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This year’s exam was extremely crowded!

Past graduates from universities in various provinces are also eligible to participate. This is a special case of the reopening of the imperial examination. From now on, college graduates are only allowed to take the joint examination once - if they fail to pass the Jinshi examination, they can either go out and become a ninth-rank official (Jinling University can be transferred to the eighth rank), or take the postgraduate examination. , or just go and fend for yourself.

Zhao Han's original idea for the public examination finally compromised with reality.

If local government offices organize public examinations on their own, there will inevitably be many drawbacks. This has been proven. Today's lower-level official examination is equivalent to the grassroots civil servant examination. Every year, many people are found to have used backdoors.

In this case, it is better to continue to use the imperial examination system and be compatible with the public school system.

The selection system for officials at all levels is roughly as follows:

The government organizes a primary school graduation examination. Primary school students who successfully graduate can take the county civil service examination. Those who pass the examination can observe government and become county and town officials.

The province organizes middle school graduation examinations, and the outstanding middle school students who successfully graduate can go to university at public expense. Among them, the three best in the province study at Jinling University at public expense. The remaining outstanding candidates will study at universities in the province at public expense. Those who cannot afford public funding can study at university at their own expense.

High school graduates who have not been able to go to college can take the provincial or prefectural civil service examination. Those who pass the exam can become provincial or prefectural officials after observing the government.

County and town officials, who were promoted due to their political performance, could even be promoted to junior officials of the eighth or ninth grade. However, as the official system of the eighth and ninth grades improves in the future, it is likely that this will be the limit for promotion of junior officials. Only those with super abilities can cross the threshold of the seventh grade county magistrate.

If you are a public-funded student, as long as you can get a university diploma and you are willing to be an official, you can get a ninth-grade official position.

College graduates from all provinces, whether they are public-funded students or self-funded students, have one opportunity to take the examination.

Even if public-sponsored students are not admitted, local universities can still place them in the ninth grade, while Jinling University can place them in the eighth grade. Because even those who failed, they are all one in a million, and their gold content is higher than that of the Ming Dynasty.

Let’s put it this way, apart from minority students and international students, Jinling University currently only enrolls more than 30 publicly funded students each year—the number will definitely increase when middle school education in the north becomes popular. There are only forty-five publicly funded students in universities in each province each year (depending on the number of prefectures and counties).

At this time, there were only a few provinces with universities, and including Jinling University, there were less than 300 publicly funded university graduates every year. In the Ming Dynasty, the examination was held every three years, and about 300-400 people were admitted in each session, and at least seven-rank officials were released.

The number of publicly funded college students under Zhao Han's rule totaled about 900 in three years. Those who failed to pass the examination were ranked eighth or ninth grade, but those who passed the exam were admitted to the highest eighth grade. In total, the number was even smaller than that of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, self-financing college graduates have to take exams well. If you are not admitted to the general examination, you will not be qualified to be an official and will have to take the public examination for civil servants at the provincial level.

North Korean students like Choi Wenxiu are also regarded as self-funded students.

He was born into a wealthy Korean family, but after studying in Nanjing, he never wanted to go back. In order to stay, he studied hard without sleep and food, and finally got a university diploma. He is currently the only international student who can graduate. But you still have to take the exam and be admitted before you can stay as an official. Otherwise, you can only work as a Beijing drifter in Nanjing.

After verifying her identity, Cui Wenxiu entered the inspection room and took off her clothes. Even her underwear was carefully checked to prevent any information related to the examination from being included.

After finally entering the examination room, Cui Wenxiu was nervous and excited.

This session’s examination will still use two sets of questions.

As an international student, Cui Wenxiu took the new education paper. In the morning, there were tests on Confucian classics (Four Books and Five Classics) and Datong theory, and in the afternoon, there were tests on mathematics and physics. Next, there will be tests on astronomy, geography, law, official documents, water conservancy, farming, etc. There are two days of general examination time in total.

Due to different university majors, you can choose exam questions, just like the scholars of the previous dynasty chose the Five Classics. However, Confucian classics, mathematics, official documents and Datong theory are compulsory for students regardless of major.

While Cui Wenxiu was nervously answering questions, Li Jixiu and Zhang Zhaoyong were also answering traditional education papers.

Li Jixiu felt that the questions in the general examination were more difficult. Even though he had studied mathematics and physics by himself after taking the examination in another country, he was still blind when he encountered them. The difficulty of the examination is infinitely close to the unified examination for middle school graduation in various provinces.

Dead, dead, Li Jixiu's eyes dimmed.

After the two-day examination, it was time for marking.

The new education papers will be graded in two parts: liberal arts and science, so there won’t be any teachers. In the old days, education papers were still divided into five classics rooms for grading. Anyway, there were only so many people, and they were gradually cancelled. It didn't matter whether there was a room teacher or not.

Also, candidates are prohibited from visiting the teacher after the exam!

This was the first joint examination of the new dynasty. Chen Maosheng, the Minister of Rites, was responsible for organizing it, and the examiner should be the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. But in order to reflect the importance of the court, the examiner directly asked Song Yingxing to do it.

After half a month, we will try to release the rankings.

The old and new lists admit 100 people each.

Cui Wenxiu stood under the new list, looked from back to front, and immediately saw himself. He exclaimed excitedly: "I won, I won, ninety-sixth place!"

Li Jixiu also shouted on the old list: "I won, ranked 45th!"

Under the old list, Sun Chengen looked at the list in disbelief, and his friends beside him raised their hands: "Congratulations to Brother Fusang, for being the first in the high school class today!"

Historically, Sun Chengen was the number one scholar in the Shunzhi Dynasty.

