Bachelor Cheng picked up another test paper, read a few sentences, and felt happy.
Just because of this test paper, I first confirmed the correctness of Shang Yang's statement. There is indeed no one way to govern the country, and it must be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Today, the weather in our country is going smoothly, the people live and work in peace and contentment, all walks of life are booming, the people are rich and the country is strong. That being the case, there is naturally no need for change.
This article was completely in line with Master Cheng's philosophy, and even though the name was still unclear on the test paper, Master Cheng recognized the candidate, who must be Mei Shiming.
If he pushes himself a little, this kid might be the number one pick.
Thinking of this, Bachelor Cheng couldn't help but patted the table and cheered: "Great article! This guy has the talent to be the top scholar!"
Hearing this, the other seven examiners asked one after another: "I wonder what kind of article it is that can be so praised by Master Cheng?"
Master Cheng laughed and said: "We appreciate the wonderful articles together and analyze each other's doubts. In front of the wonderful articles, I don't dare to focus on myself, so I recite them for everyone to appreciate together."
Having said that, Bachelor Cheng read the article in a sonorous and powerful voice.
The three people, including Bachelor Zhu, couldn't help but applaud the case together.
The other four young marking officers frowned slightly.
The literary talent of this article is naturally excellent, but to say that it has the talent of a top scholar seems to be a little less meaningful.
And, this is just for literary talent. This son's argument that Daxia does not need reform is simply ridiculous. How can such an article be rated as number one?
Therefore, these four examiners did not agree.
Eight people started correcting papers again.
There are a total of 300 test papers, and eight people have to correct them respectively. This workload is quite heavy.
In the afternoon, the four young marking officers all saw Jia Huan's article.
Before reading the text, I saw four bright red crosses.
In the palace examination, it is extremely difficult to get a circle, but it is not that easy to get a cross.
Everyone has passed five tests and killed six generals, and has been admitted to the imperial examination all the way. Those with lower levels will definitely not be able to pass the exam.
It has always been rare to get a cross in imperial examination articles. The situation of getting four crosses in a row is even rarer and almost invisible.
The examiner first read the first sentence: There is no fear of destiny, no law of ancestors, and no sympathy for human words.
I couldn't help but cheer at first, and after reading the full text, I couldn't help but praise it even more.
This kind of article is the number one article!
It's a pity that those four old guys directly gave him four crosses. Now, let alone the top pick, I'm afraid he will be at the bottom of the top three.
The examiner shook his head and finally gave a circle.
At noon on the second day, all test papers have been marked, and then it is time to summarize.
During the overall review, the chief marking officer will perform his duties exclusively, and other marking officers may put forward their own opinions.
However, the top three test papers must be eight "circles", and those with lower grades are second class. If there are mixed "circles", "points" and "dots" in the test paper, it is the top three. Those with "straight" are ranked behind the top three.
The chief grading officer for this time's palace examination was Bachelor Cheng. When the final calculation was made, Bachelor Cheng's face looked a little ugly.
In the past palace examinations, there were often several eight-circle candidates, and then the eight of them would review the candidates and temporarily divide them into one, two, and three, and then submit them to the emperor.
But this time in the imperial examination paper, there was not a single candidate with eight circles, and the most was only four circles.
There were eight examiners, and it happened that four supported the change and four opposed it.
Among the candidates, the examiners will not mark any articles that support change or those that oppose change.
In the same way, examiners who support change will not mark any articles that are against change.
This resulted in the person with the best score having four laps. At this time, Bachelor Cheng and the other four people suddenly had a bad feeling in their hearts, as if something was going to happen this time.
However, things have happened and cannot be changed.
In desperation, he had no choice but to select the top ten test papers and prepare to submit them to the emperor, who would then decide the top ten.
As for the rankings after the top ten, they will be ranked by the examiners.
The candidate who is temporarily ranked first is Mei Shiming, who was promoted by Cheng University.
The top ten candidates, without exception, were all candidates who were opposed to change.
All I can say is that the four young examiners are really too young.
They are not as shameless as the four veterans of the two dynasties such as Bachelor Cheng. They will give negative reviews whenever they see test papers that support reform.
The four young examiners still had to consider some liberal arts considerations. Although I won't give it a circle, the rating is not too low. They still have a certain bottom line.
Bachelor Cheng took the top ten test papers, came to the study room, and handed in the top ten test papers.
"Your Majesty, these are the top ten papers that have been reviewed by my ministers. They are now available for viewing. Your Majesty, please rank them."
Emperor Chongkang nodded, then picked up the first-placed test paper, glanced at it a few times, and frowned.
Next, Emperor Chongkang didn't look at it carefully at all. He directly threw down the first test paper and picked up the second one to look through it.
Then came the third, fourth... and soon, all ten test papers were read.
Hooray!
Emperor Chongkang swept all ten examination papers to the ground with a swipe of his hand.
"Hmph! Are these the top ten test papers you selected for me?"
"I didn't know that our country, Daxia, has now cleared the sea and rivers, the world is at peace, and the people live and work in peace and contentment, singing and dancing! I have actually created a peaceful and prosperous age? Haha, my merits are even worthy of being called an emperor through the ages?"
"Now the people of Great Xia are in dire straits, suffering from internal and external troubles. Why has it become a peaceful and prosperous time when it comes to their mouths?"
"How can these people who only know how to flatter and flatter me become the pillars of my great society? If I choose such villains to be the number one, second or third overall pick, wouldn't I become that stupid king?"
"Cheng Zhiren, is this how you deceive me? Aren't you afraid that I will chop off your head and destroy your whole family?"
Cheng Zhiren knelt down helplessly to plead guilty and said: "I don't dare. I am afraid. I have no intention of doing this. I hope your majesty will tell you clearly. This is actually a test paper that was marked by eight people including me. It was not decided by me alone."
Emperor Chongkang sneered and said: "I saw that there were four circles in the examination paper for this famous student. I wonder how Cheng Aiqing corrected it?"
Cheng Zhiren said helplessly: "Your Majesty, I will give you a circle."
Emperor Chongkang said angrily: "Haha, okay! So Cheng Aiqing appreciates this test paper very much? Cheng Aiqing also thinks that my country is now at peace in the world, and the seas and rivers are clear?"
Cheng Zhiren naturally didn't dare to say yes. He was a bachelor of the cabinet, so he naturally knew the current situation of Daxia.
It's not that he can't see the current situation in Daxia, he's just unwilling and afraid to promote change.
If there is no reform and patchwork, Daxia can still survive. If there is reform, it is very likely that it will fall into a place of no return.
(End of chapter)
