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

Last August, during the autumn imperial examinations, fifteen-year-old Sheng Changbai passed and became a candidate, astonishing the people of Huaizuo with his skill.

As Jiang Zhao's brother-in-law, and with some fame and considerable talent, Sheng Changbai naturally gradually integrated into the inner circle.

"So, Zihou, are you confident you can get second place in the exam?" Jiang Zhao picked up some food and teased Zhang Dun.

Everyone who has ever teased him in the past will not escape!

Three years later, Zhang Dun was twenty-five years old and had gotten married.

Jiang Zhao, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zeng Gong, Zeng Bu, and Zhang Heng all sent congratulatory poems and gifts.

Perhaps it was his wife's presence that gave him more responsibility, but also made him more composed in his demeanor.

When the topic turned to surpassing his nephew, Zhang Dun couldn't help but blush and his eyes darted around.

Today, he naturally knows that there is a certain element of luck involved in scientific expeditions.

He may be just as talented as his nephew, but in terms of ranking, he might not be as good.

Moreover, relatively speaking, the imperial examination was merely the beginning of one's official career.

Just pass the exam to become a probationary official; there's no need to take it too seriously.

Upon realizing this, Zhang Dun became restless, his face turning red with embarrassment.

What nonsense did I spout during my last scientific expedition?

"Zichuan, don't make fun of me." Zhang Dun said seriously, raising his cup to drink.

Jiang Zhao glanced at it and couldn't help but laugh.

So this was their perspective when they made fun of them last time!

"Don't laugh, don't laugh!"

"Second place!" Just then, Su Shi used the same trick again and shouted it out loud.

Upon hearing this shout, Zhang Dun clenched his fists tightly.

hiss~!

Su Zizhan, if you get demoted, I, Zhang, will absolutely not bail you out!

“Zizhan, you mustn’t make fun of me,” Zhang Dun said seriously.

He could somewhat understand Zichuan's feelings.

"Hey! Zihou, why are you pretending to be normal?" Zhang Heng made his move.

He is the true runner-up, and the one Zhang Dun must surpass.

As Zhang Heng spoke, he couldn't help but smile.

Upon hearing this laugh, Zhang Dun couldn't help but blush.

Zhang Dun completely understood Zi Chuan's feelings.

So that's how Zichuan sees things!

Zhang Dun took a deep breath, and his expression calmed down again.

He looked at each of them one by one, trying to remember their faces.

Each of these people has to repeat the same mistakes!

"I've heard that Zichuan is one of the examiners for this imperial examination?" Zhang Dun looked at Jiang Zhao and changed the subject.

“Not bad.” Jiang Zhao nodded.

He was the top scholar in the imperial examination and also served as a secretary in the Ministry of Rites.

He can choose to either proctor the exam or set the questions; he has to choose one of the two responsibilities.

However, setting exam questions is more troublesome than proctoring them.

The examiners had to be imprisoned from the beginning of January until the beginning of March, when the imperial examination ended.

This is to prevent examiners from leaking the questions and causing cheating.

Compared to the question setters, the examiners only need to supervise the exam in a closed environment for nine days and grade the papers for fifteen days. In total, including the palace examination, the time is less than a month.

Moreover, examiners are involved in grading papers, so they are considered "referees" and have far more power than the question setters.

Since there is a choice, it is natural to prefer a better invigilator.

Of course, whether they are proctors or question setters, it is all about building up their qualifications for the important task of the imperial examinations, and there is no distinction between them.

"Alas!" Zhang Dun sighed, "They are all among the Seven Scholars of Jiayou. Some are already examiners, while others are still taking the imperial examinations. It's tough!"

Jiang Zhao smiled faintly and said nothing.

As a friend, he would definitely lend a hand.

Originally, Zhang Dun ranked fifth in the second imperial examination, so his ability was not bad.

He was also familiar with Zhang Dun's writing style, and he would definitely seize the opportunity to make a move.

At the very least, we could try to get Zhang Dun's exam paper into the top three.

The difference in strength between the top three in the first division and the second-place finisher in the second division is negligible; the difference lies in whether someone will support the top two at the right time.

"Three years have passed, and Zichuan and Ziping are about to be appointed to official posts outside the capital. Have you decided where you will serve as officials?" Su Shi asked.

Historically, the top three scholars have also varied in terms of their backgrounds.

Jiang Zhao and Zhang Heng are undoubtedly among the top three scholars with the most powerful backgrounds.

As for the matter of being sent out to other places, the destination can be decided in a single sentence.

Jiang Zhao pondered and said, "I am already a fifth-rank official. After completing my three-year term as a top-ranking official, I should be promoted one rank according to regulations. If I am transferred from the capital to a local post, I will be promoted another rank."

Therefore, the official position to be held must be a substantive post of the fourth rank.

Shaanxi Circuit is a frontier region, bordering the Western Xia. If nothing unexpected happens, I will be appointed as the Transport Commissioner of Shaanxi Circuit.

The Transport Commissioner was in charge of finance, the transport of goods, and the supervision of local areas.

In border regions where wars are frequent, the transport commissioner is responsible for escorting grain and fodder.

This is an official position with immense power, and it is relatively easy to achieve merit.

"Where is Ziping?" Su Shi asked again.

"In Shaanxi Province, I will be in charge of the Ever-Normal Granary and concurrently serve as the prefect of a prefecture," Zhang Heng replied.

