On the 8th of May, the weather was fine. Early in the morning, hundreds of county magistrates newly appointed by the Ministry of Personnel appeared in Hanyuan Palace.
They were very excited. Some people didn't want to be minor officials, but they thought it was fine.
Li Longji sat on the throne and accepted the county magistrates' salutes.
He slowly said, "You are the foundation of the Tang dynasty. Where you are, you will be safe; where you do, you will be comforted.
The education and livelihood of the local people are all in your hands. Today, I want to see what you can do if you want to pacify the people. "
The eunuchs shouted out Li Longji's words.
The other maids carried the four treasures of the study to the small tables of the newly appointed county magistrates and put them down.
Then, they helped spread out the paper, moistened the brushes, and ground the ink.
The county magistrates understood and asked them to write the policy of pacifying the people.
Some county magistrates took the brushes and bowed their heads to write. Some were trembling and holding the brushes for a long time, unable to write.
The officials in Hanyuan Palace wiped their sweat. The weather was hot. It was hot early in the morning.
Yao Chong's face was cold as he glanced at the county magistrates.
His Majesty obviously had a purpose. He wouldn't joke. What did those who didn't write mean?
"Ask, why don't you write?" Li Longji said.
A eunuch ran over and looked at the name on the table. He asked, "County Magistrate Xie Yun, His Majesty asked you why you don't write."
The brush in Xie Yun's hand fell on the paper with a clatter. The paper turned black.
He knelt down. "I, I don't know how to write."
The others were in a similar situation. Some said they didn't know how to write, and some said they couldn't think of how to write.
Li Longji took out the loudspeaker. "Good, good county magistrates. Those who can't read, and those who can read, I want to see what you can write."
He waited. The policy of pacifying the people was the foundation of local officials. It was not a profound knowledge.
Just like Li Yi, the newly appointed county magistrate, when asked how he was going to teach the people, the officials began to blabber.
Basic skills. If they didn't even know this, how did the Ministry of Personnel choose them?
The officials of the Ministry of Personnel were sweating profusely. The backs of their clothes were soaked.
What if they were caught by His Majesty? Once again, it was quite urgent.
After waiting for an entire hour, some of the officials were still writing. They had not even written a hundred words in total.
"Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, go take a look for yourselves. Present the good ones to me." Li Longji continued to shout through the loudspeaker.
The officials from the Ministry of Personnel ran over and looked at them one by one. Fortunately, none of them were illiterate.
Some of them wanted to kick the new county magistrate to death.
In the evening, Li Longji went to the Li Family Zhuangzi with his wife and children.
He drank a mouthful of wine, "Brother Yi, today His Majesty asked the newly appointed county magistrate to write a policy to pacify the people at Hanyuan Hall. Guess what the result was?"
"Someone doesn't know how to write?" Li Yi guessed.
"That's right. You don't even know how to write. You're even worse than the farmers in Zhuangzi."
Li Longji said as he picked up the food. His chopsticks trembled slightly. Obviously, he was angry.
"The farmers in Zhuangzi also don't know how to write a policy to pacify the people. However, a few of the managers can write one. Usually, they have to manage the manpower and are good at talking."
Li Yi smiled and filled their cups with wine.
"How can this be?" Li Longji could not understand.
"Actually, people who don't know how to write may not be able to be county magistrate.
If you ask them to write, they can't write. If you ask them to speak, they can speak.
There are many villagers who are illiterate, but they can manage the village well.
Illiterate county magistrates, or those who are illiterate, as long as someone helps them write, they can manage the county well under certain circumstances. "
Li Yi did not kill him. In theory, the county magistrate must know how to write a policy to pacify the people, including being literate.
At that time, there was an illiterate village chief who managed the village well.
Of course, there was nothing after that. He needed to look at documents. How could an illiterate person do it?
"Someone from the Ministry of Personnel must be dealt with." Li Longji already had a candidate in mind. He will deal with whoever is in charge.
However, he will not kill them. He will make them the Provincial Governor of a lower province.
This shows that the Tang dynasty still lacks officials. There is not enough talent in the Imperial Examination every year.
Li Yi thought of this problem. "Third Brother, when the dictionary comes out and more people learn Pinyin, we can relax the requirements for the Imperial Examination."
"How?" Li Longji did not continue to ask about the county magistrate.
"The Imperial Examination now requires five questions on current affairs, five fill-in-the-blanks questions, and one extra question on poetry or prose. If you answer two questions wrong, you will not be admitted.
It can be changed to 50 fill-in-the-blanks questions, 50 multiple-choice questions, and also essay questions, noun explanation questions, etc.
If you take more, you will be given a few points for each question. If you have enough points, you can be an official.
Currently, many students don't know what to do because they can't pass the Imperial Examination. Some went to teach, and some wrote poems all day.
If they can't pass the Imperial Examination, it doesn't mean they don't have the ability to govern. "
Li Yi looked at it from another perspective. If you can't pass the Imperial Examination, it doesn't mean you can't manage a company well.
They are just not good at the Imperial Examination. If they are tested on other aspects and are given an official position, they might be surprised.
"Is this feasible?" Li Longji had not tried it before.
"Zhuangzi's Manager, Song De, had failed the Imperial Examination a few times. Look at him now. Who can you say he is worse than?"
Li Yi had a ready-made example of Song De.
Song De could take the Imperial Examination this year, and he might even pass.
Li Changshou had seen through Song De.
He was in charge of this and that every day. Li Yi let go of most of the matters in the manor.
Song De was not only in charge of Zhuangzi, but he could also promote people to take care of it.
"He is better than those county magistrates." Li Longji thought of Song De. He had to admit that Song De could even be a Provincial Governor now.
Such a person had failed the Imperial Examination a few times, so he had to come to Zhuangzi to find work.
"Give them an official position in the Outer Nine Streams. Just like the 220 students in Zhuangzi this year, throw them to the village to help.
Tell them to help manage the village well and give them a promotion.
No matter how bad they are, they are not ordinary people since they were chosen by the Provincial Government to take the Imperial Examination. "
Li Yi told Li Changshou about the background of the students who took the Imperial Examination.
Li Longji thought of Li Yi's words and drank slowly, considering the feasibility.
Those who failed the Imperial Examination were not ordinary people. Some people were talented but unlucky.
Some of them gave up and felt ashamed when they returned to their hometown. Some of them just found a job and stayed like that for the rest of their lives.
"Third Brother, ask the students who failed the Imperial Examination and did not leave Chang 'an if they are willing to put down their pride and be a low-level official."
Li Yi persuaded again. Anyway, none of the students in Zhuangzi could run away today. They had to go.
"Okay, let's talk to His Majesty." Li Longji agreed.
The next morning, he went back to the Imperial Court happily. He did not care about the County Magistrate anymore.
There were more students who failed the Imperial Examination and could write policies to pacify the people. Were they not better than those newly appointed County Magistrates?
Li Longji found that the Tang dynasty did not lack talents. What they lacked was opportunities for talents.
When other things were over, he called Yao Chong and the other two.
"What do you think of Steward Song De of the Li Family Zhuangzi?" Li Longji asked the three.
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