Leaving the city, the sound of singing and dancing rang out in the side hall of the prefect's palace.
A group of court maids in colorful clothes were dancing to the accompaniment of a group of musicians. Their bodies were light and their clothes were fluttering. After a piece of peach blossoms were scattered, a few snow-white ones receded like clouds.
After all the dancers and musicians had withdrawn, calm returned to the hall. However, except for Luo Chuan, who seemed to be still reminiscing about the song and dance just now, all the important civil and military officials probably had their own thoughts.
"I have seen the dancers and singers in the palace in Zhongjing City. I don't think the maids in the palace are not bad either." Luo Chuan laughed and looked at Luo Jianghu and said, "General Luo, you are not as good as me." How about sending these dancers to your house?"
Luo Jiang's old face was as cold as ice. He suppressed his anger and snorted, "Thank you, Lord Prefect, for your kindness. There is no need for the dancing girl!"
Luo Chuan seemed a little regretful and wanted to joke a few words, but when he saw that Luo Jiang had already looked over coldly, he didn't dare. He could only cough lightly and said with a dry smile, "It's not necessary... Just now we After discussing the ownership of the county magistrate, the chief official of the department and the chief officer of the household, we can then talk about the civil and military examinations."
After seeing all the civil servants bowing their heads, he smiled and asked Dou Qiushi, "Master Dou, why don't you say it first this time?"
Dou Qiushi nodded and said, "Reporting to the Grand Administrator, the civil and military examinations in Li County have been in charge of the ministers before. Now the other courtyard built for the civil and military examinations in the north of Li County has been basically completed. Candidates from all over the city come from Li City. Most of them have completed their registration, and now the only thing that needs to be determined is the specific methods of application, examination items and evaluation.”
"Has the Secretary's Office already made preparations for this?" Luo Chuan asked casually.
"Yes," Dou Qiushi took out a scroll from his sleeve and opened it. "There are two ways to apply for the exam: one is to apply by recommendation, and the other is to apply by self-recommendation; the exam items are generally divided into two types: one is for literary examination and agriculture The three divisions of the bureau, treasurer, and secretary of law will take the written test in separate subjects. The martial arts examination will be divided into martial arts and monastic disciplines to test the level and then compare the test to verify the ranking. First, the civil examination will be based on the three divisions and will not be divided into written examinations. The martial arts examination will also not be divided into subjects. , only check their level and then compete; there is currently only one judgment: the civil examination paper scores will be reviewed and judged by the adjutant of the third division in person, while the martial arts examination will be based on the ranking of the competition. "
Luo Chuan pondered for a while and then said, "Recommendations can be discarded. If someone needs to be recommended in order to apply, how is it different from today's imperial examinations? Applications are only limited to time. Within that time, no matter whether nobles or civilians, , Liren or out-of-towners, all can apply by self-recommendation. If there are too many self-recommended candidates in the future, a pre-examination can be set before the civil and military examinations. For example, those who are illiterate do not need to apply for the civil examinations. Those who have not entered the same country or age If you are too big, you don’t need to apply for the martial arts examination. The application threshold will be determined based on the number of applicants. If there are too many people applying for the examination in the future, the pre-examination requirements will be raised.”
Dou Qiu said so politely.
Luo Chuan said again, "The purpose of the Lijun Civil and Military Examination is very clear, which is to select practical talents for the court and various places. Therefore, it is necessary to take the examination in different subjects. Those who apply for the examination should choose the right one when they apply. The division of subjects into subjects is based on the subjects that you are good at, and it also saves some effort in selecting officials after the examination. There is no problem in dividing the civil examination into three subjects. The military examination is only divided into martial arts and Taoism, missing the most important one, which is military science. He looked at Zhao Wuji and said, "Only the strong ones are selected for the martial arts and Taoist disciplines. Those who are selected can serve as guards, bodyguards, or even ANBU, Qiu Feng. If you join the army, you cannot be an officer. The military discipline is different, including the art of war, Military formations, cavalry and archery are essential items for officers, and those who stand out can be appointed as full-time officers!"
Zhao Wuji nodded, "That's good. After all, the purpose of the martial arts examination is to select talents for the army. If you just gather the strongest people in the world without being able to select those who will send troops, most of the meaning of the martial arts examination will be lost."
