Zhou Hongli was sweating and couldn't help urging the two book boys who were also panting to go faster. The road was a bit slippery. As he hurried slowly, Zhou Hongli almost fell down.
He is from Zhijiang, Nanjun County, not far from Jiangling. He has studied in Jiangling for several years and is very familiar with Jiangling City.
In June, he came to Jiangling to take the exam and rented a courtyard to live near the liberal arts college set up in Jiangling. There were many people like him.
Since the beginning of the year, the imperial court has issued an imperial edict to all counties and counties in Jiangzuo to reopen the school to recruit scholars.
There wasn't much movement at first, and the Jiangzuo family members, including the Zhijiang Zhou family, were probably waiting and watching. But in May and June, people finally couldn't help but started to make a commotion.
Jiangzuo has also been experiencing constant wars in recent years. Xiao Mian has governed Jiangzuo for several years and opened a new school once, but the effect was not good.
The aristocratic clans were entrenched in the place and were no strangers to the imperial examination, but no one was very interested in it. The children of the aristocratic clans helped each other and introduced each other, so they did not need to go through the imperial examination to select talents to become officials.
Only those who feel that their official career is hopeless will choose this path in order to obtain an official position.
Especially in the pre-Sui Dynasty, everyone was even more disgusted with this, because the imperial examination really touched the interests of people in the family.
Therefore, everyone is very resistant, and most of the people who take the scientific examination are not decent, which also makes some truly talented people unwilling to associate with these people.
This is actually the reason why the imperial examinations in the former Sui Dynasty failed in the end. The publicity did not keep up, and the aristocratic officials manipulated it, and the imperial examinations became notorious everywhere.
As for Xiao Mian, he was only a local prince, and his influence was even worse. He made the family members feel uncomfortable, so he just sent some incompetent disciples to deal with it just to take care of Xiao Mian's face.
Even so, the situation is much better than in the north. After all, Jiangnan is the place where literary style flourishes.
Just like these years when the princes were separated, which prince in the north would think of selecting talents through the imperial examination? They spent the whole day thinking about how to fight with others, like Li Yuan, not to mention Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, and Li Potong were among them.
That is to say, Xiao Mian started doing it and stopped when there was no movement.
……………………
But now the situation is different. The Tang Dynasty was established and the world was reunited.
Since Li Jing, the governor-general, took charge of Jiangzuo, he was decisive in killing and tolerant in his administration. After Jiangzuo gained some peace, he vigorously rectified the officialdom and blocked the channels for recommendation.
Not to mention those who were killed last year, during the official examination not long ago, more than ten people were killed. Some people were also demoted from their posts and were driven back home.
One operation was as fierce as a tiger's, and Jiangzuo's officialdom was wiped out.
This was a thunderous method at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. Everyone's ability to withstand it was indeed much stronger than in normal times, and no trouble was caused.
And Li Jing has been governing Jiangzuo for several years, and his majesty has gradually become deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and no one dares to go against his lead.
When the subjects started this year, Li Jing boldly set up the liberal arts academy in Jiangling City. Students from several counties in the North Province of Hubei Province had to go to Jiangling to take the exams. The liberal arts academy in the Southern Province was located in Wuling, and the liberal arts academy in the Hunan Province was in Changsha. It was not like the imperial court.
Let each county do what it decides.
We have used some methods to fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the people in the family. If we don't come to Jiangling to take the exam, the young people of the family will probably have no place to go in the future. It's not impossible to recommend them to join the job, but it will be more difficult than before.
There are more.
Many smart people quickly understood that this imperial examination was not a joke. If they did not take it seriously and treated it as perfunctorily as before, they would have to face the anger of the governor and the exclusion and neglect of the county officials.
Vague rumors also reached their ears. Later, they wanted to become officials, that is, they could get some positions other than the ninth rank. What was that? Officials in the yamen, the lowest level existence in the yamen, and
What's wrong with slaves? How can we do that?
In view of this, the young men of the June family packed up their bags and came to Jiangling, Zhou Hongli was one of them.
When the news of the alliance between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks in the north reached here, it did not cause much disturbance. Everyone's attention was unanimously focused on the imperial examination.
This is completely different from the situation at the beginning of the year, when people were talking a lot and wanted to express their opinions. Now there is no debate.
At the same time, Gangneung Academy is also under construction and is expected to be completed in winter. It has also become the focus of people's attention.
This is a chain reaction. The obstacles faced by the imperial examination in the former Sui Dynasty have been almost removed by the war, and people's resistance to the reform of the talent selection system is no longer so stubborn.
The revolution of the Central Plains Dynasty continued to move forward in this cycle of breaking, rebuilding, and breaking again. All wise people understand that there is no immutable system, only stubborn and conservative people or forces.
Innovation needs to pay a price, and it is often bloody. Today, too much blood has been shed, and the imperial examination came into being, just like when the imperial examination system appeared.
………………
However, it must be said that at the beginning of the imperial examination, it was still a model tailor-made for the nobles, and few commoners could participate in it, because even if they were talented and learned, it would be difficult for them to pass the county selection test.
Without any connections or reputation, who would recommend you to the county for reference?
This is definitely one of the drawbacks, but now the court does not pay attention to this. How to successfully hold a scientific examination is the goal that everyone strives for.
The people who came to Jiangling to take the examination were not people from Jiangzuo, but people from the court, which also showed that the court attached great importance to it.
Against such a background, many people understood that the Grand Governor Li Jing had probably drawn his sword again, and that no one like Zhang Liang would appear again this time.
Anyone who dares to disturb the important event of scientific examination and talent selection will have only one outcome, and that is death, so the noise in Jiangzuo disappeared very quickly...
In June, the people of Jiangling can clearly feel that Jiangling City has become lively. Some scholars can always be seen in the restaurants and teahouses.
The most lively place is of course the place with fireworks like the brothel and Chuguan. The literati like this kind of atmosphere, reciting poems and painting, and drinking with beauties. This is their social occasion.
The cultural gatherings became more and more intensive, and Jiangling's officialdom became more active during the welcome and send-off periods. The descendants of the aristocratic families who came to take the exam visited their relatives and friends.
During the chat, I listened to the trends of the court, the content of the exam, and the direction of the trend.
………………
For example, Zhou Hongli paid homage to his two uncles and several cousins, all of whom were officials in Jiangling City. He had attended so many literary gatherings these days that even he could not remember...