In this time and space, Sun Chengen was forcibly separated from his family and immigrated to Shandong because he was born into a wealthy family in Changshu. He complained at first, but unexpectedly, as time passed, he passed the Shandong Provincial Examination under the age limit, and now he won the first place in the old list of the National Examination.

Some were happy and some were sad. The publicly funded university graduates who failed the general examination left the scene with a wry smile. In fact, there are not many of them. Many of the previous graduates and those with public funds have joined the workforce.

The really large number of people were self-financed graduates from previous universities, and the cries and howls were loud at this time. The emperor said that there is only one chance to take the college entrance examination. If you fail this time, you can only take the exam for provincial government officials. Self-financed students like them are not even qualified to be directly promoted to ninth-level officials.

To be honest, you deserve it!

Even if they are self-funded students, not many can graduate from university. It's been several years since I graduated, but I haven't been selected by the government yet, which means I really don't have much ability.

Moreover, he has high standards and is unwilling to take the initiative to do things.

Self-financed graduates who are truly proactive will go directly to take the civil service examination long ago. They have the status of college students and can be promoted faster. Among the first batch of self-financed students, some are already serving as county magistrates.

In the future, the selection of officials will tend to be formalized and systematic, but it will no longer be so smooth. They will delay themselves purely by themselves.

A few days later, the successful candidates went to the Forbidden City and went to the Chengtian Hall to take the imperial examination.

A total of 200 people from the old and new lists were waiting outside the main hall before dawn.

Zhang Zhaoyong failed the list, and Li Jixiu had no acquaintances. These days, he has been spending time in the library of Qintianyuan, and has not been invited to have banquets or make friends.

Finally, there were female officials and guards calling the emperor to ascend to the palace. Sun Chengen, who was first on the old list, lined up with the old list of scholars to enter. On the new list, the first place is named Zhang Shouyue, but he is the son of a small businessman from Guangdong.

Zhao Han wanted to promote northern scholars, but the old and new rankings were at the top of the list, and all of them had their ancestral home in the south. It's just that Sun Chengen was forcibly separated and forced to immigrate to Shandong.

"Greetings to Your Majesty!"

Two hundred scholars all bowed and arranged their seats according to their ranking.

The main hall follows the rules of physics. Zhao Han's voice was not loud, but it could be heard near the door: "Without courtesy, please sit down."

These two hundred people have already passed the Jinshi examination, so there is no need to play new tricks. The palace examination only tests policy theory like the Ming Dynasty.

Li Jixiu quickly got the test paper: March 15th, the world's top tributes were planned. Zhi said: I have inherited the heaven and responded to the people, and I have been the ruler of Hua Yi for many years. Be respectful day and night, not daring to be lazy, thinking only about the people, hoping that all people will gain something. The world today is different from the past. There are strong European powers in the west, and they colonize all over the world across the sea. There is a vast continent in the east, which is vast and sparsely populated. Between the east and the west, there were the Ottomans, Persians, and Mughals, all of whom were huge empires. The Rakshasa Kingdom in the north is close to the North Sea. How should China deal with this unprecedented major change?

What the hell?

Li Jixiu was a little dumbfounded. This topic was too big. He was looking at the whole world and asked how China should develop.

Fortunately, he has been reading these days. If he hadn't read through "The Map of the Four Seas", Li Jixiu wouldn't be able to figure out where the Rakshasa Kingdom is.

Take the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty as an example. Although the proficiency test relied on the eight-part essay, the palace examination must have tested practical issues.

For example, in Zhu Yuanzhang's palace examination, he was asked how to deal with the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty. The answer given in the No. 1 Scholar examination was to establish a solid border and work step by step. Another example is that Yang Shen won the first prize in the examination paper, which coincided with Liu Liu and Liu Qi's uprising. The palace examination was about how to prevent and quell civil unrest.

Emperor Jiajing once had a palace examination that was more practical. He directly asked how to manage the emperor's finances because he didn't have enough money.

The first person in Xinbanghui kept his promise, thought for a while, and answered with his pen: "I said to you: During the Three Dynasties, the world was the Central Plains. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the world was today's China. Now, the world must be the Four Seas. Countries. What's the difference? In the past three generations, boats and vehicles were inconvenient, so traveling a hundred miles was called a hike. Farming was not booming, and it was not easy to govern ten thousand people. In today's world, sailing across the sea can cover a distance of one hundred thousand miles, and it can be reached over the years... …”

"For example, the Spanish, a small country in Europe, colonized America, captured the local people as slaves, and seized countless gold and silver. Another example is the Dutch, a country that relies on commerce for government, and dominates the world..."

"We, China, are a country of etiquette and are not the same as the barbarians. However, we should not be arrogant without thinking about the future, but should look at the world and govern. The emperor of Zhou divided the princes into feudal princes, and the princes turned the barbarians into citizens. The ancient Eastern Yi , Xidi, Nanman, and Beirong are all Chinese now..."

"Those who are not willing to obey the king's rule in the foreign countries should be educated and educated. Go and raise the army, abolish the Ryukyu Kingdom and establish counties. I know your majesty's heart. The kings and ministers of this country are acting against each other, bullying the Holy Lord, and crippling the people. We have great unity. China should be conquered and benevolent to its people. This is also an act of benevolence and righteousness. A hundred years later, the people of Ryukyu will be like the barbarians of ancient times, and they will become our Chinese people through education..."

Zhang Shou started his education when he was about five years old. He attended private schools for several years, elementary school, middle school and university. In addition, I was born on the coast of Guangdong and have long heard about overseas affairs. Now I often read newspapers to understand national policies. His thinking was actually very consistent with Zhao Han's.

(I had gout a few days ago, and my hands and feet hurt every time I move. Alas, from now on I can’t drink beer, broth, seafood, offal, soy products, not even crayfish. I feel like my life has lost its meaning.)