If you can't do math, you just can't do it

. [Wow, the competition for child prodigies is so fierce, even more intense than ordinary exams. t]

[There are 44 child prodigies in the country this time, and only the top nine will be selected! ]

[I don't know what place the two child prodigies who are smart and help others with lawsuits will be this time. ]

[Oh my! Awesome! One is fourth and the other is fifth. ]

The new Minister of Industry raised his eyebrows.

He thought his son would definitely get first place, but he didn't expect that he was only fourth or fifth?

That kid has really fallen this time. But it doesn't matter, it can kill his temper, there is no shortage of geniuses in this world.

[Awesome, awesome! The first place is only three years old! ]

[Although some of the answers to the questions are not as good as others, they are also very relevant - mainly, the child is only three years old! No wonder Princess Yan and Young Master Bing couldn’t rank first. 】

Xu Yanmiao couldn’t believe her eyes.

Those officials who didn’t pay much attention to the child prodigy test couldn’t believe their ears.

They say the waves behind drive the waves ahead, but you guys are not just the “waves behind”, your ancestors were the huge waves rolled up by the typhoon, right?

Three years old? ! I was still breastfeeding when I was three years old!

【Let me see the second place… He’s also amazing! He has a photographic memory! This is the first time I’ve met someone who has a photographic memory, and he has dabbled in all nine schools, and can talk about each one clearly! 】

The old emperor was silent.

The nine schools refer to: Confucianism, Taoism, Yin-Yang, Legalism, Nominalism, Mohism, Zongheng, Miscellaneous, and Agriculture.

To be honest, he thought that he was already a genius because he was already conquering the world at the age of 18, but... there are always higher mountains.

However, these mountains are all his now! Hehe!

[Third place... hiss! Writing an article at the age of 6 - although the child prodigy test does not test essays, after he finished answering, while others were answering questions, he took the time to write an article on the spot, and wrote it based on the answer ideas of the candidates before and after him, to avoid people saying that he memorized the article in advance and cheated. ]

[Will this writing not impress the examiner! ]

[Help! Can you give me some of this brain! ]

Some ministers who were in their 50s and 60s and became officials immediately nodded, and their envious eyes almost turned into reality.

It would be great if they could also have such brains.

【Princess Yan is the fourth. Prince Bing is not inferior in talent, but he is a little older, so he can only be ranked fifth. 】

【Speaking of which, I don’t know whether the old emperor will give Princess Yan an official position. There are some minor positions in the court that are given to women now, so it should be okay, right? 】

The old emperor straightened his mouth.

If other officials were to do such little things for their daughters, he might not do as he wished. The problem is that Yan Linghui is still his granddaughter, his sweet little cotton-padded jacket. When she came to Beijing two years ago, she specially brought him a new cotton-padded jacket and new pants that she had woven by herself.

——For the royal family, doing it personally, pointing, and commanding the servants to do it.

Forget it, it’s just an official position. He already has two daughters in the court, so is he still missing a granddaughter?

The old emperor didn't realize that

before, he only thought that he couldn't give him an official position, but he could give him an imperial edict and a verbal commendation.

But now that two princesses are in the court, he feels that since there are already two, one more is not too much.

——The bottom line is lowered little by little.

＊

Since he thought of it, he did it.

The old emperor directly ordered: "Call the nine child prodigies here."

While waiting for them to come, he also handled the government affairs.

Half an hour later, the child prodigies in each family were summoned, starting with the three-year-old and the fourteen-year-old at the end. They all bowed respectfully using the etiquette they had practiced in advance: "Your Majesty!"

The old emperor stood up, slowly walked in front of them, and looked at them one by one: "Not bad, not bad, they are all pillars of our Great Xia."

The nine child prodigies immediately bowed again: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The old emperor suddenly had an idea: "You haven't taken the palace examination yet, so take the palace examination here."

- They had passed the re-examination of the Secretariat before, and they could have been appointed officials. The palace examination was just an opportunity for them to show their faces in front of the emperor.

However, the normal palace examination does not need to be conducted in front of all the officials. This is completely a palace examination plus version. Even some adults may not be able to keep their emotions stable when encountering this scene.

Hearing this, some of the nine child prodigies were stunned, some were confused, some were serious and prepared, and some were extremely excited, with a blazing fire in their eyes.

The old emperor glanced at his granddaughter and gave her the final test: "Those who can answer the questions in this palace examination will enter the Hanlin Academy."

All officials: "!!!!"

Directly, directly appointed? !

Those who pass the child prodigy test can indeed be appointed, but most of the dynasties in history only give them a nominal title, and then give them a real position after they are over 15 years old. It is rare to be directly appointed as an official.

The last person who was made an exception was the former prime minister Wang Yuai.

——At the age of five, he was good at poetry and prose, at the age of six, he could play chess, at the age of seven, he could recite the Four Books, at the age of eight, he studied the Military Classics, at the age of nine, he could annotate the classics in literature and deploy troops in martial arts, and at the age of ten, he passed the child prodigy test and entered the Hanlin Academy.

