Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 640 Today is different from the past

In the dead of night, the lights were still on in the main hall of the Imperial Examination Hall outside Kaifeng. A large number of illiterate craftsmen were copying the examinees' papers.

Since these people can copy the test papers, why can't they read? Isn't this a contradiction?
In fact, this is the norm for woodblock printing, and it is also the main reason why engravers cannot be called "scholars".

These carvers can read, write and carve.

However, most of them do not know the specific meaning of many Chinese characters, such as how to pronounce them or what they mean.

Simply put, in the eyes of these carvers, "words" are a special kind of "painting". They write words, but they are just copying paintings.

Because of the nature of their work, these people don't need to be literate. They are a group of people who deal with words all day long but are not very literate.

It is deformed and distorted, but it is determined by his profession and social status, so it is natural.

Outside the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall, Fang Chongyong happened to be on patrol.

He saw a couplet in front of the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall under the light of the fire.

On the left it says: In the morning I was a farmer, and in the evening I was an emperor.

On the right it says: There is no special breed of generals or ministers, men should strive to be strong.

The horizontal banner on the lintel reads: Fish Leaps Over the Dragon Gate.

It's not neat at all and is poorly written from the perspective of parallelism.

But it is very passionate and inspiring. As for what it means, those "smart people" should understand it.

Looking at his "masterpiece", Fang Chongyong nodded with satisfaction.

He also didn't expect that he would have a chance to take the imperial examination! In the past, Fang Zhongyong was only qualified to take the imperial examination.

However, what he was doing now was not to show off or to have some fun.

Fang Chongyong believes that the reformed imperial examination system has some progressive significance and is not standing still.

Don't expect too much though.

This is just a small step for social progress.

Fang Chongyong's inner thought was to first break the spiritual shackles of "Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers born of different species?" and then promote further social reform.

"Your Majesty, we were truly selfless in this imperial examination. The people of Bianzhou all praised us for this."

Zhang Guangsheng on the side complimented Fang Chongyong.

In fact, this first imperial examination had many problems and was far from perfect.

However, ever since the Sui Dynasty introduced the imperial examination system, the powerful people in Chang'an have been too unhuman in this examination that is related to the selection of officials.

The traditional imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty were a battleground for the powerful to desperately gain political capital. There was no fairness at all. It was almost blatant cheating, and people didn't even bother to cover it up.

If the paper is not acceptable, even if the candidate has extraordinary talent, or even has the ability and character comparable to Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, he will not be able to pass the exam.

What happened to him was purely a joke, but that's the reality of the world.

This imperial examination system, which is in name only, is completely different from the "new imperial examination system" that Fang Chongyong is now fully implementing in terms of actual experience.

Many times, good and bad are determined by comparison.

Compared with previous imperial examinations, the fairness of Fang Chongyong's "new" imperial examination this time won almost unanimous praise.

No one in the world is blind!

No examination papers were allowed to be submitted, and those who brought in papers with them were sent to Shanyuan Mountain Villa. In addition, the examination papers were covered with names and transcribed before being sent to the examiners for review. On the surface, the fairness of this imperial examination was impeccable.

It can even be said that there has never been such a fair examination since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. This "dignity that cannot be desecrated" imperial examination gave the separatist court in Bianzhou great "legitimacy".

When Fang Zhongyong and Yan Zhuang walked into the hall of the Imperial Examination Hall, they saw a group of carvers who were constantly copying. They were craftsmen, and every word they wrote was clear and neat, as if it was printed.

It's not artistic at all, but this rigidity prevents the examiner from judging whether the test paper is from someone he or she knows by looking at the candidate's handwriting.

The significance is extremely important.

The fairness of the exam needs to be guaranteed by concrete measures, otherwise it will soon become a smoky and chaotic arena of fame and fortune.

"Your Majesty, the examination papers will be reviewed by me personally, and I will do my best to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

Yan Zhuang saw Fang Chongyong coming in, and saluted to him with his arms crossed.

"Yes, Not Bad."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly. This time he was trying to figure out what procedures should be followed for the imperial examination after the reform.

Yan Zhuang had a rather wild approach when he was studying, and was completely isolated from the literary circles in Chang'an, so there was no problem of him opening a backdoor for others.

Of course, just because there is no problem this time does not mean there will be no problem in the future. From the beginning of its creation, a system will gradually become corrupt and rigid as the situation develops. There is no such thing as a permanent solution.

Fang Chongyong has no unrealistic expectations, whether towards people or things.

The two came to a "classroom" in the Imperial Examination Hall. As soon as they walked in, they saw several examiners, all of whom were busy marking the papers.

In order to quickly review and correct the papers, Fang Zhongyong mobilized all his trusted men, except for those generals who could only kill people with swords.

