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Chapter 113 The General Examination and Beijing Inspection 2
In addition, some areas in the Ming Dynasty had special policies for candidates who came to Beijing to take the exam, such as free accommodation, food and drink, and even transportation by the government, and the flag of the Ministry of Rites was planted. When the flag was seen along the way, they were immediately released, and even bandits were not allowed to leave. Be willing to rob, otherwise you will be severely punished by officers and soldiers.

There are records of these in history books, and there are also more fun ones.In ancient times, some scholars were unwilling to continue to make progress after passing the examination. In today's terms, they should be called lying down.But in the year of the National Examination, I still had to go to Beijing to take the exam, but I kept getting sidetracked and late every time.

In fact, they didn't want to go to the capital to take the exam at all. Instead, they used state subsidies to travel to areas in the direction of Beijing under the guise of taking the exam. Anyway, they had to eat, drink and live at public expense.

The Beijing inspection, also known as the internal inspection, is stipulated to be held once every six years. The content is relatively easy to understand. The outer inspection was just completed last year. The two are essentially the same. The only difference is that they target different areas.

The external inspection evaluates the work performance and moral integrity of local officials, while the Beijing inspection evaluates officials from both Beijing and Beijing.If you pass the exam, you may be promoted, but if you fail the exam, you may be demoted or dismissed.

Jingcha has two examination rooms, one in Nanjing and one in Beijing. They are almost identical except for the size.The assessment is carried out by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Civil Affairs Bureau, and the top officials of the three departments are also the examiners.

All officials in Beijing must be evaluated according to a unified standard. The four criteria are honesty, integrity, talent, and age. The eight criteria are greed, cruelty, inaction, carelessness, old age, illness, impetuousness, and weak talent.

Not all officials have to use a pen to answer the questions, but they are divided into two ways according to their grades.Officials of fourth rank and above only need to report themselves, that is, write a work report for the emperor to personally review.Officials of fifth rank and below must go through a court review and be personally questioned by the brains of the Ministry of Personnel, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Ministry of Personnel.

On the surface, it seems that the imperial examination is related to the selection and reserve of talents in the imperial court, while the imperial examination means the promotion and promotion of current officials.Although it is a first-class national event, relevant departments handle it according to standard procedures, and it seems that the emperor does not need to do it himself.

In fact, this is not the case. When there are factions in the imperial court with different regions, different ideas, and inconsistent interests, the Imperial Examination and the Beijing Inquisition have added an important attribute in addition to their superficial functions, becoming a battlefield for power!
Through the palace examination, each faction can add as many candidates as possible to the reserve cadres of the imperial court who identify with their own camp. Whoever adds more candidates will have successors.

Jingcha is more direct. Each faction wants to use it to attack other factions and strengthen its own team. Whoever has the right to evaluate officials can legitimately eliminate dissidents and strengthen their wings.

It can be said that, in addition to the succession of the throne, the palace examination and the imperial examination had the greatest influence on the court politics of the Ming Empire.

Hong Tao took advantage of the opportunity of external inspection last year to stuff two bachelors into the cabinet. It is impossible not to understand the mystery. Naturally, he cannot turn a blind eye and must go all out to make persistent efforts!

But thinking back, it’s hard to say whether it can be done.The first problem faced was the questions for the imperial examination. Unlike the general examination, the imperial examination had to be set by the emperor himself.

Hong Tao has not even read the Analects of Confucius thoroughly. He is very familiar with classics such as Zhuzi's Annotations, Cai's Biography, Poems, Zhou Rites, Book of Rites, Yi, Spring and Autumn, Mencius, Great Learning, and Doctrine of the Mean. The works are even more unfamiliar, and trying to find a more advanced topic from these books according to the convention is tantamount to wishful thinking.

Fortunately, there is always a way. In addition to poems, essays, and classics, there is an examination format in the Ming Dynasty that can avoid the embarrassment of poor reading, called Ce Question.

The general meaning is that the emperor gave a question and asked the tributes participating in the palace examination to write a short essay on the spot, using their own way to understand the question and provide a solution.

There is no need to look for this type of questions from the classics and history collection. They are more focused on current politics, economics, military, and culture, or closer to reality. They test the tributes' ability to solve practical problems and their governance concepts.

"Long live Lord, it's long past time for you to have a good night's sleep..." Seeing the emperor staring at the sky behind the imperial desk, scratching his ears and cheeks, and strolling around the room with his hands behind his back, the head of the Yangxin Hall followed Wang Chengen and was a little worried. The third time Whisper a reminder.

"Grand bachelors need three questions as backup. How can I sleep well without even writing a single question?" Hong Tao couldn't eat well or sleep well for four or five days in a row. His mind was full of questions, but he seemed to be choosing over and over again. Neither one is satisfactory.

