The county magistrates had no idea what the exam was, but the decree was before them, with the seal of the King in the North and the seal of the Prime Minister on it.
These two seals together represent the authority within the Northern Territory. If there was only one seal, they could resist.
Of course, it was just a thought. In reality, no one dared to resist.
The Northern Kingdom is remote and poor, and it's hard to come by with someone. No matter what, it's better not to offend them.
So a group of people went to take the exam feeling very confused.
Sang Qian stood at the top, cleared his throat, and said, "Now, let me tell you about the exam room rules. Anyone with books must hand them in. No flipping through them, no talking, no wandering around. You may not leave the exam room before you hand in your paper. The exam lasts half an hour, so you can hand in your paper early. Once you leave, you may not re-enter. Do you understand?"
The county magistrates were all stunned by what they heard. After Sang Qian repeated it, they gradually reacted.
These rules are actually easy to understand, but the serious atmosphere makes everyone panic. What exactly is an exam?
Especially since the soldiers guarding the door all looked mighty and strong, making everyone feel like they were being arrested and imprisoned.
Well, if Liu Tan knew what they were thinking, he would probably agree with them. Isn't taking an exam just like being in jail?
After the scene was absolutely quiet, Sang Qian distributed the test papers.
The test papers were distributed by several minor officials under his command. The county governors were stunned when they saw the test papers.
One of the fat sheriffs couldn't help but pick it up and looked at it carefully. Then he asked with wide eyes, "What...what is this?"
Someone next to him also said, "Is this...is this the new silk satin from the capital?"
Sang Qian instantly felt a sense of superiority. He knocked on the desk, coughed lightly, and said, "Everyone, be quiet and don't make any noise! This is paper."
"Impossible!" the dark and thin county magistrate blurted out, "This thing is as white as clouds and as smooth as silk. How can it be paper?"
Sang Qian grabbed a piece of paper, ripped it in two, and said, "Have you ever seen silk that breaks so easily? If it's not paper, then what is it? This is the new paper that His Highness invented in Chang'an. It's naturally incomparable to the yellow paper we used to have."
Everyone stroked the paper carefully for a long time, but they were still skeptical about Sang Qian's words. The main reason was that the surface of the paper was too smooth and delicate. They had never even seen fine silk fabrics before, so how could they have seen such paper?
Sang Qian glanced at the hourglass, raised his hand, picked up the hammer, and struck the bell on the desk. He said, "The exam is about to begin. Candidates may begin answering the questions. In half an hour, the papers will be collected. Whether you have finished or not, you must hand them in. Otherwise, you will be deemed to have failed the exam. The specific punishment will be determined by His Highness and the Prime Minister."
This voice startled everyone back. They didn't take the first half of Sang Qian's words seriously, but they were shocked when they heard the second half. Is there a punishment for failing the exam?
All of a sudden, everyone began to look carefully at the words on the test paper. They were so busy admiring how smooth the paper was like silk that they forgot to see what was on the test paper.
After opening it, they were dumbfounded. They recognized the words on it, but... what was this question about?
The above questions are basically varied. Simple ones include the land area of the Northern Border Kingdom, how many counties there are in the Northern Border Kingdom, and then more in-depth ones include how much arable land is under the jurisdiction of each county governor, how much arable land can be supplied by water sources, how much labor force is needed, and so on.
The county governors were sweating profusely after seeing this. Not to mention the previous part, they had no idea how big the Northern Border Kingdom was. They just came here after being notified that they had become part of the Northern Border Kingdom.
As for his subordinates, it goes without saying that they don’t know much about these things at all. It’s good enough if they know something, and most of them have a blank mind.
Sang Qian sat there, looking at the county governors below who were sweating profusely from anxiety, and suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction. He wanted to ask His Royal Highness the King of the North if there would be a next time.
But the problem was that the county governors didn't want to take the exam again. They didn't take the exam honestly in the beginning. Even though Sang Qian had read the exam rules before and emphasized some of them very seriously, these people were used to having the final say in their own territory and didn't take those rules seriously for a while.
After encountering something he was not sure about, he turned around and wanted to ask the person next to him if he knew anything, but he was threatened by a soldier who was patrolling the examination room.
When Sang Qian saw this scene, he couldn't help but sigh that His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory was foresighted. He had never thought of bringing soldiers on patrol!
