Chapter 252 Official Examination

"How are you preparing for the official exam?"

As soon as Liu Fu arrived in the study, Zhao Xu asked immediately. ReadМ

"The examination room is ready. We're just waiting for His Highness's papers." When it came to the official examination, Liu Fu's energy rose again.

"Here are the papers. You can take them and have them copied. The exam will start in three days." Zhao Xu pointed to the three papers on the desk. These were the exam questions he had written himself.

The government office had already notified the four counties about the official examination.

Scholars who want to take the official examination have been waiting in Yancheng.

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Fu was overjoyed. He picked up the paper on the table, glanced at it, and was immediately dumbfounded.

"If you successfully pass the official examination and become a new official in Yanzhou, but the old officials in the government often make things difficult for you, exclude you, and think you are not doing things well, how should you deal with it?" Liu Fu read another sentence.

"People gather to cause chaos in a certain county. If you, as the local magistrate, would deal with it?"

"..."

Liu Fu read sentence after sentence, and in the end he felt more and more guilty.

Because he couldn't guarantee that he could answer the questions on the paper correctly.

"Your Highness, this paper?" Liu Fu swallowed.

Dasong has never held an examination to select officials, so of course they can't be wrong about this paper.

And the test papers produced by King Yan are indeed very sharp.

The questions on the paper are indeed problems that officials often encounter, and they really consider the officials' methods of doing things.

Putting down the first paper, the two looked at the second paper.

This paper lists math questions.

A gentleman has six arts: etiquette, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and numeracy.

Among them, the number is numeracy, which is what scholars must master. In their view, this is indeed a must-test.

When it came to the third paper, they were dumbfounded again.

There are only a few questions on it, leaving a large blank space.

The first question is: What should officials fear?

"If you stretch out your hand, you will be caught. Let's briefly talk about the management of commercial bribery." Liu Fu read this sentence and suddenly felt guilty. Why did this question seem to be aimed at commercial banks?

“Yanzhou is currently in dire straits waiting to be revitalized. How should we govern it to make Yanzhou prosperous?”

"..."

After reading all three papers, Liu Fu was stunned for a while.

Although these questions are weird, they can feel that these are indeed real questions for officials.

When it comes to poetry, historical records and classics are not as realistic as the questions on the paper.

"If you don't have any objections, just take it back. Be careful not to reveal the topic." Zhao Xu looked at Liu Fu with a half-smile.

Regardless of whether he objected or not, he just came up with this topic.

This was something he picked out from the vast number of questions in his mind. It was close to the modern official examination.

The first test examines the specific administrative abilities of officials, so the questions are based on situations that may arise after they take office.

The second job is numeracy. Officials are responsible for measuring acres of land, calculating taxes and other matters, and numeracy must also be reliable.

The third part tests the official's overall view.

In his opinion, if you can pass these three papers, you can basically become a qualified official.

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Fu said yes, and at the same time, he held a moment of silence for the scholars taking part in the official examination.

…

"three days left."

In the East City of Yancheng, Liu Fu returned to the government office and posted the notice for the official examination in the East City. A large number of scholars were immediately attracted.

After the news of the official examination spread in Yanzhou, the scholars in Yanzhou were all excited and encouraged.

For them, this is an opportunity to change their destiny.

In the past, they could only join a wealthy family and become their disciples first.

Only by being ingratiating and being appreciated by the wealthy family can they get the chance to be recommended and serve in the yamen.

But even so, not everyone can be a retainer.

You even have to use money to buy the qualifications as a doorman.

But now, King Yan gave them a fair chance.

They no longer need to be coy or flatter anyone.

You can enter Yanzhou's officialdom just by relying on your own ability.

"After waiting for so long, I thought this was just a farce. I didn't expect that King Yan was really here." In front of the notice, a young scholar was in high spirits.

"The King of Yan always keeps his word, Brother Li. I hope that we can serve as officials under His Highness the King of Yan this time." A shorter scholar next to him had a flushed face, which was because he was excited.

"I have to say that we are really lucky. King Yan is not a great virtuous king. If we can serve under King Yan, we will definitely work hard and do our best." Another scholar sighed with emotion.

…

While the scholars were discussing excitedly, one of them sneered and said, "Huh, what an idiot. Just because you two are so humble, you still want to go to high school. How many books do you have at home?"

This scholar was dressed in brocade robes, while the two just now were dressed in white, starched coarse cloth shirts, making them look very miserable.

Standing beside the scholar in brocade clothes were several well-dressed scholars.

Then he burst into laughter.

In their opinion, these poor scholars have not read a few books and cannot compete with them.

Naturally, I feel extremely contemptuous.

Most of the scholars gathered in front of the notice were simply dressed.

Hearing this, they all looked angrily at these scholars in brocade clothes.

Someone among them recognized Mr. Jin Yi and mocked: "Shen Xi, what are you proud of? Your father was also a poor man before, but he just worked as a dog for a wealthy family for a few years, and now he has become ruthless?"

"That is, do you still think that the Yuan family dominates the current Yanzhou? His Highness, King Yan, will not let you join the government as an official just because he sees you wearing brocade clothes."

