Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 708: Don't believe him if he says it's delicious, and don't argue if he says it's terrible.

"It seems we'll have to postpone it for a while."

Emperor Jingtai paced back and forth in the palace, as ministers from various departments reported that the harvest festival had been very successful. However, the problem was that although the time was approaching, people and merchants from all over the country continued to flock here. Some were unable to arrive before because of the long distance, some were there to buy or restock goods, and some were simply there to join in the fun.

"Envoys from other countries have also petitioned to extend the event for a few more days." The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies bowed and said, "They said that the time is too short to fully showcase the unique features of their respective countries."

Emperor Jingtai pursed his lips, and said with a hint of difficulty, "But isn't this grand harvest festival a waste of resources and manpower, Ministry of Revenue?"

Upon hearing this, the Minister of Revenue immediately perked up, because he was the one who had initially said it was a waste of manpower and resources. But the fact was that the volume of goods traded in just a few days was equivalent to half a year's worth in the past. And because many of them were large-volume items, the revenue from taxes, warehousing, and transportation in just over half a month was even comparable to the total revenue of seven or eight months in previous years. This truly opened the eyes of the accounting guys in the Ministry of Revenue.

Thinking back to how he had repeatedly advised Emperor Jingtai that this was a waste of resources and manpower, he felt ashamed. Now that he finally had a chance to back down, how could he let it go?

"I think this is a wonderful move, and the people are happy to see it. Since the opening of the ceremony, the tax revenue in Nanjing has been increasing. Although it cannot be fully counted yet, it is estimated to be more than double that of previous years."

More than double, the brilliance lies in the word "more than". In fact, according to their preliminary statistics, the revenue in the past two weeks was 1,450 percent of the same period last year, which is more than 14 times. However, they dared not report more, after all, this was just a rough account and there were still expenses that had not been accounted for. So, more than double is fine...

"So that means all of you ministers agree to postpone it for a few more days?"

"I second the proposal."

The Ministry of Rites seconded the motion.

The Ministry of Revenue seconded the motion.

Since that's the case, Emperor Jingtai couldn't say much more. He just said that if the postponement was to happen, wouldn't it clash with the imperial examination?

Emperor Jingtai then cleared his throat: "Ministry of Rites, I recall that the autumn imperial examinations are also taking place in the next few days, right?"

"Your Majesty, that's right."

"The imperial examination is of paramount importance, even more so than the harvest festival. You must make proper arrangements so that the imperial examination is not delayed during the festival."

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites has made all the necessary preparations, and the examination papers and questions have been sealed and stored in the archives."

Emperor Jingtai cleared his throat again: "Oh? Show me one."

"Ah, this..." The Minister of Rites was clearly taken aback for a moment, then continued, "Your Majesty, the late Emperor had..."

"Alright, alright, I won't watch it then. Stop nagging." Emperor Jingtai waved his hands repeatedly, "I won't watch it, I won't watch it!"

"Thank you for your magnanimity, Your Majesty."

"Hey, let me ask you this. What strategies do you have for this first-ever division of exams between arts and sciences?"

"Your Majesty, this time we will refer to the Xia Dynasty... and the new law to conduct graded examinations. The two examinations will be different for candidates from the North and South, with the South taking the more difficult exams and the North taking the easier ones, striving to ensure that the number of people admitted from the North and South is the same."

"Oh...I see. So, if we calculate it that way, am I considered to be in the South or the North?"

The officials from the Ministry of Rites looked at each other, and one of them, who knew nothing, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty's words should be taken into account as referring to the South."

"Nonsense!" Emperor Jingtai exclaimed in shock, his eyes widening as he rebuked, "You've changed my place of origin, haven't you?"

"I dare not..."

"If we calculate it that way, then is Xia Lin considered to be in the South or the North?"

The official was clearly confused, but fortunately the Minister next to him immediately understood and tugged at his subordinate's clothes, gesturing the character "下" (xia, meaning "lower").

"If it is Lord Xia, then it should belong to the South."

"The South? Very well, he should belong to the South." Emperor Jingtai nodded and said, "By the way, I met a candidate named Lin Musen a few days ago. Go and investigate him. He is very eloquent and I think he is capable of great things. Go and transfer him to the South. I want to give him a good test."

"This...Your Majesty..."

The official in charge of the Ministry of Rites was about to speak when he suddenly felt a pain in his waist. He turned around and saw the Minister giving him a meaningful look. He immediately understood and said, "I will follow His Majesty's arrangements."

Actually, the exam questions and candidate information have already been sealed away. Even the emperor can only find out after the exam is opened. It's not like he can just retrieve them at will. But the problem is, rules are rules, rules are inflexible, but the emperor is flexible. Although it's somewhat unfair to do this, the only solution is to replace Lin Musen's paper with the Southern version in the exam hall... If something goes wrong, it will just be a momentary oversight. And most people are happy to take the blame for the emperor. Besides, it's not considered cheating. Candidates with real talent are not afraid. If there's a commotion, it's just a matter of getting a Jinshi degree or a chance to retake the palace exam.

