Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 169 The Glorious Victory of the One Heart Society (Third Update)

"Hai Rui passed the imperial examination at the age of eighteen!"

Haiyue watched her younger brother walk step by step toward the imperial edict, and when she confirmed that he was on the list, a genuine smile appeared on her face.

Historically, Hai Rui did not pass the provincial examination in Guangzhou Prefecture until the 28th year of the Jiajing reign. Because he was already old at that time, he went to Beijing to take the imperial examination once after passing the provincial examination, but failed. In order to make a living, he gave up and went to Nanping, Fujian to serve as an instructor, becoming a low-ranking official without any official rank.

If it weren't for Hai Bijia's reputation, this would have been the life of an ordinary scholar from a remote area, unknown and obscure. His insightful writings from the first half of his life would have been difficult to pass down.

Even though Hai Rui later rose to fame, he never passed the imperial examination, so he couldn't enter the cabinet, and his promotion was limited. Being appointed as the governor of Yingtian was already a remarkable achievement.

Now all of this is about to change.

Hai Rui diligently pursued his studies throughout the year, which his elder brother Hai Yue witnessed. Coupled with his calm and composed mindset, Hai Yue was confident that the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination) would not be the end goal of this year's examination.

"Fourteenth Prince has passed! What about me? What about me?"

On the other hand, Yan Shifan didn't have such feelings; he only wanted to hear his own name called.

The official's booming voice carried far, announcing that the top twenty had already been called:

"The twentieth place is Han Wenbing, a native of Miyun County, Shuntian Prefecture."

"Nineteenth place, Liu Chengsi, a student of the Imperial Academy, from Gu'an County, Shuntian Prefecture."

……

As the number of names increased, Yan Shifan's expression grew increasingly grim.

After the exam, he felt that he had underperformed. During the days of waiting for the results, he secretly comforted himself, telling himself not to expect to be at the top and stand out, as long as he didn't fail.

After all, Shuntian Prefecture had a lot of places available; with thousands of students participating, only about 150 could be admitted.

Yan Shifan may not have performed well, but the others were not necessarily that much better. There was even someone who went crazy on the spot and had to be dragged out of the examination room.

I don't need to be the best; I just need to surpass my competitors.

But when the first list of names was announced, Yan Shifan couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope: what if I actually did well and was in the top thirty?
But when the tenth name was called, Yan Shifan knew that he had no hope and would have to see if he could make it onto the later lists.

However, he also did not hear the names of Haiyue and Lin Daqin.

Either they are in the bottom thirty, or...

For a moment, Yan Shifan's feelings were incredibly complicated. He didn't know which scenario he hoped for more, but he subconsciously grabbed Haiyue's wrist: "Mingwei!"

Haiyue's hand was incredibly steady, without the slightest tremor. She patted him gently in return, saying, "The rankings were already decided. Now it's just a matter of revealing the results. Don't panic."

The announcement of names had finally reached its most crucial stage, and even the surrounding noise subconsciously quieted down.

"Sixth place, Ya Kui, Sun Jixian, from Zhuozhou, Shuntian Prefecture."

"Fifth place, Jing Kui, Huang Xi, a native of Wanping County, Shuntian Prefecture."

Not only the top three, but starting from sixth place, there is an additional title after the ranking.

Because the Ming Dynasty had a system of selecting officials based on the Five Classics, one person was selected as the top scholar from each of the Five Classics, known as the "Classic Champion." In the provincial examinations, one person from each of the Five Classics was selected and ranked among the top five.

Later, the first place was called "Jieyuan", the second place was called "Yayuan", the third, fourth and fifth place were called "Jingkui", and the sixth place was called "Yakui".

"Fourth place, Jing Kui, Chen Derun, from Changping County, Shuntian Prefecture."

"Third place, Jing Kui, Wu Yinglin, a native of Wanping County, Shuntian Prefecture."

As the names of the fourth and third place winners were announced, Yan Shifan held his breath, then heard a familiar name called out:

"Ya Yuan, Hai Yue, a student of the Imperial College, from Qiongshan, Guangdong."

The surrounding area immediately became agitated.

In fact, when the list of names was announced, some observant people noticed that among the top thirty candidates in this year's provincial examination, the success rate of students from the Imperial Academy was not high. After Hai Rui, who ranked twenty-seventh, only two other candidates came from the Imperial Academy.

The name of the Imperial Academy was specifically mentioned during the roll call as a sign of respect for the premier institution of learning in the Ming Dynasty. However, the teaching quality was poor, and the rankings were even lower than those of scholars from various counties who studied at the Shuntian Prefecture School or other academies.

In fact, older scholars know that the teaching quality of the Imperial Academy is considered good now. It was even worse during the Zhengde period. Each provincial examination had more than a hundred slots, and sometimes not even ten people could pass the provincial examination. All of them were taken up by other schools and academies.

Now, at least four of the top thirty students are students of the Imperial Academy, which is already a testament to the effective governance of Chancellor Yan.

But how come two of them are from Guangdong?
They sound like they're from the same clan?
What silenced the entire audience even more was what happened at the back.

"The top scholar in the provincial examination, Lin Daqin, was a student of the Imperial Academy and a native of Chaozhou Prefecture, Guangdong."

When the name at the top of the list was announced, everyone was stunned.

No, the first two are students from the Imperial College in Guangdong.
Even if these people didn't know about the college entrance exam migration in later generations, they vaguely felt that it was the other way around, wasn't it?

