amaotonovel Chapter 419 Should the Imperial Examination System Also Be Reformed?
Chapter 419 Should the Imperial Examination System Also Be Reformed?
According to the unwritten rules of the martial arts world, the palace examination is the final stage of the imperial examination system.
The questions for the palace examination were prepared by the emperor himself, and all candidates had to answer the questions in the Fengtian Hall, with the emperor and civil and military officials supervising the examination together.
Generally speaking, the questions prepared by the emperor are not very specific.
For example, in the palace examination of the fourth year of Hongwu's reign, the question prepared by Emperor Zhu was: "It is said that in ancient times, when emperors and kings evaluated people, they all presented their words and tested their abilities. The Han dynasty had many virtuous and talented people, and the Song dynasty had a system of examinations that yielded outstanding individuals. Since I ascended the throne, I have repeatedly ordered officials to search for virtuous and talented people... Is it possible that I dare not do so? There must be something worth mentioning. It should be written down, without being vague or sparse."
For example, in the imperial examination of the Jia Shen year of the Yongle reign, the fourth emperor prepared the following question: "I have heard that the sages govern the world by understanding the principles of heaven, discerning the righteousness of earth, and being well-versed in the affairs of all things. Their way is consistent throughout the past and present and does not change... I hereby invite you, scholars from all directions, to receive the holy spirit of my emperor... Emperor Xiao Gao ruled Xinyu for forty years. He must know the study of practical application and application, and he has put it into writing. I will personally examine it."
(Those who are interested can look at the essays of the top scholars in the imperial examinations throughout history; they were all truly of superb quality.)
According to the rules of the martial arts world, Zhu Biao, as the crown prince, was not allowed to set questions for the candidates in the palace examination.
But who could blame him when Zhu Biao was both the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty and the founding vice emperor of the Ming Dynasty?
Even if Zhu Biao were to set questions for the candidates, or even if he wanted to preside over the palace examination, Zhu Chongba, that old tyrant, would only think that his son had grown up and could share his burdens, and then run to Kunning Palace with a face full of satisfaction to show off.
Therefore, it was entirely possible for Zhu Biao to set questions for the candidates in the palace examination.
Then, Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "Your Highness, didn't the Duke of Han and the Earl of Chengyi have many questions before? Why not..."
Both Limpy Wu, who was standing next to Yang Shaofeng, and the commander of the Imperial Son-in-Law's Mansion unconsciously turned their heads away.
It's unbearable to look at, absolutely unbearable to look at.
The expression on his own son-in-law's face at this moment was exactly the same as that of those villains on the stage with white faces, or even worse.
Zhu Biao felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.
My brother-in-law is great in every way, but whenever he gets a chance, he'll find a way to make things difficult for me.
He doesn't even care who he's messing with!
Take the candidates who were able to participate in the palace examination this time, for example. None of these candidates have offended their brother-in-law, have they?
But then Zhu Biao thought it might work?
After all, testing those messy policy essays is no longer interesting, so why not just use the difficult problems of the Duke of Han and the Earl of Chengyi as exam questions?
If that's the case...
It seems that the imperial examinations could be changed in the future, perhaps even made to be held once a year, with each year testing the court on difficult problems.
Having made up his mind, Zhu Biao looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "Brother-in-law, have you finished writing that memorial for the official gazette?"
Yang Shaofeng said, "Of course it's written. We're just waiting for Brother Li Qi to return to Beijing so he can take it back with him."
Zhu Biao laughed and said, "Perfect, you don't need to let Li Qi take it back. I'll take it back for you."
With the questions and answer key provided, all that's left is to grade the students based on those answers.
Simply perfect.
Just as Zhu Biao was pondering this, Yang Shaofeng asked with a strange expression, "Your Highness doesn't intend to use my memorial as an answer, does he?"
Zhu Biao was slightly taken aback and asked, "Is that not allowed?"
That definitely won't work!
Brother-in-law understands your desire to be lazy; after all, this has always been a problem in your Zhu family.
But you should at least think about what kind of person your brother-in-law is, right?
Is it possible that my brother-in-law might write a very detailed memorial?
A memorial of five hundred characters, after removing the introduction, word count, and conventional embellishments, may only contain about three hundred truly useful words.
Even with just these three hundred words, my brother-in-law would break them down into several main outlines.
To put it bluntly, your brother-in-law always just writes an outline when he writes a memorial; the rest is filled in by your father, Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and others using their hair to fill in the rest.
How could this possibly be used as a reference answer for test takers!
While inwardly criticizing himself, Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "Your Highness, you have also seen the memorial I wrote, and it is really not suitable as a reference answer."
"In my opinion, Your Highness might as well wait until after the palace examination and then take my memorial to the Duke of Han and the Earl of Chengyi, so that they can improve it before using it as a reference answer."
Zhu Biao immediately smiled and nodded, replying, "Brother-in-law, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
……
Just as Yang Shaofeng and Zhu Biao were plotting how to harm the candidates for the palace examination, Emperor Zhu, Li Shanchang, and Liu Bowen were also discussing how to harm the candidates.
Emperor Zhu's idea was very simple.
Since these candidates all made it from the county-level examinations to the palace-level examinations, it means that they were all learned.
Since we have knowledge, we shouldn't waste it.
For example, those who write well can be assigned to the Hanlin Academy.
For example, those who write slightly worse articles but are good at mathematics can be assigned to the Ministry of Revenue.
And those who write articles with great passion, such hotheads are more suitable to be assigned to the Censorate.
However, Liu Bowen offered a different opinion.
In Liu Bowen's view, the candidates who were able to reach the palace examination must have had excellent writing skills, perhaps even surpassing his own.
The problem is that writing good articles doesn't guarantee that these people will become officials.
It's not possible to find just any scholar who can reach the level of Yang the Imperial Son-in-Law.
Therefore, these students should not be directly appointed to official positions. Instead, they should first be assigned to the Six Ministries, various supervisory offices, temples, and the Censorate to observe government affairs.
In layman's terms, we first let them go around to all the departments, accumulating experience in management through odd jobs and internships, and then assign them according to their respective strengths.
Then, Li Shanchang also raised a different opinion.
However, Li Shanchang was not considering the candidates participating in the palace examination in front of him, but rather the candidates after the school was restructured.
Or rather, Li Shanchang was considering how to reform the imperial examination system.
"With the Imperial Academy distributed to various regions, our Great Ming Dynasty will certainly not lack students in the future."
"Not to mention that the imperial examination is held every three years and only about three hundred students are admitted each time, even if it is held every year, the number of students admitted over three years would only be about a thousand."
"The remaining candidates who couldn't become officials either returned to their hometowns to continue their studies or went into other professions."
"However, the problem of insufficient manpower in the imperial court and local government has not been resolved."
"In my opinion, it would be better to allow each local government office to recruit some personnel on its own every year?"
"Those who pass the assessment will be granted official positions."
"As for those who really can't make it, then just dismiss them and send them home."