The Ministry of Rites separated out the Lifan Yuan, the Ministry of Personnel separated out the Organization Department, the Ministry of Household Affairs even separated out the Civil Affairs and the Second Ministry of Finance, which can be said to have shocked the world.
However, for the Gongshi who have just finished the examination, all this is just a cloud.
The examination, which lasted for more than ten days, made everyone in the capital feel wary, fearing that they would disturb these future officials.
According to the report of Sunchon Prefecture Yin: the people in Gyeonggi Province all kept silent and held their breath for fear that the sound of breathing would disturb the tranquility of Wenquxing.
The Zhigong Hall of Shuntian Prefecture is seven rooms wide, with five ridges hanging from the top of the mountain. It has blue brick walls and glazed tiles. It is the most magnificent building in the Gongyuan of Shuntian Prefecture. The three characters "Zhigongtang" on the plaque were written by Zhang Juzheng in the early years of Wanli when he ordered the reconstruction of the Gongyuan.
question.
After Zhang Juzheng's death, Emperor Wanli liquidated him and almost opened his coffin to kill his body. Most of the effective New Deal implemented by Zhang Juzheng was abolished, but no one has replaced this plaque, which still hangs high today.
At this time, there were rows of red candles in the Zigong Hall, which was as bright as day.
Duan Yizhi, the official of the Imperial Academy, sits in the middle as the chief examiner, and the other supervisors, admonishment officers, transfer officers, record-receiving officers, mid-level officials, transcribers, and readers, as well as the Fang Guan of the 20th Room of the Five Classics and the 82nd
There are a lot of marking officers in the room.
During the Shaowu Dynasty, the old practice of the pavilion elders taking charge of examinations was changed, and the Imperial Academy Ji Jijiu served as the examiner. This was a huge loss for those pavilion elders who wanted to attract more disciples.
Similarly, for the candidates, the sacrificial wine, which is clean and poor, and has almost no power, is really not a big tree to climb.
Duan Yizhi is sixty years old and will soon be serving as an official in two years. Now he is full of energy and is not tired after reading for days and nights.
"Start splitting numbers, doing roll calls, and writing lists."
"yes--"
On the eighth day of the fifth lunar month, since the official list must be stamped with the seal of the Ministry of Rites, the promotion officer and the supervisor led 800 soldiers to escort the official list to the Ministry of Rites. After being stamped, the list was posted on the screen wall in front of the lobby and announced.
Outside the gate of Gongyuan, six thousand candidates and tens of thousands of relatives, friends and servants had been waiting for most of the night before the three main gates slowly opened. At this time, the morning star was still bright, competing with the moon.
Two groups of soldiers came out first and shouted loudly to the crowd to retreat. The crowd moved slightly to both sides, and then they heard the sound of drums and a guard of honor. Several officials on horseback escorted a colorful pavilion tied with yellow silk out of the gate.
The main list was in the Cai Pavilion, and the candidates in the square asked:
"Who is Huiyuan?"
"Can Anhui Zhang Shining win?"
The shouts were overwhelming, and the sound seemed to overturn the promotion officers on horseback. Moreover, the crowd was so crowded that it was impossible to get out.
The promotion officer discussed with the prisoner for a few words, and then shouted condescendingly on horseback to the dense crowd in the square:
"Silence, silence, I will announce to you the names of the top five in this examination in advance——"
The square quickly became quiet, but the breathing of tens of thousands of people was also loud, and it took a long time for the waves to stop.
The roll call goes from fifth to first. Only these five people enjoy such privileges, and the rest can only look at the yellow list.
"Zhang Yongqi from Anqing Prefecture ranked fifth in the annual Guiji Examination..."
"Fourth place, Huzhou Shenquan..."
…
Then, after the top five were listed, everyone rushed forward, trying to find their own names.
Feeling happy or sad for a moment is inhumane.
Once you pass the examination, you will definitely be on the gold list.
Next, we just need to take the palace examination to see who can be ranked first.
