Chapter 318 The Purpose of Discipline (IV)
Gao Pang felt a little amused when he saw the shocked, helpless and frustrated look in his former teacher's eyes. However, it was not ordinary people who could be teachers in the academy. The teacher quickly regained his composure and sighed helplessly: "Gao Pang, do you really want to exchange people's heads for your fame?"
The teacher's words were like a flash of lightning, causing Gao Pang to shudder unconsciously. In this state of shock, Gao Pang saw a look of satisfaction in the teacher's eyes. It seemed that the teacher was well aware of Gao Pang's previous mockery of rebellion.
Gao Pang was angry and a little guilty about being treated like this. Although the teacher was very impolite, he hit the point. If Gao Pang could show excellent ability in suppressing the rebellion, it would be good for his personal future. After all, what Gao Pang lacked most at the moment was performance in war.
After calming down a bit, Gao Pang asked, "Sir, which decrees of the court do you think are wrong?"
"The salt merchants are already in mourning!"
Tsk! Gao Pang was a little disappointed. If we really want to talk about the interruption of the canal transportation due to the war, then it can indeed be said that it was the livelihood of millions of canal workers. The impact on a group of salt merchants is not even worth mentioning.
Thinking of this, Gao Pang laughed and said, "It actually caused the salt merchants to suffer so much. If you hadn't said it, I really wouldn't have known that there were salt merchants everywhere in the world."
The two sides parted unhappily. Gao Pang was happy but felt a little naive. Perhaps he should listen more to who his teacher was going to plead for. But Gao Pang knew that he didn't want to listen at all. There were too many people who came to plead for mercy before, and the salt merchants they talked about seemed to be pitiful. However, the price of salt in the city plummeted, the supply was sufficient, and the quality was high. Many new villages established using confiscated land had supply and marketing cooperatives, and the price of salt was much cheaper. At least the people did not suffer from this.
Putting this matter aside, Gao Pang began to continue with the recent work of the agricultural school and invited the person in charge to a meeting. The imperial decree was not just a few simple words, but a thick guideline.
The people from the school expressed their difficulties one after another, and Gao Pang listened carefully this time. After everyone finished talking about their difficulties, Gao Pang knocked on the table and said, "The imperial decree clearly stated that there are two types of assessments. One is whether it has been completed, and the other is whether it has been done well. Doing well is not just something we can decide. The recipients of our services can use our services and meet our expectations. This is called good. What we can do is not to do well, but to complete it. Can the nursery for planting saplings produce saplings? Can the people in each village get saplings according to our plan? After planting the saplings, is there anyone to teach the follow-up management? Is there anyone to take care of it? This is what is done..."
Gao Pang was describing the contents of the imperial edict. Just as he gave a rough outline, the person in charge of the Suzhou Municipal Council asked, "Governor, if we do this, we don't have enough manpower."
"We are short of manpower, so we have to hold exams and recruit people. This is also a job, and the key is whether it can be completed." Gao Pang replied.
The person from the Sericulture Bureau of the Suzhou Prefecture Industry Department was stunned for a moment, then said helplessly, "Then let's get started quickly."
In the third year of Kunlong, October 1732, the examination was officially held. Chen Mingtai looked at his daughter's staggering steps and couldn't help but sigh.
When his daughter's feet were bound, she cried in pain. Chen Mingtai felt distressed. Now that his daughter's feet have been untied, she is in pain again in order to walk normally. Chen Mingtai feels even more distressed.
However, Chen Mingtai couldn't say sorry, so he could only let his daughter sit down. "I have already seen the questions you took. They are all questions that require memorization. If you can't pass the test, it's just because you're unlucky."
"Dad, I can pass the exam." Miss Chen answered stubbornly.
"You... can do it." Chen Mingtai didn't want to dampen his daughter's confidence, so he could only agree. Then Chen Mingtai said seriously, "Do you know how the examiners this time are different from the previous ones?"
The daughter replied, "Women can also take the examination. Also, it doesn't matter whether they have achieved academic honors or not."
Chen Mingtai waited for his daughter to finish speaking, and then added: "The examiners this time are actually very similar to the previous ones. First, you need proof of identity. You are good, I can prove it, and your senior brother Gao can also prove it. This is considered a Manchu Juren. The difference from the previous ones is that the exam does not require the elders to have a reputation, and there are no restrictions on family background..."
