At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 383: The Dilemma Faced by Xu Fan, the Placement of Retired Soldiers
Under Xu Fan's guidance, these scholars regained their confidence and worked hard for their future again.

Xu Fan looked at these young people leaving and inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity.

Even in the current Han Dynasty, it is difficult for the lower classes to turn over, and it will become more and more difficult. There will be more and more competitors behind these people, and their quality will be higher and higher. This great enfeoffment may be their only chance to move up in class in this life.

Zhang Liang smiled and said, "With your guidance, I think these scholars will have a bright future."

Xu Fan said calmly: "I hope so."

Shusun Tong, who was following Xu Fan, thought for a moment and said, "Sir, I don't believe in Shang Jun's words, but he is right in a way. The number of scholars in a country should be controlled, otherwise it will be disadvantageous to the country. The plight of these scholars today is caused by reading too much."

Xu Fan looked at Shusun Tong with a smile.

Shusun Tong's face turned red, he understood the emperor's intention. Their Confucianism believed in teaching everyone without distinction, breaking the tradition of knowledge circulating among the nobles. Confucian scholars were the most numerous scholars in the world, but now Shusun Tong wanted to limit the number of scholars.

But he still explained: "I believe that there is no discrimination in education, but we must also face the reality of the Han Dynasty. Everything is better than nothing. Five years ago, in the first imperial examination of the Han Dynasty, scholars who could write a 5-word essay and know simple arithmetic could become Han officials."

"This year, more than 3 scholars have signed up for the imperial examination. The difficulty of the examination is increasing rapidly. It is difficult for scholars who do not understand the classics of various schools, are not familiar with the court's policies and legal provisions, and do not know advanced arithmetic to become Han officials.

The classics, policies and legal provisions are fine, but does a petty official with a salary of 100 shi really need to know advanced arithmetic?"

"Even though the difficulty has been raised so high, the number of people taking the imperial examinations in Chang'an City is still increasing every year. When I think about the universal education in the Han Dynasty, when these people come of age, there will be more and more people taking the imperial examinations."

Because more and more people are taking the imperial examinations, but the number of places is limited, the imperial examinations in the Han Dynasty are no longer just one, but three examinations. The difficulty is constantly increasing, and candidates are constantly eliminated, leaving only the last 1000 people.

Other people in the Han Dynasty did not feel any pressure about the increase in the number of scholars. They were even happy to see it, believing that it was a manifestation of the flourishing of culture and a prosperous era.

But Shusun Tong, who had been in charge of the imperial examinations, felt under tremendous pressure. Every year, more and more scholars poured into Chang'an City. Especially since the Han Dynasty was popularizing education throughout the country, when these people grew up, how many people would take the imperial examinations every year?
10? 50? Or a million?

Thinking about how so many scholars poured into Chang'an City, and how ninety-nine percent of them would become losers in the end, if someone directed the anger of these people, the Han Dynasty would explode.

Shusun Tong never expected that Confucius's idea of ​​educating all without distinction would be realized so quickly in the Han Dynasty and would lead to such a terrible crisis. He was already a little afraid to imagine the future of the imperial examination system!

Shusun Tong's words made Zhang Liang sweat profusely. He had never thought about such a thing. He had never expected that the Han Dynasty would quickly transition from a shortage of talents to a surplus of talents. The Han Dynasty had only been founded for a few years, and he clearly remembered that it was very difficult for the Han Dynasty to find some literate people.

Zhang Liang immediately said, "In the future, we can't let all the scholars gather in Chang'an to take the imperial examination. Instead, we should first hold preliminary examinations in the local areas. According to the population, each county will have 100 places for scholars. Counties with a small population will have fewer places, and counties with a large population will have more places. We will also give some places to the princes of the world. In this way, the number of scholars who come to Chang'an to take the imperial examination will be controlled at around 1. This can not only ease conflicts, but also reduce the pressure on Chang'an City."

Shusun Tong was pleasantly surprised and said: "Prime Minister Zhang is indeed a wise man. This move can solve the current predicament of the court."

