Holding the Emperor Hostage : Chapter 85: The Imperial Examinations

After the Lantern Festival, the New Year celebrations were finally over. Even someone as exalted as the Emperor could not escape the dreary routine of punching the clock at work.

As the spring air still carried a bitter chill, Yin Shuhuai did not want to return to Jixian County to freeze, so he ordered all civil and military officials to gather for discussions at the hot spring palace. Following established tradition, the residences next to the palace were granted to the highly respected top ministers and favored officials trusted by Yin Shuhuai. This was done to save the officials from braving the chilly wind while commuting back and forth between Jixian County and the hot spring palace.

Having been influenced by this behavior over the years, the civil and military officials were long used to the Emperor’s deeply ingrained traits of extreme luxury, laziness, and a fondness for comfort. Besides, soaking in hot springs genuinely helped with health and wellness, especially for elderly officials and military generals nursing old battle wounds. Soaking every day made their bodies feel much more at ease. They were more than eager to stay by the palace, as nobody was a fool; when given a comfortable life, who would choose to suffer?

Amidst all this enjoyment, the officials gave thanks for the Emperor’s grace, whether sincerely or feigned. For a moment, the relationship between the ruler and his subjects actually looked quite harmonious. Unfortunately, this illusion of mutual harmony did not last long before it was shattered by a memorial from Imperial Censor Zhao Bushi.

It was during the first grand court assembly after the start of the new year that Imperial Censor Zhao Bushi submitted a memorial to the Emperor, earnestly requesting the court to follow the example of Jiangnan and Sichuan by promoting the imperial examination system for selecting talent throughout the entire realm.

This memorial was like a drop of cold water falling into a pan of hot oil, and the civil and military officials, still basking in the festive mood of the New Year, completely exploded. Their very first reaction upon snapping back to their senses was to fiercely scold Zhao Bushi for throwing the court administration into chaos. “You are trying to destroy the very foundation of our Great Yin Dynasty!”

“Ever since the founding Emperor established the Yin Dynasty, our Great Yin has selected officials through the recommendation of filial and incorruptible scholars. The fundamental purpose of this is to evaluate the moral character of scholars. Only those who stand out in both virtue and talent may enter official service. Yet now you want the Emperor to change course and select people solely based on talent. Do you not realize that if people with talent but no virtue attain high positions, they will only bring disaster to the common people? If this continues for long, our Great Yin will be in grave peril.”

“The laws of our ancestors cannot be changed. If you dare to spread heretic words to bewilder the Emperor once more, I will surely lead all the civil and military officials to the ancestral temple to weep before the founding Emperor. Surely the spirit of the founding Emperor in heaven will not let you off, you rebellious traitor who brings calamity to the country and the people.”

Faced with the attacks and accusations from the aristocratic families and nobility, Zhao Bushi argued his case with forceful logic. He stated plainly that his memorial to the Emperor requesting the promotion of imperial examinations across all commanderies was not driven by selfish motives. Rather, he had witnessed the changes after the imperial examinations were implemented in Jiangnan and Sichuan, where the court had indeed gained a considerable amount of talent, particularly among grassroots local officials.

“You lot only claim that the imperial examinations focus solely on talent without paying attention to moral character, raising the dangerous risk of throwing the government into chaos. But can you guarantee that every single official who enters service through the recommendation of filial and incorruptible scholars is utterly upright, clean, and selfless?”

At this point, Zhao Bushi let out a cold laugh. “If that were truly the case, how should we explain the rebellions in the four prefectures that broke out a few years ago?”

The aristocratic families and nobility were left completely speechless simply because Zhao Bushi’s examples were undeniable facts. Yet they were still unconvinced. “The recommendation system is our dynastic ancestral rule. Local senior officials evaluate the moral character and learning of local scholars and recommend them for office. If a scholar makes mistakes after entering government service, the official who recommended him must also bear responsibility. The imperial examinations, however, only look at a candidate’s academic learning while ignoring their personal character. If such people commit wrongdoings after entering official service, who does the court hold responsible?”

Zhao Bushi argued back with strong reasoning: “Naturally, we hold the wrongdoer responsible. Reprimands, demotions, execution of the entire family, extermination of the nine familial clans… The court has laws, and they should be dealt with according to the law.”

