Su He brought a cup of tea from the table, moistened his throat and said:
“The imperial examination system is one of the cornerstones of the dynasty and must be treated with caution.
After summarizing the experience of the imperial examination in the past few years, it can be clearly discovered.
The focus of the imperial examination should not be on the Four Books and Five Classics.
The imperial examination is to select talents for the country and select talents who can govern the country and bring peace to the country.
From now on, the examination questions in the imperial examination should emphasize practice, ability, and light on classics and meaning.
All the Confucian classics have been written by scholars in the Song and Ming dynasties.
Some scholars were proficient in the meaning of the classics, but knew nothing about solving specific problems.
He is the one who does not distinguish between the five grains and only understands them.
I remember that there were several Jinshi in the first imperial examination, but none of them have graduated from the Imperial College so far.
From now on, the imperial examinations on classics and meanings will test the classics of hundreds of schools of thought, with Chinese allusions and culture as the test questions.
It only needs to select candidates who are familiar with the classics, and the test questions do not need to be too profound.
The imperial examination focuses on examining direction, strategy and ability.
Policy theory, examining scholars’ understanding of state governance.
Ability, based on the specific subjects of the candidate, examines his ability.
Apply to the Scholarship Division to examine the scholar's leadership and problem-solving abilities.
The topic is a classic problem encountered by various prefectures and counties in their governance.
When applying for law, examine the legal terms and conclusions.
If you enroll in mathematics, you will be tested on your mathematical knowledge.
The time for each subject of the imperial examination is staggered, and scholars can apply for multiple subjects and be ranked and admitted separately.
A person only occupies one Jinshi quota. If a scholar is successful in all subjects, he only occupies one Jinshi quota.
The imperial examination is held once a year, and a total of 150 Jinshi are admitted each time.
It is decided by the emperor and the cabinet to allocate the quota of Jinshi in each subject.
If you are a new Jinshi, you can enter the Imperial College and study the corresponding courses. If you pass the exam, you will be allowed to graduate.
These are the official positions of Jinshi assigned by the Ministry of Personnel.
If he is unable to graduate from the Imperial College within one year, his achievements will not be revoked, but he will not be assigned corresponding official positions."
The civil servants listened to the imperial examination process described by King Su He of Qin.
Some of them are happy, some are happy.
In the new dynasty, there was an imperial examination every year, and 150 Jinshi were admitted each time.
This is much better than the previous Ming Dynasty, where the imperial examination was held every three years and the admission quota was uncertain.
In this way, if there are scholars waiting for scientific examination in the capital, they will not waste more than ten years.
If a scholar fails the exam three or five times, he will naturally look for new ways to earn a living.
The imperial examinations in the new dynasty did not emphasize classics and principles, which weakened the status of Confucianism.
This change in the imperial examination strengthened the power of the officials and weakened the power of the Imperial College.
The current status of the Imperial College has become a school with a special status, and it no longer has the title of Junior Officials Department.
Song Kangnian, the Minister of Rites, immediately stood up and asked: "There is an important issue that the king did not explain clearly.
In the imperial examination, should we continue to separate the northern and southern rankings?
If the imperial examinations are conducted fairly and impartially, in the underdeveloped provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, it may take decades for not a single person to pass the imperial examination.
As a result, the officials in the imperial court were monopolized by people from every place.
The imperial court's policy has always been biased towards a certain place.
The northwest of Yunnan and Guizhou and other places have no voice at all in the imperial court."
These words of Song Kangnian, the Minister of Rites, immediately aroused the memory of all civil servants.
Most of them are from the northwest region.
It echoes the development gap between various regions in the Ming Dynasty.
Just look at the party struggle in the Ming Dynasty. It was the Donglin Party in the southeast and other parties united to fight.
The combined parties are also the Zhejiang Party and the Chu Party.
There is simply no room for parties like the Shaanxi Party and the Sichuan Party to survive.
Su He originally wanted to secretly announce the issue of imperial examination quotas to create an established fact.
"It is a fact that the level of education is unevenly developed across the country.
The south is strong and the north is weak, the east is strong and the west is weak.
