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Chapter 416: 218: Great Increase in Luck

On the third day of November, Cui Changqing came to report the results of the examination to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan nodded satisfied after hearing the news: “Not bad, to have so many scholars come, it seems that our preparations have not been in vain.”

Having tens of thousands of people participate in the imperial examination was not an annual occurrence, even in Linhai County and Yuzhang Prefecture of Yue Country.

It wasn’t that the two prefectures couldn’t gather so many scholars, but not every scholar was confident that they would become a juren after participating in the examination.

Therefore, many people from less well-off families would often spend several years preparing before participating in the examination, in hopes of becoming a juren on their first try.

The opportunity that Lu Yuan was able to gather so many scholars this time was mainly due to the unique circumstances. Both Southsea and Ninghai countries handled matters oddly, and the number of official positions offered by him was too many, making them irresistible.

These combined conditions created the grand event now.

Cui Changqing was also delighted. The prosperity of the new dynasty with so many scholars participating in the imperial examination showed the thriving fortunes of Changsha Country and the will of the people.

If it were any other Southsea or Ninghai countries, you wouldn’t see so many people participating in the imperial examination.

In his delight, the Chief Minister of State also asked: “Now that the examination is over, how many new jurens should be admitted this time? Your Majesty, please show the way.”

After finishing the examination, it is time to grade the papers and select the best from among them to determine who can become a juren.

And once these scholars are selected, they can become officials.

In other words, the number of people Lu Yuan admits determines how many positions he needs to arrange for them. Otherwise, if people come to take the examination and there’s no office position after they finish, what’s the point?

How would Changsha Country be different from Southsea and Ninghai countries then?

So, the admission quota is a big consideration.

Lu Yuan thought for a while and gestured, “This time, let’s set the admission quota to one thousand.”

In the outside world, it has always been rumored that Changsha Country has a severe shortage of officials, with various departments only in the set-up stage and unable to operate normally.

Actually, this rumor could not be said to be false.

But the rumor that there is a need for more than 1,700 officials is an exaggeration.

Before the founding of the country, even though Lu Yuan unified the nine prefectures, there was only a shortage of about 900 officials.

After the founding of the country, the gap of officials increased, but at most, there was only a shortage of about 1,300 people.

Now, after several months of preparation, supplementation, and adjustment, many of those 1,300 vacancies have been filled. At this point, there’s a shortage of about 1,000 officials.

This time, of the ten thousand scholars who participated in the examination, one thousand would be admitted, which is about one in ten.

Although the admission rate is not very high, it is much stronger compared to the previous imperial examinations of the court, where one in dozens would be selected.

Admitting one thousand people in one go, such a scale and momentum, is enough to shock people’s hearts.

As the left minister, Cui Changqing is naturally aware of the shortage of domestic officials. He has no objections to the admission quota set by Lu Yuan, and after nodding, he said, “In that case, I’ll go back later and instruct the examiners to start grading the papers.”

“Alright, go ahead.” Lu Yuan nodded, then waved for Cui Changqing to leave.

Grading the papers is the responsibility of the examiners and doesn’t need His Majesty to worry about.

He only needs to set the admission quota and decide how many people can become jurens.

Compared to this, Lu Yuan has other matters to deal with.

After Cui Changqing left, Lu Yuan picked up a military report and began reading it with furrowed brows.

The military report had just been delivered today. It was sent by his disciple Zhou Qing through a fast messenger.

The report only recorded one event: a day ago, at the invitation of Shangguan Ming, Zhou Qing led the last 40,000 troops stationed in Jiangnan and crossed the river along with the court troops.

By now, all of the 100,000 northern expedition troops sent by Lu Yuan had crossed the river.

As for the court’s side, with 140,000 troops, except for the 10,000 left to guard the rear in Baling Prefecture, they all crossed the river and headed north.

At present, in the northern region, there were more than 200,000 troops assembled on both sides of the Zhou and Yue camps. Heavy troops were gathering on both sides, and the dark clouds of war hung over everyone’s head.

“According to Qing’er, at present, facing the aggressive attitude of the court, the Zhou people did not choose to directly resist, but continued to retreat.”

Not only did they give up several peripheral county towns of Tianmen Prefecture, but their main forces also withdrew to Jingmen Prefecture in Xiangyang County and Wushan Prefecture in Xichuan County.

It seems that they are determined to defend these two places and completely block the possibility of the army advancing north and west.

Under the command of Wuan Marquis, the United Army tried to forcefully attack the two prefectures, but apart from losing more than 10,000 soldiers, they could not break through the defensive line.

Now the army is blocked in Tianmen Prefecture, and there is no possibility of breakthrough for the time being.”

After reading the military report, Lu Yuan put it down and pondered.

Currently, at the front lines, with Lu Yuan and Lan Cai’er’s departure, the battlefield has five inborn Grandmasters on both the court side and the Zhou side.

Both sides are evenly matched, and neither can gain an advantage.

As for the soldiers, after the historical battle, both the court and his United Army still have about 200,000 troops left in the north of the river, and their morale is extremely high, continuously advancing, and at their peak.