This is the capital city, not Lingnan!

The other students from the Imperial College present suddenly recalled that this was exactly how they felt when the supplementary admission list was announced.
At the time, some people felt it was unfair. Why were three poor beggars from Lingnan among the ten available spots, taking up our spots in the capital region?

But now it's no longer a small supplementary examination; it's the main examination of Shuntian Prefecture. Among the top thirty candidates announced, those three are prominently listed.

Moreover, they were all very young, two were eighteen years old and one was a twenty-year-old scholar!

The key point is that they swept the top two spots as the top scholar and the runner-up!
"Huff! Huff!" Not to mention Yan Shifan, Lin Daqin was sweating profusely when he didn't hear his name when the first few names were announced. Only when he topped the list did he feel relieved.

Then, turning his head, he saw Haiyue's calm smile: "Jingfu, congratulations!"

Lin Daqin sincerely said, "Congratulations! My mental cultivation is still far inferior to Mingwei's!"

Haiyue remained calm because he knew that he was no match for Lin Daqin in terms of literary talent, nor in terms of hard work.

It should be noted that since entering the Imperial Academy, Lin Daqin has never missed a single class. While he was solving cases, the other party was studying, and while he was studying, the other party was still studying.

When Haiyue shared the key points and strategies for taking the imperial examinations in later generations, Lin Daqin listened attentively throughout. When Haiyue was eager to hire a "famous teacher" for intensive pre-exam tutoring, Lin Daqin participated in the entire process.

It is no exaggeration to say that with these enhancements and advantages, Lin Daqin was even more outstanding than the top scholar in the imperial examination in history, and it was only natural that he won first place in the provincial examination.

Therefore, Haiyue was already very satisfied with ranking second in high school, proving that his learning methods combined with those of later generations were very effective.

The provincial examination is not the end; we can continue to advance with unstoppable momentum!
Congratulations!

Zhao Wenhua looked excited, his mouth stretched into a wide grin as if he had simultaneously passed the provincial and provincial examinations with the highest score.

"Congratulations...congratulations..."

Yan Shifan was so jealous he could hardly contain himself.

Don't do this! You have one top scholar, one second-place scholar, and another twenty-seventh-place scholar. What am I supposed to do?
There are only four people in Yixin Hui who are participating in this provincial examination. I can't be the only one whose name is not on the list, can I?
Meanwhile, in front of the screen wall, the announcement of names had ended.

The remaining yellow notices were then pasted up one by one.

The saying goes, "Once the name is announced, the whole world knows." The publicity effect of announcing the name is self-evident. After the top scholar in a local area announces his name, it is only a matter of time before his reputation spreads throughout the entire province. Shuntian Prefecture, being the capital, is not as exaggerated, but not everyone is qualified.

See for yourself what happens next!
The second yellow list includes those ranked thirty-first to sixtieth.

Yan Shifan squeezed his way to the front, craning his neck like the other students to look at the list, hoping to see his name.

No.

The third yellow list includes those ranked sixty-first to ninetieth.

still none.

The fourth yellow list includes those ranked ninety-first to one hundred and twentieth.

Still not.

Upon seeing this, Yan Shifan swayed, almost unable to stand.

"Brother Donglou, where is your name?" "Oh dear, I can't see it! Let me look again carefully!"

He might have been better off without Zhao Wenhua, but this guy insisted on squeezing in, a half-smile of concern on his face. Although he didn't say it directly, he was definitely thinking, "You failed the exam, didn't you? Serves you right!"

Thinking about the humiliation and disgrace he was about to face, Yan Shifan almost fainted.

at last.

The last yellow notice was posted on the screen wall.

Not only Yan Shifan, but all the scholars around who were not on the previous list stared intently at him, as if this would create an invisible thread connecting their names with those on the list.

"Ah... I failed... I failed again!"

The old man who had been grabbing Hai Rui earlier squinted his dim eyes, his fingers trembling as he counted from the last person forward. Finally, he collapsed to the ground, muttering, "Thirty years... thirty years..."

"With my talent, why didn't I pass! Why didn't I pass!"

A gaunt scholar, his face deathly pale, suddenly burst into three loud laughs, pulled a manuscript from his robes, and tore at it while shouting maniacally, "Useless! Useless!"

"Aha! I won! I won!!"

Yan Shifan suddenly jumped up, so overjoyed that he leaped three zhang high.

The first four yellow lists each contained thirty people, while the last list contained thirty-one people.

And the last one is so familiar.

"The 151st person is Yan Shifan, a student of the Imperial Academy, from Fenyi, Jiangxi."

Yan Shifan, seeing his name in the first position upside down, burst into tears of joy.

Zhao Wenhua pursed his lips, while Haiyue, Hairui, and Lin Daqin stepped forward to offer their heartfelt congratulations.

The yellow list was hung high, and only a little over a hundred people had their names inscribed in red ink; the rest of the scholars were merely there to make up the numbers.

Some were ecstatic, some went mad, their cheers of joyful tears and the sobs of the heartbroken weaving together into a buzzing roar above the examination hall, like a million cicadas flapping their wings in autumn. But most people just stood silently, their eyes dimming, like candles about to go out.

This scene may repeat itself after each results announcement, but it has been etched in everyone's hearts and become the biggest motivation for the next two exams.

Regardless, all four members of the Yixin Society passed the provincial examination in Shuntian Prefecture!
And they took the top two spots!
They didn't even spare the last place!
It was a resounding victory!

(End of this chapter)