Unknowingly, it was time to light up the lamp. Xie Jin was patrolling the examination room, looking at the various candidates, and sighed in his heart.
The children of wealthy families have food boxes full of fine snacks, various kinds of cooked food and tea, and the bedding they bring is also valuable fur. Some people even bring their own toilets.
As for students from poor families, they only have rough cold food, and the only thing they have to keep out the cold is quilts.
Not to mention the four treasures of the study used!
Xie Jin slowly walked up to a forty-year-old candidate and stared down.
The candidate was writing the opening chapter of the policy paper on the paper with a sad face...
Judging from Jin Jin's gaze, the examinee must stand up subconsciously.
"Sit down!" Xie Jin pressed his hands and said, "Don't be too polite, the exam is important!"
While he was talking, he took a few glances at the candidate's test paper through the light.
Words are just so-so.
Jinke's policy was based on the emperor's wishes and consisted of three questions.
First, the signs of the collapse of the Han and Tang dynasties.
Second, the government of the min tribe in the former Yuan Dynasty.
Third, the advantages and disadvantages of the New Deal.
The three questions are all in the form of vernacular. This is the first time in the past imperial examinations. Of course, the long-winded test on the way of a saint is also required. However, Xie Jin knows that these three questions are the most important to the emperor.
question.
Although these three questions are all vernacular, none of them are simple.
Especially the second and third, the reason why the Ming Dynasty claimed to inherit the world from the Yuan Dynasty from the time of Emperor Taizu Gao was to legally rule this empire with a vast territory, a large population and a large number of ethnic groups.
In the past, the Central Plains dynasties mostly ruled the lands close to the Central Plains, and the surrounding states could claim vassalage. However, under the Ming Dynasty, there were not only Han people, but also Mongols, Jurchens, Koreans, and even Miao, Semu, and Yi people.
....There are also Burmese and Koreans!
How to effectively govern such a large number of ethnic groups has no reference for generations to come.
The biggest reason for the death of the Yuan Dynasty, in addition to the brutal imposition of laws and regulations, was the failure to properly handle the relationship between these ethnic groups...
When Xie Jin thought of the examination questions, he thought of the imperial examination reform that the emperor had privately mentioned.
As an official of the country, you cannot just talk a lot, let alone write moral articles. Everything in the world must be learned...
He even thought of the reform of official studies mentioned by the emperor. In the future imperial examinations, mathematics and other sciences should also be included. The Jinshi who passed the examination were not limited to the Hanlin or local official systems. They could also be in the military.
Planning logistics...
Xie Jin agreed with the emperor's words that the imperial examination was actually just the beginning.
Only when you pass this threshold will you be qualified to be an official!
"Being an official requires a lot of learning, including mathematics, agriculture, water conservancy, geography..."
Xie Jin smiled bitterly in his heart, "I'm afraid it won't be that easy to be an official in the Ming Dynasty in the future!"
Thinking about it, his eyes fell on the examinee's paper again.
As he watched, he couldn't help but frown slightly.
"The writing is unsatisfactory! The opening chapter of the policy theory is a bit bloated. Since it is a vernacular policy theory, it should start with some topics. Why quote so many saints? The saints have been dead for thousands of years. He knows how to catch it!"
Xie Jin thought to himself and looked at the candidate again.
Because he was standing in front of him, the examinee became more and more frightened and did not dare to write.
"Where are you from?" Xie Jin asked in a low voice.
"Student Liaodong Shenyang Guard..."
"No wonder!" Xie Jin smiled, "Your food box is full of flatbreads, as well as some radishes, green onions, and soy sauce!" He said, frowning slightly, "You are also a Juren, why are you living so hard?"
"The student is so stupid that he only passed the examination at the age of thirty-seven!" The candidate said with shame, "The student is thirty-eight this year!"
"Oh!" Xie Jin understood.
The candidate in front of him did not catch up with the good times. As soon as he passed the exam, the emperor ordered that no one with a good reputation should use the tax-free privileges in his name to help others use their land for personal gain.
However, from the examinee's answer, Xie Jin also figured out that the examinee in front of him was a person who knew how to be roundabout, not a pedantic scholar.
"Since it's a candidate, the court didn't grant any land?" Xie Jin looked at the candidate again, his sleeves were frayed, and the pen in his hand had obviously been used for a long time, and the hair was a little uneven.
