The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 443: No Mistakes
These classic questions are not a problem at all for the children of wealthy families.

Their badness is based on the children of wealthy families with the same origin and normal level. Compared with scholars from poor families and common people, their attainments in classics are probably still ahead.

Of course, this is not absolute, but it is generally true.

After all, the children of these wealthy families can access these classics at any time, and these are basic to them. But for the poor and lower-class scholars, let alone knowing the interpretations and annotations, just getting the books is already very difficult.

Many people think that a poor family is still a family, and their living standards are definitely better than those of scholars from commoner backgrounds. However, there are differences among poor families.

There are different levels of family decline. For some people, their fathers were just minor officials, like Zuo Si. They could enjoy education, but the education they received was limited.

Some people's families have fallen on hard times, meaning they are penniless and have to herd sheep for others to make a living. Zhang Hua is such an example.

Some people from poor families may live worse than those from commoner backgrounds.

Moreover, in the eyes of those big families, there is actually almost no difference between the poor and the common people; they are all the same kind of people.

After the first test, the students rested in the examination room and waited for the next test.

The examination in the county government tests some of the most basic things. If you master these things, you can work as a minor official in the county.

Classics are just a stepping stone, and what you will be tested next is the most important thing.

The first thing is numbers.

Many people mistakenly believe that mathematics was not valued in ancient my country. This is a very wrong perception. The level of mathematics and the importance attached to mathematics in ancient my country have always been high. Among the doctors in the government, there were also people who specialized in mathematics.

During the Han Dynasty and even the Wei and Jin Dynasties, a large number of mathematicians were born in my country.

In fact, those who were able to govern a region and achieve political achievements at that time all had strong mathematical skills. Otherwise, if you can't even understand the financial revenue and expenditure and household registration, how can you govern a place?

For children from wealthy families, mathematics is also a necessary skill.

This is also the home ground where the children of wealthy families have an advantage.

The numbers in the county exams are mostly application questions, which are mainly math problems encountered in the process of local governance, and the candidates are required to solve them.

Perhaps the Henan Yin was negligent, so many questions were simply copied from the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, with only the numbers changed.

Only in agricultural science do the children of wealthy families find it a little difficult.

Although agriculture and sericulture have always been very important, and there were agricultural works such as "The Book of Si Sheng" and "Monthly Orders for the Four People" in the Han Dynasty, these things were not very popular among the scholars of the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

When Cui Hong, who came to take the exam, saw the question, a faint smile appeared on his face.

Cui Hong is the son of Cui Zan.

He found a large number of questions about farming time in the agricultural science exam questions, asking what should be paid attention to at different times. He could tell at a glance that these agricultural questions came from "Monthly Ordinances for the Four Classes of People".

Therefore, Cui Hong wrote with divine power.

Regardless of anything else, he cannot make any mistakes in this subject.

If he couldn't answer this, he would probably be beaten to death by his father when he got home.

This is because Cui Shi, the author of "Monthly Orders for the Four Classes of People", was the great-grandfather of Cui Hong.

This is just like someone like Xun Yu taking a course in classics and then writing the wrong answers to Xunzi's questions. This is totally intolerable.

When many people talk about big families, they always think that they have been passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years. In fact, the truly top big families have been passed down for thousands of years.

Their origins all began in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, or at least in the Early Han Dynasty.
As for the final law, it is much fairer. After all, it is something that everyone can access. Legal education will be carried out in various places, which is one of the important political achievements of grassroots officials.

Even for scholars of commoner origin, it is not difficult to come into contact with the law.

This assessment only took one day.

When the examination was over, the county government immediately sealed the test papers and sent them to the Henan Yinfu for review.

Cao Mao, who was in the Taiji Hall, also learned about this.

Yang Xiu stood beside Cao Mao and reported on today's exam.

"The children of the wealthy families were quite indifferent and somewhat resistant to this. There were a few who were quite active, though. The children of the less privileged families were quite active, but their performance was probably not good. At the end, their faces were grim, and they didn't look relieved at all."

Cao Mao nodded slightly.

The value of this first imperial examination may not be very high.

The purpose of the current imperial examination was to recruit local minor officials. In other words, it was an "administrative recruitment" at the county level. Therefore, the level of the candidates was not very high, which Cao Mao could understand.

Those who can pass cannot all be from wealthy families, but at least they have to be from humble backgrounds whose fathers and grandfathers hold official positions. Those who are truly of commoner origin should be a minority.

But it’s not a big problem as long as there are reserve talents to be used in various places.

Cao Mao smiled and said, "This Luoyang magistrate has indeed lived up to my high expectations. He is still young. After a few more years of hard work, he can be sent out to serve as a county governor."

Yang Xiu nodded and said, "Your Majesty, today's examinations are being conducted simultaneously. County examinations across the country should have concluded."

"After the county approves it, we can select the qualified candidates."

