The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror
Chapter 228 - 121: Provincial Examination

Chapter 228: Chapter 121: Provincial Examination

As days went by, more and more scholars from various prefectures thronged into the Heavenly Capital.

With the many candidates who came to participate in the Academy exams, for a time, the cultural atmosphere of Yingtian Prefecture was particularly vibrant, at its peak in a hundred years.

With such an influx of scholars, along with the servants and maids brought by some wealthy families, the housing prices in the Heavenly Capital skyrocketed.

At this time, the Recovery Society gained considerable fame in Yingtian Prefecture.

Originally, the Society had made early preparations and, upon receiving official approval, found a remote open space in the city and built simple shacks to provide food and lodging for the impoverished scholars.

Because the accommodations and food were basic, and with screening measures for entry such as random checks on recitation of the Four Books and Five Classics, a clear and straightforward selection mechanism ensured that those who could stay were predominantly the poor scholars, or at least guaranteed that most of them could find a place to stay.

The members of the Recovery Society, who often went to the countryside beneath Jiangning Prefecture for interactions and training, had impressive organizational and action capabilities. Despite some initial chaos, with detailed rules and regulations prepared early on, and Xu Qing reviewing and filling in the gaps, they largely found guidelines to follow.

Moreover, some members of the Red Flower Society were covertly mingled among these poor scholars, guiding them.

Admittedly, minor disturbances were inevitable, but major chaos, perhaps due to a stroke of luck, did not occur.

Furthermore, Xu Qing also exploited Marquis Wuding and Eunuch Zhao’s influence, though it was the Recovery Society’s action group that was in operation, in reality, they incessantly lauded the Emperor’s great grace.

And among these scholars, he stirred up public opinion, saying that any disturbances would definitely be the doing of local scholars and powerful families, attempting to counter the Central government.

Taking the opportunity, he also promoted Jiangning Prefecture’s "rice-for-mulberry" policy, and organized daily debates as post-meal entertainment for everyone.

The truth becomes clearer with debate.

With a series of actions, the "rice-for-mulberry" policy at least saw some change in perception among the lower-class scholars of South Zhili.

These people, when they return to their hometowns, have neighbours on both sides, and thus a foundation was laid for the future enactment of the "rice-for-mulberry" policy in South Zhili.

The Recovery Society’s actions attracted quite a bit of attention in the official circles of South Zhili.

Many insightful people could see just how clever Xu Qing’s unorthodox strategy was.

Everyone is smart, so naturally, there will be smart people who learn and imitate.

It was a double-edged sword; Xu Qing could use this method to help the Central government enforce its orders, but local powers could also use it to oppose the Court.

In fact, similar actions had already occurred in various places, but it was the first time for a disciplined and organized society like Xu Qing’s to lead the way.

South Zhili had no shortage of scholar-led associations, which previously focused on studying literature and expanding networks.

Now Xu Qing showed them a new approach, and even those scholars and powerful families who suffered losses due to the "rice-for-mulberry" policy had to thank Xu Qing!

On the other hand, as the Academy examinations passed, the countdown to the Provincial exams also began.

Ordinary Scholars from more remote State prefectures were, in fact, not very familiar with the content and format of the Provincial exams.

Members of the Recovery Society, such as Yan Shan, had also been resolving people’s questions and confusion in the past few days.

Actually, typically, there were street vendors near the Examination Hall selling such information, but the Recovery Society offered explanations for free.

And this year’s grace Provincial exam was different from previous years.

Although there were still three sessions, the time allotted was shorter than in past years.

Previously, each session lasted three days.

This year, each session was two days, which would make the timing much tighter.

This was also a decision made through Central deliberation.

The Central government hoped that the Scholars selected this year would possess resolute and agile talents. The shortened time was to test these attributes.

Of course, the content of the exam remained the same as always.

The first session tested knowledge on the "Four Books," with three questions each exceeding two hundred characters, and the "Five Classics" with four questions each exceeding three hundred characters. If one could not complete them all, it was permitted to skip one question each, but do not expect a good ranking.

The second session had one essay question over three hundred characters, and a judgment with five maxims: admonition, table, internal memo, and an official letter, one of each kind.

The third session tested classics, history, and policy with five questions, each over three hundred characters. Those who could not finish were allowed to skip two.

The first session on the Four Books and Five Classics aimed to test the candidates’ familiarity and understanding of Confucian classics. The second was to examine the scholars’ ability to judge right from wrong and to draft various types of official documents. The third session was to assess the scholars’ knowledge of ancient and modern state affairs.

This was the pattern that had evolved over time since the Imperial Examination system’s inception.

If executed thoroughly, the Imperial Examination of the Great Yu Dynasty could indeed select practical talents.

However, practical application tends to encounter issues.

One important reason is the extremely short time allotted for grading the Provincial exams.

Short time fundamentally serves to reduce the possibility of cheating in the Provincial exams.

After all, the longer the grading takes, the more preparation for cheating can be done.

But the Chief Examiner, the Assistant Chief Examiner, and the other examiners are all human beings.

Especially the examiners of each room, who are responsible for the first round of reviews, and only if they deem a paper good will it proceed to the Chief and Assistant Chief Examiners.

This leads to a large workload, with only a few examiners in each room, and some rooms even having just one.

And after the grading is complete, and rankings are announced, the selected papers are sent to the Ministry of Rites and Hanlin Academy for "polishing," which is a re-evaluation.

These officials are usually idle, and there are quite a few of them. They tend to spend time thoroughly reviewing each paper, checking for any cheating or mistakes in the grading process...

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