Jiankang City was built for more than ten miles, with Zhongshan in the east, Qinhuai in the south, Yangtze River in the west, and Xuanwu in the north.
There are small cities all around, including Baishi Lei (Baixia), Wucheng, and Langye County City in the north, Stone City in the west, Ye City, Xizhou City in the southwest, Dongfucheng in the southeast, and Danyang County City in the south. The terrain is strategic and the defense is strong. .
There are more than 100,000 registered households in the city. Business is prosperous, people are prosperous, and prosperity is at its peak. Both sides of the five-mile imperial road from Xuanyang Gate to Zhuque Gate are lined with government offices and temples. Lanes are distributed on both sides of the imperial road and along the Qinhuai River. In addition, there is a floating population. With a population of over one million, it is the economic, cultural and political center of Jin State.
Being in the capital, all kinds of opinions are circulated in the public every day. The topic of King Langya marrying a daughter that was hotly discussed some time ago has gradually been replaced by opening a new school to recruit scholars.
Last year, the imperial court issued an edict to the world, quoting the sixth item in the "Eight Matters" written by Liu Yu, the Duke of Song Dynasty, to promote talent examinations. Scholars all over the world who intend to participate in the imperial examinations can go to the ancestral hall to log in to take the examination. The content of the examination is as follows. The Yongzhou pilot project is also divided into three parts: Ming Jing, policy theory and essays.
The Xiangyang Imperial Examination was the first to use meritocracy regardless of one's origin. More than 8,000 people came to take the exam. In the end, 60 people passed the Jinshi Department and 700 people passed the Civil Service Examination. Although less than one-tenth of the people succeeded, Most of them were from poor families, and these people were able to enter the official career, and in a true sense "learned and excelled will become an official". This was unprecedented since Cao Wei's ninth-grade Zhongzheng selection.
In order to show that it was different from the Xiangyang imperial examination, Liu Muzhi, Yuan Zhan, Kong Jing and others suggested after discussion that the imperial court should select scholars regardless of the Jinshi examination and the civil examination examination. On the surface, it would be more beneficial to poor students.
The number of people who took the imperial examination in Xiangyang the year before last exceeded 8,000. Liu Muzhi and others estimated that the number of candidates who came to Jiankang to take the exam would exceed 10,000. As a result, registration was closed as of June 10, and the estimated number of candidates was 10,000. Five thousand four hundred and thirty-two people, nearly twice the number of Xiangyang imperial examinations.
The people who took the exam came from all over the world. In addition to people from Jin, there were also candidates from Wei, Beiyan, Xiqin, Xiliang, Beiliang, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Linyi who traveled thousands of miles to Jiankang to take the exam.
More than 2,000 candidates who failed the imperial examination in Xiangyang came to Jiankang. They had passed the imperial examination and were familiar with the process and content of the examination. After more than a year of hard study, most of them were confident that they would pass.
The Business Information Department reported the news that the candidates were going to Jiankang to take the exam. Yang Anxuan thought about it again and again, and after discussing with Guo Gao, Kong Xian and others, decided to release the candidates who went to Jiankang to take the exam.
These candidates who had participated in the imperial examination were very popular in Jiankang City and became the first candidates to make friends with. They all hoped to get useful information and experience in taking the examination from them and increase their chances of winning.
The candidates who came to Jiankang to serve as officials with Yan Song were even more popular, and invitations to banquets from aristocratic families were flying in like snow flakes.
This time the imperial court opened a subject to recruit talents, and about one-third of the people who took the exam were children of big and small families. The two families of King Guang and Xie came to take the exam with more than a hundred people.
Although Wang Xie was the top family member of the Jin Dynasty, he had many disciples in the clan. The direct descendants might be recommended as officials, but they were in the minority after all. Most of the side branches and concubines could only become assistant officials or manage affairs in the family even if they were talented.
In the Jin Dynasty, official schools were basically abolished, and there were only a few private schools that were opened to teach. Most of the aristocratic families had their own private schools. The children of these aristocratic families were able to read and read in family schools since childhood. Objectively speaking, they could learn the cultural knowledge from books, which is not the case for aristocratic families. The children are the poor and poor family whose family used to be aristocratic. .Ь.
