New Shun 1730

Take Nanyang as the Western Region and the Western Region as Liaodong.

This idea was good and quite high. Although I didn't know whether the emperor meant it or not, Liu Sheng couldn't think of anything better for a while.

Liu Yu thought more simply: if it is used, it will prove that the emperor can still travel together for a while. If you don't use it, just treat it as a wink to a blind man.

Except for those famous chapters in the literary world, most of the theories on state policy are "arguments but not evidence". The limited arguments are all found in the historical records of the Four Books and Five Classics, lacking rigorous logic and data analysis.

It seems simple, but it won't work if you don't have excellent writing skills.

It is not that there are no talents in Wude Palace. Although most of the noble sons are useless, there are still many who have studied since childhood and worked their way from the camp to the inner house. Many of them are good at policy making.

Liu Sheng couldn't think of any other meaning for a while, and he knew that the emperor was actually an impatient person who liked great achievements. Although he usually hid it very well, he, who started out as an honorary guard under the previous emperor, still looked at him. Translucent.

I thought that the emperor might like such a grand narrative strategy.

After thinking for a while, he thought of someone.

"There is a Qingke in the family. He is quite talented. He just didn't go well in the scientific examination and has an arrogant temperament. He has been helping at home for a long time, so he can take over the matter."

"Is it reliable?"

"Reliable. He has been with me for seven or eight years. He has talent. When he committed a crime, the local magistrate took it easy for my sake. He is also a person who knows how to repay kindness. He is a good man. Character. This person’s surname is Kang, his given name is Bu Lao, and his courtesy name is Zhongxian.”

Since Liu Sheng said this person was reliable, he should be reliable.

…………

In a gambling shop near Duke Yi's Mansion, the shouts of "Buy the deal and leave" were noisy.

Kang Busu was wearing a blue and black gown and holding a wine gourd in his hand.

He didn't have a penny on the gambling table, but he was more anxious than anyone else, with his neck stretched out like a goose being pinched by its neck.

The dealer moved the dice cup away, half crying and half laughing. Kang Buyao picked up the wine gourd, licked the two drops remaining at the mouth of the gourd, and said bitterly: "I just said buy the big one!"

Next to him, a shirtless, muscular man with a shaved beard and tattoos on his shoulders shouted, "Kang Xiucai, do you really never lend money?"

Someone next to him immediately picked up the conversation and said with a smile: "Kang Bu Lao, Kang Bu Dai, that's a good name. He lost all his money at the gambling table, but he never borrowed money. Even if he had income tomorrow, he would not borrow half a penny." "

When several new gamblers heard this, they were immediately in awe.

What I respect is not the word "xiucai" that the strong man who loaned money said. Let alone the scholar, in the casino, even his own father would not win half the respect.

Is everyone in awe that there is such a gambler in the world, who can tolerate not lending money even if he loses? What kind of character is this?

Everyone thinks, the gambling table is not open? ! This person can accomplish great things!

A few people who had lost all their money came over to joke and asked, "Kang Busao, are you really a scholar?"

"Is this still false? It's just that he is not a scholar of stereotyped writing, but a scholar of policy theory."

These people also don't understand the difference between the Eight-part Gu scholar and the Policy scholar. They think that since they say this, the Policy scholar cannot compare with the Eight-part scholar.

Someone next to him shouted: "It can't be fake. Kang Xiucai works as a guest in Duke Yi's mansion. Do you know that being a guest is not something ordinary people can do."

"To be a Qing Ke, you must have a good calligraphy, not show off your second-class talent, not get drunk with three kilograms of alcohol, have the right clothes for all seasons, not regret five pieces of Go, not recommend six Kunqu operas, not be too late for seven-character crooked poems, eight Zhang Ma Diao did not check, and he did not choose the ninth grade title. He was very kind and good. These are called Qingke's Ten Arts, which are four more than Confucius's Six Arts."

A group of people laughed, and even those who had just lost money laughed a few times because of Kang Busao's presence.

"I'm not as good as you. I can play horse tags and play mahjong. Hey, I'm talking about Kang Xiucai, why don't you win the election again? If you win the election, you will be the master, why can't you be better than you? How about watching people's faces in the Duke's mansion and being a clean guest?"

Kang Busao smiled calmly and said, "I'm lazy."

"Hahahahaha... It seems that if you are not lazy, you can still win the top prize!"

He didn't argue, but he thought, "What do you know?" Not enough words to speculate.

If someone says "I couldn't win the exam because I was lazy," they are probably bragging. But what Kang Buyao said was half the truth.

He is thirty-five years old and in his prime. It was rare to be selected as a scholar at the age of sixteen, but a big event happened that year.

