Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 2: The South is Strong and the North is Weak! (Please collect it)
While other candidates in the examination room were still considering how to put their words down and how to demonstrate their talent in governance in the policy questions, Xia Zhibai had already written freely on the rice paper.

half an hour.

Xia Zhibai stopped writing, blew on the ink that had not yet dried, looked at it briefly, and nodded with satisfaction.

he knows.

After submitting the "Question of Policy" paper he wrote, it will surely shock the entire Ministry of Rites, and even the entire world, and he will also become famous in the capital.

He just didn't know what name it was given.

Don't care either.

After arriving in the Ming Dynasty and seeing so much cruelty, inhumanity, darkness and desolation of the time, there was only one thought left in my mind.

It is to change the course of history.

Although this was the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, which reached the peak of the ancient feudal autocratic system, was still during the Hongwu period.

But he doesn't care.

After traveling through time, we should do something for the world and have the courage to do it.

His choice is to stand in the same line as his predecessors in history. There may be some detours, but as long as the ultimate goal is achieved, it will be a smooth road.

He came only to make radical changes to the Ming Dynasty!

If it fails, I will be buried in this corrupt old society without any regrets or guilt.

He came and fought.

That's enough.

Xia Zhibai looked up at the sunlight coming through the high window and suddenly remembered a sentence he had read in "The Founding of an Army" in the past.

"Those souls baptized by the flames of war will be integrated with the fate of the people. Everything we do now..."

"Supreme honor!"

now.

He gradually understood this sentence.

He lowered his head, his eyes sparkling with light, his chest filled with hot blood flowing, and said: "The meaning of the dead is given by the living. All the efforts I am making now are equally glorious!"

A smile flashed across Xia Zhibai's lips as he continued to write on the rice paper, which was the anti-textual "Cewen" for Zhu Yuanzhang.

"..."

"The Hongwu Emperor rose from humble beginnings and seemed to be the most caring towards the people, but in fact he was also the most superficial towards them."

"To the people of the world, there is no worldly view."

"Emperor Hongwu had a heart that loved the people, but he had no real actions to love them. He regarded the whole country as his own property, pretending to love the people but actually oppressing them."

"I regard all officials as farmhands, and all the people as house slaves."

"..."

Xia Zhibai did not just criticize.

He took part in the imperial examination not to vent his dissatisfaction with the contemporary society, nor was he filled with indignation like a fool, but he truly wanted to change this dark and corrupt society. Although his words were disrespectful, he was more out of hatred for the people who did not fight for it and allowed themselves to degenerate.

noon.

The third examination has arrived.

Xia Zhibai had already finished writing the "Cewen" and had also tidied up the rice paper on the examination table in advance. When he heard a crisp "gold" sound, he stood up and handed the test paper to the examiner at the door, then followed the main stream out of the Wenchi Palace.

Outside Wenchi Palace.

Xia Zhibai stopped and looked back.

He raised a confident smile and said firmly: "I have faced the wall for ten years to break through it. Even if it is difficult to reward someone for jumping into the sea, he is still a hero."

"This time."

"I must make my way in this turbid world."

Xia Zhibai turned around, looked around, and walked towards the room where he lived in the Imperial Examination Hall.

The examination venue for the joint examination was in the Wenchi Palace. Like the provincial examination, the joint examination was held three times every three days. Therefore, during these nine days, they had to stay in the rooms arranged by the government.

Eating, drinking, defecating and urinating are all in it.

And you have to prepare your own food.

The government does not provide it.

Now that the imperial examination, which takes place every three years, has come to an end, they have no say in the grading of the papers, so it is time for them to leave. The results of the imperial examination are usually announced ten days after the exam, and during these ten days, they need to find a place to live, but as a juren, they don't need to go through so much trouble.

There had long been officials who had come to the capital, or local merchants who had pooled their money to purchase real estate in the capital to use as local gathering places. In the Ming Dynasty, this place was called a "guild hall."

The five regions of the capital are gathered together, and each township has its own guild hall.

Most of the guild halls built in Yingtian Prefecture were mainly places for fellow bureaucrats, gentry and candidates taking the imperial examinations to reside and gather. They were based on geographical relations, which not only facilitated the management of personnel, but also accumulated reputation and connections for the high-ranking officials who had served in previous periods.

