I run a training class in Shu Han

Chapter 30 Examination System

"Someone, go and check how Ma Su performed in this assessment."

Although the Prime Minister's Office was the institution responsible for administering the examinations, the final results were only known to officials personally appointed by the Emperor. Zhuge Liang and many of the Prime Minister's Office's subordinates were completely unaware of this.

Since Ma Su dared to raise questions in public, it's likely that he didn't perform well in this assessment.

When Dong Yun saw Ma Su step forward, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Ma Su was a military advisor in the Prime Minister's office. Although his position was not high, he was highly regarded by Zhuge Liang.

"So it's Military Advisor Ma Su. May I ask what brings you here?"

When the people heard that it was Ma Su, they immediately cheered.

The "Five Ma's" were famous throughout Xiangyang. Although Ma Liang was the most outstanding, Ma Su's talent was no less than that of his brother Ma Liang.

Both of them are talented, but they have different areas of expertise.

Ma Liang once served as an aide to the Left General and a Chamberlain, equivalent to a senior secretary to his superior. He also served as an envoy to Eastern Wu, and was a civil official.

Ma Su was fond of discussing military strategies and was an official of the same rank as a military advisor or strategist.

Just as Ma Su was about to reply, the onlookers started yelling.

"Military Advisor Ma is renowned for his talent; I imagine he will deliver some profound insights."

"There must be cheating in the Imperial Academy examinations. I urge Military Advisor Ma to rectify the examination atmosphere and restore order to the examination halls."

"Military Advisor Ma is highly regarded by the Prime Minister. Please, Military Advisor Ma, uphold justice for the students of Yizhou."

Ma Su cupped his hands, looked around, and replied, "I am not talented, but this concerns the great cause of the nation, and I am willing to seek an explanation for you all."

The people applauded and cheered.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, Military Advisor Ma has been listed on the imperial edict for the ordinary class."

The ordinary class is the imperial examination list for those who stand out from the poor and common people.

Zhuge Liang was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

Although Ma Su's talent was not as great as his brother's, it surpassed that of most talented individuals. Moreover, Ma Su successively served as the magistrate of Mianzhu County, the magistrate of Chengdu County, and the governor of Yuexi. Whether in political affairs or military matters, he should be ranked among the top in the imperial examinations.

"If Military Advisor Ma has any doubts about his grades, he can retrieve his case file, which contains the examiner's comments. If there are still any questions, he can share them with other students across the country."

Although Dong Yun's words were polite, he actually showed no respect to this military advisor from the Prime Minister's office.

Inviting students from all over the world to appreciate this, if it is truly due to my own shallow knowledge, wouldn't I be letting down the reputation of the Ma brothers' talent?

Ma Su smiled slightly and said, "Ma Su does not have any doubts about his own writing. Besides, being an official is not the same as being a scholar."

"Scholars need to study diligently for ten years to achieve something. Traveling the world and spreading knowledge and skills is the way of scholars who have the world in their hearts."

"An official should investigate the people's conditions, understand the governance of the bureaucracy, distinguish right from wrong, and care about the people, rather than just talking on paper."

With just one short sentence, Ma Su once again won the applause of the people.

"Military Advisor Ma, you have excellent eloquence," Dong Yun praised.

When the officials read out the list of successful candidates, Dong Yun realized that although Ma Su was on the list, he could only be placed in the same class as commoners and poor scholars, which was a disgrace to his reputation as a talented scholar.

However, what he just said made the people subconsciously understand that being talented and being good at being an official are not directly related.

Many talented people may not become officials, but like Confucius and Mencius, they traveled around the states, spreading Confucianism and becoming great Confucian scholars of all time, leaving a lasting legacy.

"Since you're not here for your own article, what insightful opinion does Military Advisor Ma have?"

Before Ma Su could answer, some people in the crowd shouted.

"Military Advisor Ma is naturally going to uphold justice for us students."

Dong Yun looked in the direction of the sound and saw that many scholars among the people were echoing the sentiment.

Most of them were students who had failed the exam, and they were all feeling resentful.

