Do You Know?: Rule the World.

Chapter 38 (Please continue reading) The Imperial Examination Begins

On March 15th, the east wind thaws the ice and spring is in the air.

On the day of the palace examination, the sky was just breaking at dawn, and the morning light penetrated the mist.

Officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty above the third rank wore purple, those above the fifth rank wore red, those above the seventh rank wore green, and those above the ninth rank wore blue.

The white color symbolizes the innocent status of the tribute scholars before they were appointed as officials.

Therefore, all the successful candidates in this year's examination wore plain white robes and, led by eunuchs, lined up and passed through the numerous palace gates to meet the emperor in Jiying Hall.

As the champion of the exam, Zhao Han naturally ranked first among all the scholars. On both sides of the imperial road, the guards stood with spears in their hands, looking solemn and majestic.

"Announce—the present ministers are entering the palace!"

The melodious roll call echoed within the palace walls.

After straightening his clothes, Zhao Han took a deep breath and led more than 300 tribute scholars into the hall slowly.

Inside the Jiying Hall, the air was filled with the aroma of imperial incense. The emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, his ochre-yellow dragon robe shimmering with a faint golden glow, his crown adorned with tassels and pearls, and he exuded majesty without even being angry.

Several ministers dressed in red and purple stood solemnly on both sides, holding white jade tablets, maintaining just the right degree of respect and solemnity from beginning to end.

"Kneel!" The ceremonial officer shouted, and the tribute students moved and knelt in unison.

"bye--"

"prosper--"

"Goodbye——"

After performing the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows, the official, who was nearly fifty years old, narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly scanned the tribute students in the hall. His gaze was as calm as an ancient well, and his whole body was full of majesty.

But if you look closely, you can see that there is a hint of sadness and fatigue on his face.

"The princes are at peace."

All the tribute students held their breath and stood up to their original places.

"Today, I am here to discuss your affairs, not to admire your brilliant writings. The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun have not yet been returned to us, and the land tax is less than one-third of that of our ancestors."

"What I want is a man of great talent who can help the people in their time of need."

The official's gentle voice carried unquestionable majesty, which made many candidates and officials unconsciously straighten their backs.

At present, the Great Zhou has accumulated many problems, and the three redundancies are like a thorn in the flesh.

The official in front of him knew everything.

As soon as he finished speaking, the eunuchs came in one after another carrying a wooden desk, on which were fully equipped pens, ink, paper and inkstone.

"The tribute scholar is under investigation——"

At the command of the ceremonial officer, hundreds of tribute students found their seats and took their seats in an orderly manner.

Soon, the test papers were distributed, and the palace examination only had one question: policy essay.

"I believe that the key to good governance is to select the right officials first. If the officials are the right people, the people will be safe and the country will be prosperous. If the officials are the wrong people, the people will suffer and the country will be in danger. Today, there are too many redundant officials at home and abroad, and corruption is rampant in prefectures and counties. Where does this evil come from? What is the first way to correct it?"

"You students, who have learned from the past and present, should present your thoughts in detail. I will personally review them."

Most of the essay topics in the annual palace examination correspond to the current difficulties faced by the court. This has been the method used by all dynasties to select talented people.

The candidates looked at the questions intently and some had already started grinding ink and moistening their pens.

Zhao Han frowned and analyzed the problem carefully.

There are three reasons for the problem of redundant staff in the Zhou Dynasty.

First, the favor was too broad, and the sons of nobles were granted official positions indiscriminately, and the number of people who became officials was second only to those who took the official examination.

Second, the selection process was flawed. The Ministry of Personnel only looked at qualifications and rarely considered one's abilities.

Third, the number of officials was increased without limit, and various supervisory offices and county and prefecture offices arbitrarily created idle official positions such as supervisors and managers.

...After a short while, Zhao Han slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, his gaze gradually settled, and he dipped his brush in ink, his strokes falling on the paper like a knife.

