86. Chapter 86
"none"
Qi You could roughly guess what Kangxi was thinking, which was nothing more than the dragon throne under him.
He didn't care at all which son was the most powerful. What he cared about was which son was forming cliques and threatening his throne.
If Qi You answered, no one would be able to make him feel great, and he would seem too arrogant.
If he chose one person, Kangxi would think that person was trying to win him over and form a clique.
No matter what the answer is, it will not satisfy Kangxi, and he will still be suspicious.
Qi You simply followed his heart and answered frankly: "Khan Ama, I haven't been with my brothers for a long time, so I really don't know who is more powerful among them."
Kangxi did not give up. He stared at Qi You with a sharp gaze and asked, "From the tasks they usually perform, with your intelligence, how could you not see anything at all?"
This question is even more pointed.
It's too fake to say that you can't see it, and it's even more blatant deception to say that you are too stupid to see it.
You can see it, right? In Kangxi's eyes, it was another kind of bias and standing.
Qi You didn't hide his feelings. He frowned and thought for a moment, then raised his eyes to meet Kangxi's inquiry and said calmly, "Khan Ama, in my opinion, they are just like all other court officials. They are carrying out the tasks assigned by Khan Ama. Khan Ama initially set a direction for them, and they just followed his instructions to complete it. This is what they should do. There is a saying that goes, 'If you have a keen eye, you can see beyond your own assignments and take the initiative to do them. Only then can you tell whether something is good or bad.'"
Kangxi didn't expect Qi You to answer like this. He was a little unresponsive and stood there in a daze.
In Qi You's view, court officials and princes are the same. They all do things passively and lack initiative.
In other words, no one considered reform and innovation.
They were all talented people with extraordinary intelligence. They must have known the problems of the Qing Dynasty.
But as a vested interest, whether or not to change is another question.
Qi You couldn't help but smile bitterly. He was looking at his brothers, and they were also looking at him. In their eyes, he was probably just a fool who was doing a thankless job.
After a long silence, Kangxi finally gave up the question and asked, "Is there something you want to do in the palace?"
Qi You breathed a sigh of relief and began to talk about business: "Khan Ama, these are the data I looked at from the Ministry of Revenue on land, taxes, the expenditures of the Eight Banners, and the population of the Eight Banners. Please take a look."
Kangxi knew that Qi You was always quick in his work, so he was very pleased to see that he had sorted it out so quickly. He took the booklet he handed over and looked through it carefully.
All the data is based on reality. Kangxi became more and more frightened as he read, and his fingers clutching the paper gradually turned white.
The increase in the population of the Eight Banners brought great pressure to the Ministry of Households.
Even if the Eight Banners are not included, based on the current tax revenue, the number of acres of land in the Qing Dynasty, and the ever-increasing population, the imperial court will face major problems within twenty years.
With no more wars, the population continued to grow. Aside from the areas outside the Great Wall, there was no more land left to cultivate within the Great Wall. The total amount of farmland remained unchanged, meaning the growing population would face the problem of famine.
To solve these problems, there are only a few ways at present: controlling the population, increasing food production, and reclaiming land outside the Great Wall.
Population control was impossible, except for extinguishing human desire or turning men into eunuchs. Ultimately, the imperial court had no effective means of controlling population growth.
No matter which one, they had to rebel. Kangxi also did not think about controlling population growth. The prosperity of a court was closely related to its population.
Kangxi knew very well that increasing grain production was no easy task.
The land outside the Great Wall became Kangxi's last bargaining chip. Moreover, these lands must not fall into the hands of the Eight Banners, nor can they be touched by the powerful and tax-exempt nobles.
In times of chaos, severe punishments must be used; even in times of peace and prosperity, severe punishments must still be used.
When Kangxi thought about this, his expression gradually became cruel.
Qi You observed Kangxi's expression and said, "Khan Ama, the imperial examination will be held next year, and I have some ideas."
Kangxi's expression softened, and he quickly asked, "What's your idea?"
Qi You said, "Reduce the weight of policy essays and add subjects like mathematics, geometry, and medicine to the exams. It will definitely be too late next year, otherwise the students will be in chaos. Let's start from the next imperial examination. Don't make the exam too difficult at first, take it step by step. Also, offer more erudite and eloquent subjects, but this subject will not only test literary skills, but also focus on technical skills."
