Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 434: The People Are the Foundation of the Nation (Special thanks to book friend 2018…3330 for the 2 monthly tickets!)

On May 12, the 32nd year of Kaixi, the triennial imperial examination was held as scheduled in Bian Jing.

This time, more than 150,000 candidates from all over the country gathered in the capital to take the imperial examinations in the four categories of "civil, military, industrial, and commercial". This was more than 16 times the number of more than 9,000 candidates who took the first imperial examination in the first year of Kaixi.

With the popularization of national education in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the proportion of young people who can read and write has exceeded five-tenths, with roughly 80% of young men and 20% of young women being literate.

As literary culture flourished across the country and the number of students taking the exam increased with each session, the competition in the imperial examination was fierce.

In Bian Jing, there also appeared some private school teachers who, although they did not pass the imperial examination, claimed that they could predict the questions for every imperial examination.

Most of these people were just making random guesses in order to defraud people of their money, but there were a very small number of them who were able to actually guess nearly half of the questions in the four subjects of each examination. As a result, they became famous and made a lot of money by selling mock exam papers.

The most prestigious person here can sell a mock exam paper for a high price of one hundred taels of silver.

This matter even alarmed the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Military Virtue, which were in charge of the imperial examinations. After the two parties sent personnel to investigate, they verified that there was indeed no cheating such as leaking the test questions.

The Ministry of Rites could only respond by inviting important officials and famous people to jointly prepare the examination papers. After repeatedly begging Emperor Chai Zongxun to prepare the examination papers, Chai Zongxun personally prepared an essay question in this business examination:

"On the significance of the Age of Exploration to the prosperity of the people, the strength of the country, and the future of the country and the nation."

This question also became the finale question in business studies.

At noon on May 12, the candidates entered the ten examination halls in the inner city of the capital one after another. The examination halls were closed. The chief examiner from the Ministry of Rites and the imperial guards who were there to maintain order came out to announce the precautions in the examination halls, and then the examination began.

The scholars pondered for more than two hours in the small brick and tile attic. It was already noon and they were starving.

In a moment, tens of thousands of imperial guards entered the examination hall, carrying baskets with the aroma of food, and distributed food boxes to each candidate in each room in turn, without charging a penny.

These food boxes were tendered by the Ministry of Rites, which hosted the imperial examination, from various restaurants in Bianjing. This year, twelve restaurants won the bid, and the winning bid for each food box was 20 coins.

When the candidates opened the food boxes, they saw pork, vegetables, tofu, eggs, rice or steamed buns, etc. It was quite a rich meal. When they took a sip, they found the food tasted delicious and their appetites were whetted.

The officials from the Ministry of Rites and the imperial guards who were supervising the examination entered the main hall in batches and had a banquet.

After lunch, we took a short break and the examination continued. By the evening, the first day of the examination was over and no one had handed in their papers.

The weather in May was warm and pleasant. At night, the candidates put down the table in the pavilion. Two table boards were put together to form a simple bed. They spread out the quilts provided by the Ministry of Rites and went to sleep.

During the three-day examination, candidates had to apply to the patrolling imperial guards for permission to use the toilet. After approval, they could go to the toilet alone to prevent cheating.

After three days of examination in a closed examination room, the test papers were covered with names and bound into books. The ten-day marking period began and the imperial edict was announced on June 6th.

After taking the exam, most of the more than 150,000 candidates chose to stay in Bian Jing and wait for the imperial edict. Only a few candidates from Bian Jing and the surrounding prefectures in Kinki chose to go home and wait.

For a time, almost all the inns in Bianliang were full. At lunch on May 15th, the lobby was filled with candidates who came to discuss the imperial examination.

"Hey guys, how did you do in the exam?

For the question "Our emperor's ancestors have taught us that the people can be approached but not looked down upon", I couldn't answer the second half of the sentence, and I don't even know where it came from.

Oh! It looks like I will fail the exam again! "

More than half of the people around felt regretful because they also failed to answer this question.

"You haven't answered this question yet? No wonder you are feeling sad!
The full text of this sentence, "Our royal ancestors have taught us that the people can be approached but not looked down upon. The people are the foundation of the country. If the foundation is solid, the country will be at peace.", is from "The Book of Documents: The Song of the Five Sons".

I'm not saying that if you can't answer this question, you don't have to wait in Beijing for the imperial edict, just go home immediately! Hahaha!" "Hey! Who would have thought that there would be such a question? In the past few years, I have been memorizing at home about loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, and the way to be an official and cultivate oneself. How could I have any impression of such an obscure sentence!"

...

"How do you explain this "Age of Exploration"?
I had never heard of this before! I couldn't think of an answer in the exam room, so I just made up a story. If we sell more of our Great Zhou products overseas, we can earn more money from other countries and it will flow into our country, and our country will become richer and richer."

“This question is indeed difficult, and I wrote down the same answer as you.

I just wrote about the role of the Age of Exploration in the prosperity of commerce and the cultivation of the spirit of contract. "

“I think the Age of Exploration is about having a pioneering and adventurous spirit and doing what others dare not do.

The merchants of our Great Zhou should sail to more unknown parts of the world, discover new continents, find new business opportunities, and occupy new territories!"

……

On the afternoon of May 26th, Chai Zongxun sat in the Yangxin Hall and read the list of successful candidates in this imperial examination.

There were a total of 7,326 candidates who passed the imperial examinations in the four categories, with an admission rate of approximately 5%.

Chai Zongxun was mainly concerned about the three candidates who were taking the exam this year:

Han Jiyu, Ding Wei and Yang Yi.

Han Jiyu is the son of Chai Zongxun and Lady Huarui, so it goes without saying how important he is in Chai Zongxun's heart.

Han Jiyu was born in October of the twelfth year of Kaixi and is twenty years old this year.

Ding Wei and Yang Yi left an impression on Chai Zongxun because they met by chance when Chai Zongxun was on a secret visit during the Lantern Festival.

After checking page by page, I saw that Ding Wei and Yang Yi were both on the list of first-class Jinshi in the liberal arts. Both of them were very talented writers, and they cited extensively and gave appropriate arguments in their answers.

Han Jiyu was a second-class Jinshi in the military examination, ranking in the top ten in military strategy, but slightly inferior in martial arts, ranking over 100.

Seeing that all three of them passed the imperial examination this time, Chai Zongxun was delighted.

During the palace examination on June 2, Chai Zongxun personally went to Wenhua Hall to conduct the palace examination for more than 1,200 first-class Jinshi in the four categories of civil, military, engineering, and commerce.

After seeing the ceremony, Chai Zongxun said:

"The Book says: Officials must be appointed only by talented people. The most important thing in a country is the administration of officials.

The so-called unity of knowledge and action means that only when the people have enough food and clothing and live a prosperous life can they know propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame and build the ideal society advocated by the saints.

If we want the people to live a prosperous life, we need to "give equal importance to agriculture, industry and commerce", promote social and economic development, and continuously develop production technology. Only in this way can we produce abundant output, supplemented by a reasonable distribution system, and an ideal society can be achieved.

I hope that you are all talented people who are proficient in the teachings of the sages and martial arts, business, and skills, and that you will become officials who benefit the people of my Great Zhou Empire in the future."

After some consideration, Chai Zongxun finally selected Ding Wei as the top scorer in the liberal arts exam. Although Yang Yi was as talented as Ding Wei, he dared to disrespect him that day. Although he immediately apologized and corrected his mistake, Chai Zongxun still felt uncomfortable and ranked him fourth.

Han Jiyu was selected by Chai Zongxun as the third place in the undergraduate martial arts exam.

(End of this chapter)