Chapter 262 Material Selection
"Bang!" This was the sound of the Minister of Rites smashing the memorials. This old man was always calm and composed. Even when things came to him, he would still smile. It was rare to make him angry.
At this moment, the Minister of Rites was furious. He pointed at Su Fengzhang and cursed, "Su Ziqing, what are you doing? The imperial examination is the foundation of our Great Zhou. You are trying to undermine the foundation of our country!"
Su Fengzhang reached out and pushed away the finger that was about to poke his face. Still smiling, he spoke soothingly, "Master Li, there's no need to worry. How about listening to Su's explanation first?"
The Minister of Rites snorted coldly, "I'd like to hear your explanation. Don't try to mislead the public with your lies in front of me."
At the grand court meeting, the other civil officials were also discussing the matter. In comparison, the military generals did not care much. After all, if there were any changes to the imperial examination system, the first thing that would be harmed would be the interests of the literati.
Su Fengzhang asked loudly, "Master Li, was there an imperial examination system in this world a thousand years ago?"
The Minister of Rites' face turned cold, and he shouted, "Of course, there wasn't one a thousand years ago, but now it exists. It's a great way for Your Majesty to select talented people. Even Emperor Taizu praised it. The imperial examination is the foundation of a country's rise and fall."
Su Fengzhang said, "Sir, you are wrong. The rise and fall of a country does not depend on the imperial examination system, but on the number of talented people and who governs the country."
The Minister of Rites sneered, "The imperial examination is the best way to select talented people."
Su Fengzhang agreed with this: "Your Excellency is right. From ancient times to the present, the imperial examination has indeed provided a good way for countless talented people to serve the country. If it were not for this, there would be no Great Zhou today."
"It's good that you know this, Lord Su. How dare you propose reforming the imperial examination system?" The Minister of Rites glared at him.
Su Fengzhang continued, "A hundred years ago, the original intention of the imperial examination system was indeed good, but with the development of each year and dynasty, this system has existed for too long and has entered a period of decline."
The Minister of Rites was about to get angry when he heard Su Fengzhang continue, "Your Excellency, don't be angry. Just listen to me."
"Things flourish and then decline, joy turns to sorrow, the sun rises and sets, the moon waxes and wanes," Su Fengzhang said. "The imperial examination system has been around for too long. Although it has undergone some changes over the years, it has largely become entrenched."
"Just like the eight-legged essay system, Su also knew that the original intention of the eight-legged essay system was to standardize the imperial examination essays and, through this standardization, minimize the possibility of cheating."
"It may have been good at first, but over time, it went in a direction that none of you adults wanted."
"You gentlemen are all scholars born into the imperial examination system. Now, looking back, we can see that today's scholars, in order to enter the official career, focus on useless contemporary essays, but have abandoned other knowledge. Day by day, they have truly become deaf to the world outside the window, and only focus on reading the books of sages."
"What's wrong with that?" asked the Minister of Rites unconvinced.
Su Fengzhang asked in return: "What's good about this?"
"Scholar, scholar, why does he study? Is it just to pass the imperial examination, enter the officialdom, and bring honor to his family?"
When Su Fengzhang asked this question, many people were thinking, isn't it?
Su Fengzhang, however, sighed deeply, his expression apotheosis of concern for the country and its people: "Since all my colleagues know that this scholar's ultimate goal is to enter the government, then if he only reads contemporary literature, can he handle government affairs for the court or do practical things for the people?"
"What I learned was not what I could use, and what I could use was not what I could excel at. When asked about money and grain, I didn't know. When asked about military affairs and punishment, I didn't know. When I went out, I was at a loss. I couldn't tell north from south or east from west. Day and night went on like this, and I became useless people."
The useless man's speech was so enlightening that the faces of the scholars present turned ugly.
Without waiting for their rebuttal, Su Fengzhang continued, "I've also heard that some scholars today are ashamed to know about the mundane world of business, and only value reading the books of sages. I wonder what else they can do after studying for more than ten years and passing the imperial examinations when they reach the court, except for spouting nonsense."
"Su is not talking about one or two people, but all the scholars today. Their hearts are biased!"
"Su Fengzhang!" The Minister of Rites was furious after hearing this. If Su Fengzhang had not been a head taller than him, the old man would have rushed over to fight.
He was so angry that he was shaking all over, cursing, "Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you are the Minister of Personnel. Isn't there anyone in this world who is a generalist? There are many people with extensive knowledge and talents in this world."
As soon as these words fell, some masters could not help but support them: "That's right, Master Su, how can you judge others by yourself? You don't know that there are talented and versatile scholars everywhere in the world."
Su Fengzhang laughed and asked, "Oh, really? Then why don't you stand up and let me see a few of you."
"You!" The Minister of Rites was furious and turned to look at the court. When he saw this, several people who originally supported him took a step back, fearing that he would push them out.
Obviously, it’s powerful when you curse people out, but it’s difficult to actually get them to stand up.
