Chapter 232 The Imperial Examination with Constant Accidents
"Living in Hanzhong is not easy."
Zheng Ziliang walked out of the cheap hotel, went to a breakfast shop outside, and bought two large meat buns.
Go back to the room and continue reading a thick book.
He went north with five hundred taels of silver coins, which he thought would be enough.
Only when he arrived in Hanzhong did he realize that he wanted to take the imperial examination but lacked too much knowledge.
Five hundred taels of silver coins, only twenty taels of silver coins are left.
Most of them bought books and participated in the imperial examination tutoring classes run by some people who had failed in the examinations many times.
These people are not good at it, but they have a good foundation and understand the situation of the imperial examination in Hanzhong.
There are too many subjects that Zheng Ziliang needs to make up for. He can only understand a small part of mathematics, and he needs to learn law from scratch.
All the silver coins he had were about to be spent, so he had laid a good foundation. The rest couldn't be taught in tutoring classes, so he bought a lot of books to study on his own.
There are only twenty taels of silver coins left, so we must plan carefully.
If he really failed the imperial examination, he would have to find a leisurely job in Hanzhong.
Zheng Ziliang felt that he could do nothing but be an official.
In this era, only when you are an official can you use your talents.
"Brother Zheng, are you in the room?"
Zheng Ziliang heard Li Shengming's voice and immediately asked Li Shengming to come into the house.
"Brother Li, the last time I saw you, I didn't say that you had already passed the magistrate exam and were preparing to take up the post in Siming Mansion in Guangxi."
"Brother Zheng, Master Jijiu of the Imperial Academy informed us that if we study for a longer period of time, we will have better opportunities.
If adults say this personally, then who is in a hurry to graduate?
A place with a good location can be promoted in a few years.
I want to go to Siming Mansion. If nothing happens, and the governor has been in office for five years, and he can be transferred to a similar place, that would be good.
If you want to get promoted, you have basically no chance.
Brother Zheng, I encountered a good opportunity, but you really missed it, I hope you won’t regret it.”
Li Shengming had the intention of showing off his opportunities, but he didn't just show off. He came closer to Zheng Ziliang and lowered his voice and said:
"Have you heard that the questions in this imperial examination were leaked?
I heard that a thief went to the house of an official from the Ministry of Rites to steal something, and he directly stole the imperial examination paper.
The thief also attended night school and recognized the imperial examination papers.
The test papers were directly sold at high prices, not only to big families, but also to many bookstores.
In order to make money, some bookstores simply print a large number of test papers and sell them in large quantities.
Now the streets are full of imperial examination papers.
I also bought a set for you. This set of questions must not be used now.
But through this set of test papers, we can understand the difficulty and examination direction of this imperial examination."
Zheng Ziliang took the test paper and said happily: "Thank you, Brother Li, you have helped me a lot.
I have never understood my own level, so I have this set of test papers.
I can have a clear understanding of my own level.
Focus on weak points and study in a targeted manner.”
…………………………
Su He looked at Prime Minister Wang Zhongce and Minister of Rites Zhang Youfeng.
In the past few days, he has been meeting with senior officers of each army to listen to their opinions on the unification war.
I didn't pay attention to this year's imperial examinations, so I didn't expect such a big omission.
"Tell me, what's going on?
How could the imperial examination papers reveal the questions?"
Zhang Youfeng, the Minister of Rites, broke into a cold sweat on his forehead. Previously, the King of Qin and Prime Minister Wang Zhongce had been in charge of the imperial examination.
This year, taking advantage of the adjustment of the yamen's functions, the imperial examination was handled by the Ministry of Rites. Unexpectedly, such a big omission would occur before the imperial examination started.
Zhang Youfeng introduced the relevant situation.
"The examiner Zhou Qiao was afraid that he would not know enough and would make mistakes when judging the papers, so he took a set of test papers home in advance and did the questions himself.
Unexpectedly, his father was seriously ill and he was rushed to the hospital.
Unexpectedly, a thief came to their house to steal things and stole the test papers he brought out."
Su He listened to the whole process. The imperial examination papers had multiple defenses to prevent them from being taken out and all of them lost.
Just an ordinary examiner can bring out the test papers directly.
What made him most angry was that Zhang Youfeng did not deal with the problem immediately and also concealed the problem.
If someone hadn't printed the test papers in large quantities and spread them all over the streets.
He still doesn't know that the imperial examination papers have been leaked.
"Who is Zhou Qiao? Why didn't he report the leak immediately and deal with it promptly?"
Wang Zhongce said: "Your Majesty, Zhou Qiao is Zhang Shangshu's friend in the same year."
"Prime Minister Wang Zhongce, you are busy during this period, but you have no choice but to take on more tasks.
Serve as the examiner of this imperial examination.
Zhang Youfeng, the Minister of Rites, is temporarily suspended from his post pending the outcome of the investigation by the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Notify the Metropolitan Procuratorate to strictly investigate anyone who leaked the imperial examination questions.
This time all the imperial examination questions have been abolished, and university teachers have been organized to write new questions."