Even if you are in the top three, you are from a Jinshi background, which is not the same as a Jiansheng or Juren.
A few days later, the palace examination began.
A group of candidates took a carriage and drove to the outside of Daming Gate. They gathered in the lobby of the Ministry of Etiquette with their examination baskets and lined up according to their examination rankings.
A total of three hundred people, led by Xu Wenbin, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, walked through the Qianbu Corridor and the Jinshui White Jade Bridge to the outside of Chengtian Gate.
These guards are from the Guards Department. They are all nearly six feet tall, wearing wind-winged helmets and golden armor. They are tall, majestic and majestic. They are neatly lined up on both sides of Chengtian Gate. They hold their hands on the hilts of their swords and stare at the candidates who pass in front of them.
.
This time the inspection is not focused on carrying books, but on whether you are carrying weapons. This is just a precaution. Which candidate would bring a sword into the palace? Isn't this looking for death?
Walk through the bluestone-paved square in front of the palace and stand outside Danbi.
Fourteen reviewers and dozens of deacons headed by Duan Yizhi came in and stood in the palace. According to the ancestral system, the emperor was expected to ascend to the palace to receive the salutes of hundreds of officials and to give advice on the spot.
I saw the emperor sitting on the dragon chair, wearing a golden five-clawed dragon robe and a Yishan crown on his head. He had a majestic appearance and a short beard that was deliberately kept short to show his majesty.
Many candidates immediately lowered their heads at the first glance, feeling filled with emotion.
The candidates bowed five times and kowtowed three times: "Long live my emperor, long live the emperor——"
"Get flat!"
The emperor raised his hand and smiled: "The weather is nice today. I hope everyone will not be restrained and spare no effort in writing for the country."
With that said, the exam officially began.
Officials of Guanglu Temple have already neatly placed 300 examination papers in the main hall. The Huangji Hall is thirty-two feet wide and sixteen feet deep. It is grand and tall, and is more than enough to accommodate nearly four hundred examination papers.
The candidates took their seats in order and began to polish their ink and wait for their papers to be handed out.
The fourteen examiners stayed in the Wenhua Hall last night, and each drafted a topic. The eunuch who was the Supervisor of Ceremonies sent the eunuch to the Qianqing Palace to have the emperor circle a topic with his pen, and then sealed it and returned it to the cabinet, which was in the cabinet lobby.
The chamberlain who was ordered to be a prisoner printed three hundred and forty-eight copies on the spot. The inner and outer doors were isolated when printing the title, and the title was never allowed to be leaked in advance.
"Since the Zhongxing Dynasty, I have been lamenting day and night, thinking about King Wu's taboos, thinking about the loss of my ancestors, and worrying about repeating the same mistakes, which will lead to chaos in the world. I am anxious and have few good strategies. If any of you scholars can help me share my worries,
, please write clearly in the article and don’t stick to the pen and ink——"
A policy theory, a very routine and common policy theory.
To sum up, I finally conquered the world, but like King Wu of Zhou, I couldn't sleep well every day, for fear that future generations would repeat the same mistakes, causing great changes in the world.
If you have any good ideas, please write them down!
All the candidates breathed a sigh of relief.
Who knows, on the other side of the wooden board, there are another list of questions.
Now there is a pond with a square meter of water, and the japonica grows in the center. When the water is one foot out, lead the japonica to the bank, where it should be level with the bank. Ask about the depth of the water, and you will find out how long the japonica is.
There is a pool that is one foot square. There is a young reed growing in the pool. It is one foot above the water. If you lead it to the shore, it will be just flush with the shore. How deep is the water? How long is the reed? (1)
Zhang equals ten feet)
Then comes the third question, which is still a mathematical geometry question:
Now there is a person holding rice out of three passes, taking one out of three outboard passes, one out of five in the middle pass, one out of seven inner passes, and five dou of rice remaining. Question: What is the geometry of the rice I hold?
