Soldiers come to the world

Five days later, the much-anticipated public examination finally kicked off in Jingzhou. A total of 20 scholars took part in this examination, from all counties in the world, and there were even candidates from Liaodong. One person was admitted, and only a hundred people could pass the second official examination, but it still aroused great enthusiasm among the scholars, and everyone had hope for themselves.

This is how rare and commendable it is to be admitted as an official in a fair examination in the Han Dynasty, where family status and prestige were the criteria for selecting officials!It is just like this that every scholar who took the exam treats this opportunity with the greatest enthusiasm and the most rigorous attitude.

There is not a place in Xiangyang that can accommodate 10 people at the same time. In addition to the pavilion, even the government office of the state government has also been used. In addition, several large sword gyms and academies have also been temporarily requisitioned by the government as examination rooms.

In fact, in the Han Dynasty, paper was far from widespread and very expensive, and most books were still bamboo slips, which led to a very narrow spread of culture, mostly centered on the gentry in various counties, including the children of aristocratic families and scholars who were attached to the gentry , This also led to the mixed quality of reference scholars, and many scholars even came to take the exam after only reading a few volumes of Analects.

This is completely different from the fact that more than [-] people took the exam in the Tang and Song Dynasties.

This time, nine children from the Cui family of Boling came to take the exam, but most of them came at their own expense. The only scholar who came to the exam on behalf of the family was Cui Shi, who was the nephew of Cui Zhouping and a direct descendant of the Cui family. This time he came to Jingzhou to look for opportunities with the great trust of his family on his shoulders.

Before leaving, the head of the family and several elders of the family had a heartfelt conversation with him, which still echoed in his mind. Liu Jing's strong rise has faintly rivaled Cao Cao's.

More importantly, Liu Jing is a descendant of the clan. If he seizes the world, there will inevitably be a rejuvenation of the Han Dynasty, so whether the Cui family can obtain their due status in the Han Dynasty revival that is likely to come, this is what the Cui family must face. Right big thing.

In this context, Cui Shi participated in this exam on behalf of the Cui family, and he is bound to win. [

Before dawn, Cui Shi went out. He was studying at the home court of Jingzhou Academy, less than one mile away from the inn where he lived. Although it was not yet bright, the street was already crowded with scholars who came to Jingzhou Academy for reference. , Many scholars are carrying lanterns, dotted with stars, and the sky is full of stars, which is particularly spectacular.

"Brother Zhaoyuan!"

As soon as Cui Shi walked to the gate, he heard someone calling him behind him. When he turned his head, Xun Zhi came running quickly with a bookcase on his back, followed by a young scholar. The two rushed forward, Xun Zhi Zhi smiled and said, "I just went to your inn to ask, and I told you that you just left, so I chased you all the way!"

Cui Shi cupped his hands apologetically and said, "I didn't know that my virtuous brother would come, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay! I'm just passing by the inn."

At this time, Cui Shi nodded to the scholar next to him. This scholar was also present when we were drinking together that day, but Cui Shi forgot his name. The young scholar said with a smile: "I am Deng Hong from Nanyang. ?"

Cui Shi patted his forehead and said with a smile: "Yes, you are Deng Wenzhong, I remembered, you are a guy who drinks a lot."

The three of them laughed together. At this time, the dull bell sounded from a distance, which was to inform the scholars that they had entered the examination room. The three of them checked the examination room. In Ding's examination room, Xun Zhi cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Then I will say goodbye to the two dear friends, and we will have a drink at noon, and we will meet at the inn in Zhaoyuan!"

"no problem!"

Cui Shi bowed his hands and saluted: "I wish my younger brother the best of luck in the exam, the first place in high school!" "Everyone! Each other! Everyone passed the exam!"

Xun Zhi smiled and went to the examination room D in front, and Cui Shi and Deng Hong walked into the examination room B together.

The examination room is in a large hall that can accommodate 3000 people. There are [-] small tables and a mat. Each person is given a piece of paper, and they bring their own pen and ink.

In addition, there is a bamboo basket beside the table. In the basket is a bucket of rice, a hundred pieces of Chu money, and a thick hemp blanket. This is Jingzhou’s travel expenses and souvenirs for every candidate returning home. The hemp blanket comes from Hanzhong, and the Nanzheng warehouse. There are hundreds of thousands of hemp blankets inside, just to keep a souvenir for the scholars.

There was whispering in the examination room, and the scholars were excitedly looking through their baskets. Even if they failed the examination, they did not come in vain, and went back with something to gain.

At this time, an examiner shouted loudly on the high platform: "Everyone, please be quiet!" [

The scholars all fell silent, there were crows and sparrows in the hall with thousands of people, and the examiner said loudly again: "The baskets next to each of you are the return travel expenses given by Liu Zhoumu. The blankets can be used as pads or covers in winter. They are very practical, yes Thanks to Liu Zhoumu, thank you for coming to Jingzhou for the exam."

At this time, the scholars burst into applause. The examiner waved his hands and calmed everyone down again. He continued: "About today's exam, there are five questions in total. I will announce the topics, which involve "The Analects of Confucius" and "The Doctrine of the Mean". , "University", "Guanzi" and "Han Feizi" are tests of real talents and learning, but there is only one piece of paper, so everyone should use it sparingly. , Be careful not to make any mistakes, if the name is leaked if it is not pasted properly, then it will be invalidated!"

