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If you are admitted to the examination, you can be called a tribute scholar.

When the tributes take part in the palace examination, they will only be judged on their rankings and will not be eliminated. Once the gold medal is published, they will be considered as new scholars.

As early as the Ming Dynasty, stereotyped writing was not tested in the palace examination. Instead, they gave them topics that were relevant to the current situation and asked the tributes to write down policy strategies. For example, if there happens to be a peasant uprising, the candidates will be asked how to quell the rebellion. Or maybe the national treasury is empty and candidates are asked how to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

If you look at an emperor's number one imperial examination, you will know the changes in the current situation of that dynasty.

Take Jiajing as an example.

The first palace examination discussed how to carry out reforms.

The second palace examination discusses how to implement the king's way and make the world have enough soldiers and food.

The third palace examination discusses how to protect the country and the people.

The fourth palace examination discusses how to deal with natural disasters and ensure that the people have enough food and clothing.

…

The tenth imperial examination, my twenty-nineth year since I ascended the throne, has always been devoted to God, diligent in government, and caring for the people. Why do I suffer from constant border troubles, floods and droughts, Miao uprisings, and people's livelihood suffering? Is it because I am not sincere enough? Candidates are asked to discuss how corvee service can be stopped, the borders are peaceful, civil strife is subdued, the people are prosperous, and all industries are prosperous.

Compared with the early Jiajing years, the style of the imperial examination questions at this time had changed drastically, and the questions contained a hint of resentment from the emperor.

In the next few palace examinations, Jiajing has gradually become hysterical:

"I am a competent emperor, so why do all the ministers deceive the superiors and deceive the subordinates, slandering the emperor and harming the people? Candidates, come and tell the truth."

"The emperor regards the ministers as his confidants, but the ministers regard the emperor as his enemy. As an emperor, I really do not know how to recognize people and cannot appoint talented people to serve as officials. You candidates, who are bystanders, should be able to give me the answer. Don't lie, hurry up. Tell me quickly!”

"After I came to the throne, I worked hard, worked hard and loved the people. I was a good emperor. Now there are successive years of disasters, people are hungry and cold, border troubles are constant, and uprisings are everywhere. How can I get the ministers to be of one mind with me, and the king and the ministers can jointly govern the country?"

"I issued various edicts, and the ministers implemented them conscientiously and seemed to be very obedient. But after careful investigation, I found that they were all false. Those who serve in politics do not truly bring peace to the people, and those who give advice do not truly help the people. Those who claim to be benevolent to the people actually harm the people. I take the blame. A famous minister who is famous all over the world has no integrity at all. Is it really that difficult to make the people respect and love the emperor? In ancient times, if people were not rewarded, the people would listen to the emperor. If they were not intimidated, the people would also respect the emperor. .Why can’t the current scholar-bureaucrats govern the country like that? I want to solve this problem, but the problem lies with the officials. Candidates, please tell me what to do?”

In the last few palace examinations of the Jiajing Dynasty, it can be seen from the examination questions that the separation between the emperor and his ministers has become very serious, and the emperor has no trust in his ministers.

Zhao Han came up with questions for the palace examination. The content was always concise and not full of nonsense.

The title of this palace examination only has one line: "On the King of Jin's Confession of Kingdom to Tianzhu."

In the past, ministers would draw up the top three and read all the top ten papers to the emperor. Starting from the last palace examination, ministers have been deprived of the qualification to select the top three, and they have to put out the papers for the top fifteen.

Zhao Han did not let them read it out, but spread out the answer sheet and read it himself.

The first place, Liu Zongdao, comes from Luling County, Jiangxi.

"My minister replied: The King of Jin entrusted the country to Tianzhu, and the emperor divided the world... Zhou had the world, split the earth, divided it, established five classes, and the princes rose up."