In addition to the three-year regular imperial examination, there is also the Zhike examination. The Zhike examination has a long history and was called the Boxue Hongci examination during the Qing Dynasty.
As the name suggests, the Boxue Hongci exam was an imperial examination designed to win over scholars. Scholars who were not good at writing eight-legged essays but were capable of writing ci and poetry and had a say were recruited into the court, a form of alternative recruitment.
The imperial examinations were not held every three years; the timing of the examinations was entirely determined by the emperor. Those eligible to take the examinations were recommended by local governors.
So far, after Kangxi pacified the Three Feudatories, he held an examination in order to appease the scholars and reduce the number of articles that implicitly satirized and criticized him for his excessive military spending.
Qi You knew very well that even though Kangxi agreed to reform the imperial examination, it would take at least ten years, or even longer, to gradually bring about the changes.
Sir, textbooks are something that students need time to transition to when they start learning. They cannot be changed all at once.
With the Jueluo School and the occasional examinations for the Boxue Hongci degree, there will be more and more professional talents in the court.
Kangxi liked mathematics and geometry, and he was certainly happy to see more people learning it and having more like-minded people.
Anyway, the best teachers and books are in their hands, so Kangxi is not afraid that they will learn real skills.
Eight-legged essay is equally difficult. If we lower the requirements and allow scholars to learn other things, they will have an additional path and will not have too many objections.
Qi You's ideas were different from Kangxi's.
There are countless talented people in the world. As long as there is an environment and enough motivation, they will definitely study hard on their own initiative.
If one can carve on a dead tree like eight-legged essay, how can he not learn other knowledge such as mathematics?
Kangxi raised his eyebrows and pointed out Qi You's idea: "You want students of the Jueluo Brothers School to be able to take the exam?"
Qi You lowered his head shyly and said, "Khan Ama saw through them right away. Since they are our Jueluo family's students, we must let everyone in the world see their abilities. We Jueluo family are broad-minded and recruit talents regardless of their background."
Kangxi sighed and said, "It's a pity that there are so many scholars waiting for official positions in the capital. There are really too many people and too little porridge!"
There are too many monks and too little porridge. There are too many people waiting to become officials in the capital, but too few vacant positions.
Actually, if you count carefully, there are quite a few official positions. Nowadays, there is no retirement system, so as long as officials do not commit crimes, they can stay in office until they die.
Another important reason is that bannermen, without having to take exams, occupied too many official positions. Not to mention the high-ranking officials in the court, such as the written examinations of various departments of the court, all came from the Jingshan Official School, which was only accessible to bannermen.
Qi You said bluntly: "There are really too many monks among the Bannermen."
Kangxi suddenly raised his eyes to look at Qi You, his tone becoming heavier: "Don't forget, this is the world of the bannermen!"
Qi You remained calm and said, "The porridge was cooked by all the common people. If you really count it, the Han people added more firewood and produced more rice and flour."
After a long while, Kangxi lowered his eyes and said, "Let's put this matter aside for now. One solution is to hold more examinations for the prestigious Boxue Hongci exam. The various ministries at court, as well as the local governments, always have some errands to fill."
Qi You had anticipated Kangxi's actions; he had simply raised the price, and Kangxi paid him back. His goal of having all the students from the academy employed by various ministries in the future was to fulfill it.
Kangxi slowly turned the pages, looked at them carefully again, and said hesitantly, "I wonder if they can understand these things, and if they can think long-term and accept them willingly after understanding them."
Qi You said, "The imperial court supports them. No, it should be all the people who pay taxes and work hard to farm the land who support them. What else are they dissatisfied with or unwilling to agree to? Could it be that they only care about getting rich and want the Qing Dynasty to perish, regardless of the court's life or death?"
Upon hearing this, Kangxi was filled with rage and cursed, "These people don't care about the life and death of the court, they only care about their own promotion and wealth, and eternal glory and wealth. First use courtesy, then force. Anyone who dares to come out and make trouble is rebelling!"
When Qi You saw Kangxi's murderous intention, he sighed inwardly.
No wonder Kangxi aged so quickly; it was truly difficult for him. Besides being a suspicious emperor, he was also extremely contradictory.
If we were to say who in the world most desired peace and prosperity, it would be Kangxi.
But the people under the sky are made up of Han people, bannermen, and Mongolian tribes.
