AWB Chapter 306 Personalized Instruction! Individualized Assessment!
Chapter 306 Personalized Instruction! Individualized Assessment!
After listening to the phone call, Zhu Feng paused for a second, then burst into hearty laughter:
"Hahaha! I thought it was some huge crisis! Turns out it's just a small matter!"
"Comrade Zhang Fan, aren't you underestimating how fragile we modern people are?"
Zhu Feng's tone was confident.
"Our Chinese nation boasts a rich history spanning five thousand years. I can't guarantee anything else, but when it comes to 'exams' and 'selection,' we are absolutely the grandmasters!"
"Don't worry! We, the Chinese, have covered all the questions for the first imperial examination of the Qin Dynasty!"
As he spoke, Zhu Feng directly gave instructions to the staff of Bureau 749 standing next to him:
"Contact the National Education Ministry's Test Development Center immediately!"
"Go and invite all of our country's top civil service exam question setters, leading figures in Chinese classical studies, and renowned historians to the top-secret conference room of Bureau 749!"
……
Three days later.
The capital of the Qin Dynasty, Xianyang Palace, Qilin Hall.
As dawn broke, civil and military officials lined up to prepare for court.
However, when the courtiers saw that nonchalant figure, the once solemn procession instantly became restless.
"Zhang Fan? What's he doing here!"
The officials scattered to both sides as if they had seen a plague god.
In the Qin Dynasty court, an ironclad rule now prevails:
When the immortal master goes to court, one will either die or be seriously injured!
Whenever Zhang Fan appears, someone is bound to lose their head or suffer a terrible misfortune.
What made these self-proclaimed noble civil officials even more disgusted was that Zhang Fan not only showed no respect for court etiquette, but was also putting his arm around the shoulder of Eunuch Li, who was serving in front of the palace, and was very undisguisedly stuffing a small piece of gold into the old eunuch's sleeve.
"Ahem, Eunuch Li, how is His Majesty's mood today?" Zhang Fan asked in a low voice, winking at him.
Eunuch Li calmly accepted the gold nugget, his old face beaming with joy: "Rest assured, Immortal Master, His Majesty is in high spirits today, everything is fine."
This scene, witnessed by the officials behind, immediately drew a chorus of disdainful snorts.
"How disgraceful! A high-ranking official of the imperial court, embracing a eunuch with his arm around his shoulder, secretly exchanging favors!"
"This is truly the behavior of a scoundrel! We are ashamed to associate with such a person!"
Among the civil officials, several officials from prominent aristocratic families wore disdainful expressions and muttered curses under their breath.
Just then, Zhao Gao's booming voice rang out: "His Majesty has arrived!"
The officials immediately fell silent and knelt down to kowtow.
Ying Zheng strode onto the Black Bird Throne, his dragon robe billowing as his majestic gaze swept across the entire hall. Without uttering a single wasted word, he went straight to the point:
"This morning's court session will focus on only one matter! The first imperial examination of the Great Qin Dynasty is about to be implemented. After careful consideration, I have decided that the examination questions for the three levels—county examination, prefectural examination, and palace examination—will be entirely overseen by the Great Qin Immortal Master Zhang Fan, effective immediately!"
These words immediately caused an uproar among the officials!
Those from powerful and influential families were especially shocked, their faces turning pale. They whispered amongst themselves, their eyes filled with terror and anger.
"What exactly is Zhang Fan trying to do?"
"He invented papermaking and the imperial examination system, abolishing the recommendation system that our ancestors had used for generations, narrowing the path for people of all ethnic groups to become officials. And now he actually wants to directly interfere with the exam questions?"
"If he sets the exam questions, how are our children supposed to prepare in advance? Isn't this cutting off our family's path to becoming a prominent clan?"
Immediately.
