Farm Girl Turns Everything Around: Sly Husband, Let's Farm

Chapter 1190: Chapter 1188: The Palace Exam_1 Chapter 1190: Chapter 1188: The Palace Exam_1 Martial arts competition for marriage.

Yang Wenxiao rolled these four characters around in his mind for a moment before asking, “Then, what are her requirements?”

“The candidate must not be a commoner, must be above the age of fifteen but under thirty, good-looking, and of good character. Of course, martial arts competition for marriage is entirely voluntary; one may participate if one wishes, as Yuchi Country does not coerce,” Qingye said.

Yang Wenxiao nodded, “Good, I will have someone take care of this matter.”

Upon hearing this, Qingye was overjoyed and quickly thanked Yang Wenxiao.

Yang Wenxiao waved his hand dismissively, “Princess Qinglian is injured. Let her heal in the palace during this time; the palace examination is about to begin.”

Qingye understood and replied respectfully.

The palace examination has always been presided over jointly by Yang Wenxiao and Emperor Yong’an. With its approach, Yang Wenxiao was about to get busy; if he had no pressing matters, he ought to be as quiet as a chicken.

The palace examination is a major event for Daqi, and it is the most pivotal means for Yang Wenxiao to dissolve the power of the Aristocratic Families.

The examination questions for the palace examination are set by Yang Wenxiao, Emperor Yong’an, and Yang Hao alone, who also proctor the exam and grade the papers, keeping the Aristocratic Families’ hands entirely out of the process.

In such circumstances, those who pass the exam become students of the emperor, the direct line of the Yang Family.

These individuals are assigned to various posts based on their abilities and, over the course of several decades, have nearly completely eased out the Aristocratic Families’ members.

The situation of the previous dynasty, where all officials were descendants of the Aristocratic Families, ceased to exist, and the power of these families was significantly weakened.

Of course, some among these individuals may have secretly pledged allegiance to the Aristocratic Families. The families have money, and with enough money, there will always be some whose resolve may waver.

That is also why Yang Ye makes inspections all over the place.

This situation is inevitable and must be rooted out when necessary.

However, on the whole, the Imperial Examination System is the primary means by which Yang Wenxiao cuts down the power of the Aristocratic Families, so the palace examination is always of paramount importance to him.

During the palace examination, unless there are urgent matters of governance, everything else is postponed.

In these days, Tong Sanlang has been acting as the head of the security team in Capital City, patrolling and guarding the gates. With the palace examination beginning, he dutifully entered the Palace to take the test.

The palace examination lasts two days and takes place on the open ground in front of Daming Palace.

The open ground has already been set up with small booths by the guards, each booth containing a table, chair, bed, and toilet, with the Royal family providing meals and writing materials. Candidates need only show up, bringing nothing else with them.

It is March, and the weather is neither hot nor cold, bearable even in the simple booths.

Tong Sanlang had not seriously looked at the books since last year’s preliminary examination; even on the day before the test, he was still guarding the city gate, but now, having received the examination questions, he furrowed his brows, pondered for a while, and began to write.

The examination questions consist of four parts: scripture quotation, policy questions, poetry composition, and philosophical interpretation.

Scripture quotation involves copying a sentence from a book, leaving blanks for key words, similar to fill-in-the-blank questions in later times.

Policy questions center around a current hot topic, which could be political, economic, or administrative issues, requiring candidates to expound their views, essentially a set-topic essay.

Poetry composition is, naturally, about writing poetry.

Philosophical interpretation involves copying a section of text from a book, then explaining its meaning and writing an essay based on that text.

These four parts aim to fully encapsulate a candidate’s abilities, including rote memorization, reading comprehension, and creative writing. Ultimately, what scores one earns depends entirely on the individual candidate’s accumulated knowledge and skill.

The rote memorization part is the easiest to tackle; what one knows, one knows, what one doesn’t, one doesn’t. Picking out what he was familiar with, Tong Sanlang swiftly filled in the blanks.

The policy question asked how sons of peasant families could achieve wealth and, by first becoming wealthy themselves, lead the rest of the village to prosper in turn.