We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Upon hearing Li Che's words, the ministers bowed in response.

Li Che nodded slightly, indicating that the grading of papers should begin.

More than twenty learned high-ranking officials of the court, who had been waiting, immediately began to review the mountain of examination papers in front of them, according to the groups they had been assigned in advance.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Imperial Guard were responsible for classifying the exam papers and delivering them to the examiners.

Li Che sat on the dragon throne, had Huai En bring him a cup of tea, and casually picked up an exam paper to examine.

For a moment, only the rustling of paper turning and the occasional sound of ink being ground could be heard in the main hall.

Li Che frowned slightly, and after looking at it for a while, he disdainfully threw the exam paper aside.

It's poorly written!

The calligraphy scroll has large blank areas, many of the characters written on it are wrong, and the meaning of the characters in the ink at the end is even more illegible, making it impossible to even understand the basic meaning correctly.

Li Che even felt that a primary school student who had just finished studying the Analects in later generations would answer better than this.

He looked up at the other officials and found that they all had roughly the same expression, a look of utter disbelief, like someone using a cell phone on the subway...

Sure enough, the tranquility in the hall did not last long.

"This is unreasonable! This is simply unreasonable!"

A low growl, laced with suppressed anger, broke the silence.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Wen Zaiyin slam a scroll on the table, his white beard trembling slightly.

"'Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you'?! The words of the sage are pearls of wisdom, even a child knows it means 'Do not do to others'!"

"Such errors are an insult to scholarship! How dare they even participate in the special imperial examination?!"

His words seemed to ignite a fuse, and the other examiners couldn't help but complain as well.

"This volume is even worse! 'Mencius Meets King Hui of Liang' has been written as 'Mozi Meets King Xuan of Qi,' a complete misattribution and utterly absurd!"

“Look at this, it asks ‘What is benevolence?’ and answers ‘Being well-fed and clothed is benevolence.’ This… this… although it speaks of the hardships of the people, it completely misses the essence of benevolence!”

"This is utter nonsense, utterly unbearable to read! How dare such a person take the exam? Does he really think that official positions in Daqing are like wild vegetables in the fields, to be picked at will?"

Immediately, complaints arose one after another.

As the review of the papers progressed, the ministers' expressions grew increasingly grave.

They discovered that the level of these 7,000-plus papers varied far more than they had imagined.

There were large blank spaces where no answer was given, and some were filled in randomly or incoherently.

Even worse, some people interpret the words of the sages in completely different ways, to the point of being ridiculous and laughable.

Overall, those with low skill levels made up the majority.

Even the few excellent volumes are not without flaws; they simply have more correct answers than incorrect ones.

Li Che sat high on his throne, quietly watching the crowd below erupt in chaos, his face showing little surprise.

He couldn't help but let out a helpless, bitter smile.

This situation was actually within his expectations.

Most of these students did not come from prominent families and lacked systematic education and guidance from renowned teachers. They relied entirely on their own exploration or sporadic instruction from their families.

It is normal for people with weak academic foundations to have skewed understandings of knowledge.

Li Che knew that the world was not simply black and white.

Not all students from poor families are talented; some may be mediocre or even of poor character.

Not all scions of noble families are spoiled brats; some are also exceptionally talented and of impeccable character.

However, statistically speaking, children from prominent families have access to the best educational resources from a young age, and their parents place great importance on their cultural development.

People naturally grow to a higher average level through exposure and influence.

Many so-called students from poor families have fallen on hard times, with their parents either indulging in past glories and living a life of decadence or striving to revive their family's fortunes.

Parents often lack the ability to properly educate their children, or their own limited knowledge prevents them from providing proper guidance, resulting in their children having a superficial understanding of the subject.

What Li Che needs to do now is to sift through the sand and find the truly promising talents among this group of students whose knowledge is generally weak, even if they are still covered by a rough shell.

Thinking of this, Li Che said, "Alright everyone, let's be quiet for now."

"This is the first imperial examination in Daqing. The candidates are not familiar with this kind of examination method, so it is normal for them to do poorly."

"What you all need to do is to carefully review them. According to the rules we set before, those with a correct answer rate of over 60% should be eliminated directly. Those with large-scale alterations should be eliminated, as should those that deliberately misinterpret the words of the sages."

"As for how many will ultimately remain, that depends on the fate of us, the ruler and his subjects," Li Che sighed. "In any case, we would rather have none than have bad ones."

The ministers responded in unison, "Yes."

He then forced himself to suppress his anger and continued grading the papers.

Just then, Zhuge Zhe, who had been silently reviewing the documents, suddenly let out a surprised exclamation: "Huh?"

The low exclamation was not loud, but it seemed particularly abrupt because it came from the usually composed Zhuge Zhe.

Immediately, the gazes of several ministers nearby turned involuntarily in that direction.

Zhuge Zhe was holding an exam paper in his hands, his eyebrows slightly raised, and his eyes flashing with appreciation.

He repeatedly picked up the correct answer, then turned back to check it against his own, finally raising his head to look at Li Che on the throne:

"Your Majesty, I have discovered an examination paper in which the first fifty questions on classical texts were answered correctly without a single mistake!"

Upon hearing this, the other examiners immediately erupted in uproar.

"What?! All correct?!"

"Fifty questions on classical texts, covering the Four Books and Five Classics, and you got them all right?"

"Who is it? Could it be a carefully cultivated scion of some powerful family, someone they want to place in the imperial court?"

