Chapter 196: Records of the Court Meeting

August 6th, morning court.

"Your Majesty, please think twice!"

An old official with white hair and beard knelt on the ground and said with deep sorrow: "For thousands of years, there has never been a woman serving as an official. This... this... how can this be allowed! It is common sense that men are responsible for the outside world and women are responsible for the inside world. Do you want us to serve as officials together with women in the future? This is simply against ethics!"

At the morning court today, the emperor brought up this matter and discussed it with his ministers. He had anticipated that many people would react in this way, and he was not surprised. He just listened quietly to what the people below said.

"Your Majesty, please think twice!"

"Your Majesty, the selection of talents for the imperial examinations is the foundation of the country. What the Ministry of Personnel has proposed now is a move that will shake the foundation of the country, so it is absolutely unacceptable!"

The person who is speaking now is Lord Ma from the Hanlin Academy. He has been talking about social principles and ethics all his life. Now, when he hears the emperor talking about women serving as officials, it is like the sky has fallen on him.

When Shen Su was selected as the second place in the imperial examination, many people had read his article. He submitted a memorial at that time, saying that Shen Su's article was not acceptable and he should not be selected as the second place in the imperial examination and serve as a role model for scholars.

However, Emperor Zhaoming directly suppressed the memorial and did not approve it, and the matter was never resolved. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the emperor not only selected Shen Su as the runner-up, but also sent someone to the Ministry of Personnel. The meaning was self-evident.

As soon as Lord Ma finished speaking, many people stood up and knelt behind him, asking Emperor Zhaoming to think twice.

The memorial proposing to select female officials through examinations was written by Shen Su and his superior Ji Fengchang. After being read by the Minister of Personnel, it was handed over to the emperor. Shen Su's current position is not high enough and he is not qualified to attend court. Not only him, but even Ji Fengchang, who is only a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Literature, cannot attend court.

However, since this memorial has passed through the hands of the Minister of Personnel, he must stand up and speak at this time.

After those who were shouting "What a disgrace" had all fallen to their knees and the four words "Your Majesty, please think twice" had been shouted, Quan Daren, holding up his tablet, walked out of the crowd at a leisurely pace.

"Your Majesty, I have a different opinion from them."

"Well, please tell me, my dear Lord. What do you think?"

"I would like to ask Lord Ma a question first. Lord Ma, is it written in the Great Zhao Law that only men can take the exam?"

"This is naturally..." It's really not written. It's a customary thing, and no one has ever written it into the law.

Lord Ma said in a stern voice: "For thousands of years, there has never been a female imperial examination."

Xie Yuan, who was standing in the corner, said lazily with his sleeves tucked in, "Thousands of years ago, there was no Hanlin Academy."

"Thank you!"

Lord Ma was so angry that he didn't expect to be stabbed in the back by his own people. He was speechless for a moment.

Lord Quan continued, "Since it is not written in the law, it means that women can also participate in the imperial examinations. Moreover, the Ministry of Personnel is going to hold a special examination for women, which is different from the imperial examinations. Talents are not divided by gender, they are all citizens of our Dazhao. As long as they have talent, they should be used by our Dazhao. If we are limited by the difference between men and women and miss many talents in vain, it will be the loss of our Dazhao!"

"Humph, everyone in the capital knows that your daughter, Quan Guangyao, is still unmarried at the age of 20. Master Quan, could it be that he has some selfish motive and wants your daughter to serve as an official in the imperial court?"

This is really an exaggeration. Official disputes do not involve wives, children and family members. This principle has been followed by everyone in the past, no matter how fierce the disputes were.

"I never thought that Lord Ma would care about whether my daughter gets married or not. I think Lord Ma is really wasting his talent in the Hanlin Academy. If he went to the Matchmaking Department, I'm sure there won't be a single man in the capital to marry his daughter."

When this was said, many people laughed, which made Mr. Ma so angry that he fell backwards.

"Your Majesty, I agree with what you said. Hua Mulan is also a woman, and she can also go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. Her identity as a woman was not discovered by others in the barracks, which shows that she is no worse than men, and is even better than many men. The same is true for being an official. If there are better talents, why should we be so particular about whether it is a man or a woman?

Therefore, I think that selecting female officials is a good thing that will benefit the country."

"It's easy for you to say that. There are differences between men and women. If men and women serve in the same place as officials in the future, aren't you afraid of causing scandal?"

The eldest prince, who had been silent all this time, suddenly laughed out loud, "Others may not know, but Master Ma, I'm afraid you don't need to worry about this."

As he spoke, he looked at Lord Ma's head. The hair under his official hat was already very sparse. It was a family tradition for hair loss. Males in the Ma family would start to lose their hair after they turned thirty. It was said that they had seen countless famous doctors but to no avail.

This was the pain of Lord Ma's life. Now that he was being laughed at, he was so angry that he almost fell over. But the one who was speaking was Prince Ning, so he dared not vent his anger. Lord Ma now felt that everyone in the palace was looking at his head.

The emperor held up his hands to cover the corners of his raised mouth, and after a long while he said in a deep voice: "Prince Ning, please don't interrupt me."

"Your Majesty, I think what Lord Ma said is not unreasonable. Although the selection of materials cannot be restricted to the difference between men and women, there are indeed differences between men and women. If they serve in the same place, it is indeed not appropriate. Who would be willing to let their daughters, their wives, their sisters, their daughters-in-law, go in and out with other men all day long?"

At this point, it can be seen that the court is divided into three factions. One faction is naturally the opposition faction headed by Lord Ma. They are opposed to the selection of female officials and believe that there is no room for negotiation on this matter.

The other faction was headed by the Ministry of Personnel, who believed that regardless of gender, anyone with talent could work for Dazhao.

There is another group that is neutral and believes that both sides have their reasons.

The rest of the people are purely bureaucrats. No matter what is being argued in the court, they can enter into a state of meditation like old monks, and can only wake up when the court is adjourned. Let's leave these people aside for now.

Shen Yun didn't say a word today, but he also stood in the camp that supported women serving as officials. This memorial, including the idea of ​​women serving as officials, had a share in his son's contribution, so it would be better for his father to keep his mouth shut at this time.

But he couldn't say it because the Dali Temple still had to thank him.

"It is not without precedent for women to serve as officials. In our Dali Temple and Jingzhao Prefecture, there are many female detectives, and in reality, female detectives are indispensable. Although detectives are not considered official positions, they also remind us that there are many things that are inconvenient without women. Moreover, it is not only Dazhao that has female detectives, and no scandals have been heard of for many years. If you are worried about this, you might as well not allow all women to serve as officials. It would be like throwing away food for choking."

The grand court meeting on the sixth day of August lasted for two hours. The ministers' legs were numb from standing so long, but no conclusion was reached.

"My dear Minister Quan, regarding the examination for selecting female officials, please draft a more detailed regulation from the Ministry of Personnel. We will discuss this matter later. I am adjourning the court."