Chapter 1439: Martial Exams and Official Selection

Perhaps feeling he had misspoken, Emperor Liu quickly changed tack, gently patting Little Zhou's hand to signal she should withdraw for now—the Emperor had state affairs to discuss. Little Zhou, naturally obedient, rose and offered a graceful bow, then turned and swayed her exquisite figure away with elegant steps to rest at the side, leaving ample space for Emperor Liu and his ministers to converse.

Emperor Liu withdrew his gaze from Little Zhou's alluring figure and refocused his attention on the memorial Zhang Yong had presented, his tone cautious: "This is the final list of candidates selected through the martial examinations?"

It was not hard to tell from Emperor Liu's tone that he seemed to have some objections to this list of martial examination admittees. Seeing this, Zhang Yong rose and reported: "Your Majesty, the names recorded on this memorial were all strictly screened based on performance in each assessment, comprehensively reviewed by the gentlemen of the examination institute, and only then were these twenty men selected.

These twenty are all elite officers of the Great Han army. If Your Majesty has any doubts, the Ministry of War still holds complete records of every candidate's examination performance, available for review at any time!"

Hearing Zhang Yong's words, Emperor Liu's expression eased somewhat, and he finally gave a slight nod with a soft sigh. After all, he was not truly questioning this list. He had placed great importance on this martial examination—the first since the founding of the dynasty—and no one would dare tamper with such matters, of which Emperor Liu had full confidence.

His misgivings lay rather in the names written on this memorial, their identities, and what they represented. Of the twenty men, fully eighteen were sons of meritorious noble families at court, and of those, ten left an impression on Emperor Liu.

Such a proportion was startling and worrisome, yet upon careful examination, there was nothing unreasonable about it. The nobles of the Great Han absolutely valued the cultivation of their descendants, and they possessed ample ability and resources to train them. This was still the early days of the empire—even under the strictest, most equitable conditions and methods of selection, these were the ones who would ultimately rise to the top.

It was precisely because he saw this clearly and understood it fully that Emperor Liu could not help feeling somewhat disheartened. This martial examination to select officers, an imperial grace, ultimately benefited the nobles most. Compared to the civil examinations, this class solidification was even more severe—a gap from what Emperor Liu had hoped for.

In opening the martial examinations, besides selecting reserve talent for the court, he had also harbored the intention of giving ordinary commoner officers a reliable, promising channel for advancement. But the results were clear—ordinary officers truly could not compete with those sons of upper-tier military merit families.

"This list will not be altered. Post it as is!" Emperor Liu sighed, brushed his imperial brush across the document, and instructed Zhang Yong.

"Yes!" Seeing Emperor Liu's expression turn from overcast to clear, Zhang Yong instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.

Emperor Liu's acceptance of this list was no compromise. Since he acknowledged its fairness, he had to accept it—otherwise, would he not be slapping his own face?

Of course, with his prestige, Emperor Liu could absolutely make changes to the list—striking off some noble sons and adding commoner officers—but would that not likewise be a loss of fairness?

Facing the somewhat swollen military merit nobility class, Emperor Liu did indeed harbor thoughts of suppressing and restraining them, but this required proper methods and approaches—at the very least, not making it too ugly, not making his intentions too obvious, maintaining basic decency. Even if he could not win their hearts, he had to ensure their outward compliance.

"Yang Yanlang..." Emperor Liu muttered, a curve forming at the corner of his mouth as he praised: "A general's gate produces a tiger's cub—Yang Ye has sired another fine son!"

Yang Yanlang was the top graduate of this session's martial examination, jointly recommended by the examining body. Perhaps this was also one of the factors in Emperor Liu's acceptance of this list.

This Yang Yanlang was Yang Ye's second son. Compared to his elder brother Yang Yanzhao, he had not attracted as much attention, nor had he, like Yang Yanzhao, followed Yang Ye into military campaigns at a young age, fighting across a thousand li, training and tempering himself.

But as a noble son, he lacked neither the ingredients for growth nor opportunities for training. Add to that the strict Yang family education, and his chances of producing talent were naturally not low.

And Yang Yanlang seemed to have inherited Yang Ye's aptitude as well. He had not been particularly famous before, but in this martial examination, he made a stunning debut, standing out from the crowd, overpowering other noble sons and military elites in every assessment.

"A martial examination, yet the final result looks more like an officer selection—somewhat divorced from its original purpose!" Emperor Liu rose and paced about the hall, the soft carpet beneath his feet making him feel somewhat unsteady. After a moment's thought, he spoke with pointed meaning.

