Chapter 970: Royal Government
Chapter 970: Royal Government (Part )
When Mao Bang arrived in Bianliang, he lived in his own home in Xuanrenfang.
The house was given by King Liang.
At that time, there were many laborers in Bianliang, and they directly "used" the labor for free to build a large number of houses and gave them to the civil and military officials under their command.
Xuanrenfang is in an average location, not far from Dingdingmen and not close to the palace, but it is good enough for middle and lower-level officials.
Even if he became a high-ranking official in the future, if he did not have an official residence, he would still live here. After his death, he could pass it on to his descendants, because this kind of two-story house with front and back courtyards in the capital was very special and in great demand.
After moving in, Mao's wife smiled happily as she directed the servants to carry the luggage and the maids to sweep the courtyard.
Several Xianbei soldiers brought the horses to the stable and washed them carefully.
Several other people stood at the door with weapons in their hands, with their heads held high and their chests puffed out, looking at the famous Bianliang City with curiosity.
Just a little disappointed, there are too few people!
Mao Bang did not spend too much time looking at the mansion where he had only lived for a short time, but instead took the four guests to the study for a chat.
"This matter is quite urgent and must be settled before the winter month, which means it will only be four months." Mao Bang started by saying, "For more than ten years, the selection of officials has not been smooth, and there are still many prefectures and counties that lack Zhongzheng. Officials are mostly recommended, and in some places, even filial and honest officials and scholars cannot be selected every year. There are also military men who have entered the government and occupied positions, causing chaos. As the saying goes, without rules, there can be no order, and this is what the king is worried about."
Several people listened carefully.
Their backgrounds were not high. Except for two who were children of small and medium-sized aristocratic families such as Gaoyang Sun and Xu, the other two had even lower status: one was the son of a powerful family, and the other was from a wealthy merchant family.
The officialdom of the Jin Dynasty was dominated by scholars, but if you say that ordinary people are not qualified to be officials, then I would say you are spreading rumors. It is obviously possible, but they are actually very rare.
But the reality is that over time, people really believe that only scholars can hold official positions.
In the ninth year of Taikang (288), Emperor Wu issued an edict: "Order all officials inside and outside the court to select those who are honest and capable and those who are humble and incompetent."
You see, one is to ask officials to recommend, and the second one is to ask for the recommendation of "Hansu".
Han Su is also a scholar!
Some poor children may not even have enough food to eat, while some powerful people may have delicious food for every meal, but the former poor people can become officials, while the latter local powerful people who can turn a county upside down with a stomp of their feet cannot.
Those who have the power to rebel cannot gain access to the government, but poor and downtrodden scholars can become officials. This seems to be a problem from the perspective of national stability.
"Qizhi." Mao Bang looked at the person on the lower left and asked, "I asked you to sort out the resumes of officials since the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Have you completed it?"
Sun Rong Sun Qizhi untied the bundle beside him, took out a booklet, and said with a wry smile: "My Lord, it's all in the booklet. I checked day and night, and went to Luoyang five times, and finally got it done. When I was checking the files, my eyes were dazzled."
Several people in the field laughed.
Mao Bang took the booklet and flipped through it casually at first, only examining the last page carefully.
After reading for a long time, he put down the booklet, pondered for a long time, and said: "The selection of officials in our dynasty is not as good as that of Cao Wei."
Sun Rong compiled the booklet himself, so of course he knew what Mao Bang was talking about.
Most of the archives from the Cao Wei period had been lost, so he could only consult historical books and learned that 247 people whose biographies were included in the official history books were of humble origins, about of them, accounting for about %.
Some of the archives of the Ming Dynasty were damaged or lost, but the archives are relatively rich overall. According to the latest statistics, only 10% of the officials were from poor families.
"Your Majesty said we should 'seek truth from facts', what a true statement!" Mao Bang sighed, "It is said that the scholars of this dynasty control the path to advancement, but if you ask them, no one will admit it, this is sophistry."
This is like two people arguing, one says that the dynasty is dominated by the rich and powerful families, and the other immediately cites examples of people from humble backgrounds or even commoners becoming officials to refute his argument.
One isn't enough? Two.
Two isn't enough? Ten is enough.
But once the data came out, the truth came to light.
Ninety percent of officials are from middle and high-ranking nobles, and ten percent are from the common people or below. There are tens of thousands of officials in the country, and you can only cite a thousand counter-examples. What does this prove?
"However, most of the officials who came from humble backgrounds are talented people." Mao Bang flipped through the book and said, "Of the more than 80 ministers and generals in the Cao Wei Dynasty who had biographies written about them, 60 were from humble backgrounds. In our dynasty till now, there are also - well, many famous ministers from humble backgrounds."
When talking about the second half, Mao Bang paused.
