"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! The young prince is highly educated and intelligent. He answered the questions of numerous Confucian scholars fluently, and he already has the bearing of a benevolent and powerful ruler."
"If the little prince arrives at his fiefdom in the future, he will definitely be able to manage his fiefdom in an orderly manner." Jiang Tao accompanied Li Zhuo and naturally gave him some flattery.
The bigwigs of the other six ministries stood aside with their lips curled. Having reached their position, they were too disdainful to offer such superficial flattery. Otherwise, the one who said this would not be Jiang Tao, the Minister of Rites, but Ke Fuji, the Minister of Rites.
Today was the day when the results were announced. Not only did the eldest prince come here early, but Li Zhuo also came quietly with the ministers.
After all, it was his son's exam, and he had declared that he would take first place before the exam. Li Zhuo felt that he had to come to support his son and show off to his subordinates.
Even if Li Xiang didn't get first place, Li Zhuo would feel proud if she could make it into the top ten.
See? This is my son. He has learned your civil service knowledge so well. Are you convinced?
This is just like many parents in later generations, who act as if their sons are promising and capable, which means they are capable themselves.
Li Zhuo was beaten by these civil servants every day, so he wanted his son to get revenge.
What Li Zhuo was thinking was that as long as Li Xiang could pass the exam, even if her ranking was a little low, he would praise her greatly.
After all, Li Xiang is only eight years old. What were your children doing when they were eight years old? This is the advantage of being a dragon.
If he could make it into the top 20, that would be even more amazing. Li Zhuo planned to attack directly in the face.
But Li Zhuo never expected that Li Xiang would give him such a big surprise. Not only did he win the first place directly, but he also sat down and talked with the scholars on the spot, leaving them speechless and unable to answer any of their questions.
Li Zhuo was clearly not satisfied with Jiang Tao's praise. He chuckled, turned to look at Ke Fuji, and said, "My dear Ke, I remember that in your imperial examination, you were the third place winner. What do you think of my son's writing?"
Ke Fuji sighed. He knew he couldn't escape today. Although he didn't want to flatter too much, the facts were before him, and he couldn't just lie with his eyes open.
So he could only nod his head obediently and said, "The young prince is very intelligent and his level of skill is indeed quite high. With such a level of skill, he will definitely pass the imperial examination next spring. To be honest, when I was the young prince's age, I couldn't even read. I am not as good as the young prince."
"Hahaha, my dear, you are too modest. You can't say such things in front of him. I'm afraid he will become proud."
Ke Fuji looked at Li Zhuo helplessly. This was the legendary "getting the upper hand and then acting cute," he thought to himself, "Haha, I can't say it in front of him, so I have to say it harshly in front of you, right? I'm embarrassed to expose your little tricks!"
Obviously, this alone was not enough to satisfy Li Zhuo. He looked at the ministers around him and said, "My dear ministers, you have sons and nephews in your families. I wonder if anyone will participate in the imperial examination next year? If so, you can have them communicate with Li Xiang. As the saying goes, a stone from another mountain can polish a jade!"
Everyone looked at each other, thinking, come on, how despicable are we to be so unhappy.
Just when Li Zhuo wanted to continue showing off, Wei Yong spoke up.
"Your Majesty, if, as the young prince said, the Chinese Academy of Sciences has mastered certain answering techniques and is willing to teach them in exchange for money, this would be a blessing for the world!"
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Li Zhuo frowned and said, "Isn't it a good thing to let more people know how to take the imperial examinations and how to write good essays?"
"If it were taught to the public for free, that would indeed be a good thing. But the crux of the matter is that if you want to learn what the Chinese Academy of Sciences has to offer, you have to pay. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has artificially set a threshold, which excludes many students from disadvantaged families."
"If this method is truly effective, then in the long run, the court will be filled with people from wealthy families, and there will never be a noble son born from a humble family again."
Wei Yong's concern was not unreasonable. The imperial examination itself was a way to achieve class transition, and it was the simplest, most intuitive and effective way.
Why did rulers of every dynasty attach so much importance to the imperial examination? Because once a country or a society becomes rigidly divided, it is bound to have problems, serious problems, and even fall apart.
When the circle of those in power becomes a stagnant pool, they will use the power in their hands unscrupulously and exploit the lower-class people without limit.
When they no longer care about the lives of the people below, the life of this country will come to an end.
Therefore, the imperial examination system cannot have any problems. Once a problem occurs, it will really shake the foundation of the country.
This is why countries in later generations restricted extracurricular tutoring. The purpose of education and college entrance examinations is to allow everyone to compete on the same starting line. However, some people can wait at the starting line in an airplane, while others can only go barefoot and drag a carriage called a family behind them. How can they be compared?
Li Zhuo quickly figured out the crux of the matter. He frowned in embarrassment and said, "So, Minister Wei is saying that the Chinese Academy of Sciences shouldn't be allowed to impart this kind of knowledge? Is that something you're going to say?"
Even Wei Yong, who was a man of great integrity, felt a little scalp-tingling after hearing this.
Are you kidding me? This method was developed by the School of Arts. The people living in the School of Arts are all old monsters.
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