Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

These words were resounding and powerful.

The officials who dared to speak out were refuted so vehemently that they turned red in the face and were rendered speechless.

Jian Yi was so angry that his beard trembled, but he couldn't find a single compelling word to refute him.

Zhu Zhanji sat on the dragon throne, feeling immensely pleased.

What he disliked most was the group of civil officials who spoke in classical Chinese phrases.

Gu Yannian's words struck a chord with him.

"alright!"

Zhu Zhanji slammed his hand on the imperial desk, interrupting the argument.

"What Prime Minister Gu said is absolutely right. The Ministry of Personnel should prioritize practical skills when selecting officials. Jian Qing, go back and revise the roster, and promote more capable officials from the local areas who are knowledgeable in agriculture and finance."

"This matter should not be discussed further!"

After the morning court session ended, the officials dispersed.

Jian Yi walked up the white marble steps, his face somber.

Several trusted censors approached, their faces full of indignation.

"Your Excellency, this Gu Yannian, relying on the Emperor's favor, is so arrogant and domineering. Are we just going to let him humiliate scholars like this?"

Jian Yi snorted coldly, a shrewd glint flashing in his eyes.

"Gu Yannian is nothing more than an accountant by trade, who won the late emperor's favor through sheer luck. Does he really think being the head of all officials is so easy?"

He stopped, turned around and looked in the direction of Wenhua Hall, and said in a low voice.

"Next year's spring imperial examination will be a special examination during the Xuande reign. This is the most important part of the talent selection ceremony. I want to see what kind of waves a mere accountant who doesn't understand the essence of the Four Books and Five Classics can make in front of all the scholars in the world."

"Pass down the message: have our men prepare a memorial recommending Gu Yannian as the chief examiner for the special imperial examination!"

The confidants were taken aback for a moment, then suddenly realized what was going on.

The chief examiner is the mentor of all the students in the country. He must be learned and well-versed in the classics in order to convince the public.

If someone as "unlearned and incompetent" as Gu Yannian were to sit in the position of chief examiner and grade those formulaic essays full of classical allusions, he would surely make a complete fool of himself.

At that time, scholars all over the world will regard it as a laughing stock.

His position as Grand Secretary was naturally insecure.

"Your Excellency is brilliant! This is a scheme to flatter and destroy!"

A few days later, the snow cleared and the sky brightened.

Inside the imperial study, Zhu Zhanji raised an eyebrow as he looked at the mountain of memorials piled on his desk.

These memorials were remarkably consistent in recommending that Grand Secretary Gu Yannian serve as the chief examiner for next year's special imperial examination.

In his words, he praised Gu Yannian as one of the most outstanding talents in the world, saying that he should be a role model for all students.

"Wang Zhen, look at these civil officials."

Zhu Zhanji casually tossed the folding tablet to a young eunuch standing beside him and sneered.

"They usually hate Prime Minister Gu to the core, but today they are so united in recommending him."

"What's going on here?"

This eunuch, named Wang Zhen, had a fair complexion and no beard, and his eyes revealed a cleverness and cunning.

He was originally a former servant of the Crown Prince, and because of his cleverness and understanding, he was highly favored by Zhu Zhanji.

As Wang Zhen ground ink for the emperor, he flattered him in a shrill voice:

"Your Majesty is extremely discerning. Although I am a simple woman, I can see that those officials from the Hanlin Academy want to see Prime Minister Gu make a fool of himself."

"Gu Xiang is a master at managing finances, but when it comes to reviewing the eight-legged essays, he is supposed to speak on behalf of the sages. If he makes even the slightest mistake, he will be drowned in the spittle of scholars all over the world."

Zhu Zhanji snorted coldly.

"They've got a good plan. But they've underestimated Gu Yannian."

After a moment's thought, the emperor picked up his brush and wrote a red annotation on a memorial.

"Since they want to watch a show, I will grant their wish."

"By imperial decree, Grand Secretary Gu Yannian is appointed as the chief examiner for the special imperial examination of the first year of the Xuande reign, and will be in charge of all matters related to the spring examination!"

The imperial decree was delivered to the Jianji Hall.

Gu Yannian accepted the imperial edict, casually placed it aside, and showed no emotion whatsoever.

Yu Qian, the Vice Director of the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War, was sitting at the lower end of the table.

