Don't look at the fact that scholars from the north and the south had a rather fierce debate on the imperial examination.
At that time, they were all so excited as if they were going to die, but when they came to the palace to ask for advice, the scholars' knowledge reserves showed their shortcomings.
The imperial court also anticipated this situation, so the questions had been clearly announced to everyone, giving them sufficient time to prepare. However, even so, most Jinshi still focused on the shortcomings of today's imperial examinations and played a game of finding fault.
And most of them focus on the provincial examination.
Constructive comments are few and far between.
.....................
For an hour and a half, the scholars handed in their papers one after another.
The article was sent to Li Po, who patiently read through it.
It is a pile of empty rhetoric and meaningless rhetorical modifications. Unfortunately, this is not something that can only be achieved if your article is well done.
When it comes to policy questions and court correspondence, the subject must be appropriate and the words must be meaningful.
The shortcomings of the imperial examination were actually very clear at this time. The people selected were not involved in practical matters and were mostly talkative people. These people had to train for several years before entering the officialdom.
There is no complete education system, and the talents selected by the imperial examination are uneven, with huge gaps.
In other words, academies in various places have just been established. It is estimated that in a few years, the disadvantages of aristocratic family education will become apparent.
Because this backward and closed primitive elite education model cannot cultivate talents in batches and lacks communication, it will inevitably be suppressed under the impact of government-run schools.
.....................
If Li Po was still happy about the smooth holding of the imperial examination before, he was not so happy after reading the articles of the Jinshi.
He doesn't like articles that are too gorgeous, lack logic, or confuse the subject.
In the memorials that have been presented to his desk, even Cen Wenwen, Yang Shidao and others will not deliberately show off their words and phrases, and will be very cautious when citing allusions to ensure that they hit the theme.
This is actually due to the emperor's temperament, the courtiers catered to the emperor's preferences, and gradually formed a custom.
After reading a few articles at this time, Li Po's mood was affected, and he stopped wasting time. He looked up at the nervous Jinshi scholars and said quietly: "You are all temporary choices. In the future, there will be some among you."
You will definitely stand out and become the pillar of the imperial court, my humerus.
The first Jinshi in the Tang Dynasty was a man of great calamity. You are in your prime years. I hope you will not be mediocre and content with the past. After you become an official, you will be determined to serve the country, share my worries, and solve the problems of the people."
Having said this, Li Po patted the examination paper on the table and said with a smile: "Some people here say that scholars study hard and participate in examinations just to become officials.
This is what people with ambitions should not do. I think he is right. When the imperial court selects talents from the wild, who are they selecting? Naturally, they are not selecting those who only want to become officials, be superior to others, and seek glory and wealth.
The imperial court wants scholars who are ambitious, responsible, and talented, so you must remember that no matter how good your writing is, if you cannot make a difference after becoming an official, what is the use of writing a thousand words?
I have heard someone say that if a ruler makes mistakes and refuses to remonstrate with them, then a loyal minister cannot bear to do so. This is called a loyal minister.
Those who endure what is private and do great justice can be rewarded by the public. Those who are wise and use their private interests are not as stupid as they are public. Those who do everything for the public and do not engage in personal righteousness can be an honest minister.
He who worries early without getting tired, who hesitates early without getting tired, who fulfills his duties faithfully and who does not worry about what is assigned to him can be a good minister.
A person who has great strategy and wisdom and serves as an assistant to the king is a famous minister.
When you go back, you should think about it. After becoming an official, do you want to be a loyal minister, an honest minister, or a good minister who assists the king and a famous minister?
Or do you want to be the kind of prudent minister who doesn’t say what you don’t want to say to avoid danger, and don’t do what you don’t want to do to avoid danger?”
"The tree that hugs each other is born from the smallest millimeter. The nine-story platform is born from tired soil. You are young and energetic, but you still need to be down-to-earth and learn with an open mind. Don't aim too high.
Just like the imperial examination policy, which is a major policy of the imperial court, can you bear the trouble if you talk nonsense?
I promise you to wait for ten years, and if you still have your spirit, you can come and see me again in front of the temple. I think you should be able to see something in words by then."
Having said this, Li Po waved his hand, "Okay, you all, please step aside."
The young Jinshi were rude again and silently followed the officials from the Ministry of Rites out of the Tai Chi Hall.
For some of them, this experience is an experience that can affect their lives. They have great ambitions and firm minds. They will often think of the king's admonitions, and use this to strengthen their ambitions and guide their own.
Behavior.
But for other people, they only know that His Majesty seems not very satisfied with their articles, which may affect their career.
Then there are those who have no plans or life goals at all, but they feel joyfully that they have passed another level and can finally become officials.
There are all kinds of birds in the forest, which is not surprising at all.
Li Po didn't care either. If one of these people went to the appointment ten years later, well, twenty years later, it meant that this person was very talented and could be reused.
Judging from the process of this imperial examination and the quality of the reference personnel, it is really terrible.
