Idle courtiers

Chapter 376
In fact, Zhou Nan naturally understood the meaning of what Yan Song said just now.

There were three forms of being an official in the Ming Dynasty: jester, power minister and bureaucrat.

If you just want to be successful, then be a bureaucrat just like others; if you want to be rich, then you have to be a jester like Lu Bing and Yan Song; if you really have the determination and ambition to change the world, You can only be a power minister like Zhang Juzheng.

It is the safest and most meaningless to be a bureaucrat.

As a powerful minister, offending many people will naturally end badly in the future.

Being a jester is not a good choice either. If you become a representative of the imperial power, you will inevitably offend the civil society and do dirty work, and you will inevitably have to go to prison in the future.

In this way, the civil official group is the real cancer of the Ming Dynasty!

"It's a pity that I, Zhou Nan, don't want to be one of the three. I just want to leave behind the advanced ideas of future generations and subtly change the world. Senior Yan, I'm afraid Zhou will disappoint you." Zhou Nan smiled lightly: "Besides, this year I may not be able to pass the exam in Qiuwei."

Back in the courtyard where Wang Shu was being held, Wang Shizhen and him had finished talking, Zhou Nan hurriedly entered the room, and bowed to him: "Young junior Zhou Nan pays respects to Master."

A pair of strong hands stretched out: "Zimu, I've heard Shizhen say your name a long time ago, and you really look charming, so hurry up and talk."

"Thank you, Master." Zhou Nan stood up and looked intently. In front of him was an old man in his sixties.Like Yan Song, he is as radiant as Yan Song, and he is also full of energy when speaking.

The long prison life did not make him depressed, and Wang Shu looked very energetic at the moment.

Zhou Nan admired in his heart, those who can be imprisoned in the Beiya are all extraordinary people, which is really admirable.

Wang Shu still refused to let go of Zhou Nan, grabbed his arm with his hands and could not stop looking at it, and said to Wang Shizhen who was beside him: "Shizhen is really a good student. Character, talent, and writing are all the best choices. Yan Fenyi read the handouts written by Zimu in Neishutang that you brought earlier. The old man doesn’t know how to manage money, but Lao Yan is a master. Even he is full of praise for Zimu’s views. Think about it It's just excellent. Shizhen, you are old and your energy is limited, you think he is your closed disciple, right? Some disciples like this can be considered complete."

Wang Shizhen's eyes were still red, and he remembered crying just now: "Father, please don't praise Zimu. From my son's point of view, Zimu's knowledge and articles are still far behind. I'm afraid he will fall into the name of our Langya Wang family."

Wang Shu let go of Zhou Nan, waved his hands and said with a chuckle: "It is right for strict teachers to produce high-quality apprentices, but there must be a certain degree. Strictness can certainly make students dare not slack off and maintain a humble heart. But if you scold too hard, you will be called People lose self-confidence, and they are afraid of doing things and writing essays. Young people should have a spirit. Isn't it the Shuntianfu Township Examination, so why is it so difficult?"

Hearing something in his words, Zhou Nan's heart moved: "Please teach me, Master."

Wang Shu turned his head and looked at Wang Shizhen: "Shizhen, in your opinion, how sure is Zimu's autumn?"

Wang Shizhen: "Returning to my lord father, Ruo Zimu will just take the test like this, and he is [-] to [-]% sure of his crafting skills."

Hearing the teacher's words, Zhou Nan felt unlucky. He was only 50.00% sure, which was too low.It seems that my preparations for more than a year may be useless.

Seeing Zhou Nan's gloomy expression, Wang Shu laughed: "Zimu, what are you thinking? Shuntian Mansion Qiuwei must have one or two thousand candidates, one out of ten is only [-]% sure for ordinary people, you have Fifty percent is quite remarkable."

After finishing speaking, he asked Wang Shizhen again: "What if the preparations are made in advance?"

"Seventy to eighty percent."

Wang Shu was very excited: "That's right, that's right, it's a must."

Zhou Nan was very encouraged by the affirmation of the two seniors, father and son test machine.But after thinking about it, don't say [-]% to [-]%, even if it is [-]%, it is a probability, and it doesn't make any sense.

Wang Shu: "Shizhen, Gu Shangshi and you have known each other since we were young. I heard that you still have festivals. When my father was in his hometown in Suzhou, he thought that we were all in the same line of scholars, and he thought about finding someone to mediate. Back then you were young and vigorous, and you insisted on competing for superiority, so I didn’t bother to care about it. Gentlemen are harmonious but different, and appropriate disputes are also necessary. I heard that Gu Shangshi likes to read "The Analects of Confucius", and I want to come to Jinke Qiuwei's Four Ways "Four Books" The title must come from it, do you have a title to draw up?"

This is a question, Zhou Nan suddenly became energetic and listened attentively.

Not to mention the ancients, even in the modern world, before the exam, candidates would guess the questions according to the examiner's preferences and ideas. If they guessed correctly, they would win a big prize, and if they didn't guess correctly, they would have nothing to lose.

The Wang family in Suzhou is a wealthy and scholarly family, and generations of people have been examination machines.Since they dare to ask questions, they are very confident.

Wang Shizhen nodded: "Gu Yan is frivolous and speaks a lot. He often said that Zhao Pu in the Song Dynasty used half a volume of "The Analects of Confucius" to rule the world, and he also wanted to use half a volume of "The Analects of Confucius" to rule the world, so he studied this book for the rest of his life. Students, naturally have to write questions from "The Analects of Confucius", so as to inherit his mantle. Unfortunately, he is familiar with the Analects of Confucius and has been an official all his life, but he has not seen any talent for governing the world. He is just a nerd .”

