Chapter 121: Support for Imperial Exam Candidates)
Liu Bowen really felt sorry for this former disciple, and even blamed himself for not teaching him well.
Yang Xian felt very proud at this time, and it proved that no matter how smart a person is, when his mind is blinded by desire, he can only do so.
Li Shanchang's peripheral vision glanced at Yang Xian, who was only less than half a body slower than him. Without saying anything, he braced himself and bowed to the heroic young man in front of him: "I see you, Your Highness."
Yang Xian on the side also bowed and saluted: "I haven't seen your Highness for many days. Your Highness is a long time ago."
Zhu Biao smiled and stretched out his hand to support me and said: "You two gentlemen, please forgive me. Today I am here to ask about the imperial examination."
Yang Xian continued: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince cares so much about the imperial examination, I think those scholars will shed tears of gratitude if they know about it.
Li Shanchang nodded and said: "That's right. The imperial examination is for the country to recruit talented people, and it is also for cultivating new officials for the court. In the future, these people will serve the Tianjia. It is natural for them to be lucky to have His Highness taking care of them."
Zhu Biao stepped forward and Li Shanchang and Yang Xian hurriedly followed. Zhu Biao looked into the distance and asked behind him: "Have all the scholars from all places arrived?"
Yang Xian lowered his head slightly and replied: "All the scholars from all places who can reach it should have arrived. After all, the exam start date is not far away. Those who haven't come yet should have given up."
Zhu Biao nodded: "Where are they all? Have they finished counting their place of origin and so on?"
Yang Xian didn't know about this. Li Shanchang replied: "The imperial court has arranged for the registration, but I am not sure whether there are any omissions."
Zhu Biao frowned: "How are the scholars arranged? Doesn't the imperial court have a unified arrangement?"
As soon as Li Shanchang said the word "this", he was interrupted by Yang Xian: "As far as I know, the imperial court did not arrange uniform food and lodging for the scholars, so Li Xiangguo was not sure about the statistics of the scholars.
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Zhu Biao frowned: "This is not good. Scholars come all the way from afar. Why is it that the court doesn't even arrange basic food and lodging? What if some children from poor families cannot afford food and lodging!"
Li Shanchang immediately bowed and said: "This is indeed the old minister's negligence. Please punish me, Your Highness."
Zhu Biao didn't know what to say: "The Prime Minister is busy with government affairs, and I can understand that, but this matter is indeed not done carefully enough. I should take this as a warning in the future!"
After Li Shanchang accepted the promise, Zhu Biao told Yang Xian: "Immediately arrange for the uniform accommodation of the scholars. If you can't find a place for a while, then settle in a larger inn first. Make sure that the scholars are in good health."
He must be in a state to take part in the imperial examination."
Yang Xian immediately agreed. At this time, Li Shanchang said: "If you want to arrange it as soon as possible, you will need some money. To withdraw it from the Ministry of Household Affairs, you will need a set of procedures from the Ministry of Finance. It will be a waste of time. Why don't you ask His Highness the Crown Prince to help you."
Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment and then nodded and said: "That's okay. Yang Xian, then go to the East Palace to get some money and then go arrange this matter."
After Yang Xian agreed, he glanced at Li Shanchang, cursed the old fox in his heart, and then followed a eunuch to the East Palace.
He can't say that he doesn't need money from His Highness the Crown Prince and the Ministry of Household Affairs. I can just pay this small sum myself.
His annual salary is only a small amount, and he spends so much money so generously. It is hard for him to tell the Holy Father that I have embezzled money.
Zhu Biao looked at Yang Xian's retreating back and said: "It is taboo to use your own money to arrange food and accommodation for scholars who are about to take the imperial examination."
Li Shanchang bowed and said: "If I or other princes had done this, they would have to bear the thundering wrath of the Holy One. Only if His Highness did it, the Holy One would only be happy and not punished at all."
Zhu Biao shook his head: "Thanks to the kindness and favor of my father, I should do my duty and obey the rules. How can I be arrogant because of my favor? I will go to apologize to my father tonight."
Li Shanchang didn't say anything. The Holy Sage asked the prince to follow him to take charge of the imperial examination in order to accumulate praise for the prince. Now it is a rare opportunity for the prince to show kindness to the scholars, so naturally he should not let it go easily.
Li Shanchang looked at the calm-faced Zhu Biao and nodded in his mind. Based on the Holy Master's favor, it is not surprising that the young prince is so proud and domineering.
But the prince acted calmly and resolutely, and he was well-founded in his advance and retreat. Just now he said that he wanted the prince to pay. If the prince was prudent, he should refuse, but the prince decisively agreed.
This can also be understood to mean that the prince knew that the emperor would not blame him, so he agreed, but he still bluntly said that he would personally apologize when he went back in the evening. This was because he knew the rules, and the emperor would only be happier in this way.
It's really rare, just look at Yang Xian, he's already starting to feel like he's wandering wherever he goes. He's really lived in vain for more than forty years, and there's a huge difference compared to His Highness the Crown Prince.
Zhu Biao led the people to Li Shanchang's official office. He was surrounded by people from the East Palace. There was no need to worry about loyalty. Zhu Yuanzhang had personally arranged for him to be by his side.
Zhu Biao said with some regret: "It seems that Yang Xian has exposed his true nature. How he talks and acts is not as good as before. When he was in Yangzhou, he was still a capable official, but now..."
Li Shanchang opened his mouth and consoled him: "Why should your Highness feel sorry for such a person? Yang Xian is a narrow-minded and cruel official. He does not have the magnanimity to govern and assist the world. In the future, the imperial examinations will provide a steady stream of talents for Your Highness.
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Zhu Biao nodded and didn't bother to bother Yang Xian anymore: "How many Jinshi places has my father set for this imperial examination?"
Li Shanchang answered: "Because this is the first imperial examination since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Holy Spirit has graciously expanded the number of admissions, and has recruited a total of 300 Jinshi."
Li Shanchang thought for a while and said: "After they pass the palace examination, they will determine the ranking. They will be admitted as our new Jinshi in the Ming Dynasty. Thirty-six people will be in the first place. The top three will be the top two and the second. The rest will be awarded Jinshi and the second.
Sixty-four people in Class A are granted Jinshi background, and two hundred people in Class A are granted Jinshi background. Moreover, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, there will be exams for the next two years. If there are those who fail the exam, they will still have a chance next year."
Zhu Biao nodded. Three hundred people is not too much, but it is still a lot. What's more, there will be Enke next year. But now the Ming Dynasty can only eat three thousand Jinshi, let alone three hundred. It is really everywhere.
We're short of manpower.
Li Shanchang looked at Zhu Biao's face and knew that he was a little too young: "Your Highness, since the imperial examination was launched in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there have only been more than 100,000 Jinshis until now, and 100,000 of them are Jinshis from the Song Dynasty."
Zhu Biao nodded. The Song Dynasty emphasized literature and the number of scholars in each subject was eight or nine hundred. It is no wonder that there were so many Jinshi.
Li Shanchang said: "My Ming Dynasty is now in short supply of population, and so are the talents. The reason why I did not suggest that the Holy One grant more quotas is because I am afraid that there will be people who are cheating.
Zhu Biao responded: "That's true. Among the first three hundred people, I'm afraid all of them lack ability."
The two of them talked about the new Jinshi Scholarship and returned to the official office where Li Shanchang worked.