I go to the ancient imperial examinations

Chapter 216

At noon, Zhan Feiyu received Ming San from Nanxuan Mansion at the official road outside Shangsi County.

"Looking at the books piled up on the desk, the piles of written articles, and the large stack of poems for test posts, Ming San smiled and said: "I really should let Qi Heng see your study room, this is the book. There are roads in the mountains, and there is no limit to the sea of ​​learning. "

"It was purely forced." Zhan Feiyu said helplessly, looking enviously at the romantic and handsome Mingsan, "My goal in life is to eat and drink and wait to die. Unfortunately, my family is poor and I can't help myself."

"That's why it is said that a strict teacher produces an excellent apprentice!" Ming San laughed, Gu Xueshi was strict, and if his father was like this back then, he might have kept reading.

Withdrawing his thoughts, Ming San sat down on the chair, "Are you planning to take the exam?"

Zhan Feiyu was the number one in both the county examination and the government examination, and if he was the number one in the hospital examination, he would be a proper trio.

"I heard that Chen Xuezheng will come to Nanxuan Mansion to preside over the academy examination this time." Zhan Feiyu poured tea and handed it to Mingsan, and tidied up the messy desk. Excuse me, do you think Chen Xuezheng will let me pass the exam?"

According to Zhan Feiyu's judgment of Chen Xuezheng, it would be good if he passed the college examination smoothly, and God knows what traps are waiting for him.

"I came here for this." Ming San was not surprised that Zhan Feiyu knew, and explained in a low voice: "The imperial court usually changes education and administration every three years, but when the old man of the Chen family quit the court, it was for the sake of the eldest prince on the one hand. On the other hand, it is to make room for Chen Xuezheng."

What the Holy Majesty dislikes the most is foreign relatives intervening in politics, and the Chen family has also withdrawn from the court tactfully, and now only the eldest grandson Chen Shuduo is left in Beijing, and now he is the official doctor of the fifth rank.

And the Holy One was also grateful for the retreat of the old man of the Chen family, so Chen Xuezheng could sit in this position for six years, that is to say, after three years in the Zhanfeiyu Township Examination, the examiner would still be Chen Xuezheng, and it was simply "the soul lingers".

Mingsan looked at Zhan Feiyu sympathetically, the gloating in his eyes was undisguised, "Chen Xuezheng presided over the college examinations in Zhongzhou before, as for other state capitals in Jiangnan Road, Chen Xuezheng came to the examination room in stages, and Nanxuan Mansion stayed for a day , I didn’t take the second round of the last hospital exam.”

The hospital examination is generally divided into two sessions, the main session and the re-examination, but the imperial examination usually focuses on the first session and the first questions. The four-book questions in the first session are brilliantly written, and they are basically on the list, even if the answers to the subsequent questions are quite satisfactory. It won't have much impact.

Nanxuan Mansion is not considered big, and it is only a lower-middle mansion in Jiangnan Road. Chen Xuezheng doesn't pay much attention to Nanxuan Mansion's imperial examinations. Whether it's inspections or presiding over the court exams, it's basically just a formality.

So Chen Xuezheng came to Nanxuan Mansion to host the exam this time, and it was clearly because the drunkard didn't want to drink, and Zhan Feiyu, a child, was in danger.

"This is a conspiracy." Zhan Feiyu also understood that the left and right were just soldiers coming to cover up the water and the earth.

Of course, if Chen Xuezheng just came up with the "imperial examination fraud", Gu Xueshi would never ignore it, so it depends on who is better.

"You still have to be more careful." Ming San's expression was somewhat solemn. Although Chen Xuezheng was a literati, he was narrow-minded and determined to take revenge. Qi Heng's kidnapping in Fengzhou was the best proof.

Zhang Changsong and Qiu Dingsi kidnapped Qi Heng to curry favor with Liu Baihu, but Chai Yi got involved, representing the Chen family.

In order to deal with a little girl named Zhan Feiyu, the family of Jiangnan Daozhi leader, the eldest prince's niece, chose to kidnap another child as a means of revenge. The Chen family behaved so unrulyly, it was a shame to the family.

Zhan Feiyu nodded, and talked to Mingsan about the Art Academy. Now that there are masters and craftsmen, the books are almost ready. In two months, the academy will be completed, and Mingsan is free and easy. life will be gone forever.

Thinking of this, Zhan Feiyu suddenly felt much happier. Happiness really must be based on the pain of others. The so-called best friends are just bad friends who hurt each other.

……

In August and September, the weather is cold, and the hall is full of drunkards and poets.

In a blink of an eye, it was the day of the examination in August. Zhan Feiyu went to Nanxuan Mansion three days in advance, and stayed at the East Lake Inn. Before dawn, Zhan Feiyu got into the carriage and went straight to the examination room.

