King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Chapter 116 Father! I can't let nerds ruin the Ming Dynasty!
  Zhu Tan didn't feel sleepy anymore when he mentioned the imperial examination.

For ordinary people, the imperial examination system is a scourge that restricts people's thinking and hinders social progress.

But in history.

The superiority and role of the imperial examination system are unparalleled!
  It is China’s unique talent selection system.

Through the imperial examination system, the imperial court provided an upward path for ordinary people and different social classes.

No matter what the age, status or family restrictions of the candidates are.

Through this upward path, he entered the bureaucracy and participated in national decision-making, thereby maintaining social stability at that time.

This is also the reason why Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty proudly said, "I have all the talents in the world."

At the same time, the imperial examination system promoted the development of culture. No matter how you want to be an official, you must study.

This promotes the popularization of culture.

Moreover, after strict selection, the selected officials were at least much better than those uneducated people who became officials, and indeed provided a large number of qualified officials for the court.

On the contrary, the later Yuan Dynasty broke the rules of the imperial examination and allowed Mongolians to be officials without studying. All of them were chief officials, and their status and power were higher than those of the Han people.

This led to chaos and laxity in local governance. In just over ninety years, the country fell into chaos and was completely destroyed.

It can be said that the nine-level Zhongzheng system and the imperial examination system are advanced systems created by China that are hundreds of thousands of years ahead of the world.

It should not be defined by later generations as a backward system that imprisons people's thoughts.

An important reason for all this is that during the Zhu Yuanzhang period.

Major changes have taken place in the imperial examination!
  The most evil eight-part essay has begun to appear!

As far as the eight-part essay exam itself is concerned, it is actually not a problem.

Although the form is rigid, the style is single, and the answers can only be answered within the prescribed range.

But all this is to screen talents.

It is said that the eight-part essay is "a dojo inside a snail shell".

If you can write the eight-legged essay well in the imperial examination.

Not saying that this person must be a genius in the world, but at least he is also a very outstanding talent!
  If he gets the top prize in the examination, he will at least be a person with a superior IQ. There are still not many parallel-imported top picks.

In history, the proportion of those who were ranked number one, number two, or third in the imperial examination, and then promoted to the rank of first assistant in the imperial court was also quite high.

But compared with the imperial examinations of other dynasties, the worst problem of the Ming Dynasty's imperial examination is that it is not just a test of eight-legged essay.

And it only takes the eight-legged essay!

This is the biggest problem!

The content of the examination mainly focuses on the meaning, theory, policy and other aspects of the classics. These contents are dominated by Confucianism and emphasize moral and political theory.

These things were somewhat insufficient for the development of the times at that time.

Because the main examination content was limited to the humanities and ignored the development of natural sciences, the gap in scientific and technological development between the Ming Dynasty and the West began to gradually widen in this era.

In addition, the imperial examination also caused social resources to be excessively concentrated on examinations and official positions, resulting in a waste of social resources and the ideological trend of "everything is inferior, only reading is good".

This in turn leads to the gradual backwardness of the entire society.

at this point.

Zhu Tan quite disagreed.

After all, in the previous Tang and Song dynasties, the content of the imperial examination was not only Confucianism.

For example, in the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination was divided into five subjects.

They are "Confucian classics", which examines the mastery of Confucian classics.

"Law Science" mainly examines legal knowledge and selects judicial talents.

Mingzi Section, which examines writing theory and calligraphy level.

Mingshu subject, which examines knowledge of mathematics and astronomy.

Martial Arts, examines the art of war and martial arts.

In that era, as long as there was no problem with family background, as long as there was a skill that was useful to the court, anyone could become an official!

This also made the social atmosphere at that time far more enlightened than that of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

At the same time, the officials selected by the imperial examination are of higher quality, have a wider range of applications, and are more professional. They do not only know the Four Books and Five Classics. They were ridiculed by the people at the time as "wagging their tails and shaking their heads, and they are the best in the holy sect." But you know the three links , What kind of articles are the Four Histories, which dynasties were the emperors of the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty?... He has failed to live up to his time and spent his whole life in a coma. It is also bad luck for the people and the court to have him deceive high-ranking officials!"