The previous Emperor Taizong left many instructions, one of which was about scientific research. He believed that selecting scholars with stereotyped writing was a bad policy and restricted his thinking, so he demanded that scholars be selected based on policy theory.

However, Emperor Taizong's Northern Expedition was not halfway through when the Middle Way collapsed. This legacy was finalized, but a few decades after it was implemented, big problems arose.

To make policy decisions, one must have insight.

Not to mention that it costs money to make social friends and chat with each other. Just for historical discussions, you have to read through more than 20 history books.

Not to mention the "Zizhi Tongjian", there is also the "History of the Song Dynasty", a thick volume that ordinary people cannot afford.

Otherwise, when making a policy statement, if you come up with a name from a history book and you don’t even know who it is, what should you write about it?

I'm afraid most of them will write jokes like "Xiang Yu is so powerful that he can conquer the mountains, but he can't win even if he breaks the wheel."

Besides, your father is not an official, and your father is not a duke or marquis. What kind of knowledge can you, a poor kid, have about government affairs? How can I write without knowledge and the style of writing of the state and dynasty is broad and broad?

In the year when Kang Budai passed the examination for the title of Scholar, the then Right Prime Minister submitted a memorial: saying that since the founding of the country for more than 30 years, there has never been a poor son among the candidates, at least all of them have more than 100 hectares of land in their families, without exception! Even if they have more than 100 hectares of land, they are still considered poor. This is going to be a big deal.

People are not worried about the lack of wealth but the inequality. If this continues, I am afraid that people in the countryside will no longer read books, because reading is useless - they cannot afford to buy various books and have no money to join the society, so they have no knowledge and cannot write good policy papers.

Moreover, policy papers have led many people to say shocking things, or to talk big to gain fame; or to pay attention to rhythm and lose the true meaning of the article; or to write articles to please the readers according to their preferences.

Since the chaos in the late Ming Dynasty, Zhu Xi was abolished and no new ideas were established, so that the ideological trends were chaotic, and hundreds of Confucian scholars were competing and difficult to define.

The eight-part essay system of the previous dynasty did have the disadvantage of confinement, but at least it was fair - there were fewer books to read and it was fair in terms of economy.

Poor scholars can afford to read a few books for the exam, which at least gives hope to the lower class and helps them learn and gain hope.

If learning cannot make one an official, no one will be willing to learn.

In the long run, I am afraid that all the ministers in the court will come from official families.

And the so-called imperial examination is actually the nine-rank system.

This is a big disadvantage!

The right minister at that time was knowledgeable and capable. At that time, he believed that the biggest problem of the country was that it did not achieve "one morality".

Even if Wang Anshi reformed, he took out "Three Classics New Interpretation". At least there was a standard textbook, and the understanding of a sentence had to have an official correct understanding.

Now the country says that it uses the Yongjia and Yongkang schools, but the disputes between the schools are still there. It is only based on the fragments recorded in the history books to interpret, and there is no system, and there is no standard understanding of the "subtle words and great meanings" of the classics.

Secondly, although Emperor Taizong was a genius, his understanding of the Yongjia and Yongkang schools was closer to "Mohism" than "Confucianism", and the distinction between righteousness and profit was an issue that could not be avoided.

Destruction without establishment, no system has been formed. There has never been a figure like Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming who can destroy and then establish a system.

So when taking the "classics", everyone has their own reasons, and the personal thoughts of the examiner are often used as the criterion.

Under all these circumstances, there are talents and a hundred flowers bloom, but it is really unfair.

The disadvantages of the eight-part essay are not in the form, but in the content.

If you dislike the eight-part essay, just take more books as topics, and don't have the situation of "cutting the topic".

It doesn't mean that you have to use the eight-part essay to select scholars. The household government can pay for the establishment of a large school. According to the idea of ​​the Northern School of Confucianism in the country, separate education is carried out, and the state pays for poor children to go to school and gain knowledge.

However... we don't have the money to implement the education method of Daxing School.

Since the household government can't afford it, it's better to reuse the eight-part essay.

At least the format is fixed, and the main focus is on the writing style, handwriting, fluency, and intelligence. As long as the scope of the topic is not narrowed down so much, it's fine.

If the court really wants to use the Northern Confucian school, separate education, half of the test is on classics and half on practical learning, then take the money. This method is indeed good.

If you don't have money, please do it to give the bottom a hope.

If the eight-part essay is confined, then poetry and songs also need a fixed format. When writing a Song Dynasty poem, shouldn't you write it according to the format of the name of the ci tune? When writing a poem, shouldn't you follow the level and ze?