Under the nine-level Zhongzheng system for talent selection, which is based on family and surnames, the children of these aristocratic families are given priority in recruitment and recruitment. Even if the children from poor families are full of talents, they have very few opportunities to enter the officialdom. .
For example, the Yuan family of Runan, together with the Yang family, were two of the most powerful families in the Eastern Han Dynasty. They were known as "disciples and former officials all over the world." Once they were ruined, there would be fewer and fewer sons in the family studying, and there would be few opportunities to become officials. Without Yang Anxuan's help, the family would eventually... It became a common surname.
Liu Yu came from a poor family. After taking power, he reused important ministers from poor families such as Liu Muzhi and Xu Xianzhi, and expressed his intention to break the monopoly of official career to the wealthy families.
With Yang Anxuan taking the imperial examination in Xiangyang, a big hole was torn out of the barrier of the nine-rank Zhongzheng system. Liu Yu conducted the imperial examination in the name of the imperial court. It can be predicted that the nine-rank Zhongzheng system will be ended soon.
gate valve
Of course, the aristocratic family does not want to sit back and watch their career be seized by poor families. Since the imperial court has opened the door to facilitate the selection of candidates regardless of their origins, those concubines and side branches may wish to take this opportunity to enter the official career. I believe that with the help of the family, the career of these children will be far better than A person from a poor family.
Kong Jing was appointed by Liu Yu to preside over the matter of opening a subject and recruiting scholars. He knew that the responsibility was heavy and he did not dare to neglect it in the slightest. Xiangyang once held the imperial examination. Kong Jing wrote to Guo Gao, Wang Zhi and others in Xiangyang Academy for advice. He also wrote to his cousin Kong Yi who returned to Qufu to discuss it. Based on the personal experience of Yan Song and others, he formulated a plan. Regulations for the imperial court to open subjects to obtain scholars.
The examination venues were set at the Imperial College and the Imperial College. Kong Jing invited Ying Hong, a wine minister from the Imperial College, and Dai Dun, a wine minister from the Imperial College, to discuss with them the scoring and confidentiality.
Both of them came from aristocratic families, and they were opposed to the method of recruiting scholars through open subjects, but they knew that the general trend was unavoidable, so they had no choice but to obey orders.
Ying Hong said with a bitter face: "The Imperial College dormitory is already full of candidates who came to take the exam. In the past, eight people were squeezed into the dormitory for two people to a room, and there are still people who come to stay. These are more than 15,000 people. Come here to take the exam, the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy really can’t spare the space for the exam.”
In order to make room for the candidates who came to take the examination, Guozixue and Taixue began to have a holiday at the end of May. Except for those who were interested in participating in the imperial examination, they were sent home.
Dai Dun also said with a sad face: "Even if the cases are placed in an empty field, there will not be room for so many people to take the exam. It is better to screen out and reduce the number of people taking the exam first.".Ь.
Kong Jing had been to the Imperial College and the Imperial College, and knew that what the two men told was the truth. He frowned and said, "I will ask Song Gong to make a decision regarding the venue. In this imperial examination, Song Gong appointed Yu to be the examiner. The two were deputy examiners. They also selected 260 officials from the Six Ministries, Nine Ministers and the Two Schools to serve as invigilators and examiners. They mobilized 1,800 troops from the Sixth Army to maintain order. The Duke of Song Dynasty paid great attention to this matter. To the extreme, you two must not neglect this."
On June 11, Liu Yu returned to Jiankang from Xunyang. Kong Jing immediately went to report the shortage of examination venues and put forward Dai Dun's idea of screening candidates to reduce the number of candidates. .
Liu Yu categorically rejected it. The imperial examination was so popular that twice as many people came to take the examination as the Xiangyang imperial examination, which showed that the court's appeal was still there. Scholars trusted him more than Yang Anxuan. How could they give up eating because of choking and let go of this great creation? Looking for opportunities.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Yu said: "Hualin Garden is vast in area and has beautiful scenery. There are more than ten halls in the garden, such as Yanxian Hall and Qing Shu Hall. In addition, there are tables and tables in the open space in the garden, which is enough to accommodate all the test subjects. .”
Kong Jing thought for a while and said, "The Hualin Garden is too big. The test subjects will be divided into sixteen groups according to the heavenly stems and earthly branches. Then someone will guide them to the place where they will take the test to avoid confusion."