——However, the reason why he became a child prodigy was not because he was born smarter than others, but because he had more self-control than others since he was a child. When other children of his age were still playing, he had already made a daily schedule for himself. He would get up early and recite a book, study the laws of the country at noon, and learn the six arts in the afternoon and evening: etiquette, music, archery, defense, calligraphy, and mathematics. His schedule was extremely full. Apart from eating, sleeping, and bathing, he would study, study, and study.

The second place winner of the child prodigy test looked directly at the old emperor and said crisply, "Your Majesty, please give us a question!"

The old emperor said nothing, but walked around them slowly, making the children flustered and confused.

After walking for a while, the old emperor stopped and said slowly: "I am not very satisfied with the current imperial examination. Because the eight-legged essay was popular in the previous dynasty, many students' thinking has become rigid. They only know how to do things but have no skills. Do you have any way to break the deadlock?"

- This is the question he has been thinking about since he heard Diwu Ang say that in the examination for students with disabilities, most people could pass the exam just by memorizing Chengwen.

Since nothing can be discussed with adults during this period, it is better to find another way and see what the children think. Maybe the children's ideas are not rigid and can give him some inspiration.

It doesn't matter if it doesn't work. He has an extreme idea. If it can't be solved, just suspend the imperial examination and try the recommendation system again.

It just so happens that his eldest daughter's husband supports the establishment of an academy. Maybe it will be okay to hold the imperial examination after new people are trained.

*

The civil and military officials didn't know that the old emperor had such dangerous ideas in his mind, but they were still shocked by the old emperor's question.

- You really don't treat them as children!

Look, we have discussed the issue of imperial examinations for a month or two. Did we come up with anything wrong?

The old emperor didn't care, he just clapped his hands and asked people to burn a stick of incense.

Needless to say, it was just one stick of incense to give these little prodigies time to think.

- Of course, if you have thought of it in advance, you can just answer it directly.

One stick of incense is not long or short, but no prodigy spoke in advance. As it concerns their future, they are all seizing the time to organize their thoughts.

The incense burned out.

The fifth place in the prodigy test, the son of the new Minister of Works, Bing Yan, came out first and saluted in a serious manner: "Your Majesty, I have an idea."

He was not nervous, but his father was nervous first, and he was very tense.

The Minister of Justice beside him whispered: "Keep calm."

Bing Hui felt very guilty: "If I had talked to Yan'er more about state affairs, he might be more confident now."

- Keep calm, there is no such thing.

The Minister of Justice thought for a while and said: "It's okay. From the fact that your son was able to apply for a transfer, learn law by himself, and find villains to test himself, he may have been paying attention to state affairs for a long time. He is more prepared than you."

Bing Hui: "..."

Okay, now you don't need to keep calm, you should change to be reassured.

＊

Bing Yan had indeed made sufficient preparations: "When I was studying at the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy, I saw that there were good and bad students. The good ones could become talented through self-study, while the bad ones could only recite from books. Historically, there have always been few good ones and many bad ones. However, the Four Books and Five Classics that people learn do not allow them to recite from books when they become officials. I believe that as long as we can add a few more '

books', even if the scholars' thinking is rigid, there will be a way to follow." As he spoke, he gave another example, such as "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. Not everyone can learn how to fight a war after reading "The Art of War" but those who have read "Jixiao Xinshu" can at least fight a stupid battle.

Because the "New Book of Jixiao" teaches students in detail how to select soldiers, how to organize troops, how many people should be in a horizontal formation, how many people should be in a vertical formation, what to pay attention to when engaging the enemy, and what instructions should be followed when managing camps...

"If there is such a book for the affairs of the six ministries and local officials, they can get through the initial period faster and get started better."

Many things can be mastered through practice. At that time, there will be no need for books.

Xu Yanmo sighed: "New brains are smart. 】

The old emperor also nodded: "This method is feasible, but it is very stupid."

Bing Yan looked up and said seriously: "In war, the most feared thing is that the opponent is quietly setting up camp and fighting a stupid battle."

Minister Bing was worried for his son, but the old emperor laughed after hearing it: "Right! Any military strategy is to take risks, and taking risks will easily be quickly broken. Only by fighting a stupid battle will it be difficult for the opponent to find the flaw. Okay, you passed."

Bing Yan's eyes lit up when he heard this. When he retreated to the side, he glanced at Princess Yan Linghui and gave her a complacent look.

After Yan Linghui looked at him, the blood in her body seemed to boil like magma. He also stepped out quickly and threw out his own ideas: "Your Majesty! I request that the imperial examination re-examine the mathematics of the six arts of gentlemen!"

"When I came to Beijing, I once heard a sentence——"

Actually, it was spread from Xu Yanmiao.

"When people are pushed to the limit, they can do everything, but they just can't do mathematics!"