Han Shizu

Chapter 2136 King Sejong Chapter 11 The University of Political Science and Law

In the autumn and July of the first year of Jianlong (1018), Luan Jia personally visited the first comprehensive political and law university in the empire and delivered a speech to encourage teachers and students of the school. The full name of the university: Dahan University of Political Science and Law.

Loujiang College, located in Kunshan, Suzhou, was a foundation and a treasure trove of talents in the early "Linzi King Group". Over the past ten years since its establishment, the school has also provided a large number of officials and talents for Jiangnan and Liu Wenji, and After so many years of development and practice, the earliest batch has been promoted to imperial officials, and those with the highest official positions have reached the important position of chief official of a county.

Not just ordinary officials, but top talents like Fan Zhongyan were a complete surprise, and his brother Fan Zhongwen was also given as a gift. After so many years of practice, it has been initially proved that the path of becoming a specialist is feasible, and a solid step has even been taken.

Of course, there are still sufficient prerequisites. First, there must be strong enough support from those in power. Second, there must be open educational ideas. Third, there must be enough high-quality students.

These conditions were barely met by the Han Empire in the first year of Jianlong. In the past few decades, thanks to the prosperity of the empire, continuous military victories, rapid economic development, and continuous advancement of productivity, it has naturally led to the development and evolution of the empire at the ideological level. Various ideological trends have emerged, such as the Jingshi School and the Xikun School. , reformists, conservatives, and various local factions emerge in endlessly. Social atmosphere is changing, and educational concepts are constantly evolving.

During the reign of Emperor Shizu, there was actually a lot of suppression on literati and ministers. However, after entering the reign of Emperor Taizong, it was gradually relaxed in terms of culture, thought, education, etc. Also starting from Yongxi, China once again ushered in a bright and prosperous cultural age.

Including during the Kangzong period, due to the emperor's neglect, the official administration changed from clean to dirty, which aroused many ideological resonances in society. The past two decades have also given various academics and educators opportunities to emerge.

Of course, in the imperial era of autocratic monarchy, the emperor's attitude played a vital role in everything. For example, today's emperor Liu Wenji attaches great importance to ideological education and supports the official school.

When Liu Wenji was still King of Linzi, he established Loujiang Academy as an experiment and a practice. But after he ascended the throne and firmly established himself on the throne, he began to formally apply and promote the results obtained from more than ten years of exploration, practice, and demonstration. .

As early as the beginning of the third year of Duan Gong, Liu Wenji issued an edict to upgrade Loujiang College to a Taoist-level administrative school, which was placed under the direct jurisdiction of the Jiangnan Chief Secretary's Office and managed by academic officials, completing the transition from a semi-official school to an official school. evolution.

For local dignitaries and bureaucrats, when the court wants to streamline its personnel and eliminate redundant officials, no matter how loud the noise, there are ways to deal with it. They have the means and time to deal with the central government.

And just from the perspective of "official affairs" affairs, the emperor's establishment of such a local official school system actually touched on the vital points. The reason why local dignitaries are powerful lies in the privileges and treatment given to them by the imperial system. The root problems cannot be solved by directly digging up the roots. Therefore, the reform of the supply of officials combined with administrative supervision became the solution that Liu Wenji figured out. .

If we say that students who graduated from Loujiang College were mostly supplied to Su, Xiu, and Shang in the past, then starting from the third year of Yongxi's reign, they will be supplying administrative talents to the entire Jiangnan Province. This is a leapfrog and even subversive. The change.

From the time when Shizu Kaibao was established, to the entire Yongxi era, even Emperor Kangzong had shouted the slogan of abolishing mediocre officials and redundant officials. But in fact, even when Liu Wenji ascended the throne as emperor, the problem of redundant officials and redundant officials was still not an issue. .

But there are often policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom. The people have hidden households, the land has hidden fields, the officials have hidden officials, and the officials naturally have hidden officials. The establishment is limited, and there are temporary workers outside the establishment.

In an era of limited information and transportation, and limited regulatory capabilities, many problems can only be alleviated but not cured. They can only fall into a cycle of conflict outbreaks, improvements, suppression, and then outbreaks.

Even though it is just a school that mainly trains junior college officials, the powerful people in Jiangnan Province have really smelled the unusual atmosphere, which is almost a prelude to a major change.

In the past twenty or thirty years, certain results have been achieved, but they have only treated the symptoms rather than the root cause. Even as early as the Kaibao period, Shizu issued an edict to regulate the number and corresponding salaries of government officials at all levels in prefectures, prefectures, military counties, towns, and townships across the country. A comprehensive set of regulations and restrictions.

To be honest, this is still an improvement, and some of the ideas must have come from Emperor Shizu. However, if this is done, it will be beneficial to strengthening the central authority of the empire, controlling redundancy and local supervision, and improving the quality and ability of the imperial officials. Very positive.

In Liu Wenji's conception, there is a further plan to clean up the officials, that is, to completely prohibit all levels of government offices from privately appointing officials. Even if this power cannot be confiscated to the central government, it must be de-established and institutionalized. . The final form will be that one day in the future, officials at all levels in the Han Dynasty will be selected from students who have been trained and studied in the official school, rather than purely based on the likes and dislikes of bureaucrats at all levels.

To do something is obviously not that easy. It requires more accumulation, more practice, a better system, broader awareness, more support, and more authority.

Moreover, even if Liu Wenji's idea is really promoted and finally implemented, some new problems will inevitably arise in the process, and no one knows what the final result will be. However, although the purpose of doing things is to succeed, it is of great significance to make certain progress in the process of chasing success. With Liu Wenji's soft-spoken personality, it was impossible to consider turning back before hitting the wall. At the same time, with his always cautious style, it was difficult for him to get into trouble.

