Chapter 283 Establishing Rules

Chapter 283 Establishing Rules

Chapter 283 Establishing Rules

In Yingtianfu, the prosperous southern capital, a restaurant was bustling with people.

Many scholars gathered here. They wore long gowns and square scarves on their heads, with the arrogance and concern for the country and the people unique to literati on their faces.

"There has never been a precedent in our dynasty to punish people for their words. This time, Xu Gongming has undoubtedly broken the rules." A scholar stood up suddenly, waving his hands, and spoke impassionedly, his face full of indignation, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was instantly ignited by him, and everyone was whispering and talking.

"Alas, Xu Gongming has broken the rules more than once." Another scholar shook his head slightly, with a hint of helplessness and emotion in his tone.

Not long ago, Xu Qing was the idol of these southern scholars. He was the world-famous Xu Liushou and Guanjunhou. His talent and demeanor made these scholars admire him. But now, Xu Qing's series of actions have instantly destroyed their idol.

In their view, everyone was just expressing their views on current affairs and talking about the pros and cons of giving up the North. Xu Qing was going too far by taking such drastic measures, arresting scholars and sealing up newspaper offices.

"You really think you are King Li of Zhou? It is harder to guard against the people's mouths than to guard against the rivers." Someone muttered in a low voice, his voice full of dissatisfaction.

"This is an usurpation..." another scholar said indignantly, but before he could finish his words, the person next to him quickly pulled his sleeve and signaled him to be careful.

The waiter had already noticed the commotion here, and quickly pointed at the banner hanging high in the restaurant lobby, on which were written four large characters "Don't Talk About State Affairs", with a hint of warning in his expression.

"Let's talk..." A young and energetic scholar slammed the table, and his voice echoed in the restaurant.

Just at this moment, there was a noise coming from the street downstairs.

Everyone looked over and saw a group of scholars whose property had been confiscated being escorted by the officials. There was a group of ignorant people around them. Some of them picked up rotten vegetable leaves on the ground and threw them at them. Occasionally, someone took eggs from a basket and threw them at the unfortunate scholars.

It must be said that Yingtian Prefecture is indeed a rich place, and some people are willing to use eggs to vent their emotions. Seeing this scene, the scholar who was speaking suddenly lowered his voice and showed a trace of fear on his face, as if he had seen his own end.

Everyone understood each other tacitly and dared not talk loudly. They could only communicate with their eye contact. In their eyes, there was anger, helplessness, and a hint of fear.

After eating and drinking, they set out on their way home and learned another shocking news.

The Ministry of Rites issued a document to encourage scholars to report and denounce others. If ordinary students made meritorious reports, they could be ordered to be promoted to government-sponsored students. Students and scholars were also divided into different levels: government-sponsored students, attached students, and additional students. Among them, government-sponsored students were the ones who actually ate imperial food and received subsidies from the government every month.

As soon as this approval document came out, it was like a blockbuster bomb, directly hitting the vital points of the scholars in Southern Zhili.

"Using public resources for personal gain, doing perverse things..." Some scholars cursed with gritted teeth, but they could only lower their voices and curse secretly at home.

They knew very well that Yingtian Prefecture was now Xu Qing's world, and any carelessness could lead to disaster.

...

...

Yingtian Prefecture, temporary cabinet.

The atmosphere here was tense. The cabinet ministers, the six secretaries, and the eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department all had worried faces and looked overwhelmed.

They were all thinking, "Marquis Guanjun is really good at making trouble!" The arrest of scholars here has not yet ended, and a new reform policy is about to be implemented - the civil servant selection examination.

Isn’t this the imperial examination for clerks?
In the past, the clerks in the imperial court were all hereditary by default. Although Xu Qing's Fushe had opened up a little gap, the local clerk families still dominated in general.

In this dynasty, there were even clerks who became royal consorts by simply changing their household registration and their names, which shows how powerful the clerks were.

They had absolute control over the local government, and some clerks even said: "The county god is a statue in the temple, and is only responsible for collecting tributes. We clerks are the temple priests and the ones who really hold power."

This is indeed the reality in many places. Without the help of local clerks, the officials cannot even collect taxes and are cheated by local gentry without knowing why.

The saying that officials are as slippery as oil is not just empty talk.

Xu Qing organized an examination for selecting civil servants and also limited the scope of candidates to only students.

In addition, he also made a patch. In the past, clerks could not become officials. At most, they could have a chance to become officials, like Mr. Li did in the past. Being a Dianshi was the ceiling that clerks could reach.

Now Xu Qing has broken the limitations of both.

However, this matter cannot be regarded as Xu Qing breaking the rules, because many high-ranking officials in the previous dynasty started out as clerks, and there was no such thing as the separation of officials and local clerks in the past. This dynasty is an exception.

But our dynasty has its own national conditions. There are too many scholars. Even many successful candidates find it extremely difficult to get promoted. How can there be room for promotion for officials?

In fact, at the beginning of the country, there was no separation of officials. Later, due to the situation, they had to be separated.

What's more, more and more bigwigs in the court are from the imperial examination system. They have gone through so much trouble to pass the imperial examination, so why should they be treated the same as low-level clerks?

In the past, it would have been extremely difficult for Xu Qing to come up with a civil servant examination system. But now the situation is different, because the army has been assembled and the food and grass have been prepared. If others dare to make trouble, the army may go north to relieve the siege of the capital or go south to suppress the opposition.

A knife cannot cure people's hearts, but it can force people to do something.

The key point is that Xu Qing had infiltrated the clerks in the yamen through the Fushe, and was not unprepared.

In addition, there is an oversupply of scholars throughout the South.

The majority of students received certain political treatment, and the popularity of newspapers gave them more room to make decisions on state affairs, so the demand for improved political treatment was increasing day by day.

