"I believe it can be done."

Lu Haowen hesitated only for a moment before responding directly, and not only that, but none of the other ministers around him spoke out against it.

This time, it was Zhao Guan's family who was a little confused—it's that easy? This is someone who passed the Imperial Examination!

But obviously, it was that easy.

In fact, this matter was originally Zhao Jiu being suspicious, even a little petty and presumptuous... He didn't know that this matter had half a precedent.

During the period when the Supreme Daoist Emperor of the Northern Hunt was in power, a similar thing had happened, and a prince even personally took the exam, not only making it to the final palace examination with real skills, but also reportedly winning the top spot with genuine talent and learning... With this absurd event as a precedent, it would probably be difficult for the officials of the Song Dynasty present to refute Zhao Guan's family's uprightness.

Even the six hundred prospective Jinshi below had nothing to say, because according to the rules of the dynasty, once they reached the palace, there was no question of failing; they were all Jinshi, only differing in rank and grade. And since the dignified Zhao Guan's family was letting a Jiedushi take the palace examination at the last minute in an upright manner, then Zhao Guan's family could not possibly have the audacity to give this Grand Commandant Yue the top spot.

At most, it would be a middle-ranking position, harmless to both the superiors and inferiors, and would be told as a good story in the future... Perhaps some people would even think that they had gained a rare camaraderie of being on the same list, and then when they met in private in the future, they would realize that I am two years older than you, Grand Commandant Yue, so I should sit in the seat of honor at the banquet?

Of course, there are all kinds of people, and with six hundred people plus dozens of ministers, there were definitely some dissatisfied people, but since the official proposed it and the prime minister agreed, their opinions could not be expressed for the time being, so the matter proceeded without any obstacles.

And Yue Fei could only step forward and respond in confusion.

However, just as Yue Fei stepped forward under the cold gaze of all his colleagues except Zhang Rong, Zhao Guan's family suddenly cried out inwardly, realizing that he had overlooked a major issue, which was that he had not communicated with Yue Fei in advance. What if Yue Pengju refused out of fear of arousing jealousy among his colleagues?

With this thought in mind, Zhao Guan's family was inspired with a quick idea, and then, without changing his expression, pointed to the ranks of the commanders and said calmly: "Since Prime Minister Lu has agreed, then I will not be stingy... Not only Pengju, but anyone below Liangchen who feels that their literary skills are up to par can come forward... Shao Yan (Li Yanxian's courtesy name), Zicai (Wang Yan), and also Qu Duan, you three are also known as both civil and military, would you like to try?"

Hearing this, Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun, the two roughnecks, looked at each other in dismay, while Li Yanxian and Wang Yan, who had previously looked the most displeased, were first slightly stunned, but then hesitated... After all, although these two could write a little and do some paperwork, they also knew their limits and knew that they were far from being able to write a proper article and compete for a Jinshi status.

If they really agreed, and the article was made public, they would only lose face.

Therefore, the two almost simultaneously shrank back, not daring to step forward.

But almost at the same time, Qu Duan, who was mentioned by name, was unwilling to give up this opportunity at all. He immediately stepped forward and excitedly responded, directly ahead of Yue Fei: "Your subject is willing to ask His Majesty to grant me a desk for a fair comparison, and I am also willing to post my article outside the Donghua Gate after the palace examination. If public opinion deems my article extremely poor, I am willing to take the blame!"

This preemptive remark directly changed Yue Fei's mind, who had been showing signs of wanting to decline... He was certainly worried that obtaining this Jinshi status would further alienate him from his fellow commanders, but as the saying goes, choose the lesser of two evils. If he retreated at this time, he would directly form a great grudge with this 'civil and military' man beside him.

Everyone in the palace knew that Qu Duan's appearance was not just to seek a Jinshi status, but to get rid of his awkward situation of being abandoned, and to tell the world that Qu Da was still someone of importance in the eyes of the official.

This concerned his political life.

Therefore, Yue Pengju also cupped his hands and bowed, but did not say anything. And this was the meaning of 'me too'.

Seeing this, Zhao Jiu finally laughed in public and turned to look at Lan Gui: "Since only two people are willing to, then go and add two desks and two sets of writing materials for Pengju and Shiyin (Qu Duan's courtesy name) to take the exam, and the rest of you will continue to watch the ceremony."

Yue Fei and Qu Duan naturally bowed together to thank the emperor, but compared to Yue Fei's surprise from beginning to end, Qu Duan suddenly felt like tearing up at this moment... Because only now did he realize that the official had always known his courtesy name, but had never used this title.

Yue Fei and Qu Duan each added a desk, and the brief disturbance passed directly. Zhao Jiu finally raised his hand and wrote down the exam questions one by one.

