Chapter 582: Chen Yan's Proposal

"Oh?"

Yuwen Hu heard this, his eyes narrowed slightly, the seriousness in his gaze gradually faded, replaced by strong interest; his fingertip that had been lightly tapping the desk paused, he leaned forward a little, and in a tone full of curiosity said, "A Yan, first tell me your concrete plan!"

As the words fell, his gaze stayed tightly on Chen Yan, full of expectation.

Beside him, Pei Xun also glanced sideways, his eyes on his son‑in‑law, expression focused, quietly waiting for his continuation.

Chen Yan met their gazes, his demeanor still steady, but a hint of understanding smile flashed in his eyes; he blinked, a composed curve lifted the corner of his mouth, and in an unhurried tone he slowly began, "My proposal is to turn this assassination incident into a case study…"

"Tian Guan Fu can classify this assassination targeting the scholars of the Imperial Academy and the National University as caused by a chaotic mixture of talent among the student body…"

"Some people with crooked hearts infiltrated the academies, not only neglecting studies but also secretly colluding with external forces, breeding disaster, which led to this farcical assassination!"

"Thus it can give the Court an explanation, and logically introduce the necessity of reforming the educational system, reducing early opposition!"

What we call classification is merely labeling…

Regarding the importance of final interpretive authority!

Yuwen Hu's interest deepened, his tone carrying a hint of inquiry, "And then?"

He paused, then said meaningfully, "Relying only on a classification is insufficient to support educational reform; how to proceed thereafter is the key…"

Chen Yan adjusted his wording, his expression grew more solemn, and in a deep voice said, "After classification, we should seize the momentum and adjust the student source structure of the Imperial Academy and the National University…"

"In the past, student sources were monopolized by great families and prominent clans; medium and small families, humble families, and even commoner scholars had little chance to enter…"

"This reform should gradually increase admission quotas for these three categories, breaking the great families' grip on academy resources."

"More importantly, change the old system where post‑graduation appointments depended solely on family background and recommendation, to a system where appointments are based on graduation exam scores!"

"Those with outstanding scholarship receive key positions first; those with average scores are assigned appropriately; talent determines rank, not lineage!"

"Good!" Yuwen Hu immediately nodded in approval, his tone full of praise, "Your idea hits the crux!"

"It both widens talent selection channels and forces students to study hard through exams, greatly improving talent selection quality; for Great Zhou's long‑term development, it is indeed a sound strategy."

Pei Xun also echoed, his tone earnest, "Exactly, the old recommendation system was often self‑serving; many truly talented humble scholars were buried…"

"And some aristocratic youths, even if mediocre, could obtain offices thanks to their lineage; exam‑based appointments can break this flaw, making talent selection fairer."

As higher‑ups and power‑holders, both Yuwen Hu and Pei Xun are well aware that the subjectivity of the Nine‑rank impartial system, recommendation, and conscription is far too great…

"But promotion through exams can better ensure that those elevated truly possess talent and learning!"

Their praise fell, Chen Yan only slightly nodded, his demeanor still steady, without any trace of smugness.

Yuwen Hu suddenly raised an eyebrow, his fingertip slowly twirled the Jade Ring, his tone shifted, adding a note of seriousness, "But you must understand, such reform will face many difficulties, not just a simple matter…"

He paused, his voice growing more solemn, word by word, "Moreover, these difficulties can basically be divided into two aspects: one is great resistance, the other is a major problem. Have you thought about them?"

Chen Yan had anticipated, immediately nodded, his expression calm, and replied unhurriedly, "The resistance naturally comes from the major aristocratic families and the vested interests that currently benefit from the old system…"

"They have monopolized academy resources and controlled recommendation channels for years; reform will directly harm their interests, so they will obstruct in every way, even stir trouble secretly; they are the biggest roadblocks on the reform path!"

"The problem lies in the fact that medium and small families, humble families, and commoner scholars mostly lack family backing; their homes have neither vast libraries nor famous teachers…"

"Many humble and commoner youths cannot even recognize characters, cannot afford basic books…"

"Even if given admission and exam opportunities, without sufficient knowledge accumulation they cannot compete with students from great families and prominent clans…"

"Ultimately, exam‑based appointments may still become a formality, failing to truly select talent from humble backgrounds!"

Pei Xun lifted the blue porcelain tea cup, took a shallow sip of hot tea, the warm liquid slid down his throat, looked up at the composed Chen Yan, a faint appreciative smile on his face, and said, "It seems you, child, understand all of this perfectly!"

Since you have already grasped both the resistance and the problems thoroughly, you must not just talk about them…

Yuwen Hu raised his hand and lightly tapped the desk, producing a crisp sound, his gaze on Chen Yan, his tone full of certainty, "A Yan, since you have dissected these resistances and problems so clearly, and have proactively proposed a reform plan, you must already have a countermeasure in mind; feel free to share it…"

"Coincidentally my father‑in‑law is also present; the three of us can discuss together, see whether these measures are feasible, and further refine the reform proposal!"

