Chapter 169 I study just to be an official

Author: Potato Sweet Potato Pie

Chapter 169 I study just to be an official

The incident in Qiongzhou was deceived by receiving a letter just now. If he used this excuse again, Xia Yuan felt that Emperor Hongzhi would not believe it.

Not to mention the emperor, he himself didn't quite believe it.

It's too outrageous. There is no one in this palace who is not a human spirit. This kind of statement simply knocks everyone's IQ to the ground. It is estimated that only a very nervous middle school boy like Zhu Houzhao would believe it.

It's a pity that this guy is not here now, and he is not the emperor.

"Well, students also listen to what others say."

After saying this, without waiting for the emperor or anyone else to speak, Xia Yuan quickly continued: "The area with the largest number of Yi people in our Ming Dynasty was the southwestern places like Yunnan and Guizhou. Others like Qiongzhou, Huguang, and Fujian also had Yi people.

The distribution of people and the languages ​​of these Yi people are different, but the same thing is that many of them do not speak Chinese and do not know the culture of the Central Plains."

"If we want to bring these barbarians back, the first thing we need to do is to make them identify with our Central Plains culture and create a sense of belonging. Therefore, all dynasties have been implementing enlightenment, but the so-called enlightenment has always been useless. Why is this?"

There was silence in the hall for a few seconds. Seeing that no one seemed to want to answer, Xia Yuan could only look at the chief minister of the cabinet just now, "Mr. Cabinet, I dare you to ask, why are you studying?"

"The purpose is to learn the ways of the saints, to understand the classics of the predecessors, to understand the principles and virtues, and to eliminate the unnecessary and retain the essential."

"."

Xia Yuan gave him a complicated look. The old man looked like a dog, but he was very dishonest and would not tell the truth.

"Students don't have such high moral standards as you. Students study just to take the imperial examination and become an official. They want to become an official.

Moreover, the student believes that among all the scholars in this world, at least 99% of them have the same idea as the student, that they study to be an official and to become a superior person."

"."

The atmosphere in the hall was a little stiff and awkward, and several ministers twitched their faces. They were studying for the imperial examination and for becoming an official. This was of course the purpose of their study, and the purpose of almost everyone's study.

After all, the book has its own beauty, and the book has its own golden house.

But even if everyone is like a mirror in their hearts, no one is going to pierce this layer of paper. When asked about the purpose of reading, it is naturally to improve self-cultivation and simply to worship the saints. This is the standard answer.

Everyone is still very reserved and needs to be shameless.

But this guy is a bit too upright.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit tense, Zhu Youtang, the emperor, broke the deadlock and said, "Studying is not only for understanding and morality, but also for being an official. It is said that if you are good at learning, you will be an official, or if you are good at literature and martial arts, you will be good at the emperor's family. Both

It’s not that they are incompatible.”

After setting his tone, he paused, then looked at Xia Yuan and said, "Please continue speaking."

"oh."

Xia Yuan responded, and then said energetically: "The imperial court's efforts to educate the barbarians have not yielded any results for a long time, because these barbarians do not have a specific purpose, or in other words, they have no motivation.

Reading is a very boring thing. If you don’t think about studying, becoming an official, and pursuing a good future, most people may not be able to endure this boring thing, let alone those barbarians who don’t know how to write.”

"Furthermore, although students have never seen it, they can still imagine how the imperial court's education was carried out. It was probably local officials who wrote such articles to encourage learning and then posted notices."

In such a backward era where communications and transportation relied on loudspeakers, the so-called prosperous places such as Beijing and Suzhou and Hangzhou had difficult conditions in the countryside, let alone those in the mountains in Southwest China and Huguang.

It is really a difficult task to expect those officials to go down to the grassroots level and go deep into the mountains to civilize and educate the barbarians.

Not to mention now, even later.

"Is it useful to post notices and show them to the barbarians who can't even read a few words to educate them?"

"I'm afraid it's useless, not to mention that not everyone in the Ming Dynasty's imperial examination can participate. Even some Han people are not qualified to participate in the imperial examination, let alone those barbarians. Oh, the barbarians seem to be able to

Participated.”

