"I guessed you were coming!" Jiang Tian was not surprised to see the two people standing in front of him, the only thing he didn't understand was why there were only two of them.

Wu Yuan naturally stepped forward and replied, "Sir, did you ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Dexin if they didn't come?" ”

Jiang Tian shook his head: "It is not easy for the prince to go out of Beijing once, even if he wants to, he may not be able to make the trip, although Dexin has no public office, but the Academy of Sciences can't easily leave, I wonder why he didn't come to ask about the reform of civil servant recruitment." ”

As soon as Wu Yuan and Liu Baokai heard this, they knew that Jiang Tian was ridiculing the Tian family, which represented the Confucian tradition, and it would be strange if the Tian family didn't care about such a big move in the civil service reform.

Since this matter was mentioned, it was one of the purposes of this trip anyway, Wu Yuan simply asked first: "Mr.'s handwriting is really admired by the students, from now on, there are no more white people in the world's government offices, and the officials in the world have all started from the smallest officials, and the talents who have tried and failed again also have a way to be promoted, but in this way, won't the future show talent be everywhere?" ”

The corners of Jiang Tian's mouth curled slightly: "You still don't understand Your Majesty's thoughts!" ”

In fact, Xiucai first appeared in the imperial examination, which itself has the meaning of top and outstanding, and the semantics are similar to the current champion, but later this title became the entry level of the imperial examination.

"You don't have to worry that Xiucai is worthless, it's a big deal, let's change the name. Actually, what you're really worried about is whether your title will be affected, right? Looking at these two people, Jiang Tian bluntly said what they thought.

These two real heirs to the title are indeed worried about this problem, although as nobles, it is unlikely that they will gain real power in the officialdom, and it seems that the civil service reform has little to do with them, but they know better in their hearts that the nobles who are attached to the imperial power are more sensitive to reform.

Understand the worries of these two people, which is also something that the nobles of the world are worried about. The rebellion was cool for a while, but when the son of heaven sat in the Dragon Court, these people were even more afraid that the hard-won glory and wealth would come to naught.

"If I'm not mistaken...... Jiang Tian struggled to recall the system of this dynasty: "You two should not be affected by the decreasing title, right?" ”

The Liu family is famous for its military achievements, and as a foreign race, it is easy to gather people's hearts. Wu Yuan's father was also a very capable official before marrying the emperor's sister-in-law, and he had no military background, so the titles of these two families could be hereditary.

Wu Yuan scratched his head when he mentioned this matter, the two of them, who were not affected in any way, had to come on this trip, mainly because of their special status and had to come forward to inquire for others.

"If you don't say it, I also know, it must be the related households who are in the Luo circle with you, and I want to inquire whether the nephews and nephews can become officials in the future, and in case of meritorious service awards, they can also continue their own titles." Although their thoughts were exposed, they didn't rush to start arguing, anyway, it was not a big deal to be debunked by their own teacher, and the fact that they didn't have to hide it when talking to Jiang Tian also made them feel very comfortable.

Looking at the expressions of these two people, Jiang Tian didn't say anything, just stood up and walked out: "I'll talk about your questions later, I'll see what good things you all brought first." ”

Seeing this, Wu Yuan and Liu Baokai could only follow out, they originally ran over in the name of escorting some things under the pretense of transporting some things ordered by Jiang Tian this time, in order to prevent some people from guessing the purpose of their trip.

When he came to the front yard, Jiang Tian saw a group of people unloading at a glance, dozens of large wooden boxes piled together, all with an inexplicable sense of crossing, as if they were simple wooden crates in later generations. The scribes in the yamen were checking and counting, and there were not enough personnel on duty, and even the original officials were helping.

