In March of the 16th year of Zhengtong, the new imperial examination system was announced to the world.
The new imperial examination system is still divided into five levels: college examination, government examination, rural examination, joint examination and palace examination.
However, the test content has undergone earth-shaking changes.
The first batch of published reference books, in addition to the traditional Four Books and Five Classics, added "Zhou Bi Suan Jing", "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", "Ling Xian", "Kaiyuan Divination Jing", "Qi Min Yao Shu", "Gan Shi Xing"
Classics", "Huangdi Neijing", "Mo Jing" and "Mengxi Bi Tan", a total of nine volumes.
At the beginning, Zhu Qizhen's idea was to directly classify the examination content as "Yongle Dadian". However, the Yongle Dadian has a total of more than 22,800 volumes, which is really too much.
After Yu Qian and others screened day and night, and taking into account the limited time of the students, the above nine books were finally selected, covering basically all aspects of arithmetic, medicine, astronomy, geography, architecture, engineering, etc.
Even though we have tried to simplify it as much as possible, the students are still complaining.
I have been studying hard since I was a child, and I only read the Four Books and Five Classics. If I were to look at other things, I would be said to be a charlatan who is not doing his job properly.
Well now, there are suddenly a large number of books on magic and magic, and they are more important than the Four Books and Five Classics.
The imperial edict has been issued, and there is no point in complaining. We can only sharpen our guns in the face of the battle and make up for it all night long.
The questions in the college examination are relatively simple. After all, it is the first time to take the new imperial examination. It is too difficult and no one can do it.
The students came to the examination room with a curious mentality. The examination questions were very complicated, such as the nine-nine formula table, the Pythagorean theorem, the causes of solar and lunar eclipses, the relationship between solar terms and farming, etc., etc., all kinds of novelties
The knowledge is dazzling.
However, answering the questions felt much more enjoyable than the eight-part essay.
Because this method is simple and clear, if you know it, you know it, and if you don’t know it, you don’t know it. There is no need to rack your brains to quote scriptures or speak for the saints.
With the end of the college examination, the government examination came in a blink of an eye, which is the subject of the scholar examination for children.
This time, the test questions became obviously more difficult.
It turns out that not everyone can accept these new things.
Especially those old boys and scholars who are old, have failed in many imperial examinations, and have suffered repeated defeats. They are the first to be unable to hold back and break their defenses.
On the streets of Nanjing, an old boy with gray hair rushed out of the examination room.
"The country is based on Confucianism, practices the way of a gentleman, advocates virtue, and governs the country with benevolence and filial piety. Today's imperial examinations promote strange skills and tricks. Students do not practice virtue, but do not know honor and disgrace. The virtues of a gentleman are actually an act of forgetting their ancestors.
! If things continue like this, if all the officials do not practice virtue and the people do not know etiquette, internal and external imbalances will occur, chaos will arise, and the country will fall!"
Behind him, several officers who were maintaining order hurriedly followed.
"Quick, quick, arrest me!"
These words are indeed a bit excessive. Such criticism of the new imperial examination can almost be regarded as treason.
"Let me go, the state-owned women are doing sycophancy, the state-owned women are doing sycophants!"
Several police officers quickly tied up the person and dragged him away.
…………
Capital, Forbidden City.
Zhu Qiyu and Cao Nai came to the imperial study together.
"Ah, are you all here?"
Zhu Qizhen had just come back from outside. His hands and face were all gray. Wynn hurriedly went to fetch water and help the emperor wash his face.
Behind him, there was another person, Bei Lin from Qin Tian Prison, who was also looking disgraced.
"Your Majesty, the airtightness problem must be solved as soon as possible, otherwise, it will be difficult to carry out follow-up work!"
"I know, didn't I also collapse into ashes just now?"
While the two were washing their faces, they were still discussing the problem of the steam engine. Moreover, they talked endlessly, seeming to have forgotten that King Tan and the chief minister of the cabinet were still waiting.
Zhu Qiyu couldn't help but took advantage of the gap between the two of them to drink water and said quickly: "Your Majesty, various places have summarized and reported the results of the government examinations, please take a look!"
"Have the results of the government examination come out?"
Zhu Qizhen then picked up the memorial and glanced at it, seemingly surprised.
I thought that with the new imperial examination, everyone would definitely need an adaptation process, in the first year.
Even the first three years can be regarded as a transition period, allowing students all over the world to slowly have a buffering time.
Unexpectedly, the results of this time's government examination, the number of those who won the title of scholar was actually 30% higher than in previous years.
Zhu Qizhen thought for a while and said, "Are the college exam questions too easy? Where is Yu Qian, is Yu Qian here?"
