Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 184 New Imperial Examination

Therefore, three months of study and preparation is actually quite sufficient.

In the past, in order to write good stereotyped essays, they were obsessed with the four books and five classics. Today's "Guoxue" tests a wide range of content, including a collection of classics and history, poems, books, rites and music. It's a classic.

In terms of "Mathematics", you need to put more effort into mastering some of the newly learned concepts and knowledge, and learn certain calculation methods and application methods.

Therefore, when scholars entered county schools and began to study the content of the new imperial examination, they found that the content of the new imperial examination was far less difficult than they imagined. In comparison, the eight-legged essay tested in the previous imperial examination seemed mysterious and mysterious.

After all, the knowledge written in the new imperial examinations is relatively objective. One is one, two is two, and there are clear judgment standards. However, the previous eight-legged essay was very subjective, and it is difficult to explain how to judge the quality of an article. Bad, to a large extent it depends on the personal preference of the examiner and the "sincerity" of the candidate!
Since scholars can learn the new content of the imperial examination, they are naturally not so repelled. And now that the imperial examination is here, many people are confident to come and try it.

After all, it is much more convenient to take the imperial examination than before. There are examination centers in every county, and I heard that the examination time is only one hour. If you go in the morning, you can finish the examination and leave before noon. There is no need to take the exam for several days and nights like before, and you also have to carry a kettle and dry food, and everything you need to eat and drink is included.

Since the cost of the exam is already so low, and you can take it every year, so even if you fail the exam this year, you might as well take it once, go in and see how the new imperial exam is done, and come back next time to have experience.

This year is the first imperial examination after the reform of the imperial examination. Because a special examination house and proposition group have not yet been established, the original officials in charge of the imperial examination in the Ministry of Rites do not have the experience and ability to set questions for the new imperial examination. So this time Zhu Tianqi It is a test paper that is customized and purchased directly from the Krypton Life store.

That’s right, it’s a customized purchase. This Krypton Store is the same as Zhu Tianqi’s online mall in his previous life. It provides services such as customized printing, and the price is low. Zhu Tianqi directly customized and printed [-] sets of test papers, according to each county test center. One hundred copies were packaged, and Jin Yiwei personally delivered the test papers to the test center and was responsible for taking back the completed test papers.

There are now 130 counties in the Ming Dynasty, but not all of them have the conditions to hold imperial examinations. Some counties are in disaster areas and still rely on imperial relief, making it impossible to carry out educational and scientific examinations. Some of the more remote and poor places even have people There may only be one or two candidates taking part in the scientific examination.

The provinces and prefectures and counties in the south of the Yangtze River really have the most candidates. Moreover, this place was originally very wealthy and had many scholars. It has been a major province for scientific examinations since ancient times.

Counties in the Ming Dynasty were different from those in later generations. The Ming Dynasty was divided into four levels: provinces, prefectures, and counties. Prefectures were equivalent to counties in later generations, while counties in the Ming Dynasty were at most equivalent to township-level units in later generations. Therefore, a county could not be combined anyway. There are no more than a hundred candidates.

All in all, although there are many more candidates taking the scientific examination this year than in previous years, [-] sets of test papers are more than enough.

The imperial examination was held as scheduled. The candidates took the exam with ease and left the exam with ease. They did not feel tired. Unlike the previous imperial examinations where they were stuck in a small cubicle for days and nights, and had to peel off their skin even if they did not die.

In addition, what is new to everyone about the new imperial examination is that this year, in addition to local officials serving as examiners, there are also imperial guards who are responsible for invigilating the examination this year, and the examination papers are opened in front of everyone. After the examination, It was also sealed and taken away by Jin Yiwei in front of everyone, and the examiner didn't have anything to do with the whole process.

Therefore, after everyone finished the exam, no one went to visit the examiner or give gifts to the examiner. After all, the test paper was not in the hands of the examiner, so there was no point in looking for him!
Of course, some candidates with wealthy families still wanted to ask for information from the examiners, but the final result was that they didn't ask anything. They only knew that Jin Yiwei had brought the examination papers back to the capital for marking!

Next comes the day of waiting for the results to be released. Whether it is the old imperial examination or the new imperial examination, this period of time is very difficult for the candidates.

