The newly established Yamen Recruitment Hall at the north gate of Hanzhong City.
It officially opens today for candidates to sign up for the preliminary examination at the Recruitment Center.
Many candidates came to the door of the recruitment hall, waiting for the door to open.
Among them, there are two groups of people who are not accepted by the mainstream crowd, some scholars with Confucian crowns.
Staying far away from them is like avoiding the plague.
These two groups of people formed their own small circles.
One group is mainly women, and the other group is mainly candidates with physical disabilities.
Qu Qingyi, wearing a traditional Tang Dynasty skirt, led a group of sisters who had just left the music school to discuss the possible content of the recruitment examination.
Lingyin was a little nervous with the brothel girl.
They followed Qu Qingyi's team and did not dare to communicate with Qu Qingyi and others.
Just looking at the temperament, it’s like when a country girl meets a noble lady, they feel a little ashamed of themselves.
Liu Xin and her many little sisters are the shyest.
They were all family members of the gentry who committed the crime. Both their father and brother were sentenced, and their family property was confiscated.
Some people's engagements were annulled before they were married, and some people lost their mainstay when their children were still young.
They do not have the basic ability to support themselves.
Fortunately, the recruitment center is recruiting elementary school teachers, and they are the most suitable people.
Many daughters and daughters-in-law of gentry with broken families came to sign up to be primary school teachers.
Liu Xin thanked her grandfather, who did not commit a serious crime and allowed her to pass the identity verification and have the opportunity to take the recruitment examination.
As long as she is admitted as a primary school teacher, she can support her mother and younger siblings with her own salary.
San Cun Golden Lotus's mother had a hard time walking, so she sat on the kang and embroidered for others, earning a meager income.
The scholars hiding in the distance kept saying that these women were immoral, and secretly peeked at them from the corner of their eyes.
Li Yuanzheng saw the woman coming to take the examination at the recruitment hall, and he was relieved of his worries.
If the governor's office can accept women, it can certainly accept disabled people like them.
He has emotional connections with many people.
These people are all people with physical defects, and they are all a group of people who share the same fate.
When they enter the officialdom, they are natural allies, and they must stick together to prevent being bullied by others.
Li Yuanzheng listened to the sarcastic voices of other scholars and despised them.
This time, let the people who look down on him see that Li Yuanzheng, a lame man, is far more capable than this group of losers.
I remembered the sound of huge drums, and the door of the recruitment hall slowly opened.
A team of officials and inspectors came out to maintain order at the entrance of the recruiting hall.
The inspection asked the candidates to line up and sign up for the preliminary examination at the recruitment center.
The registration process is very simple, just write your name and place of origin.
Wang Zhongce presided over the work of the Talent Recruitment Hall, and was assisted by other officials in the Ministry of Personnel.
He saw the inspector guiding the candidates into each cubicle, waiting for the exam to start.
Under the guidance of the inspection, Song Kangnian came to the examination place.
There is a small square table here with pen, ink, paper and inkstone on it. There are two test papers on the table.
Song Kangnian opened the test paper and found that the content was extremely simple.
The first test paper contains a paragraph from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, about Zhuge Liang borrowing arrows from a straw boat.
The content is written in both simplified and traditional Chinese.
The test paper requires that you analyze Cao Chuan Borrowing Arrows from any angle and write an article.
This paper is worth 80 points.
The second test paper, above is a fragment of Song Jiang accepting the imperial edict in Water Margin.
The test paper is written in traditional Chinese and will be translated into simplified Chinese.
This paper is worth 20 points.
Song Kangnian had already inquired in advance that he could pass the preliminary examination with only 60 points.
This simple test paper is too easy for him.
He can't write simplified Chinese characters, but he can easily score 80 points on the first test paper.
…
Su Yan led the inspection team and was responsible for inspecting the examination room of the recruitment center.
He was patrolling the examination room and was sweating profusely.
I saw Wang Zhongce sitting on a chair, drinking tea leisurely.