At this moment, Xia Yuan remembered something again, so he said: "During the provincial examination last year, the student participated with his uncle. My uncle had an acquaintance of the same age who looked different from the Han people. The student was curious and talked too much.

Asked.

This man did not hide anything in his words, saying that his ancestors were natives of the southwest, and were prisoners of war brought back by Emperor Taizong when he conquered the southwest.

Later, he was pardoned by the imperial court, and his ancestors settled in Beizhili."

"But later on, he said that although he was a Yi and his ancestors were also Yi, his distant ancestors were actually Han people. They just migrated to the southwest because of the wars in the Tang Dynasty."

"As for whether this is true, the student does not know, but the student feels that he should be a Yi. It is just because he has lived in Beizhili for several generations that he was able to participate in the imperial examination. He has the reputation of being a scholar, so he calls himself Han.

.”

"Even though he looks like a foreigner, he still thinks he is a Han, and he even doesn't hesitate to make up reasons for the wars in the Tang Dynasty."

"When participating in the policy discussion, the students wondered whether the imperial court could adopt this approach to treat the barbarians."

"Of course, the students are not saying that all the Yi people should be moved to Han Dynasty and lived there for three to five generations in order to assimilate. This would be too time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the money consumed would be too huge. It is likely to be an astronomical figure."

"The student is just thinking that if those barbarians take part in the imperial examination and are given some preferential treatment and let them have a superficial fame, will they be like my uncle's contemporaries and identify with the Central Plains culture from the bottom of their hearts and consider themselves to be Han people?

Not some barbarians."

Xia Yuan talked a lot eloquently, and the monarchs and ministers in the hall had been listening attentively, and by this time they were all thoughtful.

In fact, the imperial dynasty clearly stipulated the qualifications for participating in the imperial examination. It was clearly stipulated that prostitutes, elites, subordinates, and soldiers, as well as their descendants, were not allowed to participate in the imperial examination.

That is, prostitutes, actors, slaves, and Yamen servants and policemen.

To put it simply, as long as they are not from a lowly position, the rest of the people have the opportunity to participate in the imperial examination.

And do the Yi people belong to the lower class? They do not. Even the household registration does not say "Yi people", but they are collectively called the people like ordinary people.

Theoretically, they could participate in the imperial examination, but the problem was that most Yi people did not have household registration at all.

Therefore, this group of people's participation in the imperial examination is a complete mess.

Even the emperors and ministers who hold the most power in the world have no idea how many barbarians have participated in the imperial examinations over the years.

There are many Yi people who are proficient in Chinese, although there are not many, but there are definitely some. When these Yi people take part in the imperial examination, they will basically attach their place of origin. They are obviously Yi people, but they say that their ancestors are Han Chinese, and then they will point out that their ancestors are Han Chinese.

Which dynasty and which generation went into exile?

It doesn’t matter if it’s true or made up, anyway, it says it has a nose and eyes, and it looks like it’s real.

In other words, as long as they understand Chinese, read Confucian classics, and take the imperial examination, these Yi people will draw a line from the past and keep claiming that their ancestors are Han people. [The author has checked this and it is true.

It’s true, and it’s mostly people from the southeastern region.]

In addition, there is no ethnic division in the household registration of the Ming Dynasty, and the subdivisions of Tibetans, Zhuang people, Hakkas, etc. are not clearly stated.

These barbarians keep saying that their ancestors are Han Chinese. Although their claims are unfounded, no one has any evidence to prove that they are not.

And why bother to contradict them?

The Yi people regard themselves as Han people. Isn't this the original intention of enlightenment and the return of all the Yi people?

Therefore, Emperor Hongzhi and all the ministers in this palace knew very well that as long as this teaching could be truly implemented, the rebellion between the barbarians would be fundamentally eliminated.

This is the reason why those scholars always clamor for enlightenment, but all dynasties have recognized its correctness.

ps: Happy Chinese New Year to everyone!

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Chapter completed!