The Qing Dynasty's imperial examinations had very strict restrictions on family background. The qualification to take the imperial examination was determined by family background. However, scholars could not choose their own family background, but it was determined by their fathers and ancestors. Therefore, when it came to family background, it was natural to compete with one's father and ancestors.
First of all, one must have a good family background. To take the Jinshi examination, one must not only be a Juren, but at least a Juren. Therefore, the early Enke conducted by Emperor Kangxi did not care about these.
But this rule would eliminate many people. So there were actually many families with three generations of Jinshi in the Qing Dynasty. For example, Liu Yong's grandfather was a Jinshi, his father was a Jinshi, and Liu Yong was a Jinshi. This is not very realistic in other dynasties.
Of course, Chen Mingtai himself was a juren, so he was very confident when talking about these things. When it comes to his family's academic background, Chen Mingtai has great confidence.
Speaking of people with good births, there are also people with bad births. According to the custom of the Qing Dynasty, people with bad births were not allowed to take the exam. What kind of people are people with bad births? In summary, there are the following categories: descendants of government servants, actors, untouchables, and descendants of slaves.
These people could not even take the imperial examination, let alone take the Jinshi examination.
Of course, this is aimed at the Han people. Among the Manchus, there are banner masters and banner slaves, but these banner slaves are not slaves. The noble Manchus, even if they are slaves, are nobler than the Han people. It is not the Han people's turn to say anything about the masters' affairs.
Although Miss Chen knew a thing or two, she had never been told so seriously by her father about the imperial examinations. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "Dad, why are those government servants considered lowly people?"
"It's a errand boy! A errand boy!" Chen Mingtai corrected.
Menial jobs are considered lowly in the eyes of people of high status . Menial jobs are classified into different categories.
A doorman refers to a servant who serves officials in government offices, not a gatekeeper. As an official said, "The so-called doorman in today's world is the menial servant who serves tea and holds clothes in the government office." It refers to those people who help officials serve tea, put on clothes and take off socks, and do other personal nanny-like duties.
"Changsui was originally the second rank of eunuchs, serving under the Dayuan... Nowadays, what are commonly called Changsui are servants hired by the government." Servants hired by the government were equivalent to coolies.
"The reason why it is called Fan Yi is almost unclear. It is probably a name inherited from the Ming Dynasty factory service. In the Ming Dynasty, the factory guards had Fan Yi, and their deeds were the most violent."
"The guards appointed by our dynasty are responsible for arresting thieves, fugitives, prostitutes, gamblers, and thugs." In fact, they are low-level spies.
Horsemen and footmen, fast hands and police officers are grassroots violent personnel, "all the slaves, horsemen and footmen who are on duty in the government offices... are all menial servants."
The official who is in charge of arresting thieves and criminals in the government office.
Speaking of these people, Chen Mingtai sighed, "These people are dealing with villains, and villains must be dealt with by villains. They are all fierce and chivalrous, not good people. If you pass the exam, you must not fill in the application form!"
Miss Chen couldn't help but laugh when she saw her father's worried look. She had never thought about fighting with villains. Such things were something she couldn't avoid, so how could she take the initiative to ask for it?
Zaoli were lowly laborers in the yamen. Zao is a color word, representing the color black, and li means slaves. They specifically referred to the yamen slaves who wore dark blue linen clothes and had blue silk ribbons tied around their waists.
Jailers, coroners, and archers were also menial servants.
The jailer is not a member of the imperial guards, but a person who guards the prison. The coroner is the person who examines the body of a murder victim, that is, the forensic doctor. However, the forensic doctor is a professional and technical person now, not as lowly as in ancient times. Before the Song Dynasty, the archer referred to the soldiers who operated the bow and crossbow, similar to the modern machine gunner. From the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, it specifically referred to the soldiers responsible for local patrols and arrests, which was also a menial service.
As for other actors, they were considered to be people in the sauce jar. They were born lowly, and they were also considered to be extremely good at flattering, and they were born bad people.