"Shenyang Guardsmen are all military fields...!" the candidate said with a wry smile.
"That's right, those Qiu Ba don't care whether you are a civil servant or not!" Xie Jin shook his head.
He suddenly remembered something. There were very few scholars in Liaodong. A few years ago, there was a scholar who made a fuss about claiming the land that the imperial court should grant. As a result, Qiu Ba from the guard rushed into the house, and the family dropped the scholar in the house. He fell into a big tree and almost died!
"No wonder the emperor was under great pressure and abolished the troops stationed on nine sides!"
Xie Jin sighed again in his heart, then glanced at the candidate's paper again and stepped forward.
~~
As he was walking, he suddenly heard a sound.
When I turned around, I saw an examinee chewing pancakes.
"Are you from Shandong?" Xie Jin asked.
"Back to the bachelor's degree, I am from Liaocheng, Shandong Province!" The candidate stood up quickly and said.
"Sit down!" Xie Jin looked at him, "All the students in Shandong Province have stopped taking exams. Are you not participating?"
"The student was not involved in that matter at all! How can a student read the books of saints and sages and compete with the imperial government?" the examinee said in a low voice.
"Yes! You are sensible!" Xie Jin nodded and said, "What do you think about the fact that scholars have no privileges?"
"The first reason for studying is to open up the mind and make people know etiquette and principles!" The candidate immediately replied, "The second reason is to serve as an official for the sake of the family, country and the world! As for privileges, the student put it bluntly, it is the favor of the imperial court, not Giving is the duty of the court! If you are an official, you will receive a salary, and if you have fame, you will be given rice and grain. If you want to expect anything else, it will go against the teachings of the saints!"
"Well, that's well said!" Xie Jin nodded and said with a smile, "It's rare!"
"The bachelor is so complimentary, the student is ashamed!" the examinee said, and said thoughtfully, "Actually, the student and Han Gong, the number one scholar in the 31st year of Hongwu, are from the same hometown, and he takes Han Gong as an example..."
Suddenly, Xie Jin frowned fiercely.
The Han Gong mentioned by this candidate should be Han Kezhong, who now lives in Zhejiang Province as a patrol censor and participates in politics from the left.
He couldn't help but shake his head, and strode away without even looking at the candidate's paper.
But before I took two steps, I saw two familiar faces in the examination room!
One is Yang Pu, who had a close relationship with the emperor and the former Supreme Emperor, and was recruited as a son-in-law by the Zhao family of Nanxiong Marquis.
The other was Jin Youzi, who was already an official in the Ministry of Rites and was supposed to be on a mission to Champaign.
Xie Jin was particularly impressed by the latter. This man was a staff member of Zheng Guogong's family. Zheng Guogong specially greeted Cao Guogong, and Cao Guogong also greeted the Ministry of Rites before he was awarded the official title.
In fact, he did not need to participate in this examination. As long as he successfully returned from his mission to Champa, his future would be bright.
It's just that this person fell ill just after leaving Beijing...
Of course, I don’t know if he is really ill, or if he thinks he is too talented and insists on showing off his skills in the examination. Thinking about it, Xie Jin probably still has an obsession in his heart. After reading for so many years, if he can’t get the title of disciple of the emperor,
, always unwilling to give in!
And before the start of this Spring Festival, both Cao Guogong and Zheng Guogong also quietly handed over words in private, and the words were nothing more than urination. Look at it...
Thinking of this in his mind, Xie Jin slowly walked over and scanned Jin Youzi's paper.
In fact, what no one knows is that in addition to the two princes Cao and Zheng, Lian Zining, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, also deliberately talked to Xie Jin... specifically mentioning this person.
After taking a few glances at the other party's handwriting, Xie Jin probably had some concerns in his mind and turned around to leave.
After serving as an official for so many years, he is no longer the stupid young man he used to be.
The two princes, Cao and Zheng, were both the emperor's confidants. Whoever they really wanted to recommend would have a bright future even if they failed.
And Lian Zining is replaced by a capable minister who he can rely on, and it is impossible to refute his face...
"Human feelings are much more difficult than writing about saints! Cao!"
Xie Jin cursed in his heart, and just as he was about to return to his office, an official came to report.
"Bachelor, the meals and bedding prepared by the palace for each student have been delivered!"