Chapter 444: Once a cicada transforms into a dragon
After listening to Jiang Fan's words, Zhao Xin got up and walked a few steps in the house. He opened the door and a biting cold wind hit his face. A Miao saw that Zhao Xin was not wearing enough clothes, so she quickly went into the house to get her coat and stood on tiptoe.
His feet were draped over him.
Zhao Xin stared at A Miao, making him feel embarrassed. He blushed and lowered his head. At this time, he only heard him say slowly: "Mr. Jiang, there is a sage who you must have never heard of."
"Oh? Although Jiang doesn't dare to say that he has read all the books in the world, he asked himself that he has read 'three graves, five canons, eight ropes and nine hills'. May I ask, King Zhao, which saint he is and what he said?"
"Preface to the Biography of Shangshu" says that the books written by Fuxi, Shennong, and Huangdi are called the Three Tombs. The books written by Shaohao, Zhuanxu, Gao Xin, Tang Yao, and Yu Shun are called the Five Canons; the books of Bagua are called the Eight Suo; Jiuzhou
The ambition is called Jiuqiu.
The "grave" in "三公" actually means "big", so "Sanfen" is said to be a book that explains the Great Dao.
The "Dian" in "Wu Dian" means "constant", which is the five constant principles, namely, father's righteousness, mother's kindness, brother and friend, brother's respect, and son's filial piety.
"Basuo" is Bagua, which is a metaphor for the "Book of Changes". If you don't understand the "Book of Changes", you won't understand arithmetic and astronomy.
"Nine Hills" is a classic that introduces the ancient geography of China, that is, geography.
Jiang Fan has a strong voice, and he indeed has this capital. When he was young, he studied under the classics masters Hui Dong, Jiang Shuyun, and Yu Gunong. He was well versed in the classics and was especially familiar with historical events. At the age of eighteen, he wrote "Erya"
"Zhengzi", and later "Book of Changes". The most famous works written by him in history are "Records of the Inheritance of Sinological Teachers in the Guo Dynasty", "Records of the Origins of Song Studies in the Guo Dynasty" and "Records of Boats and Cars Hearings and Seeings".
"The people, and only the people, are the real driving force in creating history."
Jiang Fan keenly noticed that Zhao Xin said "people" instead of "people", and then he raised his hands and said: "Oh? I dare to ask King Zhao, what is 'people'?"
"The first 'people' refers to all the people in the world, regardless of emperors and common people, and the wise and foolish. The second people refers to the people who created all this. Confucius and Mencius, hundreds of schools of thought, you, a
Miao, Yin Bingwei, street sweepers, watchmen, etc., as well as the hundreds of millions of people outside who cultivate the fields, weave cloth, and run machines. Without the work of these people, the so-called sages are nothing!"
A Miao and Yin Bingwei on the side heard Zhao Xin comparing themselves to Confucius and Mencius, and they both looked at Zhao Xin in surprise, thinking how could they compare with the saint?
Jiang Fan let out a long sigh, bowed to Zhao Xinshen, cupped his hands and said, "Why doesn't King Zhao mention me? Now up and down the North Sea, without King Zhao's painstaking efforts, where would we be today?"
"Me?" Zhao Xin touched A Miao's black hair and said with a faint smile: "I'm just a sneak peek."
After that, he asked A Miao to close the door, walked past the desk, sat down and said to Jiang Fan: "Mr. Jiang, I know what you are worried about. As for the imperial examination, I don't plan to abolish it for the time being."
Jiang Fan was immediately overjoyed after hearing this. He talked for a long time, and this was his main purpose.
"However," Zhao Xin looked at Jiang Fan and said after seeing the surprise on the other side: "Most of the officials in Beihai Town's system cannot take the imperial examination, and the administrative officials at all levels cannot only understand the Four Books and Five Classics, but have no knowledge of the economy and people's livelihood.
, he is a corrupt bureaucrat who maintains a group of senior officials and servants, and only knows how to make money and buy land."
Jiang Fan's face turned ugly. He understood that this was a common problem among gentry and bureaucrats, and had been so since ancient times. There were very few officials who could devote themselves to people's livelihood and economy like Zhang Juzheng, Hai Rui, and Yu Chenglong.
"In the future imperial examinations in Beihai Town, no matter which level they are, there will be a policy theory test. There will be one question for each of economics, law, geography, mathematics, chemistry, etc., and the scholars will choose to answer it. After passing the test, they will also
It takes at least two years of professional counterpart study before you can engage in the work of a affairs officer. After working as an affairs officer for several years, you can become an administrative officer."
Jiang Fan suddenly let out a sigh of relief and said to himself that King Zhao's heavy breathing was really scary.
As for policy theory, this one is simple. Someone like Jiao Xun would definitely choose mathematics; Hong Junzhi would probably choose geography. As for professional studies after winning, this is even more appropriate.
