Dong Yizhi was somewhat proud and felt like he was making decisions for the people. However, in the afternoon, Shen Ruiming came to give his opinion, thinking that he was "ruling the country according to the rules", "trampling on the rules at will", and "not obeying the law"... Dong Yizhi was very upset because he was the same in this province with this age limit. Ordered it myself. Some people also questioned how the household registration work at the police station was done, and they were asked to report their age as they pleased, which made Mu Min look very unhappy.
In the end, it was Lin Baiguang who came out to smooth things over, saying that this could be regarded as a move to "win the hearts and minds of the people." Several old men also had the intention of "fighting to get reimbursed", which was different from ordinary troublemaking. This "heart-to-Senate" enthusiasm should not be discouraged. Furthermore, the literate population in this old society is inherently small, and the number becomes even smaller based on age.
Finally, he came up with a compromise plan and immediately issued a public announcement. The general idea was that in order to meet the needs of the broad masses of people to actively serve the Senate and the people, the age limit for this public examination was cancelled. As long as they are over 18 years old and in good health. Anyone with a disability can apply. As for those who have lied about their household registration age when registering, they must make corrections at the police station before registering for the exam. Otherwise, they will be disqualified from the exam and will be held legally responsible. As for whether some candidates should be held accountable for making noise at the registration venue, Lin Baiguang felt: "... At the moment, people's hearts are at the mercy of the situation. Some matters should be lenient rather than harsh, otherwise the purpose of legislation and governance will be lost."
On the day of the exam, Yuan Shuzhi and Zeng rolled up early. Zeng Juan’s mother had already prepared two test baskets. Since ancient times, all exams have to be prepared in this way. Whether it is a college examination, a provincial examination or a general examination, there are three consecutive examinations, each lasting three days. It was said that it lasted three days, but in fact I entered the venue in the evening of the first day. The test papers were distributed the next day and were handed in on the morning of the third day.
In the examination room, candidates not only have to write essays, but also have to eat, drink, and have diarrhea, so everything needed for eating, drinking, and diarrhea, and even bedding, must be prepared. It's just that whether the candidates are rich or poor, the test basket and the objects inside are very different.
There had never been any scholars in Zengjuan's family, and Zengjuan had never passed the college examination. These two examination baskets were borrowed by Zeng Juan's mother from an old neighbor. They were the possessions of an old scholar who had spent his whole life studying and taking exams. The bamboo examination basket had been exposed to rain, wind, and smoke for decades, and was so black and dull that it was hard to tell how old it was, but it was still strong.
Zeng Juan’s mother had already prepared all the necessary items: the four treasures of the study, bronze hammers, trumpets, door curtains, stoves, candlesticks, candle scissors, rolling bags, and charcoal; and food for the occasion: dim sum, lotus seeds, dried longan, fried rice, Pickled cucumber, ginger, asafoetida...
There are so many things that cannot fit in one basket, and they have to be packed with gifts. Rich families will naturally have servants carry them to the door. After entering, they can pay a few bucks to ask the veteran servants in the field to do the work for them. For ordinary families, they only have to do their own work. Those who wait for a while can even collect the test baskets. There was not enough rice and vegetables in it, so I had to scrape together some necessary things to bring in.
Zeng Juan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, because the newspaper and the registration office had already said that this public examination would be divided into written examination and interview. Only those who pass the written test will be admitted to the interview. The written test lasts only one day, and lunch is uniformly prepared by the government, so there is no need to prepare so many items.
After talking it over with my mother, I was able to avoid having to carry the test basket weighing dozens of kilograms. I only packed a bag with the items required for the exam and took it with me. Zeng Juan said: "I see that Australian cadres and soldiers all have cloth satchels. They can carry things and are easy to carry. It's a pity that they didn't buy them."
As he was talking, he suddenly saw Zhang Yu and his waiter coming with food boxes. It turned out that he knew that today was the day when Zeng took the public examination, so he specially packed a box of snacks from the store and delivered it.
"Ajuan, I wish you a quick start and immediate success!" Zhang Yu said.
The hands of a pair of friends held each other tightly, and Zeng Juan felt an indescribable warmth in his heart. Over the past six months or so, it was Zhang Yu who had spent a lot of money and effort to pave the way for his public examination career. It was all out of friendship in return. With a friend like this, what else could I ask for? He nodded excitedly.
"Ziyu hasn't come back from Lingao yet. If he were in Guangzhou, he would come to support you!" Zhang Yu said. After that, she said some words of encouragement to Yuan Shuzhi. Finally, even Mingnu came out and said a few auspicious words, congratulating her uncle and "Grandpa" on their "soaring into the sky" and "becoming a blockbuster". Yuan Shuzhi's eyes moistened as he said this - he was a man with no relatives and no family, and he had never had the happiness of a family. Now that he received a caring and auspicious word from this little girl, he was extremely excited and said to Mingnu: "Good girl, Grandpa It will definitely fly into the sky!" Everyone laughed.
Saying goodbye to their relatives and friends, Zeng Juan and Yuan Shuzhi embarked on the journey of public examination.
The civil service examination was held in the original Guangdong Gongyuan of the Ming Dynasty. Because there are so many vacancies this time, the number of applicants has surged. More than 2,000 admission tickets have been issued alone. There is no such large school in Guangzhou that can be used as an examination room. Wei Bifu, the former counselor of the Comprehensive Office of the General Office of Guangzhou Prefecture who was retained, suggested that the original Guangdong Gongyuan be used. This Gongyuan School located on Taishi Street has 5,000 booths, which is enough to handle all candidates.