The format is confined, but why not change the content and determine the format?

The right Pingzhangshi at the time also said: I am not unaware of the disadvantages of the eight-part essay, and I also know the benefits of separate education, but no matter how good the things are, there is no money to do them, so it is better to choose a compromise that is close at hand.

After the memorial was submitted, the court was shaken. After half a year of discussion, the reform was finally implemented: three years later, in the autumn examination, the eight-part essay was used again, the policy essay was continued, the content of the eight-part essay was increased, and great scholars were summoned to discuss the "Zhedong School", hoping to use Wang Anshi's "Three Classics New Interpretation" as the official ideology, to achieve one morality and one right, and then carry out a more thorough reform of the imperial examination.

That year happened to be the year when Kang Budai passed the examination for a scholar, and their group of people were called "the last policy essay scholar" or "the three bitter classes".

After all, the autumn examination three years after they passed the examination for a scholar would be reformed, and they were the group that suffered the most.

Some people successfully transformed and studied eight-part essays. Kang Budai, because his style of writing was free and unrestrained and close to Laozi and Zhuangzi, and he was really lazy... so he gave up and stopped studying.

He went to the capital and became a guest in the mansion of Duke Yiguo. Although he had to look at people's faces and act as a supporting actor, ordinary people did not dare to provoke the people in the mansion. Secondly, the mansion also needed cultural decoration, or reconstruction and renovation, and these guests could participate and make some money. He lived a decent life.

The decent life made him more lazy. He acted as a supporting actor and performed poetry every day. When he was free, he drank, played chess, played the piano, and gambled. He lived a happy life.

Although there were a few people in the gambling house who could read, they could not distinguish between policy essays, eight-part essays, scholars, and juren, let alone the changes between them. Kang Budai was too lazy to explain.

Just as he was about to get up and leave, someone asked, "Mr. Kang, since you have such insight, why don't you take the Wude Palace exam? Nowadays, everyone knows that there are two ways to become an official: the selection of officials, the imperial examination, and the Wude Palace exam."

Hearing this, even if Kang Budai was usually friendly, he couldn't help but sneer.

"Take the Wude Palace exam? Is your father a duke or a marquis?"

"Is your ancestor the Lao Wuying who followed Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong to conquer the world? The Lao Wuying followed the equal land system in the Tang Dynasty. Yongye fields were not allowed to be bought or sold. They were divided into small communities and divided into public fields, which were replaced every twenty years. Each community has its own camp. As a soldier, as long as you are qualified to join the army, you will be exempted from taxes, right? "

"If you weren't, take the Wude Palace test of riding skills, bows and arrows, muskets, geometry, surveying... Not to mention the last two you can't learn by yourself, let's talk about horses. A war horse costs less than twenty or thirty taels of silver. , Do you think you can train it by buying a mule? You still eat sorghum every day, how can you feed a war horse? "

"Although the dynasty does not prohibit blunderbuss, a blunderbuss costs seven to eight taels of silver. How can you practice it without a gunpowder worth ten or eight pounds?"

"You practice riding every day, but you can't make a living. Does your family have a letter from the imperial court to open a copper mine in Yunnan? As for the science of geometry, surveying, mapping and arithmetic, how can it be so easy to learn without anyone teaching you?"

"Poor literature and rich military, poor literature and rich military, do you understand?"

"To ask this question, you need to examine yourself first: Is your father a prince? Is your ancestor the fifth camp? Does your family have a mine? If you don't have any, why do you have the money to take the Wude Palace exam?"

"Not to mention the Wude Palace, it was the comprehensive examination of policy theory at that time. The Hundred Schools of Scholars, the First Four Histories, the Tang Book and Song History, and Tongjian Guoyu all had to come with a set, and then a set of annotations, and on weekdays they had to write editorials. Zheng, do you think anyone can afford this money?”

After a few sarcastic words, under the influence of alcohol, my heart was inevitably depressed. Just as I was about to say a few more words, I saw a boy in Duke Yi's mansion through the smoke, shouting: "Mr. Kang, Mr. Kang, Duke Guo is looking for You are here!"

As soon as he heard this, the depression in Kang Busao's heart suddenly escaped from his pores, and he shouted to the gamblers: "I'm making a living again. I'll stay for a few days, wait and see me." Japanese translation! Leave a place for me when the time comes.”

After saying that, he greased the soles of his feet and slid in front of the boy like a loach. He thought to himself that if the Duke of the country comes to see me for something, he must have another way of making a living. Why don't you get a dozen or eight taels to relieve the fire first and then come back? Give it a try, be happy!