"Why can't you let me in?”A delicate female voice sounded.
Today was the day of the Enke examination. Many scholars were queuing up to enter the examination hall. There was a woman in the queue who was stopped after being discovered by the government runners.
"This Imperial Examination Hall is not a place where you can cause trouble. If you don't retreat, I'll capture you.”
"I know this is the imperial examination venue. I don't need you to remind me. I'm here today to take the imperial examination. Nowadays, all the royal primary schools had girls attending them, and there was no law that prohibited girls from taking the exam.”The petite but heroic-looking woman, who was about fifteen or sixteen years old, retorted.
Li Shimin hoped to recruit some talents this time, but there were not enough officials. Li Shimin had never seen what the ancient imperial examinations were like, so he came here to watch the show. In the end, he saw this scene. Haha, this is too interesting. This little girl is too bold. There has never been a female examination. Although there is no law, this is the ancient rule.
However, this was nothing to Li Shimin. There were many female officials in later generations. Moreover, there were even female emperors in history, let alone female officials. It was indeed a pleasant surprise for Li Shimin today. He just came to see if the ancient imperial examinations were like those on TV. In the end, he saw something even more strange.
Li Shimin was also quite happy that there were women coming to the imperial examination. He had always thought that it would be possible to wait until the female students of the Royal Primary School finished their studies. However, there was one today. He was a little regretful. If he had known earlier, he would have said in the newspaper that there was no gender restriction for this Enke exam.
Just as the bailiff was about to arrest the woman who he thought was causing trouble, Li Shimin asked the chamberlain to go forward and settle the matter. He let the woman enter the examination room. The chamberlain went up to the bailiff and whispered to the bailiff. After showing him his identity certificate, the bailiff was reminded by the chamberlain in a daze. He immediately let the girl enter the examination room in confusion.
Outside, many officials waiting to enter the examination hall cheered and discussed,"Why did you let her in?”"This, this…how can a woman take the imperial examination?”
The bailiffs began to maintain order and asked them to keep quiet. They continued to check and enter the examination hall one by one.
Li Shimin was in a good mood after this incident. He asked when he was having lunch at Empress Zhangsun's place," Second brother, what good news made you so happy today?”
Li Shimin told her about the imperial examination today. Empress Zhangsun was very surprised after hearing it." Second brother, you let that woman enter the examination room?”
"Why not? Just as the woman said, the country didn't forbid women from taking the imperial examination, right? There wasn't a rule that forbade women from becoming officials, right?”Li Shi Min didn't mind, thinking to himself, what is this? "Besides, there are quite a number of women who are in charge of the Royal Industry Company now, right?”
"Second brother, that is a business of the royal family, but the imperial examination is for entering the court as an official. The two are completely different.”Empress Zhangsun didn't know why Li Shimin was like this.
"Guanyin maid, don't talk about the thousand-year-old rules, what kind of rules are these? Don't say that only women and villains are difficult to raise. What Second Kong said was not an imperial edict. Like those female managers of the royal family's industries, were they worse than other men? As long as you had talent, you would be used by the Great Tang and would not be buried.”Li Shi Min waved his hand.
"Guanyin Maid, are you worried that this matter will be opposed by the world? In fact, there was no need to worry. Those ministers did not dare to object, and the aristocratic families could not jump up. As for those scholars, they could just publish a few articles in the newspaper tomorrow. If they did not understand these principles, their studies would be in vain. Then, these people were not needed. However, no matter what, the sky could not be overturned.”Li Shiming said confidently. A talented person wouldn't be able to rebel for three years, but a strong fist was the truth. This was the same everywhere.
"Second brother, do you know who this woman is?”Empress Zhangsun was really curious about this woman. No one had ever dared to do this before. However, if it wasn't for Li Shiming's policies in the past year, no matter how bold the woman was, she wouldn't have dared to do this.
"This woman is called Zhou Shuying. She was originally the daughter of an official. Her father, Zhou Tiren, was originally a minor official in the previous dynasty. He was dismissed because he offended the higher-ups. A few years ago, her father passed away. Now, she lives with an old mother and a younger brother. Because she has an old mother and younger brother to support and raise, she has been refusing her mother to marry her for the past two years.”Li Shimin had thoroughly investigated the woman who came to the imperial examination in the morning.
"Then how will second brother deal with this woman?”This was what Empress Zhangsun was most curious about. It was inevitable for women to gossip.
"We'll see when the time comes. If she meets the admission criteria, she'll be hired. If she doesn't meet the requirements, then there won't be any exceptions. If she's interested in becoming an official, she can study for a few more years to participate in the imperial examinations.”Although Li Shiming wanted her to participate in the imperial examination, he would not make an exception for her. After all, there was no precedent for a woman to be an official. If you wanted to be an official, you had to meet the requirements. Otherwise, no matter how strong Li Shiming was, it was hard to say.
The next day, the Royal Daily published a signed article titled " On Women's Half of the Sky ". The article aimed at liberating the social status of women. It pointed out the status and role of women in society in the development of human beings since ancient times. He pointed out that belittling and imprisoning women was a serious threat to society and families. In today's society, the problem of women's social status should be treated correctly, and women should be encouraged to participate in the construction of the Tang Empire. Women were also welcome to participate in the imperial examination, and women were treated the same as men in the imperial examination. The Tang Empire would not discriminate against women entering the official position. Finally, he emphasized that the Tang Empire would issue a series of laws and regulations aimed at protecting the social status and legal rights of women and children.
Today, the signed article of the Royal Daily once again triggered a great discussion in the Tang society. Some pedantic scholars beat their chests and stamped their feet, saying that this was a historical setback and went against the teachings of the saints, but it was useless. They had already said not to use the saints to talk about things. Your title was conferred by the emperor, and it was the emperor of the previous dynasty.
"Your Majesty, this old minister has something to report. Since ancient times, women in power have caused chaos in the world.”At the court meeting, the Crown Prince killer Li Gang stepped forward to ask Li Shimin to withdraw the decree that women could be officials. It seemed that almost everyone disagreed, but Li Shimin would not compromise with them at all.
"Oh, can you give me an example? Are the things you mentioned really what you said? Are you brainless or brainless? Don't you feel guilty for speaking against your conscience? A man pushing all the blame onto a woman? If you weren't obsessed with women, would you be like this? Pushing the blame when something went wrong? Should I think that some treacherous officials have read too much Confucianism? And you, Li Gang, don't know right from wrong because you've read too much? Is it forbidden for the world to read Confucianism, because reading too much Confucianism makes people unable to distinguish right from wrong?”Li Shi Min was very aggressive. He thought,"I don't have the time to talk nonsense with you guys. You're all shameless."
When Li Gang heard this, he almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He repeatedly said that he wanted to beg for bones, but Li Shiming didn't buy it. If he wanted to beg for bones, he had to get lost.
Seeing this, the civil officials in the court were all silent, not daring to speak. The generals were indifferent and hung high. The officials finally understood that Li Shimin had no intention of reasoning with them. There was no room for discussion with them when he made this decision. Therefore, they did not plan to delve into this issue. After all, they could not twist their arms.
The imperial examinations were held normally in this chaotic situation. On this day, the Minister of Rites, Doulukuan, reported the results of the preliminary examinations to Li Shimin. Two days later, the court examinations would be held, but there was a situation that required Li Shimin's ruling.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。