The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 249 An Unconventional Enko

After several days of bumpy travel, the carriage carrying Wu Xi and several other scholars from Jianzhou finally slowly entered the territory of Baoning Prefecture.

As the city walls of Baoning Prefecture drew closer, Wu Xi lifted a corner of the carriage curtain to carefully peer at the city before him.

The scene before him was completely different from the "bandit-occupied area" he had imagined, a place of chaos and devastation.

Instead of the exploitative guards at the city gate, several militiamen wearing red headscarves stood by the roadside, guiding the flow of vehicles.

On the newly painted lime wall at the foot of the city wall, several large characters were painted in red: "Equal land distribution and tax exemption, the hungry will be fed."

The handwriting was crooked and messy, but it looked very eye-catching.

The carriage slowly drove into the Imperial Examination Hall in the city and, following the signs, parked orderly in the open space on the west side of the hall.

Wu Xi and several other scholars in the same carriage lined up behind the steward leading the group, preparing to go to the East and West Halls of the Examination Hall to register.

The area under the stone archway in front of the main gate of the examination hall was teeming with people, far more lively than Wu Xi had imagined.

Looking at the dense crowd, he subconsciously tightened the old book box on his back, which still contained three worn-out brushes, half an ink stick, and a few sheets of straw paper.

Beneath the stone archway, besides the down-on-his-luck scholars in their graying robes and looking anxious, there were also many clerks in black robes with abacuses hanging on their backs.

Some of them were talking in small groups in hushed tones, while others were silently reciting something to themselves, their expressions tense and focused.

"May I ask, sir, what... what's going on here?"

Seeing this, Wu Xi couldn't help but whisper a question to the middle-aged scholar beside him.

"Are these officials also here to take the exam?"

The middle-aged scholar had arrived earlier than him and was better informed:
"Brother, you just arrived, haven't you?"

"These are all veteran clerks in the government office, who have spent most of their lives doing clerical work."

"I didn't expect that this time the imperial examination really didn't care about social status; even minor officials could register to take the exam."

"I heard that as long as they pass the exam, they can be promoted from clerks to officials and govern a region."

From clerk to official?!
Wu Xi was astonished upon hearing this.

During his years as a scholar, he had witnessed many instances of clerks being ordered around by officials and gentry.

These people were literate, but due to the system, they could never become officials.

Unexpectedly, even these insignificant officials were allowed to take the imperial examination today.

In the Ming Dynasty, officials and clerks belonged to completely different systems, which were almost impossible to cross.

During the Ming Dynasty, officials were incorporated into the "Liu Nei Guan" system, which mainly selected talents through the imperial examination. Officials were required to have knowledge of Confucian classics and be familiar with the way of governing the country.

Officials were considered "outside the official ranks" and were mostly appointed through voluntary service, recruitment, or punishment.

They are mainly responsible for specific matters such as documents, criminal cases, and taxes; essentially, they are administrative staff.

Many people who are unaware of the reason believe that Zhu Yuanzhang specially established the rule that "officials shall not be allowed to serve as officials".

But that's not actually the case. Because the country was newly established during the Hongwu era and there was a shortage of talent, Zhu Yuanzhang also opened up the channels for officials to rise in rank.

For example, during the Hongwu era, Fei Zhen rose from a clerk to the Minister of Revenue.

According to the chronology, Hu Zhen, Xu Hui, Li Youzhi, and others were all promoted from clerks to important central government positions.

Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang had lived through the late Yuan Dynasty and was well aware of the harm caused by corrupt officials.

Therefore, although Zhu Yuanzhang did not cut off the path for officials to rise in rank, he still made some changes to the system.

He elevated the status of officials and suppressed the upward mobility of clerks to prevent them from engaging in corruption and malpractice after gaining real power.

Until the Chenghua era, when the imperial examination system was perfected, officials were gradually regarded as "miscellaneous personnel," and their path to promotion was cut off.

The prevailing view in the Ming Dynasty was that most officials came from humble backgrounds and lacked the Confucian education of self-cultivation and family management.

They were most familiar with "minor skills" such as criminal law and finance, rather than the governing principles of "benevolence, righteousness, and morality."

But for Jiang Han, what he needed least was any governing philosophy; he only needed the skills that these officials possessed.

Of course, those who are able to stay and participate in the Enco are all those who have gone through layers of selection.

Those corrupt officials who oppressed the people had long been dragged out and beheaded.

After passing through the central gate plaque inscribed with "Heaven Opens the Way for Literature," Wu Xi and the others arrived at the East Roll Call Hall and reported their identity information in detail to the clerk.

The clerk carefully copied Wu Xi's place of origin and appearance onto a piece of straw paper, and then pasted it onto a square wooden plaque.

"Here you go, your badge."

"Roll call will be held at 3:00 AM (Yin hour) in three days, and entry will be at 5:00 AM (Mao hour). Don't be late!"

Wu Xi gratefully accepted the plaque and carefully tucked it into his arms.

