The Eagle of Eastern Europe

The cool sea breeze blows at the port of Smyrna, and the docks are full of busy workers carrying goods. Some of the goods from the East will land and be sold here, which creates a large trade market. ₆₉ₛₕᵤₓ.cₒₘ

"I said Andre, what we want to buy can be purchased in Constantinople, why do we have to come here?"

Plechev looked at his friend Simon speechlessly. This was a carefree young master. With his father and two brothers supporting him, he was naturally fearless. Of course, he himself has a father and brother, but the Aragon they live in is a country with primogeniture system, and their father's property has nothing to do with them. If they want to survive, they can only find other things to support the family. So I asked for some money from my family and went to Rome to find some solution.

“You know Constantinople, there are other cities in Romania where you can buy it, and most things in Anatolia are sold and resold in Smyrna, let’s see what opportunities there may be. "

Plechev took Simon around the port. Raw silk, horses from Tabriz, and Indian textiles were all found in Smyrna. The scale here is larger than the market in Barcelona, ​​and the variety of products is very rich.

"Andre, look, this cloth is much prettier than the one in Barcelona."

Simon looked like he had never seen the world, which made the merchants think of him as a country bumpkin, but he still introduced them to them with a smile on his face.

"This is cotton from India. It is a very good raw material for making clothes or anything else. There are also carpets and clothes. Do you want to buy one?"

"How much does this cost?"

Plechev asked about the price of a piece of clothing, but the vendor directly said 30 lei a piece, and then asked about the carpet and said 45 lei.

"Why is it so expensive? Even the one from Florence only costs 20 florins."

Simon's words aroused the vendor's impatience, "This is already the cheapest. Do you know how many days it takes these things to get from India to Smyrna, not to mention that they have to be processed, cut, and made."

Hearing such a process, both of them were shocked. They did not expect that the distance from India to Rome would be so long. They apologized to the merchant and left.

As they passed the square, they found a group of people gathering in front of the bulletin board, and they joined in the fun and went up to see what was going on.

"Everyone, listen, this year's examination date of the Examination Yuan is set for the 15th of next month. If you want to take the examination, please pay attention to the time to go to Constantinople and don't be late."

After hearing the announcement from the street crier, the gathered people started to discuss.

"I have to hurry up and tell Msdorf that his son has been preparing for a year and will definitely pass this year."

"In one month, you have to book a hotel quickly, otherwise you won't be able to book it. The price will go up every time."

"I heard that Yerevan and Antioch provinces have the most places this year. Do you want to take the exam here?"

What exam, what official? Such words confused Plechev and Simon. They had never heard of this. Although they had heard of universities, they were basically established by churches or kings, and they taught Latin and For areas such as art and philosophy, there has never been an examination for admission.

"Hello, what is the test I just mentioned?"

The two stopped a person to ask, and the enthusiastic citizen helped them answer their questions.

"Imperial University recruits students through exams every year. No matter what you want to study, you can be admitted to the school as long as you pass the exam. Different majors will have different questions, which will test your level."

After saying too much at once, the other person breathed a sigh of relief and then said. "When you enter university, you can choose your studies. Except for medicine, which takes five years, the rest are basically four years. Then you can graduate from university. Of course, in addition to the university exam, you can also take the official selection exam."

"Official selection exam?" Plechev wondered, "What is this?"

"This is a new law formulated by His Majesty the Emperor. Anyone who meets the conditions can participate. After passing the law, you can become a local tax collector, judge or military officer. However, you must stay in this position for at least three years, otherwise you will It’s impossible to go one step further.”

You can become an official just by taking the exam. This situation, which they never dared to imagine, was actually very common in Rome. You must know that officials in Western European countries are basically hereditary nobles, and even one or two ministers from lower-level backgrounds rely on the will of the monarch to get promoted. (For example, Thomas Cromwell of Henry VIII was born into the common people)

Rome relied on the examination system to obtain a group of officials. Not to mention the efficiency, it was said that this situation would unite the people around the emperor and there would be no rebellion. (Venice, Croatia: I don’t care)

"So what are the requirements to take the exam?"

Plechev planned to see if he met the conditions, and if possible, he would participate.

"Are you foreigners?"

"Yes, we are from Aragon."

The other party had a pity expression on his face: "Unfortunately, you can't take the exam. The empire is very strict with foreigners."

After hearing this, Plechev still refused to give up. He wanted to hear some strict laws.

"First of all, foreigners must learn the Roman language and pass the language test set by the Examination Council."

It makes sense for the empire to do this, "What else?"

"Second, you have to convert."

Upon hearing this, Plechev couldn't help but ask the reason. Unexpectedly, the answer given by the other party was that His Majesty the Emperor was worried about heretics causing trouble.

When he thought about the attitude of Aragon and Western Europe towards heretics, he lost his temper. Then he asked if there were any other conditions.

"Third, you must have lived in Rome for more than five years and have not violated any laws. Otherwise, you will be deported at least if found out."

You can be eliminated as soon as these three conditions are met. This is too harsh. It only serves the people of the country and has no international awareness.

"It can only be said that if you want to take the exam, you must complete these conditions. Don't think about passing by. The exam agency will issue specific vouchers to those who take the exam. And you also have to start the exam from the local area. This is recently New order from the two-year examination chamber.”

After the establishment of the Examination Yuan, some problems were indeed solved. However, due to the large number of candidates and uneven quality, as well as the fact that foreigners pretended to be nationals to take the examination, the Examination Yuan made new policy adjustments.

All those who take the official selection exam need to take an exam locally. After passing, they will receive a voucher issued by the Examination Authority. With this voucher, they can go to Constantinople to take the next exam. Local governments should not fish in troubled waters. If they are found to have multiple or forged documents, they will be exiled for life.

The examination board will carefully check the candidate's information to avoid mistakes. Of course, the easiest way is to recruit from universities, but it is assumed that some talents will be buried, so this special channel was created.

However, for now, no one is going to great lengths to forge documents, and there is no social atmosphere here where everyone is low-class and only those with good education can become middle- and upper-class people in society without taking exams. And if you have prepared hard for several years and failed to pass the exam, isn't it in vain? Except for landlords and citizens, how can anyone else have so much money to take the exam? Basically, two or three exams are enough.