The examiner's words caused thunder in everyone's mind. It was not a matter of name confusion, but the books involved. "The Analects of Confucius", "The Doctrine of the Mean" and "University" belonged to the category of the Four Books, so there was no big problem.

The key is that the next two books, "Guanzi" and "Han Feizi", made many people feel dizzy, especially "Guanzi", which is very remote, and many people have never read it. Unexpectedly, it became one of the five questions in the exam.

"Everyone be quiet, I will announce the first question, please listen carefully, I will only say it three times!"

The exam lasted only half a day. At noon, the scholars came out of the exam room one after another. Everyone looked dignified, walked hurriedly, and seemed to be in a heavy mood. Obviously, the exam questions were much more difficult than they imagined. Many candidates I have decided to go back and pack my bags and go home.

There is a huge gap in the level of scholars, some are rich in learning, and some only read a few volumes of books, and then they claim to be scholars and take the exam.

"Brother Cui, how did you do in the exam?" Xun Zhi asked impatiently as soon as they met.

"I think it's not bad. At least I got all the answers. As for whether it suits the examiner's appetite, I don't know. How did my brother do in the exam?"

Xun Zhi laughed, "I think it's very good. In fact, I know that Liu Jing also admires the Legalists, so I specially studied several works of the Legalists. I didn't expect that I really took the exam on "Guanzi" and "Han Feizi". Thank you!"

At this time, Deng Hong sighed, "I answered the first few questions very well, but unfortunately I can't remember all of "Guanzi".

Cui Shi patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Don't worry! I know in my heart that you will definitely achieve something in Jingzhou."

Xun Zhi was still excited, and shouted anxiously: "Don't think about it after the exam, let's cross the river and go to Fancheng to drink!"

"Drink! Drink!" The three laughed together, walked out of the inn one after another, hired a mule cart, and drove to Fancheng on the other side of the Han River.

The first round of exams is just an academy exam. Those who pass the exam can enter Jingzhou Academy, enjoy government subsidies for money and food, and support their families. This alone attracts scholars from all over the world.

As for the second round of official examination, since less than [-] people were admitted, it is suspected to be a lot of money for a large number of candidates. A round of rankings.

After the academy exam, the wealthy examinees went to various places in Jingzhou together, but some aristocratic children with clear goals were still studying Legalist works hard to prepare for the second round of official exams.

Another eight days passed in a flash, and there were only two days left before the first round of ranking announcement. In the inner hall of the Hussar General's Mansion, Liu Jing and dozens of senior officials of the General's Mansion were discussing the final list of rankings.

"Jiang Canjun, tell everyone about the situation first!" Liu Jing said to Jiang Wan with a smile.

Jiang Wan nodded, and said to the crowd: "In this exam, there were a total of 480 candidates, and [-] papers were discarded, mainly because there was a problem with blurring the names, and some of them were not blurred, which led to the disclosure of the names. , some of them are too vague, and the names are stuck. The gap between the remaining nearly [-] candidates is too large. Nearly [-] candidates only answered one question of "The Analects of Confucius", and less than [-] people answered all four questions. There are only more than [-] candidates, and the main question of "Guanzi" has stumped most of the candidates."

Liu Jing frowned and said, "There will be eight thousand waste papers?"

"Yes! It's the first time for many people to take the test without their names, so there are more problems. According to the regulations, those who show their names must be invalidated."

Liu Jing didn't say anything else, and turned to Fei Guan, "I wonder how many scholars the academy in Bashu can accept?"

Hussar General's Mansion is not only the original high-ranking officials in Jingzhou, but also many high-ranking officials from Yizhou, such as Dong He, Fei Guan, Fei Yi, Yin Ming, Liu Ba, Li Hui, Peng Yi, etc. Dong He served as Sima This is the third senior official after the military adviser and the chief historian, in charge of the prison administration and laws of Jingzhou and Yizhou. This is why Liu Jing took a fancy to Dong He's uprightness.

And Fei Guan took up the post of Zhizhong, and concurrently served as Yizhou Biejia. Yizhou Xuezheng fell under his jurisdiction. Fei Guan got up and said: "In addition to Yizhou Academy, each county also has its own county school. It used to be To recruit students from Bashu, but now it is also possible to recruit students from other states, I estimated that it can recruit about [-] students, but I have something to say."

"Fei Gong just speak up!"

Fei Guan said slowly: "To recruit five or six thousand scholars, and to provide them with money and food, it seems a little unfair to support them. I hope they can do something, and they can't be idle. The whole family relies on the government to support them. feed."

There was a lot of discussion in the hall, and most people agreed with Fei Guan's opinion. Five to six thousand people consumed a huge amount of money and food a year, which was a heavy burden on the government. Everyone demanded reform.

At this time, Xu Shu who was sitting on the side smiled and said: "This point really needs to be improved. We will come up with a plan, such as allowing scholars to copy books, seconding as civil officials in various counties and counties in turn, and serving as civil servants in the military." , you can go to the school to teach, you can go to disaster relief, etc. In short, scholars have many uses, although they are not working in the fields, they are also useful."

Liu Jing smiled and said to everyone: "We will discuss the usefulness of scholars next time, and the list will be released tomorrow. Let's confirm the list!"

After a pause, he said to Xu Shu again: "The second round of official examination will be held three days later. Chang Shi will be in charge, and Jiang Canjun and Pang Yuancheng will be in charge. Follow the original plan."