Officials from the Ministry of Rites guided the candidates for the General Examination and the Enke Examination into two groups. They entered the Jinshui Bridge from the Meridian Gate and walked to the Fengtian Hall to participate in today's palace examination.
In the open space in front of the main hall, seats have already been arranged. Every two battles, there is a big Han general, wearing a sword and hanging sword, guarding proudly.
Everyone who took the exam was humble and did not dare to make any mistakes.
Some people have been living in poverty for ten years, just look at this once. Some people have been miserable for most of their lives, and they just rely on today to turn around.
The high-spirited fighting spirit soars to the sky and breaks the sky.
Song Li, the Minister of Rites, stood up and loudly announced the start of the exam... Then someone handed the test paper with the test questions in front of everyone.
The moment they got the test questions, some were happy, some were solemn, and some felt chills in their hearts... These people perfectly interpreted what it means to have mixed tastes, joys and sorrows, all different.
Xu Jingchang is also one of the examiners today. He is sitting in his seat, looking down at the audience, with a faint smile on his lips.
It was not unreasonable for him to bet on the palace examination.
Theoretically, as the highest-level exam, the palace exam is not complicated. There is only one question and it only lasts one day. There is no need to hide your name. After passing the exam, the results will be available immediately.
And this question is not an eight-legged essay, but a policy argument. That is, the emperor asks outstanding students for advice, and then they make suggestions based on their own knowledge.
After the emperor reviewed the papers, he ranked them according to his preferences and announced them to the world, which meant that the imperial examination was completed.
See, the so-called eight-part essay selection can only be reflected before the general examination... The things tested in the palace examination are very pragmatic. For example, if there have been floods and droughts in recent years, the question in the palace examination may be about preparing for famine. If it is about using troops abroad, it will ask about military affairs.
Regarding money, if there is a major case of corruption, ask how to rectify the administration of officials.
There are many knowledgeable people regarding these practical issues, but I'm sorry, but you are simply not qualified to take part in the palace examination.
The previous rounds of exams have completed the screening... This is equivalent to giving you three sets of plans, two of which are basically the same, and one is completely unacceptable... How can you choose?
No matter how you choose, they are all disciples of Confucius and Mencius, and they are all disciples of Zhu Xi.
No matter what the policy topic is, it is all about the Confucian way of benevolent government, recuperate, care for the people, and govern the country with virtue...
I want to hear other voices, but I'm sorry, but I can't.
Because the essence of the imperial examination is to speak on behalf of the sage... You don't need to have any ideas, just explain the way of the sage... But the sage said so many things, how should we understand it?
At this time, it is time to invite Master Zhu Xi. He explained the sage’s words. You can just follow Zhu Xi’s explanations.
To put it bluntly, the more the imperial examination develops, the more it becomes a dojo inside a snail shell.
The situation may have been better in the early Ming Dynasty, but in the later period, the imperial examinations were completely out of touch with practice.
What is competed in the imperial examination is not true ability, but a kind of pure examination-taking skills... Of course, it is not ruled out that there are some powerful people who can not only take the imperial examination, but also have real abilities.
But after all, such people are a rare minority. Most of them are still scholars who are divorced from practice and cannot shoulder the important task of governing the country.
The biggest difference in this palace examination is that there are many people with practical experience who have passed Enke and entered the palace examination, and can compete with those imperial examination masters who have fought their way through.
Who is smarter depends on this competition.
The topic Zhu Di asked was also very simple. I talked about a lot of background before, but in summary, there are only four words: how to manage money.
Zhu Di, who had inherited the country for more than a year, was still troubled by finances.
The trauma of the Jingnan Campaign was far from being healed that quickly.
The emperor needs to ask Ji Qunxian how to make the country rich?
Zhu Di glanced at all the examiners and said calmly: "Today, under the watchful eyes of me and all the ministers, the imperial examination must be fair and selfless?"
All the ministers nodded, no one dared to talk nonsense.
Zhu Di added: "Today's recruitment of talents must be based on real talents and practical learning, and they must be able to provide useful suggestions to the country, rather than just empty talk!"
The ministers hesitated for a moment and nodded again.
This is irrefutable, but people like Jian Yi and others have already felt strong uneasiness.
The imperial examination progressed very quickly, and by the afternoon, the candidates had stopped writing one after another.
Zhu Di issued an order to collect the test papers and send the students out. The emperor and his ministers immediately reviewed the papers.
"Without further ado, everyone, hurry up and take a look."
In front of Xu Jingchang, there was also a pile... He picked up the top portion and only glanced at the roll, and he felt that it was pleasing to the eye.
The handwriting on it is neater than the printed ones, and every word is impeccable. Reading this kind of paper is not a judgment, but a kind of enjoyment.
It's like looking at a piece of art.
"Okay, great!"
He admired from the bottom of his heart that just this handwriting was worth a Three-Tripod Armor.
Then Xu Jingchang read what he had written, and Xu Jingchang immediately frowned. This person believed that the core of financial management lies in enriching the national treasury, and to enrich the national treasury, one must live among those who live, and those who eat among the few... In short, it is to
Increase revenue and reduce expenditure.
Looking further down, his suggestions include cutting expenditures, eliminating redundant personnel, avoiding large-scale construction projects, not doing side work, resting with the people, frivolous corvee and low taxes... The standards cannot be more standard.
