Shennong Sequence

Chapter 251: Winter Solstice Apprentice Test, Apprentices with Clean Backgrounds, Talent Selection, Accompanying the Team
After Zhao Yun and Jing Yuchan, the Grand Minister of Agriculture, had breakfast, Jing Yuchan told Zhao Yun the details of the winter solstice test for all the apprentices in the Ministry of Agriculture that was to begin in the morning.

After a while, at the right time, Jing Yuchan and Zhao Yun walked out of the house together and strode towards the vast square in front of the Sinongjian.

At this time, the large square in front of the Sinongjian was already crowded with people.

The numerous farm apprentices from the Apprentice Management Department under the Sino-Agricultural Supervision Bureau, dressed in uniform attire and standing tall and straight like little poplars, stood in neat rows on the square, waiting for the short test that was about to begin.

In addition, there is the apprentices' instructor (teacher), also dressed in a long robe, with a kind yet dignified look, standing quietly in front of the apprentices and leading the team.

As well as the three current deputy supervisors of the Sinong Supervisory Commission: Xiang Ruiyuan, Zhu Hanfei, and Wang Tianhe who is about to abdicate.

The aura of the three of them gathered together was quite powerful, and it suppressed the apprentices in the square so much that they dared not breathe, and even spoke in a low voice.

But it is precisely because of this that the situation in the square in front of the Sinongjian appears to be in good order.

In addition, some hall masters, department masters, etc. also gathered here.

Of course, only a part of them came.

After all, according to the twenty-four solar terms, there will be an exam for each solar term.

However, if the entire Sino-Agricultural Bureau were to gather together for every small exam, with 24 large gatherings a year, the scene would be simply...

Also, there are 24 large gatherings a year just for exams, not to mention other types of gatherings. Just the meetings alone would be enough to keep people busy!
Therefore, every time there was a quiz, the Grand Minister of Agriculture and the three deputy supervisors would just give a question and then the exam would be conducted.

Or the people below can ask the questions.

The actual invigilators are usually the head of the Apprentice Management Department, Xi Yunze, and the head of the Assessment Department, Lao Kang. They are the main invigilators.

Then, three people will be selected from the hall masters or department masters under the three deputy supervisors to serve as examiners and participate in the assessment.

In addition, there are 24 small tests, three major tests, and one national test during the 20 solar terms!
The national examination was a unified one throughout the Zhou Dynasty, an examination for admission into the government from all walks of life: it was held at the time of the Spring Equinox.

In this regard, the assessment of the Sinong in the Sinong Supervision also needs to be unified with the time of the national examination.

The other three major examinations of the Sinongjian were: Beginning of Summer, Beginning of Autumn, and Beginning of Winter.

The remaining 20 solar terms are all small tests.

Of course, these are only part of what Zhao Yun has learned so far.

Although he also participated in the Winter Solstice test this time, strictly speaking, Zhao Yun has not officially taken up the position. It is not quite accurate to say that he is an invigilator, and he can only be regarded as an accompanying person.

Also, this time Jing Yuchan mainly wanted Zhao Yun to show up so that he could understand and become familiar with the operating procedures of the Sinongjian.

After Jing Yuchan and Zhao Yun arrived together, Zhao Yun clearly felt that the people in the square had different emotions and the atmosphere was subtle.

Many people are surprised about Zhao Yun's identity and origin.

Especially in the eyes of a group of apprentices, the person who can get along with the Grand Minister of Agriculture must be a man of great influence.

So when looking at Zhao Yun, one looks at him with curiosity and inquiry, as if looking at a powerful figure who has suddenly come into conflict.

But among the few people who knew Zhao Yun's background, apart from Xiang Ruiyuan and Zhu Hanfei, the two supervisors, who smiled kindly at Zhao Yun because he gave up the Spiritual Plant Treasury and the Internal Agriculture Material Warehouse,

Wang Tianhe, the old eunuch who was about to abdicate, and the people following him, many of them showed a hint of malice towards Zhao Yun.

But this malice was hidden deep in their emotions. On the surface, they still had smiles on their faces and pretended to warmly welcome the incoming leader.

This is also the general trend!
Even if you are not happy about it, what can you do?

It would be better for the current county magistrate to be in charge. After Wang Tian and this old man leave office, how many of these people will still be loyal to him?
In addition, Jing Yuchan only attended the winter solstice exam as usual. The exam was naturally supervised by the head of the Apprentice Management Department, Xi Yunze, and the head of the Assessment Department, Lao Kang.