"But he has been guarding the gate of the palace for more than ten days, and the people in the Yanwang Palace don't pay any attention to him."

"..."

Everyone was talking to each other, and the young man in brocade clothes immediately lost face.

He rolled up his sleeves and shouted to the first scholar who mocked him, "You are looking for a fight!"

After that, he raised his fist and rushed over.

If it were in the past, these scholars from poor families would have to avoid these scholars in brocade clothes.

But now under the rule of the Yanwang, there is no one to protect them.

The poor scholars immediately didn't want to, and they rushed over to help fight, and there was a mess in front of the notice.

...

Three days later.

In front of a courtyard less than 300 meters away from the palace.

The poor scholars from Yanzhou lined up in a long line.

According to the content of the notice, they prepared pens and ink.

In front of the gate of the courtyard, a team of soldiers from the palace stood guard on both sides.

The atmosphere of the official examination became serious as a result.

After all the scholars who participated in the examination entered the courtyard, Zhao Xu and Liu Fu rode over.

"Gongyuan."

Zhao Xu read the plaque in front of the courtyard.

He asked Liu Fu to hang these two words.

In the ancient times of the modern era, the word Gongyuan specifically referred to the place where the imperial examination was held, so he simply used it directly.

"Have all the people brought by Mi Guozhang entered the examination room?" Zhao Xu asked after entering the Gongyuan.

"They all came in. According to your Highness's wishes, they were not given special treatment and were mixed with other scholars to take the examination." Liu Fu said.

Zhao Xu nodded. He came to Gongyuan in person this time to show his importance to this official examination.

Because this broke the old system of selecting officials in the Central Plains Dynasty in this world.

From then on, the poor children of Yanzhou will be able to change their own destiny through examinations and achieve class leaps.

Instead of being like a stagnant pool of water as before.

This is just like the contemporary college entrance examination. This exam gives ordinary people the opportunity to leap over the dragon gate.

Otherwise, how can the children of ordinary people compare with the children of wealthy families, powerful families, and wealthy merchants?

At the same time, this is also digging into Yuan Li's corner.

Since he won over the wealthy families to fight against him, he won over the people to deal with Yuan Li.

As the saying goes, you come and I go.

"Well, after this official examination, the lack of officials in Ping County and Liao County will probably be made up." Zhao Xu said.

According to Liu Fu, there are about 3,000 scholars participating in the official examination this time.

And Yanzhou lacks more than 1,000 officials.

The two talked all the way to the examination area.

After walking around the examination room, Zhao Xu came to the room where the examiners rested in the examination room.

This examination will last for a whole day, and the scholars are required to bring their own dry food and fill their stomachs if they are hungry at noon.

However, before noon, some scholars handed in their papers and left.

"What kind of paper is this? Nothing in the classics, history, and collections is tested. Isn't this a mess?" Several scholars complained after leaving the examination room.

"That's right, there are no poems or songs, but some confusing questions."

"Forget it, forget it, it seems that the King of Yan is not interested in selecting officials, he is just playing tricks on us."

"..."

Complaining, the three scholars shook their heads and sighed and left.

After noon, more scholars left, and most of them frowned, as if they were not very satisfied with the exam.

As dusk fell, with the ringing of three bells, the official exam officially ended.

The examiners sent the test papers to the room where Zhao Xu stayed.

At this time, Zhao Xu took out the answers to the test papers from his arms and said to the officials: "Stay in this room for the next few days, don't go out, someone will serve you food and drink, and mark all these papers."

The Northern Di is more powerful than before, and is eyeing Yanzhou covetously.

At present, only when the government system is established can the next step of the construction of the fiefdom be facilitated.

Three days later...

The closed gate of the Gongyuan was opened by the guarding soldiers.

The invigilator walked out exhausted.

In the past few days, they have been grading papers day and night.

Now this huge task is finally completed.

However, for them, participating in the official examination this time is not without benefits.

At least by grading the papers, they have checked the answers given to them by the King of Yan countless times.

Thus, they have a deep understanding of the King of Yan's governance philosophy.

It will be of great benefit to their careers in the future.

Liu Fu has been waiting at the door for a long time.

The King of Yan only gave them three days to grade.

Entering the Imperial Academy with soldiers, he sent more than a thousand qualified papers directly to the palace.

"Your Highness, these papers are ranked from high to low." Liu Fu rubbed his hands and said.

Next, we only need to announce the results, and these more than a thousand people can enter the officialdom of Yanzhou and serve the King of Yan.

Zhao Xu nodded and picked up the first paper.

The name on it made him startled, and he was a little familiar with this name.

It seems to be the scholar brought by Mi Zhuang, who also gave him advice at the last banquet.

His name is Zhu Tuo.

He scored very high on the test of administrative ability. As a county magistrate, he had a lot of experience in the various problems faced by officials, and his answers were pretty good.

He also scored very high on mathematics.

He scored about 80 points out of 100.

The last test was about the officials' overall view.

On the question of how to make Yanzhou prosperous, Zhu Tuo's answer made him shine.

On the test paper, he proposed mercantilism and regarded industry and commerce as the foundation of Yanzhou.