Let them participate in marking the papers, and fill in the gaps if there are not enough people.

However, these people are only responsible for the preliminary selection. Their purpose is not to select talents, but to eliminate unqualified test papers anonymously.

After all of this has been completed, each test question will be counted and assigned to the corresponding candidate.

The more answers a candidate leaves, the broader their knowledge. After ranking, multiple examiners will evaluate the same candidate in order.

This is the second round.

Simply put, the steps for selecting personnel are: the first step is to select the best from the dross, and the second step is "expert review".

"Official, there are almost no people who have answered all the questions. The vast majority of people have handed in blank papers. It only matters how many blank papers they have handed in."

Yan Zhuang explained in a low voice.

There are so many subjects in this exam, which is obviously unreasonable.

If a person knows how to answer every question and wants to answer every question completely, then even if he writes until late at night, he will never be able to finish writing all the answers.

The format of the exam itself is to test the candidates on how to deal with various situations of "importance and urgency" when they encounter something.

If you don’t know the answer at all, just hand in a blank paper. This is a very smart approach.

Fang Chongyong picked up a piece of paper at random and saw a seven-character regulated verse describing Mount Tai.

It is totally unrecognizable that the poem is about Mount Tai. The sentences are pieced together here and there and can almost be described as nonsense, except that the rhymes are well-composed.

Needless to say, this kind of person is a mediocre person who learned in the local official schools in the Tang Dynasty. He is very familiar with the format of composing poems, but he has no talent for writing poetry.

Writing poetry does require some talent.

Fang Chongyong looked at the answers to other questions again. They were all just a bunch of self-talk, with no new ideas at all. They kept saying things like "the ancient saints" and "If we follow this, the world will be peaceful."

Of course, this does not necessarily mean that the candidate is really a good-for-nothing. It is just that he may be completely unfamiliar with the field and is unwilling to hand in a blank paper, so he just wrote a few sentences casually.

Fang Chongyong thought to himself, if he gave the other party a test on the Nine Chapters of Arithmetic, maybe the other party would be able to answer it fluently?
This kind of thing is hard to say.

Although the ancients were not stupider than modern people, Fang Chongyong was not sure about their learning efficiency.

From what he had seen and heard, people who were all-knowing and all-talented were extremely rare.

Among the candidates for the imperial examination, those who were proficient in one subject were considered very impressive. It was unrealistic to really grasp the "overall quality" of this group of people.

Fang Chongyong became more and more convinced that his previous idea of ​​"selecting talents based on their strengths" was correct. "In the future, all admitted candidates will be teachers in public schools that teach people to read and write for a year before they can be granted official positions.

Anyone who refuses to go will be stripped of his honors and never employed again.

If anyone is not serious about teaching, he will be sent to work in a remote place.

Public schools that teach the people will become more and more popular, and there will definitely be a shortage of teachers in the future, so we can use the candidates who have passed the imperial examination to fill the vacancies."

Fang Zhongyong said to Yan Zhuang with a serious face.

Let these scholars with better family backgrounds interact with the lower-class people and soldiers in the army, so that they can understand the hardships and sufferings of the lower classes.

This will help these future officials to be more down-to-earth, and at least prevent them from becoming completely idiots who are out of touch with the real world.

As for how effective it would be, Fang Zhongyong was not sure. He could only say that doing something was better than doing nothing.

If he struggles a bit, he might be able to find a way out. If he really lies down, he will definitely become a new puppet of the wealthy family in the future.

"Please rest assured, sir. I understand. Since these people are of noble origin, it is not a bad thing to let them suffer a little."

Yan Zhuang sneered.

Want him to give preferential treatment to the new scholars? How is that possible!

Due to his personal background and experience, Yan Zhuang has a natural hatred and contempt for similar people.

If he didn't beat these people up, even if he showed mercy, how could he possibly show preferential treatment to those who passed the imperial examination!

"Well, thank you for your hard work these past few days.

By the way, for the imperial examination candidates, you are the chief examiner and seem to be their mentor.

Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents, and Teachers, this is a very important thing. Maybe these new scholars will hold a thank-you banquet for their teachers, and you will be very proud of it then."

Fang Zhongyong seemed to have remembered something, and mentioned it meaningfully, as if there was something else behind his words.

"Sir, how can I be qualified to be the teacher of those examinees?
You are their mentor!
If you hadn't insisted on establishing a new imperial examination, those people would have been nowhere to be found!
Even if they want to be grateful, why would they be grateful to me? They should be grateful to the emperor."

Yan Zhuang hurriedly explained, his back wet with cold sweat.

Beads of sweat flowed from his forehead to his cheeks. Yan Zhuang almost held his breath and almost knelt down to Fang Zhongyong.

“It is a bad habit for candidates to regard the examiners as their teachers.

