The Song Dynasty’s solution was very deep.

The imperial court has also been exploring how to fairly select scholars from local areas.

At first, the imperial court asked prefecture and county magistrates to supervise the interpretation of the examination, but the prefecture and county magistrates who governed the local areas could easily collude with local powerful people to influence the results of the examination.

Therefore, the court was also depressed, and some court officials criticized it.

In some places, candidates who passed the exam five or six times went to Beijing to take the provincial exam but failed again and again. He thought there was something wrong with it, but when he looked at the candidates' essays, they could be called poorly written, even if they were a bit messy.

Writing is not like this.

How did such a loser pass the examination five or six times in a row and come to the imperial court to take the provincial examination? He hoped that local officials could 'block the door for abuse and open the way for excellence'.

In response to this move, the imperial court later stipulated that once candidates were found to have "ten failings in all subjects" or "jinshi mistakes", they would not be allowed to take the exam again, and at the same time, they would be strictly held accountable for their crimes.

At the same time, let the supervisory department supervise the prefectures and counties in interpreting examinations.

This makes the interpretation slightly fairer, but only slightly.

Lu Zhen, a famous minister during the Zhenzong period, once did something like this. After the exam was completed, the rankings were all arranged.

Lu Zhen ran to the examination place, opened the papers one by one and said, "Why don't you see Xiang Changtang's papers?"

As a result, Lu Zhen discovered that Xiang Changtang had failed and was not on the admission list. Lu Zhen immediately raised Xiang Changtang's ranking to first place and removed the last one. When the officials of the Song Dynasty heard about this, they felt that there was nothing wrong with this operation.

He also praised Lu Zhen for "selecting scholars based on his literary conduct".

Indeed, it cannot be said that this move was wrong in the Song Dynasty.

The scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty still had the tradition of advocating village elections. This rule can be traced back to the nine-rank Zhongzheng system. Talents were selected through people rather than examinations.

Because Confucianism advocates the rule of man and emphasizes the method of selecting wise men by wise men. However, the imperial examination is equivalent to setting a standard. This is the method of Legalism. Does good writing mean that you are a good official? Anyone who drives a good car must be a good person.

?

But such a result can only lead to "candidates make false reputations, please ask the examiner, the state only recommends old people, and not one new person is recommended".

This is inconsistent with the Song Dynasty's national policy of "strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches". Strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches is to transfer power from the local to the central government.

The most critical ones are financial power, military power, and the right to select talents.

Select capable men from the local area, rather than the sages in the eyes of officials. Advocating for village elections can only repeat the mistakes of the nine-rank Zhongzheng system: "There are no poor families in the upper class, and there are no noble families in the lower class."

Therefore, the Song Dynasty fully implemented the name-blinding and transcription system in the subsequent reform of examinations, and transferred officials from other states and counties to supervise the examinations.

In the seventh year of Jiayou's reign, when the Jingzhao Prefecture held the examination, Zhang Dun, who was transferred to Fengxiang Prefecture, and Su Shi from Shangzhou went to the local area to invigilate the examination. As a result, the two had a formal relationship and forged a lifelong 'friendship'.

Is this a fair move?

I must admit that it is more fair, but there is still nothing we can do about people who can really take advantage of the loopholes.

The imperial examination system in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was more rigorous than that in the Song Dynasty, but major cases of fraud in the imperial examinations were repeatedly banned, and a large number of official candidates continued to do so.

And even if it seems fair, it's still unfair.

For example, there are less than 2,000 candidates for the Imperial College Examination, and 600 candidates are selected, and the admission ratio is three to one. It seems that this ratio is high, but the children of officials like Han Zhongyan took the special examination.

The admission rate of the Imperial College's special examination is very high, and it can be up to one candidate for two candidates.

There are many children of officials among Taipei students and Guangwenguan students, and all officials' children can participate in the special examination.

For example, if a thousand officials' children take part in the special examination, the 600 quota will be reduced to 500, leaving 800 or 900 people competing for 100 places.

Such an invisibility lowered the admission ratio of students from poor families. Instead of selecting one from three people, one would be selected from five or six students, or even one from eight or nine students.

In other words, the probability of choosing one out of three is a bit like the average salary between me and Lei Jun.

However, even if one person is selected from eight or nine people, it will still be much better than the test in Fujian and Zhejiang.

Unfairness can be said to exist everywhere. Some people may think that why is the admission rate of officials’ children participating in the special examination so high? They are all born to the same parents. Is it fair at all?

But in the Song Dynasty, the Beitou Examination actually protected the children of poor families. This cannot but be said to be an irony.

Therefore, after the epidemic subsided, the students of Taipei University became busy.

What are you busy with?

That is, they are busy making imperial edicts to the magistrates, and there are even officials who hold office in the bureau.

Because in the past, the Imperial College Examination was handled by the chief examiner of the Imperial College independently. However, in the second year of Chunhua, Emperor Taizong immediately sent Zuo Sijian to Xie Mi of the History Museum to take charge of the matter. From then on, the chief examiners of the Imperial College Interpretation Examination had to come from the three halls.

Selection in the Secret Pavilion has become a routine.

There are so many officials in the Secret Pavilion of Zhisan Hall that no one knows who they are until a few days before the exam, so they all have to pass the exam.

