They called their friends and came to the gate of Gongyuan together.
Waiting for the Gongyuan to open its gate, they participated in the imperial examination held by King Qin.
Wang Linjiang looked at the vermilion gate of Gongyuan in front of him.
He bid farewell to his parents in his hometown and rushed to Hanzhong from Rongcheng just to realize his ambition.
There were many imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty, but he failed to pass any of them, so he had no choice but to do business.
Now he seizes the opportunity and must take advantage of this imperial examination to glorify his ancestors.
Zhang Shengbei wiped the sweat from his head, and his wife sold all her family savings to collect five taels of silver for travel expenses.
Now my wife is taking care of her elderly parents and two young children at home alone.
He had accomplished nothing in his thirties. He only served as a helper for Dianshi in his hometown, and he didn't even get to work as a minor official.
When he came to Hanzhong this time, he worked part-time in a bookstore to produce school books. Taking advantage of the opportunity of work, he read a lot of knowledge coming out of the Qin Palace.
He believes in himself and will definitely achieve good results.
Lin Wenjing and Mo Yuting came to the gate of Gongyuan just after dawn to wait.
They found that Gongyuan was already crowded with people.
The scholars blocked the gate and stood in the aisle of the street in front of Gongyuan Gate.
Lin Wenjing is not anxious at all, as long as there is no fraud in the imperial examination.
He can pass the Jinshi examination very easily.
Lin Wenjing listened to the accents of many scholars.
He sighed with emotion: "Brother Yuting, you Sichuan people came too many this time.
Judging from the accents of these scholars, more than 90% are from Sichuan."
Lin Wenjing regretted it very much. If he had not had too many worries at that time, he would be an official in the Qin Palace now.
People who were not as knowledgeable as me before are now officials of the fifth rank, and I have to curry favor with them.
This is the choice of life. I didn’t dare to choose it at the time, and there is no use regretting it now.
He looked at the more than 90% Sichuan people outside.
As a native of Hanzhong, I originally had a great advantage, but now I have to compete with so many people.
He is not afraid at all. As long as the imperial examination is fair and just, if he fails to get the top prize, there will definitely be no problem in the top three.
Mo Yuting spread his hands and said helplessly: "Who allowed us to have so many people in Sichuan? The population of Sichuan exceeds the population of Hanzhong by more than ten times.
Sichuan students account for 90%, which is really not that many.
This is something Sichuan students still have doubts about, and the journey is a bit long.
Wait until King Qin's rule has been stable for a few years and you can take another look.
More Sichuan students will come here to take the imperial examination."
Lin Wenjing nodded and said, "Those who don't come to take part in the imperial examination.
They will definitely regret it.
The first imperial examination will be a very important one.
Even if the academic level is slightly lower, the King of Qin will increase the admission rate in order to buy horse bones for a thousand gold.
The King of Qin will give the majority of scholars a chance. This time, the imperial examination will be held directly in the general examination, skipping the hospital examination and the provincial examination.
The questions in this imperial examination will also take care of traditional Confucian students who have not studied mind science.
They missed this opportunity and will have to learn a lot of miscellaneous subjects unless they join the spiritual sciences in the future.
Otherwise, it would be too difficult to achieve good results in the imperial examination."
"When Brother Lin said this, I felt relieved.
My level is far behind Brother Lin, I just hope the questions are not too difficult."
Mo Yuting looked at the vermilion gate of the Gongyuan in front, with a hint of worry in his eyes.
Soon comes the fateful moment.
"The gate of Gongyuan is open."
Someone suddenly shouted.
The noisy voices of the scholars outside the Gongyuan Gate immediately fell silent.
The gate of the Gongyuan opened, and His Royal Highness the King of Qin and Prime Minister Wang Zhongce walked out of the Gongyuan.
Su He wore a python robe and looked at the more than 3,000 scholars outside the Gongyuan.
He did not set any threshold for this imperial examination.
There were millions of people in one province and two prefectures, but only these three thousand came to take part in the imperial examination.
On the one hand, there are few scholars, but on the other hand, many scholars would not choose to serve in Suhe.
This is why Su He has always promoted primary school education to cultivate scholars who are loyal to themselves.
His policy of forcibly suppressing landlords has pushed most scholars to oppose him.
The fact that these scholars came to take the imperial examination proves that they subconsciously believed that they could win the world.
