I, the military god of the Tang Dynasty, have risen since I destroyed the Turks

Chapter 602: Imperial Examination Reform
"I have already increased the salaries of all officials in the world. They are far more than those of ordinary people and are enough to support their families. If they still want to embezzle for me, I will send them to hell." Li Zheng shouted sternly at the minister in front of him.

As a country becomes stronger and wealthier, it will naturally breed more corrupt officials.

As always, Li Zheng will never tolerate anything.

This is the core of Li Zheng’s rule over the country.

"Your Majesty's words are engraved in our hearts."

All the ministers responded seriously.

Since Emperor Gaozu founded the country.

At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, corrupt officials began to multiply and run rampant. They colluded with each other at all levels and plundered the Tang Dynasty's national foundation, taxes, and even the money needed to stabilize people's livelihood, and bullied the common people.

Although Li Zheng was kind and benevolent and treated the people with kindness, he had no tolerance for corrupt officials. Once he found one, even if he had only embezzled a hundred taels of silver, he would be exiled directly and his entire family would be implicated.

Anyone who embezzled more than 1,000 taels of silver would be beheaded and his entire family would be exiled.

If anyone embezzles more than 10,000 taels of silver, the entire family will be beheaded and there will be no leniency.

The only way to deal with corrupt officials is to use severe punishments. Killing them will scare them and they won’t dare to do it again.

Nowadays, with bad people supervising the whole country, the administration of officials has indeed become much cleaner.

"Now that the territory of our Tang Dynasty is expanding rapidly, we need more and more talents."

"This year's imperial examination has ended. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel will organize it next year."

"The imperial examination is held once in summer and once in winter."

"Select talents for our Tang Dynasty."

"There will be two imperial examinations next year, not just for civil officials, but also for skilled craftsmen and people with special skills."

"Zhu Qing personally inquired about this matter."

"Now our Tang Dynasty needs all kinds of talents, not just civil officials."

“Even blacksmiths with outstanding skills can join the Ministry of Works.”

"In the future, our Tang Dynasty will need many talents, especially those with skills that can bring innovations to our Tang Dynasty, such as firearms, steam engines, trains, and even various skills that benefit the country and the people. As long as there is talent, we can use it."

"Your Majesty."

Now that our Tang Dynasty has become so powerful, we can no longer rely on a routine examination to determine talent as usual."

"We must target people with real skills, either the ability to handle government affairs, the ability to lead troops in battle, or the ability to perform technical skills."

"For a country to be strong, reform is also the foundation." Li Zheng said to the ministers with a serious face.

The reason why they were called here this time.

That's why.

In history, the Central Plains was controlled by the Tatars.

The most amazing thing about their art of defending against the people was that they were most defensive against the Yanhuang ethnic group. It was precisely because of this that they ended up being bullied by the great powers.

But the Tang Dynasty controlled by Li Zheng would never learn from the Tartars. Li Zheng would focus on science, people's livelihood, and national foundation.

change.

Start today.

In the past, if one passed the imperial examination, he would be exempt from taxes and levies.

But now, it's time to end.

The Tang Dynasty does not need people who can only recite poems and compose couplets or memorize things by rote, but needs people who are truly capable.

Hearing Li Zheng's words.

The faces of all the officials in the hall changed.

They naturally understood what Li Zheng meant. This was a shocking change that would affect the entire Tang Dynasty.

"emperor."

"Will there be no more essay requirements in the Tang Dynasty imperial examinations in the future?" Qin Jiansheng asked tentatively.

“No more exams.”

"From now on, the imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty will focus on practicality."

"The six ministries set the questions, and the six ministers personally review them." "As for the local prefectural examinations, the prefects of the prefectures review them."

"The Ministry of Revenue asked questions such as how to keep the people safe and how to increase the income of the Tang Dynasty."

"The Ministry of War asked questions about marching and deploying troops, killing enemies on the battlefield, etc."

"The Ministry of Justice focuses on interrogation and investigation."

"The Ministry of Personnel is about governance, how to be clean and honest, how to govern a region."

"The Ministry of Industry is asking how to strengthen the country and build its foundation."

"The Ministry of Rites is setting questions for our Tang Dynasty's foreign policy."

"I have been thinking about this for many years, and I have also been suppressing it for many years without implementing it."

"Now that our Tang Dynasty is strong, it has reached the point where it can be implemented." Li Zheng said seriously.

"What Li Zheng said does make sense."

"For our Tang Dynasty, the thesis is just a basic selection of talents. After being selected, they still need to go to various places in Tang Dynasty for training to grow. However, if the six ministries set the questions and the six ministries review them, and directly select various talents from the imperial examination, it is indeed advisable."

"I thought about this back then, but the impact was too great, so I put it aside in the end."

"Now what Li Zheng said is right, it is indeed time."

Li Chengqian also echoed at this moment.

Imperial examination essay.

It is too monotonous and not conducive to the current selection of talents in the Tang Dynasty.

In the past, the Tang Dynasty focused on strengthening its foundations and defense. Under the national policies of Li Yuan and Li Shimin, they did not think of continuing expansion and conquest, and all they wanted was to preserve the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

But now, under Li Zheng's influence, the territory of the Tang Dynasty has more than doubled.

"emperor."

"If this new imperial examination is implemented, what should we do with all the scholars who have accumulated fame in the past in our Tang Dynasty?" Chu Suiliang asked respectfully.

"After so many years, there must be tens of thousands of scholars in our Tang Dynasty, if not hundreds of thousands, right?"

"With so many people trying to get a good reputation, who knows how many of them got it through connections."

"What use do I have for these people?"

"From now on, there will be no more scholars in the Tang Dynasty. Everyone must pay taxes."

"Starting tomorrow, all those people who were previously exempted from tax by merit will no longer be exempted from tax."

"If they want to cause chaos, the Ministry of Justice will intervene directly. If more than a hundred people gather, the army will suppress them directly." Li Zheng said in a deep voice.

His eyes turned to Qin Jiansheng, Zhang Gongjin from the Ministry of Justice, and Zheng Xuan from the Ministry of War.

If the privileges of those who enjoy tax exemption due to their achievements are really abolished, there will definitely be some chaos, but Li Zheng doesn't care.

There are some useless people with so-called honors, and the local government has to give them some face just because they have honors. But in a fundamental sense, these people with honors are of no use to the court, and they are also exempted from taxes, which is really a huge loss.

"I accept the decree."

The three ministers immediately accepted the order.

"Today, when you go back, you will start studying the exam questions. The left and right assistant ministers and the minister will work together. Once the exam questions are out, they will be submitted directly to the emperor for review."

"This is top secret."

"It cannot be disclosed." Li Zheng said in a deep voice.

"I understand."

All the ministers received the order.

This time.

It's different from before.

In the past, the examination questions were set by the Ministry of Rites, but now they are set by the six ministries, and are submitted directly to the former Crown Prince Li Chengqian without going through anyone else. This is a major change.

Definitely worthy of the title.

(End of this chapter)