Su Yan asked doubtfully: "Wang Zhongce, you are not worried about candidates cheating at all.
I have consulted before. During the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty, candidates were searched from inside to outside.
Is it because there is a woman in this exam and it is not convenient to search her?
This is no problem at all, I can ask some women to help search you."
Wang Zhongce calmly took a sip of tea and responded in a slow voice: "Shang Shu Su Yan, you don't have to worry.
We are not afraid of candidates cheating in our recruitment examinations.
In the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty, all of them had the same test questions, and they still used the eight-part essay answering method.
The imperial examinations were held for many years in the Ming Dynasty, and the questions were fixed from several Confucian classics.
As long as you guess the test questions correctly in the eight-part essay, you can write a classic answer sheet.
Eight-part essay has been developed for so many years, and there are many wonderful essays for candidates to copy.
As long as you succeed in betting on the questions in advance, the benefits of bringing cheat sheets are great.
We are completely different. This test mainly screens whether candidates are literate.
There are six sets of test papers in total, and the test questions given to each adjacent candidate are of different types.
There is no fixed genre, you can answer the questions as you like.
Every candidate has a different answer to the same question.
If the exact same answer appears, then someone must be cheating."
When Su Yan heard Wang Zhongce's answer, he no longer struggled.
He asked the patrol to focus mainly on maintaining order.
…
Two hours later, a clear bell rang.
"The candidates immediately stood up and stopped answering questions.
Answer the questions now and your test scores will be invalid."
The examiner loudly announced the end of the exam and began to collect the test papers on the candidates' desks one by one.
The test papers of the candidates were collected and their names were anonymized.
Submit it to the examiner responsible for marking the paper and judge the score of the paper.
Wang Zhongce looked at the row of examiners standing in front of him.
He repeated the criteria for judging papers again.
"The purpose of this first round of examinations at the recruitment center is to test the candidates' literacy rate and basic logic.
As long as what he says is meaningful, even if he says some alarmist words, he should still be given a passing grade.
The passing standard is that the candidate’s cultural level reaches the level of a teacher with a primary school education.”
The examiners began to mark the test papers. Each test paper was marked by three examiners.
The results of the test paper will be recorded separately and will be tallied by the examiner.
If the scores given by the three examiners are too different, the examiner will re-examine the test paper.
Try to ensure that the test paper does not give too low or too high scores because of the preference of a certain examiner.
…
On June 18, after three days of urgent examination papers, the results of the preliminary examination were announced at the entrance of the recruitment hall.
Black letters on red paper, sorted by name and place of origin, were posted all over the wall.
Du Yuan and a group of friends are looking for their own scores.
He soon saw his place of origin and his name.
Du Yuan, Baoxian County, Hanzhong, scored 98 points.
He was very satisfied with this score.
A candidate next to him saw his score and yelled crazily: "How is this possible? Why did I only score fifty-eight?"
It's only two points away. It's only two points away. Why does God treat me like this?"
The examinee burst out laughing and ran out in a frantic state.
Du Yuan knew that this man had been greatly stimulated and his mentality had become abnormal.
Every time he took the provincial examination before, he could see people going crazy because of passing or not passing the exam.
Du Yuan saw that most of the candidates around him had passed the passing mark and had the opportunity to take the written examination.
He was a little nervous because there were only so many official positions.
There are so many people competing now, it’s really too much.
He was thinking about what method he should use to eliminate as many competitors as possible.
Du Yuan said with a kind face: "Brothers, we have all passed the preliminary examination of the recruitment hall, and we all have a bright future.
The Recruitment Hall of the Tongling Mansion is completely different from the imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty.
After the imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty, we had to wait for many years to wait for vacancies in the government.
No one knows which gap they have the opportunity to fill.
The Tongling Mansion is different. Different yamen are responsible for setting the questions for the written examinations at the Talent Recruitment Hall.
Each yamen's written examination and interview have different questions.
