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November 21, the first year of Qin Dynasty.
The red sun was rising, shining brightly. Qin Mu was dressed in a black royal robe, with a sword at his waist, standing on a high step. The cabinet assistants, six ministers and other ministers were listed on both sides.
The brightly dressed warriors in front of the palace held flags and held flags, majestic and mighty, making the scene more solemn and solemn.
Three hundred and sixty-two tributes, led by officials from the Ministry of Rites, filed in, paid homage to Qin Mu on the high stairs, and shouted: "My king has been ordered by heaven to live a long and prosperous life."
After Qin Mu raised his hand to tell everyone to stand up, he said loudly: "You are all one-in-a-thousand talents, the hope of the Qin Dynasty. In today's imperial examination, I hope that you can use what you have learned to make a more brilliant statement and serve as the foundation of the Qin Dynasty." Let’s start by offering advice to the country!”
There was only one policy test in the palace examination, so Qin Mu had a "discussion". Hundreds of tributes paid their respects again, and then, regardless of ranking, everyone sat in the courtyard under the bright winter sun and began the examination.
The topic of this palace examination was given by Qin Mu himself. The topic was: Jia Yi's theory of five baits and three forms, which Ban Gu ridiculed. However, Qin and Mu tried to use it to dominate Xirong, and Zhongxing also used it to warn Shanyu, and his theory was not ineffective; Zhuge Liang used his technique without the intention of promoting Shang, Wang Anshi used the actual application of Shang but concealed his theory; Westerners China often gains benefits in the name of preserving land, and China often loses benefits in the name of being a heavenly country.
This question is actually a three-in-one question, requiring the tributes to discuss issues in three aspects.
The first aspect is the knowledge of Pingrong: "Jia Yi's theory of five baits and three forms was ridiculed by Ban Gu. However, Qin and Mu tried to use it to dominate the Xirong, and Zhongxing also used Jie Shanyu. His theory was not ineffective."
Jia Yi was a famous scholar in the Han Dynasty. He wrote "On the Passage of Qin" and wrote a memorial to Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty to propose strategies for defending against the Huns. The "five baits and three tables" in his strategy roughly mean:
It was to give the Xiongnu some delicious food, beauties, luxurious houses, property, slaves, and use some advanced things as bait to lure the Xiongnu to surrender. After they surrendered, the emperor himself would mingle with them, drink wine for them personally, and let the Xiongnu surrender. They will be so moved that they will bow their heads and bow. The Three Tables require Emperor Wen of Han to set an example for the world. Conquer people with virtue.
Ban Gu, the author of "Han Shu", ridiculed Jia Yi for these tactics as a result of scholarly ambition. It is unrealistic and empty talk will harm the country.
But the fact is that Duke Mu of Qin did rely on wealth and beautiful women to lure Xirong to join him; King Gou Jian of Yue also used beauty Xi Shi to make Wu fall. That would only make the Huns weak. It shows that the Bank of China also believes that Jia Yi's tactics pose a great threat to the Xiongnu.
The first of Qin Mu's questions was to let the tributes discuss their skills. In the end, was Jia Yi right or Ban Gu was right
The second aspect is about the issue of reform and governing the country: "Zhuge Liang did not have the intention to apply for Shang Dynasty but used his tactics; Wang Anshi used the actual intention of applying for Shang Dynasty but concealed his name."
Shen Shang refers to Shen Buhai and Shang Yang during the Warring States Period. Famous for his reform, he is a representative figure of Legalism. This means that Zhuge Liang was not a Legalist, but he used Legalist strategies for governing the country. Wang Anshi also used Legalist theories to implement reforms, but he did not talk about it and kept it secret.
Qin Mu asked the tributes to discuss why Zhuge Liang and Wang Anshi were like this, and to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each school in governing the country.
The third aspect can be classified as a matter of diplomatic strategy: "Westerners often gain real interests in the name of preserving land, while China often seeks the name of a great country but lose real interests."
The general idea is that Westerners pay more attention to practical interests, while China pays more attention to fame than wealth. The two are superior and inferior. Let the tributes also discuss this aspect.
This three-in-one issue involves all aspects of military, political, economic, and diplomatic issues, and was the result of Qin Mu's hard work;
Especially the last question seems very simple, but I believe that no such question has been asked in the imperial examination since ancient times. Qin Mu hopes that through this question, scholars can open their eyes to see the world and compare Chinese culture with Western culture. Always looking at your toes.
The tributes had one day to write policy papers, and Qin Mu was looking forward to getting some insights from them.
Including Fu Shan, the chief examiner of the examination, cabinet ministers, six ministers, and Hanlin scholar Gu Yanwu, they all couldn't help but look at Qin Mu with admiration when they saw the question Qin Mu asked.
This question is very important, covering ancient and modern times, China and foreign countries, as well as military, political and economic reforms. If the candidate can only memorize some eight-legged essays, he will definitely be blinded by such a question.