Seeing that tomorrow is the official day, is it possible to face the tributes empty-handed and talk to them about the Russia-Ukraine war or the situation in the Middle East?If he doesn't want to become the first fatuous emperor in history who can't solve the palace examination questions, he must burn the midnight oil tonight.

"My maid, please go and invite Eunuch Chen and Eunuch Wang. Long live my lord, didn't you say that three cobblers are equal to Zhuge Liang? Plus there are exactly three maids." Wang Chengen only knew that the palace examination was a big deal, but the emperor's health was an even bigger deal. In order to help share the worries, he Got an idea. "...You are damn good and don't want to learn. Instead, you are learning the art of flattering a horse. Be careful of your butt being spread open!" Ordinarily, Chen Ju and Wang An are both top students who graduated from the inner school. They must have something in their stomachs. It shouldn't be a problem to ask them to help. If you are seriously ill, seek medical treatment immediately.

But how could Hong Tao not expect such a simple truth? If he could get them to help, he would have implemented it long ago without waiting for Wang Chengen's reminder.The problem is that they can't help. It's not that they can't figure out the project, but that they can't decide which one to choose.

Cewen was used by the emperor to test the tributes, and wanted to select people who were more capable and better able to understand his own thinking to enrich the court.At the same time, Cewen was also a small window for officials to pry into the emperor's true thoughts, through which they could roughly deduce what the emperor wanted to do.

Therefore, the questions must not only have the function of testing the genuine materials of the tributes, but also must be able to hide one's true intentions.These two demands are opposite, and neither one can be given up, which is why it is difficult.

"I have never exaggerated. Zhuge Liang's Shu Han is only a mere corner. It is several times that of the Ming Dynasty. Long Live Lord is more powerful than Zhuge!"

Since Wang Chengen entered the Yangxin Hall, he has spent time with a group of top eunuchs. He has made rapid progress, especially in terms of speaking.

Does Hong Tao hate flattery?It would be very annoying if he was asked to take pictures of others, but it seems less annoying if he changes the position.Everyone is willing to listen to compliments, and being in a happy mood is good for work and life.

But there is a prerequisite, you must know that the other person is flattering you, and get over it happily.If you take flattery seriously and think that you are a handsome guy, smart, omnipotent, and omniscient, it will really do no good.

"...Zhuge Liang...well, let's just ask this question!" Wang Chengen compared it to Zhuge Liang and felt happy. When he was in a good mood, his mind became less muddled. He took out a piece of paper from the desk and read. He made up his mind based on the line above.

"Plus this... and this, Qi Huo... let's go back to the palace!"

With the first question opening the way, it was not difficult to choose the next two questions. I picked up two pieces of paper and stuffed them into my belt after thinking about it, and asked Wang Chengen to quickly lead the way with a lantern.

It's just after Zi hour, and I can still sleep for four hours when I get up at Yin hour.Go to bed later than the chickens and get up earlier than the chickens.He was always on tenterhooks all day long, either wondering whether the military general would rebel, or calculating whether the civil servant was trying to seize power, and he had to keep an eye on outsiders to prevent them from ransacking his home.

Apart from not having to work hard in exchange for daily necessities, being an emperor is not necessarily more comfortable than being a wealthy businessman.

How about a harem of three thousand?Emperor Wanli finally met the concubine Zheng, who was pleasing to his eyes, but he was still not understood by his mother, the queen, and the ministers. He complained all day long, and he could not live in peace for a day.

So what if there is only one person in the world?At best, the world belongs to the emperor; at worst, it's just a rented right to use it.The world belongs to no one. When the emperor was ousted, it was just that the dynasty died. The world is still there, just changing tenants.

How about the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and the people of Li?The emperor could satisfy their needs and immediately knelt down and kowtowed and called him father.Once you are not satisfied, you will immediately turn your back and pick up a knife to chop.

For most people, the emperor is not unique and anyone can be the emperor.What matters most is how much food you have in your family, whether your salary is enough, and whether your children and grandchildren will have land.

So what if you dominate the world?No matter how many people or lands he ruled, did the emperor ever have a close friend?Have you ever had the opportunity to go to a restaurant to drink, chat and brag?Have you ever gone to Goulan Waseli to have sex together?
Everyone around me, including my relatives, tells lies and is mean-spirited every day.When the scenery is prosperous, it is comparable to Yao and Shun; when it is in ruins, it is not as good as a wild dog.I have only heard of so-and-so lending a helping hand to friends who were in trouble, but I have not heard of any emperor being overthrown and so-and-so grabbing a handful of money. It would be considered benevolent and righteous not to rush over and step on someone else's feet.

Hong Tao came back this time just to try out whether he could be both CEO and chairman of the board, with more than half of the shares owned, and 100% of what he said.In the words of later generations, it is called a poisonous vegetable. It seems that no one has really succeeded in Chinese history, and it does not count as a flash in the pan.

(End of this chapter)