I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 407 I'm not that kind of person
The practice of selecting officials through examinations is nothing new.

In the first year of the Yangjia era of Emperor Xiaoshun of Han, the "Yangjia New System," initiated by Zuo Xiong, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and implemented by Emperor Shun of Han, already had the rudiments of the civil service examination system.

During the Han Dynasty, while virtuous and upright officials were highly valued in the selection and appointment of officials, none were more successful than the "filial piety and incorruptibility" system. While those appointed to official positions through this system initially held lower ranks, countless later rose to high positions and powerful ministers. However, with centuries of development and the rise of aristocratic families, the system's drawbacks became apparent by the mid-Later Han Dynasty.

"He was recommended as a scholar, but he was illiterate; he was recommended as a filial and incorruptible official, but his father lived separately from him."

The system of selecting officials through recommendation and appointment gradually became monopolized by powerful families, completely losing its original purpose of selecting talent for the empire. At the same time, the situation became increasingly extravagant, with some even going so far as to live in the corridors of their deceased parents' graves to spread their reputation for filial piety and secure their future.

Therefore, Zuo Xiong submitted a memorial stating—

"Those recommended as filial and incorruptible officials or tribute students should, after assuming office, govern with the people and harmonize customs and education. If their knowledge is shallow, they will not be able to perform their duties."

Confucius said, "At forty, one is no longer confused," and the Book of Rites states, "Forty is the age of strong conduct." The current regulations stipulate that those recommended for the position of "filial and incorruptible" must be at least forty years old and must first undergo an examination at the government office—Confucian scholars will be tested on their knowledge of classics and laws, while civil officials will examine their written documents and memorials. Those who pass will be sent to the Duanmen Gate for further review, to examine their actual abilities and observe any special talents, thereby improving social customs. Those who disobey these regulations will be punished according to law. However, those with special talents or outstanding character may be exempt from the age limit.

Zuo Xiong's "Yangjia New System" mainly consisted of three points:

1. Those under the age of forty are not eligible to apply.

This point may seem a bit abstract, but it contains Zuo Xiong's great wisdom.

The "Yangjia New System" was originally intended to suppress powerful families.

By the time a scholar reaches forty, even if his father or grandfather were high-ranking officials, they would likely all be dead by then. This would prevent powerful and influential people in their prime from opening doors for their descendants, thus reducing the number of "chosen ones" who are only teenagers or in their twenties and yet are declared filial and incorruptible.

Moreover, the rules also leave room for exceptionally outstanding individuals to prevent talent from being overlooked. The combination of these two aspects is actually quite meticulous.

Second, the examination mechanism is more rigorous, consisting of a preliminary examination and a final examination, to prevent cheating.

The second round of examinations was held at Duanmen Gate, presided over by the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, who held real power in the elections. This was in contrast to the previous practice of holding the examinations in the government offices, which greatly ensured the fairness and prestige of the examinations.

Third, only the subjects of classical studies and civil service were considered, while moral character and political affairs were not included.

This is because the "Yangjia New System" was designed for ordinary people.

He did not possess the profound knowledge of "learning the classics and becoming a doctor of the classics," nor did he possess the exceptional talent of "understanding the laws and regulations, being able to resolve doubts, and being able to answer questions from the censors according to the regulations."

The reason was that classical studies were controlled by aristocratic families at the time, making it difficult to pass them down to lower classes; as for the principles of governing the country, they certainly required a learning process and were not something that ordinary scholars and common people could access, so these two subjects were eliminated.

Unfortunately, Zhang Heng and Huang Qiong still believed that morality could not be abandoned, so they added morality, which could not be used as a measure, back into the subjects, forming a four-subject system for selecting officials: morality, classics, laws, and government affairs.

If Liu Miao were to hold the imperial examinations in Shu, he would certainly continue along the path of the "Yangjia New System".

However, some specific changes are certainly needed.

For example, although the Yangjia New System was quite novel, it was still within the framework of the recommendation system. That is to say, only those who obtained a recommendation quota were qualified to participate in the examination.

But now, Liu Miao is clearly going to remove this underlying rule and completely lift the restrictions on candidates.

Secondly, there are the "Four Subjects".

Morality, classics, laws, and government affairs.

Moral character cannot be used as a quantitative standard at all, or whether a person's moral character is good or bad depends entirely on other people's subjective judgment. This kind of thing should definitely be removed from the exam.

Moreover, given Liu Miao's reputation, how could he possibly have the audacity to demand anything from others?

Classical studies...

They should also be discarded directly.

Laws and regulations.

In the end, the four subjects were reduced to two, which became the standard subjects for the first imperial examination.

"In that case, let's get things done as soon as possible!"