Not to mention that you can't do this, even I can't do it.

It's good that you don't have this thought. I am concerned about the matter, not the person. Why worry about something you haven't done?
You are still too reserved."

Fang Zhongyong patted Yan Zhuang on the shoulder and spoke casually.

The examiners who were marking the test papers behind them didn't even dare to turn their heads, wishing they were not there.

……

During the Southern Song Dynasty, the city of Xiangyang was greatly expanded, connecting Xiangyang on the south bank of the Han River with Fancheng on the north bank of the Han River.

The momentum was quite powerful. The Southern Song Dynasty resisted the Mongols here for decades, which can be called a miracle in the history of war.

However, the strategic position of Xiangyang in the Tang Dynasty was far less important than that in the Southern Song Dynasty, and the reconstruction of the city remained on paper.

It was not until Ying Wang Li Yu entered Xiangyang that he began to strengthen the defense of Jingxiang. However, he has always been low-key and is short of soldiers and generals, so the progress has been very slow.

To put it bluntly, Prince Ying had no choice but to settle in Jingxiang. He thought about returning to Chang'an all the time, and many times he woke up from his dreams, he would be immersed in the aftertaste of being in Chang'an.

The sunset over the Han River is extremely beautiful.

The sun was half-hidden in the river, dyeing the water red, truly living up to the saying "the flowers on the river are redder than fire at sunrise".

It was dusk at this moment, and on the city wall of Xiangyang, Li Mi was watching the sunset with Yan Zhenqing.

"Your Majesty has granted you an official position, why did you refuse it?"

Yan Zhenqing looked at Fancheng on the other side of the river and asked in confusion.

"There was a scholar in Xiangyang who, instead of looking for Yan Qingchen, traveled thousands of miles to Bianzhou to take the imperial examination.

Can Mr. Yan tell me what he thinks?
Or is it that Mr. Yan doesn't know about this at all?"

Li Mi asked with a smile.

Yan Zhenqing looked embarrassed. He supported Ying Wang Li Yu to ascend the throne, and then he was busy with many affairs and was dizzy all day long.

How could he know that a scholar in Xiangyang City went to Bianzhou to take the imperial examination!
"Who is this person?"

Yan Zhenqing asked doubtfully.

"Mr. Xiao Ying."

Li Mi uttered three words from his mouth.

Yan Zhenqing nodded thoughtfully, and he already understood what Li Mi wanted to say.

Xiao Yingshi was a well-deserved "famous scholar" in the Tang Dynasty. He passed the imperial examination in the 23rd year of Kaiyuan. He was expelled from Chang'an because of his article mocking Li Linfu, and Xiao Yingshi has been living in seclusion in Xiangyang.

However, after Prince Ying Li Yu ascended the throne, Yan Zhenqing visited Xiao Yingshi and invited him to be an official. Although he met that person, he was sternly rejected by him!
In other words, Xiao Yingshi only recognizes who is Ji Ge's successor!

Ji Ge passed the throne to Li Ying, who died unexpectedly in the chaos of war and had no descendants, so the "legitimate" line of inheritance was also broken.

Although Li Yu is a prince, Ji Ge has so many princes, who is Li Yu? Why do you say he is the orthodox one?

Xiao Yingshi has such a bad temper! He had the same temper back then!
Yan Zhenqing gave up the idea of ​​recruiting him.

But who would have thought that Xiao Yingshi would actually go to Bianzhou to take the imperial examination!

I’m just afraid that the exam is fake, and playing games in life is real.

Xiao Yingshi went there just to "make trouble".

I went to take the exam with a lot of knowledge, and you accepted me. I won't accept it and I will scold you in the face.

If you don't accept me, then it's a fake imperial examination! I'm going to make a big fuss about it and tell everyone that you're a fraud.

"Fang Qing is going to suffer."

Yan Zhenqing said with a smile.

"I wonder if Mr. Yan has seen this notice."

Li Mi took out a large piece of paper from his bosom and handed it to Yan Zhenqing. Written on it were the details of the imperial examination that Fang Chongyong had ordered people to post everywhere.

"This……"

After reading the rules about the imperial examination, Yan Zhenqing was horrified.

You are not allowed to submit your papers, your names must be covered, and anyone caught cheating will be sent to jail...etc.

"Is Fang Qing joking, or does he really intend to do this?"

Yan Zhenqing asked in surprise. He had no idea what Fang Chongyong's purpose was.

Opening a backdoor for "his own people" and forming a new force is what Fang Zhongyong should do. Use the imperial examination to gather talents and win people's hearts!
"It would be better for Mr. Yan to ask Mr. Xiao Yingshi about this question."

Li Mi waved his hand gently, no longer paying attention to Yan Zhenqing who was lost in thought, and went down the city wall on his own.

(End of this chapter)