My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 582 Zhuge Jin: I will be responsible for mechanically applying it, and my second brother will help me find a way to fine-tune the implementation
The matter of rewarding ministers lasted for more than half a month and was finally settled.

After the ceremony, Liu Bei also sent envoys to present seals and ribbons to civil and military officials stationed in various places who were unable to come to Wuchang.

According to the distance of the journey, Zhao Yun, Mi Zhu and others in the northernmost part will take at least a month to receive the message.

Liu Bei held a grand ceremony in Wuchang in early April, and when Zhao Yun and others received the news, it was already May.

After the change of official position, many personnel adjustments are complicated and require a long time to process.

Throughout the entire month of April, Liu Bei's army was basically busy with these adjustments.

In the north, Cao Cao has been recuperating, resuming production, making double-sided metal stirrups and high-bridge saddles, and upgrading his army's equipment this spring and summer.

Cao Cao's camp had to fight across the Qinling Mountains for more than half a year last year, which resulted in huge consumption of military rations and logistical losses. The rear was already stretched to the limit and needed at least one or two years of recovery. During this period, Cao's army could only take a defensive stance.

The two sides lived in peace, and time quietly passed to the beginning of May in the twelfth year of Jian'an.

Early that morning, Liu Bei once again listened to Zhuge Liang's personnel work report. He had a comprehensive grasp of the adjustments in the powers of civil and military officials and knew that the matter had been revealed.

After completing one major task, Liu Bei began to think about the next step of the layout and arrangements.

He also knew that the territory he controlled was already very large and fragmented, so it was impossible for him to stay with the Zhuge brothers, as well as his second and third brothers, for a long time.

Although he also wanted to keep in touch with his close brothers every day, eat, drink, have fun and enjoy the wealth together.

But reason told him that this kind of thing could only be done occasionally for now, and for the long-term stability of the territory, it was still necessary to divide the east and the west as before.

So, after listening to the report early in the morning, Liu Bei summoned the Zhuge brothers, Pang Tong, Lu Su, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei for a private banquet at noon to discuss the strategic layout for the next stage, as well as the dispatch of jurisdictions and adjustments of administrative centers of high-level civil and military officials.

……

Because they were all his own people and his absolute confidants, there were only seven people present including Liu Bei himself, so Liu Bei spoke more casually and went straight to the point.

He got straight to the point and asked, "Last year, we fought a bloody battle for more than half a year. Both our army and Cao's bandits are running out of food and rations. We will not be able to go on a long expedition in the next one or two years. In the next two years, what do you think our army should focus on? Should we rest and recuperate, build water conservancy projects, and rectify the administration, or should we..."

When Liu Bei asked this question, he subconsciously looked at Zhuge Jin first. Perhaps it was because in the past two years, he had discussed things with Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong every time, and he only communicated with Zhuge Jin through letters, so now they were still a little unfamiliar. So Liu Bei couldn't help but want to give Zhuge Jin more opportunities to perform, which was also to better restore and enhance mutual trust.

Zhuge Jin knew that he was only responsible for setting the tone, so he didn't need to be too specific. He just laid the groundwork for a few sentences and left room for others to add to the discussion:
"Thank you for your inquiry, my Lord. I believe that in the next two years, our army should indeed focus on recuperation and development of production. It should also be supplemented by the rectification of the systems of administration, talent selection, taxation, and the improvement of military equipment and craftsmanship.

On the other hand, we must not relax our military preparations. Although our army will not attack without authorization, once there is a change in the world, we cannot miss the opportunity to integrate allies. In terms of military, we can only say that if the enemy does not move, we will not move. If the enemy moves, we must also seize the opportunity to get a share of the spoils and not let Cao Cao become stronger. "

Zhuge Jin's remarks were well-balanced, covering four aspects: daily development, official and tax reforms, technological and industrial construction, and military speculation.

At the same time, it is not too specific, leaving enough room for others to play.

