Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 666: Results Announced
The morning sun came again late. It was already past noon, but the sky was still dark, as if it was still a deep night. Chengxian Street in front of the Imperial College gradually had some people, but they were not the diligent students, but the vendors who got up early to do breakfast business.
This is a common sight on Chengxian Street. There is everything from tofu pudding, soy milk, sesame cakes, dumplings, steamed buns, noodles, porridge, etc. However, the first few vendors to arrive suddenly found that someone had arrived earlier than them!
Realizing that their previously agreed-upon territories might be occupied by these newcomers, several vendors became anxious. However, when these people pushed their carts and quickly rushed forward to argue, they were shocked to find that these newcomers were all dressed in black cloaks, standing silently like nails under the eight-character wall in front of the Imperial College, and the distance between each person was even uniform.
Just as several vendors were panicking, thinking that something had happened in the Imperial College, and sent people to watch over the place, someone suddenly cried out in surprise. Although the person who made the sound immediately covered his mouth, he still pointed at the wall behind the people in black cloaks.
Seeing that the wall was covered with yellow paper notices, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. They were all small vendors doing breakfast business, and they might be able to calculate the price and recognize a few words, but to understand so many notices, most people were naturally unable to do so. But there was one thing that everyone understood, that is, this notice should be a good thing.
Otherwise, why would they use yellow paper? You know, in the past, when the results of provincial and imperial examinations were announced, colored paper was used. For ordinary notices, white paper with ink words would suffice!
Now that they knew it was not a bad thing, the group of small vendors felt relieved. For a moment, no one paid attention to these big men in black cloaks. They pushed their carts to the place where they usually did business and started to make fires. A quarter of an hour later, the sky gradually became a little light, and most of the vendors besides them had arrived and also noticed the abnormality at the first time.
Although most people didn't have time to watch the fun and were busy with their own things, there were some curious and literate people who went over to take a look after they had finished cleaning up. But they didn't look for long before they hurried back and shouted to the other vendors on the left and right: "It's the result of the Imperial College's selection of attendants for the Eastern Palace. Everyone's ranking has been announced!"
After doing business in front of the Imperial College for many years, most of the vendors have a consensus.
First, one must be sensible in doing business, that is, at this hour in the morning, it doesn't matter if they block the entrance to the world's highest institution of learning, but if they are greedy and want to extend the time, then the officers from the nearby Shuntian government office will come to drive them away!
Second, nine out of ten students in the Imperial College are just empty-headed and have little real talent. Therefore, it is rare to become a Jinshi from the students of the Imperial College. There is only one in 10 to 20 years. This time, the prince selected the attendants of the Eastern Palace in the Imperial College. In their opinion, it is not as good as the Jiuzhang Hall! At least the students in the Jiuzhang Hall are hardworking, easy-going, and have a good teacher!
Even though they thought so, the peak of the number of students was about to arrive, and no one, including the vendor who had just come to watch the excitement, had time to check the rankings on the list, and they all hurried to do their own work. Even though there was no shouting as per convention, as the aroma gradually dissipated, the first batch of customers finally arrived.
The students living in the dormitories of the Imperial College were naturally not from wealthy families. Usually, they would just have a steamed bun or a sesame cake for breakfast. But today, when they found a yellow notice posted on the wall, everyone was immediately attracted to the yellow paper on the wall.
Although some people only glanced at it and found it was a long form, and then they were busy solving the problem of breakfast, there were also people who were curious and went to see what it was. It would not matter if they didn't take a look, but once they took a look, the groups of students were in an uproar.
"It's the ranking of the previous monthly examination for selecting East Palace servants. Everyone is listed, not just the selected ones!"
"Is this true? Everyone? That would be a very long list. Oh my god, could this wall full of horoscopes contain all of them? That's impossible. The Chief Secretary, the Junior Secretary, and all the doctors didn't say anything before!"
Following this loud and talkative shout, several students who were just solving their hunger problems could not help themselves. Some of them went over to watch the fun with sesame cakes in their mouths, some went over to look at the list with bowls of noodles, and some hurriedly rushed back to their dormitories with steamed buns in their pockets to notify more people to come and watch.
