Optimus One Pillar of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 5 is back again
The matter was settled, the food and wine were served again, and the innkeeper enthusiastically sent Wang Daoqiu and Fatty ointment to reduce swelling and blood stasis.

After sharing this time of adversity, the fat man became even more affectionate to Wang Daoqiu. He kept pouring wine and food for Wang Daoqiu at the dinner table to express his gratitude.

After having enough wine and food, Wang Daoqiu said goodbye to the fat man and went back to his room to sleep.

On the 25th day of the eighth lunar month in the [-]th year of Jiajing's reign, the second Zhejiang Provincial Township Examination was held again. This time, the test was about expression judgment and official document writing.

On this day, the rooster had not even begun to crow, but the inn was noisy. Several shopkeepers were banging on the door and shouting in each room, reminding the scholars and students that it was time to get up and take the exam. Similar to the "wake up" service in later hotels.

The sound was so loud that Wang Daoqiu was woken up before the store clerk could even take a picture of his room. He quickly got up and opened the door to avoid waiting until the store clerk thought he hadn't gotten up yet and would come and pat his door.

He got up and got dressed, went to wash up, and then came back to check what he had to bring for the exam. After finding that there was nothing missing, he packed his bags and went to the lobby downstairs to wait for the fat man.

After waiting in the lobby for more than a quarter of an hour, the fat man came downstairs with his bag on his back, his body trembling with fat.The fat man walked up to Wang Daoqiu and said sheepishly: "Hey, I'm tired of waiting for a long time, dear brother Liangzhen. I just don't get enough sleep. If the store clerk didn't beat my door to pieces, I would still be here." I can't wake up. Ashamed, ashamed."

Ashamed, ashamed of your sister, you are so greedy and lethargic. It’s not just a day or two. Isn’t it always like this?I'm still ashamed. Why don't you change it if you know you're ashamed?

He was complaining about the shamelessness of Fatty in his heart, but in front of him, Wang Daoqiu still saved face for Fatty and didn't talk about it.He saw that the fat man was carrying a large bag of things, like a turtle, so he changed the subject and said, "Why are you carrying so many things to the exam?"

"Oh, you said these things! In the last exam, I was only given two pancakes and a bowl of water for each meal, which was not enough for me, but I was starving to death. So this time I brought more pastries, melon seeds Preserved fruit, you can eat it when you are hungry. And this water, the well in the Gongyuan is the Hangzhou government test. We only use it in the hospital test and rural test in Zhejiang Province. Can it be used for a few days in a whole year? Those are all In stagnant water, how many mosquitoes, flies, and frogs and toads die in it in a year!"

"The well water in the Gongyuan is too dirty. Although it is boiled before it is provided to us, it is still dirty. During the last exam, I felt very uncomfortable after drinking it. So this time I brought my own herbal tea Go, and considering that the weather is hot, the herbal tea may not last for two days and three nights before it smells bad. So I brought wine with me. The wine will not go bad. By the way, Brother Liangzhen, half of the food and drink I carried on my back It’s prepared for you, let’s share it here now.”

Mud, it’s not a bad thing to have a fat man next to you!At least fat men are as attentive as women when it comes to eating, drinking and taking care of others!Wang Daoqiu was very pleased to find that the fat man still had advantages. After saying a few words of thanks to the fat man, he began to take off the things on the fat man's body, and then carried half of them on his body.

After dividing things and leaving the inn, Wang Daoqiu and Fatty talked about their speculations about the exam while walking towards Zhejiang Provincial Gongyuan.

When we arrived at the gate of Gongyuan, there was already a sea of ​​people here. With the experience of the previous game, the fat man did not try to squeeze in, but pulled Wang Daoqiu aside.After standing to the side, Wang Daoqiu saw three other students here. As soon as Wang Daoqiu and Fatty passed by, these three students greeted Wang Daoqiu and Fatty, and they seemed to be familiar with them.

Searching the memory of his previous life, Wang Daoqiu found out that these three were all students from his own town, and the three of them, himself and Fatty, were five people who protected each other.So what is five-person mutual insurance?To put it bluntly, this is an indigenous method adopted by the Ming Dynasty in order to ensure the authenticity of the candidates, that is, a group of five people guarantees each other.

There is no other way to adopt this mutual protection method for scientific research.After all, the Ming Dynasty did not have photography technology at this time, let alone fingerprint recognition and facial recognition technology.You say who you are, so how does the guard at the entrance of the examination room know that you are that person?Just like Wang Daoqiu, he went to the entrance of the examination room and took out the certificate of election and said that he was the Wang Daoqiu written on the certificate. Then how did the guards know whether you were an imposter?

Therefore, in order to ensure the identity of the candidates in the Ming Dynasty scientific examination, the five-person mutual guarantee system was used, that is, the five candidates formed a group and guaranteed each other.At the same time, in order to ensure the authenticity of the guarantee of the five of you, you must have a natural student (the top ten talents in the academy examination) to vouch for you. For Xiangxiang Examination, he will have three talented students to vouch for your five-person mutual guarantee group.

The specific process is as follows. When entering a five-person mutual insurance group, each person in the group must shout out their name, place of origin, and the three birth names that guarantee themselves.Then the five of you stand in a row and look at each other to see if the other four are the ones you guarantee. If you have any objections, you must raise them on the spot.