Xu Fan asked: "Why do we have to become Han officials after studying? We can't become merchants, craftsmen, or even farmers?
Why do people think that scholars have a noble status? If there are 10 scholars in the world, it is not wrong. But if there are 100 million, 500 million, or even million scholars, reading is a tool for people to quickly learn skills. "

Xu Fan knew that Zhang Liang's approach could indeed reduce the pressure on the Han court. In other words, the pressure could be transferred from Chang'an City to the entire world, making it difficult to concentrate. Although this seemed to have solved the problem, the actual problem still existed.

Even if the feudal dynasties in history did not vigorously promote education, in their efforts to change the class status of the lower classes, they still continued to increase the difficulty of the imperial examinations, which at most caused many scholars to spend their entire lives studying hard.

However, Xu Fan's purpose of popularizing education was not to let them study hard but to provide talents for the development of industrialization. Zhang Liang's approach was not his original intention at all.

Zhang Liang said helplessly: "If the Han Dynasty really had tens of millions of scholars, you are right, but it takes time to change people's mindsets. Now, the people of the Han Dynasty think that scholars are noble and that studying is for the purpose of becoming Han officials. Your Majesty, haste makes waste. All this takes time!"

Zhang Liang was very fortunate that the imperial court had launched a large-scale enfeoffment campaign, with hundreds of princes and thousands of small and medium-sized nobles absorbing tens of thousands of scholars. Later, as these princes established their own countries, a large number of talents were needed in the first few years, which greatly eased the employment market for Han scholars and bought the imperial court several years of time for reform.

Xu Fan was speechless. Even in later generations, the mainstream still believed that being a minor official was more stable. There were a lot of people applying for the exam every year, not to mention the Han people today. People studied just to become Han officials.

Looking at the scholars walking in groups of three or two on the street, he had a fucked up thought in his heart. He wanted to cultivate talents for industrialization, but they wanted to become Han officials. There were even fucked-up things in the world than this, but this matter had to be resolved quickly, otherwise new conflicts in the Han Dynasty would erupt.

Xu Fan thought for a moment and said, "After this incident, I think more scholars will enter the imperial academies to improve themselves. The imperial court will increase its investment in the academies and let them recruit more scholars."

But as soon as Xu Fan finished speaking, he was stunned?
Isn’t this the policy of later generations?

As expected, many things that seem to have choices actually have no choices.

After I got back, I accelerated the progress of the steam engine and put it into commercial use as soon as possible.

Then we accelerated industrial upgrading, expanded state-owned workshops, and absorbed a large number of these people into the factories to work as managers.

Finally, there will be a big bankruptcy to completely shatter these people's concept of "study hard and then become an official", Xu Fan thought viciously in his heart.

Of course Xu Fan was just thinking this, he wouldn’t really make things difficult for himself.

Xu Fan said: "The court should still guide these scholars to choose their careers. Those who can increase grain production capacity and invent convenient tools are doing things for the country. They don't have to all be Han officials."

Shusun Tongdao said: "Your Excellency is right. The difficulty of the imperial examinations in the past two years was too low, which led to too many people thinking that they had a chance to pass the examinations. The court will increase the difficulty of the imperial examinations in the future, so that most people will give up."

Xu Fan was speechless. Is this what he meant?

Should we still establish an imperial examination every three years, with only two to three hundred people taking the exam in each subject, and those who pass can become officials?

Just when Xu Fan was worried about getting rid of the idea that those who excel in their studies will become officials.

In the northern township, a few dozen miles away from him, the scene was extremely lively at this time.

Village head Li Wei led dozens of young and strong people from Beixiang back to their hometown. They looked at the harvested land. They didn't care about it before, but now they felt a sense of familiar strangeness and were a little homesick.

"Captain, don't stand there, let's go." Zhao Zhong poked him in the waist.

He is a Hun who has experienced too many things like this, including separation and death many times. His emotions have become numb. Although he is happy to return home, he will not be as sentimental as Li Wei.

Li Wei said with some melancholy, "There were 62 people from the whole village who went to the battle, but I only brought back 54 people. How can I explain this to the families of those who died in the battle?"

The soldiers from Beixiang were already familiar with each other. After joining the army, they were organized into one village. They joined the army together and experienced life and death. Their feelings and relationships became even deeper. Now he didn't know how to face the families of his comrades who died in battle.

