The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 746: Far inferior to Chen Si!
Luoyang became lively again.

Since the last time the imperial court held an examination to recruit officials, the Wei Dynasty began its second large-scale examination to recruit officials.

The main reason is that the territory has further expanded and there is a serious shortage of officials.

After learning from the first experience, the second assessment became more organized.

The official imperial examinations and local legal examinations finally had detailed procedures and differences.

Today's government is good at summarizing.

The person in charge of this matter was the Minister of the Interior Lu Yu.

Although Lu Yu also came from a prominent family, he was hated by the prominent families because of his father. Cao Mao therefore made him the Minister of the Interior and responsible for making important decisions.

This assessment should be conducted by Pei Xiu or Zhong Hui.

But both of them are quite busy.

There is no need to say much about Pei Xiu's affairs. There are so many things piling up, and none of them can be completely resolved. He is in ecstasy.

As for Zhong Hui, he was mainly busy doing bigger things, such as setting up counties overseas.

Lu Yu took the initiative to share the emperor's worries.

In the initial assessment of the Wei Dynasty, many mistakes occurred because everything was done for the first time.

The second time, there was a formal venue, formal examiners, and even the pens and ink used by the candidates were distributed uniformly by the official.

Limits have also been placed on assessment time, and great progress has been made in preventing cheating.

Sima Yan was standing outside the examination room at this moment.

Many candidates lined up, holding relevant documents in their hands, waiting to enter the examination room.

The officials in Luoyang stood in the distance, looking at the candidates in amazement.

Some of them still remembered how arrogant the children of the big families were when the assessment was first conducted.

They even wanted to bring books in with them, and didn't take these officials or soldiers seriously at all.

There was indeed a lot of fraud at that time.

But at this moment, even the descendants of the super powerful families were quite honest and well-behaved.

Today is different from the past.

Their privileges no longer exist in the face of the powerful temple.

Even Sima Yan, standing in the crowd at this moment, was still constantly reciting the classics he had memorized.

There are words in the mouth.

This caused ridicule from people before and after him.

The person standing in front of Sima Yan turned around, his eyes full of mockery.

"You don't study hard on weekdays, but now you are rushing to memorize. What results can this achieve?"

Suddenly someone said, "Mr. Pei, please stop talking nonsense. He's the grandson of a noble and the son of General Wei. What does this assessment mean to him?"

The person standing in front of Sima Yan was called Pei Chuo.

His identity can also be seen from his surname.

That’s right, he is the youngest son of Pei Hui, the governor of Jizhou, and also Pei Xiu’s cousin.

Hearing this, he immediately laughed, then said viciously: "They are just the remnants of the Sima family who were not completely wiped out!"

"If it weren't for his grandfather, he wouldn't have survived. How dare he even come to take the test now? How shameless!"

"Given all the crimes his family has committed, he still has the nerve to eat Wei Lu?"

Hearing his ridicule, the others burst into laughter.

The soldiers in the distance frowned and shouted, "Shut up!"

These descendants of the great families then lowered their heads. Although they were just humble soldiers, what they represented was the current imperial power.

They dare not confront each other head-on.

Sima Yan's face flushed and he clenched his fists.

Many of these people had known him for a long time and they used to be good friends.

Even Pei Chuo had come to pay him a visit.

I didn't expect these people to say that about themselves!
Sima Yan was extremely angry. He looked at everyone and said harshly, "You are definitely not good people!"

After saying this, he ignored these people and continued to recite his scriptures.

At this moment, the Sima family is in a state of being pushed down by everyone.

Almost no one is willing to have anything to do with this family anymore. Even Hu Zun, a rough guy, is probably attracted by Wang Su's connections rather than the Sima family.

How ruthless these big families were to them in the past, how ruthless they are now.

It seems that if they don't do this they cannot show their loyalty to Cao Mao.

We are different from the Sima family! They are all traitors, and we have always been loyal to the Wei Dynasty!

Sima Yan finally entered the examination room and began answering questions.

Today's exams are no longer divided into subjects and are completed in one go.

Because of the assessment, the entire Luoyang has strengthened its defenses.

Cao Mao did not dare to go out easily. He was worried that going out would cause unrest and interfere with the current assessment.

However, several officials from the Dianshifu whom he had originally arranged came to his door and said that someone was looking for him with the emperor's jade pendant.

Cao Mao immediately understood who the other person was. He no longer pretended and directly ordered the man to be brought to the Taiji Hall.

When Zuo Si got on the carriage and traveled all the way to Taiji Hall, he was a little dazed.

When Cao Mao gave him the things and told him to leave his father alone and concentrate on writing, Zuo Si felt that this person might be very powerful. He thought that this person might be a big shot in the imperial clan.

Because of Cao Mao's lenient policy towards the royal family, many princes often came to Luoyang.