Zhang Youfeng, the Minister of Rites, let him down too much. He was nepotistic and his ability to do things was still poor.
I had followed the rules before and nothing major happened.
Let him serve as the examiner of the imperial examination. This is the first time he has done such a big thing, and his true colors are revealed.
Zhang Youfeng broke out in cold sweat on his temples. He felt that he was in danger this time.
After Su He gave his instructions, he walked out of the room directly.
He felt that Zhang Youfeng was a bit unusual.
Su He asked Zhang Shengbei, the censor of Qiandu, to investigate the case.
Zhang Shengbei is a well-known cruel official in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Every time he investigates a case, he is implicated in many cases, but he will not wrongly accuse anyone.
Su He also asked Su Changsheng to investigate secretly to see if there was anything fishy.
…………………………
Zheng Ziliang stood at the door of Gongyuan, and he heard the scholars participating in the imperial examination constantly discussing the major events that had happened recently.
"This case of leaking the imperial examination questions has a wide range of implications. Zhang Youfeng, the Minister of Rites, was taken away by the Metropolitan Procuratorate for investigation."
“Originally, the Ministry of Rites organized the imperial examination, but the rules of the imperial examination were changed.
Now according to the order of King Qin, the cabinet is responsible for this imperial examination.
They didn’t even change the changed rules.”
"It's so silly and cute. Why should we change it? It would be in our interest not to change it.
This year, there are thirty more Jinshi places than last year.
If there are thirty places, it will be easier for me to get Jinshi."
“I hope the questions this year will be simpler.
I heard that many of the questions this time were given by university teachers in university towns.
Could it be that they are going to come up with some college questions, then there is nothing we can do."
Zheng Ziliang didn't care about the struggles at the top. He just hoped that there would be no accidents in this imperial examination.
He found that in this imperial examination, there were many more scholars than before.
Many scholars from Guangdong and Guangxi should come here to try their luck.
The gate of Gongyuan was closed and all candidates began to answer questions.
After taking exams one after another for several days, the imperial examination was soon over and all the candidates breathed a sigh of relief.
The imperial examination went as usual, without any surprises.
When Zheng Ziliang walked out of Gongyuan, he clearly felt that the questions in this imperial examination were more difficult.
This time the imperial examination questions were also more pragmatic.
It mainly examines candidates’ solutions to specific problems.
Zheng Ziliang is very satisfied with his results.
He bought so many books, not for nothing, he has basically read through the contents of the books.
…………………………
The speed of judging the paper was another day faster. This time the paper had more objective questions, and you only had to judge based on the answers.
All the scholars stood in front of the gate of Gongyuan, waiting for the announcement of the results.
This time, another important reform was carried out in the imperial examination.
The Jinshi list and other lists are no longer separated.
Instead, each subject is scored according to its weight, with a total of one hundred points.
Ranked according to the ranking.
It was only after Zheng Ziliang learned about the changes in the imperial examination that he wanted to learn more knowledge.
From now on, there will never be anyone who can pass the imperial examination by just studying the Four Books and Five Classics.
The Four Books, Five Classics and One Hundred Schools of Classics include the policy paper, which only occupies forty points.
Even if you think you are very knowledgeable but not good at other subjects, and you get a perfect score in this subject, you will not be able to pass the Jinshi exam.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites are announcing the rankings.
Some are happy and some are sad.
The gray-haired old man burst into tears after winning the exam.
Zheng Ziliang met two such people.
Many Jinshis were crying with joy and cheered in the crowd.
He also observed a phenomenon: the birthplaces of Jinshi this time were very unbalanced.
Guangdong and Hanzhong have the most, followed by Sichuan and Guangxi.
There are very few scholars from Shaanxi, Gansu, Yunnan, and Guizhou who are on the list.
Zheng Ziliang thought carefully and he wanted to understand.
Primary school education is conducted here in Hanzhong, and this year is the year when a large number of primary school students graduate.
Some of these people who have gone through systematic education took the imperial examination, which is a huge number of people.
In Shaanxi, Gansu, Yunnan, Guizhou and other places, high-end talents have passed previous rounds of imperial examination selection.
The level of the remaining people is worrying.
Shaanxi and Gansu are experiencing constant wars and plagues.
In many places, there is no rooster crow for thousands of miles.
A large number of refugees from Henan immigrated to these two places.
According to his observation, some people from Guangxi also immigrated to Gansu.
I heard that this was the attention of Gu Qiandao, the governor of Guangxi.
All those who had the deepest conflicts between natives and foreigners and refused to listen to mediation were moved to other provinces, mainly the northwest provinces.
These immigrants are generally illiterate farmers, and the scholars are mainly poor scholars.
Most of them can only read the Four Books and Five Classics, and very few of them are admitted to Jinshi.
There are many scholars in Guangdong and Guangxi, which is normal.
Scholars from Guangdong and Guangxi participated in the imperial examination for the first time, and the content of the imperial examination was very pragmatic.