Afterwards, when Zhao Yun and Jing Yuchan arrived at the scene, the square became completely quiet, and all the apprentices were waiting for the questions of the quiz.

Then, as usual, the head of the Apprentice Management Department, Xi Yunze, cleared his throat, said some polite words before the exam, and announced the test questions:

"The class selected for this quiz is a practical class."

"All candidates are required to fly using the Floating Cloud Robe magical instrument to the vacated Ding Field assessment location."

"Those who arrive first can select three of the most suitable spring chill grass seeds from among the many spiritual seeds, choose a suitable field in the assessment area, and cultivate spring chill grass..."

"Plant the seeds of spring grass in the ground,
The limit is one day. If you exceed the assessment time, you will be considered unqualified and will only receive a "D" evaluation.

If it sprouts within one day, it passes the assessment and can be rated as "C";

If you can make the Spring Cold Grass Spirit Seed germinate and grow within half a day, you will get an "A" assessment..."

After listening to the examination rules for a while, Zhao Yun understood that the process of selecting the spring chill grass spirit seeds was not simple. Apprentices were required to use the knowledge and techniques they had learned to sense and judge the quality, vitality and other conditions of the spirit seeds.

After the rules were explained, all the apprentices began to use their floating cloud clothes, condensing clouds and rushing to the Dinghao field assessment site to seize the initiative, etc...

In addition, Zhao Yun learned that the apprentices of the Sinongjian had 23 such solar term assessments a year. Only those with excellent results would be recommended by the Sinongjian to take the national examination and compete with a group of geniuses from a continent for the national examination results.

Once you pass the national examination, you can immediately obtain an official position of at least the ninth rank.

If he were assigned to Guihongzhou City on the border of Beiliang, he would only be a low-level official, but a real job!

For example: the position of apprentice mentor in the Apprenticeship Management Department;
For example: the leyline recorder of the leyline combing department;

For example: a war beast manager of the Beast Taming War Department... this is the situation in the Zhou City.

But if you pass the national exam and continue to be assigned to a provincial capital, if you are lucky, you can even get the position of deputy director of a department;
If I go further down to the county town, I might be able to take charge of a department and become the head of the department...

But the prerequisite for all this is that you must pass the national examination.

The number of places for the national examination in a continent is not divided according to the scores, but the vacancies in a certain type of official position in a continent are counted in advance, and the vacancies are entered from the beginning to the end based on this.

For example, in the border island of Beiliang, the national examination quota for apprentices of the Minister of Agriculture needs to be reported quickly from the bottom level by level through the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror to the Assessment Department of the Minister of Agriculture in Guihongzhou City. Then, the corresponding deputy supervisor Xiang Ruiyuan will give instructions and report to the Minister of Agriculture Jing.

Then Jing Da Si Nong reported it to Zhang Zhou Ling of Beiliang Bianzhou, as well as the Ministry of Personnel of Da Zhou and the Director General of Da Zhou Si Nong.

Among them, reporting to Zhang Zhouling was just to let Zhang Zhouling know the number of admissions to the Sinong Supervisor of this continent this year. Zhang Zhouling had no direct jurisdiction here. The real jurisdiction was in the Ministry of Personnel of the Great Zhou and the Director of Sinong of the Great Zhou.

Finally, after the comments of these two departments, the specific number of admissions for Beiliang Bianzhou's Agriculture this year can be determined. Then we have to wait for the national examination at the Spring Equinox when the year ends and all things come back to life.

Therefore, the places in the national examination are for real powerful official positions, which are very tempting.

And as long as you get ashore, you will immediately get a real official position and the good fortune of the Great Zhou!
In addition, each prefecture and county also organizes its own small examinations.

If you can pass the exam, you can also get a low-level official position.

For example, Zhao Yun's original post as a military farm official was a rubbish ninth-rank minor official. Unless he made great contributions, he would have no chance of ordinary promotion.

In a major examination like the national civil service exam, the talents who are screened out layer by layer are demoted to the provincial capital or county towns, but as long as they do not cause any problems, they still have a good chance of being promoted.

This is very different from the situation of Zhao Yun, who came from a wild background.

Even those who performed well in the exams might be recommended to various Taoist temples for further study, thus embarking on a better path of cultivation...

In addition, Zhao Yun followed Jing Yuchan and was constantly introduced to some people by Jing Yuchan, which helped him to recognize all the officials who were going to take the test.

Then we moved to Dinghao Field in Sinongfang, the assessment area prepared for this quiz.

And watching the group of apprentices, in the arranged spirit seed analysis area, using various techniques to check whether the spirit seeds are vigorous, whether there are bad seeds, whether there are any special mutations, etc., carefully and attentively selecting each spirit seed.

