Qing Yao

Chapter 72 is over, that guy got promoted!

Yangzhou Prefecture has been very busy recently because it has to prepare for the provincial examination.

The prefectural examination is the second stage of the Tongsheng examination. The first stage is the county examination held in various states and counties a while ago, and the third stage is the academy examination organized by the provincial education office.

Only after passing all three tests can one become a formal student and be eligible to take part in the provincial examination for the position of Juren.

Those who ranked first in all three stages of the children's examination were what people at that time called "Little Three Yuan".

Those who rank first in the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination, and the palace examination are called "the three great champions".

There is no such thing as "Xiao Si Xi" because "Xiao Si Xi" means four apples, and no one bets on it.

Since the imperial examinations were established, there have been those who won the minor three top prizes and those who won the major three top prizes, but there have only been two people who won the six top prizes in a row.

One is Huang Guan, the number one scholar in the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, and the other is Qian Qi, the number one scholar in the 46th year of Qianlong's reign in this dynasty.

If the highest achievement of a military general is to seal the Wolf's Lair and carve a stone in Yanran, then winning six consecutive championships is the lifelong dream of a scholar.

But, these two precious treasures appeared.

Yangzhou Prefecture has two prefectures and six counties under its jurisdiction. There are more than 300 candidates who have passed the county examinations and reported to the prefectural school. Together with the candidates who took the prefectural examinations themselves, there are at least 500 candidates participating in the Yangzhou prefectural examinations this year.

The scale is quite large.

In previous years, the maximum number of people was 300.

Why are there so many more this year? It’s because Emperor Qianlong issued an imperial decree to hold a special examination to celebrate his 80th birthday.

The local officials joined in the fun for the old man by getting more students to take the examination and admitting more students to share in the old man's joy. This is what it means to be a good official.

Although the prefectural school was not actually under the jurisdiction of the prefect, he was the chief examiner of the prefectural examination. Therefore, after Professor Jiang of Yangzhou Prefectural School received the approval from the Provincial Education Commission to hold the prefectural examination, he immediately submitted a report on the preparations for the examination to the prefect's desk.

The new Yangzhou prefect, Lord Fang Weidian, attached great importance to this matter. For local officials, the top priority is education and imperial examinations.

If mistakes are made in the education and imperial examinations, no matter how great the political achievements are, they will not be able to be protected.

In addition to being responsible for setting the examination questions, the prefect also has to coordinate the work of the prefectural school and the county schools to ensure that there are no mistakes in the prefectural examination process. Therefore, the focus of the prefectural government office in the past two days has been on the prefectural examination.

Those holding a meeting in the government office today include County Magistrate Zheng of Jiangdu County and County Magistrate Ding of Ganquan County.

In addition to these two parents from Fukuo County, Professor Jiang, the deputy examiner of the provincial examination and the provincial school, was also present.

County Magistrate Ding attended the meeting because the provincial school was located in his jurisdiction and he was fully responsible for public security.

County Magistrate Zheng attended the meeting because his Jiangdu County had to bear part of the corresponding expenses of the prefectural examination, and he also had to participate in the marking of the papers.

The prefect began with an important speech: "This prefectural examination is divided into three sections: Scripture Recitation, Essays, and Policy Essays. These will test your memorization, rhetoric, and political views on current affairs, respectively. Eighty candidates will be admitted to the Provincial Education Office and divided into two grades: A and B. The top twenty will be in A grade, and the rest will be in B grade."

If calculated by proportion, one is admitted for every six candidates, while in previous years the rate was about one in ten.

The admission ratio of the provincial examination is very critical, because the admission rate of the college examination can reach half or even more.

After hearing this, all the subordinate officials expressed that they had no objection and said, "Your Excellency the Governor has the final say."

"In addition, for this provincial exam, candidates are not allowed to bring anything into the building except their exam guides. Pens, ink, and special paper will be provided by the examination center. The first two exams will each take one day, while the third, the policy essay, will take two days. Overnight blankets will also be provided by the examination center. Each candidate will be separated and have their own seat."

The prefect was reading the notes of the provincial examination compiled by his legal advisor, and he kept emphasizing them again and again, fearing that there would be something missing.

The two county magistrates and the professor from the prefecture were listening attentively. They looked serious on the surface, but in fact they were all thinking about the admission quota that the prefect had just mentioned.

In previous years, the provincial examination usually admitted about thirty people. This year, in order to thank the emperor for his longevity and good fortune, eighty people will be admitted. The extra fifty places are very important.

