I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 390 Palace Exam
It was the ninth day of the ninth lunar month in the fourth year of Jianwu.

Those who passed the examination went to the Forbidden City and went to Fengtian Hall to take the imperial examination.

There are a total of 200 tributes from the north and south lists.

Just from the number of tributes, it can be seen that this examination is obviously much more formal than the examination at the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The joint examination that contributed the most Jinshi to the Manchu Qing Dynasty was also in the early years of Shunzhi, when even the Southern Ming Dynasty had not yet been destroyed. The purpose of the joint examination was not to select talents, but to win over people's hearts.

Before dawn, these tributes were already waiting in the square outside Fengtian Hall where hundreds of officials stood.

This was not Zhu Yijiong's deliberate attempt to torment these people, but a unanimous request from the cabinet ministers. The reason was simply to make the candidates fear the imperial power.

After waiting for a long time, a guard in front of the hall finally shouted for the candidates to enter the hall.

These tributes immediately became energetic, and then they gathered together to clear the way, and divided into two distinct groups of people, the north and the south, queuing up to enter.

Zhu Yijiong wanted to balance the court and set two lists for the north and the south, but even so, there were still not many northern tributes in this meeting.

This is not a petty trick by the courtiers, but simply based on proportion. The Ming Dynasty only had three provinces in the north, and they were severely damaged. There were not many candidates to take the imperial examination.

If not, Zhu Yijiong would not have chosen Nanjing as his only capital, because the north was too dilapidated to support a capital city.

But this is fine. It is the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Zhu Yijiong wants to participate in the game of world colonization. It is obviously not suitable to make Beijing the capital because it is too far away from Nanyang.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!"

Two hundred tributes all knelt down and worshiped the emperor. Now they had achieved fame and could become ministers.

Zhu Yijiong said: "No courtesy. Everyone, please sit down!"

The structure of the entire Fengtian Hall follows the narrow position of the emperor's throne and the width of the main hall door, creating an echo effect from small to large speakers, so the emperor's voice can easily reach the entire audience.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The two hundred tributes thanked each other in unison, and then took their seats in order according to their rankings.

While Liu Tongxun was still studying ink, the test papers were handed out: on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the world's tribute scholars will be appointed.Zhi said: I respectfully accept the destiny of God, and you, the Huayi, are already many years old!In today's current situation, everything is in ruins, especially in the north. How should we restore people's livelihood in the north?

Zhu Yijiong wants the candidates to speak freely, but the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites must not be so messy.

Although the imperial examination does not test eight-legged essay, but only policy theory, it still needs to give candidates a unified general direction.Speaking freely is too general, and there is no way for the cabinet to conduct grading, especially since the candidates come from all over the world, so there are too many people to avoid suspicion.

Liu Tongxun looked at the test questions and was a little confused. What the hell is this?

The subjects of the examination were Calendar, Western, and Luzon. The whole article gave Liu Tongxun a feeling of being a founding hero and ambitious. However, the palace examination actually returned to normal, asking how to govern the people and govern the country.

In fact, this should be a normal imperial examination policy theory. Although the imperial examinations in the Ming and Qing Dynasties tested eight-legged essay, the imperial examinations often tested policy theory.

For example, the military garrison implemented by Lao Zhu in the northern border towns in the early Ming Dynasty gradually encroached on the Northern Yuan Dynasty, which was the answer given by the top candidate in the imperial examination.

Fortunately, Liu Tongxun has good adaptability, and he also has his own unique insights into governing the people.

After only thinking for a moment, Liu Tongxun started writing quickly.

Some of the candidates present are still meditating, and some have already started writing.

The following Lijuan official also wrote: "In the fourth year of Jianwu, on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, I went to the Imperial Fengtian Hall to personally guide the world's tributes."

……

The emperor personally invigilated the palace examination, which lasted three hours.After the exam, the papers must be graded within two days, leaving one day for submission to the emperor for approval, and then the results will be released for travel to the capital.

Huagai Palace.

"Your Majesty, the top ten papers for this imperial examination are all here." Wang Li submitted the papers that had been graded by the cabinet ministries to the emperor's court.

Zhu Yijiong could still calm down and grade the No. 1 paper. After reading only a few lines, he could tell that he must be a southern scholar and a native of Jiangxi.

Because the article is so beautifully written, it quotes scriptures throughout, and it is impeccable in terms of its reasoning and political stance.The civil affairs in the north also focus on not disturbing the people, frivolous corvee and low taxes, encouraging farming and mulberry farming, etc.The only flaw is that it talks about the general direction and the details are slightly lacking.This is normal. After all, he is a new official and has no official experience, but he is still quite good.At least nothing he said was wrong, the article was well written, and his political stance was in line with the new dynasty. No wonder it was rated No. 1.

