My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 213, "Memorial Requesting the Publication of Provincial Examination Answer Sheets to Clarify the Situation and Uphold the Rules of Conduct"

Su Ze still explained the ins and outs of the matter at the beginning of his memorial.

"I believe that the national civil service examination is a grand ceremony; fairness is of paramount importance in selecting talents, and strict regulations are essential."

"The results of the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination in the fourth year of the Longqing reign have been released. Scholars should be overjoyed and celebrate the selection of outstanding candidates."

"However, after the list was released, public opinion was in uproar. Students gathered at the Confucian Temple and wept, complaining about the injustice of the officials. The clamor was mostly directed at the bias in the quota of candidates from government officials and students. In particular, the fact that the top scorer, Zhang Jingxiu, was ranked first on the list led to many doubts that could not be dispelled, and that officials might have been corrupt or abused."

"The spread of rumors will not only discourage people from pursuing knowledge, but will also damage the court's credibility in selecting talent and shake the foundation of the nation. Nothing could be worse! If we do not clarify the situation quickly, it may breed corruption and cause further trouble."

After writing all this, Su Ze proposed his own solution.

Su Ze's approach has two points.

Simply put, the Yuefu Xinbao published a special edition, which included all the examination papers of the sons of officials who had passed the imperial examinations, and gave them to scholars in the capital to "study and observe".

Of course, this cannot completely dispel the rumors. There are many ways to cheat, including leaking exam questions in advance.

Moreover, scholars have always believed that "there is no first place in literature," and the grading of examination papers in the imperial examinations was inherently subjective, so doing so might not necessarily convince the public.

Therefore, Su Ze proposed a second point: to ask the emperor to give the candidates an additional test.

The additional examination was held before the emperor, supervised by senior ministers and officials from the Hanlin Academy, and the questions were set by the emperor himself.

After the exam, the examiners will review the papers.

The additional test was not to re-rank the students, but to examine their talents. If they all passed, the results would be announced according to the original rankings.

If cheating is discovered, the cheating candidate will be arrested and imprisoned on the spot, and the case of cheating in the examination will be investigated.

Similarly, the essays submitted for the additional examination were also printed and published as supplements by the Yuefu Xinbao newspaper, and could also serve as model essays for scholars participating in the provincial examination in the next session.

Just in case, Su Ze still slipped the memorial into the "Portable Ming Dynasty Court".

——[Simulation Start]——

The memorial requesting the publication of the provincial examination answer sheets to clarify the facts and enforce the established rules was sent to the cabinet.

Grand Secretary Li Chunfang and Second Grand Secretary Gao Gong agreed, while Third Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng, because his son was involved, pleaded guilty and stayed at home.

However, Zhao Zhenji, one of the four ministers, voted against it.

The Ministry of Rites originally opposed the reform of the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination, and even more so opposed the emperor intervening in the re-examination of the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination.

Pressure from within the department led Zhao Zhenji to vote against your opinion.

The Longqing Emperor then ordered the Ministry of Rites to discuss the matter. The Ministry of Rites raised objections, and the Emperor accepted your memorial.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige Points: 270]

[Should I spend 50 reputation points to ensure the memorial is fully executed?]

However, he did not expect that the Ministry of Rites would oppose his memorial.

But upon closer examination, it makes sense. Any reform inevitably infringes upon the vested interests, and the imperial examination system has always been controlled by the Ministry of Rites. Naturally, the Ministry of Rites could not tolerate Su Ze's repeated reforms of the imperial examination system.

Yes, if you change the provincial examination today, will you change it to the imperial examination or the palace examination in the future?
Should we change the entire imperial examination system?

The officials of the Ministry of Rites were unaware that Su Ze indeed harbored such ambitions, but they knew that preventing Su Ze from continuing to interfere in the imperial examinations was the best way to maintain their authority.

Su Ze chose "no," naturally wanting to save those 50 prestige points if possible. It was just a matter of persuading Zhao Zhenji, right? He'd go today!
[Number of simulations this month -1.]

[Remaining Prestige Points: 270]

Through this simulation, Su Ze also reminded himself that he had begun to enter deeper waters.

Throughout history, external reforms have always been easier than internal reforms.

Whether it's opening up the seas or the policy of paying tribute to Anda, these are all foreign-related issues, and Su Ze is trying to make the pie bigger.

Previously, the focus was on dealing with the princes. The affairs of the imperial clan and princes had been a problem that had been criticized by the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty for a century. Moreover, although the imperial clan and princes were said to have great power, in reality, they had little political influence after the reign of Emperor Chengzu.

Otherwise, Shanxi officials wouldn't dare to openly embezzle the stipends of the imperial family.

However, the imperial examination system was fundamental to civil officials and the basis for the scholar-officials' careers.

Su Ze's repeated actions against the imperial examinations naturally drew the opposition of the Ministry of Rites.

As the Grand Secretary in charge of the Ministry of Rites, Zhao Zhenji naturally had to take the Ministry's opinions seriously.

Holding the memorial, Su Ze hurriedly headed towards the Office of Transmission.

