usatvline Chapter 131 Proposes to hold a scientific examination in Andu
Chapter 131 Proposes to hold a scientific examination in Andu
Ye Wuwei asked Qi Yushen's second brother-in-law Wang Yongqing for the data on Qi Dynasty officials.
The reason why Wang Yongqing was originally arranged to work in the Ministry of Personnel as a Langzhong was not only because Wang Yongqing had a suitable personality, but also to plant a thorn in the Ministry of Personnel.
Before the Ministry of Personnel was established, the appointment and dismissal of civil servants in the court was mostly controlled by Grand Tutor Zhuang and Grand Tutor Yuwen. After the Ministry of Personnel was established, it became a place that Grand Tutor Zhuang and Grand Tutor Yuwen had to fight for.
Qi Wushuang had no say in the Ministry of Personnel at first, so he simply did not recommend the Minister or Vice Minister of Personnel. Instead, he asked Qi Taiwei and Qi Yushen to recommend Wang Yongqing as the Director of the Ministry of Personnel.
After hearing Ye Wuwei's precise number of officials, everyone knew he was well prepared. And Ye Wuwei continued to speak.
"The court has 2,000 officials of the seventh rank and above, of whom over 1,000 are civil servants. Of these civil servants, less than 200 truly listen to Your Majesty. How can you ensure that Your Majesty's decrees are carried out smoothly?
So, if we don't hold the imperial examinations, will you continue to sideline His Majesty?"
What Ye Wuwei said was not false.
Although officials from the Qi family expressed support for Qi Wushuang, that was because the policies Qi Wushuang was currently implementing did not touch the fundamental interests of the aristocratic families.
For example, today, once the Qi family’s faction realized that the imperial examination system would be disadvantageous to the aristocratic families, the Minister of Rites immediately opposed it.
The Minister of Personnel spoke coldly to Ye Wuwei:
"Minister Ye, please don't exaggerate.
This was the way the court was organized when the previous emperor was alive, and I haven’t seen anything different about Qi Dynasty.”
The "late emperor" mentioned by the Minister of Personnel refers to the former emperor.
Qi Wushuang has officially ascended the throne, the former emperor has become the late emperor, and officials refer to Qi Wushuang's father by his posthumous title "Jingzheng" Emperor.
“So the late emperor has been your puppet for more than ten years.
The late emperor was on the throne for thirteen years. Did he do anything to benefit the country and the people?
No!
The late emperor was on the throne for thirteen years, and only families like you benefited.
I don’t know if you are blind or deaf, but the people of Qi Dynasty are living worse than when Emperor Jingzheng was in power.
The Qi Dynasty is safe for now, but if Your Majesty allows you to manipulate us for another ten years, the Qi Dynasty will surely perish!
As a descendant of the Qi family, Your Majesty is not wrong to not want to see the Qi Dynasty perish and to want to revive it!
Moreover, although Emperor Taizu received help from aristocratic families when he established the Qi Dynasty, it was the Ye family that provided the greatest help to Emperor Taizu.
But now, the ones who benefited the most are the Zhuang and Yuwen families. Why?
Ye Wuwei never thought that he could live in peace with the Zhuang and Yuwen families, so he did not give them any face in his words.
But what Ye Wuwei said was the truth, but he said it in a "shameless" way.
Ye Wuyi's words were so "nonsense" that the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Rites didn't know how to refute him.
Especially the last sentence.
The Zhuang and Yuwen families were indeed the ones who benefited the most, but the main strategy of both families was "marriage."
The Minister of Works glanced at the silent Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Rites, and decided to play coward for the time being.
In any case, he has always had the least say in the cabinet.
The scene became eerily quiet.
Little Dengzi looked at the "passionate" Ye Wuwei, then looked at Qi Wushuang, whose eyes were filled with "You are the best", and sighed in his heart:
Your Majesty, it is impossible for you to gain the upper hand in words in this life. It all depends on whether you can gain the upper hand in bed!
But now it seems that Your Majesty still has the upper hand in bed!
No one present knew that Xiao Dengzi's mind was full of nonsense at the moment. Seeing that the atmosphere was deadlocked, Qi Guangren came out to smooth things over.
