Chapter 290 Imperial Examination, Li Xuan's Attitude
"Qi Lang was able to use his family wealth for the state's benefit. He also enforced the law strictly, which made the country richer and richer. But Qi Lang still had to maintain harmony with the prime ministers."

Li Longji thought of the grudge between Li Xuan and Li Linfu again.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Li Xuan's simple three-word perfunctory response showed that he did not want to get along with Li Linfu.

Li Longji could hear it.

He learned that Li Linfu's son Li Yi was beaten and disfigured, and he went crazy and disappeared all day.

Appearance is the key to being a gentleman. Li Longji's eldest son, Li Cong, was injured in the face by a wild beast while hunting, leaving him with scars for life.

Li Cong's mother was Concubine Hua. As the queen had no children, he had a noble status but was unable to become the crown prince because of the scar on his face.

Therefore, it was almost impossible for Li Longji to mediate between Li Xuan and Li Linfu again.

In this situation, it is best to remove one of the prime ministers.

Li Xuan was the initiator of the new law, so naturally he could not be dismissed.

Li Linfu served as prime minister for more than ten years. In Li Longji's eyes, he had made great contributions and was allowed to enjoy a few good years. He missed the feeling of those years and hoped that he would have that opportunity again.

After visiting the Zuozangku, Li Longji returned to Xingqing Palace.

He was very happy, but also a little unhappy.

He wished winter would come soon, so he went to Huaqing Palace and had another big dream.

I hope that when I wake up, the dispute will be over and the reform will be completed.

On September 1st, the imperial examination was held in Gongyuan.

As the chief examiner, Li Xuan personally presided over the imperial examination.

The transcription clerks were also on standby, and the sealing clerks were ready.

Until now, Li Xuan has not designated any examiners.

But I already have a candidate in mind.

Pei Zunqing, Li Xian, Cen Shen, Yan Zhenqing, Shangguan Qing and dozens of others served as examiners.

After the examination was completed and the transcribers had finished copying and sealed the papers, they would be given documents to go to the Imperial Examination Hall to correct the papers.

The first new imperial examination must be fair and just.

As the bell rang, thousands of candidates filed in.

When the time came, the invigilator distributed the papers.

Candidates read the questions at the first opportunity.

The first question is "Thoughts after reading a book". It is accompanied by a poem by Li Xuan.

This poem was not circulated in Chang'an, but it is full of philosophy and profound meaning.

The candidates all praised Li Xiang's talent and maturity. If it had not been marked as written by Li Xiang, they would have thought it was written by someone with decades of experience.

Based on their thoughts after reading the books, the candidates had a variety of ideas.

Some candidates want to imitate Li Xuan's poems, some candidates want to write their own poems, and some candidates want to write poems based on their own feelings after reading books.

However, the depth of the writing, the thickness of the thoughts, and the far-reaching intentions still need to be reviewed by the examiner after it is completed.

The second question is about the policy of the new law. All the scholars are aware of the new law, but if they are subconsciously opposed to it, they will not be able to do well in this question.

This question is the most crucial one. No matter how good the poem is, if the new laws and policies are not good, it will be eliminated directly.

As for the arithmetic in the third question, it surprised the candidates. They had heard that arithmetic was only tested in mathematics subjects, so why was arithmetic also tested in the Jinshi subject?
Some candidates complained in their hearts.

The questions are the same for all candidates.

In addition to the classic "chickens and rabbits in the same cage".

The second arithmetic problem is: Now the number of people in the north township is 8,758, the number of people in the west township is 7,236, and the number of people in the south township is 8,356. In total, 378 people are sent to serve as labor service in the three townships. I want to calculate the number of people to be sent out. How many are they?
The third math problem is: Now A has 560 coins, B has 350 coins, and C has 180 coins. All three of them go through customs, and the customs duty is 100 coins. I want to know how much money they have to pay. How much do they each have?
This is a question about officials calculating poll taxes and customs duties.

After becoming a local official, you will need it from time to time, and it is very simple.

However, this simple and commonly used arithmetic problem left some candidates scratching their heads.

They were well-versed in the classics and books of sages, and only studied the most basic arithmetic.

