I studied in modern times

Chapter 1014 Provincial Examination List Released
The third month of the third year of the Yuan You era was Dingmao (20).

Zhao Xu had just woken up when he saw Tong Guan's figure appear in front of the curtain in front of the bedchamber.

"Is something the matter?" Zhao Xu asked.

"Reporting to everyone, Editor-in-Chief Hu has sent a letter!" Tong Guan couldn't help but chuckle as he said this.

Yes!

Hu Feipan is a name that is closely associated with the Bianjing Xinbao newspaper. Whoever is the editor-in-chief of the Bianjing Xinbao is Hu Feipan.

Tong Guan was the first generation, and Feng Jing was the second generation.

This made Tong Guan feel a little strange.

This made him easily think of the famous brands in the entertainment district—Li Shishi and Xu Poxi, which were also passed down from generation to generation.

Fortunately, he is no longer Hu Feipan.

"Oh!" Zhao Xu sat up and took the note from Feng Jing handed to him by Tong Guan.

Speaking of which, after Feng Jing left the palace and took over Tong Guan's duties, he performed very well and did not embarrass Zhao Xu.

Both the Bianjing Xinbao and Bianjing Yibao were managed by him in an orderly manner.

The training and development of the newsboys was also carried out in an orderly manner.

In addition, he may have spent a long time by Zhao Xu's side, so he was very clear about Zhao Xu's political leanings and attitudes.

Therefore, they have a very strong stance on the selection of articles and news.

This made Zhao Xu very happy.

Thus, in just a few months, Feng Jing's official rank as an inner court official rose from Palace Attendant (rank 9) to Eastern Head Attendant (rank 8).

Holding Feng Jing's note, Zhao Xu scanned it and smiled, "Excellent!"

"It seems Han Chiguo has finally figured it out!"

Feng Jing only reported one thing—the Bianjing Righteous Newspaper had received an article signed by Xu Zhoushanren.

Feng Jing dared not make the decision on his own, so he came to ask for instructions.

Feng Jing attached that article to the letter.

Zhao Xu only glanced at it casually, but he recognized it immediately—it was Han Wei's article!
no way!
Contemporary writers' articles and poems usually have very distinct personal styles.

Otherwise, in Zhao Xu's previous life, when Su Shi was in charge of the imperial examinations, such a huge uproar wouldn't have occurred.

The same applies to Han Wei's article signed "Xu Zhou Shan Ren".

Zhao Xu only needed to read the first two lines to know that it was Han Wei's writing.

This article is written in the style of parallel prose, with ornate language and numerous allusions. It is clear at a glance that it must have been written by a senior official with extremely high literary accumulation and attainment.

however……

Zhao Xu, however, didn't like it much!

Because, within the text of this article, there was a kind of pretentious aloofness that Zhao Xu disliked, even instinctively loathed, and was hard to explain.

Of course, contemporary writers might really like it.

They believe this embodies the spirit of scholars!
However, Zhao Xu, after studying abroad in modern times, really didn't like it.

There's no way around it—which modern young person would like those accomplished old men pointing fingers and giving orders from a superior position?
However, the main ideas in the article are acceptable, and can be considered to be part of the lineage of Pu Zongmeng's trickle-down economics.

However, Pu Zongmeng's main point was about the city.

It takes industry, commerce, and handicrafts as its starting point.

Han Wei's article, signed "Xu Zhou Shan Ren," focuses on the vast rural areas.

From the perspective of local notables, the role of these notables is emphasized.

Therefore, even though Zhao Xu didn't like the article, he was still very happy.

After putting away Feng Jing's letter, Zhao Xu looked at Tong Guan and said, "Go tell Feng Jing that this article can be used as the front page of the next issue of the Bianjing Righteous Gazette!"

"promise!"

Therefore, the Bianjing Yibao newspaper, published the next day, carried the article in full on its front page, which was signed Xu Zhoushanren.

Even Zhao Xu could tell that this was Han Wei's article.

