The Tang Dynasty started from saving Empress Changsun

Chapter 319
"...For example, Liang Dong, you are like a salted plum..."

"Taking Sun Wuji, the Duke of Qi, as the Duke of Zhao..."

"Use Chi Gong, the Duke of Wu, as the Duke of E..."

"..."

"Taking Duke Yi Qin Qiong as Duke Hu..."

On the first day of October, at the China-North Korea Meeting, an official from the Ministry of Rites read out an imperial decree aloud.This edict was a little long, and it took seven or eight minutes to read it.

But no one felt sleepy, because this imperial decree was related to the adjustment of the titles of dozens of top dignitaries.

After the reading of the imperial decree was over, those whose names were read came out to thank the saints collectively and said: "Thank you for the grace of the sage, and I will repay the grace of the sage."

Li Shimin said majesticly: "You are exempt from courtesy, you are the pillars of the country..."

After some polite compliments, it can be summed up that everyone is the pillar of the country, and they have made great achievements in governing the country, and the award is a compliment to you.

Of course, this is for everyone to listen to. The real reason is clear to the parties concerned, but some well-informed non-participants also have guesses.

After the procedure was completed, the second decree was read out: the establishment of an imperial examination system from the central government to the local government.

The merit-based selection of officials through the imperial examination is an important supplement to the selection of officials by the state, and it is necessary to expand the scale.However, in the past, the imperial examinations were only held in central Beijing, which was too unfair to foreign candidates.

In order to facilitate candidates from all over the country, a three-level imperial examination system was established, county examination-state examination-Beijing examination.

Candidates can participate at their doorstep, pass the county test before going to the state, and pass the state test before coming to the capital, so that many candidates can save unnecessary travel.

And in order to ensure fairness, the imperial examination will be presided over by the Ministry of Rites, not the Guozijian-because the Guozijian controls the academic and political system.

In order to reduce human interference as much as possible, the system of submitting papers was cancelled, and everything was based on test scores.

During the imperial examination period, no one was allowed to collude with the examiners in private. Anyone who tried to interfere with the imperial examinations would be exiled or beheaded.The scientific examiner who cheated for personal gain was beheaded and the whole family was exiled.

As soon as this strategy came out, the court was full of excitement. At first, they didn't expect that the imperial examination could be played like this, the county examination, the state examination, and the Beijing examination. Which clever idea came up with this?
Secondly, the punishment was so severe that they were often exiled and beheaded.

Thirdly, everyone is a smart person, so they naturally know what will happen once this system is formed.

In the past, they could monopolize the official career by relying on the favor and the recommendation system to ensure the inheritance of family wealth, but once the imperial examination system flourishes, they will directly take food from them.

Some people with more flexible minds immediately thought of the previous school and government system.Only then did I realize that this is a serial set.

Popularizing knowledge allows more people to read and write, and then select officials from among these people through imperial examinations.

So who is the most injured under this system?

The answer is ready to come, gentry.

This is asking for the lives of the gentry.

Although there have been signs of this in the previous school and government system, the reform of the imperial examination system is too late.

"Quiet." As the head of all the officials, Fang Xuanling came out and shouted.

It took a while for the officials to calm down again.

"The loud noise in the court hall is to disrespect the saint. If there are any more offenders, they will be severely punished." Fang Xuanling warned with a stern face, and then bowed to Li Shimin and retreated to the ranks.

The official of the Ministry of Rites continued to read.

In order to reward the achievements of the ministers and workers, the original grace system was retained and reformed.

In addition, there is one person who will be favored by the third rank and above every year, one person who will be favored by the fifth rank and above for three years, one person who will be favored by the seventh rank and above for five years, and one person who is below the seventh rank.

Many middle and low-level officials who were still filled with righteous indignation couldn't help but smile excitedly when they heard this.

According to the original grace system, they are not qualified to favor their children, unless the emperor makes a special order.If their children want to become officials, they can only go through the recommendation system.

However, the recommendation system does not have too many places every year, and it is difficult for so many people to compete for it.After the restructuring, he would immediately be able to obtain a Grace Quota.

Thinking of this, they looked towards the front of the line, and there were all nobles from Chaozhong standing there.The Enyin quota did not appear out of thin air, but was distributed from Xungui.

Originally, the children of the rich and powerful could become officials through Enyin, but now the number of places is limited, and only one Enyin can be given in one year or three to five years.

At this moment, what they care about is no longer whether to oppose the imperial examination system, but whether the noble class will oppose it.If they object, will I wait to stand up and support the imperial court?

However, they soon realized that they were thinking too much. Instead of objecting, the honorable class headed by Yuwen Shiji, Changsun Wuji, Li Ji and others were the first to stand up and support it.

