Chapter 615

Ministry of Rites, Love Shenjing, Paper Grading Hall.

The grading of the spring examinations in the 15th year of Emperor Jia Zhao finally entered the final stage.

The top candidates from each of the eighteen rooms selected by the room examiners, a total of eighteen people, were reviewed and verified again by the three chief examiners, and the ranking for the list was determined.

The best among these eighteen candidates could be said to have been listed in advance; as long as there were no accidents, the top eighteen of this year's examination list had already been occupied by these people.

The remaining top twenty-four papers from each room were not as lucky as the top candidates from each room; they would enter the final round of selection competition.

Candidates who could be selected into the top twenty-five by the room examiners were already excellent people among the 3,000 candidates in this spring examination in terms of their own talent and luck.

Although they were favored by the room examiners, many of them would eventually fall into the fate of failing the examination.

Because according to the established quota for this year's spring examination list, among these 432 people, more than 100 would eventually be eliminated in this final competition.

The three chief examiners' review and ranking of the eighteen top candidates from each room appeared calm and peaceful.

Because although there were eighteen top candidates from each room, the number was very limited, and with the three chief examiners' profound knowledge of the classics and essays, grading, comparing, and ranking them was not too difficult.

However, the final selection of the top twenty-four from each room by the eighteen room examiners appeared extremely difficult.

Because the number of 432 people was considerable, and the room examiners had to cross-review them to prevent any room from having unqualified people, the review and comparison were cumbersome and heavy.

Moreover, the room examiners, starting from their own interests, naturally wanted as many of the twenty-four people in their room to be on the list as possible, which was related to the room examiners' future official career and reputation.

Thus, while the three chief examiners were grading the eighteen top candidates from each room in an orderly manner in the examiner's office,

they were exposed to the best essays of this spring examination—elegant in thought, gorgeous in language, and thorough in reasoning, which made people feel refreshed and happy; the three chief examiners often had the elegant event of appreciating wonderful essays together.

However, the eighteen room examiners did not have this kind of ease; they often argued for the list quota of their own rooms, arguing with reason, talking endlessly, getting red-faced, and waving their sleeves and fists.

The three chief examiners' office was like a clear breeze and a bright moon, and even if they each had their own thoughts, they did not express them.

The eighteen room examiners and grading officials in the Paper Grading Hall had much less demeanor and cultivation, and it was often chaotic, like a vulgar and noisy vegetable market.

Even, several room examiners argued to the point of being unable to stop because of the list quota, almost insulting the literati, and the three chief examiners had to come forward to mediate and make decisions.

Otherwise, these seemingly refined room examiners, for the sake of the reputation of selecting scholars in the spring examinations, would mostly likely have resorted to fists and kicks and started a brawl.

At this time, the seemingly majestic Ministry of Rites Paper Grading Hall was no longer just a place for selecting talents for the country and a place for examining and discussing classics and essays, but was mixed with too many things that could not be explained clearly.

The three chief examiners of the spring examinations, the eighteen room examiners, and the numerous grading officials were all listed in that blue-covered booklet.

Before the examination started, they had all been visited and pursued by candidates to varying degrees, although now they were facing numbered papers and did not know who was who.

However, in this grading and ranking, they would definitely do their best to let more candidates they valued be on the list so that they could gain more reputation and political capital.

Therefore, the competition for each list quota was not just about the individual's future and honor, but also involved many other things...

Love Shenjing, West City, Chunhua Tower.

In a private room on the second floor, Jia Cong came to Chunhua Tower for a meeting at the invitation of Cai Xiaoyu, and sitting with them was Liu Xiaoping, a classmate from Qingshan Academy.

In this year's spring examinations, Cai Xiaoyu and Liu Xiaoping were both candidates.

The day after the spring examinations ended, Cai Xiaoyu invited Jia Cong to Chunhua Tower to have a high-class banquet to relax from the hard work of studying behind closed doors before the spring examinations.

However, after the spring examinations were over, Jia Cong had been busy going back and forth to the workshop, pouring his efforts into the development of the breech-loading gun, and had delayed Cai Xiaoyu's invitation several times.

