Chapter 575 572 [Bad Bones]

Mao Bijiang and Wu Weiye couldn't bear to be officials, so they hung out at Susong Chang Lake for a long time, and they were quite comfortable spending all day sightseeing in the mountains and rivers.

Along with the interest of mountains and rivers, a number of excellent poems came out, which made them more famous.

Wu Weiye's "Meicun style" was formed in advance. It was developed from Bai Juyi's "Changqing style" and incorporated Li Shangyin's style. It pays attention to rhythm, likes to use allusions, has an ups and downs structure, colorful vocabulary, mainly focuses on narrative, and often reflects and criticizes real problems.

At the beginning of this year, Wu Weiye wrote a song "Jiangzuo Song", which aroused enthusiastic response in the Jiangnan area.

The cause was the third clan split triggered by the Quzhou case, and a large number of Jiangnan clans were forcibly split up. The imperial court took back the land of these wealthy families without providing any compensation, and forced the children of the wealthy families to move to Henan and Shandong to register and share the land.

The court had orders, but local officials did not dare to neglect them. The specific implementation was inevitably rough, which also led to many conflicts and tragedies.

Wu Weiye's "Jiang Zuo Ge" describes a love story. A man and a woman from the wrong family, because of their admiration for each other, finally made a marriage contract after going through difficulties and won the approval of both parents. The government suddenly wanted to relocate the clans, and the local officials took the opportunity to seize the man's family property. The man got into trouble with the government and was thrown into prison and exiled to Taiwan for disobeying the emperor's order.

The woman escaped from her home and went to Yangzhou, the provincial capital, to complain. The Yangzhou Judicial Office refused to accept the complaint and asked the woman to return to Suzhou to file a lawsuit. The woman returned to Suzhou and complained to no avail. In order to attract attention, she wanted to kill her outside the court. Fortunately, she was rescued in time and she did not die, but her family was embarrassed because she had not yet passed the door.

This story was not made up by Albert Wu, but a real case that actually happened.

Integrity inspectors began to pay attention to the case when the woman committed suicide by hitting a wall. Until Wu Weiye's "Jiang Zuo Ge" came out, the investigation of the case had just concluded. Officials who took advantage of the opportunity to seize the property of wealthy families were interrogated and executed, and the officials of the judicial and anti-corruption departments who were lying dead were dismissed from their posts.

It was obvious that the anti-corruption inspector was doing his duty and eliminating harm for the people, but the timing was so coincidental that the people attributed this to "Jiang Zuo Ge".

Wu Weiye's popularity among the people in Jiangnan reached its peak as a result, and the Datong government became a complete villain.

In fact, except for the guy who took the opportunity to seize property, the other officials who were dealt with felt that they were wronged. They did not want to come out to take care of things because they were afraid of delaying the emperor's clan migration policy, and would be "banned" if they were traced.

Wu Weiye couldn't survive in Suzhou, and all the local officials hated him, so they invited Mao Pijiang to go to Nanjing to work as a "Beijing drifter".

When the two arrived in Nanjing, they were warmly welcomed by celebrities and gentry, who invited them to attend cultural gatherings every now and then.

Booksellers also like to ask Wu Weiye to write prefaces, and they often charge 10 or 20 taels for retouching. You can live a worry-free life just by relying on this.

Emperor Zhao had heard a little bit about this and said something that the female officer couldn't understand: "Wumei Village, Wumei Village, "Yuanyuanqu" is definitely gone. The six armies of the mourning army are all silent, and the anger is the beauty. , it’s best if this poem doesn’t appear.”

"Great victory, great victory, great victory on the front line!"

Wu Weiye and Mao Pijiang had been in Nanjing for two months. They were having a banquet in a restaurant when they suddenly heard the sound of people on the street.

