The Marquis Is Innocent - 164.1

Chapter 164.1

Epilogue

In June, Wei Shao ascended the throne in Luoyang and became the Emperor of Yan in the year of Taihe.

Although the world had reunited, many years of war in the Central Plains had long devastated the people. At the commencement of the Yan Kingdom, the court reconstructed everything.

The Emperor followed the lenient policies he had adopted when he was in charge of the north, abolishing the harsh policies of the previous dynasty and reducing taxes so that people could recover and recuperate. He also encouraged agriculture and farming, constructed a water conservancy, and paid attention to the management of the Yellow River. Responding to the siltation of the riverbed, he recruited capable people to manage the river, and the Emperor visited Mount Dan with his wife incognito.

Prime Minister Gongsun Yang’s teacher, White Stone Old Man, retired to the mountain. Last year, he cured Qiao Ping’s eyesight. Currently, Qiao Ping has stayed in the mountain, neighboring the elder and living in seclusion.

The Emperor and Queen went to the mountain together to visit Qiao Ping and ask for advice on water management strategies from the elder.

The Emperor asked White Stone Old Man for advice because when he and the latter met in Huainan when the dam was in danger, the elder helped repair the dam and remove the danger successfully.

Although many years have passed since then, this incident has left a deep impression on the Emperor, and he has not forgotten it so far.

White Stone Old Man was the Mo family’s heir and spent his half-life traveling the world. Besides proficiency in medicine, he had a deep knowledge of water conservation. Yellow River, due to the middle and lower reaches of the river meandering and coupled with soil erosion, has always been a hidden danger. The former imperial court does not have the heart to treat the river and let the world in great turmoil. The vassals didn’t care about the river siltation and let it be. White Stone Old Man cared about the world, and now that the new king was aware of the Yellow River, he felt satisfied. Due to his old age, he couldn’t personally supervise the river. But he recommended Xu Mian, a local river official, who was only a minor officer but cared about the people’s livelihood.

The Emperor was delighted and talked with the elder under the candles all night. When he returned to the kingdom, he immediately called Xu Mian into Luoyang.

In the previous dynasty, to become an official, there were two ways: recruitment and recommendation. At first, these two ways played a positive role in recruiting talent. But in the later stage, it became formality and nepotism.

Xu Mian comes from a humble background, only a minor official in charge of river management in Cao Yang. He had talent and cared about the people. But, after several times presenting the water strategy to the court and requesting the river’s restoration, the court ignored him. Xu Mian was disheartened. Unexpectedly, after a change in the dynasty, the new king issued an imperial decree to enlist him as an official in the court.

Xu Mian rushed to Luoyang and was summoned to the South Palace. The next day, the Emperor promoted him to manage Yellow River’s affairs.

Xu Mian finally fulfilled his lifetime of dreams, kneeling and thankful. After spending many years clearing and expanding the river, building dikes, and breaking the hidden dangers, while at the same time, irrigating dozens of counties of the eastern and southwestern Shandong province, as many as millions of acres of fields, Xu Mian was honored as Duke Xu by the locals and praised by the court many times.

In the court, there were Prime Minister Gongsun Yang, Imperial Historian Wei Quan, and Secretary Zhu Zeng, etc., and the military was supported by Li Dian, General Wei Liang, and Qiao Ci, who guarded Western Liang, and General Bi Zhi, who was appointed as Marquis of Jiujiang and guarded the southern border because of his great merit in fighting against the rebellion in the south.

The Emperor did not take concubines and appointed Miss Qiao as the Queen. Everyone knew the Qiao Queen was beautiful and the Emperor’s wise helper. When the Emperor went to the south, Xiongnu attacked Yuyang. In a critical time, Empress Qiao, who was not afraid of death, personally climbed the city wall to inspire the soldiers and people to fight bravely and preserve Yuyang. The story of her passionate deeds was passed to the world as a beautiful story.

In the first month of the second year after the Emperor ascended to the throne, the court promulgated a new policy, announcing the imperial examination system for selecting officials. People in the world, as long as they have talent and are willing to serve the court, can participate in the selection process, and the court will choose the best candidates and appoint them to official positions.

The strange name of “imperial examination,” from the first day of the promulgation of the decree, quickly became a hot topic of discussion in the streets and alleys. Countless white-clothed scholars from humble backgrounds were thrilled to hear the news because this means that from now on, they no longer need to wait for a slim chance to be recommended by a local official to obtain a position.

How many talented people may be able to wait for their dream throughout their lives? Now with this method of talent selection, although they couldn’t necessarily realize their dream, at least it was a step closer.

After the decree was issued, the court held the first imperial examination. The total number of self-nominated people was more than ten thousand. After a level-by-level selection, the first batch of successful scholars was born in the Thousand and Autumn Hall.