Yong'an Imperial City!
While things were in full swing in the West, the Great Liang had already launched its first Imperial Examination since its founding, instantly attracting everyone's attention. Everyone was hoping that the Imperial Examination could change their fate.
The previous Imperial Examination examinations were merely an exploratory selection of some talented individuals, but they ended up with a treacherous official named Zhao Zhong, which led to more stringent selection processes in the future.
From its initial conceptual prototype, through the joint refinement and optimization by the six ministries and three provinces, the Imperial Examination began to have a formal and complete procedure and a complete set of review principles, thus giving rise to the formal Imperial Examination.
It begins with preliminary examinations at the county and prefecture levels, followed by a nationwide final examination, culminating in the final palace examination, forming a complete talent selection mechanism!
County Examination!
This means selecting outstanding individuals from the county level as the final talent pool, who will then proceed to the next stage, the prefectural examination, to complete the initial selection process.
Both of these steps were preliminary examinations, organized by county-level administrative units and supervised by the Net a secret police organization) and the Imperial Academy Envoy, forming a relatively fair selection process.
After the two preliminary exams are completed, the national re-examination will begin, which is quite brutal.
From nearly a thousand, or even tens of thousands, of candidates across the country, only a little over a hundred were ultimately selected to enter the final palace examination. The emperor would then examine and appoint the top three scholars, thus completing a Imperial Examination the imperial examinations.
This is truly one in a million, yet everyone has no regrets.
This was a groundbreaking move, the first time that the selection of officials was conducted openly without any restrictions on social class, making it a relatively fair opportunity.
Apart from the descendants of the most heinous criminals, even slaves had the right to participate.
This means that as long as you have talent, there is always room for advancement, and you have ample opportunity to escape your current social class and enjoy higher treatment.
The most crucial part is the final imperial examination. Once you catch the emperor's eye and he takes a liking to you, you'll be incredibly lucky and your career will take off.
The former Vice Minister of the Chancellery Zhang Juzheng, was appointed through an exceptional appointment, which gave scholars hope—the hope of rising to the top in one step.
So after this second round of exams, the students gathered on the streets, waiting for the final results to be released.
Of course, there is another reason: scholars tend to belittle each other, so they naturally don't think they are inferior to others, and therefore they are all waiting for the final result.
Some impoverished students cheered, for they finally had a chance to turn their lives around, which was undoubtedly an extremely important thing for them.
Although there can only be one top scholar, as long as one passes the Imperial Examination, even the worst candidate will be employed by the imperial court, which is considered an immense favor.
Once someone comes into the Emperor's sights, there's always a possibility of further advancement.
More importantly, their years of hard study had finally given them a chance to use their talents, which made their gratitude to the current emperor as boundless as a surging river.
This is the Emperor's benevolent rule!
A scholar dressed in coarse linen clothes couldn't help but pray softly, "I hope I can make it into the top one hundred this time. That way, I'll meet the imperial court's selection criteria and become an official."
The ranking in this re-examination is crucial, as it will directly determine their final fate. This is his only chance to escape his current situation, and he doesn't want to miss it.
When I become an official, my parents won't have to work so hard anymore.
"Within 100?"
Upon hearing his words, the examinee beside him couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Now that the Great Liang has been chosen by Heaven, many talented people are restless and want to join in the construction of this prosperous era."
This time, over 50,000 people nationwide took the re-examination, but only 100 will be selected for official positions. How incredibly difficult that is! I'll wait until next year to try again!
The person who spoke had heard some inside information and knew the number of candidates taking the re-examination this year, and was filled with despair.
His talent, if not unparalleled in the nation, is at least that of a local hero. But the problem is that this is a nationwide selection process, with over 50,000 people vying for a place in the top 100. It's harder than climbing to heaven.
You have to understand that these 50,000 people are the best of the best in their respective counties, so this makes it even more difficult. This is just too damn hard.
"Alas, if even Brother Wencai lacks confidence, then I have even less hope. Fortunately, the imperial court is covering the expenses this time, so it seems I can only gain experience this year. I'll try again next year," another student said with a wry smile.
Brother Wencai smiled wryly and sighed, "It's not that I, Ma Wencai, am belittling myself, but this year has been full of extraordinary people. Li Yuanlong of Dan Province, Zhang Shiyu of Qing Province, Zhang Fengfan of Li Province, Lang Yuming of Xi Province, Wang Yuxuan of Qing Province, and Huang Longsi of Qin Province, as well as that madman Zhang Zizai —these are undoubtedly all outstanding individuals."
"I heard that once you pass the imperial examination with top honors, you'll start as a county magistrate, and if you do a good job, you'll rise through the ranks in no time. This is an incredible opportunity, and I wonder who it will fall into!" someone said enviously.
Forehead!
Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but smile wryly, which was tantamount to acknowledging his words.
The people he mentioned are all outstanding figures of their time, and their sudden emergence naturally raises the bar for selection and elevates the standards for choosing officials.
Some lamented, "This is truly an undeserved disaster. This Imperial Examination was unprecedented in history, but it was also a year that produced a great number of talented individuals. It's just too difficult for us mediocre people."
Why!
A group of students sighed. Although it is said that scholars are jealous of each other, there is a premise to this: that they are not too far apart in ability.
Given the current situation, these people are clearly far superior to us, so there's no suspense; they're completely convincing.
The only possibility is probably engineering, which requires certain specialized skills. Perhaps those skills surpass those of academics, but that's not something we're good at.
"Forget it, let's just wait for the result. At least let me know how much we lost, otherwise I won't accept it!" someone couldn't help but yell.
We're all scholars, so why are you all so arrogant? I want to see just how much worse you really are.
Compared to the excitement of these students from humble backgrounds, the scions of wealthy families were not particularly excited, since they had no shortage of such opportunities.
The reason I participated in this Imperial Examination was simply to support the current emperor's policies and to try to get closer to him.
As for the group of spoiled young masters in Yong'an City, they were in an awkward position. This had nothing to do with them at all, which made them sigh and lament.
"Ah, this was such a golden opportunity to rise to the top! It's a pity I didn't study hard back then; I was always causing trouble and stealing birds' nests. Now I truly regret it!"
"If I had known this day would come, I would have visited Aunt Chun's place one less time. Now, not only am I weak, but I can only watch others become top scorers in the imperial examinations. I regret it so much."