After delivering the memorial, Su Ze checked his prestige points. After being promoted, the number of prestige points he could gain each day had doubled.

In total, one can earn nearly 500 prestige points per month.

Su Ze is also preparing to initiate reforms on some bigger issues, and this incident of crying at the temple can become the opportunity for "that matter".

Su Ze left his post early and went home, taking his wife to visit her parents' home.
-
Zhao Zhenji didn't get home until very late today because he was dealing with the temple crying incident.

As soon as they arrived at their doorstep, Zhao Zhenji received a message from the doorman that Su Ze was taking Zhao Lingxian home to visit her family.

Zhao Zhenji understood that Su Ze's visit at this particular time, rather than earlier or later, must be because of the temple crying incident during the day.

After all, Su Ze's fellow townsman and friend Shen Shixing was involved.

Zhao Zhenji had the steward lead Su Ze to his study.

"Greetings, Grand Secretary Zhao."

Su Ze bowed respectfully to Zhao Zhenji. This was the first time Su Ze had privately visited Zhao Zhenji since his marriage.

Zhao Zhenji looked at Su Ze with great interest, only to see Su Ze take out a copy of the memorial and hand it over.

After reading the memorial, Zhao Zhenji frowned and said:
"Last time you allowed students from the Imperial Academy to participate in the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination, there was a lot of criticism within the Ministry of Rites. Now that you have submitted this memorial, I'm afraid I won't be able to suppress the criticism from the Ministry of Rites."

It seems I made the right decision to come. Zhao Zhenji's attitude wasn't as conservative as the officials from the Ministry of Rites, and I could still persuade him.

Su Ze said:

"Grand Secretary Zhao, the imperial examination is a grand national ceremony, and the most important thing in selecting talented people is public trust."

"Today's temple crying incident was originally a minor matter, but if the court does not respond, it will only discourage the scholars."

Su Ze believed that the chief examiner, Shen Shixing, must have graded the papers impartially. What was wrong with publishing the provincial examination papers of these successful candidates?

Zhao Zhenji nodded; Su Ze's reasoning was certainly correct.

However, Zhao Zhenji also said:

"But for a mere provincial examination in Shuntian Prefecture, His Majesty has to personally preside over the re-examination. Candidates from other places will also feel this is unfair. Does that mean they all have to come to the capital for the re-examination?"

Su Ze said, "Therefore, I believe that the imperial examination system also needs to be reformed." Zhao Zhenji was startled when he heard that Su Ze wanted to reform the imperial examination system.

"Nonsense! The national talent selection ceremony isn't something you can just change like that!"

Su Ze said, "Grand Secretary Zhao, my intention is not to change the imperial examination system, but to add a civil service examination."

"The Civil Service Examination?"

Su Ze did not directly answer the question about the new term, but instead said:

"From the early years of the dynasty to the present, the number of people taking the provincial examination in Shuntian Prefecture has tripled."

"Countless scholars have spent their lives at home, wasting their youth in study."

"My advisor, Xu Wei, is renowned for his talent and learning. He has just passed the provincial examination in Shuntian Prefecture."

"The imperial examination questions of the dynasty are becoming increasingly obscure, and many of them are not the original intention of the sages. In order to create questions, the examiners deliberately choose some difficult and obscure sentences, or simply piece together the words of the sages to create some tricky and strange questions. Is this still the original intention of the country to hold the imperial examinations and select officials?"

After Su Ze finished speaking, Zhao Zhenji remained silent for a moment.

He was a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, but he also understood the pain of those who failed.

Zhao Zhenji was a master of the School of Mind and had also set questions for the imperial examinations. Indeed, as Su Ze said, the Four Books only have so many characters in total. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, countless imperial examinations have been held, including county and provincial examinations.

All the easy questions have already been asked.

In some places, the exam questions simply combine two unrelated quotes from sages and ask candidates to write an essay in the traditional eight-legged essay style.

This is no longer an exam; it's more like a word game or a puzzle.

"And what is the Civil Service Examination?"

Su Ze said again:
"Grand Secretary Zhao, on the one hand, the competition for the imperial examinations is becoming increasingly fierce, and scholars study hard all their lives but cannot obtain official rank."

"On the other hand, the government offices are severely understaffed. Some prefectural and county government offices cannot even find enough clerks and runners. When local officials take office, they have to spend money to hire their own staff."

"These advisors are loyal to their masters, not to the court. If they encounter corrupt officials, these advisors become their henchmen, plundering the people's wealth."

Zhao Zhenji nodded. Having served as an official in local areas, he was naturally familiar with this phenomenon.

The lack of manpower in local government offices during the Ming Dynasty was a problem left over from the early Ming period.

Because of the lessons learned from the "redundant officials" of the Song Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang strictly controlled the staffing of government offices. In a county that governed a hundred miles, there were only three officials with official status: the county magistrate, the county assistant, and the registrar. In some large counties, the education official was added, and that was the entire staffing.

