After my soul traveled to ancient times, I don't want to be cannon fodder

Not only did the common people not understand it, but they were also confused after hearing it.

Readers all over the world applauded and praised it as a masterpiece that will be passed down through the ages!

After hearing this, Emperor Yong was silent for a moment.

Then he asked again: "Is there anything wrong with this?"

This has always been the case with palace examinations. The candidates' answers should be in line with the topic, including policy questions.

Besides, he also read the article encouraging farmers, and the article was indeed very well written.

He didn't quite understand what Zhong Ning's rebuttal was.

Zhong Ning told him directly that it’s all about practice!

"For example, what is the meaning of a peerless national scholar? I don't understand the significance of such a title."

"What is the basis for setting the standard of being an unparalleled national scholar?"

"If a person is highly educated and well-known in the literary world, he would be like Yue Taiheng, the most famous person in Yanmen."

"A great scholar admired by scholars all over the world, a man of great accomplishments in scholarship, with numerous students all over the world, is he truly worthy of the title of unparalleled scholar?"

Emperor Yong was silent for a while, with a hint of anger between his brows. The reason was simple: this Yue Confucian scholar was indeed a great scholar in the literary world, but he was born in Yanmen, was loyal to Beidi, and married his daughter into the Beidi royal family.

It is to recommend talents and to be loyal to the Beidi royal family.

In addition, the disciples of this great Yue Confucian scholar repeatedly openly attacked their motherland in the Beidi court, and repeatedly urged the Beidi to move south as soon as possible to attack the territory of Dayong.

It is clear who guided his disciples to act in this way.

But everyone knows that the four areas of Yanmen were originally part of Dayong's territory and were occupied by it for only twenty years.

If such a spineless person who is not loyal to his motherland can be praised as a peerless national hero, wouldn't that be a laughing stock?

"Furthermore, the article doesn't mention at all how Dayong can recruit talents outside of the imperial examination system. The entire article is just praising the virtues that a peerless scholar should possess."

"Don't we know what qualities a peerless scholar should possess? Don't we know what qualities a peerless scholar should possess?"

"But what's the point of saying all this? Being well-educated only means he's accomplished in literature, but it doesn't mean he can govern the people!"

"Could it be that the imperial court, instead of recruiting talented individuals who are proficient in industry and familiar with the law, is recruiting a college teacher who can only shake his head while holding a book and spouting nonsense?"

Emperor Yong:.........

"Let's go back to that article encouraging agriculture. It only mentions the benefits of increasing agricultural production for Dayong right now. If agriculture flourishes, there will be no more starvation in Dayong!"

"But there's never been any mention of how to promote agricultural production? How to improve crops? How to assess and experiment with farmland across Dayong? What exactly is suitable for growing there?"

"Or, what conditions are needed to increase agricultural production, and where should we start to increase agricultural production?"

"Farm work is so hard, how can we reduce the burden on farmers and then find ways to increase agricultural production?"

"Are these specific measures mentioned in it? No, the whole document is just flowery and full of redundancies. The court is using this kind of document to persuade farmers to grow their crops."

"I believe the farmers would laugh their heads off when they heard this!"

"And yet, this is the imperial court's standard for assessing talent. What kind of useless people would be recruited who are flatterers, ignorant of farming, and indifferent to national affairs?"

Emperor Yong:.......

Emperor Yong's face turned slightly darker. These words were extremely harsh to his ears, and almost completely denied the original intention of the court to establish the palace examination to recruit talents for the country.

Emperor Yong closed his eyes and then said in a deep voice, "According to what you said, how should the questions for the palace examination be decided?"

"Father, I once heard that practice is the only criterion for testing truth. I have ordered people to collect some livelihood issues from dozens of counties and prefectures within Dayong. These issues are all likely to be encountered by these candidates when they take up local governance in the future."

"Rather than waiting until the emperor is far away and we have no idea of ​​the details of how they handle county affairs locally, it's better to assess them now!"

"The most important thing is that most of those who passed the imperial examination were from aristocratic families and officials. I think they would have made preparations in advance by following the style of the previous palace examinations."

"Understanding the finer points of literature doesn't necessarily mean one understands practical matters. This way, we can avoid being noticed and have a true palace examination!"

"What do you think, Father?"

Zhong Ning gave examples that really silenced Emperor Yong. Although he didn't want to admit it, the facts proved that those articles seemed to be just good-looking.

If you really put it into practice, it's useless.

Emperor Yong looked through the cases presented by Zhong Ning regarding the practical affairs of various counties, taxation, case trials, civil unrest and other local policies, and could not help but feel gratified by Zhong Ning's meticulousness.

This time, he did not intend to discuss with the ministers and just go his own way. What Zhong Ning said made sense. Most of the candidates who passed the imperial examination came from aristocratic families and officials appointed by the court.

These people had already thoroughly studied and in-depthed the palace examination, and even understood his style of setting questions.

On the contrary, those children from poor families have no chance to understand current affairs.

If they cannot seek change and catch everyone off guard, then this time they will probably recruit talents as they did in the past, selecting a group of children from aristocratic families and letting them dominate one side and expand their power.

"Zhaohua, during the palace examination, you should be in the side hall and listen to the debate together!" Emperor Yong thought for a long time before saying to Zhong Ning.

In addition to Zhong Ning, there is also the second prince Murong Yun.

They will all witness with their own eyes how the imperial court recruits talents during the palace examination.

Zhong Ning breathed a sigh of relief silently. Her efforts were not in vain. Although she knew that she was meddling in other people's affairs, she still wanted to select a group of truly useful talents for the court before leaving.

After all, reform is not something that can be achieved overnight. It requires a group of new and cutting-edge people to move forward courageously, rather than rich kids who only care about the future of their own families, govern a region, make money everywhere, and expand the influence of their families.

Soon, the day of the palace examination arrived.

In front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, many candidates stood in formation, and palace maids presented them with pens, ink, paper, and inkstones one by one. The candidates then bowed in greeting and sat down at the table.

The imperial palace was as magnificent as ever, and many people who had never seen such a scene were inevitably a little nervous. Fortunately, this time the palace examination was held in the square outside the palace, and the emperor was wearing a dragon robe and sitting in the palace.

More than a hundred ministers and the emperor's guards were stationed on all sides to ensure that no one plagiarized in the field.

After a while, the emperor asked: How to correct the shortcomings of Dayong today?

When many candidates saw this question, they thought about it carefully and then wrote down their answers.

Some inspectors skimmed over them one by one and found that some discussed corruption, some discussed the education of the people's livelihood, and some discussed the suppression of bandits in the local area and the unrest in the people's livelihood.

In short, everyone has their own opinions!