How could anyone else not see it?

Instantly, the scholars and officials throughout Bianjing were in an uproar.

"Han Chiguo, when did you get involved with Pu Chuanzheng?"

Pu Zongmeng was the kind of person Han Wei hated the most.

They lack integrity, moral character, and ethics.

However, now Han Wei has picked up Pu Zongmeng's "heretical doctrines" and is advocating and promoting them!
For a time, many Confucian scholars were heartbroken and indignant: Damn it! How did Han Chiguo become like this?
But the powerful and wealthy in Bianjing were overjoyed, even celebrating their newfound positions.

Compared to Pu Zongmeng, Han Wei was clearly more in line with their wishes.

Born into a prestigious family, known for his integrity and upright character, he's simply one of us!

So, invitations were sent to the Han residence one by one.

However, Han Wei politely declined each invitation, citing that his elder brother was seriously ill and he had no appetite for a banquet.

This earned him praise from the powerful and influential people of Bianjing—for his loyalty and righteousness, he was truly a model of the scholar-official class!
In short, it's just mindless hype!

Pu Zongmeng was highly vigilant about this.

He wrote a new article overnight and submitted it to the Bianjing Yibao newspaper to solidify his position.

no way!
Trickle-down economics is the political foundation upon which Pu Zongmeng now relies for his livelihood.

It was precisely through this theory that Pu Zongmeng was able to assemble a supportive team, establish his governance framework, and undertake numerous tasks. These included piloting the abolition of taxes and city gate taxes in western and eastern Beijing, relaxing restrictions on government monopolies, and allowing private merchants to freely enter industries previously reserved for government officials.

For example, monopolistic sectors such as textiles and ironware production.

Without trickle-down economics, who would follow him?

Naturally, Pu Zongmeng would not ignore the challenge brought by Han Wei.

Therefore, in addition to continuing to write articles, Pu Zongmeng also intensified his efforts to curry favor with Zhao Xu.

The specific format is to offer congratulations every three days and praise someone every five days.

They were steadfast and persistent in writing letters praising the Yuan You era's political policies.

And just then, the results of the provincial imperial examinations were about to be released.

Pu Zongmeng kept showering praise on the various reforms of this year's provincial examination.

Such statements as "Since the founding of our ancestors, only Your Majesty's system has been most effective in addressing the current problems" and "Since the time of Yao and Shun, Your Majesty's method of selecting virtuous and talented individuals has been the most effective."

Zhao Xu was so tired of hearing this that his ears were practically calloused.

But this is what he likes.

Therefore, every time Pu Zongmeng submitted a memorial praising him, Zhao Xu would bestow tea, wine, snacks, or even gold and silver upon him as a form of commendation.

It's not that he likes to hear people flatter him.

Rather, under the feudal system, the ministers' praise and flattery were a basic need for the emperor.

As you may recall, Emperor Kangxi shot 318 rabbits in a single day. Not only did his ministers sing his praises, but Kangxi himself was also extremely proud, showing off this great achievement on more than one occasion.

Did Emperor Kangxi not know that his achievements were largely exaggerated?

knew.

It's purely because he needs to deify himself!
To be honest, Zhao Xu did not personally participate, but instructed Feng Jing to fabricate short articles in the Bianjing Xinbao and Bianjing Yibao praising the emperor's benevolence, such as "The emperor read through all of Confucius's articles in one day," "Huainan suffered a severe drought, and the emperor prayed for the disaster victims in the palace. Heaven was moved and finally sent down sweet rain," and "The emperor's virtue is a beam of light that never goes out."

That's already a very principled thing to do.

Therefore, on the day before the results of the provincial examination were released, on the day of Gengwu in the third month (23), Zhao Xu issued an edict, in the name of his meritorious service to the country, promoting the Left Chancellor Lü Gongzhu to the position of Grand Master of the Golden Purple Light, with an additional 1,000 households of fief and 200 households of actual fief, and promoting the Right Chancellor Pu Zongmeng to the position of Grand Master of the Right, with an additional 600 households of fief and 100 households of actual fief.

