NCCnovel What should be tested in Chapter 307?
What should be tested in Chapter 307?
Upon hearing this, a barely perceptible hint of hesitation flickered in Wang Wan's usually composed eyes. He frowned slightly and said softly, "While this plan is ingenious, the risks it carries are immense! If we are not careful and are discovered by others, we will likely face certain death."
However, Li Si, standing to the side, looked resolute and confident. He stared firmly at Wang Wan and retorted without hesitation, "Prime Minister, as the saying goes, 'Fortune favors the bold!' The current situation is extremely critical. If we cannot make a decisive move and take a gamble, we will ultimately be like fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others."
After hearing Li Si's words, Wang Wan fell into deep thought. After a fierce internal struggle, he finally gritted his teeth and said as if he had made up his mind, "Alright! In that case, let's proceed according to your plan."
Wang Wan seemed to remember something and asked, "Then how should the system of Three Dukes and Nine Ministers be implemented?"
Li Si's lips curled into a confident smile as he replied with self-assurance, "In my opinion, His Majesty is currently preoccupied with the imperial examinations and likely has no time to consider establishing a new bureaucratic system. Therefore, we should seize this opportunity to win over other officials in the court and gain more support. At the same time, we must carefully plan our next steps. Once the imperial examinations are over, we should find a suitable time to propose the implementation of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers system to His Majesty again. I believe that with this period of preparation and effort, the chances of success will greatly increase."
Wang Wan nodded, and he and Li Si exchanged a glance before nodding in unison.
Immediately afterward, they cautiously and secretly gathered their most loyal confidants, assembled them, and locked the doors to prevent any leaks. Once everyone was present, they lowered their voices and secretly discussed the specific steps of the operation, as well as the various problems they might encounter and their countermeasures.
After leaving the Imperial Medical Bureau, Ying Wuyou returned to Chaohua Palace. Upon arrival, she eagerly went to her study, closed the door, and began to ponder alone. This imperial examination was of extraordinary significance to the Qin Dynasty, but due to the tight schedule, it couldn't proceed as in history, starting with the preliminary examinations. The best option now was the provincial and palace examinations. However, she knew this special circumstance was only a temporary measure. To ensure the selection of truly outstanding talents in the future, the traditional examination process would still need to be followed—starting with the preliminary examinations, progressing through the provincial and metropolitan examinations, and finally reaching the palace examination.
At this moment, the most crucial question facing Ying Wuyou was: since there were only two examinations—the provincial examination and the palace examination—what specific content should be tested? She paced slowly in her study, her brow furrowed, constantly weighing various possibilities in her mind. "The classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections are the foundation of learning, and naturally, they are indispensable," she murmured softly, as if conversing with herself.
"However, at present, the Great Qin urgently needs talented people who can govern the country and manage affairs, and we should also pay attention to policy discussions..." Thinking of this, Ying Wuyou stopped and stood by the window, gazing at the swaying branches outside the window in a daze.
After racking her brains for a long time, Ying Wuyou still couldn't figure it out. In desperation, she decided to seek help from the system that had always been silently by her side. She concentrated her mind and softly called out from the depths of her mind: "System, are you there?"
A moment later, a lazy voice replied: "I'm here, host."
Upon hearing the system's reply, Ying Wuyou quickly asked, "[In addition to classics, history, philosophy, and policy essays, what other assessment content do you think should be added to this year's imperial examination?]" She then waited expectantly for the system to provide constructive suggestions.
After a moment of silence, the system said: [Host, this system suggests adding a mathematics assessment. Mathematical knowledge is indispensable in many aspects of governing the country, such as tax calculation and construction projects. Furthermore, the law should also be included in the assessment. Officials need to be familiar with the law to judge cases fairly and govern according to the law.]
Ying Wuyou's eyes lit up, finding this quite reasonable. Ying Wuyou said, "Mathematics and law should indeed be tested, but preparing questions on short notice will likely be difficult."
The system spoke again: [Host, there's no need to worry. This system can provide some classic example questions, which can be easily modified for use in this imperial examination.]
Upon hearing this, Ying Wuyou was overjoyed, a bright smile spreading across her face as she excitedly exclaimed, "Thank you so much, System!" Her voice was filled with delight.
The system, however, seemed rather arrogant, replying with a slightly smug tone: "Hmph, you're welcome!" Hearing the system's response, Ying Wuyou couldn't help but laugh out loud, finding the system extremely amusing.
However, after the initial joy, a new problem arose—the choice of the examination location. Ying Wuyou fell into deep thought, pondering: where would be the most suitable place to hold the examination? Should she build a special examination hall? But she quickly shook her head, rejecting the idea. Leaving aside whether there was enough time, the manpower, resources, and money required to build such an examination hall were not easy to manage; it was simply too troublesome. It seemed she needed to think about it more carefully.
Next, the question of the number of people to be admitted arose. Ying Wuyou thought that first, the imperial court must instruct all regions to promptly report the specific number of people who had registered for the imperial examinations. After all, this was the first imperial examination in history, and the number of participants could not be too large. Moreover, these talents selected through the imperial examinations would become role models for others to learn from, so they not only needed to have solid academic knowledge, but their personal character could not be flawed in the slightest.
Thinking of all this, Ying Wuyou reached out and pulled out a few sheets of clean white paper from the table. Then, she gently picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and prepared to record all the details of this scientific expedition in detail.
She knew that this record was not only to be presented to the King of Qin, but more importantly, she would need to discuss it with many ministers in court the next day. The thought of the potentially fierce debate tomorrow sent a shiver down her spine. Even so, she firmly gripped her brush and began to write diligently, daring not to slacken in the slightest.