Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 106 It smells so good
Zhu Houzhao also guessed that once the regicide case started, it would definitely lead to a large number of officials being reduced in the court.

Therefore, he had already thought of starting the examination-based official selection system and opening the special examination system.

In the past, when the Ministry of Personnel selected officials, those who were qualified to be officials would apply first, and then the Ministry of Personnel would fill the vacancies when they occurred.

Doing so not only easily leads to the breeding of corruption and the failure to appoint the right people to the right positions, it is also very inefficient. Many people have to wait for many years to get an official position, and it may not be a position that they are satisfied with.

Zhu Houzhao can now announce all vacancies at one time on a regular basis through a unified official selection examination.

The elected officials can choose their own official departments, and the selection method is changed to a method where they can register and fill the vacancies after passing the exam.

In addition, it also allows each functional department to select suitable officials based on their own needs. It can be said that it has the characteristics of two-way selection, which is no different from the civil service examinations in later generations.

Coincidentally, the large number of official vacancies now is also the best opportunity for Zhu Houzhao to establish an examination system for selecting officials.

However, doing so can ensure that a large number of officials who are more suitable for court administration are added in a short period of time.

But according to the current actual situation in the Ming Dynasty, most scholars, especially the more outstanding ones, would choose to pass the imperial examination and then be selected as officials by the court. Therefore, Zhu Houzhao had to hold another special examination.

As an emperor, it was not difficult for Zhu Houzhao to introduce the civil service examination system in the Ming Dynasty, especially at the central level.

But the most difficult thing is that it is impossible to change the phenomenon in a short period of time that society attaches importance to the imperial examination and despises other channels of appointment.

And opening an imperial examination can naturally guarantee the recruitment of outstanding scholars at this time.

The entire intellectual class of the Ming Dynasty society only cared about the imperial examinations. Whether the imperial court's Ministry of Personnel selected officials by filling vacancies or by examinations, it was just a game for the losers among the literati. For the vast majority of students who had the confidence to rise to high-ranking officials, the right way was to pass the imperial examination and enter the Hanlin Academy.

The imperial examination of the 18th year of Hongzhi had just ended. Most of the failed candidates were still more or less unwilling to accept the result. Many of them had not even left the capital. Now, when they heard that the court was going to hold another special examination, they all responded!
Zhang Cong, who was also living in the capital, had failed the imperial examination for the third time. He was naturally depressed, and wrote many poems expressing his frustration that his talent was not appreciated. He also decided to stay in the Imperial College in Beijing to study, vowing to take the imperial examination.

Even when the court announced that it would hold an official selection examination, Zhang Cong, like most of the scholars stranded in the capital, did not take it seriously. Zhang Cong even committed the common mistake of scholars, criticizing the current politics whenever he was not satisfied: "Although the three cabinet ministers killed the emperor, which is a heinous crime, but also punishing the ten clans of the rebels is too cruel. Now our Majesty is black-bellied and too cruel. I am afraid that he will not be a blessing for the scholars in the future!"

"Brother Bingyong, be careful with your words! The whole city is full of minions of the East and West Factories. Aren't you afraid of being implicated in the case of regicide? By then, even if you have a thousand mouths, you won't be able to explain yourself clearly," his friend named Tang Renzhe quickly covered Zhang Cong's mouth.

Zhang Cong quickly slapped Tang Ren's hand away in disgust. "I, Zhang Cong, have done the right thing, so why should I fear the minions of the East Factory? If I, Zhang, had any connection with the traitors, would I have failed the imperial examination three times? Your Majesty is so cruel, why can't I say anything?"

"Selling newspapers! Selling newspapers! The latest news from the Imperial Ming Daily: The Ministry of Rites has been ordered to announce to the world that the imperial examination will be held again in the first year of the Zhengde reign. Candidates in Beijing can report as soon as possible!"

At this time, the newsboy from Huang Ming Daily happened to appear in front of Zhang Cong.

Although the Imperial Ming Newspaper has only been in the capital for less than two months, the people in the capital have already gotten used to this new thing. Zhang Cong rushed to grab a copy and after reading it, he said hurriedly: "It seems that I have to stay at your house for a few more days. The imperial examination will be held in April, and 100 more Jinshi places will be added. It shows that our emperor is wise and considerate of students like us who study hard!"