But then he was in trouble. He had to wait another three days. How was he going to get through those days?
Wu Xi had neither relatives nor classmates in Baoning Prefecture, and most importantly, the dry rations he brought were almost gone.

Well, I'll just find a City God Temple to spend a few nights there. Hopefully, I won't catch a cold.

Just as Wu Xi was about to leave, the clerk in charge of registration seemed to notice his embarrassment and quickly reminded him:

"If you have nowhere to stay, you can stay temporarily at Jinping Academy, where the commander will provide food."

Upon hearing this, Wu Xi's eyes lit up. After bowing and thanking him, he hurriedly headed to Jinping Academy.

Three days later, at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), more than a hundred students arrived as scheduled and waited early at the entrance of the examination hall.

"quiet!"

"Candidates, please verify your identities and enter the examination room in order!"

Outside the gate, the soldiers in their brand-new uniforms spoke loudly, drowning out the noise outside.

After a simple identity verification, the students were allowed into the examination room.

Wu Xi, who was in the crowd, was quite surprised to see this.
"Ok?"

"No search required?"

The clerk beside him didn't even look at him, and casually replied:

"No need, please go inside."

"Even if you manage to sneak in, you won't find the answer anywhere."

Wu Xi was completely confused. He took one last look at the students and officials behind him, took a deep breath, straightened his back, and stepped into the examination hall.

Upon finding cell number twelve, Wu Xi spread out a sheet of straw paper, carefully ground the ink stick, and gradually calmed down.

Outside the examination cells, the newly appointed prefect Zeng Rui, carrying a tin megaphone, read out the examination regulations for the last time:

"This time, the selection of officials will not be based on background or the eight-legged essay; only practical knowledge will be considered!"

"As the commander-in-chief said, a beautiful but impractical article is far less valuable than a good strategy that can ensure the people have enough to eat!"

"I hope that everyone here today can demonstrate their true talents and skills!"

After that, the exam papers were distributed.

Wu Xi took the exam paper, glanced at it, and froze on the spot.

The first question was on agriculture, sericulture, and water conservancy; the question was very simple:
“The northern part of Baoning Prefecture is mountainous and barren, and there are now thousands of displaced people who need to be resettled.”

"The question is: how should we select and cultivate land to ensure self-sufficiency in grain production within three years?"

"You may choose one of the following four items to elaborate on: 'land reclamation,' 'seed selection,' 'soil conservation,' and 'water conservancy construction.'"

"The proposed strategies must be specific and feasible; empty talk should be avoided."

Upon seeing this question, a chorus of groans erupted in the examination hall.

"quiet!"

Zeng Rui walked back and forth in the examination hall with his hands behind his back, taking in the expressions of all the scholars below.

A well-dressed young man from a wealthy family frowned instantly upon seeing the question.

What does it mean to choose a site for reclamation? These are the mundane things in the fields that his family's tutor never taught him.

He stared at the exam paper for a long time, unable to put pen to paper, cursing inwardly.
"These are things that only peasants worry about; what do they have to do with us scholars?"

He chewed on his pen and thought for a long time, but in the end, all he could do was write a long, empty essay on the test paper.

Zeng Rui watched him write furiously and sighed inwardly:
"What utter bullshit is this?"

"If a ruler practices benevolent governance and bestows favors widely, the people will naturally be loyal and agriculture will naturally prosper. Isn't that the same as saying nothing at all?"

"He dressed so well, but he turned out to be a complete idiot!"

Meanwhile, Wu Xi, who was in the other cell, had her eyes light up after reading the question.

Isn't this tailor-made for him?

Without the slightest hesitation, Wu Xi immediately picked up his pen and poured out all his years of practical experience in the fields onto the scrap paper.

"The students believed that since the area is mountainous and the land is barren, farming methods should be adapted to local conditions."

According to the "Complete Treatise on Agriculture" written by Xu Guangqi, Minister of Rites, there is a crop called sweet potato in Fujian that can be used to relieve famine.

“Soil can be improved through crop rotation.”

"In the first year, sweet potatoes should be planted extensively on the hilly areas, and beans should be intercropped between the sweet potato rows."

"Beans can nourish the soil, and sweet potato vines can suppress weeds."

"In the second year, winter wheat and alfalfa were rotated, and alfalfa was sown immediately after the wheat harvest."

"Alfalfa not only fertilizes fields, but is also a high-quality fodder for livestock and can provide horse feed for the army."

"In the third year, millet was selected and intercropped with beans."

"To prevent drought, we should build more water cellars to store rainwater, and we can dig fish-scale pits in shady places on the mountainside to intercept rainwater."

"Build ponds and dams at the foot of the slope and connect them to irrigation canals, so that irrigation can be carried out by gravity flow and there will be no need to worry about drought!"

Although Wu Xi worked hard all year round, he never neglected to write in the official script style. His papers were neat and square, which pleased Wu Xi greatly.

After answering the first question about agriculture, sericulture, and water conservancy, he looked at the next question with great anticipation.