Therefore, the descendants of entertainers, musicians, drummers, beggars, and boatmen are all guilty of original sin. It is not a pity to kill them. Not to mention giving them the opportunity to become officials.
The descendants of slaves were also prohibited from taking the imperial examinations. Slaves can be divided into political slaves and life slaves. Political slaves also include horsemen, gatekeepers, eunuchs, etc. Life slaves include officials, servants, servants, grooms, herdsmen, servants, slaves, maids, and prisoners. Among them, "slave" refers to people who raise horses, "servants" here refers to people who have worked as child servants, and "prisoners" refers to people who have committed crimes.
"The court has considered carefully enough to prohibit the descendants of criminals from taking the exam this time. However, my daughter, you must remember that the Chinese court uses military law. Under military law, Mr. Huo dares to use the laborers he mentioned! From the question bank I looked at, it is said that hundreds of questions were selected from thousands of questions, but the question settings are very meaningful. Perhaps it is because of what those big questions say that labor is the most glorious. This is the key point. If you want to pass the exam, don't make a mistake."
Miss Chen was a little puzzled. "Dad, the topic I read is about science and democracy."
"Mr. Huo wants to rule the world immediately, so of course he uses the Legalists. The Legalists talk about law, tactics, and power. Science and democracy are tactics, don't make the mistake. If you still don't understand, go ask your Senior Brother Gao. He thought that the teachings of Confucius and Mencius were the law, but he didn't know that the teachings of Confucius and Mencius were just tactics. After meeting Mr. Huo and listening to his teachings, he suddenly realized it. Then he passed the imperial examination and became the top scholar. Don't make the same mistake he made. Science and democracy are tactics."
When Miss Chen heard that her father wanted her to ask Gao Pang for advice, her face turned red. But she felt relieved when she saw that her father didn't think about the love affair at all, but was concentrating on talking about the exam. She listened to her father's story carefully.
"Mr. Huo talked about science and gave standards. Science must not only be able to prove, but also be able to disprove. Although I still think that science is too utilitarian, I think this makes sense. Moreover, Mr. Huo said that science also has a step-by-step process. For example, the earth under our feet is a sphere. The proposition used in the proof is that when you look at a ship in the distance on the water, the first thing you see is definitely the top of the tallest mast. This is proof and disprove. I have asked many sailors and have also seen it myself. It turned out to be true."
Miss Chen was a little surprised when she heard this. She had previously attended a class with the person Gao Pang had invited for her, and the proof that the earth is round, which is the basis of geography, was proved in this way.
However, my dad didn't seem to take these things seriously, but I didn't expect that he had actually studied them secretly and very seriously.
Chen Mingtai was talking about learning at this time, and he was completely enlightened. "Alas, although Mr. Huo conquered the world on horseback, he was a scholar. If it were someone else, he would say that the earth is round, and you have to believe what he said. Mr. Huo used science to propose this set of things that anyone can experiment with. He is really a learned and broad-minded person. If the earth is flat, you should see the whole ship. You definitely don't see the mast first. Although I still don't quite believe it, from this point of view, at least there is no way to prove that the earth is flat. But there is also a problem. Science is not alone. According to Mr. Huo, all things are intrinsically connected. Since the earth under our feet is a sphere, we have to deduce longitude and latitude based on the fact that the earth is round. If the earth revolves around the sun, there will be the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. A whole set of geographical knowledge has been created."
At this point, Chen Mingtai sighed again, "Alas! Daughter, although this knowledge may seem scattered, it actually has a thread. When you took the exam, it looked like there were thousands of questions, but in fact, they were classified and very complicated. Look at what Mr. Huo wrote in the outline of the big questions. He wanted everyone to keep learning, and to organize regular learning in the court. Look at the latest decree. Mr. Huo created a week for fixed learning every Wednesday. Don't think that he came up with it on the spur of the moment. There is a thread..."
Miss Chen was initially very excited, because seeing her father, who didn't care at all about the Chinese imperial examination, actually giving her personal guidance was an experience Miss Chen had never had before.
In the past, Miss Chen also wanted to learn the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, but her father, who was a great scholar, always poured cold water on her, saying that a girl would not be able to learn it even if she tried, and would instead develop wrong ideas because of learning the wrong things.
