The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 799 The Road to the Imperial Examination
The content of the provincial examination was exactly the same as that of the preliminary examination; in other words, the preliminary examination was a preview of the provincial examination.

The first day's exam was on copying classic texts, and the second day's exam consisted of two subjects: poetry and prose in the morning and essays in the afternoon.

The two days of intense exams have ended. After a day of rest, the college entrance exams will begin. A total of 18,000 people will take the exams, including about 10,000 for calligraphy and painting, 3,000 for law, and the remaining 5,000 for mathematics, agriculture, engineering, and medicine.

The qualification requirements for the specialized courses were relatively lenient. Anyone who had passed the preliminary examination or was a student of the lowest rank could participate. So there was not much difference between a student of the lowest rank and a scholar who had passed the preliminary examination. After passing the examination, one needed to study at a school for another four years. The advantage was that these four years were counted towards the years of service in the official career.

If a candidate who has passed the provincial examination or is a successful candidate in the provincial examination comes to take the college entrance examination, then there is no need to go to school; as long as they pass the examination, they can be appointed as an official.

The reform of specialized colleges was the biggest reform of the imperial examination system, and it was also a reform that allowed talents from all walks of life to flourish. It was the top-level design of the Sui Dynasty.

This provincial examination had a total of 300 successful candidates. The most successful candidates were distributed among the provinces, with 50 in Jiangnan East Circuit, 30 each in Jiangnan West Circuit and Shannan Circuit, and 20 each in Jiannan Circuit, Jingji Circuit, Duji Circuit, Henan Circuit, Hedong Circuit, and Hebei Circuit, and so on.

In addition, 2,000 students will be admitted to junior colleges, including 1,000 junior college candidates and 1,000 outstanding candidates who failed the imperial examinations.

That morning, Chu Suiliang and two friends arrived at the imperial city. More than a dozen notice boards were set up in the imperial city, one for each of the four directions. The notice boards were crowded with candidates, and 100,000 candidates filled the imperial city.

As the bugle sounded, a huge list was displayed, with names so large that they could be clearly seen from dozens of steps away.

Chu Suiliang suddenly saw his name: Chu Suiliang of Luoyang Prefecture. Chu Suiliang was so excited that he trembled all over, and tears welled up in his eyes. He had passed the provincial examination.

After a while, he finally calmed down, squeezed out of the crowd, and went to see the results of the vocational college entrance exam. On the way, he ran into Wei Li and Wang Guanhe, who were also excited and their faces were flushed. They had both passed the exam.

"Congratulations, Brother Chu, on winning first place in the calligraphy and painting category!"

Chu Suiliang said with a big smile, "I've also passed the imperial examination!"

The three men burst into laughter. At this moment, a young scholar beside them bowed and asked, "May I ask which one of you is Chu Suiliang?"

"I'm!"

The young scholar quickly bowed and said, "I am Yan Liben from Chang'an. I have also applied for the calligraphy and painting examination. I have long admired Brother Chu's name!"

Wei Li quickly whispered to Chu Suiliang, "He was second in the calligraphy and painting category and is famous for his painting."

Chu Suiliang quickly bowed and said, "Congratulations, Young Master Yan, on passing the imperial examination!"

Yan Liben laughed and said, "Let's go have a drink to celebrate, it's on me!"

When the group arrived at the Luoshen Grand Restaurant, Chu Suiliang learned that Yan Liben, like himself, had also passed the provincial examination for the imperial examination.

The four sat down by the window on the second floor. The restaurant was full of scholars from all over the country, and it was extremely noisy and lively. Some were laughing, some were crying, some were feeling lost, and some were cynical.

However, many outstanding candidates faced a dilemma: although they did not pass the imperial examination, they were admitted to the Imperial Academy. Whether or not to study at the Imperial Academy was a difficult question for them.

At this moment, someone shouted, "Liben!"

Yan Liben turned around and was overjoyed to see a young man approaching—his elder brother, Yan Lide.

"What are you doing here, brother?"

"Having a get-together with a group of friends!"

Yan Liben introduced the other three people to his elder brother.

Upon hearing that Chu Suiliang was also present, Yan Lide quickly bowed and said with a smile, "Brother Chu, could you please bestow upon me a piece of calligraphy?" Chu Suiliang waved his hand and smiled, "Why don't we sit down and drink together?"