They place bets on themselves, which supports their own fundamentals.
Most of them were also losers in the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty.
Su He saw that the scholars in front of him had become quiet, and he said word by word: "I announce that the imperial examination in 4328 has officially begun.
Prime Minister Wang Zhongce serves as the examiner."
As soon as Su He finished speaking, the barrier at the Gongyuan gate was removed.
At the same time, Su He and Wang Zhongce retreated to the side under the protection of the guards.
The invigilator of Gongyuan led the scholars into the examination room.
Sichuan student Mo Yuting followed the crowd into the examination room.
He kept waiting for someone to search him, but found that he had almost left the examination room and no one came to search him.
"The King of Qin held the imperial examination for the first time. Isn't this inexperienced?
He is not afraid of candidates cheating, and there was a fraud scandal in the first imperial examination."
When Mo Yuting sat down, he realized that he was naive.
Each candidate has a separate room.
The materials of this house are extremely precious, and this is the most popular glass manufacturing now.
Outside every two glass rooms, there is an invigilator.
One invigilator supervises two candidates, plus the patrolling invigilator.
If you don't have great hands and eyes, you can bribe everyone.
It's almost impossible to cheat.
Seeing this situation, Mo Yuting thought of something he had talked about with Brother Lin.
He said that the Qin Palace had many redundant officials just like the Song Dynasty.
Lin Wenjing said that officials who can do things are not considered redundant.
Wang Zhongce received a report from the invigilator in charge of each area, and all candidates were in place.
He announced: "The first subject, mathematics, will last three hours, which is one and a half hours.
You are allowed to submit papers in advance. After the exam time is up, you are not allowed to write or stand up.
The candidates were waiting on the spot for the invigilator beside them to collect their examination papers.
Candidates, please write down your name and place of origin carefully.
The exam officially begins."
The invigilator conveyed Wang Zhongce's words to every corner of the examination room.
A huge bell rang, remembering that the first imperial examination in the Qin Palace officially started.
Mo Yuting received the paper from the invigilator.
He looked at the test questions above and lay down with beads of sweat on his forehead.
He couldn't answer many of these questions.
Even if he were asked to take an open-book exam, he would not be able to answer these questions.
There are all kinds of math problems, as well as weird problems like pouring water and catching water at the same time.
Mo Yuting looked frustrated. This time he made up his mind to take part in the scientific examination, but now it seems that he will lose his reputation.
His family was not rich to begin with, so the reason for him to come to Hanzhong was because he wanted to change the dynasty as soon as possible.
Mo Yuting returned home dejected, his family would definitely give up on him, and he would have no choice but to be buried in the countryside for the rest of his life.
Being a primary school teacher or a rural official in the village is his lifelong destination.
He couldn't help it and sat on the chair, sobbing softly.
Until the end of the exam, the big bell was rung.
Only then did Mo Yuting recover from the extreme sadness.
He handed over the first blank paper of the scientific examination and walked out of the examination room with despair.
He suddenly heard someone beside him discussing in Sichuan dialect.
"There is a notice in front of here, why didn't we notice it when we came in?
The King of Qin carried out certain reforms in the imperial examinations. The imperial examinations here were different from those in the Ming Dynasty.
The imperial examination is divided into Jinshi subjects and other subjects.
During the Jinshi scientific examination, the status of Jinshi is awarded.
In other scientific examinations, the same Jinshi status will be awarded.
The Jinshi subject examines scholars’ mastery of classics.
Other subjects are divided into mathematics, law, engineering, history and other subjects.
As long as you pass these subjects, even if you fail in the Jinshi subjects.
Candidates can also enter relevant yamen and become a subordinate officer below the seventh rank.
In the Jinshi scientific examination, the starting point is seventh grade or above, and there is still a chance to stay in the center."
"Look, everyone, mathematics is very important.
Officials in the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Industry all require scores in mathematics.
The Third Law Division only requires law studies, which is also very difficult to pass."
"How do I feel about this imperial examination?
The Jinshi Department determines the grade and is the starting point for us to become officials. The higher the starting point, the better.
These other subjects that accompany the exam will determine which yamen we can enter.
I feel that these subjects are very important and everyone must pay attention to them."
"That's right! For example, if we all pass the Jinshi examination, the Ministry of Household Affairs will select an official.
