After the hustle and bustle, it calms down.

After sending Zhao Hongming and Tian Sheng away, Zhao Lin also moved out of Linyuan and rented a house outside.

Zhao Lin came in second place in the imperial examination. As long as he does not travel during the palace examination, he has a very good chance of entering the Hanlin Academy.

Although Zhao Lin moved out of Linyuan, Zhao Lin still made frequent appointments with Shangguan Jie and Du Shaoxuan to visit and discuss with Lin Yun many administrative, military and economic issues of the dynasty.

Judging from the questions in previous palace examinations, most of the emperor would pay attention to these aspects. Shangguanjie even determined that this year's palace examination question is likely to ask how new scholars should deal with border troubles.

To this end, he also wrote a policy paper and conducted in-depth discussions with Lin Yun.

Lin Yun didn't pay much attention to the imperial examination, and the number one scholar didn't attract him at all. What he wanted was when he could return to the capital camp and regain control of an army.

…

March 6th was the day of the palace examination, but unfortunately the weather was not beautiful and it started to rain heavily.

Emperor Zhide issued an order to hold the palace examination in Huangji Hall.

At midnight in the morning, Lin Yun and 365 new scholars entered the Huangji Hall under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rites. Emperor Zhide had already taken his seat in advance, and hundreds of civil and military officials stood on both sides.

A salute officer came forward, and Xuan Xinke Jinshi came forward to pay homage to the emperor.

According to the actions previously prescribed by the Ministry of Rites, he stood up after three prayers. Then, under the guidance of the chamberlain, he walked to the desk that had been set up and sat down to prepare for the exam.

After a while, an official from the Ministry of Etiquette distributed the questions to everyone.

Lin Yun opened the test paper and saw a letter, saying: I am the emperor who rules the world peacefully. I create and maintain success, and the way is prosperous. I create hardships. I endure bandits and hardships... I have experienced history in my life, and I will be enlightened when I ask questions.

However, the details are described in the article, and I will read them personally.

Lin Yun read the test questions carefully and determined that the central meaning had nothing to do with border troubles. Instead, he asked the candidates: For more than a hundred years in the Central Plains of Chu and Dingding, although the country has been strong and has been surrendered from all over the world, natural disasters have occurred one after another and the national tax revenue has not been paid.

Ask students what they can do to deal with it.

This is a domestic policy issue. Although it seems to have nothing to do with the war on the border, it is closely connected. What is the war? It is nothing more than sufficient money and food, and only when the soldiers dare to fight can they be victorious.

…

Lin Yun took the test questions and fell into deep thought. The current problem in Dachu was the solidification of classes, serious slavery, the population was growing, and there were fewer and fewer people to pay taxes.

There is only one way to solve this financial problem, and that is to divide the households into acres, return the expenditure to the public, and make the officials and gentry pay for the work together.

But once this reform plan was proposed, he would become the sworn enemy of the vested interests. Thinking about the fate of Zhang Juzheng in the Ming Dynasty, he backed down.

But if you don't write this, what else should you write about? As the leader of the examination, not coming up with a distinctive policy statement will definitely be detrimental to his reputation.

…

Just when Lin Yun was deep in thought, Emperor Zhide on the throne was also paying attention to him. Although it was a bit far away and the light was not very good, Lin Yun did not write for a long time and still let Emperor Zhide

Feeling a little surprised.

As far as Emperor De's understanding of Lin Yun was concerned, writing policy articles was Lin Yun's strength. This question might be difficult for other scholars, but for Lin Yun, it should be easy to answer.

Emperor Zhide waited for about a cup of tea, then stood up and left. As soon as he left, most of the civil and military officials also left, leaving only a dozen important officials in the court. They were the record readers and were about to examine the three officials.

The examination papers of hundreds of new scholars were judged, and the top ten were selected and handed over to the emperor for review, and the first, second, third, and second place were selected.

…

At this time, Lin Yun had already made up his mind. Since there was too much resistance to internal reform, he suggested that the court streamline the army, expand the navy, reopen the shipping department, and resume maritime trade.

This suggestion will also be hated by others, but relatively speaking, the resistance will be much smaller. At the same time, he also has a selfish intention. It would be great if Emperor Zhide could send him to the southeast coast to rebuild the Shipping Department.

.

After thinking clearly, he immediately started writing a draft. The imperial examination only required an article of about a thousand words. However, having a small number of words did not mean that it was easy to write. On the contrary, to write a good policy essay within a thousand words, one must

You need to carefully consider the words, refine the sentences, and ponder over and over again.

