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The assistant officials in the Qin army are indeed special. They usually have a high level of cultural literacy, and in terms of their duties, their responsibilities are also civilian.
But they are indeed soldiers because they received a military-style education in military academies.
Moreover, the assistant officials were not necessarily limited to holding civilian positions in the military. Many of them relied on their command abilities to become generals and directly commanded the army in combat.
There is no insurmountable boundary between their civilian and military positions in the army.
They have high cultural literacy and have received a military education, so they are often more efficient than those orthodox civil servants who have memorized the Four Books and Five Classics and passed the imperial examinations.
If they were allowed to move from being generals to being prime ministers and serve as civil servants in the court, they should be fully capable of doing the job and even better.
If we can find another way out in this regard, then the importance and irreplaceability of the imperial examination system will gradually be shaken. Once this point is shaken, things will be easier.
To reform the imperial examination system would be tantamount to disturbing the cheese of scholars all over the world. It goes without saying that there would be great resistance. If it is done too hastily, it would likely lead to a loss of morale and even chaos in the world.
Qin Mu was walking on thin ice regarding this matter, being very cautious and not daring to reveal a word to the ministers in the court.
As the saying goes: "The origin of chaos is words. If the ruler is not discreet, he will lose his ministers; if the ministers are not discreet, they will be corrupted; if the plan is not discreet, harm will be done. Therefore, the gentleman is cautious and does not speak out.
Therefore, Qin Mu did not even dare to let his most trusted ministers know about it, and he did not dare to use the usual method of using public opinion in the "Da Qin Times" to create momentum. He could only be cautious and infiltrate little by little through other channels.
On this day, during the regular court session in Xuanzheng Hall, when the vacant position of the head of the Ministry of Personnel was being discussed, the censor Li Si suggested that Li Guowei, the chief official under the Central Military Governor's Office, should fill the vacancy.
This proposal made the court silent for a while, and Qin Mu said at the right time: "Li Guowei is a former Ming Dynasty Juren. He is smart and capable, and is in charge of the Central Military Governor's Office's examination of merits and rewards and punishments. He knows how to appoint people and completes his job very well. The Central Military Governor's Office is rated as excellent every year. Let him transfer to the Ministry of Personnel, which is also in charge of the examination of merits, which is just right. I think Li Yushi's recommendation is feasible. What do you think, ministers?"
In the Song and Ming dynasties, it was common for civil officials to hold military posts. However, it was not easy for a military officer to switch to a civil position.
For example, Di Qing of the Song Dynasty had made great military achievements. The emperor liked him very much and appointed him as the Privy Councilor. The Privy Councilor was in charge of the power to mobilize troops in the Song Dynasty. Strictly speaking, this still belongs to the category of "military".
It was just because in the Song Dynasty, the Privy Council had always been controlled by civil officials, and was regarded as their own private property by civil officials, and military generals could not touch it.
As soon as Di Qing took office as Privy Councilor, he was immediately attacked by the civil service group. Even Ouyang Xiu and others accused Di Qing of being a traitor. Not long after Di Qing took office as Privy Councilor, he was forced to resign. He died in depression.
In the Ming Dynasty, almost all "supervisors" were civil officials, such as Wang Yangming, Sun Chuanting, Yuan Chonghuan, etc. All of them were civil officials in charge of military positions. However, it was extremely difficult for military generals to enter the ranks of civil officials.
As soon as Qin Mu opened his mouth, he emphasized that Li Guowei was a juren of the former Ming Dynasty. This at least offset the concerns of many civil servants in the court. After all, although juren could not be compared with jinshi, they were still "literati" after all, and Li Guowei's political achievements in the Central Army Governor's Office were genuinely good and well-known.
Its main duty in the army is to evaluate performance, which is actually not much different from the performance evaluation of the Ministry of Personnel, except that one is a military system and the other is a civil service system.
Even so, some officials still objected. Ma Yuan, the official in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, came out holding a hu tablet and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Personnel has always been the head of the six ministries..."
"Lord Ma, I want to correct you. My Great Qin has not six tribes, but seven tribes." Qin Mu interrupted Ma Yuan calmly, and a low laugh was heard in the court.
Ma Yuan was quite embarrassed and his momentum weakened. He could only apologize and said, "I made a mistake in my words. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"I have always emphasized the importance of diplomacy. Now it seems that many ministers still unconsciously ignore the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is inappropriate! I don't want you to make the same mistake as Mr. Ma again. Okay, Mr. Ma, I will forgive you this time. If you have anything to say, please continue."
