Chapter 722 Chief Examiner Wei Jie
There are two chief examiners for the imperial examination, one chief and one deputy, and the main examiner is the one to be judged.
Of course, the deputy chief examiner and eight co-examiners are also very important.
The examination papers are selected by them and then submitted to the chief and deputy examiners for decision.
If there is a difference of opinion, the examiner's advice shall be final.
It is easier to get things done if you have someone in the court. As the imperial examination is approaching, the He family has been keeping an eye on who the examiners will be.
After the final list was determined, the He family also received the information first-hand.
Minister He showed the list of examiners for this year to Sun Shan and others.
The chief examiner of this examination was Wei Jie, the Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Dongke.
Minister He sighed and said, "It seems that His Highness attaches great importance to this examination. The chief examiner is of the highest rank."
The imperial examination was presided over by the Ministry of Rites, and the chief examiner was usually an official of the third rank or above. This time the imperial examination was directly presided over by the bigwigs of the Ministry of Rites, and the standards could be said to be quite high.
The Minister of Rites was the Shangshu, and there was only one of him, who was of the second rank.
Responsible for the country's ritual system, including sacrifices, tribute, diplomacy and other affairs, as well as the national imperial examinations.
Dongge Grand Secretary is one of the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, and is of the first rank.
The main responsibilities were to assist the emperor, handle government affairs, review memorials, draft replies, draft imperial edicts, and approve memorials.
It's equivalent to the emperor's secretary.
Minister He continued, "Wei Jie was once the current emperor's Grand Tutor and a close confidant of the emperor. This time he is in charge of the imperial examination. It seems that he wants to select his own talents from it."
Minister He meant: This is the first joint examination since His Majesty ascended the throne, and the candidates who made the list are also the first batch of students of the current His Majesty. His Majesty attaches great importance to it, so the chief examiner is of very high standard.
This is an unprecedented opportunity. If you can stand out from the crowd of candidates and catch the eye of His Majesty, your future will be limitless.
Minister He encouraged him, "Take the exam well and try to get on the list. This is the first time that the current emperor has presided over the imperial examination. You are the emperor's disciples and his people. Maybe you will have better opportunities than previous disciples."
Saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new is the same for everything.
The luckiest ones are the current emperor’s first batch of disciples, and the unluckiest ones are the late emperor’s last batch of disciples.
However, this only applies to general rules and not to everyone.
Sun Shan thought of the "cold-faced scholar" Yu Nanwang.
What a coincidence that he is the last disciple of the late emperor. I don’t know whether I should be glad that he was on the list and achieved good results, or sigh secretly for being the “last disciple”.
However, Sun Shan believed that Yu Nanwang did not conform to the general rules, because he was not an ordinary person.
I learned from my eldest cousin before that after Yu Nanwang completed his internship at the Hanlin Academy, he was successfully retained and officially appointed as a seventh-rank editor of the Hanlin Academy.
The route he took was the same as that of his cousin, and also the same as that of most officials.
Everyone is vying to obtain a status as a member of the Hanlin Academy, as this is the best prerequisite for becoming an official in the future.
Minister He talked to Sun Shan and others for a long time about the benefits of becoming the emperor's first disciple.
But these are things for the future. To get the benefits, you have to be on the list.
He Shujun and his group really have no confidence that they can pass the exam.
Sun Shan discovered that Minister He actually resembled Old Master He San not only in appearance but also in personality.
Actually, I talk a lot.
Perhaps due to his status as a high-ranking official and the authority of an elder, he usually does not talk too much with younger people.
But at this moment, the disciple was chatting with Sun Shan and others incessantly, and he kept talking all the time. He was definitely not a talkative person.
After talking for a long time and finally finishing explaining the benefits of being the first disciple of the emperor, I officially got to the point.
Talk about the life and deeds of Minister Wei Jie.
Wei Jie’s resume is actually not complicated. Like He Shujun, he was born into a large local family and enjoyed education from famous teachers since childhood.
I passed the exams from scholar, to juren, to jinshi.
Minister He said with a hint of jealousy in his eyes: "Minister Wei passed the joint examination and was awarded the title of Jinshi (Tanhua) as the third place in the first class of the palace examination."
After a pause, he continued, "In fact, he ranked first in the imperial examination that year. Rumor has it that because he was the youngest and most handsome in that year, he was demoted from the top scholar to the third scholar."
Then he stroked his beard and said with a hint of gloating: "Minister Wei has been brooding over this and is unhappy."
When Sun Shan and his companions heard this, their eyes widened.
Oh, poor Minister Wei, he was so outstanding and could have been the top pick, but he was squeezed to third place because he was a handsome guy.
Tsk tsk, for a moment I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad.
But for Minister Wei, he must be sad and angry.
Although he is both talented and handsome, he ends up being regarded as a "good-looking but empty" scholar in the eyes of the outside world.
Clearly, he makes a living by his own abilities, but people end up thinking he makes a living by his looks.
Tsk, that's a sad thing.
Minister He continued, "Minister Wei was quite angry about this incident. His writing style was sharp and pointed, and he hated evil. But in recent years, I don't know whether it was because he had grown old or because he was highly valued by the current emperor, his mentality had become more balanced, and his words were no longer as sharp as before, and he spoke neither hurriedly nor slowly."
Finally, Minister He said, "I told you about Minister Wei's deeds, but I actually want to tell you that I don't know what kind of writing style he likes now. In the past, he would have liked articles that were sharp, pointed, and to the point. Now he has changed a lot. I don't know if his favorite writing style is the same as before, or is it plain and gentle like jade."
Minister He waved his hand and said helplessly: "Minister Wei and I are just nodding acquaintances. We usually only meet in the court and have rarely exchanged a few words. In private, we only communicate politely. I know him well, but not too well, so I can't give you advice based on his preferences."
Sun Shan and He Shujun looked at each other and didn't know what to say for a moment.
As a person with completely different personalities in the first and second half of his life, they are not sure whether Lord Wei Jiewei will continue to admire his former self with bright clothes and vigor, or his current self who is gentle and calm.
Minister He finally added: "When we participate in the imperial examination, we are not supposed to write in a style that the examiner likes. After all, it is difficult to change the style of writing. Suddenly trying to please him will be counterproductive. We just need to not write about things that the examiner doesn't like. What Lord Wei hates most is empty and boastful articles, just as he doesn't like others to remember his identity as the third place in the imperial examination."
Minister He then introduced the deputy chief examiner and co-examiners to Sun Shan and others.
Based on his own experience, he told Sun Shan and others about the things to pay attention to when entering the examination room.
Of course, the people he was talking to more were Sun Shan and He Zudi.
When entering a venue for the first time, you always have to take extra care.
After saying this, Minister He left heavily.
After a new year, Minister He became even fatter.
Mrs. He worriedly asked a doctor for help. Fortunately, the doctor said that it was nothing serious and she just needed to pay attention to her diet.
He's obesity is hereditary, and he needs to eat only three meals a day for nine days to become thin.
Once you resume your normal diet, drinking water will make you fat.
He persuaded old Madam He not to worry too much, saying that Minister He only had old age illness and nothing serious.