Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

The second floor of Wenhua Pavilion.

East side hall.

Five Hanlin Academy scholars sat around a long table, reviewing examination papers.

The room was unusually quiet, with only the rustling of pages turning and the occasional suppressed cough.

Although essays, as the first subject in the imperial examinations, were not as weighted as policy essays, they were still very important.

According to the usual rules, all articles are first roughly divided into three categories: "A", "B" and "C", and then each category is further subdivided into three grades: upper, middle and lower, for a total of nine grades.

Grade C is passing, Grade B is good, and Grade A is excellent.

If an article is rated "B" or below, then no matter how high the scores are for policy essays and poetry, one will not be eligible to become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

Articles that received a Grade A rating would be selected for inclusion in the anthology of imperial examination essays, compiled and published in a book by the Hanlin Academy.

The selected essays from each imperial examination are a must-buy for candidates taking the next imperial examination.

For the Hanlin Academy, this was a considerable sum of money, and for each year's candidates, having their essays selected was a source of great pride.

Grand Secretary Zhou sat in the center of the long table, and after looking at more than a dozen exam papers, he frowned and slowly shook his head.

Of these ten exam papers, the highest grade is only "C+".

In other words, no matter how well these candidates wrote their poems and essays, their path to the imperial examinations ended there.

After putting down the exam paper, he looked at the people around him and asked, "Gentlemen, do any of you have an essay that received a Grade A?"

The other scholars shook their heads upon hearing this.

"No, the highest one I have here is only B."

"I've looked at over a hundred, and the best one is barely B-grade..."

"I do have someone here who's at least at the B level, but they're still a ways from being at the A level..."

"The essays submitted by this year's candidates are far inferior to those of previous years."

……

Upon hearing this, Grand Secretary Zhou sighed softly and said, "That is precisely why this examination question on encouraging learning exists. If we cannot rectify the academic atmosphere of Da Ning, the literary world of Da Ning will have no future..."

At this moment, a scholar suddenly let out a soft exclamation.

He looked at the exam paper in his hand again, then looked at everyone and said, "Gentlemen, take a look at this article..."

Several scholars gathered around, their eyes fixed on the scroll.

The article's opening is not particularly striking, but its perspective is novel. He divides learning into "learning for oneself" and "learning for others," and believes that true learning should be about enriching oneself internally rather than seeking empty fame externally.

This argument has not appeared in any of the previous responses.

After reading it, Grand Secretary Zhou remained silent for a moment before speaking: "The idea is good, and the argument is quite solid. Although it is slightly lacking in writing style, in terms of overall structure, it surpasses most of the exam papers we have seen today..."

He took a vermilion brush used for grading papers from the brush holder and neatly wrote two characters on the edge of the paper: "Jia Xia".

The scholars standing nearby exchanged glances. This was the first grade they had achieved after reviewing nearly a thousand papers that day.

Even if it's just a lower grade, it's still quite remarkable.

Of all the examination papers in the imperial examinations over the years, no more than twenty could achieve the lowest grade (甲下), and those that achieved the highest grade (甲) were even fewer.

As for "Top Grade"... this is the highest evaluation for an article, requiring unanimous approval from all examiners. In all previous imperial examinations, there has never been an exam paper that received a "Top Grade".

Grand Secretary Zhou looked at the exam paper, nodded slightly, and said, "If this young man can achieve a second-highest score in his essay, and if he doesn't make any major mistakes in his policy essays and poetry, he has a good chance of becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations)..."

Having finally graded a decent exam paper, the scholars were in a better mood and continued grading the other candidates' essays.

As time went by, they graded articles faster and faster.

With nearly ten thousand essays to be reviewed in the imperial examinations, each of them had to review several hundred essays a day. Naturally, it was impossible for them to read each one carefully from beginning to end.

These scholars, who had dedicated their lives to studying these articles, could give a rough assessment of their quality with just a glance.

Afterwards, skim through the content again. If there are any outstanding sentences, the rating will be raised; otherwise, it will be lowered.

In this way, they can review about a hundred articles within an hour.

Several hours passed, and everyone, including Grand Secretary Zhou, was dizzy from watching.

Nearly ten thousand exam papers were written on the theme of "Exhortation to Learning." Most candidates approached the topic from similar angles, and their writing was largely the same. Having seen so many of these, they had become numb to it...

The quality of this year's candidates' essays was even more uneven than they had anticipated.

Of the thousands of exam papers, less than 20% achieved a grade B, and there has only been one grade A to date.

Most of the test takers wrote the same old platitudes over and over again, principles that even a three-year-old could say, but they managed to write long essays, trying to reach a thousand words and still trying to stretch it out.

Scholar Zhou mechanically picked up the next exam paper and stared blankly at it.

A wise man said: Learning should never cease.

The opening was unremarkable, and Grand Secretary Zhou's gaze remained unmoved. He looked down, and if the second sentence didn't offer anything particularly outstanding, the essay's rating would be unlikely to exceed B-grade.

"Indigo is extracted from the indigo plant, yet it is bluer than the plant itself; ice is made from water, yet it is colder than water... Therefore, wood becomes straight when bound by a rope, and metal becomes sharp when honed on a whetstone. A wise man who studies extensively and examines himself daily will gain clear understanding and avoid making mistakes in his actions."

Upon reading this sentence, his body trembled slightly, and his back, which had been bent over from sitting for too long, slowly straightened.

"Ascending to a high place and beckoning, one's arm is not lengthened, yet one's voice is seen from afar; shouting with the wind, one's voice is not louder, yet one's voice is heard clearly. Those who ride horses are not necessarily swift of foot, yet they travel a thousand miles; those who use boats are not necessarily good swimmers, yet they cross rivers. The wise man is not born different, but he is good at making use of things."

Upon reading this sentence, Grand Secretary Zhou's body trembled once more, and an unprecedented light burst forth in his cloudy old eyes.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; a great river is formed from countless small streams. A fine steed may leap a thousand miles in one bound, but a slow horse can travel ten times the distance if it perseveres. If you give up halfway through a chisel, even rotten wood will not break; but if you chisel without giving up, even metal and stone can be carved."

Grand Secretary Zhou, holding the examination paper, suddenly stood up. The fatigue accumulated over the past few hours vanished instantly. His eyes were fixed intently on the paper, and he exclaimed repeatedly, "Excellent, excellent, excellent!"

Reading this article, he felt as if he were reading the words of a sage.

This is not merely an article advising people to study; the thoughts and philosophies it contains, as well as its profound insights into human nature, are truly thought-provoking…

It's hard to imagine that such an essay was written by a candidate for the imperial examinations. In the eyes of Grand Secretary Zhou, even the most famous Confucian scholars of the time could not have written such an essay...

The scholars, who were already dizzy from reviewing the papers, leaned back in their chairs, their hands moving slowly, as if they were just trying to pass the time.

Upon hearing Grand Secretary Zhou's repeated "Good," the four of them trembled simultaneously, looked up at him, and displayed expressions of utter surprise.

Grand Secretary Zhou had served in the Hanlin Academy for over thirty years and was known for his calm and composed nature. This was the first time they had ever seen him lose his composure like this.

Scholar Lin was the first to put down his vermilion pen, stand up, and walk over.

The other three scholars exchanged glances, put down their pens, and gathered around Scholar Zhou, their eyes fixed on the exam paper in his hand…

They were very curious about what kind of article could have caused Grand Secretary Zhou to lose his composure like this...