As evening fell, Emperor Jingtai was studying diligently with a white cloth tied around his head. Jinlian brought him lotus seed soup and placed it in front of him, looking somewhat surprised by his appearance.

"Your Majesty, as the supreme ruler, why do you still do this?"

"You don't understand." Emperor Jingtai rolled up his sleeves: "I may never have a chance to surpass him in my lifetime. Now that I finally have a chance, I'm naturally going to give him a good beating. Let's see if he's still so arrogant then!"

Jinlian found it amusing that the ruler of a nation could be so childish, but what could she say? She could only silently respond and then retreat to wait.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the sweltering heat gradually subsided. Choosing this time for the autumn imperial examinations was indeed a sign of the late emperor's benevolence. Emperor Jingtai did not attend court the next day. In short, as he put it, "even if it's a last-minute effort, it's still worthwhile."

Amidst this atmosphere of quiet competition, the day of the imperial examination arrived. There were a total of eighty examination rooms, each accommodating fifty candidates. Before dawn, the streets of Jinling City were already filled with people seeing off the examinees.

Today's grand ceremony is suspended, everyone is resting, carriages and horses are prohibited from traveling, and even pleasure boats, teahouses, restaurants, and even brothels and casinos are not allowed to operate. Everything is to give way to the exam. Although it sounds extremely absurd, in fact, no one thinks there is anything wrong with it.

On the contrary, many foreigners came to join the procession to see what was going on. Through word of mouth, this became the fundamental reason why the Central Plains Empire was the Central Plains Empire, and many versions were created by combining it with their local customs.

The grassland version is: "Han Chinese parents use cheese and ghee as ink from a young age to entice their children to read."

The Persian version reads: "Knowledge is more precious than gold in the Han Empire. If a book and a piece of gold were to fall to the ground, they would always choose the book."

Of course, there are many stereotypical versions, but they are basically all based on this. After all, it is a pilgrimage site of civilization, so it is normal for them to find it incredible. Just like most foreigners who come to Nanjing for the first time are basically like Li Hongzhang who went to New York for the first time. They can't understand it just by looking at it. They only know that if their country goes to war with this central empire, they will have no hope.

"Write down what you know first, and leave the ones you don't know blank. Don't waste your time on one question, understand?"

Xia Lin also had someone accompanying her to the exam, but that little sprout's incessant chatter was really annoying.

"Alright, alright, oh dear." Xia Lin waved her hand. "I'm going in first."

"Remember this: no matter what, you can't write about merits and demerits in the policy essay. The exam is for answering questions, not for cursing! Remember that!"

Xia Lin grabbed her bag and ran inside, drawing stares from everyone around her...

Upon arriving at the examination hall entrance, as is customary, a body search and bag check were conducted first to confirm that no contraband was being carried before allowing entry. Although checks were conducted in previous years, this year the checks were exceptionally strict, to the point of being unsettling. Moreover, in almost every examination hall, one or two people were expelled for carrying contraband.

Once inside the examination room, the examination conditions were actually quite good. At least we no longer had to bring our own chamber pots like before. Instead, there were relatively clean public toilets, mosquito repellent incense in the private rooms, and even free meals and water.

After a quarter of an hour of calm, the examination room was cleared, and then the proctors arrived at their posts.

Just then, the proctor came over, holding an exam paper in his hand, and said to the proctor distributing the papers, "This is Lin Musen's exam paper."

The proctor checked the roster, nodded slightly, and asked, "Sir, what is the meaning of this?"

"His Majesty specifically named him, so be polite to him. Who knows, he might become your superior in the future."

"Understood, thank you for your guidance, sir."

At this moment, the bells in the imperial city of Jinling rang three times, and the examination officially began.

Xia Lin quickly received his exam paper. He glanced at the questions and exclaimed, "Damn it, this is so difficult! Is this some kind of setup by the capitalists?"

Well, this question clearly came from Jiangnan Dao Academy, and that's where the problem lies. Jiangnan Dao's question bank was first introduced by Xia Lin, but Xia Lin also copied it using a cheat device. Moreover, dozens of variations were created based on the original question, some of which couldn't even be found on Baidu. Trying to use AI to solve the problem only resulted in the AI ​​spouting nonsense...

The most classic example is a question on this exam paper that combines various topics. It says that a bear fell from a tree and crushed a wild boar. The question is: If you were the local official, how would you lead the local people out of poverty and into prosperity, adapting to local conditions?

Xia Lin was stunned when she saw the title. A short, absurd description encompassed geography, humanities, current affairs, and more…

Anyone with even a slightly lower intelligence wouldn't be able to understand the question.

There was another question, which was even more absurd: If you were the head of the Jia family in "Dream of the Red Chamber," how would you change the family's fate of decline? You were required to analyze from multiple perspectives, including economics, current affairs, and the characters' personalities.

Xia Lin scratched his head, "Oh my god... I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die..."

(End of this chapter)