Having said that, he smiled disdainfully.

Wang Shu: "Then, you can think about the topic."

Wang Shizhen nodded: "Returning to my father's words, my son has already thought of three questions. They are 'The Kingdom of Thousands of Vehicles', 'Si Wuxie', and 'The King's Order is not waiting for you to drive'. One or two questions is fine."

The tone is full of confidence.

Zhou Nan was very pleasantly surprised, not to mention that he could guess two out of three questions, even if he guessed one, he was already on the pass line, and a successful candidate would have a solid reputation.

Wang Shizhen: "Zimu, after you go down, hand in these three questions well."

"Yes, thank you teacher." Zhou Nan hurriedly bowed down again.

At this time, the visiting time had come, and Jin Yiwei came to remind him.

Zhou Nan opened his mouth to speak, and Wang Shu chuckled: "Zimu, I know what you want to say. It's not just the last petition, I'm not a pedantic person. If you are more hypocritical, your hearts will be chilled, my dear ones." The old man will not do things that hurt the enemy quickly."

Only then did Zhou Nan breathe a sigh of relief. He was afraid that his master and the top bullies in the court would insist on defending his innocence, that is, he pleaded not guilty.Ancient scholars repeated their names and festivals, and they were afraid that he would come to this hand.

The three reluctantly bid farewell, not expressing themselves.

The day passed like this, Zhou Nan was too lazy to go home at Shenshi in the afternoon, let Huangdou grind the ink, picked up the pen and wrote a stereotyped essay.Finished writing, read it again, very satisfied.

Taking advantage of today's good condition, he wrote another [-]-word article, which was still excellent.

Of course, after these three questions are completed, they will be handed over to Wang Shizhen for revision. After the revision, they have to be memorized.

Because I am sure that this time I will survive, Zhou Nan feels relaxed, and only then does he experience the joy of writing.There is a feeling that I can't stop, and I have to continue to write the third article.

At this time, Huang Dou carefully reminded: "Master, the night is already very deep, please rest in peace!"

There was a faint beeping sound coming from outside. Listening carefully, it was already twelve o'clock in the night Beijing time.

I still have to go to work at [-] o'clock tomorrow, and I don't have time to sleep if I don't sleep.

Zhou Nan returned to the bedroom, undressed and went to bed.

But because I was too excited, I was a little insomnia.

He closed his eyes and thought: In fact, my essay can be regarded as a success. If you try hard to take the exam, you may not be successful. If you have a mentor who writes a question, as long as you hit a question, you will definitely win. It’s just a matter of ranking.The same is true for the teacher, there are four books and five classics in the township test, why doesn't the old man just guess the rest of the questions?
After thinking about it carefully, I realized it in my heart.In fact, the ancient imperial examinations only tested the Four Books, and the Five Classics were not important.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were three sessions and nine days in the township examination. The first session was three days, with three questions and four books, and four questions in each of the "Five Classics".Candidates are required to choose one of the classics they have studied, which is called "this classic".

The answers are all in the form of eight-legged essays.

The five classics questions are only used as a reference and are used to assign rankings to Chinese candidates, so it doesn't matter.Wang Shizhen probably didn't bother to guess, anyway, it's good for her students to get the best candidates.

The second exam is three days old, and there is one essay on the exam.Edict, imperial edict, and table are selected together.This thing is too easy. Zhou Nan has been an official in the Yamen for such a long time, and he is good at writing official documents.In addition, I was by the emperor's side, and I was in contact with this kind of thing all day long. No one else, but I was familiar with it, and I could pick up a pen.

The third round was still three days old, with five questions on classics, history, and current affairs policy. This was the least difficult subject in the exam.Candidates are all scholars who don't work hard and don't distinguish five grains. If you ask them to write policy discussions and discuss national affairs, can they write it?Anyway, just write something casually, as long as the format is correct, you can pass the test, and the examiner doesn't even bother to look at it.

Thinking of this, Zhou Nan breathed a long sigh of relief, and said with a smile: It seems that this imperial examination is not a difficult task, but I take it seriously.At this moment, I want to compose a poem: peach red and plum white, fragrant and fragrant, sitting in the spring breeze together.May the young man ride the wind and waves, and never forget the skill of turning rain in the future.

As soon as the body relaxes, it immediately falls into dreamland.

On the second day, Zhou Nan went to the Daolu Department first as usual, and then took his young men and horses, Shenlian, and several Taoists from the Taoist circle in the capital to Yuxi Palace in a mighty manner.

That's right, Comrade Jiajing, Chief Zhu, is going to have a funeral ceremony today.

Because there are no major solar terms in the hot July, and it is too hot.The emperor graciously reduced the scale and only held it for one day.

The whole procedure is like this, doing things in the morning, and in the afternoon, Lao Zhou, officials from the Ministry of Rites and several other counterparts will give alms.

There are not many places to give alms, only three Taoist temples, all in the city.

After this arrangement, the people in the relevant departments all burst into tears, shouting "the emperor is holy" and if the minister tosses in the sun like last time, he must die in the line of duty and serve the country with his own body.

When they arrived at Yuxi Palace, an eunuch came out and said that Huang Jin was not there today, saying that he had a fever and cold and had been treated in isolation.It is estimated that it will take ten and a half months to come and serve His Majesty.

"By the way, the prince of Prince Yu's mansion and His Royal Highness Princess Jiashan are also here today. Afraid of the heat, His Majesty ordered the altar to be set up in the main hall. Mr. Zhou, please go in quickly!" As he spoke, he looked at Zhou Nan strangely. smile.

(End of this chapter)