Chapter 1275 Connections

Chapter 1275 Connections

Chapter 1275 Connections
After May, a large number of scholars had arrived in Bianliang.

Near the city gate leading to Wanxiangyuan, the soldiers checked everyone one by one, and only let them in after confirming their identities and having someone to guarantee them.

However, some people whose identities were confirmed did not rush in, but looked at the several sets of leather armor placed at the door.

Everyone has seen this thing. After all, every family has its own soldiers and generals.

They even wore it themselves, but because many of them were too thin to support iron armor, they could only wear leather armor to pretend.

"This armor looks ordinary, what's so special about it?" Liu Xun asked.

Sun Xi had an expression of reluctance on his face. It was rare for someone to ask a question, so he asked, "Do you see any oil spots on this nail? Any strange odor?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xuan took a closer look and even turned to the back to see, and there was indeed no oil stain.

There should be nothing special about the material of this armor. It may be made of layers of pressed pigskin, the same as most armors made of sheepskin, pigskin, cowhide, and deerskin. But why are there no oil spots?
"Why?" he asked.

Sun Xi was now very proud and said, "It's all thanks to my ears. Are you willing to listen?"

Liu Xuan smiled and said, "Please try to explain it."

Sun Xi cleared his throat and said, "I made grass alkali, which, when mixed with water, can remove grease very cleanly. Upon hearing the news, the emperor rewarded me with a hundred pieces of cloth and engraved a book for me to make me famous."

Liu Xun was stunned for a moment, then looked at the leather armor carefully.

He knew that leather armor had to be scraped and then degreased, but it was difficult to get it clean. The leather armor he wore at home had oil spots (oil bound to collagen, not free fat), and he heard from his family that too many oil spots would attract insects, and the leather armor would also be brittle, not to mention the smell, which must be very strong.

What is grass alkali? Can it remove oil so cleanly?

But he was not very interested anymore, so he asked directly: "How about you sell this armor to me?"

Sun Xi waved his hand and said, "It has long been bought by someone at a high price. Now it is just placed here by the order of the emperor for you to see?"

"How much do you want?" Liu Xun asked.

"I offered sixty pieces of silk for a collar, and someone actually bought it!" Sun Xi said in amazement, "There are still many wealthy men in Bianliang."

Liu Xuan was a little surprised, but of course he was just surprised. He was not interested in these things.

But he was not interested, but someone who was keen on making money was interested and asked directly: "How do you get the alkali?"

Sun Xi said: "There is a collection of texts in the Wanxiang Academy, you can just copy it yourself."

"You spent so much effort to obtain this, how can you take it lightly?"

"The emperor has given me a hundred rolls of silk, saying that he has bought my exclusive rights. I have no control over how to deal with it."

The man bowed and went inside.

Liu Xuan went straight in. If he had the time, he would rather go out and enjoy the mountains and rivers, or play a game of chess with others.

After the two left, no one spoke for a while. Sun Xi sat at the door helplessly.

Everyone who passed by glanced at him once or twice. Occasionally someone would come over to ask him something, and after listening, they would either marvel at the answer or shake their heads and laugh.

Sun Xi just felt his face flushed and he felt like everyone was looking at him like a monkey.

******
In the Dragon Scale Hall not far from the Wanxiang Courtyard, Shao Xun summoned the Crown Prince, the King of Zhao, the King of Han, the King of Han, and the four dukes of Wu, Shu, Ba, and Jing.

"Jing Daoji, you are now proficient in the Mao Shi and have already mastered the Three Classics. How impressive." Shao Xun looked at the man standing in front of him and said with a smile, "What position do you want to hold?"

"I only wish to contribute my part to Daliang and dare not speak out against the officials," Jing Bo said.

Shao Xun laughed and said, "You have been serving as a doctor in Zhongmu County for two years. You have taught many children and have made contributions to the country. You should be rewarded for your contributions. Why can't you say it?"

After saying this, Shao Xun paused.

To be honest, I am reluctant to put these people in other positions, because there are not many people with PhDs in classics at the county level in the country, and most of them have varying levels of expertise.

The personnel mainly came from educated wealthy and merchant families, as well as students from the Imperial Academy, Imperial College, and military schools. Their level was just so-so, not high, and there were many errors in what they taught.

But such talents are rare.

Jing Bo was the son of Jing Cheng, the Minister of Imperial Guards. In March of the sixth year of Kaiping (332), he passed the examinations for mastering Zuo Zhuan and Book of Rites, and was awarded the ninth rank of Doctor of Mou County.

