readytorunbook Chapter 497 The conditions for implementing the imperial examination system are not yet ripe.
Chapter 497 The conditions for implementing the imperial examination system are not yet ripe.
Your perspective is determined by your position; the way you sit determines the things you think about.
Zhuge Liang came from a noble family and should theoretically prioritize the interests of his family. However, don't forget that he was Liu Bei's strategist and the second-in-command under the King of Hanzhong, acting as prime minister. After Liu Bei became emperor, the position of prime minister would definitely belong to him.
Since he has become the prime minister, he should prioritize fulfilling his duties as prime minister and put the interests of the court first.
Moreover, Zhuge Liang was a man of noble character and integrity, a romantic who was willing to give up his own interests and even ruin his family to save the country for his ideals, and a saint who was completely free from vulgar interests.
This can be seen from the fact that he served as the Chancellor of Shu Han for many years and held absolute power, but after his death he only left his son a few acres of mulberry fields.
Zhuge Liang possessed the virtues of a sage and held the power of prime minister. He would definitely prioritize the interests of the court and the people in his words and deeds, while putting family interests aside.
What are the interests of the imperial court and the people? Naturally, they are social stability, smooth upward mobility, and free movement between social classes.
However, over the years, powerful families have grown too strong, and social classes have become rigid, blocking the path for ordinary people to rise in society. This is the core reason why the Han Dynasty has fallen to its current state.
As the brilliant and almost supernatural Prime Minister Zhuge Liang was very clear about the reasons for the decline of the Han Dynasty. Land annexation, rampant corruption, and financial collapse were all reasons for the decline of the Han Dynasty, but they were only secondary reasons. The core reason was that the official selection system was flawed, which prevented talented people from poor families from rising to the top. The only way for them to get ahead was to rise up in rebellion.
Why was Zhang Jiao able to rally millions of Yellow Turban rebels with a single call? Why were commoners like Guan Yu and Zhang Liao so skilled fighters? Why did Dong Zhuo and Li Ru hate aristocratic families so much that they massacred them?
Because the number of children from poor families is so large, the probability of geniuses emerging is also greater. However, these geniuses have no way to rise in society, and the only way to get ahead is to kill. The useless people from aristocratic families who control a lot of resources are no match for them on the battlefield. The aristocratic families have more resources, while the children from poor families have stronger abilities. Wouldn't the scale of the war just keep getting bigger and bigger? The more intense the war, the more chaotic the world would become.
The saying "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?" has never been an empty phrase.
Therefore, in order to maintain the long-term stability of the court, it is necessary to select these talented individuals from humble backgrounds who are hidden among the common people and have the potential to rise to prominence with the slightest opportunity, and give them the status they deserve so that they can serve the court, instead of them taking up arms and fighting against the court.
Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and other warlords were well aware of this. After taking power, they selected virtuous and capable individuals and vigorously promoted those from humble backgrounds. However, without changing the existing system of recommendation and appointment, truly talented individuals from humble backgrounds could not even enter the sights of Liu Bei and Cao Cao, resulting in the selection of those from aristocratic families in the end.
Zhuge Liang understood the crux of the problem and naturally wanted to change the recommendation system to open up a path for people from humble backgrounds to rise in society. However, he had ideas but no solutions, so his ideas remained at the level of ideals and could not be implemented for a long time.
But Guan Xing's exam provided him with an idea, showing him the possibility of changing the recommendation system.
Examinations can truly be conducted without regard to blood ties, family background, or even appearance, focusing solely on ability. If implemented properly, they could become a more equitable talent selection tool than the recommendation system.
That's right, it's all about fairness. The most important thing for the imperial court in selecting talent is fairness. Only fairness can turn talented people from humble backgrounds like Guan Yu and Zhang Liao into pillars of the court instead of a threat to it.
But how can we ensure both fairness and long-term stability in examinations?
Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan, lost in thought, unaware that Guan Xing possessed a near-perfect operational plan in his mind, one that had stood the test of time for over a thousand years and proven effective.