This time Nanxuan Mansion's hospital examination was also different from previous years. Not only Nanxuan Mansion and the counties under its jurisdiction, but also the students from the three neighboring prefectures also came to Nanxuan Mansion to take the test.

From a distance, one could hear the noisy voices coming together, and Zhan Feiyu got out of the carriage first.

He Nuan once again checked that all the things needed for the hospital examination were there, and then he got out of the carriage with the test basket. He Sheng handed the carriage to the groom on the side, and walked behind the two of them to prevent any accidents. .

"I heard from County Magistrate Chen that there will be nearly a thousand children this time." Zhan Feiyu looked at the people standing in front of the dragon gate from afar. It was dark and dense. Boy, there are more people than in the government test.

"When there are too many people, it's easy to make trouble." He Nuan frowned slightly, knowing without thinking that Chen Xuezheng would definitely play tricks this time, but unfortunately it was a conspiracy, and it was hard to guard against.

Zhan Feiyu retreated to stand in a corner not far from the dragon gate, and He Sheng and He Nuan stood on both sides, one on the left and one on the right.

"Ah Nuan, is that Qi Heng on the front left?" Zhan Feiyu stood on tiptoe and looked forward. It's a pity that there are too many people, otherwise they can enter the dragon gate together.

He Sheng had noticed it before, "Master Ming is also here, probably because there are too many candidates, so he came here early."

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, the time was almost up. The yamen servant reminded loudly that all candidates lined up to enter the examination room through the dragon gate. Of course, before entering, they had to go through a search and inspection to prevent anyone from taking them into the examination room.

"Miss Zhan." The yamen servant in charge of the inspection immediately became respectful when he saw Zhan Feiyu, "Miss Zhan, go to the left, there is a woman in charge of inspecting Miss Zhan."

"Thank you." Zhan Feiyu smiled back.

The two women who were waiting at the side walked forward quickly. Among the nearly one thousand candidates, there was only one girl, Zhan Feiyu, who was really a little red among the green bushes.

Candidates from Nanxuan Mansion were fine, after all, they had already seen Zhan Feiyu during the government examination before, but candidates from the three neighboring prefectures looked at Zhan Feiyu in surprise.

"That's the case of Nanxuan Mansion's trial?" The young man raised his chin and looked around disdainfully, "Nanxuan Mansion's style of writing has declined over the years, but a little girl has won the first prize."

Standing behind the young man was his classmate, who echoed loudly with a smile, "Brother Zhang participated in the college examination this time, Zhan Feiyu and Xiao Sanyuan's hope has come to nothing."

"The sage says that there is no discrimination in education! What about girls? This is a student of Master Gu!" Some candidates from the Nanxuan Mansion immediately retorted angrily. The fish won the first place, and it is not happy to put it on anyone.

But after reading Zhan Feiyu's article, they were convinced. Of course, this was limited to candidates from Nanxuan Prefecture. Candidates from the other three prefectures would never approve of it. They believed that Zhan Feiyu had a false name.

Without the teacher Gu Xueshi, Zhan Feiyu, who has studied for less than three years, would be thankful for being on the list. As for the top spot?It is estimated that only Zhang Zhifu knows how Zhan Feiyu got his first name, and the left and right are just flattery.

"Brother Huang, there is no need to argue. This time the hospital exam is presided over by Chen Xuezheng, and the exam papers have to be named, and the second round will be unsealed. When the results are released, we will be able to see who is the best." The generosity that compares with you.

More candidates just listened and did not argue, but seeing the honorable appearance of the candidates from the surrounding Nanxuan Mansion, they began to worry about it. They thought that Zhan Feiyu did have a talent for reading, otherwise these people from the Nanxuan Mansion would not have given it to them She followed suit.

The yamen servant in charge of inspection couldn't help but came over when he heard the argument, and scolded sullenly, "no noise is allowed in front of the dragon gate!"

Originally, Zhan Feiyu Academy Examination could be assigned a hall number, but Chen Xuezheng changed the rules, all candidates, including the top ten candidates in the government exam, entered the hall according to their respective seat numbers, and this time the hall exam did not mention the hall number.

After all the examinees were checked and entered the dormitory, the dragon gate was locked and closed, and the yamen servants also retreated to guard outside the examination booth, and the soldiers in charge of patrolling the examination room were temporarily dispatched from various state capitals by Chen Xuezheng.

I don't know whether it is to guard against the cheating of the yamen servants of Nanxuan Mansion and the candidates of this mansion, or to guard against Zhan Feiyu, but Chen Xuezheng's move has made the candidates of the other three prefectures praise him, especially those who want to suppress Zhan Feiyu to make a name for himself. candidates, at least cut off a way for Zhan Feiyu to cheat.

Zhan Feiyu is used to the narrow cabin.