Therefore, the vendors who had been selling breakfast here for many years soon witnessed the largest flow of people in history! In an instant, the students swarmed out from under the university archway of the Imperial College and looked up at the two sides of the eight-character wall. If they knew how to use idioms, they would definitely think that it was undoubtedly shoulder to shoulder!
Because there were three layers of people inside and outside the Eight-Character Wall, there were often students who were pushed to the back and didn't get a chance to see the list. Or, after the first few names had been seen, they found that there were no students after them, so they came back to buy breakfast in a bored mood, filling their stomachs while complaining angrily.
However, as someone in the crowd shouted that someone from Ruexing Hall was actually ranked more than 600th, the students who had just been feeling self-pitying or dejected suddenly became excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood.
Therefore, the yellow list posted on the east wall only showed the last few names, and not many people paid attention to it at first, but now a lot of people came to watch. As the names and rankings of those who were quite famous in the Imperial College were read out one by one, some people laughed, some were amazed, some did not believe it... but some people were angry for a while.
As the saying goes, anger rises from the heart, and evil comes from the courage. A student who claimed to be a genius but failed to pass the exam shouted angrily that it was ridiculous, and subconsciously reached out to tear off the yellow list with his name on it. But just as he stretched out his hand, his wrist was suddenly firmly grasped by someone.
Seeing the pair of cold and murderous eyes, the student realized that there were twenty or thirty big men in black cloaks guarding the yellow list, and this was the yellow list, not the usual posters! Not knowing whether the other party was from the Sharp Cavalry Battalion or where they came from, he swallowed the curse on his lips and struggled to break free. He took two steps back before saying something cruel.
"I will never participate in such a joke next time!"
Seeing the man walk away in anger, the imperial attendant sneered a few times. After working all night, at dawn, his boss finally ordered people to deliver bowls of steaming mutton soup, saying it was a comfort food, but now he stood in the wind for so long, of course he was cold, and seeing these noisy students, he couldn't help but think of the words of the fourth prince that were circulated outside.
These so-called Imperial College students are really not as good as the eunuchs in the Inner Academy!
As the sky got brighter, more and more students came to see the list after hearing the news, but few of them had time to eat breakfast. So, it was rare to see so many people, but the vendors were disappointed to find that business was not as good as before, but even worse, and the students complained about the space occupied by these carts and vendors.
As a student from a wealthy family could not help but go from complaining to cursing, a street vendor with an equally bad temper actually retorted. Now, the already bustling Chengxian Street was in an uproar.
There was a student from Ruexingtang who also failed the exam. He didn't dare to do anything about the yellow list, so he wanted to instigate these street vendors to cause trouble to see if he could damage the yellow list that had brought shame to him.
There were also people who just started cursing without thinking, and then fainted from hypoglycemia because they were too angry - of course, this was the result of Zhang Shou's condescending judgment, as he rushed to a certain place with Ah Liu early in the morning because Hua Qi had delivered a letter.
Some people even found themselves at the top of the list and had a good chance of entering the Eastern Palace, so they started showing off, but were eventually beaten up by someone.
In short, Chengxian Street, which was already considered spacious, was in a mess at this moment. The small carts with stoves burning next to the vendors were like sparks in an oil pan, which could explode at any time; they were also like small boats in the ocean, which could be completely submerged by a wave. At this moment, a loud shout suddenly came from somewhere.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"
Because Ah Liu had just sneaked into the highest building of the Imperial College, the three-story library known as the Jianxian Pavilion, Zhang Shou could only see the students on Chengxian Street at this time, just like a rooster that suddenly got stuck in its throat when crowing, and the chaos that kept coming and going suddenly stopped in an instant. Although the sound did not disappear immediately, it was obviously showing a sharp decrease.
Soon, Chengxian Street, which had just been crowded with hundreds or even thousands of quacking ducks, finally became extremely quiet. Then , he heard Hua Qi's familiar voice.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and all the lecturers have arrived at Yilun Hall. All students should return to the Imperial Academy for instruction!"
