Manchu traitor, how can you let me be the emperor of the ages

Chapter 250 Examination, Membership Candidates

In fact, the marking work has already started since the end of the first session.

Because the first test will be repeated, and the first question will be repeated in the first test, that is to say, as long as there are no major mistakes or political mistakes in the subsequent questions... the ranking of the candidates has already been determined.

When the examinees left the tribute courtyard for the first time to rest, Li Jing and Sima Guang began to coordinate the four outer curtains to ensure that the work of the outer curtain officials was carried out in a safe and orderly manner.

The so-called Four Outer Curtain Offices refer to the Office for Receiving Scrolls, the Office for Sealing, the Office for Transcribing, and the Office for Reading.

Each has a strict to strict system to ensure the normal delivery of examination papers.

The examiners at the Examination Office are responsible for collecting the test papers for each session. The papers received by everyone are stamped with their names and titles, and every ten volumes are sent to the Enclosure Office.

The next step is to prevent candidates from passing joints and cheating on the test papers.

The officials will check whether there are special marks such as folded corners and needle holes on the collected test papers. If they find something wrong, write it down and register it on the blue list.

Then they sent all the normal test papers to the transcription office with their names, numbers, and their stamps.

Of course, there will inevitably be slack and omissions in the human inspection, and the most important preventive measures of the imperial court are still in the transcription office.

The transcription officers here copied the candidates' ink scrolls with a vermilion pen, and stamped their names and titles on the finished vermilion scrolls.

When the inner curtain officials read the scroll, they could only see the vermilion scroll, but not the ink scroll.

In addition, although candidates have already typed up the draft before copying the questions on the test paper, as long as it is done by humans, mistakes, typos, and alterations are inevitable.

Some made mistakes unintentionally, while others made mistakes on purpose, just to send some kind of signal to the bribed examiner.

The imperial court also guarded against this move.

When transcribing the official copy, the typos and alterations on the original volume should be recorded on the Zhujuan. If there are too many typos and alterations recorded, they will be directly listed on the blue list.

This procedure is the most cumbersome, time-consuming and manpower-intensive, but it is worth it for the fairness of the examination and for the fresh blood of the court.

After all the ink scrolls have been transcribed into Zhujuan, all the Zhujuan and ink scrolls will be sent to the last office of the Outer Curtain Institute, the Duojuan Institute.

Here, the readers proofread the original ink scrolls and Zhu scrolls one by one to ensure that the words are correct.

And after proofreading, they also have to write on the vermilion and ink scrolls who read the papers, and leave a stamp.

Of course, transcription officers are also human beings, and it is inevitable that they will make mistakes under such high-intensity work. If the reader finds a mistake, he has to correct it with an ocher pen and keep it on file.

After going through such rigorous four procedures, it is not over yet, there is the last insurance in the south of Feihong Bridge.

After the readers have checked all the ink scrolls and Zhu scrolls, they must hand them over to the collector.

After these people checked the ink and ink rolls again, they separated them, kept the ink rolls for safekeeping, and numbered the ink rolls again and put them in boxes.

With the blessing of a large number of people, the whole process took about four days and was supervised by two Zhigong Ju. After the examination papers went through the entire process, they sealed the box containing the examination papers.

On the next day after sorting out the examination papers, Li Jing and Sima Guang took all the officials from the Outward Collection Office and all the wooden boxes containing the examination papers, escorted by soldiers, all the way to the south side of Feihong Bridge.

And in the north of Feihong Bridge, the chief examiner Wei Zheng and the deputy examiner Wan Qixie had already waited with an in-charge officer.

The eyes of the two sides met. After confirmation, they went up to the bridge at the same time under the escort of the soldiers. On the high Feihong Bridge, the handover was completed under the eyes of everyone.

The scene is quite similar to the hostage handover in Li Gan's previous police and gangster films, but it is not so tense and worrying.

After bringing the examination papers back to the inner curtain office, the two chief examiners verified the seal on the box in front of all the examiners, then opened the box and drew lots to distribute the papers.

But after the imperial guards moved the examination papers, Wei Zheng didn't hand out the papers directly, but straightened up and looked around at the examiners in the hall.

"Everyone, tens of thousands of candidates, ten years of hard work, and thousands of miles of wandering are all tied to us."

His back was extraordinarily straight, his eyes were like lightning, as if he could see into the depths of people's hearts, and he was extremely oppressive. One by one, the examiners lowered their heads a little.

This is a little more weight on the shoulders.

"My lord, I will understand." The examiners echoed in unison.

Even Wan Qixi, who was standing beside Wei Zheng, felt that his side was as uncomfortable as being pricked by needles, so he moved slightly to the side.

