I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Xun You, who had been silent before, suddenly asked, "Workers are soldiers. This title is easy to understand, but how do you plan to formulate the specific treatment, my lord?"

Wang Jing thought of Cai Yong's previous position and answered directly: "In my opinion, the status and treatment of the engineer is similar to that of the doctor of the Five Classics."

Xun You and Guo Jia looked at each other silently after hearing this, and their tone became serious: "My lord, if this is true, I'm afraid the voices of opposition will not be small."

Wang Jing had expected the two to react like this. His eyes were firm, and he obviously did not intend to change his mind: "I know there will be a lot of resistance, but some things have to be done, and it is better to do them sooner rather than later. Let's settle things first while the current situation is still stable."

Doctor of the Five Classics is the name of an academic official, and the title of Doctor originated in the Warring States Period.

During the Qin and early Han dynasties, the main job of a doctor was to be in charge of books and to be knowledgeable about ancient and modern times in order to serve as an advisor.

Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty once set up doctors of the Five Classics to teach his disciples. From then on, the doctors became academic officials specializing in teaching Confucian classics.

There is only one school of thought for each of the "Book of Changes", "Book of History", "Book of Songs", "Book of Rites" and "Spring and Autumn Annals", and each school has a doctor who teaches according to the school's own methods, so they are called the Five Classics Doctors.

Those who can achieve this status are all great scholars of the time.

For example, Cai Yong was a registered doctor of the Five Classics in the imperial court. During the reign of Emperor Ling, Cai Yong was even personally received by Liu Hong, who asked him about strategies for governing the country.

From this we can see that the Five Classics Doctors held positions similar to those of advisors and consultants. They did not have much power, but they often had direct access to the ears of the emperor, and their influence and social status were extraordinary.

Wang Jing wanted to support the craftsmen who were despised by Confucian scholars to positions like Doctor of the Five Classics, and even let a group of craftsmen participate in the formulation of national policies.

This is not just a provocation, it is a slap in the face of all Confucianists and at the same time it is also bleeding and cutting their flesh, which is tantamount to declaring war.

You have to know that the formulation of national policies and strategies involves huge and far-reaching interests.
When Emperor Ling of Tang, Liu Hong, asked Cai Yong about how to govern the country, Cai Yong's answers were basically all beneficial to the aristocratic families and powerful clans.

Although Liu Hong was not stupid and did not agree or adopt the proposal in the end, this incident itself reflected that the identity of a doctor of the Five Classics had a certain influence on the promulgation of national policies.

Even if there is a soft-hearted monarch in power, it will be a political carnival for the aristocratic families and the powerful.

So, how can such an important power be given up just like that?

It is even possible that there will be another Luoyang Rebellion or the princes will attack the king.

Even though the famous Confucian scholars all call themselves gentlemen, when it comes to their own interests, none of them will be merciful.

Even if they launch a rebellion and cause bloodshed all over the world, the vested interests will absolutely maintain their own fundamental interests at all costs.

Both Guo Jia and Xun You were first-rate men of wisdom and strategy, and what they were worried about was the counterattack from the Confucians.

In the current situation, although most of the surrounding princes are full of conflicts with each other, if there is a civil strife in Luoyang and Wang Jing is unable to suppress it quickly, it is hard to say whether the other princes will temporarily join hands to bring Wang Jing down first.

But Wang Jing was a man of strong will. Once he made a decision, he would never change it easily. Therefore, Guo Jia could only ask cautiously: "My lord, do you have a candidate for the engineer in mind?"

Wang Jing thought for a while before naming three names: "Yang Xiu, Lu Fang, and Li Feng."

"Wonderful!"

Just by hearing the names of these three people, Guo Jia clapped his hands in admiration.

Xun You also showed a relieved expression, because he understood from the information revealed by these three names that Wang Jing was not just acting recklessly, but had already made up his mind.

"Yang Dezu is the son of the prime minister of the current dynasty. The Yang family has three dukes in four generations, and is a wealthy and noble family. With such a background, being granted the title of engineer will surely greatly reduce the opposition from the aristocratic families."

The more Guo Jia thought about it, the more he felt that this choice was very clever and full of strategy.

Xun You's expression was also much more relaxed, and he said with a smile: "Zhengliang is a descendant of the Mohist School, and has a close relationship with the lord. He has the support of the entire Mohist School. He deserves to be elected as a craftsman. I don't think anyone would dare to say anything about it."