"Today's world, the earth, there are mountains and rivers on the other side of the ocean. Today's Kyushu is like China in the Zhou Dynasty. Today's four barbarians have also changed: Beidi people are like Rakshasa people. Eastern barbarian people are like America. Southern barbarians are like Nanyang. The Xirong people are from Europe, Persia, Tianzhu, and the Western Regions..."

"At the time of the three kings, vegetation and animals were everywhere, and people could not fight them. People pretended to be like things, and protected the fur, feathers, and scales. They built walls with earth and people lived in them. The saint king was born, the ritual and music system was established, and the feudal Kyushu , ruled the world, then Shang and Zhou came to talk about China..."

"The Qin and Han dynasties established prefectures and counties, and the theories of the scholars were abolished. The prefectures and counties were enfeoffed by dynasties, turning the country into prefectures, and controlling the governors for the princes. The chaos of the princes cannot be changed; the diseases of the countrymen cannot be cured; the officials are disobedient and must be reined in. That. The country will be unified, and even if the saint is resurrected, it cannot be changed..."

"Why should counties and counties be enfeoffed on behalf of others? Why would the Holy Emperor of today initiate the policy of enfeoffment again? Times have changed!"

"In the three generations, a country can only reach a hundred miles, and its transportation is difficult to reach hundreds of miles. The eldest son cannot control the nine states without enfeoffment. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, China flourished, and the kings were conquered all over the world. The world is vast, and enfeoffment will inevitably lead to chaos among the princes and counties. Only then can we stabilize the inner world."

"Today, there are great changes that have not been seen in four thousand years. There are many foreign countries in the four seas, and people can be seen in the sails thousands of miles away. How is this different from the Three Dynasties in Kyushu? In ancient times, the eldest son was entrusted to the sea. In today's world, the eldest son is enfeoffed overseas. . A few generations later, overseas will also be China, and this enfeoffment is of great utility!"

"Tianzhu can be the Jin, America can be the Qin, and Nanyang can be like the Baiyue. Today, the Holy Emperor divides the eldest sons, and perhaps wants to reshape the world and decide on Jiuzhou, so as to create a legacy that China will never let go of forever..."

Zhao Han couldn't help but laugh after reading the paper that was temporarily ranked first.

This is not a groundbreaking statement, because Zhao Han has already made a similar argument in the "Datong Constitution". But it is relatively rare to be able to quote the past and discuss the present and combine it with the world situation.

Whatever the emperor likes, ministers and scholars will follow him, and the ideas will slowly spread.

It's just that the candidate named Liu Zongdao didn't understand what was going on in Siberia. He believed that the land of Siberia was Russia's inherent territory, so he compared Russia to Beidi.

The second place, Chen Chun, is from Nanhai, Guangdong.

This candidate also talked about dividing the world, but he focused more on discussing current affairs.

Chen Chun believes that the current situation is more similar to the era of various schools of thought.

China is just one of the countries in the world. There are countless countries in the world, just like they were competing for hegemony during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

China took the lead in reform, just like the powerful Jin Dynasty. But the reform must continue, otherwise other countries are very likely to catch up, like the sudden rise of Qi, Qin, and Chu.

If China hesitates to move forward and is unwilling to make progress because it is temporarily strong, it may be divided into three countries. And those countries in Europe, or the Ottomans, Persia, and Mughals, may rise like Qi, Chu, and Qin.

As for the King of Jin's enfeoffment in Tianzhu, there are advantages and disadvantages. It is conducive to the expansion of territory and the spread of Chinese civilization, but there are hidden dangers. Beware of following the footsteps of the Emperor of Zhou.

Chen Chun also wrote that the Jin king entrusted Tianzhu instead of Nanyang to be wary of this hidden danger. Nanyang is too close. It will be regarded as China's mainland in the future and cannot be entrusted to any eldest son.

Zhao Han continued to look through the test papers at the back, and Zhao Kuangping, King of Chu, ranked fifteenth.

The ranking ministers spent a lot of time on this ranking.

