If there is indeed a gap in the levels of candidates from the north and south, then the best way would be to give them two papers and let them take the exam separately.
But why were the civil and military officials so opposed?
The reason is very simple. There is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. If everyone really takes the exam separately, wouldn’t it be equivalent to telling the whole world directly that the scholars in the north are inferior to those in the south?
As for why the South is unwilling to have separate exams, it is naturally because we have suppressed the scholars in the North for so many years. Now we suddenly want to have separate exams. How can that be possible? Wouldn’t our advantages be gone?
Therefore, Kefuji's solution did not gain the support of the officials. Even the emperor frowned and said, "Separate examinations? This method is truly unheard of and has no precedent. It's hard to say how effective it will be."
To save Ke Fuji's face, Li Zhuo thought for a moment and spoke again, "Of course, since the plan was devised by the Imperial Preceptor and Lord Ke together, it must have some merits. Why don't we discuss it later?"
"Your Majesty, the current situation is actually very bad. The candidates outside are making a big fuss and have no interest in taking the exam. We should come up with a solution as soon as possible."
Ke Fuji bowed, and he himself looked unhappy.
All you do all day is argue nonsense. If you have the ability, why don't you come up with a plan?
Now I have come up with a specific solution, but you don't agree. It means that the candidates outside will cause trouble. If there is a problem with the imperial examination, you won't be the ones held accountable, right?
A group of officials looked at each other in confusion. What good solution could they have? If they really had a solution, this problem would not have dragged on for so many years.
Just as the group of kings and ministers fell silent again, Wei Yong suddenly spoke up and challenged Lu Chen: "Lu Chen, you are the one who caused this, shouldn't you say something?"
Lu Chen was shocked! What's wrong with you, Lao Deng? I haven't been looking for your daughter for a while, so you're so proud of yourself again?
What do you mean I did it? How could I be so capable as to instigate confrontation between scholars from the north and the south?
Besides, I've already been officially appointed Imperial Preceptor. Why are you still addressing me by my first name in the court? Have you never experienced the harshness of society? Or don't you realize that I could abduct your daughter and run away at any moment?
As soon as Wei Yong finished speaking, the other ministers also cast expectant glances towards Lu Chen.
Just as Wei Yong said, if Lu Chen had not come up with a couplet, the conflict between the candidates from the north and the south would not have completely erupted.
Even Li Zhuo looked at Lu Chen with shining eyes and said, "Grand Master, besides this split-paper exam, do you have any other insights?"
Lu Chen thought to himself, this is what you asked me to say. If scholars curse their mothers in the future, you will have to be scolded together with me.
"Your Majesty, there are actually some issues with what Lord Ke said. It's more of a subject-based exam than a paper-based exam."
"As far as I know, there is no such thing as scores in the current imperial examinations. The ranking of candidates' papers is entirely based on the examiners' preferences, which is obviously unprofessional."
"In our Great Qi, there are five subjects: Jinshi, Mingjing, Mingfa, Mingsuan, and Mingzi. Different scores can be assigned to these five subjects based on their difficulty and the requirements for future officialdom. For example, the full score for the Jinshi subject is 150 points, while the full score for the Mingzi subject is only 60 points."
"The final score of each candidate is the sum of the scores of these five subjects. This will make the ranking clearer and more intuitively reflect the differences between candidates."
"And when various departments select talent later, they can rely on the candidates' scores in various subjects to more accurately find the talent they need."
Lu Chen's proposal made everyone's eyes light up. Just as he said, there was no such thing as scores in the past, and the ranking depended entirely on the examiner's subjective judgment.
Moreover, when many departments subsequently select officials, there will be embarrassing situations where the selected officials are not suitable.
If we really implement what Lu Chen said, there will indeed be many benefits.
Li Zhuo was overjoyed and said, "The Imperial Master is indeed very knowledgeable. This method is very good!"
The heads of various departments also think this is a good idea, and they will never select officials who are not suitable for their departments again.
But Wei Yong snorted in dissatisfaction and said, "While your suggestion is good, it doesn't solve the current problem. Once we have clear scores, the gap between the candidates in the north and south will be more obvious."
Upon hearing this, before Lu Chen could say anything, Liang Licang on the side became unhappy.
"Lord Wei, isn't it a bit too much to pressure the Imperial Master like this? If it weren't for the Imperial Master, who else could have come up with such a good idea? In the future, clearly write the scores on the papers, and preferably also write the points where the points will be deducted. Then, give the papers to the candidates and let them read them for themselves. Wouldn't they then be convinced of their defeat?"
"Yes, the scores written in black and white on the test paper, is there anything more intuitive than this? Lord Wei, I admit that many years ago, the northern style of literature was indeed more superior, but the past is the past, and the present is the present. If you are not good at it, practice more. If you can't afford it, don't try it."
Wei Yong was so angry that he wanted to pull his beard off. If this was true, then the morale of the northern scholars would be destroyed.
So he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this method is absolutely unacceptable!"
"Your Majesty, I believe this method is ingenious. Please implement it immediately."
Seeing that the two sides were about to quarrel again, Li Zhuo looked at Lu Chen in embarrassment and said, "National Master, look at this..."
"Your Majesty, please be patient. I haven't finished speaking yet, and my lords, please don't be impatient either."
"The conflict between the north and the south that you're all worried about is actually quite easy to resolve. All we need to do is include two questions related to northern governance among the three essay questions in the Jinshi exam, and increase the weight of the essay in the exam. This will naturally close the gap between the north and the south."
Upon hearing this, Wei Yong's eyes lit up immediately. Even Li Zhuo slammed his hand on the table and said excitedly, "Yes, once the scores are visualized, we can increase the weight of certain questions and thus control the scores of some people!"
The southern officials were shocked when they heard this, but for a moment they could not find a good reason to refute it.
Lu Chen's actions actually handed over the right to decide the scores of candidates from the north and the south to Li Zhuo.
If Li Zhuo felt that there were too many candidates from the south and some space needed to be left blank, then the essay questions would be biased towards the north.
If you think that there are more people from the north serving as officials during this period, then the test questions will tend to be more about the south.
After Jiang Tao figured it out, he suddenly shuddered violently, then he looked at Lu Chen with admiration, almost wanting to bow down to him!
This was clearly a long-standing problem that was difficult to resolve in the court, but Lu Chen not only solved it with just a few words, but also added a huge weight of power to the emperor's hands. Is this the ultimate form of flattery?
Imperial Master, I understand!
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