As for why Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that only the Four Books and Five Classics should be tested in the imperial examination, it was simply because he suffered from illiteracy.

The only people around him who could rely on to organize the imperial examinations were scholars.

And these scholars are all claimed to be disciples of saints, so naturally they highly respect Confucian classics.

In addition, during the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial examination system had been messed up by the vulgar Yuan Dynasty rulers, and Zhu Yuanzhang had no experience to learn from.

In the end, if the scholar says how to take the exam, then that’s how he will do well in the exam.

As a result, these scholars finally got what they wanted.

The imperial examination system became an examination that only examined Confucian classics.

Confucianism suddenly became brilliant and became the most noble knowledge in society at that time.

Other knowledge has been squeezed to the point where there is almost no room for survival!
  No matter what you study, as long as it is not related to Confucianism, or even if it is not the Four Books and Five Classics, it will be considered heresy and miscellaneous learning.

During the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, the court officially stipulated that only eight-part essays were the only way to answer questions, which further restricted people's thinking. From then on, China began to gradually catch up or even fall behind compared with the West.

The most obvious thing is that in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, they even had to imitate Western artillery and guns in order to maintain their advanced nature.

You know, in the past, China has always been far ahead and unique in the field of ancient military technology.

As for the Qing Dynasty, which was even more crotch-stretching in later generations, there is no need to say more.

And now.

For Zhu Tan.

This is an opportunity to change the imperial examination!
  The imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty were divided into five levels.

They are the children's examination, the college examination, the rural examination, the general examination and the palace examination.

And before that.

The three-level examinations for children, colleges, and rural examinations have ended.

Nowadays, candidates from all over the country gather in Yingtian, mainly to prepare for the joint examination and the palace examination.

I have been waiting for this exam for too long.

You know, the last imperial examination was in the fourth year of Hongwu.

At that time, when Zhu Yuanzhang was selecting talents, he found that the people selected through the imperial examination were not very good in actual ability.

On the contrary, he disliked it very much, so he suspended the imperial examination.

Most of the time, the recruitment system is used to select talents.

If Zhu Yuanzhang was willing, even the grain chief who was responsible for collecting grains at that time could achieve the position of minister.

However, with the gradual shortage of talents in the court over the years, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to reintroduce the imperial examination.

Otherwise, it would not be enough to kill him.

It also stipulated that the imperial examination would be held every three years in the future.

In this case, more heads and scarecrows can be gathered for the court.

At least this was the case during the Hongwu Dynasty.
  Zhu Tan looked at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Suddenly he said: "Father, my son is also somewhat interested in this imperial examination. Can you sit here and observe it?"

Forget about the previous exams, but Zhu Tan still wanted to make some changes regarding the college and palace exams.

The most important point is to focus on the exam content!
  At least things in the fields of law, military, science and technology, mathematics, etc. should be added!

In this way, on the one hand, the entire society can be encouraged to study natural sciences, military affairs, justice, etc.

On the other hand, it can also make the imperial examination system better serve the country and prevent all scholars in the world from immersing themselves in Confucianism.

Anyway, he is the absurd prince, and everyone can understand what he says and what he does, Zhu Tan couldn't help but think in his heart.

The most important reason is that Zhu Tan knows that it is difficult for him to initiate changes in the entire country by himself!
  If you want Ming Dynasty to move forward on the right path, you can't just make some changes in productivity!
  In the future, production relations and social systems are destined to change.

If we still only maintain the initial systems established by Lao Zhu.

In the future, no matter how many changes we make in terms of productivity, even if we have new gunpowder, even the invention of the steam engine, and the application of electricity, those post-closing systems will still drag Ming Dynasty backward in the future!
  And those things that he brought to the Ming Dynasty are likely to become a huge boost to the rise of alien races!

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty’s system must be reformed!
  When it comes to system changes, the first thing that needs to be changed must be ideas!

The imperial examination system is still in its establishment stage, and there are still opportunities for all changes.