To put it bluntly, this kind of selection not only tests talent and strength, but also background and connections.

The backer behind Yang Xiu was Yang Biao, or rather, the aristocratic family and Confucianism.

Although Lu Fang was only the son of a carpenter and of humble status, he was Wang Jing's steward and a descendant of the Mohist school, so he had a strong backer.

As for Li Feng, although he was born in the Yanshi Li family, he was only a concubine's son, and he also bore the stigma of "betraying the family", so there must have been a lot of opposition to him.

Ke Lifeng is extremely talented. Now he is the best blacksmith in Ke Qiqiao Pavilion. He forges weapons and armors for many generals under Wang Jing. He has many connections in the army and is also Wang Jing's close confidant.

With such a status and relationship, when facing Li Feng, outsiders could only complain a few words at most. But with Yang Xiu, the eldest son of the Hongnong Yang family, speaking in front, even if the Confucian scholars were dissatisfied, they would probably have to restrain themselves a little and dare not scold too much.

After all, Wang Jing gave face, and anyone who dared not to accept it would be seeking his own death.

"So, this plan is feasible?"

Guo Jia and Xun You smiled helplessly: "If we talk about twists and turns, there will definitely be some, but if the lord really wants to push this matter forward, even if there are some objections, I don't think it will cause any waves."

Both of them are extremely intelligent and have a deeper understanding of human nature.

Will the aristocratic families and powerful clans object?
Of course they do!
But where there are people, there are rivers and lakes; where there are interests, there are disputes.

If Wang Jing wanted to overthrow Confucianism and wipe out the entire class of aristocratic families and powerful clans, then the aristocratic families and powerful clans would definitely unite as one and rebel against Wang Jing to fight to the death.

But Wang Jing's method was too damaging. He directly put the example of Yang Xiu on the table. Now the aristocratic families and the powerful families could no longer remain united.

After all, there are so many aristocratic families and clans, and so many Confucian scholars. There must be some who are not successful, right? There must be some whose interests are exploited by the stronger ones, right?
Now Wang Jing has given them another way to succeed, and there are already successful cases, so will these people choose it?

Guo Jia and Xun You both knew that it would happen!

Among the Confucian scholars, there may be some loyal and unyielding old pedants, but most of them are those who pursue fame and fortune. As long as they are given guidance and benefits, they are guaranteed to change their allegiance faster than anyone else.

There are more than 30,000 people in Luoyang Imperial College alone!

And how many doctors of the Five Classics are there today?

There are only fourteen schools!
The positions have already been filled. Ordinary students, even if they are talented, have no chance of promotion until they outlast their seniors.

On the contrary, the Imperial Academy of Engineering founded by Wang Jing is now full of vacancies. Li Feng, Yang Xiu and Lu Fang are all younger than the other. The oldest, Li Feng, is only 25 years old, Lu Fang is only 20 years old, and Yang Xiu is only 17 years old!
If such a precedent were to spread, the entire Luoyang Imperial College would probably be in an uproar.

With these three people as role models, who wouldn’t want to be the next Yang Xiu and Lu Fang?

When leaving the General Wei's Mansion, Guo Jia could not help but sigh to Xun You beside him: "My lord, your skills are really getting better and better. Once this precedent is set, I don't know how many students will be unable to bear the loneliness and change their schools."

Xun You smiled leisurely: "My lord, your moves are always unique."

Both of them knew that the inheritance of Confucianism had been deeply rooted after hundreds of years of influence and was not so easy to resolve or suppress.

But Wang Jing targeted young students.

The older we get, the more difficult it is for us to accept change, and we tend to reject new trends and ideas.

But young people are different, they are energetic and enterprising, their ideas are neither outdated nor involved in so many conflicts and entanglements of interests, so they do things with passion and have a stronger desire and pursuit for success.

Therefore, with a little guidance, they can be used for their own benefit.

There are 30,000 students in Luoyang Imperial College. Even if only one-tenth of them sided with Wang Jing, that would be a total of 3,000 young talents who can read and write.

Once the Imperial Academy of Engineering is established and the selection criteria for engineers are made clear, will more than one in ten people be willing to defect?

I'm afraid that by then, half of the people won't be able to stop it.

