The Bad Guys: Playing the Fake Li Xingyun at the Beginning

"It's worth it that I spread the news of the imperial examination in advance. There are quite a few capable people in this examination." In Qianqiu Hall, Su Ming looked at the test papers on the desk and chuckled.

Those people in the court paid more attention to the paper on Confucian classics, while Su Ming paid more attention to the paper on water conservancy and farming. Among those who took part in the imperial examination, there must be people who were not good at one subject well.

In later generations, when the disciplines were divided into arts and sciences, there were always people who were very biased towards certain subjects, let alone now.

However, the imperial court would not recruit people who were too biased in one subject. At the very least, the test paper on Confucian questions had to be acceptable. Otherwise, even if Su Ming was favored by others, he would not be admitted.

This is the rule of the court and the system of the imperial examination. As the emperor, he has to maintain order and cannot actively disrupt this order. Moreover, this system was established by him, so he cannot be a professional in doing it.

Of course, failure to admit a person does not mean that he cannot use him. He can arrange for him to start as a minor official, and as long as he has the ability and is not just talkative, he can promote him as an exception.

Chapter 131 The Man Who Climbed Up from the Bottom

At Chengde Gate in Luoyang, the streets are crowded with pedestrians and vendors, and the dazzling array of goods is dazzling.

The sun has risen high in the sky. The March sun is at its peak. Although it is not scorching, it makes people's mouths dry and their heads sweaty.

Chen Shuge was wrapped in an old robe, his hair was wrapped in old cloth, he was munching on a pie in his hand. It was a simple scallion egg pancake, fried until crispy on the outside and wrapped with two vegetable leaves. One bite left a lingering fragrance in his teeth.

As Luoyang stabilized, prices in the city fell rapidly. A pancake like this one cost two cents. Soon, after a pancake was eaten, he sucked his fingers satisfactorily, smacked his lips, and paced to a small courtyard in the south of the city.

After opening the door and going in, there was a simple courtyard with sparse green vegetables growing. Next to it was a small well with a wooden barrel hanging above it. Chen Shuge fetched a bucket of water and drank it all up.

After returning to the room, Chen Shuge carefully carried the book box to the yard, then took out the books from the box, lined them up in a row and hung them out to dry.

Looking at the pages of the book blown by the wind, Chen Shuge showed a satisfied smile on his face.

A month ago, he was still a farmer's son in the vicinity of Luoyang. His family had once been wealthy, and his ancestors had served as third- or fourth-rank officials in the imperial court. Later, they suffered from war and their property was looted, leaving only some books that the soldiers disdained.

In this era, soldiers would loot and collect food first, then cloth, gold, silver and jewelry. After the Chen family fell into decline, they had to sell their house in the city and buy a few acres of land outside Luoyang to make a living.

Life went on in such a hard way. After Chen Shuge was born, the family's fields were cultivated and life became a little better. When he grew up a little, his father taught him to read and write.

When he was a little older, his father died of illness, and he had to put down his books and go into the farmland. In addition to farming, he also had to fish and do carpentry work to make a living.

Because I can write, I occasionally help people write letters and earn some fees.

He originally thought that his life would just pass like this, but he did not expect that after the current emperor ascended the throne, he would actually reopen the imperial examination without restricting identity.

At first, he didn't believe it, until he went into the city and saw the official document posted by the court, then he believed it.

After returning, he locked himself in the room for a whole day before coming out. From then on, he made up his mind to take part in the imperial examination.

Although he had neglected his studies for several years, Chen Shuge loved reading the most. Under the influence of his father, he had a solid foundation in the Four Books and Five Classics, and he had read all the books in his home several times.

After making up his mind to take the imperial examination, he had been paying attention to the movements of the court. When he saw the content of the imperial examination reforms made by His Majesty, he was overjoyed.

Because he knew that his knowledge was not actually very high, but when it came to farming, he considered himself to be not proficient, but there were few scholars who could compare with him.

These days, there aren't many scholars working in the fields.

Water conservancy is meant to be used, but it seems to have no other use except irrigating farmland.

Later, he used his family savings and spent money to copy many books from others for a makeshift study.

It was not until he took the exam that he realized that many of the questions in the imperial examinations were very simple and he had seen and heard many of them in the countryside.

In this era, the imperial court did not have the imperial examination system, and talented people lost their channels for advancement. In addition, wars were rampant, and educated people either served as officials in the military governors or hid in rural towns and villages. The loss of talent was very serious.

Even when it comes to military affairs, Chen Shuge has talked about it with several veterans who have retired from the army in the village. Although he has not experienced military affairs, he knows a lot about the experiences of the grassroots soldiers.

