Chapter 20: Nine-Rank Justice Zhong Yao still couldn't figure out Cao Rui's intention, but he was sure that Cao Rui must have some intention. Now that we are here, let’s make the best of it and hear what Cao Rui has to say next. When Zhong Yao saw that Zhong Yu had received the reward from the emperor, he supported himself on the mat with his hands and pretended to stand up and salute. Cao Rui said quickly: "No need to be polite, General. You are the elder of the country, so you should sit down at the table." Zhong Yao sighed, "I thank Your Majesty for the reward on behalf of my son. I am already old and I am afraid that I don't have much time left. I am afraid that the prosperity of our family in the future will depend on this young man, Zhong Yu!" Cao Rui secretly complained in his heart. You, General Zhong, said you were counting on Zhong Yu, but you didn't know how much your one-year-old son Zhong Hui would achieve in the future! Cao Rui still had a smile on his face: "Zhong Yu is very smart and will definitely become a pillar of the country. By the way, Taiwei, I heard from Zhong Yu that Taiwei has another young son named Zhong Hui. Why don't you let me meet him too?" Zhong Yao ordered Zhong Yu: "Yu'er, His Majesty has summoned you, hurry up and bring your brother out." Zhong Yu bowed, turned and walked out. Cao Rui continued, "I heard that the Taiwei was born in a noble family in Yingchuan, and his family has studied the Spring and Autumn Annals for generations. I am still young and do not know many things about the pre-Han Dynasty."
"I heard that the Grand Commandant's ancestor was Zhong Hao, one of the 'Four Leaders of Yingchuan'?" Seeing Cao Rui mentioned his grandfather, Zhong Yao could no longer be vague. Zhong Yao cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is referring to my grandfather. One of the so-called Four Elders of Yingchuan is Zhong Hao, the ancestor of my family. The other three are Xun Shu, Chen Shi, and Han Shao." Cao Rui said: "The reputation of the Moral Family is well-deserved. If I remember correctly, Xun Lingjun is the grandson of Xun Shu, and Chen Zhenjun is the grandson of Chen Shi?" Zhong Yao nodded and said, "Your Majesty is right. People like us from Yingchuan are only good at studying and studying classics, and we are really not good at anything else." Cao Rui said: "Studying and studying the classics is also about family tradition. The previous emperor sent the attendant Zheng Cheng to teach me the classics. I learned a lot, but I still can't get the key points." "The family of the Grand Commandant has been studying the Spring and Autumn Annals for generations. Did the Grand Commandant also teach the Spring and Autumn Annals in the Imperial Academy?" That’s right, there was an Imperial Academy during the Three Kingdoms period. During the Luoyang Rebellion at the end of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo burned down the city of Luoyang. Not only were the palaces of the Eastern Han Dynasty reduced to ashes, but the Imperial Academy was also destroyed and abandoned, the classics and articles were scattered, teachers and students fled everywhere, and even the "Xiping Stone Classics" engraved on stone were smashed. After Cao Pi became emperor, it had been 30 years since the destruction of Luoyang Imperial College. Cao Pi ordered to "sweep away the ashes of the Imperial College and repair the defects of the old stone tablets". He built a new building on the old site of the Imperial College outside Kaiyang Gate and summoned teachers and students to return to the Imperial College. During the reign of Emperor Shun of Han, the Imperial College had 240 buildings and 1,850 rooms. During the reign of Emperor Zhi of Han, the number of students at the Imperial College had exceeded 30,000. It is easy to destroy, but difficult to rebuild. It is easy to repair the library building, and it is easy to recruit students. But the most difficult thing was to rebuild the faculty of the Imperial College. According to the official rules of the Eastern Han Dynasty, to become a doctor of the Imperial College, that is, a teacher in the Imperial College, one must be at least fifty years old and be a great scholar who is well-read in poetry and books. However, due to the many years of war at the end of the Han Dynasty, the official academic heritage was interrupted for thirty years, and the aristocratic families in various places were also in danger of their own future. How could they have the time to study the classics? The great scholars have all been cut off from their generation! Cao Pi ordered the recruitment of great Confucian scholars, but in the end, only three people met the criteria. There were only three people, including the Grand Commandant Zhong Yao from the Yingchuan Zhong family. There was no other choice but Cao Pi could only order the age standard to be relaxed, and ultimately only nineteen doctors were recruited.