Cao Nai said: "Back to the emperor, Yu Qian is now the leader of the rural examination question group. Before the provincial examination questions are announced, he cannot leave Gongyuan without special circumstances."
"Yes, yes, how could I forget this!"
Only then did Zhu Qizhen remember that Yu Qian, the team leader, was personally appointed by himself to prepare for the provincial examination three months later.
The Provincial Examination is a test for talents and is already considered a relatively important event.
Under the new imperial examination system, everyone was groping forward. Zhu Qizhen only trusted Yu Qian, so he asked him to take the lead.
Apart from Yu Qian, the one who is better at natural science is Bei Lin.
"Beilin, have you read the college exam questions?"
Beilin replied: "Back to the emperor, I have read a few copies."
There is naturally more than one test question in the college examination, but the contents are similar. The proposition group mainly controls the difficulty of the questions, requiring all test papers to be of similar difficulty.
"What do you think? Is it difficult?"
"It's not difficult, but it feels very complicated. It covers astronomy, geography, literature, history, arithmetic, everything, and the coverage is very wide."
"Then do you think the questions are much simpler than the previous college examination questions?"
"Back to the Emperor, if compared with the previous college examination questions, not only are they not easy, they are actually more difficult!"
"Oh?" Zhu Qizhen suddenly became interested, "How do you say this?"
Zhu Qiyu and Cao Nai also looked puzzled, waiting for Beilin to continue.
Bei Lin said: "Although the questions in the past college examinations were also stereotyped, the examiners had to consider the difficulty and depth of the questions. They usually looked for some simple and easy-to-understand words and phrases in the Four Books and Five Classics. It was nothing more than learning.
, benevolent government, etiquette, etc. These topics are already familiar to us. All you need to do is prepare a few sample essays before the exam and write them out silently. As long as the gist of the essay does not deviate too much, you will generally be able to pass."
Zhu Qizhen understood that because the difficulty of the imperial examination would gradually increase, in order to retain the difficulty of the provincial examination and the general examination, in the choice of questions in the college examination and the government examination, we could only choose some simpler and more obvious words and sentences.
.
And these contents have basically been used to pieces.
Therefore, the examiner can only use it repeatedly, but as the examinee, you can choose the questions in a targeted manner.
In fact, during the 270-year history of the Ming Dynasty, there was an imperial examination every four years. Not to mention the previous college examination, government examination, and provincial examination, even the questions in the general examination could only be changed in the future.<
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For example, one year's exam question was "The Way cannot be ridden".
However, these four words are not a sentence at all, but a trap!
This kind of question is typical of those who reach the later stage of the imperial examination and cannot find a suitable question, so they can only dig holes in the text.
How bad is it?
This sentence comes from "The Analects of Confucius Gongzhi Long Chapter". The full text is: The Master said, "The way is not good, and it floats on the sea on rafts. What is the reason for those who follow me?" Zilu was delighted when he heard about it. The Master said, "You are braver than me, and you have nothing to draw from."
.
Regardless of the meaning of this sentence, the four words "The Way cannot be driven" are taken from the sentence "The Road cannot be used, and the rides float on the sea". They are just four words that are pieced together and have no specific meaning at all.
Then I ask you to use this as the title and write an article for me. This article must comply with the standards and the principles of the saints. By the way, every format, whether it is breaking the topic or continuing the topic, you must also comply with it.
Standard, no more word, no less word!
From here, it reflects the disadvantages of eight-legged essay recruiting.
Not only is the scope of the questions limited, but the writing format is also strictly stipulated, which further restricts the readers' vision.
In the early days, nothing can be seen, but as time goes by, this disadvantage will become more and more obvious. Without drastic reforms, Ming Dynasty will not be able to progress.
Under the new imperial examination, the questions covering encyclopedias are refreshing to everyone. Some people usually like these miscellaneous books, but now they have become part of the exam, and they are instantly at home.
Since it is implemented in the first year, the difficulty of the questions is relatively low, allowing many candidates to get good results after cramming for a period of time.
After all, young people are still very capable of accepting new things.
Only those old boys who are immersed in reading and unwilling to accept new things will feel the difficulty.
The reason why Zhu Qizhen improved the imperial examination was to add fresh blood to the Ming Dynasty.
As for those who cannot keep up with the times, they should be eliminated if they should be eliminated. There is nothing to regret!
"King Yin, from Cao Qing's family, sent a letter to all the students in the world, saying that I am very pleased to see that all the students are keen and eager to learn. The New Deal has begun, and the court is at the time of employing people. If there is anyone with real talent and practical learning, I will
Entrusted with important responsibilities! But I want to make it clear that what I want is the real ability to apply what I have learned, not the rhetoric!"
Zhu Qiyu saluted and said: "My brother obeys the order!"