After the exam started, Qin Mu walked slowly among the candidates with his hands clasped behind his back, hoping to see some unique insights. Generally speaking, the palace examination was usually just a formality, and most emperors only appeared for show, allowing the tribute students to They are just classified as "disciples of the Emperor".
But Qin Mu not only thought carefully about the questions, but also planned to read every candidate's answer sheet carefully. When he passed by the table of Han Jing, who ranked first in the examination, he saw him immersed in writing.
Qin Mu stopped and looked at it, and saw something on his answer sheet:
"My husband, the Son of Heaven, controls all the barbarians in Zhongxia and has his own way to strengthen the country and the people. Those who govern well cannot be sure that the enemy can be defeated, but can only be invincible. They can make strong neighbors and cunning enemies take advantage of them, and they are awe-inspiring but dare not attack. , then the world will be at peace. If you lead people to take advantage of the evil, this so-called wisdom of breaking through the nest is not a great plan for the king to strengthen himself. I read the biography of Jia Yi in the Han Dynasty, and it is in the fifth chapter. The exposition is cut but not written, and it is still ridiculed and sparse, so as to serve as a warning to future generations. Therefore, I lamented that Ban's book was the most refined and the knowledge was far away."
The general meaning of Han Jing's remarks can be understood this way: to make iron, you have to be strong yourself. Is it the way to strengthen yourself by relying on crooked ways to lure other countries into corruption
Qin Mu went back to Sima Kai's table and saw that one of the paragraphs he had written was:
"I say that the hegemony of Mu Gong was improving the state affairs. Since the state's power was solid, the art of diplomacy was unsuitable. Moreover, at that time, the people in the world were using deceitful power to gain power. At the same time, Qin was also intervening in Rong and Di, carrying out its cunning plans to gain power. It can be beneficial for a while. If the Xiongnu were in the Han Dynasty, even if they were good men, they would not suddenly become weak. Why, the Xiongnu were located in the northern border, and they were fierce and fierce by nature. It was not just due to their customs. If the Han Dynasty does not plan its own way to defend itself against aggression, but is dedicated to bringing out good things to weaken the country, I am afraid that the wealth will be exhausted and the invaders from the border counties will be able to plunder it."
From Sima Kai's point of view, he also believed that if the Han Dynasty did not seek self-improvement and seek ways to defend itself against the enemy, but instead used wealth, beauty, and beauty to squander the country, it would probably give away all the shorts, and the enemies on the border would continue to plunder. This is basically the same view as Han Jing.
Qin Mu was quite satisfied after seeing it. In fact, Jia Yi's approach was not wrong. The key depends on the circumstances under which you implement such a strategy. If Qin Mugong is not strong, it is impossible for Xirong to surrender by sending a few beauties. In the same way, if Gou Jian, the king of Yue, had not used Fan Li to govern the country and made it strong, sending Xi Shi would have been in vain.
This is the way to cultivate governance to strengthen oneself. This is the art of bringing out beautiful and good things in order to exhaust people's country. It is right to use Tao and art together and complement each other.
Qin Mu walked slowly, stopping from time to time to look at the test papers of the tributes. Some people were so nervous that they were sweating, but some people just wished that Qin Mu stopped at their table and never left.
When Qin Mu passed by a tribute man named Chen Zhenyuan, he found that he had already answered the second question and saw that he wrote:
"There is no greater problem in the world than not having power over the current situation, but pursuing the name of broad-mindedness and generosity. Although the art of applying business and Confucianism is not Taoism, the current situation is worth it, and it is unavoidable. Those who are good at serving the country will not dare to follow the rules and scruples, and cause harm to the country. The world is prone to unexpected disasters..."
In Qin Mu's view, his point of view was quite acceptable, so he stopped to take a closer look. Chen Zhenyuan was out of control and wrote nearly a thousand words eloquently.
He not only discussed the difficulties of Zhuge Liang and Wang Gongshi's reform, but Qin Mu concluded that his thoughts were based on Confucianism as the skin, Taoism as the flesh, and law as the bones. Although this meaning is expressed very implicitly, that is the meaning behind it.
At present, he can definitely be regarded as an outlier. Qin Mu personally also tends to Taoism and Legalism. Needless to say Legalism, Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" can be regarded as the crystallization of Xia Hua's highest wisdom. , at least Qin Mu thinks so.
During the Han and Tang dynasties, when the country was at its most powerful, Taoist strategies were used to govern the country. The "governing by inaction" advocated by Taoism is by no means really inaction.
Qin Mu would rather superficially understand "governing by doing nothing" as meaning that the official government has less control over people's thoughts, allowing various ideas and doctrines to collide freely, and less distinguishing between what is noble and what is miraculous and obscene. .
On the other hand, it means decentralizing power and less dictating all walks of life...
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ps: Thanks to Big Head Fish 12 for the generous reward, thank you.
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.(To be continued...)
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