Mao Bijiang opened the window on the second floor and saw a cavalry galloping past. He waved the victory report in his hand and shouted: "General Wang Tingchen led the Datong cavalry out of the fortress and annihilated 20,000 Tatar elites (a slight exaggeration). The Tatars were killed in formation." The false king Hauge captured countless livestock, people, war horses, and valuables... Two generals, Xiao Zongxian and Hu Dinggui, led their troops to conquer western Liaoning, fought consecutive battles, and recovered Jinzhou, Ningyuan, Yizhou, and Shanhaiguan..."

Wu Weiye was stunned, then slapped his chopsticks on the table, picked up the wine glass and laughed: "Ning Jin and Shanhaiguan have finally taken it back. Gentlemen, please take a swig from this cup and wish Master Wang the recovery of the entire Liaodong!"

Mao Bijiang was also very happy. He turned around, picked up the wine glass and said, "Congratulations to the soldiers who fought bloody battles!"

A group of literati toasted and drank, and the laughter and laughter could not be heard.

They were all former Ming scholars who had not held official positions. They were usually full of complaints and disliked the Datong court. The imperial examination had not been fully restored, and the clans had been moved three times, which made them drunkenly accuse the emperor of being fatuous.

But on the other hand, they admired the emperor's generosity.

Someone got drunk and cursed the emperor in a restaurant, so much that he alerted the street patrol and was taken to jail pending trial. The judge didn't know what sentence to make. After reporting the case, Emperor Zhao smiled smartly and said, "Don't make a fuss about a few drunken talkers. Let's just let them go."

This time, the great victories in Hebei, Shaanxi, Liaodong, and Liaoxi made the poor literati even more proud. He kept saying that our Datong army was getting stronger and stronger, and the Tatars were just clowns. Sooner or later they would be able to restore the Han and Tang Dynasties!

"Bang bang bang bang!"

In the city of Nanjing, the sound of crackling firecrackers was heard.

Especially trading companies involved in northern business have already prepared firecrackers. The more territory the Datong Army regains, the easier their business will be. And as immigrants fill the north, it contains unlimited business opportunities, and many businessmen have become rich in recent years.

"Meicun is famous all over the world. Why don't we let Meicun take the lead? Let's jointly petition His Majesty to resume the imperial examination." Shi Kecheng put down his wine glass and said.

Shi Kecheng was Shi Kefa's cousin. He surrendered to Li Zicheng in his hometown in Kaifeng, and then surrendered to the Manchus in Kaifeng. When the Datong army besieged Shangqiu, this guy fled to Shangqiu and wanted to defect to Emperor Zhao, but there were too many rebels and he failed. He hid in the mountains on the way and managed to survive.

As for Shangshu's request to resume the imperial examination, which happens every year, Zhao Han is too lazy to pay attention to it.

Wu Weiye shook his head and said: "Your Majesty has his own arrangements for the resumption of the imperial examination. No matter what we say, it will be useless."

"Meicun's words are wrong," Mao Bijiang said. "The Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty also abolished the imperial examination, but if there is no need to use the imperial examination to select officials, there will be many disadvantages. Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was also aware of this situation, and he ordered the restoration of the imperial examination. Nowadays, there is corruption everywhere. The malpractice has been exposed, and if things go on like this, the current emperor will also think about resuming the imperial examination. We, the scholars, insist on taking the examination every year, which will also give His Majesty a step towards resuming the imperial examination."

"Well said, we should persevere!" Tian Younian praised.

This Tian Younian has the same name as Tian Younian, a cabinet minister who took office this year. But this field is not that field.

The Tian Younian in front of me is from Anhui. In history, he was the fifth Jinshi in the second class in the 13th year of Chongzhen. He and his younger brother Tian Fengnian specialized in studying Mao's poetry and were considered one of the founders of the textual criticism school in the Qing Dynasty.

