Dominate the Country

There is a saying in China in later generations that is familiar to hundreds of millions of people: Expose one and find out the whole family; catch one and tear out the whole family.

Official crimes and corruption rarely occur alone. They always have “like-minded” friends.

The same was true for Chen Mengyan. After his psychological defense was completely broken, a lot of facts were revealed. Following the clues, while solving the rocket leak case, a bunch of moths were also dug out.

The total did not exceed double digits, and the number was still very small. Only six officials were dragged into the water. Then based on the accounts of these people, the national security quickly arrested the British Ross Smith, the Portuguese Anthony Cedric, and the French Hugo Martial.

These three Europeans and the Italian Leonardo Mastin belong to the same organization. They are peripheral members and specialize in running errands. However, their leader is elusive, his behavior is mysterious, and even his name is unknown. Only one is very interesting. The codename Jack of Spades creates ambiguity in life. Guoan tried to contact the mysterious Jack of Spades based on the contact information provided by the four arrested Europeans, but the other party did not take the bait at all.

After Chen Ming received the case report submitted by Chen Guang, the Minister of National Security and Internal Affairs, the code name 'Jack of Spades' had to remind him of poker, and thinking of so many cards in poker, he had to open his mind. Is this 'Jack of Spades' part of a large intelligence team?

Italian Leonardo Mastin, Englishman Ross Smith, Portuguese Anthony Cedric, and Frenchman Hugo Martial do not have such code names.

They are just purely peripheral members, just like doing a job, they communicate with the online bugs separately, but the final information has to be fed back to the Jack of Spades.

But if there is really a deck of playing cards inside this foreign organization, the scale will be really big.

"The intelligence department still needs to work harder!"

Chen Ming said this after reading the report.

There is no need for a heavy hammer to sound the drum. Chen Guang certainly knew what the emperor meant by these words. Although he will step down from the position of Minister of the Interior next year, it will be Chen Liang's turn to take up the position. But Chen Guang is in charge of national security and focuses on domestic affairs. He is the No. 1 in this regard, so the main focus of this matter still falls on him.

You know, now the intelligence department cannot even judge which country this organization belongs to through the information that has been detected. The British are the most suspicious, but the evidence is only a few data that Robert popped up at the consulate dinner in Shanghai. Other than that, there is no more evidence.

But this piece of evidence alone is like a 'conviction', which is impossible. Robert can completely shirk the fact that he bought the information with his own money. He could casually arrange this matter to someone who doesn't exist.

Not all of the six detected spies were officials in Nanjing, but they all had been officials in Nanjing. Comparing their life experiences, the six people were either in the same year of the imperial examination, or they worked together, or they were private friends. .

Maybe that sentence from the previous life really makes sense: everyone in the world can be connected through only 6 people.

Although they are not high-ranking officials, the one with the highest official position is from the fourth rank. But these six people had a great influence after the incident.

When some of them were exposed by Zhongyuan Daily, Legal News and others, the shock spread across the country.

Nowadays, Chen and Han are prosperous. In this era, many Chinese people really look down on Europeans. But now there are actually officials who are not living a good life but are collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country. This is completely unbelievable in the eyes of many Chinese people.

"Have you been kicked in the head by a donkey?"

So much so that even Chengtian's ten years of scientific research were robbed of the limelight by this unexpected incident.

Since Chen Han started the imperial examination, one after another until now, the imperial examinations are still providing a steady stream of officials.

For the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, although the status of the imperial examination in the political society of Chen and Han was gradually declining, in just over ten years, the imperial examination has fallen from the sky to the ground.

Even if you are doing free fall, it still takes a while.

Whenever the imperial examination comes, thousands of candidates will pour into Nanjing.

However, the time when Chen Han started his courses was gradually adjusted from March in late spring to now after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The aftermath of the treasonous officials gradually dissipated.

Only a few Nanjing residents with an overflowing sense of justice would occasionally launch crusade against Chen Mengyan and other officials.

Now, the people of Nanjing are all attracted by two things.

One of them is that the imperial court issued an edict to hold a court meeting before the Mid-Autumn Festival to determine the list of third-person cabinet ministers for the next year;

This matter attracted so much attention that not only the common people in Nanjing became ‘organization ministers’ one by one, but also the officials who came to Beijing to participate in this scientific examination were also very interested in it.

You know, almost all of them are officials.