Dou Qiushi nodded and said, "This is indeed the case."
Luo Chuan continued, "As for the judging, there is no problem in the civil examination being judged by officials from the Third Division. Since the military examination has been added to the military division, it also needs to be judged by officials from the Military Affairs Department. However, the judging officer cannot be fixed as the adjutant of the Third Division or someone from the Military Affairs Department. Official positions must be determined by me after each exam. In addition," he looked at Dou Qiushi and asked, "Since it is a written exam, the name of the candidate must be written down. How to prevent people close to him from promoting his name for personal gain?"
Dou Qiushi said, "Candidates can be asked to write their names on the left edge of the paper, and the left side of all examination papers will be sewn shut after the exam, so that the judging officials will not know the names of the candidates."
Luo Chuan nodded and said, "Not only that, any examination papers with smears on them will also be regarded as invalid. The civil and military examinations are related to the important matter of my Li County appointing talents and appointing officials. Anyone who engages in favoritism in this matter will be considered as an invalid of my Li County." We are the enemy at all," he thought for a while and felt that it was still not strict enough and said, "The top ten in the civil and military examinations are particularly important. Therefore, those who get the top ten after the big exam will have to go to the prefect's palace for an additional exam. It will be up to me. I am the same examiner as you all, and the additional examination papers will be copied and handed over to me by a special person. I will decide the top three candidates, and you will decide the rankings of the remaining seven." Dou Qiu said politely, "Follow the prefect's order."
"My lords, is there anything I've missed to add?" Luo Chuan looked at the crowd and asked.
No one among the civil servants said anything. Luo Jiang hesitated for a moment and then said, "Many civilians in Central Continent are illiterate. If all civil and military examinations require written examinations, the common people will have almost no hope..."
Luo Chuan took a look at the expressions of the other important ministers and said, "General Luo, the Civil and Military Examination is to select already talented people and entrust them with important tasks, but it is not designed to select civilians. I have allowed everyone in the world to apply by themselves. , as to whether they are literate or not is something they should figure out for themselves.”
Luo Jiang frowned slightly and asked, "Then since the judging is required, does the setting of questions for different subjects also need to be kept secret? Otherwise, it will be difficult to say it is fair once the test questions are leaked!"
Dou Qiushi said, "The Si Li Fu Yamen and all the lords have also discussed this matter, and I think it is enough for the three Si Fu Yamen to prepare five copies of each question for each time, and finally the prefect will personally decide one of them before the exam starts."
Luo Jiang was about to speak, but Luo Chuan was the first to say, "That's good, Master Dou. Although you are now the county magistrate, you need to hand over the civil and military examinations and related affairs of the officials' offices to Lord Zhou. However, after all, the civil and military examinations have not been done before." You are the one taking the lead. The Civil and Military Examinations are now less than a month away, and you still have to help Mr. Zhou to get it done." He then looked at Zhou Zhongqing, who never showed sadness or joy after entering the side hall, and said, "Mr. Zhou, Sihu Mansion The same is true for the Yamen affairs. Although you will start handing over the affairs to Lord Gongsun after today, you cannot completely let go in a short time. You need to protect Lord Gongsun for a while."
Dou Qiushi and Zhou Zhongqing saluted at the same time, "My lord, obey the eunuch's order!"
Luo Jiang glanced at Luo Chuan and seemed to want to say something, but saw Zhao Wuji shaking his head at him, so he had to swallow the words that came to his lips.
Luo Chuan raised his glass, "All of you are my indispensable ministers and talents in Li County. The prosperity of Li County cannot be separated from the efforts of all of you. When the world returns to peace, my Li County will become more prosperous. By then Luochuan Confucian temples and military temples will be built in all directions of Lijun. All the civil servants and military generals who have made great achievements in Lijun will be statues in them. They will be favored by the people of Lijun forever and their names will be passed down through the ages!"
Seeing the surprised expressions on the faces of everyone present, he smiled and raised his glass, "I hope that when the Confucian Temple and the Wu Temple are built, all of you will be able to take a seat!"
All the ministers raised their glasses together and drank it all...
