Princess Kunxing wanted to take the imperial examination. Firstly, she really wanted to see if she could pass the examination. Secondly, she really wanted to support Zhu Cixiang's imperial examination reform and encourage women all over the world to put down their worries and take the examination.
So when I signed up, not only was I not sneaky, but I was upright and signed up as a royal princess.
At that time, the officials of the Ministry of Etiquette were almost frightened to death, and the jaws of the ladies who also signed up with the general were almost frightened.
However, the influence was indeed huge. In a short period of time, it spread throughout Jiangnan and even the entire south. Even the royal newspaper published the news and put it on the front page.
Even the princess signed up to take part in the imperial examination, which made some ladies and ladies who were still reserved completely let go of their worries.
It also gave some old stubborns no excuse to stop it, and also made all the women who had signed up extremely excited.
In mid-September, the Ministry of Rites finally compiled the data of all the states and counties in the south. The number of people who had taken the pre-examination was so shocking that all the officials of the Ministry of Rites were speechless and broke into cold sweat.
Especially the Minister of Rites, a chill ran down his spine and he almost collapsed on the ground because there were so many people applying for the exam. According to the previous plan of the Ministry of Rites, he, the Minister of Rites, would definitely be doomed.
"Butang, the number of applicants is far more than you and I imagined. Fortunately, there are still a few months, so we should have time to make up for it. We should report it to the Queen Mother as soon as possible!"
"Yes, yes, there are still three or four months left. As long as the Queen Mother gives her full support, it can still be remedied."
The Minister of Rites stood up immediately, took the data and hurried to the palace.
In the palace, Zhang Yan was also shocked and couldn't close her mouth. She stood up and said in disbelief: "What? Three million people? Lu Aiqing, could the Ministry of Rites have made a mistake? How could there be so many people?"
Are you preparing to take the college examination?"
Although she had been prepared in her heart and knew that next year's college examination would definitely have a much larger number of people than in previous years, the figure of three million still made Zhang Yan unbelievable.
"Back to the Queen Mother, the data are reported one by one by the various state governments. The discrepancy should not be too big. Moreover, for this academic examination, all scholars from the north will go to the south to take the examination together. Therefore, I estimate that the actual number of people will be far away.
Far greater than three million."
The Minister of Rites answered carefully, with a bitter look on his face. Although he did not want to scare the Queen Mother, he had to report it truthfully.
"Xu..."
Zhang Yan took a deep breath and calmed down a lot. She slowly sat back on the chair, picked up the data he submitted, and read it carefully again.
"There are actually two million applicants in Jiangnan?"
Although the literary style in Jiangnan has always been the most prosperous in the country, the number of people in the other five provinces combined is only half of the two provinces in Jiangnan. The gap is so huge that Zhang Yan was amazed again.
This time, the Minister of Rites chose to remain silent.
Although this gap is a bit outrageous, it is reasonable when you think about it. After all, a waiter in a restaurant in the south of the Yangtze River or a maid in a wealthy family may know some words, so it is not surprising that he fishes in troubled waters.
"Lu Aiqing, with so many candidates, can the Ministry of Etiquette be sure that there will be no mistakes? A fair and just examination?"
Zhang Yan just marveled, then put down the booklet in her hand and asked with a serious face.
"Going back to the Queen Mother, it will be very difficult for so many candidates to take the unified examination in the provincial capital and separate men and women. Moreover, these candidates must be mixed, so I suggest that a preliminary examination be held in advance to divide some
Those who pretend to be fake will be screened out, and only those who pass can continue to take the college examination, so that..."
"No, what is the difference between this and the previous county examination and government examination? When the new subject-level system was announced, it was already clear that anyone who can write their name can directly sign up for the college examination
, if the change is made now, wouldn’t it be like changing the order one morning and changing it overnight, causing the court to lose its trust in the world? "
Zhang Yan shook her head decisively before he finished speaking. Not to mention that Xinger would never agree to doing this, even she felt it was extremely inappropriate.
"The Queen Mother made atonement. I did not consider it carefully and neglected this point. The preliminary examination was indeed inappropriate." The Minister of Rites did not expect Zhang Yan to react so strongly and hurriedly apologized.