The examination times for the Yamen are basically the same. If you choose one, you cannot choose the second one.
Have you all decided which yamen you want to enter?"
A short and fat candidate first said: "I, Gu Ping'an, want to join the Ministry of Industry. My great-grandfather used to build water conservancy in the Sichuan and Chongqing areas.
There are books passed down from our family specifically about water conservancy construction."
Du Yuan glanced at this man and showed a sincere smile. This man was not his competitor.
Starting with the first person, many candidates expressed their wishes.
Du Yuan secretly counted and found that most of the candidates were preparing to enter the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Household Affairs.
This is very normal. Officials from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Household Affairs are the most prominent.
The promotion of officials in the Ministry of Personnel Management implies very great power.
Even if the Ministry of Household Affairs is split, it will still be responsible for managing civil affairs and is most likely to produce political achievements.
Du Yuan read the information from the Commander's Office and found that the Third Law Division could only be promoted within his own yamen.
The path to advancement has been restricted, and there is no chance of becoming a feudal official.
The requirements of these three yamen are very high, and it is impossible to join if you don't understand criminal law.
The Ministry of Industry is too hard, and the oil and water are still very low.
The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education have no idea what the role of these two bureaucracies is.
Du Yuan's ideal place is the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which is also the department with the largest number of applicants.
…
Song Kangnian found his score, sixty-six points.
If you pass the passing mark in a thrilling way, you can participate in the written examinations of various yamen.
Looking at all the yamen in the commander's office, he prefers the staff department.
Song Kangnian submitted the Yamen he applied for to the junior official who signed up, and prepared to wait for the written examination.
The clerk has not issued the admission ticket to Song Kangnian for a long time.
Song Kangnian was already upset from waiting and was about to urge him.
The clerk said with a smile: "Brother, you cannot take part in the next written examination."
Song Kangnian's expression changed drastically and he asked directly: "What's going on? You have to give me a reasonable explanation, otherwise this matter will never end.
Not everyone can take the written test after passing the preliminary test.
It's clearly written in black and white on the outside, and you can change it if you want."
The clerk quickly apologized: "Brother, please be patient. It's my fault that I didn't explain the matter clearly.
You skip the written test and attend the final interview.
This is your interview notice, just come to the interview according to the time written on it."
Song Kangnian was very puzzled as to why he was treated differently from others.
Open the interview notice.
He looked at the contents of the notice and was speechless for a long time.
[Interviewer: Song Kangnian.]
[Affiliated official office: Taichang Temple.]
[Interviewer position: Minister of Taichang Temple.]
[Interview time: June 22.]
[Interviewer: Su He.]
A few simple lines reveal a huge amount of information.
The interview notice was stamped with the seals of the Tongling Mansion and Su He.
In Hanzhong City, no one dares to forge this kind of official seal.
Song Kangnian was very happy, but confused about his fate.
He didn't expect that because of a chance encounter, he would brag again and directly come into Su He's sight.
My future can only be an official in charge of Buddhism and Taoism.
His ideal official position is that of a counselor, making strategic plans and winning victories thousands of miles away.
Song Kangnian wanted to give up, but he couldn't. He was a third-rank official.
He took the interview notice and walked out of the recruitment center in confusion.
…
A group of women surrounded Qu Qingyi, chattering non-stop.
Qu Qingyi immediately asked them to calm down.
"Sisters, we all did not fail and passed the preliminary examination of the recruitment hall safely.
But this is just the beginning. If we want to change our destiny, we must truly enter the commander's office and become an official, even if it is a small official.
In this way, sisters will not be bullied at home.
I heard from Sister Wang Wenjun that Commander Su originally wanted us to be primary school teachers.
But some officials strongly opposed it. They said that the king of heaven and earth is his master.
The morals of teachers must be high. They cannot accept teachers who educate their children because their morals have serious flaws.
If people like us are chosen as teachers, they will unite to boycott elementary schools.
The people of Hanzhong City also wrote Wanmin letters to oppose this matter.