He wrote: "I have heard that governing a country is like treating an illness. One must first identify the root cause. The current problem of redundant officials and corruption is not a sudden occurrence, but a long-standing disease. To correct this problem, we should use it like a good doctor using medicine. We need strong medicine to eliminate stubborn diseases, but also warming and nourishing medicine to strengthen the root cause..."

An article with clear logic and solid arguments, supported by allusions from previous dynasties and examples from the current dynasty, gradually emerged from the paper.

Minister of Rites Han Zhang kept his eyes on the tribute scholars. Seeing that they were all writing furiously, he couldn't help but reveal a hint of relief.

But when he noticed Zhao Han in the first row on the east side.

The pair of eyes that had always been calm suddenly narrowed, and his fingers unconsciously clenched the cuffs of his official robe.

"So similar, so similar, how can there be two people in this world who are so similar..."

Han Zhang stroked his gray beard and sighed to himself.

The eunuch Zhang Maoze, who had been standing beside the emperor, had his eyes fixed on Zhao Han since Zhao Han entered the hall.

Although he didn't show it on his face, his heart was already filled with turbulent waves.

When he was young, his father was convicted and his house was confiscated. He was left with no other options and entered the palace. He began serving the emperor at the age of seven. Decades had passed in a flash, and he had a deep understanding of the emperor.

The slightly furrowed brows, high nose bridge, and even the way he holds a pen are all exactly the same as those of the current official when he was young.

A terrible idea suddenly came to Zhang Maoze's mind!

After the palace examination was over, Zhao Han handed in his test paper and left the palace with the other candidates, quietly waiting for news.

At this time, in the side hall, the chief minister of the cabinet Shen Shiqi, the second minister Yu Yan, the minister of rites Han Zhang, the vice minister of works Hai Yanping and other important officials of the court were all here to participate in the examination of papers.

More than 300 test papers can be reviewed within one day at the earliest and no later than five days.

"Let me take a look at the level of this batch of tribute scholars."

As Yu Yan spoke, he took a stack of test papers from the ceremonial officer with a smile, casually opened the top one, and scanned the papers with a sharp gaze.

After a moment, he sighed softly, "You're just piling up flowery words, but they're not practical. You only know how to quote classics, but you don't have your own insights. You'll never achieve anything great!"

"Since his handwriting is excellent, I'll give him a B grade and send him out to hone his skills for a few years."

He reviewed four or five more papers in a row, shaking his head and sighing from time to time, but in the end, he didn't come up with a test paper that impressed him.

"Either they stick to old sayings or they talk about moral principles in vain, but no one can grasp the current problems and propose policies to benefit the people."

"It's true that each session is getting worse than the previous one!" Yu Yan put down his red brush with an unhappy look on his face, causing the cinnabar in the inkstone to shake slightly.

Chief Minister Shen Shiqi stroked his beard and said, "Lord Yu has always been strict. It seems that this batch of tribute students are going to suffer."

Han Zhang laughed out loud when he heard this, and Zhao Han's figure suddenly appeared in his mind.

Since there was no need to cover the names of the examinees in the palace examination, he deliberately pulled out Zhao Han's examination paper from the desk and examined it carefully.

After a moment, Han Zhang's heart was beating fast, "Everyone, come and take a look at the exam paper of this top scorer!"

"I'm not in the mood to watch it!" Yu Yan refused decisively.

Instead, Shen Shiqi and Hai Yanping were quite interested and leaned forward to take a closer look.

"It's quite bold to start by speaking frankly about the imperial court's malpractices..."

"Strictly enforce the system of favoritism... reform the examination method... increase the punishment for corruption..." The more Shen Shiqi looked at it, the brighter the light in his eyes became, and he couldn't help but praise it again and again.

Yu Yan stretched his neck, coughed twice, and asked casually.

"Why, is it better than the ones I just saw?"

A smile flashed in Han Zhang's eyes, and he deliberately pushed the test paper towards Yu Yan.

After two days, after repeated deliberation by important officials such as Shen Shiqi and Han Zhang.

Finally, the ten best test papers were selected and sent to the government.

　Please read, please read, please vote for me~ I beg you~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)