The Han people accounted for the vast majority of the population. They were the backbone of the Qing court and supported the country.
Kangxi relied on them, but was also wary of them. On the other hand, Kangxi still had many dissatisfactions with the bannermen who were biased towards him.
It was like a large family, supported by the patriarch Kangxi. Even if they were from the same clan, clan, or relatives, Kangxi had to pay for rice and food every day. Seeing them grabbing the food with their bowls and wolfing it down without having to pay a penny, he would definitely feel angry and distressed.
Qi You tried his best to avoid any bloodshed and sacrifice.
Because, in the end, the ones who really suffer are the unarmed civilians.
If a large number of people were to move there, the imperial court would certainly not do what Qi You did. They would give them money and food so that they could have something to eat first and survive until the harvest was good enough to support themselves.
Despite this, the death rate of the pioneers was alarmingly high, which was what Qi You always felt most guilty about.
Qi You hurriedly advised, "Khan Ama, don't be angry. First, relocate the people who have been affected by the disaster and have no land to farm. There is no need to start a big war. If we relocate a lot of them at once, their reaction will be less."
Kangxi nodded and said, "Too many people will cause chaos. Now that you are not here, I can't control it well. If chaos breaks out, it will be troublesome."
Qi You smiled and said, "Khan Ama, I am not that great. I rely heavily on your support."
Kangxi chuckled, squinting his eyes, and looked at Qi You calmly. He asked again, "What did you say to the fourth and eldest brothers earlier?"
Qi You thought to himself that he had come after all. He said that he discussed the river route with the Fourth Prince, and the Eldest Prince only mentioned telling him about his wife.
Kangxi was curious after hearing this and asked, "Those bondsmen you keep with you all day are so powerful?"
Qi You nodded heavily and replied, "Khan Ama, they are really better than ordinary people. This is all thanks to the Jueluo Brothers School!"
In fact, He Ye and his classmates did not study in the school for too long. They basically followed Mr. Xu Risheng and others, relying on the experience accumulated through actual combat.
When Kangxi heard that it was the credit of the Gioro brothers' school, the Gioro brothers' name alone was enough to make him think without further ado. He immediately said with a smile, "Okay, let's take it out for a walk. As for Li Guangdi, I'll let him know when the time comes."
Qi You thanked him. Kangxi continued to ask a few more questions about the river channel, frowning and saying, "The fourth brother has always been prudent in his work, but sometimes he is a bit ruthless and his methods are too harsh, causing his subordinates to come and complain to me. You should persuade him more, so that he will not be criticized again."
It’s really interesting that Kangxi actually disliked the Fourth Prince’s dominance.
Qi You thought about it and said seriously: "As long as Fourth Brother follows the law, whatever he does is reasonable."
Kangxi glared at Qi You and said, "Don't forget that besides the law, there is also reason. Simply following the law without knowing how to adapt and ignoring public opinion is not what a wise person does."
The legal system was already imperfect, and law was mixed with emotion. The emperor who had the most disregard for both law and emotion, and who openly disregarded the law, was none other than Kangxi.
For example, the rise and fall of officials. As long as an official did not rebel, even if he was corrupt, accepted bribes, or sold official positions and titles, if he was a close confidant of Kangxi, he would be reinstated after a few years. Such officials were everywhere in the court.
Qi You really had nothing to say and could only pretend to be obedient and agree.
Kangxi Fang laughed and said to Qi You with a sidelong glance: "Don't spend all the money I gave you to open a mansion on them. You will have a family to support in the future."
Qi You did not need to eat ginseng and bird's nest. Apart from court robes, he did not care whether he wore silk or satin or old fine cloth clothes.
The prince's salary was allocated to Qi You's imperial farm and servants. The rent collected was not only enough for him to support his family, but also to take care of the group of people under him.
In addition, he had more spare money, which he used to provide scholarships to schools.
Qi You felt a mixture of emotions when he thought about this. If he had known that marriage could be so profitable, he would have taken the initiative to ask for it sooner.
At this moment, Kangxi's eyes shone, and he asked sharply, "The eldest brother came to see you so early in the morning. Didn't he tell you about your brothers' titles? Is he dissatisfied with them?"
Here it comes again, here it comes again!
Qi You felt a dull headache. He had been back in the capital for less than ten days, but he already felt like he had aged by more than ten years!
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