"Your Majesty, a total of 1,725 people participated in this imperial examination. It lasted for three days and the examination has ended."
On the third day of November, Cui Changqing went to Lu Yuan to report the test results.
After hearing this, Lu Yuan couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction: "Yes, with so many scholars coming, it seems that our preparations have not been in vain."
Tens of thousands of people participated in the imperial examination at one time. Such a grand occasion did not happen every year even in Linhai County and Yuzhang County of Yue State.
It's not that those two counties couldn't produce so many scholars, the main reason is that not every scholar is sure to win the imperial examination after participating in it.
Therefore, many people from poor families often prepare for several years before taking the exam in order to win the exam in one go.
Lu Yuan was able to gather so many scholars now, mainly because of the special timing. The operations of Nanhai and Ninghai were too weird. At the same time, he offered too many official positions, which were too tempting.
The combination of these conditions created the grand occasion at this time.
Cui Changqing was also very happy. This grand occasion in the new dynasty and the fact that so many scholars participated in the imperial examinations all showed that Changsha's national destiny was prosperous and its people's aspirations were aspirational.
Otherwise, if you switch to any country in Nanhai or Ninghai, you will see if there are so many people running to take the imperial examination.
Overjoyed, the left minister of the country also asked: "Now that the scientific examination has been completed, please tell me how many new candidates should be admitted for this imperial examination."
After the exam, the papers will be marked and marked, and then the best candidates will be selected to determine who will win the exam.
And those scholars can become officials after passing the imperial examination.
In other words, how many people Lu Yuan admitted would be assigned official positions. Otherwise, if someone comes to take the exam at your place and ends up not even becoming an official after the exam, what’s the point of taking the exam?
Then what is the difference between your country of Changsha and the two countries of Nanhai and Ninghai?
So what about the number of admitted students and their great academic achievements?
Lu Yuan thought for a while, waved his hand and said, "Let's set the number of admissions this time at 1,000."
There have been rumors among the outside world that there is an extremely scarce supply of officials in Changsha, and all departments are just putting up a show and cannot operate normally.
Actually, this rumor cannot be said to be false.
But what the outside world says is that the official shortage reaches more than 1,700 people, which is an exaggeration.
Before the founding of the country, even if Lu Yuan unified the nine palaces, he would only lack more than 900 officials.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were more official shortages, but at most the shortage was only more than 1,300 people.
Now after several months of preparations, supplements, and adjustments, the official gap of more than 1,300 people has long been filled. At this time, the number of missing officials is only about 1,000 people.
There were ten thousand scholars participating in the examination, and one thousand people were admitted, almost one in ten.
Although the admission rate is not very high, it is still much better than the imperial examinations in previous years, when dozens of people were selected.
And enrolling a thousand people at a time, the scale and momentum are enough to shock people's hearts.
As the left prime minister, Cui Changqing was naturally aware of the shortage of officials in the country. He had no objection to the admission quota selected by Lu Yuan. After nodding, he said: "In that case, I will go back later and instruct several examiners to start marking the papers."
"Well, go ahead." Lu Yuan nodded, then waved his hand for Cui Changqing to go down.
Grading is the responsibility of the examiners, and he, the king, does not have to worry about it.
You only need to set the number of admissions and decide how many people will win.
Compared with this, Lu Yuan has other things to be busy with.
…
After Cui Changqing left, Lu Yuan picked up a military newspaper and read it with a frown.
This is the military report that was just delivered today. It was sent by his disciple Zhou Qing, who quickly sent people to deliver it.
There is only one thing recorded on it, and that is that one day ago, at the invitation of Shangguan Ming, Commander Zhou Qing led the last 40,000 troops in the south of the Yangtze River to cross the river with the imperial troops.
At this point, all the 100,000 Northern Expedition troops sent by Lu Yuan had crossed the river.
As for the 140,000 soldiers and horses on the imperial court's side, except for 10,000 who were left in Baling County to guard the retreat, they all crossed the river and headed north.
Now in Jiangbei, the Zhou and Yue camps each have more than 200,000 troops. Heavy troops were assembled on both sides, and the cloud of war hung over everyone.
"According to what Qing'er said, facing the imperial court's aggressive posture, the Zhou people did not choose to face it head-on, but kept retreating.
Not only did they abandon several edge counties of Tianmen Prefecture, but the main troops also returned to Jingmen Prefecture in Xiangyang County and Wushan Prefecture in Xichuan County.
Judging from their intentions, it seemed that they planned to defend these two places and completely block the possibility of the army moving northward and westward.
The coalition forces, under the command of Marquis Wu'an, tried to storm the two mansions, but in addition to losing more than 10,000 troops, they could not break through the defense line at all.