At this juncture, you must not let the imperial examination only examine the Four Books and Five Classics. In that case, it will be more difficult for you to change people's minds in the future.

Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed when he heard that Zhu Tan was interested in the imperial examination!
  He originally wanted to train Zhu Tan to become an auxiliary prince!

But recently, Zhu Yuanzhang has become less and less confident in Zhu Tan's performance.

After all, whether Zhu Tan is inventing gunpowder or penicillin, he is also making Changlu Saltworks an unprecedented amount of money.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, none of them were the right path.

Although these things play a big role, they are small things.

What's the real big deal?
  Naturally, it is domestic affairs, foreign affairs, national affairs!

Only in this way can he be a qualified auxiliary prince, or prime minister!
  Because Zhu Tan always made amazing moves, Lao Zhu felt that his idea seemed a bit unreliable.

As for other princes, he has not discovered such qualities and potential, and he doesn't really want to choose.

The idea of ​​an auxiliary prince in his mind was gradually extinguishing.

Now that Zhu Tan is finally interested in these things, Zhu Yuanzhang can be said to be greatly relieved!

Why did this child suddenly become enlightened?
  Good thing, really good thing!

Maybe in two years, we can start practicing Zhu Tan!
  Give him the title of Assistant Prince and let him handle government affairs together with the prince!
  We can also be lighthearted, pay a private visit incognito, and give birth to dozens more sons!

In the future, we might even be able to seal the Zuo Fu Zheng Wang and You Fu Zheng Wang!
  At that time, the emperor will be at the center of the world, and the power of the prime minister will belong to the prince. In short, it will be our old Zhu family who has the final say!

There are still vassal kings outside who are protecting us. How can my country, the Ming Dynasty, be unstable?
  I'm afraid it won't change for thousands of years!

Our old Zhu family has been firmly established in the Ming Dynasty for generations!

Zhu Yuanzhang thought of this.

My heart is also full of joy.

He said to Zhu Tan: "So you are also interested in the imperial examination? That's a good feeling! Stay here! Listen carefully!
  Get to know the imperial examination well! This is also the most important talent selection system in our Ming Dynasty! "

Prince Zhu Biao stood aside and was slightly stunned.

The tenth brother is still interested in the imperial examination?
  This is a major event related to the imperial court and the country!

His father was actually willing for him to listen.
  Zhu Biao suddenly felt a sense of crisis in his heart.

But then the sense of crisis was quickly driven away.

In any case, it is impossible for the father to abolish the elders and establish younger ones.

What's more, Zhu Biao still has absolute confidence in the relationship between himself and his father.

But Zhu Biao was curious, why did his father focus so much on cultivating Zhutan?

There must be other ideas.
  Zhu Biao couldn't help but think about it, and then a thought suddenly came to his mind. Could it be that his father wanted the prince to join the government?
  This is not unprecedented in previous dynasties, but the balance during this period has always been difficult to grasp.

If the prince has too much power, it will only take a minute to ascend the throne and rebel.

But if the prince's power is too small, it will be meaningless to enter the government. In short, it will not be a good balance.

However, Zhu Biao had no right to resist or even refute any of Zhu Yuanzhang's decisions.

Thinking of this, Zhu Biao suddenly became calm again.

whatever!
  In short, everything is decided by the father. If you have any ideas, you have to wait until you have the power.

soon.

The three people in charge of this imperial examination walked in together.

The three of them are Song Ne, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy and a bachelor of Wenyuange, Wu Bozong, a bachelor of Wuyingdian and a reviewer of the Hanlin Academy, and Wu Chen, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy of Classics and Dongge.

Speaking of which, it was different from the imperial examinations of later generations.

If it comes to later generations, the examiner of the examination must be someone like a minister or a cabinet minister.

But at this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was not so particular.

The three people who presided over this imperial examination were all very knowledgeable.

All are officials of the Hanlin Academy.

Although only Song Ne among the three is a fourth-rank official, and the others are only fifth-rank officials, these people who study articles all day long are definitely professionals doing professional things.

soon.