The questions that Su Ming asked in the imperial examination papers were not very lofty. Questions like strategy and revitalization of the court were not mentioned at all. They were not down-to-earth at all.

The military examination questions are nothing more than some of the most basic issues about fighting a war, such as how a team of 500 people sets up camp, what are the components of an army, etc.

Chen Shuge was very lucky. With his solid foundation in Confucianism and superb farming skills, he was able to overcome all obstacles and even passed several rounds of examinations to become a registered juren in the imperial court.

After the government issued the reward, Chen Shuge moved out of the inn and rented a small courtyard. He used the remaining money to buy books. He knew that the more exams he passed, the greater his chances of becoming an official.

……

On March 15th, the Tang Dynasty's Jinshi examination was held as scheduled in the Taiji Hall.

Led by the imperial guards, Chen Shuge and a group of giants passed through the imperial road and the main hall and arrived at the most magnificent hall in the court. Taiji Hall was the venue for grand court meetings and various activities and banquets.

The Taiji Hall has red pillars with coiled dragons, golden glazed tiles, and white marble railings. The soldiers guarding the gate are wearing golden armor and are as tall as hills.

Standing in the hall, all the candidates felt uneasy and insignificant.

The current Luoyang can have such a beautiful scene, we have to thank Li Cunxu. After he became emperor, Luoyang was in ruins due to long-term wars. He had to spend a lot of effort to repair the dilapidated Luoyang, making the originally ruined imperial city look brand new and having a bit of the atmosphere of an orthodox court.

In the center of the hall, Chen Shuge's legs were trembling. He didn't dare to look around. He just felt that everything in front of him was so magnificent. There seemed to be a heavy pressure around him, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Su Ming looked at the three hundred Jinshi candidates in the hall with a smile on his face.

Three hundred years ago, when Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, saw the newly-appointed Jinshi, he said, "The heroes of the world are within my grasp!" Su Ming scoffed at this.

No matter how powerful Li Shimin was, he was just a king who carried on the past and opened up the future. At best, he was on the same level as Emperor Wu of Han.

The heroes he was talking about were only those from aristocratic families, not common people. In this era, the truly top talents often did not appear from aristocratic families, but among the people.

Aristocratic families can at most educate elites, but those who can emerge from the common people are often grassroots heroes.

Especially in times of chaos, it is an era when heroes emerge in large numbers.

Su Ming is standing on the shoulders of giants. If he can get Yuan Tiangang's affirmation and continue to be the emperor, his future will be brighter than that of Emperor Taizong of Tang.

Not to mention anything else, just his performance in the imperial examination this time is enough to make a significant mark in history. He truly opened the door for scholars from common people and humble families.

Through the crown tassels, Su Ming kept looking at the scholars below. Among these people, there were middle-aged, old and young people, and people with white hair and people with black hair stood together.

He knew that among these people there were children of aristocratic families, descendants of court officials, children of poor families or even farmers. They came from different classes, yet they were standing here at the same time.

The moment he saw them, Su Ming knew that the imperial examination he promoted was successful.

Chapter 132 The Farmer's Ambition

Before they entered the palace, they were taught etiquette. After entering the palace, they all kowtowed in unison, "Your Majesty, long live the emperor!"

Su Ming said calmly, "Stand up."

Looking at the crowd below, he was very happy, even happier than seeing all the officials submitting to him. He stood up from the dragon throne, walked down the steps, and came to the crowd, "This is the first imperial examination since I ascended the throne. You have fought your way through tens of thousands of scholars in the world and have come this far step by step."

"This is just your first step and your starting point. In the future, the important tasks of the court will be handed over to you. Don't let me down!"

This sentence made many scholars here feel excited and even wanted to die for His Majesty.

If the emperor had not gone against the majority opinion, held the imperial examination and reformed the system, they might never have had the chance to step into this hall in their entire lives.

Maybe their thoughts will change in the future, but at least for now, this is what they think.

Chen Shuge stood in the crowd, his whole body began to tremble. He lowered his head, clenched his hands in his sleeves, and had only one thought in his mind: I must repay His Majesty for his kindness!

One advantage of being born into a Confucian family is that their bottom line is sometimes frighteningly high and sometimes outrageously low, but compared to those who go along with the crowd for a little profit, they have more integrity.

It is not yet the Ming Dynasty, the Han people's character is still there, the world has not been trampled by the iron cavalry of foreign races, and the scholars at the bottom are not yet so shameless.

He secretly glanced at the officials in the hall, and there seemed to be flames rising in his eyes. Sooner or later, one day, I will stand here upright and meet His Majesty.

