Tibet.

Chapter 1332 Imperial Examination Education
Before daybreak, scholars from all directions flocked to the imperial examination camp in the south of the city.

The Imperial Examination Camp was a military camp built half a month ago. The circumference of the fence was twenty miles, just like a small county town. The Imperial Examination Camp was divided into ten areas, with ten gates.

Every candidate must find his or her own zone, Zone A, Zone B, Zone C, etc. They will be clearly marked on the examination ticket. For example, one scholar's examination ticket would read: Zone D, Seventh Battalion, Fifteenth Ten, Number 20.

The test ticket is the admission ticket, the only proof.

At this time, you must first find the Ding area. There is a large sign erected above the gate with lights shining inside. The word "Ding" can be seen from a few miles away.

You have to take a horse-drawn carriage and walk for several miles. When you arrive at the Ding District, the driver will shout: "We have arrived at the Ding District. Scholars from the Ding District, please get off the carriage."

You jump off the carriage and walk towards the gate. First, you will be strictly searched and can only enter with the test ticket. The soldier will give you a small wooden sign with a number on it, which is the test paper number. Because the test lasts for three days, the examiner will finally put the three days' papers together. Since the names have been covered with paper, they can only be sorted by the test paper number.

Why is the examination paper number not written on the admission ticket but issued temporarily?

This is because the students cannot know the test paper number in advance, otherwise they will collude with the examiner and cheat. The examiner can find the paper of an acquaintance through the test paper number and give it a high score.

When you enter the camp, you will see a row of red lanterns that stretch as far as the eye can see. In fact, there are only twenty big red lanterns with camp numbers on them. You need to find Camp Seven.

Once you find and walk into Camp Seven, you will see numerous large tents, but there are actually only twenty-five tents.

You finally find your tent No. 15, walk in, and discover that there are thirty couches inside, with tables on top of the couches. Finally, you find table No. 20, which is your seat.

But don’t rush to sit down. You should check the candidate information in the upper left corner to make sure your name and test number match before you can sit down.

It was still dark at this time and the light inside the tent was rather dim, but we could only sit quietly and wait. There were no candles for lighting and the camp had strict fire control. If the tent was accidentally set on fire, the consequences would be disastrous.

Some preparations can be made at this time. There is a small basket on each table, which contains a pen, an inkstone, and a small bowl. Soldiers will come over soon and fill each small bowl with half a bowl of ink.

Scholars do not need to grind ink. Many scholars have servants, and it is usually the servants who are responsible for grinding the ink. It will be troublesome if these scholars do not know how to grind the ink and make a mess on the table.

At this time, the big tent was full of thirty candidates, and everyone was waiting patiently. Only the soldiers walked back and forth, adding ink to the small bowl on the table.

"Dong-dong-dong-"

A low bell rang, and the ten camp gates slowly closed. The examiners and auxiliary soldiers were in place. There were two auxiliary soldiers in each tent, who were responsible for adding ink to the scholars, delivering a meal at noon, or leading the way to the toilet, etc.

As the day gradually brightened, the test papers had been delivered to every tent. The examiners began to distribute the test papers and draft paper. The soldiers brought name-covering paper and a dish of glue to each table. There was also a toothpick in the dish to spread the glue evenly.

The examiner read out the examination rules and regulations, while the candidates were busy writing their names and examination numbers. They also wrote the roll number in the upper left corner. After the ink dried, they covered the names and examination numbers with a piece of paper.

These candidates had all taken part in county and state examinations, as well as countless mock examinations. They had mastered the rules of the examination room and the techniques of covering up names. Although they were busy, they were all organized.

"Dong-dong-dong-"

The bell rang again, and the test questions had been delivered. The examiners and soldiers quickly distributed them to each scholar's desk, and all the candidates began to review the questions nervously.

On the first day of the exam, the Jinshi, Mingjing and Mathematics exams were all the same, all of which were about pasting scriptures. The Jinshi and Mingjing exams had exactly the same questions, but Mathematics was much easier. The difficulty of Mathematics was in the math on the third day. Pasting scriptures means you are given a beginning and an end, and you have to fill in the blank passage in the middle. In fact, you just have to recite it. There are a total of ten questions, seven of which are about scriptures and three are about literature.

In fact, it is not that difficult, as it does not exceed the scope of the exam. For example, the literature questions must come from "Wenxuan", which was compiled by Prince Zhaoming of the Liang Dynasty and selected many excellent ancient poems and essays.