Chen Yan heard this, gave a calm smile, his demeanor still composed, his tone carrying a hint of certainty, "Actually regarding resistance, there is another method that can assist progress, and it solves it quite well…"

As his words fell, a deep look flashed in his eyes, his tone became meaningfully profound, "The Court can issue an edict, setting the number of humble and commoner students recruited by each prefecture and county as one of the officials' performance assessment criteria…"

"Those with outstanding assessments are promoted first; the lax are punished!"

"Thus, officials seeking good performance will proactively expand recruitment, without the Court needing to push too hard!"

"At the same time, secretly promote that admitted students and successful examinees regard the chief examiner as their mentor, forming a new profit bond…"

"The chief examiner, to strengthen his own power, will devote himself to cultivating humble and commoner scholars."

"These scholars can, through their mentor's influence, establish a foothold in the Court; both sides benefit, naturally supporting reform, and can suppress much of the opposing resistance!"

Yuwen Hu's eyes brightened, he slammed his hand onto the desk, his tone full of admiration, appreciation almost spilling over, "Brilliant! A Yan, this move is exquisitely clever!"

"By using performance assessments to force officials forward, then tying interests with the mentor bond, you both motivate officials and win over humble scholars and chief examiners, creating a new support force!"

"With pressure from both sides, the opposition from aristocratic families will be greatly reduced, and reform will proceed much more smoothly!"

"As long as officials aren't foolish, they'll scramble to take it on…"

"After all, humble and commoner scholars need patrons; the chief examiner, being close to power, will reap the benefits first."

"It meets both parties' needs and interests."

"Add to that the Court's strong push…"

"Feasible!"

Chen Yan slightly nodded, continued, his tone clear and orderly, "Besides that, the assessment‑based appointment system actually also aligns with the vast majority of families' interests…"

"In the past, recommendation appointments had limited slots, mostly monopolized by top great families; medium and small families had few chances…"

"Now, with assessment appointments, regardless of lineage, only scholarship decides success; everyone has a family background, which is equivalent to having no lineage advantage; everything is decided by true talent, which is the most just!"

Speaking, his eyebrows lifted slightly, his tone with a hint of playfulness, "Those who boast of deep family learning and outstanding scholarship, the aristocratic youths, already consider themselves superior, firmly believing their knowledge far exceeds others…"

"For them, assessment appointments are both a chance to prove themselves and a way to break the monopoly of top great families; why wouldn't they support it?"

"Thus, internal divisions will arise within families, and the forces supporting reform will increase, naturally weakening resistance…"

Pei Xun held the tea cup, looked thoughtful, then smiled lightly, looked at him, his tone full of admiration, "A Yan, your line of thought actually resembles the reforms of Duke Xiao of Qin when he employed Wei Yang…"

"Using interests to lever forces, using systems to break old situations, leveraging strength against strength, dividing opponents—quite high!"

"I didn't expect you could flexibly apply the experience of past reforms to educational reform; this vision and strategy are truly rare!"

Chen Yan nodded calmly, his tone earnest: "The predecessors reformed and innovated, leaving many successes and failures behind, which is just right for us later generations to learn from, to avoid taking the wrong path."

He paused briefly, then continued: "However, expanding recruitment of poor‑family and common‑clan students cannot be rushed; the intake must be opened little by little, the numbers increased gradually, slowly breaking the old pattern and giving all factions enough time to adapt....."

"Avoid provoking a fierce backlash, and we can advance steadily."

Countless past experiences tell Chen Yan that some matters must be subtly influenced over time, cut with a soft knife....

After all, society operates with inertia!

A good system does not produce immediate results; we still have to reduce assistance to the lowest possible level....

Yuwen Hu nodded in agreement, his tone full of praise: "Your considerations are indeed extremely thorough....."

He paused again, the smile on his face gradually fading as a realistic and thorny problem came to mind; his expression grew solemn, and in a deep voice he asked: "But even if we eliminate the resistance, the problem of poor‑family students lacking knowledge and books remains a hard bone....."

"Nowadays scholarship is essentially monopolized by aristocratic families; books are mostly hand‑copied, the cost is extremely high, and poor‑family youths cannot afford or access them....."

"Even with admission and examination opportunities, they still cannot compete with aristocratic students; how should we solve this dilemma?"

As the ruler of Great Zhou, Yuwen Hu can clearly see the benefits of promoting poor‑family and common‑clan individuals to the Court.....

Chen Yan, already confident, smiled calmly at the words, rose, clasped his fists, and said firmly and confidently: "Grand Preceptor, rest assured, I have a method that can greatly increase the efficiency of book printing!"

"Reduce the cost of books so that various classics, histories, and introductory texts can circulate widely in the markets!"

"Allow poor‑family youths to afford and read books, solving the knowledge deficiency problem at its root!"