However, the three adults all downplayed the question of who was the top candidate in the case.

This is the income of the prefect, and it is not appropriate to interfere.

The prefect was still emphasizing, "Due to the Emperor's birthday celebration, this year's prefectural examination attracted a large number of candidates, and the number of admitted places is much higher than in previous years. This is good news for the prefecture and even better news for the candidates. However, this prefecture hopes that the examination will be fair and there will be absolutely no cheating! If anyone is caught cheating during the prefectural examination, don't blame me for not considering my colleagues' feelings and reporting them!"

The prefect, the descendant of a wise minister, still had certain principles when serving as an official. As he was speaking, Mr. Sun came in with a letter. He wanted to whisper it in the prefect's ear, but the prefect stopped him with a wave of his hand: "Just tell me what you want to say."

Mr. Sun had no choice but to hand over the letter, saying it was from the prefect's family in Beijing. If it was a letter from a family member, who would not know that it was a message from the prefect's "sitting in Beijing" who stayed in Beijing?

The prefect nodded and took the letter casually. He opened it and read it without caring about the subordinates present. After reading it, he was stunned, then shocked, and finally looked at Professor Jiang of the prefectural school with a confused look on his face.

"Sir, what's the matter?"

Professor Jiang's heart was pounding when the prefect looked at him. Could it be that the contents of the letter were related to him?

But he and the prefect have nothing to do with each other!
The prefect didn't know what to say, because he had never dreamed of this happening, and it was even more difficult to accept it in his heart. However, it happened. The transfer order from the Ministry of Personnel would arrive in two days at the latest. Helplessly, he handed the letter over and said, "Master Jiang, please read it yourself."

"what?"

Professor Jiang, who was unaware of the situation, stood up nervously, took the letter and started reading. When he saw the first half of the letter, he couldn't help but feel ecstatic - I got a promotion, I'm going to be the magistrate of Wannian, Jiangxi!

I felt so relieved that I almost cried for joy.

He had been waiting for this day for eight years.

Fortunately, after being an instructor for so many years, I have some basic qualities and have managed to keep my emotions under control.

This left the two county magistrates Ding and Zheng on the opposite side completely baffled: What is Old Jiang doing?
Just as Professor Zhi Jiang calmed down and read the second half, he couldn't help but blurt out, "What! Zhao Youlu replaced me as a professor in this prefecture?!"

After returning from the government office, County Magistrate Ding sent someone to call Song, the instructor of the county school, and was very anxious.

When Song Jiaoyu arrived at the county magistrate's office, he saw the county magistrate sitting in a chair with his head lowered, in a daze.

Unaware of the situation, Teacher Song stepped forward and whispered, "Sir?"

As a result, he was shocked when the county magistrate looked up. The county magistrate, who originally had a fair face and no beard, had a scruffy beard, dark circles under his eyes, and even a few more wrinkles, as if he had aged ten years.

"What happened, my Lord?"

The county magistrate's appearance made Song Jiaoyu's scalp tingle and his heart was extremely nervous.

"Something happened,"

The county magistrate was terribly haggard. He grasped Song Jiaoyu's hand and said weakly, "Something terrible has happened."

"My lord, what happened?"

Teacher Song was panicking. Could it be that the fact that he and the county magistrate had accepted bribes during the county examination had been exposed?
Unexpectedly, the haggard-looking county magistrate actually said, "Zhao An has become a professor at the prefectural school."

"what?"

Teacher Song was stunned and didn't understand what was going on.

The county magistrate staggered to his feet and said in a daze, "I mean, Zhao Youlu has been promoted. He's going to be a professor in our Yangzhou Prefecture!"

"Uh, no, no, Zhao An, how did he become a professor? This, this, this is impossible."

Teacher Song was so shocked by the disbelief that his voice became stammered.

The county magistrate sighed and said, "The news the prefect just received cannot be wrong."

"this,"

Teacher Song stood there in a daze, not knowing what to say, and at the same time feeling envious and jealous.

He was only an eighth-rank county instructor, yet that bastard Zhao Youlu was a seventh-rank professor, and now he was his superior?!
On second thought, it’s not right!

He hurriedly said to the county magistrate who was almost going crazy: "Zhao An was promoted by you, isn't it a good thing that he is getting promoted?"

"What a fart!"

The county magistrate was on the verge of tears. "Everything this kid says is fake. The higher his position, the more unlucky we become! Damn it! If I had known he could climb so high, I would have never let him fake anything!"

He was too excited and spoke too fast, spitting all over Director Song's face.

(End of this chapter)