The imperial examination selects talents for the country, but it cannot only select talents from a certain place.
There is a quota limit on the number of Jinshi who can take the imperial examination in each province every year.
The minimum is one person and the maximum is twenty people.”
Civil officials all have their own opinions on this amount.
Su He directly suppressed it. The interests involved in the quota dispute were too great, and the discussion could not be completed for several days.
The specific effects will be adjusted in the future based on the feedback of the imperial examination scholars.
The Ministry of Rites is mainly responsible for the imperial examinations, and Su He has already arranged them.
Su He glanced at Tian Wenheng, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, Zhang Dezhi, the minister of the Ministry of industry, Qian Fuwen, the minister of the Ministry of household affairs, and Kong Renxin, the minister of the medical ministry.
The six departments have not changed much and do not need to be discussed on this occasion.
Su He finally turned his attention to Li Yuanzheng, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Wu Donglin, the minister of Dali Temple, and Su Yan, the minister of the Ministry of Punishment.
He said slowly: "The legislative body has become a parliament.
The powers of the three judicial divisions of law enforcement agencies need to be strengthened.
The three judicial departments, especially the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which has the most important position.
As long as a case is filed, it must be investigated to the end.
Even the Prime Minister and the Censor of Zuodu have no right to terminate the investigation of the case.
As the bureau responsible for criminal law, the Sanfa Division should no longer use Confucianism in its investigations and adjudication, but should use Legalism.
Legalist thinking has always been that princes who break the law are equally guilty as the common people.
The Metropolitan Procuratorate can investigate anyone except the emperor.
Including the crown prince, prime minister, officials at all levels, and members of parliament.
During the Song and Ming dynasties, the country was governed by filial piety and did not pay attention to the law. They claimed that the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats jointly governed the world, and punishments were not equal to those of the scholar-bureaucrats.
Some scholar-bureaucrats who committed serious crimes would be let off lightly as long as they resigned.
The system of the new dynasty was completely different. The previous dynasty's rule of filial piety made a mess.
The country will not be very stable if it is governed solely by filial piety.
In addition to governing foreign countries with filial piety, the new dynasty must also govern the country with law.
No one is above the law except the emperor.
Our new government must have a new atmosphere and resolutely break this bad habit.
Even if the princes, nobles and first-class officials of the dynasty break the law, they must be tried by the law.
Officials who break the law must be punished.
It is also easy for officials to protect each other, cover up each other's crimes, and help cover up the crimes of others.
What these people are best at is deceiving others.
Among ordinary people, if you want to sue an official, the current procedure is very difficult.
The Metropolitan Procuratorate and Dali Temple should simplify the procedures and improve the procedures for people to complain to officials.
Only when officials accept public supervision can corrupt officials have no way to hide.
Any yamen must act in accordance with the law and must have clear regulations.
Yamen such as Xuanwuwei are special and will also be authorized by the emperor in accordance with corresponding laws.
It has the power to arrest officials who subvert the imperial court, form cliques for personal gain, and intend to commit rebellion.
But they have no power and can conduct trials privately.
This special kind of yamen must also fix the evidence and submit it to the Tribunal for Trial.
The emperor has the power to grant pardons to some criminals who are unacceptable under the law but can be tolerated by reason, or those who have made meritorious service to the country.
In cases of amnesty, all details must be made public and subject to private supervision."
After Tian Wenheng, the Minister of Civil Affairs, heard this, he immediately stood up and objected in a soft tone: "Your Majesty, since the Han Dynasty, all dynasties have governed the country with loyalty and filial piety.
However, the king learned to tyrannize the Qin Dynasty and rule the country with legalism.
This is a reversal of history, does not conform to the current mainstream views, and will definitely be opposed by scholars.
The second emperor of Qin Dynasty died because of the harsh punishments.
Our new dynasty has just been established and the current situation is not yet stable. Please consider this carefully, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty, since ancient times, punishment has not been given to scholar-officials. There is a reason.
The political struggle in the court was extremely fierce, and an official was put on trial.
It is impossible to find out whether it was framed by the enemy or whether he was corrupt.
The usual approach is for the official to resign and admit defeat and leave, and the matter he committed will no longer be pursued."
