When later generations talk about the imperial examination system, they often disdain it, and even think that the reason why China is backward is because of the imperial examination system.

In fact, in this era, the so-called Enlightenment thinkers in Europe are boasting about the imperial examination system in China, just as China always thinks that the moon in foreign countries is rounder at some time.

When the aristocratic feudal lords of Europe had to rely on the monks of the Church to manage the affairs of the country, and even a large country like France had to rely on a cardinal to act as prime minister, far away in the East, the light of the secular civil service system had already illuminated the earth. The cornerstone of the secular civil bureaucracy was the imperial examination system.

As a talent selection system, the imperial examination system has, to a certain extent, given the world's smart people a relatively fair way to compete, broken the monopoly of blood on state power, and allowed people at the bottom of the society to have a legal and reasonable way to rise. It was the civil servants selected by the imperial examination system that sustained this vast country and kept it alive for a long time.

What really made the imperial examination system work the opposite was the content of the imperial examination. Since the first subject of Jinshi in the imperial examination was solidified to only the four books and five classics, the negative effect of this system began to outweigh its positive effect.

Therefore, when Yu Guozhen expressed his views to Sun Jin, he was not perfunctory, but extremely cautious.

This dialogue, known as the Jinan Q&A, had a great impact on China's future founding strategy, and also laid the fuse for a major turmoil in China.

"I think that the soul of China lies in the eight characters in the Book of Changes, self-improvement, and virtue. This is the difference between China and Yi Di's Taoism, that is, Confucianism, this eight characters are also the essence, because of self-improvement, so the master and son three provinces of his body, because of the virtue. Therefore, the master asked, Yu Lao Dan, and asked the old farmer. As for the hair bun and clothes, poems and songs, they are all transformed by these eight characters. Canonical texts. Hundreds of schools, all from this eight characters! ”

For this, Sun Jin nodded slightly, not surprised. Yu Guozhen not only reuses Fang Kongzhi, but also friends with Fang Yizhi, he naturally admires the "Book of Changes" very much, and it is not surprising that he has his own opinions.

"The future of China is under the guidance of this soul. The civil service system, compulsory military service system, and compulsory education system are the cornerstones. The civil service system makes it possible for specialized people to do special things, so that power will not be passed on by blood. The compulsory military service system is to be prepared for danger in times of peace, to barbarize the body of the Chinese people, to strengthen the body of the Chinese people, and to cultivate the spirit of martial arts and humiliation. Compulsory education gives people the opportunity to choose the direction of their future development according to their potential, so that people can be polite, enable people to forge ahead, and equip people with the skills to improve their lives. ”

Sun Jin can hear this. I couldn't help but applaud and said, "If you can do that." Then the world will be under great rule, and the monarch will be Yaoshun, but this is the case - Jimin, when will you open the imperial examination, I can't wait, I want to see this prosperous weather! ”

Yu Guozhen groaned slightly: "The imperial examination I was talking about. I am afraid that it is not the same thing as the imperial examination that Mr. Lu Shan said. ”

What does this mean? Is there any other imperial examination? ”

"In my imperial examination, the content of the first examination is no longer limited to the Four Books and Five Classics. It will not be determined by one article of eight shares for life. It is necessary to test the students' vision, thinking, mathematics and physics, their cultivation, handling affairs, and character, and their potential, ambition, and will. After being promoted, he will not be an official immediately, but an official, and in the handling of daily affairs, he will sharpen his spirit and improve his ability. If you have not been an official, you must not be an official, so as to avoid being controlled by the officials, and even more so to avoid being the chief official but not understanding affairs. ”

Yu Guozhen said while preparing for the language, and the speed of speech was very slow. At first, Sun Jin was still excited, but when he listened to it, his face became stiff, and later, he was simply furious.

"Such an imperial examination, is it a imperial examination?" In the end, he couldn't help but ask: "If you take the exam like this, if you don't read the harvest of the sages, aren't you all peddlers and pawns, villains are in charge, how can there be no reason for national politics not to be chaotic?" ”

"The peddler and pawn are not villains, and the farmers and craftsmen are not villains, but the proportion of villains is at least half of the Gonggong princes in power." Yu Guozhen smiled and said: "Mr. Lu Shan, this is the difference between me and Donglin, Donglin feels that they are inherently superior to others, and they have read the books of sages, so they believe that you are responsible for the great responsibility of the world, the rise and fall of the world." As for the peddlers, pawns, farmers, craftsmen, as long as they are not reading the books of the sages, they will act according to you honestly. However, I think that the people are the cornerstone of the country, and whether it is Donglin or the eunuch party, it is all from the people, and we must not forget our roots. ”

When the two of them said this, they were already not speculative, and fierce disputes were inevitable. This is what Yu Guozhen expected, he didn't expect to be able to convince Sun Jin, or rather, he could convince Sun Jin as a person, but he couldn't convince the class that Sun Jin represented. This conversation also means that he publicly announced to the old literati represented by Sun Jin that they will not be in the future under the new Chinese system.

"Jimin, you are the enemy of the world's scholars, pointed out by thousands of people, and died without illness, if you insist on going your own way, you will build your Huaxia country, and the country will not last long. Good medicine is bitter, good words are against the heart, you must think twice! Although there was a quarrel, Sun Jin still made a final effort when he said goodbye: "Be careful, be careful!" ”

"Mr. Lu Shan, presumably before coming here, he had been taught face-to-face by Shi Daolin. Shi Daolin personally went to Qin' Zhou, and it is reported that he also saw Chen Wozi, Mr. Lu Shan, Fang Mizhi is the real Confucian, Chen Wozi is a half-Confucian, as for Shi Daolin, there is no difference from the eunuchs. ”

Yu Guozhen's comment on this sentence was really scathing, and he also made a real noise, so he said this.