Of course, the county magistrates were not convinced by being suppressed by the soldiers. They had never suffered such a loss before, and they subconsciously wanted someone to punish the soldier.
After seeing this, Sang Qian rang the bell on the table and said, "Keep quiet. Do not be rude to the patrolling guards. Anyone who commits this offense again will be expelled from the examination room."
The county magistrate immediately dropped his pen and said, "I am an official appointed by the court and cannot bear such humiliation. Where is His Highness? I want to see His Highness!"
When he made a fuss, others naturally followed suit.
Sang Qian's sense of superiority suddenly disappeared, and he subconsciously became a little worried. If this matter failed, would he be in trouble?
Thinking of this, Sang Qian's face immediately turned serious and he shouted, "This is His Highness's order. Do you think you can disobey it? Everyone, think carefully. His Highness the King of the Northern Territory is no ordinary person. He is the Queen's biological son!"
The county governors were stunned, and although their arrogance was reduced, they did not obey the orders.
The saying "the mountains are high and the emperor is far away" has become a popular saying that has been passed down, so there must be some truth to it. The county governors in these remote areas are used to bullying the local people. They were already very unhappy when their immediate superior came, and now they feel despised and are even more dissatisfied.
In their eyes, even the emperor might not be able to do anything to them, let alone a King of the North?
Seeing that the situation could not be calmed down, Sang Qian immediately sent someone to find Liu Tan.
Liu Tan was looking at the information of these county governors at this time, oh, it should be said that it was their black history. These things were collected by Huo Guang in advance in order to give Liu Tan a mental preparation that these county governors were not easy to deal with.
Liu Tan was filled with resentment as he looked at these dark histories. He knew that there were few truly clean and honest officials these days, and it was not surprising that they even took human lives lightly. After experiencing the mine incident, he had thought he could face these things calmly.
But he never expected that there would always be someone who could exceed his imagination. One of the county magistrates was so excessive that he couldn't stand it anymore.
In order to marry off his daughter, he saw a commoner woman who looked very similar to one of his daughter's maids, so he directly kidnapped the commoner woman and forced her into slavery, just to make a good-looking pair.
The young lady's family was in business and had some connections. She came to the county governor's house and wanted to replace her with another beautiful maid but was refused. She was even killed by the county governor!
This is simply too unscrupulous to describe!
That wasn't enough. In order to seize good farmland, he forced an entire family to death. In order to cover up his crimes, he massacred an entire village. Finally, he disguised himself as a robber.
Just as Liu Tan was getting angry, he saw a young eunuch running over and saying, "Your Highness, something happened at the examination hall. The county governors are not convinced, and Captain Sang can't suppress them."
Liu Tan threw the bamboo slips in his hand directly onto the desk and said, "If he can't even do this little thing, what's the point of having him?"
The young eunuch immediately shrank his neck. Liu Tan suppressed his temper and asked, "Who started it?"
The young eunuch whispered, "It's the governor of Xi'anyang County."
Liu Tan was immediately furious. Well, it was this guy who made him so angry just now, and now he dared to openly provoke him.
He stood up, took his sword and rushed straight to the examination room.
With the voice of "The King of the North has arrived!", the examination room fell silent for a moment.
After Liu Tan led his men in, he took a quick look. When the county governors made eye contact with him, they all lowered their heads, and their hearts were startled - this guy has a strong evil aura and is not easy to mess with.
Most of these county governors have killed people, but they did not do it personally. However, Liu Tan... was the one who actually did it.
Liu Tan took a look and asked coldly, "Who is the governor of Xi'anyang County?"
The county magistrate who had thrown his pen first came over and bowed, "Your Highness, the King of the North."
While paying his respects, the county governor was still thinking that he had taken root in the local area for decades. Although the King of the North was of noble status, he could not lose his edge and be suppressed. Otherwise, with this man's aura, he would definitely not have an easy time in the future.
Anyway, the King of the North is young, so just give him delicious food and fun things to make him happy, and don't let him cause trouble to everyone.
However, after he saluted and stood up, before he could even utter his previous protest, a sword light came towards him.
The last scene that the Xianyang County Magistrate saw in this world was the blood-stained clothes and expressionless face of His Royal Highness the King of the North, who he thought was easy to please.
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