I studied in modern times

Chapter 996 The Ministry of Rites Examination (2)

In a courtyard of Kaibao Temple, Di Zi sat on a stool, holding a long sword, looking at the water clock placed in the courtyard.

Water dripped down the water clock, drop by drop.

Time flows like water in a water clock, passing by drop by drop.

Finally, the bronze figure on the water clock struck the small drum.

Then, the bell behind Kaibao Temple also rang out!

Boom!Boom!Boom!
The bell tolls three times!

The auspicious time has arrived!

Di Zi stood up, gripped his long sword, and walked forward.

Behind him, fully armed soldiers marched forward.

"By imperial decree and imperial order, all candidates for this year's Ministry of Rites examination shall, upon entering the examination hall, first change their clothes and receive the books, writing materials, manuscript paper, and number tags bestowed by the court, before they may enter the examination hall to take the exam!"

Outside the examination hall, officials from the Ministry of Rites were loudly announcing the imperial decrees through large bronze megaphones.

In the front courtyard of Kaibao Temple.

The officers from the First General of the Imperial Dragon Army had already led their respective soldiers to carry the tribute robes bestowed by the palace to each of the study courtyards.

All scholars were required to change into their examination robes and boots here, and receive writing brushes, ink, paper, reference books, food boxes, and candles, all of which were procured and prepared for them by the imperial court. Only then were they allowed to enter the examination hall in Kaibao Temple to participate in this year's imperial examination.

This year, there are 6,325 tribute students who participated in the formal examination, and several hundred additional tribute students in the Ming Suan Ke and Ming Fa Ke categories.

The total number is nearly seven thousand.

As a result, the emperor had placed orders with clothing shops in Bianjing (Kaifeng) a month in advance.

Eight thousand sets of tribute robes and boots were prepared.

Moreover, as early as last year, when the price of cotton cloth in Bianjing plummeted, the emperor had already ordered the Kaifeng Prefecture and the Ministry of Revenue to purchase as many as one million bolts of cotton cloth in order to stabilize prices.

Although most of these fabrics were eventually distributed to the southeast and Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, becoming clothing for the local imperial guards and local militia.

However, there are still over 100,000 horses stored in the Ministry of Revenue.

Nowadays, it would be no problem to take out a little over ten thousand bolts of cloth to make tribute clothing and boots.

Moreover, the court officials were happy to spend money on this matter.

Therefore, the tribute clothes and boots made were all made with the best materials and craftsmanship.

Even the clothing shops they chose were the best.

The labor cost for one tribute garment was three hundred coins!
Even the tribute boots were priced at 150 coins!

To ensure the quality of the tribute clothing and boots was perfect, the capital appointed Han Zhongyan, the Minister of Revenue, and Wang Cun, the Minister of Works, to be in charge of the tribute clothing.

He also sent more than a dozen censors to supervise the sewing of clothes in various shops.

Thinking of this, Di Zi couldn't help but think to himself, "These civil officials are truly devoted to their own people!"

"They know they need to manage quality, and they also know how to be generous!"

Like Di Yong, Di Zi had served as a junior officer along the border.

He knew all too well how greedy the civil officials in the court were when it came to military supplies.

The Privy Council passes through one channel, the Ministry of War passes through another, and then officials at all levels below also have to go through one channel.

In the end, only two or three out of ten ended up in the hands of the ordinary soldiers.

Thus, the embarrassing incident occurred when Yuan Hao rebelled against the Song Dynasty, and the Song army's weaponry was even inferior to that of the Tanguts.

The late emperor worked diligently to improve the country, established the Military Equipment Bureau, and strived to catch up. It wasn't until the Battle of Yongle City that he finally caught up with the Tanguts' level of weaponry!

However, everything else remains the same.

This is the real-world logic behind the rise of the Western Army's military families.

The civil officials in the imperial court are behaving in a very unseemly manner.

The military officials below wanted to raise troops and develop a fighting force.

You'll have to pay for it yourself.

The army that Wu Chen raised with his own money was naturally his private army.

The Zhong family army, the Yao family army, and the Zhe family army all originated from this.

Lü Huiqing in Hedong, Liu Changzuo in Fuyan Road, and Lü Huiqing in Xihe Road today all relied on the emperor's trust to have money and grain directly distributed to them.

Only then can we afford to support elite, courageous strikers.

However, the problem with these people is that—although soldiers have been trained.

However, it is easy for the policy to fall into disuse after the person dies, and for the tea to grow cold after the person leaves.

Just like back then, Fan Zhongyan selected a few elite troops in Shaanxi who were brave and capable of fighting.

After Fan Zhongyan left, the regime was rendered useless within a few years.

Fortunately, after the current emperor ascended the throne, he took back the power of arms production and allocation from the Privy Council and the Ministry of War by establishing a dedicated Ordnance Manufacturing Bureau.