Someone brought a batch of rice out of three checkpoints. The external customs tax was one-third of the goods, the middle customs tax was one-fifth of the goods, and the internal customs was taxed one-seventh of the goods. In the end, there was still
Five buckets of rice. Question: How much rice did this person bring?
Fourth, there is a country called Japan, which once invaded Korea and became an enemy of the Ming Dynasty. Let’s talk about its land, customs and characters...
At this time, everyone was talking a lot.
The eunuchs on the side said sharply: "Quiet, there are two questions in this imperial examination."
"One is policy analysis, and the other three are additional questions."
"For these three questions, you can choose one of the three, or you can do all of them. You can do it according to your ability!"
At this time, everyone was happy and sad.
There are advantages and disadvantages to adding an additional question.
For those who have extensive knowledge, this question is equivalent to a score question.
But those who were confined to the Four Books and Five Classics, reciting poems and composing poems, all looked sideways.
For them, this is simply too difficult.
Zhu Yixi just looked at them like this, thoughtfully.
When people have no worries about food and clothing, it is time to train their literary skills to serve as officials. It is really despicable to only know about romance and romance every day.
He sat for a while longer, then stood up and left.
Then it was dusk, and whale oil candles made the entire hall brightly lit, and many scholars suddenly realized that it was getting dark soon.
Theoretically speaking, the imperial examination lasts for one day and one night and is not limited to time.
However, the policy discussion can only contain a few hundred words, or at most a thousand words. Three hours of copying and writing is enough.
As for the emperor, he had already gone to the harem and was living happily.
In fact, if he hangs around often, it will affect the performance of the scholars.
In the silence of the spring night in Miyagi City, with the scent of eucalyptus and tea birds, the fourteen readers began to turn around the table to read the papers.
The so-called table transfer means that a test paper is reviewed by the chief reader, stamped with the first to fifth grade marks and the seal of the reader, and then transferred to the next reader for review. A paper must be reviewed by fourteen readers.
Review and stamp the grade mark, and finally make a general review. Those with more fourth and fifth grade marks must be listed in the top three.
Of course, all this must be presented to the emperor for review.
If the emperor thinks that a person's name sounds nice, or his handwriting is good, and he is flattering, it is normal for him to give him the top prize.
Otherwise, why would it be called a palace examination? What about the emperor’s disciples?
The Wenhua Hall is quiet and serene, with two gilded twin cranes in the corner exhaling fragrance. Time passes slowly amidst the rubbing sounds of papers being read.
The examiners in the East Pavilion were reading the papers behind closed doors. Those scholars in the capital who were on the examination list had already started drinking and carousing. Regardless of their rankings in the palace examination, and regardless of whether they had not participated in the passing ceremony, this Jinshi would not be able to escape, and he would be proud of his life.
It is necessary to have all the fun, and how much life is like when drinking and singing.
After a night of overtime work, 300 articles were ranked according to the ancestral system. After marking the papers, the examiner had to kowtow and kneel in front of the emperor.
Zhao Shu, the cabinet bachelor and chief assistant, submitted it in person and read the papers for the top three to the emperor.
As Zhao Shu got older, the summer sunshine came out of the window and shone on his body, revealing the gray on his temples.
After working hard for nearly ten years, this former staff member of Sun Chuanting has reached the top of the official list, and his reputation has spread all over the world. Who doesn't admire him?
Everyone knows that he is a person like Li Shanchang and Zhuge Liang.
The voice is mellow and slightly aged, hoarse, and sounds really good, with ups and downs.
Policy analysis is all about momentum. If the article is well written, it will be overwhelming.
And if it is poorly written, it will be boring, repeating the same old tunes without any flavor.
“The top three articles are all good.”
After a long while, the emperor opened his eyes and nodded slightly to express his appreciation.
On the side, Liu Afu prepared his imperial pen and served Emperor Zhu Pi to appoint the top three.
"The scholars' articles in modern science are remarkable, sweeping away the decadence of the previous dynasty, and becoming full of vitality, with a hint of the style of the Tang and Han Dynasties."
