Chapter 2584
Bai Letong believed that the fraud in the rural examination was an attempt by Yangzhou salt merchants to bribe the township examination officials to facilitate the children of the salt merchants who participated in the township examination. The township trial office officials also wanted to take this opportunity to take care of their juniors. All kinds of demons and monsters came together to create the current situation. As the local official in charge, Shi Diwen cannot absolve himself of the blame for this regardless of whether he knew about it before.
However, Shi Diwen insisted that the system's tightness and tightness should be flexibly controlled, especially in some special circumstances, relaxing the standards may bring greater benefits to Haihan than the imperial examination itself.
In Bai Letong's view, neither the relatives of the township trial officials nor the children of Yangzhou salt merchants can be considered "influential people". If you turn a blind eye and let these people pass, then what will happen? For Haihan, the risks outweigh the benefits. Once exposed, not only the imperial examination, but also the government's credibility will be in crisis.
The authorities are confused, but the bystanders are clear. There was no conclusion in the debate between the two people, but Tao Hongfang next to him had heard some clues and asked: "Uncle Shi, I hear what you mean, the rural trial program is not actually for the children of salt merchants." Yes, they just happened to meet at the right time?”
Bai Letong glanced at Tao Hongfang and thought to himself, you are thinking the same thing as me, and then asked: "Uncle Shi, you have been trying to protect the officials of the township trial, but they don't agree to let me modify the test question plan. I should Is it for the same reason?”
Shi Diwen smiled and said: "The tone you have is a bit like calling the enemy to task!"
The two people quickly said they didn't dare. Even if they came here today with this idea in mind, they certainly couldn't admit it verbally. This would be a great disrespect to their elders. What's more, there are still many hidden things in this matter that have not been clarified, and they dare not blame Shi Diwen for all this.
Shi Diwen put away his smile and said in a deep voice: "Although our country has replaced the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty ruled the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions for more than two hundred years. It is difficult for us to eliminate the influence in this region in the short term. This year we retain the old imperial examination system. It sounds nice to stabilize people’s hearts and select talents, but in fact it is a compromise out of desperation.”
"For our country, how to prove that we are the orthodox people destined by destiny and let the people of the world recognize our authority is a very urgent task at the moment. To achieve this goal, we have to take measures from all aspects, of course Including the imperial examination.”
"But is it enough to just retain the imperial examination system of the previous dynasty? Things are not that simple. It may not be difficult to make the people obey, but winning their trust will not be achieved overnight. I know you are very concerned about the questions in the provincial examination Plan and the selection of officials for the township examination, but you may not have noticed the big difference in the number of students who signed up for the township examination this year compared with previous years. If anyone knows, please tell me.”
Tao Hongfang and Ning Zijing looked at Bai Letong, who couldn't help showing a look of shame on his face. As Shi Diwen said, he didn't know the situation in this regard because he didn't focus on it, but the relevant information should not have been ignored so easily. As an official sent to Hangzhou by the Executive Committee to supervise the examination, his performance in this regard was indeed somewhat derelict.
Shi Diwen saw their reactions in his eyes, nodded and continued: "Then let me talk about the official statistics. Without going into detail, it shows that in the more than 20 years after Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, Zhejiang held a total of During this period, the Ming Dynasty was in decline. Although Zhejiang was a prosperous place with relatively developed cultural and educational institutions, the number of students applying for the provincial examination was getting smaller and smaller every time. There are only three thousand people.”
"Does this number sound a little small? But in fact, across the country, Anhui, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces already have the largest number of candidates. And the number of scholars who can pass the provincial examination in Zhejiang is only a few. About a hundred people. As you have been living in Sanya, you should all know that our country needs a large number of personnel with cultural background to enrich the official team, but relying solely on Hainan Island’s educational institutions to cultivate talents is far from keeping up with the needs of development. The Executive Committee attaches great importance to the imperial examination system and hopes to obtain more talents from the original Ming Dynasty jurisdiction. ”
"But the number of students who applied for the provincial examination this year is still far behind our expectations. Xiaobai, you should know this number, right?" Bai Letong responded: "As of now, there are more than 1,400 applicants for this provincial examination. People..."
Shi Diwen nodded and said: "You have all heard that this number is less than half of that during the Chongzhen period, and the registration area for this provincial examination is not only Zhejiang province, but the entire Donghai region! The registration area has become larger , but the number of applicants has dropped. Can you tell me where the problem lies?”
The jurisdiction of the Donghai Region extends far beyond Zhejiang. Parts of Jiangsu and Anhui are also included in the Donghai Region. It is almost the most prosperous area in the former Ming Dynasty, with both geographical area and population. Very impressive.
Ning Zijing was the first to respond: "There must be areas where the publicity work is not in place. The people do not know enough about the time and place of the rural examination and have no time to prepare in advance."
Tao Hongfang said: "Perhaps some scholars still have doubts about the rural examination held in our country. They are not clear about our country's talent selection standards and dare not try it easily."
"Where's Xiaobai, what do you think?" After listening to their opinions, Shi Diwen turned to ask Bai Letong again.
After hearing what Shi Diwen just described, Bai Letong actually knew in his heart that with the current registration situation, no matter how many qualified talents can be selected in the end, the influence of this provincial examination will be far less than that of the executive committee. expectations. As for the reasons, Bai Letong can roughly think of some.
"Juniors believe that the main reason is that local literati still lack enough trust in our country, which has led to many people taking a wait-and-see attitude towards the rural examinations sponsored by our country and having no willingness to actively participate." Bai Letong also calmed down at this time. According to the facts Answered Shi Diwen's question.
Shi Diwen nodded and said: "What you just said makes sense. The problem lies here. Do you have a solution?"
Bai Letong hesitated and said: "The provincial examination is coming soon. Even if we come up with a solution now, it will be too late to implement it, right?"
Shi Diwen said: "Whether it's late or not, it doesn't stop us from discussing solutions. Even if it's too late to implement this time, it can be used next time."
(End of chapter)