Li Gang, the Minister of Rites, and Liu Jie, the Minister of Rites, who had just returned to Beijing, entered the Tai Chi Hall together.
Li Po raised his head in the hall and waved to the two people who were saluting him to take their seats.
As soon as their buttocks touched the seats, Li Po said, "Have you all heard about the Chang'an Academy incident?"
A few days after Liu Ji came back, he and Changsun Shunde had a great time in Shangdang. They led the troops to sweep the Shangdang, quelled the chaos, and purged the officialdom. They were all bloody.
When they left, the officials and the people of Shangdang were probably celebrating with their foreheads and hands, so they even set off firecrackers.
However, as far as the imperial court is concerned, the two of them have meritorious service. They want to make a mark on their official qualifications. They will be rewarded with merit at the end of this year.
Liu Ji rested for a while after returning to Chang'an, and then just went to work in the Ministry of Rites.
Naturally, he had heard about the incident at Chang'an Academy, but he had just started working in the Yamen, and such matters could not be brought to his attention, so he looked at Li Gang and did not speak in a hurry.
Li Gang sighed secretly, stood up again and saluted, saying: "We haven't fought yet. If there was a disturbance, it would be my fault if I failed to predict it beforehand."
Li Po pressed his hand and motioned for him to sit down and talk. He looked calm and did not look angry, "It's not your fault...Besides, scholars discuss current affairs, talk about the pros and cons, and have opinions. It should be said that it is
Good thing.
Isn’t it better than those who study just to gain wealth?”
Li Gang seemed to have expected such a result, so he nodded and sat down again.
Liu Jie was a little surprised. Is it such an understatement? He was stunned and said to himself that His Majesty is so enlightened, which is really a blessing to the country.
Li Gang had a much deeper experience in this aspect than Liu Ji. The case of leaking the imperial examination questions has not yet come to a conclusion, but the emperor is very patient and considerate of the difficulties of his ministers. This is a rare thing among kings since the end of the Jin Dynasty.
quality.
What's more, in the past few years, the emperor has been governing the world without arrogance or impetuosity, which is enough to be called the Holy Son of Heaven.
………………
The Chang'an Academy incident originated from Chang'an's wine sacrifice, Li Xuandao and others. They held a literary meeting in Chang'an Academy and invited literary talents from the north and south to participate, and finally set up an arena...
Seeing that everyone was getting more and more angry, they begged the court to step in and calm down.
The reaction from the Ministry of Rites was a bit slow. There was nothing we could do, and we couldn't blame Li Gang and others for not being sensitive enough. The main reason was that the Beijing Examination was about to start, and everyone in the Ministry of Rites was preparing for the big exam. In addition, there were all sorts of requests for mercy, so they couldn't care less.
On to something else.
Zhongshu responded quickly, but it was actually because some people there had more contacts with Chang'an Academy.
Cen Wenwen and Sun Fuga had extraordinary identities. Not only did they occupy a place in the literary world, but they also belonged to the north and the south. When they showed up, the scholars from the north and the south would have some conflicts of temper when they saw them.
But when the two of them arrived at the academy, people in the academy were discussing current affairs.
This is undoubtedly one of the main battlefields for literati. In addition, poems, songs, comments on ancient and modern figures, etc. are also their main topics.
Normally everyone would be more cautious, but now that the bayonet is red, it is inevitable that someone will talk nonsense when talking about current events.
And no matter what time, there are many things that can be said, especially now, when the old dynasty is fading away and the new dynasty is just beginning.
Young scholars are passionate about criticizing the shortcomings of the old dynasty and promoting the wisdom of the new dynasty. How can they show their abilities? Many people feel that only by doing the opposite can they achieve a blockbuster effect.
Young people are like this. They are not cautious enough and always want to stand out and be famous. Only when they pay enough price can they realize the dangers of the world.
This is not a bad thing. If young people are not like this, what kind of young people would they be?
But if the timing is wrong, those young people who are not rational enough will pay an unbearable price...
The debate in Chang'an Academy was like this. The scholars from the north and the south had sparks. Some people got excited and put aside all their scruples. They just wanted to overwhelm the other side in the debate, without any concern about the consequences.
In particular, young scholars are limited by their age, vision, life experience, etc. In fact, they do not have many fresh and insightful opinions. Most of them just want something new and original.
When you are short of words, you will take out what the elders talked about privately and use it in the debate, which adds to the danger.
When the topic comes to the talent selection system, it is like a thread hanging in the wind. Once it is used by someone with intentions, the consequences will be disastrous. It is easy to harm yourself, but it is not impossible to harm your family.
When Cen Wenwen and Sun Fuga arrived, the literary meeting had already been held for two days. The professors at Chang'an Academy failed to guide public opinion and calm the disputes among the scholars. On the contrary, they became more and more intense.
The people from Chang'an Academy must bear the main responsibility for this matter.
Scholars gathered in the capital to prepare for the big exam. Seeing this, they selected some scholars with good reputations, high talents, and sufficient family backgrounds to attend the Chang'an Academy Literary Meeting.