"As long as you know."

Wei Zheng nodded slightly, did not say any more, and officially started grading papers.

The same examiners are also called room examiners. In the past, each of them really had a small room alone, and each room examiner was equipped with two marking examiners to help.

Later, the imperial court gradually discovered that such a system had many omissions, and it was too easy for people to make mistakes, so the examiners changed to marking papers in the lobby.

And in order to ensure fairness, each test paper has to go through the hands of several fellow examiners and be reviewed by several people.

Huh, more than 30 examiners are sitting in the hall, and the chief examiner and the assistant examiner are at the top.

They don't have to participate in the initial marking, they just need to monitor what the fellow examiners do.

Two people invigilate the exam with thirty or so people, which is considered very strict.

What's more, there are not only the two of them supervising here. In addition to the chief and deputy examiners, there are also four internal supervisors who are in charge of monitoring the inner curtain officials. Same examiner.

So much manpower and energy have been put in to ensure that the entire exam is as fair and impartial as possible.

The time for marking papers is limited, and the requirements are extremely strict.

Not only do you have to find out all the mistakes on the paper, but you also have to write comments with a green pen, leaving the examinees speechless.

There are many reasons for dismissing them, such as unqualified articles, too many typos, political mistakes, and so on.

There are many political mistakes in the exam. For example, although I was born in a poor family, I am willing to strive for self-improvement and keep working hard...

Those who have this kind of meaning will not be allowed, and they will be directly listed on the blue list.

In addition, if one mentions one's own background in an article, such as my district mayor's father, the name should also be listed on the blue list, and those who have too many typos on the Zhu Juan, or who have not submitted a draft paper, will be listed on the blue list...

This blue list is not the apricot list. Candidates flock to the latter, but avoid the former like snakes and scorpions.

After boarding this thing, the article will be downgraded.

It looks inconspicuous, but the test is a single-plank bridge with thousands of troops, even if you don't downgrade, you may not be able to pass it. Now downgrading to one level is basically equivalent to a death sentence.

Let's take another exam!

What the examiners have to do is to let the dismissed candidates, no matter whether they are convinced in their hearts or not after seeing this paper, have to be convinced in their mouths.

This is because the imperial court also left the candidates with ways to restrain them.

Candidates can check the test papers after the rankings are released. If they are asked to pick out mistakes in the marking process, it will be broken.

This is related to the life of the examinees. After such incidents, the examinees have always made troubles everywhere, including the Yamen where the examiner is located, the Ministry of Rites who presides over the examination, and even Dali Temple and Yushitai...

If after the imperial court investigates, it is found that there are indeed mistakes and omissions in the examination papers, then what awaits these fellow examiners will be fines, resignation and other consequences.

There is a huge workload and demanding requirements, which is also a big challenge for many fellow examiners.

But this is also very normal. Wealth and wealth are in danger. If you want to harvest many disciples and get so much help from the officialdom, how can you do it without hard work?
In the last few days of marking the examination papers, the fellow examiners were almost paralyzed from exhaustion, stuck with the deadline, and recommended the examination papers they selected to the chief examiner.

Their marking work is much more tiring than that of the examinees.

Since then, the work of the examiners is almost over, and the rest is mainly the work of the two examiners.

"Master Wan, please."

Wei Zheng's voice was cold and emotionless. He divided half of the recommended test papers and handed them to Wan Qixi.

Wan Qixi was actually more afraid of Wei Zheng in the past. After all, this ruthless man dared to put the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty together, and Qin Hui, the right minister, had been bullied by him many times, not to mention that he was a small Zhongshu servant?

It's just that the situation is different this time, Wan Qixie was looked at by Wei Zheng's eyes, but he didn't feel uncomfortable at all, but calm.

Due to the suddenness of the incident, no one thought that Wan Qixie would be able to be the deputy examiner of the examination before, so no one came to seek him out.

What is openness?

Facing Wei Zheng's gaze, Wan Qixi really wanted to let out a loud roar to the sky, then laughed and patted Wei Zheng's shoulder, telling him confidently that I will not do anything bad this time!

It's a pity that the occasion is not right here, in front of so many people, I have to give him some face...

While thinking this way, Wan Qixie had a docile smile on his face, took the examination paper handed over by Wei Zheng with both hands, and respectfully said, "Thank you, Mr. Wei."

Wei Zheng nodded, said nothing more, but lowered his head and started grading papers.

The papers recommended by the same examiners are not guaranteed to be successful, and the two main examiners have to pass.

All the papers should be passed through the hands of the main and deputy examiners. If the assistant examiner thinks it is ok, he will write "take" outside the comments, and the chief examiner will write "middle" outside the comments.