Because there is no need to re-copy the palace examination paper, as long as it is the handwriting of an acquaintance, you can recognize it at a glance (the palace style is also slightly different). Ranking the King of Chu too high would be akin to flattery; ranking the King of Chu too low would be disrespectful to the Emperor and King of Chu.

Since the papers for the top fifteen are to be submitted, it would be just right to be ranked fifteenth.

To be honest, Zhao Kuangping's answer sheet can be ranked among the top three!

This prince has excellent literary talent, writes colorful strategies, and has been exposed to it for a long time, so he knows what the emperor's father thinks.

"Where's that female Jinshi's article?" Zhao Han asked.

Xiao Huan, who had returned to court with Ding You, replied: "The last one."

Zhao Han asked the minister to get all the papers and go directly to read the articles of the female Jinshi. It's really well written, and it's okay to be in the top ten. I guess it's due to gender discrimination.

After reading a few more papers from the top 100, Zhao Han found no more problems. Now the ministers have completely followed the emperor's wishes when judging the documents. Unlike the first imperial examination of the new dynasty, most of the rankings given by the ministers were changed by the emperor, which made the scoring ministers lose face.

After careful consideration, Zhao Han swapped the top two, with Chen Chun as the top pick and Liu Zongdao as the second pick.

The paper of the female Jinshi Zou Huaiyu was also ranked from the last place to the fifteenth.

As for the King of Chu, Zhao Kuangping, no ranking will be given, but the answer sheet can be posted as a model essay, allowing scholars all over the world to evaluate their own merits.

This adjustment gave enough face to the reviewing ministers.

In fact, the grading standards of the ministers have turned into the shape of the emperor. There is no need to find trouble in this situation.

Palace examination answer sheets are generally not released to the public.

Otherwise, once the examination questions and palace examination answer sheets of Emperor Jiajing's later years are released, wouldn't it be a joke for the world's scholars to see the emperor and his ministers laugh?

When we get to Zhao Han, the top fifteen can be announced based on the palace examination answer sheet. Moreover, the imperial examination papers for the number one, number two, and top three candidates must be published in the "Datong Monthly" and spread throughout the world.

After thinking for a while, Zhao Han said: "In the next issue of Datong Monthly, we will print an extra page and publish five articles on the palace examination. In addition to the first-class answer sheets, the articles by Zhao Kuangping and Zou Huaiyu will also be included."

The gold list was posted, causing a stir again.

Mainly because the first female Jinshi in the dynasty actually got fifteenth place in the examination. How many men were embarrassed by this?

Then, they tried to find the ranking of King Chu, but found that there was no ranking at all.

In order to take care of the scholars in the areas where the imperial examination was backward, and to prevent officials from forming cliques for personal gain, Zhao Han also followed the Ming Dynasty and formulated the North and South Ranking Lists.

Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and Jinling Prefecture, these five provinces and one prefecture are named Nanbang, and the proportion of Jinshi accounts for 55%.

Sichuan, Anhui, Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangnan, Hunan and Hubei are the eight provinces in the middle list, with a Jinshi proportion of 35%.

The rest of the provinces are all Beibang, and the proportion of Jinshi is 10%.

Don’t feel too wronged by the candidates from the North List. If admission is not divided into separate lists, they will not even reach 10%!

Those who were truly aggrieved were the scholars from Nampang, who seemed to account for 55%, but in fact they were as inwardly entangled as hell.

In addition, Quang Nam Province was recovered relatively late and has not yet established a university. The candidates in this province are mainly the children of immigrants who usually study in universities in Guangxi and Yunnan, and quotas have been specially formulated for Guangnan Province.

Entrance to the examination room is based on provinces, and admissions are based on quota proportions. Candidates from all over the country have come.

However, there is no ranking list for the results of the palace examination, and everyone is treated equally across the country.

Among the top fifty in the palace examination, 70% were from the South Ranking, 26% were from the Middle Ranking, and only a pitiful 4% were from the North Ranking.

Pu Songling, a scholar from Beibang, was one of the best in the northern provinces, but he only got 28th place in the examination.