Therefore, it has always been popular.

Xia Zhibai didn't carry much luggage with him.

He simply packed up some leftover dry food and some clothes, then walked out of the cell with his bag on his back.

There was a lot of noise outside the dormitory at this moment.

As the last exam came to an end, the mountain that had been weighing on everyone's heart was lifted at once, and everyone, who had been silent before, became active at this moment.

However, compared with the liveliness of most people, Xia Zhibai and others seemed rather dull, because most of the active candidates were from the south.

There are many of them.

Moreover, since the imperial examination began, northern candidates have never been taken seriously, and their words and deeds are full of disparagement and ridicule.

Without him.

The south is strong and the north is weak.

This has been going on for not just a year or two, but for quite some time.

Since the introduction of the imperial examination system in the Ming Dynasty, the number of candidates from the south has been far higher than that from the north.

The three people who were awarded the first place in the imperial examination have always been students from the south and have never been missed.

Most of the second class of candidates who were awarded the title of Jinshi were from the south, while northern candidates could usually only be found in the third class of candidates who were awarded the title of Tong Jinshi.

In addition, the influence of Zhejiang and Huaixi in the court was very great, which made these southern students proud and even disdainful of the northern students.

When Xia Zhibai first arrived in Yingtian Prefecture, he heard the nursery rhymes coming from outside.

Yellow lotus flower, flower lotus yellow!
Huang refers to Huang Zicheng, Lian refers to Lian Zining and Hua refers to Hua Lun. In these nursery rhymes, these three people seem to be destined by God to be in the top three.

Only the ranking may change slightly.

What surprised Xia Zhibai was that this nursery rhyme was not only widely circulated, but also recognized by other candidates taking the imperial examination, and they all agreed that the top three winners must be from these three people.

This is enough to show that the literary talents of these three people are far superior to others, otherwise they would not be sought after and recognized by so many people.

"Brother Huang, I'm afraid you will be the new top scholar this time, right?"

"No, Brother Hua, you are too kind. In my opinion, Brother Hua and Brother Lian are better. Compared with your talents, I can only be considered a third place."

"Brother Huang, you are teasing me again. The rumor of Huang Lianhua and Hua Lianhuang has been circulating in the city for a long time, but I, Lian Zining, have never run ahead once."

"Why can't I get the top spot?"

Huang Zicheng, Lian Zining, and Hua Lun were joking with each other and complimenting each other, but their eyes revealed the ambition and fighting spirit to win.

For the title of the new top scholar, the three of them had been competing openly and secretly for a long time. It was absolutely impossible for them to win the title if they didn't want to.

This was the first number one scholar in the Ming Dynasty after the imperial examination was suspended for ten years. The imperial examination, which was participated by tens of thousands of candidates, was of great significance.

How could they not be tempted?

Huang Zicheng looked around, his eyes moved, and he said loudly: "Brother Hua, Brother Lian, if I remember correctly, in the last imperial examination, the court selected 120 scholars, more than 80 from the south, and only more than 30 from the north."

"After a ten-year break, how many people do you think will be in the top three in the North this time?"

Hua Lun looked at Huang Zicheng for a few times, then glanced at the northern students who dared not speak out, and said with a hint of contempt, "I'm afraid it will be less than one-third of the southern ones."

"The North has been involved with the barbarians for too long and has long lost its literary spirit. What good would it do a group of people who have not received much literary baptism to gain even if they were given another ten years?"

Lian Zining sneered in agreement, "In my opinion, there may not be any northern candidates in the second-class selection, and if there are, they will be at the end."

Huang Zicheng nodded and agreed: "After all, the North is different from us. It is too close to the barbarians and too far away from the ancient sages. Perhaps they are no longer suitable for studying and researching."

The three of them were talking to each other, which caused laughter and cheers from all around. Only the northern student had a gloomy face, but he could do nothing about it.

Because I really couldn’t pass the exam.

Xia Zhibai glanced at the three people who were the center of attention and frowned. At this moment, a voice came from the side.

"Brother Xia, how did you do on the exam?"

(End of this chapter)