Leader Su saw that the registered candidates were enough to meet the needs of primary school teachers.
He agreed to set up entry barriers. If you want to be a teacher, you must assess your moral character.
But Commander Su did not deprive us of the opportunity to serve as officials.
Sister Wang Wenjun told me that the Ministry of Health is very short of girls.
We don't know medical skills, but we can still pass the exam for the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry of Health will send doctors to teach us medical skills. Even if we don’t know medical skills, we can still be nurses.
A nurse is also a minor official and enjoys the treatment of an official in the governor's office.
If you do a good job, you will have a chance to get promoted.
This position has easy work and is convenient for taking care of your family and future children.
Most importantly, its competition is very small.
I heard Sister Wang Wenjun say that those stinky men rarely compete for this position."
Qu Qingyi saw her sisters and thought about her words seriously.
For those who can listen, their lives will definitely be much easier in the future.
If there was a sister who really wanted to take the exam for other official positions, Qu Qingyi would not be able to dissuade her.
She herself is not planning to be a doctor, but is eyeing a position in the secretariat.
This is the position closest to the Su Hesu commander.
From the moment she was dismissed from music, Qu Qingyi was determined to repay Commander Su.
Lingyin took the sisters to check the results of the preliminary examination.
"I passed it, I passed it, I actually passed it."
There were constant exclamations around her.
The unique female cheers made the surrounding scholars focus their attention here.
Suzuyin made statistics and found that only seven or eight older sisters who were planning to marry into their husband's family and who didn't care about the exam failed to pass the preliminary exam.
The other sisters all passed the preliminary examination of the Talent Recruitment Hall and had the opportunity to become officials in the Commander's Mansion.
"I just said that the question is very simple, and for everyone's level, there is no need to worry.
Sisters, let’s go back to Yicui Building and discuss which Yamen to go to.”
Lingyin led a large group of brothel girls back to Yicui House.
Yicui Building has been closed down and has become their base camp for preparing for the exam.
As soon as Lingyin and the others returned to Yicui Building, several younger girls handed her some pieces of paper.
"Sister Suzuyin, this is the information that the sisters who left before asked me to give you."
Lingyin took the information, glanced at it a few times, and looked surprised.
She explained to everyone:
"Sisters, these are the sisters who left before. They are caring about us. They will give us the information they collected.
They have a wide range of relationships.
Some married officials of the Tongtongfu as concubines, and some married celebrities in Shilin as concubines.
Some are treasured by scholars, and some are good friends with women from Jiaofangsi."
Many brothel girls, they didn't think so much, they didn't expect that Lingyin could contact so many people.
"Sisters, there is only one carrot and one pitfall. If there are too many applicants in the yamen, our chances of getting appointed are too few.
Some positions are also subject to status restrictions, and there are very few positions without any status restrictions.
Combining these data, it fits us that there are only three yamen.
The first choice is Hanzhong Newspaper.
Most people have never heard of this yamen called newspaper office, and don’t know what it does?
I looked through the detailed documents of the Governor's Office and noticed this yamen.
She just collects some important things and publishes them in articles.
The positions are editor and reporter.
The sisters like to spread some things, and they are all qualified for this job.
The second choice is the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry of Health needs to build health clinics in the countryside and needs a lot of doctors. Those who cannot learn medical skills can still be nurses.
The third one is to be a secretary.
The commander-in-chief did not allow officials to recruit their own masters, and all of them were replaced by secretaries.
But I found that the secretaries of officials are all male secretaries.
I don’t know if the Governor’s Office only recruits male secretaries for male officials, or if there were no female secretaries before.
We can adapt to this job, but try to choose the first two yamen and don't gamble.
Sisters, if you have other specialties, you can also sign up for other yamen.
For example, if you know how to settle accounts, go to the bank.
To understand criminal law, go and sign up for the Three Law Division.
Especially in the Penal Department Prison, male and female prisoners are detained separately.
The women’s prison is in dire need of management officials.”
