I Am Truly Not a Treacherous Minister Your Majesty

Chapter 7 Night Talk

Da Xia has its own talent selection system.

In fact, from Qin Ji’s perspective, Da Xia’s “wise selection” and imperial examination are not much different, except that the subjects are more open and detailed.

For example, military generals need to be tested on military strategy, geographical interpretation, formation interpretation, etc., and various skills related to warfare. Scholars are mainly tested on governance issues and some basic skills related to economics and accounting.

But these exams are only eligible for those who are either rich or noble, at least those with certain family assets.

This does not mean that Da Xia’s talent selection is all about favoritism, but many subjects in these exams require certain resources.

Take the military exam, for example, horse riding and archery. To pass these subjects, one must undergo training, but it is difficult for people from humble backgrounds to obtain standard training resources.

For example, the exam requires archery skills, and a bow that meets the training requirements is not cheap. You can’t avoid buying it, otherwise, it will be difficult to adapt to the military bows provided in the exam.

Moreover, archery often requires a teacher, which is another expense. Ordinary families spend the whole year just striving for subsistence, where would they get the money to let their children practice horse riding and archery? Even if there are some exceptionally gifted ones who can use military bows, they would certainly have to endure much more hardship than ordinary people and might not even achieve good results.

Therefore, every year, there are a large number of people who possess knowledge but cannot pass the exams due to financial difficulties.

These people have basic literacy and have acquired some knowledge, but instead, they become a burden to society—they have knowledge, but not outstanding; in terms of productive labor, they are not as good as those ordinary people who have been working since childhood. Many can only make a living by writing for others.

In this case, it would be better to assign these people to various parts of the country and let them be responsible for educating the populace.

“The fact that the common people have learned to read and write indeed greatly facilitates the implementation of my policies,” Xia Yuxiao acknowledged Qin Ji’s statement, but at the same time, she also expressed her own opinion, “But Qin Ji, you must understand, once the common people have learned to read and write, they might not be so easy to control.”

“Your Majesty, do you think it is better for the people of Da Xia to be baptized by the thoughts and ideas of Da Xia, or by the teachings of the Western Holy Church?”

“Naturally, it is better to be baptized by Da Xia.”

“Then Your Majesty must speed up.” Qin Ji smiled and said.

He did not continue, but Xia Yuxiao understood his meaning.

It is certainly easier to control the people if they are illiterate, but in this way, they are also more easily controlled by others—the Holy Church’s desire to preach in Da Xia has not yet ceased.

If the people are completely ignorant and have not received systematic indoctrination of Da Xia’s ideas, can they really remain calm in the face of the Holy Church’s almost fanatical preaching methods?

You must know, one of the main reasons why the Holy Church was able to operate stably in most countries in the early days was that knowledge was controlled by the church, and the church had absolute authority in interpreting doctrines.

What about the people of Da Xia? If they are truly illiterate and do not think at all, to be honest, the church could easily deceive them. Although the customs of Da Xia are deeply ingrained in the blood of its people, those customs could also be usurped by the Holy Church.

“I believe that it is not good for the people to know too much; however, it is also not good for them to know nothing,” Qin Ji lightly tapped the railing and said, “I once… once traveled to a country that has now perished, where the people remained ignorant, but precisely because of this, the people had no cohesion. When the country faced the danger of being plundered, the people turned a blind eye.”

“Because in their eyes, they were merely living for the sake of survival. Now, the people of Da Xia all admire Your Majesty, and this is precisely the time for Your Majesty to strengthen their loyalty to Da Xia. Our time is limited, if we allow the Holy Church to start preaching to us, the domestic situation might become chaotic again.”

“I do not think it is a good thing for the people to know too much.”

“It is a good thing for the people to know more, for a wise ruler like Your Majesty,” Qin Ji decisively chose to flatter her first before answering her question, “Of course, if it were a foolish ruler, the people knowing more would be a disaster for him. The problem does not lie in whether the people know more or less, but in whether Your Majesty can think for the sake of the country.”

Xia Yuxiao turned her head, gently lifted the stray hair by her ear, and then asked:

“Do you have a detailed implementation plan?”

“Yes.”

Qin Ji replied.

He indeed had a plan, but it was not his own creation. In fact, it was something that King Rongsheng realized at the end of his life.

Although King Rongsheng initially did a poor job in education, after a long period of contemplation, he had roughly figured out the method of implementing education.

Unfortunately, he did not have the opportunity to gradually improve his methods, and these plans eventually ended up in Qin Ji’s hands.

If he had not been so hasty, if he had acted more prudently, he might have become a famous figure in history. But he did not.

