But in the end, Li Shimin gritted his teeth.
"Jade is not cut, not a device."
He sighed softly,
"Forget it! Let him go outside to practice and see what he will be like when he comes back."
After a pause, Li Er said in a more serious tone:
"But I have to say something ugly first! This prince is not only my son, but also the foundation of the country. Don't let me make any mistakes!"
"Otherwise, you don't have to come back!"
"Don't worry, nothing will go wrong." Xu Fenglei grinned.
"Don't be too happy too early. The queen can't pass the test. Even if I support you, it will be in vain."
Li Shimin hummed,
"Let's not talk about this for now."
"Well, all the test papers have been evaluated, and the top twenty-four are selected as Jinshi."
"But to be honest, some of the other papers also answered well. If we really talk about it, there must be 40 people who can be officials. Among them, the more mediocre ones are enough to replace some of the government officials who are doing nothing."
Xu Fenglei nodded slightly.
"That's true. After all, he is a young man and still has potential. He is much better than those old guys in the court who just eat and drink."
He said,
"However, we can still only recruit 24 people for official positions. This is a given. You can't add more just because the few at the back are outstanding. Then the word Jinshi is worthless."
"Of course, when the scale of the imperial examination becomes larger in the future and there are more candidates, it will be possible to raise the number from 24 to 36."
Li Shimin nodded with deep understanding.
"Yes, Jinshi is precious and cannot be changed easily."
He ordered,
"Leave it to you, choose an auspicious day and take it to publish the list!"
Xu Fenglei responded and held the examination paper in his arms.
"Your Majesty, I have one more request."
"Speak." Li Shimin shook the cigarette butt twice and threw it into the ashtray.
"I would like to select some of those candidates who failed the exam, as well as those who are selected as Jinshi under difficult conditions, as teachers in Datang Academy."
Xu Fenglei said in a deep voice,
"As you know, the Academy is about to enter the registration period, and the start of school will be in the blink of an eye, but it's really hard to find a teacher!"
"So I thought about selecting some of these candidates to serve as teachers in the academy, and I would pay them monthly wages. It's not much, but it's enough for them to live in Chang'an."
"Those who have passed the exam and are from well-off families may look down on this meager salary, but I also found that among the candidates, there are some children from farm families. It is difficult for them to stay in Chang'an."
"Houses in Chang'an are expensive, and rice is also expensive!"
Of course, there are some reasons why house prices in Chang'an are expensive because of his speculation.
There's nothing we can do about it!
If bank investment is to be profitable, real estate speculation is the easiest and has the highest return rate...
"Well, I saw it just now. There were a few papers, and it looked like they were written by children from farmers."
Li Shimin nodded and agreed,
"They have no support in Chang'an and life is not easy!"
"It's up to you to be their support! You don't have to bear the salary paid to the teachers by the academy. You are asked to do everything. What does the court do?"
"Get the Ministry of Household Approval to ask them to allocate funds! The treasury is quite full this year!"
Xu Fenglei grinned.
"According to the order."
…
A few days later.
The sun is shining brightly.
The originally deserted south of Chang'an City was now bustling with people. Countless people were looking at the imperial list and talking about it.
"Hey! The results of the imperial examination are going to be released today! I heard that this imperial examination was initiated by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, and our majesty has started it again. It is actually just an exam! As long as you pass the exam, you will be a Jinshi and you can directly become an official!"
"Ah? Is there such a good thing? If I had known earlier, I would have tried it!"
"Fuck you! With your level, how can you pass the exam if you can hold back six words in seven days? Those who can pass the exam are all Wenquxing who came down to earth! Do you understand?"
"..."
Those who excel in learning will lead to officialdom. Being an official has been the highest pursuit of Chinese people for thousands of years!
Now that I have heard that the imperial court takes the imperial examination and can become an official, it is natural for them to come to join in the fun and lead the world.
After all, this is a newly opened road that allows ordinary people to become high officials!
Among the crowd, the dozens of candidates were already excited and looking forward to it.
Among them, there was naturally the young farmer wearing straw sandals and chewing naan bread.
He's been here since morning! Even if the sun is strong, he will never leave!
Just occupying this front position, waiting for the official release of the list!
Dang, Dang, Dang!
Dang, Dang, Dang!