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "I think all of you are already the pillars of our Great Zhou, but I myself am not a generalist, so I wonder which of you can truly bear the title."
The court suddenly became quiet. Even the Minister of Rites did not dare to call himself a generalist. Everyone knew that Su Fengzhang was famous for his many ideas. If he stood up now, wouldn't he be waiting to be slapped in the face by him?
Su Fengzhang sighed and continued, "Among the civil and military officials in the entire court, not a single one has stood up and claimed to be a generalist, let alone the officials below. Lord Li, how many generalists can there be in the Great Zhou? With only a few, are they enough?"
The Minister of Rites glared at the civil servants in anger, then rolled up his sleeves and continued: "One is one, two is two. Do you think your method can produce more generalists?"
Su Fengzhang shook his head and said, "Of course not."
"Then what are you talking about!" The Minister of Rites couldn't help but get angry.
"But Lord Li, why are you so determined to cultivate a generalist? Those with broad knowledge and talents are rare. Can't we delay our selection of talented people? Without generalists, won't the people of the Great Zhou be able to survive?"
"The imperial examination is a good thing, but if the problem of the imperial examination system continues to ossify, it will inevitably lead to the scholars who finally pass the examination becoming detached from reality, only knowing how to read the books of sages and forgetting the essence of the imperial examination."
"Your Majesty, I do not mean to abolish the imperial examination system, but rather to reform the existing system, reducing the number of essays and abolishing the eight-legged essay. Instead, I want to add subjects such as commerce, law, the study of things, arithmetic, military strategy, and agriculture to cultivate talents in a targeted manner."
"Scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans have always been like this! Lord Su, are you going to sacrifice the greater good for the lesser good?"
In response, Su Fengzhang simply followed his predecessor's lead and asked, "Just because it has always been this way, does that mean it's right?"
"During the reign of Emperor Taizu, the position of prime minister was abolished, six new ministries were established, and the imperial examination system was reformed. From what Lord Li is saying, all of what Emperor Taizu did was wrong?"
The Minister of Rites' face changed, and he said angrily, "Su Fengzhang, stop slandering me. That's not what I meant!"
"Your Majesty, it's not just the imperial examination system that needs improvement. Academies across the country also suffer from numerous flaws. Currently, many prestigious schools are in vain, and most are redundant. The only material taught is the Four Books and Five Classics, completely subordinate to the imperial examination system. They spend their days studying the books of the ancients and the words of the sages, yet they forget what the sages advocated: serving the people wholeheartedly."
The Minister of Rites suddenly thought of the last time Su Fengzhang proposed to cut redundant staff. At that time, they turned a blind eye to it due to the power of Prince Cheng and the support of the Yun family.
Now that Su Fengzhang has preliminarily rectified the administration of officials, the next step is talent selection. This person already had a plan in mind, but he was just chipping away at it step by step, without releasing any rumors before!
The Minister of Rites was shocked when he thought that Su Fengzhang and others had already started planning. Then he looked at the expressions of Prince Cheng and Empress Dowager Yun and found that they were not surprised at all. They even seemed to agree with it vaguely.
Suddenly, he suddenly realized that his opposition was useless. This move seemed to offend scholars all over the world, but after it was implemented, those who entered the court as officials would only become Su Fengzhang's disciples!
Seeing his expression change drastically, Su Fengzhang softened his tone. "Master Li, why are you so anxious to object? I'm not going to abolish the imperial examination system. It's still viable. I'm just adding a few more subjects. If there are suitable candidates, I'll select them. If not, then I'll consider my work a waste of time. I'll accept your punishment when the time comes."
At this moment, Prince Cheng said with a smile: "Master Su, I have taken note of this. This has cost us a lot of money and manpower. If we can achieve some results, it will be fine. If not, I will punish you."
When the words fell, they seemed like a scolding, but in fact everyone present understood what the regent was thinking.
Their only hope was placed on the Queen Mother above them. Someone called out, "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, what do you think?"
The little emperor was in a daze. When he heard this, he rubbed his eyes and looked back.
Empress Dowager Yun gave a soothing smile and said loudly, "Although Lord Su's words may sound harsh, they do make sense. I have also heard that officials who entered the Ministry of Revenue couldn't even do accounting. It's unbelievable that a civil servant has two accountants under him."
"Emperor Taizu often said that people should learn to adapt. If that's the case, we, the younger generation, should obey him."
With the final word, the matter has come to an end.
Before leaving, the Minister of Rites glared at Su Fengzhang gloomily and sneered, "I'd like to see what kind of monsters and demons you can come up with. When the time comes, hmph!"
Su Fengzhang raised his eyebrows and didn't care. What he was more worried about was that it was easy to pass government orders but difficult to implement them. The central government's control over the local governments was still okay, but there were many problems where there were different policies from above and countermeasures from below.
To do this, he has to make more preparations and ensure that his policies are implemented thoroughly.
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