Once selected, select fields in the test area.

And there is a lot more knowledge in this field.

Especially for these Sequence Nine Farmer apprentices whose magic power is not very strong, the magic power in their dantian is scarce and cannot support the release of spells several times, so the choice of fields is particularly critical.

The choice of field for planting spring grass spirit seeds must, of course, be based on the growth and germination characteristics of the spring grass spirit seeds: it is necessary to choose a field where the surface is cold, but the area below the soil is moist and warm, but not dry and hot, to provide the environmental basis for germination.

The location where the Spring Cold Grass Spirit Seeds were planted was exactly one inch below the soil, where the Spring Cold and the Humid Heat met...

And from Zhao Yun's perception, he could find that each small field in the examination area had different amounts of geothermal energy and different degrees of properties. Some fields were hot and steaming, as if there was a blazing furnace hidden underground; some fields were cold and bone-chilling, as if one was in a world of ice and snow; some fields were gloomy and dark, etc...

For apprentices cultivating spiritual plants, these are also tests of the important link of field selection.

Overall, this quiz was not very difficult, but it did have some technical content, and it was evident that the Minister of Agriculture had prepared for it carefully.

Of course, this could also be a routine assessment process...

After all, Zhao Yun had not experienced many such assessments, nor had he received any systematic training. He was promoted directly through self-taught channels, so he was really interested in the content of this type of assessment.

What's more, I am just a bystander...

Half a day passed quietly. Zhao Yun watched the examination room while immersed in the practice of the Golden Light Mantra.

And because of his good physical and mental condition, he can continue to recite the Golden Light Mantra silently with concentration, and can constantly improve his spiritual practice insights.

[8th skill: Golden Light Mantra (beginner)]

[Progress: (50/5000)]

[Effect: The body is radiant with golden light, and external evil is expelled]

During this half day, although the progress of the Golden Light Spell only increased by 50, Zhao Yun could sense that the golden light in his body had more than doubled compared to this morning!

Of course, this is only at the beginning that one can practice so quickly.

In addition, during this short half day, two old apprentices and two younger apprentices, a total of four apprentices, cultivated the Spring Chilly Grass and handed in their papers ahead of schedule, and all received A+ evaluations!

Later, when the half-day timeline was about to be reached, some apprentices handed in their papers one after another. Among them, an old apprentice and a young apprentice, a total of two people got A-medium, and a young apprentice got A-low.

"Among these apprentices, there are young and adult ones. It seems that there are students who are repeating a grade..."

"But the abilities of the seniors who are able to repeat the year are not bad... They can actually add some pressure to the young apprentices."

In addition to these seven people who got A grades, more apprentices also started to hand in their papers.

Zhao Yun also discovered that the overall quality of these apprentices was good, and basically they all reached Grade B or above, which was an excellent result.

However, in the end, there were still only 6 people who passed with a score of "Grade C" just below the passing line.

As for the unqualified "D grade", it never appeared.

After the quiz was over, the results were given on the spot, and then the relevant personnel withdrew one after another.

Back in the Sinong Bureau, Jing Yuchan asked Zhao Yun with a smile:
"How is it? Does this quiz seem interesting?"

Zhao Yun nodded. "This little test is indeed unique from the ones I've experienced before, but it's also refreshing and interesting."

In addition, Zhao Yun also learned that the questions for these quizzes can even be randomly set before the exams, not limited to the fixed textbook content!
Even if it was a competition of flying speed, or who could collect more water vapor in a fixed area, or the speed of hoeing the land, or the strength of the hoeing land, it was reasonable to do so in order to help farmers grow crops better. It was also a way to train apprentices' on-site reaction abilities. All of this was feasible...

The test questions in the three major exams in a year will be very formal.

“Among these apprentices this year, there are several promising ones. You can wait until the next solar term exam and take a closer look and select a few to train.

They passed the national examination, which was considered a good fate.

But when they fail in the national exam, you can use this opportunity to recruit them to be your assistants and place them in various places to manage them..." Jing Yuchan said earnestly.

Zhao Yun also suddenly realized that Jing Da Si Nong brought him to participate in this winter solstice test not just to let him show off.

More importantly, there are many apprentices with clean backgrounds and no backing, who can be recruited and trained to become one's own team, and then trained to become one's own direct lineage...

This is equivalent to conducting a detailed screening and selection of talents from a group of people who have already been trained to a similar level.

This is much more labor-saving and efficient than cultivating it yourself from start to finish.

(End of this chapter)