It was only at this time that Ah Liu whispered to Zhang Shou, "Master, are we going to Yilun Hall?"
"All the other lecturers are going, if I don't go, won't that give people something to blame? I'll go, of course." Zhang Shou said this, but his contempt for the Imperial College increased. It was his first time to visit the Xian Pavilion, so he discovered for the first time that not only was the air filled with dust, but also that from the floor to the bookshelves, there was dust everywhere, and many of the books on the shelves were already rotten.
He had heard a long time ago that Jianxian Pavilion was specially built by Emperor Taizu so that students could have a place to borrow books. However, due to poor management, the books borrowed out could not be collected back, or a large number of them were damaged. The Imperial College was short of funds, and the academic officials could not ask for money from the court, and had no other means of making money, so it had to be closed many years ago.
No matter how good a school is, if it does not have a good system, good students, good teachers, and most importantly, sufficient funding, then the only result is that it will go from bad to worse!
The Third Prince was almost scared to kick his fourth brother who suddenly climbed onto his bed early in the morning. However, after hearing him whisper about the announcement of the Imperial College results today, the Crown Prince could not stand the naughty boy's pestering. Besides, this was his first time to test people, so at the instigation of the Fourth Prince, he asked the Emperor for permission and went to the Imperial College with a group of lecturers.
He had just quietly entered the Imperial College where he had once studied from under the university archway, but he did not feel the melancholy feeling of revisiting an old place. Even if he did, such emotions were completely ruined by the noise outside.
It was also because of this that when he stood outside the Yilun Hall where Emperor Taizu once gave lectures, his face unconsciously became very serious. Even when Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye rushed over, he, who was always gentle, still had a tense face.
Knowing what happened outside, the two top leaders of the Imperial College, the principal and the deputy, were also not in a good mood. Zhou Jijiu also tried to persuade the Crown Prince that he should not wear the white dragon fish costume, and to ease the atmosphere a little, but he was choked back by the irrefutable reason of the Third Prince.
"I came here to ask for permission from my father. In addition to the teachers, I was accompanied by the guards of the Ruiqi Battalion. However, when I entered the Imperial College, everyone was outside looking at the yellow list, so no one paid attention to me and my group."
When he heard Hua Qi's voice and learned that the students who had gathered outside had gradually returned, the Third Prince said in a deep voice, "I asked these three questions. The question about the Four Books is a common question on current affairs in the imperial examinations, and it is not a weird question. I think anyone who is skilled in writing can answer it well. This question is from a Jinshi candidate, and now it is being reviewed by the teachers of the Hanlin Academy. I think no one will have any objection, and no one will feel that it is unfair."
"The math problem is a very easy one in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. You can figure it out with just a little bit of brainpower. It is for the purpose of not being subject to the control of the clerks in the future when you are in charge of a region. For this kind of problem, it is very clear at a glance whether it is right or wrong. I don't think anyone will have any objections."
He saw that many students were gathering here, so he raised his voice.
"But few people can answer this math problem. It's no wonder. Many local officials these days don't remember how many people and lands there are in the prefectures, states, and counties under their jurisdiction, how much tax they have to pay each year, and how many men are required to serve in the military. Every time they report on their duties, they have to prepare a slip of paper and hide it quietly in their sleeves. But shouldn't they know by heart?"
"As for the question about farming, this is exactly what my father has been talking about in front of me, and Emperor Taizu also said that agriculture is the foundation of the country. So, isn't it something that a student who is committed to a career in government should think about carefully, to think about how to feed more and more people with limited land?"
"The focus was on canals and water conservancy. Although it was not comprehensive, at least I understood what farming was all about. But they talked about worshipping saints when farming, destroying forests to open up wasteland, turning lagoons into fields, and turning grassland into arable land after driving out the northern barbarians... There are even more ridiculous things, such as talking seriously about how to increase wheat production in paddy fields! I want to know, how many people in this Imperial College are lazy, don't know the difference between the five grains, only know how to talk about war on paper, and don't understand the suffering of the people at all!"
