Zhang Beichen started to attend court and handle official business every day.
During this period, who knew what Wei Yao was planning? She actually changed her previous idea of attacking other kingdoms at the start and had been quiet the entire time.
Zhang Beichen quickly discovered the problem. As a mid-level public official, he was responsible for recommending and stopping middle and lower-level officials.
However, every time he submitted a recommendation list, all of the people on it were from noble families!
It was true that the literacy rate of the noble disciples was higher, but there were also many of them who were ignorant, immoral, or ignored the law.
Zhang Beichen didn't want them to take up important positions, but he found that his opinions were completely ignored by the officials. They were divided according to their background, not their talent.
It was the same in the entire officialdom in Kingdom Wei!
When Kingdom Wei had just been established, it was not a big deal to do so because the first group of nobles was all people with real talent and they worked hard. That was how they could establish a kingdom.
Today, Kingdom Wei's aristocrats indulged themselves in debauchery, and there were only a few who were cultured and educated.
Even Gongzi Jiu, who had great ambition but little talent and only knew how to talk big, was considered outstanding among the aristocrats!
One could imagine how many mediocre people were in high positions in Kingdom Wei!
"No wonder Kingdom Wei started out so well but declined every time the situation developed further. It turns out that it's gold on the outside but rotten on the inside!" Zhang Beichen understood the key point.
[You remonstrate with the empress of Kingdom Wei, hoping that she would issue a recruitment order to select capable people so that commoners could have the opportunity to be officials.]
[Your remonstration caused dissatisfaction among the courtiers, and they condemned you in speech and in writing. The empress of Kingdom Wei suppressed the objections and agreed to your remonstration.]
"The empress of Kingdom Wei is not bad this round. At least she listens to everything I say," Zhang Beichen thought.
[The empress of Kingdom Wei has issued a recruitment order, attracting students from all over the world. The power of Wei has increased, but it has also caused dissatisfaction among the nobles.]
Zhang Beichen began to deal with these problems. On one hand, he had to assess these students and give them a position. On the other hand, he had to find a way to get rid of those mediocre or corrupt officials in Wei's imperial court.
Without a doubt, this would offend many people.
[In order to make it easier for you to do things, the empress of Kingdom Wei has promoted you to the position of the Commandment of Justice, one of the nine ministers!]
Zhang Beichen's current official position was already very high!
In this era, society was in disarray, and the system of each kingdom was different. It was even more so for official positions. Sometimes, when the monarch was feeling happy, there would be another official title added. Wei originally had a system of three dukes and nine ministers, but the two most powerful ministers were Prime Minister Gongzi Jiu and General Pang Ming.
If Zhang Beichen was promoted by one more rank, he would be on the same level as Gongzi Jiu and Pang Ming!
This naturally caused the officials to be even more dissatisfied, and Wei Yao's reputation as the ruler also fell. Even the elders of the ruling family came over to teach her a lesson and told her not to go too far.
"You guys want to educate me? A bunch of old farts!" Wei Yao didn't pay any attention to these people. She had provided them with good food and drinks, and they still had the nerve to point their fingers at her!
She remembered that when the simulation failed a few times, the people of the ruling family all ran away with Gongzi Jiu. They didn't even have the courage to live or die with the kingdom, so Wei Yao naturally looked down on them.
At this moment, Wei Yao was only thinking about how to train Zhang Beichen.
She checked Zhang Beichen's attributes. Zhang Beichen had now changed from a blue card to a three-star purple card, but he had not unlocked any special achievements.
It was probably because she had taken away the opportunities that could have been used to let Zhang Beichen grow and develop.
"Eh, there's an intimacy level here!" Wei Yao realized something that she had been neglecting. "In the previous simulation, Ying Yiren actually married Zhang Beichen. Their intimacy level probably increased."
"I can do it too!" Wei Yao started to study it with great interest.
...
[The empress of Kingdom Wei rewarded you with a sword and said, "My dear subject, a sword should be given to a hero. I hope you like it."]
[Your intimacy level with the empress of Kingdom Wei has increased by 10 points.]
When Zhang Beichen saw the notification, he couldn't help but feel puzzled. "This round, the empress of Kingdom Wei has changed too much. She's a little too nice to me. Could it be that the ending of the last round affected her?"
He thought, "Could it be that the empress of Kingdom Wei in the simulator also exists in reality?"
Thinking of this possibility, Zhang Beichen was completely shocked! This simulator could let him choose to assist the seven monarchs at the beginning!
This meant that not only Ying Yiren and Wei Yao, but the other five monarchs were also very likely to be real people in this game!
"No wonder, no wonder their behavior is so human-like. It's clearly a similar opening, but the result is different every time. All the kingdoms are beginning to avoid the crisis of their own destruction because they have also experienced failure and learned their lessons!" Zhang Beichen had a feeling of sudden realization!