The three of them presented the ceremony to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Song Ne, you are the examiner of this imperial examination. Let me hear from you that the content of this imperial examination is no different from the previous examination. It is still based on the Four Books and Five Classics, right?"

Song Ne nodded and said: "Back to Your Majesty! Exactly!"
  These Four Books and Five Classics are not only the foundation of Confucianism, but also the foundation of governing the country!
  "The Great Learning" teaches people morality and the foundation of self-cultivation;

"The Doctrine of the Mean" expounds the principle of harmony, which is the key to governing the country and bringing peace to the world.

"The Analects" and "Mencius" are the way of a gentleman, enlightening people's hearts and cultivating benevolent and righteous people.

As for the Five Classics, including the "Yi", "Poetry", "Book", "Li" and "Spring and Autumn", each has its own reference, which is the foundation of national governance and cultural inheritance. Such classics not only hone people's moral integrity, but also build the pillars of the country.

Therefore, the imperial examination is used to select talents, which is actually a blessing to the country and people's livelihood! "

Song Ne's words were neither humble nor arrogant, and full of confidence.

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that it made sense and nodded frequently.

Although Lao Zhu himself didn't know a word since he was a child, what little knowledge he gained later came from chatting with counselors.

But this does not prevent him from being willing to listen to scholars. Apart from being hypocritical and greedy in their actions, these people still speak very well.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Wu Bozong and Wu Chen, what do you think?"

The two looked at each other, bowed and said: "I have no objection! These Four Books and Five Classics are righteous teachings. Such an investigation is logical and should be done!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said with a smile: "Now that the exam content has been decided, let's discuss the exam time and system next!"

Several people smiled and were about to introduce the arrangements for the college and palace examinations to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Biao stood aside with a smile on his face and listened honestly.

Speaking of which, he, the prince, has indeed always been an observer.

Either attending various activities for Lao Zhu, or transporting meritorious officials into and out of the city.

Either listen to the teachings of Lao Zhu, listen to the teachings of civil servants, listen to the teachings of military generals, in short, be a good student for more than thirty years.

Everyone is also used to the role of Zhu Biao.

suddenly.

Zhu Tan sneered.

"Is this imperial examination really selecting talents from all over the world? Is it enough to only examine the Four Books and Five Classics? That's funny!"

The words fell.

Everyone was shocked!

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Tan, and his jaw almost dropped!
  Even after being the prince for so many years, I never dared to interrupt or say a word when my father was handling government affairs!

Even if he had any opinions, he would only mention them to his father after the fact!
  This tenth brother is really brave!

He actually said it on the spot!
  Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said: "King Lu! Don't talk nonsense! These Four Books and Five Classics are all the knowledge of saints, and it is not something you can talk nonsense about!"

Zhu Tan sneered in his heart.

Lao Zhu just pretended to be in front of outsiders, talking about the knowledge of saints, and seemed to respect the saints more.

But in fact, Zhu Yuanzhang was an extreme pragmatist!
  For example, the attitude towards Mencius.

Hongwu five years.

Zhu Yuanzhang expelled Mencius from the Confucius Temple.

Because Mencius respected that "the people are the most important, the country is the second most important, and the king is the least important".

This sentence made Zhu Yuanzhang extremely disgusted.

After all, what he has always emphasized is the supremacy of monarchy.

It was not until this year that Zhu Yuanzhang allowed Mencius to re-enter the Confucius Temple after various pleas from the civil servants in the DPRK.

But I still took it upon myself to delete many of the treacherous and unethical views in Mencius.

For example, "If a king treats his ministers like dirt, then his ministers will regard him as a bandit."

It can be seen from here that Lao Zhu has no respect for saints.

Unless you are useful to me!
  Zhu Tan looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Father, I just don't understand. Is it possible that there is no other knowledge in the world except the Four Books and Five Classics?

Is the Law of the Ming Dynasty a science? Have you learned Sun Tzu's Art of War? Is arithmetic in the Nine Chapters knowledge? Is the Huangdi Neijing a piece of scholarship?

