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Red Sleeves also said softly at this time: "Husband, the concubine was afraid that these big families would be dissatisfied with the reopening of the imperial examination and would secretly sabotage it, so they sent some of their subordinates to enter the homes of major families as slaves to spy on intelligence. Although they were not found to have sabotaged the imperial examination, they found that they had frequent contacts with each other, and often summoned high-level figures in the family to the secret room to discuss. ”

After hearing this, Yu Ming's eyes flashed and said: "Originally, I wanted to give them a step down, as long as I come to show my allegiance to this king, I can also open the net and continue to investigate the previous unhappiness." After all, I need the support of the Gate Valve Family right now. But since these families are so ignorant of lifting, then don't blame me for being unkind. Sister Red Sleeves, you continue to closely monitor their movements, and if there is anything unusual, report it to me immediately! ”

Red Sleeves nodded, and then reported that the Intelligence Department planned to send personnel to the Jiangnan area to establish an intelligence gathering network in the south.

When the meeting was over, it was already late at night, and after everyone had said goodbye, Yu Ming returned to the bedroom with several ladies. This night, he lived absurdly, several ladies were in a long drought and nectar, asked again and again, and finally he had no strength at all, and then fell asleep.

……

After a few days, the palace examination was officially held, and the top candidates from the four counties of Hedong, Shandong, Hebei, and Liaodong in the Great Zhou Dynasty all gathered in the palace of the king of Zhou and began to conduct an important examination in their lives.

The process of the palace examination is different from the previous county and county examinations, which no longer tests the written test, but the examiner and the candidate have face-to-face communication to test the candidate's conversation, communication, eloquence, wisdom and adaptability. In today's parlance, the previous prefectural and prefectural exams were written exams, while the palace exams were more like interviews.

The team of examiners for the palace examination is also a neat lineup, the chief examiner is naturally Yuming, and the eldest grandson Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Hu Sizheng, Xu Shiji, and Wei Zheng also sat on the left and right sides of Yuming and took turns to ask questions.

The questions asked by the examiners are carefully designed and screened. Under Yu Ming's leadership, these questions were more similar to the interview questions of the civil service examination in later generations, rather than the Sui Dynasty, which tested some four books and five classics, poems and songs.

For example, the question that the eldest grandson Wuji asked the candidates in Hejian County was: If you are asked to serve as the county commander and there is a flood in the jurisdiction, how should you organize rescue and disaster relief?

And the candidate happened to live by the Yellow River, and he often encountered floods. As for how to repair the embankment, rescue the surname besieged by the flood, and have a lot of experience in post-disaster epidemic prevention and relief affairs, the answer is the first one.

Several examiners present were very satisfied. Although the list of candidates could not be announced on the spot because the palace examination had not yet ended, Yuming, Changsun Wuji and others had already exchanged opinions with each other, intending to send this candidate to a certain county prone to floods to serve as a county magistrate.

Then, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Xu Shiji and others also took turns to ask questions to the rest of the candidates, and most of the candidates were fully prepared for this, and the answers were quite satisfactory. Of course, there are also a small number of candidates who only read dead books, and they have no clue about the handling of specific matters.

For such candidates, after discussing with several other examiners, Yu Ming thought that they should still be given a chance. After all, they also broke out of the encirclement from the county test and the county test. It can be said that everyone is the best in their county, but they lack some practical experience and the ability to adapt to changes.

These candidates who fail to pass the temple examination can be arranged to work in counties where there is a shortage of manpower. After some training, if the performance is good, they can also be promoted.

Because there were more than one candidate, and the questions asked by the seven examiners were often tricky, it took 25 candidates to complete the examination in one morning. It is estimated that it will take at least a few days to complete all the interviews.

On the first day, Yuming met a candidate who made him pay more attention. This person was wearing a white brocade robe, with a slender figure and a delicate face, and his clothing temperament was obviously a little out of place compared with those previous candidates from poor backgrounds.

"Name?"

"Pei Xingyuan!"

"Origin?"

"Donglai County."

"Previous county exam results?"

"No. 1 in Donglai County!"

"Hey, your surname is Pei? Could it be that he is the younger brother of the Pei family in the Shandong Shi clan? Yu Ming asked with some curiosity. He remembered that Pei Renji, an important figure in Pei Valve, was called Pei Xingyan.

"Yes!" Pei Xingyuan nodded, and then hurriedly said: "Although I am a member of Pei Valve, I am only a side brother, and I have not been valued in the clan, so I want to pass the imperial examination and strive for a bright future...... I have great admiration for King Zhou and all of you! ”

Obviously, Pei Xingyuan also knows the history of Pei Valve and Yu Valve fighting openly and secretly in the former Sui Dynasty. But now Yuming has been born and has become one of the strongest princes in the world, and there is hope to win the country.

And Pei Xingyuan, who is optimistic about Yuming and dissatisfied with the family's heavy inheritance system, naturally wants to stand out in the imperial examination and display his ambitions.