Jiang Tian came to a checked box, which was a neat box of lead plates and a book as a sample, Jiang Tian flipped through the book casually, and then asked the staff: "Are the people from Huiming Study here?" ”

Seeing Jiang Tian ask out loud, a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar who had been standing nearby stepped forward and saluted and said, "Isn't the student the proprietor of Huiming. ”

After hearing the voice, Jiang Tian turned around and looked at him, and then said with a smile: "I have long heard that the boss of Huiming Study is a strange person, and when I saw it today, it seems that the rumors are true!" ”

Wu Yuan and the others also felt that this person was weird, not that he looked weird or was wearing strange clothes. It stands to reason that even if the owner of the bookstore is more gentle than other traders, it can be seen that Jiang Tian, the local supreme magistrate, the young master of the prince, and the official from the first grade, can be so humble and light-hearted.

I saw that this person still replied with a calm look: "My lord said that he was joking, Luo was just a businessman." ”

Although it looked like there was a feeling of being unwavering, but he glanced at the book in Jiang Tian's hand from time to time, and still betrayed his inner thoughts, Jiang Tian just smiled slightly when he saw it, and handed the book over.

The other party was not hypocritical, he took the book with both hands and looked at it carefully, and after a while, the book that was not too thick was roughly browsed by him, and then regardless of the eyes of others, he reached out and took out a lead plate from the box, and looked at the sun carefully for a while.

"Boss Luo is confident in this transaction?" Jiang Tian looked at him half-jokingly.

After carefully putting the lead plate in his hand back to its original place, this Boss Luo tidied up his clothes, and this time solemnly slammed it to the ground: "If the adults believe me, the students will definitely live up to their trust!" ”

Seeing that this faction has a bit of a businessman's appearance, it seems that the staff of the Jiang Mansion are receiving the task, Jiang Tian shook his head and looked at him: "Master Luo was originally a person in the Chongzhen period, so he doesn't have to call himself a student." ”

Boss Luo shook his head when he heard it: "Don't mention the things of the previous dynasty, Luo lived in the countryside and opened a small study, originally wanted to preach to the people, today when I saw the book written by adults, I knew that I didn't work as hard as you thought about in case for half of my life, and the name of the student is really feeling!" ”

"Okay, the printing contract for this batch of textbooks will be given to you Huiming Study. The details of the terms can be negotiated with the appropriate officials, but I will say that first. Saying that, Jiang Tian pointed to Wu Yuan and Liu Baokai who were standing behind him: "In front of these two princes of the Duke's Mansion and the Earl's Palace, this book must not be passed on before it is released!" ”

Jiang Tian said that it cannot be passed on, and it also includes that the number of prints cannot exceed the contract agreement, although there are corresponding laws in this era, pirated books are still very marketable because of their low prices.

If it is another book, Jiang Tian doesn't care about the copyright fee, but this is a textbook, and it is a book that must strictly review the content and control the quality, so Jiang Tian has to control the number of prints, and if there is something that needs to be corrected in teaching, it is better to adjust it in time.

Sending away Boss Luo with a solemn face, Jiang Tian began to check the ordered teaching aids and some small equipment again, and when he was inspecting, Wu Yuan pulled Liu Baokai and asked in a low voice: "What happened to that Master Luo just now?" ”

Brother Pervert thought about it carefully, although he was a local native, he hadn't lived at home for a few years since he was a child, and besides, he wasn't interested in all kinds of anecdotes about scholars, so he couldn't think of such a person for a while.

"You don't have to ask him!" Jiang Tian walked slowly and dusted the dust on the sleeves of his robe: "This person is a person from the previous dynasty, and before he had time to enter Beijing to catch the exam, he met the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Later, he may have seen through the darkness of officialdom, so he opened a study to live, which not only avoided the liquidation behind, but because of the clear name, the business of the study is booming, and he also preaches with some local talents from time to time, and he is also well-known in the local academic circles, and he didn't go to Enke last time! ”

After listening to this person's deeds, Wu Yuan didn't know whether to ridicule or really sigh: "I used to hear about the deeds of some virtuous people who refused to be officials, but I didn't expect to see one today." ”

Jiang Tian didn't care if he meant something, and said casually: "It doesn't matter what the truth is, but it doesn't seem that what he does is not a fame seeker." ”

