Chapter 11: The Long River Sets the Sun, Verse 50

The purpose of this recital is obvious, the gate lords and tycoons intend to alleviate the contradictions with the imperial court and make compromises with the imperial court's restructuring policy.

The eldest princess urgently summoned Prime Minister Li Wei, Grand Sima Xu Rong, Taiwei Zhang Yan, Shangshu Ling Tian Chou, and Zhongshu Superintendent Liu Fang to discuss the matter.

The "Nine Grades Zhongzheng System" is actually a kind of evaluation of Confucianism, that is, the candidate for officials, through the investigation of Confucianism's family background, talent, morality, etc., to assess whether they are qualified to enter the office, which is the qualification assessment of Confucian scholars.

The official who specializes in evaluating characters is "Zhongzheng", and after comprehensively examining the talents, morality, and other aspects of Confucianism, Zhongzheng divides Confucian scholars into nine grades. This classification of nine products is directly derived from Master Bangu's "List of Ancient and Modern People in Hanshu", but with some changes. Zhongzheng only makes general comments on the morality and talent of the characters, which is called "form". The results of the Zhongzheng deliberation were submitted to the Prime Minister's Office for review and approval, and then sent to the Ministry of Officials as the basis for the selection of officials.

The quality assessed by Zhongzheng is also known as "rural product", which is closely related to the career of the assessee. Those with high rural quality naturally have a high starting point for being an official and are promoted quickly, while those with low rural quality often have a very low starting point for being an official, and their promotion is very slow. The Zhongzheng appraisal figures are adjusted once every three years, and the Zhongzheng can also upgrade or downgrade the evaluated characters at any time.

This selection system is similar to the local appraisal and the township discussion. The evaluation of local celebrities has a long history, and the most famous one in the past was the "Yuedan Commentary" hosted by Xu Shao and Xu Jing brothers.

The difference between the Jiupin Zhongzheng system and this kind of local appraisal is that it is no longer the local Confucian celebrities who preside over the appraisal, but the officials of the imperial court, so that the original local appraisal and the township Qing discussion are included in the scope of the imperial court election. The local appraisal and township appraisal that were originally controlled by the local Confucian celebrities were transferred to the direct control of the imperial court, and the local appraisal and township discussion that were originally controlled by private families immediately gained a legal status, and the contradictions between the Confucian scholars and the imperial court were also alleviated.

After Li Wei read the full text of the recital, he was stunned for a long time.

He didn't expect that the great Confucian scholars would come to this trick. Revising the selection system can be described as a salary draw from the bottom of the kettle. For more than ten years, the promotion and implementation of the new policy of the imperial court completely depended on the officials, and the loyalty of the officials to the imperial court and their support for the new policy. If officials resist and treat the new policy negatively, the difficulty of promoting the new policy will increase suddenly, and there is a danger that it will be abandoned halfway or even fail.

At the beginning, Northern Xinjiang vigorously promoted the study of ancient scriptures, and after King Qin's successful rebuilding of the imperial court, he took the new scriptures as the official study, and almost all the officials were Confucian scholars who studied the ancient scriptures and the new scriptures, and some of them were warriors. If the "Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System" is used instead of the "Probation System", then a large number of Confucian scholars who study modern literature and classics will be appointed, and the contradictions between the concept of governing the country and the interests and power will become more intense, which will hinder the promotion and implementation of the new policy of the imperial court to a certain extent.

"Is the malpractice of the probationary system so serious that it must be changed?" The eldest princess frowned and asked, "After the implementation of the new policy, we have vigorously promoted the township evaluation in addition to the inspection system, which has already made up for the lack of official selection, why do we need to change it?" ”

Great Sima Xu Rong and Taiwei Zhang Yan looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

"Your Highness, the reason why you want to change it is because of official learning." Tian Chou explained, "There are two criteria for the selection of examiners in this dynasty, one is that all families other than Confucianism are not allowed to be raised, and Confucianism is used to select scholars; The second is to examine the four aspects of virtue, learning, laws and regulations, and strategy. ”

"Your Highness, this Confucianism does not refer to various schools of scripture in general, but specifically to official schools. In the past, the official school was the modern literature and classics, and now the official school is the new scriptures. In other words, only Confucian scholars who study the New Scriptures now have the most basic qualifications to enter the ranks. In the past, when the official study was the modern literature and classics, many Confucian scholars who studied ancient literature and classics had to adopt both modern and ancient literature and classics in order to become a scholar, which is also an important reason why Confucian scholars in ancient literature and classics generally studied from the two great Confucianists and despised the teacher law and family law. ”

