"Fake, all fake..."
"They're destroying evidence..."
When I heard that all the exam papers were burned, I don't know who started it. Thousands of candidates started making a fuss in an instant. This made the agitators in the crowd confused. What could happen?
A new round of throwing cabbage leaves and eggs has begun. This time, not to mention the civil and military officials, even the emperor was not spared. A few vegetable leaves were thrown on the shoulders.
"Escort, escort!"
Li Er kicked the guard captain to the ground, "Shut up! Why are you protecting me? Drawing a knife on a group of unarmed candidates?"
"Your Majesty, it's too dangerous. Why don't you go back to the palace first. If, if, an assassin sneaks in, we will be punished with death!" All the guards and generals knelt down.
Li Er turned his head and looked in the direction of the Imperial College. Sure enough, there was a thin layer of smoke. They were so brave. Damn it!
"Come here, take down all the officials who participated in the imperial examination and send them to the prison for custody. No one is allowed to visit them without my order! I'll wait and see."
ah? Thousands of candidates are in chaos, what do you do to arrest the examiners?
"Didn't you hear? Get someone quickly!" Li Er yelled at Wei Zheng.
Wei Zheng understood and quickly commanded the Imperial City Guards to capture people. Whether they were invigilators of the imperial examinations, those who wrote the questions, or those who were the final graders, anyone who had anything to do with the imperial examinations, no matter whether they were big or small officials, no one was spared. All of them were captured on the spot.
"Unjustly accused, we are unjustly accused, Your Majesty..."
Hundreds of officials, large and small, all shouted that they were wronged. At this moment, it became clear that Kong Yingda was lucky. It might be a good thing that he fainted.
Seeing the guards acting like this and arresting all the imperial examination officials, the candidates were stunned, gradually quieted down, and looked at this scene in confusion.
Fang Xuanling smiled, thinking that His Majesty was still smarter. This method was more effective than shouting directly to make the students quiet.
Seeing that all the candidates had calmed down, Li Er spoke, ignoring Cai Zizi on his shoulders, and shouted loudly: "I, the future pillars of the Tang Dynasty, such a scandal happened today, I feel ashamed! The facts are before our eyes, Some people don’t want to review the test papers. There is no doubt that this is self-inflicted, and there is something wrong with the results of the imperial examination.”
"I have ordered the arrest of all officials who participated in this imperial examination. I will find out the truth and give you an explanation."
"The saint is wise!" All the candidates praised in unison.
But some people were not happy. There were hundreds of people on the list, "Sage, what should we do with those of us on the list? Although we have passed the examination, we still have knowledge gained through hard work. We can't become popular. Just burn our hard work and future?"
Someone next to me was unhappy and shouted: "What kind of future and hard work? If you were not protected by favoritism, would you be on the list? Do you still have the nerve to ask for fame from a saint? Bah!"
…
Soon the two groups started arguing fiercely.
Fang Xuanling suggested: "Your Majesty, why not take the exam again?"
Xiao Yu frowned and said: "If we retake the exam, the people on the list may not be convinced. Moreover, organizing an imperial examination is time-consuming and laborious, and many candidates from other places have limited money and food..."
Fang Xuanling said: "It doesn't need to be so troublesome. Talents are in short supply in the Tang Dynasty, and scholars are rare. Anyone who can read can use it. There is no need to ask too difficult questions to choose the best. It is better to choose the day than to hit it. Take advantage of today's opportunity to combine these few Thousands of candidates were all put into the square in front of the inner palace of the imperial city. His Majesty set the questions on the spot and asked them to take the exam on the spot. We, a group of people, reviewed them all night, and the results will be released as soon as tomorrow."
Li Er's eyes lit up, it made sense, a good idea! In fact, Fang Xuanling is right. Anyway, it is just about selecting the best among the best. No matter what the topic is, as long as the top few hundred people can be selected from among the thousands of people, it will be enough. Moreover, the exam will be held on-site today, and we will do our best to run the imperial examination smoothly, which can not only solve the troubles caused by the candidates, but also avoid the harm of cheating in submitting papers.
