Idle courtiers

Chapter 480 Turning the Table
According to the system, three days after the Palace Examination, it is the day when the Shinke Scholars are released. Candidates will be awarded Jinshi, Jinshi and Jinshi by the imperial court, and then they will be arranged for work.The top three of the first class go directly to the Hanlin Academy, and the rest have to take part in the imperial examination to compete for the 66 places for Shu Jishi.

At this point, the imperial examinations are over for the top three of the top three and the bottom of the crane who have no chance to take the imperial examination. Only the top two hundred people are still interested in fighting for it.

According to the unspoken rules of the imperial court, the second grade in the imperial examination and the first grade in the imperial examination can enter the Hanlin Yuan.

Unspoken rules are always unspoken rules. Even if you win the second class, if you fail in the exam, you will be dismissed.

Of course, if you are only the top three, but you are the first in the imperial examination, you can still enter the Imperial Academy.

That being the case, it must be fought for.

Zhou Nan knew that his grades in the imperial examination should be good, but it wasn't enough to get him into the second class, so he could only work hard to get the first class in the imperial examination.

After returning home, he found the books that had been shelved and buried himself in hard reading.

The court exam is on April [-]th, and there are still nine days left.The time is too short, and it may not be of much use, but it is still necessary to sharpen the gun before the battle.

As soon as he got home and couldn't do it for a while, Ah Jiu sent a boy over to invite him, saying that he was congratulating him for the master's palace test.

Zhou Nan dismissed him casually, saying that he still had to study behind closed doors to cope with the next imperial examination, so he would not pass.Only after the exam was over did he get together with Mrs. Nine.

He and Ah Jiu were newly married, and the two of them were in the heat of passion. If they really went there, they probably didn't have time to review their homework. Wouldn't that be a delay?
Seeing that her husband locked herself in the study, Xun Fangyu, who was hugging Sanya, felt strange: "Master, didn't you say that the imperial examination is the last level of the imperial examination, why do you still have to take it?"

Listening to Zhou Nan's explanation, Xun Fang said with a smile: "I never thought that Master would have such great ambitions."

Zhou Nan was not happy: "Fang Yu, what are you talking about? Are you saying that my master can't write well or I don't have enough knowledge?"

Xun Fang said: "Yes, yes, my master is naturally a first-class talent in the world, but your strength lies in poetry, and writing is not your strong point. In fact, having a Jinshi degree is enough, why bother to strive for the Imperial Academy? "

"If you don't understand, you can't order Hanlin. The future of ordinary people is limited after all."

Xun Fang said: "But the master is not an ordinary person!"

It is indeed a very comfortable thing to be so admired by one's wife, Zhou Nan said: "Although so, in the officialdom in the future, no matter how high my official position is, I will still be inferior to others because of my poor background." Having said that, if you are not Hanlin, how will you join the cabinet in the future?It's a great pity that the husband finally went through a journey, and he couldn't be a friend.

Besides, future reforms are related to the life and death of the country.

Always do something for the Ming Dynasty, for this nation, for future generations.

Of course, during the big reforms, I can't be the first bird. It is also possible to use the identity of the prime minister to push from the back, which is more effective than standing in the front and charging into the battle.

Suddenly, great ambition and a sense of mission arose in him.

Xun Fangyu nodded, and asked again: "Isn't the imperial examination a test of the Four Books and Five Classics, the master can read the official documents by himself?"

Zhou Nan explained that imperial edicts, treatises, books, poems, and fus were tested in imperial examinations, all of which were practical things: "My lady, move my Four Books and Five Classics to the kitchen and burn them! These things are just a stepping stone. Since The door has already been knocked open and it can be thrown away."

Xun Fangyu was horrified: "How can it be?"

Zhou Nan laughed out loud.

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Besides, the second day after the palace exam is the time to grade the test papers.

The eight reviewing ministers gathered in the Wenhua Hall of the Cabinet in the imperial city, and they had to select ten of these more than 300 papers, and then send them to the emperor tomorrow to determine the top three candidates.For the remaining papers, they will also determine the ranking.

According to the Ming system, all the test papers are evenly distributed to eight ministers who read the papers. Each of them reads the papers they have divided first, and then reads each other in turn, which is called "turning the table".The approval of the final grades is decided by the chief reading minister, and other people participate in the opinions.After grade evaluation,

The chief reading minister is Guo Pu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and the other seven are the four elders of the cabinet, Yan Na, Minister of Rites, Jijiu of Guozijian, and Yang Bo, Minister of War.

Zhou Nan was the first to hand in the papers. All the ministers who read his papers had read his articles, so it was easy to find out from the more than 300 papers.

Among the eight ministers who read the papers, Xu Jie was Mrs. Zhou Nan's grandfather, and Yuan Wei and Yan Na were his allies. If the papers fell into their hands, they would naturally be recommended.Guozijian Jijiu is a good old Qingliu. He has only been in office for two months, and he doesn't want to mess up the relationship with Lao Xu. Naturally, the grandson-in-law of the first assistant wants to recommend it.

Minister of the Ministry of War Yang Bo, Zhou Nan contributed a lot to the military pay on the front line in Fujian, so naturally he would not be a hindrance to ruin Zhou Nan's future.

As for Guo Pu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, there is a bit of trouble. He has a high position and authority, and he doesn't sell anyone's face.

The rest are Li Chunfang and Gao Gong. These two are old people in the palace and Lao Xu's political enemies. If Zhou Nan's paper falls into his hands, he is afraid that it will be brushed down.