Any male aged 15 or older who is literate and understands the laws may submit his application to be examined and selected for official service.

When this decree was issued, the entire Sichuan region was immediately thrown into an uproar!
opportunity!

What a huge opportunity!
Many scholars from Sichuan, and even from neighboring Jingzhou and Hanzhong, were drawn by the news!

The Han Dynasty's wicked recommendation system, with its artificially set and controlled thresholds, rendered scholars who aspired to enter officialdom utterly powerless!
Even though Liu Miao's Han dynasty dismantled many local forces and eliminated the networks maintained by Confucian scholar families for generations, as long as the underlying system remained unchanged, there would always be an invisible chasm between those in officialdom and ordinary people!
Nowadays, the imperial examinations in Sichuan no longer have so many prerequisites. If this is not a windfall, then what is it?
Immediately, a large number of scholars approached Chengdu!

Some scholars who lived far away could only sigh in vain and pray that Liu Miao would one day implement this policy in Jingzhou and Yangzhou as well!
……

Because it was the first time, the imperial examination in Chengdu was also a makeshift affair.

"Name."

"Wu Ji." "Which Ji?"

"What? Which season? The season of Emperor Gaozu! You can't even write Emperor Gaozu's name? Tell me! Are you a traitor sent by an enemy country!"

"..."

In the beginning, there were naturally some illiterate commoners who pretended to be skilled musicians. Not only could they not write their own names, but they even got the temple name of the founding emperor wrong.

After being exposed, these people burst into tears, crying, "I don't know anything! My mom told me to come and try it out! Maybe I could fool them!"

"..."

Helpless, they had to temporarily add a new assessment method, which involved having the people recite one of the twelve chapters of the "Zhangwu Law" from memory as a selection criterion.

With the threshold in place, things are much better now.

Although there may be some who cheat secretly, these people will definitely be exposed in the official exam, so there is no need to worry at all.

After several days of turmoil, Huang Quan, Pang Tong, and others in charge of the matter were all emaciated.

"Your Majesty, the total number of qualified candidates is 2,671."

"Thanks for your hard work!"

Setting up a makeshift team must be extremely tiring.

Looking at the two of them, Liu Miao suddenly felt like he was a heartless boss who exploited his employees...

"Once this matter is settled, I will take you to the brothel!"

brush!
Pang Tong has been resurrected on the spot! His entire body looks as if he has been baptized, and there is not a trace of fatigue left. Upon closer inspection, he even looks rather handsome!

"Your Majesty! I am not that kind of person! I just suddenly realized that this is a matter of national importance! So I dare not be negligent in the slightest!"

Pang Tong grabbed Huang Quan's hand: "Come on! Gongheng! Let's go and discuss how to handle this matter!"

Before Huang Quan could react, Pang Tong had already pulled him away. Huang Quan looked helpless: "Shiyuan! Why bother? It's just a brothel! Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

"How could we not do it this way!"

Pang Tong was wronged!
"Gongheng, you have no idea how bustling and fun the brothels in Jinling are! His Majesty has never taken me there before!"

Pang Tong's eyes turned completely bloodshot as he thought of the ultimate luxury in that brothel: "This time, I'll go all out!"

"..."

The final location of the imperial examination was naturally the forbidden garden behind the Shu King's Palace built by Liu Zhang.

Originally a playground for the King of Shu, it is now a hall for scholars to take the imperial examinations.

Liu Miao's decision to open up the "Heavenly Palace," a place that ordinary people could probably only glimpse even for a moment in their entire lives, undoubtedly moved the scholars who came to take the exam once again.

"If it weren't for Your Majesty, how could we have entered this place?"

The scholars stared wide-eyed as they carefully examined the magnificent palace, which Liu Zhang had decorated with treasures from Shu.

"That's not quite right. Wenwei has probably been here before!"

Faced with the teasing of the other scholars, Fei Yi, who was only fifteen years old, remained calm and composed, as if he was neither encouraged by the praise of the world nor discouraged by the criticism of the world, showing a composure that did not belong to his age.

"Although my paternal uncle Bo Ren's aunt, Lady Fei, was Liu Zhang's mother, the relationship was distant, and she never came to this Shu King's palace to take a look."

Fei Yi remained calm despite the malicious attacks, whether intentional or unintentional.

At this point, getting involved with Liu Zhang would clearly not be a good thing.

"Whoo~~~"

Fei Yi wasn't worried about the open and covert attacks from those around him, but rather about the magnanimity of Liu Miao, the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

"Would the Emperor refuse to employ me because of my relationship with Liu Zhang?"

If that were the case, then in Fei Yi's eyes, the imperial examination system would probably be nothing short of a joke.

Could Liu Miao truly bring fairness to Shu and even the entire world?

(End of this chapter)