The ruthless emperor in the late Ming Dynasty forced Chongzhen to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 195 The Imperial Examination Reform Across Era
The reason why Zhu Cihong wanted to leave such an edict to Zhang Yan was mainly because he wanted to be a responsible emperor.

As for why the throne was passed on to the imperial sister instead of the two younger brothers, of course it was due to the close relationship with the imperial sister and Princess Kunxing was in Nanjing, if not to her, who would it be?
As for the others, I'm dead, so I don't care.

Of course, both Zhu Cihong and Zhang Yan knew that this imperial edict would never be used and would definitely be burned in the end.

So Zhu Cihong didn't tell others, including Princess Kunxing herself, and Zhang Yan didn't persuade her to say that it was absurd to pass the throne to the imperial sister.

Because it was unnecessary, even Zhang Yan felt that Zhu Cihong's actions were superfluous and unlucky, and wanted to burn the imperial edict directly.

Zhu Cihong is not in a hurry to reform the New Deal in various provinces, but the reform of the imperial examination cannot be delayed any longer.

Originally, he planned to announce the reform of the imperial examination while the provinces were promoting the New Deal, and the reform of the imperial examination was also the simplest, which could be resolved with an imperial edict.

Because, whether you disagree or agree, it doesn't matter. Anyway, if you want to be an official in the imperial examination, you have to take the exam according to the new regulations of the court. If you don't take the exam, some people will take the exam.

Although they had been psychologically prepared, Zhang Yan and Ma Shiying were extremely shocked when Zhu Cihong showed the imperial edict to reform the imperial examination.

First of all, the first and most shocking thing is that from now on, anyone, regardless of male, female, old or young, high or low, can directly participate in the hospital examination.

After passing the court examination, both men and women will be awarded the title of scholar, and all low-class slaves will be re-registered and naturalized by the Ministry of Rites.

Those who obtained the honor of being a scholar can see that officials do not kneel and are not allowed to use torture. They can participate in the provincial examination to obtain the honor of juren. Men can participate in the assessment of the Ministry of Officials, but women cannot participate.

Of course, the main thing that shocked the two of them was that the examination in the college was too simple, even a bit of a joke.

Ma Shiying didn't dare to raise any doubts, but Zhang Yan had no worries, and said with a wry smile, "Long'er, regardless of gender, age or age, it's alright to just take the entrance exam, but...but the exam is too easy, right?" , I am afraid that as long as someone who can read and write can learn ten simple numbers for a period of time, it is estimated that they can pass the examination of scholar?"

No wonder Zhang Yan said this, because she felt that if she took the exam now, she would probably be able to win a Juren at least, and after studying for a year or so, it would not be impossible to get a Jinshi.

"Hehe, Auntie is right, but the boy wants to encourage everyone in the world to be a scholar."

Zhu Cihong smiled slightly, then said solemnly.

It is definitely unrealistic to abolish slavery and everyone is equal, so we can only give everyone a hope and a chance to be a master.

That's why he set the entrance exam very low. There are only two subjects in the entrance examination, which are divided into liberal arts and arts.

Basically, as long as you are familiar with enlightenment books such as the Three Character Classic, Hundred Surnames, Thousand Characters, The Analects of Confucius, and Di Zigui, and can write silently, you can almost pass.

It doesn't matter if the characters are ugly at all, as long as they can be recognized, even simplified characters will not affect the grades.

The technical subject is simpler, as long as you can cite ten Arabic numerals proficiently, perform simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and calculate the area of ​​some figures, you can pass.

Basically, with the level of Chinese and mathematics in the third grade of primary school in the previous life, he can pass the examination of scholar.

Compared with the college examination, the provincial examination is much more difficult. In the liberal arts, you need to test some Four Books and Five Classics and history, and the arts are also more esoteric, adding the Tianyuan technique, which is the equation.

But in general, it is also much easier than the current rural examination.

Juren's treatment is similar to that of scholar, the only difference is that after passing the examination by the Ministry of Officials, Xiucai is awarded the ninth rank, while Juren is awarded the eighth rank, the starting point is higher. Of course, women are also unable to participate in the official examination.