The production of military equipment was assigned to a dedicated ordnance bureau, while its allocation was controlled by a special department of various bureaus.

This reduced the hassle of military supplies production, manufacturing, and allocation by more than half.

Without so much fuss and scheming, by simply sucking the blood of the military supplies, more things could naturally be sent to the army.

At the very least, the quality of military equipment and armor can be guaranteed.

In addition, the current emperor has also established his own First General of the Imperial Dragon.

He then seized all the money, food, rewards, and military pay of the First General of the Imperial Dragon Army for his own use.

The monthly rewards and bonuses, as well as the seasonal clothing, charcoal, and rice allowances, were all distributed by palace officials who personally went to the camp with a roll call list.

The emperor himself would visit the Imperial Army every one or two months to inspect the army and then personally supervise the distribution of rewards.

This allowed the First General of the Imperial Guard to be stationed even outside Bianjing City.

They became the first army since the founding emperor to be stationed in the capital without sneaking out of the camp to dine in brothels or gambling dens.

Their strict military discipline was praised by both the court and the public.

For this imperial examination, the emperor issued an edict appointing the top general of the Imperial Guard as the garrison commander of the examination hall.

He was appointed as the "Supervisor of the Imperial Examination Hall," responsible for distributing tribute robes, books, food boxes, candles, and writing materials.

At the same time, they were responsible for delivering meals, burning incense to repel mosquitoes, and fire prevention inside the examination hall.

When Di Zi arrived at the front courtyard of Kaibao Temple, all the temple gates were already open.

Led and guided by officials and soldiers, scholars from all twenty-three regions of the country, carrying their official documents and certificates, slowly entered through the various gates in a procession.

Di Zi walked to the front courtyard of Kaibao Temple, where a platform had already been set up for him and other military and eunuch officials who were supervising the imperial examinations to climb and command.

The official sent Song Yongchen, who was also in charge of supervising and inspecting the imperial examinations, was already waiting for him here.

"Commander Di!" Song Yongchen bowed to Di Zi.

As a trusted confidant of the emperor, he naturally knew that this son of Di Qing was not only Di Yong's elder brother, but also that the young lady of Linzhen County, Di Xiaoniangzi, who was currently in the palace, was actually raised by Di Zi's wife, not Di Yong's wife.

In other words, this man is actually the future father-in-law of the emperor!
Moreover, it's quite possible that the future Empress Di will be closer to this one.

Song Yongchen had also heard that the Emperor intended for Di Yong to take over as the First Commander of the Imperial Dragon Army after Di Yong stepped down.

If this happens, the fact that the Di brothers successively became the commanders of the Imperial Dragon Army would be enough to make the Di family the foremost military family in the Song Dynasty.

"Commander Song!" Di Zi nodded slightly in return, showing great tact, and then sat down in the commander's seat on the platform.

He was a military officer, and possibly also a relative of the empress.

Therefore, minimizing contact with court officials is the correct approach.

After sitting down, Di Zi looked straight ahead, watching the scholars from all walks of life, led by officials, line up to enter each study room.

Under the joint supervision of court officials and soldiers, they changed into tribute robes and boots in those fasting rooms and received the relevant items.

They also handed over their personal belongings to the officials and received a number plate. This number plate served as both their entry pass and proof of ownership to retrieve their belongings after the exam.

Even though the massive procession of over seven thousand people was divided into more than a dozen different groups, and each group was guided by a dedicated official to enter the meditation room in an orderly manner, change clothes, and receive their belongings, it still took a full four hours.

The work was finally completed that afternoon.

All the scholars entered the examination hall, which the Ministry of Rites had prepared in advance inside the Kaibao Temple.

Di Zi watched as the last scholar entered the examination hall.

He stood up, walked to the platform, and announced loudly, "By imperial decree, all gates of the examination hall shall be closed immediately!"

"Except for those who deliver tribute meals, drinking water, and medicine, no one else is allowed to leave the premises!"

"And all those who deliver meals, when entering or leaving the examination hall, are subject to body searches and inspections by the First General of the Imperial Guard!"

"Yes, sir!" came the unanimous reply from the soldiers of the First General of the Imperial Dragon.

The imperial examinations officially began in the third year of the Yuan You era.

……

Inside the examination hall.

Holding his number, Bao Cheng quickly found his seat.

Number 101 (Class A)

This was a simple examination seat located under a cypress tree, with nothing but a desk and a chair.

After Bao Cheng sat down, he laid out the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone he had received on the table.

Then I closed my eyes and waited.

Soon, the examiners began to patrol the venue to make sure that all candidates had entered and were seated in their places.

To be honest, Bao Cheng felt that the examiners in Bianjing were doing something completely unnecessary—the imperial examination was held only once every three years, so who would skip it?
As for the candidates who entered the venue, were they not seated in their assigned seats?
That's even more ridiculous—how can someone sit in someone else's seat?

