Chapter 408 Let's simmer slowly, the Prime Minister is my whetstone! The war of annihilation, life and death, the arrow is on the string!

Old Liu was indeed a little confused.

Just this policy essay by Ma Su is enough to prove his extraordinary talent and wisdom.

Moreover, from your tone, Prime Minister, it seems that you know Ma Su very well and recognize his talent.

In the past, Prime Minister, didn’t you always strongly recommend me for important positions when you valued and admired talents?

For example, Lu Xun, Lu Su, Pang Tong, Xu Shu, and even Fa Zheng not long ago.

Aren't you the one who urged me to employ and entrust important tasks to these people?

Why is it that when it comes to Ma Su, his style suddenly changes and he advises me not to force things?

What else could possibly ruin Ma Su?

This is a bit serious.

Liu Bei was surprised and asked, "Why did the Prime Minister say that?"

Xiao Fang sighed softly, not knowing how to say it clearly.

Ma Su is indeed a man of great talent.

Could a person who was valued by his brother-in-law Zhuge Liang and who could come up with such a brilliant strategy as conquering the heart first and attacking the city second be a mediocre person?
However, talents must also be classified into different categories.

People like Ma Su, who are only good at talking about war on paper, are born to be advisers. If you keep him by your side to give you advice, he will come up with some brilliant plans from time to time.

But if you entrust him with important tasks, let him handle things alone, or even lead an army into battle, then you are using him in the wrong direction, and he will make a big mistake sooner or later.

The loss of Jieting that year ruined the favorable situation of Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition. Wasn't that a bloody lesson?

In fact, when it comes to judging people, Liu Bei was more accurate than Zhuge Liang at that time, as he saw that Ma Su was "unable to handle the heavy responsibility."

This is also because Liu Bei only had Jingzhou under his command at that time, and all the talents were basically confined to Jingzhou. That is why he was able to come into contact with the younger generation like Ma Su, and had the opportunity to see Ma Su's strengths and weaknesses.

Now Old Liu controls all nine provinces of the world, and his advisers and generals are spread across dozens of counties in the nine provinces. Anyone who can catch Old Liu's eyes is a top talent in the world.

If it weren't for the benefits of the imperial examination system, a "small character" like Ma Su would have no chance of entering Lao Liu's field of vision at his current age.

Old Liu only had the ability to judge people, but he had never met Ma Su before, so naturally he didn't know that Ma Su was "not capable of handling such a heavy responsibility."

"This Ma Youchang was born into a famous family and has been famous since he was young. It is inevitable that he is a little conceited."

"Now he has become the champion of the first imperial examination of our Han Dynasty. He has become famous overnight."

"He is a conceited and proud person by nature. He became famous too early and reached the peak right after his debut. It was too smooth sailing for him, so it was inevitable that he would become arrogant and conceited."

"For such a person, Your Majesty should first hone his character, slowly train and cultivate him, and then use him more when the time is right."

"Otherwise, if we use him too early, it will surely lead to him becoming another armchair general Zhao Kuo!"

Xiao Fang gave an explanation.

Ma Su was not only not a mediocre person, but also a pillar of talent who was capable of shouldering great responsibilities.

But in Xiao Fang's opinion, what Ma Su lacked was not wisdom and strategy, but practical experience and lessons.

In history, Ma Su had always been by Zhuge Liang's side since his debut, and all he did was provide advice and suggestions as a staff officer. In fact, he had little practical experience in commanding troops in combat.

As a result, the first time he led the army, he was entrusted with an important task by Zhuge Liang and led his troops to guard Jieting to block Zhang He, the best general of Cao Wei at that time.

Not to mention Ma Su, even if it was Zhuge Liang in his youth, without any experience in commanding troops in actual combat, there was a great probability that he would be defeated when facing an experienced soldier like Zhang He.

That is why Xiao Fang learned from history and gave the best solution to Ma Su:

Let's take it slow and there's no rush.

Anyway, Ma Su is young and has plenty of youth to spend.

Anyway, the Han Dynasty now has many wise counselors and brave generals, and it is not urgent to need a young generation like Ma Su to come out and take the lead.

"I understand. No matter how good a sword is, it still needs to be sharpened before it can cut through iron like mud."

"I know how to use this Ma Youchang."

"Prime Minister, you are the best whetstone. As for Ma Su, I will choose him as the top scholar. I will let him join your court first, just like Deng Ai. Let the Prime Minister polish him for me."

After Liu Bei finished speaking, he waved his red pen and approved Ma Su as the top scorer.

The first imperial examination of the Han Dynasty came to a successful conclusion.

Talented people who obtained the status of Jinshi were all appointed according to their abilities and filled vacancies in the imperial court and prefectures and counties.

The scholars and poor families in Kyushu also became more supportive of the court and Liu Bei because they saw the benefits of taking part in the imperial examinations.

When the scientific expedition ended, it was already early winter.

The autumn harvest is over. The weather in the nine provinces of the Han Dynasty has been good this year, and most states have had a bumper harvest. The grain taxes collected in the granaries are piled up like mountains.

Everything was ready, and the war against Qin was immediately put on the agenda.

In fact, while Liu Bei was returning to Luoyang and holding the imperial examinations, preparations for the attack on Qin were already being quietly carried out in full swing.

Large quantities of food and military supplies were continuously transported from various states to Yecheng, Luoyang, Wancheng, Jiangling and other places for storage.

Chinese and foreign troops also gathered and mobilized to various cities under various excuses.

The generals in Luoyang were also constantly leaving the capital and heading to various cities to prepare for the war.

