Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 147 Face full of question marks

Chen Qingsi holds the status of a direct bachelor of Hongwen Hall, so it will be much easier to enter the palace this time.

Without unnecessary questioning, Chen Qingsi met the Tang Emperor Li Zhi again after an interval of more than ten days.

Li Zhi was as gentle as ever, just like a sheep.

If Chen Qingsi hadn't been familiar with that period of history, he would have been deceived by this appearance.

"I have seen Your Majesty!"

Li Zhi smiled kindly and said, "Take a seat aside."

After Chen Qingsi took his seat, he said: "I summoned you because I am very interested in your proposal to restructure the Imperial College. I found that there are some things in your suggestion that you have some reservations, but I don't know why."

Chen Qingsi said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I am not hiding it, but the actual situation does not allow it."

Li Zhi asked: "Why is this?"

Chen Qingsi said: "The late emperor had the foresight to expand the Imperial College and recruit talents from all over the world, so that poor families from all over the world can have the opportunity to enter the Imperial College and receive guidance from famous teachers and become pillars. He just delegated the power of selecting students to local county magistrates and county magistrates. , it is not suitable. The county magistrate and county magistrate are busy with county government affairs, how can they distract others?"

Of course, Chen Qingsi would not say that entering the Imperial Academy would give him the opportunity to become a rich man.Those common people whose families have some power, status and money will use various means to obtain quotas.

This is a big test for the county magistrate and county magistrate, and it is a tactful expression that the county affairs are busy.

Of course Li Zhi understood, but he didn't point it out clearly.

If the water is clear, there will be no fish. As an emperor, Li Zhi will turn a blind eye to some innocuous money-making activities as long as they are not excessive.

He is just an emperor, not a god who follows his words. He cannot control everyone in the world to act like a saint.You can only lead by example and promote integrity.

Chen Qingsi continued: "The most appropriate way I can think of is to build county schools and state schools in various places, so that everyone in the world can feel His Majesty's grace, and rely on performance to determine qualifications. However, the Tang Dynasty is full of waste and many things need to be dealt with. , cannot achieve such a large-scale change. Therefore, the next best thing is to combine the achievements of students with the political achievements of officials, so as to encourage townships and counties to promote culture and education and select outstanding talents for the imperial court."

Of course Chen Qingsi knows the principle of poor education, but it does not apply to this era.

Printing and papermaking technologies were not yet in place, and the price of books meant that the comprehensive implementation of education had a long way to go.

Chen Qingsi did not understand printing or papermaking. What he could do was to improve the literacy rate of the people as much as possible, let them have access to knowledge, and promote the process from quantitative change to qualitative change.

In short, the road must be taken step by step. If you take too big a step, it will be easy to make mistakes.

Li Zhi thought: "Chen Aiqing is indeed thoughtful!"

He looked at Chen Qingsi with some approval in his eyes. As the king of a country, he was good at painting cakes, and there would be people who would paint cakes for him.

But the cake he drew was cake, and the cake drawn for him was empty talk.

In Li Zhi's opinion, Chen Qingsi's behavior, which was able to consider national conditions, was indeed intentional.

Li Zhi sighed: "I also want to do what Chen Aiqing envisioned, to open county schools and prefectural schools in more than 360 counties in the [-] ​​state capitals in the world, but I am powerless. Our Tang Dynasty stands at the top of all nations, and thousands of people Pay attention, how can you slack off for a moment? Just like the Western Turks, when the dynasty returned with only a small victory, they announced that they had a great victory. If they are not taught a lesson, the countries in the Western Regions really think that we, the Tang Dynasty, are unable to protect the stability of the Western Regions."

Chen Qingsi was also speechless about this, and did not know what the Western Turk Khan really thought.

Cheng Zhijie did not fight well in this battle, but with Su Dingfang's superb performance, he defeated the [-] Western Turks' cavalry and gained a lot. The Western Turks Ashina Helu fled in fear.

In any era, this would have been a victory for the Tang Army.

Ashina Helu of the Western Turks, who was not killed in the end, saw that the Tang army retreated. He drank three kilograms of fine wine and became a mess. He showed off his power in the Western Regions like a winner.

It also led to the return of Cheng Zhijie's Western Expedition Army less than two months before Su Dingfang resumed his Western Expedition.Chen Qingsi knew about the results of Su Dingfang's western expedition. This general with the most glorious foreign war achievements in Chinese history would shine brightly and expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty to the vicinity of the Aral Sea.

Perhaps during this period, in the eyes of the surrounding countries, if the Tang Dynasty could resist destruction, it would be a great victory.

"Don't talk about this!" Li Zhi waved his hand, then looked at Chen Qingsi with burning eyes and asked: "Aiqing was born in a poor family, so he should be able to understand the suffering of the poor people of the common people the most. I see your reform method, the poor people of the common people in Italy have the intention To pave the way for poor people in the world?"

This is one of his biggest concerns right now.

Li Zhi made a lot of preparations for the Guandong nobles, both long-term and immediate, but the effects were not obvious.

Especially now that the gentry are gradually paying more attention to the imperial examinations, they have begun to send their elites to participate in the imperial examinations.

Originally, the poor families of the common people were far inferior to the five surnamed gentry due to educational resource problems. The five surnamed gentry also had sufficient political resources. They could gain an advantage through filing papers, making recommendations, etc., thus occupying the vast majority of the population. Quota, in order to squeeze the promotion space of the common people.

In order to deal with the nobles with five surnames, Li Zhi supported the Zhuangyuan faction headed by Shangguan Yi and the common people faction headed by Li Yifu.

As a result, the No. [-] scholar faction was targeted, and the common people faction also made Li Yifu look bad, and both suffered considerable obstacles.

Chen Qingsi's reform of the Imperial College was of great benefit to the common people, and Li Zhi saw a new direction.

Chen Qingsi was originally kneeling on the mat. After hearing what Li Zhi said, he quickly stood up and bowed: "I am afraid, and I don't dare to have this intention. It's just that I have experienced such suffering and know that it is not easy for poor people. I don't dare to ask for anything else, I just want to create something." Find a way to survive in a relatively fair environment."

Li Zhi thought of the imperial examination the year before last and shook his head: "A relatively fair environment? How easy is it?"

Chen Qingsi said: "There is a long way to go, but it all depends on people."

Li Zhi smiled and said: "That makes sense, it all depends on manpower..."

He said this, but he didn't think so in his heart. He was the emperor, so he only believed that he could do it, and it didn't depend on manpower.

He continued: "In my opinion, how can we create a relatively fair environment in the Imperial College..."

"Assessment!" Chen Qingsi said: "What determines true talent and learning is not family background, not reputation, but performance. Passing fair assessments time and time again will determine the winner based on performance."

Li Zhi asked: "Can the assessment really be fair?"

Chen Qingsi breathed a sigh of relief, finally reaching the key point.

"We can't, but we can achieve fairness through policy strategies."

Li Zhi hurriedly asked: "How did you do it?"

Chen Qingsi said: "The papers are issued temporarily and are assessed in public by a dedicated person. If the name of the test paper is obscured so that people do not know who wrote the test paper, there is always a way to deal with it."

Li Zhi suddenly stood up after hearing Chen Qingsi's answer.

Chen Qingsi was talking about the Imperial College, but Li Zhi had already associated it with the imperial examination.

"Ha ha!"

Li Zhi raised his head and smiled: "Ai Qing is really a lucky star..."

Chen Qingsi looked confused and confused, and her handsome face was full of question marks.

(End of this chapter)