Liu Yu nodded and asked about the tester's behavior. Kong Jing smiled and said, "More than 15,000 people took the exam, and there were dozens of poetry gatherings and gatherings every day. Many people became famous, and their voices for passing the examination were very high."
The Military Intelligence Department also reported the list of these candidates to Liu Yu. Liu Yu knew that the elites in the capital, court officials and famous scholars had invited these famous people to dinner.
The candidates who took the examination seized the opportunity to become famous and submitted their favorite poems to wealthy families in Beijing. Excellent works were also published from time to time at poetry gatherings, and famous scholars and scholars even imitated the Yue Dan commentaries of that year to comment on these candidates. The advantages and disadvantages are very popular in Beijing.
These people can stand out from tens of thousands of people, have good talent and learning, and will become the pillars of the country in the future. When they are in a low position, they will invest little and gain a lot, and the powerful families will naturally know how to do it.
After discussing with Kong Jing for a while, Kong Jing said goodbye and left. Liu Yu called Wang Shaozhi, the envoy of the Military Intelligence Department, and said: "Xiutai, this imperial examination is of great importance. Be careful of Yang Anxuan sending people to make trouble. In addition to the people from the Military Intelligence Department, Yu will also order Danyang Mansion and Tingwei to send people to listen to you. Commander, if there is an emergency, you can temporarily mobilize the soldiers and horses of the Sixth Army. You will investigate the good people for Yu and catch the secret spies in Yongzhou."
Some time ago, Wang Shaozhi arrested five secret spies from the Commercial Affairs Department who caused trouble in Beijing. Liu Yu was very satisfied with Wang Shaozhi's performance and rewarded him with 100,000 yuan, and promoted the meritorious people.
Wang Shaozhi felt that Liu Yu valued the Military Intelligence Department and said solemnly: "Yang Anxuan killed more than 30 people from the Military Intelligence Department in Yangkou. This blood debt must be repaid on behalf of the men."
Liu Yu guessed that as early as the end of May, Yang Anxuan sent Ding Quan, the Zuo envoy of the Department of Commercial Affairs, to Jiankang to sit in and sabotage
This imperial examination.
Outside Zhuque Gate in Jiankang, there are more than 7,000 houses and 50,000 to 60,000 people living in Changqianli. There is a two-entry house near the river, and it lives by the water. It has a small dock, which is convenient for ships to dock and transport goods in and out.
There are thousands of such houses in Jiankang City, and they are very popular among merchants who come to do business. There are more than 200 houses in a row along the water here, and most of them have been bought by merchants.
Ding Quan, whose pseudonym was Peng Cheng, disembarked at the dock and ordered his entourage to unload the cargo from the ship. Ding Quan is a businessman traveling to and from Nanyang. During this trip, he brought spices, pearls, ivory and other items purchased from Nanyang. He also had a shop in Nanyang Market in Changqianli.
Most of the neighbors on the left and right are merchants who travel to various places for business. Like Ding Quan, they do not live in Jiankang for most of the year. Ding Quan's arrival did not attract the attention of others at all.
Luo Guang was the steward of the house and brought several servants to the dock to greet him and help transport the goods into the house for storage. There are more than ten people in the house, all of whom are from the Commercial Affairs Department. There is no need to worry about safety when talking in the house.
Ding Quan first asked Luo Guang about the arrest of the secret spies some time ago. Ding Quan was relieved to learn that these five secret spies were all single-line, and the person who contacted them had left Jiankang.
"Daotai, this time my lord ordered Yu to come and sabotage the imperial examination, where do you think we should start?" Ding Quan asked.
Luo Guang smiled and said, "Seventh brother, the Military Intelligence Department spread rumors during the imperial examination in Xiangyang that the imperial examination was fraudulent, so we might as well start from now on."
Ding Quan said with interest: "Is there any news about it?"
"More than 15,000 people were tested for ginseng, and one-third of them came from a wealthy family. How could there be no favoritism?" Luo Guang mysteriously took out a stack of paper from the bookcase next to him and said, "This is an imperial examination that is secretly circulated among the people. Each test question costs more than a hundred dollars."
Ding Quan took it, looked through it, and said with a smile, "With this introduction, the rest will be easy."
