At the tender age of eight, he was hastily dragged out and made emperor!

thump—

As the bell rang again, the heavily guarded main gate of the examination hall slowly opened, and the crowd gathered outside the examination hall surged, marking the end of the imperial examination selection in the fourth year of the Zhengtong era.

"it is finally over!"

"I wonder how the exam went!"

"Yes, this year's selection of candidates for the Kogong examination was truly full of ups and downs."

"Look!!"

The surging crowds and the constant noises were endless.

The Southern Army soldiers responsible for maintaining order guarded various locations to prevent the crowds from pushing forward, but when a scene unfolded, it stunned many people.

"Liu He, a student from Daepyeong County, Changheung Prefecture, Gyeonggi Province, fell ill during the imperial examination selection process and was sent to Chonginfang Medical Clinic for treatment!"

"Andong Road..."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the elite soldiers of the Shanglin Army, in groups of four, carried stretchers at great speed. On the stretchers were students suffering from illness; some were unconscious, some were pale, and some were struggling in pain. This caused the welcoming crowd to surge again after a brief period of calm.

"Get out of the way!!"

"Back off!!"

The soldiers of Shanglin Army, responsible for carrying the sick students, shouted with sharp eyes, and the soldiers of the Southern Army, seeing this, all began to shout as well.

“Every time the selection of candidates for the imperial examination is held, some students will fall ill, and in severe cases, it may endanger their lives.”

Outside the examination hall, Liu Chen stood with his hands at his sides, watching the procession emerge from the crowd. A sigh escaped his lips as he remarked, "But this year's imperial examination selection is truly different. In previous years, when students who fell ill were carried out of the examination hall, they were taken for treatment by relatives and friends. But with the examination just concluded, some mishaps are inevitable, so..."

"It seems that Your Majesty has made adjustments to the selection process for the imperial examinations."

Upon hearing this, Chu Hui narrowed his eyes and said, "The Shanglin Army, which is in charge of the examination hall, should allocate manpower to carry these sick students away first, so that they won't be delayed for too long on the way."

"Yes."

Liu Chen nodded and said, "If there's no delay, and the patient receives timely treatment, then..."

"Clang clang clang!!!"

Just then, the urgent sound of a gong interrupted Liu Chen.

And outside the main gate of the examination hall.

Several elite soldiers of the Shanglin Army stood with swords at their sides and shouted in unison: "The students who contracted illness during the imperial examination selection process have already received basic medical treatment at the examination hall. Today, we will carry the students who contracted illness out of the examination hall and send them to the medical clinics in Chongren, Yiren, and Pingkang wards for further treatment. A list will be posted shortly. Those who have not yet met their students can go to the clinics according to the list. All medical expenses for the students who contracted illness will be covered by the imperial treasury!"

As the shouts spread, the surging crowd quieted down.

But then various discussions arose.

"How did you suddenly get sick? Did you eat something wrong?"

"Yes, it was fine when it entered the examination hall, how come it turned out like this after staying there for a few days?"

“If you don’t understand, don’t talk nonsense. In every selection of candidates for the imperial examinations, there have always been students who contracted the disease. You’re obviously here for the first time, aren’t you?”

"Of course. Let alone getting sick, even if some students die from the disease, that's normal. Once the examination hall is closed, no one can open it until the appointed time. That's the rule."

"Do you think that participating in the imperial examination selection process is the same as being at home? What are you thinking? Do you know how much pressure it is when students from all over the country gather together?"

"Speaking of this, I remember a selection process for the imperial examinations during the reign of Emperor Taizong. One student scared himself to death. It's bizarre, isn't it? But that's exactly what happened."

"Look! The students are coming out!!"

The murmurs of the crowd continued until someone shouted, drawing attention back to the main gate of the examination hall. At that moment, a steady stream of students emerged, their faces displaying a range of emotions: excitement, disappointment, weariness, blankness, and more…

Whenever the imperial examination selection was held, the students gathered at the examination hall were excited and thrilled, because after years of hard study, they had finally ushered in the moment to change their fate.

But once the imperial examinations were over, the students who walked out of the examination hall reacted differently.

Why are the imperial examination questions so difficult this year?!

"All that studying was for nothing!! All that exams was for nothing!!"

"How could this happen..."

Among the students on the walk, some lost control of their emotions, crying and questioning, which attracted more students to watch.

"Hurry! Get them out of here!!"

"Get them under control!!"

"Leave the examination hall in an orderly manner!!"

Upon seeing this, some officers and soldiers of the Shanglin Army immediately issued orders to their troops, and the Shanglin Army soldiers immediately sprang into action.

While the imperial examination selection process has indeed ended, no accidents must occur at the examination hall during the orderly departure of the candidates, otherwise it will cause a disturbance.