A civil official from a prominent family could not contain himself and angrily stepped forward and knelt down: "Your Majesty, you mustn't! The imperial examination is a grand ceremony for selecting talent, concerning the very foundation of the Great Qin! Although the Immortal Master possesses great talent in all crafts, setting the questions for selecting officials is a sacred matter of the literary world, and should be discussed and decided by the learned scholars of the court. How can it be entrusted to one person!"
"Your Majesty, I second that proposal! Please reconsider!" Several officials immediately knelt down as well.
Seeing the indignant expressions of the court officials, Prime Minister Li Si sighed helplessly and stepped forward to smooth things over, saying:
"My lords, please be patient. His Majesty has his reasons for appointing the Immortal Master. In my humble opinion, it would be better to have the Immortal Master draft the general outline of the examination questions first, and then we can see how to proceed before making further decisions!"
An old minister from a powerful family in the crowd sneered, his face full of arrogance as he spoke in a low voice:
"Prime Minister Li is right. What's wrong with letting him set the questions? Can those poor scholars from humble backgrounds possibly outperform our clan's children, who have been well-versed in the classics since childhood? No matter what questions he sets, our aristocratic families will still dominate the list in the end!"
"Exactly! People from poor families have no real talent; this imperial examination is just a formality for them!" Everyone chimed in with their mockery.
Listening to the remarks of these powerful officials, Zhang Fan gave a cold smile.
This is the moment he's been waiting for!
Seeing that the time was right, Zhang Fan flicked his sleeves, strode to the center of the hall, and spoke loudly:
"Gentlemen, you seem quite confident in your family's offspring? However, I must remind you of something. This imperial examination—the county examination, the prefectural examination, and the palace examination—will not consist entirely of rote memorization of classical texts. Instead, the examination will employ entirely different types of questions based on the level of official being selected!"
"Different types of exam questions?"
One of the civil officials immediately said coldly, "Immortal Master, have you read countless classics? The selection of officials is naturally based on their virtue and knowledge. How can you possibly differentiate the test questions? This is utter nonsense!"
Ying Zheng, standing on the high platform, couldn't help but be intrigued and leaned forward slightly to ask, "Immortal Master, why are there different types of tests? Wouldn't it be unfair if the questions were different?"
"Your Majesty, this is not only fair, but also a true demonstration of recognizing and utilizing talent!"
Zhang Fan straightened his back and emphatically threw out the exam logic he had gleaned for free from the modern experts at Bureau 749:
"May I ask Your Majesty, do a lowly county clerk and a prefect who governs an entire prefecture require the same abilities?"
"The county examination selects the lowest-ranking officials! For them, how to govern the country or how to navigate political intrigue are completely unimportant! What they need is extremely strong 'execution ability'! The ability to calculate accounts clearly, resolve civil disputes, and understand imperial decrees!"
Therefore, the county-level examination questions should primarily focus on "Administrative Aptitude Test" and "Essay Writing"!
"The Civil Service Aptitude Test assesses students' logical reasoning, mathematical arithmetic, and on-the-spot responsiveness! The Essay Test assesses how to provide practical solutions to specific livelihood issues! It doesn't look at writing style or rhetoric, but only whether you can get things done!"
"The county and palace examinations, however, are for selecting the nation's most important officials! They require macro-level governance and administration skills; the examinations test a broad perspective and strategic thinking!"
As Zhang Fan finished speaking...
The entire hall fell into a deathly silence!
Everyone is still savoring the novel theories of "administrative aptitude test", "essay writing" and "grassroots focus on execution, while senior management focuses on governance"!
Li Si shuddered and mumbled something.
"Wonderful...wonderful!"
Li Si was so excited that his beard was trembling. "The lower ranks are like hands and feet, focusing on execution; the upper ranks are like minds, focusing on strategy! I have been in government for half my life and never thought that the abilities of officials could be divided into such a detailed category!"
No wonder the Immortal Master divided the exam questions into different types. If this method succeeds, how could the Great Qin Dynasty lack talented individuals capable of building a prosperous nation?