The arrow is on the string and will be shot any day!
...

Chang'an, the Qin Imperial Palace.

Cao Cao, sitting high on the dragon throne, was frowning as he reviewed the list in his hand.

That was the first list of "virtuous and capable" people nominated by the Zhongzheng officials of various states and counties after he implemented the Nine-Rank System.

Cao Cao was not unfamiliar with the names on the list. Most of them were well-known scholars from the four states of Qin. He had heard of them long before he became emperor, and even knew their lives very well.

In Cao Cao's view, most of these people, except for a few who were seeking fame and reputation and boasting, were indeed talented and could be used by him.

Cao Cao couldn't be happy even though he had so many talents at once.

There are two reasons.

The talented people recommended by these dozens of Zhongzheng officials were basically all famous scholars, and there was only one person who came from a humble family.

This is tantamount to sending a clear signal to the people of the world:
From now on, I, Cao Cao, will only employ sons of scholar families and not those from humble backgrounds.

The gate of the Great Qin Dynasty will only be opened to the families of scholars, and the common people should not come forward to humiliate themselves.

This also means that he has completely denied the "merit-based" policy he has pursued for more than a decade.

"These scholars are all outstanding talents. Since they are recommended according to the Nine-Rank Official System, they should all be appointed according to their abilities."

Cao Cao threw the list on the dragon table and waved his hands slightly, his tone seeming to carry some reluctance.

Then, he picked up another silk book, and his brows instantly furrowed into a frown.

That is the latest information from the Han Kingdom.

The intelligence revealed the details of the first imperial examination in the Han Dynasty, including the provincial and metropolitan examinations, and the palace examination presided over by Liu Bei, who personally selected Ma Su from Xiangyang as the top scholar...

In the nine states of the Han Dynasty, the enthusiasm of scholars and poor people to participate in the imperial examinations increased dramatically, and their support for the Han court and Liu Bei increased...

All kinds of information are written in detail.

This is the real reason why Cao Cao was unhappy.

The moment Cao Cao saw this information, he knew that he had lost the battle for people's hearts and minds.

Although the Nine-Rank Official System that he implemented won the strong support of the scholar-officials in the four states, the price he paid was the complete abandonment of the newly rising force of the common people.

The power to select officials in the Qin State thus fell into the hands of the Shi family.

On the other hand, Liu Bei's Han Dynasty incredibly created an imperial examination system, which was in direct contrast to his Nine-Rank System.

The terrible thing is that once the imperial examination system was implemented, it not only won the support of the scholars, but also won over the support of the poor and common people.

Liu Bei used the imperial examination system to miraculously reconcile the conflicts between the scholars and the poor, and easily tied their interests together.

The winner and loser in this battle for hearts and minds is clear at a glance.

"This imperial examination system is truly far superior to the Nine-Rank System. It can even create such a unique system. What can't a country boy like Xiao Fang do?"

"How can I be inferior to that big-eared thief? Why don't I have such a peerless genius under my command?"

Cao Cao was gritting his teeth and muttering to himself, expressing both his annoyance and admiration for Xiao Fang.

Respect and hatred, this was Cao Cao's psychological state towards Xiao Fang at this time.

The ministers looked at each other and whispered to each other.

Cao Pi, who was sitting nearby, felt uncomfortable when he heard Cao Cao's sigh, and even felt embarrassed as if he had been slapped in the face.

The Nine-Rank System was something he strongly advocated for its implementation.

In order to encourage Cao Cao to implement this law, he even exaggerated the Nine-Rank Official System as an eternal miracle that could win the hearts of the people, help the Qin State defeat the strong with the weak, and turn the tide.

Who could have expected that the imperial examination system created by Xiao Fang would suddenly emerge and easily make his own nine-rank official system look unsightly.

He was slapped in the face with a loud bang.

"Ahem, I think that Xiao Fang's imperial examination system is just a child's play."

"As far as I know, the number one scholar selected by Liu Bei is named Ma Su, but he is just a young boy from the Ma family in Xiangyang."

"As for the other candidates, such as Bangyan, Tanhua, and Jinshi, there are many famous people, but there are also many mediocre people."

"What real skills and knowledge can these so-called talents selected in this way have? How can they compare with the famous scholars selected by the Nine-Rank Official System of the Great Qin?"

"Although Xiao Fang's imperial examination system helped Liu Bei win over the poor and the educated, it was unable to select truly virtuous and capable people for him. In the long run, it will definitely do more harm than good."

"I still believe that the Nine-Rank Official System of our Great Qin is the best system for selecting virtuous people and making the country strong."

Cao Pi made an endless comparison, disparaging the imperial examination system and trying to prove that his own Nine-Rank Official System was superior.

Cao Cao's frown relaxed a little.

What my son said makes sense.

He had never even heard of people like Ma Su.

How could Liu Bei dare to choose any Tom, Dick or Harry as the top scholar?
What use are the so-called talents selected in this way?
"Well, what Zijian said does make sense..."

Cao Cao nodded slightly and his face finally turned from cloudy to sunny.

Cao Pi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty, now is not the time to focus on the imperial examination system of the pseudo-Han Dynasty."

"According to my spies, Liu Bei has been transporting food and grass to Yecheng, Luoyang, and Wancheng in recent months, and has also secretly increased the number of troops to these places."

"All signs indicate that Liu Bei will mobilize all his troops within this month to launch a war of annihilation against our Qin!"

"Life and death are at hand. We must be prepared!"

Guo Jia made his suggestion with a serious expression and submitted several pieces of information to the emperor.

Cao Cao shuddered.

(End of this chapter)