Volume 3 Chapter 33: Palace Examination (Part 2)
"I think it's feasible."
Lu Haowen hesitated for only a moment and then responded directly. Not only that, no other ministers around him spoke out in opposition.
This time, it was Emperor Zhao who was a little confused for a moment - is this enough? This person is a Jinshi!
But apparently, this works.
In fact, Zhao Jiu was suspicious from the beginning, even a little petty and self-righteous... He had no idea that this matter was somewhat of a precedent.
A similar incident had occurred during the reign of Emperor Taishang Daojun of the Northern Expedition, and it was a prince who took the exam in person. Not only did he make it to the first level of the palace examination based on his real ability, but in the end it was said that he also won the top spot based on his real talent and knowledge... With this absurd incident as a basis, it would be difficult for the Song officials present to refute Emperor Zhao's current uprightness.
Even the 600 prospective Jinshi candidates had nothing to say, because according to the rules of this dynasty, there was no question of failing the exam once they entered the palace, as they were all Jinshi, with only rankings and grades. And since a Jiedushi was allowed to take the palace exam and then temporarily withdraw, it was impossible for Emperor Zhao to have the nerve to give the Grand Marshal Yue the title of number one.
At best, it's just a middle place, which is harmless to both the upper and lower levels, and it can be spread as a good story in the future... Who knows, some people may think that they have earned a rare friendship of being on the same list, and then meet privately in the future. I happen to be two years older than you, General Yue, so can I sit in the seat of honor at the banquet?
Of course, there are many different people. There are 600 people, plus dozens of ministers. Some of them are definitely dissatisfied. However, the government proposed it and the prime minister agreed. Their opinions could not be reflected for the time being, so there was no obstacle.
And Yue Fei could only stand out and make a response in confusion.
But at this moment, seeing Yue Fei stepping out under the cold gazes of all his colleagues except Zhang Rong, and then showing a little hesitation, Emperor Zhao suddenly felt something was wrong in his heart... because he realized that he had overlooked a major problem, that is, he did not communicate with Yue Fei in advance. What if Yue Pengju took the initiative to refuse in order not to arouse the jealousy of his colleagues?
When Emperor Zhao came to this, he had a quick wit, and then he pointed to the group of generals and said calmly, "Since Prime Minister Lu has promised, I will not be stingy... Not only Pengju, but also Liangchen, whoever you think has good writing skills can come up... Shaoyan (Li Yanxian's pen name), Zicai (Wang Yan), and Quduan, the three of you are also known for being both civil and military, do you want to come up and try?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the two rough men, Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun, looked at each other in bewilderment. Li Yanxian and Wang Yan, who had originally had the most unwavering expressions, were startled at first, but then they all hesitated... After all, although these two people could write a little and do some paperwork, they also knew that they were far from enough to write serious articles to compete for the status of Jinshi.
If I really agreed to it, I would be embarrassed once the article was made public.
As a result, the two of them almost shrank back together and did not step out at all.
But almost at the same time, Qu Duan, who was called, was unwilling to give up this opportunity. He immediately stepped out of the line and rushed to Yue Fei's side and responded excitedly: "I would like to ask the emperor to grant me a fair case. I am also willing to post my essay outside Donghua Gate after the palace examination. If the public opinion is that the essay is extremely bad, I am willing to accept the punishment!"
This retort made Yue Fei, who had originally shown an attitude of refusal, change his mind... He was certainly worried that getting this Jinshi degree would further lead to the collective alienation of his colleagues, but, as the saying goes, choose the lesser of two evils. If he backed down at this moment, he would directly create a great grudge with this "capable of both literature and martial arts" beside him.
You know, everyone in the palace who understands the situation knows that Qu Duan showed up this time not just to seek the title of Jinshi, he also hopes to use this opportunity to get rid of the embarrassing situation of being abandoned, and hopes to use this opportunity to tell the world that he, Qu Da, is still a figure in the eyes of the emperor.
This concerns his political life.
So, Yue Pengju also bowed and saluted, but did not say anything. This is what he meant by "I am the same".
Seeing this, Zhao Jiu laughed in public and turned to look at Lan Gui: "Since only two people are willing to do it, then add two cases , two sets of pens, ink, paper and inkstone, and let Pengju and Shi Yin (Qu Duan's pen name) come to take the exam. The rest of you can still watch the ceremony here."