Among the Jinshi, we must give priority to those with good scores in mathematics."
"It turns out that if you fail the math test, you won't fail! This scares me to death.
I thought this imperial examination would end here."
After Mo Yuting heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief.
After reading the notice with his own eyes, he was completely relieved. He must work hard to take the next subject, even if he becomes a minor official.
Fortunately, this is not a Jinshi subject and will not affect the Jinshi ranking.
For traditional students like them, it doesn't matter if they get zero points in these major subjects. The Jinshi subjects are the most important.
As long as you have the status of Jinshi, you will definitely become an official, so you don't have to worry anymore.
…………………………
Wang Zhongce saw all the candidates walking out of the examination room.
Many candidates fainted, and more than half of them handed in blank papers and could not answer a single question.
Wang Zhongce walked beside Su He and asked in confusion:
"Your Highness, King Qin, why do you put subjects such as mathematics at the front of the exam?
These are traditional students, and most of them don't understand mathematics.
Taking such a difficult math test as the first subject will cause these people to lose their mentality.
They don't even understand the "Laws of the King of Qin", let alone complex engineering knowledge such as mechanics and chemistry.
I can understand that the Jinshi subject is placed at the end of the exam.
Taking the Jinshi examination directly and canceling the eight-part essay would cause a huge disturbance.
You must know that today’s students have all grown up studying the Eight-legged essay.
Suddenly telling them that the knowledge they relied on for a living was cancelled.
There are not a few people whose outlook on life has collapsed.
At that time, the candidates really want to make a fuss, which is not easy to deal with."
Su He said calmly: "I just want to use my power to show them how difficult the scientific examination is.
Now we are using mathematics to attack them. Seeing that the eight-part essay has been cancelled, these people are not in the mood to continue making trouble.
For these scholars, a slap in the face means a sweet date.
For such small subjects, as long as they rest and perform stably, they can become an official.
For subjects such as mathematics, the correct answers will be released after the exam, as well as the recruitment standards of each yamen.
These students know that they can become minor officials, and they know that the Eight-Part Part Essay has been cancelled, so they will never cause trouble.
Besides, if these people can participate in the imperial examinations held by us, they will be eliminated from the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty.
There are certain changes in the imperial examination, which is also a good thing for them.
Scholars who are proficient in eight-legged prose will not come to Hanzhong to take part in the imperial examination."
Su He clearly knows his fundamentals.
Except for the scholars he had cultivated since childhood, the scholars who could support him basically had resentment towards Ming Dynasty.
They are losers in the existing system in the Ming Dynasty.
Suhe provides them with a way to become officials, and these people will not cause trouble.
The purpose of the eight-part essay first appearing was to prevent fraud in the imperial examinations.
There are too many ways to cheat in the imperial examination, such as everyone's name and handwriting being different.
Later, the name was anonymized and transcribed, but this method failed to work.
But every school of thought has a different style of writing.
Examiners will definitely favor candidates who belong to their own group.
In order to standardize scientific examinations, the Ming Dynasty asked all candidates to answer in the form of eight-legged essays.
With the development of time, the eight-part essay has become a tool to restrict thoughts.
Suhe must ban the eight-part essay, except that it cannot keep up with the times.
It can also send a clear signal to the outside world that he will fight the Ming Dynasty to the end.
After Wang Zhongce listened to Su He's words, he was thoughtful.
"His Royal Highness the King of Qin is so considerate, but I am overthinking it.
Since ancient times, scholars have studied to become officials.
As long as they have official positions, this is the biggest carrot hanging in front of them.
If a policy is introduced that does not suit their needs, they will only nag it a few times, and even if some people openly resist it, it will not become a big deal."
"It's better to be more vigilant. If someone really makes trouble, I will never hold back."
At this moment, Su He's face showed a fierce look.
Under his rule, scholars have no privileges. If these people dare to cause trouble, he will definitely punish them severely.
To deal with these scholars, carrots and sticks are the most sophisticated methods.
Blindly compromising will only be manipulated by them.
The earliest primary school students now are only in the second grade.
The Qin Prince's own education system has not grown.
Su He could only use various methods to win over these scholars.
But this does not mean that Su He will win them over without any bottom line.
…………………………
Zhang Shengbei has taken several exams continuously in the past few days.
After the math test, he almost lost half his life. These questions were too difficult.