If there is a hit, it can be hit.

When marking papers with the examiners before, the chief and deputy examiners were free.

Now when the chief and assistant examiners are marking the papers, the fellow examiners are the most leisurely.

Of course, being calm on the face does not mean that the heart is also relaxed. In fact, the examiners are extremely nervous.

After working so hard for so many days, and taking the risk to mark the test papers, it was not just to get a few more students.

But the recommendation of the papers is within the scope of the examiners' rights, and it has nothing to do with them. It doesn't matter how many of them are selected.

Every fellow examiner wished that all the papers recommended by him would be selected, and that he had the most students...

It's just that the number of tributes negotiated by the imperial court and the Ministry of Rites this year is [-]. If there are more people, there will be fewer people.

After the chief and deputy examiners set the quota, there are only three days until the ranking is released.

Wei Zheng tidied up the table and case, and raised his head from a pile of papers.

At the same time, the examiners below looked up at him one after another. According to the normal procedure, it was time to rank him now.

But unexpectedly, Wei Zheng said something unexpected to them.

"Let's search for the scroll!"

All the fellow examiners were taken aback, and even Wan Qixie looked at Wei Zheng in surprise.

"Yes, my lord."

Although the fellow examiners were a little puzzled, they obediently took out the papers that had been discarded before and put them on the table one by one, waiting for the "luck" from the chief examiner.

Searching for dropped papers means that the chief and assistant examiners search through the dropped papers, find out the missing ones and take them.

In the past, there was a situation where Gongshi could not make up the full quota. In order to make up the number, the examiners invented the search and drop paper.

But now the tributes have been taken in full, and they still have to come to search for the papers?

Could it be that someone took Master Wei's relationship and asked him to help pass the exam, but Master Wei didn't find that person in the exam papers recommended...

The examiners thought maliciously.

The behavior of searching for the test papers has always been disliked by the examiners, because these test papers are discarded by them. After being searched and selected by the chief examiners, the examinees will not recognize him as a room teacher.

Of course, malice is malice. Facing Wei Zheng, who was found in the next class, the examiners were extremely docile, nodding and bowing beside him, following his footsteps like stars, their eyes following Wei Zheng's.

"You guys all commented very well." Wei Zheng flipped through the papers and comments in his hand, and nodded slightly.

"My job, my job, is not worthy of adults' praise."

The flattery that comes out of his mouth on weekdays is impossible to say in front of Wei Zheng, even the clever examiner is a little nervous.

Wei Zheng walked past the desks one by one. He looked at them very quickly. He only smoked more than ten copies from each pile, and put them back after reading them without any problems.

Wei Zheng only gave up after spot-checking the papers of more than 30 fellow examiners.

"Master Wan, let's decide the ranking!"

"Yes, my lord." Wan Qixie nodded, followed Wei Zheng and turned back to the hall, leaving only a group of fellow examiners secretly ashamed, thinking that Mr. Wei was too strict.

Next came the complicated ranking, which also tested the abilities of the two examiners, the chief and the deputy.

If you don't keep these more than 800 test papers in mind, and compare their pros and cons one by one, how can you rank them well?
The test papers with blurred names are arranged in order from the lowest to the highest, and only the quality of the articles is judged.

Wei Zheng and Wan Qixie discussed for three days, during which time they also listened to the opinions of fellow examiners... Of course, whether or not the test is considered is another matter.

Finally, the night before the rankings were released, the two examiners, the chief and deputy examiners, finally decided on the rankings.

"Master Wei, reveal your name and fill in the list!"

In the dimly lit hall, only one lantern was placed in it, illuminating the table in front of Wei Zheng and Wan Qixi.

The other fellow examiners waiting here were already overwhelmed by darkness.

There is no way, this is where the papers are placed, and open flames must be minimized.If the test paper is ordered, it will be a trivial matter to lose an official and go to prison, but it will be a major matter if it really burns to death.

In fact, candles cannot be lit here on weekdays. When it gets dark, everyone has to leave immediately and lock the door.

It's just that the rankings will be released tomorrow, so I can't afford not to work overtime today.

"My lord, reveal your name and fill in the list!"

One by one, the examiners who were hidden in the darkness spoke out, all this is finally coming to an end.

Wei Zheng looked up at them, with a rare smile on his face: "Okay, fill in the list."

The ranking is determined from the bottom to the top, and the list is filled from the Huiyuan of Jinke and filled down.

Wei Zheng unwrapped Huiyuan's examination paper, and was startled when he saw the name on it.

Wan Qixie and other fellow examiners also joined together.

(End of this chapter)