When the scholars gradually divided into two groups, they did not realize the danger. Instead, they added fuel to the fire and wanted young people to show their talents as much as possible. What they wanted was actually to consolidate Chang'an Academy's status among literati, without any regard for whether it would
It will affect the upcoming Beijing Examination.
It wasn't until the situation got worse and they couldn't control it at all that they felt it was getting worse and turned to the DPRK for help.
Cen Wenwen and Sun Fuga didn't take it seriously at first, but when they arrived, the debate already involved the talent selection system, a topic related to the fate of young people.
The scene is so awesome...
For example, most scholars in the north believed that the imperial examination system for selecting talents was established in the Sui Dynasty, but scholars in the south of the Yangtze River did not think so. They believed that in the Southern Qi Dynasty, there was a class examination system, and that was the origin of the imperial examination.
Moreover, the Liang and Chen dynasties both continued, so what are you northerners so proud of? It’s obvious that we have made some innovations. You only know how to pick up people’s wits, but you still look triumphant. It’s really annoying to watch.
The topic then veered a little further. A talented scholar from the south of the Yangtze River pointed out that the Imperial Examination was established in the former Sui Dynasty to deal with the northern aristocratic families headed by the Kansai clan?
Then he added angrily that the imperial examination in the former Sui Dynasty was not like that. We, the knowledgeable people in Jiangnan, did not take part in it. Those who were selected as scholars and Jinshi, when they came to our south, who would take a second look at them? I guess the knowledge
Not even our book boy.
If the first half has some basis and cannot be said as nonsense, then the second half falls into the category of wild nonsense.
Sun Fuga, Fang Xuanling, Xu Jingzong, the Du brothers and others were all products of the former Sui Dynasty's talent selection. Most of them were from common people. There were very few people who were truly in the ninth grade, and indeed most of them were from the north.
It can be said that the selection of scholars in the former Sui Dynasty was extremely difficult, and those selected were very talented.
Most of them were annihilated in the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty, but those who survived were all very remarkable. It was the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty that gave them extremely rare opportunities. Nowadays, there are only a few who are above the imperial court.
Bit.
The young man was so excited that he couldn't speak clearly, so he immediately brought these people in. As long as one or two of them took it seriously, his life would be ruined.
And that's not all the exceptions. The attitude of Jiangnan scholars towards the imperial examination was gradually revealed. They actually had no fixed views, but there were many elders in their families who were not optimistic about the imperial examination.
So when they were debating, they quoted scriptures and compared it with the awareness system. Gradually, the views expressed by some people became extreme.
I think it will be difficult to ensure fairness in the upcoming Beijing Examination. I heard that there will be some North and South rankings, obviously to protect the interests of northern scholars...
It's hard to say whether there are people with ulterior motives who are adding fuel to the flames, but public opinion is such that the fact that scholars from Jiangnan came to Chang'an Academy to participate in the literary conference is the essence of this Beijing Examination.
If what they say spreads out, it will definitely lead to a trend. In other words, before the Beijing Examination has even started, some people are already questioning the fairness of the exam. Do you think it is bad or not?
Sun Fujia and Cen Wenwen did not expect the situation to be so serious, and they just wanted to put on the airs of senior officials and change things around.
But the criticism was about to start, and the debate between the north and the south was in full swing, and the anger was strong.
The arrival of the two high-ranking officials did make most young people hesitate, but some people became excited and felt that it was a great opportunity to become famous in the world.
One after another, they stood up to argue with two senior officials.
Cen Wenwen and Sun Fujia were very calm and answered them one by one. With people from Chang'an Academy helping them, how could the young people take advantage?
This cannot be said to be a debate, it can only be said to be a sit-down discussion. With the talents of Cen Wenwen and Sun Fuga, it was a blow to these young scholars.
Debate? How can anyone argue with them? Just one identity is too different. If I can just say a few words to you, that's enough face.
But then again, if the two people had come earlier, they might have been able to turn this debate into a scene for young people to show off their talents in front of senior officials.
But they arrived a little late, so the taste wasn't right.
The scholars from the north and the south were very angry. They did not want to see the two high-ranking officials and Xini, but wanted the two high-ranking officials to explain the matter clearly.
For example, why are the rankings divided into northern and southern rankings? Or, the previous local imperial examinations were so chaotic. How could the imperial court ensure that the selected people would convince everyone?
More profoundly, is it really possible to use the imperial examination system to replace awareness? There are not too many examples from the pre-Sui Dynasty. What does the imperial court say?
Between your words and my words, the two senior officials gradually became the target of public criticism.
At the end of the day, Cen Wenwen and Sun Fuga not only failed to appease the scholar's mood, but they actually had differences of opinion.
The result was jaw-dropping. The two senior officials actually brought this debate back to the court. Li Po was a little stunned when he heard about it. Oh my God, this was done by Cen Wenwen and Sun Fuga?