As my dad's student listening to his lectures at this time, the feeling is indeed very different.
However, as she listened, Miss Chen could no longer follow her father's train of thought. After listening for more than an hour, she felt a little dizzy. The question bank that seemed clear at first had changed. At least according to her father's thinking, those simple and clear test questions were not new points, but a complex network. In particular, the entire network was interconnected. The test questions were not only divided into a sequence, but also appeared to be a seemingly simple question, but actually a combination of many different knowledge threads.
Unable to accept her father's teachings, Miss Chen said, "Dad, I can't listen any more..."
I thought my father would scold me with a stern face like he taught his senior brothers and junior brothers, but unexpectedly Chen Mingtai smiled and said, "Don't feel embarrassed. I'm actually surprised that you can hear this."
Miss Chen was so excited that her eyes suddenly became hot when she received the praise from her father. She stood up and walked to her father and asked, "Dad, how about I give you a back massage?"
"I'm not old yet." Chen Mingtai sighed.
Miss Chen quickly went to change the hot tea for her father, then pulled a stool and sat next to him, watching him drink tea quietly.
Seeing his daughter so thoughtful, Chen Mingtai wanted to let her rest for a while, but he couldn't help but say, "Mr. Huo's ability lies not in what he can do, but in what he doesn't do. It's not about what he did right, but in teaching people how to judge where they went wrong. It's really a way of teaching and educating people. Although I don't like his way of ruling the world right away, I don't want to say he's wrong. I'll just talk about what I really care about, but you don't tell others about it."
"Yes." Miss Chen replied quickly.
"Mr. Huo's goal is to liberate the Chinese people. This is his ambition. I think he didn't say it very clearly, but he did say it. What is liberation? It means having money and power."
Miss Chen was stunned. She wanted to hear the old man continue talking, but she saw that the old man was silent. After a while, Miss Chen suddenly burst into laughter. The image of the old man was so different from the impression he always gave people. At least the old man in the past would never emphasize being rich and powerful.
"Don't laugh! This is the real meaning." Chen Mingtai said with a straight face: "If you don't have money, you can't go to school. Mr. Huo wants to promote compulsory education. Learning is certainly for people to be motivated, but what is the expression of being motivated? It means making money and having the opportunity to show your talents. If you want to show your talents, you must have power. However, there are very few people in the world who can read. Why do you think it is because of this?"
Miss Chen thought for a while and shook her head to indicate that she didn't know.
"It's not that people don't know the benefits of studying, but that they can't afford to study. Even if they study a little, there is no place to put their knowledge into practice. There are only a few people who become officials every year, and the land is owned by landlords and gentry. This is what Mr. Huo said about means of production. If a person has no money to study, he has no means of production, that is, no land. Even if he wants to plant mulberry trees as your senior brother Gao has recently advocated, what right does he have to do it? Just by thinking!"
Miss Chen felt like she understood, but she also didn't understand at all. She nodded subconsciously, but then she felt that she couldn't do that, so she quickly shook her head.
Chen Mingtai sighed, "So, I looked at the question bank of thousands of questions and thought about it every day. I feel that Mr. Huo's words about liberating the people may not be insincere. But the method of liberation cannot be explained too clearly. I think he has great ambitions and wants to turn the distinction between righteousness and profit into a unity of righteousness and profit. So Mr. Huo said that the Chinese court does not oppose people's right to own land and cultivate it. What the Chinese court opposes is the right to use the right to cultivate land to exploit others. The most important thing is that Mr. Huo knows that the people are actually ignorant. The people feel that tenant farmers are not as noble as landlords, but they don't know why they feel this way. To put it bluntly, the landlords own the means of production and use them to exploit the fruits of others' labor. Mr. Huo doesn't dare to say it too clearly now. In fact, he knows that this is the mind of those tenant farmers, and this is the mind of those farmers who don't have much land. Mr. Huo really made this clear to the people, hehe..."
At this point, Chen Mingtai couldn't help but sneer, "This is the most interesting thing. If the truth is really explained in this way, Mr. Huo is going against the will of heaven. Even if the people of the world have benefited from him, they will blame Mr. Huo for blocking their path to liberation. Haha, there is nothing more ridiculous in the world than this."
