When the system detected the corruption (the in-game “Examination Scandal” disaster ticker hit 100%), the event fired: “Corruption in the Ranks.”
The Disappointed Scholars rose. They did not fight with swords. They fought with ink. They published seditious pamphlets. They called the Emperor a tyrant. Stability dropped by 2. The Mandate of Heaven began to decay. The final failure of the Examination System was its own success. It produced brilliant governors, but no loyal soldiers. Eu4 Examination System
And that is why, when you play Ming, you never keep the Examination System past 1600. You burn the scrolls. You let the eunuchs return. Because at least they are your eunuchs. When the system detected the corruption (the in-game
He did not send it. Instead, he cheated. He bribed an examiner. They published seditious pamphlets
Ignore it. (Lose 50 Meritocracy, gain 5 Corruption.) Option B: Root it out. (Lose 100 Administrative Power, trigger a Rebel faction of ‘Disappointed Scholars.’)
But the mechanic had a hidden malice: The Fracture (1588) By 1588, the system had become a prison. To maintain the +3 Stability and the -2 National Unrest, the Emperor had to constantly purge the "failed" candidates. The examinations grew absurd. To become a general, one had to write a poem about a boulder. To become an admiral, one had to calculate grain tonnage using a dead language.