It was not until the sample breech-loading gun was finalized, the test-firing was successful, and the flawed firing pin had begun to enter the right track of improvement and smelting that Jia Cong came out to keep the appointment.

After entering the private room of Chunhua Tower, without Cai Xiaoyu's nagging, Jia Cong punished himself with three cups of wine first, and the three of them talked and laughed, the topic naturally not leaving the upcoming spring examinations.

Liu Xiaoping said, "In this examination, the questions in the first two rounds were standard, so I think everyone's answers must have had a method."

"Only the policy question in the third round was too profound and obscure. I have tried my best to answer it, but I still feel that I am not up to the task. I really don't have much confidence in this examination."

Cai Xiaoyu picked up his wine glass and drank it in one gulp. Perhaps because he had studied too hard before the examination, his originally slightly chubby face had actually lost a circle, making him look more spirited.

He said, "Who says it isn't? I heard my father mention that the policy question for this year's examination came from the hand of Xu Liangxiong, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

"I heard that when Minister Xu took the palace examination that year, although he did not enter the first rank, he was also a person of outstanding talent. When he was young, his literary name was outstanding, and he prided himself on his talent and looked down on others."

"Whenever he wrote or did things, he liked to be new and strange, and had the hobby of 'not stopping until his words shocked people.' Only he would come up with such obscure questions."

Jia Cong joked, "Xiaoyu, you should still be cautious. If you pass the examination this time, Minister Xu will become your teacher. Speaking ill of your teacher behind his back can be considered an immoral act."

Cai Xiaoyu laughed and said, "The list hasn't been posted yet, so I haven't passed the examination, so he is naturally not my teacher. I'll speak ill of him now, so I won't be able to say anything later."

He said again, "After the examination, I asked my father about the policy question, and he deduced the origin of Xu Liangxiong's question."

"My father said that the main theme of Xu Liangxiong's policy question was derived from an article by Liu Jichuan called 'Retrospective Notes'."

Jia Cong also knew the background. He was not surprised that Cai Xiang had read Liu Jichuan's article.

Cai Xiang was able to enter the Cabinet and reach the peak of the civil service; he was also a person of outstanding literary talent in his early years, and reading Liu Jichuan's obscure article was naturally a matter of course.

Envy appeared on Liu Xiaoping's face, and he said, "Since your father, Minister Cai, is familiar with this 'Retrospective Notes,' Xiaoyu must also be deeply versed in the true meaning of this article."

"Xiaoyu's answer to the policy question this time must be brilliant. It seems that passing the examination is already expected, which really makes me envious."

Cai Xiaoyu gave a bitter smile, "Zhongwen, please don't laugh at me. My father has read too many articles; how could I be clear about every one of them?"

"Liu Jichuan's articles have never been highly regarded and have been spread very narrowly. Although my father has read his 'Retrospective Notes,' he has never mentioned it to me."

"I didn't know what 'Retrospective Notes' looked like at all, and I missed a huge opportunity in vain."

"I have racked my brains to answer the policy question this time, but the result is the same as Zhongwen's—somewhat powerless."

Liu Xiaoping was somewhat surprised to hear this, said it was a pity several times, and said to Jia Cong, "Yuzhang's learning has always been profound, and you have had the teaching of famous teachers. Your answer to the policy question this time must be quite good?"

Jia Cong smiled slightly, thinking that he must be the luckiest of the three. Before the examination, Liu Jingan had listed many books for him to read to build a foundation and consolidate his vision and knowledge.

Among these books, there happened to be Liu Jichuan's collection of essays, and he had just happened to read that "Retrospective Notes," understood its meaning deeply, and could draw inferences from it, so he was quite satisfied with his answer to the policy question this time.

This was probably the effect of a famous teacher—profound as the sea, with a wide vision and unique insight, making it difficult to have omissions.

However, the two classmates in front of him didn't seem as lucky as him, so he naturally wouldn't mention this, so as not to spoil the fun.

He said, "The policy question was indeed somewhat profound. I answered it just so-so, but you don't have to worry too much."

"You feel that the policy question was difficult, but other candidates must be the same. Everyone is just half a catty to eight taels; as long as the answer isn't too bad, it's not impossible to be on the list."