According to Chen Han's system, those who passed the examination would be able to become civil servants. They are all already candidates, and many of them have been in the officialdom for sixty, seventy, eighty or ninety years.

As early as more than ten years ago, "Zhongyuan Daily" published the rules of the game in the Chen-Han officialdom, using the "qualified" ratio of the first-class Jinshi to promote the theory of "Jinshi" being a high-ranking official and low-energy, and lowering the grade of the new Jinshi. From the Tang Dynasty, Jinshi were allowed to work as minor officials. Only by advancing step by step can the prime minister start from the state department.

This is called "focusing on the hardening and practical training at the grassroots level", and it is also called "talents are cultivated from the grassroots level." ’

Over the years, the value of Jinshi has been declining little by little.

The rank of official is still the seventh rank, but can the seventh rank of Chen Han be compared with the seventh rank of the Ming and Qing Dynasties? This seventh grade is still far from the county master's fifth grade. Moreover, the students who participated in the Jinshi examination - Juren - had already entered the officialdom. Some people with outstanding abilities had already become county magistrates, or even crossed this threshold.

In addition to the attractiveness of Jinshi's name, the actual value has been greatly reduced.

During the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, the imperial court relied on imperial examinations as the main source of officials, so relationships such as teachers, fellow students, same year, classmates, fellow villagers, etc., weaved a large network in the officialdom.

But things are different now. Chen Han had many more officials than the Northern Song Dynasty, which was famous for its redundant officials. Although the imperial examinations brought a large number of officials and civil servants to Chen Han year after year, and although the relationships of the same subject, the same year, classmates, fellow villagers, etc. still existed, there was no such relationship as "seat teacher" above them.

Moreover, the positions of scholars and candidates are all located in the local area and chosen nearby. They may have a friendly relationship with each other, but they also face a competitive relationship.

Some people quickly rise to great heights; some people linger all year round and can no longer hope to achieve their goals.

Nowadays, many of the candidates who come to Nanjing to take the imperial examination come for the seventh-rank official, because their positions are quite far away from the seventh-rank official. And even if such a person is admitted to Jinshi and becomes a seventh-grade official, what kind of future will he have in the future?

There was no Hanlin Academy in Chen-Han Dynasty, but the tradition of "Hanlin Academy and Shujishi" was preserved in another form. A group of Jinshi who are at the top of the imperial examination will be selected to study at the Central Political Academy, which can be regarded as an added layer of buff.

This year's scientific examination is no different from previous years. Most of the candidates who pass the examination still have to start as local officials. There are always a few who can enter the Central Academy of Political Science and stay in various ministries and commissions in the capital.

However, the scale of enrollment this time will be unprecedentedly large.

According to rumors, during this scientific examination, the emperor wanted to recruit more than a thousand officials in each subject. It can be used to enrich the lands of Nanyang, Nanmingzhou and North America.

An obvious sign is that not long ago, the cabinet issued an order to waive the "support border" quota for various regions. This so-called "border" means to serve as an official in a newly expanded land thousands of miles away.

But there always has to be someone for the latter, right?

Who is going?

Obviously, that is the Jinshi in this subject.

Therefore, during the ten-year imperial examination in Chengtian, many people were afraid to avoid it as if they saw a snake or scorpion; there were also many people who flocked to it as if they had seen heaven.

The former came for the new starting point brought by the "Jinshi", but few of them were willing to go to the wilderness thousands or thousands of miles away to become officials.

But this is for many people who can't get what they want, for those mortals who have no foundation, no background, and no support, for those who are hesitant and have been unable to achieve their goals for a long time. As long as he can reach the seventh rank and become the leader of a township, that would be great.

The fifth rank and from the fifth rank are the chief county officials, the sixth rank and the sixth rank are the deputy counties, and the leaders of the three key departments of finance, public security and justice, then the seventh rank is the leader of the township.

What's wrong with being a township or town mayor? The war is over, what's there to be afraid of?

What happened thousands of miles away?

In the past, didn’t being an official also require a system of avoidance? Even now, when I am defeated in Zhengxian County, I still need to be transferred from outside. It is not certain whether I can leave the province or not, but I am certain that I will leave the government. And when you reach the sixth level, you must leave the county.

They both left their hometowns, is there any difference?

Why are you still picking and choosing?

…

This is the 'self-ridicule' of many 'mortals', and of course there is a difference. But they have no choice, right?