The Director of the Ever-Normal Granary was mainly responsible for managing the granaries and charitable granaries along the route, regulating grain prices, providing disaster relief, and overseeing trade with the Maritime Trade Office. He also oversaw tea and salt.

The position of Director of the Ever-Normal Granary is a fifth-rank official.

Zhang Heng diligently recorded the emperor's daily activities and had previously received praise from Grand Chancellor Han Zhang, which led to his promotion to the position of Director of Works, a sixth-rank official.

After three years, he was transferred to a local post, which naturally resulted in him holding the rank of a fifth-grade official.

As for the position of prefect, it was intended to hone his governing abilities.

Not everyone is like Jiang Zhao, who traveled the world and observed politics in his teens, and even personally took charge of governance.

Although Zhang Heng was the second-place scholar in the imperial examination, he had no experience in governing.

The skills that need to be developed still need to be developed.

After he finished speaking, they all nodded slightly.

"Come on, cheers!" Jiang Zhao smiled and raised his glass.

In a few days, he will be proctoring exams, Zhang Dun will be taking the imperial examinations, and Su Shi, Su Zhe, and Zeng Bu will be taking their final exams. They all have things to do.

After that, he and Zhang Heng will be sent to other places, and it will probably be several years before they see each other again.

"Come!"

All eight people raised their glasses together and drank them down in one gulp!

Chapter 72 Two Second-Place Scholars from One Family! (3k)

The first day of the second month of the fifth year of the Jiayou era.

As dawn broke, the chill lingered.

A momentous event concerning the fate of countless hardworking students—the Spring Imperial Examination—is about to begin.

For this year's imperial examination, Wang Yaochen, the Minister of Rites, served as the chief examiner, while Hai Chengyan, a Hanlin Academician, served as the deputy chief examiner.

To coordinate the examination affairs, thirteen people were drawn from the Six Ministries, two from the Censorate, and two from the Hanlin Academy, for a total of seventeen examiners.

The major examination was divided into three sessions: the first session tested the interpretation of classical texts and calligraphy; the second session tested the application of policies and current affairs; and the third session tested essays, judgments, imperial edicts, proclamations, and memorials.

Three exams, taking nine days.

Thus, the candidates' task has come to a temporary end.

The seventeen examiners responsible for invigilating and grading the papers were extremely busy.

After burning incense and paying homage to the Sage Confucius, and making a solemn oath, the chief examiner and deputy chief examiner explained the requirements for grading the papers. The seventeen examiners responsible for grading the papers then began their intensive work.

Compared to the more than 10,000 candidates who entered the capital for the imperial examinations in the second year of the Jiayou reign, the number of candidates for the spring imperial examinations in the fifth year of the Jiayou reign was somewhat smaller.

Of course, there are millions of students in the world who take one step at a time to become a successful candidate in the imperial examinations.

Even with fewer test takers, there are still eight or nine thousand people.

Conventionally, it takes about fifteen days to grade the exam papers and rank them according to their quality.

Imperial Examination Hall.

Jiang Zhao held a vermilion brush and occasionally wrote characters such as "recommend", "accept", "rough" and "no" to give certain evaluations to the examination paper.

The vast majority of these papers failed to meet the examiners' standards and did not meet the level expected of a successful candidate in the imperial examinations.

These unqualified candidates were rejected and failed the exam before they even had a chance to be presented to the chief and deputy examiners.

Generally speaking, recommendation papers that are qualified to be submitted to the chief and deputy examiners must contain one or two "recommendation" characters, indicating that they are extremely difficult to obtain.

Occasionally, if you're unlucky and encounter an examiner who doesn't appreciate your paper, then no matter how well you answer, it will all be in vain.

Adhering to the principle of being responsible for others, Jiang Zhao always tries to find the good points in his evaluations.

During this scientific expedition, each paper had to be reviewed and evaluated by three examiners.

The stack of papers in Jiang Zhao's hand were all "Policy Questions on Current Affairs" papers that had passed the review of the two examiners.

The papers that pass through his hands are the ones that are graded for the last time. After grading, he will select dozens of recommended papers and submit them to the chief and deputy examiners.

"what?"

Jiang Zhao had just put down one exam paper when he picked up the next one, and he couldn't help but perk up a bit.

The fact that this exam paper contains the word "recommended" twice indicates that the first two examiners gave it high praise.

"Your subject replied: I have diligently studied the imperial edicts and policies, and their earnest and meticulous instruction reflects the mindset of Yao and Shun in their consultations and admonitions."

Jiang Zhao read a few sentences and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

The writing style feels somewhat familiar.

Zhang Dun's exam paper!

As members of the same group of seven disciples of the Jiayou family, the two had corresponded frequently and were very familiar with each other's writing styles.

Zhang Dun's writing style is pragmatic and vigorous, emphasizing practicality over ornate language, and his words subtly convey a sense of heroic spirit.

It's very distinctive!

荐！

Jiang Zhao calmly wrote down his thoughts and gave it high praise.

I casually placed this test paper at the top so I could easily take it out separately later.

Scientific expeditions require not only strong skills but also a bit of luck.

Generally speaking, the difference between the top three and the top five is negligible.

Ultimately, who will be at the top depends on whether they have the support of others.

Coincidentally, Jiang Zhao was one of the examiners.