"The palace examination begins!" With the eunuch's low shout, three hundred candidates quickly took their seats and began to answer questions.

The only ministers who came here today were the heavyweight ministers of the court, including those from the Secretariat, the Chancellery, the Six Ministries, the Three Departments, and the Privy Council.

Among the court officials, Li Siyuan looked at the candidates in the hall and subconsciously narrowed his eyes.

The imperial court held several major examinations, and he was very clear about the origins of these candidates. He originally thought that the emperor's imperial examination was intended to win over the aristocratic families and integrate their power.

After all, in the imperial examinations, these children of aristocratic families have too great an advantage, which offsets the advantage of their birth background. The knowledge they inherit and everything they can access far exceeds that of children from poor families.

But what did he see?

Among the 300 successful candidates today, one third of them are from poor families. This is a considerable number.

When will children from poor families be able to emerge?

The real world is not a place where good ministers and wise rulers kowtow to each other when they meet. There are many people in Li Siyuan's Prince Jin's Mansion, but they are all elites trained by aristocratic families.

These aristocratic families mainly come from Hedong, Hebei and Shandong. Although the aristocratic families in these places no longer have any power, their appearance is still very intimidating.

With the help of these children from noble families, his rule in Hedong could be as stable as a rock.

What do the poor children have? They are poor in knowledge, do not know etiquette, and have no deep background. It is easy for them to make a fool of themselves. What on earth does the emperor want to do by marrying so many poor children?

Li Siyuan was puzzled. He thought there must be something he had not discovered, but he also knew that even if he went up to ask the emperor now, the emperor would not answer him.

In fact, this was the limitation of the times. Li Siyuan was only concerned with the rule of a region. He relied on the power of those aristocratic families, but was inevitably infiltrated by them in administration.

This infiltration can make his rule more stable.

But those who do not plan for eternity are not qualified to plan for the moment, and those who do not plan for the overall situation are not qualified to plan for a region. Li Siyuan was looking at Hedong, but Su Ming saw the entire world.

If the children of aristocratic families control the imperial examinations for a long time, then in the future, the aristocratic families will make use of the administrative power of the court to revive and recuperate in the local areas. By then, the imperial examination scholars will emerge and combine with court official positions. What a terrifying force that will be.

The aristocratic families control the government, but they are able to select and optimize from generation to generation, and hold power invisibly. This is more terrifying than the corrupt clans.

Now these aristocratic families have lost their land, their tenants, and their means of production, but once they hold official positions for a long time, they will soon take those ownerless wastelands into their own hands.

Once a natural disaster occurs, they will gather tenants and purchase land more quickly. This is almost the revival of the aristocratic families!

As we all know, the ending of the Ming Dynasty was that the prime minister of the cabinet could occupy hundreds of thousands of acres of land, and the gentry encroached on it bit by bit. If the aristocratic families took the lead, the emperor would immediately become a puppet.

In the first year of Hongwu, the imperial court held its first imperial examination, which was of great political significance.

The most important thing is not how many talents are gathered. The most important thing is to let the people of the world see the inclusiveness of the Luoyang court. The court has the capacity and ability to measure talents from all over the world.

Nowadays, scholars from aristocratic families dominate the society, and woodblock printing is not used to burn books in large quantities, but to print Buddhist scriptures.

Books were not circulated widely but were preserved within one family. Ordinary people, without opportunities, might never have access to books in their entire lives.

This time, he recruited so many young men from aristocratic families for the world to see.

On the other hand, it was also to trick these aristocratic families. If they knew that they were going to throw so many children from aristocratic families into compiling history books, their expressions would definitely be very interesting.

A rigorous, objective history book that can withstand scrutiny will take at least several years, or even more than ten years, to compile. Such a long time is enough for them to sit on the bench. Perhaps Su Ming will promote them, but he will never let them have power, especially the right to manage local government affairs.

There were two hundred children from aristocratic families, including children from the Wei, Wang, Cui, Pei, and Li families, some of whom even made great names in Luoyang.

These are all elites, but their ideas of revitalizing their family are doomed to fail.

While they were taking the exam, Su Ming and a group of ministers left. The exam lasted for two hours, and they did not have the time to waste on it.

The imperial examination is now coming to an end. In addition to these 300 candidates, there are also newly admitted scholars. Many of these people are from poor backgrounds and have applied for official positions in the court.

Next, the Ministry of Personnel will be busy.

The imperial court is still a mess, and its rule around Luoyang is almost zero. These scholars will serve as officials and gradually bring the counties around Luoyang under their control.

Many times, power is transferred from the bottom up, and parachuting in a chief officer is naturally a good thing, but the key is that the court cannot do it now, and can only do it slowly.