Qin Official

That night, Hei Fu and Zhang Cang were sitting at the foot of the Xianyang Palace. Behind them was the empty emperor's couch and the emperor's sword hanging high. In front of them were the yawning soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army.

After spending a full hour, Hei Fu described to Zhang Cang a method of selecting scholars called "examination".

"In the past, those who wanted to be officials of the Qin Dynasty had to take a test before taking office."

When Heifu and a certain Liu Tingzhang who was still in Haidong were unknown, they both passed the examination, which was called "examination for an official", but it was very simple. They just answered some legal questions correctly, and became a military official to catch thieves. , and also need to be proficient in using weapons.

"From now on, the world must be pacified immediately, but once the nine states are clarified, we cannot immediately rule the world like in the past. Some of my military officers are good at marching and fighting, but they must wear the crown of law and serve as civil officials. , facing a pile of documents?"

Then all I can do is hahaha!

Heifu was also helpless: "Although I often encourage my old troops to spend some time learning literacy when they have money and leisure, those soldiers have been learning for nearly ten years, and most of them can only make their names known. Just write it clearly."

Both the First Emperor's and Heifu's southern regimes actually faced this problem. Officials with military backgrounds often made jokes when they went to govern local areas.

Although the officials of Qin were good and their schools could produce a group of disciples who were literate and well-versed in laws, all the resources in the world were devoted to conquests and the construction of wonders, and very few were allocated to education. Even if hundreds of students in Xianyang Academy complete their studies every year, it would still not be enough if they were thrown into the vast land of Kyushu. Moreover, when these people go to places, they don't even understand the local language, so they can only turn a blind eye and rely on local powerful people to govern the county.

On the other hand, Heifu established a unique local school in Jiaodong and organized examinations for his disciples, which gave local scholars the opportunity to participate in politics.

"Military merit is the foundation of Qin, and it will continue to be maintained. For now, we are only talking about scholars, who account for less than a hundred and two literate people in the world..."

Three hundred years after Confucius started his private school, the number of literate people in the world has gradually increased from a few tenths of a percent of nobles and wizards to about two percent, and most of the people can still read but not write. Among them, Qin and Qilu are higher, and may reach 3% in some places. Chu, Yan and other places are the lowest, and may not even reach 1%.

Literacy is the most basic threshold for civil servants.

Although the proportion of students studying is too low, it is not even possible to obtain scholars every year. Therefore, in Heifu's vision, at the beginning, the examination can only be used as a supplement to the military meritorious and academic official (government-run education) systems, once every three years.

"What's the test?" Zhang Cang was about to take action and wanted to propose that "accumulating literature and upright conduct can belong to etiquette and justice."

But Heifu had his own idea. He held out three fingers:

"First, use official script to write short essays with clear meanings."

"Second, legal questions and answers."

"Third, numerology!"

Zhang Cang, who was a little disappointed when he heard that there was no etiquette and literature, his eyes suddenly lit up when he heard about Shushu.

"That's right." Heifu smiled:

"The commonly used questions in your "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", such as calculating the size of an acre of land, how many bricks and tiles are needed to build a wall, and how much grain is harvested per year in a li."

In short, they are Chinese, Law, and Mathematics, the three most basic ones. These will be the standards for working as a small civil servant above "Doushi" in the county. It can be regarded as giving the Kanto scholars a chance to serve as a rice bowl. The threshold is already very low. It can't be any lower, it's just equivalent to telling the world:

"As long as they are literate, numeral, and know the law, and are willing to work for the government, they will all be given rations!"

It is better to first incorporate all potential talents into the Qin official system than to use their talents to chaos the world when they are desperate.

This is just the first exam to obtain a scholar. In the future, the exam will become more and more difficult and the standards will be higher and higher, and even "history" will be added, which will affect the outlook of scholars from the bottom.

And next, how to implement benign promotions of rewards and punishments within officials, so that talented people in the state and ministry can enter the court step by step, relying on examinations, performance, or a combination of both? Heifu still needs to think about it again...

But the first cornerstone of the new building has finally been laid.

Examination is the fairest means in a civilized society. People all over the world have struggled with it for thousands of years, and no country has been able to find a completely alternative method.

Black Fu can't, no one can.

Examinations cannot be completely fair. Favoritism and malpractice can lead to persistent abuses that are hard to correct. The original ideals may change over time, and many problems may arise.

But compared to the competition, it is better to directly decide, let everyone run on the same track first, determine the superior and inferior according to the ranking, and select civil servants. It is self-evident which one is more fair.

Although, you, who was born in the capital of Guizhou, and officials who have been educated in the government-run school system, or even your opponents whose fathers are meritorious nobles and have received good training since childhood, cannot be on the same starting line.