Xu Jie intends to train Zhou Nan to be a future standard-bearer of the Xu family. If Zhou Nan can order Hanlin, he will live for decades.Even if Zhou Nan had no way to enter the cabinet to avoid suspicion, it was still easy for a senior official at the ministerial level.But, let's pass today's level first!

Xu Jie and Yan Na faced Gaogong Li Chunfang, two to two, and the key to the winner was the attitude of the other four.

After getting the paper, Xu Jie scanned it first, feeling slightly disappointed that there was no paper from Zhou Nan in it.

He looked up at the crowd again, only to see Yan Na's eyes meet him, then he picked up the ink pen and drew a circle on the paper, and wrote another line of comments.

Xu Jie immediately understood that Zhou Nan's paper had fallen into Yan Shangshu's hands.Yan Na's punctuation was the first to grab the attention, and the next few examiners had to consider Yan Shangshu's attitude.

Soon, everyone finished grading the papers in hand and started to turn tables.

Yan Na was also shrewd. He put Zhou Nan's paper on the top, and pretended to be careless, made a little red stain on the paper for easy tracking.

Zhou Nan's paper was first transferred to the Guozijian Jijiu. The old man probably didn't want to offend the chief assistant of the cabinet and the minister of the Ministry of Rites, so he simply drew a circle.

Then it was transferred to Yuan Wei, the second assistant of the cabinet, and it was still a circle.

When the table was turned to Gao Gong for the fourth time, Mr. Gao Ge directly made a cross.

Xu Jie frowned, this tall and bearded man was really hateful.

When it came to Li Chunfang, Li Ge was always an upright gentleman. He read the paper very carefully and hesitated for a long time before crossing it.Then shook his head and sighed, and wrote a long comment.

Xu Jie sneered in his heart: It's four to two, and next is Yang Bo, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and Guo Pu, the heavenly official of the Ministry of Officials.Yang Shangshu's front line has gained such benefits from Zimu, so it is natural to draw a circle.In this way, it was five to two, and there should be no suspense for Zhou Nan to enter the second class.No, simply stuff his papers into the ten recommendation papers, it is impossible for him to be in the top three.But to be able to enter the top ten, the examiner also has to weigh it in the court.It would be a joke if none of the top ten could get into the Imperial Academy.

However, contrary to Lao Xu's expectations, when Yang Bo read Zhou Nan's paper, he was so angry that he raised his pen and made a big cross.

"Four to three." Xu Jie thumped in his heart, thinking to himself: "What's the matter with this Yang? We'll see Guo Pu now, but he..."

Zhou Nan's test paper got three crosses, and it was impossible to get into the top ten recommended papers.

After the paper was transferred to Guo Pu's hands at the last turn, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials did not directly issue a verdict, but threw it aside.

After reading all the papers, they were divided into three classes according to the number of circles and crosses obtained. Zhou Nan's papers were still placed on the desk of the chief paper reader.

Xu Jie was a patient person, so he didn't ask any questions, but just sat there with a cold face and stared at Guo Pu to see what he had to say.

After a while, Guo Pucai slowly opened his mouth: "Everyone, elders and ministers, the paper I have in hand is novel in theory, unique in insight, excellent in style, and it's not bad. Normally, it should be classified as the top two. However, Liangyu There are also minor flaws, just because of the new insights, some places are too extreme, it is really hard to decide, everyone discusses." After finishing speaking, he reported the examination number of the vague name paper.

Everyone knew in their hearts that Guo Shangshu was talking about Zhou Nan's papers. Since it was a vague name, the imperial examination system was there, so naturally it would not be exposed.

The bearded Gao Gong immediately shouted: "Even if the literary talent is outstanding and the library is superb, once it violates the rules, how can it be recommended to the emperor? It is not a loss to him to be mixed with the top three." This will directly ruin Zhou Nan's future. Let him Get out of Chaotang, get out of the local area and become the magistrate of the seventh rank.

If you go down to the local area, you can't be a close minister of the emperor. Even if the surname Zhou is talented, there is no possibility of returning to Beijing in three to five years.Three or five years later, no one can say clearly what is going on with the court situation, maybe this kid will just sink.

Gao Gong is dedicated to seeking the position of chief assistant, and now is a good time to cut off Xu Jie's wings.

Xu Jie is the chief assistant of the cabinet, he respects his identity, and he cannot be the first to fire. He was about to give Yuan Wei a wink, but he didn't want Yan Na to shoot the case first.

"Old Gaoge, let me ask you, what is the palace exam?"

Gao Gong had a fiery temper, and said with a smile: "Yan Butang, and all the adults here who have not participated in the palace examination, do you still need to ask this question? The first test of the palace test is the insight and ability of Jinshi to govern the country, and the second test is regular script." To put it simply, the first test is administrative ability, and the second test is calligraphy.

Yan Na: "The calligraphy of this volume is very good. This kind of policy writing has a fresh atmosphere and sharp discussion. It is not ranked second, but I am not convinced."

Gao Gong: "It's really strange and sad. According to the old man, this scroll is full of absurd words. He also said that the previous taxation law will be abolished. The two taxes in summer and even corvee will be changed to collect money. How can I be a gentleman? Talking about profit? Others’ articles are all sage’s words and moral education, but this person is good, and the whole article smells bad. Is he still a scholar who reads sage’s books? From the perspective of literature, this person’s conduct must be bad.”

(End of this chapter)