The Sun and the Lion

Early in the morning, a group of people gathered around a wall in the community mosque. This wall faces a large open space, where a high platform is also arranged for the Ulema to give speeches and is used for main May day gatherings.

In normal times, mosques are also the center of the community. In response to this feature, Ibrahim ordered that government orders be conveyed through the mosques in each community. In the large courtyard used for gatherings, the wall near the podium was transformed into a notice area.

Just before dawn, the muezzin, who works as a handyman in his spare time, posted the notice from the government.

However, this day happened to be Juma Day, and the residents of the community happened to see the conspicuous notice after arriving at the mosque. Before the ceremony started, many people gathered around to watch.

"Listen to me! Listen to me!" The leader standing on the podium shouted to the crowd below, trying to get them to turn their attention to him.

"The notices you see are the orders of the King of Kings! Every week on Juma Day, the muezzin will post the new orders here..."

However, there are still many illiterate residents present. The priests who need to give speeches explain the new policies in khutba, but they are not those who participated in the formulation of the decree, and they have only a little understanding of the new policies. Most of them can only read the content and There is nothing you can do except express your opinion. How to understand it depends on the audience themselves.

"What is written on this notice is the new rules for selecting officials in the future. Don't think that this matter has nothing to do with you. Now you don't need to rely on the recommendation of your superiors or being accidentally discovered by your Majesty to be promoted. The King of Kings has decided to appoint a senior official every three years. Each province organizes an exam and recruits based on their scores.”

Maura looked at the still restless crowd and continued to explain: "I know you want to know now how this so-called exam is conducted..."

According to the decree, this selection of officials was divided into three levels - palace, province and county. The lowest county-level examination is held once a year, but candidates who pass will not be provided with official positions. They only obtain a certificate of educational level from the government and can go to the provincial capital to take the provincial examination.

Only those who pass the provincial examination will be hired as officials. However, at this step, the candidates who are hired will usually work in the local area. The specific positions will be arranged by the chief executive on the advice of the examiner, and they only need to report to the superior in time afterwards. .

Of course, the accepted candidates may not be hired by the local government, but go to the next level and go to the palace to receive personal inspections by central officials. If passed, you can directly serve in the palace.

This year is the first exam. In order to recruit new officials into the government in a timely manner, Ibrahim specially approved the three levels of exams to be conducted in sequence.

Now that the good news is over, let’s pour some cold water on it - first of all, you need to pay a fee to register for the exam on your own, and it’s quite a lot. In order to reduce costs, Ibrahim decided to let the candidates bear the bulk of the expenses.

For many people, this is an unbearable burden. But in an era without compulsory education, the so-called official selection examination was originally intended to open the channel for political power to the landlord class. The purpose of Ibrahim's introduction of examinations is to prevent expensive people who cannot even do basic business from entering the government.

However, this still did not affect the Mullah on the podium to praise this policy: "This is the most just and spacious channel. The King of Kings treats the subjects under his rule equally..."

This is also the most surprising, because Ibrahim did not impose too many restrictions on registering for the exam. As long as he can read and write articles in Persian, whether he is the most mainstream Muslim, a Christian of various sects, or a Jew, he can Even the much-discriminated Mazda worshipers can participate!

The issuance of this decree caused an uproar among the people, but the number of people who came to sign up independently was not as many as Ibrahim imagined. After all, the group of scribes in Iran is relatively stable, so that a separate group was formed before the Tianfang Sect took over. Caste, those who can receive civil education are the children of bureaucrats.

Only the children of bureaucrats can learn to write official documents and understand officialdom under the tutelage of their elders. They also have sufficient resources and a first-mover advantage.

But those who can read and write in society are not only the children of bureaucrats, but also the scribes of the Bazari Book Workshop and the families of small and medium-sized landowners - Ferdowsi, the author of "Kings", was born in a small and medium-sized landowner.

Not to mention the clergy who hold teaching positions in various places and students who are studying in religious schools.

But their proportion of the total population is still very small. After all, a large part of the population of the Iranian Plateau is nomads. Their cultural level is difficult to compete with the settled residents. Even the tribal nobles who own mansions in the city have much literary talent. ?

Although in this first examination, they were at a disadvantage compared to the second generation who received formal civil service education in the examination to select civil servants, they were still able to enhance social mobility and promote stability. Find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com

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The new decree announced on the Sunday prayer has been lingering in Farzane's mind, and he has been thinking about it since returning home. He hesitated for a long time and didn't mention it to his family until dinner.

"Are you tempted by what happened today?" His father saw through his thoughts at a glance. Faced with his father's rhetorical question, he had no choice but to nod.

He originally came from a family of officials, but his family fell into decline during the two generations of his ancestors and his father. His grandfather was implicated in political struggles and lost power, while his father was unable to serve as an official because of illness. Since he could remember, the family's finances had been supported by his uncle, who had a successful career.

Although he relied on relatives for financial support, his childhood was relatively stable. Under his father's personal guidance, he could read and write, and roughly mastered the skills required by civil servants.

But the good times did not last long. The uncle who was willing to support the family suddenly passed away due to an accident. The family's rapidly deteriorating economic conditions forced his father to find a job as a scribe. Farzane's future of entering the government based on his uncle's recommendation was thus cut off.

Just when he himself was making a living as an apprentice scribe, the news that the palace wanted to select civil servants from among the people hit his head. In his opinion, it is better to waste his whole life at the bottom of the government than to be a scribe.

Fazarny looked at his father who was thinking, feeling a little uneasy. The notice stated what kind of financial costs they would have to bear, and although they were reduced to scribes and could afford the money, it was still very heartbreaking.

"Since Huda has given our family such an opportunity, why not give it a try?" His father was also very interested in the opportunity to bring the family back to its original class.

After receiving a positive answer, Farzane suddenly became excited: "I will definitely be able to serve in the government."