A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 865 Abandoning Military Power

"Supervisor Zhang, Huaiyu is in Jiangzhou now, what are you busy with?"

Qizhou, Jiucheng Palace, Li Shimin was boating on the Xihai Lake,

Accompanied by Zhang Anan, the chamberlain supervisor on the dragon boat, facing the emperor's seemingly careless inquiry, the Great Diao Temple raised his hand and replied,

"A secret agent from the Imperial City Department sent back news from Jiangzhou that the Duke of Jin and his eldest son Wu Chengsi arrived in Jiangzhou a few days ago..."

General Wu Huaiyu reported to the emperor every move he made after arriving in Jiangzhou, with a calm tone and no personal feelings, even though the Duke of Jin was his adopted grandson-in-law.

Wu Huaiyu inspected the officials in Jiangzhou and promoted some people, demoted some people, dismissed some people, and recruited some new people.

He also rejected the arrangement of changing the Jiangzhou Tongjun Mansion into Jiangzhou Hujun Mansion, and even believed that there was no need to set up a marriage palace or a tent house.

Even one-third of the future tariffs for the proposed Jiangzhou Banknote Pass were voluntarily declined, and it was suggested that the share should be left to Jiangzhou, one prefecture, and three counties for people's livelihood.

Wu Huaiyu did not open a palace in Jiangzhou, nor did he set up a state affairs department. He also refused to place the Jiangzhou Tongjun Palace under his name, and did not want to select the children of Pinguan as his bride and groom...

After hearing this, the emperor did not show any surprise on his face.

Zhang Anan did not look at the emperor and lowered his head, but from the corner of his eye he could still feel the calmness on the emperor's face. Did the emperor already know this, or had he expected this?

No matter what it was, it was actually within Zhang Ananda’s expectation.

The two have known each other for many years and are very familiar with each other. Emperor Zhenguan is an extraordinary emperor, and nothing can exceed his expectations.

Of course, Zhang Ananda also knew the emperor very well, and there was nothing the emperor could do beyond his expectations.

Zhang Ananda was silent when he saw the emperor.

Then he continued to report,

"After Jiangzhou officials have completed the inspection, they are making adjustments and announcements,"

"Jiangzhou has started the third-level examination for the by-election of officials. The preliminary examination is in progress. Nine hundred people are allowed to register, six hundred local Jiangzhou registered scholars, and three hundred Jiangzhou non-local scholars, as long as they are between the ages of twenty and forty. All ages are acceptable.”

"Is there an age limit?" Li Shimin asked with an ooh.

There is actually no strict age limit for imperial examinations. If you are capable, you can take part even if you are eleven or twelve years old. Of course, the prerequisite is that you must be a tribute recommended by the governor of the state, a student of the state, or a student of the Imperial College or the Imperial College.

The governor also has a guarantee responsibility when recommending tribute students, especially those in the Xiucai Section. If they are not capable enough, they will be held accountable. Therefore, generally the governor does not dare to recommend candidates randomly, resulting in sometimes even no candidates in the Xiucai Section.

Every year, some teenagers or gray-haired men in their 50s and 60s take part in the imperial examination.

Li Shimin was a little surprised when Jiangzhou local government selected several officials, but Wu Huaiyu had to take the third-level exam and imposed so many restrictions.

"I heard that the Prime Minister Wu said that this examination is for the by-election of officials, so the written words and body judgment are very important. This body must not only have a good appearance and good facial features, but also be young and strong, ten or fifty or sixty years old. It is not suitable at all. Suitable·····"

When the emperor heard about the third-level exam, he even made it very strict. He did not accept interviews before the exam. During the exam, the candidates were separated into small rooms in the exam booth, and the exams were strictly inspected to prevent fraud. The first name of the paper will be re-copied, and then handed over to the examiner for marking and grading. Finally, Wu Huaiyu will check it again, and finally the yamen examination ranking...

This Jiangzhou examination method is really more stringent than the imperial examination.

Of the 900 people who passed the qualification examination, only 30 candidates were selected.