A row of Jinwu guards walked over, beating gongs and drums, and playing festive music.
In an instant, countless eyes turned around.
I saw Xu Fenglei holding a roll of lists in his hand and slowly stepping forward.
"Students meet the examiner!"
"Meet the examiner!"
All the candidates bowed their hands towards Xu Fenglei.
Although there is no substantive master-disciple relationship between the two parties, Xu Fenglei also acquiesced in their "student" calling.
This is an unspoken rule that will naturally appear after the imperial examination system changes to the imperial examination system.
Xu Fenglei handed the list into the hands of a Jinwu guard with a smile and said,
"The country needs talents, and the court needs talents!"
"No matter who you are or where you come from, as long as you have real talent and practical knowledge, even if you are still farming in the morning, you will be able to see the Holy One in the afternoon. There is a poem that says, 'Be a farmer in the morning, and ascend to the Emperor's Hall in the evening'!"
"I hope that stories like this that people talk about will appear more often now and in the future!"
"Let's release the list!"
Wow!
The two Jinwu guards opened the imperial list and nailed it to the board.
Swish, swish, swish!
In an instant, the imperial list became the focus of everyone's attention!
"Liu Yun of Wannian County...Liu Yun of Wannian County! Hahaha, I won, I won! Fifteenth place!"
"Chang'an Lulin, the 19th place! Sure enough, I said I can win! This time I can be on business with my father, he will reward me with two houses!"
"Oh my God...I am actually the 24th, the last place! This is so lucky!"
"Won, seventh place in the top two! Hahaha... It's great! For everyone here today, I'll treat everyone to a drink, and Guiyue Pavilion will be reserved! Come all, come, I'll pay for the drinks! I'll pay!!"
In an instant, many people cheered and jumped with great excitement!
The atmosphere suddenly became heated!
However, despite the excitement, there was no one who fainted directly, or was stunned like Fan Jin.
After all, this is the first imperial examination. Those who won the imperial examination are all successful in a smooth way, not those who have suffered repeated defeats and repeated defeats, and finally came to shore in their seventies and eighties.
The mood between the two is naturally different.
However, as long as the imperial examination continues, there will definitely be more and more cases of fainting, stupidity, and madness...
Some people are happy, and naturally some people are sad.
The success rate this time was already extremely high, but more than half of them still failed.
"How could it be? Where's my name? Where's my given name..."
"Keep looking, there must be some, keep looking!"
"How could I miss! My article is so good! I..."
"Ah! I can't accept it! I...I can't accept it!"
"It's over! My father will definitely beat me to death! He's already boasted and hosted a banquet! But I missed, but I missed, wuwuwu...it's over! I'm so embarrassed!"
"..."
A bunch of people were leaning in the corner, looking extremely frustrated, and their whole momentum had fallen into an absolute trough!
One look, another look!
I'm afraid that the information on the imperial list has been missed!
But unfortunately, there are only twenty-four names in total. It takes less than two breaths to browse through them.
No, just no...
For them, the onlookers also expressed sympathy and comforted each other:
"Young man, victory or defeat is a common thing in military affairs. If you can be selected for the examination, you have already defeated many people..."
"Yes! We don't even have a chance to take the exam! Don't be discouraged, adjust well, brothers are waiting for you to fight again!"
"Yes, yes... didn't the gentleman just ask for a drink? If you don't drink, it's free. Let's drink him together!"
"..."
There were countless words of comfort, but no words could erase the feeling of failure.
Especially when there are people cheering around me, that feeling of frustration becomes even more intense!
Scientific examination, cruelty is here.
Maybe one second he was a classmate, and the next second he became an official, and you are still standing still.
Friends?
Maybe it still is, but there is already a sadly thick barrier between them.
Xu Fenglei's eyes fell on the young farmer.
This guy was standing at the front. His skin was so dark that it was hard not to notice him.
But at this time, he was pointing at the imperial list, his expression was not at all joyful, but rather a bit sad.
"What, did you hit it?"
Xu Fenglei said with a smile,
"Now, you can tell me your name."
Hearing Xu Fenglei's initiative to educate, the young farmer couldn't help but smile shyly, cupped his hands and saluted:
"Teacher, the student's name is Xu Yan."
Xu Fenglei was startled.
