"Sell newspapers, sell newspapers!"

Early the next morning, shortly after the city gates of Chang'an were opened, there were many eleven or twelve-year-old boys carrying a pack of newspapers in the streets and alleys, and started shouting.

The people of Chang'an have long been accustomed to this.

"It's strange, isn't the newspaper published every half a month? It seems like only ten days have passed since the last time. Why did it start selling today?"

A man in his thirties dressed as a scholar said.

From his tone, you can tell that this person has purchased newspapers several times.

The companion next to him was also a little confused and said: "It's a little strange. Could something big happen?"

“You’ll know after you buy it and take a look.”

The two stopped a newsboy, paid and got two newspapers.

When they saw the content in the newspaper, the two looked at each other and said, "I'm afraid something big is going to happen."

Since the advent of newspapers, there has been an additional activity in teahouses and restaurants, and that is reading newspapers.

Teahouses and restaurants paid some literate children from poor families to read the contents of the newspaper for their guests when the new issue came out.

Some people who have spare money but are illiterate gradually like to go to the teahouse to order a pot of tea and some snacks and listen to the newspaper.

Today, because the new issue of the newspaper has not been released yet, and ten days have passed since the last issue, there were relatively few people going to teahouses and restaurants to listen to the newspaper in the morning.

The shopkeepers of teahouses and wine shops looked at the deserted shops and felt a little nostalgic for the time when the newspapers were first published, when the seats would be packed early in the morning.

It's just that every time a newspaper is published, business is good in the first few days. After a few days, as the contents of the newspaper are spread, fewer people are willing to listen.

Even so, these teahouses and restaurants are making a lot of money.

Unfortunately, it will take a few days for the next issue of the newspaper to come out.

At this moment, the shopkeeper heard the cry of someone selling newspapers outside. He began to think that he was hallucinating. After listening carefully, he found that it was not a hallucination, so he quickly called a waiter and asked him to buy newspapers.

Not long after, the waiter bought the newspaper and the shopkeeper took it and read it.

The shopkeeper still knew some words, and he could understand the words on the newspaper, but he didn't quite understand the specific meaning.

That's why he hired someone to read the newspaper.

But it doesn't matter if he doesn't understand, there are people who can understand.

The shopkeeper gave the newspaper to the waiter and asked him to take it to the scholar who was reading the newspaper.

Then he sat on the stool behind the counter and waited for the scholar to read the newspaper.

The scholar was a little unhappy when he was suddenly interrupted by the waiter while reading the newspaper, but when the waiter gave him the new issue of the newspaper, his displeasure disappeared.

The scholar took the newspaper, cleared his throat, and said: "Everyone, the new issue of the newspaper is out. I will read it for you first, and then explain it to you."

Why do so many people like to listen to newspapers in teahouses and restaurants?

It's because those scholars will explain it carefully after reading it.

Although the newspaper uses relatively vernacular language, it is still a bit confusing to most people who are illiterate or only know a few words.

But it's different when someone explains it, they can understand it completely, which is why many people are willing to come and listen to the newspaper.

When I heard the new issue of the newspaper come out, the originally noisy lobby suddenly became quiet.

Everyone looked at the scholar, waiting for him to read the newspaper.

The scholar unfolded the newspaper and read slowly: "Hundreds of scholars are kneeling in front of the palace. Is it for the justice in their hearts or for their own selfishness?"

After reading the title, the scholar was slightly startled.

He did not read the newspaper in advance and did not know its contents.

But after reading the title, he knew that the newspaper this time was about hundreds of scholars kneeling at the gate of the palace yesterday.

This made him look forward to what was to come.

As the content was slowly read out, a hint of anger appeared on the scholar's face.

The listeners below were a little strange. They understood some of the content. It seemed to be about hundreds of scholars kneeling at the gate of the palace yesterday.

That incident caused a huge sensation, but ordinary people did not know the specific reasons.

They were very curious about this matter, but they were a little curious about why the scholar reading the newspaper looked so angry.

After reading the newspaper, the scholar took a deep breath and said, "Everyone, this article is about a large number of scholars kneeling at the palace gate yesterday. I believe you have heard of it."

"I heard about it, but I don't know why."

"I also wanted to go see the excitement, but who knew the imperial army wouldn't let them get close at all."

"I went. It seems that someone died. Those scholars asked your Majesty to severely punish the murderer."

The listeners said all kinds of things.

The scholar said: "The cause of this incident was that He Daru of Taihe Academy died. The scholars said that it was because the Marquis of Jingyang County did not respect the sages. He Daru was so angry that he died of anger, so they carried the coffin and knelt at the gate of the palace.

Sit down and ask your Majesty to severely punish the Marquis of Jingyang County."

"But the fundamental reason is that the Marquis of Jingyang County proposed the reform of the imperial examination. His Majesty decreed that in the future, officials must pass the imperial examination. It seems that these scholars knelt down at the gate of the palace because of He Daru's death, but in fact they were resisting

Imperial Examination."

In fact, the content in the newspaper is not exactly what the scholar said.

The newspaper first listed the benefits of the imperial examination and explained Lin Xuan's contribution in it.

Then he pointed out in a subtle way that those scholars deliberately made things difficult for Lin Xuan because Lin Xuan affected their interests.

The scholar was a child from a poor family and was originally well-known in the local area. After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he asked the states to recommend local talented scholars to study in the Imperial College.

In the first two years, the scholar got a recommended quota, but when he arrived in Chang'an, he found that the quota had been replaced.

He went to the Imperial College for theory at that time, but the Imperial College checked the local recommendation quota and he was not among them.

Scholars are not stupid. After a moment's thought, they realized that it must have been tampered with by those officials.

He didn't continue to make trouble. He couldn't afford to offend anyone who dared to do so.

And he had no face to go back, so he kept writing letters for others in Chang'an to make a living.

Later, the teahouse recruited people to read newspapers. He was a good student and was hired.

The scholar has always harbored hatred towards those aristocratic families. What he said just now was not interpreted according to the newspaper, but his own understanding.

"Your Majesty is merciful. All officials selected must pass the imperial examination, regardless of origin, and only look at talent. Why do those people resist?"

"This is not simple. Originally, those scholars could be officials, but now they have to pass the imperial examination, so they may not be able to be officials, so they will naturally resist."

"No, we can't let them do this. I just hired a teacher for my son some time ago, and I thought he would pass the exam one day and bring glory to our ancestors."

"Yes, we must not let them do this."

Although the imperial examination was invented in the Sui Dynasty, because the imperial examination system and education were not perfect, the proportion of talents selected through the imperial examination was not high.

Most talents come through recommendation.

Take Ma Zhou as an example. He helped Chang He make suggestions. Li Shimin knew Chang He very well and knew that he did have a way of fighting, but he was not good at running a country.
Chapter completed!