Imperial County Magistrate

Chapter 350 Cataclysm
The imperial examination is divided into spring and autumn. Spring is also called the joint examination. The test objects are candidates from various places. Those who participate in the joint examination from high schools are Jinshi.

The next level up is the palace examination, in which the top pick, second place winner, and top pick are chosen.

The Qiu Wei Examination is also called the Provincial Examination, which is similar to the provincial examination. The candidates are scholars. Only those who have passed the Qiu Wei Examination and become a Judicial Examination are eligible to participate in the Chun Wei Examination.

In addition to these two, the rest are the county examination and the prefecture examination. These two are relatively simple, different from the spring and autumn examinations. Anyone who has read can participate.

If you pass the county examination, you will be a Tongsheng master; if you pass the government examination, you will be a scholar.

But ordinary students from poor families have stopped being scholars and want to participate in Qiu Wei to gain the qualification to be a scholar.

As long as Hua Yinzi has a relationship with the local clan clan or officials, you may not be able to get your turn.

Because these people also have their own scholars, the scholar masters are the most numerous among the scholars in Qian Kingdom.

Although they have broken away from their status as civilians, if they didn't have a special relationship, they might just be scholars for the rest of their lives.

What Zhao Kang and Zhang Sheng want to do is to make all the talents in Qian Kingdom eligible to participate in the Autumn Wei and even the Spring Wei.

This affects the interests of the powerful clans. There are only so many candidates admitted. If you recruit so many people, what should we do if our people fail?
Therefore, when Zhao Kang said that he should consider it carefully, he was not trying to shirk something, but that if this matter was not handled well, it might cause public outrage, and those elite students would never agree.

After thinking for a long time, Zhao Kang raised his head and said quietly: "If you want to reform the imperial examination, you must first rectify the family members."

"good."

Zhang Sheng nodded: "But this is not an easy task. Take Zhou State as an example. There is collusion between officials and businessmen. Rich family members can recommend members of their own family to officials for just a little money and pass off the rest of the candidates."

"The situation in the Qian Kingdom is also very different. I traveled around the four countries. The one that has done the best in this regard is the Jing Kingdom. No one dares to disobey no matter what decree is implemented there."

Zhang Sheng sighed as he spoke: "When I was in the Zhou Kingdom, I also worked with several court officials to carry out an imperial examination reform."

Xiao Linglong asked with interest: "The result failed?"

Zhang Sheng said helplessly: "Yes, that year we just wanted to increase the number of people taking the imperial examination and let some students from poor families with good reputation and good knowledge participate in the imperial examination. As a result, in the spring of that year, candidates from all over the country stopped taking the exam."

"Those students who were born into wealthy families even joined forces and caused quite a commotion, which resulted in the removal of one of my close friends. So I would like to discuss with the Imperial Master how to proceed."

Zhao Kang's eyes were blazing: "To deal with these guys, of course we have to use the methods of the powerful clans. It's really time to take care of this matter. Sir, just leave it to me."

When Zhang Sheng heard this, his eyes were a little worried, but he also understood that this kind of thing was not what he was good at. All he could do was teach and educate people.

"Then please leave it to the Imperial Master."

……

"What are you going to do?"

Xiao Linglong asked after bidding farewell to Zhang Sheng and looking at Zhao Kang who was silent along the way.

Zhao Kang smiled: "I don't have a clue yet, but it's still more than two months until Qiu Wei, so let's think about it slowly."

As they were walking, an official from the county government came to find the two of them: "Master, Mr. Gao said that someone from the imperial capital is here. Please come over."

When the two heard about it, they quickly came to the county government office. The person who came was a commander of the imperial army. When they saw the two people, they quickly knelt down and said, "See your majesty, see the imperial master. Imperial Master Yang Taishi and other lords have memorials to report."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Linglong quickly took the memorial from the commander of the Forbidden Army, opened it and looked at it twice, and her eyes suddenly became solemn.

Zhao Kang asked: "What's wrong?" "There is a change in Qingzhou, we have to go back quickly." Xiao Linglong said in a deep voice.

……

After explaining everything, Zhao Kang and Xiao Linglong rushed back to the imperial capital on horseback. When they saw the two people, many ministers who were still a little panicked seemed to have met their backbone.

In the main hall, all the civil and military officials gathered. Xiao Linglong sat on the dragon chair: "Master Yang, please tell me the details. What happened in Qingzhou?"

Yang Qianyun came out and said, "Your Majesty, pests have broken out in Qingzhou, and the whole territory is suffering from food shortages. The state herdsman Wu Qinghe has not managed it well and committed suicide out of fear of crime. The officials below have become a mess."

"My veteran has ordered people to open the granary for disaster relief, but it is still a drop in the bucket. Therefore, I specially invite your Majesty and the Imperial Advisor to return to Beijing for discussion."

"Pest!"

Xiao Linglong frowned, and Zhang Mingyuan, the Minister of Household Affairs on the side, said: "Yes, Your Majesty, the people sent out rushed back to report that locusts are everywhere in the state and are eating countless crops. Qingzhou may not have any harvest this year. What's more terrible is that .”

"Daqan's treasury was severely depleted during the last campaign, and there was not much food stored in the granaries in various places. Last year, the flood in Jiangzhou was only controlled by the national division's transfer of a large amount of food from the fiefdom of Yuanjiang County."

"Qingzhou and Jiangzhou are the two places that produce the most grain in our country. Now that these two places have been hit by disasters one after another, I am afraid that food shortages will spread throughout the country in the next two years!"

Many people have sad faces and panic in their hearts. They are very hungry but can do anything.

If the food shortage really spreads across the Qian Kingdom, no one can guarantee that it will not lead to terrible consequences.

heard.

Her Majesty the Empress was also surprised and said immediately: "How much money does the treasury have now?"

Zhang Mingyuan looked troubled and said with some embarrassment: "Less than 50 taels."

When everyone heard this, they started talking.

"That's not enough!"

"Even if all the 50 taels are exchanged for food, it won't be enough for the people of Qingzhou to feed them for a month."

"Yes, there is no food in the disaster-stricken granaries across Qingzhou. If something happens again during this period, it may cause disaster!"

"What's the best way to do it, National Master?"

Someone suddenly said something, and everyone's eyes turned to Zhao Kang, who was silent.

Xiao Linglong also looked over.Seeing him in a daze, Xiao Xuance said: "Old Zhao, why are you dazed?"

Zhao Kang raised his eyes and smiled: "There is no granary without food, but there are people who have food."

As he spoke, he looked at Yang Qianyun and others, smiled and said: "Grand Master, if I am not wrong, do you still have something to say?"

Several people raised their eyebrows, secretly shocked in their hearts. Could it be that he could guess this?
Zhao Kang smiled and said: "The people in Qingzhou are affected by the food shortage. If my guess is correct, the food companies around Qingzhou should be so expensive now, right?"

Zhang Mingyuan said hurriedly: "In the opinion of the Imperial Master, this is also the reason why we did not immediately allocate funds for disaster relief. In addition to the empty treasury, the price of food is too expensive now. Even if the treasury is emptied, the food purchased will not be enough for the people of Qingzhou." Eat well!”

(End of this chapter)