As the aristocratic families and nobility prepared to object further, Zhao Bushi simply laid his cards on the table. The court had now recovered the Western Regions Protectorate and brought the vast Western Regions back under the territory of the Yin Dynasty. This was a wonderful thing. However, after Prince Yan led a great army to expand the borders, those conquered lands also required the court to dispatch officials to govern them. If they did not hold imperial examinations to select talent, could they really expect the scions of aristocratic families to give up comfortable prefectural posts and travel thousands of miles to various places in the Western Regions to serve as grassroots officials?

As soon as these words were spoken, the aristocratic families and nobility who had just been fiercely objecting suddenly fell silent. The entire court of civil and military officials looked at one another in dismay. How could they not know that the court was currently facing a severe shortage of available men? Yet once the system of selecting officials through imperial examinations was widely promoted, the impact it would inflict on the recommendation system—upon which the aristocratic families and nobility relied for survival—would be equally fatal.

For the sake of their long-term survival, the aristocratic families and nobility instinctively tried to block the court from promoting the imperial examination system. At the same time, they knew that selecting talent through imperial examinations was an unstoppable trend across the realm. The Emperor of Yin had laid the groundwork for so many years: opening public and village schools everywhere, vigorously promoting printing technology and paper, and establishing new governance pilot projects in places like Jiangnan and Sichuan. He practically wanted to paste the words “this must be done” right across their faces. With such methodical progress step by step, coupled with the backing of Prince Yan, Shen Tu Yang, and hundreds of thousands of troops, how could it possibly be canceled just because they tried their utmost to oppose it?

Now, Zhao Bushi used “selecting grassroots officials to go to the Western Regions through imperial examinations” as an opening wedge, attempting to crack open a small breach in the recommendation system that the aristocratic families and nobility had guarded so tightly. This was just like a thousand-li embankment collapsing from an ant hole, and everyone could already foresee a future not far away where the imperial examination system would completely replace the recommendation system.

The diehards still wanted to put up a struggle, but Zhao Bushi shut them down with a single retort: “Then why don’t you send your own nephews and sons to the Western Regions?” Even though he knew Zhao Bushi was using psychological provocation, that official dared not agree to it. If he dared to consent to this, he would be completely disregarding the future of his family’s younger generation. Putting everything else aside, he probably would not even make it home tonight. But refusing to agree meant refusing to agree; the diehards even came up with a terrible idea, suggesting that grassroots officials should be selected across the Western Regions through the traditional recommendation method, using the high-sounding excuse of “using barbarians to govern barbarians.”

Shen Tu Yang, who had been sitting quietly in the hall without uttering a word, was so angered by these absurd and shameless remarks that he let out a laugh and directly challenged that person face-to-face: “Are you saying that while I led our soldiers through untold hardships to recover the Western Regions, you want to hand over such a vast territory on a silver platter simply for your own selfish interests?”

Shen Tu Yang rarely spoke up, but the moment he did, the diehards who had been bickering just a moment ago instantly fell into a dead silence.

Shen Tu Yang sneered, making the final ruling: “You don’t want to hold imperial examinations? Fine. Whoever doesn’t want to hold imperial examinations, step forward and let me have a look. I can send your entire family to the Western Regions to eat sand. Surely, with your loyal and devoted service, you won’t decline.”

“But the ancestral laws—”

Before the other party could finish speaking, Shen Tu Yang swept a murderous gaze across them. “Whoever dares to mention the ancestral laws of the Yin Dynasty to me again, I will send his entire family to meet the founding Emperor, which will save you the trouble of dragging your whole household to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to wail and mourn!”

When these words were uttered, the civil and military officials who had just been eager to try suddenly kept their mouths shut.

Shen Tu Yang waited for a moment, and seeing that no one spoke, he continued, “Does anyone else oppose the court’s promotion of the imperial examination system?”

The officials looked at one another before looking with indignation at the overbearing and unreasonable Prince Yan. Shen Tu Yang stared back with a defiant glare. None of the officials dared to meet his gaze, and they could only look longingly upward at the Emperor seated in the high position.

Yin Shuhuai smiled slightly. “It seems my esteemed ministers have no objections.”

The officials swallowed their grievances and remained silent.

Zhao Bushi immediately said, “Your Majesty is wise.”