The simplest thing is to mutter that this system has shortcomings and that system is not perfect, and then continue to continue the old system of the "sages" without making any changes.

As a disciple of Xun Xue who strongly admires the "Queen of Dharma", Zhang Cang obviously seeks change.

"My teacher Xun Qing once defined the 'king system', which is the king's system."

"Hei Fu...this idea of ​​the monarch is already close to the king's system..."

"Only you can tell me."

Heifu's eyes were a little tired:

"I am seriously prescribing medicine for the world, but what they care about is when I will take this position..."

"They're right to care."

Zhang Cang smiled: "I'm afraid you won't like what I say next."

He stood up and held his hands towards Hei Fu, and said solemnly: "From ancient times to the present, except for the good ending of the Duke of Zhou, the regents will not end well!"

"Yi Yin was killed by Taijia."

"Gong Bohe was erased from the classics by Zhou historians, leaving only a few words."

"Gong Lu Yin was killed by his younger brother Lu Huan Gong."

"You are young and powerful. Even if you are a regent like Gong Bohe and leave the emperor's position vacant, it will be no problem for fourteen years. You can even maintain this system within thirty years."

"But what happens after that?"

"Either return to the new king and hope to meet a wise master like King Qin Huiwen, who killed his people and used his government."

"Either." Zhang Cang raised his head: "You take it for yourself!"

"The king is the body, the law is the outline, and etiquette is the function. This is the true government of the king and the method of lasting peace and stability."

His fat body bowed before Hei Fu.

"This is Zhang Cang's opinion as a disciple of Xun Xue."

"This is Zhang Cang's heartfelt words as a friend."

"This is also Zhang Cang, my loyal and sincere advice as a subordinate!"

"If you don't be Duke of Zhou, you will be Liu Qing and Tian Chang." Hei Fu touched his chin. This was really an endless paradox. After a long time, he said:

"Take a step first and take a look."

"After all, I am eager to fulfill my position now, and I am afraid that what I will get in return is disappointment and disintegration."

Heifu stretched out his hand: "Right now, although I have not taken Tai'a and worn it, nor have I practiced it, the power that only the emperor has can be held in my hand like the originally invisible sword of Tai'a! "

"So now I should not worry about whether to take this position or not, but how to use the power of the emperor to do what I wanted to do in the past but could not do it!"

"Besides gathering all the people from the world together, what else do you want to do?"

"very many."

Heifu's eyes revealed the ambition he had harbored for many years.

"The first thing is to expel the barbarians and clear the pass."

"Restore national strength, support soldiers, and reward those with meritorious service."

"Then go east out of Hangu, wipe out the remnants of the six kingdoms, and then unite the world!"

"After the world is settled, rest with the people. The men will enjoy their duties and the women will cultivate their careers!"

"And to truly unify the world, unite the six countries, and unite the nine states, this is the dream of the First Emperor, and it is also his unfinished business."

"I want it in my hands to finally get it done!"

There's more to it...

"Like this."

Hei Fu asked his bodyguard to fetch a huge key and handed it to Zhang Cang.

"What is this?" Zhang Cang took over and felt heavy, with a playful smile on his face: "Could it be the new mansion you gave me?"

"It's a big mansion."

Heifu smiled and said: "The key to Afang Palace belongs to you!"

…

Regardless of whether the Epang Palace was built or not in history, in this dimension, it was completed.

It is an exaggeration to be pressed for more than three hundred miles and isolated from the sun, but it is possible for thirty miles, and it is extremely luxurious and elegant.

"What does this mean?"

Zhang Cang felt that the key in his hand was extremely hot, and he immediately became serious: "Although I am lustful, I am not so impatient that I want to pervert the palace. Mr. Hei, you have seen the wrong person. Take it back, take it back..."

Heifu laughed loudly: "Zihu has overthought it. The female relatives in the palace have already come out. After the clearance is cleared, I will let them choose their husbands among the single soldiers of the Northern Expedition."

Zhang Cang was stunned: "So, Afang Palace is already vacant..."

Heifu said: "Yes, you and I both know who the First Emperor built the Epang Palace for. It's a pity that it can't wait for the Queen Mother of the West..."

"From now on, no emperor or King of Qin will visit there anymore. It has been taken over by the regent government as public property and used for other purposes."

"For what purpose?"

Heifu said: "The ancients said that the palace is built to show the dignity of the king, but I think the person who is most qualified to live in that illustrious palace is not the emperor, not the illusory Queen Mother of the West, and of course, not me, the regent."

"But 'knowledge'!"

Hei Fu held Zhang Cang in his arms and walked out, saying:

"Didn't you tell me that those people from Bactria who came from far away told you that in the far west, there was a Greek state named Ptolemy. Its king built the largest palace in the world in the capital. Library?"

