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

Chapter 286 Huge Candidates
Princess Kunxing wants to take part in the imperial examination, one is to see if she can pass the exam, and the other is to support Zhu Cihong's reform of the imperial examination and encourage women all over the world to put down their worries and take the exam.

So when signing up, not only was it not sneaky, but it was upright, and signed up as a royal princess.

At that time, the officials of the Ministry of Etiquette almost died of fright, and the jaws of the wives and ladies who also went to sign up also almost dropped from shock.

However, the influence was indeed huge, and it spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River, and even the entire south in a short period of time. Even the royal newspapers published this news and put it on the front page.

Even the princess signed up to take the imperial examination, which made some ladies and ladies who were still reserved completely let go of their worries.

It also made some old stubborn no excuses to stop, and it also made all the girls who had signed up extremely excited.

In mid-September, the Ministry of Rites finally compiled the data of all the states and counties in the south. The number of pre-examinations was so shocking that all the officials of the Ministry of Rites couldn't close their mouths, and then broke out in cold sweat.

Especially the Minister of Rites, his spine felt a chill, and he almost collapsed on the ground, because there were too many people applying for the exam. According to the previous plan of the Ministry of Rites, he, the Minister of Rites, would definitely be finished.

"Ministry, the number of applicants is far more than you and I imagined. Fortunately, there are still a few months, and there should be time to make up for it. You should report to the Queen Mother quickly!"

"Yes, yes, there are still three or four months. As long as the queen mother fully supports it, it can still be remedied."

The Minister of Rites immediately stood up and hurried to the palace with the data.

In the palace, Zhang Yan couldn't close her mouth in shock, she stood up and said in disbelief, "What? 300 million people? Lu Aiqing, could the Ministry of Rituals make a mistake? How could there be so many people?" Are you ready to take the exam?"

Although I had already prepared in my heart and knew that next year's hospital examination would definitely have a much larger number than previous ones, the figure of 300 million still made Zhang Yan unbelievable.

"Back to the Empress Dowager, the data are reported one by one by the state capitals, and the discrepancy should not be too large. Moreover, in this court exam, scholars from the north will also go to the south to take the exam, so I estimate that the actual number of people will be far away. Far greater than 300 million."

The Minister of Rites replied cautiously, with a bitter look on his face, although he didn't want to scare the Queen Mother, but he had to report the truth.

"Call..."

Zhang Yan took a deep breath, calmed down a lot, and slowly sat back on the chair, picked up the data he submitted, and read it carefully again.

"The number of applicants in this Jiangnan area actually accounted for 200 million?"

Although the literary style in Jiangnan is prosperous and has always been the highest in the country, the total number of people in the other five provinces is only half of that of the two provinces in Jiangnan. The gap is so big that Zhang Yan was amazed again.

This time, the Minister of Rites chose to remain silent.

Although this gap is a bit outrageous, it is reasonable when you think about it. After all, any guy in a restaurant in the south of the Yangtze River, or a servant girl from a wealthy family, may know some words, so it is not surprising to come to fish in troubled waters.

"Lu Aiqing, with so many examinees, can the Ministry of Rites be sure that there will be no mistakes? To start the course fairly and justly?"

Zhang Yan just marveled for a moment, then put down the booklet in her hand, and asked with a serious face.

"Back to the Empress Dowager, if there are so many examinees, it will be very difficult if they want to concentrate in the unified examination in the provincial capital and separate men and women. Besides, there must be good and bad among these candidates. Therefore, I suggest that a pre-examination be held in advance, and some Those who pretend to be fake are screened out, and only those who pass can continue to participate in the hospital examination, so that..."

"No, in this way, what is the difference from the previous county examination and government examination? When the new department-level system was announced, it was made clear that anyone who can write their name can directly sign up for the hospital examination , changing it now, wouldn’t it be a change from day to day, making the court lose its trust in the world?”

Zhang Yan shook her head resolutely before he finished speaking. Not to mention that Lang'er would never agree to this, even she felt that it was extremely inappropriate.

"The empress dowager's atonement is due to my lack of thoughtfulness and negligence. The pre-test is indeed inappropriate." The Minister of Rites did not expect Zhang Yan to react so strongly, and hurriedly apologized.

