northernbook Chapter 168 Palace Examination
Chapter 168 Palace Examination
imperial study room
Eunuch Shi handed the newly released list of tribute scholars to Emperor Jiayou, "Your Majesty, the list of newly promoted tribute scholars is out."
……
Zhou family
Today was the day for the results to be announced. Chen Xiuying wanted to send Sun Dashan to see the list early in the morning, but Uncle Fu stopped her and said, "It's unlucky to have his name on the list. I'll take Chunxi with me!"
Chen Xiuying... is there such a thing?
No matter what, this was Uncle Fu's good intention, so she agreed to his wish. However, Uncle Fu was old after all, so Chen Xiuying thought about it and finally let Xu Wu go with them.
Zhou Dajiang paced back and forth in the room, silently praying in his heart, "I'll get it! I don't have high expectations, just making the list is good enough."
Zhou Dajiang had never worked so hard in his two lives. Even during the college entrance exam, he hadn't studied as hard as he did this time. If he didn't pass, he'd be sorry for all the hard work he'd put in!
When Uncle Fu and his two companions arrived at the place where the results were announced, they saw a huge crowd of people. Some of them were like them, checking the results for their masters, while others were there specifically to report the good news. These people were divided into teams of several people, some of whom were responsible for checking the results, and some of whom were responsible for running errands.
Uncle Fu asked Chunxi to stay outside, while he and Xu Wu squeezed to the front of the list. It was hard to imagine that Uncle Fu, at such an old age, was so clever in taking advantage of loopholes.
The list was posted from back to front, and everyone craned their necks to see it. Uncle Fu's eyesight was failing him, so he quickly asked Xu Wu to come forward and take a closer look. Xu Wu, relying on his youth and good eyesight, scanned the list line by line.
Zhou Dajiang was feeling very uneasy at home. Although Chen Xiuying tried to comfort him, she was also feeling very anxious.
At this moment, there was a commotion outside. It turned out that the list had begun to be posted, and shouts of "good news, good news" began to rise and fall. This scene made Zhou Dajiang even more nervous.
In front of the list, Xu Wu's eyes suddenly lit up and he shouted, "I found it! I won! No. 55!" Uncle Fu's old face was filled with smiles when he heard it. He hurried out to tell Chunxi, asking Chunxi to run back first to report the good news.
The little girl Chunxi obviously didn't want to give these people who brought the good news a chance to survive. Before the people who brought the good news ran to the gate, she had already let everyone in the family know the news of her passing the exam.
Immediately, the messenger and the runners arrived, "Congratulations to Master Zhou Dajiang of Donghai Prefecture for placing 55th in the Imperial Examination!"
Chen Xiuying's eyes were red with excitement, and she hurriedly asked Qing'er to give the prepared red envelopes containing silver ingots to everyone who came to announce the good news. Chunxi, Fu Bo and Xu Wu also received some.
Although Sun Dashan's father disliked looking at the list as unlucky, he didn't care about it at this time. He quickly took out the firecrackers he had bought in advance and lit them.
When Zhou Dajiang heard the news, he was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. Oh my god, I've earned it! This score was much higher than he expected! He stood in the courtyard, trying not to cry, so he looked up at the sky. Hmm! His hard work had finally paid off! Now it was up to the emperor. As long as the questions in the palace examination weren't too difficult, and he performed normally, he would definitely get a second-class Jinshi degree!
……
imperial study room
"Great! This kid really didn't disappoint me!" After receiving the list, Emperor Jiayou also read it from the back to the front. Because he also knew that there would still be some gaps between students like Zhou Dajiang who learned quickly and those who studied continuously. So, when he didn't see Zhou Dajiang's name halfway through, he became anxious.
Eunuch Shi certainly already knew the result, but sometimes the emperor would feel happier if he discovered the answer himself than if he told him, so he never said anything.