Having obtained these materials and plans organized by King Rongsheng, Qin Ji naturally conducted an in-depth study. He also made some modifications to make the plan more feasible.

“You have been busy with many things recently, and adding this matter might be too much of a burden,” Xia Yuxiao said to Qin Ji, “I have heard that you haven’t even had time to practice your martial arts lately.”

“This is my duty. Martial arts and the like are already ingrained in my body, I do not need much time to practice them. Compared to me, the stability of Da Xia is the top priority.”

“The Grand Marshal of the Empire, the highest military commander, not practicing martial arts is not acceptable, and you have been very tired lately,” Xia Yuxiao said, “How about this, you only need to provide a general plan, and the specific implementation can be handed over to the Prime Minister. You know, the Prime Minister has been quite idle lately. It would also help to lighten your burden a bit.”

“No problem, Your Majesty. In fact, I can establish a department specifically for managing this matter. As for the follow-up, the Prime Minister and I can select suitable leaders to run it, which would greatly save time for both the Prime Minister and me.” Qin Ji said.

The reason Qin Ji said this was partly because he indeed thought it would be easier to handle if a separate department was established, and partly because…

The emperor didn’t seem particularly keen on handing over the power of education to him.

Understandable, after all, Qin Ji did have a wide range of responsibilities. Military, politics, food security, and so on. Moreover, not long ago, he even took charge of the royal family affairs (although it was only a temporary position to get rid of Prince Rongsheng), and to this day, the real head of the royal family is still very angry with him.

If he could also control the education sector at will, he would really have to doubt whether his majesty’s brain was functioning properly.

Obviously, Xia Yuxiao also understood this, so she very decisively chose to hand over the power of education to others. From Qin Ji’s perspective, this was not a bad thing.

If possible, he didn’t want to be so busy every day. He could let the prime minister handle the education sector. But to say he would completely let them handle it was impossible.

I won’t directly participate, but there’s no problem if I recommend a few people, right? You have to give me some face.

Hmm, Uncle Cui’s child is quite good, I remember his name is Cui Yingchao, right? Although Uncle Cui was initially instructed by Xia Yuxiao to monitor me, it was out of necessity. Now Uncle Cui has returned to his hometown, and his son was recommended to the central government. It is said that he has been doing quite well recently.

Let’s put him in the position. Moreover, this child is quite sensible (although this “child” is even older than him), it’s easier to talk to acquaintances. After Uncle Cui experienced the previous incident, he should be more loyal to him, and the situation of being entrusted by others to let his son monitor him should not happen again.

Besides, in the eyes of the emperor, Cui Yingchao, as the “son of the traitor in the Duke of Anguo’s mansion,” must have some value in being drawn in. After all, when Qin Ji recommended him to the central government, the traitor had not yet been exposed. Now that it has been exposed, the relationship between the two may not be good.

If someone recommends this person, Xia Yuxiao will most likely agree.

However, Qin Ji couldn’t recommend him personally, otherwise, Xia Yuxiao would definitely be suspicious.

It’s better to let the honorable censor recommend him. The suspicion would be smaller. Strictly speaking, the censor was indeed Qin Ji’s ally, but his inclination in the court was not very obvious. Besides, Cui Yingchao did achieve some results in the central government, so it could be considered as recommending a worthy person.

Of course, Cui Yingchao couldn’t directly become the head of the education department. He still had to learn from the prime minister and himself for a while. When the time was right, they could consider handing over the department to him.

It couldn’t be handed over completely. Some old ministers had to be arranged to temper his character and to reassure the emperor.

On his side, he would occasionally knock some sense into him, reminding him who he should stand with.

Qin Ji had his own little calculations, but overall, the suggestion was quite reliable. Xia Yuxiao also found it acceptable. She nodded and said, “Hmm, let’s do it this way. At the beginning, you and the prime minister will be responsible for this matter. Once it stabilizes, we will establish a separate department for easier management in the future.”

“Your Majesty is wise.”

Qin Ji said with a smile.

“In addition, we might have to visit the Western Empire in a while,” Xia Yuxiao suddenly changed the topic, “The Western Empire specially sent an envoy to invite me, hoping that I could visit the Western Empire, as a gesture of friendly relations between the two countries.”

“This is a good thing, Your Majesty.”

“It is a good thing. I plan to take you with me. What do you think?”

Xia Yuxiao asked.

“I am honored, Your Majesty.”

Taking a day off

I just finished my interview, and the results were quite good. I hope I can get this position.

After the interview, I quickly bought a train ticket home, then had to go out with my family. When I got back, I realized it was too late.

I’ll take a day off today to rest.

A few days ago, there weren’t many updates, so I decided to give everyone four updates tomorrow, and then I’ll strive for three updates every day afterward!