"The difference between the Jiupin Zhongzheng system and the inspection system is that it is 'meritocracy', no matter which school of Confucian scholars you are studying, whether you are a Yimin studying qin, chess, calligraphy and painting, or a common person studying medicine, as long as you have talent, regardless of your background, you will all have the qualification to be evaluated. In addition, it has very little content, mainly family, talent and morality, and the focus is on talent. ”

"As for the investigation of family history, in fact, it is also for the selection of talents. After more than 20 years of war, the Gaomen that was able to survive in the war was very rich, and it was easier for their children to learn the skills, so they had the item of examining the family history. Of course, this kind of selection and inspection, after a long time, will inevitably reproduce the disadvantages of the inspection system, that is, the disciples of the gate valve family will be all over the court, and the power struggle will become more and more intense. ”

The eldest princess understood.

As an official school, the study of literature and classics has been around for more than 300 years. In such a long period of time, there were too many families and Confucian scholars who studied modern scriptures, and their number was very different from those who studied ancient scriptures and new scriptures.

What is the reason for the Confucian scholars to forget to sleep and eat and study diligently? Isn't it for survival, for entry, for the glory of ancestors? Cutting off the livelihood of these Confucian scholars and turning them away from the court is obviously out of place and wrong, and the selection system must be changed.

"It is said in the chapter that the reason why the selection system should be revised is because the inspection system is unbearable, the disadvantages are too great, and it is not conducive to the prosperity of the Han Dynasty." Xu Rong pointed to the chapter and said, "They also said that more than 20 years of war have led to a sharp decline in the population, and a large number of Confucian scholars from all over the country live in other places, and the probation system is no longer applicable. Therefore, taking into account the advantages and traditions of local appraisal and township discussion, taking into account the declining population and Confucian residences, it is recommended to implement the nine-product Zhongzheng system. This will not only help to correct the defects in the criteria for selecting and promoting talents in this dynasty, re-establish fairness and justice, and select a large number of talents, but also help to correct the manipulation and control of the family members and great Confucian celebrities over the evaluation of talents and the selection of officials, because it has produced a series of serious problems. Xu Rong shook his head again and again, "What's the problem?" Didn't they take away their jobs? I think this matter should be carefully considered, and a decision should not be made hastily, lest it be a disaster for future generations. The inspection system of this dynasty has come to this day, and there have been drawbacks one after another, so will the same problem not arise in the nine-product zhongzheng system? ”

"The state and county have Zhongzheng, who is this Zhongzheng? According to this system, the state and county zhongzheng can only be played by locals, and most of them are concurrently held by the current court officials, and the person who serves as the zhongzheng himself is generally the second of the nine grades, that is, the upper grade. In other words, it is a great Confucian scholar, and it is also a great Confucian scholar in various states and counties. In this way, the privately manipulated township evaluation has become the rank of the imperial court, and such a rank of the court will obviously not harm the private interests of the gate lord family. The imperial court seems to control the selection, but in fact, it is the gate lord clan that controls the selection. ”

"Although the contradiction between the imperial court and the clan of the gate lord on the issue of selection has been greatly eased, what is the result? Just look at the disadvantages of the probation system. The manipulation and control of the selection by the clan of the gate lord will inevitably bend the law for personal gain and disrupt the rule of officials. In terms of the criteria for selecting talents, it is obvious that the emphasis is on family background and the neglect of talent and morality, which blocks the road to appointing talents. In my opinion, this system was greatly beneficial to the gate valve family, and in the future, this system will definitely consolidate the privileges of the gate valve family, which is extremely detrimental to the long-term peace and stability of the Han Dynasty. ”

Everyone was silent, and the atmosphere was solemn.

"I think this system is feasible, especially now, it is very beneficial to the imperial court to select talents, it is beneficial to the imperial court to implement the reform, and it is also very beneficial to the stability of the imperial court. For a long period of time, this system can not only sweep away the drawbacks of the inspection and selection system, but also greatly promote the great cause of the Han Dynasty. Li Wei suddenly stood up, waved his hand and said, "This system is feasible." ”

The eldest princess, Xu Rong, Zhang Yan and others all looked at him with surprised expressions.

"Zhong Yuan, you have to think about it clearly, this is not a temporary compromise, but the long-term peace and stability of the Han Dynasty." Zhang Yan said solemnly.

