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

The imperial examinations were over, and it was past dusk.

As dusk settled, it gradually painted the sky above the capital city.

The once bustling Imperial City Square returned to silence, with only a few scattered lights and the footsteps of patrolling soldiers remaining.

Thousands of students, each with their own unique feelings, dispersed into the streets and alleys of the capital like the receding tide, temporarily sealing away their gains and losses in the examination hall in their memories.

However, the Xuanzheng Hall in the Imperial Palace was still brightly lit, but the atmosphere was even more tense than in the examination hall.

Li Che sat high on his throne, reviewing memorials in the last rays of the setting sun, his expression focused.

Your Highness, along with Zhuge Zhe, Wen Zaiyin, and other civil officials, remained engrossed in the mountain of examination papers.

The scratching sound of pens gliding across paper, along with the occasional whispered discussions, formed the main melody within the hall.

Huai En quietly stepped forward, came to the imperial desk, and whispered, "Your Majesty, the exam papers for the next exam have been delivered to the palace under the protection of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Li Che's gaze remained fixed on the memorial; he merely nodded slightly to indicate that he understood.

He glanced down at his ministers below, who looked exhausted but were still struggling to hold on, and instructed Huai'en:

"Go and bring candles and lamps to all the officials. Make sure they are bright, so that they don't ruin their eyes by rushing to finish the work."

"Here."

"Issue another imperial decree, ordering the Imperial Kitchen to immediately prepare some calming and nourishing soups and send them over."

"The slaves obey the order."

Huai En bowed and accepted the order, and quickly made the arrangements.

Before long, palace lanterns were lit, illuminating the main hall as if it were daytime.

Immediately afterwards, the eunuchs carried steaming hot tonic soup and carefully presented it to the examiners.

Upon seeing this, Zhuge Zhe, Wen Zaiyin, and others quickly put down their pens, rose, and bowed towards the throne to express their gratitude.

"Your Majesty, we thank you for your compassion!"

Li Che put down his vermilion brush, waved his hand, and said with a gentle smile, "No need for such formalities, gentlemen."

"The imperial examination is over, and the students' mission is complete, but our mission is not yet finished."

"I believe that at this moment, not only I, but also my beloved ministers, and even the thousands of students in the capital are eagerly awaiting the results of this imperial examination."

"Time is of the essence, so I have no choice but to trouble you all tonight to finish grading these papers and preliminarily select those who are qualified to be shortlisted."

The emperor's request was met with immediate and unquestioning deference from his officials.

Li Che smiled and continued, "You have all worked hard. Consider today's work as overtime. I will take out ten bolts of silk from my imperial treasury and bestow them upon each of you."

The officials quickly expressed their gratitude once again.

Li Che smiled and said, "Eat the soup while it's hot to refresh yourself."

"We obey the decree and will do our utmost!" the ministers replied in unison.

Feeling the Emperor's understanding, the ministers were invigorated and sat down to continue their work of reviewing the papers.

Just then, the exam papers for the next exam were also escorted by the Imperial Guards and carried into the palace box by box.

Soon, a new 'small mountain' was piled up inside the hall.

Looking at the seemingly endless scrolls, Tao Qian, Du Fuchen, and several other older civil officials couldn't help but show a hint of distress.

Officials who could review examination papers not only needed to be knowledgeable, but also had to be Li Che's confidants.

There were only about a dozen such people in the entire imperial court.

With over 7,000 exam papers, even if divided among everyone, each person would have to review nearly 600 papers, which is undoubtedly a massive undertaking.

Fortunately, the grading of the exam papers for the previous exam was nearing completion.

About an hour later, when night had completely enveloped the earth, the initial screening of the exam papers was finally completed.

Wen Zaiyin, holding a compiled list, strode to the foot of the imperial steps and bowed to report:

"Your Majesty, the preliminary review of the examination papers has been completed."

Li Che raised his head and said, "Read it."

"Among them, 367 people had large areas of dirt on their papers and the characters were difficult to read; 4,512 people were deemed unqualified because of too many errors and omissions in the 'Book of Classics' and significant deviations in the understanding of the meaning of the ink; and 605 people misinterpreted the original meaning of the sages and made absurd and unfounded statements."

"The remaining 2,338 answer sheets have passed the previous assessment and are qualified to be reviewed in the next assessment."

Li Che nodded upon hearing this, showing no surprise at the brutal elimination rate.

The imperial examination system was inherently a process of natural selection, especially the first one, when the rules were not well understood by most people.

"Then immediately find the two thousand three hundred or so examination papers of those who passed the first round and distribute them to you all for review."

"The remaining papers will be registered and sealed for the time being."

Once the order was given, the clerks and eunuchs in the palace immediately got to work.

Based on the numbering, the more than two thousand exam papers were selected from the newly piled-up hill and distributed to the examiners.

Seeing that his ministers had begun to focus on grading the next exam papers, Li Che also became interested.

He instructed Huai'en, "Go and fetch me a stack of these; I want to see them myself."

“Your Majesty, you must be tired after a long day…” Huai En hesitated.

“It’s alright,” Li Che smiled. “The previous calligraphy and interpretation tests examined our understanding of the classics. I know my knowledge is no match for those of you here, so I won’t presume to teach you.”

“But this one is different.” Li Che’s gaze swept over the pile of files. “Those three logic questions have fixed answers, and the right and wrong answers are clear at a glance.”

"And this question... was personally drafted by me, intended to observe his ambitions and discern his intentions. I am able to judge it."

Huai En said no more, and hurriedly took a small stack of exam papers, which he respectfully presented to the emperor's desk.

Li Che took the vermilion brush and began to review the papers.

He had his own judgment in mind regarding the answers to the questions.

The purpose of this policy question is to screen candidates for their political leanings.

In the era of imperial power, understanding the emperor's intentions was the key to answering policy questions.

For Li Che, the criteria for judgment were very simple.

If the answer clearly favors those who uphold the interests of aristocratic families and bureaucrats, then they are undoubtedly inferior.

Since his ascension to the throne, he has taken various measures to suppress powerful families and rectify official corruption.

If someone can't even sense this slight political shift and is still cheering for vested interest groups, they're either stupid or have a problematic stance, and are utterly useless.

If the answer emphasizes the supremacy of monarchical power and advocates the emperor's absolute authority, it can barely be considered average.

Although this was direct flattery of the emperor, it lacked a deep understanding of the complex national situation and remained superficial.

Moreover, he was certain that there would be no shortage of such answers, since it was the least risky option.

Only those who place the people above monarchical power and aristocratic families, who expound the principle that the people are the foundation of the state, and who speak out for the people...

This was the best answer Li Che had been hoping for!