Now the army is blocked in Tianmen Mansion, and there is no possibility of a breakthrough for the time being. "
General Lu Yuan read the newspaper and put it down, looking thoughtful.
Now on the front line, with the departure of Lu Yuan and Lan Cai'er, the Xiantian Grandmaster on the battlefield there has become five people from the Imperial Court and five people from the Zhou Kingdom.
The two sides are evenly matched, and no one can win.
As for the troops and horses of each other, the imperial court and his coalition forces, after the historical war, there were still about 200,000 people left in Jiangbei, and their morale was extremely high, they continued to make progress, and were at their peak.
There are more people in Zhou Dynasty, and the number of soldiers and horses should be around 230,000 to 40,000, but their morale is not very high. Now they have all retreated to their nests and started to avoid fighting.
Generally speaking, the two sides are evenly matched, and no one can gain an advantage.
“So now if we want to break this deadlock, we need more efforts.
And this power can be top-level combat power, such as innate masters like me, Lan Cai'er, and Yan Wangqiu.
Or ordinary soldiers. For example, 200,000 troops from the Nanhai and Ninghai countries arrived.
Any force from these two aspects can play a role in affecting the situation of the battle.
Now the two countries that affect the outcome of the war are the South China Sea and Ninghai.
When Yan Wangqiu and Su Xuange arrive with their troops, the war will be almost over. "
Lu Yuan came to this conclusion, then threw the general report aside and didn't pay much attention to it.
Because just ten days ago, he had received the credentials of the Nanhai Kingdom, saying that after several months of procrastination, Yan Wangqiu finally put aside domestic affairs and set off northward with the 100,000 troops he had gathered.
Ninghai Kingdom also sent a note of credentials seven days ago. Su Xuange also dispatched 100,000 troops and began to fulfill his promise to the court and send troops north.
Now, two hundred thousand troops from both countries have set off.
Calculating the time, the earliest departure, Nanhai Kingdom, which is also the closest, may have already reached the border of Yangshan Prefecture in the south of Changsha Kingdom.
Ninghai Country may be a little slower, but it will not take more than five days.
Now Lu Yuan only needs to wait for another month, and the troops from the two countries should be able to arrive in Changsha.
At that time, he and Lan Cai'er would join the two countries, and the four great masters and 200,000 new troops would march north. Such a huge force would be enough to break through the defense line that the Zhou people had worked so hard to establish.
"Maybe if we go faster then, we can end the war before the year and come back to have a happy wedding." Lu Yuan thought in his mind.
If you can achieve a great victory and return triumphantly before the wedding in two months, it will undoubtedly be the best gift for the wedding.
…
Time passed quickly.
Five days later in the blink of an eye, today is the day when the imperial examination results are released and the names are announced.
The scholars who had been staying in the city got up early in the morning and gathered in the examination room that was transformed from the military camp outside the city.
In the center of the examination room, where the army was originally trained, several large signs have been erected, with red lists posted on them, and names written on them.
There are several similar places arranged within the military camp.
All added up, there are seven notices in total, used to announce the rankings to the scholars participating in the scientific examination.
"Don't squeeze, don't squeeze, I can't see anymore."
"Where is my name? Where is my name?"
"I definitely won this time, there are a thousand places!"
Hundreds of scholars all stretched their necks and looked at the lists written in front of them.
Some anxious people pushed each other to get in and see if their names were there, which immediately caused some commotion.
Fortunately, there were officers and soldiers sent to maintain order near the list. As soon as they found something was wrong, they immediately came to deal with it, but there was no stampede.
Just like this, in the chaos, a lucky person soon found his name on the list, and then shouted in surprise: "I won, I won. Yes, I won!"
At this time, someone nearby saw his name and jumped up excitedly: "I won, hahaha, I won, I want to be an official."
All of the above are things that cannot be controlled.
Many people next to him cast envious glances, and these rude people immediately blushed, but they still couldn't help but giggle.
There are some people who have good self-control and concentration. After seeing their names on the list, although they were excited, they did not lose their composure.
After just looking at it twice, he turned around and left.
I passed the exam today, and after ten years of studying hard in a cold window, it was finally not in vain. I will go back to the city, find my friends, and celebrate in a restaurant.
At that time, you can slowly let your life go wild, why should you embarrass yourself here?
Some people are happy, while others are sad.
There were also people in the venue who looked at ten lists in a row, and couldn't help but burst into tears when they couldn't find themselves among the thousands of places.
"Why didn't I win? Why didn't I win? I have been taking the exam for more than ten years. There are so many places for admission this time, why do I still not win?"
"This name must have been missed. I must have missed it. How could I fail the exam if I am such a talented person?"
"Oh my God, this time I asked someone to borrow money and traveled all the way to take the exam. Why did I fail? If I didn't pass the exam, I can't be an official. Where will I get the travel expenses back?"
