Chapter 156
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High places are cold.
Yuan Li understood this phrase more and more.
Regardless of whether they were his subordinates, family members, or friends, as Yuan Li’s status grew higher, they carefully pondered their words and actions in front of him, fearing to offend him.
Gu Jia a lonely individual, Yuan Li had already realized the meaning of these words before ascending to his current position.
Besides his parents and Chu Hechao, no one addressed Yuan Li by his courtesy name anymore. They called him “Duke Wen,” treating him as their sovereign. Even if Yuan Li’s attitude towards them remained as amiable as before, they didn’t dare to be presumptuous.
But this was an inevitable development.
If Yuan Li continued to frolic and joke with them, the boundaries between ruler and subjects would become blurred. Without authority, the subordinates might take liberties and make mistakes, which would be even more challenging to handle in the future.
Yuan Li understood rationally that this was for the best.
However, the transformation of his childhood friends into this state still left him feeling melancholic.
The next day, Xiang Hongyun and Zhan Shaoning went to the government office. In the afternoon, Ding Zongguang brought the gift lists from the various vassals who congratulated Yuan Li on his enfeoffment.
Among the gift-givers, there were four who stood out, and two of them were the leaders of the North and South Wuwan tribes, Da Dan and Puyan.
In order to show their respect to Yuan Li, these two competed to present gifts, each sending their trusted confidants to deliver them, displaying utmost flattery.
It was not surprising that they were so enthusiastic. The Wuwan tribe, now divided into two, had lost its former strength, especially with the influence of Gulichi being taken over by Chu Hechao. Da Dan and Puyan were of equal strength, viewing each other with hostility and vigilance, both attempting to win over Yuan Li and Chu Hechao to monopolize power.
The five counties that used to be inhabited by the Wuwan people were now reduced to only Shanggu and Yuyang counties. According to the reports from the county officials of these two counties, Da Dan and Puyan had become much more obedient than before, probably knowing whom to please.
Not mentioning them, the other two familiar faces were Che Kangbo and Hui Zizhen.
Seeing their names, Yuan Li couldn’t help but laugh. These two unlucky governors had given Yuan Li so much money that it could cover two years of their state’s revenue.
They were working so hard to praise Yuan Li and Chu Hechao and giving so much money to Yuan Li just to prove their innocence, how could Yuan Li allow them to wash away their sins so easily?
He directly instructed Ding Zongguang to return the gifts from these two individuals as they were, and tell them that the gifts were too precious, and he couldn’t accept them.
This money was not as important as the “leverage” that Che and Hui had left behind.
Even with the help of Xiang Hongyun and Zhan Shaoning, the government office was still overwhelmed with work. Local officials in various counties of Ji Zhou were short of manpower, and with many positions needing to be filled with Yuan Li’s people, the available candidates were even scarcer.
It was not only Ji Zhou that lacked manpower; the situation was even more severe in Bingzhou, which had suffered heavily from the war. The officials in Bingzhou had to visit various places every year to recruit scholars and talents to serve in the region, but it was like trying to scoop water with a bamboo basket – it was never enough.
Over these years, the intelligence personnel from the Liangliao Institution had delved deep into the counties and personally conducted investigations, gathering information about the officials’ conduct in Youzhou, Bingzhou, and Ji Zhou. They compiled a list of officials with improper behavior, corruption, and mistreatment of the people, and presented it to Yuan Li.
In the past, Yuan Li had to endure the situation because he lacked the power to remove so many officials at once and didn’t have enough officials to fill the vacancies. However, after being conferred the title of “Duke Wen,” Yuan Li no longer needed to endure. He didn’t even need any reasons to replace these officials because he had become the true master of Ji Zhou and Bingzhou.
And indeed, he had no intention of holding back. He could remove the officials, but where could he find replacements?
To replace all the officials in Youzhou, Bingzhou, and Ji Zhou, Yuan Li would need at least six hundred officials.
Where could he find six hundred talented, literate, and competent individuals?
Yuan Li didn’t ponder for long, as an idea that he had long considered became clearer in his mind.
—The Imperial Examination!
The current selection system for officials was based on recommendation. The hereditary system and recommendations from the powerful clans intertwined, forming a vast network that monopolized official positions, making literacy and knowledge exclusive resources of the upper-class individuals.
Ordinary people never had access to these resources. They could only farm for their whole lives and pass on the same fate to their descendants. They could never become officials, and there was an insurmountable gap between them and the ruling class.
The Imperial Examination was the bridge that broke this barrier.
It provided an opportunity for those without noble or scholarly backgrounds to participate in politics and broke the monopoly of the powerful clans over official positions and knowledge. The Imperial Examination was the fairest form of selecting officials in the feudal era, providing a genuine chance for people from humble backgrounds to rise to power.
Yuan Li had considered replacing the recommendation system with the Imperial Examination long ago. Now that he was Duke Wen and had unified the three northern provinces, he knew that even if he used a somewhat unconventional and innovative way to recruit talent, no noble or powerful clan would dare to interfere. He was operating within his own territory and selecting officials for the Wen Principality, not the North Zhou Dynasty. What right did outsiders have to criticize?
Thinking about this, Yuan Li believed it was time to introduce the Imperial Examination.
On the same day, he summoned the officials of the government office and instructed them to organize a talent selection event in Ye County, Ji Zhou, and named it the “Imperial Examination.”
