jdhmnovel Chapter 726 A scheme that Old Deng could never have come up with.
Chapter 726 A scheme that Old Deng could never have come up with.
You might say these second-generation nobles are stupid, but they're not really stupid.
Especially people like Li Qi and Liu Lian, even if they were to be appointed as officials now, they might be a little lacking in governing a prefecture, but they would be more than qualified to be county magistrates.
Even the Chang brothers, Chang Sheng and Chang Mao, who are known for being rather dim-witted, are not exactly simple characters.
The problem is that these three hundred stupid donkeys were fooled as soon as they arrived in Ningyang County, and they were treated like donkeys wearing blindfolds.
Xia Yu and Lian Jinyiwei, with just a few words, completely controlled them.
Emperor Zhu turned to look at Yang Shaofeng and said, "Tell me, once these three hundred idiots... these three hundred little guys are trained, will it work to have them help with the reform of the garrison system?"
Yang Shaofeng didn't answer, but instead threw the question back at him: "Didn't you already have the answer in your heart, Father-in-law?"
Emperor Zhu's face darkened, and he glared fiercely at Yang Shaofeng.
That bastard is so infuriating!
Our leader finally managed to select three hundred... After three hundred nobles, we specially sent them over to run the farm, hoping to train them so they could help us as soon as possible.
But you bastard, you never miss an opportunity to annoy us with just a few words!
Yang Shaofeng was determined to press on and find ways to make things even more difficult for Lao Deng.
"Actually, besides the matter of the garrison, I think there is something even more important."
"However, the matter of the garrison is easy to handle, but the more important matter is extremely difficult. Even though I have extraordinary abilities, I am helpless."
"Alas, I am willing to put it aside, but it concerns the fate of our Great Ming Dynasty, so I dare not put it aside."
Emperor Zhu was immediately intrigued, even ignoring Yang Shaofeng's boastful claim that he possessed "the ability to see through heaven and earth."
This matter concerns the fate of the Ming Dynasty, yet it is exceptionally difficult to resolve; even this scoundrel cannot solve it?
That's a huge mess, isn't it?
The gentry of Jiangnan?
It should not be.
Although few of the gentry in Jiangnan were good people, and they had countless connections with the imperial court, they could not be completely eradicated even with annual purges.
But these people have already been targeted by some scoundrel, so they can't cause much trouble.
Hu Yuan?
Japanese country?
Probably not.
Hu Yuan probably won't last more than a few years.
Especially as Xu Da and his men began building cities on the grasslands with cement bricks, these cities would eventually be strung together like a noose around Hu Yuan's neck.
It's even less likely that we'll go to Japan, because after we finish dealing with Hu Yuan, we'll send troops to deal with Japan and fulfill our promise to give him the fiefdom of the Duke of Ying. How could we possibly let Japan go unchecked?
Could they be remnants of the Hu Yuan dynasty west of the Western Regions?
Emperor Zhu thought for a long time but still couldn't figure it out, so he simply glanced at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "Tell me, what's bothering you so much?"
Yang Shaofeng smiled and pointed to Li Qi, Chang Sheng, Chang Mao, and three hundred other second-generation nobles, saying, "I suddenly remembered that it is easy to train soldiers, but it is very slow to train scholars."
Emperor Zhu hummed in agreement and said, "Cultivating scholars is naturally not easy; otherwise, why would there be the saying 'ten years of hard study'?"
Oh dear, she's taken the bait!
Yang Shaofeng put on a worried look and said, "Has my father-in-law ever thought about why these so-called local gentry and gentry have become so powerful?"
Emperor Zhu was slightly taken aback.
Why did local gentry and gentry become so powerful?
Isn't it because they controlled wealth that they were able to educate their children, and then the children, after becoming officials, would give back to their families, accumulating wealth generation after generation, which is how they became so powerful?
That's not right either.
That's definitely the reason, but this bastard suddenly brought up why the power of the local gentry had grown so strong, there must be a deeper purpose behind it.
Emperor Zhu narrowed his eyes slightly.
The power of the local gentry grew because they could afford to send their children to school.
After their children become officials, they can then support their families and enable more members of the clan to study and become officials.
Gradually, they will evolve into the aristocratic families of the Han and Tang dynasties.
That doesn't seem to make sense.
The Song Dynasty lasted for three hundred years, so why didn't any famous aristocratic families emerge?
wrong.
It is true that the Song Dynasty lasted for three hundred years, but if we take the Jingkang Incident as the dividing line, the Song Dynasty is equivalent to the first 150 years and the last 150 years. It is not wrong to call them two dynasties.
After Huang Chao used family genealogies to call out names and kill people, 150 years seemed insufficient to cultivate a proper aristocratic family.
Even if there was a glimmer of hope, it was later thwarted by Hu Yuan.
Then it was our old Zhu's turn.
Thinking of this, Emperor Zhu looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "Are you referring to aristocratic families?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and said, "What I want to talk about is the imperial examination."
As Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Emperor Zhu was once again left in a daze.
Imperial examination.
Isn't the imperial examination system now abolished?
Although there are still spring and autumn imperial examinations every year, this is only a temporary measure. In a few years, the imperial examination system will be completely abolished.
As he pondered, a sudden inspiration flashed through Emperor Zhu's mind.
We've finally found the flaw in the imperial examination system!
Similarly, we finally found the Achilles' heel of those local gentry!
Emperor Zhu said with a dark face, "The imperial examination has replaced the recommendation of filial piety and incorruptibility, but the cost of studying is still too high, too high for ordinary people to bear. In the end, those who can pass the imperial examination are still the same people. That's why you just said it concerns the fate of the Ming Dynasty."
Yang Shaofeng nodded slightly, and Emperor Zhu continued his analysis along this line of thought.
"We abolished the imperial examination system, but due to a shortage of manpower, we have to continue to hold special examinations. During these ten years of special examinations, we will recruit at least three thousand Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations)."
"Among these three thousand successful candidates, more than two thousand may have been scholars from gentry, landlords, and powerful families."
"Ten years from now, there will be at least two thousand such officials in the bureaucracy."
"But our Great Ming only has about a thousand counties, and some of these people will inevitably enter the imperial court."
“From the imperial court to the local level, the combined influence of these people is greater than that of the emperor himself.”
Is that what you wanted to say?
Yang Shaofeng hummed in agreement, but did not speak.
The reason for this situation today is largely due to our own actions.
If it weren't for Zhou Jingxin and his cohort of successful candidates, Lao Deng might have completely abolished the imperial examination system and replaced it with a recommendation system.
Pay attention, there's a scheme here that Old Deng could never have come up with.
In the original history, the first year that Lao Deng stopped the imperial examination, the following year a county magistrate started to establish community schools in the local area.
In the eighth year of the Hongwu reign, Emperor Deng issued an edict demanding that "community schools be widely established" throughout the Ming Dynasty.
Ten years later, in the eighteenth year of the Hongwu reign, the imperial examinations were reopened.
Note the span in between.
ten years.
Ten years of hard study.
In other words, because Lao Deng was dissatisfied with the results of the first imperial examination, he stopped the imperial examination, then promoted community schools, and reopened the imperial examination ten years later.
These ten years are the time for children from ordinary families who are able to attend community schools to grow up.
Unfortunately, even the best strategies can be turned into elaborate schemes.