Guan Xing calmly said, "That's easy. First, we select students from the county. All the students in the county take the exam at the county government office. A few are selected as students to advance to the next round. Those who pass the county government exam take the exam again in the prefecture. Those who pass are selected as scholars. Then they participate in the prefecture selection. Those who pass are selected as successful candidates. Finally, all the successful candidates gather in the capital for the final metropolitan examination. The best are selected as successful candidates."
"The Jinshi who have passed the imperial examinations and been selected through multiple rounds of screening must be the most outstanding talents of their time. If they are assigned to various government departments to start from the bottom and trained for several decades, they will definitely become qualified officials. What do you think?"
boom……
Zhuge Liang felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his mind, and he was stunned into standing still, his head buzzing.
Yes, how come he didn't think of such a good idea?
This method of multiple rounds of selection is practically tailor-made for the imperial court to select talent. On the surface, selecting talent from all over the country would require too much manpower and resources, and would be time-consuming and laborious.
But that's not how it works. The imperial court prioritizes people in its work, and people should always be the first consideration.
If the imperial court truly selects talent through examinations, then talented individuals will naturally strive to pass the exams instead of constantly thinking about how to take up arms and fight against the court.
It's better to focus the attention of these creative and destructive underprivileged students on exams than to let them have nowhere to channel their energy and think about rebellion all day.
In other words, examinations were not only a way for the imperial court to select officials, but also a channel to eliminate factors that could destabilize the court. If they were truly implemented, they could break the monopoly of the aristocratic class over education and even the officialdom, and completely achieve the goal of free social mobility.
This is simply a magical tool for maintaining the stability of the imperial court!
Thinking of the benefits of promoting exams, Zhuge Liang's thumb trembled so violently that he snapped the handle of his feather fan in half...
The sound of the fan handle breaking startled Zhuge Liang from his reverie. He shook his head a few times to clear his mind and asked impatiently, "I didn't expect you to not only take the exam but also come up with the exam process. Tell me the details so we can refine it together."
Looking at Zhuge Liang, whose face was trembling with excitement, Guan Xing spread his hands and said, "Strategist, you can forget about it. It's simply impossible to achieve right now."
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "Tell me the specific procedures for the exam first, and then explain why it cannot be done."
He only wants to know the specific procedures for the exam; he has no interest in knowing the reasons why Guan Xing said it couldn't be done.
He felt that just because Guan Xing couldn't do it, it didn't mean he couldn't. He believed that as long as Liu Bei was willing to replace the recommendation system with an examination, he would definitely be able to do it.
In this respect, the almost supernaturally intelligent Prime Minister Zhuge Liang had an almost obsessive confidence in himself and Liu Bei.
Guan Xing had no choice but to start from the students who had passed the preliminary examinations, explaining how students registered, how the government set up examination venues, how questions were set, how the examinations were supervised, how the papers were graded, how students were selected to advance to the next round, how names were anonymized to prevent cheating, how students passed the imperial examinations and how the results were announced, how students participated in the palace examinations and were interviewed by the emperor, and even the top three titles such as Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua were mentioned.
Zhuge Liang's head was buzzing as he listened. He was utterly shocked to discover that the process was so perfect that even with his abilities, he couldn't find a single flaw.
This was definitely not Guan Xing's idea; rather, it is an excellent system that requires continuous error correction, modification, and testing, and needs to be verified over a long period of time.
Without constant trial and error, and without the test of time, it would never be so perfect. Even the smartest person could not have considered all the errors and variables that would be encountered in the implementation of such an excellent system, and at the same time provide a near-perfect solution. Guan Xing could not do it, nor could Zhuge Liang, and even those sages who have been famous throughout the ages could not do it.
So the question is, where did Guan Xing get this complete process from? And why would he say it can't be done when it's so perfect?
Thinking of all this, Zhuge Liang's gaze towards Guan Xing changed.