However, Zhu Tianqi did not let the candidates wait too long. There were only tens of thousands of test papers. There was no difficulty in grading based on the answers. Officials from the Ministry of Rites and the assistance of the Jin Yiwei completed the grading work in a few days, and then they The results were sent back to all counties across the country, and the counties announced them.

As long as the scores in each subject of the county examination reach [-] or above, you can pass. To become a child student, the threshold for passing the examination is still very low, so many candidates who had no hope of applying have passed by accident.

Of course, the passing rate of county examinations across the country is not very high. After all, not everyone can master even simple knowledge in just three months, and there are also quite a few scholars who have studied the Four Books and Five Classics all year round. And the eight-part essay, my brain is dead, and I can't even learn mathematics in elementary school.

But even so, after this county examination, it did give scholars all over the world a big surprise, and many people also changed their previous prejudices about the new imperial examination.

At least now it seems that the new imperial examination is very fair and just. You don’t have to curry favor with the examiner, nor do you have to burn incense and worship Buddha. Whether you can pass the examination depends entirely on your strength, and the examination content is written in the textbooks issued by the county. You just need to do it well. If you study, you can pass the exam.

Unlike the stereotyped essays before, even if you read all the Four Books and Five Classics, you may not be able to pass the exam, because it is too difficult to pass the exam. You must write well and be lucky enough to cater to The examiner's preference, and to be on the safe side, it's best to check it up and down.

These things can be seen from the results of this county examination. Compared with the past, many more children aged [-] or [-] have passed the examination. In the past, this situation was extremely rare. Once someone was young, If you can pass the exam at a young age, you have to be regarded as a child prodigy.

You know, in the Ming Dynasty, many scholars were still in their seventies and eighties and still could not pass the Tongsheng test. This situation was not uncommon!
Now, everyone has personally experienced the benefits of the new imperial examination. Among scholars, it is difficult to hear voices opposing the new imperial examination.

For ordinary candidates who have no money or power, the fairer and more just new imperial examination naturally gives them confidence and hope, making them believe again that as long as they are willing to study hard, they will be able to find a way out.

As for the rich and powerful families, the same is actually true. In the past, they relied on personal connections and money to buy their way and send their children to official careers. In the final analysis, it was a helpless choice for them. The imperial examination was corrupt and dark, and relying solely on truth It is difficult to get ahead with talent and practical knowledge.Moreover, the general environment is like this, and everyone is doing this. If you don’t rely on connections to stuff money, you will only be squeezed out by others. Therefore, you must not only find connections, but also find connections that are stronger than others. Not only must you stuff money, but also stuff more money than others. If you want to get ahead, you have to roll up your money!

Over time, they have become accustomed to such unspoken rules of the imperial examination, and they are unwilling to change them, because they have spent a lot of effort and a lot of money to get out of the current road. Road, they are naturally unwilling.

However, the fact of the new imperial examination is that they do not need to find new ways or spend any more money. They only need to rely on their own strength to pass the imperial examination. They even save the money that was required to participate in the imperial examination before. How can you not be happy?

Even if the family is rich and can save a sum of money, who is willing to throw away the money in vain?
Many children from aristocratic families also passed the imperial examination and were admitted to the Tongsheng Examination, including some who were still young and would have been difficult to pass the examination in the past. This also made these aristocratic families very surprised.

Nowadays, these aristocratic families no longer oppose the new imperial examination, but they are all thinking that with their own financial resources, if they hire tutors for their children and prepare them for enlightenment early, wouldn't it mean that the children can be admitted to the Tongsheng examination at a very young age? It takes a lot less time than before.

Moreover, the county examinations of the new imperial examinations are like this, and the subsequent prefectural and provincial examinations will probably be the same. In this way, as long as they are well trained, the children of the family are expected to gain fame and become officials at a young age. , you no longer have to work for the imperial examination for most of your life like before!

Not only those aristocratic families who passed the county exam and were admitted to Tongsheng, but also those whose parents and children failed to pass the exam, and even if they failed the exam this time, there are still people from other families around them who took the exam. Those who passed it all saw it, and after personally participating in a new imperial examination, they also had a deeper understanding of the situation.

The reason why they failed to pass the exam was that although some of them were indeed incompetent or not ready, most of them were dissatisfied with the reform of the imperial examination and rejected the content of the new imperial examination, so they did not study well.