This Gongyuan is an architectural marvel even for senators from the 21st century. The houses are continuous and the atmosphere is magnificent. Including Liu Xiang, all the elders who came to Guangzhou must pay a visit here.
At this time, Zhang Yunmi, the examiner of this civil service examination, was upstairs in Mingyuan, looking at the continuous black roof tiles. This building is the commanding height from which the proctor monitors the entire venue. This public examination also served as the location of the invigilation office.
Because this was the first time that the Senate organized a large-scale unified examination, all aspects attached great importance to it. Liu Xiang originally wanted to send the National Army to maintain order in the surrounding areas and serve as the examiner himself. It was Lin Baiguang who suggested that it should not be too grand.
"Although the civil service examination was born out of the imperial examination, we are not engaged in the imperial examination system after all. It is best not to leave such an impression on the public. To maintain order, just send more police officers. As for the examiner, Zhang Yunmi, the principal of the existing Guangzhou Cadre School That’s the most suitable candidate.”
Seeing that Liu Xiang was still a little reluctant to give up, he whispered: "This group of candidates has a strong traditional mindset. If they pass the exam, they will most likely regard the senior examiner as their 'student' in the future - it doesn't matter to a little girl like Zhang Yunmi, it won't matter to other seniors." At once……"
These words shocked Liu Xiang into a cold sweat, and he secretly cursed himself for forgetting this! So Zhang Yunmi was appointed as the examiner.
Zhang Yunmi is no longer surprised by the changes in her various temporary positions - she has begun to adapt to her role.
"This place is so big!" Zhang Yunmi stood on the upper floor of Mingyuan and admired.
To say that Mingyuan Tower is actually not high. But in the city of Guangzhou in the 17th century when there were almost no buildings, the second floor was the commanding height, enough to overlook the entire Gongyuan.
This tribute courtyard faces south, and the main building has a symmetrical rectangular layout. Surrounded by high walls and with watchtowers at the four corners, it looks like a small town.
The central axis of the building, from south to north, is the Toumen, Yimen, Longmen, Mingyuan Tower, "Tiankai Wenyun" archway, Zhigong Hall, Jieshen Hall, Jukui Hall and the back gate.
The central axis of the Gongyuan is a stone road with towering ancient trees on both sides. Many of the stone slabs are broken and overgrown with weeds. After the attack, you can still see weeds everywhere in the gaps in the road - under the Ming Dynasty, this Gongyuan was only used once every three years. It is a large area and difficult to maintain, and it feels somewhat deserted and dilapidated.
Both sides of the stone road are densely packed with residences. Dozens of residences are arranged in a row. On the wall at the entrance of each row are numbers written in Chinese characters, in the order of the characters: "The sky and the earth are black and yellow, the universe is vast. The sun and the moon are waxing, and the morning and night are in rows." Zhang..." to number. The character "天" is in the east, the character "地" is in the west, the character "Xuan" is in the east, the character "黄" is in the west, and so on until the number houses are arranged. This Mingyuan Building is located in the middle of the entire Gongyuan, and plays a role in monitoring the entire venue.
Zhang Yunmi was curious and once went to the alley to take a look. He saw that the dormitory was short and narrow, only 3 feet wide, 4 feet long, and 6 feet high. I couldn't stand upright or lie down inside. You can only sit in it. There are two layers of brick supports on the inner wall of the house, and a wooden board called a "number board" is placed on each layer. One is used for sitting and sleeping, and the other is used as a desk. Candidates burn candles and write essays in it. It was still hot in autumn, and thousands of people crowded into this small shed with no ventilation. They were sweating in the sweltering heat, bitten by smoke and insects, desperately searching for dried intestines, and racking their brains to piece together articles. One can imagine the difficulty of writing in it.
What Zhang Yunmi couldn't stand the most was that there were several rooms in each row of dormitories that were used as toilets. Candidates defecated in them and the stench was overwhelming. Although it had been a long time since her last exam when she visited, she could still smell the stench of feces and urine when she passed by. For this reason, she made a special report: Applying to build several large toilets in the Gongyuan for the use of candidates. Even using a cesspool is much more hygienic than using a stinking pit where people defecate in the open.
"Reporting to the head, it is already 8 o'clock. Do you want to let the candidates in?"
"Open the gate and let the candidates in." Zhang Yunmi nodded in agreement.
The new rules are that the exam room door opens at 8 a.m., the exam officially starts at 9 a.m., and ends at 12 p.m. The second exam starts at 14:00 and ends at 17:00.
Zeng Juan and Yuan Shuzhi were waiting outside Toumen. The door was dark and crowded with candidates. Because of the large number of people, the police have blocked the surrounding roads and only allow people with admission tickets to enter. Everyone is eagerly looking forward to seeing what the "Australian Imperial Examination" will be like for the first time.
Yuan Shuzhi has never been to Gongyuan, but he has heard people say that when people are allowed to enter the Gongyuan Township Examination, they use cannons as a signal. First, three cannons are fired to open the door, then three cannons are fired to open the ceremonial gate, and the last three cannons are fired to open the gantry. Once the gantry is opened, It’s considered a formal entry. At this time, he suddenly heard the sound of a cannon on the Zhenhai Tower, followed by the sound of bells and drum towers in various places in the city. He struck eight times in a row and knew that it was what the Australians call eight o'clock, which is the middle of the day.