The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art not only needs to be read, but also studied and applied to other situations.

Mastering these is more than enough for daily arithmetic.

Most candidates were able to do arithmetic problems.

Those who cannot answer arithmetic problems will have no chance of becoming a Jinshi unless they can write a stunning new policy paper.

Halfway through the exam, Li Xuan appeared in the examination room.

Li Xuan looked at the list of candidates and found Bao He, the son of Bao Rong, one of the Four Scholars of Wuzhong.

There are also some well-known poets such as Li Jiayou.

It is unknown whether they can stand out under the new imperial examination system as they did in history.

Li Xuan's appearance in the examination room shocked the candidates and also made them feel pressured.

Normally, the Jinshi exam was supervised by the vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, but now it was the most powerful prime minister who was in charge.

The exam questions were obviously set by Li Xuan.

Li Xuan just walked around twice and then went backstage to read, without putting too much pressure on the candidates.

"Dong dong..."

The sun sets and the bells ring.

Candidates must leave their seats regardless of whether they have completed the test or not.

All the test papers were collected by the invigilator and handed over to the transcriber under strict supervision.

For the next half month, the transcribers will copy the papers in the Imperial Examination Hall guarded by the imperial guards.

Each copy will be compared by the invigilator to ensure that there are no transcription errors.

Common mistakes in transcribing can be corrected by painting over them, but they cannot be too outrageous. If there are more than a dozen mistakes in each copy, you don’t need to work as a transcriber anymore.

Compared with the past, the new imperial examination took longer to announce the results, and scholars suffered more.

However, the new imperial examination system was entirely based on merit. Those with outstanding academic performance would be appointed as officials. Reputation was of no use, regardless of the status of one’s surname.

Those poor intellectuals were full of confidence in the future.

However, just five days after the imperial examination was completed, Xin'an Magistrate Li Yu was escorted back to Chang'an and brought to the Censorate.

In order to avenge his son's serious injury and disfigurement, Li Linfu asked his confidants to keep an eye on the interrogation of Xin'an Ling.

If there is any situation, report it to him immediately. For a time, the attention of the government and the public was attracted by the Li Yu case.

Even the popularity of the new imperial examination system was not as high as that of the Li Yu case.

Because Li Yu's case was related to Li Xuan, the government and the public wanted to know whether Li Yu had accepted bribes to obstruct the new law.

If there is, even if Li Xuan kills his own relatives for the sake of justice, it will still deal a blow to Li Xuan's reputation.

If Li Xuan covers up for the perpetrators and lets them off lightly, the new law will be meaningless.

Although Li Xuan avoided suspicion and did not participate in the trial of the Censorate, as long as Li Xuan released a hint of information, Yang Shenjin would do as Li Xuan wanted.

But Li Xuan did not. He even refused to see Yang Shenjin and did not speak to Yang Shenjin in the court.

Apart from going to the Zhongshu Menxiatang to handle government affairs, he would also go to the Gongyuan to check on the progress of the clerks in transcribing the test papers.

Yang Shenjin could only try and handle the case according to the law.

Li Yu refused to admit that he had accepted bribes because when Li Yu was escorted back, the Jinwu Guards did not find a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry.

Catch the thief and seize the stolen goods.

Xiao Yinzhi impeached Li Yu for accepting huge amounts of gold, silver and jewelry from powerful people and obstructing the new law.

After several days of interrogation, there was no evidence.

Yang Shenjin could not punish Li Yu severely, and he wondered if Li Yu was wrongly accused.
But he felt something was wrong. Old foxes like Xiao Yinzhi were impeaching with such confidence that they would not bring trouble upon themselves.

After such a big fuss, Li Yu was ultimately found not guilty and Xiao Yinzhi was just making a false accusation.

The sage was furious, and Xiao Yinzhi would certainly lose his official position.

"Doctor Li, the Xin'an magistrate claims he was wrongly accused, and his wealth does not seem to indicate he has taken bribes. What do you think?"

After the court session the next day, Yang Shenjin called Li Xian.

He knew that Li Xuan thought highly of Li Xian, so he gave Li Xian five more diplomatic posts.

