Daming: I, Yang Xian, really govern Yang!

Chapter 107: What I’m Opposing is Not the Imperial Examination

"Hmph, I also know that Yang Xian has no other intentions. Otherwise, do you think I would have reacted this way if it were someone else?" Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly.

He looked at Zhu Biao and originally thought that this big boy of his had had enough training.

Now it seems that it is not enough.

At least in terms of the emperor's mental skills, he still needs to practice.

For emperors like Zhu Yuanzhang, there cannot be too few capable people in the court, but there cannot be too many.

For example, talents like Yang Xian.

It was a blessing for the Ming Dynasty to have such a Yang Xian in the court.

There are ten Yang Xians, and the territory of Ming Dynasty is large enough, which is also a good thing.

But if there were a hundred people like Yang Xian in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang thought he would have a headache.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's opinion, if there are too many such smart people, the court will be in chaos.

First of all, internal strife is inevitable. If the destructive power caused by mediocrity is not obvious, it is hard to tell for these smart people. They may cause some earth-shattering events.

When the time comes, the court will be in turmoil, and even the whole world will be in turmoil.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, when selecting scholars through the imperial examination, he would rather have a group of loyal mediocre people than a group of smart people with active ideas.

Because the more thoughtful and capable the ministers are, the harder it is to control them.

The most famous examples are Liu Ji and Liu Bowen.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, Liu Bowen looked calm and thoughtful on the surface.

In fact, inside, I am very proud and arrogant.

He respects us, but he is not close to us.

This is also the reason why Liu Bowen was only awarded a third-class title after the founding of the country.

Of course, this is also a good thing for Liu Bowen, and he is happy with it.

But for such a minister, Zhu Yuanzhang could only do so much, let alone the subsequent emperors?
It's okay to say that people like Liu Bowen who just look down on those in power are the kind of ambitious and smart people that Zhu Yuanzhang is most afraid of.

He can subdue these wolves, tigers and leopards, Zhu Biao can subdue them, but in the future, for example, in the generation of heroes, can they still deal with them?
If a group of officials who are both smart and ambitious form a clique for personal gain, then the civil servants will directly become bigger.

The prime minister's power and the emperor's power are a bunch of enemies who are mutually reinforcing each other.

Since it cannot be abolished, then weaken the power of the prime minister.

Emperors of all dynasties would introduce some systems to restrict the power of the prime minister. The long tug-of-war between the power of the prime minister and the imperial power lasted for thousands of years.

What Zhu Yuanzhang fears most is that the power of his descendants will be eclipsed.

If the dynasty is full of mediocre people, then this possibility will be greatly reduced.

After all, it is much easier to seize power from mediocre people who only know loyalty than from smart people full of ambition.

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued to teach Zhu Biao his imperial skills.

Most emperors in history preferred loyal ministers to capable ministers.

The doctrine of the mean advocated by Confucianism is also related.

Ministers who are neither too good nor too bad, who can be under their own control and loyal to themselves, are the perfect ministers for these emperors.

But in fact, can talents selected from the Four Books and Five Classics really be loyal to the Ming Dynasty forever?

If Zhu Yuanzhang knew that he could elect officials like "the water is too cold" in the late Ming Dynasty, he would be furious.

This boneless guy was the third Jinshi in the 38th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty.The so-called human heart is fickle.

Although the eight-part essay examination stipulated the examination content in the Four Books and Five Classics, it imprisoned the minds of the literati.But these scholars, no matter how much they read the Four Books and Five Classics, can they really be like the saints respected by Confucianism?
After they became officials in the court and came into contact with various powers, sometimes they became even more distorted because they were too repressed before.

In the eyes of some people in later generations, Ming Dynasty died at the hands of those scholars.

According to Yang Xian's words, the officials selected for the eight-part examination were useless except for knowing the Four Books and Five Classics.

However, Zhu Biao knew clearly that he could not convince his father in this aspect at this time. He recalled what Yang Xian said to him before leaving.

Zhu Biao organized his thoughts in his mind and said, "Father, there is a major premise for everything you said, that is, there are no foreign enemies."

"Just imagine, if in the face of an invasion by a foreign enemy, all the civil and military officials in the dynasty are mediocre, then this behavior will not be about lasting peace, but the destruction of the nation!"

Zhu Biao's words were like a bolt from the blue to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Foreign enemies invade?

But he thought again, isn't the Ming Dynasty's biggest foreign enemy now the Tatars on the grassland.

Their previous policy of purchasing wool to make the other party economically dependent and thus weaken the other party's military strength has eliminated this biggest hidden danger.

What other enemies?
Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"Father, please don't forget where Yang Qing's immortal rice seeds and potatoes come from?"

"overseas!"

Zhu Biao nodded, and then said: "According to Yang Qing, the world is very big. Whether it is overseas, north of the grasslands, or west of the Western Regions, there are many countries, large and small. Therefore, if we stand on our own laurels, other countries will If we are all making progress, it means we are regressing.”

"If you fall behind, you will be beaten!"

"Father!"

If you fall behind, you will be beaten! ! !

This time, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression was finally completely moved.

As Zhu Biao said, a major prerequisite for his assumption was that there would be no intrusion from foreign enemies.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, since there are overseas countries that can possess magical objects such as fairy rice and potatoes, their national power will naturally not be weak.

Now we are separated by the sea.

But what if in the future, someone else completely solves this obstacle.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang temporarily gave up the idea of ​​using the Four Books and Five Classics as imperial examination topics.

There is nothing wrong with the imperial examination, but what is wrong is the rigid stereotype of selecting scholars based on the Four Books and Five Classics.

In fact, Yang Xian believed that the establishment of the imperial examination system was an epoch-making initiative.Some people in later generations who knew nothing simply equated the eight-part essay selection process with the imperial examination, and believed that the imperial examination system was the most vicious invention. In his opinion, these people were either stupid or bad.

In the morning he was a farmer, and in the evening he ascended to the emperor's palace; his rank rose and he broke through the family clan.

These are all brought about by the imperial examination system.

The imperial examination is a selection method that essentially promotes class mobility through examinations.

Modern society does not talk about class. To use a more modern word, it is an opportunity to change the destiny of life and achieve a class jump.

Before he traveled through time, there was a topic that aroused discussion among the majority of netizens on the Internet.

That is "a small town problem solver".

Aren't these ancient students also "small town problem solvers"? In an era, there is only one space left for these "small town problem solvers", leaving a channel for advancement.

To be honest, only then can this society have hope, stability and vitality.

(End of this chapter)