Therefore, Zhang Yue, Huang Haoyi, Fan Zuyu, Huang Lu, and Sun Guo have been busy copying several articles and poems that they usually have in hand these days.

Among the five people from Tongzhai, Fan Zuyu and Huang Haoyi participated in the special examination.

Yes, Huang Haoyi participated in the special examination. His cousin Huang Haoxin is now the magistrate of Xincai County, and his uncle Huang Xiaoxian served as Dr. Taichang and judged Shizhou.

The standard for other examinations could include officials' meritorious service and relatives. In the Shenzong Dynasty, even retainers were included in the standard.

Therefore, it was a way out for Zhang Yueruo to work as a book boy for Chen Shengzhi's nephew.

It’s okay for Fan Zuyu to take part in the exam, but Huang Haoyi can also take part in the exam. Sun Guo feels a little unbalanced in his heart. Why can he do it but I can’t?

As for whether Zhang Yue can participate in the special examination?

cannot.

Zhang Yu is his uncle and is not among the great meritorious, so there is nothing he can do if he wants to take advantage of it. Of course he can take advantage of it, but there is a high probability that he will not do so.

As for the Wu family, he is not considered a son-in-law now. Of course, if Zhang Yue is shameless enough to ask for it, the Wu family may have a way to let him take part in the audition.

But...but why do I want to take this step?

Whether it is a special examination or a test paper, they are all based on external rules. Life is about finding a balance between external rules (Da Yong) and the inner self (Ming Ti). Never forget yourself...you have your own faults.

.

Therefore, there was a way to go there, so Zhang Yue decided... to go with everyone to write the papers.

Even though Fan Zuyu and Huang Haoyi were taking part in the special examination, they still had to write the paper.

However, their application papers are somewhat different from those of the children from poor families. Fan Zuyu's uncle was Naifan Zhen, so he could be brought directly to his home to submit papers by his elders or through referrals from others.

As for Han Zhongyan? The examiner was appointed by his father. According to the rules at the time, after the examiner was confirmed, he would hold the post to the Prime Minister's Mansion to express his gratitude.

Generally, in order to avoid suspicion, Han Qi would not meet him, and he would also say that he was recruiting talents for the country and was completely selfless. The most important thing is to give a few words of advice, do not take care of Han Zhongyan just because he is my son, you must act in accordance with the principle

Do things in accordance with the principles of fairness, openness and impartiality.

"Shiro-kun, this is the pig brain soup that my mistress has cooked for you. Drink it quickly!"

In Taixue, a servant of Huang Haoyi's sister-in-law's family brought him pig brain soup.

In the past few days, my bedmate has been watching Huang Haoyi take supplements.

But seeing Huang Haoyi sucking and slurping like eating tofu, and seeing everyone's gaze, he couldn't help but ask: "Do you want a bite?"

If you really mean it, you won’t ask after everyone has finished drinking.

Everyone turned their heads to collect papers, implying that you are busy.

After Huang Haoyi finished eating the pig brain soup and when the sun turned west, Zhang Yue and others went to write the paper.

In addition to several classmates, Zhang Yue also invited Guo Lin to join him.

The articles required to write the examination paper are also different. For example, if you want to take the examination for the system examination, or if you want to write the examination paper for officials with two or more systems, you must write at least fifty articles.

If it is an ordinary volume, a scholar with financial resources can certainly send fifty chapters, but generally it is not necessary to send so many, just select the outstanding ones.

For example, in Su Shi's "Book of Prime Ministers on Shangfu", it was written that among the fifty poems on policy and strategy, I couldn't write them all because I was too lazy to part with them.

As mentioned in the "Book of Shang Zeng Shen Zheng" that Su Che sent to Zeng Gongliang, there are twelve chapters in "Lun Dynasties", starting from the Three Kings and going down to the Five Dynasties. The rise and fall of the rule of law can be summarized here. Su Zhe's writings only have

Twelve articles.

Therefore, fifty articles is a rule. As long as you are not seeking to be recommended for examinations, you do not need to fill them all.

For example, Zhang Yue wrote less than twenty articles.

It was a hot summer day, so Zhang Yue, Huang Haoyi and others first went to an official's house to submit the papers.

Why choose to go in the evening? Because officials are usually at home at this time and have a high chance of meeting them. If they go during the day, they are usually in the Yamen on errands.

When they arrived at the official's door, several people handed them the papers first. The doorman took one look at them and said, "Just wait."

After saying that, Menzi turned around and left.

Several people were waiting in front of the door.

There are more and more books written, and different officials have different styles.

Some people meet and talk for a few words, which usually means they value you, and come back after a few days. This is called a warm interview.

Even if you don't see me, I will let you in for a bowl of tea, as a courtesy.

There are also ways to ‘go back and wait for notification’, but this usually goes without saying.

Don't feel too embarrassed. Chen Shunyu, Zhang Fangping, Zeng Gong, Su Shi, and Su Che have all written and edited articles, and a large number of written and edited articles have been handed down.

For example, Zeng Gong's "The First Letter to Ouyang Bachelor", Su Xun's "The First Letter to Ouyang Neihan", and Su Che's "The First Letter to Privy Han Taiwei" are all articles that can be read repeatedly.
To be continued...