Do you know the long song of laughter?

Chapter 147 Lu Mingde

After breakfast, with about half an hour before Mao time, the family set off for the examination room.

Li's house is not far from the examination room, only about a stick of incense on foot.

When they were not far from the examination room, the streets were filled with students rushing to take the exam.

Like Ang Lee, some are sent by a whole family, while others are alone.

Students rushing to take exams are carrying large and small bags, and they are almost catching up with the Spring Festival transportation for future generations.

"Zi Qian!"

Li An was walking when he suddenly heard someone calling him. He turned around and saw Lu Mingde waving to him. He said something to his parents and walked over.

"Brother Mingde." Li An bowed with his hands in hand.

Lu Mingde was considered a classmate of Sheng Changbai. When Sheng Changbai was studying at the county school a few years ago, he was in the same class as him.

But Li An didn't know him at that time. He got to know him while hanging out a few days ago.

Through small talk, I found out that he and Sheng Changbai were classmates back then.

However, he was overage in the past two years and no longer studied in Yangzhou Academy.

"Haha, we are really destined to meet each other on the road." Lu Mingde smiled and said, "Let me introduce to you, this is Brother Fu Yanyan, and this is..."

Because Lu Mingde had participated in several county examinations, he did not let anyone see him off. Instead, he came with the other nine people who were co-guarantors with him.

Li An greeted each one by hand, exchanged a few pleasantries and then left.

"Brother Lu, who is this Li Ziqian? It seems to me that the people he is with are all family members. Why are he not with the people from the joint guarantee?" someone asked strangely.

Li An and his group were both men and women, and they were obviously family members who came to take the exam.

The joint-guaranteed inspections when entering the examination room are all carried out together, and usually they are gathered together in advance.

It's not far from the examination room. It's full of people and it's not easy to find.

Therefore, the meeting place is always set some distance away from the examination room.

"They are the guarantors of the General Magistrate. There is no need for joint guarantees like ours." Lu Mingde explained Li An's identity.

Of course, he only knew that Li An was a student of Liu Xuewen, the former academic official, but he did not know that Li An already had a literary officer.

"Is he Liu Xuezheng's student? Feng Xihui is really far behind him." Fu Yanyan said in surprise.

Fu Yanyan is older than Lu Mingde and no longer studies in the academy. He has only heard of Li An.

When Lu Mingde introduced them just now, Li An greeted them one by one and treated them with humility.

In comparison, Feng Xihui's teacher also studied political science, but his eyes looked like they were on top of his head. The difference was huge.

"Hey, how can Xu Xuezheng compare with Liu Xuezheng? I felt there was something wrong with last year's county examination. Yu Hui was uneducated and had no skills. He passed the exams at Yangzhou College where his family sent talented people to enter, but Brother Mingde failed. You wouldn't believe it if you said there was no problem." Ji Zhenhai said.

"It's better not to say such things, otherwise we will be in trouble." Lu Mingde waved his hand.

"Brother Mingde, this is not what I said. I have read all your articles in the county examination last year, and they were really good. It's not like I don't know about Yu Hui. I don't believe he can write better than you." Here’s the article.” Ji Zhenhai said.

"Okay, it's getting late, let's go quickly."

Lu Mingde picked up the package on the ground and carried it behind his back, sighing in his heart. Even if it was true, so what? He could study and his family conditions were pretty good, but in the eyes of those wealthy businessmen and scholarly families, he was just a little richer. It's just common people.

His arms couldn't twist his thighs, and he also suspected that there was something wrong with last year's county examination, but so what, could he still report it?

……

"so many people!"

There was a large open space at the entrance of the examination room. When Li An's family arrived, they saw that the entrance to the examination room was full of people. Based on a slight estimate, there were probably several hundred people. Seeing this scene, Li An also sighed a little. No wonder the imperial examination is called a thousand troops crossing a single-plank bridge.

The admission quota for the county examination was only fifty people, and now there were three to four hundred people there before the time came. He estimated that there must be five hundred people to apply for.

Although the literary style in Jiangnan is flourishing, how many counties are there in the world?

When there are many imperial examinations held every three years, only more than 300 people are admitted.

This is because the Song Dynasty valued culture over military affairs. If it were another dynasty, there would basically be more than a hundred people.

"Aniu, although the weather is not that hot now, you can't keep the braised pork for too long. Remember to eat it in the first two days, and eat some steamed buns and snacks in the next few days. Remember to drink more water..."

The family found a corner, and Mrs. Liu took the trouble to give instructions.

Li An was smiling, and he nodded and took note of everything Liu said.

Just when Mr. Liu said that his mouth was dry, the door of the examination room opened and a group of government officials came out.

There was a commotion among the students waiting outside.

A clerk said something loudly, which meant nothing more than asking the candidates to line up, undergo inspection and enter the examination room.

After the clerk finished speaking, the government officials divided into six points and began to search the students, salute and secure the documents.

"Mom, dad, brother and sister-in-law, I'm going first."

Li An said and took it from Shi Zhu's hand as a salute.

"Let Zhuzhu be sent to you." Mrs. Liu said.

"No, I can just go by myself. It doesn't weigh much." Li An said and carried the package on his back.

Although this package is not light, it is nothing to Li An, who has been practicing martial arts for several years.

"Mom and dad, please go back."

"You go ahead, we'll see you go in and you'll know how to go back." Ms. Liu waved her hand.

Li An knew that he couldn't be persuaded, so he didn't say much. He chose a team and lined up while carrying the salute.

Since the implementation of the imperial examination, all dynasties have been very strict in preventing fraud in the imperial examination.

The bedding should not be lined, the inkstone should not be too thick, and the steamed buns and snacks should be opened to take a look.

If something violates the rules, it cannot be brought into the examination room. If any cheat sheet is found, it will be regarded as cheating. Not only will the qualification be revoked, but also the person will not be able to take the exam again in the future. They will also be shackled in public for three days.

The yamen officers checked very carefully, because if the scholars brought in cheating items and were discovered, the yamen officers who inspected them would also be held accountable.

Fortunately, the imperial examination has been going on for many years, and the students already know what they can and cannot bring, so the examination speed is not slow.

After about half an hour, it was finally Li An's turn.

Li An felt a little disgusted when he saw the government officials breaking apart the snacks and steamed buns prepared by his parents with his hands.

These people didn't know whether they had washed their hands or not, even the braised pork and the holder of the brush.

The inkstone must be knocked to see if it is hollow.

Li An thought about it in later generations, and it seems that people can live for seven days without eating or drinking. He should be able to survive five days and four nights, right?

The most unacceptable thing for Li An was the body search. Being touched here and there by a grown man made his skin crawl.

He just couldn't understand why he had to be searched when he clearly had to take off his clothes for inspection after entering.

After enduring the discomfort, after searching his body and checking his things, Li An carried his things and came to the clerk and handed over the guarantee letter.

The clerk saw that the guarantee letter was issued by Master Tongpan. After a quick look, he gave Li An a number plate and let him enter the examination room.

(End of this chapter)