Although this matter is very strange, the middle and lower level officials can't control so much anymore, and they also stood up to express their support.

Only some officials with gentry background objected, but they were doomed to be unable to stop this matter when they were not dominant in numbers and voice.

The imperial court announced the adoption of this policy on the spot.

After the early dynasty ended, officials with gentry backgrounds left in a hurry, and they wanted to spread the news back quickly, while ordinary officials gathered in groups of three or four to discuss the matter.

For the noble class, the old gods are there, as if everything has nothing to do with them.

The calmer they acted, the more people guessed. However, the information was limited, and guesses could only be attributed to the rumored meeting in February.

What exactly happened in that meeting, and why did the nobles cut their flesh so willingly?
As the months passed, everyone became more and more curious about the mysterious meeting.

What happened in the morning spread quickly throughout the capital, and the effect was like a nuclear bomb explosion.

There is never a shortage of smart people in this world, and soon someone guessed the 'truth': the clan records completely angered the sages and began to attack the gentry.The academic and political system is the first step, and the imperial examination system is the lore.

Once these two systems are passed, the gentry will no longer be able to rely on monopoly knowledge to control the way to be an official. They will compete with the mud legs they despise for a limited number of places.

The people who eat melons are all excited, and what everyone likes to watch most is the once high-ranking big man falling into the mud pit.

Here I have to mention the influence of "Watching the Moon", the sales volume of 10,000+ copies can affect hundreds of thousands or even millions of people.

Almost all of these people have read books, or at least have a relationship with readers.In layman's terms, these people often hold a certain right to speak.

The two articles written by Chen Jingke in "Watching the Moon" that praised and killed the gentry became more influential as time went on. After being processed by the storyteller, many different versions were mutated.

In his articles describing the luxury of the gentry, he used fictional stories such as "thousands of carp silks in soup" and "chicken feet and heart meat stir-fry".

Now folks have appeared, it must be a three-month-old carp's whiskers, and a two-month-old rooster's heart.And I don't know who made it up, what kind of ginseng is used as firewood for cooking and so on.

Such stories are often widely circulated, and everyone will envy them at first, and the hatred value will be filled up immediately after hearing too much.

Under such circumstances, one can imagine the attitudes of the common people towards the academic and political system and the imperial examination system.

Especially poor families and big families at the grassroots level can't wait to beat gongs and drums to express their celebration.

Originally, they were skeptical about the academic and political system. After all, so what if the school was established?Their first-mover advantage has formed a monopoly, and only one school can't change the overall situation.

But it is different now. The imperial examination system provided an opportunity for both sides to compete on the same stage to some extent.

Although the gentry still had the first-mover advantage, at least the humble family also had a chance to come to power.Moreover, poor families and ordinary scholars have a numerical advantage, and one day the road to imperial examinations will be unimpeded.

The gentry can naturally see this too.

Wang Xiuqi, Zheng Song, and Cui Gan gathered together, but the room was silent and no one spoke.

After a long time, Lu Xiucai said: "I went to see Fang Xuanling, but he turned me away again. My aunt has not recovered from her illness for half a year, and she still doesn't see any outsiders."

Cui Gan said expressionlessly: "Wei Zheng also refused to see me."

Wang Xiuqi sneered: "This time he was conferred the title of Zheng Guogong, stepping into the ranks of first-class dukes in one step. I'm afraid he forgot to sell us long ago."

Lu Xiu said: "Have you ever thought that maybe he was there from the beginning?"

The crowd fell silent for a while.

Zheng Song said in a dry voice: "The news is even worse. The nobles have sent their elites to various places to cooperate with the court to implement the New Deal."

Everyone was silent for a while, and the most feared thing finally happened.

Although the honorable nobles in the court acquiesced to the actions of the court before, they did not give much support, mainly relying on the power of the court and local wealthy families.

But now the nobles have personally ended up, and they are all out to support the court.

The combined efforts of the imperial court, honored nobles, and local poor families are too powerful.The prestige and network of connections that the gentry depended on for survival were helpless in the face of this kind of real power.

When the wall falls, everyone pushes it, and when the drum breaks, everyone beats it.The dignitaries they had won through their in-laws also betrayed collectively this time, such as Fang Xuanling, Cheng Yaojin and so on.

Li Jin frowned and asked, "The nobles will suffer the most from this reform of the Grace System. Why didn't they object? Instead, they want to help the court implement the New Deal?"

"I know that the problem must have been at that imperial meeting, but what happened at that meeting? Haven't you heard the news yet?"

Cui Yun hesitated for a moment, and said, "I got some news, but I can't tell the truth from the fake."

Everyone sat up straight and looked at him.

