The revitalization of the Tang Dynasty began with the Ganlu Incident.

Chapter 38: The Imperial Examination

Unlike other dynasties, members of the Tang imperial family were allowed to hold official positions.

Although there are some restrictions, such as the prohibition against serving as prime minister, military governor, or commanding troops, overall, there is no particularly significant impact.

Moreover, depending on the closeness of the relationship, the more distant the kinship, the smaller this restriction.

The most typical example is Li Xiaoben, the current Censor-in-Chief, who is a typical member of the imperial family.

That's why Li Shangyin asked this question, which left Li Ang somewhat amused and exasperated.

Entering officialdom was out of the question; he wasn't like General Zhu of the Ming Dynasty, who made himself an official.

Li Ang quickly waved his hand and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Shangyin. Although I am a member of the imperial clan, I am already beyond the fifth degree of kinship."

"My family did consider having me take the imperial examinations, but unfortunately, I lack the talent and learning. I'm fine discussing politics in general, but I'm afraid I don't have the ability to actually participate in the examinations..."

This was just a casual excuse to shirk responsibility, but unexpectedly, Wen Tingyun's expression became somewhat complicated upon hearing it, and he said...

"Second Brother, you're being too modest. With such insight, your talent and learning are certainly not lacking. Besides, the current imperial examinations don't test talent and learning. How will you know you can't do it if you don't even try?"

Li Ang was taken aback, and this time he was genuinely puzzled.

"What do you mean by that, Fei Qing? If the imperial examinations don't test talent and learning, what do they test?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the private room fell into an unusual silence. The three people opposite him turned their gazes to Li Ang in unison. After a moment, Duan Chengshi hesitated and said.

"Erlang doesn't know?"

This behavior made Li Ang even more confused: "What do you know?"

Seeing this, Li Shangyin seemed to understand something and said, "It seems that Erlang has never participated in the imperial examinations before, nor has he learned about this matter in detail."

Li Ang was puzzled, but he nodded nonetheless and said, "I only know that the imperial examinations are difficult, with only one in a thousand passing. Therefore, I have never really considered it. What, judging from what you gentlemen are saying, is there some unknown secret behind this?"

The three people opposite them exchanged a glance and then burst into laughter.

Then Li Shangyin said, "It's not really a secret. Anyone who has participated in the imperial examinations once will know these things. It's just that for those who have no interest in an official career, it's not widely known."

There really is one?

Li Ang immediately perked up, cupped his hands, and said, "Please enlighten me."

Seeing this, Li Shangyin quickly waved his hand and said, "It's nothing to teach you. I just participated in the imperial examinations a few more times and know a little more. Since you want to know, Erlang, I will tell you."

Perhaps recalling some unpleasant experience, a hint of bitterness appeared on Li Shangyin's face, but he quickly concealed it.

"Erlang should know that the imperial examination system of our dynasty originated from the Jinshi examination set up by Emperor Yang of Sui, which was originally established to gather talents from all over the country."

"However, when the imperial examinations were first established, all the candidates were from aristocratic families. The reason for this was that aristocratic families passed down their knowledge of the classics, while poor families, even if they had books, could not compare with aristocratic families in terms of studying the principles of righteousness. Therefore, in order to encourage and select scholars from poor families, our dynasty's imperial examinations emphasized poetry and prose while downplaying the classics."

"In this way, although it allows poor scholars to advance their careers, new problems arise. Poetry originates from the heart and is used to express emotions. Except for a banished poet like Li Bai, the poems written by ordinary scholars are judged differently by different people."

"For this reason, the practice of requesting and soliciting favors to submit examination papers gradually arose in our dynasty's imperial examinations..."

"Please provide a travel document?"

Li Ang frowned, his expression becoming more serious.

At this point, Wen Tingyun continued to explain: "The so-called 'request for a scroll' means that the candidates would collect all the poems, lyrics and essays they had written beforehand, compile them into scrolls, and send them to the powerful ministers in the court."

"If you can gain their favor, ask them to recommend you to the officials in charge of the imperial examinations. In this way, even if you don't perform well during the examination, or the examiners think your poems are not good, they will still consider the face of the recommender and you will still have a chance to pass the examination."

"This..." Li Ang's expression turned somewhat grim: "Isn't this cheating?"

After he finished speaking, the three people opposite him fell silent.

After a moment, Duan Chengshi forced a smile and said, "Second Brother, you are exaggerating. Poetry is inherently difficult to judge. When these court officials accept students, they consider not only their poetry and prose but also their character and abilities. In this respect, the people they recommend may actually be more in line with the court's needs."

"Bullshit!" No sooner had those words been spoken than Wen Tingyun jumped up, this time even more agitated than before: "Duan Chengshi, do you even believe what you're saying?"

"Poetry and prose are difficult to judge, but at least everyone is comparing the same thing. But what is this 'confessed scroll' comparing? Is it talent and ability? It's clearly family background!"

"You have a brilliant essay, and I have a hundred taels of gold. In the end, don't you know who will get the recommendation?"

"That's precisely why!" Duan Chengshi was clearly annoyed, his voice rising slightly as he said, "That's precisely why the court should appoint prudent ministers who are loyal and devoted to the country. If His Majesty can be close to virtuous ministers and keep away from sycophants, these virtuous ministers will naturally recommend more talented individuals to the court, won't they?"

"But everyone has their own selfish desires..." At this point, Li Shangyin couldn't hold back any longer and joined the debate.

"There are no saints in this world. Even if all the court officials are loyal to the country, they are not immune to selfishness. Even setting aside their own sons and nephews, scholars who enter officialdom through favors are indebted to those who recommended them. Before even entering officialdom, they have already joined factions. If this continues, how can the court not be filled with cliques, attacking and fighting each other?"

However, after he finished speaking, Duan Chengshi's face immediately darkened, and he coldly called out.

"Yishan!"

The private room fell silent again. Li Shangyin lowered his head, seemingly realizing something, and stopped talking, instead silently downing another cup of wine.

This sudden change left Li Ang somewhat bewildered.

At this moment, he was still processing the information he had just heard.

After all, he had only been in this era for a short time, and his knowledge was limited.

Although the original owner retained some memories, they were mostly from the emperor's perspective.

Take the imperial examination as an example. The original owner of this body saw more of the final result, but he didn't know much about the unspoken rules hidden beneath the surface.

For this reason, Li Ang subconsciously regarded the current imperial examination as the highly mature imperial examination system of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

However, he overlooked the fact that this was the Tang Dynasty, and the imperial examination system was still in its early stages.

It has too many flaws, and too many limitations imposed by real-world conditions...

Seeing that the atmosphere was somewhat tense, Li Ang perked up, poured a glass of wine for each of the three, and said.

"Listen to me, gentlemen. Although we have not known each other for long, I can see that you are all pillars of the nation who are concerned about the state of the country. Although you may have some differences in political views, in the end, you are all worried about the country."

"Since that's the case, let's have a proper debate. Why get so worked up?"

"Even if it's just to save face for me, don't get angry, don't get angry..."

With Li Ang mediating, the three men's expressions finally improved somewhat.

Duan Chengshi was the first to pick up his wine cup and drink it down, then sighed, "Second Brother, please don't be offended, I just feel that Yishan is really too stubborn."

As he spoke, he turned to Li Shangyin and said, "Tell me, since you were willing to introduce Erlang to Lord Linghu, why are you unwilling to let Lord Linghu recommend you for an official position?"