Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 250

In October 200 BC, Bai Lixian, Minister of Reform of the Chu State, launched the "Scholar, Farmer, and Business Class". Children from poor families can take the national examination, and those who pass all subjects in the national examination are awarded the degree of public service.

The so-called national examination includes eight subjects: Legalism, Military, Farming, Confucianism, Mohism, Onmyoji, Strategist, and Swordsmanship.

This is of course the idea of ​​Xiang Zhuang, a traveler. Xiang Zhuang is well aware of the pros and cons of the imperial examination. He does not want the national examination of Chu State to become a deformed stereotyped scientific examination, which will force students from all over the country to read only a subset of classics and history for their entire lives. The theory of writings is ignored, which greatly destroys the progress of various disciplines.

As soon as this new law was introduced, it immediately caused an uproar.

It's nothing to the big families, their children can inherit the shadow of their parents, and the starting point is much higher than that of the children of the gentry and the common people. The competition between the two sides is not at the same level, so there is not much sense of urgency , but the Jiangdong gentry felt a great threat, so they reacted extremely violently.

Therefore, after Xiang Yu's defeat, the gentry in the nine counties of Chu basically fled to Jiangdong out of worries about their future. The county magistrate, and there are only so many official positions in the 56 counties of the four counties in Jiangdong, and the competition is extremely fierce.

Now, the implementation of the "Scholar, Farmer and Business Class" has intensified this competition.

Because the children of farmers, servants, and merchants now also have the opportunity to pass the national examination to obtain titles, which means that they can also become officials, which greatly squeezes the living space of the children of the gentry.

Because although the proportion of children of farmers, servants, and merchants studying is very low, the absolute number is quite large. There are nearly a thousand gentry families in the four counties of Jiangdong, and there are more than [-] children of gentry families. Compared with the official positions that Chu State can provide, this is already This is an extremely huge number. If you add a large number of children from poor families, the competition will not be as fierce as usual.

However, although the number of gentry is quite large, there is a lack of a big gentry who can lead everyone.

The so-called snake can't do without a head. Without a leader, it is absolutely impossible to fight against the royal power. The reputation of the major families is enough, but they are not willing to take the lead and contact the majority of the nobles to fight against the royal power. In the end, the opposition of the nobles failed. Forming a unified voice is naturally not enough to prevent the implementation of the new law.

Amidst the controversy between the government and the opposition, Chu State's first national examination has begun.

For the national examination, the children of the aristocratic families didn't bother to participate at all, the children of the noble family signed up although they were reluctant, but the majority of the children of the poor family enthusiastically signed up. The children from poor families who can read and write rushed to Wuzhong to participate in the first national examination of the Great Chu State.

At the same time, Yin Xiangta, the order of the state of Chu, issued a proclamation, conscripting about 10 strong men from clans in the counties under the rule of Kuaiji to serve as Yao service, and went to reclaim wasteland along the banks of Juquze and Wujiang River. In the midst of intense discussions on the national examination, this matter did not attract the attention of the ruling and opposition parties at all.

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In the northern suburbs of Wuzhong, rows of huts have been temporarily erected.

These huts are dormitories for candidates who take the national examination, and many of them have already lived in candidates. Of course, most of the candidates who live in these huts are from poor families. Those who live in this kind of hut can save some money, right?

On the north side of the entire "dormitory area", there is a row of smaller, more crowded, but much neater huts. These huts are the examination rooms for the national examination.

Bai Lixian, as the chief examiner, is leading dozens of small officials to sort out candidates' borrowing materials.

When he was so busy that it was dark, Xiang Zhuang suddenly walked in surrounded by Jin Xiang and Hu Yanzhengde. When Bai Lixian and dozens of small officials hurriedly stood up to pay respects, Xiang Zhuang waved his hand and signaled the dozens of small officials to continue working , and then asked Baili Xiandao: "Ziliang, it seems that there are quite a lot of candidates for the national examination?"

Bai Lixian beamed and said: "I never thought that there would be so many people taking the exam."

Xiang Zhuang nodded and asked, "As of today, how many candidates have there been?"

Bai Lixian looked through the roster and replied: "As of now, more than 4000 people have signed up for the exam. I estimate that there will be more candidates coming one after another in the next five days. The final number of candidates should not be less than 6000!"

Xiang Zhuang nodded slightly when he heard the words, but he was a little disappointed in his heart. Like the imperial examinations of later generations, there are tens of thousands of candidates in one province alone, and as many as 10 in the whole country. Thousands of candidates in Chu State Compared with it, it is really nothing to mention, and the quality of these thousands of candidates is also mixed, and most of them are just fake.

After a pause, Xiang Zhuang asked again: "Ziliang, have you prepared all the exam questions for each subject?"

"Report to Your Majesty, everything is ready." Bai Lixian turned his head and waved his hand. Four servants of the door took out a key from their pockets, and the four of them unlocked four copper locks and opened a cabinet. Bai Lixian immediately took one of the stacks of test papers in the cabinet and handed them to Xiang Zhuang.