Cui Yun didn't hide anything even though he opened his mouth, he said, "It is said that it has something to do with Shifeng Inspector."

Lu Xiu was surprised and said, "You mean the rumors about the Shifeng governor that came out in the 11th year of Zhenguan?"

Cui Yun nodded and said, "I'm afraid that's not a rumor."

Wang Xiuqi questioned: "Didn't he be dissuaded that time? Did he move this idea again?"

Zheng Song also said: "He's not a fool, it's impossible not to see the evil consequences of the world-appointed governor, how could he do such an unwise move?"

Cui Yun didn't argue either, and said, "I don't want to believe it, but apart from this possibility, is there anything else that can make Xungui give up his own interests and help the court implement the New Deal?"

Everyone was speechless.

Yes, the New Deal is not only targeting the gentry, but also cutting the flesh of nobles.Not only did they not oppose it, but they fully supported the New Deal. There is only one possibility, the emperor paid a greater price.

Apart from Shifeng Inspector, I really can't think of anything else.

Zheng Song took a deep breath and said, "If that's the case, things might be bad."

Everyone was silent.

Put yourself in their shoes and think about it, if they were the ones who were appointed as the governor, would they take action against Xungui?

The answer is yes.

There is even no need to seal the governor, the court only needs to say: Help me deal with the nobles, and I will let you enter the center.

They will not hesitate to attack the nobles.

It is precisely because they understand this truth that they are more worried.

And they think more, right now the imperial court can indeed use the power of nobles to eliminate the gentry, but the history of Shifeng's evil results has long been proved.

separatism.

How much did the emperor hate the gentry, so he would use this method of dying together?
They couldn't help but regret in their hearts, why did they have to be so arrogant and conceited in the past, and put their contempt on the royal family on their faces?
……

"Slap." Cheng Yaojin slapped Cheng Cuishi hard on the face.

The slap barely left any strength, and a red handprint instantly appeared on her snow-white face.

"Do you know why I hit you?"

Cheng Cuishi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said in a low voice, "I know, I shouldn't see Cui Yun."

"Hmph." Cheng Yaojin gave her a cold look.

Cheng Cui shrank subconsciously, but then said stubbornly: "I am the daughter of the Cui family, how can I ignore the kindness of my birth."

Cheng Yaojin thought about it seriously, and said: "What you said makes sense, if that's the case, then you should go back and do your filial piety."

Cheng Cui's face turned pale in an instant, his body swayed, and he said in disbelief: "Are you so heartless?"

Cheng Yaojin laughed angrily, and said, "I'm heartless? Do you know what will happen to our family if today's incident gets out?"

"There are countless nobles who have ties to the gentry, but after such a long time, there is still no news leaked out. Do you know why?"

Cheng Cui asked subconsciously: "Why?"

"I seem to have told you more than once, and I will say it again today." Cheng Yaojin said word by word: "Because we have an appointment, and whoever leaks the news will be attacked by everyone."

Cheng Cui's face turned pale again.

Cheng Yaojin stared at her and said: "Fenfeng, my Cheng family is a first-class prince, and the future feudal state will be at least a thousand miles away. This is such a big piece of fat, I don't know how many people are staring at it and want to share it and eat it .”

"Now you have handed over the reason to them... Hehe, you are really a good daughter-in-law of Cheng Zhijie and a good daughter of the Cui family."

Cheng Cuishi sat down on the chair and said regretfully: "Woooooo... I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. Let's go ask the saint, you have made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty, the saint will definitely save you .”

Cheng Yaojin sneered: "Now you know you're wrong? Then why don't you tell me everything you told Cui Yun?"

Cheng Cui quickly repeated the original words.

After listening, Cheng Yaojin showed a strange expression, and said, "You said, what you told him was the Shifeng Inspector?"

Cheng Cuishi rubbed his tears and said: "Well, I was afraid you would scold me, so I didn't dare to tell him directly that it was enfeoffment, so I wanted to imply him with Shifeng Inspector."

There was a trace of relaxation in Cheng Yaojin's eyes, but it disappeared immediately, and he said seriously:

"Remember, no matter who asks you in the future, you have to insist that it was Cui Yun who I took the initiative to ask you to meet. I conveyed this news to him, understand?"

Cheng Cuishi understood that things had turned around, and quickly said: "Yes, it is Cui Yun you asked me to meet."

Cheng Yaojin nodded, and said: "Reflect at home carefully, and in the future, without my permission, you are not allowed to leave home for half a step, and you are not allowed to see anyone."

After he finished speaking, he walked away.

When he got outside, he grinned and showed his white teeth, and said, "Qinghe Cui Shi, it's very good. Let's settle this account slowly."

(End of this chapter)