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In the Ming Dynasty, the imperial examination was the highest-level imperial examination. Although it was not as important as the imperial examination in previous days, it only determined the final ranking and there was no question of being deposed. But for scholars all over the world, It is an extremely grand event in the literary world. The top pick, second place winner, and top pick in each palace examination will become famous all over the world in the shortest possible time and be sought after by countless people. 【Read the latest chapter】
The palace examination only tests current policies, and the policy questions are awarded in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. During this period, the emperor would personally question the tributes in the palace.
After the palace examination is over, the papers will be read the next day. The emperor and the invigilators will divide the candidates into top three according to their performance. There are only three people in the first class, which are the well-known top scorers, second best, and top picks, and then there are a number of people in the second class, named "Given Jinshi origin", a number of people in the top three were named "Given Jinshi origin", and the results were released on the third day.
Then, on the day when the results are released, the emperor will hold a passing ceremony in the Hall of Supreme Harmony to announce the results of the palace examination. Among them, the top three will be conferred immediately after the examination. The number one winner will be awarded to the editor of the Hanlin Academy, and the second and third best will be awarded to the editor of the Hanlin Academy. ; Other Jinshi, according to their ranking in the palace examination and imperial examination, were awarded the official positions of Hanlin Academy, such as Shujishi, Chief, Doctor of Zhongshu, Tuiguan, Zhizhou, and County Zhishi.
However, Zhao Junchen's emphasis on the palace examination is not because it is a grand ceremony for scholars, but because he is concerned about the final rankings of those "Zhao Party's reserve forces"!
Although there is no problem of failing in the imperial examination, candidates can become officials as long as they advance through the general examination. And after becoming officials, their family background, connections, and ability to deal with people will determine their path to becoming officials. is the key, but the impact of the ranking in the palace examination cannot be underestimated.
To give the most practical example, consider Zhou Shangjing, the current chief minister of the DPRK. He was the number one candidate in the palace examination appointed by Emperor Xiaozhen forty-one years ago, and he was also the third-ranked candidate. His literary reputation spread all over the world, and even though the elites in the court were clamoring all day long that Zhou Shangjing was a corrupt official and a traitorous minister. But when it comes to knowledge, few people can compare with it; and another pavilion elder, Cheng Yuandao, was the number one scholar in the imperial examination during the Chongzhen period. The remaining two pavilion elders, Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao, have slightly worse backgrounds, but they are respectively The former No. 2 pick and the No. 3 pick.
Going back further, Cui Mian, the elder of the former cabinet, was the top scholar in the imperial examination during the Chongzhen period, and Wen Guanliang, the elder of the former cabinet, was the second-ranked scholar in the Deqing reign.
Even if we don’t talk about these cabinet elders, let’s just say that the ministers and academicians who hold great power in the court today all performed exceptionally well in the imperial examinations. Not to mention that Zhao Junchen himself was the number one scholar, Zuo Lanshan, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, was the fifth among the top two Jinshi in the 12th year of Deqing; Song Qiwen, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was the second in the 13th year of Deqing; the new Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, Zhang Bochong, was about to take office. , was born in the fourth place in the second class in the seventh year of Deqing; Lin Wei, Minister of Rites, was born in the third place in the second class in the fourth year of Deqing...
Relatively speaking, Wang Shou, Minister of the Ministry of War, has the lowest reputation, and his score in the imperial examination was only the 28th of the second class. However, he was also of noble origin, with a hereditary title, and his family has been trusted by the emperors of the Ming Dynasty for generations. Now Emperor Deqing has asked him to take charge of important positions in the Ministry of War, but he cannot be the same as ordinary people.
As for those outstanding academicians, let alone them.
Counting further down, there are the ministers of the Six Ministries, the ministers of the five temples, and the imperial envoys of the Duchayuan. One by one, except for a few noble family backgrounds, their imperial examination results. No one is lower than 2nd or 15th place!