It is said that in the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination system was changed again and again. By the time of Emperor Huizong's lavish reign before the Jingkang Incident, the imperial examination was simply abolished and replaced by the Three Schools system (county school, prefectural school, and imperial school). Students who passed the imperial school could be directly appointed as officials. This time's Grand Imperial Examination and granting of Jinshi status was also a hybrid product of Zhao Guan's family and Prime Minister Lu. So the rules of the palace examination were somewhat arbitrary.

However, no matter how it changes, the bottom line is that Zhao Jiu, the official, must ask a few questions, and then the new Jinshi below will create a serious political paper based on these questions.

From Zhao Jiu's perspective as the questioner, the current situation meant that the questions could not go beyond those few areas... In fact, Zhao Jiu did not innovate, but on the contrary, he followed the political tradition since Emperor Shenzong, asking only five questions, but asking them in a particularly concise manner, without writing a lot of fancy language.

In comparison, after someone crossed the river on a mud horse in history, he actually asked dozens of questions when he opened the imperial examination, and it's unclear what he was trying to achieve.

The five specific questions.

The first was a major political question. Zhao Jiu opened with a clear purpose, asking about the four years of war between the Song and Jin dynasties. From a long-term perspective, how could Song win?

The second was a specific military question. Zhao Guan's family also spoke directly, asking how to defend and how to defend if the Jin people came again after autumn?

The third was a fiscal balance question, asking how to ensure the military deployment on the front line while minimizing the burden on the people in the rear?

The fourth was the old question of talent selection. Zhao Jiu asked a subtle question here, inquiring how to select qualified talents who could face military pressure in the new situation?

The last question, however, went back to the Confucian foundation, and was somewhat general, saying 'the way of governance is based on Heaven, and the way of Heaven is based on the people'. How should the emperor uphold the way of governance between Heaven and the people?

It seems that Zhao Guan's family was still influenced by his conversation with Hu Anguo that time.

After the five questions were written, the chief eunuch Lan Gui took them first and handed them to Zhu Shengfei, the Minister of Rites. Zhu Shengfei only passed them through his hands, confirming that the questions were not particularly outrageous, and then returned them.

Then, Lan Gui raised his voice as much as possible in the silent Jiying Hall and recited the five short questions publicly, repeating them three times. After three times, he asked again if anyone had not heard clearly.

In fact, this was just a formality. Several Hanlin scholars had already heard the questions clearly and quickly copied them in large characters, preparing to distribute them to the eunuchs. At that time, every ten or so desks would have an eunuch holding up the questions so that the scholars could see them clearly, record them in their drafts, and then write their essays.

It was still a bit simple, not as elaborate as in the past, with pre-marked signs, wine, and carefully copied exam papers.

But it was useful enough.

However, just as Lan Gui finished reading and was about to step down, Zhao Guan's family, sitting on the throne, suddenly took the initiative to speak, announcing loudly and attracting the surrounding chancellors and commanders, as well as hundreds of prospective Jinshi below, to listen attentively.

"Gentlemen, before you answer the questions, I have one more thing to say..." Zhao Jiu announced loudly, his voice clear and unmistakable in the Jiying Hall, which had excellent sound transmission. "I believe that in today's world, we are truly in a time of full-scale war between Song and Jin. The country is in a state of crisis day and night, and everything is disturbed by the war. Therefore, all kinds of rituals can be simplified. When you answer today, you don't have to worry about the rules and customs of the essays, as long as there is substance! Answer the questions!"

Such words caused a slight stir in the hearts of many people in the hall... Some felt that this was a reminder that the official should have made in the questions, some felt that this was a hint from the official, and others were simply shaken by the words 'full-scale war'.

But no matter what, after these words were spoken, the official calmly left the Jiying Hall with the other civil and military officials to drink tea and wait in the Huangyi Hall next door.

For a time, only the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the eunuchs of the Inner Attendants' Bureau, plus the Imperial Guards wearing armor and holding weapons, were left in the Jiying Hall, accompanying these six hundred and two prospective Jinshi to take this unremarkable exam.

ps: Thank you to the new leaders, Wei Wei Wei Wei du and Linghu Wuzhong, the 71st and 72nd leaders of this book... It's enough to make up the 72 Earthly Fiends.

Here's half a chapter... I'm so sleepy, I'm taking a half-day off to sleep... It's not writer's block, but I've been dealing with some work-related matters these past two days, and as a result, writing becomes extremely dry. Can you believe that I spent four or five hours in front of the computer on this half-chapter? Or is it another form of writer's block? Please forgive me, I'll try my best to make it up before 12 tonight.