Comprehensive wear purple

Since Qin Shihuang successfully created the first unified multi-ethnic feudal state on the Chinese land with his great talent and outstanding wisdom, China entered the era of feudal imperial rule.

Since then, successive dynasties seem to have fallen into a strange cycle: they first go through untold hardships to achieve unification; then they flourish and usher in prosperity; but ultimately they cannot escape the fate of decline and destruction.

This recurring phenomenon is like an inescapable curse, haunting countless future generations.

When each new dynasty is established, it always has the ambition to create great achievements that will last for thousands of years, but as time goes by, various problems gradually emerge.

A combination of factors such as political corruption, intensified social contradictions, and external aggression led to the decline of these once powerful dynasties.

Despite this, the wheel of history has never stopped moving forward. Every change of dynasty is a summary and reflection on the experience and lessons of the previous dynasty, and also a testimony to the continuous evolution of human society.

Throughout this long course of history, rulers of every dynasty have racked their brains and made constant changes in order to select capable officials to help them better govern the country.

First, the system of recommendation during the Han Dynasty was popular, and then the system of nine-rank officials during the Wei and Jin Dynasties led to the rise of aristocratic families.

It was not until the Sui Dynasty that the examination method was adopted to select talents through fair competition based on their talents and learning, and the imperial examination system for selecting officials was finally established.

The imperial examination was the main way for the court to select officials from the first year of Emperor Yangdi's Daye reign (605 AD) to its abolition in the 1905st year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1300 AD) in the Qing Dynasty. This system was used for nearly years and has been kept alive even after thousands of years and dynasties.

No one cares about your hard work for ten years, but you become famous overnight and the whole world knows you. Many capable ministers and famous literary masters in history entered the government through this path.

If we talk about the imperial examinations over the past 1,300 years, which one produced the highest quality of candidates?

That was undoubtedly the imperial examination held in the second year of Jiayou reign of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty (1057 AD), which can be regarded as the first imperial examination in a thousand years!

The reason why this imperial examination was so famous and attracted so much attention was not just because it took place under the rule of a famously benevolent emperor in the Northern Song Dynasty.

The more important reason is that this imperial examination produced a large number of outstanding talents, many of whom later became famous and influential figures in the history of Chinese literature.

This imperial examination not only had political elites like Ouyang Xiu and literary masters serving as examiners, but also Mei Yaochen, known as the "founder" of Song poetry, was in charge of inspection.

Five of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties participated in it. Although Su Xun failed to pass, the high quality of this imperial examination, in which nine prime ministers were selected in one subject, can be said to be unique in a thousand years.

It can be said that the imperial examination in the second year of Jiayou period of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty not only witnessed the enthusiasm and persistence of the intellectuals of that era in pursuing fame and ideals and ambitions, but also left us with a series of popular stories and legends that have been passed down through the ages.

Once the list was announced, it caused a sensation in the entire Tokyo city. Among them, the most eye-catching ones were the brothers Su Shi and Su Zhe, who had two Jinshi in their family, as well as the brothers Lin Xi and Lin Dan, and the brothers Wang Hui and Wang Xiang.

What is even more talked about is that in addition to the two famous Neo-Confucianists Cheng Hao and Zhang Zai who passed the imperial examination in the same list, Zeng Gong, Zeng Bu, Zeng Mou and Zeng Fu created the myth of four brothers passing the imperial examination in the same list.

In the Chuigong Hall, the chief examiner Ouyang Xiu handed the draft examination ranking list and the test paper to Zhao Zhen, and then stood quietly below.

Zhao Zhen sat upright at the top, flipping through the essays of the first and second place candidates in the imperial examination. His brows, which had been furrowed for a long time due to his worry about the war on the front line, gradually relaxed.

As he read these articles, he nodded slightly to show his approval. He secretly sighed in his heart: "Our Song Dynasty is full of talents and people with lofty ideals. Why should we worry about not being able to prosper?"

As he read deeper, Zhao Zhen's smile grew brighter. These articles were either passionate, or graceful and delicate, or humorous, each with its own characteristics.

After reading the articles written by Zhang Heng, Dou Bian and Luo Kai, Zhao Zhen could not help but applaud: "Wonderful! Such excellent works are rare. It is true that every generation has talented people!"

He thought that if these talents could be fully utilized, it would bring more development opportunities to the country.

At this moment, Zhao Zhen was full of confidence and expectation for the future. He believed that as long as these scholars were given enough opportunities and platforms to display their talents, the Song Dynasty would become more prosperous and powerful, and the crown prince would be able to take the throne in the future.

So he decided to personally summon those outstanding scholars and entrust them with important tasks in order to prepare for the next reform...

After reading the articles by the brothers Su Shi and Su Zhe, he said excitedly: "Now my descendants have obtained two more prime ministers who can bring peace."

After reading the essays of all the candidates, Zhao Zhen thought of his son who was fighting on the battlefield thousands of miles away. He frowned slightly and remained silent for a moment as if thinking about something.

After a while, he looked at Zhang Maoze who was standing beside him, as if he was asking softly, or as if he was talking to himself: "Maoze, if I let the prince come back to the throne earlier, will he understand that I, his old father, should come back earlier?"

Zhang Maoze didn't dare to speak after hearing what the emperor said, and beads of sweat covered his forehead. Fortunately, Zhao Zhen didn't expect him to answer, and he soon calmed himself down.

"Oh, forget it. My son has great ambitions. Although I, as a father, don't have much ability, I can still help him stabilize the rear."

When Zhang Maoze heard the emperor say this, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. While the housekeeper was looking at the list of candidates for the imperial examination drawn up by the examiners, he secretly wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve.

Another half hour passed, and seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Maoze looked at the men standing there, and hurried forward to remind them softly:

"Sir, it's time for dinner. You should take a rest first. If His Royal Highness knew that you were neglecting your health, he would definitely be worried again."

Zhao Zhen didn't want to pay attention to it, but when he heard Zhang Maoze mention the prince, his heart warmed and he was in a trance for a moment while looking at the seat where his son used to sit.

He stopped writing, sighed slightly and said, "Well, let's stop here today, and the gentlemen can go back first. We will discuss the rest tomorrow."

After saying that, he slowly stood up and moved his stiff body imperceptibly.

Zhang Maoze saw this and hurried forward to support Zhao Zhen, and asked with concern: "Your Majesty, you have been overworked with state affairs recently, please take care of your health."

Zhao Zhen waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's okay, I just dealt with such a small amount of government affairs, how can I be tired? The one who is really working hard is my Zonghe. If I wasn't worried that you, an old man, would complain to the prince and make him worry about me on the battlefield, I would have to finish the remaining things today!"

The two of them walked towards the bedroom while talking. On the way, Zhao Zhen suddenly remembered something and turned to Zhang Maoze and said, "By the way, send someone to send something to the Crown Princess later to comfort her."

Zhang Maoze had long been accustomed to sending things to the Eastern Palace. Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was not in the palace now and the Emperor had asked him to go to the Eastern Palace less frequently, he still had to make a trip to the Crown Princess every few days.

Therefore, after serving the official dinner, he skillfully went to the official's private storehouse, picked out a few things suitable for the Crown Princess' age, and delivered them over personally.