Shi Kefa went to Qinzhou to participate in the last consultation meeting, which was secretly ordered by Yu Guozhen, and although Yu Guozhen despised his ability and looked down on his character, he did not despise his integrity. Therefore, Yu Guozhen always wanted to give him a chance, hoping that he could contribute to the combination of Confucianism and practical learning, which he called "Neo-Confucianism", just like Fang Yizhi.

In Yu Guozhen's view, a thousand words are not as good as a truthful view, but Shi Kefa's hurried trip to Qin'zhou did not touch him too much except for deepening his resentment against Yu Guozhen. Obviously, Yu Guozhen's plan fell through.

In this case, Yu Guozhen has nothing to regret, the opportunity has been given, and if he didn't grasp it, it was Shi Kefa's own business. Yu Guozhen is a guide, a guide, but not a nanny, and he stepped forward when China was in danger. With his foresight to history, he has made such a career. What he has to consider is always the long-term plan of China for hundreds of years, rather than the livelihood of one person or even hundreds of thousands of people in a short period of time.

Sent Sun Jin away. Yu Guozhen rested in Jinan Mansion for two more days, and just as he was about to go to Texas again, a news came, which made him completely forget about Sun Jin's arrival.

Mobilization of the Prisoners!

August 15, 19th year of Chongzhen. It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it was also the time when the Red Turban Army of Emperor Zhu of the Ming Dynasty branded moon cakes "August 15 to kill the Tartars", and the mobilized Jianyu began to march towards Shanhaiguan. At this moment, Dolgon used his brother Azig, who was extremely experienced in battle, as a striker. The overseer of 40,000 cavalry flew south, and he personally led the army of 160,000 of all ethnic groups as the Chinese army, and then followed. In addition, Dolgon also mobilized the vassal Korean and Mongol tribes, and the Korean superintendent requisitioned 150,000 troops, of which 50,000 were to respond, and accompanied Dolgon's southern expedition, in fact, as a hostage. The other 100,000 assisted Duoduo and guarded Liaodong on behalf of Shan. 60,000 Mongol troops. With Abatai as the commander, he entered the customs from Zhangbei and Xuanfu.

This time, the Jianlu were almost completely mobilized, and all the Jianguo men, who could be used as soldiers, were over 14 years old and under 60 years old. The total number reached 160,000, of which 100,000 were transferred to the Guannai. 60,000 stayed. The Han people and other ethnic groups who took refuge in Jianyu also conscripted 100,000 soldiers. There were 400,000 coolies, and all the men were served. The situation of the Xian and Mongolian tribes is also very similar.

At this time, even the most stupid people understand that this is a big battle in which the Manchus gamble on the fortunes of the country, and if they win, the Manchus will gain the advantage of the north, and Yu Guozhen's Huaxia can only operate in the south in a short time, and the contest between the two sides will turn late. Defeated, the Manchu Qing retreated outside the pass, and could no longer afford to go south, so they could only watch China encroach on the whale and destroy the Manchu in a short time!

Comparing the forces of the two sides, the combined forces of the Manchu Qing and Wu Sangui had 400,000 troops, and Yu Guozhen temporarily had 30,000 troops in his hands, but the Huaxia army that had already been mobilized had 100,000, and the armed militia in the eastern part of the mountain also had 100,000. 400,000 against 200,000, a battle of this scale, even in the history of war, is the kind of decisive battle that determines the general trend of the world!

On 18 August, Azig's 40,000 cavalry crossed Jinzhou.

At the same time, Tian Boguang and Gu Jiaming's troops began to storm Wu Sangui's military camp outside Cangzhou City, Wu Sangui's hostage tactics were no longer useful, and under the fierce artillery attack, Wu Sangui had to evacuate Cangzhou City and retreat to Qingxian.

On August 20, Azig crossed the mountain pass, and when the army entered the first Xiongguan in the world, Azig slashed his face with a knife, claiming that if he could not kill Yu Guozhen, he would never return to the pass.

On 21 August, Tian Boguang and Gu Jiaming's troops, who had been resting for a while in Cangzhou, were supplemented by 50,000 armed militiamen from eastern Shandong, and began to move northward and approach Qingxian. Wu Sangui's rangers met the Chinese dragoons led by Li Qingshan's and Li Mingshan's brothers thirty miles south of Qingxian, and after a fierce battle between the two sides, Wu Sangui withdrew from Qingxian and retreated to Jinghai.

On 23 August, Qingdao welcomed the second batch of soldiers of the Huaxia Army to the north, a total of 20,000 people, and immediately rushed to Jinan by train. The "People's Livelihood Express" of that day described this scene in great detail: The Chinese army was majestic, with ten successive military columns and a mountain of all kinds of ordnance. The two-daily train from Qingdao Kou to Jinan Prefecture, which originally ran normally, had to be suspended in order to avoid military aircraft.

On August 25, Wu Sangui sent someone to deliver this newspaper to Azig, who sent troops to Kaiping Zhongwei. On 1 September, Dolgon, who had already arrived in Jinzhou, also saw this newspaper, and then ordered the three armies to step up its distribution.

On August 28, Wu Sangui held out in Jinghai for several days before retreating to Tianjinwei, and then, after his sneak attack on Tianjinwei, the Huaxia army withdrew from the occupied territory and all were recovered. Gu Jiaming led the troops from the east of the canal to the south bank of the canal, and found that Wu Sangui was heavily guarded, so he made a detour to Dagukou, intending to build a wharf here to prepare for the naval landing.

At this point, the battle returned to Tianjinwei, where the battle began.