The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

Chapter 95 Is that brat actually a loyal subject?

"This memorial offers detailed suggestions on everything from the implementation rules of the imperial examination system to the criteria for selecting officials," Chu Suiliang said in a deep voice.

Li Shimin read the memorial intently, quickly becoming engrossed in its contents. The memorial began by directly addressing the problems in the imperial examination system inherited from the Sui Dynasty, presenting a clear and incisive argument.

He then addressed the problem directly, presenting five reform measures in succession: anonymizing names, recording merits, locking the academy, separate examinations, and personally conducting the palace examination.

Anonymous transcription can conceal candidates' information and cut off the channels for favoritism in grading: locking the examination hall to isolate it from outside requests and lobbying; having examiners' relatives set up separate examination venues to completely avoid suspicion and oversight; having the emperor personally conduct the palace examination to select candidates can not only personally identify the character and ability of the candidates, but also prevent the officials in charge of the examination from having exclusive power over the selection of candidates, and also make the candidates grateful for the emperor's favor and loyal to the royal family.

The five measures are based on fairness and are designed to clean up the examination atmosphere.

Li Shimin nodded in admiration, "This strategy is brilliant; it is truly a wise plan."

But he knew in his heart that the deep-seated problems of the imperial examination system were not limited to the examination system itself.

Most scholars in the world today come from powerful families, and these families firmly control the lineage of knowledge and culture; the officials in charge of the court also mostly come from high-ranking families. Even if new rules are set, they will ultimately have to be implemented by others.

And this "other person" is very likely to come from a prestigious family. Even if they don't come from a prestigious family, they are very likely to be recruited by them.

After all, these aristocratic families had enjoyed a reputation for over a thousand years, and many scholars aspired to be like them. Many of these families also possessed rare and unique books on scholarship, and even many senior officials were close to these prestigious families; Kong Yingda is a prime example.

He ordered the compilation of "The Correct Meaning of the Five Classics" to seize the right to interpret the classics, also because he wanted to compete with the aristocratic families for the right to interpret the classics.

It is impossible to completely break free from the shackles of aristocratic families through government decrees alone. Even as emperor, he could only choose to use the exchange of benefits to persuade aristocratic families to make concessions, in order to temporarily stabilize the court and at the same time absorb talented people from humble backgrounds.

However, the new method of selecting officials proposed in the latter half of the memorial completely overturned his original ideas, allowing him to glimpse the possibility of the imperial power having complete control over the imperial examinations.

In his memorial to the throne, Sun Fujia mentioned that Li Xiang believed that the imperial examinations could be divided into two categories: academic knowledge and policy essays.

The knowledge test questions have multiple correct and incorrect answers (e.g., A, B, C, D, etc.). Test takers only need to check the boxes to indicate their correctness to answer the questions.

This format eliminates the need for examiners to review each essay word by word. The quality can be determined based on the established standard answers, and even ordinary officials can quickly compile rankings, minimizing the scope for human judgment.

Then, based on the scores, we can calmly select the most knowledgeable elites.

After the initial screening, only a dozen or so elites entered the imperial examination, where the emperor could personally review and decide, firmly holding the power of selection in his hands.

Compared to the five measures that merely patched up the old system, this new law is more radical and thorough.

However, by avoiding the major event of the imperial examinations from the root, which is difficult for the emperor to manage alone and requires him to delegate to others, the interference of powerful families can be fundamentally weakened or even eliminated!

The more Li Shimin looked at it, the more feasible it seemed, and the more excited he became, even gradually forgetting his headache.

This is certainly feasible. Li Xiang's method is derived from the civil service examinations of later generations. Even when millions of people take the exam simultaneously, later examinations can quickly filter out the good and bad based on scores without relying too much on examiners.

During the Tang Dynasty, the number of candidates for each subject in the imperial examinations was at most two thousand, which was less than the number of candidates for some popular positions, making the process extremely easy.

Even with multiple-choice exams, Tang Dynasty people were more adaptable than people of other dynasties. The Mingjing exam, which was most favored by powerful families to exploit loopholes, mainly tested their knowledge of classical texts and the interpretation of classical texts.