Zhao Zhong said, "Only eight people died, which is an unprecedented victory. Everyone on the battlefield is fighting for their lives. Xu Lei and his men died on the battlefield, and their deaths were worthy. What does it have to do with you, the head of the village? Not to mention that they also received rewards from the court. Each household can get an extra 5000 acres of pasture and tens of thousands of coins. With this money, their families will live well. Even the Eternal Heaven will be pleased."

When Zhao Zhong was in the Xiongnu, he died in battle, and even their little property and wives were divided up. It was nothing like the generous pensions provided by the Han Dynasty. So Zhao Zhong could not understand what Li Liwei and the others were thinking at this time.

Li Wei felt better after hearing this.

The Han Dynasty also attached great importance to the compensation of soldiers killed in battle. Basically, Xu Fan understood that the compensation was institutionalized in later generations. The families of soldiers killed in battle had fields in the inland of the Han Dynasty and pastures in the desert, as well as generous pensions worth 2-3 horses. At the same time, the court fully covered the education of the descendants of the soldiers killed in battle, and sent people to comfort and reward the orphans and widows every year, and sent Han officials to help them solve their personal problems.

In short, the families of soldiers who died in battle will not encounter difficulties in life. It is precisely because of the perfect pension system that the soldiers of the Han Dynasty can fight for the country without worries on the battlefield. At the same time, they also won the hearts of the people for the Han Dynasty.

When Li Wei and his companions were about to reach Beixiang, they found that their relatives were gathered there.

Beixiang Qiangfu was overjoyed when he saw Li Wei and his men, saying, "They are back, hurry up and beat the drums."

"Boom boom boom!"

"clang clang"

A burst of cheerful gongs and drums sounded, and the elders of Beixiang happily welcomed their children home. Those young and strong men who were not selected to join the army looked at Li Wei and his friends with envy. After joining the army, their fate was different from theirs. The friends who used to play, have fun, and chat with him have become people of another class.

Li Wei shouted excitedly: "Dear villagers, Li Wei is back with the Beixiang soldiers."

Zhao Zhong and the others also shouted, "We are back."

Li Wei's parents, wife and children rushed out of the crowd and surrounded them.

"Where is my son injured?" Li Wei's father checked his body nervously, fearing that something was wrong with him.

Li Wei laughed and said, "The Huns' knives can't kill me."

Injuries were inevitable, but he was lucky enough not to lose any limbs.

But others were not as lucky as Li Wei. In addition to eight Beixiang soldiers who died in battle, four others were disabled. Their parents naturally cried when they surrounded them. Even with the compensation, it was still extremely difficult for a disabled person to survive in this era.

Mr. Qiang said loudly: "They will receive a pension from the court, and they will be given jobs. They will eat Guan's food for the rest of their lives. Why are you crying? This is a happy thing."

A soldier who was missing one hand helped his mother up and said, "What the village husband said is right. From now on, the child will eat the official's food. You don't have to worry about the child's life."

The farmers did not dare to spoil everyone's fun at this time, so they could only hold back their tears.

Beixiang Qiangfu led a dozen Han officials from Beixiang and famous people from the northern line, and brought dozens of horses to them and said, "When meritorious officials of our Han Dynasty return to their hometowns, they will parade on horses to let everyone know your achievements. Come and get on the horses."

Li Wei was stunned and asked, "Isn't this bad?"

Mr. Qiang smiled and said, "What's wrong with that? You are meritorious officials. You should have a lively time when you return home so that everyone can see you. Come on and mount your horses."

Li Wei and others had no choice but to get on the horse.

Soon a long team appeared outside Beixiang.

In front was a gong and drum team, which played a lot to attract everyone's attention. Then Beixiang Qiangfu shouted, "My Beixiang heroes have returned home. They defeated the Xiongnu and are heroes of the Han Dynasty."

Then Xiang Qiangfu asked: "How many enemies did you kill?"

Li Wei said: "32, but we captured a tribe and captured more than 300 people."

Xiang Qiangfu immediately said: "The men of this village defeated thousands of elite Xiongnu soldiers and captured more than 300 prisoners."

Li Wei was stunned!

But Qiangfu didn't think there was a problem. They had captured more than 300 prisoners. Would there be any problem in defeating thousands of people?

This achievement was publicized, and for a time everyone regarded the returning soldiers as heroes.