He said that since ancient times, the Central Plains dynasty has had a surplus of grain in the south and insufficient production in the north.

Especially in Yanzhou, the northernmost part of Dasong, relying on farming can only make one self-sufficient, not rich.

He was very satisfied with Zhu Tuo's answer, and his answer was very close to the answer on the test paper.

Zhu Tuo's ability to have such thoughts is indeed rare in the feudal society of Dasong.

But this seems reasonable.

In fact, there are clear-headed people in every era who can see the crisis facing the country and try to change it.

But their voices can't shake the stubborn conservative forces at all.

Gently putting down Zhu Tuo's paper, Zhao Xu said to Liu Fu: "This time the official examination was done right. If we just recommend officials like before, how can I see their different ideas through the papers?"

"Your Highness is right. There are more than 3,000 people with 3,000 ideas, which can best reflect their talents. When Your Highness proposed the official examination, I decided that this was the way to select talents. Otherwise, if we just recommend officials, there will inevitably be many people who seek fame and reputation."

Zhao Xu nodded slightly and looked at the next paper.

This person's name is Du Wan, and he has never heard of him.

But just because he has never heard of him, it shows that there are also hidden dragons and crouching tigers among these poor scholars.

Among the three papers, Du Wan's mathematics is almost full marks.

But although the test questions on administrative ability are good, they are full of scholarly spirit. They are generally correct, but not as rigorous as Zhu Tuo's answers. It seems that he is a scholar with no experience in being an official.

And in the third paper, he also put forward the view that commerce is the most important, and farming is second.

However, he also proposed that commerce should be developed without affecting farming to ensure the abundance of food and grass in Yanzhou.

"Not bad." Zhao Xu turned over again.

The next five people were Zhang Lang, Su Hai, Fang Yuanhao, Sima Dong, and Li Taian.

There were differences in the scores of these seven people, but basically not much.

"This Sima Dong is also one of the scholars brought by Mi Guozhang. The other three are poor scholars from Yanzhou. It can be seen that Yanzhou still has talents." Liu Fu secretly sweated.

In his heart, he was eager for a few outstanding people from the poor scholars in Yanzhou.

In this way, it proves the necessity of official examinations.

Otherwise, most of the people on the list are from Mi Guozhang, and the necessity of official examinations is lacking, but the recommendation makes sense.

"Well, that's true, but we can't just look at the test papers. In this way, those who rank high, like Zhu Tuo, who have experience as county magistrates, can be given the position of county governor. Those who have no experience as officials can serve as county magistrates for two years first. As for the others, the government office will make their own arrangements. The list will be posted in the next few days, indicating their positions," Zhao Xu said thoughtfully.

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Fu responded.

The official examination is over, and the official gap that has been bothering him for a long time can finally be filled.

A few days later.

The list of successful candidates in the official examination was posted on red paper on the wooden sign standing in the East Market of Yancheng.

The scholars who got the news flocked to it.

"Who is this Zhu Tuo? He is actually the first on the list and is directly qualified to be the county governor of Yan County."

In front of the notice, a group of scholars' eyes were red with jealousy.

At this time, Zhu Tuo was also in the crowd, and next to him were the scholars who came to Yan County this time.

Immediately, several scholars bowed to him, "Congratulations, Brother Zhu, you should call me Zhu County Magistrate from now on."

Zhu Tuo's eyes were slightly red, and a kind of excitement of a wise minister meeting a wise master spread in his heart.

But what made him even more happy and want to cry was that this official examination was not a farce.

The King of Yan really recruited officials based on their talents.

"Brother Du, you are the second on the list, the county magistrate of Fengling County, Shanggu County."

Zhu Tuo was just feeling excited, and a scholar beside him suddenly shouted.

These were two scholars in simple clothes, with patches all over their clothes.

The scholar called Brother Du was already in tears at this time.

After exhausting his family wealth and studying hard for more than ten years, he was so poor that he could only rely on copying books for a living.

All his relatives and neighbors mocked him for being a useless scholar.

And now he has turned from a poor scholar into a county magistrate overnight.

Holding his companion's hand tightly, Du Wan nodded vigorously, looked up at the sky and said: "Thank you, His Royal Highness, the King of Yan, for your great kindness. I will repay you with my life in this life."

"I also passed the exam, ranked 78th, and became the Tongpan of Luan County." At this time, Du Wan's companion cheered, "Brother Du, we can really serve under the King of Yan together."

Du Wan looked and found Lei Hang's name.

The two looked at each other and laughed.

As more and more scholars found their names.

There was laughter mixed with crying, and crying mixed with laughter in front of the notice.

The high-scoring ones cheered and the unsuccessful ones sighed.

But for them, one thing was certain.

On the fief of the King of Yan, they could really pass the official exam and become officials of the royal palace.

This gave them hope.

The official exam is held every year. If they fail this time, they will definitely work hard to pass it next time.

Some well-informed scholars learned that the King of Yan had established three major schools: the Science and Technology School, the Government Affairs School, and the Military School.

These three academies will recruit students, and the King of Yan will personally teach them some things.

However, they also heard that the conditions for entering the academy are harsh.