Interstellar: Food chain operation

Chapter 31 "Three Consecutive Championships"

At this time, Ouyang Xiu, who was preparing for the palace examination, still wanted to be the number one scholar appointed by the Holy Emperor.

Ouyang Xiu was not arrogant, but rather confident. However, he was too confident and lost his number one scholar robe.

The palace examination was held in Chongzheng Hall on March 11 of the same year, and was personally presided over by Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty Zhao Zhen.

Although Nan Jiao doesn’t know what the test questions are, as a modern person, she can look them up!

The palace examination must complete three subjects: Fu, Poetry, and Theory within one day. The test questions are "Poetry Hiding Pearls in Yuan", "Poetry of Selfless Love", and "Confucianism can be compared with Shou Cheng Theory".

It is a pity that Ouyang Xiu's poems and essays on the palace examination have been scattered. Only "The Palace Examination Hidden Pearls in Yuan Fu" is still preserved. The full text contains 440 words, with a regular format, smooth text and smooth sentence changes.

It was originally ranked first because it was too sharp, but Ouyang Xiu expressed his deep concern for the country and the people in the article. He used the topic to publish current comments, criticized the government, satirized the king, and asked the rulers not only to cherish things but also to show compassion for the people. , so the examiner gave him a not very high ranking.

On March 14, Emperor Renzong presided over the roll call ceremony of the imperial examination results. The Zhigongju called out the names of those who passed the imperial examination, and the military chief stood in front of the palace and called in turn. This is the so-called "passing" in the imperial examination.

Those who pass the palace examination are admitted as Jinshi, and are divided into three categories. The first, second, and third place in the first category are called the number one scholar, the second best scholar, and the third best scholar respectively.

According to the practice of "chuanlu", the top candidates in the provincial examination can stand up and announce their name loudly if they are not paged after more than three people are called in the palace examination. Even if they are at the back of the queue with test scores, they can be upgraded and advance in advance. Roll call.

Ouyang Xiu was waiting anxiously outside the hall, but his name was not called for a long time.

Because Ouyang Xiu ranked first in the provincial examination, he had to stand up and make a statement. In the end, the emperor appointed him as the fourteenth in the first division.

Ouyang Xiu was stunned at the door of the hall, how could this happen? He couldn't believe he was only fourteenth!

Walking out of the palace in a daze, Xu Yan couldn't believe the news. He sent people to inquire more, only to learn that Yan Shu, the examiner at the time, later told people that Ouyang Xiu failed to win the first prize because he was too sharp and the examiners wanted to dampen his spirit. , to promote their success.

Xu Yan was so angry that he said, "A bunch of villains! They are making fun of the imperial examination!"

Xu Yan did not hide this matter from Ouyang Xiu. Ouyang Xiu was in a daze and his whole idea of ​​serving the imperial court collapsed.

"Although a villain is no good, he should be restrained and defeated. A gentleman should be protected and cherished to achieve his virtue if he is unfortunate enough to make a mistake." Nan Jiao still persuaded Ouyang Xiu to stand up. Even if he is not the top scholar, he will be awarded an official position.

Strengthen your beliefs and just be yourself, this is what the family has always expected.

Ouyang Xiu failed to win the "three consecutive championships" in the imperial examination, which was regrettable, but he did get the honor after all.

His mother, who was dependent on him, cried with joy when she heard the good news came from the capital at her home in Suizhou. When the letter came, Ouyang Xiu finally smiled. It didn't matter whether he was the number one scholar or not. If he won, he would live up to his mother's teachings.

Although he did not win the first prize, Ouyang Xiu also obtained a good ranking and was appointed as a general official, secretary of the provincial school, and served as a left-behind promotion officer in Xijing.

At the same time as he was named on the gold list, he also ushered in the wedding ceremony.

In the Song Dynasty, there was a custom of "selecting a son-in-law from the list of candidates", and high-ranking officials in the court liked to choose a son-in-law who could take advantage of the dragon's speed among new scholars.