However, although it is not as good as the three-quarters of the important officials in the Cao Wei Dynasty who were from humble or powerful families, there are indeed quite a few in this dynasty. In addition, the humble officials in the Cao Wei Dynasty had become high-ranking families after a hundred years of management in the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
But to be honest, officials from humble backgrounds are indeed much more capable overall.
They have also received a complete and systematic education. Even if their family has fallen on hard times, at least the generation just after the fall can still rely on their parents or even their family to get a good quality education.
At the same time, they do not have the bad habits of the children of wealthy and powerful families. They are relatively pragmatic, highly motivated, willing to endure hardships and even take risks, and work wholeheartedly. They are indeed a very good source of officials.
When Shao Xun was in Chenliu, he vigorously promoted the children of Dong, Wu, Wang, Bian and other families, and he felt that they were quite good when used.
This time he wanted to establish fixed rules to provide scholars of humble origins with a path to advancement, rather than relying on his own personal selection.
"In addition to the poor scholars, the king also wants to give those with outstanding military merits a chance to enter the government." Mao Bang added, "I know you don't like it, but this matter must be done, whether it is done or not—"
As they were talking, a servant called out from outside the door: "Sir, the Prime Minister is calling for you."
Mao Bang was stunned for a moment, then he stood up quickly. After thinking for a while, he picked up a proposal and said to the four guests, "Selecting humble scholars is good for you, while selecting military men is not good for you. But how can you get benefits without paying anything in the world? In this matter, you and the military men should work together."
After saying that, he hurried away.
******
Wang Yan was granted special permission by Shao Xun to work in a side hall of the Guanfeng Hall in the Liang Palace, which is now the Prime Minister's Residence of the Liang State.
When Mao Bangjing was brought in, Lao Wang was admiring the flowers and trees in the courtyard.
Seeing the visitor, Wang Yan pointed to the precious trees that had been transplanted, then pointed to Mao Bang, and said with a smile: "Now I see the precious trees in the Jade Forest."
Mao Bang bowed deeply and said, "Your Excellency, you are too kind."
Wang Yan smiled without saying a word, walking back and forth among the bamboos, trees, flowers and plants with his hands behind his back.
Mao Bang stood by his side, waiting quietly for him to speak.
"I heard that you studied under Liu Yuanqing (Liu Han) of Yan State?" Wang Yan stopped and asked.
"My disciple is King Liang," Mao Bang corrected.
Wang Yan laughed and said, "Taibai's literary achievements are indeed remarkable." "Your Majesty is gifted with military strategy and is born to be a king's assistant. Your literary talent and martial arts are unrivaled in the world. I have only learned one tenth of his knowledge. I am sorry to make you laugh at me, Prime Minister." Mao Bang bowed.
Wang Yan put away his smile, stopped teasing, stretched out his right hand, and said, "Give it to me."
Mao Bang took out the proposal and handed it over.
Wang Yan sat back on the Hu bed, sniffing the fragrance of flowers, listening to the birds singing, and reading the notes leisurely.
While watching, he pointed with his fingers and shook his head.
Mao Bang waited patiently, without looking away.
After a long while, Wang Yan put down his proposal and asked, "Poor scholars generally have low hometown status, and when they first take up official positions, they often only get minor positions. Your method of bringing the powerful to the humble is not a bad way to go."
Thinking of this, Wang Yan said, "Next month, I will host a banquet at Fangzhou Pavilion for famous people from all counties. You should come as well. Recommending me should be regarded as a good deed and praised by people of the time."
This is going to start a trend.
The method of giving power to people of low status is to give opportunities to people of low status through the system, allowing them to hold power and then be promoted based on their merits.
The purpose of starting a trend is to let the high officials in prefectures and counties and the court employ more people from humble backgrounds and give them the opportunity to enter officialdom. Otherwise, how can you be selected as a filial and honest official or be recruited as a high official?
"The Prime Minister's move is similar to that of Prime Minister Zhang," Mao Bang praised.
"Zhang Sikong" is Zhang Hua, a native of Fanyang.
Mao Bang has been in Youzhou for many years, and his ears are almost callused from hearing this name, it is so famous.
Zhang Hua was extremely famous and held a high position of power. He was more willing to support people who were not from high-ranking families or were poor. If "a poor and humble scholar showed some goodness", he would "reputate him".
Who are the ordinary scholars and humble scholars praised by Zhang Hua? Tao Kan, Shu Xi, Chen Shou, Huo Yuan, Liu Bian, Fan Qiao, etc.
This kind of praise is not just a few nice words, in fact the "drug effect" is very strong.
Some were directly recruited by Zhang Hua as his aides and entered the official career; some became "filial" (xiaolian) or "talented" (xiucai) as soon as they returned to their hometown; some were recruited as sons-in-law by powerful aristocratic families.
