Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 485 Extra Chapter: Grace

On the sixth day of the ninth month, a special imperial examination was held simultaneously in Yan County and Luoyang. More than two thousand candidates participated, with only two hundred ultimately selected—a competition of one in ten.

Surprisingly, a considerable number of women participated in the special imperial examination. In Yan County, the majority were female soldiers, numbering about a thousand. In Luoyang County, the majority were women from prominent and wealthy families, numbering over four hundred. It was roughly one in seven selected.

Of course, men had studied, taken the imperial examinations, and served as officials for thousands of years, with the requirement of becoming a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations), so their overall quality was inevitably higher. The content of the women's imperial examinations was simpler.

The imperial examination concluded, and the results were released two weeks later. Those who passed were overjoyed. Those who failed were not discouraged. The emperor decreed that the examinations, previously held every three years, would be changed to once a year. If you didn't pass this year, you could try again next year.

Pei Yun escorted the newly appointed scholars from Luoyang to Yan County, where they met the emperor together with the newly appointed scholars from Yan County.

Emperor Zhaoyuan summoned four hundred scholars who had passed the imperial examinations to the Golden Palace.

Two hundred men and two hundred women stood in four neat rows inside the hall.

Emperor Zhaoyuan was in high spirits and smiled at Minister Qin and other civil officials, saying, "All the talents in the world are right before my eyes."

Minister Qin was in high spirits after successfully organizing the women's special imperial examination, a feat unprecedented in history. He smiled and continued, "These newly appointed scholars, according to custom, must observe and study in the Six Ministries for two years before taking the examination and being appointed to official positions."

Emperor Zhaoyuan pondered for a moment: "The six ministries can observe the administration for half a year. In the remaining year and a half, they can be sent to various county government offices to learn how to serve. When they are appointed to official positions, they will be tested, and their performance in the county government offices will also be taken into account."

The emperor only needs to speak, and the Ministry of Rites is running around like crazy.

After receiving the order, Minister Qin immediately summoned officials from the Ministry of Rites to discuss and formulate specific rules and regulations.

The four hundred newly appointed scholars come from all over the country and will now be studying at the Guanzheng Academy in Yan County. Their food, lodging, and travel must be properly arranged. We must let them feel the Emperor's care, so that they may develop a sense of pride and confidence as the Emperor's students, and cultivate their loyalty to the Emperor.

In addition, Minister Qin also had to do his best to distribute men and women equally among the six ministries.

The emperor wanted to implement new policies, ensuring that all girls in the land could attend school and have the same right to take the imperial examinations and become officials as men. That's why he specially established the special imperial examination. The female scholars selected in the first special examination were meant to be a showcase for the entire nation. Their promising futures would allow for the better implementation and promotion of girls' schools.

In fact, after the successful holding of the Women's Special Examination, the number of girls' schools in the south increased immediately. People who were originally reluctant to send their girls to school happily sent their daughters to school.

The wealthy families, who had previously been full of complaints, spontaneously changed their tune after their daughters, daughters-in-law, or granddaughters passed the exams, and began to spread the word about the benefits of women's education. The gossip about Pei Yun behind her back suddenly subsided by more than half.

Emperor Zhaoyuan paid special attention to these newly appointed scholars and often personally inspected the Six Ministries.

The six ministries were all located right next to the palace, so going there was just a short walk away. At first, the newly appointed scholars were quite frightened by the emperor's sudden arrival. But as time went on and they saw the emperor more often, they gradually got used to it.

This emperor, who intimidated the world with his ruthless and decisive actions, wasn't actually that scary when he wasn't leading troops or fighting. He was quite amiable when he spoke to them occasionally.

This wonderful misunderstanding was completely resolved a month after the observation period.

"An exam after only one month?"

"No exam on the Four Books and Five Classics? Instead, it'll be on the affairs of the Six Ministries and proposals for new government policies?" "Those who pass will receive a reward, those who fail will have their study time extended by six months?"

"Of the four hundred people, one-tenth must fail. That means the bottom forty people will all fail?"

Each piece of news is more terrifying than the last.

The newly appointed scholars were devastated.

In the past, passing the imperial examination made one a protégé of the emperor, instantly elevating one to the ranks of officials. While not necessarily above ten thousand men, it was enough to bring glory to one's ancestors. Observing governance in the Six Ministries was merely a formality; the most important thing was to secretly spend money to secure a good official position.

It is now the sixth year of the Zhaoyuan era, and everything must be done according to the Emperor's new rules. Emperor Zhaoyuan does not want any empty formalities, nor does he allow the newly appointed scholars to spend their days leisurely. They must diligently and earnestly study while observing the administration of the Six Ministries.

Sure enough, only a month later, the dreaded exam is here.

Minister Qin also felt a pang of pity and privately advised the emperor: "In the past, the court was quite lenient with the newly appointed scholars. Is Your Majesty being too harsh in your assessment of them now? Won't this cause them to feel resentful?"

Pei Qinghe said calmly, "What I want are people who are serious, dedicated, and conscientious in their work. Those who just want to coast along have no place in my sight and are not worthy of being officials of the Republic."

"If they harbor resentment and discontent, then give them some travel expenses and send them home. There are imperial examinations every year, and there will always be people willing to serve me and do my best."

"Furthermore, for the first monthly examination of the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), men and women will take the same exam paper. This is to prevent anyone from secretly accusing me of favoring female Jinshi. The exam content will be the new policies and regulations that you have studied since entering the Six Ministries, as well as the specific administrative affairs of the Six Ministries. Whoever studies hard should do well. Those who do not do well cannot blame others."

Minister Qin remained silent and, in accordance with Emperor Zhaoyuan's wishes, prepared an examination paper. Since the Ministry of Rites did not have a large enough examination hall, Emperor Zhaoyuan directly set up the examination in the Golden Palace. On the day of the examination, the Emperor sat at the head of the table and personally served as the chief examiner.

After half a day of examinations, the newly appointed scholars were covered in sweat, whether from exhaustion from writing all day or from being intimidated by the emperor's naturally dignified and unsmiling demeanor.

After the examination, Minister Qin led officials from the Ministry of Rites to grade the papers. The dozen or so officials were divided into three groups, grading each paper cross-checking them. Each paper was reviewed by at least three people, and the final grade was based on an average of the scores. This ensured fairness and impartiality to the greatest extent possible.

The exam results came out that evening.

Minister Qin personally brought over two stacks of exam papers. One stack contained forty papers that had been graded as "A". The other stack contained forty papers that had been graded as "Fail".

Pei Qinghe first looked at the exam paper in section A, nodding and praising as she read: "This one is good, the author knows the new policies like the back of their hand. This one is also good, the author is quite familiar with the affairs of the Six Ministries."

Minister Qin coughed and reported, "Of these forty examination papers in the highest grade, twenty-three are from female Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), and seventeen are from male Jinshi."

Then he sighed silently: "Of the forty exam papers that were rated as grade C (unqualified), twenty-eight were from men and twelve were from women."

Logically speaking, the male scholars should have had the advantage, as they had all studied for many years and passed the imperial examinations. The female scholars in the first cohort were somewhat of a promotional figure; in terms of talent and learning, they were indeed far inferior to the male scholars.

After a month, the female scholars were more outstanding in their study of the affairs of the Six Ministries and the new policies.

why?
(End of this chapter)