After arranging these goods, Jiang Tian turned around and returned to the backyard, and said to the two people behind him as he walked: "Speaking of what happened just now, in fact, it doesn't matter whether the children of the nobles can be officials or not, from my opinion, whether it is grassroots or royal, only meritocracy is the right way." ”

The servants walked to the stone table in the corner of the courtyard and sat down, because there were no outsiders, so they returned to the casual appearance of Beijing in class, and the pervert who had been playing soy sauce opened his mouth at this time: "But I heard that in order to prevent the dictatorship of the noble relatives, we should be restricted from being officials?" ”

It is precisely because he knows that Wu Yuan can't talk nonsense that he dares to ask so bluntly, otherwise people who don't know the inside story will think that he is deliberately trying to embarrass people, Wu Yuan is a combination of honorable and foreign relatives!

Wu Yuan naturally glanced at him angrily, but he didn't say anything, because he also wanted to hear Jiang Tian's high opinion, but Qingshuang just happened to come over to serve them tea, and by the way, he handed his master a damp hand towel to wipe his hands, so he didn't rush to ask.

It wasn't until Qingshuang walked away that Jiang Tian took a sip of tea and said unhurriedly: "It's still the tea given by Mrs. Liu, and I won't be willing to drink it if you two don't come." ”

"Ahem......" The two people who had been waiting to hear Takami with their ears stretched their ears, sighed in unison, no one expected to say such a sentence after waiting for a long time.

Liu Baokai, who couldn't cry or laugh, had to reply casually: "If you like to drink, I'll send a car over when you turn around!" ”

Jiang Tian smacked his taste and said, "No need, I don't have a place to put too many cars." Besides, if I want to drink it, I don't need you to send it, just let your godsister go. ”

What they said made them laugh, everyone knew that this sister was Meng Daya, a country girl who didn't take anyone seriously at the beginning, I don't know what means she used, she was very loved by Mrs. Liu, and even recognized her as her godgranddaughter.

"Your Majesty once said that women can hold up half the sky. During the Northern Expedition, men fought and women weaved and farmed in the rear, and now there is no big war in the world, but sometimes the role of women is still not small. Jiang Tian took another sip of tea with feelings: "So I think women can go to school and be officials!" ”

Wu Yuan understood now that Jiang Tian's so-called idea that nobles can be officials is actually the idea of today's saints, which is used to exchange bargaining chips with nobles for women to participate in politics, but this matter cannot be said explicitly, and most of the educated women are some well-known ladies, and their families will naturally not allow them to show their heads.

Liu Baokai was still a little confused: "Mr. hasn't said that people like us can be officials?" ”

Jiang Tian saw that this pervert was not enlightened, so he had to put down the tea bowl and asked: "Is there any law in the imperial court that says that the children of nobles cannot be officials?" ”

Without waiting for Liu Pervert to react, Jiang Tian stood up and continued: "I think anyone can be an official, but why should a person be an official? What do you want to do when you become an official? It's more important than birth! ”

While speaking, Jiang Tian turned around and entered the study, and after a while, he took out a pencil case and a book, they all knew each other, it was the one that was handed over to Boss Luo of Huiming Study just now.

This is a revised political textbook, after Jiang Tian deleted some advanced things, reported to Zhang Tao and then officially published it with consent, only to see Jiang Tian take out a pen from the pencil case that is not at all like the product of this era and point to the handwriting marked on the book: "What you have learned in political class, absolute power breeds absolute corruption, how to put power in a cage is the top priority of reform, as long as this is done, what does it matter who is the official?" ”

They naturally learned this passage, but they have always regarded it as the emperor's mental technique, which Jiang Tian, the emperor, used to teach the prince how to control it. After all, everyone in the world knows that being an official for thousands of miles is only for money, and there is no benefit, who wants to be this official.

Let Jiang Tian say this today, only to know that the emperor's reform really wants to restrain the excessive power of officials, this is not the stupid way of sending a eunuch to supervise in the Ming Dynasty, but by diluting the power and increasing the intensity of supervision.