Compared with the college examination and the rural examination, the general examination is much more complicated, and the general examination will be divided into different subjects.

In the future, the general examination will be divided into three categories. The first category is regular subjects, including political subjects, law subjects, agricultural subjects, and business subjects.

Politics is similar to the traditional examination.

Of course, the stereotyped format must be abolished, and more emphasis should be placed on policy and theory. When the court proposes a topic, you must not only quote classics, but also have your own opinions.

The examination of political subjects in the general examination is not based on passing grades, but is also admitted according to the traditional ratio. After admission, it is also awarded a Jinshi background, awarded as a seventh-rank official, or as a magistrate or master in various counties, or directly as a small official from the eight departments. rise.

Law, agriculture, and commerce mainly examine law, agriculture, and commerce. Those who pass the test will be admitted. They will also be awarded a Jinshi background, an eighth-rank official status, and enter the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Punishment, and Dali Temple.

Of course, the officials of the four departments are not fixed and can only be officials in the departments they are good at all the time, it's just that the initial officialdom is assigned in this way.

The official examination will also be used to select real-time officials in the future. Only those who have achieved fame can participate, and female candidates are not allowed to participate.

The second category is liberal arts. The subjects will be very complicated, such as poetry, poetry, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, etc. As long as you have the reputation of a scholar, you can directly participate in the liberal arts examination, regardless of gender.

Regardless of the number of people who take the exam in each subject, only the top three will be selected as Jinshi in each session, and will be awarded the rank of eighth-rank official.

At that time, the imperial court will set up a literary academy and recruit apprentices to arrange the teaching of these Jinshi. They will only have official salaries and no bonuses or support.

The last category is engineering, which includes arithmetic, astronomy, physics, chemistry, mechanics, biology, mechanics, and medicine.

The engineering examination, regardless of whether you have a degree or not, can take part. It is also open to both men and women. Except for arithmetic, a written test is required. For the rest of the subjects, if you are illiterate, you can directly oral and do not need a written test.

For astronomy, physics, chemistry, machinery, biology, mechanics, and medicine, Zhu Cihong only knows a little bit, but it is enough. He only needs to know how to classify.

People's thinking and creativity are unlimited. He just needs to set up these subjects first, and briefly explain what chemistry, physics, biology, mechanics, etc. are.

At that time, he only needs to select the talents among them, so the final examiner of these subjects will be him, the emperor.

It is unrealistic for him, the emperor, to develop these sciences. He does not have the energy or the ability.

What he can do is to classify these subjects clearly, and then encourage interested people to tinker with themselves.

Of course, for better encouragement, he will also set up a Tiangong Academy at that time. Anyone who passes his assessment and becomes a Jinshi of engineering will be awarded a seventh-rank official status, a bachelor of the Tiangong Academy, or a bachelor's title.

After entering the Tiangong Academy, you can teach disciples while tinkering with the things you want to tinker with. There is a fixed fund every year. If you achieve results, you will not only get a bonus, but you can also upgrade your grade. The temptation is not small, but don’t say it. Taking the exam, people in this era who can distinguish between these are probably the existence of rough edges.

No, Zhang Yan and Ma Shiying at this moment can't understand this so-called engineering at all.

Arithmetic, medicine, and astronomy are no strangers to each other. Mechanics can be understood literally, but the four subjects of physics, chemistry, biology, and mechanics, even though Zhu Cihong has already explained what is biology, what is chemistry, and what is physics , the two of them are still in the fog, as if listening to heavenly scriptures.

"Lang'er, Auntie really can't understand what kind of physical chemistry, how to set up Tiangong Academy?"

"Your Majesty, the old minister is ignorant, has little knowledge, and cannot understand."

Zhang Yan looked at a loss, while Ma Shiying looked like he was about to cry. As the second assistant of the cabinet and the minister of ZTE of Ming Dynasty, he found that he could not understand what His Majesty said, how could this not make him panic?
"Ma Aiqing, it doesn't matter if you don't understand, and I didn't intend to let you understand. The cabinet just needs to do what it should do. The cabinet doesn't have to worry about these things. I will personally preside over how to take the exam."