After a few years, perhaps it would be a time when a large number of talents would emerge. He thought that if he lowered the number of students admitted then, he would be able to add fresh blood to the official team.
He stayed in the Taiji Hall for a while. Although the articles that the scholars had worked so hard to produce were not very good, he still had to read them before talking about them.
In fact, this is different from the previous plan, according to the regulations submitted by the Ministry of Rites.
He had to review papers with officials from the Ministry of Rites, and then he had to find a few more exciting articles and communicate and interact with the Jinshi. This was the real court match.
But in the end, Li Po felt that there was no need to waste such time and ended with a warning. Fortunately, Wei Zheng was already preparing to go to Luoyang to take up his post and was not around, otherwise he would have to listen to his nagging again.
At this moment, Li Po took out Sun Fujia's article and handed the other test papers to the people from the Ministry of Etiquette.
Sun Fuga's articles are naturally different from those of the young Jinshi. As a doctor of Zuo Jianyi, he is very familiar with the imperial examinations, knows what efforts the court has made before, and also knows what kind of results the court wants to achieve.
And being in the court, what you hear and see is also an advantage that Jinshi can't match.
It's just that he couldn't show all these in the article. He had to choose an angle. This is the basic quality of courtiers. It is precisely these most basic things that Jinshi lack.
Sun Fuga cleverly compared the nine-level Zhongzheng system and the imperial examination system with the imperial examination system.
There is actually nothing to say about this. The reason why the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System was clearly abandoned in the pre-Sui Dynasty was that it was no longer suitable for the operation of the imperial court.
Under the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System, the high-ranking aristocrats and wealthy families quickly deteriorated, and common people's talents emerged but were not reused. The common people could not bear the exploitation of the upper class, and their lives became increasingly difficult, with no hope at all.
, so uprisings broke out from time to time.
Starting from the Wei and Jin Dynasties, then to the Song, Qi, Liang and Chen in the south, the Northern Wei in the north, the Eastern and Western Wei, the Northern Zhou, and the Northern Qi, short-lived dynasties emerged one after another.
This cannot be fully explained by the division of the world, and a large part of it can be attributed to the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System.
Therefore, the advantages of the imperial examination system are very obvious.
Sun Fuga did not believe that the imperial examination system could completely replace the imperial examination system. He suggested that the imperial court should develop both systems to ease the conflict between the nobility and the common people, instead of relying on strong authority to help one party defeat the other.
It can be seen from this that Sun Fujia believed that the path of opening up schools to obtain scholars was prepared for the common people. The nobles could also get a share of the pie, but they could no longer monopolize it.
This is undoubtedly helpful for the court to recruit talented people, but it cannot go too far. It is still necessary to leave some room for the nobles, so as to maintain the stability of the power structure.
There were judgments and strategies, but they did not even mention the chaos caused by the imperial examination, nor did they touch on the differences between the north and the south. Nor did they ask the court to strictly supervise the imperial examination based on their own positions.
But there is no doubt that this is a good article. It provides a theoretical basis for the science and technology exam from the root, and it is very consistent with the current overall situation.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites selected several test papers and presented them to the emperor.
Li Po looked at them one by one and found that they were pretty good. At least they were all centered on the theme of taking the imperial examination. There were no miscellaneous nitpicks and everything they said was quite realistic.
But compared with Sun Fuga's, these articles are too immature in terms of conception, content, and final suggestions, and the gap is obvious.
Li Po passed Sun Fuga's article to the people in the Ministry of Rites for circulation, and said with a smile: "Let's put Sun Fuga at the top of the list, and spread this article to avoid anyone being dissatisfied."
Everyone laughed awkwardly. Sun Fuga's intrusion really made people confused about what to say.
Du Yan, the Minister of Rites, had a word for Sun Fujia, "These articles are not of sufficient weight. Without Dr. Sun, this number one scholar would probably be looked down upon."
Li Po glanced at Du Yan and said with a smile: "If there is no objection, then let's do it. Xuan Sunfujia will wait in the side hall. He is the number one scholar...what should I reward him for?"
His voice was not very good, so everyone bowed their heads and stopped talking.
.....................
At this time, Sun Fuga had not yet left the palace gate, and everyone else had already taken the lead.
After the examination, the scholars had to go back and wait for news. For the first imperial examination, there were many uncertainties, and they did not know what kind of treatment the court would give them.
According to the rules of the pre-Sui Dynasty, those who were selected had nothing to be happy about, and the rewards were not satisfactory. For example, Sun Fujia joined the county army at that time. He was in the ninth rank and was slightly higher than the official. It can be said that he was
***Extremely bad.
You said that when the imperial court opened the subject, it was done with great fanfare, but when it was implemented, it was so stretched that no one would be upset?
The Jinshi didn't know whether this opening would be the same as before, and they were all worried about their boss.
Sun Fujia was naturally different from them. He was a little confused. Should he go back and continue working at Zhongshu? Or should he go home and wait like the others?