Scholars still have to go through the stage of Gongsheng and pass the "scientific examination" before they can be admitted to the imperial examination; even the common people have to study in the Hanlin Academy for three years, and they have to take exams from time to time, and they are not allowed to hold any position without sitting in the Imperial Academy.
Just listen to Zhao Xin continue: "This kind of thing of donating officials will definitely not exist in Beihai Town."
Jiang Fan's face suddenly turned red. In excitement, he bowed to Zhao Xin to the end, stood up and said, "This is a great government!"
In fact, Zhao Xin has been thinking about how to treat the imperial examination these days, whether to retain or not.
It is impossible to abolish this thing at once. Not to mention the special significance of the imperial examination system to the scholar group, but it has always been through this form that Confucian civilization can be passed down from generation to generation, and ultimately shaped the Chinese civilization of later generations.
Since we want to become an industrialized country, absolute autocracy is the first insurmountable threshold. In this process, we must establish the basis of faith for nation-building.
Unlike the Manchus who were forced to modernize in another time and space, what cannot be avoided in Beihai Town in this time and space is that Confucian culture is currently at its most prosperous stage, and its value and belief system is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and there is no identity crisis at all.
A very important reason for the demise of the late Qing Dynasty was that the legitimacy of traditional politics was impacted by foreign civilization.
The unequal treaties destroyed the status of "the unity of Taoism" and severed the core logic of the growth of traditional authority. The traditional concept of "unifying power with virtue" was transformed into the concept of "revealing virtue with force".
The basic explanation of the source of authority in Taoism is "Only the Son of Heaven receives orders from Heaven, and the world receives orders from the Son of Heaven." The logical chain of the growth of authority included in it is "Heaven - Son of Heaven - World - China - Si Yi."
It is precisely because of this that the institutional arrangements for handling Sino-foreign relations must be the "distinction between Yi and Xia" and the tribute system. The tribute system is an indispensable part of maintaining the "unity of Tao". It not only outlines to the world a "China
The "centered world picture" also strengthens people's obedience to "the emperor is ordered by heaven".
If the tribute system is abolished without distinguishing between Chinese and barbarians, the logic of "the emperor is ordered by heaven" and "subdues the world" will be incomplete. Its further impact is that since the "barbarians" can not follow Xia, why should the world follow
Where is the emperor?
If the deconstruction of Taoist unity introduced by missionaries from Western religions and natural sciences is still somewhat theoretical, then the signing of unequal treaties undoubtedly made such a challenge a reality and had legal effect.
.
The problem is that Beihai Town is a freak!
In terms of civilization, what Zhao Xin and the others introduced was actually a foreign civilization, but no one knew about it; and in terms of race, Zhao Xin and the others were Chinese, not Westerners, so there was no worry about the subjugation of the Chinese nation.
So this is very troublesome.
Zhao Xin does not want to follow the old tribute system, which means the collapse of the "divine right of kings" theory established since Dong Zhongshu. Beihai Town's establishment of a country based on industry means that "courtesy and righteousness are respected rather than power, and it is based on people's hearts rather than skills."
The way the country was founded is no longer tenable.
If the imperial examinations are to be abolished at this time, it means that the chain of "knowledge power" that has lasted for more than a thousand years will be cut off, which will cause the entire intellectual class to collapse their national identity and belief.
However, precisely in this period of absolute autocracy, politically speaking, the country needs the assistance of the intellectual class to establish identity and belief, otherwise it will be exposed everywhere and it will be impossible to guard against it.
Someone said that we can establish a military government and change it later.
From ancient times to the present, the country's power system has been nothing more than four types: power based on wealth, power based on military merit, power based on birth status, and power based on knowledge. The first three have been abandoned by the Chinese, and only power based on knowledge is relatively fair.
What else can we do besides satisfying personal ambitions? Look at Siam and Latin America in another time and space. Once the military power system is solidified, who will allow outsiders to touch the cheese on their plate? Anyone who wants to touch it
People either end up running away to avoid disaster, or their entire family dies.
Emperor? The emperor was just a decoration at that time.
Therefore, the important question is not whether the imperial examination system should be abolished, but whether the new education system can replace the talent selection and educational functions of the imperial examination system, whether it can immediately assume the original political integration function of the imperial examination system, and whether it can enhance
The flexibility of social structure is conducive to the state's control of society.
Obviously, the current education system in Beihai Town is far from adequate. Compared with a large country with a population of more than 200 million, Beihai Town with nearly 400,000 people is still unable to cope even if everyone is literate.
Not to mention 400,000. In another time and space, the new schools before the Revolution of 1911 absorbed nearly 3 million students. Compared with the 20 million imperial examination scholars, their social mobilization capabilities were far insufficient. The squire said, no matter what
Whether your surname is De or Sai, please step aside!