"The selection criterion of this system is meritocracy, which is in line with the principles of the imperial court, and this alone is superior to the inspection system." Li Wei said, "Because the imperial court selects scholars based on talent and morality, regardless of family background, regardless of high or low, reading the Bible is not the only way to enter the ranks." This will greatly promote the development of other schools of thought besides Confucianism, such as calligraphy, medicine, and so on, which is very conducive to the improvement of national strength. ”

"The selection system really needs to be changed, because of the drastic decline in the population and the fact that Confucian scholars live in other places, it is indeed very difficult to implement the probationary system at present. In recent years, we have mainly relied on the recommendation of township evaluation and the recruitment of students from the university hall to directly enter the office. But as more and more states and counties were recovered, there was a serious shortage of officials. After the end of the Guanzhong War, the imperial court had to bow to the Guanluo people because of the lack of officials, and I believe everyone still remembers it vividly. But we have not found a solution, the emergence of this nine-product zhongzheng system, just to solve the urgent need of the imperial court. Li Wei said with a smile, "It seems that the gains of the imperial court are still very big in this debate." ”

"To put it bluntly, the Jiupin Zhongzheng system is a township commentary, but one is a township review of the imperial court, and the other is a township review of local private families. Through this system, it is a pioneering initiative to transform the local private township appraisal into the township appraisal of the imperial court. First of all, it alleviated the contradictions between us and the local Confucian scholars, secondly, the imperial court completely controlled the right of selection, depriving the local township judges of the threat to the imperial court's right to select, and third, it dealt a blow to the Qing Dynasty of the great Confucian scholars, which was conducive to the stability of the society. Everyone still remembers Xu Shao and Xu Jing's early years presided over the Yuedan Commentary, which not only commented on Confucianism, but also commented on current affairs and criticized the government, and its authority once had a great impact on the prestige of the Son of Heaven and the imperial court. ”

"The imperial court does not need the Yuedan commentary, and the imperial court does not want Confucian scholars from all over the world to get together to discuss the government, affect the decision-making of the imperial court, and damage the prestige of the Son of Heaven and the imperial court.

Li Wei's words reminded the eldest princess and Xu Rong and others.

At that time, because of the party's rule, the township appraisal became a trend, which had a great impact on the stability of the society, and the imperial court had to intervene, and even issued an order to ban all the township appraisal in the world. Now in the early days of the Han Dynasty, the imperial court needed Confucian celebrities from all over the country to recommend talents, so the township evaluation had already become a trend, and the hidden dangers contained in it were very big.

"Your Royal Highness, your lords, ......" Li Wei picked up the chapter on the desk and continued, "The role of the Jiupin Zhongzheng system is to recommend talents and select talents for the imperial court. No matter how many grades you are rated by the Zhongzheng Seniors, you only have the qualifications to become an official, it is only a part of the selection system, and it only has a part of the selection right. This is not the case with the probationary system, where Confucian scholars who are promoted to filial piety and honesty and Maocai (the object of which is to serve as officials) are considered to have officially entered the official career and become officials. ”

Therefore, the Jiupin Zhongzheng system is just a system for examining talents. After the Zhongzheng officials evaluated the Confucian scholars, their character was the main basis for the imperial court to confer officials, and it was not a direct official, and the appointment power belonged to the imperial court. From the current point of view, this includes direct entry, inspection and filial piety, state, county and county officials to accumulate merit and promote into the office, Taixue students to enter the examination, and the promotion of the government and so on. It can be seen that Zhongzheng is not a career. ”

"If the imperial court implements the nine-grade zhongzheng system, then the position of each official in the imperial court must stipulate the talent grade and qualification of the incumbent, which is the official character. If anyone wants to be an official, he must have qualifications, otherwise he will not be qualified to enter the office. However, judging from the current selection system of the imperial court, the acquisition of materials only depends on the evaluation of the Zhongzheng product of the nine-grade Zhongzheng system, which is obviously not enough, and it cannot meet the needs of the imperial court for talents. ”

"We can also continue to implement the probation system, promote talents, filial piety, and integrity. The judgment of the merits of these people and the granting of their qualifications are not made by the Zhongzheng, but by the officials at all levels who preside over the inspection. ”

"The trial system has been in place for hundreds of years. Works well and can't be discarded. All students of Taixue and all students in universities around the world can obtain the materials needed to enter the government through the way of testing the scriptures. ”

"And the magistrate. Since the official position itself has been marked with official qualities, then as long as the Confucian scholar receives the official gift, he also obtains the materials needed to hold the official position, and it is also okay to obtain the official goods because of the official position. ”

"The other is knighthood and knighthood. The title is the same as the official title, and it is also given a grade, and those who have a knight have the qualifications, and since they have the qualifications, of course, they can also enter the ranks. ”

Li Wei's words dispelled everyone's worries in a blink of an eye.