"Doctor, don't rush to close this case. Send someone to Xin'an County to investigate carefully. There will definitely be clues. If the doctor can't produce evidence to prove that Xin'an Ling is guilty, those people will definitely produce evidence that Xin'an Ling committed a crime."

Li Xian replied to Yang Shenjin.

He believed that Li Yu was 80% guilty and was certain that Li Linfu had evidence of Li Yu's crime.

Li Linfu did not take it out because he was waiting for Yang Shenjin to close the case.

If Yang Shenjin declared Li Yu not guilty and Li Linfu revealed the evidence, not only would Yang Shenjin be dismissed from his post, but Li Xiang would also lose face.

The next new law will be difficult to implement!

This was a conspiracy from beginning to end.

After Li Xian roughly figured it out, he reminded Yang Shenjin and asked him not to think about those messy things.

Li Xiang was reluctant to speak because he still had to face pressure from his relatives.

Yang Shenjin understood Li Xian's meaning and was no longer in a hurry for success.

He sent the Imperial Censor Wang Changling to Xin'an County to inquire about Li Yu's character from the people and look for evidence about Li Yu's case.

Just as Li Xian said.

Since Li Yu was arrested, Li Xuan has been hiding from his relatives.

Li Cui asked for leave from Shangjun and returned to Chang'an, asking Li Shizhi to keep Li Yu safe for the sake of his father.

Li Cui didn't dare to look for Li Xuan.

As local officials, they knew Li Xuan's character best.

Since Li Xuan appointed Zhao Fengzhang as the Minister of Personnel, he seemed to be very fierce. Once a county official failed the assessment, he would be immediately transferred to Chang'an.

And then there's no going back.

His rectification of the Ministry of Personnel was stricter than that of Yao Song.

Li Cui could not see Li Yu, so he lived in the Mansion of Duke Song and asked Li Shizhi for help many times.

Li Shizhi, feeling soft-hearted, agreed to ask Li Xuan.

The relationship between Li Shizhi and Li Cui was complicated, not an ordinary relationship between uncle and nephew.

Li Shizhi was born to Li Xiang's concubine and was Li Xiang's son in his old age.

But Li Shizhi's mother died shortly after giving birth to him.

When Li Shizhi was nine years old, Li Xiang died.

Li Shizhi was raised by his elder brother Li Yu and had the opportunity to enter the officialdom through family connections.

And Li Yu is the father of Li Cui and Li Yu.

Although Li Shizhi and Li Cui are uncle and nephew, they are actually only ten years apart in age.

On the seventh day after Li Yu was escorted to Chang'an, Li Shizhi arrived at the Tianshui Palace.

When Li Xuan came back in the evening, Pei Lingxi told Li Xuan that his father was in the back garden.

"Father!"

Li Xuan immediately went to the back garden to meet Li Shizhi.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the father and son sat in the pavilion.

We used to talk about everything, but today we feel a little reserved.

Li Xuan immediately knew that Li Shizhi came for Li Yu, so he took the initiative to ask: "Father, is it about my cousin?"

"Alas! I shouldn't have looked for Qilang. I understand the difficulty Qilang faces in ruling. But Qilang also knows the relationship between me and your uncle, and I don't want his descendants to suffer injustice!"

Li Shizhi sighed and spoke frankly to Li Xuan.

He had long since stopped caring about state affairs and was enjoying family happiness, but Li Yu's sudden accident made him unable to sleep or eat.

Since Li Yu arrived at the Censorate, no charges have been reported against him.

Li Shizhi had a glimmer of hope in his heart, that Li Linfu and others had wrongly framed him in order to deal with Qilang.

"A fly won't bite an egg without cracks. If my cousin is as straight as a pine tree and as crystal clear as ice, he won't be afraid of what others say. Let's see the result. If he is wrongly accused, I will take up the ruler of the law; if he is guilty, I will give him a coffin. I have done my best..."

Li Xuan already had his own ideas, and he also knew Li Shizhi's difficulties.

I'm old now, and these are all I have left.

So what Li Xuan said is not so absolute.

Of course, it also shows his attitude towards breaking the law and obstructing new laws.

(End of this chapter)