Looking at it this way, we can understand the importance of imperial examination rankings. The final result of the palace examination directly affects an official's starting point, promotion speed and official position limit.
Let’s take the simplest example of two officials with the same outstanding political achievements. When promoting their official positions, if other considerations are put aside, the official will definitely give priority to the official who ranks high in the imperial examination. And if a candidate only achieves a second-level or even third-level score in the palace examination, then unless he has a very good divine favor, luck and background, an official rank of about three or four ranks will be his life limit. .
If we talk about the reasons, it can only be said that this is an era in which scholars control the right to speak. In many cases, even the imperial power did not dare to compete. Only by achieving outstanding results in the imperial examination can you win the respect of officials above and below you, and only by holding important positions can you convince the world.
In this way, Zhao Junchen is naturally very concerned about the final palace examination rankings of those candidates who have taken refuge in him. This is closely related to the subsequent development of the Zhao party in the court, and is the first place for Zhao Junchen to accumulate his own knowledge in the court. step.
Among the tributes listed on the Apricot List this time, there are more than 20 people belonging to Zhao Junchen. Zhao Junchen also needs to take the opportunity of the palace examination to investigate and see who among them is worthy of his focus. If any of these people can be ranked in the first class, or at the forefront of the second class, Zhao Junchen will naturally concentrate resources to focus on training. As for those tribute students who are in the second class or even in the third class, Zhao Junchen can only give them some Eat the leftovers.
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There is no need to mention Zhao Junchen's various considerations for the time being, but he said that on the third day after Cui Yu moved into Zhao's house, the palace examination finally began.
On this day, Zhao Junchen, like all the ministers, did not dare to be late. He came to the Meridian Gate early and went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to wait for the arrival of Emperor Deqing.
When Emperor Deqing arrived, he asked a few questions to the ministers. After learning that all the tributes had arrived and there were no other important matters in the court, he announced the start of the palace examination.
Then, under the attention of all the ministers, the tribute students filed into the Hall of Supreme Harmony. They went through the roll call, scattered papers, praises, salutes and other etiquettes. Then as the tribute students took their seats, the palace examination officially began.
The etiquette of the palace examination was actually quite boring. Zhao Junchen did not observe the ceremony seriously, but carefully observed the tributes in front of him.
Among the tributes, there are five people that Zhao Junchen cares about the most.
The first person is naturally the "Jiangnan Talented Man" Zhao Shancai, a close disciple of the former crown prince Taishi He Ming. Zhao Junchen is well aware of this man's ability and mind, but unfortunately he cannot win over him after repeated trials. He finally decided to assist the prince, which impressed Zhao Junchen deeply. Unfortunately, this time Zhao Junchen also wanted to see what results he could achieve.
The second person is Zhou Suwen, the grandson of the first assistant Zhou Shangjing. This person has long been known as a "child prodigy" and is deeply loved by Zhou Shangjing. He also ranked first in the undergraduate examination. It is not easy to compare with his generation.
The third person was Zeng Wei, the young son of Zeng Congrong, the chief envoy of Sichuan. Among all the candidates who took refuge in Zhao Junchen, Zhao Junchen was the most optimistic about him. He was not only knowledgeable, but also quite scheming about the city. He knew how to advance and retreat and understood the situation. Zhao Junchen He had already decided to reuse him in the future, and Zeng Wei lived up to Zhao Junchen's high expectations. He came third in the undergraduate examination, and his ranking in the palace examination this time would not be too bad.
The fourth person is naturally Liu Zimin. Zhao Junchen pays attention to him not because he is optimistic, but because he is familiar with him. But considering that he has done a lot of things for Zhao Junchen these days, Zhao Junchen also hopes that he can achieve good results.
As for the fifth person, it was Li Chunchen who had only met Zhao Junchen once!
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ps: Well, Chapter 2! Something happened around me, which delayed a lot of time, so this chapter is not enough words, it is just an excessive chapter! (To be continued...)
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