After receiving the memorial from Liu Hong, Zhang Rang began to read its contents aloud, while the civil and military officials in the hall listened attentively.
Even after Zhang Rang finished reading the last word, no one could hear anything wrong with it. On the contrary, many parts of it were based on fairness and justice. For a moment, everyone began to secretly wonder what the Grand Minister of Agriculture was up to.
Just as everyone was pondering, Liu Hong asked with a laugh, "What do you all think of the Grand Minister of Agriculture's proposal?"
Yang Qiu was the first to stand up. "The articles proposed by the Grand Minister of Agriculture all demonstrate His Majesty's fairness and impartiality in selecting candidates, and greatly prevent the underhanded actions of some people with ulterior motives. I believe that the Sili Office should take over the supervision of the examination site to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to cause trouble!"
Yang Qiu's words made the officials in the hall frown. This Yang Qiu really knows how to seize every opportunity and wants to get involved in everything. Does he not want anyone else to live?
"Your Majesty, I believe the Commandant of the Capital Region's suggestion is excellent and should be adopted!"
Li Ying also spoke up at the opportune moment, choosing to support Yang Qiu.
Hu Guang also stepped forward, saying, "The Grand Commandant's words are reasonable; I believe it is permissible!"
Subsequently, people belonging to Li Ying and Hu Guang's faction, including Li Mao and others, echoed their sentiments.
In an instant, nearly two-thirds of the people in the court stood up to express their support for Cao Song's proposal in his memorial.
Yuan Feng and others, led by aristocratic families, frowned as they observed the overwhelmingly one-sided situation in the court.
Yuan Feng also stepped forward and bowed to Liu Hong, saying, "Your Majesty, I also think that the Grand Minister of Agriculture's suggestion is very good, but I have a question that I would like to ask the Grand Minister of Agriculture!"
Liu Hong nodded, then looked at Cao Song.
Cao Song understood and said politely to Yuan Feng, "Minister Yuan, please feel free to ask any questions you may have. I will answer them to the best of my knowledge!"
Yuan Feng asked suspiciously, "The Grand Minister of Agriculture just mentioned that he wants to increase the number of positions to be filled. How many more are you planning to add?"
"fifty thousand!!"
Without a second thought, Cao Song announced a number, increasing the previous five hundred spots by a hundredfold!
As soon as Cao Song finished speaking, the entire court was in an uproar, and everyone looked at Cao Song in disbelief.
Liu Hong, sitting on the throne, couldn't help but twitch his lips. He had sent Zhao Zhong to Cao Song with a request for 20,000 coins, which he thought had already crossed the bottom line of the aristocratic families. He just didn't expect Cao Song to be even more daring.
"Your Majesty! I believe this is inappropriate! Selection and assessment are good things, but too much of a good thing can be bad!"
An official from a prominent family immediately stepped forward.
"Yes, Your Majesty, how should we arrange for the recruitment of so many people in one assessment?"
"The purpose of the assessment is to select talented individuals in a targeted manner. If there are too many candidates, it will inevitably lead to a mix of good and bad, which would defeat the purpose of the assessment! I think this is inappropriate!"
In a short time, apart from Yuan Feng, all officials from aristocratic families, including those recommended by them, stood up to voice their opposition, and the number of those who opposed them actually accounted for more than half of the court.
Although Liu Hong was mentally prepared for this, he still couldn't help feeling somewhat unhappy. The purpose of the examination was to select talented people from among the scholars of the world, which was very beneficial to both the Han Dynasty and ordinary students, and this was obvious to all.
However, precisely because this matter touched upon the fundamental interests of these powerful families, they jumped out to oppose it without distinguishing right from wrong.
"What are your opinions, Grand Commandant, Minister of Works, and Minister of Agriculture?"
Liu Hong looked at Li Ying, Hu Guang, and Yuan Feng expressionlessly. This matter required the three officials to step forward and express their opinions.
Li Ying stepped forward and said respectfully, "I think the Grand Minister of Agriculture's suggestion is very good. At present, there are serious vacancies in local officials in Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yizhou and even Jiaozhou of the Great Han Dynasty. Moreover, the selection of local officials has always been based on recommendations from local gentry."
I believe that collusion and deception will inevitably occur, and it would be better if local officials were appointed directly by the central government!
Hu Guang also stepped forward and respectfully said, "The Grand Commandant is right. Those places are far from the capital and the central government, so the issuance of government orders is slow and supervision is difficult. It is indeed necessary for the court to appoint a group of capable officials!"
Liu Hong nodded. The problem raised by Li Ying was indeed a big one. If it could not be resolved as soon as possible, in a decade or so, the southern states would likely become the backyard of powerful clans and gentry. At that time, it would undoubtedly be much more difficult for the court to develop the south.
Then, Liu Hong, with a solemn expression, glanced around at the civil and military officials in the hall and asked in a deep voice, "What do you all think?"
Dou Wu, who rarely spoke, also stood up and said respectfully, "I believe that the Grand Commandant is right. The local administration in several southern prefectures is in chaos and must be abolished, reassigned, and replaced as soon as possible!"
"We second that proposal!"
Subsequently, Cao Song, Yang Qiu, Yin Xun, Song Feng, and other officials with whom they had good relations spoke up, including Li Ying and Hu Guang's protégés and former subordinates.
For a time, this created a kind of antagonism between them and those officials from prominent families.
Liu Hong remained expressionless, his gaze calmly sweeping over the officials from aristocratic families.
Feeling the emperor's gaze, those people were momentarily at a loss.
If we agree with Li Ying's opinion, it would be tantamount to agreeing with Cao Song's proposal in disguise; if we disagree, it would be difficult to justify our stance.
After all, the emperor had just proposed practical action, and all the civil and military officials readily agreed, creating a beautiful scene of harmony between the emperor and his subjects.
Now that the issue of controlling the South has been discovered, and it is a major issue concerning national stability, and there are corresponding solutions, raising objections at this time is not just a simple slap in the face; it is tantamount to making one's stance clear and openly challenging the emperor.
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