Jiuxi

Chapter 998 Chapter 996 [The Court is Full of Justice]

West City, Gongyuan.

After three arduous tests of nine days each, more than 3,700 scholars from all over the country can finally walk out of this heavily guarded examination hall, and the marking work is also proceeding in a tense and orderly manner.

This year's special examination followed the old precedent. Lu Chen did not force the addition of specific content to the new policy. He only asked the Ministry of Rites to add a question in the third round, asking about the resistance to the implementation of the new policy and the countermeasures. As for the first two rounds, especially the first and most important one, the classics and meanings, the questions were still set according to the past rules.

Because of the importance of this special examination, the chief examiner was the Minister of Rites Kong Yingdong, and the vice-examiner was the Vice Minister of Rites Liu Jideng. The 18 examiners were all well-educated people from the Hanlin Academy, including the top scorer Jiang Hui and the second place Qian Rang of the Bingchen examination two years ago.

According to the marking process, after the completion of covering the names, transcribing and reading, the answer sheets of the first round of the Sutra and Meaning subject are distributed by drawing lots under the joint supervision of the two presidents and the co-examiners. The marking staff will conduct the first preliminary selection. The selected answer sheet is called the "recommended paper". If it is also selected by the co-examiner, the word "selected" will be marked on the question. Finally, the two presidents will verify it. If the word "pass" is checked, it means that this answer sheet will enter the final shortlist. Once the ranking is determined and listed on the imperial list, it will be a success.

During this process, the two presidents have the right to look through the neglected answer sheets and select the best ones.

By the evening of April 22, all the papers for the first exam of the Classics and Philosophy were read, and 427 papers were selected. After the final review, the owners of 360 of them were the candidates for this year's special exam.

Although there are three special examinations in total, the first one, the Sutra and Philosophy, is the most important and has been a rule for hundreds of years. Unless there are serious principled problems in the answers to the next two examinations, the result will basically not be changed.

On the 25th, the answer sheets of 360 people were finally selected. Under the joint witness of the two presidents, 18 co-examiners and the Supervisory Censor, everyone first filled in the 342 people outside the first answer sheets of the 18 rooms into the B list.

The next step is the highlight, which is to rank the top 10 to 18th place in this special examination, which is the A list.

The sixth to eighteenth places were decided by the two presidents, and this one was naturally decided by the Minister of Rites Kong Yingdong. Liu Jideng basically did not raise any objections.

Then the two presidents and the examiners from the eighteen rooms decided on the five champions, that is, the first to fifth place.

Kong Yingdong glanced at the five answer sheets on the table and smiled at everyone, "You have all been very hard-working these days. I have seen it all. Once the top five candidates are determined, I will meet with the Saint to commend you for your achievements."

Liu Jideng said modestly: "This is all the grace bestowed by the saints on the scholars of the world. The great master has made great contributions and we are just doing our duty."

Most of the others agreed.

At this time, a young official bowed and said, "Grand Master, I have something I don't understand."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Jiang Hui, the top scorer in the palace examination of Bingchen and the editor of the Hanlin Academy.

Kong Yingdong said warmly, "Shaoyang, you can ask as much as you want."

Hearing him calling Jiang Hui by his courtesy name affectionately, some officials in the Hanlin Academy couldn't help but feel jealous.

Since they were able to serve in the Hanlin Academy, they were naturally all Jinshi graduates. They felt that they were no less talented and knowledgeable than Jiang Hui, the young number one scholar. Moreover, they knew that Jiang Hui came from a poor family and his family background was not worth mentioning. The reason why he was favored by Kong Yingdong was only because the right minister of the current dynasty valued him.

Jiang Hui seemed oblivious to the complicated gazes around him. He took a step forward, looked at Kong Yingdong and said, "This year, 360 people were selected for the special examination. 327 of them are from the 13 states in the south of the Yangtze River, and only 33 are from the north of the Yangtze River. Among them, 28 are from the Heluo capital area. Only five people were selected from the remaining ten states. I dare to ask if this is inappropriate."

The hall was silent.

Kong Yingdong said calmly, "Oh? Is this true? I have never noticed that Jiang Xiuzhuan has a good memory. He is indeed a top scholar with a photographic memory."

Seeing that he had completely eliminated the relationship with just one sentence, Jiang Hui said bluntly: "Grand Master, this year's special examination is the first of the eight new policies. It was requested by the King of Qin and approved by the saint. It aims to show the court's determination to promote talents regardless of their background. It also aims to bridge the gap between the north and the south and to bring the scholars back to their roots. Now that 90% of the candidates are from the south of the Yangtze River, I'm afraid this goes against the saint's original intention."

"Be bold!"

Liu Jideng said in a deep voice: "You are just a small editor, how dare you discuss the major affairs of the court?"

"Hey, Minister Liu, don't be angry. Editor Jiang is also thinking about the court."

Kong Yingdong tried to appease him, then looked at Jiang Hui and asked, "Are you implying that I am deliberately favoring the candidates from Jiangnan?"

Although Jiang Hui was straightforward, he would not make the kind of low-level mistake that would give others something to talk about. He immediately lowered his head slightly and said, "That is not my intention."

Kong Yingdong smiled and asked, "Do you want me to favor the candidates from Jiangbei?"

Jiang Hui had already realized by this time that he had made a very childish mistake.

A high-ranking official like Kong Yingdong, who has been in the political arena for decades, is least afraid of Jiang Hui's direct questioning, because he has no clear evidence to prove that Kong Yingdong has any selfish motives.

The first round of recommended papers were selected by all the marking officials, and the second round of selection was marked by the two presidents together with 18 co-examiners. Even if Kong Yingdong had done some tricks in advance, he could only decide the part of the paper that was allocated to him.