Dong Yun opened his arms, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"His Majesty has decreed that anyone who raises objections to the examination will receive a satisfactory response from the court. Please proceed!"

He raised his right hand slightly.

Please begin your performance.

"Lord Dong, His Majesty's intention in reviving the Imperial Academy is to break the monopoly of aristocratic families and select talents from among the common people, regardless of social status. I do not consider myself highly learned, but I am confident that I am no worse than some of the students on the list."

"Is that to compare your case file with those of other students?"

"Not so. Students believe in the examiners' impartiality; the papers that make it onto the list must have something special, but the people themselves are not necessarily so."

"Okay, I understand!"

After a moment's thought, Dong Yun understood the deeper meaning.

"You believe that the examiner was biased and leaked the exam questions, while the candidates cheated by bringing pre-prepared answers into the exam room."

These words immediately caused an uproar among the people.

Examination rules have always been very strict, and favoritism and cheating are severely punished. It is understandable that candidates are worried about such things happening.

Dong Yun took a deep breath, already having prepared his response.

"Gentlemen, His Majesty's revival of the Imperial Academy and the establishment of training programs are aimed at cultivating talented individuals for the nation. This is a matter of great importance to the Han Dynasty and cannot be ignored."

"Do you, the test takers, remember the wooden plaques you received the day before the exam?"

As soon as he finished speaking, many students present quickly took out a wooden plaque from their pockets.

"This wooden sign has numbers on it, and each sign has different numbers. It serves as your pass to enter the examination room."

The students immediately compared the numbers on the wooden sign with those around them, and they were indeed consistent with what Dong Yun had said.

"The Prime Minister's office has special officials who record the names of the candidates corresponding to the numbers, and the Imperial Guards personally guard the register."

"In addition to the roster, even the officials in charge of recording the results will be under the surveillance of the Imperial Guards until the exam is over before they can leave."

"Therefore, apart from the officials who recorded the records and the examinees themselves, no one else knew the owner behind each wooden plaque."

"Now you understand why you didn't sign your exam papers, but instead wrote the numbers on the wooden signs."

The students then realized that there was such a consideration behind this small wooden sign.

Since the candidates do not sign their names, the examiners responsible for grading the papers naturally do not know who wrote them, and therefore there is no way for them to cheat.

"There's another point everyone needs to understand: three days before the exam, all the examiners lived in a courtyard guarded by the Imperial Guards. Their food, clothing, and other necessities were provided by special personnel, and they were forbidden from contacting the outside world until they had finished reviewing all the cases. This was to prevent any cheating from happening."

The wooden plaques were distributed the day before the exam, and the chief examiner was under close surveillance by the Imperial Guards three days in advance. Therefore, even if the candidates wanted to send messages after receiving the plaques, they had no way to do so.

Such meticulous anti-cheating measures impressed the students present, and naturally no one questioned whether there was any cheating during the exam.

"What about the exam questions? Didn't anyone leak them?" another student asked.

Dong Yun burst into laughter upon hearing this.

He was laughing at those students who failed their exams but wouldn't give up until they were completely defeated.

If even a small exam pass is so rigorously prepared, one can only imagine how strict the most important exam questions must be.

"The exam questions were personally guarded and escorted to the examination venue by Zhao Tong, the commander of the Imperial Guard, and no one else was allowed to come into contact with them during the journey."

"As for the question setters, there's no need to worry about them leaking the questions."

"Because the ones who set the questions were His Majesty and Prime Minister Zhuge."

"I can add one more point: each case file not only replaced the candidate's name with numbers, but was also encrypted by covering it with silk cloth before the chief examiner reviewed it."

"Furthermore, to ensure fairness and justice, each candidate's file is reviewed by at least three different examiners. If all three examiners rate it as first-class, other examiners will review it again."

"Therefore, the more case files reviewed, the better the article is."

"This is the examination system established by His Majesty."

The people and students were in an uproar upon hearing this.

Such a fair and just exam makes cheating extremely difficult and greatly reduces the chances of overlooking talented individuals.

The people all bowed in submission.

"Your Majesty is wise!"