While he was thinking, he found that the message was updated again.
[The empress of Kingdom Wei has invited you to a banquet in the palace. As an official, it is not appropriate for you to refuse. When you went to the banquet, you found that only you and the empress of Kingdom Wei were present. Both of you drank and talked until late at night.]
[Your intimacy level with the empress of Kingdom Wei has increased by 10 points.]
Increasing intimacy level could be accomplished by giving gifts and sending invitations. Some had a cooldown of one day, while others had a cooldown of one month.
However, Zhang Beichen realized that something was not right. This was because the empress of Kingdom Wei had either sent gifts or invited him to the party at the exact same time that the cooldown ended.
[The empress of Kingdom Wei rewarded you with a silk robe and said, "My beloved official, this is the armor that I ordered to be custom-made for you. Quickly try it on!"]
[You've changed into the armor, and you look extraordinarily handsome. The empress of Kingdom Wei is very happy. Your intimacy level has increased by 10 points.]
[The empress of Kingdom Wei rewarded you with a set of dragon-patterned armor and said, "My dear subject, this is the armor that my craftsman has specially made for you. Quickly try it on?"]
[When you change into armor, you look valiant and intimidating. The empress of Kingdom Wei likes it even more. Your intimacy level has increased by 10 points.]
[The empress of Kingdom Wei invited you to go on a spring outing in the suburbs. Your intimacy level has increased by 20 points.]
...
"F*ck!" Zhang Beichen was dumbfounded when he saw the series of messages. The empress of Kingdom Wei was trying to woo him. What was going on?
As a subject, it was difficult for him to refuse the empress's orders, so Zhang Beichen could only watch as their intimacy level soared, from friendship and care to a high degree of trust, and it was about to reach love!
"No, I can't." Although Zhang Beichen also felt that the empress of Kingdom Wei was not bad and that she was pretty and had a great figure, she couldn't just focus on her love life without caring about her career! If they continued like this, they would neglect state affairs! The other kingdoms were trying their best to develop, and when they have developed enough, wouldn't Kingdom Wei be done for?
He started to try to reject the empress of Kingdom Wei's invitation and gifts.
...
[Zhang Beichen rejected your invitation!] Wei Yao saw the notification and clenched her fists. "Zhang Beichen, you can't escape from me."
Wei Yao had another way to increase their intimacy level, which was to adopt Zhang Beichen's advice and implement his policies.
Zhang Beichen proposed to set up schools all over the kingdom to educate the people.
Wei Yao immediately agreed and even waved her hand, using a large amount of money from the national treasury to support the project.
[The empress of Kingdom Wei fully supports your policy. Your intimacy level with the empress of Kingdom Wei has increased by 10 points.] Zhang Beichen saw the notification and could only let it be. After all, it was all for the sake of strengthening Kingdom Wei.
Zhang Beichen had pushed out the recruitment order for two years, and the Kingdom Wei's national strength had improved. Now, it had the strength to swallow one or two kingdoms.
But Zhang Beichen felt that it wasn't enough. If he wanted to change, he had to change it completely. If more commoners and scholars could enter Wei's imperial court, not only would it increase the strength of Wei, but it would also strengthen Wei Yao's power!
This was because these commoner scholars had no backing. Their backing could only be the monarch! They would rise and fall together with their monarch!
At that time, no matter if Kingdom Wei went on an expedition or was attacked, the courtiers and generals would not easily betray or run away.
So Zhang Beichen thought about it and decided to make a big move.
[During the court discussions, you advised the empress of Kingdom Wei to change the official selection system of Wei from the recommendation and inheritance system to the imperial examination system. Set up an imperial examination to recruit talented people to serve the Kingdom Wei!]
There were currently three types of official selection systems in Wei and the other kingdoms. The first was a recommendation. For example, an official could recommend someone to be an official.
The second was inheritance. The son of a high official would still become a high official, and the son of a Prime Minister would still become the Prime Minister. Similar to the four generations and three Dukes of Yuan Shao's family in a parallel universe, the situation now was even more serious than before.
The third was to persuade the king or important officials and become their hanger-on and then be placed in an important position. Zhang Beichen had used this method before.
The third method was easier to deal with. At least, the people who became hanger-on and aides had a certain level of ability. However, recommendations and inheritances tended to favor relatives and friends, choosing many people with no talent or virtue. Such a system further expanded the influence of the nobles and weakened the power of the monarch.
A person like Gongzi Jiu could even be the Prime Minister without talent. It was because he was the representative of the power of the ruling family. Without him, the orders of the empress of Kingdom Wei could not be carried out!
If he wanted to change this situation completely, he had to shuffle the cards! The imperial examination system was a great weapon!