Cai Xiaoyu laughed and said, "Yuzhang still sees things clearly. Although we didn't do well, others aren't much better."

"As long as there are people who do worse and worse, you and I have hope of being on the list. Wonderful, for these words, let's drink a big cup..."

Just as Cai Xiaoyu was joking about the policy question of the examination, in a private room at the other end of the second floor, Wu Liang was drinking and chatting with Lin Zhaohe.

Lin Zhaohe laughed, "After coming out of the examination, I wanted to find Xiwen for a few drinks, but when I went to Hongxiang Inn to look for you, the shopkeeper said you had gone on a long journey."

Wu Liang laughed, "After coming out that day, I originally wanted to rest for two days and then meet with Yichun and Brother Bao Kun, but I happened to meet several candidates from the same inn who wanted to go on a trip."

"They said that the scenery of Mount Yunyan in Dezhou, not far from the Love Shenjing, was magnificent and very famous, so they invited me to go with them, and I happened to have the intention of traveling."

"As the saying goes, 'Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles.' It was just right to relax from the hard work of studying for many years, so I went to Dezhou with them."

"I didn't expect the scenery of Mount Yunyan to be excellent. We were all somewhat reluctant to leave and found an ancient temple in the mountains to stay in."

"We stayed there for more than half a month, climbing mountains to see the scenery during the day and watching the stars in the mountains at night; it was truly very interesting. If the tea and rice in the temple hadn't been too light, we wouldn't have been willing to come back."

"After returning to the Love Shenjing the day before yesterday, I happened to meet Brother Bao Kun coming to the inn to look for me, and we agreed to check the list on the 25th of this month. I thought that taking advantage of this convenience, the three of us should meet for a drink."

Seeing Wu Liang's relaxed expression and his look of being satisfied with his ambitions, Lin Zhaohe laughed, "You are carefree. I see you are spirited; you must have answered the examination well and have some confidence."

Wu Liang smiled slightly and said, "It's still Yichun who understands me. Speaking of this examination, it was quite ups and downs, but fortunately, I had some opportunities, and there were no dangers, and I hope to have some gains."

Hearing Wu Liang's words, Lin Zhaohe's heart moved slightly, and he suddenly thought of the time when he entered the examination hall and met the candidates visiting the chief examiner, and he happened to meet Wu Liang.

At that time, the original chief examiner, Huang Hongcang, was suddenly absent and replaced by Xu Liangxiong, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Almost all the candidates were surprised, except for Wu Liang, who had a look of joy on his face?

At that time, Wu Liang's expression was strange, and he even had something to say, but he was also cautious about the examination hall and was afraid that his words would be inappropriate, so he changed the topic in time...

Wu Liang said, "Brother Yichun, remember when we entered the examination hall to take the test, everyone visited the chief examiner and found that the chief examiner, Master Huang, had become Master Xu; everyone must have been caught off guard. But I happened to know by chance the day before entering the examination hall that Master Huang had been poisoned and could no longer serve as the chief examiner, and Master Xu had taken over his position."

Hearing Wu Liang's words, Lin Zhaohe's heart jumped, and he felt that something was wrong.

He said, "The candidates who visited the chief examiner when entering the examination hall were all surprised to learn of the change in the chief examiner; it can be seen that these candidates did not know the background of this matter in advance."

"After coming out of the examination, I heard rumors about the change of the chief examiner, saying that Master Huang was accidentally poisoned before entering the hall, and the murderer has not been caught yet."

"Thinking that the imperial court was worried that the sudden murder of the chief examiner before the spring examinations would cause a disturbance among the candidates and affect the major event of selecting talents, they should have kept this matter secret."

"So until many candidates entered the examination hall, they didn't know about the change of the chief examiner. Why did Xiwen know about it in advance?"

Wu Liang smiled slightly, "It was a coincidence. Before entering the hall, I wanted to meet you and Brother Brother Bao Kun, but Yichun, you wanted to study behind closed doors and didn't want to go out, so that was that."

"I didn't expect Brother Brother Bao Kun to break his appointment, so I had to drink alone, and I happened to hear two candidates at the next table talking about this."

"Yichun, you are talented, so you naturally don't care about such news, but Brother Brother Bao Kun's career is bumpy, and not being able to know this in advance was a missed opportunity."