The great Confucian celebrities wanted to continue to maintain the road to the rank through the nine-product zhongzheng system, and Li Wei saw the recruitment and dismantling the moves, and included the nine-product zhongzheng system into the system of inspecting talents, using its advantages and suppressing its disadvantages, and still firmly controlled the selection of officials. In this way, it not only satisfies the requirements of the great Confucian celebrities, but also does not damage the rights and interests of the vested gainers, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

The mood of the eldest princess and everyone improved, but Li Wei's face changed suddenly.

"Da Sima said a lot just now, and he was right, and his worries were very reasonable. How can we maintain the fairness and impartiality of the selection system to the greatest extent? Li Wei said, "The key lies in the supervision and checks and balances of the imperial court's selection power, and in the integrity of the officials responsible for selecting and promoting officials." In other words, the supervision of the members of the Chung Cheng is very important. ”

"The duty of Zhongzheng lies in the quality of Confucianism, and the quality of Zhongzheng is the prerequisite for Confucianism to enter the ranks. No matter how a Confucian scholar enters the office, he must go through the evaluation of Zhongzheng to obtain the rank, otherwise he will not be eligible to enter the office. So how does the imperial court ensure the integrity and fairness of the Zhongzheng officials? Li Wei picked up the piece on the desk, "Comment." ”

"Revising the selection system not only requires revising how to select talents, but also how to supervise incumbent officials." Li Wei said resolutely, "The imperial court should not only evaluate and select officials, but also evaluate all incumbent officials. Once every three years, if the quality is downgraded, the official product will also be downgraded. ”

"The members of the Central Committee evaluate the Confucian scholars, the Son of Heaven and the ministers of the Shanggong evaluate the officials at all levels, and the first level is evaluated at the first level, and if the quality is insufficient, the demote who should be demoted, and the punishment that should be punished, supervise and restrain each other."

"What do you mean by the Prime Minister, a comprehensive revision of the selection system?" The eldest princess asked in surprise.

"Yes, a complete revision." Li Wei said, "The new selection system should include two aspects, one is to evaluate the incumbent officials, and the other is to evaluate the candidates for officials. The Jiupin Zhongzheng system only examines talents, and cannot replace the inspection system. Considering that the revision of the selection system was jointly initiated by Master Taifu and Chen Qun, Yuan Jian and other adults, I think this new selection system is called the Nine Grades Official Law. ”

Xu Rong and several ministers looked at each other and applauded.

On April 21, the eldest princess convened the ministers to discuss together, and the ministers of civil and military affairs unanimously agreed to revise the selection system, and recommended more than a dozen ministers such as Chen Qun, Yuan Lian, and Tian Chou to formulate the "Nine Grades of Officials Law".

As a result, the contradictions between the imperial court and the great Confucian scholars were alleviated, and the policy of restructuring was reconsidered, but what everyone did not expect was that the controversy between the ancient scriptures and the new scriptures was set off again because of the illness of Master Zheng Xuan.

Master Zheng Xuan was too old, and in the month-long debate, he finally couldn't support it and collapsed.

The New Classics School was furious and launched a fierce counterattack against the Ancient Classics School.

The eldest princess visited Master Zheng Xuan every day, and asked the palace doctors to consult several times, trying her best to save Master Zheng Xuan's life.

Prime Minister Li Wei and Great Sima Xu Rong also visited Taixue several times in person, trying to resolve the contradictions between the two sides and dissolve this argument that was gradually getting out of control, but they were driven out by the angry Confucian students. Li Wei was even "attacked" by ink and fell into a sea of people, and He Lin, the captain of the city gate, used two hundred guards to "snatch" him out.

On April 28, Master Zheng Xuan fell unconscious.

The Confucian scholars of the New Classics School were emotionally out of control. In the debate that day, the bamboo slips rained down on Taishi Ling Ma Feng and the other seven great Confucians. Ma Feng's head was bleeding, and seven other people were also injured. Xi Xi wanted to dissuade the Confucian scholars, but he suffered from the disaster of the pond fish and was also injured.

