Alien Knights

On the third day after the first "soul link", Todd, who was among the kings, summoned Mary who was sitting at home two kilometers away, and the two entered the soul space again together.

With the assistance of the "Super Memory" ability, Mary began to gradually help Todd eliminate Clarence's useless memories. The original tens of thousands of fragments were reduced to about 7,000 pieces.

While Todd was overjoyed, he also discovered a problem—Mary really loves coffee, and once she drank it, it was cup after cup... Fortunately, this is a virtual world, so there is no need to worry about caffeine addiction and obesity.

On the other hand, he also gradually grasped that as long as the opening time of the soul space is controlled within six hours (about 30 seconds in real time), the degree of fatigue can be effectively reduced.

After the second soul space meeting, Todd opened his eyes, ordered a cup of wormwood tea, and took a nap.

Just after lunch, the guard reported that Emerson had arrived.

This old man, nearly fifty years old, started to adjust and improve the administrative system in the Muxi Kingdom with an almost crazy enthusiasm.

The commissioner jurisdiction system under the Taylor Republic system that Todd originally borrowed seems a bit outdated and out of touch, whether it is dealing with the increasingly large population group or the numerous trivial matters of the kingdom.

Emerson took centralization as the basis of his political framework and planned to discuss the future direction of development with the king.

Rubbing his forehead with his hands, Todd motioned for Emerson to sit down.

The old man fell backwards into the sofa, as if his body was trapped in a fluffy cloud. Surprised, he turned around and touched the cushion under his body.

"There is a professor of mechanics at Muxi College. Based on the technology of the printing press, he hired several "metal twisted" aliens to invent a machine for coiling springs." Todd patted the armrest of the chair and said with a smile: "Muxi Bank gave him a low-interest loan for him to produce spring furniture."

Emerson nodded, put the report in his arms on the desk, and went straight to the topic: "In terms of the independence of the political system, the Muxi Kingdom has unique advantages. First, there is no check and balance from the aristocracy; second, there is no need to consider the interference of church forces. But in the future, it will be a great problem to delineate the boundaries between royal power and civil power."

Todd rested his arms on the table and looked at Emerson's report, which was marked with "Suggested positions: Minister of XX, Director of XX, Advisor of XX...".

"Your Majesty, if the royal power is too great and the civil power is too small, a crisis will still be caused by dictatorship." Emerson pointed to the writing on the paper with his pen: "But if the civil power is too great and the royal power is too small, it will lead to the rise of factional forces, leading to the emergence of a privileged class, and finally a situation of power segregation."

Todd said thoughtfully: "So the key question is to find a way to reasonably decentralize power?"

"It can be said that in the final analysis, the crux of the problem lies in the selection method of officials. There are two ways to appoint general officials: recruitment and selection. The former is mostly directly appointed by the king, while the latter is recommended by the faction or family. Internal members or noble children." Emerson looked at the position on the paper and frowned: "For the Muxi Kingdom, the selection method is not feasible. It will only provide an excuse for the faction to grow, but it will not benefit the people. The only way left is the king's recruitment. In your name, send invitations to those talented people."

After pondering for a moment, Todd expressed his concerns: "There are two questions. First, how can I know that the people I invite are talented and learned? There are so many people seeking fame and fame. If ordinary people are allowed to occupy high positions, wouldn't there be chaos? Second, there are so many people in Muxi City. Most of the people with real talents keep a low profile, and it is not easy to find them. From this point of view, the method of recruitment is not very good."

Emerson sighed and was speechless for a moment.

"Is there any way to select talents and balance royal power and civil rights?"

Todd tapped on the table with his knuckles, thought quietly, and a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind: "Why don't we take the exam?"

"take an exam?!"

Emerson froze.

Later, he said to Todd in an uncertain tone: "Your Majesty, are you talking about an exam like the one in the academy? It's like the exam that the professor uses to test the students' homework?!"

Todd compared it in his heart, and nodded in agreement with the other party's statement.

Emerson shook his head desperately: "This is unreasonable, this is unreasonable! To use a piece of paper to decide the choice of officials, this is simply joking about the fate of the kingdom! How can there be such a crazy idea in the world?!"

Todd was not in a hurry to refute the other party, and recalled a popular science article about the "Imperial Examination System" that he had read in his previous life.

The imperial examination system in ancient China began in the Tang Dynasty and ended in the Qing Dynasty, with a history of more than 1,300 years.

In the West in the previous life, only monks introduced the imperial examination system to Europe in the middle of the 16th century through travel notes.

The discovery of the imperial examination system was a great shock to the Western feudal hierarchical society at the end of the 16th century, and it also played a decisive role in promoting the Western civil service system in the following three hundred years.

"Emerson, think about it. Only those who are well-educated can pass the kingdom's exams, become officials, and participate in the management of government affairs. Anyone, no matter whether the family is prominent or not, regardless of whether the wealth is full or not, can make him enter the upper class of society through academic efforts. Doesn't this in itself mean a healthy mechanism of equality and competition? Isn't this the best way to decentralize power among the people and avoid factional conflicts?!"

The old man lowered his head, thought carefully for a long time, and finally raised his head and said, "It seems...it's not a bad thing..."

Todd continued to analyze the feasibility of conducting official selection examinations in Muxi City: "First of all, due to the prevalence of dramas and novels, the literacy rate in the city is not low; secondly, the gathering of scholars also provides the best candidates for the examination; thirdly, the invention of the printing press has reduced the cost of examination papers, making large-scale examinations a reality; finally, most positions in the kingdom are basically vacant."

Emerson raised his head and asked, "There is one more question, who will issue the test papers?"

Todd touched the bridge of his nose: "I'll do it myself. It's still inappropriate for other people to write this kind of thing."

Emerson nodded.

Indeed, if anyone other than the king takes on the heavy responsibility of making examination questions, it will attract doubts and opposition from other factions.

"There is one more thing. There are so many vacancies that require different kinds of test papers for official selection. If so many test papers are produced at the same time, will it put too much pressure on His Majesty?"

Todd waved his hand and explained with a smile: "The official examination at the beginning can start with one position, and if it is found to be feasible, then promote it. This method is also called a pilot."

Emerson looked at the king and sighed: "Your Majesty, sometimes I really can't see you clearly. Say you are dull, sometimes your wisdom is unmatched; say you are wise, I have heard others talk about some of your past behaviors, it is really... really unconstrained..."

Todd responded with a wry smile: "People are always improving."