The elimination rate is also very high.

Such a strict examination is to select scholars purely based on their talents. This is something that the imperial court cannot do now. The imperial examinations include scholar, Jinshi, Mingjing, Mingshu, Mingfa, and Mingshu. The scholar exam lasts for one year. One or two, sometimes even none, is the most difficult.

There are two grades of Jinshi, and only about ten are admitted in a year. There are four grades of Mingjing, but only twenty or thirty are taken in total. Other Mingshi subjects are also divided into two grades, and not many are admitted. And the gold content is not high, but only so many people are admitted every year.

However, it is not all about selecting candidates based on their talents. Instead, they go to the poetry dignitaries before the exam. Before the exam, they are based on their talent, reputation, and family background. The examiner has already made a pre-determined list.

Whether you do well on the exam is actually not that important.

The reason why there is such an imperial examination is that the emperor regarded the imperial examination as a small supplement to the imperial examination. The selection of scholars in the Tang Dynasty was still mainly based on the family.

The descendants of noble and high-ranking officials could all join the officialdom. At most, they could accumulate seniority by serving as color servants, or they could accumulate seniority by paying wages and salaries. After accumulating seniority, they could participate in the selection and conferment of officials.

Only those without qualifications would consider taking the imperial examination.

But even if there is no family qualifications, the imperial examination is mainly open to powerful common people in those places, or concubines among the nobility.

Therefore, from the beginning, the imperial examination was not for the purpose of selecting talents and fairness.

"You don't want Jiangzhou?"

Li Shimin stood on the bow of the dragon boat and stroked his beard.

Zhang Anan rolled up his sleeves and replied to the emperor, "The Duke of Jin has always opposed the enfeoffment of the mainland."

"Am I really going to seal him off to that deserted island in Yizhou?" Li Shimin shook his head.

This head can't be opened. If Wu Huaiyu goes to Yizhou, what about the other heroes? Do they want to change to Barbarian? What about the emperor's younger brothers and princes? Do they also want to go to the frontier?

That's not what the emperor wants.

"He doesn't want it from the Protectorate Palace, but the two palaces always want it for marriages and tents."

"The Duke of Jin said that as a Duke, he already has a defense pavilion. He has a first-class official position. The court gave ninety-six people to the defense pavilion, which is enough."

The emperor thought for a while,

"Since Huaiyu doesn't want the Hujun Palace, nor does he want a marriage or a palace in the tent, then let him do whatever he wants."

If the Jiangzhou Tongjun Mansion is not changed to the Protectorate Mansion, the original expenditure for this government will no longer need to be paid by the Jiangzhou Governor.

In addition, there should have been more than 300 people in Wu Huaiyu's two palaces in the wedding hall.

"Please pay a fee to teach instead. Pinzi is serving as a slave laborer and is kept in the prince's marriage account. You can also pay a fee to teach instead. How much does one need to pay?"

Zhang Ananda said, "Two hundred coins a month,"

In short, a nobleman needs to perform sex service, which is also accruing qualifications for being an official. If he is not willing to do sex service, he can also pay to replace it. Anyway, it is only two months a year, and four hundred dollars is nothing to them.

Wu Huaiyu voluntarily gave up his marriage affairs, and the imperial court asked him to turn those items into money and hand them over to him. There were 334 people in total, and the money they paid for tutoring each month was equivalent to 66,800 yuan.

There are 800 strings in one year.

This is a considerable amount of income. Of course, for a feudal lord, this is actually nothing.

Give up more than 300 bodyguards in exchange for a subsidy of 800 guan a year.

The imperial court will definitely not suffer a loss. After all, the 800 yuan of money can be paid from the tax allocated to Jiangzhou. The wool still comes from the sheep.

Li Shimin stroked his beard,

Perhaps other distinguished officials and governors could follow Wu Huaiyu's example and not set up a palace to protect the army, nor to set up a palace for marriage affairs or accounts, but directly give the vassals the money paid in the accounts for marriage affairs.

(End of this chapter)