At the beginning of August, Zhan Feiyu stayed in the dormitory built by his family for another three days, so whether the space was cramped or stuffy, it had no effect on Zhan Feiyu.

The clerk held the question cards and walked back and forth in the corridors in front of the dormitories. The test room with thousands of people was quiet at the moment. All the candidates, like Zhan Feiyu, quickly picked up their pens and wrote the test questions on the manuscript paper.

Generally speaking, the content of the college examination is not much different from that of the county examination and the government examination. That is to say, the level of the chief examiner who writes the questions is different, and the questions are divided into difficulty and difficulty.

The county examination is the county magistrate's question, while the college examination is about academic politics, and the test post poem is nothing more than that, but the difficulty and depth of the four book questions will increase after a while. the level of the examiner.

"This question?" Zhan Feiyu's expression twisted slightly.

No matter how difficult or biased the question is, Zhan Feiyu can accept it calmly, but she didn't expect this question to be so low-key!

During the imperial examination, in order to prevent the repetition of the examination questions, some examiners could only think carefully, so they developed the combination of the four books and five classics, truncated the complete sentences to the end, or put a few sentences that were irrelevant. The words are cobbled together and put together to make a question. This is the interception question.

There are also some examiners who are not good enough, just to show off their talent and learning, they connect the unconnected places and disconnect the inappropriate ones. The questions they ask seem novel at first glance, but in fact they are remote and weird, without any reason. In other words, here is a split question.

And the four-book question in the first round of the college examination is a split question: "Gu Hong".

Zhan Feiyu was stunned when he saw the title, and then he remembered that the two characters of this title came from "Mencius": Mencius saw King Hui of Liang, who was standing on the marsh, Gu Hongyan and the elk, and said: "Sages also enjoy this?"
"Gu" is nothing more than that, but the word "Hong" at the end makes people speechless, because in the original sentence there are geese, moose, and deer after "Hong", which vividly separates the first word of a sentence and uses it as a title. Whenever you look around, at least you can see all the geese and elks, and it's nothing to pick one out.

Zhan Feiyu originally thought that the first question in the college examination was the Four Books question, and the latter may be the Five Classics question, or it may be a document such as a judgment, and then there are five-character and eight-rhyme poems. Chen Xuezheng has changed a lot of rules this time. It is not surprising to study Mo Yi and Tie Jing.

But Zhan Feiyu did not expect that the first test was three four-book questions, and the second question was "Gu Yan", the third four-book question was "Gu Mi", and the last test poem was even more ridiculous, "Swan Goose on the Marsh" Elk"

Not only Zhan Feiyu is going crazy, but all the candidates who have copied the exam questions are twitching at the corners of their eyes. If they can swear, Chen Xuezheng will definitely be criticized by everyone at this moment. Is this a college exam?This is simply nonsense!

"Who came up with this question?" Suddenly, an angry voice sounded.

Zhan Feiyu didn't look around, she has good hearing, and the candidates who can hear the words should be quite young, even if they are extremely angry, but they are not full of energy, even if they are not a gray-haired old boy, they must be at least fifty years old .

"Don't make noise!"

"sit down!"

The soldiers in the examination room ran over quickly, followed by angry shouts.

But probably knowing that the college exam is hopeless, the white-haired old boy smashed the exam basket at the soldier, "This question is so bad, I won't take the exam!"

"Take it away!" Two soldiers quickly grabbed the troubled old Tongsheng, and dragged him out roughly.

"Don't look around, don't whisper!" The soldier yelled angrily, and looked at the candidates in the nearby dormitories with warning eyes, "Take him away!"

After being dragged out for a while, Old Tongsheng suddenly lay down on the ground and shouted loudly with all his strength: "Li Xian is not in his chest, turn his head and only look behind. Mencius couldn't understand how to look around with one eye." .”

A poem ridiculed the exam question "Gu Hong". Of course, it was the chief examiner who made the mockery. Unfortunately, even if everyone thinks it's unfair, so what?Unless you want to be gagged and dragged out like an old boy, you can only accept your fate and start answering the questions.

In the courtroom, Zhang Zhifu put down his teacup, glanced outside, and saw a clerk walking over quickly, and told in a low voice about the dragged out of Old Tongsheng.

Zhang Zhifu thought of the four-book questions in the first round, which was also hard to explain. The imperial examination was for the selection of scholars, but how could such weird and remote topics be used as the criteria for selecting scholars?
Although the usual interception questions were difficult and biased, at least there was some reason to speak of. Zhang Zhifu waved his hand to make the clerk retreat, and frowned, thinking, what exactly was Chen Xuezheng's intention for asking such a question?
In another part of the courtroom, a middle-aged man dressed as a literati frowned slightly, whether it was because of this topic or something else.

(End of this chapter)