In the summer of the third year of Duan Gong, as the Chief Secretary of Jiangnan Province completed the "incorporation" of Loujiang College, the emperor issued another edict. Wang Xuexin, the dean of Loujiang College, selected elite professors to come to Beijing and officially began to establish a direct-administered college. Yu Zhongxin's official school.

When it comes to the Gyeonggi level, it is natural that we can no longer make small fuss with Loujiang College. The qualifications and levels must be raised. At the same time, it is no longer a simple training of "official" talents, but a real training of officials and officials. A comprehensive school that pursues elite education.

For this reason, Liu Wenji even issued an edict to integrate the Imperial College into the university hall, which shows its high standards. Regardless of whether successive emperors attached great importance to it, the Imperial College was the highest institution of learning in the Han Empire, and it was also the infinite aspiration of civil servants, bureaucrats, and scholars all over the world. A place whose status is sacred.

Therefore, when the emperor wanted to carry out the "university" reform of the Imperial College, it caused a huge controversy between the government and the opposition. It was so loud that conservatives from all walks of life jumped out. There were various opinions, ranging from firm opposition to conservative controversy. , for a time, Beijing was full of criticism.

The emperor was obviously not easy to mess with, so some people paid attention to Wang Xuexin and other officials and professors who were planning to establish the university. All kinds of criticisms and accusations rained down on Mr. Wang, saying that he was deviant, flattering, and holding his head high. Mr. Wang, who had entered the capital with his ambitions, was infamous. If it weren't for the emperor's support behind him and sending people to care for him from time to time, he would have given up his career a long time ago amid the huge whirlpool of public opinion.

Although the opposition is loud, to be fair, its influence on the central decision-making of the empire is limited after all. The emperor strongly promoted it, while the nobles below sat and watched. Even those Jianlong prime ministers selected by Liu Wenji did not challenge the emperor on this matter even if they had objections.

Outside the highest decision-making circles of the empire, there are still the same group of people who choose to support the establishment of the university hall, and their combat effectiveness is equally impressive. The role of rhetoric is not to win or not, but to avoid one-sided public opinion and facilitate fishing in troubled waters. The greatest value lies in allowing those in power to achieve their ultimate goals.

Liu Wenji's goal was naturally realized in the end, and the University of Political Science and Law was finally established in a state of constant criticism but in an orderly manner. In the later period, many people saw that things were forbidden and had no choice but to join in. The highest university in the empire could not really fall into the hands of a "heretic" like Wang Xuexin. In order to maintain orthodoxy, they temporarily cooperated with "Xie Mei" , it is also a last resort to bear the burden of humiliation.

At this point, Wang Xuexin alone was no longer enough to control the university. Even if Liu Wenji gave him the title of Minister of Rites, he could only become one of the vice presidents.

As for the first president of the University Hall, his standards were also raised to a very high level. He was Prime Minister Zhang Shixun. And the doctors, professors and other teachers in the school were all ordinary people. Bachelors from the three halls, great Confucians from Beijing, and local academics all gathered together. , and more importantly, senior officials and ministers from various departments and bureaus of the imperial court who were familiar with state affairs and experienced in government affairs were also required to teach in the school regularly. The above-mentioned local feudal officials with outstanding political achievements and well-established achievements are also average.

As for the teachers of the "Loujiang Sect" who followed Wang Xuexin to Beijing, they could only stay low and remain small in the capital. However, as Wang Xuexin, who practiced and planned in the early years and participated in the general affairs management of the University Hall in the later period, his name was directly imprinted in the history of the University Hall and even the education history of the entire Han Empire. Such a reputation was very important to Mr. Wang. In other words, it is also a sufficient reward.

With the strength of the teaching staff, the students will naturally not be ordinary. To put it simply, people without status and background will never be able to enter the university unless you are a genius and know it from birth, or you are lucky.

In this way, the establishment of the University of Political Science and Law is a great progress and change in the imperial talent training mechanism, even though in essence it is just a place to train the elites of the imperial ruling class and is basically insulated from the people of Guizhou.

There is no doubt that the Han University of Political Science and Law was destined to be the cradle of imperial bureaucracy from the day it was born.

PS: While Jiangnan Province was ordered to bring Loujiang College under the administration of the Chief Secretary, a similar operation was also done in Yanshan South Province in the north, except that the objects of the integration were the "Zhao Family" established by the Guangyang Marquis Mansion. In the past few years, more than 200 students have been trained by the Zhao family. After graduation, relying on the influence of the Zhao family, they were placed as officials in some government offices in Yannan and Hebei.

Regarding this situation, Liu Wenji, as the emperor, after noticing it, would certainly not allow it to exist again. However, even after being incorporated, the Zhao family's influence in Youzhou Civil Affairs College and even in the official circles of the entire Yanzhao region was still retained to a large extent, and even deepened. As Zhao Kuangyi said during his lifetime, those who make a family prosperous have family education, which is the foundation of a hundred years.

After the situation about "Zhao's family education" spread among the upper echelons of Beijing, many people really reacted. Zhao Dechong, who presided over "Zhao Xue", was not taken seriously by others. What made people sigh was Zhao Kuangyi's scheming. Of course, some people called him cunning.

But that's it. Even if you want to follow suit, there's no chance. The court no longer allows it, especially those with noble backgrounds. After all, they are easily attacked with ulterior motives.

(End of this chapter)