Xiao Cheng stretched slightly, put down the completed memorial in his hand, and whispered to Feng Bao beside him:
"What time is it?"
Feng Bao bowed and whispered:
"It's already time to return to Your Majesty."
Xiao Cheng nodded slightly when he heard the words.
In less than an hour, this palace examination will be over!
On this day, Xiao Cheng moved all the memorials to the Baohe Palace for review. He accompanied these palace examination candidates throughout the whole process, eating and drinking together without any impatience. His importance to the imperial examination candidates was clearly revealed.
Because this palace examination adopts a system of handing in papers and leaving. At this time, most of the candidates in the Baohe Hall have already handed in their papers and left, leaving only a few candidates who are still sitting in the hall with their heads full of hair.
I was sweating and writing furiously.
Xiao Cheng looked at the slightly panicked candidates, raised his brows slightly, and once again motioned for Feng Bao to come forward, and whispered:
"For the next imperial examination, all candidates must arrive at the time before they can hand in their papers and leave!"
This time, I didn’t think carefully. You must know that some people have unstable mentality and are easily affected by the surrounding environment. When all the candidates around them leave, they will inevitably become more panicked, which will affect their performance.
When Feng Bao heard this, he immediately nodded and said that he had remembered it!
Xiao Cheng looked at the person who seemed unable to leave for a while, and suddenly his heart moved, and he said:
"Go and find me the answer sheets of Hai Rui and Yan Song!"
Feng Bao was not surprised that two names that he had never heard of came out of Xiao Cheng's mouth.
His Majesty has an intelligence agency that specializes in providing talents for recruitment, and Feng Bao is very aware of it. Cheng Bushi, Wen Tiren, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, Di Qing, these important figures in the civil and military circles of the court today, are all
It was after Xiao Cheng's instructions that people from Dongchang found the trace.
There are actually some things that I can't figure out, for example, why not let the intelligence agency directly invite people here... But Feng Bao is very good at restraining his curiosity and never thinks or asks too much.
Not long after, two question papers were delivered to Xiao Cheng.
Hai Rui and Yan Song are both candidates for the Xiucai Subject this year. The Xiucai Subject questions in this year's imperial examination are actually the most concise and to the point among all the subjects.
Just six words, "How to make a country rich and powerful". With this as the title, I made a policy paper.
Xiao Cheng picked up an article casually, and what he read was a line of words.
"The ancient sage kings who wanted to order the world, express themselves in the next life, and gain greater heights should not rely on worshiping rituals, but should respect sages and use them. If he speaks and behaves like this, he can be called a sage king and a sage..."
Xiao Cheng thought about it carefully, couldn't help but laugh and shook his head slightly.
The beginning of this chapter is about flattering myself. Needless to say, it must be Yan Song's question paper!
In fact, regardless of his character, Yan Song was able to sneak into the position of Prime Minister and have been in charge of the Ming Dynasty for twenty years. There is no need to question his talent and learning. Well, he just doesn't like to use it in serious places.
Yan Song's strategy first broke the topic with "the need to employ talented people", and then changed the topic and talked about the method of employing people, during which he flattered Xiao Cheng openly or covertly.
The whole article is eloquent, the writing is beautiful, and it is written with a jade in a jade, and the words are meaningful. Coupled with his superb flattering skills, it really makes Xiao Cheng feel happy when he reads it.
Xiao Cheng put down the examination paper in his hand, chuckled and said to himself:
"interesting……"
When Feng Bao heard this, his eyes immediately moved and he remembered it in his heart.
Xiao Cheng picked up Hai Rui's answer sheet again and looked at it carefully, but there was an inexplicable look on his face.
I don’t know if it was because Xiao Cheng was the first to initiate the imperial examination. The central point of their discussion was that in order to make the country prosperous and strong, the king needed to be good at using talents.
Compared with Yan Song's gorgeous rhetoric, Hai Rui's side is more straightforward.
"The most important thing in the world is to have a plan, and more importantly, to have the right person..."
In fact, this is not a serious matter, it is a subtle flattery of Xiao Cheng.
The corner of Xiao Cheng's mouth curled up, and at this moment in his heart, he secretly felt that it was more enjoyable than just reading the policy statement written by Yan Song.
It's common for Yan Song to flatter him, but when have you ever seen him like this?
But when Xiao Cheng looked down at two more lines, his brows suddenly moved.
Hai Rui's policy statement started by stating that acquiring talents was more important than the law. Then, without writing two lines, he changed the topic and directly pointed out the idea he really wanted to express.
Acquisition of talents is ultimately for the purpose of enforcing the laws of the country. Only when the laws enacted can be implemented can the country become prosperous and strong. Punish the criminals severely so that other talents will not dare to commit crimes.
Good guy, did you make this dumpling just to pour out this bit of vinegar?
A typical Rupi Dharma bone!
Xiao Cheng put down the paper in his hand again, shook his head slightly subconsciously, and ordered softly:
"It's not good to be too sharp! Let Yan Song be the leader, and Hai Rui be the second!"
When it comes to the rhetoric of the article, Yan Song naturally takes the lead. But when it comes to substance, Hai Rui is much better than Yan Song.
It's just that in this world, both Confucianism and Legalism are still there. Hai Rui's tendency to argue is typically not good for both sides, so it's really hard to put him in too conspicuous a place.
Feng Bao's eyes moved slightly, and he leaned over and said:
"Yes, I have remembered it!"
"Send these two question papers back, and by the way, pick up the question paper that Shi Chengwen wrote." Xiao Cheng said softly.
At this time, Xiao Cheng had seen his attributes on the Golden Finger panel. Although he did not have the mark of a famous minister, he was still an outstanding person in this world. He had more than 80 attributes in both civil and military subjects. He was already a worthy person.