How turbulent and chaotic was society at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China?
Of course, it was precisely because of this turmoil that the top-down political integration failed and the rural areas succeeded in encircling the cities.
It is said that the large area of ancient China provided a broad living space for "knowledge power", but the decentralized social management costs and the financial capacity of the small-scale peasant economy limited the scale of the knowledge bureaucracy. In other words, because of the small-scale peasant economy, the state
Fiscal revenue is simplistic and fiscal surplus capacity is too weak to support so many bureaucrats.
Don't talk about the Qin and Han Dynasties. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, China only had a few people. The territory expansion was not completed, and there was still a lot of uncultivated wasteland! It was different in the Qing Dynasty. The population skyrocketed, the land was developed to the extreme, and all the cakes that deserved to be divided were divided.
It’s over, and I can’t spare any extra money to send imperial power to the countryside.
Then again, it's not that the imperial power didn't want to go down to the county. However, the political pattern of "the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats co-ruling" formed since the Northern Song Dynasty resulted in the central government having to reach a balance with the gentry group. To put it bluntly, since the emperor governed together with the scholar-bureaucrats,
In the world, the imperial power must divide the cake of the countryside.
What is people-oriented, and what is not competing for profits with the people! They are just treating the common people as leeks, and the life and death of the common people is none of my business! Wang Anshi's reform made the scholar-bureaucrat group anxious, and faced Song Shenzong's questioning
, Wen Yanbo took the risk and simply made his words clear.
In fact, the essence of Wang Anshi's reform was to cut the common people's leeks, but the scope of the cut was a bit wider, including some gentry, which caused a backlash.
Needless to say, in the Ming Dynasty, the typical imperial power and the gentry were divided. In the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, because they inherited the Ming system and also wanted to win over the gentry, they continued to maintain a balanced politics in which the imperial power did not extend to the counties. It is precisely because of this that the "Three Years of Qing Dynasty" came into being.
"Prefect, one hundred thousand snowflakes and silver" said; hello, me, hello, everyone, let's work together to cut leeks.
It was after a long period of repeated deliberation, hard thinking, and talking to many people that Zhao Xin figured out the problem and made a choice.
At this point, he has finally transformed from a money-grubbing "intellectual" into a beginning "politician", but he still has a long way to go before he can become a "family member".
After Jiang Fan left Zhao Xin's house, he did not go back to his residence, but went straight to the library. Sure enough, Duan Yucai, Liu Taigong and Hong Liangji were still there, and even Wang Zhong came.
The Sikuquanshu, which has nearly 80,000 volumes and 2.3 million pages, would take 27 days to print even one page per second. From this point of view, Zhao Xin's payment of 100 silver dollars was really a loss-making and conscientious price.
Hearing the sound of the door opening and footsteps approaching, Duan Yucai and Liu Taigong didn't say anything. Hong Liangji looked up at Jiang Fan's expression and asked, "How was the discussion?"
Jiang Fan took off his hat and threw it on the table, rubbed the braid on the back of his head with his hand, and after a while he took a deep breath and said, "I don't understand."
Duan Yucai asked without raising his head: "What does Ziping mean by this?"
Jiang Fan did not answer, but looked at Wang Zhong and said: "Senior Rong Fu, how much did King Zhao learn from you? In other words, where did he learn from you?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Wang Zhong shook his head and said: "I am so ashamed that Wang and King Zhao sat down and talked less than ten times in total. Most of them were Wang asking him for advice.
New knowledge. As for the inheritance, Wang also doesn’t know. What’s wrong with you, Ziping?”
"Jiang seems to have an illusion that King Zhao has read the Four Books and Five Classics, and has read a lot. But for some reason, he is very resistant."
"Huh?" As soon as these words came out, Liu Taigong and Duan Yucai both raised their heads and looked at Jiang Fan.
While recalling the conversation with Zhao Xin, Jiang Fan said: "He picked up the words of the sage easily and effortlessly. Even if Jiang was slanderous, he could understand what I meant with just a little thought. But why didn't he use etiquette and justice to govern the country with skills?"
Woolen cloth?"
"This is because the first people who founded King Zhao were refugees from the Japanese state!" Wang Zhong explained: "They know small etiquette but no great righteousness, and are afraid of power but not moral. To bring such people to conquer the world, you must use the skills of Xun Guan.
"
Hong Liangji nodded and said slowly: "Those who are close but refuse to obey will be threatened by the ground; those who are far away and refuse to listen will be threatened by the body."