Jiang Tian also ignored their shocked expressions and continued: "Putting power in a cage is not necessarily to limit the size of power, sometimes officials who are honest and honest but are timid and prevaricating are not as good as capable ministers who have poor morality but have the ability to do great things, the key is how we prevent capable officials from going to the point of no return!" ”

Liu Baokai was a little enlightened at this time: "What does Mr. mean, instead of preventing thieves, it is better to make it easier for people to be thieves?" ”

Jiang Tian nodded: "In addition to institutional prevention, it is also necessary to make officials afraid of the public, so that the cost of their crimes will increase, coupled with the professionalization of officials and the decentralization of power, even if someone is lucky, it will not spread poison." ”

Wu Yuan and Liu Baokai glanced at each other, chewing the meaning of the words carefully, of course they knew the truth that the mouth of the people was more important than the mouth of the people, since there was a cloth strip of "the sky is dead and the yellow sky should stand", who dares to ignore this leisurely mouth, it is really a place to die without a burial.

Not only that, in history, relying on the words "rumors and rumors", there are many examples of Ming monarchs curbing powerful ministers and faint monarchs playing loyal ministers, and the highest level is the Donglin Party that has lost the country. As soon as public opinion is opened, will it be necessary to repeat the road of party struggle in the previous dynasty?

Of course, Jiang Tian is not so stupid, even if he has not seen the scene of the party fighting against each other in the late Ming Dynasty, he has also seen how the so-called democratic parliaments in Europe and the United States are pulling each other and dragging their feet, and even if Jiang Tian is stupid, Zhang Tao will not agree to him doing so.

When it comes to public opinion supervision, modern people can always talk about the truth, but the wisdom of the ancients is not bad at all, otherwise how could there be such a position as the imperial historian, and how could there be the saying "wind and rumors", not to mention the ancient information release platform such as "Shenming Pavilion". What's more, there are various system designs such as being officials in different places and supervising from top to bottom.

In terms of system, it is already relatively perfect, so why are there still so many officials who defy the law one after another? Is it because the punishment is not strong enough? But Zhu Yuanzhang even used the method of peeling the skin and grass and then hanging it on a swing at the door of the yamen, and he didn't have the officials @ greedy @ rot?

In fact, the crux of the problem lies in the fact that in addition to the greed of human nature and the landlord's old wealth Zhu Chongba's slamming of the door, the ordinary people's wisdom has not been opened, and the right to speak has always been in the small circle of readers.

Therefore, the later emperor of the Ming Dynasty would reuse Jinyiwei and eunuchs to understand, but this is only a preliminary understanding, the emperor can open a private school in the palace to teach eunuchs to read and write, but did not carry out literacy in the country, Jinyiwei is a hereditary military aristocracy, but can not become a model of morality. The princes who divided the feudal regions did not become the cornerstone of the stability of the region, but were more ruthless in annexing the land than anyone else.

It can be said that the superstructure designed by the old landlord Zhu Yuanzhang for his children and grandchildren in later generations all went wrong, and in this way, the Ming Dynasty could continue for more than 200 years and finally died in the concentrated outbreak of natural and man-made disasters, all of which relied on the strong foundation of the outstanding people of the Chinese land.

After clarifying this problem, let's think about Zhang Tao and Jiang Tian's thinking on the top-level design, in order to prevent the civilian clique from monopolizing the right to speak, then redefine the civil service examination and eradicate illiteracy. In order to prevent the aristocracy from stealing authority, the promotion of the aristocracy is also put into the system of official evaluation and promotion, no matter how noble the background is, it must also start from the grassroots level, so that the wealthy family and the poor family are at the same starting line. (Similar to the effect of the imperial examination system, except that after the literacy eradication, the number of poor students was overwhelming.) ）

As for the Prince...... Now there is only one, Zhang Tao's approach is to have a title and a mining estate, but no local management rights, in the future, in addition to the eldest descendants of Zhang Qian's branch, the royal family without great merit will inevitably be a declining title, to prevent the emergence of more and more moths in the late Ming and Qing dynasties who only eat and do not work.

The two people who were still thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of this system heard Jiang Tian sigh: "There is no absolutely perfect system in this world, and there is no way to do it once and for all. ”