Wu Weiye shook his head and said: "Ming Taizu abolished the imperial examination and wanted to recruit talents in the Imperial College. How can a small Imperial College recruit talents from all over the world? Today, His Majesty has established primary schools, middle schools and universities. He has also established a system for selecting officials at all levels. , if you pass the registration exam, you can become a reserve official. A reserve official can watch the government for half a year without receiving a salary. After getting familiar with the document work, you can become a formal official. The rules for passing the exams at each level are also set, and promotions are based on the department. In this way, all local officials Being able to govern can eliminate the mediocrity of officials in the late Ming Dynasty."

"Otherwise," Mao Bijiang said, "if this method is used for a long time, and officials are selected regardless of their origins, there will be many drawbacks. Among the officials in a county, who can pass the exam and who can't, there have been many frauds, and new selections have been made. There are a lot of mediocre people in the civil service. This year, the anti-corruption inspector discovered a major case in Rugao. There was a former Ming scholar who was the chief of the civil service section of Rugao County. In those two years, 30% of the Rugao civil servants were admitted. They are his relatives and friends. Some people even cannot read a few Chinese characters, and they only passed the exam because he secretly changed their answer sheets. Even the civil servants in a county are like this, so what if you look at the whole world? "

"Indeed, the shortcomings have been revealed, and it is imperative to resume the imperial examination!" Shi Kecheng clapped his hands.

"Snap, snap, snap!"

Suddenly there was a tap on the door, and the tap was very rapid.

The door opened and Xu Lianggong rushed in: "Everyone, something big has happened!"

Xu Lianggong was Xu Xiake's nephew. According to history, he died this year. The slaves rebelled and killed him. This guy had been relocated by his clan a long time ago, and his new home address was in Shandong. He felt that Shandong was too shabby after the war, so he took his wife and children to Nanjing for a long time as a "Beijing drifter".

"Why are you so panicked?" Wu Weiye asked.

Xu Lianggong spread out a piece of paper, and the ink was not yet dry: "I copied a copy of the notice posted today. The imperial court re-determined the levels of officials. Officials continued from the previous Ming Dynasty, and they were still nine grades and eighteen grades, while civil servants were changed to It is the sixth level and the twelfth level. Among the officials in the town, the lowest level is the sixth level. When arriving at the county government, the chiefs of each section are full third-level officials."

This is nothing, the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty also have levels.

Everyone gathered around the notice to look at it, and gradually they looked shocked, because it vaguely revealed information about the imperial examination.

Perhaps because serious cheating occurred in the selection of officials in various places, the Datong court made stricter regulations.

To take the Preparatory Civil Service Examination, one must hold a primary school diploma. In other words, those who do not have a primary school diploma will not even be qualified to be reserve officials in the future. At the same time, officials from the third class can work in the county. Officials of the third class and above, that is, county government chiefs and above, must abide by the principle of transfer to another place.

It is also stipulated that those who hold a high school diploma and take the preliminary official examination can be directly designated as a third-class official when they are promoted, or directly serve as a junior official at the bottom of the ninth rank.

"Alas," Wu Weiye sighed, "Your Majesty's thoughts are clearly revealed in this notice. Even if the imperial examination is reinstated in the future, I am afraid we will have to hold a university diploma, and our previous achievements will definitely not count."

"Your Majesty is confused!" Mao Bijiang couldn't help blurting out.

No one stopped him. It didn't matter if he scolded the emperor in private. The government wouldn't care if they found out.

Shi Kecheng stood up suddenly: "Please take your leave, I will return to Henan tomorrow."

"I wish you all the best in your official career!" everyone said with cupped hands.

The notice stated that in Henan, Shandong, Sichuan and other places, due to the imperfect construction of primary schools, the previous method of selecting officials was temporarily used.

Shi Kecheng didn't bother to be an official before, but now he wants to go home quickly and become an official first before he is stuck. If you hesitate again, you won’t even be able to be an official from now on!

There are more than one people who have this idea. Even the descendants of wealthy families in the south have taken the initiative to apply to immigrate to the north, just because they want to work as officials in the north.

A bunch of cheap people, if you don't eat the toast, you will be fined with alcohol!