Paper No. 2 is probably not from the South.

First, he pointedly pointed out that the problem of civil affairs in the north was that the land was vast and sparsely populated, and the pressure to transport money and grain was too heavy. The people should be encouraged to cultivate their own land, and at the same time, the excess population from the south should be moved to the north.

Although they are all policies that Ming Dynasty was good at, they have been appropriately supplemented, which can be regarded as checking for deficiencies and filling in the gaps.It's not as majestic as No. 1, but its political leanings are correct, so it can be called excellent.

"Ah."

Zhu Yijiong nodded slightly. The imperial examination only selected newcomers, so it couldn't be too harsh.Moreover, the first and second opinions are not bad. After studying politics for a few years, you should be able to stand alone.

Zhu Yijiong picked up the pen and made a circle, and continued to grade the papers. The following few were somewhat unsatisfactory.

No. 3 is full of great principles, while No. 4 is more straightforward, praising the emperor in a roundabout way, and highlighting a political correctness.

Liu Tongxun finally made it into the top ten this time, with his article ranked No. 9. The cabinet is no longer taking care of northern candidates.

The palace examination can also be regarded as an interview. The test is not about knowledge, but whether the candidate's political stance is compatible with the emperor and the scoring ministers.

The cabinet ministers stood before His Highness, looking a little embarrassed because the emperor did not give him face.

According to the rules of the palace examination, the emperor generally will not reject the rankings selected by the cabinet ministers.At most, if you see a test paper you like, you will be selected as the top candidate.

For example, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty appointed his son to be the number one scholar, which directly broke the tradition that cheating was not allowed in the palace examination.

When the emperor came down in such a short time, he had already ranked outside the top ten, and among the top ten, there were only a few circles. This was because he was not satisfied with the ranking recommended by the cabinet!

Zhu Yijiong spent a long time reviewing the test papers for the two hundred famous palaces before he got a good read.Although I haven’t finished reading it, I basically don’t need to read it anymore, because beyond a hundred names, the basic writing is a bit unbearable.

Zhu Yijiong reviewed the best papers he had seen again, then decided on the top three and said, "Well, let's unpack it here and fill in the list!"

This is the job of Lin Jingyu, the Minister of Rites.

Lin Jingyu stepped forward and opened the names starting from No. 1, and at the same time opened his mouth and announced:
Number One Scholar: Chen Hongmou, a native of Lingui, Guangxi.

Second place: Liu Tongxun, a native of Zhucheng, Shandong.

The third flower: Gao Dengju, a native of Jishui, Jiangxi.

Liu Tongxun, a scholar from Shandong, actually got the second place in the exam.

This is not an extraordinary performance, but Zhu Yijiong's previous test questions were too inappropriate.

As for the No. [-] Scholar, Zhu Yijiong had not heard of it at first, but now he remembered it.

Because the purpose of Chen Hongmou's article is very straightforward and simple, two words are highlighted: pragmatic.Obviously he has experienced the sufferings of the people, so he can adapt to local conditions according to the situation in the north, and he deserves the title of No. [-] Scholar.

Historically, Chen Hongmou was born as a farmer. He did not even have the money to take the imperial examination, so he was funded by local landlords. Moreover, Chen Hongmou was an official and traveled to various places. When administering politics, the people would adapt to local conditions and try to find the most suitable local policies.

The most important thing is that Chen Hongmou encouraged business and believed that on the basis of ensuring the agricultural economy, market commerce should be developed as much as possible to achieve local poverty alleviation.

In another time and space, in the first year of Yongzheng's reign, Chen Hongmou passed more than 200 people in the joint examination and got to No. 9 in the palace examination. This was because his status was a hindrance, which shows his talent.

The cabinet ministers looked at each other without saying anything and had already prepared.

This was the case for the founding emperor. At that time, Lao Zhu also appointed the first 51 Jinshi, and incidentally executed all the innocent examiners.

It didn't take much time to open the envelope and fill in the list. Lin Jingyu finished writing the imperial list and started writing the biography.

The female official in the palace brought the emperor's seal and asked Zhu Yijiong to use the seal on the imperial list. The imperial list was considered effective.

After that, according to the process, the imperial list was sent to Fengtian Temple and handed over to the officials of the Ministry of Rites who were responsible for this matter, and the transfer notice was sent to the officials of Honglu Temple.

(End of this chapter)