In the Taiji Hall of Chang'an, Li Gang, the Minister of Rites, was reporting on his work.
Also in the hall were Sun Wuji, the young minister of Dali Temple, Liu Zhenghui, the assistant minister of Zhongshu, and others.
Li Gang talked for a long time and finally said: "What worries me most is that the north is so dilapidated and talented people are withering, especially in Hebei, Shandong, Henan and other places. Ten houses and nine empty houses, even the eastern capital has declined.
At this time of talent selection, there are only a few candidates from prefectures and counties. On the contrary, there are many talents in Guanxi, Shanxi, and Shuzhong. Moreover, Jiangnan has always been the place where the literary style flourishes. After the examination, the situation is determined to be that the south is more important than the north.
I thought we should make preparations in advance to avoid criticism."
Li Bi sat there and listened quietly. The imperial examination was the first major event that she encountered after taking the country. Her husband had prepared for it for a long time and almost had all the ministers of the Ministry of Rites exiled. This shows how difficult it was.
Li Jing said a lot. There are many literati in the south, and it is self-evident that they have an absolute advantage in the imperial examination. Many people have mentioned it before, and it is not new.
It's just that Li Gang's identity is different, so what he said carries a lot of weight, and their worries are not unreasonable.
The estrangement between northerners and southerners is also hard to explain. It was eased during the Sui Dynasty, but over the years the world was divided, it was brought back to its original shape.
If the results of the imperial examination come out and the southerners have an absolute advantage, it will be very unpleasant. Not to mention that some people will jump out and accuse the imperial examination of being unfair. Even the ministers in the court will feel very uncomfortable.
After all, the Tang Dynasty was unified from north to south, and the northerners probably would not be able to accept such a result psychologically.
But if you take into account the ideas of northerners, people in the south may also hesitate. So this is not a black and white issue, but a matter of balance.
Of course, this is only one of the difficulties faced by the imperial examination. There are still many places that need to be checked and filled. Li Gang has listed them one by one before.
……………………
After Li Gang finished speaking, Li Bi looked around at everyone in the palace and said unhurriedly: "The imperial court has been preparing for the important matter of talent selection for a long time, and the shortcomings have been foreseen.
There is no need for the Ministry of Rites to bring these things to my ears. The solution is something that is easy to hear. After the imperial examination, it is best for the Ministry of Rites and Zhongshu to discuss it before reporting it to me."
Li Gang's face was burning. In fact, he had planned to use this to gain the queen's support. The imperial examination was not a matter for the Ministry of Rites and the yamen alone. All other ministries needed to bear the responsibility.
This did not go very smoothly, because he took over the Ministry of Rites not long ago, and he was one of the more important people among Li Yuan's descendants. It was inherently difficult to deal with those heroes who founded the country.
But when the Queen opened her mouth, she only looked at the results and not the process. If he tried to argue again, he might just show that he, Li Wenji, was too incompetent.
In just one sentence, this veteran court official almost choked and rolled his eyes.
It can be seen that Li Bi's style is much stronger than that of her husband. Of course, this is also due to the fact that she used her body as a woman to supervise the country and deliberately did so.
She must be tough in order to intimidate her subordinates. Regardless of ancient or modern times, women in power are actually much more powerful than men. This is the reason.
Li Bi turned to look at Changsun Wuji, "There will be a lot of people reporting for the verdict this year. What do you think of Dali Temple?"
The young Changsun Wuji involuntarily puffed up his chest. He was a bit unlucky. It had been several years since he came to Tang Dynasty. This was the first time he entered the Tai Chi Palace, but he met the Empress Jianguo.
What's even more unfortunate is that his life is not going well now. After breaking up with his uncle Changsun Wuji, he has completely lost his support, and more people are causing trouble for him overtly or covertly.
He offended a lot of people when he was working for Li Shimin, and it became even more so after he became the Chang'an Order. After being promoted to the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, he was in a position where he needed to keep a straight face and offend people severely.
It is not easy to find excuses for him, but as the term of Shaoqing of Dali Temple continues, the voices of impeachment against him are rising one after another.
He had already anticipated this, so he didn't need to pay too much attention to it. Most of the old people from Dongdu who had helped him in the past had now become enemies, and they would naturally be criticized.
However, his position as Shaoqing of Dali Temple was approved by the emperor. This kind of public revenge and partisan impeachment would only make his narrow-minded and shameless uncle expose his own shortcomings, and he might be dismissed from office at some point.
It's just that he couldn't hold back his resentment some time ago, and finally got brother Anshi, the eldest grandson, into the Dali Temple prison, which can be regarded as a clue.
Not only did they not beat the two brothers to death with a stick, but they stung a hornet's nest.
Yun Dingxing, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, begged the emperor for mercy and personally went to the prison in Dali Temple to pick up brother Anshi, the eldest grandson. The Yushitai also took advantage of the situation and began to impeach him.
He was very disgraced some time ago.
Recently, the transfer of Dai Zhou, a doctor in the Ministry of Punishment, to the post of Shaoqing of Dali Temple has been approved by the Ministry of Personnel and he is about to take office. This is not good news for him.
A member of a family like him, who lost the support of his family and turned against him, had actually had half of his hands and feet cut off.
If there is someone like Dai Zhou constraining me around me, it won't be the least bit uncomfortable.
There is also the group of people at Yushitai, who also have the responsibility of supervising all officials, which overlaps with the duties of Dali Temple, and have been keeping an eye on them.
Well, that is to say, Changsun Wuji is calm and perseverant, but someone else would have to think about it. The situation is so bad, should he resign and let him go for a while?
Changsun Wuji is very stubborn. He is about to secure his position in Dali Temple and let those sneaky people see what kind of upright man his eldest grandson Fuji is.
Well, when the man came to the Tai Chi Hall and saw that the Queen was so majestic and bold, talking about the matter of collusion in an understated way, almost as if she was about to go on a killing spree, he immediately became a lot more careful.
"Returning to your Majesty, I believe that talent selection is an important matter, and should be strictly enforced and prohibited as a warning. I have discussed this with everyone in Dali Temple. Anyone who knowingly commits a crime during this period should be severely punished.
There is no need to hold an official position. If you should kill, you should kill, and you cannot tolerate and support traitors, lest someone in the future does not know the importance and disturbs the important affairs of the court."
Li Bi nodded with satisfaction, thinking that this person was quite responsible, but I didn't know if his sister was doing well in Mrs. Chu's house. I heard that she was a beautiful woman with a beautiful heart who could turn all living beings upside down.
I would like to take some time to see them. Alas, there are more and more women hiding there. He always hangs out there. Hum, sooner or later something will happen.
"What you said makes sense, but human life is at stake, so we still need to get approval from the Ministry of Punishment. Your Majesty once said that you cannot commit crimes on your ministers for no reason, let alone kill indiscriminately to show off your power.
The way of Huanghuang is to be fair and upright, and to punish the guilty under the power of God. All ministers must understand this and remember not to bend the law for personal gain."