Ma Yuan was now even more embarrassed. The emperor was so magnanimous, how could he turn his back on him and oppose the emperor's opinion immediately? He was a little embarrassed, but still said reluctantly: "I thank your majesty for not punishing me. I think that the Ministry of Personnel is the head of the seven... seven ministries, with great power and responsibility. The head of the Ministry of Personnel is in charge of the performance evaluation of all officials, so the people in charge should be more cautious.
Although Li Guowei is also in charge of the performance appraisal in the Central Military Commandery, it is different from the Ministry of Personnel. Therefore, I think that we should select another capable person to take up the post of the head of the Ministry of Personnel. I recommend Pang Yue, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Pang Yue has been in charge of the Ministry of Personnel for many years and is very familiar with the affairs of the ministry. During his tenure, he was brave in taking on responsibilities and had outstanding political achievements. He is a rare talent. I think Pang Yue is more suitable to take over the post of the head of the Ministry of Personnel. "
After Ma Yuan finished speaking, many people immediately seconded his opinion. Qin Mu knew Pang Yue, and he was indeed a talent. To be honest, it was not a bad idea for Ma Yuan to recommend him.
But Qin Mu wanted to transfer Li Guowei to the Ministry of Personnel in order to open a small door. If he didn't achieve his goal, he would not give up. He calmly asked Liu Boquan, the Grand Secretary of the Dongge and the Minister of Revenue, "Mr. Liu, who do you think is suitable?"
Liu Boquan immediately replied: "Your Majesty, Pang Yue is indeed a talented person who can be cultivated and may be a pillar of the court in the future. However, he is still young. I think he should be allowed to gain experience for another two years. If he is promoted to a higher position suddenly, it may harm such a talented person. Therefore, I think it is better to let Li Guowei take the position of head of the Ministry of Personnel first."
Qin Mu remained calm and asked the Prime Minister Sima An, "What do you think, Lord Sima?"
Sima An is an old man with great wisdom. Qin Mu asked Liu Boquan first and then asked him. Isn’t the meaning obvious? Li Guowei was also a juren, so why bother to make things difficult for the emperor over this matter
Then Sima An said, "I think what Minister Liu said makes sense. I second your opinion."
"In that case, the position of head of the Ministry of Personnel will be taken over by Li Guowei."
Qin Mu cut the Gordian knot and immediately settled the matter as soon as he got the approval of the two cabinet ministers. Because Li Guowei had entered the military from a civil official and then returned to a civil official, everyone could barely accept it and the matter did not trigger a fierce dispute between the civil and military officials.
But as the saying goes, a small hole can easily break the dam. Some things can be much easier to deal with if a small hole is opened. As long as the water seeps in slowly along this small hole, it will eventually break through the dam.
It seems that the teaching content of military academies needs to be gradually increased, and administrative management courses should be offered. The purpose is to manage the army, but in fact it is a disguised way to cultivate professional administrative management talents, and gradually reduce the dependence on the imperial examination system for selecting officials.
As for allowing the winners of the Royal Science Award to obtain the qualifications to serve as officials, Qin Mu did not mention this matter for the time being.
In fact, to be honest, there are two types of officials: technical and administrative. Not all science award winners are suitable for being officials. Most of those who are truly devoted to scientific research have no intention of being officials.
It is not suitable to become an official just by studying mathematics, physics and chemistry. People who study these natural sciences may not be as good as those who study the Four Books and Five Classics in being an official.
Therefore, using official positions to lure scholars to study mathematics, physics and chemistry may only lead to another deformed social form.
Instead of doing this, it would be better to give the official position equal or similar status, such as the title and honor of academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in later generations.
Increasing material rewards will improve the treatment and visibility of natural science researchers in disguise, and their social status will inevitably improve gradually.
Just like Li Yi, he was just the son of a craftsman, but because he won the Royal Science Award, he became a hot figure for a while, and matchmakers rushed to his house, which was even more lively than the competition to find a son-in-law from the list.
But the Royal Science Prize cannot be sold all over the streets like cabbages, otherwise it will be worthless.
But just a few award winners are not enough to meet the demand.
Establish a Royal Academy of Sciences, and let the royal family support a large number of top talents in natural sciences, cite some of the professorial qualification ratings of later generations, and let them enjoy some treatment corresponding to officials, or special allowances and the like.
Then publicize more of their deeds in newspapers and indirectly improve their social status by increasing their popularity.
This should be enough to reverse the abnormal situation where no one cares about mathematics, physics and chemistry.
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.(To be continued..)
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