Zhang Cang nodded: "People from Daxia who have been to the capital of Toguo said that the king of Toguo ordered that every ship entering the port be searched. As long as books are found, regardless of nationality, they should be immediately placed in the library, so as to collect the knowledge of all Greek states. Books, the library is also huge, like a city, with hundreds of thousands of volumes..."

Although the collection room of Da Qin's Yushi Mansion also collected books from the Three Dynasties and Six Kingdoms, it has not yet reached that scale, so Zhang Cang is quite envious.

"You don't have to be envious."

Heifu was a little proud: "From now on, the entire Afang Palace will become the Chinese academic city and collection room, which is ten times or a hundred times larger than the Greek library!"

Zhang Cang was really shocked now. No matter how wildly he fancied it, he could never imagine that with a wave of his hand, the Afang Palace, which Qin Shi Huang had spent countless people and property to build and took several years to build, would be asked to load the books!

Those books that had condensed countless efforts of the sages, but were not worth a penny in the eyes of the imperial court, and were casually burned and deleted...

He murmured: "But now the book of the world is only enough to fill a few palaces and occupy a corner of it."

"Be brave." Heifu encouraged Zhang Cang: "What I want is not just a book for the current generation."

"I want Epang Palace to contain the books of hundreds of generations! From the oracle bones of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, to the bronze inscriptions of Zong Zhou, to the Spring and Autumn slips, and in recent years, there has been an endless stream of printed scrolls. The law of holding books will be abolished. Classics, histories, poems, books, laws, as long as they are approved by the government after thorough examination, they can be passed down to the world!"

"I also want it to hold the world's most valuable book! It's a treasure for both small and middle Kyushu!"

"Persian Tablet Inscriptions."

"Parchments, statues of the Greeks."

"The papyri of Ptolemy, and the ancient relics of that land."

"Even the myth of poisonous people."

Zhang Cang's mouth opened wide. He saw in Hei Fu's eyes the majestic ambition that had only appeared in the eyes of Qin Shihuang!

"All the crystallization of human wisdom will be gathered in Afang for scholars to study, translate and understand, and for future generations to admire!"

Speaking of this, Heifu's words were hoarse and restrained: "After reunification, it will take decades to rest with the people. I will definitely not be able to do this, but I believe that future generations of successors can do it." arrive!"

The first ray of sunshine in the morning shone on Xianyang Palace and on this dark-faced designer. He was the only one in the world who had the same ambition as the First Emperor, and even understood the First Emperor.

But Heifu understands better what his mission is:

"People cannot live forever, and national power will eventually be exhausted. One generation can only do one thing."

"But I believe that one day, Afang Palace will no longer be synonymous with corvee and tyranny, but a palace of knowledge."

"It will become the axis of all civilizations in this era and in the world!"

…

No one knows what happened in the main hall of Xianyang Palace on the night of the tenth day of July.

Even the guards of Heifu who were standing guard only knew Wu Zhonghou and Zhang Cang, the latest "young man" who took office. The two old men stayed together in the palace for a long time. They stayed up all night and didn't wake up until dawn. They were both so tired that they were shaking. Yawning, Zhang Cang's eyes were still red, as if he had just cried...

"I won't be able to see that day. You are different, Zihu. If you eat less sugar, you might still be able to see that day..."

After all, he is Renrui who has lived for more than a hundred years. As a witness of history, it is really suitable.

"correct."

When we parted, Heifu remembered something: "Zihu, you came in a hurry from the north and said you had something important to tell me. What is it?"

"But I forgot about it!" Zhang Cang finally recovered from the future vision described by Hei Fu, slapped his thigh, and said seriously: "It's about the Huns!"

"The Xiongnu who invaded the Great Wall this time were not only large in number, but also included Yueshi and Donghu cavalry. They were also different from the past..."

Zhang Cang's eyes were full of warning: "I have secretly learned your methods, equipped myself with saddles and stirrups, and are better at riding and shooting. The people of New Qin will be difficult to defeat!"

"Modun learns very quickly..."

Hei Fu was startled, but after thinking about it carefully, seven or eight years had passed since the Huns were driven north. The Huns suffered a heavy loss in the Helan Mountains and were beaten to the point of being knocked down by Li Xin. Mao Dun also escaped from Hei Fu's pursuit. After packing up the remnants and running to Mobei to lick his wounds, it was expected that he would learn from his master.

Is this one of the reasons why the Huns were able to defeat Donghu?

Heifu asked Zhang Cang to go down and rest, and would explain the matter in detail at a military meeting later.

Zhang Cang walked down the stairs of Xianyang Palace, and could only hear Hei Fu turning his head and muttering...

"It's fun to cheat for a while, it's fun for a while..."

. Sogou