As an educational official, Lei Li's words were considered golden rules in the eyes of Zhejiang scholars.

Not to mention those students who have not yet achieved fame.

Grandmaster Lei can determine their future with just one word, so they naturally obey Lei Li with utmost respect.

What? An additional test?

Then just add it, it’s just one more exam anyway.

After so many years of taking exams, big and small, are they still afraid of failing exams?

Since I didn't know what the additional test would be about, I had nothing to prepare for. All I had to do was get myself into the best possible shape to face the Grandmaster's test.

Xu Yan was naturally very relaxed. In the face of absolute strength, any test was nothing to worry about.

If the imperial examination is compared to a competition, the metropolitan examination is the main competition, the provincial examination is the preliminary selection, and the academy examination is the open selection.

How could he not even swim out of the auditions?

Of course, he was a little curious about the form in which Lei Li would conduct the additional test.

The number of people taking the additional test was not large, Grandmaster Lei had set the number at one hundred.

This was actually carefully considered.

According to regulations, the Daming Prefecture School could have 40 students, while the county school could have half that number to 20.

Of course, this was a regulation in the early Ming Dynasty. At that time, there was no such thing as attached students. Even if there is an increase now, the number of students in Ningbo Prefecture and counties combined is only about 200.

Among these students, some passed the provincial examinations, and some became students at the Imperial College. These people together constituted the gap in students in official schools, which had to be filled by new students.

Therefore, the entire prefecture can only select about fifty students each year, and the capacity will not be able to accommodate more than that.

Among them, the provincial school added about fifteen new students, and the other county schools added about thirty-five new students in total.

This means that about half of the one hundred people selected by Grandmaster Lei will have to be eliminated.

Wow, this is really exciting.

But on the day of the supplementary test, Xu Yan and Chen Maoli went to the provincial school together.

Since they did not know the format of the exam, they prepared as per the formal exam.

The examination basket contains all the necessary writing brushes, inkstones and other supplies.

But when they arrived at the provincial school, they were all dumbfounded. It turned out that the grand master was planning to interview them.

Of course, you don’t need these things for the interview, but you can’t send them back now that you’ve brought them.

Xu Yan and Chen Maoli handed the examination basket to the constable.

According to Grandmaster Lei's instructions, the candidates taking the supplementary test were interviewed in groups of five, making a total of twenty groups.

Even if one group is assigned half an hour, the entire interview will take five hours.

Grandmaster Lei really doesn't feel tired.

Xu Yan was assigned to the third group. Chen Maoli was not in the same group, but Zhang Yinian was.

However, when Young Master Zhang saw Xu Yan, his eyes were so hot that he almost burst into flames, which stunned Xu Yan.

It's just a bet, why are you so angry?

But it’s better this way. If I can completely defeat Zhang Yinian in this additional college entrance examination, this guy won’t have the face to keep coming to me and annoying me, right?

While waiting, Xu Yan disdained to have another conflict with Zhang Yinian, so he simply closed his eyes and conserved his energy.

Although Zhang Yinian was filled with hatred, he couldn't get angry.

Fortunately, the waiting time was shorter than Xu Yan expected. After half an hour, the interviews of the first two groups of students were completed.

Judging from the expressions on their faces when they came out, some were happy while others were sad. Some were very proud while others were dejected.

Finally it was Xu Yan's turn.

He glanced at Zhang Yinian and saw that Zhang Yinian was also looking at him, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Aren’t you dissatisfied? Then let’s compete again until you are convinced.

A group of five people walked into the hall one after another. Seeing Grandmaster Lei sitting at the head of the table, they all bowed and saluted: "Students greet Grandmaster."

Lei Li stroked his beard and said calmly, "Today's additional test is a policy essay. The topic is: How to Anhetao."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

They thought they would be tested on the Four Books and the Five Classics.

But I never expected that I would be tested on policy essays.

Isn’t this usually tested during the palace examination?

And this question is a bit tricky.

Xu Yan was naturally surprised as well.

The Hetao region can be regarded as the eternal pain of the Ming Dynasty. The lack of control over this region directly led to the extreme shortage of war horses in the Ming Dynasty.

Although Emperor Zhu ordered officials to implement horse management policies in Shaanxi, it was of no practical use.

High-quality horses need to be raised in the open rather than in a pen. What good can be achieved by raising horses in a stable?

It can be said that this is just self-deception.

Xu Yan had also studied the Hetao issue and knew clearly the crux of the problem.

The question is whether it can be said and to what extent?

If Xu Yan remembered correctly, Zeng Xin would be imprisoned by Emperor Jiajing not long after.

The next year, the chief minister of the cabinet, Xia Yan, would be framed by Yan Song for supporting the recovery of Hetao. He would be charged with the crime of colluding with foreign generals and would be imprisoned and sentenced to death.

The Hetao issue is even more sensitive than the maritime ban. If you are not careful, it will bring disaster upon yourself, resulting in a ruined future or even imprisonment and death.

Grandmaster Lei could have come up with any other question, but he chose such a radical one. It seems he has a bad temper.

Xu Yan thought about it for a moment and felt that he couldn't act too extreme about this matter, otherwise it would be easy for someone to find fault with him.

He decided to listen to what others had to say first.

In front of the Grand Master, there are naturally people who want to grab the first impression.

A candidate named Han immediately gave an impassioned speech.

At first glance, what he said was indeed very exciting and emotional.

But when you think about it carefully, you will find that what he said is just nonsense.

If Xu Yan wanted to say something like this, he could just say it directly.

Lei Li didn't seem very satisfied either.

The talent he selected for the country was not someone who was full of big words but not down to earth. He immediately waved his hand to signal the next person to come.

The candidate named Han was speaking excitedly when he was ruthlessly interrupted by Grandmaster Lei. He felt very depressed and his head drooped like an eggplant hit by frost.

The next candidate obviously learned from the lesson of the candidate named Han and spoke more pragmatically.

But he obviously doesn't pay much attention to the situation in Hetao on weekdays. He only mentions some irrelevant things and doesn't get to the point at all.

Lei Li listened to the whole thing this time, but his expression remained grim.

The third candidate had some knowledge, and his words were eye-opening as soon as he opened his mouth.

It can be seen that he has thought about the situation in Hetao.

However, he made a serious mistake, which was that he involved the current emperor and even linked it to national policy.

Lei Li had been listening with great interest at first, but when he heard this, he interrupted him with a cough and said, "Okay, that's it. Next one."

Now only Xu Yan and Zhang Yinian are left.

Xu Yan looked at him, took a step forward confidently, and bowed to Lei Li.

"Xu Yan from Dinghai County requested to submit a policy paper."

Lei Li finally waited for Xu Yan, smiled and nodded, signaling Xu Yan to start.

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