Outside Kaiyang Gate in Luoyang, on the south bank of Luo River, is the Imperial College.

"Hey, have you ever heard of the Imperial Academy of Engineering?" "This matter has spread throughout the capital, who wouldn't know about it?"

Many students gathered in twos and threes to discuss the matter eagerly.

Looking at the expressions on their faces, you can tell that they are mostly envious in their hearts.

Although many people also cursed Yang Xiu for "treason", no matter how loudly they cursed, it could not conceal the essence of being sour grapes.

When it comes to fame and fortune, how many people in the world can remain indifferent?
After all, the engineers of the Imperial Academy of Engineering have the same status as the Doctors of the Five Classics. They are all able to make their words heard by the emperor as scholars. To some extent, it is equivalent to being able to participate in the formulation of major national policies.

And to be honest, a Doctor of the Five Classics is not as good as an Engineer.

After all, PhDs don't usually earn much on a daily basis. Unless their family is wealthy and owns a lot of land, their life may not be that good.

But the engineers of the Imperial Academy of Engineering are different. They have new technologies in their hands, and many of these new technologies can be directly converted into productivity and wealth.

Getting promoted and getting rich, is there anything more exciting than this?
Therefore, no matter how the students of the Imperial College cursed, they were all very envious in their hearts. Some smart people had even begun to think about how to change jobs.

After all, it is human nature to join if you can't beat them. It's a way to make money, which is not shameful.

Standing by the attic window, looking at the chaos outside, Ma Riti suddenly felt annoyed. He turned around and glared at his good friend Cai Yong in dissatisfaction: "Bo Ji, things have become like this, and you don't do anything about it?"

After hearing this, Cai Yong stopped burying his head in the books and looked up at Ma Riti. He smiled bitterly and said, "What do you want me to do about what the Minister of State said?"

Ma Ritian was speechless for a moment, and then he became angrier and angrier the more he thought about it. He almost straightened his beard, and finally said angrily: "He is at least the son-in-law of your Cai family, right? Zhao Ji hasn't even married yet, and he has started to dig up our Confucian ancestral graves. Is this what a human being would do?"

In recent days, Emperor Liu Xie personally issued an edict announcing the establishment of the Imperial Academy of Engineering, and the list of the first batch of engineers was also announced.

This time, not only the court, but the entire capital was in an uproar.

The Imperial Academy was the hardest hit, in particular. Many students had lost the motivation to study hard recently. Their minds were wandering and their thoughts were becoming increasingly dangerous.

After all, among the 30,000 students in the past, only a few could really make a name for themselves. Moreover, because they had high expectations but poor skills, they could not find a job after graduation and were unable to make a living on their own, which led to many of them becoming impoverished.

It is better to study engineering, whether it is the mechanics in Mohism or the chemical principles in Taoism, after graduation, they are all practical skills, which are more than enough to make a fortune, let alone make a living.

Now that you have completed your studies, you can become an official, and once you are elected as an engineer, you will have social status.

Moreover, they can gain both fame and fortune and rise to prominence. Smart people who are eager to become officials obviously know how to choose their future life path.

Even if there really are fools willing to stay and study Confucian classics and aspire to become an old scholar, does Ma Riti really need a group of fools as his students?
So Ma Riti is very frustrated now. He wants to stop it, but finds that he is completely powerless. He can only stand by the window, look up to the sky and sigh, feeling helpless.

Cai Yong smiled and advised his old friend: "Why worry, Uncle Weng? Confucianism has been passed down for thousands of years. It has gone through many twists and turns, but it has finally survived, right? A sharp sword is sharpened by grinding, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. These words came from Yuan Xu's mouth, and I would like to encourage you today. Don't worry, Confucianism will not decline, it just lacks the glory of the past."

Compared to Ma Riti, Cai Yong, who has experienced great ups and downs in his life, has now become indifferent. What's more, Wang Jing is his son-in-law. Does he still need to worry about being targeted?
Seeing that Cai Yong was not going to stand up for the Confucian school, Ma Riti sighed in his heart, his expression unable to hide his disappointment: "Bo Ji, I understand what you mean, I just feel a little unwilling."

Confucianism has been the dominant school of thought for hundreds of years, dominating the world, and will continue to be so, perhaps even forever.

As one of the Nine Ministers and the grandson of Ma Rong, the master of Confucianism, Ma Riti had long been accustomed to the high-handed perspective. Now that he was about to be deified, the psychological gap was too great for him to accept.