After speaking, he looked at Zhang Yan again, and said, "Auntie, for the time being, you only need to find two places in Tiangong College and Literary College, hang up the signs, and then recruit some young children to teach them how to read and write. That’s it, you don’t need to worry about other things.”

"It's so simple."

Zhang Yan nodded after hearing the words, and finally heaved a sigh of relief.

Immediately, Zhu Cihong ordered Ma Shiying to resign, and immediately issued the edict to the world. Two years later, the second imperial examination of the Shenwu Dynasty was officially held.

In the future, the imperial examination will be held once a year, and the government examination will be held in March. It will be held in the capitals of each province and presided over by the provincial rite department.

After being selected as a scholar, you can immediately go to Nanjing to take the provincial examination in June, or you can take it again in the next year. There is no limit to this.

The examination is scheduled to be held in Nanjing temporarily in October every year.

The future imperial examinations will also be divided into four levels, namely the government examination, the township examination, the general examination, and the palace examination.

Among them, the palace examinations for formal subjects and liberal arts are just a formality, but the engineering subjects are mainly palace examinations.

For example, in physics, you only need to propose a theory, and the emperor thinks it makes sense, then you will pass the examination and become a Jinshi. If you not only propose a theory, but also prove it through experiments, then you will be directly awarded the title of Grand Bachelor.

But chemistry is the opposite. Although you don't know the causal relationship, as long as you extract the real thing and get the emperor's approval, you can pass the test. If you not only make the real thing, but also explain the causal relationship clearly, you will also Was directly awarded the title of bachelor.

Originally, Zhu Cihong thought that after his imperial examination reform edict was released, it would cause huge shock and opposition, but the fact is that the shock was indeed very large, but there were surprisingly few voices, which made Zhu Cihong also very strange.

But he didn't bother to care about these anymore, and explained to Zhang Yan and Princess Kunxing, and then set off for Beijing.

And countless people in Jiangnan are frantically looking for books related to mathematics, and countless people are also familiar with the ten numbers on the imperial edict, as well as related symbols and formulas.

The reason why the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River did not object to His Majesty's reform of the imperial examinations is because compared with the past when thousands of troops crossed the single-plank bridge, today's imperial examinations are undoubtedly much simpler.

Today's scholars only need to learn arithmetic, and it is almost a certainty to pass the exam.

In the same way, as long as a person learns arithmetic, he is sure to pass the Zhengke examination and become an official.

Compared to delving into the Four Books and Five Classics, the ten numbers and related formulas, Tianyuan Technique, are really not too simple.

Because those things are dead, as long as you are willing to study for two or three months, you can master them.

After all, which one is a fool who can pass the exam for a scholar?At least that memory is not comparable to that of ordinary people.

As for liberal arts and engineering, what does it matter to them?Whoever likes to take the exam, if he passes the exam, he can only be a false official with a promising future.

But those who love calligraphy and are good at rhythm don't think so, especially some famous prostitutes in Qinhuai River.

Similarly, all shopkeepers who can read, write and count, or housekeepers and servants of big families, all start to learn arithmetic secretly. After all, being a scholar is beneficial and harmless.

And some cheating magic sticks, quack warlocks, and some Taoist priests who practice immortality and alchemy hiding in Taoist temples deep in the mountains, after hearing the classification and explanation of astronomy, physics, and chemistry in the imperial edict, their eyes lit up and their hearts thumped.

After Zhu Cihong left, there was a wave of learning ten Arabic numerals and arithmetic in the whole south of the Yangtze River.

Numerous related books were found, and then reprinted and sold in large quantities, especially the latest issues of the newspapers of the Propaganda Supervisor, which became a hot commodity and were copied for more than ten taels of silver.

Because each of the latest issues of the Royal Mansion Newspaper has a section on it, which is dedicated to explaining knowledge related to arithmetic, and many formulas on it are not found in other books.

Calculating according to these formulas, it is indeed unfavorable, causing countless people to say that there must be someone who is proficient in arithmetic in the propaganda prison.

(End of this chapter)