"Then excuse me!"

Yan Lide sat down in an extra seat. Yan Liben saw the list of successful candidates and knew that his elder brother had failed. He asked, "Was my brother excellent?"

Yan Lide nodded. "I've been accepted into the Imperial Academy, but I'm hesitant about whether I should go and study there."

Wei Li and Wang Guan laughed. Wei Li asked with a smile, "Brother Yan, what are your hobbies?"

Yan Lide nodded. "I like painting and architecture. I studied under Yuwen Kai for several years."

Wei Li laughed and said, "What a coincidence! I was also admitted to the engineering program. Why don't we study engineering together?"

Yan Lide sighed and said, "I regret one thing now: I should have taken the college entrance exam. That way, studying engineering would have been considered a career path, and four years would have been a perfect term."

Wang Guanhe laughed and said, "Brother Yan, you misunderstood. As far as I know, if outstanding students choose agriculture or engineering, it is considered a career path. If it is not a career path, it is only the Imperial Academy, calligraphy and painting, law, and mathematics. Medicine requires basic knowledge, so outstanding students cannot get in."

Yan Lide exclaimed in surprise, "Is that so?"

Wei Li nodded. "That's right. To encourage outstanding students to choose engineering and agriculture, four years of study is considered a path to officialdom."

Yan Lide was overjoyed, "Then I'll choose architecture within engineering. After graduating, I'll be a ninth-rank official."

The five men raised their glasses and drank together, each of them having a bright future ahead of them.

The next morning, Chu Suiliang arrived at Yingtian Gate of the Imperial City to participate in the palace examination. He happened to meet Yan Liben, who had passed the provincial examination the day before and was qualified to become an official. However, the imperial examination itself still had rankings, and the three hundred provincial examinees still had to participate in the palace examination.

The palace examination only tested one subject: policy proposals. This was very advantageous for Chu Suiliang, as his weakest subject was the classics, while his strength was policy proposals.

"The palace examination will test your knowledge of policy proposals. Have you prepared, my brother?" Chu Suiliang asked.

Yan Liben nodded slightly. "I heard that the imperial court is going to launch a war against the Turks this year. I guess that's what they're testing us on."

Chu Suiliang whispered, "I heard there are three questions, one of which is 'expanding territory,' one is 'people's livelihood,' and one is 'technology to revitalize the country.' That's a broad range, but I don't know the specifics of what will be tested. I guess it's what you said, Brother. The Turks are one of the questions, which fits perfectly with expanding territory."

At this moment, the bell rang, and everyone entered the main hall of Yingtian Gate. Three hundred tables were set up in the hall, and writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones were all prepared. Today's chief examiner was Prime Minister Xiao Yu.

Once all three hundred candidates were seated, Xiao Yu announced loudly: "Today is the palace examination. The papers will be open to the public, so there will be no need to anonymize them. The top three will be awarded the title of Jinshi (进士), the fourth to twentieth will be awarded the title of Jinshi (赐进士), the twenty-first to the hundredth will be awarded the title of Jinshi (赐进士出身), and the remaining two hundred will be awarded the title of Tong Jinshi (同进士出身). Jinshi will be classified as the first class, awarded the title of Jinshi (赐进士出身) as the second class, and Tong Jinshi (同进士出身) as the third class. There will be a distinction when the officials are appointed. I hope everyone will perform at their best."

The attendants began distributing the examination papers. Chu Suiliang took the paper and examined it carefully. Sure enough, there were three questions: "My Views on Dealing with the Northern Desert," "Good Strategies for Population Growth," and "Theory of Rural Governance." He could choose one of the three questions, write no less than three thousand words, and had three hours to complete it.

As the second bell rang, the palace examination began.

At this moment, Emperor Xiao Xia and five prime ministers came out to inspect the candidates' answer sheets.

Xiao Xia walked to Chu Suiliang's side and immediately saw his topic, "My Views on Responding to the Northern Desert." This topic was relatively easy to guess, so he must have made ample preparations. Perhaps it also contained his father Chu Liang's profound insights.

That doesn't matter. The imperial examination is only the first step in life. Whether one can become a renowned minister in times of peace and prosperity will be demonstrated in the long career ahead.

(End of this chapter)