The titles of the scriptures must come from the officially designated major, medium and minor classics, among which "Book of Rites" and "Zuo Zhuan" are major classics; "Book of Songs", "Book of Zhou Rites" and "Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial" are medium classics; "Book of Changes", "Book of History", "Gongyang Zhuan" and "Guliang Zhuan" are minor classics.

In addition, all candidates must be proficient in both "The Book of Filial Piety" and "The Analects of Confucius".

These are what he learned during the ten years of hard study, and these are also what Li Ye wants to reform.

As the third bell rang, all the candidates began to concentrate and started writing.

The imperial examination was proceeding intensively. At the same time, in the round hall of the Council of State, nine prime ministers, vice prime ministers and the retired emperor Li Dai were discussing the issue of education reform.

Although Li Dai was the emperor emeritus, he felt extremely relaxed and comfortable sitting in the round hall and staying with his former colleagues. This was the life he had always dreamed of!
Staying in Xingqing Palace all day long was so boring. Although he was also responsible for teaching his two grandsons, he still felt depressed.

Fortunately, his son understood him and put him in charge of the education of the Tang Dynasty. Li Dai suddenly found the happiness in life. He had been an official all his life, and official life had been ingrained in him.

Education is also the most important national plan for all officials. Even the Minister of War Dugu Lie is very concerned about it. He is more concerned about military science. As the Minister of War, martial arts and the martial arts hall are both under his jurisdiction. The two are slightly different. Martial arts is to select outstanding martial arts talents from the children of good families, and the martial arts hall is a training academy for incumbent generals.

Duan Xiushi was equally concerned. He was now planning to build an ordnance academy. Ever since he witnessed the power of arrow mines with his own eyes, Duan Xiushi became more and more fascinated by firearms and powerful ships and cannons. He would go to the Military Equipment Inspectorate every now and then, and he was proficient in all kinds of firearms.

At this time, Li Dai coughed a few times, and the round hall became quiet. Li Dai smiled and said, "Let me say a few words off topic first. Returning to the Political Affairs Hall feels like returning home. You are all my old friends and colleagues. I will invite everyone to have lunch at Danfeng Restaurant at noon today."

Everyone laughed, and Li Dai said, "The emperor means that we should start with elementary education at the age of seven. We want all children to study, including girls. Girls can go to girls' schools. They don't need to learn in depth, but at least they can read and write. Elementary school is one year, and elementary school is five years. All children in the Tang Dynasty must complete elementary school. Girls can study for three years, and then they can study at home."

Wei Jiansu nodded, "The emperor's idea is very good. As long as the court's finances can support it, we will definitely support it!"

On the issue of education, all the officials in the Political Affairs Hall were surprisingly unanimous in agreement. Although everyone had different opinions on setting up a girls' school, it was not a big problem as it only took three years. This face should be given to the emperor.

Liu Yan said: "I estimated that the annual expenditure is about 500,000 guan. If we collect the mining tax and add the local liquor tax, we can basically solve the problem. The key is to find a way for scholars to make a living. They can teach in elementary schools and earn three or four guan of money every month. It is very good."

"But we need female professors to take care of girls!" Xiao Hua reminded.

Liu Yan nodded, "That's for sure. In fact, there are many talented women in wealthy families. As long as they are willing to work, there will be no problem with teaching staff."

Zhang Li added with a smile: "We can set up schools in each district, so that students can study right at their doorstep, which is also convenient."

At this time, Li Dai said, "There is another problem that the court needs to solve by law. Many people at the bottom of society send their daughters to wealthy families to work as maids when they are eight or nine years old to earn money. I have no objection to girls working as maids to supplement their families, but eight or nine years old is too young. The court should have regulations that prohibit the employment of children under twelve years old. It should be prohibited by law, and violators should be severely punished. In this way, after girls finish elementary school and three years of reading, they will have enough time to work for wealthy families."

Pei Zunqing hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, it's easy for us to think about it, but it's probably difficult to implement. Generally, girls have to get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen, and go out to work at the age of twelve. I guess most families will not implement it."

Li Dai smiled and said, "Everyone knows that it is good for girls to study for a few years. The children she educates in the future will be more outstanding. We don't force all sparrows to become phoenixes, but we must give those parents with vision and foresight a chance. The court has given us an opportunity, and whether we can seize it depends on our own luck."

(End of this chapter)