He thought he would take the Jinshi subject, which was the subject he was most familiar with.
Unexpectedly, I took the other subjects first and put the Jinshi subjects last.
In subjects like engineering, he couldn't solve a single question and could only hand in a blank paper.
The imperial examination in the Qin Palace was very humane. There was no body search, and everyone was not locked up in the Gongyuan.
After passing a subject, you can go directly to Gongyuan.
Zhang Shengbei ate at the inn where he rented, while looking at the answers he copied down.
After each subject test, the Qin Palace will announce the answers.
Zhang Shengbei felt that he did the best in law.
He was packing his things and preparing to take the final examination for Jinshi.
Zhang Shengbei suddenly heard a loud noise coming from next door.
"Brother Lin, you look confident, you must have answered these subjects very well!
I can't do it. Except for the engineering subjects, my grades are okay, but other subjects are better than handing in blank papers.
If my grades in the Jinshi subjects were still very low, I would have no choice but to work as a minor official in the Ministry of Industry.
Fortunately, Prince Qin’s Mansion admitted students in different subjects and gave me a chance.”
Lin Wenjing heard Mo Yuting's emotion, and he also replied: "I did well in the exam this time, even if I didn't answer well in the Jinshi exam.
I can also enter the sixth grade and become a junior official of the eighth grade.
At least I didn't take the imperial examination in vain. No matter how poorly I did, I could still become a minor official.
The Qin Palace is in a period of great development, and the channels for promotion are very smooth.
If you do well, you may have the opportunity to go outside and become the magistrate who controls a county.
Brother Yuting, you have to have confidence in yourself."
Zhang Shengbei was very emotional when he heard them chatting.
He estimated his own scores, and the law score was the highest.
If nothing else, he will join the Ministry of Punishment or the Dali Temple.
If there is a chance, it would be better to join the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
He felt that among the three judicial departments, the Metropolitan Procuratorate had the greatest authority.
On the morning of October 13th, the gate of Gongyuan opened again.
This time we will take the most important Jinshi exam, which determines the starting point of every scholar.
He entered the examination room, the test bell rang, and the invigilator handed him the test questions.
When Zhang Shengbei saw this test question, he was immediately stunned.
The Jinshi subject did not take the eight-legged essay test, and he immediately reacted.
It’s really great not to take the eight-part essay test.
Eight-legged essays have been written all over by predecessors, and aristocratic families have enough excellent essays.
They are better at eight-part essays and can find corresponding solutions to any weird questions.
Children from a humble family like them are on the same starting line as children from aristocratic families due to changes in science and regulations.
His chances of getting into high school can be increased by at least 50%.
Zhang Shengbei was very happy when he thought of this.
Look at the content of this test paper immediately.
At the front of the test paper, there are some simple questions.
There are mainly Confucian classics and classics of various schools of thought.
These question types are completely scored. As long as you study hard for a few years and read a few more books, you won't be stumped at all.
This type of question is very simple. It usually involves taking out a sentence and asking the examinee to add the previous and next sentences.
After Zhang Shengbei wrote these simple questions, he was confident that he had done nothing wrong in every question.
The questions at the back of the test paper are mainly short answer questions.
When Zhang Shengbei saw the first question, sweat started to flow from his head.
【The beauty of a gentleman will be beheaded in five lifetimes.
The Confucius family in Qufu has been famous for thousands of years, but they have no intention of serving the country.
At the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, the Hulu people were regarded as the orthodox people of China.
Candidates please give a brief answer: Can the Confucian family in Qufu represent Confucianism?]
Zhang Shengbei didn't dare to write about this question. How could the Kong family in Qufu comment on it as a small character like him?
The Confucius Family in Qufu is the chastity archway of Shilin.
Even though it smells bad, everyone still says it smells good.
Zhang Shengbei looked at the next question.
[Why is there only one empress in all dynasties, Wu Zetian?]
【Qin Shihuang unified the world, why did his second generation die? 】
[Why did the Tang Dynasty not perish in the Anshi Rebellion but in the Huangchao Uprising?]
Zhang Shengbei continued to look at the last big question, which was a policy discussion.
[Discuss what you know about the shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty]
Zhang Shengbei was a little confused. He had participated in many scientific examinations and this was the first time he saw this type of question.
This kind of test paper, in which short-answer questions and policy essay questions account for high scores, can really test one's knowledge.
