Volume 4 is in the ascendant Chapter 439: Applying for a Transaction
On the third day of November in the first year of the Chu Dynasty, the imperial examinations in Jinling had been completed at the rate of two subjects per day .
Bai Tu once again gave a moving and tear-jerking speech at Jinling University, and a large banquet was held at Jinling that day - no matter whether he passed the exam or not, he had to have a banquet...
On the one hand, it is to encourage and affirm everyone's enthusiasm, and on the other hand, it is also to comfort them in advance. After all, according to the plan of the Ministry of Rites, the number of people in the first class will not exceed 20, and the number of people in the second class will not exceed 150.
Of course, this is not absolute. After all, each department will review it separately. If there are really a lot of talents, it doesn’t matter if it exceeds the limit.
As for the remaining 85% of the candidates, most of them can be admitted into the top three, and as for the rest, most of them probably failed due to the "basic scores" of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice.
This is also what Bai Tu specifically instructed the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice to do in order to promote the "Chu Law" and the moral values of the Chu State. It cannot be too simple, lest people think that the basic score is just a simple screening. At least 30% should be eliminated!
When the results are announced, the six ministries and one academy each publish their top three. There is no ranking after the third place, only the list of the first, second and third place, as well as the scores of each candidate in each subject.
The grades are ranked as “A” for the best, “B” for the second best, “C” for the average, and “D” for the failed…
Because the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishments have basic scores, if any one of them is scored as "D", the student will fail the exam. If only the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishments are scored as "Bing", and all other subjects are scored as "D", the student will also fail the exam.
At least outside the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice, only those with "C" have a chance to be in the top three, those with "B" will definitely be in the top three, those with more "B" can be in the second class, and as for the first class... they are generally outstanding students with several "A" grades.
Basically, if you can be in the top three among the six ministries and one academy, you will definitely be able to enter the first class. However, the other first class places require comprehensive consideration, not just a simple comparison of the number of "A" places.
For example, if civilian science is "A", household science is "B", and military science is "D", it is definitely better than civilian science being "A", military science being "B", and household science being "D"...
Because the former is good at governing the local area, organizing construction projects, and is relatively sensitive to accounts. It doesn't matter if he doesn't understand military strategies. He can serve in the local area or in the court. The latter... is good at governing the local area, organizing construction projects, and also understands some military strategies, but is slow when it comes to accounts. This defect is somewhat obvious.
It is even more obvious in the criminal sciences. The minimum basic score is "C", but if it is just "C", no matter how good other subjects are, they will not be able to get an A. At least they need to be "B". They may not be able to do logical reasoning, but at least they must have legal concepts and common sense, otherwise I dare not entrust them with important tasks...
Of course, these are not absolute.
Because it was the first imperial examination, the difference between "A" and "A" was very large. There was no scope of the examination at all. It was a pure ability test. It was almost impossible to have a "full score". If it really had to be counted on a percentage basis, 70 points would be enough to get an "A"!
If you really have outstanding talent in some aspect, better than "A", you can also be hired as an exception and trained intensively to see the results. After all, people can improve, but... if you are not good enough, please improve yourself quietly and then take the exam again.
Of course, Bai Tu would not mark the papers himself, but once the six ministries and one academy had calculated all the scores, they would be summarized and Bai Tu would hold a meeting to decide the specific candidates for the top grades.
So nominally, the King of Chu personally selects the top-class officials, and the top-class officials on the list will be invited to a banquet in the Chu Palace after the announcement of the results - that is the home of the King of Chu, where official business is not handled. They may even send invitations as if they were private matters, and in theory they can be refused, that is, to appease them in their personal name, or to win them over.
It doesn’t mean much to Bai Tu, but it is one of the “privileges” Bai Tu leaves for the future King of Chu.
Given Bai Tu's prestige and the fact that he was a strong promoter of the imperial examination, without this procedure, no one would think that their success in the first place in the exam had nothing to do with Bai Tu, let alone that he was passing on the prestigious position to others.
However, if other kings of Chu cannot make it in the future, at least keeping this program can help them maintain their transcendent status.
During these seven days, the streets and alleys of Jinling were filled with speculation and gossip about the top three in each department.
Not only did Bai Tu not stop it, but he vigorously promoted it and even secretly fanned the flames - it is better to care about the imperial examination than to care about the gossip about the King of Chu and Lady Xiahou!
As for the final result, will it be a case of much ado about nothing, and will the contrast undermine the momentum of the "imperial examination"?
Bai Tu was not very worried about this because it was the first imperial examination. Just from what Bai Tu knew, such "famous people" as Fa Zheng and Fei Yi participated. Even Zhuge Jin, Meng Jian, Shi Tao... these young scholars who had theoretically been recruited also took the initiative to participate in order to support the policies of the Chu State or to gild themselves through the first imperial examination.
Therefore, the value of this first imperial examination can be imagined. Ten or twenty years later, time will give the best proof.
Even some grassroots officials in various departments who had great ambitions but were unable to display their talents hoped to retake the imperial examinations, hoping to shine in one fell swoop and get a higher starting point.
In the end, Bai Tu had to stipulate that there was no age limit for civilians to take the imperial examinations, but officials who had already served in government must be under 30 years old before they could take the examinations again, and those over 30 had to work honestly!
In fact, most of the scholars who took part in the imperial examinations this time were in their twenties or thirties, or even younger. Especially some of the "dazzling" ones were concentrated in this age group.
Many of those who are older and have a great reputation have already been recruited. Others are somewhat reluctant to seek official positions in this "competitive" way, as they feel they are being rushed. Even if they are really anxious, they still have to consider the "burden of being a celebrity".
After all, this is the first imperial examination, and everyone is not used to it yet...
In comparison, young people, or young and middle-aged people, have fewer concerns in this regard.
However, not everyone was interested. For example, Xu Shu devoted himself to the Ministry of Works, working with Pang Tong to expand the tactics of the new military equipment. Moreover, his starting point was no lower than that of the first-class scorers in the imperial examination, so he did not join in the fun.
…
Before the imperial examination, envoys from other parties were also able to appreciate the Chu plate armor at Liu Ye's place. However, Liu Ye refused everyone's request to take one back for inspection on the grounds that these plate armors were gifts for General Xiahou, and he would not take the initiative to share Ma Jun's judgment with them.
However, after the imperial examination, other envoys also negotiated with the Ministry of Rites, hoping to add "plate armor" to the trading categories.
The Ministry of Rites finally hinted in a "shy" way: This is our Chu State's most advanced equipment and the strongest land armament. Do you want to buy it? You have to pay more...