Xu Jingchang read all the way...he only had one thought left. What a good handwriting, but his ability was really wasted.
He was looking at his name, and his name was Zeng Qi. Looking at his place of origin, as expected, he was from Jiangxi.
Xu Jingchang hesitated again and again and wanted to throw it away, but the roll noodles were so good that he was reluctant to throw them away even if they were a cliché.
Why!
Did you hear that, during the exam, it really helps if my handwriting is better?
Xu Jingchang still showed mercy.
Then he continued to read down... The examination papers were graded on a mobile basis. Each person was allocated some time, and according to their own preferences, they put the articles they liked on top and then passed them on to the next person. If everyone liked them, they would
Put it at the front and give it to Zhu Di for making the final decision.
If there is a dispute or you can't make up your mind, leave it to Zhu Di.
In this way, everyone watched until the time when the lamp was held, and finally a highly controversial article appeared, and Song Li, the Minister of Rites, simply threw it aside.
"This humanities subject is not right. If the candidates were not dismissed from the palace examination, this person would definitely not be able to pass."
At this moment, Xie Jin, who was not far away from Song Li, glanced at the article, couldn't help but reached out and took it, put it in front of him and started reading.
There is no doubt that his handwriting is not as pleasing to the eye as Zeng Qi's, and his diction is also very poor, the kind that makes people frown when looking at it.
The first impression was not good.
But after taking a closer look at his content, Xie Jin's eyes lit up. This method is not bad!
This candidate suggested that the government's subsidies should be put together with the performance of the officials... At present, almost all officials in the capital have subsidies. As a result, regardless of good or bad, they can receive so much extra every month.
It doesn't matter whether you work more or less, it's the same.
How does this work?
The court cannot spend money without restraint and must use it wisely.
The allowance is linked to work... Xie Jin's eyes lit up.
"Song Secretary, I think the suggestions in this article are quite advisable. What do you think?"
Song Li hummed, "Your Majesty is asking about the way to manage finances. What this person is talking about is government administration. It's totally wrong. How can there be any merit?"
Xie Jin smiled and said, "Song Shangshu, Your Majesty asked about financial management. This person is also talking about ways to spend money. If you have to say it is off topic, it is not necessarily true."
The two of them started arguing, and everyone came over, including Xu Jingchang. He took a look at this person's article and suddenly understood.
That strong sense of pragmatism as an old official cannot be concealed no matter what.
He proposed that the allowance should be linked to the performance of the officials. If they did a good job, they would receive more, and if they did not do well, they would receive less, or even not receive it... And later he also proposed that the officials should set the number of tasks to facilitate assessment.
Pass the test!
Seeing this, Xu Jingchang suddenly smiled and said: "Xie Xie, I remember that the General Affairs Department had a note announcing the work of various ministries. Are those notes still there?"
This sentence made old Jie Jin blush, "Ding Guo Gong, I have been busy with government affairs recently and I didn't have time to coordinate, so I stopped."
Xu Jingchang had a smile on his face and said nothing.
They are both general ministers, but they are very different... When Xu Jingchang was in power, he could hold the six ministries hostage and had the power to preside over the Xun Meeting, so he could set standards for the six ministries.
But when he got to Xiejin, he couldn't do it anymore.
No one listens to him at all, and the so-called performance supervision is in name only.
"I think you two should stop arguing and let His Majesty do the talking."
The ball was kicked in front of Zhu Di.
Facing this article, Zhu Di thought it was nothing at first, but after reading it again, he was overjoyed.
"Okay, it's really good, neat and to the point. This person proposes to establish rules for inspecting hundreds of officials, and grant subsidies based on the merits of the inspection. Those who are capable will receive more, and those who are mediocre will be reduced... It is very consistent with my wishes, very consistent with my wishes!"
"
Zhu Di laughed and praised: "From my perspective, this person should be the number one scholar in this subject... This is the kind of talent I am looking for."
The emperor said this, which made Song Li's face look particularly ugly.
He reluctantly said: "Your Majesty, this person's diction is poor, and his words seem to be off topic. I'm afraid it's inappropriate?"
Zhu Di smiled and said, "Song Secretary, this depends on my intention of holding the palace examination. I want to select talents for the country. If I just stick to the examination, I will lose my original intention."
After a pause, Zhu Di suddenly said: "Song Shangshu, you said that the previous palace examinations failed to select suitable talents. Is it true that such talents were dismissed on the excuse of going off topic?"
Song Li was shocked and hurriedly knelt down, "Your Majesty, I must not dare to think of suppressing talents. I hope your Majesty will understand clearly!"
Zhu Di smiled and said, "Don't worry, I may have thought wrong about this matter. How can I get such a suggestion? I'm afraid I won't even be able to pass the boy test."
Song Li's face turned even more ugly. He knelt on the ground and didn't dare to get up.
Zhu Di looked at the others again and said with a smile: "What do you say?"
After pondering for a while, Jian Yi said: "The imperial examination is for the Emperor's disciples, so naturally His Majesty has the final say in everything."
Zhu Di smiled and said: "Let me make the decision? Very good. If that's the case, then Enke must do it regularly, not just this time. It's good to have such talents continuously."