If it was a minor official with no way to be promoted, the scholars would definitely look down on him. But it’s different now!

Xu Liushou is worthy of being the literary star of the time, and he has opened up the line between heaven and earth.

With the help of newspapers, after Xu Qing passed this decree, the entire Nanzhili soon knew that the civil servant selection examination would be held soon.

Moreover, the content of the exam, nothing else, only the Qin system and the great unification. The "Feudalism Theory" by Liu Zihou of the previous dynasty is an extremely important reference material. Xu Qing also chose the article of Liu Zihou, the first-class scholar in ancient and modern times, for a reason. Because Liu Zihou was also the core figure of the Yongzhen Reform of the previous dynasty and a staunch reformer.

Xu Qing always acts cautiously and thinks carefully about every step.

The printing house of Daming Daily did not understand the intention of the boss to print "Feudalism" before, but now they finally understand. Moreover, there are Xu Liushou's annotations on "Feudalism". Alas, many scholars, who secretly cursed Xu Qing, had to spend a lot of money to buy "Feudalism" printed by Daming Daily. Not only is the price expensive, but because of the rush to finish it, the quality is ridiculously poor, the paper is rough, and the handwriting is a little blurred. There is no way, can you not buy it? On the black market, this version of "Feudalism" was even sold for three silver coins, but it was still unsalable.

"I advise you to stop cursing at Qin Shi Huang, and we need to discuss the burning pit incident. The soul of the first emperor is still alive, and the cynics are high in reputation but low in reality... Read the feudal theories of the Tang people carefully, and don't follow Zihou back to King Wen."

Many scholars bought the six-poem edition of "On Feudalism" that they had been longing for, but the introduction at the beginning was hard to accept. So, for hundreds of generations, people have been scolding Qin Shihuang wrongly?
What is "cynicism"? Isn't this referring to those scholars who read Confucian classics? Guanjun Hou is too arrogant! Many scholars cursed and cursed, wishing they could dig up Xu Qing's ancestral graves.

But for the sake of promoting Confucianism, we have no choice but to endure the humiliation for the time being.

No matter how much you curse, you still have to study. If you can't pass the civil servant selection examination, won't the money be wasted? Besides, the civil servant examination is easier than the imperial examination anyway.

As a clerk, you can receive imperial salary and have room for promotion.

But there is no doubt that Xu Qing's civil servant selection examination greatly damaged the interests of the Juren. In the past, there were gold Juren and silver Jinshi, because the Juren had a lot of say in the local area.

Now, the students who pass the examination and become clerks hold power in the government offices. Compared with the juren, it is hard to say who has more say.

In this case, how can the scholar still bully the villagers and bully them? This is simply the opposite of the heavenly power.

But many juren wanted to object but couldn't, because there were also scholars in their families. Just because you passed the exam, you can't deny other relatives a way out.

In fact, the biggest problem with the civil servant selection examination is how to enforce the decree, which requires a knife, and the Champion Marquis is the sharpest knife in this dynasty.

In addition, there was the issue of finance. As for how to collect taxes from the villagers, Xu Qing had already sent the Fushe Society to figure it out during the reform process, and even wrote it into a pamphlet. It was basically the same.

Collecting taxes and providing disaster relief is the most difficult thing in the world.

Since ancient times, only one dan of grain was collected from the people. When it reached the local level, it was not surprising to get ten dan. The same was true for disaster relief. Out of ten dan of grain, it was good enough if one dan reached the victims.

So how bad can it be?
Moreover, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Chen Fu had carefully analyzed that increasing the number of officials and paying salaries mainly in silver coins could effectively promote the circulation of silver coins.

On the other hand, it can also reduce the value of silver hidden in the cellars of many wealthy and powerful people, which is equivalent to levying taxes on them.

As for whether the common people would be affected? Of course. But this time the rich and powerful suffered the loss together with the common people, which was already a good policy unprecedented in history!
Chen Fu also secretly thought that after these new officials entered the officialdom, they would have to support Xu Liushou even if they were reluctant.

Because the Dayu Dynasty believed that the government would end when one person died, wouldn't toppling Xu Liushou be tantamount to denying their origins?
Xu Liushou once said that people think with their butts. No matter how vulgar it may be, it is the truth.

Xu Qing kept taking advantage of them, one after another, and made all the scholars in Nanzhili lose their temper.

Because the exam time is very tight, everyone is in a hurry to go home to review their lessons and have no time to connect. Are you kidding? They have repented and are the lambs who have returned to the right path after being enlightened by Xu Liushou!
If Xu Zi had not been born, the world would have been in darkness forever!
The scholars from ordinary families were even more grateful to Xu Qing for giving them this opportunity. They originally saw no hope in the imperial examination, but now the civil servant selection examination was like a ray of light, illuminating their future.

There were even scholars who were sure that they would pass the examination and began to study the policies for the reform so that they could achieve political achievements and get promoted in the future.

Those who do not plan for the whole life are not qualified to plan for the moment.

Taking the imperial examination depends more on luck, but taking the civil servant selection examination requires ability to pass!
In the final analysis, the people of the dynasty are extremely keen on getting promoted, getting rich, and dying... This is an irresistible temptation.

The exam came as scheduled. Because there were many places available, the grading didn't have to be too strict, so the results came out quickly. A gray-haired candidate burst into tears after learning that he had passed the exam. With trembling hands, he wrote the sincere words "Xu Liu's poems are better than my grandfather's."

After that, this statement became a source of criticism against Xu Liushou. But after a period of time, many people also believed that Xu Liushou was more than better than their grandfather, and there was nothing wrong with this statement!
In any case, Xu Liushou's new rules were finally established.

(End of this chapter)