"Very good, Fang Qing's plan is very good. Then organize it, let everyone enter the imperial city, arrange simple desks in the square in front of the palace, and let the candidates sit on the ground to take the exam. In addition, Wuhou was sent to various places, and the whole city notified those who will take the exam today. Candidates who did not come will have the opportunity to retake the exam if they arrive within an hour."
Hearing the news, thousands of candidates cheered. A second chance is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Fortunately, when the results were announced, I didn't turn around and go home disheartened. As expected, God favored me.
The re-examination this time was not only in a crude environment, but also in an even cruder order. But if anyone wanted to cheat, plagiarize, or whisper to each other, no one would dare. Because someone came up with an idea. A knife-wielding soldier stood next to each candidate. Anyone who dared to break discipline would be taken down and kicked out on the spot.
There is a man standing next to me, holding a knife, looking majestic and murderous. Do I still have the heart to think about it? I'm afraid I was so frightened that I couldn't even lift the pen.
It was no one else who came up with the idea. It was Sun Wuji, the eldest uncle of the country. This guy looked like a good old man with a big belly, but he was actually a ruthless person: Haha, we don’t care, we will choose the best among the best. The examination to recruit officials will not only test your embroidery articles. , it is a test of ability and courage. In a dangerous environment, if you can't even adjust your mentality well, how can you help the court govern the country in the future?
The emperor's question is very simple, just two questions, not the Four Books and Five Classics, nor astronomy and geography, but practical governance: What are the disadvantages of taxing the people in the country today? How do you view the issue of northern grasslands?
There are only two questions. If these were the questions in this imperial examination, I am afraid that people from the Ministry of Rites would scold them to death. The imperial examination does not test the books of sages? If virtue is not established, how can a king transform the people?
But now? Most of the people from the Ministry of Rites were taken in, and the emperor made temporary questions. How could it be possible to test the meaning of the scriptures?
What the Tang Dynasty lacks the most is capable people to manage the people at the grassroots level. These two questions may seem simple, but those idiots who are indifferent to the four bodies and five grains cannot answer them. What the court wants is not a doctor of Qingci who can write articles, but a capable person who can serve as an official and have great political talents.
Many candidates are complaining in a low voice, what kind of question is this? It is very different from the previous imperial examination papers. These are not taught in the books of sages, right?
Those complaining about this are all children from high-ranking families. They guard their own library and have read hundreds of books since childhood. They know a lot of truths, but their shortcoming is that they are not down to earth.
On the contrary, those children from poor families who only have one or two books take advantage. Most of them can only study at night and make a living during the day. In this way, they can be exposed to the current lives of ordinary people, whether they are farming or doing business. Domestic affairs or foreign affairs, these two questions can always be partially answered.
This is the brilliance of Emperor Li Er.
In fact, the emperor also knew in his heart that the difficulty of the questions was not important. What was important was how to get it just right. He could use this opportunity to eliminate the children of rich families from being on the list to the maximum extent and select a group of rookies from poor families. Even if these rookies from a poor family are not very knowledgeable, they can at least be cultivated slowly and their loyalty will be no problem.
Although he missed the current imperial examination, the next imperial examination still had disadvantages such as submitting papers, so Li Er racked his brains to figure out these two questions.
Until now, Li Er had no time to take care of the vegetable leaves on his shoulders. Lao Gao, the chamberlain, had reminded him many times, but he couldn't take care of it.
"Your Majesty, while preparations are still ahead, I will help you change your clothes."
Taking the few vegetable leaves with his own hands, Li Er smiled and said, "A little better than Xuancheng, at least not a rotten egg. Everyone, do you see it? This is the people's will. We are in charge of the government, and if things are done unfairly, the people will Use these to retaliate. What you can see are rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves, but what you can't see behind the scenes is that people are scolding our ancestors and family members. Even I, the emperor, are no exception. Master Meng is right, the people are more valuable than the monarch and the country is neglected. !”
"Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. I hope everyone can take what happened today as a lesson. Although the saliva of cabbage leaves is cheap, it can be worth a sword. If we lose the support of the people, what we will throw at us next time will be like a strong wind and a huge wave. It’s a real sword and a real gun.”
"Your Majesty is wise, please bear this in mind!" Everyone saluted.
Li Er summoned his chamberlain Lao Gao, threw the vegetable leaves to him, and then whispered: "Tell that boy Xiao Rui that I can't spare him."
