Chapter 534: Restoration of the Imperial Examination

Time came to the second year of Yong'an, February.

The grass was growing and the birds were flying. The snow covering the ground had melted a lot, and a patch of tender green could be seen on the endless flat fields.

February 5th.

A piece of news spread all over the world. The emperor issued an order to restore the imperial examination and hold the provincial examination in August in Luonan.

And there were no requirements for this provincial examination.

In the past imperial examinations, those who wanted to participate in the provincial examination could only be scholars, those who passed the examination were called juren, and the first place was Jieyuan.

However, there was no such regulation in the decree issued by the court this time, that is, students who had not participated in the academy examination, and even ordinary people, could also sign up to participate.

As soon as the news spread, the world was shocked, and countless scholars were excited.

You should know that the court temporarily cancelled the imperial examination because of the rebellion, but it was unexpected that more than five years had passed since the cancellation.

Five years.

Do you know how the scholars in the world spent these five years?

For scholars all over the world, the imperial examination is their way out, and for ordinary people, it is even more so. If they pass the imperial examination, they can change their fate in an instant and return home in glory.

The cancellation of the imperial examination means that they have cut off their way out.

Especially for poor families, in order to support a scholar, especially in this chaotic world, they almost exhausted their family savings. Seeing the cancellation of the imperial examination, it means that all their investment has gone down the drain.

For more than five years, they have been living in a daze.

But then, they found a problem.

The location of the provincial examination is Luonan.

You know, the provincial examination is not the joint examination and the palace examination, which must be held in the capital.

The provincial examination is held in the capital of each state.

After passing, you can go to the capital to participate in the joint examination.

But the decree issued by the court this time specifically stated that the location of the provincial examination is Luonan.

Doesn't that mean that it will not be held in the capital of each state.

Yanzhou.

The territory of Chu Ji, the king of Anping, is between Huaizhou and Chongzhou.

In fact, Chu Ji's strength is not weak among all the Chu princes, and he can even be ranked in the top three. He has more than 20,000 soldiers and horses under his command.

But who made his fiefdoms always ranked first and second in strength.

Compared with the King of Huai and the King of Chong, Chu Ji is not good enough.

This led to the fact that from the beginning of the chaos, to the subsequent Tianshi Army's surge of millions of soldiers, the King of Huai's crusade against Xu Guozhong and the call for the King's army, and then to the strong rise of Chen Mo, Chu Ji has always played an inconspicuous role in it, with no highlights, and he is not well-known in front of the world.

However, this also made Yanzhou basically never chaotic, and it has always maintained a good order. Although the living conditions of the people are not good due to the influence of the chaotic times, at least they can survive with stuttering.

For other people in the war, this is a dream place.

At this moment, the Anping Palace.

In the study.

Zhang Le, the prefect of Yanzhou, is discussing the imperial examination with Chu Ji.

In the past, whenever the provincial examination was held, the court would order the governors of each state to prepare for the provincial examination, and then the governors would instruct the officials below to convey the news of the month and location of the provincial examination to each county and village, to ensure that everyone knew about it and that scholars would not miss the provincial examination.

But now, although the court has announced the restoration of the imperial examination to the world and announced the date of the provincial examination, it has not allowed each state to hold it.

In other words, the court is going to bypass the local government and hold it alone.

"Your Highness, do you think Lu Sheng has any opinion about us? Otherwise, such a big thing as the restoration of the imperial examination would not inform us in advance." Zhang Le said.

"Lu Sheng is worried that others will pick the fruits." Chu Ji said.

Zhang Le: "???"

Although Chu Ji is not well-known, as a vassal king who can rank among the top five in strength, he is still very smart and immediately answered Zhang Le.

It is also very simple. At present, the territory that the court can actually control does not exceed three states. The other states of the Song Dynasty are controlled by other vassal kings, local forces, etc., and they do not obey the orders of the court at all, and warlords are separatist.

If the court allows all states in the world to have the qualifications to hold provincial examinations, it will lead to the talents selected by the provincial examinations being firmly controlled by the rulers of the states and not sent to the court at all.

In this way, the court's order to restore the imperial examination is like making wedding clothes for others.

Under this premise, if the states hold provincial examinations privately, it is not in accordance with the rules and it is also usurpation. Although the court cannot control it, the rulers of the states have also lost their righteousness and will be accused of rebellion or even treason.

"Prince, should we stop the scholars in the state from going to Luonan, so as to prevent all the talents in our state from being won over by Lu Sheng." Zhang Le said.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Ji glared at Zhang Le and said, "Do you want all the scholars in Yanzhou to hate me?"

Preventing scholars from going to Luonan means not allowing them to take the imperial examination, which means cutting off their way out.

Then they will have to fight Chu Ji to the death.

"Then we will hold the imperial examination on our own. Anyway, the court can't control us." Zhang Le said.

Chu Ji was not afraid. After all, the court would not come to attack him with great fanfare because of such a small matter. At most, they would put a few big hats on him, which was actually not painful for Chu Ji.

But the key is.

"What will you do with those who passed the examination?" Chu Ji said.

Chu Ji only has this state and 35 counties.

There are no vacancies in the official positions of the counties, and no one can be arranged at all.

Moreover, in this chaotic world, Chu Ji was able to ensure that Yanzhou would not be in chaos because he had won over the gentry from all over the country, and these gentry helped him stabilize the peace in the counties.

If he forcibly placed officials in the counties, it would touch the interests of these gentry, and he would not be able to guarantee whether Yanzhou would be in chaos or not.

Zhang Le's face froze, and he also thought of this, and said, "Then we just watch the loss of talents?"

Chu Ji sneered and said, "Yanzhou and Luonan are nearly a thousand miles apart. If you walk, it will take at least one or two months. Now the world is not peaceful. If it were you, would you be willing to travel a long distance to Luonan to take the exam?"

Zhang Le thought about it, shook his head, but still said, "What if there is a stubborn person."

"So, you let each county issue a notice, saying that there are bandits roaming in several important transportation routes outside Yanzhou, and even the caravans escorted by soldiers and horses in the state have been robbed. You understand what I mean, right?" Chu Ji said.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Le certainly understood that this was to scare off the students in the state who were going to Beijing to take the exam.

Under these heavy obstacles, most people have been scared off, but there must be only a few or a dozen who still insist.

With just these few people, let them go.

But if there are more people, it will definitely not work.