The first is the legalist examination paper. In the front is a dictation question, which requires candidates to write the full text of "Compilation of Huqi Minlu" by dictation. In the middle are two specific civil cases, allowing candidates to decide the case according to the law. The latter is a big proposition. "On Qin Fa" is free for candidates to comment on the merits and demerits of Qin Fa.

Xiang Zhuang couldn't help nodding his head again and again, thinking that the test paper was quite good. If any candidate could answer it well, he would basically be able to serve as a judge in any county.

Then there is the examination paper for military strategists. The front is also a dictation question. Candidates are required to write the tenth volume of "Wei Liaozi 42 Volumes" silently. In the middle are two specific combat examples. In the battle example, the Chu army seeks a way to win, and the latter is still a big proposition "On the Chu Army".

Xiang Zhuang couldn't help smiling when he saw it, the military strategist's exam questions were a bit over the top.

Writing the tenth volume of "Wei Liao Zi" silently is nothing more than that. Among the more than 6000 examinees, there may be someone who has read "Wei Liao Zi" thoroughly. You need to know that in Jiangdong now, "Wei Liao Zi", "Grandson", "The Analects of Confucius", "Shangshu" and other classics have long been "overwhelmed", and even children from poor families can buy a copy for only a few five baht.

However, it is a bit difficult for candidates to help Chu Na in the test papers to find a way to win based on their knowledge of the art of war. Zhuang will definitely include it in his account without hesitation.

As for "On the Army of Chu", it should be the exam question of General Xiang Tuo of the Great Chu Kingdom. If someone can answer this question well, wouldn't he be able to become the general of the Great Chu Kingdom directly!Moreover, even if Xiang Tuo was asked to answer this question, he might not be able to answer it well, at least it would be impossible to satisfy Xiang Zhuang, the time traveler.

Now Xiang Zhuang didn't bother to look through the test papers of each subject, returned the test papers to Bai Lixian, and walked into a hut next door, until there was no one else around, Xiang Zhuang smiled and said: "Zi Liang, The questions on the test paper are a bit too big, you are not selecting an assistant officer, you are clearly planning to select a national scholar for me, ha ha."

Bai Lixian shook his feather fan and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, it's always okay to try, maybe there really are national soldiers?"

"Ziliang was joking, where are there so many national scholars?" Xiang Zhuang waved his hand and said, "As long as two or three hundred candidates can be selected in this national examination, I will be satisfied." To be honest, For this first national examination, Xiang Zhuang really did not have much hope. In his opinion, the symbolic significance of this national examination is far greater than the actual significance.

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Pengcheng, the main gate of the Huainan Palace.

Ma Ye looked up and down at the white-clothed gentleman in front of him. The white-clothed gentleman was about [-] years old, with a white face and no beard. Although the white dark clothes on his body were washed very clean, they were clearly sackcloth, and they were patched and patched, which was very shabby. , but the hilt and scabbard of the sword in his hand are covered with precious stones, which is very gorgeous.

"What's your name? Why do you want to see the king?" Ma Ye raised his head slightly and asked coldly.

The white-clothed scholar frowned, and replied without arrogance or humility: "I will finish the book next, and I will learn swordsmanship."

"Complete the book and learn the sword?" Ma Ye looked at the sword held in the hand of the white-clothed gentleman, and asked, "What are you holding in your hand?"

The white-clothed scholar obviously had a look of hesitation on his face, but he still turned the sword in his hand upside down in front of his body, and replied: "This sword is handed down from my ancestors. I tasted the green blood to forge the sword, so it is called the Green Blood Sword."

"The Jade Blood Sword?" Ma Ye said with greedy eyes, "Bring it to me and have a look."

"You don't have to do that." The white-clothed scholar took the sword and refused without hesitation, "I came to Pengcheng not far away to see King Huainan, but I just wanted to assist King Huainan to achieve a hegemony, not to present the sword. .”

"Assist the king to achieve supremacy?" Ma Ye heard the words and said, "It's just you? It's a joke."

The scholar in white frowned, and said patiently: "I want to see the King of Huainan, please inform me."

"Then there's no need." Ma Ye said coldly, "My big kingdom is busy with affairs, and I don't have time to see you, a villager in the mountains."

"So, I'll take my leave." The lady in white couldn't help laughing, then turned around and walked away, watching the figure of the lady in white go away, a stern look flashed in Ma Ye's eyes, and he called the Huainan guards guarding the palace gate and said , "Go, send someone to follow him immediately, see which post he settles in, and report back quickly."

"Here!" The Huainan guard suddenly agreed and took the order.

Besides, the white-clothed scholar just turned the corner, and met a middle-aged man in gorgeous clothes. The middle-aged man bowed to the white-clothed scholar and said, "Mr.

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PS: Today is just one chapter.

(End of this chapter)