back to ancient times to be emperor

Chapter 975 Reforming the Imperial Examination
In the days when good news spread frequently, everything in Dashun was running as usual.

After so many years, the people have also gotten used to the convenience brought to them by the New Deal.If someone goes against the grain and tries to overthrow the New Deal, I am afraid that the people will not agree, and they will definitely complain, and even cause political turmoil.

After all, the New Deal was entangled with the interests of too many people, and the interests of the bureaucratic class were weakened to the minimum.However, workshop owners, merchants and other forces have gradually become popular, which should not be underestimated.

These merchants, rich and educated, have many merchants' children who have entered the officialdom.

These people represent the interests of the new class, and even the old bureaucrats dare not underestimate them.

Winter is coming to spring, amidst the hustle and bustle of the New Year, the imperial examination once again comes every two years.

This year, the number of applicants in Dashun exceeded 30.

This is the number of people who have been reduced through layers of selection.

And these 30 people have to compete for nearly a thousand Jinshi places. It can be said that thousands of troops cross the single-plank bridge. Without any real skills, it is impossible to stand out.Lu Chengqi closed the "Na Su" and "Men Yin" channels again, and even bestowed officials, only Zhang Zai had this honor in recent years.

The imperial examination has long been the only way for the imperial court to select talents.

Do you have real materials? It is useless to say that you have to pass the test to know.

It's all the same question, if you can't pass others, how can you prove that you are better than others?If you don't have any skills, how can you convince the public after becoming an official?

Exams have become something that Dashun scholars take for granted.Regardless of origin, rich or poor, there is no favoritism, only fair and strict, fair and open examinations.It's a mule or a horse, take it out for a walk.If you can't adapt to the exam, it proves that you are not suitable to be an official, and it is better to find another way out earlier.

The imperial examinations are reformed every year, so many conservative scholars can't adapt to it for a while, and complain that they will stop studying in the future.

They are still clinging to the Four Books and Five Classics, but they don't know that the court now pays more attention to the ability to handle affairs and adaptability.Those who can only blindly read dead books have been eliminated.And only the real elites can stand out in such a varied exam.What the imperial court wants is not idlers who dawdle, but officials who really do things, can put down their personal dignity, and think about the people.

It's not that you can't have selfishness, you must definitely put the court's affairs first.But if your selfishness is higher than the public one, I'm afraid the Supervision Department will come to your door.

No wonder those old-fashioned scholars lamented that being an official is getting harder and harder these days.To be such an official, it is better to go into business.But with their rigid minds, let alone doing business, they don't even know if they will run out of rice for farming.

One month after the opening of the Chunwei examination, the scholars who were able to take the palace examination were pasted out of the list.

In this year's palace examination, there were a total of 200 Jinshi candidates.

There may not be many positions arranged, which is a pain for the officials.It seems inappropriate to keep so many idlers.

After Lu Chengqi received the memorial from Wu Xianzhi, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, he thought about it and asked Wu Xianzhi to come and see him.

Wu Xianzhi entered the Chui Gong Hall with a feeling of apprehension.

"Wu Qing, how many idle tenth-rank officials are there?" Lu Chengqi asked straightforwardly.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, there are 560 people." Wu Xianzhi was indeed very dedicated to his work, and he even remembered clearly how many tenth-rank officials who were idle at home with white-collar salaries.

Lu Chengqi nodded, and said: "The national treasury has been unable to make ends meet these years, and there is still a large amount of tax coupons to be repaid. It is indeed a bit difficult to support so many tenth-rank officials. It is not enough to just eat and not work."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Wu Xianzhi really wanted to kowtow to Lu Chengqi, and he really spoke his heart out!Others said that he, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, had not moved for more than ten years because he had won the holy family, but who knew the bitterness of it?He has been conscientious and conscientious for more than ten years, not daring to make a single mistake, and even being unreasonable. It is useless to ask anyone for mercy, and he only speaks based on his political achievements, so that now he is almost a lone minister.

The more lonely the minister, the easier it is for Lu Cheng to use it.Since Wu Xianzhi has done a good job, there is no need to replace the Minister of the Ministry of Officials.

It's just that Wu Xianzhi tried his best, but he couldn't make any space, which really hurt him.

"Well, I'm determined to create a competition for posts." Lu Chengqi pondered for a while before slowly saying.

"Competition for employment?" Wu Xianzhi didn't know why, so he asked quickly: "Dare to ask Your Majesty, what is competition for employment?"

"It's very simple. From the beginning of this imperial examination, the salary of the idle ten-rank officials will be fixed. In the future, the salary will not follow the promotion of the ten-rank officials. If you want to improve your salary, you must hold a position. There are few positions and many people. What to do? Naturally, there is an exam. Each government office has different emphasis. For example, the Ministry of Industry has the largest gap, so the content of the exam must be based on majors. For example, mathematics and natural science are required; Calculus, accounting, farming, etc., as for the bureaucracy, it is necessary to test how to distinguish political achievements, how to promote according to political achievements, etc., and so on. This time, the chief officials of each yamen will prepare the questions, and I will review them in person before I can Start the exam." Lu Chengqi said, "This is the competition for employment."

Wu Xianzhi was taken aback, and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, will this arouse the anger of those idle tenth-rank officials?"

"What's there to be angry about? Your skills are not as good as yours, so you should study hard. Live and learn, don't think that you can just pass the imperial examination!" Lu Chengqi frowned, a little annoyed.

Wu Xianzhi quickly said: "Your Majesty's move is a precedent. I admire you for daring to think that others dare not!"

"Stop flattering, let's make arrangements." Lu Chengqi said, "Don't be too rigid, there are more and more jobs in the yamen, and more and more manpower is required. You should increase the official position appropriately, and you can't stick to it. No change. In this world, nothing is static!"

Wu Xianzhi bowed and said: "I will always receive the sacred teaching!"

"You go back first!"

"Retire, Your Majesty Sheng'an!"

A few days later, such a news spread in Chang'an City, and it came from an authoritative newspaper such as "Dashun Min Bao".

"What? I passed the Jinshi exam, so I have to take the exam again?"

"Isn't it? This is simply playing tricks on people!"

"Shhh, don't talk nonsense, this was drafted by His Majesty himself. I heard that there are too many idle tenth-rank officials, and there are not so many official positions at a time. Think about it, if some people are not retired, how can you be promoted? "

"But this salary is no longer raised, what does it mean?"

"That is to say, the salary of idle tenth-rank officials is fixed. If you want to increase your salary, you have to work hard and get an official position..."

"This... I have almost forgotten the classic history books, what should I do?"

"It doesn't matter. I heard that these are not tested. Instead, they are tested for practical knowledge. For example, farming, mulberry planting, silkworm rearing, arithmetic, utensils, etc., are still the questions given by the chief officials of various yamen, and they are all done in the future. What you need to know when you become an official.”

"Bitter, I don't understand all of this!"

"It's easy to do. If you want to test farming, you should read "Qi Min Yao Shu". If you want to test mathematics, you should learn "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic". ...But you have to see clearly, you can only apply for one yamen, if you study hard, you should be fine."

"There are more than 3000 people competing for hundreds of official positions?"

"Well, it depends on who's knowledge. But it doesn't matter. The newspaper also said that there are exams in summer and winter. If you don't pass the exam, you can take the exam again, and your salary will be paid accordingly."

"Thank you, brother, I'm going to buy a book to read..."

(End of this chapter)