Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

“Jiang Zichuan of Huaizuo is number one,” replied one of the successful candidates on the imperial examination list.

Once a candidate passes the imperial examination and is listed on the yellow list, their anxious heart will be completely at ease, and they will have the leisure to look at who is first and last in the rankings.

"Jiang Zichuan?" someone exclaimed in surprise. "Could it be Jiang Zhao, the Jiang Lang of Huaizuo from the 'Standing in the Snow at Han's Gate'?"

"That's him!"

At this moment, several servants also came to Jiang Zhao and Jiang Zhi's side, beaming with joy as they reported the good news.

"reward!"

"Reward them all!"

"Those who go to see the imperial edict will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver, and those who stay at home will be rewarded with ten taels of silver!"

"Hahaha! My grandson won!"

Jiang Zhi stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

Huiyuan!

Generally speaking, the rankings in the palace examination do not change drastically.

Not to mention that his grandson is a world-renowned figure.

Even if the rankings change again, they can probably still secure a top-three finish!

What does it mean to be a top-three champion?

For a moment, Jiang Zhichang laughed nonstop, his old bones radiating high spirits.

Upon receiving the reward, both master and servant were overjoyed, their faces beaming with happiness.

"Is that Jiang Zichuan?" One of the successful candidates looked at the refined Jiang Zhao and nodded in approval, "No wonder he is the top scholar!"

"As expected of Jiang Lang of Huaizuo, not only is he respectful of his teachers and renowned throughout the world, but his talent is also first-rate!" one of the scholars agreed.

That's the benefit of fame.

In the past, the title of Huiyuan (top scholar) has been questioned almost every year.

An unknown person suddenly appears out of nowhere and claims to be number one?

I do not believe!

Today, Jiang Zhao's fame is unparalleled, and his first place in the provincial examination has received far less controversy.

Of course, examiners may also take this into consideration when ranking candidates.

If someone has the same talent as Jiang Zhao, then Jiang Zhao will definitely be ranked higher, in order to reduce some unwarranted disputes.

"Hey, who's second?" A candidate who hadn't made it onto the list and was feeling resentful set his sights on the second-place finisher.

"I remember his name was Zhang Heng."

"Why? Why is he second?" the candidate shouted.

Jiang Zichuan is famous throughout the world, and I can't beat him, so I accept it. But Zhang Heng is an unknown nobody, so why should he be second?

"I don't think I'm any worse than him, so why is he second while someone with my talent didn't even make the list? There's something fishy going on!"

"Zichuan, you have to treat us!" Su Zhe said with a smile as he walked out of the crowd.

With the result in mind, he felt at peace and walked with a leisurely stride, silently exuding confidence and high spirits.

Jiang Zhao smiled and said, "Look at the happy look on Ziyou's face. I'll make sure Ziyou drinks until he's drunk."

"How is it?" Jiang Zhao patted Su Zhe on the shoulder and asked with a smile.

“Seventy-eighth!” Su Zhe said with a smile.

He was overjoyed to pass the imperial examination on his first attempt.

"This time, we must celebrate properly." Zhang Heng walked over, his every move exuding confidence and high spirits.

At the same time, Zhang Dun, who had just walked over, looked very unpleasant.

He passed the exam too, but as an uncle, he didn't outperform his nephew.

As an uncle, he was not satisfied with losing to his nephew!

"Congratulations, Zichuan." Zhang Dun stepped forward and bowed.

"Thank you." Jiang Zhao noticed that Zhang Dun's expression was off, but didn't know how to comfort him.

After all, Zhang Dun was on the list; it's just that he has high standards for himself and is not satisfied with his results.

Zhang Dun stood there for a few seconds with a sullen face, then walked to the side and said, "Congratulations to my nephew for coming in second place. I hope you truly deserve it."

Zhang Heng was overjoyed and did not hold it against his uncle.

A short while later, Su Shi also came out.

"How is it?" Jiang Zhao asked.

Fifty-three.

Jiang Zhao nodded slightly.

Generally speaking, there are three people in the first tier and sixty or seventy people in the second tier.

The fact that Su Shi ranked first in the categories of essays, judgments, edicts, proclamations, and memorials likely raised his overall ranking considerably, placing him at the bottom of the second tier.

Just like Su Zhe, who ranked seventy-eighth, which is roughly the level of the top three.

Of course, even if you only get a second or third place in the exam, there is still a chance to turn things around.

In fact, even if one passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, there was still another examination, namely the Shujishi examination.

Generally speaking, the top three in the first rank were directly granted official positions, entered the Hanlin Academy, and served as Hanlin officials.

The saying goes that only those who have passed the imperial examinations can enter the Hanlin Academy, and only those who have passed the Hanlin Academy can enter the Grand Secretariat. The Hanlin Academy is the talent pool of the imperial court and the cradle of the ministers of the six ministries and the Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat.

Those who passed the imperial examinations at the second or third rank also had the opportunity to enter the Hanlin Academy, which was also known as the examination for probationary officials.

After passing the palace examination, the Ministry of Rites will hold another selection process, from which three or four hundred successful candidates will be selected to become thirty or forty probationary scholars, who will then enter the Hanlin Academy for further study.

These Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) who entered the Hanlin Academy for further study would not be granted official positions immediately. After three years of intensive study, they would take an examination called the "Sanguan Examination" (final examination after completing their studies at the Hanlin Academy).

Of the thirty or forty people, thirty or forty percent could pass the final examination and remain in the Hanlin Academy, officially granted the position of Hanlin official, and compile books in the Hanlin Academy. From then on, they could be said to have come from the Hanlin Academy.

The dozen or so people who made it to the top were the most outstanding among the millions of scholars in the world, taking the imperial examination once every three years.

In each session, hundreds of thousands of students were selected, with over ten thousand becoming successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and then several hundred becoming successful candidates in the highest level of the imperial examinations. From these hundreds, more than ten were selected to join the Hanlin Academy.

These dozen or so people have a bright future; even if they just wait for seniority, they can all reach the third rank.

Of course, due to political struggles and physical factors, only five or six people actually had the opportunity to reach the third rank. The rest either suffered political setbacks or were physically incapable of gaining seniority.

Even so, it is still quite remarkable.

How terrifying it is to climb up to the third rank by simply accumulating seniority.

Jiang Zhao glanced at the group.

Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zeng Gong, and Zeng Bu were all ranked in the second or third class of the imperial examinations, that goes without saying.

However, the matter of taking the examination for the position of Shujishi is not necessarily the case.

After all, judging from their future achievements, Zeng Gong was definitely not up to par, and had no hope of becoming a junior scholar.

Su Shi, Su Zhe, and Zeng Bu were most likely to become probationary scholars.

All of them had reached the pinnacle of civil service.

This is not surprising.

For some people, it's normal to perform poorly on their first exam because they don't even know what the questions will be like.

In the past, there have been many candidates who went from being ranked in the top three to being ranked in the top one.

Moreover, this is the second year of the Jiayou era?

at this time.

Su Shi sighed and said admiringly, "Zichuan's talent is truly unmatched in the past hundred years."

In the past, he had considered himself to be exceptionally talented, but when he actually entered the examination hall, he realized that he had underestimated the heroes of the world.

Jiang Zhao was taken aback and subconsciously glanced at Zhang Heng.

If I remember correctly, this was Su Shi's evaluation of Zhang Heng, right?

They just robbed me right in front of you?

"Zizhan's praise is too much; I am ashamed to accept it."

Let's do it face-to-face!

Soon after, the results for the others were also released.

Zeng Gong ranked 313th, and Zeng Bu ranked 175th.

Zhang Ci ranked 165th, while Chen Fu failed to pass the exam.

Compared to Zhang Ci, who was already twenty-six or twenty-seven, Chen Fu had several years less of experience and was also less fortunate.

In addition, of the two or three hundred candidates from Huaizuo who participated in the spring imperial examination, twenty-seven passed, almost all of whom were elderly men in their forties.

It must be said that Yangzhou truly deserves its reputation as a prosperous city with a thriving academic community.

This grand examination, which involved 10,000 people, selected over 380 successful candidates, a probability of roughly 3 out of 100.

Of the fewer than three hundred participants from Yangzhou, twenty-seven were selected as tribute scholars, a success rate of nearly ten out of a hundred, which is truly astonishing.

Chapter 22 All other pursuits are inferior; only studying is superior! (4k)

Wende Hall.

The lights flickered, and the sandalwood incense wafted gently.

Emperor Zhao Zhen leaned against his desk with one hand and gripped his vermilion brush tightly with the other, announcing his comments on memorials.

In one corner of the emperor's desk, there were already many documents that had been approved, either memorials submitted by the cabinet or reports from high-ranking officials of the two capitals and thirteen provinces.

"Your Majesty, Minister Han has arrived in the capital and has come to pay his respects," an elderly eunuch in purple robes announced softly as he quickly stepped forward.

"Oh?" Zhao Zhen looked up and waved his hand, saying, "Let him in!"

"Yes." The old eunuch hurriedly went to report.

A moment later, Han Zhang, dressed in a purple robe, strode into the hall. His steps were so hurried that even the gold fish pouch at his waist jingled.

"Your subject Han Zhang pays his respects to Your Majesty!" Han Zhang bowed deeply.

Zhao Zhen looked up.

Han Zhang's temples were already streaked with gray, and his demeanor no longer carried the vigor and spirit of the Qingli Reforms era; instead, he exuded a calm and composed air.

Zhao Zhen sighed inwardly.

Han Qing is getting old!

I am getting old!

Looking at Han Zhang, who was still bowing his head in the main hall, Zhao Zhen waved his hand and said, "My dear minister, there is no need for such formalities."

"Give me a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Han Zhang got up and sat down in the seat bestowed upon him by the emperor.

When a high-ranking official enters the capital, he must pay his respects to the emperor immediately.

Generally speaking, the time is either the first day after arriving in Beijing or the second day after arriving in Beijing.

Han Zhang arrived in Bianjing at noon. He originally intended to visit the Emperor in a couple of days, but he was so overwhelmed with emotion that he couldn't calm down.

So he simply came to pay his respects.

As soon as he sat down, Han Zhang couldn't stop looking around.

He was filled with excitement and turmoil, eager to see the Emperor and to return to the Wende Hall.

He had come to Bianjing once six years ago, but that time he only came to meet the emperor and seek a reinstatement.