"It doesn't matter, Lu Aiqing should think about how to ensure the smooth conduct of the imperial examination. There is no room for mistakes in this imperial examination, especially the imperial examination. If something goes wrong, not to mention Lu Aiqing and the Ministry of Rites, even the Ai family will be able to thank the world!"
Zhang Yan waved her hands and then said, her tone unprecedentedly solemn.
The impact of this imperial examination is huge and far-reaching, and it is destined to be unprecedented. Once it is messed up, even if Xinger does not blame her, she will feel that she has no face to see Xinger and the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty again.
This was the first time that the Minister of Rites saw Zhang Yan say such serious words, and he felt tremendous pressure. After taking a deep breath, he said again: "Queen Mother, since we can't pre-examine, we can only delegate the imperial examination to various states."
To carry out the examination, decentralize the provincial examination to each province. Only in this way can the smooth progress of next year's imperial examination be ensured. Moreover, many poor scholars may not be able to travel all the way to the provincial capital to take the examination. This move will definitely be supported by all candidates. As long as
Strengthening supervision should be able to eliminate fraud."
This time, Zhang Yan did not reject it immediately. She picked up the data on the table and looked at it carefully. Finally, she sighed, nodded and said: "It is indeed the most appropriate and more convenient to hold the examination in the state capital."
Because even in Guangxi Province, which has the smallest number of candidates, there are nearly 100,000. So many people have to go to the provincial capital to take the exam. Thinking about it, Zhang Yan feels a bit unrealistic. And when she thinks about more than a million people coming to Nanjing to take the exam, her scalp is even more intense.
of numbness.
And if the college examinations are devolved to state capitals, the number of students will only be 20,000 to 30,000 at most, and as low as several thousand. Although it is still a bit crowded, it can at least be solved.
"The Queen Mother is Shengming."
Seeing that Zhang Yan finally accepted his suggestion, the Minister of Rites also breathed a sigh of relief. If Zhang Yan insisted on taking the examination in various provincial cities, he would rather resign than be the Minister of Rites.
"Your Majesty, I don't know the test paper..." Then the Minister of Rites asked again tentatively.
There was no way. His Majesty had said that the new imperial examination papers were different from the previous blank sheets of paper. Instead, questions would be printed uniformly on them. There were four million papers, so he had to pay attention.
After all, if the Ministry of Rites is asked to produce so many test papers, even if all the officials in the Ministry of Rites are driven crazy and killed, they will never be able to produce them.
Thinking of the need for four million test papers, Zhang Yan rubbed her forehead with the same headache and said: "His Majesty had originally ordered that he would personally write the questions for the college examinations, so the Ministry of Etiquette does not have to worry about the test papers for the time being, and will continue to do its best in the future.
Let’s prepare for exams in each state capital!”
Having said this, Zhang Yan paused for a moment, and then said sternly: "The Aijia Council personally issued an edict. Officials at all levels of government must fully cooperate with the Ministry of Rites to prepare for this imperial examination. If there is any slack and disobedience, no matter how big or small the official position is,
, they will all be dismissed from their posts and investigated, and they will be severely punished without mercy!”
"The Queen Mother is Shengming."
The Minister of Rites hurriedly bowed excitedly. With this edict from the Queen Mother, he would get twice the result with half the effort.
"Your Majesty, with so many examination rooms, a large number of tables and chairs must be built. No matter how simple the cost is, it is hard to imagine. Will the required funds be borne by the Ministry of Rites, or by the Yamen at all levels...?"
The Minister of Rites looked at Zhang Yan and asked carefully. The meaning was obvious, but he didn't say directly, please give the money to the Queen Mother.
"Well, the necessary funds should be borne by the Ministry of Rites. The Ai family will allocate one million taels to you first. If it is not enough, we will allocate it later."
Zhang Yan nodded, knowing that it would definitely not work without allocating funds. The small amount of funds each yamen had each year would have been spent by them long ago.
The Minister of Rites suddenly beamed with joy. For the first time, he felt that the Queen Mother was no longer stingy. One million taels of silver. On average, the various states could allocate thousands of taels. It was more than enough to build some seats and benches. As for the place,