This year is the first year of Zhenming (334). In March, there is an additional test on "Mao Shi". Since you have mastered the three classics, you can be appointed to a seventh-rank official position according to the system, usually the Prince's Sheren - the reason for "appointment" is to wait for a vacancy. In fact, it is not easy to get a vacancy in a popular official position like the Prince's Sheren.

Shao Xun glanced at Shao Jin and said, "Is there anything missing in my son's house?"

Shao Jin understood the meaning of the music and said, "Father, I heard that Cao Cao in the late Han Dynasty appointed a 'Literary Officer of the Crown Prince (Cao Pi)'. There is no such position in our dynasty yet, so maybe we can establish one."

He said this actually because there were no vacancies in the Eastern Palace, and his father wanted Jing Bo to serve as an official in the Eastern Palace, so he had an idea and came up with the position of Crown Prince Literature - there was no such position in the Daliang Dynasty yet, and a new one needed to be established.

Shao Xun looked at the prince approvingly, and then looked at the person next to Jing Cheng, his son-in-law, the imperial concubine Miao Xie.

Miao Xie also passed the two classics two years ago and was appointed as the literary director of Taichang Temple.

In other words, he currently holds two official positions, one is the promoted commander of the imperial concubine's wife, and the other is the literary master.

Similar to Jing Bo's Doctor of Confucian Classics in Zhongmou County, the Literary Affairs of Taichang Temple also has a relatively leisurely job.

The former mainly teaches, while the latter provides consultation on literature and rituals to the main officials of the Taichang Temple. Both of them have plenty of time to study and have been in their posts for two years. This year, they finally passed the Three Classics.

Shao Jin looked at Shao Xun again.

This time, Shao Xun did not let Miao Xie go to the Eastern Palace. He only said, "Changling can go to the Ministry of Personnel. There is still a vacancy for a Tongshi Sheren, and you can take up this position now."

"I thank your Majesty for your grace." Miao Xie bowed.

Jing Bo was stunned for a moment and bowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

There were two more people who passed the Three Classics test at the Imperial College this year. Shao Xun granted them official positions one by one, one as the seventh-rank Zuo Shangshu Cheng, and the other as the seventh-rank Jiangzuo Jian Zhubu.

Sixteen people who passed the two classics exams, after two years of on-the-job learning, only four passed the three classics exams, which is a bit low. In fact, this is still a slack, and the four people only got six questions right in the scripture and the meaning of the text, which is already the lowest standard.

From this we can see that there were people who read Confucian books of sages in those days, but most of them read them superficially. Even though the classics had been used for examinations and appointments of officials twice in a row in the sixth year of Kaiping and the first year of Zhenming, it still did not become a trend.

This kind of thing can probably only be achieved by perseverance, relying on quantitative changes to achieve qualitative changes.

In addition to these four people, there were ten people in the Imperial College who mastered the two classics for the first time, and three people in the Imperial College who mastered the two classics for the first time - there was not a single person in the Imperial College who mastered the three classics - these people were routinely granted the title of county doctor of classics and went to teach.

After the official positions were granted, all that was left was to go through the formalities. Shao Xun asked everyone to leave, leaving only a few sons.

He turned around and looked at everyone, saying, "My father established the system of Imperial College and Imperial Academy in the second year of Kaiping (328), and it has been six years since then. In six years, only these few people have become talented. Perhaps there could be more, but the court officials have risen up in opposition. Why?"

Everyone was silent, as if they were waiting for someone.

Crown Prince Shao Jin took the lead and said, "My father painstakingly established this system, naturally in order to consolidate power."

Shao Xun motioned for him to continue.

"There are only a few ways to select officials that the court has. The selection of officials through examinations at the Imperial Academy and the Imperial College was derived from the old system of Cao Wei, but Cao Wei did not implement it for a long time. My father has selected officials twice in six years and obtained dozens of officials from the seventh to ninth ranks, which is not easy." Shao Jin said: "If we can select hundreds of officials every two years and keep doing it, there will be great changes."

Nowadays, when selecting officials, less than 300 people are selected each year as filial and honest officials or outstanding talents (formerly scholars, but the name was changed to avoid the taboo of Shao's father).

There were slightly more people who entered officialdom through family connections, probably over 400.

In addition, various high-ranking officials were recruited, the largest number being over five hundred.

There are also some miscellaneous ones, such as imperial edicts, elections by the Ministry of Personnel, etc., which add up to a lot.

