"If you have a career like a disciple, you have to take classes every year, and you can master one or more arts and make up for the lack of literary knowledge; your senior disciple can be a doctor." [Hanshu·Preface to the Scholars]
The water in Cangchi is clear and clear, reflecting the scorching sun and blue sky. The torrential waves and ripples are clear to the eyes. Some green carps that are more than a foot long jump out on the water in the distance from time to time, making a splashing sound in the light blue pool.
A fleeting white flower was left on the face.
Willows as thick as a bucket are planted on the shore surrounding the fishing platform. When the breeze blows, the willow branches sway and dance.
On this hot day, the emperor and his ministers sat upright in the middle of the Diaoyutai. The south wind was blowing, and they didn't feel the heat. They felt comfortable all over. The emperor respected Chen Ji, a famous scholar and veteran minister, and refused to lean casually or lean in as he did when meeting his ministers in private in the past.
Sitting on the bed, he put one hand on the jade table and felt the coolness soak through his sleeves and penetrate into his skin. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind, and even his speech became clearer.
The emperor pondered and held out three fingers and said: "There are three things that need to be changed." He said softly: "First, from now on, all those who recommend themselves, or those recommended by Taichang, counties, or celebrities will have to take entrance exams. Gu Nian
A poor and lowly family does not have as many scriptures as a rich and powerful family, and its children are not as well-read as ordinary scholars since they were young. If they are lucky enough to know a few words, they are lucky. Therefore, let them join the scholars.
Admission through examination is obviously unfair."
"I think it would be even more unfair if the assessments were conducted separately, as the difficulty and ease would be very different." Chen Ji suddenly objected. Although the scholars today have the rudiments of a solidified class, they are not like those three hundred years later, when the high-ranking officials looked down upon them.
pawn.
Many truly broad-minded Confucian scholars are happy to see humble scholars become successful in their studies. Therefore, Chen Ji does not necessarily want to hinder poor scholars from pursuing their studies, but has another reason: "If the interview is more difficult,
It would be a bit unfair to the scholars who had passed the former exam to be admitted to Imperial College in the end, and those who had not passed the exam may not really be talented. In addition, the two are the same
Entering the Imperial Academy, the good and the bad are in the same room, and there are many disadvantages in teaching as a doctor."
After saying this, Chen Ji looked at the emperor with a serious look on his face. In fact, he was very worried in his heart. He was worried that the emperor was young and energetic and would not listen to the good advice of his ministers when he was in high spirits.
"Listen, this is what a mature person says when planning for the country." The emperor smiled and said to Zhao Wen, as if what he just said was just to test whether Chen Ji was sincerely thinking about him, rather than blindly conceding.
After saying that, he was silent for a while, only stroking the armrests with his hands, and sometimes looking at the scenery of Cangchi directly opposite, his face gradually became solemn and solemn, and he sighed and said: "The saint has been preaching for thousands of years.
How many literate people are there in the world? Even if the Imperial Academy selects people based on their talents regardless of their status, there is no reason to admit students from humble backgrounds simply based on whether they are literate or not."
Seeing that he was exposed, Mr. Chen Ji blushed and said apologetically: "I was careless and misunderstood the holy will."
It is impossible for the emperor to make it more difficult for scholars to enter school and at the same time ask poor scholars to enroll in school after writing a few words. This will not only affect the quality of teaching, but also shake the foundation of his rule. For a long time to come, the emperor's fundamentals will
They will all be these powerful nobles. He can slowly create some new rules and regulations to limit the power of these powerful nobles. He can also eliminate some disobedient powerful people in the form of power struggle within the rules.
But in the final analysis, the emperor cannot rashly oppose the existing mainstream class until a new class emerges.
Therefore, Chen Ji's deliberate "arrogance" was nothing more than digging a trap for the emperor to test the emperor's strength.
The emperor smiled, took a sip of tea, and the cold tea was like a bitter medicine. He could not help frowning and said: "Mr. Chen must have known that after the re-establishment of the Imperial Academy, whether he could recite
Only one chapter can be admitted. Last year, a planned examination was adopted, which mainly focused on simple evaluation of Confucian classics. This method is a bit harsh for these humble people, so it is not appropriate for them to treat them as one.
."
Seeing the emperor frowning, Zhao Wen mistook it for the emperor's displeasure, and quickly interjected: "Your Majesty's intention is not to divide the examination into difficult and easy levels, but to increase the number of places for the Imperial Academy, based on five subjects.
Two hundred people, now the quota is increased. The three subjects of Ming Jing, Drama, and Economics will accept 400 people each, and the two subjects of Ming Law and Business will accept 600 people each. Those with the highest ranking in the policy examination will be admitted to Ming Jing, and those with the lower grades will be admitted.
Enter business administration and other subjects. For those who are not allowed to enter because of their poor academic background, their character will be considered so that they can "take up the job like a disciple" and attend Taixue as a day student. After one year, they will take another examination and then make a decision.
Stay or go."
In the beginning, Taixue only had doctors of the Five Classics, and there were only 250 places for students under it. However, the demand for study at that time was far more than these 250 places could meet, so the concept of "accepting karma like a disciple" came into being.
Position. They are equivalent to the informal auditors who are set up separately in addition to the formal "doctor's disciples", and who "receive their careers as disciples" with the doctor.
Although the treatment is different from that of formal disciples, and they cannot enjoy exemption from corvee, public funding and other benefits, their future options are the same as those of formal disciples, and there is no limit on the amount.
In fact, the emperor and Zhao Wen realized that Chen Jichu had just arrived and could not fully understand the actual situation of Taixue, so they deliberately concealed the fact from the other side that Taixue did not have a shortage of students.
Although the number of scholars who are willing to come to Taixue to study hard for five years before being awarded an official position is indeed much smaller than in the first year, the Li Shu and Guizhou leaders who found the benefits are scrambling to get their sons to enter Taixue. Not only
Being exempted from corvee, having no worries about food and clothing for five years, or being a county official in the future is enough to help the whole family turn around from the yellow earth. And the entrance threshold for Taixue is not high: you pay a shuxiu as tuition every year, and you can master it
Just read a certain scripture and take the exam when you enter school.
It’s just that the number of Taixue personnel has been fixed, and only 1,000 people are accepted every year. Therefore, there are too many monks and not enough rice. The emperor simply came up with the idea of "expanding enrollment". After the addition of 2,400 official "doctoral disciples", in addition to Taixue students,
Recruit an additional 600 auditors who will "become disciples". Let them work part-time and study. After a year, their results will be evaluated. Those who pass will be formally admitted, and those who fail will be sent home. This competitive method will definitely bring benefits to the public.
The emperor selects those who are good enough.
"Confucius raised three thousand disciples with commoners. Now that the Imperial College has been restored, but there are very few students, we might as well increase the number of students to three thousand to imitate the sages." The emperor waved his hand to Zhao Wen who was about to say more, relaxed his brows, and said to Chen Ji
Such a reason was given.
With 3,000 conscripts a year, wouldn’t the five-year Imperial College have more than 15,000 people in the future? This is not like admiring Confucius’s 3,000 disciples!
Chen Ji thought about it for a while, and an exciting idea suddenly came to his mind. He pretended to hesitate and said: "I heard from Sikong that the current Taixue alone spends millions of money from the court every year. If the amount is really expanded,
, wouldn’t it cost more than tens of millions of dollars every year?”
"Even if it's tens of millions, what's wrong with educating talents for the country?" Zhao Wen replied with a smile.