Chapter 349

Not to mention the distant past, just look at the First Emperor, who was a hostage in Zhao before ascending the throne, and faced many difficulties after ascending; a slight misstep and he wouldn't have lived to this day.

"What you say makes sense, but how are we to get out right now? If we can't get out, then there is no need to talk about anything else!" Wei Pao said.

"My lord, the mountains here are high and the forests are dense, and the terrain is complex; they cannot possibly surround the entire Huashan. If thousands or tens of thousands of people walk together, they will be discovered, but if a few or dozens of people walk together, there is a chance to break through." someone said.

Wei Pao nodded after hearing this; he felt what his subordinate said made sense.

When the government troops first pressed in, they only blocked the two main passages; at that time, let alone dozens, even hundreds or thousands of people would have had a chance to escape.

It was just that at the time, they hadn't thought of escaping, and even if they had the idea of escaping, they were reluctant to abandon those hundreds of thousands of troops.

Now, only a few thousand men remained by his side, and among them were some wounded and sick.

There was no point in taking them along anymore.

So Wei Pao ordered his trusted aides to select the most loyal and best-conditioned soldiers, organize them into several groups, each group consisting of dozens of people, and then break through in different directions.

As for the remaining few thousand men, he also ordered them to break through in a certain direction.

To ensure they could escape, Wei Pao and the others exchanged their clothes with ordinary soldiers.

It looked as if the group they were in was just a small squad of soldiers who had deserted.

And that force of several thousand men looked like their main force.

The chaos in the jungle continued for a period of time before it subsided.

According to the confessions of the captured soldiers, Wei Pao’s army had basically scattered.

As for Wei Pao, his whereabouts were unknown; no one knew where he had gone.

Zhuge Liang had long anticipated such a result.

After all, in such a large mountain, hiding a few people is easy.

If Wei Pao hid in the mountains and didn't come out, no one would be able to find him.

There was another possibility, which was that Wei Pao had already escaped.

202. The Imperial Examination Begins

When Zhuge Liang reported the situation at the front to Ying Su, Ying Su was not surprised either.

Huashan is so large and the terrain is complex; it is impossible to surround it airtight.

If Wei Pao really wanted to escape, it would be very difficult to catch him.

Fortunately, among the main figures, only Wei Pao and a few princes escaped; the rest were either captured or surrendered.

And more importantly, the majority of the rebel army had surrendered.

Even if Wei Pao and the others escaped, they were like stray dogs without claws.

Ying Su announced that the rebellion suppression operation was successfully completed and ordered the arrest of Wei Pao and the others throughout the country.

Then he called Zhuge Liang and Xiao He to the study and began to talk about the imperial examination.

The north had been pacified, and the internal noble rebellion had basically subsided.

Now it was time to conduct the imperial examination.

On one hand, it could select talent for the country, and on the other hand, it was also a way to appease the nobles.

Because the first imperial examination was basically open to the nobles.

In this era, commoners were basically illiterate; they usually only knew how to write their own names.

Even those who became nobles through military merit only learned to write temporarily because of necessity.

As for their cultural level, it was usually not high.

Only nobles with money and leisure would teach their children to read and write.

Therefore, the target audience for the first few imperial examinations was basically those with noble status.

"I have already told you about the imperial examination; now we are officially starting it. The sooner the examination time, the better; it would be best if the first batch of examinations could be completed within this year," Ying Su said.

"Your Majesty, is the time a bit tight to complete it within this year? If we are to hold an examination, we need to set the scope of the examination, and those participating also need time to prepare," Xiao He said.

"You are right, but I cannot wait! The first examination will certainly have imperfect aspects, but that doesn't matter; let’s get it started first. I have thought about the scope of the examination; it will be divided into two categories. One is about governance, and the topic will be how to make the common people prosperous!"

"The other category is about technology; as long as there are any good ideas, they can be written down, and then judged by experts from the Ministry of Works."

Ying Su stated his thoughts.

There was no need to make the first imperial examination perfect; what was important was to let the world know about this thing called the imperial examination.

Xiao He and Zhuge Liang felt it made sense after hearing Ying Su’s explanation.

It is difficult to do a major event like the imperial examination well the first time; rather than spending time preparing, it is better to just get it done first.

This was also something Xiao He and Zhuge Liang had learned from Ying Su during this period.

Soon, the news that an imperial examination was to be held spread.

When officially announcing the imperial examination, Ying Su modified the original plan.

The imperial examination, which was originally aimed at nobles, was changed to be open to everyone upon release.

As long as they were subjects of Great Qin, they were eligible to participate in the imperial examination.

But in reality, those who could come to participate in the examination were still primarily nobles.

Because the vast majority of commoners were illiterate, and even if there were a few who were literate, their level was limited.

The very few who had good levels would have long since become retainers of various nobles, thus becoming wealthy people.

Although their status was still that of commoners, in reality, they were already not quite the same as traditional commoners.

There were also very few talented commoners who were not attached to nobles; they wanted to come but couldn't, because they had no travel expenses.

Therefore, the statement in the notice that all Great Qin subjects could participate was just a gesture.

Ying Su knew this but had no choice.

To let commoners participate in the examination, schools would need to be opened in various places, and they would also need to have money to come to the capital for the examination.

And this required the economy to develop to a certain extent.

If the economy doesn't develop, everyone can't even get enough to eat, so where would they have the mood to study?

Ying Su had also thought about providing subsidies to commoners participating in the examination, but it was very complicated to implement in practice.

Because he didn't know which commoners were eligible to receive the subsidies.

This would require holding an examination at the grassroots level first.

To put it bluntly, the imperial examination is not a simple selection of talent, but a systematic project.

From running schools to formulating textbooks, etc., a lot of work needs to be done.

And now Ying Su couldn't wait.

His idea was to get the imperial examination up and running first, and then make improvements year by year.

Once the notice came out, it immediately caused a sensation among the noble groups.

As long as one passes the examination, one can obtain a status.

Just by virtue of this status, one could receive a certain amount of money every year.

Although these rewards were not much for the nobles, what was important was that this was a symbol of status.

If one reached the "Good" level in the examination, one could become an official.

If one reached the "Excellent" level, one could even be received by the Emperor and would very likely be heavily used by the Emperor...

At the Cheng residence, Cheng Ze hurried into his father’s study.

He had just received news that an imperial examination was to be held.

"Father, the Emperor is going to select talent through an examination, and the examination will be held in Xianyang City next spring!" Cheng Ze said excitedly.

"I have also heard; the Emperor is trying to win over people’s hearts, especially the hearts of us nobles," Master Cheng said.

"No matter what the Emperor thinks, it is a good thing after all," Cheng Ze said: "I also want to participate!"

"Our family has performed meritorious service and has already received the Emperor’s rewards; our family is currently safe, so it doesn't matter whether you participate in the examination or not," Master Cheng said.

"Father, I want to participate in the examination to prove my own ability; I want to know how my ability is viewed in the eyes of the new Emperor!" Cheng Ze said.

"The new Emperor’s side is full of talent, I’m afraid you won't catch his eye. However, if you want to participate, then go ahead; this is something the new Emperor came up with after all, and your participation also shows our Cheng family’s attitude—that we support the new Emperor," Master Cheng said.

"Then I will go and prepare!" Cheng Ze said excitedly.

"The examination isn't until next year, there are still six months left; what are you preparing for now?" Master Cheng asked.

"I am going to read books," Cheng Ze said.

Master Cheng shook his head, a smile appearing in his eyes: "Go ahead."

He was very satisfied with his eldest son.

This kid was different from his other children; he was the most diligent one.

On the other side, Ying Zheng was taking a walk in the back garden.