The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The palace examination only tests one policy question on current affairs, and this time the question is how to solve the problem of refugees.

This question was obviously set by Wanli. During his last incognito tour, what impressed him most were the administration of civil servants and refugees. So these two questions were asked in this palace examination, but the one he drew was about refugees.

On the surface, it is about how to resettle the refugees. On a deeper level, it is actually about the root causes of the refugees - natural disasters and land annexation.

The displacement problem caused by natural disasters is only temporary. Once the disaster is over, the victims will return to their homes and rebuild.

The refugees caused by land annexation are the real refugees, because they have no place to go and no land to farm, so they can only wander around. So this is the focus of this exam question.

To Yun Ji, this question was actually a leak of the test questions, because he knew the reason why the emperor asked this question.

He also discussed with Min Xi many times about the final destination and solution of these refugees. Of course, they did not find a way to completely solve this problem. As Min Xi said, unless there is a revolution, it would be a joke for the ruling class to revolutionize itself.

Therefore, Yun Ji could only explain the root cause of the refugees and put forward some constructive suggestions, which were only temporary solutions. After all, the emperor and the cabinet had no better solution to this problem.

After Yunji finished answering the questions, he found that some people had handed in their papers ahead of time, so he stopped sitting there and handed in his paper before leaving. After all, it was still a bit cold to be blown by the wind after sitting outside for a long time.

As soon as Yun Ji walked out of the palace gate, he saw Min Xi waving at him: "Seventh brother, here!"

Yun Ji trotted forward and said, "Have you been waiting here? Didn't I tell you that I would go back by myself?"

"It's okay. I don't think it will take long. Are you hungry? Get in the carriage and eat something hot." Min Xi touched his hand and found that it was cold. He hurriedly handed the warm soup on the small stove to Yun Ji.

Yun Ji took a sip of hot soup before he said, "Guess what the test question is today?"

Min Xi thought for a moment and asked, "Is it a refugee problem or a government problem?"

"Refugees."

"It's exactly what I guessed. Seventh brother, I'm afraid you will get the third place this time." Min Xi said with a smile.

Yun Ji looked at him and smiled, "You have so much confidence in me, why don't you say that I can get the top score?"

Min Xi said, "You could have been the top scholar, but the third place winner must be young and handsome. Who else can be the top scholar but you?"

Yun Ji's eyes were full of smiles, because Min Xi said he was handsome: "There are many young and handsome people in the examination room, Tao Shu is not bad."

"But he may not be able to enter the first class." Min Xi said, "When will the results be announced?"

"Probably the day after tomorrow."

"So soon! I'm a little excited just thinking about it. You're actually going to become a Jinshi."

"Whether you are a Jinshi or a Zhuangyuan, I am still your seventh brother." Yun Ji said.

"I'm afraid that after the results are announced, someone will come to my house to propose marriage."

"There have been some before, but we rejected them all."

"Now that you have passed the imperial examination, the identities of the people who propose marriage to you will be different. They will definitely be nobles and ministers in the capital. They will be your colleagues and superiors in the future. How can you refuse them?"

"Just refuse it however you should."

"Your current marriage is arranged by your parents and matchmaker, and you have no say in it. What would you do if your grandfather and the others decided for you?"

Yun Ji said: "When the time comes, I will tell them that I was injured in the shipwreck and have a hidden disease, so I can't speak."

Hearing this, Min Xi looked at him in shock, then couldn't help laughing: "You really said that?"

"Yes, what else can we do? If I tell them honestly about our relationship, they will think that you are the one who delayed me, and then they will try every means to persuade you. Can you bear it?" Yun Ji looked at him.

Min Xi was of course unwilling to endure the bombardment and shook her head: "Grandma is not only worried about your marriage, she is also worried about my marriage. How can I refuse?"

Yun Ji said: "Although they will worry about you, they can't control you. Just tell them that the elders of the clan wrote to you and arranged a marriage for you in your hometown."

"That's a solution. I'll go back to my own house and live for a while every once in a while, and lie that I'm going back to my hometown." Min Xi said and snapped his fingers.

"That's it!"

"But your reason is still very funny." Min Xi couldn't help laughing out loud.

"What are you laughing at? You know my situation very well. But I'm worried that my elders might still arrange a marriage for me to cover up my shortcomings for the sake of face." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi said: "So the method you proposed still doesn't work."

"Not necessarily. I just need to talk to them a little more."

On the day of the announcement of the results, Tao Xing and Tao Sheng went to the left gate of Chang'an to check the results early in the morning. Min Xi and Yun Ji waited outside the crowd. There were only 300 Jinshi candidates at the time, plus servants, relatives, and onlookers, there were only about 1,000 to 2,000 people at most. This scale was completely different from the announcement of the results of the imperial examination, so it was not particularly crowded.

Halfway through the morning, the imperial edict was finally posted. It was exactly as Min Xi had expected. Yun Ji won the first class of Jinshi and ranked third in the imperial examination. Tao Shu won the ninety-eighth place in the third class and was granted the same status as a Jinshi.

Seeing the result, Min Xi smiled and said to Yun Ji, "Seventh brother, congratulations on winning the third place in the imperial examination! It's exactly what I expected. By the way, does the third place winner have to ride a horse in the streets? I remember there is a legend that someone will catch a son-in-law from the list, is it true?"

"The custom of catching a son-in-law under the list of candidates happened in the Song Dynasty. It doesn't happen now. Parading through the streets on horseback doesn't happen anymore either. That was a custom in the Tang Dynasty," said Yun Ji.

"So now it's just a title? There are no other activities?" Min Xi was a little disappointed. He really wanted to see those traditional customs.

"It's just right that I don't have one. I don't like riding a horse around and being looked down upon by others."

Min Xi approached Yun Ji and said, "How is this possible? Which monkey in the world is so handsome? Even the Monkey King can't compare to him!"

Yun Ji couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"But it's good that you're not paraded through the streets. I don't want you to be seen by so many people. Even an old broomstick is treasured by oneself, so a handsome man like me should be treasured even more." Min Xi said with a smile.

Yun Ji was extremely happy with what Min Xi said, even happier than if he had won the third place in the imperial examination.

The day after the results were announced, there was a banquet of grace and honor bestowed by the emperor, also known as the Qionglin Banquet, attended by the new scholars and the officials from the Ministry of Rites who presided over the imperial examination.

Min Xi was a failed candidate, so he was naturally not eligible to attend the Enrong Banquet, which was said to be of high quality and prepared by the imperial chefs. However, it was not like Min Xi had never eaten imperial meals before, so it was just so-so. This kind of banquet with hundreds of people was definitely not as good as eating with the emperor on a regular basis.

Yun Ji said that it was the same. In such occasions, eating was secondary. The main purpose was to make friends with fellow Jinshi. In the future, these fellow Jinshi would be colleagues. Naturally, the friendship would be deeper than that of Jinshi from other departments.

After the banquet, the emperor bestowed various rewards. The number one scholar was directly awarded a crown and court robes, and the rest were given gold and silver. Then he began to appoint officials to the successful candidates. Yun Ji originally wanted to join the Ministry of Personnel, but ended up joining the Hanlin Academy, where he was appointed as a Hanlin editor, a seventh-rank official, responsible for drafting imperial edicts, imperial decrees, memorials and other documents, compiling historical books, and serving as lecturers at imperial lectures.