Sure enough, the Emperor was even happier upon discovering Zhou Dajiang's 55th place ranking than he had been upon seeing the previous winner's name. How could it possibly be the same? Zhou Dajiang had put a lot of thought into this. While the winner was also a son of a minister, he hadn't yet managed to capture the Emperor's interest. It was because there was always a winner every three years, and every minister in the court had been a top performer in the previous examination.
Emperor Jiayou immediately ordered the opening of his private treasury and ordered someone to fetch a brush and give it to Zhou Aiqing. In his eyes, Zhou Dajiang was already a beloved minister, so he could prepare for the palace examination with peace of mind.
So Zhou Dajiang didn't even have time to show off for an hour, and he returned to his old ways, holding his little notebook and going to ask Yuan Hanlin for advice on the palace examination. Although there was no such thing as failing the palace examination, he could still work harder to get a higher ranking!
Zhou Dajiang studied even harder, and his family offered their full support. Chen Xiuying meticulously prepared daily meals to ensure he was well-nourished. His three children also cheered him on. Zhou Dajiang, knowing this was a rare opportunity, threw everything aside and devoted himself to studying the classics day and night, striving for greater advancement.
Soon, the day of the palace examination arrived. Zhou Dajiang, filled with trepidation, entered the Hall of Preserving Harmony with his fellow examinees. A few cracks of whips followed, and with the cry of "The Emperor has arrived!" the examinees all knelt in obeisance. Zhou Dajiang longed to see what the emperor, with whom he had long held a spiritual connection, looked like, but he dared not. To peek into his emperor's face was punishable by death.
After paying homage to the emperor, the next step was to distribute the test questions.
When the test paper was handed out, Zhou Dajiang took a careful look and felt secretly happy and relieved. It turned out that the questions hit the key points he had studied every day.
"I have been on the throne for eight years and have suffered from frequent floods. Every time I think of the suffering of the people, I am deeply worried..."
In fact, the summary is:
I now wish to control the floods and protect the people. I hope you will offer your wise suggestions. I urge you to carefully consider and propose practical and effective proposals. I will personally review them and select the best ones for implementation. If any of you can propose an outstanding flood control plan, I will reward you handsomely.
Zhou Dajiang is very familiar with this. He even studied the policy papers on this subject in depth before the Spring Examination.
Zhou Dajiang took a deep breath, gathered his concentration, and began to answer seriously. His pen moved across the paper, each word reflecting the painstaking effort he had put into studying.
He wrote a long and eloquent article, which roughly means:
Your Majesty, if you want to effectively control floods, prevent flooding, and protect the lives and property of the people, I believe the following points are very important:
1. Build water conservancy projects, such as dams and reservoirs, to regulate water flow and reduce flooding. The location, materials, and construction of these projects are crucial, and a supervisory mechanism can be established before construction begins.
2. To protect the environment, prevention is worse than blocking. Reducing soil erosion and preventing river siltation are the key points. Only if the problem can be solved from the source can the harm of floods be reduced.
3. Disaster early warning: Establish an effective disaster early warning mechanism to promptly notify residents to evacuate, thereby minimizing casualties and property losses. Conduct small-scale drills when appropriate to ensure effective implementation.
4. Disaster relief measures and relief supplies must be arranged in advance, checked and replaced regularly, so that once a flood occurs, disaster relief can be carried out in a timely and effective manner to ensure the basic living needs of the people.
His answer excited not only the emperor but also the old ministers in the imperial study.
The Minister of Works immediately began to ask for someone, "Your Majesty, you must give this person who answered the questions to the Ministry of Works. My Ministry of Works is in need of such young and promising people."
The name on the paper was blurred out, and he didn't know that the paper belonged to Zhou Dajiang, a man he had met once before.
The Minister of War also helped him, saying, "Your Majesty, this scholar has something to say, and every word he says is on point. He is indeed suitable for the Ministry of Works."
After he finished speaking, the Minister of Personnel muttered to him from below, "Don't you dislike Old Cui? Why are you still speaking up for him?"
The Minister of War blinked and said, "What do you know? If I help him get this person to the Ministry of Works, he won't be embarrassed to compete with me for him!"