Directly select talents who were previously missed by Ming Dynasty.
They are all elites with very strong learning ability and know which direction to study in.
You don’t need to study all subjects, as long as you study the three subjects with the highest scores, namely mathematics, science and law, it is not difficult for smart people who are prepared.
In the science exam, the questions will not be too in-depth, and most of them will test some common sense.
For example, in the field of law, even if you can't memorize "Laws of the King of Qin", you just won't get full marks.
If you memorize the classic laws and regulations, it is not difficult to get 80% in the exam.
If you score 80% on the 100% test paper in the main subjects and pass the other subjects, you will definitely get the Jinshi.
Zheng Ziliang was shocked when he heard his name.
"I turned out to be the top pick, I really didn't expect it."
Zheng Ziliang was extremely happy. He was the organizer who dedicated the city of Guangzhou.
At that time, the imperial envoy had made it clear that as long as he passed the Jinshi examination, he would receive preferential treatment when being awarded an official.
"This is unfair, it must be imperial examination fraud."
A scholar from Yunnan who failed the examination shouted angrily when he saw the announced place of birth of the candidates.
"Why are there so many Jinshi in Hanzhong and Guangdong?
The total number of candidates in these two places is less than one-tenth of the candidates, and they account for one-third of the Jinshi quota."
More failed scholars roared.
These scholars had experienced the scandal of leaking questions before the exam. They were already tense and did not trust this imperial examination anymore.
Others directly pointed out that there was local discrimination in selecting talents through the imperial examination.
Most of the scholars in Yunnan and Guizhou just shouted angrily.
The people of Shaanxi and Gansu are naturally full of martial virtue.
Seeing this, they rolled up their sleeves and began to attack the soldiers celebrating their achievement.
In front of Gongyuan, the scholars fought in a melee according to their regions.
Whistles sounded, and a large number of patrolmen came running over carrying muskets and wooden sticks.
Su Yan, the Minister of Punishment, personally leads the team every year and escorts the Gongyuan during the imperial examination.
When he saw the chaotic situation in front of Gongyuan, he led people to the scene as soon as possible.
He shouted many times but failed to pull away the soldiers who were caught in the melee.
"Separate them for me. If anyone dares to resist, give me a severe beating. Just don't kill anyone."
Bring them all to the bureau, but I can't cure them."
When the patrol officers heard what the minister had said, they immediately started to take action.
How could these soldiers defeat a strong and armed policeman?
They were all under control and calm down in the situation.
When Zheng Ziliang saw the chaotic situation, he immediately ran to the officials of the Ministry of Rites.
Not affected by the chaotic situation.
After things calmed down, Zheng Ziliang wrote a letter in person, combined with his own analysis, and submitted the letter to Prime Minister Wang Zhongce.
…………………………
Wang Zhongce found Qin King Su He who was brushing his war horse.
Su He is cultivating a relationship with this war horse that has just grown up. It is a little dark horse that looks very ordinary.
He focused most of his energy on preparing for war and handed over all government affairs to the cabinet.
This time the matter was too big. For the first time, Wang Zhongce encountered scholars making trouble due to geographical injustice. Wang Zhongce didn't know how to deal with it.
He introduced what happened to Su He in detail and handed Su He the letter written by Zheng Ziliang, this year's top pick.
"Your Majesty, this is what happened, what should we do?"
“It is against the law to hit someone, pay for it, and go to jail if you hurt someone.
Just handle it as a normal security incident.
If scholars cannot be given special preferential treatment, these literati cannot get used to it.
This incident is unusual. Things have been happening since the beginning of the imperial examination, and many things were blocked by the secret guards in advance.
I think the Ming court noticed our preparations for war and sent Jin Yiwei to disrupt the imperial examination."
"Your Majesty, unfair education does exist. Do we need to learn from Zhu Yuanzhang and conduct imperial examination rankings?
Guangdong is already like this, but when we take over the Jiangnan region, we still don’t know what will happen to it?”
Su He waved his hand and said: "Don't worry too much, the Jiangnan area is rich in Neo-Confucianism, and it will take time for them to change.
Primary schools will be built everywhere to ensure that most people have access to books.
True talents will never be buried.
Educational level and economic development are closely related, in addition to developing backward areas as much as possible.
We cannot compromise.
This time because of the geographical compromise, next year it will be because of the gender compromise that women will not be allowed to participate in the imperial examination.
Nowadays, most women only take the entrance exams of various prefectures, mostly just to enter primary schools and hospitals.
But with the development of society, there will definitely be more and more women who want to become officials and take the imperial examination.
Creating artificial obstacles is the stupidest way and will gradually accumulate conflicts.
Nowadays, the southern officials of the Ming Dynasty look down on the northern officials.
In the court of the Ming Dynasty, the southwest, northwest and other border areas had no say.
I don't want us to be like this in the future.
The most important thing is that the imperial examination should be fair, impartial and open."
After Wang Zhongce heard this, he said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I know how to handle this matter.
The local imperial examinations, college examinations and rural examinations have taken care of the local people.