This is what Mao Bang meant by leading the trend.
There was a man called Shan Tao in those days who also liked to comment on the small aristocratic families and gave them great support.
The proportion of poor officials in the Jin Dynasty was mostly raised at that time.
But after Taikang, the situation was different...
"Yongtai, you're lucky you didn't say that I have the style of Wang Junchong (Wang Rong)." Wang Yan sighed and said, "In fact, based on my temperament, I would probably be the same as Junchong, and I was suppressed by Taibai. After Junchong died, he inexplicably owed a large debt, which was all caused by Taibai."
Mao Bang also thought of what happened that year and laughed in his heart.
Wang Rong was different from Zhang Hua. When he was the Shangshu Zuo Pushe in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, he "never presented any official title" and "was only selected through family selection."
By the way, he is Wang Yan’s cousin.
"Besides the scholars, what about the warriors?" Wang Yan asked again, "Your Majesty rose to power through military means, so you must take care of the warriors."
"Adopt military studies as official studies, and supplement them with imperial edicts and policies," Mao Bang replied.
"The Imperial College of our dynasty is just a decoration. Very few people enter the government through this route. Your Majesty, are you serious about this?" Wang Yan stroked his beard and frowned, and asked, "What is the specific strategy?"
"Now, after five years of enrollment, all military students can be employed as military officials." Mao Bang said, "If they are to be appointed officials in various departments or prefectures and counties, we can follow the old system of the Imperial College in the Han and Wei dynasties."
"Test the scriptures?" Wang Yan asked.
"Exactly."
Wang Yan pondered in silence.
In the fifth year of Huangchu (224) during the reign of Emperor Wen of Wei, the Imperial College was established in Luoyang, and new students were called "disciples."
After two years of schooling, those who have mastered one scripture are called "disciples", and those who fail are dismissed (drop out of school).
"Disciples" study for two years, and those who have mastered two classics will be appointed as "literary officials" - this is just a "placement", which means they have to wait for a vacancy. When an official vacancy occurs, they have to compete for this vacancy with people who have entered the officialdom through other channels, and they may not necessarily become officials.
Those who fail will have to wait until the next year (repeat a grade) to take the exam together with their juniors.
After becoming the "Literary Master" and having worked in the position for two years, you can also take a test on the Three Classics. Those who pass can become "Prince's Sheren", and those who fail will be re-tested by the younger generation.
After serving for two years, a "Prince's Sheren" can be tested on the Four Classics. Those who pass can become "Langzhong". Those who fail will be retested by the younger generation.
After having served in the post for two years, a "Langzhong" can be tested on the Five Classics. Those who pass the test will be "employed according to their talents", while those who fail will be retested by the younger generation.
This was the policy during the Cao Wei period. In fact, the path was very narrow. After the Guo Dynasty, it was even narrower and it was very difficult to become an official.
In the eighth year of Emperor Wu of Jin's Taishi reign (272), the sons of officials who had enrolled in the school probably felt cheated and asked their parents to make a scene. Then an official reported that there were more than students in the Imperial College, and what should be done?
Sima Yan issued an edict: "Those who have taken the test will be kept, and the rest will be sent back to their counties and prefectures."
"Staying" does not necessarily mean you can become an official. In fact, this path is very narrow.
Theoretically, after ten years and five examinations, one can be promoted from a disciple to an employed person according to his or her talent. In reality, one can only be a disciple at most, and most people are eliminated at the stage of literary anecdotes.
Because exams are not the only way to enter the officialdom, you cannot get this official position.
After becoming the Prince's attendant, there is no need to take exams to get promoted. What can't be done? Cheng Ji is the Prince's attendant. How big a job did he do?
"Taibai wants to promote official education." Wang Yan said: "It is not easy for a military officer to master one classic, and it is even rarer to master two classics, and it is even rarer to master three classics."
In fact, there are workarounds that can reduce the difficulty.
It is definitely not okay to fail the exam, because how can you prove that you can be a civil servant? But using the same exam paper as the students would be too unfair, so we can make some adjustments, after all, this is an in-service exam.
As for what level of warriors can take the test, there must be a standard.
But no matter what, the way out was given. After all, the military career was too monotonous, and high-ranking military officers with some ambitions all wanted to switch to civilian careers, the so-called "becoming a general and becoming a prime minister".
"Martial Arts School, Imperial College, Imperial College..." Wang Yan looked a little annoyed.
Now that martial arts have become like this, the Imperial Academy and the Imperial College may need to be revived.
Using these things that are ostensibly ways to enter officialdom but are actually just for show has the meaning of changing the pattern of selecting officials in the world, causing quite a stir.
(End of this chapter)