…

The imperial examination lasted for three days in total, including one day for examination, one day for marking, and one day for releasing results.

Just after noon, some scholars began to hand in their papers. The examiner sealed the papers in person, covered them with security guards, and then took them to the side hall and handed them over to more than a dozen marking officers for review.

Although the names of the test papers were obscured, everyone tacitly understood that they would pay special attention to those who were at the top of the examination, and would never select those who were at the bottom of the examination to enter the first class, nor would they let those who were at the top of the examination

The child fell too far.

…

In the side hall, Zhou Muzhai, the chief minister of the cabinet, sat behind the desk and smiled at a dozen marking officials: "Who do you think has the best chance of winning the first prize in this subject?"

When Ci Fu Song Yue heard this, he glanced at Zhou Muzhai and felt a little surprised. Everyone sitting here knew that the emperor admired Lin Yun very much. Since Mr. Zhou Ge asked this, he must be trying to mess with Lin Yun.

The second assistant, Yang Hong, laughed and said: "I thought Jinling Zhao Lin had outstanding literary talent and extraordinary knowledge, so he would have a chance to win the top prize."

Xiao Jingan was not happy when he heard this. Yang Hong said this, clearly accusing him of inappropriate naming Lin Yun as Huiyuan.

He cupped his hands at Zhou Muzhai and said, "Old Zhou Ge, I think Suzhou Lin Yun is worthy of being the top scholar in this subject, both for his knowledge and literary talent."

Zhou Muzhai smiled and said: "Suzhou Lin Yun is indeed talented, but he is still young. If he is promoted too high rashly, it may be detrimental to his career."

Shi Fengwu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, nodded and praised: "Mr. Zhou Ge is right. Although Lin Yun is talented, he should not be promoted too high."

Zhou Muzhai asked Song Yue: "Master Song, what do you think?"

Song Yue said with a smile: "What Mr. Ge said makes sense. However, I think it is better to wait until you see the test paper before making any judgment."

As soon as he finished speaking, an official from the Ministry of Rites walked up to Zhou Muchai with an examination paper and whispered a few words to him.

Zhou Muzhai quickly took the test paper and read it carefully.

After a moment, he raised his hand and slapped the table fiercely, and said angrily: "You are too crazy!"

Yang Hong hurriedly asked: "Mr. Zhou Ge, what's wrong with you?"

Zhou Muzhai handed the examination paper in his hand to Yang Hong and said: "In the examination paper, Suzhou Lin Yun suggested that the court restore the Municipal Shipping Department, lift the maritime ban, and resume maritime trade."

When Song Yue heard this, his heart skipped a beat, "Sea ban is a national policy and it is difficult to change. That guy Lin Yun is not stupid either. How could he pull this big trap at this critical moment?"

After Yang Hong read the test paper in his hand, he sarcastically said: "I thought this person had some real talent, but now it seems that he is just a talker. In my opinion, he can be ranked among the top ten."

Outside."

Xiao Jingan: "Mr. Yang, can you show me Lin Yun's examination papers?"

Yang Hong stretched out his hand and said with a smile: "Master Xiao, you made a mistake this time."

Xiao Jingan took Lin Yun's test paper and said calmly: "Master Yang, what you said is wrong. Lin Yun's Pingnan policy was not a lie, right? If it falls outside the tenth place, how can we explain it to the scholars?

"

Zhou Muzhai: "Let's put Lin Yun in the top six or seven, so as not to cause outside discussion about this matter."

Shi Fengwu: "I second the proposal."

Yang Hong: "I agree too."

Just as Song Yue was about to speak, he saw another Ministry of Household official hurried in, handed a test paper to Zhou Muzhai, and whispered a few words to him.

Zhou Muzhai's face darkened when he heard this, and he quickly picked up the test paper and looked through it.

Immediately, he slapped the test paper hard on the desk and angrily shouted: "His heart is to be killed!"

Yang Hong hurriedly asked: "Mr. Zhou Ge, what's wrong with you?"

Zhou Muzhai picked up the examination paper and handed it to Yang Hong and said: "Sun Zhaolin of Guangdong suggested that the court should divide the land into acres, and the officials and gentry should pay for the food together."

Everyone gasped when they heard this. This suggestion was tantamount to digging the ancestral graves of the gentry. This Sun Zhaolin was a hundred times crazier than Lin Yun.
Chapter completed!