He turned to look at the imperial list, only to see the word 'Xu Yan', standing high above him!
"Xu Yan, third place in the headgear! Oh, I'll go!"
Xu Fenglei said in surprise,
"Okay, young man, you're going to be a beauty queen!"
"What a joy!"
It seems that Li Er’s level is still online! This guy is straightforward at first glance. If he were an official, he would definitely be diligent!
"Don't dare, don't dare."
Xu Yan waved his hands repeatedly and laughed at himself,
"I heard that the beauty queen requires good looks and looks like a student. How can one be qualified to become the flower beauty?"
Xu Fenglei was a little stunned and looked him over.
"As you said, you're not ugly either!"
He continued,
"I'm just a little darker and a little thinner, but my facial features are still straight!"
"I promise, you are the type His Majesty likes! Just feel free to be your sweetheart!"
"In a few days, His Majesty will hold a court meeting. At that time, he will formally summon you Jinshi and hand-pick the number one, number two, and top pick! You all have the honor of entering the palace through the main gate!"
"On weekdays, only the emperor can enter this main gate! I haven't even walked through it a few times!"
Xu Yan smiled naively and scratched his head.
"By the way, I saw that you looked worried just now, and I thought you failed the exam."
Xu Fenglei said again,
"Since I won and my ranking is so high, I should be happy!"
Xu Yan pinched his nose.
Xu Fenglei saw his actions and knew something about it.
This action is usually done subconsciously when people are not confident.
"Is there something unspeakable?"
he asked.
Xu Yan hesitated for a moment and nodded.
"The dry food I brought...is finished."
He whispered,
"Students... students have to go home, but there isn't much food at home. My younger siblings all have to eat."
"When the student comes back, he has already spent all his family's savings, so, so..."
As he spoke, he became silent.
"I see."
Xu Fenglei nodded repeatedly and said with a smile,
"This matter can be easily solved."
"I happen to have something to announce—"
"come!"
Dang, Dang, Dang!
"Quiet!" Jin Wuwei rang the bell and shouted.
The noisy streets quickly quieted down.
Those who had lost their names in Sunshan, no matter how dejected they were at this moment, stood up and looked at Xu Fenglei.
There was even a hint of hope in his eyes.
Could it be that there is still a turning point? !
"Let me just say a few words."
Xu Fenglei said loudly,
"First of all, congratulations to the twenty-four candidates who passed the exam. You have successfully obtained the status of Jinshi."
"Soon, you will be summoned by His Majesty. Among them, you will be number one, number two, and number three. You will also be hand-picked. This is a great honor! It is also a pinnacle and a great thing in your life!"
"You, even if you are an official in the same court as me, what I want to tell you is that this world is ours and yours, but in the end, it is yours."
"Young people are the hope of the country! In the near future, you will all become the mainstay of the imperial court! I wish you will make great achievements and leave a name in history!"
Bang bang bang!
Suddenly, there was thunderous applause.
"Student, thank you, examiner!"
"Thank you, examiner!"
The twenty-four Jinshi were beaming with joy and saluted Xu Fenglei one after another.
Seeing their high spirits, both the onlookers and the failed candidates had deep envy in their eyes.
Reach heaven in one step!
"well."
Xu Fenglei waved his hand to signal them to stop, then turned his eyes on the others and said,
"Then, I have something to say to the candidates who did not perform well this time."
"The imperial examination is not the only way out. Failure always runs through life, and often, success only takes one time. Maybe you are all late bloomers."
"Don't be depressed, don't be discouraged, you still have a long way to go!"
The words of encouragement did make those frustrated candidates look more relaxed.
After all, these words are used to encourage failed college entrance examination candidates in later generations, and they are used every year, which is enough to prove that its comforting effect is quite good.
“Here, I have a path for everyone to consider.”
Xu Fenglei said again,
"The Tang Academy, where you will be taking exams behind you, will soon welcome a group of young men!"
"And the Academy is in urgent need of a group of knowledgeable and insightful teachers."
"If you are interested in learning, you can sign up for the selection. Once selected, board and lodging will be included, and you will receive a monthly salary! Your Majesty has decreed that the salary of the Academy teachers will be paid directly by the Ministry of Household Affairs! In other words-" "Teacher Xuegong is also a government official!"