A myriad of scenes unfolded outside the examination hall.

Even the noise reached inside the examination hall.

However, compared to the hustle and bustle outside the examination hall, the main hall inside was quiet at this moment.

"Copying?"

In the main hall, which was filled with many people, the newly appointed Minister of Rites, Xiong Yan, looked at the group of people in front of him with a slight surprise. The leader of them was Qin Zhibai, the Junior Supervisor of the Secretariat. Then he looked at Xiao Jing, who was holding the imperial edict.

"You gentlemen have all read His Majesty's decree."

Qin Zhibai remained calm and looked at Xiao Jing, Bao Yuan, and Xiong Yan, saying, "The exam papers that have been anonymously submitted need to be numbered, copied, and then reviewed before the first and second reviews. This is to ensure the fairness of the selection process for the imperial examinations."

"is this necessary?"

Bao Yuan frowned and said, "After the exam papers are covered with the names of the candidates, everything related to the candidates is framed up. Even if someone wants to tamper with them, it will be very difficult."

Qin Zhibai said calmly, "His Majesty said that even the slightest possibility of tampering must be eliminated, for the sake of absolute fairness in the selection of candidates for the imperial examinations!"

"But then there might not be enough time."

This is what Bao Yuan really wanted to say.

"Lord Xiong need not worry about that."

At this moment, at Sun Bin's signal, Huang Long stepped forward with his sword slung over his shoulder and said in a firm tone, "All candidates from the Shanglin Army will withdraw and post notices outside the examination hall to copy the documents. The patrol battalion under the jurisdiction of the Yudu Magistrate's Office and the military command under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Guard will read the notices aloud in all neighborhoods inside and outside Yudu after the notices are posted!"

Bao Yuan and Xiong Yan exchanged a glance, and didn't say anything more for the time being.

This selection of tribute students was originally postponed, and it had already attracted much attention both inside and outside Yudu. According to their wishes, the most important thing was to rank the candidates as soon as possible and submit them to the emperor for review.

But now that a new system has been introduced, there will definitely be a delay in time.

The longer it drags on, the more likely things will go wrong.

"In that case, let us follow the imperial decree to number and copy the anonymous exam papers."

Under these circumstances, Xiao Jing said with a serious expression, "Fairness is something that must be ensured in the selection of candidates for the imperial examinations. If it weren't for this, why was the selection process postponed in the first place?"

"grown ups!!"

After hearing this, some people looked at Xiao Jing with different expressions.

But Xiao Jing reached out and interrupted.

Xiao Jing knew all too well what the consequences of doing so would be.

question.

attack.

There definitely will be.

But what can we do?

"Those in charge of supervision, enter the venue immediately!!" At this moment, Sun Bin's voice rang out, and soon after, many people who had gathered outside the hall entered.

The Shanglin Army and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

They all stared coldly at the pile of exam papers.

"Lord Xiao, please select some people to jointly oversee the investigation."

Sun Bin stepped forward, raised his hand to bow to Xiao Jing, and said, "We need to keep a close eye on the anonymous exam papers and make copies."

"Lord Bao, I'd like to trouble you to make the trip."

Xiao Jing nodded slightly to Sun Bin, then looked at Bao Yuan and said.

"it is good."

"That's all," Bao Yuan said succinctly.

The atmosphere inside the hall became tense.

The secretaries and scribes standing behind Qin Zhibai all looked nervous.

This was the first time they had ever done something like this.

"Marquis Chenyang, please send someone to deliver the examination papers."

Qin Zhibai calmed himself down and bowed to Sun Bin.

"Yellow Dragon!"

"exist!"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Huang Long stepped forward and then called upon the Imperial Guards gathered outside the hall to move the examination papers, stack by stack, away.

The whole process was well-organized.

Soon, the crowded place became much more spacious.

"Lord Xiao, please have some tea."

Sun Bin did not leave, but sat down with Xiao Jing. At this moment, there were many people guarding outside the hall. Before the anonymous exam papers were numbered and copied, all the officials responsible for grading and evaluating the papers, including the chief and deputy examiners, had to gather together and wait.

"it is good."

Xiao Jing said calmly.

"I will stand with Lord Xiao to shoulder this responsibility."

Seeing Xiao Jing's reaction, Sun Bin leaned forward and said, "The selection of tribute students is a matter of fundamental importance to our dynasty. His Majesty said that if even fairness cannot be guaranteed, then we should simply not hold the selection of tribute students and just stick to the previous method."

"Your Majesty is right."

Xiao Jing said with a complicated expression, "The selection of candidates for the imperial examination must be conducted in a fair manner!"

"Gentlemen, please have some tea!"

Sun Bin smiled and then looked at everyone in the hall.