Chapter 1050

“Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites cannot be abolished.”

Wang Chengye’s body trembled as he shouted loudly.

Xiao Ming grunted in anger. “Wang Chengye, do you think I don’t know that you, Duke Tang, and Fei Pei are instigating the establishment of a private school for profit? As the Minister of Rites, you have not only failed to adhere to New Confucianism and remove the unnecessary folk rituals, but you have also been dedicated to deepening the gap between the children of the nobles and the poor. Your heart should be condemned. Guards, remove Wang Chengye’s official seal.”

Upon receiving the order, the imperial guards at the entrance of the hall walked up to Wang Chengye and removed his official seal.

In the Empire, officials must wear an official seal in addition to their official robes. Once the official seal is removed, it means the official has been dismissed.

Ge Yiren was subtly advised by Xiao Ming to retire, and Wang Chengye was directly dismissed. The entire Ministry of Rites might be abolished.

Such drastic actions scared the officials badly. They understood that the Emperor was serious this time.

Fei Ji had been kneeling on the ground the entire time. Now his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He was glad that he had clarified his relationship with Fei Tong in time, otherwise he would probably be among those who were in trouble this time.

After dealing with Ge Yiren and Wang Chengye, Xiao Ming returned to his seat. He said loudly, “I know that there are definitely more than just a few people who support running private schools. I also know that there are more than just a few officials like Li Ran who are corrupt and break the law. As the saying goes, ‘a falling leaf is a sign of autumn.’ If this is the case in Qingzhou, where I am stationed, how much worse is the rest of the world?”

Sighing deeply, Xiao Ming said, “Remember this: the fact that you are still standing in this court today is not my merit, but the merit of the tens of thousands of hard-working people and the soldiers who died for the country. Today, I will make my position clear. I will personally interrogate Fei Tong’s case, and I will also make a statement regarding the distinction between the noble and the common.”

After a moment of thought, he said, “Fei Tong’s assault seems to be just a fight, but it is actually an eruption of the conflict between the powerful and the poor. Today it is just two people fighting. In the future, it might be the entire country fighting with each other. For the sake of the Empire’s prosperity and foundation, I declare to the world that the establishment of private schools is prohibited.”

“Your Majesty is wise.” Pang Yukun was overjoyed.

Zhan Xingchang then said, “Your Majesty, although private schools are prohibited, the conflict between students in the schools still cannot be resolved. The root cause of this is the ideology of the distinction between the noble and the common. I believe that the government decree that the status of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants is not to be distinguished between noble and common should be re-emphasized.”

Xiao Ming nodded. He said, “The government decree is only one aspect. Concrete actions are what can truly solve this problem. In terms of law, economy, education, and policy, all special privileges enjoyed by the nobility must be completely abolished. At the same time, we must vigorously promote the idea of equality, so that the common people will no longer feel that they are inferior. Most importantly, we must break the solidification of social classes and give all the people of the world a channel for upward mobility. Therefore, from this day forward, the Empire’s system for selecting officials must change, and it must change drastically.”

With that, he motioned to Qian Dafu.

Qian Dafu then walked down with a bundle of documents in his arms and distributed one copy to each of the officials in the court.

Pang Yukun and the others took the documents and read them carefully, immediately showing surprise.

“The Empire’s official selection examination system!” Pang Yukun read out.

“That’s right. Starting this year, the Empire will fully implement the official selection examination system. All students who have a graduation certificate from a university are eligible to participate in the official selection examination. Students who pass the examination can be assigned to various official positions according to their scores and majors. Since some officials are taking the Empire’s money without doing their jobs, they can get out and make way for those who are serious about their work.” Xiao Ming said.

Yang Chengye said, “Your Majesty, an examination can only prove a person’s knowledge, but it cannot prove a person’s character. To be a good official, both knowledge and character are indispensable, and character is even more important. I believe that it is inappropriate to select officials based only on knowledge.”

Xiao Ming smiled. He had been thinking about this problem. The official selection examination he had introduced was somewhat similar to the modern civil service examination, but it was not limited to that.

“What Minister Yang said is reasonable. Therefore, I have prepared two methods. First, those who pass the exam will have a special department that will visit their schools and hometowns to gather evaluations from their neighbors, friends, and classmates. Anyone with a bad record will not be hired. Only those who are qualified in both aspects can be appointed as officials.”

“Your Majesty is wise.” Yang Chengye was relieved. In his opinion, the Emperor’s action this time combined the currently popular examination system with the former system of recommending filial and incorruptible officials.

In this way, while ensuring the officials’ level of knowledge, it could also control the officials’ level of character.

Zhan Xingchang said, “If the official selection system is implemented, even the children of the powerful must pass the examination to enter the court. In this way, the competition between the children of the poor and the children of the powerful will be based on knowledge, not status. And if a powerful family has no children who can enter officialdom, they will naturally decline after one or two generations. This is what is meant by social mobility.”

The officials in the court who came from humble backgrounds were naturally overjoyed by this policy, while the conservative officials were grief-stricken, because this meant that the scholar-gentry class would completely disappear.

In the past, the scholar-gentry class almost monopolized the resources for studying. The children of the scholar-gentry class could study in private schools, and they were taught by famous scholars. They also had many connections to enter officialdom and were easily promoted, while the children of the poor were the opposite.

Now that Xiao Ming had prohibited private schools, it was tantamount to destroying their resources. The official selection examination also destroyed their network of connections. With this, the soil for the survival of the scholar-gentry class would completely disappear.

When their own official careers ended, their sons might no longer be able to enter officialdom and would have to go into business, work in factories, or farm.

Xiao Ming looked at the expressions of the ministers with interest. This was just the first step he was taking to lead the Empire towards modernization. There was still a long way to go, and there were still many exciting reforms to be made.

However, he was also a little worried. This time he had dealt with the powerful families so badly. If it caused a backlash, there might be a lot of trouble.

But since he had already made up his mind, he would not turn back. He had dared to risk his life to execute the powerful families of Qingzhou back then, and he was just as ready to fight the powerful families of today.

“You all can take the content of the government decree back and read it slowly. What are your opinions on this vicious incident caused by Fei Tong?”

Pang Yukun said, “Your Majesty, Fei Tong has committed a crime. He should be punished the same as a commoner. He should be charged with attempted murder. According to the Empire’s law, Fei Tong should be exiled three thousand

li and sentenced to hard labor. As for Fei Yuhe and Fei Pei, who bribed officials and formed factions, they should be thoroughly investigated and punished according to the law based on the results.”

Xiao Ming looked at Fei Ji. “Elder Fei, what do you think?”

Fei Ji was soaked in cold sweat. Wiping away the cold sweat, he said, “I believe what Chief Grand Secretary Pang said is absolutely correct. I hope Your Majesty will punish them severely. I will not be lenient.”

Xiao Ming showed a satisfied smile. His objectives for this incident had all been achieved.