The first-class concubine of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 111

A ray of sunlight shone through the palace wall into the hall.

But with a cold wind.

The officials in the main hall talked about the imperial examination reform system proposed by Liu Wei.

"The lock-up system is good. In the past, the examiner who gave the test was only confinement, but the chief examiner also knows about the test questions, and the chief examiner and deputy chief examiner are also confinement, so that the test questions will not be leaked."

Some ministers expressed their approval of the lock-up system, and Shen Yilun, the chief examiner, did not object. These days, he has been disturbed by those scholars.

It's just that many ministers disapprove of the Mifeng system.

There are many ministers in the court, the juniors of all relatives and friends have to take the imperial examination, and they don't have many proud students. They are in the court, even if they are not examiners, but with this relationship, their juniors and students can Get unexpected benefits, but if it is sealed, who knows who is who?
In this way, the only privilege they had was gone, so they objected.

"Your Majesty, I agree with the lock-up system, but this system is absolutely not acceptable. The imperial examination is to select talents for the imperial court, but it also depends on a person's character. If a candidate's conduct is poor on weekdays, his test scores are not good. Very good, are we going to admit him? After the name is blurred, how do we know that it is his article, if such a candidate is really admitted, I am afraid that it will do a lot of harm to Da Song, right?"

"That's right, if such a candidate enters the imperial court, he might be a treacherous minister or a slanderous minister. How can such a person serve the imperial court?"

Xue Juzheng was the first to stand up to object, and after he stood up, some people from the King of Wei also came out to join him. The King of Wei will rely on this spring test to accumulate strength for himself. .

At this time, the king of Wei was very satisfied with Xue Juzheng's words. If a person's character is poor, can you admit him and make him an official?In the local area, he may oppress the people, and in the court, he may hinder state affairs. Do you admit such a person or not?
Except for the people of King Wei, some other ministers in the court also opposed it, and the reason for their opposition was very simple. They did not believe that their disciples and juniors would lose their names because of the Mifeng system. peace of mind.

But King Jin's people didn't speak a word.

In any case, ever since Su looked at what he said, King Jin has taken the situation aside. As long as it is beneficial to the future development of the Song Dynasty, he will support the reform of the imperial examination even at the expense of his own interests. Come on, the seal system is the fairest for imperial examinations and examinees, and everything depends on ability.

If a person enters the court just because of his status, what is the use of him? Only those who are capable can enter the court and make suggestions for the country.

Once the Mifeng system came out, anyone who wanted to be a Jinshi had to rely on his own ability.

Sitting on the dragon chair, Zhao Kuangyin was a little hesitant. His mind was the same as King Jin's, and he supported the Mifeng system, but he also knew that the Mifeng system made many officials' disciples lose their credibility. If no one can give a good reason To refute it, it is difficult for him, the emperor, to support the Mifeng system.

So when the courtiers expressed their opposition, Zhao Kuangyin turned his attention to Liu Wei.

"Liu Concubine, you proposed this system, do you have a good reason?"

Liu Wei nodded and said: "My lord, what Lord Xue said just now is not unreasonable. To be an official, besides being able to see clearly, character is also very important. How can a person be a good official if his character is poor?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, with joy and bewilderment, they didn't understand why Liu Wei suddenly supported Xue Juzheng?Since it is supported, why bother to propose the system of sealing off?
And when the ministers were puzzled, Liu Wei continued: "It's just that what Mr. Xue said is unreasonable. Are there any scholars who have been admitted to Jinshi by the previous unsealed examinations? Are there no bad characters? Human nature is complicated. Some people are better at hiding, but most of the time, people are most susceptible to the influence of the environment, which is the so-called near vermilion, red near ink, and black. It is difficult to judge a person's character. If you know that a person's character is bad , even if the Mifeng system is used, it will be difficult for that person to be an official in the court. Could it be that the Holy One knows that the person's character is poor, and will he still use him? So the character problem that Master Xue said just now is actually too much to worry about. .”

Liu Wei's words were a bit convoluted, so that the people in the court finally understood what he meant after he finished speaking.

If a person's character has been known for a long time, then he will not be allowed to be an official if he is admitted to Jinshi, and it is also a matter of depriving him of the qualification of Jinshi. In this way, Xue Juzheng's worries will be in vain.

And after the ministers understood the meaning of Liu Wei's words just now, Liu Wei continued: "People's character can be changed. A good person can sometimes become a bad person, but a bad person can also do good deeds. The ethos is correct, those who have poor character can hardly do anything, and may change because of it, and it is not necessarily true. The ministers feel that it is inappropriate to use such vague things as character to oppose the Mifeng system. The Mifeng system is the most The main thing is fairness, he has given hope to the hearts of poor people in the world."

