"Gentlemen, due to some unforeseen circumstances, there is a severe shortage of personnel for the first assessment. I believe it would be better to fill the gaps through this assessment. What do you all think?"

The crowd exchanged glances, and Hu Guang stood up and said, "Your Majesty's words are very wise. In this way, it can be considered that the sons born out of wedlock of each family have another opportunity!"

“Hmm, what the Minister says is correct. I think it is appropriate!” Chen Fan chimed in at the opportune moment.

Xun Shuang, Yuan Feng, and the others thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed true, so they didn't say anything more.

Subsequently, to round up the number of participants, the number of assessment slots was increased from the original two thousand to three thousand five.

About an hour later, several hundred soldiers once again walked to the center of the examination hall.

"The assessment is over. Candidates may leave the room!"

With each shout, the candidates stopped writing, spread their exam papers out on the desks, and got up to leave.

The candidates' expressions varied: some were secretly pleased, some were dejected, and some remained calm.

After the exam papers were brought into the Deyang Hall, each of the thousands of examiners received twenty copies and began their intensive review.

After most of the day of review and elimination, the final list of candidates to participate in the second assessment was determined.

The list was quickly posted, and the candidates who passed the first major exam immediately embraced each other and wept.

Nearly 70% of the candidates who passed the major exam were from poor families, while the rest were illegitimate children from prominent families.

On the third day, the candidates were arranged to undergo a second assessment in front of the Deyang Hall.

Liu Hong even came to the palace gate in person and silently watched the group of candidates below the steps.

These are the people I can truly rely on.