"It's okay, Lu Aiqing should think about how to ensure the smooth conduct of the imperial examination. There is absolutely no room for mistakes in this imperial examination, especially the imperial examination. If something goes wrong, not to mention Lu Aiqing and the Ministry of Rites, even the Ai family will be able to thank the world!"

Zhang Yan waved her hand, and then said, her tone was unprecedentedly dignified.

The impact of this imperial examination is so great and far-reaching that it is destined to be unprecedented. Once it is messed up, even if Lang'er doesn't blame her, she still feels ashamed to see Lang'er and the ancestors of Ming Dynasty again.

It was the first time that Minister of the Ministry of Rites saw Zhang Yan say such a heavy word, and he felt great pressure on his body. After taking a deep breath, he said again: "Queen Mother, since the pre-test is not possible, we can only send the court test to the state capitals. It is the only way to ensure the smooth progress of next year's imperial examination, not to mention that many poor scholars may not be able to travel thousands of miles to the provincial capital to take the examination. This move will definitely win the support of all candidates. Strengthening supervision should be able to prevent fraud.”

This time, Zhang Yan did not immediately veto it. She picked up the data on the table and checked it carefully. Finally, she sighed, nodded and said, "It is indeed the most appropriate and more convenient to hold the examination in the state capital."

Because even Guangxi Province, which has the fewest candidates, has nearly 100 people. So many people have to go to the provincial capital for the exam. Thinking about Zhang Yan, I feel a little unrealistic, and thinking about more than [-] million people coming to Nanjing for the exam, the scalp is even more dizzy. Numb.

And if the college examinations are distributed to the state capitals, the maximum will be [-] to [-], and the minimum will be several thousand. Although it is also a bit crowded, at least it can be solved.

"The Empress Dowager Shengming."

Seeing that Zhang Yan finally adopted his suggestion, the Minister of Rituals also heaved a sigh of relief. If Zhang Yan insisted on concentrating on examinations in various provincial cities, he would rather resign than dare to be the Minister of Rites.

"Queen Mother, I don't know the exam paper..." Then the Minister of Rites asked tentatively.

There is no way, His Majesty said at the beginning that the new imperial examination papers are different from the previous blank papers, but the questions will be printed uniformly on it, 400 million examination papers, so he has to care about it.

After all, if the Ministry of Rites were to produce so many test papers at that time, even if all the officials in the Ministry of Rites were driven crazy and killed, they would definitely not be able to produce them.

Thinking of the need for 400 million examination papers, Zhang Yan also rubbed her forehead with a headache, and said: "At the beginning, His Majesty ordered that he would personally write the examination papers for the college examination, so the Ministry of Rites does not need to worry about the examination papers for the time being. The examination halls of the state capitals!"

Speaking of this, Zhang Yan paused for a moment, and then said in a strict voice: "The Ai family will personally issue an edict that officials at all levels must fully cooperate with the Ministry of Rites in preparing for this imperial examination. , all will be dismissed and investigated, and severely punished!"

"The Empress Dowager Shengming."

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites hurriedly prayed excitedly, with the Queen Mother's decree, it will surely get twice the result with half the effort.

"Queen, for so many examination rooms, it is necessary to build a large number of tables and chairs. No matter how simple and expensive it is, I am afraid it is unimaginable. Will the required funds be borne by the Ministry of Rites, or by the yamen at all levels...?"

The Minister of Rites looked at Zhang Yan and asked cautiously, the meaning couldn't be more obvious, and he almost said directly, give the money quickly, Queen Mother.

"Well, the Ministry of Rites should bear the required funds. The Ai family will allocate 100 million taels for you first. If it is not enough, then allocate it later."

Zhang Yan nodded, and knew that it would be impossible not to allocate funds. The annual funds of each government office must have been spent by them.

Minister of the Ministry of Rites immediately beamed with joy. For the first time, he felt that the Queen Mother was not too stingy. One million taels of silver, on average, how can each state capital get tens of thousands of taels, which is more than enough to build some seats and benches. As for the place, to Just build some thatched sheds at any time.

(End of this chapter)