Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 457: The One Who Greeds for Heaven's Merit

After hearing this, Tian Feng did not care about his own career, but asked about other things instead.

"The national examination has been carried out for several years. At least one-third of the nobles and powerful families have different opinions on this. From Youzhou in the north to Jingzhou in the south and even Yizhou in the west, it can be said that it is a hot topic in the streets and alleys. "

"When Duke Kang Cheng was alive, he suppressed this matter with his reputation, but now it has become rampant again. Why do the officials in the court and the emperor turn a blind eye to this situation?"

"Feng is only a county magistrate. I don't know how the court should deal with this. I hope Lord Chen can give me some advice."

After Tian Feng finished speaking, he bowed respectfully to Chen Qun and looked directly at him, hoping to hear how the court planned to deal with this matter.

After all, this matter is extraordinary. To say that at least one-third of the people in the world are involved in discussing this matter is already an understatement.

It should be said that half of the nobles were dissatisfied with this, but they just did not speak out openly to express their dissatisfaction.

Just look at how even he, a former official of the Yuan family, was able to pass the examination and enter Luoyang last year. This shows how many aristocratic families are secretly resisting this matter.

Although the new system of Yangjia promoted by Zuo Gong at that time had age restrictions on scholars, the filial and honest people selected by each county would first be examined at the Three Dukes' Mansion when they arrived in Luoyang. The students of the Imperial College would be examined on their knowledge of classics and law, while the clerks of grammar would be examined on official documents. A copy of the answer sheet would be submitted to the Shangshu Terrace inside the Duanmen for re-examination to assess their sincerity and ability. Those who failed would be sent back to their prefectures to be punished.

If someone has extraordinary talent, there is no age limit.

In this way, the number of screening layers is reduced compared to the current imperial examinations, which undoubtedly greatly improves efficiency. It also does not require so much time to prepare for the examinations, and the examination requirements are much less than they are today.

Therefore, many children of the gentry demanded that the imperial examination be abolished and the new system of Zuo Gong Yang Jia be reintroduced, so that they could be considered to select talents and make good use of good officials for the whole country.

How could it be so inconvenient to measure one's ability? From Zhou to Han, it has never been heard of.

In the minds of the aristocratic families, only those who flatter and applaud would agree with the emperor.

For example, the Xun family, Guo family, Xin family, Chen family, Yang family, Bao family of Taishan, Xue family of Dongjun, Wu family, Wei family of Jiyin, Cai family of Chenliu, Chen family of Xia Pi, Zhuge family of Langya, Zhou family of Lujiang, as well as the Zhang and Sima family of Henei, the Yin and Deng family of Nanyang, the Kuai family and Pang family of Nanjun.

These noble families either held high positions in the court, were related to the emperor by marriage, or were sycophantic ministers who served him.

Anyway, I don't stand on the same side as the scholars of the world.

As Chen Qun was born in Yingchuan and was a descendant of the three monarchs of the Chen family, he was naturally criticized by scholars. He was keen on power but did not dare to offend the emperor. He could be said to be upright but not strong.

Hearing Tian Feng's question, Chen Qun immediately stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Many clan members have made great comments on the imperial examinations, but they are just talking nonsense. The world has been like this since ancient times. Every time a 'new system' is implemented, someone will stand up to slander it."

"Foolish people are always blinded by greed and follow others' will, not knowing that stealing other people's money is also called theft, let alone taking the work of God and claiming it as your own."

"When the world was not yet settled, we left our families and hometowns behind and followed Your Majesty amidst the arrows and stones, just to fulfill our life's ambition. Now that the world has been established, there are still traitors who want to seize the public benefit of the world and pursue their own selfish interests. They are called traitors to the country."

"A person who is greedy for money will not care about his own life when he sees profit. Even if he controls two-thirds of the world, what will happen?"

Chen Qun couldn't help but look up and laugh. In the fourteen states of the world, there are so many noble families who surrendered only because they saw the general trend.

How many families are like his Yingchuan Chen family, who had already pledged their loyalty to the emperor before the fall of the two Yuan dynasties?
Especially the gentry and the children of wealthy families in Yi, Jing, Yang, Jiao, Ji, Bing, Guanzhong and other places, as well as the scholars who fled to avoid disaster, wanted to catch up and catch up with the clans in Qing, Yan, Xu, Yu, Henan and Henei. It could only be said that it was wishful thinking.

Chen Qun felt a little amused in his heart. The gentry and wealthy families in other states and counties wanted to benefit themselves, so they would speak out to undermine the imperial examination system. What's more, some scholars in Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yingchuan and other places also followed suit.

It can be said that greed is at work, and excessive greed can cloud one's wisdom.

Don’t you think about how many people can squeeze in and get the title of filial and honest if they are nominated first and then examined?
At that time, those scholars with poor backgrounds will definitely not have the chance to take the imperial examinations. Once there is a threshold for the examination of officials, the power to select filial and honest people will once again fall into the hands of local powerful families.

It is not like now, no matter what one's family background is, as long as one is of appropriate age, anyone can take part in the imperial examination, and any official who obstructs will be punished severely.

The purpose of the court's move is to give the children of local nobles a chance to rise to the top, and they will not even be excluded from being nominated as filial and honest officials.

In order to prevent officials from various states and counties from secretly obstructing the new system, when the Censorate traveled around the country, he and his entourage would not reveal their identities when they arrived at a place. Instead, they would go to the village post offices based on their past records to verify the situation in each place, ask the people, and then go to the county magistrate and the prefect to verify matters.

Also, fearing that the gentry and powerful families would take the opportunity to cause trouble and send people to attack and kill the censors, Your Majesty issued another decree to let the soldiers of the military office take the responsibility of protecting the censors.

Under such circumstances, some censors were still assassinated, which led to the subsequent censors working hard to master riding and archery before traveling to various places.

After all, it is a skill to escape, so as to avoid going to a remote place and dying in obscure circumstances.

Tian Feng had previously thought that once the world was pacified, the people's livelihood would be restored. However, he did not expect that with the Han Dynasty's reform, the selection of filial and incorruptible officials became an empty title, equal to those who were filial, filial, and hardworking in the fields in the early Han Dynasty. Only at the end of each year would the court reward the filial and incorruptible officials with meat and silk.

If scholars want to enter the officialdom, they must go through layers of imperial examinations before they have the opportunity to become officials.

This undoubtedly makes the world appear stable on the surface, but in reality it is even more turbulent.

Tian Feng also thought of the rumors that the Censorate had a group of secret officials who were specifically responsible to the emperor. All kinds of memorials could be sent directly to the Secretariat, bypassing the Chancellery, and presented directly to the emperor.

These people were spies and secret agents from various places who were transformed during the conquest of the world. They were later turned into officials of the Censorate, but the Ministry of Personnel could not find their names on the list, so only the Secretariat knew about it.

These secret officials could be familiar friends and relatives, or colleagues or subordinates. They also used unusual channels to deliver letters to post offices and relay stations. If any official investigated, he would be dismissed from office and imprisoned.

In any case, all kinds of rumors that are difficult to distinguish between true and false continue to circulate among officials and are exaggerated by many people, making greedy people dare not act rashly in the short term.

All these circumstances meant that a major war was about to break out in the imperial court.

This made him sigh slightly, and he thought with mixed emotions: "Your Majesty, are you planning to start another Party Imprisonment Disaster?"

With the might of the founding emperor's powerful attack, it would be far stronger than Huan and Ling, and it would surely be deafening and resound through the sky...

(End of this chapter)