Great talent!
When Feng Bao heard this, he immediately trotted forward. But after waiting for a while, he ran back empty-handed and explained softly to Xiao Cheng:
"Your Majesty, Chengwen is still undergoing scientific examination at this time."
After saying that, Feng Bao quietly pointed to a candidate in the hall.
Just as Xiao Cheng was checking the papers of Hai Rui and the other two, several more candidates in the hall handed in their papers, saluted Xiao Cheng and left the palace. At this time, only Shi Chengwen was left in the entire Baohe Hall, and he was still sitting there.
Over there, he frowned in thought. From time to time he lowered his head, widened his eyes, and then began to write and draw on the paper with a faint light.
Xiao Cheng frowned and said:
"What subject did he take?"
Feng Bao was well prepared. When he heard Xiao Cheng's question, he quickly replied:
"Back to Your Majesty, Shi Chengwen is taking the military examination."
Xiao Cheng didn't frown deeper when he heard this and said:
"Military science? I remember that the topic was based on the battle of former Grand Master Wang Xiao to defeat the Bagan Kingdom in the south. Such a topic should not make it difficult for him like this!"
At this time, it was getting dark outside, and more than five hours had passed since the start of the palace exam. Such a long time, the nature of time-based writing, and this kind of topic, it is not possible that I can't hand in the paper until now!
Xiao Cheng pondered for a moment, then looked at the increasingly dim Baohe Hall, and said in a deep voice:
"Is it ever the end time?"
"There's still half an hour left!"
Xiao Cheng nodded and ordered softly:
"Go get the candlestick!"
"Yes!" Immediately, a young eunuch turned around quickly and took out a candlestick.
Feng Bao lit the candlestick and held it up to Xiao Cheng's eyes diligently.
Xiao Cheng took the candlestick from Feng Bao's hand, walked down the steps quickly, and came directly to Shi Chengwen.
Seeing that Shi Chengwen's desk was filled with scattered manuscript papers and military formation deduction diagrams, and there was really no place to put things, Xiao Cheng simply held a candlestick in his hand and approached Shi Chengwen to illuminate it.
At this time, Shi Chengwen was completely immersed in the battle formation deduction in his mind, and did not notice changes in the outside world. Just because the candlelight illuminated his vision, he slightly relaxed his brows and continued to smear something on the manuscript paper.
The palace attendant who was waiting on the side was suddenly startled, and hurriedly stepped forward, hurriedly trying to take the candlestick from Xiao Cheng's hand.
Xiao Cheng felt that their movements were too big, and waved his hands to the palace attendants who were surrounding him, signaling them to leave.
The eunuchs around him froze for a moment, looking at Xiao Cheng at a loss.
Upon seeing this, Feng Bao pondered for a moment, nodded slightly to these eunuchs, and motioned for them to retreat.
Then he called the clever little eunuch beside him and lowered his voice:
"Quickly, come find the palace painter!"
Such a touching picture of the king's love for the wise and his talents must not be painted so that outsiders can feel His Majesty's generosity?
Although the young eunuch didn't understand the reason, he didn't ask any more questions and trotted off to find the palace painter.
At this time, Shi Chengwen, who was scribbling on the manuscript paper, suddenly stopped and frowned tightly.
In his mind, countless elite soldiers and horses were screaming and fighting, harassing the territory everywhere. The remaining tens of thousands of soldiers who were not well-trained and armored were under his command.
Rescue, trying to maintain the situation.
But no matter how hard he tried, under the opponent's strict layout and continuous strong offensive, he was ultimately unable to make a comeback.
Shi Chengwen sighed and threw away the pen in his hand.
Uncle Wang has a strict layout, and he uses the absolute national power of the Yun Kingdom to crush him. He conducts deductions as the Bagan Kingdom. No matter what means he uses, it is difficult to avoid the end of destruction!
Shi Chengwen surrendered and gave up the entanglement in his heart. When his attention gradually returned to his surroundings, he was suddenly stunned.
Next to him was a young man in scarlet uniform, standing in front of him, holding a candlestick and lighting himself up.
Shi Chengwen seemed to feel that he was really dreaming. He couldn't help but blinked his eyes and said in surprise:
"Your Majesty the Emperor..."
Xiao Cheng looked at Shi Chengwen, nodded slightly and said:
"Three quarters of an hour left!"
Only then did Shi Chengwen realize that he was still in the Baohe Hall and had not yet handed over his answer sheet for the palace examination.
He stood up in a panic, and hurriedly dug out the question paper he had already prepared among a pile of papers. He held it in front of Xiao Cheng with both hands and said in a trembling voice:
"I'm sorry to you!"
Xiao Cheng took it casually, glanced at the question paper, and couldn't help but smile:
"It turns out that I had already finished the questions, but it made me wait for so long!"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" Shi Chengwen lowered his head and said.
"What were you thinking about just now?" Xiao Cheng asked warmly.
Shi Chengwen was slightly startled and replied subconsciously:
"The ordinary people want to stand on the side of Bagan and do some deductions!"
"What was the result?" Xiao Cheng asked with interest.
Shi Chengwen looked ashamed and whispered:
"Although we can survive, we can't withstand the general trend after all!"
Xiao Cheng patted his shoulder and said with a smile:
"If you are willing, you can send your deduction over. I want to take a look... Forget it for today. You have worked hard on the deduction battle formation. Go back and rest!"
After saying that, Xiao Cheng handed the question paper in his hand to the palace attendant on the side and left slowly.
Shi Chengwen looked at Xiao Cheng's leaving figure, and then remembered the figure who personally held the candlestick for him just now. His heart was suddenly touched, and an inexplicable emotion stirred in his chest.