But Wang Jing has the ability to stir up the situation and reverse the world situation, while Ma Riti is powerless. Now he can't even beat Wang Jing in playing with public opinion.

"Forget it, I don't care. Let others worry about this matter. I will resign from the position of Minister of Rites tomorrow, and then return to the Imperial College to teach and educate people. I will not get involved in this kind of thing anymore."

Ma Riti thought about it and found that nothing he did could save the situation, so he just lay down.

After all, nothing is difficult in the world, as long as you are willing to give up.

The most important thing is that Ma Riti felt that what Cai Yong said made some sense, and Confucianism had a strong vitality and would never disappear because of this.

And he, Ma Riti, wanted to create a new path for New Confucianism in the coming new era.

If you cannot stop the changes of the times, you must learn to change yourself and adapt to the development of the times!
Confucianism had undergone such a change during the time of Dong Zhongshu.

Why not now?

Seeing his friend regain his fighting spirit, Cai Yong laughed and said, "Resign if you want to. You have been doing this job for the past few years and it has been too hard. There are not many benefits, but a lot of troubles. You have to take the lead in everything. Why bother? If you have this time, you might as well compile books with me to pass on to future generations."

"Okay, I'll listen to you!"

Ma Riti rolled his eyes in annoyance. Cai Yong had never been a high-ranking official, so naturally he didn't know the benefits of being one, and how wonderful it felt to hold power.

If there was no other way, Ma Riti would not want to resign from his official position.

However, given the current situation, the affairs of the Imperial Academy of Engineering are bound to escalate. When the conflict escalates and I am dragged into it, it will be difficult to resolve it peacefully.

Rather than being passive at that time, it is better to jump out of the pit now.

Wang Jing is now Cai Yong's son-in-law, and he is Cai Yong's best friend. If he really wants to become an official in the future, would he be afraid that he won't have the opportunity?
Being able to sit on the position of Nine Ministers, Ma Riti is no stubborn person.

How can the interests of Confucianism be as important as one's own interests?
What's more, Ma Riti did not feel that he had betrayed Confucianism. Instead, he believed that he was the one who wanted to strengthen Confucianism, but he just chose to take a roundabout way temporarily.

After Zhu Jun, the newly appointed Grand Coachman Lu Kui, the Grand Herald Zhou Huan, and the City Gate Captain Cui Lie, who had just been released from prison, all paid a visit to Ma Riti.

"Matthew Chang!"

"Don't say more, I have already resigned. I really don't deserve the title of Grand Master of Ceremonies."

Ma Ritian swept his eyes across the faces of the three people. From their expressions, he could tell that they wanted him to come over and confront Wang Jing.

But how could Ma Riti do such a thing?

Given his friendship with Cai Yong, he only needs to stand idly by and watch this matter. No matter who wins or loses in the future, his interests will be affected.

If that's the case, why bother to force your way out?

But someone didn't think so. Cui Lie stepped forward and said to Ma Riti earnestly, "Uncle Weng, how can you just sit there and watch this happen?"

Once an important minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty and a famous scholar in Jizhou, he is now only able to hold the position of a mere captain of the city gate.

To put it bluntly, he was asked to guard the gate.

In Cui Lie's opinion, this behavior is tantamount to humiliating himself.

He was imprisoned for opposing Dong Zhuo. However, after Wang Jing killed Dong Zhuo, he simply forgot about Cui Lie, the old general who was one of the three highest officials of the dynasty.

If it weren't for his sons Cui Jun and Cui Zhouping who secretly made connections and cast spells to rescue him, Cui Lie would have died quietly in prison, with his bones stinking.

When he was released, Cui Lie's whole body almost broke apart.

His position as Grand Marshal had actually been taken by Huang Wan.

What's worse is that Huang Wan had made real military achievements in defeating the Yellow Turban Army in Yuzhou. He was not a cheap commodity like him, so he couldn't shake him with his ability.

The other official positions were also divided up among Wang Jing, Yang Biao and Yuan Wei, leaving Cui Lie with no chance at all.

That is, Yuan Wei gave the Cui family a small official position as a city gate captain as a sign of appeasement for the sake of Yuan Shao's face and in order to win over the Cui family.

But is this really comfort? (End of this chapter)