In the absence of any concrete evidence, could Jiang Hui accuse Kong Yingdong to his face of secretly colluding with all the examiners to commit favoritism and fraud?

You know, if this can be verified, it will definitely be a shocking and unprecedented case.

Therefore, Kong Yingdong forced Jiang Hui into a very embarrassing situation with just two rhetorical questions. This was because he considered that this young top scholar was a disciple of Xu Zuo. Otherwise, he would definitely have directly pinned the crime of slandering his superiors on Jiang Hui.

At this moment, the officials in the hall had different expressions. Some looked stern, some sneered, and some were uneasy. "How dare I have such a rebellious thought."

Jiang Hui ignored the looks of others and calmed himself down quickly. Then he changed the subject and said, "Grand Master, I have reviewed the answer papers these days and found that dozens of them have quite good literary talent and insights, including the eleven answer papers I took. It seems a pity that they were left out. After comparing the red and black papers, I learned that they were all candidates from all over Jiangbei. Thinking of the great significance of the additional special examination this year, I dare to ask you to review these answer papers."

Chu Wei, the lecturer of the Imperial Academy, said in a deep voice: "What does Jiang Xiuzhuan mean by this? Could it be that we are all blind and only you, Jiang Xiuzhuan, have a keen eye for talent?"

Another lecturer, Lian Hong, could not help but sneer and said, "It's not impossible. After all, Jiang Xiuzhuan is the second youngest number one scholar in the history of the country."

Jiang Hui pursed his lips tightly and did not argue with these people. He just looked calmly at the Minister of Rites in front of him.

"Please do not argue out of personal feelings. I believe that Jiang Xiuzhuan is acting out of a public interest."

Kong Yingdong still had the image of an amiable and honest elder, and then said to Jiang Hui: "All my colleagues are here today, why don't you bring those answers here, and we can all review them together to see if they can be shortlisted, how about that?"

"Thank you, Grand Master."

Jiang Hui bowed, but when he turned around, Qian Rang suddenly stopped him and whispered, "Brother Shaoyang, stop messing around."

"Nonsense?"

Jiang Hui's brows finally frowned.

Qian Rang glanced at his colleagues who were mostly sarcastic, and continued in a low voice: "The imperial examination is a grand ceremony for selecting talents in the country. The merits and demerits should be determined by their writing skills and learning. How can we blindly favor the scholars from Jiangbei and lose fairness? Brother Shaoyang, the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan has been very kind to you today. Why do you have to hold on to it?"

Jiang Hui stared at this former best friend, then walked away without saying a word.

About an incense stick of time later, Jiang Hui returned with a thick stack of answer sheets.

Kong Yingdong signaled to others with his eyes to be patient, and then he slowly flipped through the answer sheet that Jiang Hui brought.

For the next half hour, Kong Yingdong commented on the answers one by one. At first, Jiang Hui tried to argue with him, but soon Liu Jideng, Chu Wei, Lian Hong and other examiners also joined in. Only Qian Rang could not bear to speak because of their friendship in the past.

In terms of knowledge and eloquence, these people are naturally not inferior to Jiang Hui. It is obvious that the answers Jiang Hui brought were not written by mediocre people, and they would not even be included in the list of 360 people, but they can always find flaws in these articles and then begin to refute them from all angles with righteous words.

So Jiang Hui became more and more silent.

When all the officials closed their mouths contentedly, Kong Yingdong smiled and said, "Shaoyang, I admire your original intention and persistence, but now you can see that these answers were tarnished for a reason, and we have no selfish motives."

Jiang Hui looked up at the friendly face like a spring breeze and said word by word: "Grand Master, don't you really understand the significance of this imperial examination?"

Kong Yingdong's expression gradually turned cold.

Jiang Hui's face showed an extremely disappointed and sad expression, and he said in a cold voice: "The various places in Jiangbei have been separated from the court for twenty years. The reason why the King of Qin asked the saint to open a special examination is to let the people of Jiangbei feel the grace of the court and to let the people of Jiangbei return to the court. The Grand Master of the Imperial Clan is-"

"Jiang Hui!"

Kong Yingdong interrupted him rudely and said gloomily, "I have been lenient to you because you are young and inexperienced. Don't push your luck and be ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth! Now, in the name of the president of this year's exam, I forbid you to talk nonsense again, otherwise you will be punished for causing trouble in the exam!"

Jiang Hui's eyes were slightly red, he smiled sadly, nodded and said: "I will obey the order of the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan."

Kong Yingdong sneered, then asked the others to decide the position of the top five classics.

At this point, both the A and B lists of this year's special examination have been determined.

After the noise, the crowd dispersed.

Almost everyone looked at Jiang Hui with contempt before leaving.

Qian Rang stayed until the end. He came to his old friend and after a moment's hesitation, he consoled him: "Brother Shaoyang, the imperial examination has its own rules. The essays of Jiangbei scholars are indeed not as good as those of Jiangnan scholars. If you deliberately show partiality, wouldn't it be against the rules? Even if the King of Qin is present, he can't be partial to him. Why are you so paranoid? Now that Jiangbei's homeland has returned to the rule of the Great Qi, schools are being established everywhere. I think the gap between the scholars in the north and south will be narrowed in a few years."

"Brother Degao, there is no need to say more."

Jiang Hui stared into his eyes and said softly, "I know you want to get closer to those people, but I hope you can keep your original intention. I don't want to plead for you and the Qian family in the future. This is my last advice as a friend."

Qian Rang was stunned.

Jiang Hui said no more and strode away, his back looking lonely but resolute.

(End of this chapter)