Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 3 If I pass the exam, I will definitely be the top scorer!
Xia Zhibai looked in the direction of the sound.

A middle-aged man carrying a gray cloth package, wearing casual clothes, and slightly thin, walked quickly towards Xia Zhibai.

Xia Zhibai stood still.

He recognized who the person was, Jie Min, a native of Dezhou, Shandong. The two of them had similar examination chambers and were both from the north, so they had a relatively close relationship.

Xia Zhibai nodded and said, "Brother Jie."

Xie Min nodded, and he glanced around, with an indelible worry on his face. He sighed and said, "Brother Xia, I'm afraid the results of this scientific expedition for us in the north will be very unsatisfactory."

"We in the north have been busy with the war in recent years and have not had time to review our books. I asked other people just now, but they all gave unsatisfactory answers."

"Ugh."

"As for the policy questions, it is because I read too little and cannot come up with many new ideas and insights. I am too mediocre and unremarkable. How can I stand out among thousands of candidates?"

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

"You are the youngest among the candidates in this year's imperial examination in the north. You have passed the Tongshi, Yuanshi, and Xiangshi examinations in just two and a half years, and were even praised by King Zhou. Are you sure you can be ranked among the top two?"

Jie Min looked at Xia Zhibai with burning eyes.

Today, the south is strong and the north is weak, which has forced the northern candidates to unite unprecedentedly. However, they are indeed inferior to others in academic skills, and there is nothing they can do about it.

Now they can only pin their hopes on Xia Zhibai, otherwise among the tens of thousands of candidates, no one from their northern region would be ranked among the top two.

It's so embarrassing.

I am afraid that in the future, I will be even less able to hold my head up when facing students from the south, and I will be belittled and suppressed even more severely by them.

In the end, they still held their breath.

Xia Zhibai looked at Jie Min, then glanced at the other people following Jie Min, and his brows couldn't help but frowned.

The North attached great importance to this imperial examination.

All the candidates who were able to participate, whether they had official duties or not, came to participate, just to prove themselves. The current emperor was born in Huaixi, and most of the ministers assisting the country were from eastern Zhejiang, so the South was at its peak.

The North was firmly suppressed.

Whether it was the promotion of officials or the right to speak, influence, finance, etc., they were all suppressed in various ways by the South. The major provincial governments in the North were all holding back their anger and wanted to make a comeback through the imperial examination.

In order to prove that the North was not as bad as the Southern officials said, and to try to gain more say in the court, this open and secret struggle has been going on since Zhu Yuanzhang announced the reopening of the imperial examination.

The North is so concerned.

The major provincial governors in the south were no less successful.

After they realized the intentions of the North, they also made secret preparations, intending to completely suppress the power struggles among northern officials in the court.

The South also came out in full force this time.

The North and the South jointly created this imperial examination boom in the 18th year of Hongwu, with as many as 20,000 candidates participating in this examination.

If the admission was based on the previous imperial examination system, there would be more than 20,000 people competing for 120 places for the Jinshi degree, and the competition would be extremely fierce.

Before the imperial examination began, the south was already building up momentum. Various nursery rhymes were circulated, such as "Hua Lian Huang" and "Huang Lian Hua", all of which were about southern students ranking first.

When Xia Zhibai first arrived in Yingtian Prefecture, he saw Jie Min and others clashing with the southern students. However, with the end of the first two exams, the northern students suddenly became quiet.

Students from the south are even more arrogant.

After the first two exams, no one in the north expected that any of them would make the top three in the first class. They just hoped that there would be more northern candidates in the second class.

But with the end of the policy test and the second place ranking, they didn't even dare to have too much hope.

According to the admission results of the last imperial examination, there were three people in the first class and seventeen people in the second class. It was extremely difficult to stand out among the 20,000 candidates.

Xia Zhibai chuckled, gave Jie Min a reassuring look, and said lightly: "Brother Jie, don't worry, I have confidence in this imperial examination."

"Since I came to Kaifeng to participate in the imperial examination, my goal, Xia Zhibai, has been very clear."

"He is the number one scholar."

"After the three examinations, my goal has not changed. Instead, it has become more determined. I, Xia Zhibai, will definitely be the top scorer in this imperial examination."

Xia Zhibai's eyes were full of confidence. Xie Min was startled and pinched her ears suspiciously, as if wondering if she had heard it wrongly.

Xia Zhibai said he would be the top scorer in high school?

How can this be?

This is an imperial examination, not a local provincial examination. The number one scholar is selected from more than 20,000 people. The North cannot compete with the South, so it is a rare achievement for the North to break through the siege of a group of southern students.

Top pick?

They didn't even dare to think about it before.

Xia Zhibai looked indifferent.

He naturally knew what he was talking about. His goal was indeed to be the top scorer in the imperial examination, and only the top scorer. Apart from being the top scorer in high school, he would have no other choice but to go down a dead end.

Under such circumstances, he was naturally extremely confident that he would be the top student in high school.

Xia Zhibai did not lower his voice.

His bold words were heard by the other candidates around him, and immediately caused a burst of sneers and ridicule.

"Haha."

"Did this kid get stupid in the exam?"

"You're the top scorer in the imperial examination. Do you really think this is a local exam for children or college students? Is it so easy to pass? It's good enough to be in the top three."

"Who among those who come to take the imperial examination is not a rare talent? Who among them is not a leader in their area?"

"On the ninth day of the imperial examination, the entire Yingtian Prefecture has been speculating on the candidates for the first place, and there have always been only Hua Lian Huang and Huang Lian Hua. When did you appear?"

"Yes."

"Hua Lun is from a famous family, Huang Zicheng has been taught by famous teachers since he was young, and Lian Zining also has a family background of learning. How can a poor northern candidate like you compare to them?"

"If your northern provincial examination champion were in my southern part, I'm afraid he wouldn't even be in the top 30. How dare you make such a big fuss here?"

"Haha."

There was a burst of laughter all around.

Xia Zhibai had a calm expression. He glanced indifferently at the southern students who made sarcastic remarks and just shook his head indifferently.

He was in no mood to argue.

I don't want to waste any more time talking to them.

Seeing Xia Zhibai remained silent, Ding Xian and others looked at each other, and couldn't help but show a smug look on their faces. They all thought that Xia Zhibai was afraid and dared not speak nonsense anymore.

But how could they miss this opportunity?

The students from the north have been very timid these days. Now that someone has taken the initiative to show up, how could they not take advantage of the situation and humiliate him severely?

Ding Xian coughed lightly and said teasingly, "The North has long been in decline, and has been mixed with the barbarians for too long. Since the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, few northern students have been ranked first."

"The number of admitted students in the North has always been far less than that in the South. How can you in the North expect to have three people in the first place?"

"You should pray that there will be two or three people from the North on the second and third place lists this time. Otherwise, it will be a real joke."

"But it's only a matter of time before your name is removed from the list of top three. Sooner or later, becoming a Jinshi will have nothing to do with you northerners."

Hearing Ding Xian's words, Huang Zicheng and others burst into laughter, while Jie Min, Ding Zhifang and other northern students all glared at him.

So humiliating.

Xia Zhibai frowned, feeling helpless about the open and covert struggles between the candidates from the north and south. He raised his head and said slowly: "If there are really no candidates from the north in the imperial examination..."

"The problem may not be with the northern candidates, but with the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty."

"This also means..."

"The imperial examination reforms promoted by the current Hongwu Emperor have completely failed."

(End of this chapter)