“I am also a descendant of the Qi family, so naturally I hope that the Qi Dynasty will prosper forever.
I wonder how the imperial examination system mentioned by Minister Ye will be implemented?"
Ye Wuwei's purpose was to help Qi Wushuang implement the imperial examination system, not to argue with several ministers, so he naturally took the ladder handed to him by Qi Guangren.
"Although His Majesty wants more available manpower, he also wants stability at court. Therefore, he decided to implement the imperial examination system in Andu first."
Hearing Ye Wuwei say this, the three ministers breathed a sigh of relief.
The Minister of Personnel spoke again: "Then how many people does Your Majesty intend to recruit?"
“The first imperial examination system was only a trial, and only talents were selected in Andu, so the quota could not be too high.
Let me think about how many people should be included..."
Ye Wuwei pretended to think.
He Changsong looked at Ye Wuwei with great admiration!
Minister Ye is so awesome!
Not only is he skilled in martial arts and can kill people as easily as chopping melons and vegetables, he is also a great eloquent speaker!
These words left the ministers speechless and unable to refute.
Even his acting skills are top-notch!
This was clearly something that had been discussed with His Majesty long ago, but Minister Ye's "performance" made it seem like a spur-of-the-moment idea!
Moreover, Minister Ye said a lot, but deliberately omitted the most important point:
Anyone with a registered residence in Andu can take part in the imperial examination.
Even if this Andu household registration is obtained temporarily.
This scheming...
I don’t know who is more cunning, the one who is more cunning than Prime Minister Chu?
Unlike him, he entered the cabinet just to hold a position for His Majesty, and usually voted for Prime Minister Chu, and could not come up with any plan for governing the country.
Even if you play tricks, you can't outsmart others!
It seems that he is more suitable to cultivate his own piece of land in the army.
When Your Majesty has talented people, he will take the initiative to withdraw from the cabinet and let capable people fight for power!
Ye Wuwei pretended to think for a while and said:
"The number of candidates admitted to the first imperial examination cannot be too large, so let's admit 120 Jinshi candidates."
The Minister of Personnel followed up Ye Wuwei's words: "Then how do we accommodate these 120 people?"
“I have thought about this.
Although the Censorate established a department, it was actually an empty shell.
With the newly admitted Jinshi, the Censorate can be officially established.
The position of Supervisory Censor was added to the Censorate to supervise officials in various prefectures and cities.
Let the Censorate truly exercise its duties of supervising officials, inspecting counties, and correcting criminal cases.
In addition to adding the position of Censor, a new department was also established: Six Departments.
The Six Departments were responsible for supervising the six ministries, and their duties included attending, admonishing, filling in the gaps, picking up omissions, and inspecting the affairs of the six ministries.
The six departments are divided into civil service, household, ritual, military, punishment, and engineering. Each department has a seventh-rank chief censor; a seventh-rank left censor, a right censor, and a censor.
The Six Departments are an independent agency, not affiliated with other government offices, and report directly to His Majesty."
Having said that, Ye Wuwei also added:
“Although the Six Departments report directly to His Majesty, they are not the same as the previous Embroidered Uniform Guards.
The main role of the six departments is to advise, supervise, and correct malpractices. All personnel are under the jurisdiction of the government and have no military power. They cannot enter private homes or secretly establish spies in various prefectures.
Ye Wuwei's last sentence was meaningful.
However, after hearing Ye Wuwei's last words, everyone felt relieved.
The Minister of Industry, who had been silent the entire time, asked a question at a very opportune moment:
"Are the responsibilities of the Six Departments similar to those of the Censorate?"
Considering that the Minister of Works had always indulged him in messing around in the Ministry of Works and had never made things difficult for him, Ye Wuwei was much more polite to the Minister of Works than to the Minister of Personnel.
“You’re right, the nature of their work is similar.
The only difference is that the Censorate is responsible for supervising all officials, while the Six Departments are mainly responsible for supervising whether the work of the six ministries is in compliance with regulations."
After listening to Ye Wuwei's detailed explanation, several ministers felt that the six departments were feasible.