The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 218 Volume Imperial Examination
Since Dong Bai was going, Cai Yan naturally wanted to go with her.

But compared to Liu Xie who could dress up casually, it was not so easy for them.

Cai Yan was fine, as she had a slim figure and as long as she wore slightly tight clothes, there would be no noticeable change in her figure.

Dong Bai had to work very hard to push the bulge back. He was so angry that he gnashed his teeth: "I'm going to cut these two things off sooner or later!"

"The Queen can't do that!"

……

Liu Xie repeatedly reminded them: "When you go, you can only go as a candidate to check if there are any inappropriate arrangements. You must not disturb the candidates, and you must not violate the order of the examination room."

"especially you."

Liu Xie tapped Dong Bai's forehead with his finger and said, "The imperial examination will last for three hours. Don't cause any trouble because you can't sit still."

Dong Bai was already almost suffocated, and when she heard Liu Xie say that he would have to sit for three hours, her face turned pale.

"Can I leave early?"

"no!"

"Can I hand in the paper early?"

"Neither!"

The first imperial examination, where do all the human words come from?

Dong Bai: "What if I want to relieve myself?"

Liu Xie was speechless, but his expression said it all.

"I know that the system is definitely not perfect. It is inevitable that some candidates will have stomach problems on the day, or encounter some tragic events such as the death of a loved one."

“But they chose their own path.”

"Since the establishment of the imperial examination system, I have never forced anyone to take the examination."

"If they don't want to participate in the imperial examination, they can go back to farming, or join the army... Even if there are elegant people who like music theory, painting, and growing chrysanthemums, I am happy to see more such talents."

"But since you have chosen this path, you must follow the rules honestly, nail your butt to the desk and chair honestly and answer the questions well."

“If people like the Grand Tutor and the Emperor’s uncle, who have fought their way up from the bottom through military merit, heard this, they would probably want to drive them out!”

Liu Xie believed that there were definitely many people who were as confused as Dong Bai.

But most of these people are sons of scholars who live a life of luxury.

How easy was it for them to get an official position under the recommendation system? As long as they prepared gifts, got to know some famous scholars, and performed a few plays like the "Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars," they would become famous and become an official, even reaching the rank of Duke of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers.

But now they are asked to sit in the examination room together with a bunch of peasants and receive official positions according to their rankings. How can they endure this?

Therefore, Liu Xie understood these "difficulties".

But if it weren't for their "hardships", I'm afraid it would be the people of the Han Dynasty who would cry, and then it would be him, the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

For such scholars, Liu Xie would rather they not participate in the imperial examinations.

Stay at home and study alchemy. Maybe you can even make gunpowder in advance.

If you don't want to make elixirs, you can study flowers, study the tea ceremony, enrich people's lives, and earn yourself a title of "Painting Saint", "Flower Saint", or "Tea Saint". Wouldn't that also leave your name in history?
There are tens of thousands of fun things to do in this world, why do you have to take pleasure in bringing harm to the people?
Seeing that Liu Xie seemed angry, Dong Bai could only stick out his tongue and hide behind Cai Yan.

Cai Yan imitated Liu Xie and tapped Dong Bai's forehead twice: "Empress, state affairs are different from family affairs after all... If the Empress cannot bear it, it is better not to go."

"No! I want to go!"

Dong Bai looked stubborn.

"Isn't it just three hours? I can sit still! The teacher used to punish me to sit still for longer periods of time than this!"

Cai Yan actually knew that Dong Bai had never suffered any hardship since childhood and was just a little spoiled, but she had not developed to the point of being arrogant.

However, Cai Yan mercilessly exposed Dong Bai: "Father did punish the Queen to sit quietly before, but I remember that the Queen fell asleep while sitting, and her snoring startled my father so much that he thought a pig had come into the house..."

"Ouch! Ouch!"

Dong Bai, whose true identity was exposed, beat Cai Yan's chest in shame and anger: "That also counts as meditation! That also counts as meditation!!!"

"..."

After disguising themselves, the three of them sneaked into the outskirts of the examination hall outside Jianzhang Palace.

Nine thousand six hundred candidates, it is still quite shocking.

If there had not been soldiers on hand to maintain order, and if Liu Xie, the emperor who was very familiar with examinations, had not personally set up the process, a stampede would have easily occurred.

In order to avoid crowds, Liu Xie stayed in an open area and observed the first imperial examination of the Han Dynasty.

It was the first imperial examination. Not only was it the first time for the court lady to ride in a bridal sedan, but the scholars who were taking the exam were also somewhat overwhelmed.

No matter whether they were the sons of wealthy families wearing brocade clothes, hats decorated with red tassels and jewels, and white jade rings around their waists, or they were the poor scholars wrapped in coarse cloth, they all entered the examination hall in a daze, led by the soldiers and officials around them.

Only a few people did not seem anxious. They all stood in open places like Liu Xie, looking relaxed.

"This is truly the grand occasion of the Han Dynasty!" A handsome young man beside Liu Xie couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Nearly ten thousand men and women are racing against each other, and thousands of sails are setting sail. Such a vibrant scene is before our eyes. It can truly be described as the momentum of the revival of the Han Dynasty!"