The person in charge of the overall work of the Imperial Academy was Taiwei Zhong Yao, which also made good use of Taiwei Zhong's personal strengths. When Zhong Yao heard Cao Rui asking about the Spring and Autumn Annals, he said solemnly: "I can teach the Spring and Autumn Annals, and I can also teach the other four classics. Apart from me, the only other doctor who can teach the Five Classics is Yue Xiang." "The other doctors can only teach one or two classics." "I am really worried that the classics will be lost!" Cao Rui asked again: "According to the Taiwei, how long will it take for students at the Imperial College to become officials after studying the classics?" Zhong Yao asked in return: "Your Majesty, do you think that students of the Imperial College should be appointed as officials?" Cao Rui was puzzled: "If the Imperial Academy does not cultivate talents for the country, then what is the point of keeping it?" Zhong Yao patiently said, "Your Majesty, when selecting talents for a country, there are two considerations: 'talent' and 'virtue'." "In his edict seeking talents, Emperor Wu said that we should select people based on their talents. The meaning of talents here refers to the ability to govern the country." "Now the prefectures and counties select filial and honest people, select people with high moral character as talents for the country, and grant them official positions. This is to select virtue." "Both 'talent' and 'virtue' are human characteristics. Although teaching classics at the Imperial Academy can improve students' talents and virtues, it is not a direct way." "Therefore, I think that it is not possible to say that a student who has studied for three or five years can be granted an official position to govern the people or handle secular affairs for the emperor. If we really want to be an official, we should still look at talent and virtue." That hits the point. Since Cao Pi became emperor, the Wei Kingdom has implemented the famous "Nine-Rank System" for selecting talents. As the name suggests, the 'Nine-Rank System' is a standard that divides people into nine levels and is used to select talents for the country. Each state has a Da Zhong Zheng official who is in charge of evaluating the people of several counties in the state, and each county has a Xiao Zhong Zheng official. The main responsibility of the Zhongzheng official is to evaluate people. There are three main aspects to evaluating people. The family background refers to the qualifications, official career and nobility of the father and grandfather’s generation. The second one, "behavior profile", refers to the overall evaluation of a person's conduct and talents, which is equivalent to a comment on personal morality. The third step is to determine the grade, which is based mainly on the person’s conduct, combined with the person’s family background, and ultimately a grade is given to the person. The core of the Nine-Rank System was the Zhongzheng official appointed by the imperial court, who evaluated people and determined their ranks for the purpose of selecting officials for the imperial court. But before the Nine-Rank System was introduced, the appointment and dismissal of officials was much more chaotic, relying entirely on reputation and recommendation. There are many more factors to consider, but the main thing is fame. There are many ways to improve fame, such as observing mourning. Yuan Benchu observed mourning for six years, and earned the name "Yuan Benchu, a model for the world", which attracted many party members to follow him. Zhao Xuan "observed mourning" for more than twenty years just to become famous and become an official. Even Cao Cao was a beneficiary of this system. Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was a former imperial tutor. When Cao Cao was only 20 years old, he was selected as a "filial and honest official" and went to Luoyang to serve as a palace official. The purpose of Cao Rui's visit today was to ask Zhong Yao whether the Imperial Academy could be used to select officials. Zhong Yao, who had been worried for a long time, finally understood Cao Rui's intention. For scholars, the most important thing is to be an official. You recommend my son, I recommend your son, and both of our sons can become officials.
Even with the Nine-Rank System, the local Zhongzheng was still controlled by aristocratic families, and the ability to become an official also depended on family background. Now Cao Rui comes to ask the Imperial College? If the Imperial College can also select officials, what will happen to the Nine-Rank Officials? (End of this chapter)