I directed the Xuanwumen Incident

This examination paper was written by Xu Fenglei. As the deputy examiner, he has only seen the questions until now.

I thought that there would be several test questions to ask people to make a fuss, but I didn't expect it to be just one line:

Do scholars also regard it as beneficial to the world?How expensive is it to become a Jinshi?

"How expensive?"

Changsun Wuji murmured,
"This topic is interesting...it hits the nail on the head."

The imperial examination is nothing more than the selection of officials for the imperial court through inspection.

And whether a person can be an official, to be precise, whether he can be a good official, depends entirely on his thoughts and his ambitions!
So Xu Fenglei came up with such a question.

As a scholar, have you ever observed what is beneficial to the world in yourself?

You who are about to become a Jinshi...can you tell me what is the most important thing?
Translated into the vernacular, that is——

As an official, what good things can you do for the world?
When the candidates got this question, their expressions were all different.

Some people are confident and eloquent.

Some people frowned, thinking hard, unable to write.

Xu Fenglei's eyes fell on the young farmer in the corner.

I saw him holding the pen with his usual expression. After thinking for a moment, he picked up the pen and wrote.

The speed is neither fast nor slow, but also steady.

"Teacher, you chose the exam questions well."

Changsun Wuji walked to Xu Fenglei's side, gave a thumbs up and praised in a low voice,
"One article can distinguish the good from the bad."

Xu Fenglei smiled slightly.

"That's not necessarily the case. Someone has a wonderful pen, but if you really ask him to do something practical, he can't do anything."

He responded,

"I can only say, try to see, try to choose a few good officials for the court!"

Changsun Wuji nodded, deeply agreeing.

An article, even if it is well-written, cannot say that the author must be so good.

It can only be said that he has the qualifications to practice the blueprint he has written and planned.

……

An hour and a half later.

clang!
As the bell rang, Xu Fenglei said decisively:
"Stop answering! Anyone who writes another word will be punished as a violation, and the test score will be cancelled!"

Whoa!
All the candidates stopped writing.

Some of them finished writing early, sitting there smiling, arms crossed.

But there are also those who wrote to the last second, saw that the end of their article was missing, scratched their ears anxiously, wanted to complete it but did not dare to touch the discipline, so they had to watch Changsun Wuji take away the exam papers, with a look on their faces. of frustration.

If only I could write faster... that would be great!

"Teacher, here it is."

Changsun Wuji gathered up the test papers and handed them to Xu Fenglei.

"You are lucky. Datang's first imperial examination, the rules were not perfect, so you met."

Xu Fenglei said in a deep voice,

"There are fifty or sixty people in the examination room, and 24 Jinshi will be selected. The probability of being a Jinshi among you can be said to be extremely high."

"In the future, the imperial examination system will become more and more perfect, and the difficulty will become higher and higher. At that time, it will be much more difficult to become a Jinshi."

"Exit! Your examination papers will be judged by His Majesty himself! I wish you good luck."

This imperial examination can be said to be a group of young men walking the Yangguan Road.

And in a few years, the same is the imperial examination to select officials, maybe thousands of troops will cross the single-plank bridge.

Crash.

All the candidates stood up and bowed their hands in salute, and left the classroom one after another.

Only the peasant youth in the corner looked at Xu Fenglei timidly, as if he wanted to say something, but he was a little afraid and didn't dare to speak.

Xu Fenglei smiled slightly.

"what do you want to say?"

In order not to scare the kid, he tried to speak in a soft tone.

"I……"

The peasant youth hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said,
"Return to the chief examiner, I want to stay overnight in the classroom and leave tomorrow."

"You can see it?"

Xu Fenglei was taken aback.

"Stay overnight, in the classroom?"

He said in surprise,

"Why?"

The peasant youth lowered his head slowly, and said with some shame:
"It takes a long time to go home..."

"The students got up at four o'clock in the morning and finished their work in the field, and then came in a hurry, and they were almost late in the end."

"Now that the exam is over, it's already evening... the gates of the city will be closed later, and the students won't be able to go out. There will be a curfew in the city, and I will be arrested..."

Xu Fenglei couldn't help smiling when he heard this.

This is true.

If you are still wandering around the streets after the curfew, you will definitely be arrested by Marquis Wu who is patrolling the streets!
"So you came in a package?"

he laughed,
"Have you already made up your mind?"

The young man looked shy and nodded.

Xu Fenglei pondered for a while, and said
"Originally, based on your situation, I can give you money, or let you stay at my house for a night."

"But after all, you are an imperial examination candidate, and I am the chief examiner, so I have to avoid suspicion."

"Before the test results come out, we can't have any intersections, so I can't help you."

The peasant youth glanced at the sky outside the window with a complicated expression.

The setting sun was slanting to the west, from here to the gate of the city, even if he stepped on his shoes and smoked, he still couldn't catch up!
If he walked from the south gate, he would have to go around in a big circle, and he didn't know the way... At that time, he would have to sleep in the countryside.

Sleep in the rough... Just sleep in the rough!
He looked firm, as if he had made a great determination.

However, Xu Fenglei said again:

"However, if you want to borrow a little time in the classroom, that's no problem."

"It's just not in this room. This room is locked up. You can go upstairs! There are many empty classrooms upstairs, and the doors and windows are all new, enough to keep out the wind and rain."

When the peasant youth heard this, his expression brightened.

"Really? Can I really borrow it?"

He couldn't contain the excitement in his heart.

"Okay, but you have to solve the problem of eating by yourself."

Xu Fenglei laughed,
"Have you brought dry food?"

The peasant youth nodded repeatedly.

He took out a naan bread from the package, glanced at Changsun Wuji, hesitated, and took out another one.

"Your Excellency the examiner, Your Excellency the deputy examiner, this is baked by my mother herself, you...you taste it."

Changsun Wuji looked at Xu Fenglei with a strange expression.

"Are you bribing?"

Xu Fenglei said with a half-smile.

Peasant youth: "!!!"

"Don't dare! How dare the student! The student just..." He panicked and tried to defend himself incoherently.

But it's not easy to say, and my legs are weak!

popping.

Xu Fenglei patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile:
"Okay, the night is long and the journey home is long, so you should plan and eat carefully."

"I won't give you anything, and you don't want to give us anything. If you want to talk about friendship, I will talk to you when the ranking is released."

"At that time, please tell me your name."

"Let's go! Close the doors and windows by yourself."

After finishing speaking, he held the test paper and left the classroom with Changsun Wuji.

"Student... Thank you, Examiner!"

The peasant youth's eyes were wet, and he bowed deeply to Xu Fenglei's back, unable to get up for a long time.