After hearing this, Liu Bei just nodded slightly without commenting. He turned to Zhuge Liang and motioned for Zhuge Liang to say a few words to fill in the gaps.

Zhuge Liang had only been reunited with his elder brother for a month, so he still didn't want to steal the limelight. But now he was nominally the Minister of the Chancellery, so he should make some minor adjustments to the general policy of the Minister of the Chancellery.

Moreover, he knew his lord too well. It would be hypocritical if he didn't leave some useful information on such an occasion.

Zhuge Liang thought for a while and basically agreed with most of his elder brother's plans, but he only mentioned one point:

"I think that we should rest and recuperate, rectify the administration and taxation, and keep up military preparations. The specific priorities can be determined according to the situation at that time. However, I wonder how to reform the method of 'selecting talents' proposed by Situ?
We are still at war, and Cao Cao changed the court system only last year. Our army is now on the side that advocates restoring the old Han system. If we rashly make some damaging changes, it will be detrimental to our righteousness and reputation."

Zhuge Jin couldn't help but think seriously about a point his brother pointed out.

His words just now were all-inclusive and he said everything. After being reminded of this, I realized that it was indeed a little inappropriate to carry out reforms in the official system or personnel in the next two years.

However, Zhuge Jin was a time traveler after all, and he felt that he had a sense of superiority. Moreover, he also knew a little about the talent selection system of later generations. If he just took out some advanced things, wouldn't it be able to directly crush the old laws of the Han Dynasty?
The first thing Zhuge Jin thought of was the imperial examination system of later generations, which was superior to the recommendation system in any way.

In history, the Nine-Rank System of the Wei and Jin Dynasties was not highly praised by all dynasties, but compared with the recommendation system of the Han Dynasty, which was already on its way out, it was still a little bit better (mainly because the recommendation system of the Han Dynasty had become "recruiting scholars who don't know how to read, and selecting filial and honest people whose fathers live separately" in the later period. The intention was good at the beginning, but it had become rotten by the end of the Han Dynasty). So Zhuge Jin subconsciously felt that he could crush the system at that time by saying anything.

So he looked around the room, and seeing that there were no outsiders, he casually said a few words: "The system of recommendation in this dynasty was naturally well-intentioned at the beginning. But since the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, many problems have arisen. The people recommended were either bought with money or the result of local tyrants forcing the county magistrates.

If we adopt other methods, such as increasing the number of examinations to ensure that the court can eliminate those who are actually unqualified and recommended by the localities, it will certainly be of great benefit to the selection of talents. "

Zhuge Jin said this because he was afraid that if he directly stated the detailed ideas of the imperial examination system, it would be too advanced and abrupt, and people would not be able to accept it. So he suddenly had an idea and only vaguely mentioned a method that was slightly improved on the basis of the recommendation system, adding an additional test.

He thought that such a safe "minor improvement" would definitely win the admiration of other important officials.

However, the result was that only Pang Tong and Lu Su were thoughtful. Zhuge Liang, on the other hand, was quite hesitant about his elder brother's statement.

Liu Bei also noticed that Zhuge Liang's attitude was unusual, so he encouraged him in a low voice: "Sir, do you think this method is a little inappropriate?"

Zhuge Jin also saw Liu Bei's intention and said quickly: "Since we are talking about official business, there is no need to worry about other things. Just talk."

Since his elder brother had said so, Zhuge Liang also put aside his concerns about brotherly friendship and spoke freely: "What Si Tu said is true. During the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, the drawbacks of the system of selecting candidates through examinations were recognized by all the people in the world. However, to say that adding more assessments to deal with this drawback is a bit too involved and is not suitable for the current situation.

After all, it was a time of chaos, and the lord's selection of talents was already flexible, not entirely based on the method of recommendation. If he met a capable official or a brave man, as long as he made achievements, he would be promoted immediately. There was no shortage of ways for poor but talented people to get ahead.