The officials with official positions in the imperial court were also called "Dian Shi". Although they did not have official status, they were formal personnel registered with the higher authorities. Each county also had a quota of personnel, with no more than forty in large counties and only a dozen or twenty in small counties.

As for the yamen runners, scribes, and patrolmen, they were all "temporary workers" of the county government. They were either laborers who served in the yamen by the common people, or they were recruited by the county magistrate himself.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the population decreased due to war, and many places were in need of reconstruction. The government was also relatively honest and efficient, so this system was naturally not a problem.

However, by the Longqing era, such a staffing level was no longer sufficient to support the operation of the government.

Su Ze read many time-travel novels, which criticized the feudal dynasties for "imperial power not extending to the countryside." But in reality, given the system of the Ming and Qing dynasties, not only imperial power, but even government officials couldn't reach the countryside.

To keep the government running, local officials either relied on the original clerks and runners of the county government, or they were easily fooled by these local bullies.

Alternatively, they could hire a team of advisors at great expense to take over the affairs of the county government with a professional team.

Both of these methods will ultimately lead to the corruption of officialdom.

The former goes without saying; local bullies collude with powerful local figures, obstructing imperial decrees and sometimes even preventing tax resistance.

County officials colluded with local powerful families to seize land from the people and exploit tenants; such things happened all the time in the Ming Dynasty.

The latter option seems good, but hiring a qualified advisor requires a lot of money. Given the salaries of Ming Dynasty officials, let alone a team of advisors, many poor officials couldn't even afford to hire a recruiter.

People don't come to be officials to lose money, so this expense naturally has to be extracted from the government.

Sometimes, local officials are more afraid of these local officials who bring their own teams, because local clerks and powerful figures at least try to make their money slowly and steadily, while these people come and take advantage of every opportunity. Shen Sixiao was like that in Gaomi County.

Therefore, Su Ze said that on the one hand, a large number of scholars stayed at home to study for the imperial examinations, wasting their lives; on the other hand, there was a lack of talent for grassroots governance, and local governments were overburdened, unable to maintain even the most basic affairs, and legal disputes had been piling up for years without being resolved.

Su Ze continued:

"Therefore, Su believes that a special civil service examination should be established to select literate scholars to serve as local officials and clerks."

Zhao Zhenji frowned and said, "Isn't this the same as before? Local officials also have to go through the Ministry of Personnel's examination and filing process."

Su Ze said:

“It’s different, Your Excellency. My idea is that each province should conduct a unified civil service examination, and the selected talents should then undergo professional training in mathematics, law, and document management. After passing the training, they should be uniformly assigned to various government offices within the province.”

"We can start with Shuntian Prefecture. The civil service examination can give the scholars of Shuntian Prefecture a place to go, so as to stabilize their hearts."

Zhao Zhenji frowned and said:
"But scholars all over the world regard becoming an official as a lowly career, a lowly profession. Even if there were an examination for official positions, they might not be willing to participate."

Su Ze said:

"This is still due to the lack of understanding among officials. The six departments of the county government are responsible for the same things as the six ministries, so why are officials considered noble while clerks are considered lowly?"

Zhao Zhenji frowned. Although Su Ze's words sounded treasonous, they were quite pleasing to the ear of Zhao Zhenji, a believer in the philosophy of mind that valued the daily lives of ordinary people.

Wang Gen did not restrict himself to any particular background when lecturing; he accepted fishermen, woodcutters, farmers, and scholars as his disciples.

Su Ze said again:
"People despise officials because they collude with powerful families to oppress the people. Some officials come from families where fathers and sons make a living by wielding their pens to harm the people, which naturally makes the people hate them."

Zhao Zhenji nodded. Su Ze was right. Some local clerks had been doing this for generations, making a living by writing, and were experts in legal and financial loopholes. Their "ancestral profession" was to distort the truth.

Unfortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a poor background, knew about the corruption of local officials in the early Ming Dynasty. He overthrew the corrupt Yuan Dynasty, but after establishing the Ming Dynasty, his solution was to morally humiliate the officials.

The government restricted the children of officials from taking the imperial examinations, forbade officials from wearing fine clothes, and demoted officials to a lowly profession.

But power cannot be restricted by a single official document from the imperial court.

The government needs these clerks to function, and the power of officials is also distributed among these clerks.

This contemptuous attitude emboldened officials to have no moral conscience and instead oppress the people even more wantonly.

It's already a lowly profession, why not make money instead?
Zhu Yuanzhang was aware of the problem, but at that time he couldn't come up with a better solution.

Later emperors had long since become detached from the common people, and didn't even know what the problems were, let alone how to solve them.

“Officials will be selected by the state government and will avoid serving in their own hometowns to enrich the county government’s staff. From then on, officials will not need to hire staff when they take office.”

"By transforming private officials into public officials, and by establishing checks and balances between superiors and subordinates, governance can be clean and efficient."

Zhao Zhenji also felt that Su Ze made sense. He knew how difficult local work was and understood that Su Ze's words made sense.

But Zhao Zhenji still asked that crucial question:

Where will the money come from?

(End of this chapter)