"Luckily, my father had been pretending to be dead before, and didn't foolishly recommend me as a palace official ahead of time. Otherwise, how could I have personally participated in such a grand event!"

Liu Xie found the young man's words interesting and he thought he could become a palace official at any time, so he stepped forward and said hello: "From what you said, it seems that you are the descendant of a high-ranking official? You could have been nominated as a palace official at will and served in the court, but today you have to compete with children from poor families. Don't you feel aggrieved?"

The young man looked at Liu Xie and introduced himself: "I am Yang Xiu. My father is not talented. He is just a minor official in the court. He cannot be considered a descendant of a high-ranking official."

What an untalented father! He turned out to be Yang Biao's son!

Liu Xie smiled secretly.

If Yang Biao's position of "Grand Marshal" is considered a minor official, then I'm afraid there are really no high-ranking officials in the court.

Yang Xiu was even more disdainful of Liu Xie's subsequent remarks: "The imperial examination system is good for the country! How can you complain about this system that will benefit the country for generations to come just because of your own selfishness?"

Liu Xie was greatly shocked.

He never expected that Yang Xiu's starting point was so noble and upright, which made him look at Yang Xiu with admiration.

However, Yang Xiu's true colors were soon revealed and he just smiled.

"Besides, what's the point of being a palace official? Even if I enter the court, everyone will only praise my useless father and think that I don't have much ability."

"But if you can win the first prize in this imperial examination with nearly 10,000 people, you will be admired by everyone and valued by the emperor!"

Yang Xiu's smile suddenly revealed a bit of vulgarity: "When the time comes, my name, Yang Xiu, will surely be praised by the people of Chang'an! I wonder how many women will be willing to throw themselves into my arms, hehe~"

Liu Xie: …

As the only son of Taiwei Yang Xiu, isn't it possible for him to attract women to throw themselves into his arms?
How much does this guy spend his time playing in private? He's still not satisfied!
Yang Xiu seemed to sense something strange in Liu Xie's eyes, and hurried forward: "The main thing is that the rules in the Guanfang brothel are very strict, and many times they say they won't accept guests, don't you think it's annoying?"

"If I can become the top scholar, those prostitutes will scramble to serve me for my fame. Don't you think this makes sense?"

Liu Xie looked at Yang Xiu in confusion.

Good guy.

My imperial examination hasn't even started yet, and you're already thinking of using your fame to get something for free?
Is this the legendary genius far ahead?

However, there is a problem in Yang Xiu's idea -

Liu Xie asked: "Brother Yang, why are you so sure that you can win?"

"Among the scholars taking the imperial examination, there are many talented people. Brother Yang, are you sure that you can become the top scorer?"

"Humph!"

Yang Xiu sneered, as if Liu Xie had asked a very ridiculous question.

"Let alone ten thousand people, even if there are one hundred thousand or one million people, as long as I, Yang Xiu, participate in the imperial examination, I will definitely be the first place!"

Liu Xie looked amused: "What if Brother Yang is not number one?"

"That means there must be something fishy going on in this imperial examination!"

If Yang Xiu was not first, then there was something wrong with this imperial examination!

How arrogant Yang Xiu was to dare to say such words!
Liu Xie smiled slightly and said, "If Brother Yang really wins the title of No. 1 in the imperial examination, please don't forget to invite me to celebrate with you at the banquet."

"That's natural!"

Yang Xiu once again looked at Liu Xie and asked, "Whose family are you from? How come I have never seen you before? But I feel like you look familiar..."

Liu Xie waved his hand and said, "We are a small family, not worth mentioning. If Brother Yang wins the first place in the imperial examination, I will naturally send you a visiting card."

Yang Xiu looked at Liu Xie's back and felt that he looked more and more familiar, but he really couldn't remember where he had seen Liu Xie.

"Weird thing!"

Yang Xiu shook his head, but put the matter behind him. Seeing that there was not much time left, he began to walk into the examination room.

As luck would have it, Yang Xiu and Liu Xie were in the same examination room.

Of course, Lu Bu knew that the emperor and the empress were coming, and he had been guarding them cautiously, fearing that something might happen to the three of them.

Liu Xie asked Lü Bu to come closer and whisper: "Fengxian, there is no need to do this. It is not a good thing to attract too much attention."

There was nothing wrong with this move.

But Lü Bu was at least the newly conferred Marquis of Wen by the imperial court, and a general of the state. Liu Xie actually knew Lü Bu, which also caused Yang Xiu, who had been observing Liu Xie, to be a little surprised.

When Lü Bu was passing by Yang Xiu during his inspection, Yang Xiu, relying on the fact that he had visited Lü Bu's residence before and had met him once, grabbed Lü Bu's clothes and said, "General Lü, may I ask who that person was?"

Lu Bu turned around and glared at Yang Xiu: "Whispering with each other! Trying to get close to the examiner! Believe it or not, I will drive you out of the examination room right now!"

Yang Xiu: "No, you...he...I..."

Yang Xiu pointed in the direction of Liu Xie, then pointed at himself, and suddenly felt like crying but had no tears.

There is definitely something shady going on in this imperial examination!!
(End of this chapter)