After Liu Wei said something, the whole court fell silent, and that sentence gave hope to the underprivileged people in the world, and shocked them even more.

When they did not enter the court, many of them were also from poor families. Many of them were able to become officials because of the Five Dynasties Rebellion. If it was a time of peace, would they be able to become officials?

For example, Prime Minister Zhao Pu, he has half the reputation of governing the world with the Analects of Confucius, but if it is true, it is because of his lack of reading, before he took refuge in Zhao Kuangyin, he was also a poor man who could not be more cold.

They can all understand the hardships of poor scholars in order to succeed and enter the imperial court.

After Liu Wei finished speaking, Zhao Kuangyin decided to adopt the sealing system.

After adopting the seal system, the transcription system was naturally supported, and everyone has no opinion on don't try it, because everyone knows that although it seems to Mingli that the children of officials and eunuchs have to take one more test than ordinary candidates to show justice, but As long as the papers of the officials' children are put together, can't the examiners give them preferential treatment?
Originally, the Mifeng system was very unfavorable to the children of officials, but it would be beneficial to them by adding individual tests. Although I don’t know who wrote those papers, as long as we know that they are children of officials, as long as they are not bad It's outrageous, this fame cannot escape.

The reform of the imperial examination system went smoother than expected. At least under Liu Wei's explanation, the number of people who opposed it in the court became a minority, and the number of people who opposed it was small, so these reforms could be implemented.
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The content of the imperial examination reform quickly spread throughout the capital, and when it spread throughout the capital, the imperial court sent people to spread it to the prefectures and counties. In the future, no matter whether it is a township examination or a county examination, it will be implemented according to the new imperial examination system.

When the scholars in the capital clearly understood the new imperial examination system, those poor scholars and educated scholars were all happy. At first, they worried that although they were talented, they had nothing to do with it and their names would be lost. Now that the system of enfeoffment is implemented, their names have to be blurred Thinking about it, as long as the article is well written, it is very easy to get a Jinshi and rank.

And when these poor scholars and scholars learned that the reform of the imperial examination system was proposed by Liu Wei, they had some admiration for Liu Wei. They originally admired Liu Wei's talent, but now Liu Wei gave them confidence and confidence in the imperial examination. Hopefully, this admiration will soon become worship.

Of course, in addition to those who admire Liu Wei, there are also those who hate Liu Wei.

Originally, there were quite a few scholars who had found a good relationship. As long as their articles were not too bad, they would be able to achieve fame. But now that Liu Wei has made such a move, those sons and daughters of officials who can participate in other exams are fine, but they are miserable. Alright, the hard work I did before, the gifts I gave are all in vain.

And all of this was done by Liu Wei.

Liu Wei is a smart person, so he is naturally aware of the admiration and resentment those scholars have for him. Things in this world are always two-sided, and sometimes interests are like this. With yours, it is inevitable to hurt his.

However, Liu Wei didn't take it seriously. He only wanted to be honest and beneficial to himself. Now he has reformed the imperial examination system. But all poor scholars in the world must submit to him. In the future, everyone who gains fame and fame by their own ability will miss him, Liu Wei, okay?

With such a reputation and benefits, Liu Wei felt that it was okay to be hated by some people.

And when the news spread, Liu Wei also got an unexpected surprise, that is, Lu Mengzheng and Li Hang admired the reform of the imperial examination. Generally speaking, the two of them belonged to poor people. If they hadn't met Chai Feng by chance, and were brought to Kaifeng Mansion to criticize poetry by chance, then their future would be very slim.

Now that the new imperial examination system comes out, even if they don't have the protection of the king of Jin, they have more confidence in obtaining fame.

This incident brought the relationship between Liu Wei, Lu Mengzheng, and Li Hang a step closer, because if they hadn't guessed lantern riddles together on the night of Shangyuan Festival and met the man selling exam questions together, how could such a relationship be possible? What about the reform of the imperial examination system?
The relationship between people is so strange, sometimes it is like-minded, sometimes it is because of something they have experienced together, and sometimes it may be just because of a word.

And under such circumstances, January passed quietly, and when February came, the spring breeze was like scissors, and the willows and green shoots were cut, and the spring was harmonious.

On a sunny day with gentle spring breeze, the most concerned imperial examination in the Song Dynasty finally began.When the imperial examination began, Liu Wei was busy.

(End of this chapter)