"Ahhhh..."
The sounds of collapse and crying were also indispensable in the audience.
Many scholars nearby saw sadness on their faces and felt the same.
In this scientific examination, ten people choose one, and those who can pass the examination are only a small number after all.
More people still failed to pass the exam after taking the exam.
At this time, many scholars from Nanhai and Ninghai couldn't help but feel sad when they thought that they had traveled thousands of miles to take the imperial examination in a foreign country, but got nothing.
Thinking about it this way, even more people broke down and cried bitterly.
In this way, there was crying and laughing, noisy and fussing, and all kinds of life scenes were staged together.
And in this chaos, in front of each list, the officers and soldiers responsible for watching the list also began to shout: "Fellow scholars, in ten days, there will be a general examination. Anyone who is successful in the examination and has the reputation of being a candidate, Anyone can come and participate.
In this examination, one of the ten will be selected to determine the hundred Jinshi.
Anyone who is interested in taking the scientific examination can register. "
When many scholars in the field heard this, the happy ones couldn't help but become happier, and the sad and painful ones became even more painful. Even the number of people crying became more and more.
Perhaps because there were too many people crying, the shouting officers and soldiers couldn't help but comfort them: "Even if you don't pass the exam, it doesn't matter. There will be an imperial examination in China next year, and everyone will be able to take the exam again." OK to participate.
If you fail once, take the test twice more, you will always succeed. Don't be too sad. "
After hearing this, the scholars in Changsha and those who were sad felt much better.
really.
It doesn't matter if they fail this time, they can just take the test again next year.
But the scholars from Ninghai and Nanhai countries were even more uncomfortable.
In their country, warriors are in power, let alone being an official. Whether there will be an imperial examination next year or even in the next few years is a question.
And they come all the way to Changsha to take the national examination, back and forth every two or three months.
During this period, travel expenses, food and accommodation are all covered, so who doesn’t need a lot of money?
Many people take the exam this time and will not be able to take the exam again in a few years.
Thinking like this, some ruthless people shouted: "That's it, at worst, I won't go back. I will live in Changsha Mansion from now on. I don't believe it. I won't pass the imperial examination next year."
"That's what my brother is saying. I see that Changsha Prefecture is full of waste and there are places to employ people everywhere. At worst, I can find a job here and make money while studying for the exam.
This time I came all the way here and didn't earn even half of the fame.
Just like this, I ran back to my country in a state of disgrace, unable to see my elders in my hometown.
If I don't pass the exam, I won't leave. "
"That's right! That's right! If you don't pass the examination, you won't leave."
"Everyone stay together!"
In the examination room, many candidates who failed this time cheered each other up.
Inspired by them, many people who were originally depressed also cheered up.
In particular, some scholars who originally planned to pack up their packages and return to their hometowns were infected at this time and couldn't help but think seriously, should they stay with them?
After all, judging from what I have seen and heard during this period, Changsha Kingdom is indeed stronger than Ninghai and Nanhai Kingdom in all aspects.
If you stay here, even if you just write letters for others, there won't be that many people competing for your business.
Earning money and living stress are much better.
At the same time that these people's thoughts were changing, Lu Yuan, who was walking in the garden with Lan Cai'er in the Changsha Palace, suddenly stopped and looked up into the distance.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Lan Cai'er noticed something strange about the person next to her, turned around and asked curiously.
"It's nothing, I just suddenly feel that I feel much better."
Lu Yuan turned around, then looked at his soon-to-be queen, and said with a smile, "Maybe it's because I'm with my wife."
"Your Majesty." Lan Cai'er's face turned red and she immediately refused.
"Hahaha!" Lu Yuan laughed and hugged the other person, feeling very happy.
The reason why he stopped was certainly not what he said, because of Lan Cai'er. Although being with each other does make people feel happy.
What really made Lu Yuan stop was that he had just practiced Taiping Taoism and suddenly felt a large amount of luck coming towards him.
The luck of the people gathered around him suddenly increased sharply, and this attracted attention.
'Look at the direction in which the luck is coming, it's the military camp in the south. If I remember correctly, it seemed to be the examination room for candidates.
By the way, today is the day to release the results.
It seems that after this scientific examination, I have gained a lot of hearts and minds, and many candidates have attached themselves to me. '
Lu Yuan wants to gather people's fortunes, either by directly ruling some people, or by making some people sincerely yearn for him.
On the other side of the examination room, most of the large number of scholars gathered were from other countries and were not under their own rule.
At this time, people's luck came from over there, which meant that someone over there regarded him as Allah and began to devote themselves to him.
Looking at the fate of the people who gathered here, there are at least two to three thousand people who returned home this time.
How could it not be gratifying that so many people's hearts have been won over by one scientific examination?
So during the next play, Lu Yuan and his queen had even more fun.