Zhang Shengbei didn't know how to answer these questions and planned to answer according to traditional Confucian thought. He felt that he might fail this time.
He was just about to start writing when his eyes suddenly lit up.
His Highness the King of Qin must have a purpose for asking such a question.
To answer this kind of question, we definitely cannot use traditional Confucian thinking, but must use the thinking of learning from the heart.
The most important thing is to seek truth from facts. As long as your words are meaningful, you can get mediocre scores even if you don't get high scores.
The last policy topic is that Zhang Shengbei is not a die-hard scholar.
He was very active in the countryside and had contact with Ming officials in the county.
He himself is quite familiar with the situation of some grassroots bureaucrats in the Ming Dynasty.
Zhang Shengbei directly wrote his thoughts on the examination paper.
After finishing writing, he always felt that this exam paper was a testimonial.
…………………………
Su He transferred a company of soldiers from the guard regiment to station at Gongyuan.
The Jinshi examination has begun, and students also know the news that the eight-part essay has been cancelled.
The exam bell has been ringing for an hour.
There were no problems in the Gongyuan, and the candidates were still writing their test papers silently.
Su He's plan was basically successful. He first used some favors to stabilize these candidates.
They can obtain at least eight or nine rank minor officials, and most of them have already passed the official examination.
They don't have the confidence to fight desperately, as long as they have a way out.
The imperial examination was not very successful this time, and many people will choose to take the exam again next year.
If this group of candidates does not cause trouble, the next imperial examination will be held.
All candidates understand the situation of the imperial examination, and no one will cause trouble again.
A bell rang.
The Jinshi examination has officially ended, and the candidates are leaving the venue one after another.
Mo Yuting waited for his friend Lin Wenjing.
"Brother Lin, how did you do in the exam?
This time I didn’t take the eight-legged essay test, so my preparation was in vain.
Now I don’t even know how to write articles without using eight-legged essay.
I can only write casually, not knowing what the results will be."
Lin Wenjing said very confidently: "Fortunately, I usually read newspapers. Many topics are discussed very intensely in newspapers.
I extracted some of the highlights from the newspaper and combined them with my own ideas.
I feel like my writing is pretty good, but I don’t know if the examiner will approve it.”
Mo Yuting said in surprise: "Brother Lin, you can still answer questions in vernacular!"
Lin Wenjing smiled and said: "Of course you can, only eight-part essays are prohibited on the test paper.
This was the King of Qin and the Ming Dynasty drawing a clear line between each other.
There are no restrictions on other literary styles, of course vernacular is acceptable."
When Mo Yuting heard Lin Wenjing say this, he regretfully scratched his hair.
"I'm done. My skills in classical Chinese are not good to begin with. Why didn't I think of using vernacular Chinese? I've read so many newspapers."
…………………………
Su He, accompanied by Wang Zhongce, inspected the marking work of the imperial examination.
"The scholars have finished the examination and can let those who wrote the questions go out. They have been detained for more than a month."
Many of the questions were asked by Su He himself.
But the imperial examination was too complex, and he could not complete all the questions alone.
Su He summoned talents from all walks of life and directly produced three papers and sent them to a printing factory with a high level of confidentiality for movable type printing.
Before the exam started, Su He randomly selected a paper as a question for the scientific exam.
These people who asked questions were all detained collectively for more than a month, and no one was allowed to visit them.
They will be released only after the imperial examination is over.
This is to prevent examination fraud caused by leaking questions.
The candidates' papers were collected by the invigilator, their names were anonymized directly, and a unique number was affixed to the name anonymity.
The completed paper was copied into three copies, and three examiners were asked to grade the paper according to the requirements.
The candidate's score is the average score given by the three examiners.
The gap between the scores given by the examiner was too large, so the candidate's test paper was directly handed over to the examiner for grading.
Wang Zhongce looked at the thick stack of examination papers in front of the examiner.
"His Royal Highness King Qin, it only takes us half a month to correct the candidates' papers.
The rankings will be released at the end of the month.”
Su He nodded after hearing this and said: "This speed is enough, you must mark the test papers carefully.
In this imperial examination, if candidates are dissatisfied with their results, they can apply to make their test papers public.
Let everyone judge the score of his test paper.
Once someone’s evaluation is unfair, I will definitely deal with it seriously.”