After delivering the flattery, to prevent any complications from arising overnight, Zhao Bushi requested the Emperor to immediately set the date for the imperial examinations.

It was currently the second month. Judging by the territory actually controlled by the Yin Dynasty, the time required for a court imperial decree to reach various commanderies and prefectures ranged from three to five days at best, to three to five months at worst. This did not even account for communication errors, unexpected delays, or the probability of local commanderies failing to receive the decree on time. Adding the time it would take for scholars everywhere to see the decree and travel to the capital for the examinations… After intense deliberation among the ministers, the Emperor made an autocratic decision, setting the date for this imperial examination in May.

“What Your Majesty says is entirely correct.” As the Prime Minister, Shen Tu Yang naturally had the authority to appoint and dismiss court officials. He stepped forward to strongly back the Emperor, leaving everyone else with nothing to say. “The Western Regions Protectorate has just been recovered, and it urgently needs the court to dispatch officials to govern the region. This matter cannot be dragged out too long, lest rebellions breed across the Western Regions. Your humble minister believes that setting the examination time in May is just right. If some places are too far from the capital and candidates cannot rush over in time, then do not bother rushing them. Even if they rushed here, they might not necessarily pass. It would be better to let them stay home and study properly for another year, and come take the exams next year.”

Actually, Shen Tu Yang did not care when the imperial examinations were scheduled. He simply had a habit of stepping up to prop up the Emperor.

This kind of blind and eager flattery was too much to watch, even for the subordinate officials hailing from the Prince Yan’s estate.

A thought stirred in Yin Shuhuai’s mind, and he immediately brought out the later imperial examination system consisting of county examinations, prefectural examinations, academy examinations, provincial examinations, metropolitan examinations, and palace examinations, using this framework for the officials to discuss and formulate specific rules before rolling it out nationwide.

He also stated that the recommendation system was an ancestral rule of the Yin Dynasty and must not be easily abolished. Local senior officials still retained the duty of recommending filial and incorruptible scholars into office. The court’s selection of talent would still be primarily based on the recommendation system, while the imperial examination system would merely serve as a supplement, functioning mainly to fill any gaps. After all, local senior officials had limited quotas for recommending filial and incorruptible candidates every year. Over time, many capable scholars would naturally be left unable to enter official service due to the quota limits. By promoting the imperial examination system now, the court merely wanted to screen out these talented individuals who could not enter service through recommendation so they could be employed by the court, preventing wise talents from languishing outside and failing to achieve their ambitions.

Once these words were spoken, the previously resentful aristocratic families and nobility also had nothing more to say. Regardless of whether Yin Shuhuai said this as a delaying tactic to appease the aristocratic families or out of other considerations, the Emperor of Yin had at least publicly displayed an attitude that the royal family was willing to share governance of the realm with the aristocratic families. Even if the nobility felt dissatisfied, they lacked the power to stop the court from promoting the imperial examinations across various commanderies. They could only tightly control the pathways of the recommendation system. So what if scholars from humble backgrounds managed to enter official service through the imperial examinations? Without the patronage of influential nobles, they would only remain minor clerks for the rest of their lives.

Ultimately, this realm still belonged to the aristocratic families and nobility. Furthermore, what the Emperor said made some sense. The imperial examination system could indeed screen out talented scholars from humble backgrounds. As for whether those humble scholars, once screened out, would ultimately pledge loyalty to the Emperor or accept the olive branches extended by the aristocratic families—that remained to be seen.

Some old foxes were already silently calculating in their hearts. Since it was difficult for them to block the Emperor from promoting the imperial examination system, it did not mean there was nothing they could do. Their top priority was to find ways to meddle in the imperial examinations. If they truly spotted promising scholars from humble backgrounds, there was no harm in marrying off a few collateral daughters to them, after which those humble scholars would naturally become their own people.

And how could Yin Shuhuai not have calculated the thoughts of these aristocratic families and nobility?

The ruler and his subjects calculated against each other, yet maintained a profound tacit understanding.

And so, this opening grand court assembly which had been filled with controversy and should have stirred up a massive storm throughout the court and the public came to an anti-climactic close just like that.

At first glance, it even carried a somewhat harmonious and tacit understanding between the monarch and his subjects.