The "Tie Jing" is essentially a fill-in-the-blank question, and the "Mo Yi" is a dictation question; both require rote memorization and can be replaced by multiple-choice questions.

If implemented properly, this memorial could reverse the problem of the Tang Dynasty's imperial examinations being controlled by powerful families!

Moreover, it is a truly upright and sound strategy for governing the world!

"That brat—" Thinking of Li Xiang's blood-covered face and disappointed eyes when he left, Li Shimin suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart.

"He actually had such a practical plan!"

"Your Majesty has a son of exceptional talent."

Chu Suiliang stood respectfully with his robes folded.

Li Shimin gripped the memorial tightly, his eyes suddenly becoming somewhat vacant. He suddenly recalled what Li Xiang had said earlier.

Although his words were impassioned, every single one of them pointed directly to the ills of the Tang Dynasty.

Furthermore, they all provided appropriate solutions!

He warned that in the future, the succession to the throne in the Tang Dynasty would be accompanied by bloodshed. At Furong Garden, using Xuanwu Gate as an example, he strongly argued that Chengqian should inherit the throne and that the system of primogeniture should be followed. It should be noted that he himself was only a son of a concubine.

He believed that the control of the imperial examination by powerful families was a scourge to the nation. He led scholars from humble backgrounds to petition the emperor outside the Zhuque Gate. Despite their young age, they endured hardship and were willing to ruin their reputations in order to reform the imperial examination system.

Li Shimin suddenly slumped onto the dragon throne.

Yes, why didn't I think of that before? If I had to say, I thought he was speaking out for Chengqian.

So why is he now standing up for scholars from poor families?

Chengqian or he had no prior connection with these scholars from humble backgrounds!

Is he really only seeking death to anger his grandfather?

Ah, is there anyone in the world who is determined to die?

The answer is obvious: that brat, though full of treasonous words and acting wildly.

But—it was for the sake of the Tang Dynasty and its people!

He was remonstrating to the death! A truly selfless act of remonstrance!

Li Shimin was moved.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that only in this way could he explain the idiotic behavior of that brat who was only after death!

"Dengshan, am I getting old?"

Chu Suiliang bowed respectfully, without saying a word.

Li Shimin took a slow, deep breath and straightened up.

As an emperor, one should not act so easily based on emotions, nor should one change course so readily simply because one has a change of mind.

Even though at this moment, a deep sense of regret was surging within him.

The things that need to be done still need to be done, and we need to find another way to implement this new system.

He believed that one day he would be able to see clearly what that brat was thinking.

He closed his eyes and tried to clear his sluggish mind.

One thing is indeed true, as that brat said. Since ascending the throne, I have been diligent in accepting advice and have become accustomed to doing so. I often rely on the wisdom of my ministers to make decisions, and gradually, I have neglected to personally investigate matters and devise strategies.

"I hereby decree that the imperial grandson Li Xiang, having committed rebellious and immoral acts by assaulting an official, shall be stripped of his imperial lineage and imprisoned in the Dali Temple, awaiting my further judgment."

"In that case, we can at least give those aristocratic scions an explanation," Li Shimin said, a cold smile remarkably similar to that of Li Xiang appearing on his lips.

"Yes, Your Majesty, what about the imperial grandson?" Chu Suiliang asked.

The events that occurred during the single day of the emperor's grandson's life, recorded in the daily log, were far more significant than the records of a year spent serving His Majesty.

He certainly didn't want His Majesty to actually keep the imperial grandson imprisoned in the Dali Temple indefinitely.

Li Shimin closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time. Only after a good half incense stick had burned did he open his eyes and say to Chu Suiliang, "Take the matter of Li Xiang and secretly inform Chengqian in Longqing Ward."

"He served as my crown prince for eighteen years. If he couldn't even save his own son, it just proves that I should depose him from the throne."

He looked directly at Chu Suiliang and said softly.

"----only!"

Chu Suiliang's heart skipped a beat, knowing that this conversation absolutely could not appear in the daily records.

"Having examined Qingque and Zhinu, it is fitting to examine Chengqian as well."

Li Shimin stroked his beard lightly, as if talking to himself.

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