But now it seems that the exam is more objective and easier to pass than the previous eight-legged essay. They all suddenly woke up and began to encourage their children at home to learn the knowledge of the new imperial examination and actively prepare for the exam.

The first imperial examination after the reform of the imperial examination came to a perfect conclusion. The attitude of the people towards the new imperial examination suddenly changed 180 degrees, which made the officials in the DPRK who were waiting to see the new imperial examination make a fool of themselves instantly discouraged.

Moreover, under the influence of the good reputation of the new imperial examination, the academic atmosphere among the people has become unprecedentedly strong. People from all over the country come to the county school to register for study in an endless stream. From those who have just learned to walk to those who are 99, they all want to join in the fun and pass the new imperial examination. Gain fame through the imperial examination.

At the same time, the prefectural schools in various places also started to get busy. Students who passed the county exams began to report to the prefectural schools one after another, to carry out the next stage of study, and prepare for the prefectural exams.

The new imperial examination gradually got on the right track, and Zhu Tianqi finally felt relieved. He asked Xu Guangqi to train the officials in charge of the imperial examination from the Ministry of Rites. They not only had to be very familiar with the details of the new imperial examination, but also had a considerable degree of marking skills. and propositional ability.

Then, Zhu Tianqi received a memorial from Li Banghua. Li Banghua reported that he had completed the construction of a Galenic sailing ship and two Karak sailing ships.

Zhu Tianqi was overjoyed when he heard the news. He even sent Sun Yuanhua and Qian Longxi to inspect the acceptance in person, and asked Sun Yuanhua to arrange the arming of the two ships and install cannons on the ships as soon as possible to make the three ships combat capable. .

Although more than eight months have passed since Zhu Tianqi summoned Li Banghua on the twelfth lunar month of the ninth year of the Apocalypse, for Li Banghua, it is already good to be able to build these three ships in eight months. After all, this is the first ship in the Ming Dynasty. This is the first time that such a large Western-style sailing ship has been successfully built.

Even the Taixi people who were transferred from the northwest military industrial base to the shipyard were very shocked when they saw the three sailing ships built by Li Banghua. He really couldn't explain in detail that the Ming Dynasty actually only used a few warship models they sent at that time. In such a short period of time, three warships no less than those of the Westerners were imitated.

Especially when they learned that the shipbuilding blueprints were drawn by the Ming Emperor himself, the Thai people respected the Ming Emperor like a god.

You must know that when they were working in the northwest military industrial base, the advanced knowledge and technology beyond their imagination and cognition were provided to Sun Yuanhua by the Ming Emperor. Therefore, in their minds, the Ming Emperor was simply omniscient and omnipotent, as mysterious as !
After that, these Taixi people no longer dared to have any reservations about Li Banghua, and wholeheartedly helped Li Banghua build warships. With the help of the Taixi people, the progress of shipbuilding was much faster, and only then were the three warships able to be completed by the end of August. The ship has been built and has been tested offshore several times with good performance.

Sun Yuanhua is the Minister of Industry, and he is also responsible for managing these Thai and Western craftsmen. Therefore, now that the warship is built, he will naturally go over to inspect it in person.

The reason why Zhu Tianqi sent Qian Longxi there was naturally to let Qian Longxi gain experience.

In the past two years, Ming Dynasty's technological level has advanced rapidly with the help of Zhu Tianqi. Whether it is firearms, equipment, or ships, they are no longer what they used to be. Qian Longxi, as the Minister of the Ministry of War, if he still knows nothing about these , then it will be difficult to have a clear idea of ​​Ming's current combat effectiveness.

If a Minister of War knows nothing about his country's army and armaments, how can he carry out his work?This will also affect his judgment and response to many things, so Zhu Tianqi must let him see it in person, contact and understand the Ming army's new warships.

Qian Longxi naturally also realized that his understanding of the Ming army was seriously out of touch, so he was very happy to go to inspect and accept the warships. He had heard about the Taixi sailing ships, and thought of it Now that the Ming Dynasty can also build such a large sailing ship, I feel very excited inside, and I even can't wait to see the heroic appearance of the large sailing ship!

After Sun Yuanhua and Qian Longxi received the decree, they packed their luggage and set off together. They left the capital together and rushed to the Daming Shipyard where Li Banghua was in charge. Li Banghua, who had received a reply to this matter, had already prepared to receive the two ministers. Preparation for adults.

(End of this chapter)