Upon hearing the contents of the imperial edict, he jumped to his feet in a panic.

"Prime Minister Gu! This is clearly a trick by Jian Yi and his cronies! The imperial examinations test the profound meanings of the Four Books and Five Classics, and those old scholars love to nitpick over the wording when answering and answering questions."

"If you accept this assignment and, by some chance, choose a mediocre writer, they will attack you en masse, accusing you of being ignorant and incompetent, and of corrupting the court!"

Yu Qian genuinely admired Gu Yannian's ability to govern the country and was afraid that he would suffer a hidden loss in the scheming of this scholar.

Gu Yannian picked up the teapot and poured Yu Qian a cup of hot tea.

"Tingyi, you are well-versed in military strategy, so you should know the principle of using the enemy's plan against them."

Gu Yannian leaned back in his chair, his deep gaze fixed on the lingering snow falling outside the window.

"They think I only know abacus and not the classics. But they don't know that no matter how knowledge changes in this world, it can't escape the principle of reason."

"They want to use the voices of all the scholars in the country to force the emperor to abdicate. I will use this special examination to change the atmosphere of the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty."

What does it mean to have thousands of points of mental and intellectual capacity?

It means having a photographic memory, it means being able to memorize something after just one glance.

This means that Gu Yannian could readily recall any of the various schools of thought, classics, histories, and literary collections that he had ever glanced at, as if they were engraved in his mind.

His knowledge far surpassed that of his time.

How could those pedantic scholars who only know how to rigidly adhere to the eight-legged essay possibly fathom it?

The imperial examinations of the first year of the Xuande reign arrived as scheduled.

Outside the examination hall, crowds thronged.

Thousands of candidates from the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, carrying their examination baskets, lined up in the cold wind, waiting to be searched and allowed to enter the examination hall.

This special imperial examination attracted much attention because the chief examiner was the legendary "God of Wealth, the Grand Secretary".

Rumors circulated that Grand Secretary Gu only knew how to count money and not how to read, and that he would definitely arrange a random marriage in this imperial examination.

The students were filled with anxiety, unsure of what kind of article to write to please the professor.

Inside the Minglun Hall of the Imperial Examination Hall.

Gu Yannian, dressed in a bright red official robe, sat upright behind the chief examiner's desk.

Eighteen examiners sat on either side, all learned scholars from the Hanlin Academy, many of whom were students of Jian Yi.

They looked at Gu Yannian in the main seat with disdain and anticipation in their eyes.

With three cannon shots, the gates of the examination hall were shut.

The first test was on the Four Books and Five Classics.

Once the exam questions were distributed, students in thousands of exam cells began writing furiously.

Two days later, the sealed and annotated copies of the first exam papers were delivered to Minglun Hall like snowflakes.

According to the rules, these papers must first be reviewed by eighteen examiners who will select the best ones as "recommended papers" before submitting them to the chief examiner for the final decision.

More than a dozen Hanlin scholars were engrossed in their studies, carefully examining the rigor of each essay's explanation.

Does citing classical texts conform to Zhu Xi's commentaries?

After several days, I was so tired that I felt dizzy and my progress was extremely slow.

"Prime Minister Gu, I believe these papers are of excellent quality, with profound reasoning, and should be selected as the best."

An examiner presented several exam papers to Gu Yannian.

Gu Yannian nodded slightly and took the paper.

Unlike other examiners who studied the paper word by word, he merely glanced at it briefly.

With terrifying mental power, the entire article's contents were imprinted into his mind in a fraction of a second.

The underlying structure and even the obscure wording were instantly dissected and made perfectly clear.

"This one."

Gu Yannian pointed his long, slender fingers at the top of the test paper.

"The opening paragraph uses an allusion from the Book of Documents, while the following paragraph adapts Cheng Yi's commentary. The language is ornate, combining parallel and free-flowing styles. It's just a pity..."

Gu Yannian raised his eyes and looked at the fellow examiner, his tone calm but chilling.

"Unfortunately, the third and fourth paragraphs of this article are completely plagiarized from a private letter that Su Shi of the Former Song Dynasty wrote to Wang Anshi."

"They simply changed the word 'reform' to 'self-cultivation,' leaving the rest unchanged. How dare you submit such plagiarism as a recommended work?"