Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

The process of the Great Zhou imperial examination was somewhat different from the process Shen Zheng had known before.

If students want to truly reach the top of the mountain and get their names on the list of successful candidates, they have to "pass five levels" in total.

First of all, students have to take part in the "Entrance Examination for Children", which is the "County Examination" that Shen Zheng is familiar with. However, the Entrance Examination for Children is not held in the county, but in the prefecture.

The reason is simple - many county governments don't even have a county school, let alone a county education official who is in charge of imperial examinations. Even if students want to take the exams in the county, the county cannot provide the conditions.

The entrance examination for children is held twice every three years, with no set time. The prefectural education official will post a notice one month before the exam, and students only need to register in groups.

When students pass the entrance examination and become tongsheng, the next thing they have to face is the provincial examination.

The provincial examination is also known as the "Tongshi" by the common people, because those who take the examination must be Tongsheng.

The provincial examination is held once a year, usually in April or May when the weather is clear and sunny, at the provincial examination hall, with the provincial education official in charge. Some prefectures do not have an education official, so the examination time will be postponed until the provincial academician arrives to supervise.

The provincial examination lasts for two days and is divided into the "main examination" and the "re-examination". During the examination, students are not allowed to leave the examination hall, so they have to eat and live in the provincial examination hall and need to bring their own food and supplies.

After the second examination, the provincial education commissioner and the prefect will review the papers together and the results will be posted within a month. Those who pass the examination will become scholars.

The "scholar master" already had certain privileges and could be exempted from corvee labor and taxes, and was also considered to have formal honors.

After passing the examination to become a scholar, many students will stop there, because the next exam is the real "sifting of the sand by the waves".

What awaits them next is the "Autumn Examination", a joint examination of all prefectures, held every three years. The examination locations vary, mostly decided by the imperial court, so that students from nearby prefectures can gather together for the unified examination.

For example, the last exam was held in Fuzhou Prefecture, and the next one might be held in Liuyang Prefecture.

Such a regulation has an advantage, which is that students cannot check out the place first, and it can also prevent the governors of various prefectures from "meddling" among them.

There are three examinations in the Autumn Examination, each lasting one day, but students have to enter the examination room one day in advance and leave one day later. In total, they will stay in the examination hall for three days for each examination.

Therefore, although the autumn examination seemed to last only three days, the battle line was actually extended and students had to stay in the examination hall for a total of nine days.

Staying in a small dormitory for nine days is a great test for the students both mentally and physically, so Shen Zheng asked Li Hongmao to lead the students in physical exercise.

The results of the autumn examination will also be posted in about a month. Because it is close to the season when osmanthus flowers are in full bloom, the autumn examination list is also called the "Gui Bang". Those who are on the list are the Juren.

Juren masters were very powerful. According to the law, they could be appointed as local officials, but in reality the opportunities were very rare and it was basically not their turn, so they would mostly serve in large academies.

The first place on the list is the Jieyuan, as we all know, which means the "first place" among the "three consecutive first places".

From this perspective, it seems that the candidates still have two high mountains to climb.

But the foot of these two mountains were already full of people.

After the Autumn Examination, the joint examination will be held in Shangjing in the spring of the following year, attended by the successful candidates in the imperial examination. It is also called the "Spring Examination".

The threshold for the Spring Examination was higher, because students had to overcome the long journey, rush all the way from home to Shangjing, and also live in Shangjing for a long period of time, which naturally involved a lot of expenses.

The Spring Examination also consists of three examinations, but this time, the examination covers more than just theoretical knowledge. The examination content this time is more inclined to examine the ability to govern the country, that is, to examine the candidates to see if they are smart and suitable for being officials.

If one can pass the spring examination, then the Juren can be transformed into a "Gongshi".

The first place in the tribute scholar list is the second place among the three consecutive top names - Huiyuan.

After the results of the joint examination are announced, the palace examination will begin.

During the palace examination, students had the opportunity to see His Majesty in person. His Majesty would set the questions himself to test the candidates' ability to govern the country. His Majesty would then select the top three, who would be the first class of Jinshi.

At this point, it is the part that everyone is familiar with.

The first place in the first class is called the Zhuangyuan, which means the third place among the three consecutive winners.

The second place is called Tanhua, and the third place is called Bangyan. The three people in the first place can directly enter the Hanlin Academy, that is, directly become officials in the capital, and have the opportunity to become close ministers to the emperor.

The second and third classes, also known as Jinshi, can also be called disciples of the emperor. After all, they are talents who have passed the palace examination and been selected by the emperor.

Those who were not selected into the top three are still tribute scholars. They can put in all their efforts to take part in the next spring examination and take the palace examination with the next batch of people; they can also use some connections to try their luck at the Ministry of Revenue; they can also just not take the exam. Any option is fine.

So, it is such a great honor to "win three prizes in a row".

However, there are too many variables in this world. Since ancient times, there have been very few people who have been able to win the top three prizes in a row. Shen Zheng can count them on his fingers.

The imperial examination has always been cruel.

......

Shen Zheng followed Xu Zhubu to the book office.

After the renovation of the book office, its size was more than doubled, if for no other reason than that Chief Clerk Xu had too much work to do.

There are two bookcases and four bookshelves in the hall, all filled with documents and files.

Shen Zheng was stunned for a moment, and finally her conscience came to her senses. She choked and said, "You... have worked hard."

"It's not hard." Xu Zhubu said with a smile: "Don't look for an assistant for me, I can handle it."

Shen Zheng couldn't tell for a moment whether he was telling the truth or speaking sarcastically, and was even afraid that his next sentence would be - "It's not hard, but my life is hard."

The two of them sat down, and Shen Zheng spoke first: "How many students in the county school are going to take the prefectural examination? Are Zhao Qi and the others all participating?"

Last year, she was always thinking about Pei Zhaoqi's exam, but when she got busy later, she actually forgot about these things. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Pei Zhaoqi and Fang Ziyan for some time.

However, Yu Nanshu would come to her from time to time to discuss new ideas with her.

Xu Zhubu spread out the list and said, "All the students in the county school are going, a total of eighteen people, including Zhao Qi, Zi Yan, Fan Chiqing and others."

Shen Zheng was a little surprised, "All the students are going?"

"All of them should go." Xu Zhubu nodded. "Shanzhang Li said that no matter whether they pass the exam or not, they should go and see the world first and understand the exam rules and procedures. This will be beneficial to them."

"That's right." Shen Zheng agreed with Li Hongmao's point of view.

The provincial examination was held in Liuyang Prefecture. It only took about half a day to get there from Tongan County. After arriving in Liuyang Prefecture, one only needed to find a place to stay the night before. During the exam, food and accommodation would be provided at the examination institute, so not much money would be wasted.

There's nothing wrong with going and broadening your horizons.

"Oh, right." Shen Zheng suddenly thought of Yu Nanshu, "Nanshu has never participated in the entrance examination for children, right? So she can't participate in this provincial examination either."