The second question tested knowledge of money and grain management.

"With a major battle approaching, our army plans to conscript a number of laborers and needs to pay them wages."

"After the clerk wrote down the note, he withdrew the wages from the government treasury, all in whole strings of copper coins."

"After calculation, if each laborer is paid 80 coins, the wages will be 300 coins more; if each laborer is paid 70 coins, the wages will be 400 coins less."

Question: How many laborers were there in this group, and how much silver did the treasury official withdraw from the treasury?

Please list the solution method in detail; answers that only provide the answer will be considered invalid.

Upon seeing the title, Wu Xi only glanced at it before laughing.

Isn't this the same as "excess and deficiency" in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art?

Faced with this seemingly simple arithmetic problem, he only thought for a moment before listing out clear calculation steps on the paper.

"Profit ratio: 80 coins; Profit amount: 300 coins; Shortage ratio: 70 coins; Shortage amount: 400 coins."

"Eighty coins minus seventy coins equals ten coins; three hundred coins plus four hundred coins equals seven hundred coins."

"To find the number of people, use the actual division method: divide 10 by 700, and you get 70 people."

"If the total amount of silver is insufficient, multiply seventy people by seventy coins, which gives four thousand nine hundred. Add another four hundred, and the total is five thousand three hundred coins."

"Conclusion: Seventy soldiers surrendered, and the treasury officials collected a total of five thousand three hundred coins."

The entire problem-solving process was smooth and logical, demonstrating his solid foundation in mathematics.

Wu Xi had calculated it all, but the old scholars on the other side of the examination hall almost fainted from anger.

"Absolutely vulgar! Utterly filthy!"

He cursed under his breath.

As the sage said, "The superior man understands righteousness, while the inferior man understands profit."

"How can such a question be used in the imperial examinations?!"

Several old scholars threw their brushes heavily onto the table and wrote a moral essay about "a gentleman does not speak of profit" directly on the back of the draft paper.

As they wrote, the group secretly gloated, believing that the article would not only remind their commander to value morality but also demonstrate their own integrity.

Perhaps, after reading their essays, the examiners would immediately recognize them as kindred spirits and recommend them for official positions.

However, Zeng Rui, who was on patrol, saw the group writing furiously and felt nothing but contempt.

"A bunch of pedantic scholars, they deserve to fail the imperial examinations at such an advanced age."

"Utterly foolish!"

Wu Xi had no idea about this matter.

Just as he was about to look at the third question on criminal law, he suddenly discovered that there was a hidden meaning in the second question.

"After the clerk wrote down the note, he withdrew the wages from the treasury, all in whole strings of copper coins."

Shouldn't a string of copper coins be counted in thousands of coins?
How come the final calculation only shows 5,300 coins?

Where did the remaining 700 coins go?
Wu Xi was startled and quickly picked up his pen to recalculate.

But after calculating it several times, he found that there were no errors in his calculation process and results.

Wu Xi bit the pen, looking at the result before her with disbelief.

Could there be an error in the question?

After much thought, Wu Xi added a sentence after the second question:
"I believe there are cunning individuals among them who falsify accounts and embezzle wages, perhaps the work of the treasury officials in charge."

He firmly believed that his calculations were correct.

If the question itself is correct, then the problem likely lies with the person handling the matter.

"I hope I'm not mistaken."

Wu Xi sighed and then looked at the last question: Criminal Law and Standards.

"There are two cases now, please make a judgment."

"Firstly, a tenant farmer filed a lawsuit against the former Zhang family for forcibly seizing his land, but the Zhang family has now surrendered to our army."

"How can we strike a balance between upholding justice and appeasing those who have surrendered?"

"Secondly, there were generals in the army who attacked government troops, injuring innocent civilians."

"And what should be done then?"

Wu Xi stared at the two issues, "tenant accusing the surrendered people" and "general making a mistake," and pondered for a long time.

This thing, supposedly testing criminal law and legal principles, is actually a test of one's stance.

If this case were set in the Ming Dynasty, it wouldn't even need a trial. Anyone who was literate would know how to judge it.

The problem is, this exam isn't the imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty.

Tenants suing their former employers and attacking government troops—these are not words that would appear in official documents of the Ming Dynasty government.
After much deliberation, Wu Xi finally picked up his pen and wrote:
"Although Zhang has surrendered, his old crimes cannot be lightly forgiven, otherwise the people will not accept the new policies."

"This case must be handled impartially, and no villain should be let off the hook."

"As for the matter of the generals leading troops in the army..."

After thinking for a long time, Wu Xi decided to try and exonerate him:
"Since ancient times, when weapons clash, danger is extreme, and it is inevitable that innocent people will be harmed."

"But since he is a general, he must be a pillar of the army. If he is punished easily, I'm afraid the soldiers below will be resentful."

"In the student's opinion, it would be better to let him atone for his crime by performing good deeds and observe his future behavior."

(End of this chapter)