Chapter 58: Shocking businessman’s theory!
The chief examiner of this imperial examination was the famous Wei Zheng, as well as several minor examiners.
The entire exam lasts for three full days.
On the first day, everyone was tested on their knowledge of classics.
The next day, we took the test on current policies.
On the third day, which is also the last day, we will be tested on poetry and prose.
During these three days, no one is allowed to leave the examination room, and all eating, drinking, defecating, urinating, and staying overnight must be done in the examination room.
Of course, everyone has a little cubicle, like a little room, to spend the night in.
The exam questions are not given one question per day. They are given to you all at once. The reason why they are divided into three days is that no matter whether you complete the task on the first day or not, you must submit the task target classics exam questions.
The same thing happened the next day.
There are three questions. If you can finish them ahead of time, you can also finish them all on the first day and then go home.
Although it is very reasonable, almost everyone, even if they have finished the classics test early on the first day, will submit it at the last minute, and no one will leave early.
Because no matter what one's identity or family background is, the imperial examination is taken very seriously.
After all, once you achieve success, your whole family will prosper, all thanks to the imperial examination!
"Classics? This is really mind-boggling."
In the small cubicle, Qin Wenyuan talked to himself.
The ancient Confucian classics generally refer to the Five Classics. If there is an examination on these classics, it will test one's understanding of the Five Classics of Confucianism.
Simply put, the test questions will randomly pick out classic passages from Confucian classics, and then students need to interpret them using their own thoughts.
It is similar to the Chinese language exams in later generations, which involve extracting the main idea of an article and providing explanations.
Of course, you can also add your own opinions or even your own works. As long as they can impress , you can be nominated.
The first question in the current Confucian classics exam is about the doctrine of the mean, which is to conceal evil and promote good, to hold both ends and use the middle to benefit the people.
Qin Wenyuan thought about it, then picked up the pen and wrote down his own answer.
[In dealing with people, we should hide other people's faults, publicize their good points, do not gossip about other people's right and wrong, and do not speak ill of others behind their backs. ]
【Try to ignore the shortcomings of others, find more of their strengths, praise and reward their strengths, and grasp the opinions on both ends of the spectrum. This will help them correct their shortcomings and further develop their strengths.】
[It is both the doctrine of the mean, which is impartial and neither too much nor too little, and it is also an outstanding art of leadership.]
【Candidate Qin Wenyuan suggested that this method should be a must-have for the royal family.】
Qin Wenyuan wrote like this.
He had heard a little about this question.
In my previous life, I was more or less forced to learn some classic quotes from the Five Classics of Confucianism, and now I am using them in real time.
Then comes the annotation for the next question.
When Qin Wenyuan encounters something he doesn't understand, he simply skips over it. When he understands it, he writes down all his thoughts. His approach seems clean and decisive.
While other candidates were still making drafts and were afraid to write down their answers, Qin Wenyuan was already writing furiously, and was even... about to finish all the questions on the first day.
Time passed slowly, and when Qin Wenyuan had finished, other candidates were just beginning to write.
Looking at his masterpiece on the rice paper, Qin Wenyuan nodded with satisfaction.
"The first day's questions are considered completed."
Qin Wenyuan smiled, then looked at the second question, Shi Ce.
Current policies mainly test the strategies for governing a country, and the questions are usually about the current governance problems facing the Tang Dynasty.
Then, the candidates give their current solutions, and whoever has the better solution will be nominated.
This is even simpler. With a history and cultural treasures dating back thousands of years, Qin Wenyuan can deal with it with ease.
Even Qin Wenyuan could write this policy on governing the country according to his own thinking.
"Finance? This was the sixth year of the Zhenguan Period, and various natural and man-made disasters had caused the Tang Dynasty to be extremely poor."
"I didn't expect that this year's policy essay examination would be about finance."
Qin Wenyuan laughed.
Asking a person from later generations to answer this question is like giving him a free exam.
The solution is simple.
For example, in order to solve the financial problems of the Tang Dynasty, it was necessary to expand the scale of business and travel and vigorously develop commerce, rather than vigorously develop construction as it is now.
After all, there is not much money in the Tang Dynasty’s treasury. Even the current emperor Li Shimin has to be frugal. How can you build?
Moreover, if the people are not shown the opportunity to make money first and are not even given a rosy picture, they will have no motivation at all and their performance will be greatly reduced.
A problem that could have been solved in a day took more than ten days to complete.
These are all real.
Unfortunately, this is generally not recognized.
Because since ancient times, among the four classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, merchants were the lowest class and no one looked down on them.
Qin Wenyuan's idea is to increase the status of businessmen.
In this way, no one will think that being a businessman is a shame, so more people will do business and the economy will be boosted.
At the same time, we must promote and support business development and establish commercial taxes.
If such a policy paper appeared in the court, it would inevitably cause an uproar and even a backlash from the whole world.
But Qin Wenyuan didn't care. He just wrote it down, writing everything according to his own ideas. Whether others bought it or not was none of his business.
Even Qin Wenyuan paid attention to details.
For example, if commercial taxes were increased, how much would the commercial tax revenue be for merchants across the country?
List them all one by one.
For example, if the commercial tax could be successfully implemented, the commercial tax collected by the entire Tang Dynasty could even be several times more than the current tax revenue of the Tang Dynasty.
It is similar to paying taxes in later generations, what tax rate is charged based on what income, and so on.
In this way, the merchants may feel a little pain, but they are actually making money.
If the people's taxes are reduced, their families will become wealthier, their sense of happiness will increase, and they will have more trust and reliance on the Tang Dynasty.
If this idea is successfully promoted, it will be unimaginable.
The status of businessmen is low.
In fact, people all over the world look down on merchants. This is one reason. The second is that those wealthy families, nobles, etc. also want to be looked down upon by the world.
Because if commercial taxes are levied, they will be the first to be harmed.
After all, for all the aristocratic families, including the Five Surnames and Seven Families, their biggest source of income, apart from land, is actually various businesses.
They say that they look down on business, but whether it is the imperial court, aristocratic families, nobles, etc., who is not involved in business?
It’s just that before, no one had carefully calculated this, nor had anyone thought about it this way.
In his opinion, this was a good solution, but Qin Wenyuan knew that it was very difficult to implement.
It would not even be an exaggeration to say that it is a fantasy.
Because now the control of the Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats over the Tang Dynasty is so terrifying.
In the previous bandit attacks outside Chang'an City, it only took Lu Qian to make them take action. They were not afraid of the threats from Chang'an officials and soldiers. This shows the tip of the iceberg of the terror of the aristocratic families.
