The Imperial College.
Doctor Wang Shen finished teaching the Great Learning in the Hall of Following Nature and left the classroom, nodding slightly to the students who passed him.
Compared with the quiet of the Hanlin Academy, Wang Shen preferred the bustle of the Imperial College. Although his transfer there carried something of a "demotion," he knew this was his opportunity.
The Hanlin Academy served as the emperor's "brain trust" or "teachers," and offered promising prospects.
Yet Fang Xiaoru was in charge of the Hanlin Academy at present, and the emperor clearly favored the Grand Secretariat when seeking advice. Remaining in the academy might not give Wang Shen any chance to rise.
I entered the Imperial College not because I did anything wrong, but because I bear the important duty of selecting talent for the emperor. If I handle this well, I will surely leave a good impression on him, and the day I take my place at court will not be far off.
But how to select that talent had left Wang Shen at an impasse for some time, unable to find a direction.
In scholarship and interpretation of the classics, the Imperial College is positively brimming with talent. But those old men are old enough to be my grandfathers. If I recommend them and one gets so excited at being entrusted with an important duty that he drops dead, won't I be finished too?
I can't let this bunch of grandfathers hold me back.
The Imperial College also had plenty of men who had failed to find their footing at thirty and remained bewildered at forty, but recommending them would not do either. Their minds refused to open. If they spent every day erecting monuments to the emperor's virtue and clearing up his doubts, one day his thunderous wrath might...
The sons and grandsons of the nobility did have some abilities, but those abilities seemed directed not toward the court, but toward the Qinhuai River. Recommending them and making the emperor go to the Qinhuai River every day to find them would hardly be appropriate...
Wang Shen was almost depressed. He was, after all, a learned scholar, yet selecting talent had become a tremendous difficulty.
Relying solely on knowledge of the classics would not do, relying solely on ability would not work, and relying solely on connections was out of the question.
What other way is there?
Then one day, Wang Shen suddenly asked himself a question: What is talent?
He had searched so desperately for talent that he had forgotten what talent actually was.
Balanced Discussions: The Harm of Jealousy stated: "People's talents differ in degree and cannot all be equal."
Master Who Embraces Simplicity: Recluses recorded: "Praise the worthy, prize virtue, and take joy in nurturing talent."
General Principles of Historiography: Narration stated: "Thus we know that people's talents differ, with distances such as these between them. In weighing their strengths and weaknesses, how could they be spoken of in the same breath?"
A talented person possessed learning, ability, and moral character.
Anyone admitted to study at the Imperial College had some learning. Then again, looking across the court, who there lacked learning?
The question was whether someone with learning also had ability, and whether he could get things done.
When a task lay before them, those who could identify the problem, devise a solution, and prevent it from recurring were talented people.
Those who confronted a problem with mouths full of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, benevolence, righteousness, and morality, yet could not propose a single solution, were mediocrities and counterfeit talents!
The emperor's requirements were "quick-witted, innovative, and well learned." Searching for talent through conventional methods alone would never work.
So Wang Shen had submitted a memorial, hoping Zhu Yunwen would permit him to "run wild" a little. Now the list of candidates had been sent up, but he still did not know whether the emperor would approve.
When Chancellor Cheng Shizhou saw Wang Shen, his face turned livid. Without even greeting him, he turned and took another route. This fellow is a demon. Sooner or later, I'll drive him out...
Wang Shen was summoned and entered the Hall of Martial Valor with an uneasy heart.
Looking at the anxious Wang Shen, Zhu Yunwen held up the memorial recommending candidates and said, "Very good. You selected ten people in just one month. Tell me, what impressed you about them?"
Wang Shen answered solemnly, "Your Majesty, Li Zhigang excels at planning and ingenious ideas, Guo Lian is adept at dealing with people, and Wang Huai is bold and brave... Each of these men has strengths and abilities. They will surely accomplish something in the future."
