Volume Two: Adults and Children Chapter 104: The Tribute Examination (Part One)

On the eighth day of the ninth month, the weather was clear and bright.

Early in the morning, just as the sky was beginning to pale, the area in front of the Beijing Tribute Examination Hall was already a surging sea of people, with hundreds upon hundreds of candidates having gathered there at the break of day.

The Tribute Examination, as the name implied, was an examination conducted within the Tribute Examination Hall.

It was an officially recognized path to securing an official post, distinct from the provincial and metropolitan examinations of the regular imperial civil service system.

As early as the Hongwu reign of the Great Ming dynasty, the Tribute Examination had served as an important avenue for the imperial court to select talented individuals. However, as the weight of the regular civil service examinations grew ever heavier and the status of the Jinshi degree holders rose, the Tribute Examination, much like the once-glorious Imperial Academy, was gradually neglected and forgotten.

Yet, with Emperor Jiajing reopening the Tribute Examination this time and explicitly declaring that those who passed would be granted official posts, its appeal to scholars naturally became immense. Countless candidates who had failed the provincial and metropolitan examinations hoped to turn their fortunes around through this very Tribute Examination.

Precisely because the Tribute Examination differed from the standard civil service examinations, the candidates truly qualified to participate also varied greatly from regular examinees.

Unlike the regular civil service examinations—where anyone of unblemished family background could participate through a graduated series of screening tests—candidates entering the Tribute Examination had to possess considerably high birth qualifications. At the very least, one had to be the offspring of an official's household to be eligible to enter the Tribute Examination Hall.

Coupled with various other restrictive conditions, many scholars eager to secure a path into the imperial administration through the Tribute Examination could only gaze across the water and sigh in despair.

Even so, the candidates who flocked here upon hearing the news still numbered over a thousand. Yet, it was said that the quota of talented individuals set by the emperor was a mere thirty persons. Such a passing ratio rivaled even the provincial examinations in the regions of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu.

As the sun rose in the east and the sky grew bright, the bell within the Tribute Examination Hall rang out. Officials from the Ministry of Rites stepped out through the main gates of the hall, their faces stern, and announced to the assembled crowd that the entry for the Tribute Examination was about to begin.

Under the maintenance of several times their number in government soldiers, the more than one thousand candidates then lined up, holding their examination credentials, and slowly passed through the gates to enter the examination grounds.

Compared to the provincial and metropolitan examinations, where body searches were so meticulous that candidates were stripped bare to the skin, the searches for the Tribute Examination were far more relaxed. After all, those capable of participating in the Tribute Examination all possessed wealthy or noble backgrounds; how could they be subjected to the indignities of common soldiers?

Huang Ming, standing midway down the queue with his examination basket in hand, felt a slight sense of relief at this sight.

Before long, he reached the checkpoint for body searches and instantly recognized that the official in charge was an old acquaintance from the Brocade Guard.

The Centurion also recognized Huang Ming. After secretly exchanging a glance, he went through the motions perfunctorily and let Huang Ming pass into the examination grounds.

Upon entering, instead of being assigned to cage-like individual examination cells as in the regular civil service examinations, the candidates were led collectively to a spacious plaza in front of a grand hall.

There, over a thousand desks and chairs had already been prepared, awaiting them to take their assigned seats according to their numbers.

Once Huang Ming was seated, he raised his gaze and saw that within the hall ahead, numerous desks and chairs had also been arranged. At the elevated front sat a towering chair, clearly the imperial throne belonging to His Majesty the Emperor.

Since this Tribute Examination had been entirely promoted by Jiajing, he naturally had to personally oversee and preside over it.

Sure enough, as the candidates all settled into their seats, another group of neatly attired officials walked leisurely into view. At their head was none other than Yang Tinghe, the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

Just as they entered the hall, the cracking of three purification whips echoed, followed by the prolonged, shrill voice of a eunuch: "The Emperor has arrived—"

Instantly, the candidates in the plaza and the mass of officials inside the hall bowed low in unison, shouting in loud voices: "We your subjects respectfully welcome Your Majesty! Ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!"

Huang Ming stepped aside from his examination desk, kneeling there as he watched a procession slowly pass right before him.

Suddenly, the person walking in the exact center paused slightly right in front of him. He distinctly sensed two gazes fall upon him, followed by a very soft voice: "Do you have confidence?"

Huang Ming hurriedly roused his spirits and lowered his voice: "This subject will certainly not let Your Majesty down..."

Jiajing seemed to smile faintly, then strode briskly forward and entered the hall directly.

This brief exchange between the two went completely unnoticed by anyone else.

In fact, the surrounding candidates were already in a state of high nervous excitement and wild imagination due to the emperor's arrival; how could they possibly notice such a minor movement beside them?

After entering the hall, Jiajing quickly took his seat, raised a hand, and spoke in a very mild tone: "My beloved ministers and all candidates, please rise."

After everyone had expressed their gratitude and stood up, he continued: "Today is the first imperial examination held since my accession to the throne, and also the first time the imperial court has reopened the Tribute Examination in decades. I hope only that all candidates can give full play to their strengths and compose the finest essays; furthermore, I hope that those of you who are selected will serve as upright officials in the imperial court hereafter, making outstanding contributions to me and to the realm of our Great Ming!"

With these words, he gently waved a hand: "Time is precious, so I shall say no more... Present the questions!"

At this command, attendants on either side received brocade boxes from the hands of two eunuchs, extracting from them the examination questions personally drafted by His Majesty the Emperor.

Once those individuals retrieved the questions and unfolded them, the ministers present were the first to behold the contents inscribed on the paper.

Promptly, the brows of Yang Tinghe and a few leading officials furrowed swiftly. They raised their heads to look at the smiling Emperor above, momentarily at a loss as to how they ought to react.

Regardless of their reactions, the attendants below took the examination questions, transcribed them onto massive wooden boards, and held them high aloft as they walked out of the grand hall, displaying them clearly before all the candidates.

"Today's Tribute Examination consists of two topics; candidates shall compose essays based upon each of these subjects respectively!

"They are as follows: *The Governance of Emperor Wen Made Han Strong!* and *The Master said: 'He who for three years does not depart from the way of his father may be called filial.'*"

Not only were the questions displayed for all candidates to see, but strong-voiced soldiers also chanted the topics aloud several times to ensure that every examinee in the hall was aware of the examination subjects.

Following this sequence of actions, the expressions of the entire body of candidates instantly turned solemn and grave.

Each and every one of them sank into deep thought, racking their brains to ponder how to compose essays based on these two topics, as well as what deeper meanings might lie concealed behind these phrases.

Compared to the standard civil service examinations, which merely required expositions based on the words of the sages, the Tribute Examination evidently made much higher demands of the candidates.

Everyone understood that since the questions had been personally formulated by His Majesty the Emperor, he must possess his own distinct standards and preferences. To achieve a high score, one naturally had to write in accordance with the emperor's intentions.

Yet, what precisely were the intentions and preferences of His Majesty the Emperor?

Had there been civil service scholars who knew nothing of the world outside their windows and focused solely on reading the sages' books, they would undoubtedly have been utterly at a loss at this juncture.

However, the thousand-odd candidates present were mostly the offspring of officials, somewhat cognizant of the political currents at court, and thus they naturally possessed certain frameworks in their minds.

Among them all, the one who appeared the most composed and unhurried was undoubtedly none other than Huang Ming.