Other officials, following the established precedent, were promoted and granted titles in turn.

That same morning, the Ministry of Rites sent the list of successful candidates for this year's civil and military examinations, including those in mathematics and law, to the palace.

Zhao Xu glanced at the list and then leaned back on the cushion.

"A storm is brewing!"

Even though Zhao Xu valued mathematics, law, and the military examinations, neither the public nor the court officials paid much attention to them.

Therefore, the list submitted by the Ministry of Rites naturally put the successful candidates of the provincial examination at the very beginning.

Since the provincial exam results have been released, the candidates' information can naturally be made public.

Therefore, the list that Zhao Xu saw contained the complete identity information of all the qualified Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations).

In the list of candidates for this year's provincial examinations submitted by the Ministry of Rites, more than 20 of the top 50 candidates shared the same identity after their names: civil servants of a certain department in Kaifeng Prefecture.

And the entire list...

Zhao Xu observed that at least 20% of the qualified Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) had similar backgrounds.

Zhao Xu knew that this list would be released tomorrow.

This will inevitably cause a huge uproar.

It's possible... no, it's more likely that some test takers will use this as an excuse to cause trouble.

Faced with the imperial examinations that concerned their future and destiny, many people could stir up a storm even without any wind.

Besides, can't we find excuses and reasons?
This also aligns with the objective pattern observed after each reform of the imperial examination system in the Song Dynasty—

During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, a strict system of anonymizing and sealing names was implemented. As a result, in the fifth year of the Xianping era of Emperor Zhenzong, when Chen Shu was in charge of the imperial examinations, a large-scale disturbance occurred among the candidates.

The scholars from Chen Shu's hometown were particularly excited because fewer people were admitted than in other places.

So the scholars began to make all sorts of effigies with Chen Shu's name, place of origin, and date of birth written on them. The less daring ones would whip and scold him at home.

Those who were bolder simply put Chen Shu on the road in Kaifeng Prefecture, took a whip, and openly whipped Chen Shu.

In the first year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era, more than 120 unsuccessful candidates, including Zhou Shuliang, went to Kaifeng Prefecture to complain that the chief examiner, Chao Jiong, was deliberately suppressing poor families and favoring wealthy and powerful ones.

The largest incident involving disruption of the imperial examinations occurred in the second year of the Jiayou era.

Correct!
It was after the results of the provincial imperial examination, which was later known as the "Millennium Dragon and Tiger List," were released.

Because Ouyang Xiu changed the admission style, a large number of candidates who racked their brains, used obscure characters, played with literary style, piled up vocabulary, and competed to see who could use the most obscure words failed the exam.

As a result, these candidates who failed the exam were filled with indignation and caused a great disturbance in Bianjing (Kaifeng).

Ouyang Xiu's residence was even flooded with more than a dozen blood-written eulogies titled "Eulogy for Ouyang Xiu" in a single day.

He vehemently criticized Ouyang Xiu.

He was described as the greatest traitor in the world.

Behind many of the controversies that plagued Ouyang Xiu in his later years, there were the shadows of those who had failed the imperial examinations back then, stirring things up and spreading rumors everywhere.

Naturally, Zhao Xu knew that after the provincial examination results were released this year, there would definitely be large-scale riots by the scholars.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Xu instructed Tong Guan: "Tong Guan, go to the Three Offices and order Di Yong, the First Commander of the Imperial Dragon Guard, to come to the palace to see me immediately!"

The scholar's rebellion failed in three years.

Even Emperor Renzong wasn't afraid of scholars causing trouble, so why would Zhao Xu compromise?
Now that we know that it is certain that the scholars will cause trouble, we can see that this is the case.

Therefore, Zhao Xu should naturally prepare sticks as well.

Anyone who causes trouble will be beaten!
Nothing can be beaten into submission!
(End of this chapter)