Anyway, today's Nanjing city is overcrowded.

Children with rich backgrounds such as Cao Zhenyong, who are eyeing the position of the Central Political College, and grassroots people who are content to get a seventh-grade official position, even if they have to be sent to the far end to serve as officials, have gathered in Nanjing.

For a time, the city of Nanjing was a bit crowded.

The streets are full of crowded people. There's a lot of traffic and a lot of traffic.

Carriages shuttled back and forth. The shop signs flutter in the wind.

Throughout Nanjing, there were police and soldiers maintaining order, as well as patrol units.

Yes, who doesn’t come to Nanjing and take a walk?

It's just like the later generations who came to Yanjing and Damodu. Even if they don't have any money in their pockets, it's okay to just have an eyeful.

People from all over the world shuttle back and forth, building connections and using the back door.

For example, Cao Zhenyong, the chief military minister who was most relied upon by Emperor Daoguang in the original space-time plane. He served as an official for fifty-two years during his lifetime, and his official career was smooth and prosperous. He rose step by step and was safe from disasters. After his death, he was given the posthumous title of "Wen Zheng". Han Yuan, his official career is a bit unsmooth now.

His father was Cao Wenqian, who was passed on to the emperor in the 25th year of Qianlong's reign (1760). He was selected as a commoner and became an official in Beijing for nearly ten years. But he had a long-term view. Although he did not join Chen Han early, he resigned and returned home early. When the Chen Han trend was rising, he joined Chen Ming and served successively in the Supervisory Yuan, the Ministry of Culture and Education, and the Shuntian Prefecture, and then transferred to the Ministry of Finance. Now he is not yet fifty, and he is already the top deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance. He is second only to the Vice Minister, and it is very likely that he will take a further step to the level of the Vice Minister after the change of cabinet in the coming year.

But that was his father, Cao Wenqi, and Cao Zhenyong’s own career was not so smooth.

Cao Zhenyong, who came from a family of imperial examination candidates, was determined to pass the imperial examination. Although he entered the officialdom early due to the regulations of Chen Han, he was doing idle jobs. He needed more time to supplement his knowledge.

So his position has not changed much in these years. Among those who entered the officialdom with him, some have become county officials of the fifth rank. He is still an eighth rank official.

What's more tragic is that the imperial examinations of Chen Han are completely different from those of Ming and Qing Dynasties. Cao Zhenyong's mastery of the Four Books and Five Classics is not very useful. And he himself is determined to take the political science subject, which has the most promising and brightest prospects among all subjects.

Cao Zhenyong, who had been hiding at home for many years because of the changes in the world, had already delayed some time. Cao Zhenyong failed in the examination room in the first two times he took the imperial examinations. Now he is already thirty years younger.

So Cao Zhenyong can't retreat from this subject. Of course, his expectation is to pass the political college, but he didn't rank among the top, so he accepted being exiled to serve as an official overseas. It's better than not being selected. If he fails again, Cao Zhenyong will be ashamed to see people.

Cao Zhenyong is not without literary talent, but his weakness lies in the handling of general affairs and judgment and analysis. As Chen Han's regime stabilized, the imperial examination became more and more formal, and the difficulty of the test questions continued to increase. This is much more difficult than "one essay, five judgments, one imperial edict, imperial decree, and memorial; five examinations of classics, history, and current affairs".

The overall value of the title of "Jinshi" is constantly decreasing, but the political literacy of the new Jinshi is much higher than that of the Lushan recruitment.

This is also a "laughing point" that is not funny.

And the "ordinary grass roots" have their own way of survival. No matter whether they have taken the right path or not, they all lick their faces and try to get close to them and get away with it. The taste is "unforgettable". Some people persisted, and some chose to give up. But in the end, the hero still has to be judged in the imperial examination.

For many Chinese people, taking the imperial examination is a dream, an opportunity to change their future prospects.

For thousands of years, since the moment the "imperial examination" appeared on the land of China, a bright road to break the door and change life has appeared in front of thousands of poor children from the bottom of China.

This is a road to heaven!

It is a road to heaven for poor children from low status to rise to the top.

How many poor students with no extra money have entered the officialdom through the imperial examination and dominated a place?

Its positive significance needs no further explanation.

"Plant pine and cypress on barren land, and poor children study." This sentence of Chen Junqing, a famous minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, in response to Song Gaozong in the hall is the most perfect interpretation of the "imperial examination system".