"As for whether they decide to stay and serve as county officials or continue to take the examination, that's up to them," Cao Mao said. "There should be quite a few who will continue to take the examination."

"However, the county exam will be much more difficult. If those students from poor families find it hard to even pass the county exam, they probably won't be able to pass it."

Although the current imperial examination system is somewhat crude, Cao Mao feels that it is quite in line with the current national conditions of the Wei Dynasty. In any case, it gives scholars from the lower classes an opportunity to come forward.

Yang Xiu talked about many interesting things that happened today, and Cao Mao listened very carefully.

Just as the two were discussing, Jiao Bo hurried into the hall.

"His Majesty!!"

"Great victory in Jiangbei!!"

Jiao Bo now serves as a Sanqi, and his main responsibility is to maintain emergency contact with other places.

Cao Mao was stunned, and Jiao Bo hurriedly handed over the battle report from the front line.

Cao Mao looked through it for a while, his expression remaining calm.

"good."

However, Jiao Bo could not suppress his inner excitement. This was more than just good. Taking Jiangbei would directly change the situation in the world. Taking Jiangbei from Wu was the same concept as taking Hanzhong from Shu. It would directly force the opponent into a complete defensive mode.

Jiangbei has extremely high strategic value. From here, we can attack both Wu and Shu. If Wei occupies this place, neither of these two countries will be able to live in peace.

This is the most brilliant strategic achievement achieved by the Wei Dynasty since Emperor Wen.

Given Wang Ji's avid farming enthusiast, if he had farmed in several cities in Jiangbei for a few years, it would have been a nightmare for the State of Wu.

After Cao Mao finished reading the battle situation, he began to read Wang Ji's letter.

"Go and call Zhong Shiji and Minister Chen."

"Mr. Yang, please take a closer look at the examination paper review process and don't let them commit fraud."

"only!!"

Jiao Bo stood aside, and after Yang Xiu left, he could not help but say to Cao Mao, "Your Majesty, you can finally relax for a moment."

"Once we conquer Jiangbei, the day of unification is not so far away."

Cao Mao looked at his old minister and said, "We still can't underestimate him. I heard that Wu's new monarch is a wise and powerful man. I think his actions after eliminating Sun Chen will definitely make him a formidable enemy."

"Yan Yu of Shu is also a formidable figure. Even when attacked by Ma Long and Wen Yang, he managed to save his army at a fraction of the cost."

"If he had an army of 20,000 men, I'm afraid even Ma Long and Wen Yang wouldn't be able to repel him easily."

Jiao Bo said, "Many things are improving in Wei. Shu and Wu are doomed. Even if there are capable people, they can only prolong their existence for a while."

Cao Mao pondered for a moment. Logically speaking, the Wu Kingdom was the one that survived to the end. The Shu Kingdom was the first to perish, followed by the Wei Kingdom, and finally the Wu Kingdom.

Why did Shu enjoy a better reputation during the Jin Dynasty than Wu? Because, in theory, the two states had never fought each other. What business did the wars of the previous dynasty have with me? Wu, on the other hand, had actually fought a war with Jin, so it couldn't be given too much respect.

Zhong Hui and Chen Qian arrived at the Taiji Hall one after another. Seeing them coming, Jiao Bo tactfully retreated to the door.

As soon as he walked in, Zhong Hui couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, is there any news about the war in Jiangbei?"

"Yes, this was sent by General Wang."

When the two men saw the battle report, Zhong Hui immediately stood up excitedly and almost laughed out loud.

Chen Qian was also very excited, with a gleam in his eyes.

They all knew what it meant to take Jiangbei. Chen Qian couldn't help but praise him, "General Wang is truly a world-renowned general!"

"He has clear ideas, is single-minded in executing his strategy, and is neither greedy nor arrogant. Even after gaining an advantage, he remains so cautious. He is truly a renowned general!!"

Zhong Hui also praised him, "I used to look down on General Wang, but I never thought he would have such talent. His character alone is unmatched by the likes of General Zhenxi!"

The two then began to congratulate Cao Mao, who calmly asked, "What should we do next?"

Chen Qian hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, General Wang handled the matter very properly, without any omissions. The court does not need to interfere at all."

Cao Mao nodded and looked at Zhong Hui again.

Zhong Hui laughed and said, "Your Majesty, I do have an idea, but I'd like to ask Your Majesty to forgive me. I wonder if Your Majesty is willing to listen to it?"

Chen Qian was stunned. In this temple, only you dare to speak like this.

Do you still want to wrong the emperor?
Cao Mao was very curious.

"Shiji, it's okay to speak frankly!"

Zhong Hui then said, "Your Majesty, please write to General Wang and ask him to cooperate with you. Then you can give him orders, requesting generals from all over the country to come and assist him, so that he can destroy the Wu Kingdom!"

(End of this chapter)