The Imperial Examination would be divided into subject exams, and the final selection would be based on the results. A total of six hundred talents would be chosen.
Upon hearing this, the courtiers were extremely curious. Yuan Li’s high status and formidable power among his subordinates made this the first decree issued by Duke Wen. Nobody objected. Liu Jixin was the first to ask, “My Lord, what exactly does this ‘examination’ entail?”
“I will set the questions, and the scholars will answer. We’ll see who performs well, and they will be selected based on merit,” Yuan Li smiled and said, “In this Imperial Examination, we’ll only consider the exam results, regardless of their background or place of origin.”
“What?!” The courtiers were shocked and immediately asked Yuan Li for more details about the Imperial Examination.
Yuan Li explained it to them, and the courtiers were stunned for a long time. They looked at each other, and several of the lesser-born aides understood the significance of this “Imperial Examination” for the sons of poor families.
This was an unprecedented approach, discarding one’s background and past achievements, and solely evaluating individual knowledge and talent through the examination questions. In the face of the exams, everyone was on an equal footing.
The emotions in Liu Jixin’s heart grew stronger, almost bringing tears to his eyes. He was overwhelmed with complex feelings, reminiscing about all the efforts he had made to pursue an official career.
After countless hardships, he had reached his current position, and he considered himself lucky. However, there were many more people who had spent their family fortunes and lost their families while trying to become officials.
But now, as long as they passed the selection, they could become officials under Yuan Li. In the past, this would have been an unimaginable opportunity for Liu Jixin, even in his dreams. He was both ecstatic and sorrowful – delighted that this method would undoubtedly provide a chance for those with humble backgrounds to climb up the social ladder, yet regretful that he had never encountered such an opportunity during his own struggles.
Liu Jixin even felt a tinge of envy towards the students who were about to undergo the Imperial Examination. He admired them for having this chance, a simple opportunity to become officials.
Suddenly, Liu Jixin thought of someone who had long passed away – Xiao Ce.
If Xiao Ce were alive and discovered that the official position he had pursued all his life was now so within reach, he would probably be moved to tears and find it hard to believe.
Would he still have plotted against the Lord if he knew what would happen today?
Taking a deep breath, Liu Jixin suppressed the myriad emotions and immediately said, “My Lord, this method is excellent, and I believe it will work!”
Guo Mao, Wang Er, Wu Kai, Yuan Dan, and others, who also had humble backgrounds, immediately echoed his sentiment, passionately expressing their support for the Imperial Examination.
Although there were people with better backgrounds present, such as Zhan Shaoning, Zhou Gongdan, and Jia Qing, they didn’t voice any objections outwardly and accepted this method of talent selection.
However, they all believed that this “Imperial Examination” was just an emergency measure Yuan Li had taken due to the urgent need for manpower. They thought it would only be a one-time thing.
Soon, news of the Imperial Examination to be held in Ye County, Ji Zhou spread like wildfire throughout the northern provinces, astounding everyone with its rapid dissemination.
Upon hearing the news, the scholars were either shocked or delighted. However, most of them, after careful consideration, immediately packed their bags and rushed to Ji Zhou.
In the Northern Zhou Dynasty, literate people were a small minority, and among them, only a few top scholars and powerful figures held official positions.
The majority of literate and talented students, like Xiao Ce and Liu Jixin, had humble backgrounds. Even Yuan Li, the son of a county magistrate, could be considered from a humble background. For them, becoming officials required all sorts of efforts, not to mention other individuals. Most scholars had only two paths to choose from – becoming aides or followers of prominent masters in the hope of gaining recommendation and entering the officialdom.
Both paths were challenging, as they required crossing a bridge amidst thousands of troops and horses, with no way back – a bridge without retreat.
But now, with an opportunity to become officials simply by demonstrating their knowledge, how could these scholars with humble backgrounds give up?
Moreover, with the current situation in the world, they knew that the number of people coming to participate in the Imperial Examination would only increase. They wanted to seize the opportunity and make a bold move.
Even though they would become officials of the Wen Principality and not the Northern Zhou Dynasty, it didn’t deter them from eagerly heading north. They knew that there would be more and more people coming for the examination, and they wanted to gain an advantage by being the first.
Among the scholars with better backgrounds, some were also wavering.
They controlled the recommendation slots, and theoretically, they didn’t lack official positions.
But the world had changed.
The Emperor was weakened, and the Northern Zhou court was only a mere facade. The vassals controlled their own territories and armies. Even if they became officials, whose officials would they become? Did they want to serve a powerless Northern Zhou court as powerless officials themselves?
In this turbulent era, the resources they possessed lost their original value in an instant, becoming useless. They couldn’t become officials of the Emperor, and their vast knowledge had no place to be applied. Even the influential clans were in a state of panic. Many scholars could only wait within their families, hoping to find an opportunity.
The discerning individuals could see the overall situation clearly, realizing that there were only two forces worth aligning with in the current situation. One was Yuan Li and Chu Hechao in the north, and the other was Chen Wang in the south.
These two forces were colossal political groups, and the major clans wouldn’t choose sides. They had a better strategy: dividing the outstanding talents within their families and sending them to both the north and south.
This way, no matter who emerged victorious in the end, these clans would secure an unassailable position.
This was also the reason why these prominent families could endure for centuries.
Yuan Li’s current talent selection process provided them with an opportunity to become his vassals.
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