If these are all knowledge, then why are they not tested during the imperial examination?
  If they don't take the exam, will those scholars still learn? If they don't learn these knowledge, will anyone in the Ming Dynasty still study them in the future? "

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned when he heard this.

In fact, he just wanted to pass the imperial examination and recruit talents from all over the world. On the one hand, he could use them, and on the other hand, he wanted to prevent these scholars from being idle and causing trouble!
  As the leader of the peasant uprising army, he finally seized power, so he naturally knew how powerful these scholars were. Whether they were Zhu Sheng, Liu Bowen or Li Shanchang, they were all much more powerful in his eyes than a general who could fight.

As for what these scholars study and take exams, he doesn't care!

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang himself had no feeling for the soul torture issued by Zhu Tan.

However, these words seemed a bit harsh in the ears of Song Ne and others.

Song Ne couldn't help but frown and said: "His Royal Highness King Lu! The Four Books and Five Classics are the teachings of the saints. They are profound and broad, covering the outlines of morality, politics, and human relations, and are the foundation for governing the country and bringing peace to the people.

Although the ones His Highness just mentioned have their own merits, they are far from the fundamental role of the Four Books and Five Classics in governing the country and bringing peace to the people!

Therefore, the focus of the imperial examination is to find the way of sages. It is not only what books can cover, but also must have the world in mind and high aspirations. "

After hearing this, Zhu Tan couldn't help but sneer and said: "If you follow what Master Song said, if a scholar masters the Four Books and Five Classics, he can govern the country and secure the country, and be omnipotent?"

Song Ne twirled his beard and said, "That's natural!"

Zhu Tan smiled and said: "Master Song, where can you go with these six departments? They are the Ministry of Household Affairs, which can sort out the world's finances and ensure that there are no problems with the court's revenue and expenditure?
  You can still go to the Ministry of War to strategize and win a victory thousands of miles away!
  Or the Ministry of Works, which manages skilled craftsmen and builds the world's projects?
  Or is it the Ministry of Punishment that can clearly distinguish rewards and punishments and solve cases well?

Or is it the Ministry of Personnel that selects talents and inspects officials fairly and impartially? "

talking.

Zhu Tan suddenly sneered.

"In my opinion, you can only go to the Ministry of Rites, right?
  Maybe you can learn some etiquette there!

After all, the Four Books and Five Classics talk about these things!
  But that’s not necessarily the case. For example, can you handle receiving foreign envoys? "

Zhu Tan's words fell.

Song Ne's face suddenly became angry.

He could hear that His Royal Highness King Lu in front of him looked down upon him at all.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard what Zhu Tan said was too much, he couldn't help but frown and said: "King Lu! Mr. Song has been with us for many years and is the most educated scholar in the court!
  It's inappropriate for you to talk to him like this, apologize to him! "

Zhu Tan shook his head and said: "My son made a mistake, so naturally I can apologize to him!

But Lord Song, do you dare to tell me the truth? Are you really qualified for the films I just mentioned?
  Let's make a bet. If you dare to say that you can do it, then go for that one!
  Not to mention being a high-ranking official, but just to be a doctor. Do you dare to give it a try? "

Song Ne sighed and said: "I learned the way of a saint, so naturally I can do things the way of a saint, but..."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

He knew full well what Song Ne was capable of.

How could this old gentleman go to the Sixth Department to hold those specific positions? If he could do it, he would be a ghost.

Where can a nerd go without making this mess?
  Isn't that why the group of nerds selected by the imperial examination were disliked by Lao Zhu and why the imperial examination was stopped for so many years?
  "King Lu! Don't talk about this again!"

Song Ne originally wanted to argue, but now he heard that His Majesty wanted King Lu to shut up. But after all, he knew in his heart that he really couldn't do these things.

Zhu Tan sneered and said: "Father! I must talk about this! I can't let these nerds destroy the Ming Dynasty!"

The words fell.

The scene is tense again!

Even Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes became sharp.

"King Lu! What exactly do you want to say?"

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  (End of this chapter)