhou first flattered the emperor when he wanted to hold the imperial examination, and praised him greatly.

He went on to propose that the imperial examinations in the Great Qin Dynasty should include all the content of the examinations in the past Mingjing, Jinshi, Mingfa, Mingshu and Mingshu. The Jinshi examination of the Daqin Imperial Examination.

When Luo Cheng heard this, he couldn't help being surprised.

"It's really different. After listening to so many memorials, it's really constructive to talk about this one. Combining the past Mingjing, Mingfa, Mingshu, Mingshu and Jinshi subjects, and then combining the body and words to sentence four, um , knowledgeable."

In the past, the test of Mingjing was the classics and meanings, and the test of Mingfa was mainly about laws and policies.

In the past, when governance was emphasized over technology and knowledge was emphasized, except for Mingjing and Jinshi subjects, Mingfa, Mingshu and Mingshu were all subjects that were not valued, and they were only for the selection of specialized officials.

It has always belonged to the last branch.

Ma Zhou believed that the Great Qin Imperial Examination should not only examine Ming Jing, but also examine current affairs and policy theory, as well as the ability to test books, calculations, and laws. .

"Body, speech, and written judgment are the four standard conditions for selecting officials. One is the body, which must be plump and tall. The second is the speech, that is, the speech must be eloquent and reasonable. The third is the book. The text should be beautiful and smooth.”

In Ma Zhou's words, the imperial examination is to select officials for the country after all, so it has to follow the standards for evaluating officials.If they are too ugly or disabled, of course they cannot be appointed officials, which will damage the image and majesty of the court and government.And if you can't speak clearly, how can you be an official?If you can't write well, let alone mention other things.

Judgment is also extremely critical. Take some real cases in counties or Dali Temple, especially difficult cases, and teach them to make decisions, and see if they can be judged. Judge impartially.At the same time, there must be a good judgment, which must be beautiful and smooth, with far-reaching promises and neat confrontations.

After all, Ma Zhou believed that the Jinshi selected by the Great Qin Imperial Examination had to have good facial features, good-looking talents, articulate, eloquent eloquence, good writing skills, and an understanding of law. The Dharma will count, and in the end we must understand human affairs.

This is not just to be familiar with the scriptures of the saints, but to be excellent in all aspects.

After hearing this, the emperor couldn't help but opened his eyes and sat up.

"Call Chang He into the palace right away, I want to hear who is giving advice and good words for him. Such a talented person, to be a guest and assistant to Chang He, a big bastard, is really too inferior. Such a talent, It is not an exaggeration to confer an official position now."

"Does Your Majesty also mean this?" The eldest grandson asked with a smile.

"It doesn't completely meet the idea of ​​the imperial examination system in my mind, but among the suggestions of the ministers, this is already a rare and good one. It has something to say, and it is really good. Add some more, and it will be usable."

"Your Majesty, it's getting late, why don't you summon General Chang Zhonglang tomorrow."

"It's okay, I want to see you today. Come here, go to Chang He's mansion to announce the decree, let Chang He come to see me, and remember to bring the person who holds the sword for him to write."

The servant hurried out of the palace.

At dusk, the closed door drum is already beating.

The arrival of a team of servants still made Chang He a little uneasy, wondering if Ma Zhou had written any taboo words in that memorial?
"Your Majesty summoned General Zhonglang to the palace to face the saint immediately, and also brought along the person who wrote the memorial for General Zhonglang. Your Majesty also wants to see him."

Chang He asked anxiously, "May I ask why you are summoned so urgently?"

"Don't worry, His Majesty is in a good mood, and he praised General Chang Zhonglang, saying that you have a good eye, and you actually invited such an excellent guest and staff member. Your Majesty is very happy to read the memorial written by your staff."

Hearing this, Chang He's heart relaxed, but he was still amazed that the emperor was so wise that he could tell at a glance that the memorial was written by someone else.

"Angel, please wait a moment, I'll call Mr. Ma right now."

Hearing the emperor's call, Ma Zhou was very calm, brushed off his sleeves, "Let's go."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"To see the Son of Heaven, this is the opportunity I have dreamed of, why should I be afraid? I can't even ask for it!"

(End of this chapter)