The great Sima Xu Rong urgently summoned the Tai Lieutenant Zhang Yan, the Right Guard General Guangluxun Zhao Yun, the Later General Wei Wei Yang Feng, the Left General Yan Liang, and the Right General Wen Chou to discuss the defense of Kyoto. Master Zheng Xuan's time is running out, and once he passes, it is very likely that the Confucian scholars will not be able to control their emotions and do something drastic.

"For the sake of safety, it is better to surround Taixue at night and forcibly disperse the Confucian scholars." Yang Feng sneered, "If the situation is allowed to develop, there will be a riot in Kyoto." Now tens of thousands of people have gathered in Taixue, and once there is a disturbance, there will definitely be death. ”

"Send the eldest princess away first." Yan Liang said worriedly, "The safety of the eldest princess is the most important. ”

"Your Highness refuses to leave." Zhao Yun smiled bitterly, "We have persuaded us several times, but His Highness will not listen. She said that she would personally officiate at the funeral of the master. ”

Xu Rong discussed with everyone for a long time, but there was nothing to do, so he had to mobilize the southern army first to protect the palace and official offices.

On April 30, the Confucian scholars of the New Scripture School shouted for revenge for the master and besieged the Confucian scholars of the Present Wenjing School.

The right general Wen Chou and the captain of the city gate, He Lin, rushed into Taixue with five hundred guards and stopped the conflict. Tai Tie Yang Biao and Da Sima Xu Rong then rushed to Taixue to appease the sentient beings. The great Confucians, celebrities and Confucian scholars of the Wenjing School withdrew from Taixue under the persuasion of Taifu Yang Biao.

On the first day of the fifth month, the Confucian scholars of the New Scripture School began to attack the Confucian scholars of the Guwenjing School again, and the conflict began to escalate.

The right general Wen Chou and the captain of the city gate, He Lin, rushed to Taixue again with five hundred guards, but this time the Confucian students were bold. Yesterday, the guards could not fight back, scolded and did not return the mouth, which fueled the arrogance of the Confucian scholars, who first used bamboo and ink tricks to "attack" the guards, and then simply pounced on them and beat them.

Wen Chou was shocked and urgently ordered the guards to withdraw from Taixue, no one was allowed to fight back, and those who violated the order were killed.

In the afternoon, Wen Chou walked into Taixue alone, met with Zhao Shang, Wang Ji, and Gongsun Fang, the disciples of Master Zheng Xuan, and asked them to appease the Confucian students and persuade them to leave Taixue and Chang'an as soon as possible.

"How is this possible?" Zhao Shang's tears rained down, "The master is about to die, how can the disciples leave?" ”

"But now the master's disciples are furious, thinking that the master is critically ill, and it is the responsibility of the ancient school of literature and scriptures." Wen Chou persuaded bitterly, "This will cause an accident, and people will die." ”

The three of them were grief-stricken and refused to leave. Indeed, at this time, none of the disciples would leave, and they were all hoping that the master would get better.

Wen Chou went to persuade Xu Shao again.

After two hundred years of struggle, the Confucian scholars of ancient literature and scriptures finally made a "wedding dress" for the new scriptures that had just emerged. Which disciple is not filled with righteous indignation?

"Chang'an Taixue was rebuilt by the master single-handedly, and there are thousands of your disciples, you should persuade them and tell them to leave as soon as possible." Wen Chou said with a sad face, "I am also a disciple of the master, I don't want them to have an accident, and I don't want the master's hard work to be ruined, please be sure to ...... the master."

"I can leave Taixue, but are they willing?" Xu Shao said helplessly, "If my disciple doesn't leave, how can I go?" ”

Wen Chou hurriedly rushed to the Great Sima Mansion to report to Xu Rong, Taixue is going to have an accident, Chang'an is going to have an accident, hurry up and find a way, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable.

Xu Rong urgently summoned the ministers to discuss, but everyone was at a loss.

"Boss, you have witnessed Dong Zhuo's killing of Confucian students in Luoyang back then, do you have no way at all?"

Yang Biao smiled bitterly, "What can I do?" Unless Brother Kang Cheng (Zheng Xuan) gets better immediately, ......"

Yang Feng once again demanded that the southern army be used to drive Confucianism out of Taixue and Chang'an, but was immediately rejected by the ministers.

On the second day of the fifth month, Master Zheng Xuan died of illness. Jump to