The appointment of officials to those students just now was another new way. Shao Xun put new wine in old bottles and made the way of decorating the facade during the Cao Wei Dynasty a reality. It was a way of selecting officials directly in the hands of the court - or more accurately, the emperor.

He has a high prestige now, so in fact, there will be no problem in selecting officials by any means, and it will all work. But it is not necessarily the case for his children and grandchildren, as there will definitely be wrangling.

So the prince was right, this way of selecting officials is extremely valuable.

Of course, there are still some problems.

The huge gap in the quality of students between Taixue and Guozixue clearly reflects the differences in family education, academic background and examination ability between the old aristocratic families and military nobles.

In other words, even this new path is currently mostly occupied by the children of the gentry - this is actually one of the reasons why the gentry are not too opposed to this way of selecting officials.

"You are right." Shao Xun said, "This road needs to be well protected, otherwise there will be endless troubles. The Imperial College will slowly pick up in the future."

After saying this, he glanced at the faces of the disciples one by one. When he saw that they all understood, he waved his hand and ordered them to leave.

The prince stayed behind, hesitated for a moment, then walked back and said, "Father, yesterday an official brought a Taoist priest to me..."

Shao Xun looked at his son with a scrutinizing look and asked, "Why?"

"After reading Luhua Wendui, he recommended himself to become a disciple of Xin Zuo, the middle official. Xin Zuo recommended him to me, saying -"

"What?" Shao Xun asked.

"He said he could make an elixir of immortality for my father." Shao Jin gritted his teeth and said.

"Ridiculous!" Shao Xun scolded, "Who in the world is immortal? Who can live forever? What did I teach you? Xin Zuo is dismissed immediately."

"Yes." Shao Jin's face turned pale, but he still insisted: "I naturally know what father meant, but the world is ignorant and may not understand your painstaking efforts. I think... I think... let the Imperial College and the Imperial College slowly select officials. If more people learn the orthodox teachings, it will naturally be able to sweep away the mysterious trend."

"You want to use Confucian scholars to govern the country?" Shao Xun looked at his son and asked.

Shao Jin lowered his head and said nothing.

"The Yu family of Yingchuan has always passed down Confucianism." Shao Xun said: "Although Yu Yuangui talked about the mysteries of the Tao, I know that what he studied was the Confucian classics."

Having said that, Shao Xun sighed slightly.

"Father, what's wrong with this?" Shao Jin suddenly raised his head and said, "Confucianism distinguishes between rulers and ministers, and defines the noble and the humble. It is well-organized and stable like Mount Tai. Isn't it better than metaphysics?"

This time it was Shao Xun's turn to remain silent.

He didn't expect that his son already had his own ideas.

In fact, from a selfish point of view, Confucianism was very popular among the rulers and was extremely helpful in stabilizing the rule of the Daliang Dynasty.

It's just that - he didn't know how to answer.

Maybe it's because I'm too ambitious and always want to leave a mark.

Even though metaphysics has many faults, its level of enlightenment is something that Confucianism cannot achieve. But perhaps it is precisely because it is too enlightened that various controversies arise.

"Father," Shao Jin continued, "Daliang is rich, why does it need those illusory things? I heard that father ordered Sun Xi to stand at Chengtian Gate and show people leather armor without oil spots. This armor is good, but it is of no great use to the country. Respecting Zhou rituals and practicing the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues can protect the foundation of Daliang for eternity."

The Han Dynasty has its own system, which was originally a mixture of hegemony and kingly way. How can it rely solely on moral education and use Zhou politics? This is a sentence that suddenly jumped out of Shao Xun's mind.

Perhaps the prince was right. He had already gained the world, so why bother to do more to add icing on the cake? Even if he employed Confucian scholars vigorously, the trend would not be reversed in one or two generations. Perhaps metaphysics would still dominate the mainstream for a hundred years.

Moreover, the Chongyou School of Metaphysics does not advocate the opposition between metaphysics and Mingjiao. It has a sense of compromise and is not completely in conflict with Confucianism...

"Liu Lang, in a few days, follow your father to the Wanxiang Court to meet the scholars of the world." Shao Xun waved his hand and said, "Retreat."

"Yes." Shao Jin bowed and stepped back.

Looking at his son's back, Shao Xun took out the chemical experiment manual that had been sorted out to perfection.

Partitioning, quantification, analysis, evidence, etc. are all clearly categorized.

He is an outlier in this era.

(End of this chapter)