Above Pirate King - Chapter 102
It was in the afternoon, with the gentle sunlight shining.
In the study of the St. Martin Palace.
Arthur was sitting in front of the study, carefully reviewing various documents.
In the past few days, he had set aside these matters to focus on the development of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. But now, he had to quickly go through the stack of accumulated documents.
“Knock knock!”
A knock on the door sounded.
“Come in!” Arthur said casually, his eyes still on the documents in his hands.
“Your Majesty!” The person who entered was none other than the Minister of Personnel, Connie.
“What’s the matter?”
Upon hearing Connie’s voice, Arthur put down the documents in his hands, raised his head, and asked seriously.
“Your Majesty, the final round of the official assessment is about to begin, and we need Your Majesty to personally attend!” Connie explained.
“Ah!”
Arthur slapped his forehead, only then did he remember that there was an official assessment today!
The official assessment was one of the most important assessments in the Kingdom of St. Martin and one of the main paths for commoners to be promoted.
In the Kingdom of St. Martin, there were three main ways to become an official. The first was to join the military and pursue the path of an officer. The second was to be recommended by officials who had reached a certain rank or retired. And the third was through the official assessment!
Among them, the first and third paths were the main avenues for commoners to be promoted!
Of course, regardless of which path one took, the most important factors were achievements and merits. Even if someone was recommended, they would still have to start from the bottom. But when achievements were equal, those who were recommended would be given priority for promotion.
In other words, those with real abilities, regardless of the path they took, could be promoted!
The above were the main paths, but there were other paths as well, such as being rewarded by Arthur, making contributions to the kingdom, or having exceptional skills in a certain aspect.
Returning to the topic, the official assessment was divided into three main parts.
The first part was a written test, in which candidates would undergo two rounds. The first round was a basic knowledge assessment, while the second round was a professional knowledge assessment.
The basic knowledge assessment was relatively simple, mainly covering the kingdom’s history, development, beliefs, and so on. As long as one’s thinking was correct, nearly 99% of people would pass!
The professional knowledge assessment was chosen by the candidates themselves, with different papers for different professions. It would determine which administrative unit they would be assigned to in the future.
For example, those who took the agricultural exam would be assigned to relevant agricultural departments!
The second part was the interview, presided over by Minister Connie, who selected the supervisors from various departments to assess the candidates!
However, the assessments were conducted in multiple examination halls, and before the exams began, neither the candidates nor the examiners knew which hall they would be assigned to. Ten minutes before the start of the exams, the examination halls were determined by drawing lots.
During the interview, candidates were not allowed to reveal their names, only their examination numbers. After the exams, the results were announced on the spot!
Afterward, based on the comprehensive scores from both parts, qualified candidates were selected to become provisional officials.
That’s right, after going through these two parts, they would become provisional officials!
And the last part was to meet Arthur himself. Arthur would set the questions, and all the qualified candidates would undergo another round of examination in front of the main hall of the palace.
This examination did not affect their appointment as officials but influenced their promotion speed. Those who satisfied Arthur would naturally be given priority in promotion!
After all the assessments were completed, the provisional officials would be directly assigned by the kingdom to various basic administrative units in villages, towns, cities, and island cities. After three months, they would become regular officials.
Among them, an island city was the main city of a large island or several small islands. The island city governed all the ordinary cities on the island, while the cities governed the surrounding towns, and the towns governed the surrounding villages.
Arthur put aside what he was holding and followed Connie to the square in front of the palace.
One thousand provisional officials had been waiting here for a long time, and tables and chairs were placed around them.
The tables and chairs were arranged in a square, with a three-meter distance between each table and chair. The provisional officials stood beside their respective tables and chairs. The entire square was filled with tables and chairs, looking somewhat crowded!
Originally, in previous years, at most two to three hundred people would become provisional officials in the exams. But this year, in order to cope with the upcoming expansion, the admission criteria were relaxed, resulting in one thousand provisional officials being selected, making the square look a bit crowded.
“Present yourself to His Majesty!”
When Arthur arrived, the provisional officials knelt down in unison and shouted in unison.
“You may rise!” Arthur waved his hand and spoke calmly.
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
The provisional officials all stood up, looking at Arthur in unison, their eyes filled with excitement, as if they were seeing the god they believed in!
Arthur was already accustomed to this kind of gaze and didn’t mind it. He pondered for a moment and said, “This year’s question is… If the kingdom conquers a new land, how would you manage that land in your chosen profession?”
Upon hearing this, the provisional officials below lit up with excitement!
Those who could pass the examination to become provisional officials were not lacking in intelligence. They immediately understood that the kingdom must have conquered new territory again!
For them, new territory was a great thing!
It represented more accomplishments and faster promotion!
Who wouldn’t want to be promoted faster if they had some abilities and ambition?
“Alright, the exams will begin now!” Connie shouted.
With Connie’s command, the personnel officers who had been waiting on the side handed out sheets of paper and pens.
The provisional officials settled down and took their seats, putting aside their excitement.
Soon, all the provisional officials were fully immersed in the exam.
“Scratch scratch scratch!”
Now, the palace hall was filled with the sound of pens scratching against paper.
Arthur watched this scene, took a quick glance, and then turned to enter the hall.
The exam was scheduled to last for an hour and a half, so Arthur planned to have an afternoon tea in the hall.
Inside the hall.
Arthur sat on the throne and asked the attendant to bring some snacks and a glass of cola.
He sat in the hall and began to eat.
Time quickly passed by.
The one thousand provisional officials had already finished their exams!
After Connie collected all the exam papers, he brought them into the hall.
“Your Majesty, these are this year’s papers!” Connie respectfully handed over a stack of papers to Arthur.
“Thank you!” Arthur casually took the papers.
There were one thousand papers, a thick stack that would likely take more than two days to carefully review.
“Rustle rustle rustle!”
Arthur kept flipping through the papers, almost going through one sheet every second. His eyes moved back and forth, constantly capturing the refreshing content within the papers.
Arthur had a good memory, especially after his transmigration, it became even better.
But he wasn’t carefully reviewing the papers now because of his good memory. He was simply scanning for content that caught his interest, picking out the papers that contained such content.
In less than an hour, the papers were divided into two piles, with only a dozen or so papers in one pile, while the rest were in another.
These dozen or so papers were the ones he was interested in.
Among the remaining papers, it didn’t mean there were no talented individuals. It was just that they didn’t have the content he was interested in.
Arthur picked up these dozen or so papers and carefully read through them.
In the end, he selected only three papers and put the rest together.
“Phew—” Arthur let out a deep breath. After spending so much time reading the papers, he was feeling a bit tired and bored. He looked outside the hall and saw that it was already dark.
Arthur pondered for a moment, then handed the three selected papers to Connie and said, “Let’s keep these three. Have them stay, and let’s have dinner together!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Connie took the papers, nodded, and left the hall.
Become a Patron to read chapters ahead of public release and support me 😉
30 chapters ahead are available on Patron!