His mentor Xu Yan gave a big "gift" to his disciple and betrothed his precious daughter to Ouyang Xiu.

It's a pity that Ouyang Xiu was taken away by his old mentor Xu Yan before he could experience "choosing a son-in-law from the list".

It turns out that this high-quality stock of his has been reserved for a long time.

As soon as Ouyang Xiu passed the imperial examination, Xu Yan betrothed his daughter to him, and his old mentor became his father-in-law. "The wedding night and the day of passing the imperial examination" are two of the four great joys in life, so Ouyang Xiu can be considered a big winner in life.

In March of the ninth year of Tiansheng, Ouyang Xiu arrived in Luoyang and became close friends with Mei Yaochen and Yin Zhu, and they exchanged poems with each other.

In the same year, he married his bride Xu in Dongwu County.

After Ouyang Xiu got married, his wife Xu was told about Nanjiao, and the matter of collecting toad grass was arranged by his wife.

Now Ouyang Xiu can no longer collect toad grass every day.

At that time, his boss was Qian Weiyan, the son of Qian Chu, King Zhongyi of Wu Yue, who was left behind in Xijing.

Qian Weiyan is very good to young talents like Ouyang Xiu, and he almost "tributes" them.

Not only did they rarely let Ouyang Xiu and other young scholars take on trivial administrative matters, they also openly supported him in eating, drinking and having fun.

One day, Ouyang Xiu and his young colleagues went to Songshan Mountain to play, and it started to snow in the evening.

At this moment, Qian Weiyan's envoy arrived, bringing excellent cooks and singing girls, and told Qian Weiyan: "There is nothing going on in the house, you don't have to come back in a hurry, just enjoy the snow in Songshan Mountain."

Of course, these young talents can also recite poems and compose poems while eating, drinking and having fun.

Parallel prose was popular in the literary world at that time, and the writing style was gorgeous, but it was inevitable to use big words and clichés. Ouyang Xiu and others used such articles to take the imperial examination.

Finally, they could create without any pressure. Of course, they were not satisfied with such a rigid writing style. Instead, they relied on their rich knowledge and imitated the ancients of the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties to try to break the outdated writing style at that time and promote "ancient prose".

With the support of Qian Weiyan, Ouyang Xiu and others had sufficient time to ponder the creation of ancient prose.

They didn't know that the creation of this ancient text not only flourished during the Song Dynasty, but also left countless ancient masterpieces.

Qian Wei's performance in the role of these small literary figures in "Fu Yang" can be said to be a lasting achievement.

The officialdom of the Song Dynasty could not tolerate the existence of Qingming officials. Qian Weiyan was politically frustrated and was forced to leave Luoyang.

Ouyang Xiu and others saw off Qian Weiyan, and both parties shed tears of farewell.

Qian Weiyan's successor Wang Shu is a "veteran cadre" who is over seventy years old and has always been very strict in controlling his subordinates.

After he took office, he saw the young people left behind by Qian Weiyan traveling all day long, and was very dissatisfied, so he directly made a face.

When Ouyang Xiu communicated with Nan Jiao that Qian Wei was spoiling them, he knew that it was wrong to be a court official.

But it was precisely because of their chicness that they had become famous throughout the ages. She didn't want to persuade them, so she didn't expect that this situation would come.

Not every leader is Qian Weiyan.

One day, Wang Shu gathered Ouyang Xiu and others together and taught them sternly: "You see, people like Kou Laigong were demoted because they indulged in pleasure. What's more, you people can't compare with Kou Laigong in terms of talent. How dare you do this? "

Everyone was taught not to speak out.

Only Ouyang Xiu, who was young and vigorous and quick to respond, retorted: "The reason why Kou Laigong was unlucky later was not because he indulged in pleasure, but because he didn't know how to retire at his old age."