Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 507 The Imperial Examination System Will Change
"Woo~Kongzi, Kongzi..."
While Wen Tiren was enjoying a hot spring bath in Japan, a train, braving the cold wind of late winter in northern China, set off from Tianjin and, after more than three hours of travel, slowly stopped at Beijing Railway Station.
"Brother Wenqi, here!"
"Eh? Brother Jiandou , how did you know I was on this train?"
"Haha, since I received a letter from you last month saying that you wanted to experience the Beijing-Tianjin Railway, I went to check the train schedule . I roughly calculated that Brother Wenqi will take either today's train or tomorrow's train."
"My dear brother, you are thoughtful."
The so-called Brother Wenqi is naturally Wen Zhenmeng, an old scholar who failed the imperial examination ten times in a row. And this Brother Jiandou is Wen Zhenmeng's friend regardless of age difference, Lu Xiangsheng, who is currently a senior student at the Daming Imperial Military Academy.
"Oh, this is incredible. I have been going to Beijing every three years for the past thirty years. In the past, it took two or three days to get from Tianjin to the capital. Three years ago, I took a four-wheeled carriage on the Beijing-Tianjin Highway, leaving in the morning and arriving in the evening. Today, I took this train, and the whole journey only took an hour and a half! Things are changing with each passing day, changing with each passing day!"
"Yes, and the loading capacity of this train is much greater than that of a horse-drawn carriage."
"That's right. In the past, a four-wheeled carriage could only carry six people at most, and the fare was very expensive, at least five silver cents, and the passengers were also required not to have too much carry-on luggage. But now, a train can carry at least five hundred people. Not only has the travel time been reduced by two or three hours, but the fare has also been reduced to one silver cent. As for carry-on luggage, there are not many restrictions as long as you don't move your home to the train... I just don't know what will happen to those merchants who just took out loans to buy four-wheeled carriages to transport goods to Beijing and Tianjin when the train becomes popular. I remember that when I entered Beijing three years ago, the owner of the carriage shop that I took borrowed three thousand silver dollars from the bank!"
"Hahaha, Brother Wenqi, you're not even the top scholar yet, but you're already worrying about national affairs. In the business world, there are those who rise to the top, while there are those who sink and drown. It's inevitable."
"Eh~" He looked at Lu Xiangsheng with interest: "As expected, he married the princess. Has the prince consort already looked down upon the common people from the clouds?"
"Uh..." Lu Xiangsheng, who was holding Wen Zhenmeng's luggage and walking forward, paused when he heard this. He turned around, put down the luggage in his hand, and bowed to Wen Zhenmeng very seriously: "Brother Wenqi, the court can't control everything. It can only do its best to protect the interests of the majority of people most of the time.
Let's talk about the impact of the opening of the Beijing-Tianjin Railway on the merchants operating four-wheeled carriages on the highway. The imperial court had already made a notice in the six major newspapers three years in advance before the construction of this railway. Li Guojun, director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, also wrote an open article, making a detailed analysis of the various impacts that the opening of the Beijing-Tianjin Railway may bring. Under such circumstances, who can be blamed for foolishly investing in four-wheeled carriages?
Besides, even if the railway is opened, the road business will be hit. But many places in our Ming Dynasty are connected by roads, and the railway is being built without any plan. These four-wheeled carriages can also be transferred to other places.
In short, as long as a businessman has a little bit of brains, he will not be at a loss and die in hardship. "
"……I see."
The two followed the surging crowd and slowly walked out of the station. There was already a four-wheeled carriage with a golden roof and sun and moon marks on both sides of the carriage parked there.
After Wen Zhenmeng got in the car, he looked up and saw a pretty woman sitting in the car. She wore a pair of glasses on her nose and exuded an intellectual beauty.
"Ah? Uh, I'm here to meet Her Royal Highness the Princess."
"Brother Wenqi, there is no need to be so polite. This is not a grand court meeting, so there is no need to go through all these empty formalities. I am just accompanying Lu Lang to pick you up."
"Hahaha, Brother Wenqi, just sit down and relax. Although there is enough space in this carriage, there is no way for you to stand up straight."
"Oh." After all, he is a descendant of Wen Zhengming, and he is still proud and arrogant. So the old scholar was just a little shocked just now, and after sitting in the carriage, he quickly recovered: "Hey, Jiandou, you came to pick me up, but why did you bring His Highness with you? What if I didn't come today? Wouldn't it be a waste of His Highness's trip?"
"Hehe." Lu Xiangsheng and Zhu Huijuan didn't say anything, but just held each other's hands tightly and smiled gently at each other.