Zhang Yong had some inkling of Emperor Liu's thoughts. Hearing this, he pondered briefly, then clasped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, military selection is ultimately not like the civil examinations. The requirements for candidates are higher, the trials more comprehensive and practical—not something mere common bravery can pass.

Those admitted as martial graduates will henceforth be officers of the Great Han, needing to command troops, guard the frontiers, and fight in battle—heavy responsibilities that demand strict selection. Your servant believes that the so-called martial examination should by nature select rising military officers to strengthen the army's foundation—this does not deviate from its original purpose!"

Hearing this, Emperor Liu smiled. This Zhang Yong was deflecting—Emperor Liu's pointed question concerned noble officers versus commoner officers, yet he spoke at length about the meaning and original purpose of the martial examination.

Still, he had to admit Zhang Yong's words had merit. With hands clasped behind his back, Emperor Liu paced the hall for a while, then halted and raised a finger: "The martial examination system still has room for improvement. This time, the preparations before and after were somewhat rushed. Next time, we must strive for thoroughness and avoid oversights! There are several points—record them and send them to the relevant offices!"

"Your Majesty, please instruct!" Zhang Yong immediately returned to his desk, took up his brush, and respectfully awaited.

Emperor Liu said: "First, henceforth the martial examinations shall be held every two years, with the examination period set in autumn each year;

Second, candidates shall be selected and recommended from the various armies, both internal and external—the palace guards, imperial army, frontier armies, capital armies, and tribal troops—with each subordinate army allotted a set number of recommendation slots, to be deliberated by the Bureau of Military Affairs and the Ministry of War;

Third, in selecting candidates, regardless of birth or seniority, priority shall be given to ability, performance, merit, and achievement—age limited to under thirty, rank below battalion commander, with three or more years of service in the military;

Fourth, the examination subjects must be further clarified and detailed, with more comprehensive assessment standards established, so that everything is verifiable;

Fifth, the admission quota shall follow this session's precedent—one in twenty;

Sixth, regarding the subsequent training and postings of admitted graduates, a complete set of regulations and procedures shall be drawn up with clear provisions, and a plan for this session's graduates shall be made promptly. Additionally, those not admitted but who performed well in the assessments shall also receive appropriate adjustments and arrangements!

That is all for now. If there are further additions, I shall mention them when I think of them. Also, have Pan Mei and the others think carefully—if they have any good suggestions or sound policies, let them submit memorials!"

Though advanced in years, Emperor Liu's mind remained sharp—he delivered all six points in one breath without any hesitation. Zhang Yong's dictation skills were evidently top-tier at court as well; otherwise, he could not have served as Emperor Liu's secretary. He too wrote it all out in one sweep.

Setting down his brush and rising, he presented it to Emperor Liu for review. Emperor Liu gave it a cursory glance, then instructed that the imperial seal be applied.

From these several suggestions of Emperor Liu's, one could see that he had already formed a clearer understanding and decision regarding the martial examinations—namely, to assess military officers, and to restrict selection solely to within the army, completely cutting off the opportunity for common folk of valor and wisdom to gain rank and advancement through the martial examinations. At the same time, this meant those noble sons who had relied on family connections to sit the examination would now need prior military service records before gaining eligibility.

This could also be seen as another stable channel of promotion for the Great Han's grassroots officers, beyond normal positional advancement and meritorious rewards. This channel was bright and splendid, yet also like a gate—those who could break through would find their military careers open and unobstructed.

Of course, this was not flawless, nor without loopholes to exploit—namely, the issue of candidate screening. For examinations held in the capital, central court supervision could maintain basic fairness and justice, but for the initial selection within the various armies, how to guarantee fairness was the question. Though the military had its particularities, it was not a place immune to corruption.

Emperor Liu had likely considered this as well. His brows knitted tightly as he murmured: "This selection mechanism still requires careful thought—I need to devise a more reliable method. The power of each army to recommend candidates needs to be deliberated thoroughly..."

"Once the seal is applied, send it to the relevant offices promptly!" Emperor Liu turned and said to Zhang Yong: "Also, issue the order—I wish to personally receive this session's martial examination graduates and meet these young men.

They are the Great Han's military officer talent, the army's foundation, the elite of our soldiers, and perhaps among them will come our future pillar generals and commanders of troops. I must offer them proper encouragement.

The venue shall be the Martial Valor Hall, and let the dukes and ministers and the imperial army commanders all attend!"

"Yes!"