Hearing Wu Liang's words, Lin Zhaohe's face changed slightly, but he remained silent...

Wu Liang continued, "After coming out of the examination hall, I happened to meet Brother Brother Bao Kun and saw his depressed expression, saying that his answers to the three policy questions were very inappropriate. I think he will have a difficult time in this examination."

!

Lin Zhaohe suddenly asked, "Have you ever told Brother Brother Bao Kun or anyone else that you knew about the change of the chief examiner in advance?"

Wu Liang drank the wine in his cup and sighed, "The day I came out, I originally wanted to mention it to Brother Bao Kun, but seeing his poor performance and low spirits, I didn't have the heart to mention it to him."

"A few days ago, I went to Mount Yunyan with several other candidates, and they talked about the temporary replacement of the chief examiner, and everyone was surprised."

"Thinking that people like me who could know about this in advance must be very rare, I was worried about causing gossip, so I naturally didn't mention a word."

"Except for talking to Yichun today, I haven't mentioned it to anyone else."

Lin Zhaohe's expression was somewhat solemn, "Xiwen, you and I have been classmates for many years, studying poetry and books for more than ten years, just for the sake of passing the imperial examination."

"The spring examination is the final stage of the imperial examination and has always been in the spotlight, with many entanglements and risks. The most taboo thing is to cause gossip and storms. Take my advice and never mention this to anyone again."

"Even if the list is about to be posted, whether everyone can pass the examination has already been decided."

"You said that Brother Brother Bao Kun's performance was unfavorable; if you mention this to him again, besides adding to his worries, it will only hurt the friendship between friends, so why bother?"

Just as Lin Zhaohe finished speaking, footsteps were heard outside the private room.

A man in a Confucian robe in his thirties pushed the door and entered, his expression somewhat haggard, and he smiled, "I'm late, I've kept you two brothers waiting..."

Ministry of Rites, Love Shenjing, Paper Grading Hall.

The final round of grading for the 15th year of Emperor Jia Zhao spring examinations finally came to an end after several days of rigorous consideration and evaluation.

The top candidates from each of the eighteen rooms, under the discussion and verification of the chief examiners, Grand Secretary Wang Shilun, Minister of Personnel Chen Mo, and Vice Minister of Revenue Xu Liangxiong, determined their respective rankings on the list.

Compared with the calm and composed determination of the top eighteen rankings, the remaining 432 papers that were graded last fell into the mutual tug-of-war and strangulation of the eighteen room examiners, and the situation was extremely intense.

Under the coordination and presiding of the three chief examiners, more than 100 of the 432 papers were eliminated, and the final list of 300 papers was determined.

After the preliminary list of papers was determined, the three chief examiners also selected more than 100 eliminated papers from each room for partial review to avoid any regrets of missing pearls.

Similar situations had occurred in the previous dynasty, where chief examiners selected talents from eliminated papers, and some even entered the first rank, becoming a story in the examination field, although such situations were very rare.

However, the chief examiners' spot-check of the eliminated papers in this spring examination did not produce any unexpected joy, but this was also within reason.

By the time all the selection procedures were completed, the list for the 15th year of Emperor Jia Zhao spring examinations was settled.

The formation of this list was no longer just a competition of the candidates' learning and essays, but was mixed with the personal preferences, selfish thoughts, and interest entanglements of the chief examiners, room examiners, and grading officials...

Even with various complex factors that were hard to dispel, the Great Zhou's rigorous examination system still gave the candidates the maximum degree of fairness.

The selection of talents through the imperial examination has lasted for thousands of years and has its own reasonable and resilient aspects.

Love Shenjing, Examination Hall, Archive Office.

Once the spring examination list was determined and signed by the three chief examiners and eighteen room examiners, the Ministry of Rites Paper Grading Hall lifted the restrictions and began to have Ministry of Rites officials intervene in subsequent matters.

Minister of Rites Guo Youchang led three Ministry of Rites officials, together with the three chief examiners and several selected room examiners, to go to the examination hall archive to extract the corresponding original papers according to the serial numbers on the list.