Similarly, the three geniuses who guaranteed the five-person mutual insurance group should also see clearly whether these five people insured it themselves.If you have an objection, you should raise it on the spot. If you have no objection, you should shout your name on the spot and say that you will protect yourself.

This means that if you want to enter the provincial examination room, you must have four other candidates in your group and three talented students, a total of seven people, to vouch for your identity card and prove that you are that person.Therefore, there are some mindless historical dramas in which the plot involves pretending to take the exam by pretending to be someone else, as if it is easy.In fact, if you take a chance and give it a try, take the provincial examination that Wang Daoqiu took, for example. After entering the gate, whether you are Wang Daoqiu or not will require seven people to vouch for you!
Moreover, the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty are much more serious than those in later generations. If you are caught taking the exam in the future, the great thing is that the exam will be invalidated. You will not be able to do better for how many years. The worst thing is to be banned from taking the exam for life!To put it bluntly, taking exams in later generations is a matter of moral character.

But in the Ming Dynasty, taking exams is not a matter of moral character, but a criminal case.Once caught, he would first have to stand in front of the government office for a few days wearing a large wooden shackle that weighed several dozen kilograms. Not only was he embarrassed, but he would probably have lost his life there if he was weak.

In addition, after you stand in the shackles, you will be taken to the Yamen Bilibili and given a big spanking.Then, if you are well-connected and have a few respectable squires in your hometown who are willing to vouch for you, and if you meet a nice-talking judge, he may give you a lighter sentence, ask you to pay a fine, and let you go home.

But if there is no one to vouch for you, or if you meet a "selfless" interrogator, then after you finish your job, you will have to go to other places to do labor camps for a few more years.As for whether you are still alive to come back in a few years, that depends on your own destiny.

Moreover, when it comes to risking the exam, whether the Yamen gives you a lighter sentence or punishes you in accordance with the law, one thing remains unchanged, that is, you will have a criminal record from now on.And once you have a criminal record, not only you can no longer take the imperial examination to become an official, but also your son, your grandson, and your great-grandson can no longer take the imperial examination.

Because the imperial examination also involves political review, it requires candidates' immediate family members to be clean within three generations and not have any criminal records.Therefore, if you want to take the ancient imperial examination, it is very difficult. To put it bluntly, even if you are stupid, bold and fearless, where can you find a few warriors who are willing to risk the future of yourself and your descendants for three generations to vouch for you? ah!So don’t underestimate the ancients, there are always more solutions than difficulties.

Feeling impressed by the wisdom of the ancients, Wang Daoqiu and Fatty stood beside each other, looking at the crowd that was still crowded.The fat man said in a disdainful tone: "Let them squeeze. To be honest, I don't know what these people are pushing for. Anyway, if you come in early and come in late, you have to wait for all the candidates to enter the examination room. This Gongyuan gatekeeper It will be closed and the test questions will be announced. Why don't you wait inside if you go in early? Why is there so much crowding?"

After the fat man said this, he looked at those who were still squeezing with a look like "I am very smart and you are all idiots".

While watching the crowd of fools swarming there, Wang Daoqiu waited here with Fatty and the others for about half an hour!Most of the people at the gate of Gongyuan were missing. Wang Daoqiu and the five of them went to line up at the gate of Gongyuan.

After queuing for a while, it was Wang Daoqiu's turn. As usual, Ying Bao was the first. When it was Wang Daoqiu's turn, he stood up and shouted loudly: "Wang Daoqiu, a student from Meishan Town, Changxing County, Huzhou Prefecture, from He is born with Wang Xiuding, he is born with Hohoufeng, and he is born with Shi Hongbobao."

After Wang Daoqiu finished his roar, three voices of Wang Daoqiu's guarantor for his natural life came from the steps at the entrance of Gongyuan. "He is born by Wang Xiu Dingbao," "He Houfeng is born by nature," and "Shi Hongbo is born by nature."

The three applicants guaranteed Wang Daoqiu's identity, and then Wang Daoqiu stood there, waiting for the other candidates in his group to go through the guarantee process, and together with the four of them, a servant in the tribute courtyard gave him the lead. Went to the tribute courtyard.

After entering the gate of Gongyuan, there are rows of simple curtain fences in the open space. Their shape and function are the fitting rooms of larger later clothing stores.

According to the rules, Wang Daoqiu and Fatty entered a curtained fence and were searched.In the cloth-curtained fence of Wang Daoqiu, the people responsible for the inspection were three guard sergeants wearing Ming Dynasty military uniforms, and a government official wearing a blue cloth gown.The four of them come together to check the candidates, cooperate with each other and supervise each other.

The inspection was very strict. As soon as Wang Daoqiu came in, the official asked Wang Daoqiu to take off all his clothes, shoes and socks.Then the sergeants of the guard station and the government officials separately inspected the clothes and shoes that Wang Daoqiu had taken off, as well as the things that Wang Daoqiu wanted to bring into the examination room, to prevent any cheat sheets from being included in them.

After the sergeants and clerks checked and found no problems, they returned the clothes, shoes, socks, and things Wang Daoqiu had brought to Wang Daoqiu.

After Wang Daoqiu put on his clothes and shoes again, he was ushered into the examination room by a lantern-carrying clerk. Corresponding to the seat number on the examination guide, he accompanied Wang Daoqiu to Wang Daoqiu's room and waited for Wang Daoqiu to enter. After entering the number room, he left.

(End of this chapter)