They even started developing hobbies.

The royal family of the Great Wei had relatively uniform hobbies.

They all like to play poetry and prose.

Perhaps it is because the Cao family has been fond of this for generations, or perhaps it is just a clumsy imitation of their ancestors.

Anyway, after solving the problem of food and clothing, the princes in various places were very interested in literature. Some kings liked to recruit literati and poets, and drink and write poetry every day.

Cao Mao did not do much to stop their behavior.

Although some people suggested that the princes should not have too much contact with the literati, Cao Mao felt that instead of letting these guys be parasites, it would be a good idea to let them make some contribution to the world's cultural cause.

When Zuo Si heard the man persuading him, he thought of the royal family, but he never thought it was the emperor.

It was not until the carriage drove into the palace unhindered that Zuo Si suddenly realized what was going on.

The guards took Zuo Si all the way to the West Hall.

Cao Mao sat in the upper seat with a smile on his face.

"Zuo Taichong is here!"

"I, your Majesty, pay my respects to you!"

Zuo Si was startled and quickly bowed to him.

Cao Mao laughed heartily. "It's not the first time we've met, why are you so scared?"

"Come and sit down."

Zuo Si sat cautiously beside Cao Mao, with his head lowered and his whole body trembling.

"I didn't realize it was Your Majesty who was in person. If I have been disrespectful, I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Cao Mao frowned and muttered to himself, "Has my reputation among the people become so bad now? How could I have frightened you so much?"

"No, it is not so, my lord, my lord."

"Okay, when I ask you to emulate Deng Ai, I mean to imitate his actions, not his speech!"

Zuo Si scratched his head.

Cao Mao asked about his situation again.

"Why, is your father still saying bad things about you? Is he still forcing you to study the classics?"

Zuo Si shook his head. "No, I have been writing fu at home for more than a year. I have just written a new fu, Luodu Fu."

Cao Mao was stunned. Wow, Luodu Fu?
Cao Mao knew that Zuo Si's "Fu of Three Capitals" took him a full ten years to complete, and before that, he seemed to have also written a "Fu of Qi Capital".

It seems that because of my intervention, Zuo Si stayed in Luoyang very early, which resulted in him not returning to Qi, and the capital of Qi became Luodu.

Cao Mao took the essay handed to him by Zuo Si and read it carefully.

After just reading the beginning, Cao Mao was amazed.

He hurriedly read on. Zuo Si's fu and Cao Zhi's fu were of two different extremes.

Cao Zhi's prose is full of romance and fantasy, and is an extremely romantic article. This is also the mainstream style of the Wei Dynasty. Everyone likes to write something imaginary and flashy.

But Zuo Si was the opposite. He was extremely realistic.

In his own words, "It is important to stick to the basics and stick to the real things!"

He likes to write about things that he has seen and understood with his own eyes. Although the words he uses are quite fancy, they will not go beyond the scope of reality.

His works are undoubtedly unique. If we compare his works with Cao Zhi, Cao Mao feels that his uncle Zhong Dafu is better.

The Goddess of Luo River is really amazing.

After reading The Goddess of Luo River, you will realize that Cao Pi asking his brother to compose a poem in seven steps was not really a challenge; it was even a bit of a joke.

Of course, Sandu Fu is also very powerful, and paper is in great demand in Luoyang!
It is said to be a work that has been read by people all over the world and caused a sensation.

Both of them are shining pearls with their own unique characteristics.

Zuo Si looked at Cao Mao with some worry. His works were not in line with the current trend. After reading them, his father felt that they were not well written.

This made him a little shaken and he was not sure about his own level.

Cao Mao finally put down the essay in his hand and looked at Zuo Si.

"I don't like lying, so I'll tell you the truth. I think your essay is far inferior to that of Prince Chen Si."

When he heard the first part, Zuo Si was still a little sad, but when he heard the last part, he suddenly raised his head.

Wait a moment?
Who are you not as good as???
Zuo Si didn't know what to say at this moment.

He couldn't tell whether His Majesty was praising himself or insulting himself.

Cao Mao said seriously, "You are still young after all. You cannot write works on the same level as Prince Chen Si. Don't feel guilty. You should work harder. If you practice for another ten years, you may be able to do it."

Zuo Si's lips trembled for a moment before he finally spoke, "Your Majesty, how can I, your servant, be compared with Prince Chen Si?"

"Why not?"

"You have talent. Just this work of yours can be considered an excellent literary work. Apart from Zhang Hua and a few others, I don't know who can compare to you!"

"But I think you shouldn't compare yourself with these people. With your talent, you should compare yourself with Prince Chen Si!"

Zuo Si's eyes suddenly turned red, and he jumped up suddenly as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

"Your Majesty!! I will do my best!!!"

(End of this chapter)