Of course, Yue Fei and Qu Duan bowed together to express their gratitude, but compared to Yue Fei who was caught off guard until now, Qu Duan suddenly felt like crying at this moment... because it was not until this moment that he realized that the emperor had actually known his courtesy name all along, but had never used this address.
Yue Fei and Qu Duan each added a few cases, the brief storm passed quickly, and Zhao Jiu finally raised his hand and wrote down the test questions one by one.
Moreover, during the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination system was changed again and again. Before the Jing Kang period when Emperor Huizong of Song was prosperous and mighty, the imperial examination system was simply abolished and replaced with a three-school system (county school, state school, and Imperial College). Those who passed the examination and became Imperial College students could be directly appointed as officials. Even this time of great honors and the bestowal of Jinshi were a mixture of the Emperor Zhao and Prime Minister Lu. So of course the rules of the palace examination were somewhat arbitrary.
However, no matter how things change, the essence remains the same. In the final analysis, the official Zhao Jiu still has to raise a few questions, and then the new scholars below have to write a serious political essay based on these questions.
So from the perspective of Zhao Jiu, the person who set the questions, in the current situation, the questions asked could not go beyond those few... In fact, Zhao Jiu did not try to be original. On the contrary, he followed the political tradition since Emperor Shenzong and only asked five questions. However, they were extremely concise and he did not write a long, fancy article.
In comparison, in history, someone crossed the river on a mud horse and held an imperial examination to select scholars. He actually asked dozens of questions in one breath, and no one knew what his purpose was.
Five specific questions.
The first one is a major political issue. Zhao Jiu opens his article by asking how the Song and Jin countries won after four years of war in the long run.
The second is a specific military issue, which Emperor Zhao put it very directly: if the Jin army comes again in the autumn, how should we defend ourselves? How should we defend ourselves?
The third is the issue of fiscal balance, which asks how to reduce the burden on the people in the rear as much as possible while ensuring the military deployment on the front line?
The fourth one is the old issue of talent selection. Zhao Jiu pressed the button here and asked how to select qualified talents who can face military pressure under the new situation?
The last question, however, goes back to the foundation of Confucianism, which is quite general, saying that "the way of governance is based on Heaven, and the way of Heaven is based on the people." How should the emperor uphold the way of governance between Heaven and the people?
It seems that Emperor Zhao was still affected by the conversation with Hu Anguo.
After the five questions were written, the chief escort Lan Gui took it first and handed it to the Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei. Zhu Shengfei actually just passed it around to make sure that the questions were not particularly absurd, and then returned it to the original author.
Then, Lan Gui raised his voice as loud as he could in the silent Jiying Hall and recited these five short questions three times in a row. After reading them three times, he asked again if anyone in the audience had not heard them clearly.
In fact, this was just a formality. Several Hanlin scholars had already heard the topic clearly, quickly copied it in large characters, and prepared to hand it over to the eunuchs. At that time, a eunuch would hold up the topic every ten or so desks, allowing the scholars to see it carefully, write it down on the draft, and then write the composition.
It's still a bit crude, not as good as the previous formal times when students would sign up in advance, be given wine, and carefully copy the test papers.
But it’s useful.
However, just when Lan Gui finished reading and was about to leave, Emperor Zhao, who was sitting on the throne, suddenly took the initiative to speak and made a loud announcement, attracting the attention of several prime ministers and generals around him and hundreds of prospective Jinshi candidates below.
"Gentlemen, before , I have one more thing to say..." Zhao Jiu announced loudly, his voice was clear and unmistakable in the Jiying Hall, which had excellent sound transmission. "I think that the world today is a time of all-out war between Song and Jin. The country is in danger day and night, and everything is disturbed by the war. Therefore, all ceremonies can be simplified. When you answer today, you don't have to worry about the rules and customs of the article. Just say something meaningful! Now answer the questions!"
Such words actually made many people in the hall feel a little moved... Some people felt that the emperor's words were a necessary reminder, some people felt that the emperor was hinting at something, and some people were simply shaken by the four words "all-out war".
But no matter what, after he finished speaking, the emperor calmly left the Jiying Hall with other important civil and military officials and went to the Huangyi Hall next door to drink tea and wait for a while.
For a while, only officials from the Ministry of Rites and eunuchs from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as the armed imperial guards, were left in the Jiying Hall, accompanying the 602 prospective Jinshi candidates to take this ordinary examination.