Zhu Yunwen considered this briefly and examined the names on the list carefully before saying in a low voice, "I trust you. We shall follow this list. Have Li Zhigang enter the Hanlin Academy as a compiler, Guo Lian enter the Ministry of Personnel's Directorate of Evaluations as a section secretary, and Wang Huai enter the Ministry of War's Directorate of Military Selection..."
Seeing Zhu Yunwen act with such swift decisiveness, Wang Shen was startled too.
Trust!
The emperor actually trusts me this much!
Wang Shen felt rather moved.
"A little while ago, you mentioned using some unusual methods to select talent. I am very curious. How did you do it?"
Zhu Yunwen asked.
Wang Shen gave an embarrassed smile and begged forgiveness. "I merely set a few questions. The students are competitive, but poor at adapting. I set questions that tested their quick thinking, and those who performed best were the talents."
"Hmm. Then how did you determine that Wang Huai was bold and brave? Surely you cannot test courage with a question?"
Zhu Yunwen was somewhat puzzled.
Wang Shen swallowed and said quietly, "Well, I merely locked a group of students in a room, then tossed a python inside..."
"A python?"
Zhu Yunwen's eyes widened, and a chill ran through him. Isn't this fellow being a little too ruthless...
Those poor students. He's going to torment them to death...
"Rest assured, Your Majesty. The python's teeth had been pulled, and it was not venomous. It would not hurt the students."
Wang Shen hurried to explain.
Zhu Yunwen breathed a sigh of relief. The method was indeed simple and brutal.
One test revealed whether they had courage: when danger confronted them, who was the first to desert, who stayed where he was to consider a response, and who had already begun to act.
Everything was clear at a glance, and the results were striking.
As for how many had fainted from fright, whether they would suffer lingering nightmares, or whether anyone complained to the chancellor, those were internal matters for the Imperial College. They had nothing to do with Zhu Yunwen.
Judging from this incident, Wang Shen was a clever man, and one who was good at discovering and testing talent.
Zhu Yunwen affirmed Wang Shen's work. "You did nothing wrong. Have no misgivings. I have another task for you."
"Please give me your instructions, Your Majesty."
"Identify the Imperial College's ten greatest shortcomings!"
"Ten greatest shortcomings?"
Wang Shen looked astonished.
As the Ming Dynasty's highest seat of learning, how could the Imperial College have shortcomings?
Zhu Yunwen said calmly, "Even the sages knew that no one is perfect. How could the Imperial College avoid problems? Only by identifying and resolving them can it truly supply the court with talent. Otherwise, with officials who merely indulge in grandiose talk and use the past to govern the present, how can this Ming Empire brim with vitality and usher in an age of prosperity?"
"Now that you have entered the Imperial College, identify problems in its methods of teaching, administration, study, daily living, and so forth. Then consider ways to improve them and submit your proposals to the chancellor, the deputy chancellor, and me."
Wang Shen replied solemnly, "I obey Your Majesty's decree."
After finishing his official business, Zhu Yunwen returned to Chang'an Palace. Holding Zhu Wenkui, he said to Ma Enhui, "At court today, someone reported that Li Zengzhi had visited the Jiaofang Office during the initial mourning period."
"Your Majesty, the child is here. Besides, the Jiaofang Office falls under the Ministry of Rites. I have no authority over it."
Ma Enhui took the child and gave Zhu Yunwen a reproachful look.
The Jiaofang Office was responsible for performing music at celebrations and welcoming honored guests. It was also an official brothel, with numerous musicians and female entertainers. These female entertainers were government courtesans who attended to the powerful.
Although regulations stipulated that the Jiaofang Office's female entertainers sold their skills, not their bodies, if a powerful man wanted a woman who had no freedom whatsoever, he needed only to lift a finger.
For instance, he could collude with the Jiaofang Office's officials, name the woman who had caught his eye, and hand over a little silver. Then the woman would "die suddenly."
Once dead, she naturally had to be struck from the Jiaofang Office's register. As for where she was taken, or whether she was alive or dead, no one cared.
But Zhu Yunwen cared.
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