"Brother Bingyong, didn't you just complain about His Majesty?" Tang Ren asked in confusion. "When did Zhang slander the current emperor? The emperor is the wisest ruler in the history. He killed powerful officials at the age of fifteen and recruited talented people through the imperial examination. I, Zhang Cong, am lucky to meet such a ruler. How could I complain about him? Goodbye, I am going to prepare for the exam!"

After Zhang Cong finished speaking, he took the newspaper and left.

Seeing this, Tang Ren just shook his head helplessly.

……

At the same time, Xia Yan, who also failed the imperial examination in the 18th year of Hongzhi, was writing a letter to his father Xia Ding: "Father, I intend to leave Beijing and return home on the tenth day of the first lunar month. Nowadays, there are many cases of regicide in the court, and many people are implicated. I am afraid that the government will undergo a major change. The current emperor has a lot of Taizu's legacy, which may not be a blessing for the scholars!"

Xia Yan did not dare to say in the letter that Zhu Houzhao was a cruel monarch. He only said that he inherited the legacy of Taizu and he believed that his father could understand what he meant.

But at this time, his servant came to report: "Sir, the Ministry of Rites has come to tell you that the court will hold an imperial examination in April of the first year of Zhengde, and will add 100 more places."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yan immediately tore up the letter and wrote a new one: "Father, I wish you the best of luck and happiness. I am doing well in the capital, please don't worry. The emperor is a very benevolent monarch. Although he is young, he has a strong will to govern the country. He is eager to recruit talents and has issued an order to hold a special examination in April. It can be said that the emperor is very gracious and wise. I want to stay in the capital to take the exam again, hoping to win the gold laurel. Besides, it is not easy to live in Chang'an, so please send me another 100 taels of silver!"

……

This is a very normal phenomenon in this era. No matter what dynasty, no matter how cruel the emperor was to the literati, as long as they are given the opportunity to advance, to make a name for themselves and bring honor to their family, that is, to exploit the people and also to govern the world, they will heal their wounds and forget the pain, and still regain the aspiration of "learning literary and martial arts, and serving the emperor."

Even Zhang Cong and Xia Yan, who shined during the Jiajing period in original history, were no exception.

What's more, the reason they were able to rise in the officialdom in history was because they were not moralists.

However, at this time, Zhu Houzhao did not know how many talents beneficial to the country would be recruited by this special examination. He was about to explain to Wang Yangming the purpose of building the Imperial University of Peking.

Zhu Houzhao knew that even if he was in power himself, it did not mean that he could implement land reform, economic system reform or even open up the sea. The civil service group was still a powerful force. Even though he had eliminated a lot of them by taking advantage of the case of the rebel party, he had not fundamentally changed the system that was conducive to the expansion of the civil service group.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao can only start changing the unreasonable system that may lead to the demise of the Ming Dynasty in the future from the aspects that do not involve the fundamental interests of the civil service group.

Running schools to popularize education and spread new knowledge is undoubtedly the way that is least likely to make society unable to adapt at the beginning.

Moreover, Zhu Houzhao could not carry out reforms alone; he needed his own supporters and like-minded people. Therefore, he had to establish a university to sow the seeds for future changes in the Ming Dynasty, and to sow the seeds of open-mindedness and knowledge development in the Ming Dynasty, rather than being confined to the world of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. If we want to make this society full of vitality, we must first make the ideological and cultural circles of this society full of vitality.

According to the original historical development, the Ming Dynasty would have broken through the barriers of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism in the ideological world in the future, blossomed with brilliant brilliance, reached its peak after Wanli, and even began to collide with the contemporary West. But unfortunately, it came to an abrupt end in the middle of the seventeenth century.

And now, Zhu Houzhao has decided to make the storm in the ideological world even more violent in the future. One Wang Yangming is definitely not enough. There must be countless Wang Yangmings. One Li Zhi is also not enough. There must be more outliers to impact the scholar-official group!
There is no other meaning in writing Zhang Cong and Xia Yan in this way, I just want to play a "really fragrant" stalk. Thank you book friend 20181118062830474 for the 500 starting coins reward. Thank you book friend Tianze Longwang for the 100 starting coins reward.

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(End of this chapter)