Chapter 90 The Brand New Imperial Examination, Hai Rui's Convincing Reproach

At this moment, Hai Rui, Bao Zheng, Fang Xuanling, Du Fu, and others were all taken aback.

These three were truly extraordinary talents, worthy of being remembered in history. With a few words and a laugh, they broke the deadlock of the Later Han Dynasty. It can be said to be the Later Han version of the Longzhong Plan!

"The words of the three gentlemen have completely convinced us. They are truly satisfying!"

Suddenly, hope appeared before their eyes, and they felt as if they were bathed in a spring breeze, their minds suddenly enlightened.

Liu Fu finally understood the power of talented people.

Clearly, as things stand, Zhuge Liang, Xiao He, and Xun Yu are top-tier talents.

Hai Rui, with his strong and unyielding nature, was indeed suited to be an imperial censor, while Bao Zheng and Song Ci were better suited to investigating cases.

Indeed, everyone is making the best use of their talents; each person has their own strengths.

"By the way, where did Song Ci and Judge Di go?"

Liu Fu suddenly remembered.

"They discovered a strange case yesterday and have already gone to investigate it. Lord Song went to a tomb today to open the coffin and examine the body, in preparation to clear the name of a prisoner who was wrongly sentenced to death."

Liu Fu was very pleased after hearing this.

When the animal breeding ranch was opened again, everyone was stunned when they saw the enormous creature in Liu Fu's ranch space, which was as big as a mountain.

Seeing that everyone was stunned, Liu Fu then woke them up:

"Gentlemen, I must say that it was wrong of me to keep this from you before, but I think that with these as our support to guard the border, our pressure will be relieved, right?"

After everyone came to their senses, they were overjoyed!

"If such a terrifying behemoth were to guard the border, the Liao and Jin dynasties would not dare to invade easily, and there would be no need to show weakness to other countries, let alone retreat and cower."

After Xun Yu finished speaking, Kongming also stepped forward:

"If our lord could send several giant beasts to the barbarian tribes, it would be like divine soldiers descending from the heavens. How could the barbarians not submit to our lord when they see the might of these giant beasts?"

"In this way, subduing the barbarians will not take three to five years, but only a few months."

Liu Fu nodded, "That's right!"

Why didn't I think of that before?

"That's right. Once the external threats are dealt with, we can start working on the internal ones."

Liu Fu immediately exchanged several kilograms of sweet potato and potato seeds, ordered them to be roasted, and then handed them to everyone.

How does it taste?

After several people tasted it, they all praised it highly:

"These potatoes are soft and fluffy, with a subtle flavor that can fill you up."

"Sweet potatoes taste excellent, sweet and delicious. Although they are not as filling as potatoes, they are extremely soft and glutinous. They are truly unique."

Liu Fu chuckled:

"The yield of these sweet potatoes and potatoes can easily reach 2,000 catties per mu. If you can do as I say and stop slash-and-burn agriculture from now on, and use fertilizer to strengthen the land every year, it won't be too difficult to reach a yield of 3,000 catties per mu. Most importantly, these crops can survive and grow well even in barren sandy soil. They are much easier to take care of than crops like rice and millet. Don't you think they are good?"

Liu Fu's words shocked everyone!

Xiao He was the first to step forward:

"Your Majesty, what did you say about these two little things? How many kilograms could they produce per mu?"

"Yes, my lord, could you please repeat that?"

Zhuge Liang was also shocked, looking completely incredulous.

"At least two thousand catties, and more than three thousand catties, while only a hundred or so catties of seeds are needed to sow one mu of land."

Everyone was stunned!

What does a yield of two to three thousand catties per mu mean?

In less fertile land, the yield of millet is capped at 120 jin per mu.

But if you plant this stuff, the yield is more than twenty times that of millet!

Good heavens, that's more than twenty times!

Will the common people still starve to death? Will there be any worry about a lack of military rations?

If such a divine object truly existed, the Later Han dynasty could have reversed the situation and become the most powerful nation in the world in just two or three years.

When the time comes, conquering all directions and sweeping across the world will be a piece of cake.

Kongming couldn't help but sigh at this moment, thinking that if he had had this thing as a supplement to his army's food when he marched out of Qishan, how could he not have unified the world?

During the fourth Northern Expedition, due to the lack of military supplies, the regent Li Yan falsely conveyed an imperial edict ordering him to withdraw his troops, thus missing the opportunity. All this was because of the lack of military supplies!

They were about to besiege Chang'an, just a hair's breadth away. If only they had these potatoes and sweet potatoes!

When they heard that this thing only takes three or four months to grow, they were so excited they couldn't speak.

Seeing that these talented people were all amazed by him, Liu Fu immediately chuckled:

"Gentlemen, I entrust the affairs of the fiefdom to you from now on. As the king, I await the results of your work."

Liu Fu handed over all the details regarding the subjugation of the barbarian soldiers, the potatoes and sweet potatoes, and the construction of water conservancy projects.

But amidst everyone's jubilation, Hai Rui stepped forward once again:

"Your Majesty, there is still one question I do not understand: how does our dynasty select talented individuals?"

Liu Fu was taken aback, and suddenly remembered this matter. Talent selection was indeed of paramount importance and could not be taken lightly.

Liu Fu naturally understood the deeper meaning behind Hai Rui's question. In Hai Rui's era, officials wrote eight-legged essays, and the emperor used these essays to fool intelligent people, making them spend all day pondering these pedantic "studies." In addition, ordinary people were illiterate. This method of keeping the people ignorant was conducive to the rule and made it easier for the emperor to continue to hold power.

Ultimately, it wasn't beneficial to society as a whole. Why were Westerners on Earth at the same time already sailing the seas and producing powerful firearms? Especially after the Qing Dynasty, and the series of events that followed…

Undoubtedly, this is closely related to the ancient imperial examination system, which was a system that was designed to fool people.

When everyone is racking their brains over the rigid, formulaic writing style, trying to figure out how to compose a perfect essay within the prescribed word count, scholars get bogged down in trivialities. Where do they find the time to study science? To study the real problems of the world that need to be solved?

Fortunately, Liu Fu had considered this issue beforehand, and he replied to Hai Rui:

"We should still use the imperial examination system."

Upon hearing this, Hai Rui's expression changed slightly, and he asked Liu Fu with a worried look:

"Does Your Majesty's imperial examination system use the eight-legged essay style?"

Hearing Hai Rui's words, Liu Fu smiled and told Hai Rui:

"It is detrimental to the world for scholars to dance with their feet in shackles. I intend to divide the imperial examination into three subjects."

"Which three subjects?" Hai Rui pressed.

"The civil service examinations included the civil service examinations, the military examinations, and miscellaneous examinations. The civil service examinations focused on formulating laws, governing local areas, and managing state affairs. The emphasis was on assessing candidates' ability to handle major national affairs and improving the system of the Later Han Dynasty, rather than relying on half of the Analects to govern the world or frantically reciting Confucian texts."

Liu Fu's words made Hai Rui's eyes light up.

"The military examinations naturally focused on military strategy and martial arts, selecting talents for the Later Han Dynasty who could protect the country."

Hai Rui nodded, the worry on his face gone. However, everyone had never heard of the Miscellaneous Examination before and eagerly awaited Liu Fu's explanation.