Chapter 142 141 Exam Begins

"I heard that the last person who failed the exam was called Wei Wei what? What was the name of the guy who wrote the drought-resistant strategy?"

The Right Counselor of the Provincial Administration Department was a little drunk at this moment, and he spoke out the rumors he heard today.

Originally, at such a banquet, all the provincial examination examiners were present, and topics involving candidates should be avoided consciously, but this gentleman was blushing at this time, and he blurted out the words without thinking much.

"Drought-resistant strategy? What was his name? I don't remember, I just remember that he was from Jiujiang."

The official next to him stroked his beard and continued.

"It seems to be Wei Guangde or Wei Guangcai, it's a pity for that proposal."

The speaker shook his head and sighed.

"The drought-resistant strategy you are talking about, is it the one that said to find drought-resistant seedlings?"

The officials in the room were half drunk and half awake at this moment, and the deputy chief examiner of this provincial examination also became interested in the drought-resistant strategy.

There is no other reason. Many officials in the two capitals read the test paper the year before last. Many people were quite interested in finding disaster-resistant seedlings to deal with the drought in recent years.

"Yes, that policy paper will be written in the last provincial examination."

The official shook his head and said, "I didn't think much of it at the time. I went home and thought about it carefully and felt that the strategy seemed to be right. Everyone seemed to have the same idea. We discussed it for a long time in the yamen in the next few days, and finally submitted a joint memorial. What a pity."

"I also read it in the Nanjing Ministry of Rites. The Grand Master of the Imperial Clan also thought the method was good, but the emperor still... Alas."

The deputy examiner sighed.

"I heard that the emperor and the three cabinet elders still recognized the policy paper. The main reason was that they had no money."

"Now the court is also in a difficult situation. There are Japanese in the south and barbarians in the north, and they have to provide relief to the victims. The method is good, but it does take time to see the results. The emperor can't wait, and the victims can't wait either."

The officials began to discuss heatedly.

The provinces in the north and south have suffered disasters for years. For these well-read officials, they naturally know how serious it is.

They also want to actively save the current crisis, not only for fame and fortune, but also for the millions of ordinary people. They can still distinguish this.

"It's not easy for Yan Ge Lao and others now."

Soon, the topic jumped to the increasingly difficult finances of the court.

"The court is now eating up the grain of the next year. Many expenses that should be paid have been compressed or even cancelled. To be honest, the position of the cabinet is really not something that ordinary people can sit in. Silver and money are borrowed from all directions and coordinated."

"It's not easy for them. If it's not easy, they should increase the salt tax by three points, and add salt permits. If the salt policy is carried with the surplus salt, if it goes on like this, the salt policy will inevitably be corrupted, and the merchants will not make any profit. Naturally, they will not continue to do it. At that time, where can the people buy salt? Isn't the world in chaos?"

"The increase is to raise money for the suppression of the Japanese in Jiangnan. What else can we do if we don't increase it? In Jiangxi, we have How many counties can have a tax revenue of more than 100 taels of silver a year? What else can the court do besides salt, iron and tea to get money? "

"If the emperor builds fewer palaces and recruits fewer Taoist priests to practice immortality, there will be a lot more money."

"Be careful with your words, be careful with your words, aren't there enough people who have been demoted for this? Several members of the royal family have been exiled to Fengyang. "

The topic turned to Emperor Jiajing, and many people sobered up instantly. Looking at the people in the room, it was fortunate that the Jinyiwei's Qianhu in Nanchang was not invited to come over. He was also a provincial examination official and was responsible for the peripheral affairs of the Imperial Academy.

"A gentleman does not talk about strange and chaotic things, doesn't the emperor understand? Speaking of immortality, who in this world really practices immortality."

The official hadn't finished speaking when his colleague next to him covered his mouth with his hand, "Be careful of the walls, my Lord Jin, don't say anything."

At this point, the originally happy atmosphere of the banquet stagnated.

"Let's drink, let's not talk about anything else."

The most senior local official in Jiangxi who attended the banquet was the Left Minister of Jiangxi Provincial Administration. At this moment, he had already raised his glass to toast the chief examiner of this year's provincial examination.

"Drink."

The people at several tables followed immediately and raised their glasses in front of them.

When the wine was finished, the atmosphere of the banquet gradually became relaxed. There were also beautiful maids who walked back and forth between the tables with their graceful figures, adding fine wine to the adults.

Two days before the provincial examination, the originally hot weather finally ushered in the autumn wind, making Wei Guangde feel that it was already autumn.

On August 9, just after dawn, Wei Guangde had already got up and prepared to go to the Imperial Academy to participate in this provincial examination.

The store brought hot water, and Wei Guangde pushed the door out after washing up. Many scholars upstairs and downstairs in the outer room were already greeting each other, saying auspicious words about being on the list, and encouraging each other to go to the front yard for breakfast.

When Wei Guangde and his party walked across the Zhuangyuan Bridge in the dark and arrived at Gongyuan Street, the street was already crowded with people, and several thousand scholars gathered here waiting to enter.

However, Wei Guangde had seen such a scene many times, and was not shocked.

As the crowd merged into it, he looked for the place where the candidates from Jiujiang Prefecture were called.

Although the court stipulated that all candidates who participated in the provincial examination had to pass the imperial examination and pass the imperial examination before they could participate in the provincial examination, such examinations have long been a means for teachers in official schools to make profits.

For students with good academic knowledge and the opportunity to be on the list, professors and teachers will naturally not stop them from making progress. Not only will they not stop them, but they will also give them preferential treatment in all aspects.

After all, most of the people in official schools in this era were actually Juren, so they naturally did not want to provoke these scholars who had the opportunity to challenge Jinshi.

As for those who are average but have rich families, they will naturally not be polite.

If your level is not good enough and you cannot pass the test, you will not be able to take part in the provincial examination.

Of course, if you do your homework, no one will stop you.

Although the chief examiner of the subject examination is the Tixue officer, the specific operation is still carried out by the people from the government school below. They just hand over the selected papers to the adults for review.

Well, everything is actually in accordance with the rules. It is very rare for candidates who cannot take the provincial examination because they fail the subject examination.

"Yuan Rui, do you think you have a good chance of being listed based on your luck?"

Zeng Yuanrui also had to take part in this provincial examination. What was very embarrassing was that he had not passed the college examination and was not yet a scholar, but just a child.

However, this time the family spent a lot of money to obtain a letter of recommendation from the Jiujiang prefect, and was able to participate in the provincial examination in the name of a Confucian scholar.

This also shows that Zeng Yuanshu has done well in Nanchang City in the past two years. At least he has established a relationship with Mr. Jiangxi Tixueguan and can talk to him.

After all, in order to obtain the qualification of being a Confucian scholar, the prefect can only recommend him to the Tixue official. Whether he can participate in the provincial examination depends entirely on the approval of the Tixue official.

"Take care of yourself first. Although I am not a scholar, if I get on the exam for this subject, I will become a successful candidate."

Zeng Yuanrui raised his eyebrows and said.

"Don't listen to his big words. We just let him take part in the provincial examination to get a feel for it. In your words, participation is the most important thing."

Zeng Yuanshu, who was next to him, interrupted Zeng Yuanrui's words with a smile and said to Wei Guangde.

As the gate of Gongyuan slowly opened, officials and minor officials walked out of the gate one after another, marking the beginning of the rural examination in the 34th year of Jiajing.