"Swish~!" This dog food is spilled!
The old scholar was the descendant of a romantic scholar. He thought about it and understood that the two guys were in the passionate love period. During this period, lovers would like to be together all the time. What if they can't pick someone up together? Just go and pick them up tomorrow! As long as men and women in love are together, everything they do is full of sweetness.
Oh, our emperor is really generous. He lets these two young people go out on a date before they are officially married? What if someone dies due to an accidental discharge of a gun?
However, this way of dating first and then getting married is really good! Back then, I saw my wife for the first time on my wedding night. That was really going to bed first and then dating - the feeling was so different!
"Brother Wenqi, I have read the essay you sent with your letter a few days ago. I am really impressed by it. Your essay is already perfect. You will definitely pass the examination this time!"
"Hey, my dear brother, I'm worried." After a self-deprecating smile, Wen Zhenmeng bowed to Zhu Huijuan and said, "Your Highness the Princess may have heard that I have failed the imperial examination ten times. This time should be my last time to take the imperial examination. If I fail again, I will go to the Ministry of Personnel to apply to be a teacher in a newly built elementary school in the future."
"I asked several professors from Fangshan who were Jinshi graduates to read your essay. They all said that it has reached a high level, so this time, it should be possible to pass." Zhu Huijuan smiled gently and looked into Wen Zhenmeng's eyes: "Since my brother ascended the throne, he has made slight adjustments to the imperial examination. This time, the examination time for classics and poetry has been reduced from three days to two days. In this way, there are five days left for policy essays."
"I already knew about this last year. It seems that the emperor is increasingly placing importance on the ability of future court officials to get things done."
"Yes, but I think my brother still feels that it is not enough. He often tells us, his brothers and sisters, that the knowledge of officials in the future of our Ming Dynasty must not be limited to the Four Books and Five Classics, but must be both liberal arts and science. In the current imperial examination, except for a few geniuses, it is difficult to select a large number of officials that he is satisfied with."
That’s enough. Wen Zhenmeng’s failure to pass the imperial examination ten times does not mean he is stupid. Zhu Huijuan’s words have clearly expressed two meanings: First, the imperial examination system is about to undergo a major change. If he fails to pass the imperial examination this time, he will probably not pass it even if he wants to take the exam in the future. Second, since the imperial examination system is going to undergo a major change, what will the topic of the policy essay be this time? Do we still need to guess?
…
On the ninth day of the second month in 1622, the imperial examination of the fourth year of the Tianqi reign officially began.
Zhu Youdong made fine-tuning again for this imperial examination.
First, the duration of the two examinations, namely, the interpretation of classics and poetry, was reduced from three days each to two days each.
Second, the time for policy discussion was increased from three days to five days.
Third, the vague comments such as "excellent, acceptable, or rejected" were changed to scores. The full marks for all three papers are 100 points, but after the exam, the scores of the three papers will be converted. Among them, the classics and poetry each account for 15%, and the policy essays account for 70%.
This "fine-tuning" really made many officials in the Ming Dynasty break out in a cold sweat: If this standard is set before we pass the imperial examination, it is possible that most of us will not pass!
However, as officials who have obtained the qualification of Jinshi and serve in the court. Although they were sweating, they basically supported the emperor's fine-tuning: In the past ten years, especially in the past three to five years, the Ming Dynasty has changed every day. This puts extremely high demands on the management level of officials. If the imperial examination is not changed, it is useless to select a large number of literati and poets! It is more appropriate to select some guys who can do practical things to share our increasingly heavy work pressure!
The officials in office basically all supported it. It was of no use for those who had not yet passed the imperial examination, or even the scholars and students of the lower level, to have strong objections.
In short, when Wen Zhenmeng participated in the imperial examination, on February 13, when the essay test papers were handed out, he saw the following topic as expected: Discuss, in today's great changes, how to select talents for the country?
In accordance with the style of the time traveler, the essay part of the imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty has undergone obvious changes since six years ago: it is no longer a single question, but contains a large amount of information.
Under the title of the essay for the fourth year of Tianqi, there are nearly 10,000 words of material. It elaborates on the hereditary appointment of nobles during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the recommendation system of the Han Dynasty, the nine-rank system of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the imperial examination system since the Sui Dynasty. It also fully explains the changes of the imperial examination system in the Sui, Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties. At the same time, it also lists the social conditions when these talent selection systems were first born, as well as the changes in subsequent social development.
In short, I want to tell you: Times change, systems change, and the Chinese Empire has been like this since ancient times. Now, with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the intensification of competition with countries around the world, the official selection system of the Ming Empire must be completely changed!
