Time passed quietly, and the study was quiet and silent.

Ye Feng raised a smile: "Grading by levels, and testing by batches."

“The two most basic tests, county and state, are used to conduct basic screening of candidates and minimize the long-distance travel of candidates.”

"In order to ensure the fairness of the examination, the central court sent special officials to supervise it."

"This way, even if someone wants to do something bad, the energy they have to spend will be doubled."

"If the local tyrants want to cheat, they need to bribe the officials randomly selected by the court. However, the time between the arrival of the officials and the start of the exam is very short. I'm afraid that such a short time is not enough to plot something that will cost them their lives."

"As for those who want to cheat in the exam in Kyoto, it is not easy because they need to bribe local officials."

"With such checks and balances, cheating is not easy to occur."

"Secondly, this is just the initial screening test. Even if you pass it, it doesn't mean you can become an official. How many people would spend so much effort to plot such an unprofitable test?"

"The next exam in Kyoto is the final selection. Under the emperor's feet, even if someone has all the power and eyes, can he cover the sky with one hand?"

"Although these measures cannot guarantee that things will go exactly as we want, they can at least avoid challenges to fairness as much as possible."

"Mr. Shuijing, do you think this answer is satisfactory?"

After Sima Hui's own consideration, he nodded slowly: "Everything has a bright side and a dark side as long as there are people. It is impossible to be absolutely fair. However, we will do our best to make the exam more fair. This is already an explanation to the ordinary candidates and the children of poor families."

"Minggong's method of mutual supervision is very good."

"But for children from poor families, traveling a long distance to Kyoto is still a problem."

“How do we solve the travel expenses?”

"Although it is said that 'When God wants to give a man a great responsibility, he must first make his mind suffer, his muscles and bones toil, his body hungry and his body empty.' There is no harm in enduring a little hardship, but I am afraid that the long journey will keep these people out. If this happens, the empire will miss out on countless poor students."

"Of course there won't be any problem in the short term, but what about the long term? I'm afraid."

“But it’s really troublesome to solve this problem.”

"Even if I rack my brains, I still can't think of a solution that satisfies both parties."

Ye Feng laughed: "You don't have a solution, but I do have one."

"The court can set up a special and dedicated scholarship."

"The scholarships are managed by a dedicated person who is directly under the control of the imperial court, not the local government."

"The money is used to provide these poor children so that they will not be unable to participate in the final imperial examination due to travel expenses."

A gleam of light flashed in Pang Degong's eyes, but he said solemnly after a moment: "Ming Gong, isn't this still funded by the court?"

"No one knows how many poor children there are in the world. How much do they spend every year?"

"Plus, can these scholarships really be handed over to useful people?"

"Even if there are people who specialize in administering scholarships, those who have connections and are willing to pay the price can still get these scholarships more easily than poor students."

"Therefore, if we don't solve this problem, it will only give those children of the aristocratic families some money to support their own squandering."

"Even if there is no price, poor children may still not get much help."

Ye Feng smiled and shook his head: "The scholarship is not given for nothing."

“This money has to be paid back.”

"return?"

Ye Feng nodded: "Not only do you have to pay it back, you also have to pay interest."

“And all those who have borrowed financial aid need to be marked in the candidate information.”

"If someone from a wealthy family gets these scholarships and enters Kyoto, they will have to rest in dormitories built by the imperial court. Although they will be provided with food and accommodation, the conditions are naturally not comparable to those outside. And after they become officials, they will still be screened again." "If someone from a wealthy family does this intentionally, their official position can be stripped."

"With these two additions, who do you think would take the risk?"

"Putting yourself in danger for such a small amount of scholarship?"

Pang Degong was stunned, then he laughed and clapped his hands: "Ming Gong, you are really a god!"

"These two additions are wonderful."

"With all the conditions added up, it's extremely troublesome. Who would want to deliberately cause trouble for themselves?"

"As for those poor students, if they don't have the support of these scholarships, they may not even be able to reach Kyoto. They naturally don't think these conditions are cumbersome, because they are not afraid of the court's investigation. The conditions they live in are worse than those provided by the court."

“So they’re willing to put in the effort.”

"But how are they going to pay back the money?"

Ye Feng smiled and said, "If you are an official, the court will deduct it directly from your salary, a little bit every year, which will not affect your basic life, until you pay it back."

"If you fail the exam, you can accumulate it, but after three times, the scholarship will no longer be supported, and of course you don't have to pay it back."

Sima Hui clapped his hands and laughed: "Wonderful, wonderful."

"This is the best design. After you pass the exam, the money will be deducted from your salary, so you don't have to worry about it."

"If they fail the exam, they will have three more chances to continue on to Kyoto."

"In the end, he failed to gain anything in the three attempts, which proves that this person is not cut out to be an official. So naturally, there is no need to worry about him disappearing."

Ye Feng nodded: "Although there will be losses in the scholarships, as long as most people can pass the exam, their interest will be enough to make up for these losses."

"Even if there are some deficiencies, it won't be a big deal if the court makes up for it."

"Gentlemen, are you satisfied with my answer?"

Sima Hui, Duke Pang De knelt on the ground sincerely: "My lord has opened a path for the poor children in the world to make progress. I can imagine that once this matter spreads throughout the world, all the poor children will be grateful to my lord and the court. I have seen a rising empire that is about to shine with new light."

Ye Feng noticed the two people's addresses and smiled: "Gentlemen, please stand up quickly."

"I just hope that the children from poor families can have more opportunities, so that everything won't be monopolized by the wealthy families."

"Besides, this is for the empire I am about to build, not for others."

"I'm not that noble or great."

Sima Hui shook his head: "When judging a person, don't look at what he says, but look at what he does."

"What the Lord has done makes us happy for our original choice. We made the right choice."

Ye Feng laughed loudly: "Gentlemen, are you willing to contribute to this?"

“This new system needs people to prepare.”

Sima Hui and Pang Degong looked at each other and said seriously, "I am willing to do my best to help my lord accomplish this."

Ye Feng laughed: "Okay, starting today, you two will work with Guo Jia to summarize the process of this system and let me make the decision."

Sima Hui nodded: "Yes!"

"My Lord, what is the nomination for this examination system?"

"Imperial Examination!"

(End of this chapter)