In order to stop the Sanfa Division, Tian Wenheng directly broke the unspoken rules of officialdom.
Li Yuanzheng, the censor of Zuodu, immediately retorted: "Sir Tian, our Criminal Department can investigate the case clearly and will never unjustly accuse a good person.
The king has already said that any prince who breaks the law can be tried.
Even princes can judge, let alone us officials."
Li Yuanzheng, the censor of Zuodu, stared at Tian Wenheng.
When the new dynasty is established, the Metropolitan Procuratorate asks everyone to remember that there will be a big scandal.
Tian Wenheng jumped out on this occasion. Is this a sign of guilty conscience?
Tian Wenheng heard Li Yuanzheng's threatening tone.
His expression remained unchanged, he looked at Su He, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, let the people sue the officials, and the unruly people will frame them at will.
When the time comes that officials will not be able to make a living, there will be no officials willing to do anything.
The current rules have been implemented for thousands of years and must have merit.
If the king does this, it will definitely lead to the resignation of a large number of officials and the court will fall into turmoil."
Wu Donglin, the Minister of Dali Temple, immediately retorted: "Tian Shangshu does not understand the law. The laws we practice impose extremely severe penalties on false accusations and frame-ups.
The system of false accusations and counter-actions will not allow people to make false accusations against officials casually."
Su He looked at Tian Wenheng, who was a more traditional Confucian official.
The ability is sufficient, but the thinking has not been reversed.
"Tian Aiqing, in fact there are many people who want to be officials, and there is no shortage of officials in the new dynasty.
It turns out that people who resign have reasons to evade responsibility.
Anyone who voluntarily resigns from office in the future will be subject to strict investigation by the Procuratorate.
He is allowed to resign only if he has made no mistakes during his tenure."
Before Su He, he did not vigorously rectify the officialdom.
In addition to monitoring key funds such as taxes and pensions.
For other funds, monitoring is not as strong.
In addition to the lack of manpower in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the secret guards are mainly engaged in military activities.
The most important point is that Su He is also worried that these officials will defect to the Ming Dynasty with secrets.
Now that the Ming Dynasty has died, it is time to take action to rectify the officialdom.
The civil servants present looked at Tian Wenheng with dissatisfaction.
Su He scanned the audience with majestic eyes.
"Is there anyone else who objects?"
Su He knew that ruling the country by law would definitely encounter opposition from some civil servants.
Tian Wenheng is not a person, he is a representative of traditional Confucian officials in the Ming Dynasty.
Su He was not surprised at all to oppose this policy.
Su He said firmly: "Officials cannot act arbitrarily, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate is by no means a tool of party struggle.
As the core department of the Three Law Departments, the Metropolitan Procuratorate must set an example and purify the officialdom.
Only by constantly removing the carrion can we ensure the integrity of the officialdom."
Su He looked at Li Yuanzheng and ordered: "In our early days, we retained many demoted officials from the Ming Dynasty, and they brought some unhealthy tendencies to the officialdom.
In the previous period, we focused on conquering the world and ensuring the stability of our rear.
Now that the Ming Dynasty has been eliminated, it is time to clean up the officialdom and eliminate all unqualified officials.
Let’s deal with a few big cases first so that the people can have a way to expose officials’ illegal acts.”
Li Yuanzheng stood up immediately, bowed and said at the same time: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, the Metropolitan Procuratorate will ensure that the task is completed."
Su He saw it clearly.
As long as officials hold huge power, corruption will never be banned.
As a ruler, the emperor must unite the power of the people and constantly clean up corrupt officials.
Wang Zhongce saw that the atmosphere in Qianqing Palace was a bit wrong.
In particular, the military looked smiling. Looking at the queue of civilian officials, many people's expressions changed drastically.
They couldn't let the military judge laugh at them, so Wang Zhongce quickly stepped forward to ease the atmosphere.
"We are the first-rank officials of the current dynasty, the top officials of the new dynasty.
We don’t lack power, and we don’t lack money either.
Our main purpose is to realize our ideals and ambitions.
As long as you don't break the law, why should you be afraid of the law?