Wang Zhong continued: "Wang told you before that the king of Zhao relied on three hundred refugees to make his fortune, and most of the people who came later were refugees from Guan Nei and the Japanese state. Guan Ziyun said, if you are good at planning, you can achieve the wishes of the master, and
If you are proficient in form, you can seize the land of a big country and defeat it with the troops of a powerful country; if you are proficient in power, the armies of the world can be united and the kings of princes can make court."
The words of Hong Liangji and Wang Zhong are both derived from "Guanzi", which means to use land occupation to coerce the dissatisfied countries nearby, and to use force to deter the dissatisfied countries far away. With a group of refugees, living in the bitter cold outside the pass, they followed
In a confrontation between a big country like the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, it is useless to talk about etiquette, justice and morality. We must start from the three aspects of strategy, shape and power.
"Haha, Rong Fu and Jun Zhi saw it clearly." Duan Yucai slowly nodded in approval, looked at Jiang Fan and continued to ask: "Ziping, what else did King Zhao say?"
"The imperial examination will not be abolished."
As soon as Jiang Fan said this, everyone was shocked. Even Liu Taigong couldn't hold it in anymore and leaned forward and said, "Is this true?"
"You told me personally. However, King Zhao said that in the future imperial examinations at all levels, a policy theory should be added."
Duan Yucai twitched his beard and frowned: "Policy discussion? Restoring the Tang system?"
"No. King Zhao means technical strategy. There are subjects such as economics, law, geography, mathematics, and chemistry. There is a question in each subject, and the scholars choose a question to answer. For example, Brother Junzhi is good at geography, so he can choose geography questions;
Brother Rongfu is good at etiquette and law, so you can choose legal questions."
"What if I get hit?"
"After passing the exam, you have to go through two years of technical study before you can become an administrative officer, and after several more years of training, you can become a political officer."
Before everyone could digest what he just said, Jiang Fan continued: "King Zhao also said,"
Hong Liangji slapped the table and said, "Hey! Ziping, why are you out of breath while talking? Speak quickly!"
"No more official donations from now on."
"good!"
Duan Yucai nodded and said: "Selling officials and seizing power and stealing power have been around since ancient times. However, the imperial court only made small profits and fostered the trend of corruption. They relied on the staff and official body, and the local fools were like fish and meat. If they had the slightest support, they would criticize them.
.But when the high officials of the dynasty rely on such officials as their confidants and use them as claws and teeth, they only seek to devour the fat and devour them. They are only interested in profit, and the customs are so decadent that they will eventually lead to disaster."
Everyone present knew who Old Man Duan was talking about, He Shen! As for the person behind He Shen, Duan Yucai did not dare to say yet.
Selling officials and conferring titles has been around since the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The purpose was to generate income for the court. However, once the door was opened, it was never closed again in all dynasties.
Scholars who were on the right track for the imperial examination had no choice but to express their objections, so a chain of contempt started. The first class looked down on the second class, and the second class thought they were superior to the third class; and the third class, first class, and second class looked down upon "
"Not A".
Donations in the Qing Dynasty first started in the 13th year of Kangxi's reign. Due to the financial constraints caused by the San Francisco Rebellion, the recovery of Taiwan, the pacification of Junggar, and the fight against Tsarist Russia, the prices were clearly marked. As for "recruiting talents from other walks of life, it is beyond the scope of supplementary subjects"
"The words are purely an act of "thinking and thinking at the same time".
Historically, narcissists like Qianlong, thrifty like Daoguang, miserable like Xianfeng. At the beginning of their reign, they all said they would no longer pay donations. However, the longest among them was Daoguang, who persisted in stopping donations for seven years; the middle one was Qianlong, who lasted three years.
years; the shortest was in Xianfeng, when donations were suspended that year and were resumed before the New Year.
In the feudal era, due to the high administrative costs of the government, there were originally insufficient officials. As a result, this behavior caused many scholars to have no official positions. Those who donated officials acted according to their own "unspoken rules" and rarely followed the expected rules of the officialdom.
Professional ethics.
To put it bluntly, it means that you don't eat your appearance. Although everyone thinks that "as soon as you have the power, you will carry out the orders", but in the officialdom, eating your appearance is very important.
After that, a few people kept having a heated discussion, and even called Jiao and Xun, who were still in class. When everyone was thirsty, the library janitor came over and said, "I'm sorry, can you do it tomorrow?"
"Let's talk again", everyone noticed that it was getting dark outside.
So a group of literati had no choice but to end the discussion and follow Wang Zhong to find a place to fill their stomachs first.
Walking out of the library, Jiao Xun grabbed Jiang Fan and asked curiously: "Brother Ziping, if it were you, which subject would you choose?"
Jiang Fan raised his head and looked to the south, but unfortunately the Sirius star had not risen yet. So under Jiao Xun's gaze, he said in a hoarse voice: "Thousands of miles away, horses and horses are guarded, and you can learn skills by watching scholars, and you can stretch the bowstring!"