Under the supervision and verification of many people on the spot, the Ministry of Rites officials verified the original paper serial numbers according to the list serial numbers, removed the seals, and officially registered the names of the candidates on the list.

The not-so-spacious archive office was full of examination and Ministry of Rites officials, all wearing official uniforms of different grades, with solemn expressions on their faces.

As the Ministry of Rites officials removed the seals of the original papers one by one according to the ranking on the list, they loudly announced the serial numbers and names of the candidates on the list.

It seemed that every announcement caused ripples in the hearts of every official present.

Although for them, most of these names were unfamiliar, they would definitely have more or less contact with them in their future official careers.

Of course, some of the announced names were also familiar to them, and some were even world-renowned.

Whenever such a name was announced, the three chief examiners and other officials had complex expressions—some shocked, some surprised, some gratified, some confused, some thoughtful...

The clear announcement of the Ministry of Rites officials echoed in the archive office, and the names of the 300 successful candidates were announced one after another, full of solemnity and overflowing with magnificent style.

The sound spread from the archive office to the entire empty examination hall; the spring breeze was gentle, the blue sky was like a wash, and the air seemed to be shaken into silent ripples...

Outside the examination hall, in various parts of the magnificent Love Shenjing, more than 3,000 candidates were waiting eagerly as the day of the list posting approached.

They also held their own complex and tangled moods, verifying the final results of their many years of hard work in the sea of books; some would rise to the clouds, while others would continue to sink and stumble...

Great Zhou Imperial Palace, Qianyang Palace.

At this time, the sun was already setting in the west, and the blood-red sunset was scattered over the towering palaces.

On the wide and long path outside the palace gate, there was still a mist of sunset glow that had not dissipated.

Yuan Jing, the eunuch on duty at Qianyang Palace, held a scroll of memorials and walked quickly in small steps on the long path, the shadow on the ground moving rapidly toward the direction of Qianyang Palace.

He walked to the gate of the main hall, stood still, and announced loudly, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the list for the 15th year of Emperor Jia Zhao spring examinations has been selected and verified by the chief examiners and the Ministry of Rites. Please review it, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao, who was reviewing memorials, heard the announcement from outside the hall, and his eyes couldn't help but light up. In fact, he had been waiting for this list since this morning.

He said to Guo Lin beside him, "Present it!"

Guo Lin took the scroll of memorials from Yuan Jing's hands, carefully checked whether the wax seal and steel seal of the memorial were intact, and said after a moment, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the seal of the list is intact."

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao nodded and said, "Unseal it!"

Guo Lin carefully opened the wax seal and slowly unfolded the scroll list on the imperial desk. The names and native places of more than 300 candidates were neatly written, dense, solemn, and imposing.

For Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao, these 300 new talents were basically strangers, but among them were also people he knew, and even people he was familiar with.

His gaze scanned the list unconsciously and rapidly until he saw that familiar name; his eyes shone brightly, and a look of contemplation appeared on his face.

In the spring examinations, the palace examination was nominally set by the Emperor, and the Emperor had the final decision on the ranking of the palace examination.

Especially the top three of the first rank and the top of the second rank were definitely personally evaluated and appointed by the Emperor, and the results were influenced by the Emperor's own subjective preferences.

But in the spring examinations, the examination was conducted under the premise of anonymous names, and after three rounds of evaluation by grading officials, room examiners, and chief examiners, it possessed the most rigorous justice and balance.

Even the Emperor, the Ninth-Five-Year-Old, could not influence the ranking of the spring examinations.

Although the list had to be reviewed by the Emperor before it was posted, that was only the literal meaning; in fact, it just required the Emperor's jade seal to be affixed.

Guo Lin, standing to the side, saw Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao looking at the list on the desk, his expression unclear, and he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

He said, "Guo Lin, use the vermilion brush and seal!"

Guo Lin hurriedly ground the vermilion ink and carefully opened the seal box.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao picked up the vermilion brush, reviewed the numbers on the list, and then affixed the jade seal.

He said, "Issue an edict to the Ministry of Rites to post the list on time, and then summon the Minister of Rites, Guo Youchang, and the three chief examiners of this year's spring examinations to the palace for an audience!"

(End of chapter)