Therefore, the strategy proposed by Situ may be proposed after the world is at peace and the road to selecting talents is not smooth, but it is not suitable now. "

Zhuge Liang's remarks were completely free of historical baggage; they were purely based on facts and were based on governance effectiveness.

However, Zhuge Jin, who was extremely dependent on foresight of history, was stunned by what he said.

Zhuge Jin could not help but object: "This... If the method of selecting talents is not perfect, even if there is a system of rewards and punishments for mediocre people, it is probably difficult to make the best use of their talents, right? What if some people don't even get a chance to show their talents in the beginning?
In his Biography of Lord Pingyuan, Taishigong even recorded Mao Sui's words, "Only when a needle is in a bag can it stand out." However, if the method of selecting talents is not right, there is no chance of even being in a bag. "

Zhuge Liang: "What Taishigong recorded proves exactly what I said. Why didn't Mao Sui have the opportunity to 'have it in his pocket' before he recommended himself? It was because Zhao was relatively peaceful at that time and had not encountered any danger.

As long as there is peace and there is no fierce confrontation with the enemy, those mediocre people who live a life of idleness and waiting for death can mingle among the wise and talented people, fill in the numbers, and cause the real talents to be buried.

However, the powerful Qin was approaching, and Zhao could not protect itself without an alliance with Chu. At this critical juncture of life and death, the selection of talents was no longer limited to empty reputations, but must be truly capable of both mediocre and capable. Mao Sui immediately got the opportunity to show his abilities.

In the past, when the Han Dynasty was at peace, most officials were selected from the ranks of the virtuous and honest. Only those who were virtuous and honest would have a bright future. This had become a tacit understanding. Although there were also those who were born as minor officials or soldiers and were promoted because of their outstanding performance, as long as they were not born in a good family, their future was still limited.

But since the chaotic times of the previous emperor, whether it was Cao Cao or the Lord, or even Dong Zhuo in those days, how many civil and military officials with practical talents but no background of recommendation have been promoted? Is it still important to have a filial and honest background now? It can be said that it is no longer important to both the enemy and us.

Si Tu complained that the court had a long-standing problem in employing people, but I think that what needs to be adjusted right now is not the selection of officials, but the performance evaluation. As long as the lord opens the door to selecting talents from soldiers and minor officials, regardless of their background, those with good performance in the performance evaluation will be promoted immediately, and naturally the capable people will be promoted based on their real merits and achievements. "

Zhuge Jin was so inspired by his second brother's words that he couldn't calm down for a long time.

He was inclined to the imperial examination due to historical inertia, but now it seems that strengthening the examination in selecting officials is like some universities in later generations that are "strict in admission and lenient in graduation". The college entrance examination is very strict when enrolling, but the final result is not so strict.

Zhuge Liang's statement was "lenient in admission and strict in exit", which greatly broadened the choices for selecting officials. No matter whether you were a minor official or a soldier, as long as you were good at doing things or brave in battle, you could be promoted directly.

Zhuge Jin was more concerned with the "entrance examination" of the Ministry of Rites in later generations, while Zhuge Liang was more concerned with the "merit evaluation" after entering the door and working for the government, which was what the "performance evaluation system" of the Ministry of Personnel in later generations was responsible for.

Judging from the experience of later history, the "pre-assessment" of the Ministry of Rites and the "post-assessment" of the Ministry of Personnel are both very important, and are necessary guarantees for the efficient operation of a court's personnel work.

However, how come, according to Zhuge Liang, in this special situation and environment, the importance of the latter is far greater than the former?

Zhuge Jin was a little confused for a moment. After a long while, he finally figured out where the problem lay.

"How could I have been so blind as to not understand the whole story after copying history? I actually forgot this point! It turns out that history cannot be learned by rote learning!" After Zhuge Jin figured it out, he couldn't help but blame himself in his mind.

(End of this chapter)