"I almost forgot, since the names of those taking the imperial examinations were kept anonymous, we can't know their identities."

In an instant, all the noise inside the hall disappeared.

All eyes were focused on the seemingly ordinary exam paper in Zhuge Zhe's hands.

Li Che's body involuntarily leaned forward slightly, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

Has the first piece of 'real gold' he was looking for appeared so quickly?

"Bring it up to me," Li Che said.

Huai En immediately stepped forward to take the scroll from Zhuge Zhe's hand and, amidst the curious gazes of the assembled officials, respectfully presented it to Li Che's desk.

The red ink had not been used, and the name remained unmarked. Li Che had no idea who the owner of the scroll was, or where he came from.

He first quickly scanned the preceding sections of the sutra.

The fifty blanks were filled with neat handwriting and the scriptures were filled in accurately, just as Zhuge Zhe had said, all of them were answered correctly!

This solid, almost perfect foundation made him stand out like a crane among chickens among the candidates whose overall level was worrying.

"A good foundation has been laid." He nodded slightly, his tone carrying a hint of approval.

Based solely on the fact that he answered all the questions correctly, this young man has already surpassed the vast majority of the candidates present.

Immediately, his gaze fell on the ink-related part.

The first question we see is naturally the first one on the meaning of the character "墨" (mo). What is the meaning of "'While parents are alive, one should not travel far; if one must travel, one should have a fixed destination'?"

But above it were written over a hundred characters: "While parents are alive, one should not travel far; if one must travel, one should have a fixed destination." This speaks of filial piety, which should be based on understanding and comforting one's parents...

The previous explanation was standard, neither outstanding nor flawed, but it was definitely of a very high standard among the candidates in this round.

As Li Che read the second half, his expression gradually became more focused.

However, the so-called "traveling far away" is not necessarily a sign of filial impiety. Confucius, in the past, traveled throughout the states to promote benevolent governance.

From initially quoting the words of sages, to a sudden shift in tone, a deeper analysis incorporating personal experience...

Especially the last few sentences:

Therefore, the ambition to travel far should coexist with filial piety. When traveling, one must have a destination in mind, so that one's parents know where one is headed; when studying, one must achieve success, so that one's parents may enjoy the glory of one's achievements.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Li Che slammed his hand on the imperial desk, abruptly stood up, and exclaimed "Good!" three times.

This sudden action startled all the officials below, who all looked up in surprise.

"Your Majesty?" Du Fuji, who was closest, asked tentatively.

Li Che pointed to the passage on the exam paper, his voice trembling with excitement: "Listen, gentlemen..."

He read the answer aloud, and all the ministers listened attentively and pondered, their faces showing approval.

After Li Che finished reading, Wen Zaiyin said directly, "Indeed, it is excellent. This young man did not simply repeat the sage's teachings, but rather incorporated the sage's instructions into his own circumstances and thoughts."

Du Fuchen nodded and said, "He understands that 'not traveling far' is out of consideration for one's parents, but he also points out that 'traveling far' is not necessarily unfilial. If one's ambition is high, and it is for the purpose of 'studying and succeeding' so that one's parents can be proud of oneself, isn't that a more responsible form of filial piety?"

"I had never thought of such an angle, but it does make some sense."

Li Che paced back and forth a couple of times, his eyes shining, and said, "This insight extends from one's own predicament to the common sense and reason."

"Without personally experiencing and enduring the pain of separation and guilt, one could never write such sincere and powerful words!"

"I am almost certain that this boy is not the kind of pedantic person who only knows how to study by rote. He must be a poor boy who has experienced true poverty and separation!"

"Only in this way can one have such an unforgettable experience!"

Upon hearing this, the ministers all nodded in agreement.

Li Che couldn't wait to continue reading.

Sure enough, when he saw the agricultural question about what to plant in barren land, the boy's answer confirmed his guess.

The scroll clearly states that legumes should be planted to improve soil fertility, and explains the principle behind their stems and leaves fertilizing the soil.

Although his words are simple, they are precise and pragmatic, reflecting the insights of someone who truly understands farming.

What surprised Li Che the most was the dilemma of 'who to save from the granary and armory'.

This person first quoted Confucius's theory of "abolishing warfare," clearly showing his familiarity with the classics.

However, he then shifted his focus, combining the actual situation at the grassroots level with the decisive choice of "saving the arsenal first," arguing that protecting the armed forces was the only way to safeguard the people's livelihood.

His logic was clear, and his judgment was decisive, yet he was not rigidly bound by the words of sages!

"Brilliant!" Li Che clapped his hands in admiration. "Not bound by the past, not blindly following superiors, but only seeking truth! This is what it means to understand the classics and apply them in practice!"

"This is exactly the kind of talent I want!"

Looking at the following questions, I found that my understanding was correct and my explanation was clear.

Although there were no surprising remarks, there were no flaws to be found, indicating that the writer had put in a lot of hard work.

The more Li Che looked at the paper, the happier he became. In his eyes, the paper was like a piece of pure gold that had emerged from a pile of stubborn rocks, shining brightly.

"Select this scroll... no, all the scrolls that demonstrate excellent answers in the questions of calligraphy and have a decent foundation in the classics, and pick them out for me separately."

Suppressing his excitement, Li Che ordered in a deep voice, "I want to review this myself! Especially this one..."

His finger lightly touched the blank name sheet, his eyes full of anticipation.

"I want to see what kind of brilliant talent from a humble background is hidden behind this exam paper!"