But Bao Cheng was soon proven wrong.

Because, in his examination room, the examiners discovered several empty seats during their rounds.

The examiner immediately ordered the removal of those examination seats and made a record of it.

Moreover, a dispute among the scholars occurred during the inspection.

Someone actually sat in someone else's seat!

Then, the victim came to their door, and the two got into a physical altercation, arguing and cursing.

The examiner immediately intervened and ordered the officers and soldiers to arrest both of them.

Bao Cheng was dumbfounded.

Fortunately, sitting in front of Bao Cheng was a veteran of the Song Dynasty's imperial examinations, with gray hair and beard, who was at least fifty or sixty years old. Seeing Bao Cheng's dumbfounded look, and considering his appearance and age, he had the idea of ​​becoming a teacher.

So, he explained it to Bao Cheng.

After hearing this, Bao Cheng was completely dumbfounded. According to the old scholar, in the past, there were many scholars who skipped the imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty.

The number ranges from a few dozen to two or three hundred.

There are various reasons for not taking the exam.

Some candidates fell ill on their way to the exam and were unable to reach Beijing in time.

Some also encountered various accidents on the road—such as falling into the water, falling off their horses, being kidnapped by bandits, or being abducted by thieves...

For this reason, there were people in Bianjing who specialized in selling examination credentials and forging official documents.

Every year, a large number of imposters sneak into the examination hall.

But if you walk on the dark road too often, you're bound to encounter ghosts eventually.

Therefore, during each imperial examination, scholars with the same number and official appointment certificate would often bump into each other.

At this point, the examiners need to interrogate the individuals to determine the truth from falsehood.

After listening to the old scholar's introduction, Bao Cheng swallowed hard, then asked the question that had been bothering him: "May I ask, senior..."

"What's the use of impersonating someone else and submitting a fake ID to participate in the imperial examinations, even if you pass?"

The old scholar chuckled and said, "Why wouldn't it work?"

"It's incredibly useful!"

"As long as one can pass the imperial examination and be appointed to an official position by the Ministry of Personnel, there are all sorts of ways to substitute one person for another and make the fake appear real..."

"For example, find the hometown of the person you're impersonating, and then proceed as appropriate..."

"If the imposter is dead, that would be for the best!"

"His parents, uncles, and brothers would certainly be happy to have an official's son/nephew/brother for nothing..."

"If he is not dead, then he might be able to be bribed with a large sum of money, and the two could exchange names and places of origin..."

"Or they might bribe local officials to change the household registration..."

Even if all other avenues fail...

"The imposters aren't at a loss either!"

"A degree from the imperial examination system is enough for him to do many things!"

Bao Cheng was completely stunned.

But he still didn't understand why someone would impersonate another person.
He then asked the old scholar, who laughed heartily after hearing the question and said to Bao Cheng, "Young friend, is this your first time participating in the imperial examination? Have your parents, elders, and fellow villagers also never participated in the imperial examination?"

Bao Cheng nodded.

He was the first member of the Bao family in Xihe to study at the Xizhou State Academy.

That was more than two years ago.

Before him, the sons and nephews of the Bao family of Xihe had also studied, but not much.

It's just the level of being able to read and write normal text.

Even so, he was still considered an intellectual on Xihe Road.

Because the vast majority of men in the Xihe tribe can only count on their fingers.

Upon hearing this, the old scholar immediately smiled and said, "Young friend, do you know how rare it is to find candidates for the imperial examinations in all the prefectures and counties of the world!"

"Especially the Southeast Sixth Road..."

"Many scholars from the Sixth Route Army simply cannot pass the preliminary examination!"

"then what should we do?"

"Of course, we have to go to the capital and try our luck..."

"For them, even if they are discovered, it's not a big deal!"

"Our dynasty treats scholars well!"

"As long as you have money to bribe the officials, the worst that can happen is a beating and a ban from future imperial examinations..."

"But they never had a chance to get a release quota in the first place!"

"Of course I'd be happy to take the gamble!"

"In addition, there are the descendants of officials and clerks who were disqualified from taking the imperial examinations due to their parents' or other reasons..."

In short, there is a great demand for those who fraudulently obtain other people's places as tribute students.

At this point, the old scholar lowered his voice and said to Bao Cheng, "Besides, young friend, do you know that right now, right here in the examination hall, there are also sons of wealthy families or high-ranking officials who have spent a lot of money to hire people to take the exam for them!"

Bao Cheng listened with wide eyes. Born and raised on Xihe Road, he had never imagined that the imperial examinations in Bianjing City would have so many intricacies.

Just as he was about to ask another question, the officials in the examination hall began to beat drums and gongs.

The first formal examination of the year's imperial examinations has begun.

(End of this chapter)