Zhao Shu also praised it.
To put it bluntly, since it was the founding of the country again, some of the relationships in the imperial court were also cleared, and the baggage was gone. The officialdom became more open-minded, and the morale of the scholars also improved a lot.
There is a trend that comes once a day.
For example, in the Song Dynasty, the biggest characteristic of scholars was the juan, which first suppressed warriors and then suppressed dissenters.
In the early Ming Dynasty, scholars liked gong and had many strong opinions.
But now the emperor is carrying out drastic reforms, even continuing to advance eastward and westward, and has taken back all the former Western Regions, which has greatly improved the morale of the people.
"The style of the Han and Tang Dynasties?" Zhu Yixi was stunned for a moment, then laughed hoarsely: "It's only been a few years, not by that time."
"By the way, how about additional questions?"
"Did you get all three questions right?"
Hearing the emperor's question, Zhao Shu felt bad in his heart.
Basically, only two of these three tripod armors were made.
And those who did three additional questions could only be ranked in the top three. After all, their policy analysis was quite satisfactory.
"There is no one among the three tripods, but among the three, there is a scholar from Panyu, Guangdong, who has answered all three questions."
"Oh?" Zhu Yixi said with a happy face: "Bring it over quickly and let me see how it goes."
"Yes!" Zhao Shu had no choice but to have someone hand it over to the emperor for inspection.
Soon, the document appeared in front of the emperor.
In terms of policy, this person endorsed the reform of the post station in a high-profile manner, but he was more radical, saying that he was treating the symptoms rather than the root cause.
Although the officials today are simple and crude, for the high-ranking officials, it only takes a few years for them to become corrupt immediately.
Therefore, he strongly requested that the reception function of the post station be abolished and only provide official communication, thereby further reducing costs.
And he began to give examples, such as a county post station was poor, but its losses amounted to thousands of yuan a year. If the accounts were reported in time, it would also be a huge burden for the county government.
Later, he also listed the appointment of subordinate officials in the former dynasty by the Commercial and Taxation Department. Some old rules are still there, and the burden on the people has been reduced, but not much.
Obviously, his suggestions regarding the inn were completely rejected by the marking officers.
If the reception function of the post station is eliminated, wouldn't it be a catastrophe?
You must know that not everyone has to travel thousands of miles to become an official. There will always be poor people. If the court does not bear the burden, wouldn't it mean that people will starve to death on the way?
As a result, he ranked last among the top three.
"Hahaha!"
When the emperor saw this, he couldn't help but laugh.
This guy is a typical angry young man.
Although he did not express it explicitly, his disdain for officialdom was described between the lines.
Especially taking the example of the Commercial and Taxation Department, this is referring to Sang and Huai. Although he is talking about subordinate officials, he is criticizing those officials of the previous dynasty.
This is really brave, pointing at others and scolding them.
The additional questions are quite well done.
Both geometry questions were answered correctly, but his understanding of Japan was quite profound, pointing out that the Japanese king was nothing more than a power-stealing minister, and the emperor was reduced to a puppet.
"Not bad!" The emperor praised, glanced at Zhao Shu, and put it in front of him: "Let him be the number one scholar!"
Although it was against the rules, Zhao Shu still agreed.
Uncovering his title, it was Wang Xu, Panyu of Guangdong.
He was twenty-three years old, his ancestor was a wealthy businessman, and his father was also a businessman.
No wonder he can easily answer geometry questions, he really has a skill.
But from my understanding of Japan, his family should be a maritime merchant.
"Twenty-three years old, you can be considered young and promising."
The emperor praised and expressed great emotion.
In later generations, this would be shocking to a 23-year-old county magistrate and division-level cadre.
But in the imperial examination era, this was actually normal.
At noon, the eunuch Tian Ren, the eunuch Tian Ren, the eunuch of Bingbi, came to the Huangjimen cabinet with the test paper for the first-class and three people designated by Yubi. The fourteen paper readers were all waiting eagerly.