Cao Nai was not happy, and secretly thought that the previous imperial examination was just talk, while the new imperial examination was practical. How could these words seem to be scolding us...
Seeing him in a daze, Zhu Qizhen asked, "Is there anything wrong with Cao Qing's family?"
"Oh, no problem!"
Cao Nai quickly replied: "It's just that for this imperial examination, there were some troubles in some examination rooms."
"What's the trouble?"
"Some candidates have been studying hard for more than ten years, or even decades. When they see the test content change, they find it difficult to accept it and make rude remarks..."
"Don't worry about them!"
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said: "I didn't change the test questions just for him. All the students have changed, so why is he the only one to complain? Such candidates should be handed over directly to the local government!"
Cao Nai thought for a while, and it seemed to make sense, so he saluted and said, "Old minister, I obey your order!"
Zhu Qizhen nodded, then stood up and walked out. As he walked, he said: "We must find a highly skilled carpenter to make a wooden model first. Only after the theoretical problem is solved can further experiments be carried out."
Beilin followed behind and said: "When it comes to carpentry skills, I recommend one person."
"Who?"
"Cai Xin, Director of the Ministry of Works, may your Majesty still remember that when Mr. Li was appointed to build the Martyrs' Shrine, all the carpentry work was led by Director Cai..."
The monarch and his ministers talked while walking towards the temporary testing site.
Zhu Qiyu and Cao Nai looked at each other and said to themselves, let's go too!
The two of them first came to the Wenhua Palace, and immediately a eunuch made tea and brought it to them.
Cao Nai took a sip and asked: "Your Highness, what do you think of the new imperial examination?"
Zhu Qizhen was thoughtful and said: "I have been thinking about what the emperor just said. Perhaps the previous imperial examinations really restricted the development of the Ming Dynasty."
"Your Highness, the imperial examination was set by Emperor Taizu..."
Cao Nai really wanted to remind him to be careful when speaking. No matter whether it is good or not, it is a legacy left by your ancestors and cannot be discussed arbitrarily.
Zhu Qiyu shook his head and said: "When Emperor Taizu established the imperial examination system, the Ming Dynasty had just experienced war and was prosperous. However, in the past hundred years, things are no longer what they used to be, but we cling to the ancestral system.
, is it our own problem that we don’t want to make progress? ”
Cao Nai was speechless for a moment. It seemed like that was really the case.
Zhu Qiyu added: "Looking at the five thousand years of Chinese history, which dynasty rose up without reform? The Zhou rites replaced the Shang Dynasty, the Hufu riding and shooting, and Shang Yang's reforms... Let's not talk about it in the distant future, let's just say that when Emperor Taizu conquered the world,
Isn't it an improvement to pay special attention to the use of firearms troops?"
"What His Highness said is absolutely true. Any system has timeliness. We should not rely too much on the ancestral system."
"This is not what I said, but what the emperor said. Ming Dynasty needs to develop, and this step must be taken!"
Cao Nai nodded and said: "Judging from the results of the new imperial examination, things are developing in a good direction, which shows that we are taking this step
That's right."
Zhu Qiyu suddenly said: "Over the years, I have been following the footsteps of the emperor. I will do whatever he says. Although at the beginning, I did not understand many of his words, but now I understand that the world is in
People are changing, so maybe I should change too!"
Cao Nai was puzzled: "Why did Your Highness say this?"
Zhu Qiyu smiled lightly and said: "I don't want to sit in the Forbidden City all the time. I also want to go out and take a look."
"Your Highness...where are you going?"
"Ends of the world!"
"What...what?"
Cao Nai didn't understand, what the hell is this? The emperor is already crazy enough, and he disappears at every turn. We still count on you, why are you starting to get crazy too?
You two brothers, can you save people some time?
Zhu Qiyu said: "Where is the southernmost point of my Ming Dynasty?"
"The southernmost...is probably in Lianzhou."
"Where is it south of Lianzhou?"
"South of Lianzhou, you enter the Annan Kingdom."
"I wonder how the war between Annan and Champa is going?"
"His Royal Highness the Prince of Jing'an County went south with Princess Champa and his entourage. They are currently still in the Duke's Mansion of the Kingdom of Guizhou. It is said that a messenger has been sent to negotiate with the Annan Kingdom."
When the Champa Kingdom sent a princess to ask for help, the Ming Dynasty agreed to send troops, and Zhang Fu, the king of Jing'an County, led the team all the way south.
The Duke of Wei, who was then the garrison in Nanjing, sent troops to escort the people to Yunnan, but he had no intention of conquering Annan and turned back with his troops.
Next, Zhang Fu temporarily stayed in the Duke's Mansion of Guizhou and sent envoys to Annan for negotiations.