After Ling Yin's introduction, many brothel girls gathered around and asked her to help recommend which Yamen they should go to.
…
Li Yuanzheng looked at his score, which was 100 points.
Many people pass the exam, but only a few get perfect scores.
Li Yuanzheng knew that he could not be proud yet and must choose the right government office.
Shi Xi, who was blind in one eye, came up and asked: "Brother Li, which yamen are you going to report to?
We have all passed the preliminary examination and have been together for so many days. Everyone is convinced of your ability.
Please give everyone a suggestion, which yamen should we apply to have the highest passing rate?"
Li Yuanzheng thought for a moment and said: "In traditional yamen, many officials and subordinate staff surrendered.
They were all officials from the previous Ming Dynasty, and you all know their usual style.
Compared with other yamen, these yamen are more old-fashioned.
For those of us with physical disabilities, Commander Su gave us a chance to live a new life.
These old-fashioned people have no ability to stop it, but when the two conditions are the same, they will definitely choose the traditional scholar.
We try to choose yamen newly established by Commander Su, or yamen with weak traditional power.
For example, the three legal departments, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, banks, the Taxation Bureau, and the Grain Reserves Bureau.”
Shi Xi bowed deeply: "Thank you, Brother Li. I have no other abilities, but I think I can control my own hands.
I will go to the Grain Reserve Bureau to give it a try. Thanks to Brother Li for his guidance these days."
Li Yuanzheng saw the Shixi brothers' choice and was also happy for him.
The most valuable thing about people is self-awareness, and the Shixi brothers can be said to be the worst among them.
But Li Yuanzheng believed that the Shixi brothers' career would be smoother than that of others.
"Brother Li, you are very good at calculating accounts. You will definitely choose the account department, bank or tax bureau."
Shi Xi confirmed his choice and asked curiously where Li Yuanzheng was going.
"No, I choose the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Nowadays, officials corrupt very quickly, and it is necessary to have a sharp sword to cut out the rotten flesh in time.
I have observed that Commander Su is a very good sword wielder, and I am willing to make this sharp sword."
Li Yuanzheng was bullied by powerful people, which led to the destruction of his family and his exile from his hometown.
He made up his mind to fight against corrupt officials to the end.
…
In the third year of Chongzhen, it was June 19th.
After two days of registration, all candidates who passed the preliminary examination selected their favorite yamen and received their admission tickets for the written examination.
The written examination at the Recruitment Hall has officially begun.
Candidates already know that the results of the written examination are extremely important.
Interview and award of official position.
Candidates will be queued based on their written test scores.
The score in the written test is too low, the interview is ranked last, and there is no good official position at all.
Du Yuan walked into the examination room for the written examination of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
When he saw the candidates' movements, he felt a chill in his heart.
A quarter of all candidates enter the Ministry of Personnel and a quarter enter the Ministry of Household Affairs.
The remaining half of the candidates will sign up for other departments.
Du Yuan sat down and waited for the examiner to hand out the test papers.
He was very confused. The first test only tested basic knowledge and did not conduct a body search.
Why is it that when it comes to the written test, there is still no body search?
Wait until Du Yuan takes the test paper from the examiner.
All the doubts in his mind were answered.
There is not a single question in the entire examination paper that tests the Five Classics.
All are question questions, and no answer format is required.
The first question: As the chief official of the Ministry of Personnel, you are reviewing the information of an official.
It was discovered that his abilities were outstanding, but his reputation was extremely bad. There were rumors that he visited a brothel during his mourning period.
Candidates are asked to answer: Should you promote this person and what are the reasons for doing so?
The second question: As the chief official of the Ministry of Personnel, a good friend of yours has come to intercede and want to give him some accommodation so that your nephew can be promoted.
Ask the candidates to answer: What is your choice?
…
Du Yuan looked at ten questions in a row. Each question was ten points, a total of one hundred points.
These questions are extremely tricky, and they are all problems you may encounter as an official in the Ministry of Personnel.