Li Wei and his companions became the envy of everyone in Beixiang. And Li Wei and his companions were like stepping on the clouds. They had never been noticed by so many people in their lives. This feeling was really good.

As soldiers of the Han Dynasty were continuously dismissed and sent back home, incidents like the one in Beixiang kept happening throughout the northern part of the Han Dynasty, and the land of Hebei seemed to have entered their own festival.

There were teams welcoming the heroes everywhere, and the villages were filled with banquets to welcome them home from the battlefield.

October 19th, the eighth year of the Han Dynasty.

Pinglu Fort is the seat of government for the northern township.

Qiangfu Wuyin summoned all the soldiers who were returning home.

He smiled and said, "Now let me tell you about the court's arrangements for you. Li Wei and Zhao Zhong, you are recruited by the court as palace guards. You will report to the Military Academy in Chang'an next January. You are lucky. After you graduate, you will be officers of the Han Dynasty. Don't forget me when you become successful in the future."

Li Wei and Zhao Zhong were so shocked by Wu Yin's words that they couldn't recover for a long time.

The other soldiers also looked at the two with envy. They were considered to have made it through the gates of heaven, and their family would be promoted to a scholar-official family in the future.

Why did the people always rush to join the army whenever the Han Dynasty recruited soldiers? Because the input-output ratio was extremely high. A large proportion of the Han soldiers who joined the army made a class transition from commoner families to scholar-official families. Joining the army was the most efficient way, and this way has always been proven to be effective.

Then Wu Yin looked at the disabled soldiers and said, "You have been arranged by the court to work in the Pinglubao Textile Factory. From now on, you will eat official food and become city dwellers. Your income will be much higher than those of us who farm and herd."

Several disabled soldiers finally smiled; their biggest worry was solved.

Wu Yin then looked at everyone and took out a document and said, "There are also your rewards. Because the amount is too large, it is difficult for the court to give it all at once, so the court has a policy to give it to you over five years. For every year you take it, you can get 2% more reward. In the fifth year, it is equivalent to giving you double the reward. Is there anyone who wants to sign up?"

All these soldiers hesitated, for they were worried that the imperial court would withhold their bounty. After all, who could predict what would happen five years later?

A soldier thought for a moment and said, "I want to get it this year. Is that possible?"

Wu Yin said: "Of course."

After that, he found another document and said, "Here are the goods that the court has stored. See if there is anything you need. I will read it with you."

"A loaded carriage costs 3000 coins, a cotton coat, cotton shoes, and a three-piece cotton and wool suit cost 2000 coins, a cow costs 3000 coins, a horse costs 150 coins, and a sheep costs coins."

"How can it be so cheap? Mr. Qiang, did you read it wrong?" The goods that Wu Yin read were generally 50% to 30% cheaper, so it was no wonder that the soldiers did not believe it.

Wu Yin laughed and said, "How dare I read something like this wrong? Do I have to pay you the difference then?"

"The loaded carriage is the one we use to transport grain to Mobei?"

"Of course. The imperial court built 6 of these heavy-duty carriages for the Mobei War. Now that the war is over, the emperor wants to benefit you soldiers and sell them to you at half the price. There are also other cotton clothes, cotton cloth and other goods. These were originally prepared for the war, but they went smoothly ahead of time, so the emperor gave them to you as a reward and even lowered the price."

"I want a heavy-duty carriage, and the rest of the rewards will be in the form of cotton clothes," said a soldier.

Although Xu Fan offered a half-price offer, the price of a horse-drawn carriage two or three years ago was still 5000 to coins. So for these soldiers, the price was not half as cheap, but only one-tenth of the original price. At the same time, the price of a new cotton coat on the market now costs coins.

This is equivalent to farmers in later generations being able to buy a family car with the price of a tractor, and buying an authentic LV with 100 yuan. Anyone who is not a fool knows how to choose.

But Wu Yin said unhappily: "What good are you thinking? Each person only has one truck and one cotton coat. Other comrades have to buy some too."

"Then I want some cloth, which I can transport to the Central Plains to sell."

"I also want some more horse-drawn carriages, cotton-padded clothes, and wheelbarrows."

"There is no limit on this. Don't you want food? One stone is only fifty coins."

"Mr. Qiang, I'm not a fool. The war is over, and the price of grain should also be reduced."

(End of this chapter)