When Yu Ming saw Pei Xingyuan, who was panicked, and heard him say that he was a side brother, and when he was not valued in the Pei family, he couldn't help but think of what happened to him in the Yu family back then. At that time, he was an illegitimate child, and he was bullied in the clan with his mother Xiao Wanjun. All I want is how to reverse my fate, get ahead, and let my mother and myself no longer be bullied. And how similar this Pei Xingyuan is to himself back then!

"Pei Xingyuan, you don't have to worry, this king recruits talents, only looking at talent and morality, not background. Although he had disputes with Pei Ju and Pei Yun over some political opinions, he would not generalize and regard all the people of the Pei family as enemies! As long as you are loyal to Da Zhou and work for this king with peace of mind, this king will treat you and other candidates equally, and will never treat you differently! Yu Ming said in a deep voice.

Pei Xingyuan was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly told Yuming that he would definitely be loyal to the Great Zhou, loyal to the King of Zhou, and do his part for the future Zhou army to dominate the world.

"Good! Now it's time for me to ask you: If you are asked to be a county magistrate, and there is a matter of the surname of the jurisdiction collectively petitioning the capital, how should you respond? Yu Ming threw out a tricky question.

Pei Xingyuan hesitated for a moment, then frowned, and said loudly: "If I become a county magistrate, after encountering this kind of incident, I will first investigate in this county to understand the reason for the petition." If it is me or my subordinates who mishandle it and infringe on the interests of the surname, I will truthfully report it to the court and ask for punishment. And if it'......"

So, Pei Xingyuan began to answer, and the response to the answer was indeed very correct, first find the reason from himself, admit it if he made a mistake, and ask his superiors to punish him. And if it is a misunderstanding, send someone to the capital to clarify the misunderstanding to the surname and persuade them to come back; And if someone makes trouble or makes false accusations, notify the local Jinyi guard and supervision officials to intervene in the investigation of the mastermind behind the scenes, and prevent other candidates or people with ulterior motives from trying to incite civil unrest in the Great Zhou.

Pei Xingyuan's answer made Yuming and several examiners very satisfied, he thought of the reason for the surname petition, all the possibilities, and listed the countermeasures, although I dare not say that every countermeasure is perfect. But at least the goal of quickly quelling the incident and stabilizing the county has been achieved. This is a super-level performance for a young man who has never served as an official and has no experience in local management.

"Good! Pei Xingyuan, you make me very satisfied! Although the final ranking of the palace examination has not yet been announced, after the discussion between this king and several examiners, there is no problem for you to enter the top ten! Yu Ming smiled at this time and said, "However, the specific position that will be arranged for you will not be announced until the imperial court has a regular meeting." You can go back and prepare your luggage, say goodbye to your family, and after the Chinese New Year, you may have to go to a new place to take up your post! ”

"Thank you, King Zhou!" After Pei Xingyuan heard this, he was immediately overjoyed. Among the many candidates in front of him, he is the only one who can be made it clear by Zhou Wang Yanming that it is no problem to enter the top ten.

And the candidates who came with him around him, seeing that he was about to leap into the sky, also congratulated him again and again, so that Pei Xingyuan had to return the salute one by one, and he was very busy.

"Alright! Pei Xingyuan, you go down first! Who is the next candidate? It's time to take a seat! Yu Ming waved his hand.

Pei Xingyuan nodded, then got up and left, and replaced the next candidate to come up......

Yu Ming was busy until the afternoon of the first day, when the palace test was completely over, and the specific ranking could only be determined after Wei Zheng and others made statistics. And the hired candidates, where to be arranged, should also be discussed at the next day's court meeting. After giving some follow-up work, he left the hall where the temple examination was held.

However, as soon as he walked out of the hall, he saw Pei Xingyuan coming forward.

"His Royal Highness the King of Zhou, thanks to the appreciation of the prince, the villain finally has the opportunity to show his ambitions, and he should do his best for the Great Zhou, and then die!" Pei Xingyuan first expressed his loyalty, and then changed his words and said: "But in the past few days, some strange things have happened in my Pei family and several other families, and the villain wants to report it to King Zhou!" ”

"Oh? What's weird? When Yu Ming heard this, he was immediately alert.

"Now that the Chinese New Year is only a little more than a month away, Pei Jin, the eldest elder of my Pei family, issued a family order, asking the Pei family brothers and their families in Beiping to go back to their hometown in Shandong for the New Year together, and worship their ancestors by the way." Pei Xingyuan said.

"It's normal to go back to your hometown for the New Year to worship your ancestors! Many large families do this. Zhang Zhongjian, who was serving as a guard on the side, said disapprovingly.

After Pei Xingyuan heard about it, he hurriedly said: "If you really want everyone to go back to your hometown for the New Year, and worship your ancestors by the way, the villain will never use this matter to disturb King Zhou." After the Great Elder announced the matter in the family this time, he secretly sent his henchman, the housekeeper Pei Yuanyi, to secretly inform the young and middle-aged brothers of the family not to leave Beiping, and only let the elderly, children and female relatives of the clan leave, and they still stayed in Beiping for the New Year. ”

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