He guessed what kind of officials the governor wanted to choose and wrote his answer carefully.
…
Qu Qingyi looked at the questions on the exam paper and fell into deep thought.
There are ten examination papers in total, and they are filled with incidents encountered by various departments, and they all want to see Commander Su.
The exam question asked her to sort the events.
She based it on her own knowledge and the knowledge she learned from communicating with Wang Wenjun in the past few days.
Follow the principle of urgent and important, urgent and not important, not urgent and important, not urgent and not important.
Sort these events.
Qu Qingyi wiped the sweat from her forehead, and she finally put all the one hundred events in order.
Qu Qingyi put away the test papers, handed them to the examiner, and prepared to leave.
The examiner took her test paper and brought her a large pile of information.
"The Secretariat, in addition to assisting in planning Commander Su's time, is also responsible for communicating information and auditing the budgets of various departments."
"This is the budget of the Water Conservancy Department of the Ministry of Industry for the third quarter of this year.
After you review this plan, its real results will come out tonight.
Whoever has the closest budget will get a higher score.”
Qu Qingyi looked at the information that was half a meter high.
Now there are two hours left in the exam time.
The secretariat exam is also too difficult.
Qu Qingyi gritted her teeth, she must succeed.
Qu Qingyi knows nothing about water conservancy. She doesn't understand budgets either and can only do simple arithmetic.
But she relied on her intuition and imagination on what Su He would do.
Qu Qingyi directly passed the budget that was beneficial to the people.
With a well-founded budget, Qu Qingyi directly cut the budget in half.
She rejected all the budgets she couldn't understand.
…
Lingyin looked at the test paper in front of her and showed a relaxed smile.
This test paper is very simple.
Based on his own experience, let him write down the top ten most discussed things in Hanzhong City.
Ling Yin writes with great energy and vivid imagery, describing the ten most hotly discussed things in Hanzhong City right now.
…
Li Yuanzheng looked at the few candidates around him and knew that he had made the right choice.
The regulations that the Sanfa Division can only be promoted internally, as well as the requirements on criminal law, make many candidates not want to take the Sanfa Division Yamen exam.
Li Yuanzheng looked at the examination papers of the Three Law Divisions. They were all about criminal law.
He was well prepared and familiar with the laws of various dynasties such as "Qin Code", "Han Code", "Tang Code", and "Da Ming Code".
Answering these questions is very easy.
Li Yuanzheng could tell the attitude of the Commander-in-Chief towards the law from the test questions given by the Commander-in-Chief.
The first point is that when a prince breaks the law, he is as guilty as the common people.
Officials and nobles also do not enjoy extrajudicial privileges.
The second point is that penalties must be strictly followed according to legal rules.
The law does not tolerate mercy, and does not allow the law to punish everyone.
This is completely different from the Ming Dynasty magistrates who judged cases. Almost all of these Ming officials judged cases based on human feelings rather than legal principles.
Few county magistrates and prefects would strictly abide by the "Da Ming Law".
Li Yuanzheng saw these two points, and he was fully prepared for the subsequent interview.
…
"What kind of bad test question is this? I don't care anymore."
A scholar threw the exam table away.
He was immediately controlled by the inspector who maintained order in the examination room, and was taken out for interrogation.
This candidate is a very impulsive person, but there are also many people who give up on taking the exam.
They threw away the pen and gave up the exam.
Cursing, he walked out of the examination room.
"I didn't even take the Four Books and Five Classics exam. I studied hard for more than ten years in my humble childhood.
I was asked where is the appropriate place to build a reservoir on the Han River. How do I answer this?
Not taking exams on Confucian classics, but only on practical matters. This is what masters and subordinates do, and I don’t have to do this kind of thing.
We go to be officials, not to be subordinates."
"A gentleman disdains the company of subordinate officials."
Someone immediately agreed.
He muttered in his heart: "Rebels are rebels, and we can't change their mud-legged origins."