The cabinet fully supports the new dynasty's idea of ruling the country by law.
Your Majesty, please continue talking about other policies."
Su He nodded, now is not the time to argue.
After he talked about the law, he talked about the most important system for the new dynasty, which was the most important tax.
“One of the most important reasons for the demise of the Ming Dynasty was economic bankruptcy.
In the late Ming Dynasty, it could no longer afford the salaries of hundreds of officials, let alone the salaries of the army.
The income of salt merchants in the Ming Dynasty was more than the annual income of the Ming Dynasty.
Completely forming a situation where the country is poor and the people are rich, this is the imperfect taxation of the Ming Dynasty.
They collect money from the poorest ordinary people, but cannot collect taxes from the richest group, the gentry and merchants.
We must learn this lesson deeply and improve the taxation system of the new dynasty.
The overall mechanism of taxation will not change much.
Agricultural taxes still account for nearly half of the tax revenue.
Industrial and commercial taxes are extremely important and continue to grow every year.
With the growth rate of industrial and commercial tax, agricultural tax has become the first tax type. This trend is unstoppable.
We have enough money to arm the army, which is also inseparable from the tax system.
The overall framework of the tax system remains unchanged, but some details have been adjusted.
No one will be exempt from taxes under the new dynasty.
Businesses run by the royal family will also collect taxes as usual.
Strengthen the penalties for tax evasion and the scale of the State Administration of Taxation, especially the scale of the tax police.
The status of the State Administration of Taxation was elevated to the same status as the cabinet and was under the direct control of the emperor.
The tax bureau collects taxes in various places and transports the tax money to the State Administration of Taxation in the capital through the banking system.
The cabinet makes a budget for the next year based on the tax situation.
After the budget is passed by the parliament, the State Administration of Taxation will allocate the taxes to the account of the Ministry of Accounts.
The budget of the cabinet includes the funds for the operation of the court and the funds allocated to the provinces."
Suhe continues to improve the status of the State Administration of Taxation.
Money was very important to the imperial court, and its source basically came from tax collection and income from Shaofu directly-operated companies.
Taxation cannot be left to local officials, who tax the people arbitrarily.
Big fights, small fights, fire consumption and many other names were used to embezzle taxes from various places.
Qian Fuwen, the Minister of Household Affairs, stood up and asked: "Your Majesty, this process is too troublesome.
How much tax must be collected and how much money can the court spend?
Taxes are repeatedly escorted to the capital and transported to various places, which is too troublesome.
This time the king borrowed money to attack the Ming Dynasty, and we had the powerful tool of banks, which helped me open up my mind.
We can completely predict the tax revenue for the current year, and the cabinet can prepare the budget for that year.
If the tax revenue is greater than the budget, there will be a surplus of tax money that can be used as a reserve to do some big things.
If the tax revenue is less than the budget and there is a vacancy in the court, it can borrow money to fill the vacancy and reduce the budget for the next year to fill the vacancy.
"The Beauty of the Sun and the Moon"
In this way, the tax money can be quickly distributed to various provinces through banks.
This is just a bank deposit certificate, and there is no need to transport silver coins on a large scale, which can reduce a lot of costs."
After Su He listened to Qian Fuwen's suggestion, he nodded with satisfaction and said, "Qian Aiqing's suggestion is very good.
Based on Qian Aiqing's suggestion, the State Administration of Taxation and banks will cooperate to establish a more complete tax and bank transportation system."
Suhe only improved the status of the State Administration of Taxation and did not increase new taxes.
Su He made the State Administration of Taxation responsible for the tax revenue of each province. The tax revenue was collected by the central government and then allocated to various provinces.
This is also to weaken local financial power.
Everything local governments need to do depends on central funding.
They have no ability to resist the central government.
It can also balance regional development through taxation.
Wearing silk and satin will not allow a strong economy to make a living, but a weak economy will not be able to afford food.
Su He looked at Tian Wenheng and said, "Tian Aiqing, now I have a heavy responsibility for you."
When Tian Wenheng heard Qin Wang Su He say this, his heart skipped a beat.
Just now he opposed Qin King Su He's idea of ruling the country by law.