After sorting out the items and checking for missing items, Ju Ming went downstairs carrying a lantern.
Shi Biao still stayed in the inn to look after the luggage, while Bai Sheng had gone to the stable to fetch the horse.
Scholars came out one after another, and in this inn alone there were dozens of candidates taking the exam.
"Hey, isn't Brother Hui going to take the Maoke exam?" Zhu Ming found that Qin Hui had also gone downstairs.
Qin Hui explained with a smile: "Maoke is too difficult. It's not too late to take the exam next time."
For major subjects such as Maoke, candidates do not dare to take the exam directly. New candidates are not allowed to take the exam again. The main competitors are previous candidates.
Historically, Qin Hui was thrown to a local school to be the principal, and he felt aggrieved and did not move away for many years. So he took the exam for Maoke, and became the only one admitted in that class. At this time, he made a fortune and quickly became the Imperial Academy Xuezheng.
Min Zishun had already ordered two carriages, and all the Yangzhou scholars got in. Qin Hui also shamelessly took a ride.
Li Hanzhang and Zhu Ming rode their horses separately and entered the city together.
Bai Sheng and other entourage, holding lanterns, followed the carriage on foot.
I can’t increase my speed because there are too many people.
The city gates are opened on an exception basis for scholars taking exams, and no inspection is performed, so they can come and go at will.
Before arriving at Gongyuan, the streets were blocked because the number of candidates was about 10,000, and including their entourage, it might exceed 20,000.
It was densely packed and crowded.
Soon, officials came and shouted along the street: "Idle people leave, idle people leave, don't block the street!"
Bai Sheng and the others were idlers. They handed the things to Ju Ming and left Gongyuan silently.
Zhu Ming did not rush inside and waited slowly to enter. After waiting for two hours, he finally got closer and took out the answer sheet and the test ticket with the seat number on it from the bamboo tube.
The inspection procedures are more stringent than those in the state examination, but they still do not require stripping and inspection.
The examination room of Gongyuan is very large and can accommodate more than 10,000 people.
The conditions of the peripheral examination tents are poor. They were used three years ago and have grown cobwebs and moss. Candidates have to clean them by themselves.
The examination booth in the inner part is much cleaner, because the Imperial College and the imperial students will borrow the Gongyuan during the annual examination, and the candidates will clean it every year.
Including Zhu Ming, all the candidates from Yangzhou were seated near the front. They didn't know that this was the arrangement of the two examiners, and they all thought they were very lucky.
Each examination booth has an area of approximately 1.3 square meters.
The first thing you need to do when you find your seat is to clean your examination booth. You must wipe the table and then put paper on it to prevent the table from contaminating the test papers. The second thing is to nail oil paper on the top of the examination booth to prevent it from being in disrepair and leaking due to rain.
Then, wait until dawn.
The content of the classics essay test questions is the same as that in the state examination. They are all major classics and ten additional classics. However, the difficulty has increased, and the number of words in each essay has increased to more than 350 words.
"Dang-dang-dang!"
The sky was getting slightly brighter, the gong sounded, and the exam questions were about to be announced.
In order to prevent the leakage of questions, it is impossible to print the test papers, let alone temporarily copy 10,000 copies.
A policeman came out holding a wooden sign. There was a piece of paper attached to the wooden sign, which stated the content of the first examination question. As he walked, the policeman shouted: "For the first question, there is nothing suitable for a gentleman in the world, and there is nothing wrong with it.
The principle of righteousness and comparison...the gentleman is in the world, there is nothing suitable and nothing wrong, the principle of righteousness and comparison..."
The candidates quickly copied down the questions and waited for the second question to be announced.
Not long after the officer passed by Ju Ming, another officer came over holding a sign: "Second question, people can promote the Tao, but not the Tao and people... People can promote the Tao, but not the Tao and people..."
After all ten questions have been announced, candidates can begin to answer the questions.
If someone has not finished memorizing the test questions, they can also ask the nearby police officer, but they are not allowed to leave their own test booth.
Zhu Ming answered the question completely according to the eight-legged essay model. After thinking for a while, he wrote down the answer to the first question: A gentleman does not rely on things in advance, but only adapts to the situation according to the situation.
Then he thought about the title and wrote: When a gentleman deals with the affairs of the world, he only obeys the righteousness. How could he be biased in the first place?
Ju Ming's eight-part essay level has improved a lot compared to last year, and he is no longer the novice who took the exam for the first time.
The only thing you need to pay attention to is to avoid miscreants.
That is to say, you cannot use the name of the royal family in your article.
In the examinations of the Huizong Dynasty, we should also avoid using the exclusive opinions of Luo School and Shu School.
This is easy to avoid. Take Yangzhou Academy as an example. Min Wenwei specifically listed the relevant content and repeatedly emphasized that those things cannot be taken for exams. And there is not much content. Xinxue, Luoxue, and Shuxue explain the meaning of the classics.
, 99% are common, only the key 1% is left to differentiate.
Of course, without the guidance of famous teachers or academies, poor scholars can easily make mistakes and commit taboos if they are not careful.
I wrote until noon and after finishing four questions, I was already very hungry.
There was a smell of charcoal in the examination room, and someone was cooking on the stove he brought with him. Zhu Ming was too lazy to light a fire, so he took out a piece of cake and drank some water. Then he went to the toilet and continued to answer questions after taking care of his physical needs.
When it got dark and the examiner ordered the papers to be handed in, Zhu Ming had already fallen asleep on the table for a while.
There are too many candidates for the provincial examination, and it is impossible to enter the venue for inspection every day. If you do that, you will not be able to sleep for three consecutive days. Because you have exams during the day, and you have to queue up at 11 or 12 o'clock in the evening, how can you have any rest time?
Eat, drink, and have sex, all in the examination room.
In a small cabin of 1.3 square meters, one can only sleep on the table.
At night, Zhu Ming was still at the door of the examination room, lighting up the stove and cooking a pot of porridge, eating it with pickles and dried meat.
After eating, I went to bed. I wrote ten articles during the day and revised and transcribed them repeatedly. I was as tired as doing physical work for a day.
On the second day, there will be ten test questions that include scriptures.
On the third day, we will take a test on one topic, Five Classics, History and Current Affairs.
The test topic is to ask the candidates to evaluate Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.
This question must have been written by Wang Fu, with a very obvious intention to let the candidates praise Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, and by the way, praise Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty.
Ju Ming had already guessed the thoughts of the person who asked the question, but he did not praise Huizong of the Song Dynasty. He only objectively evaluated Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty. If the pot is broken, the worst is to fail, and then go back to Daming Village.
The two classics and history policy questions are quite satisfactory.
There are three current affairs policy questions, one discusses the war in the northwest, and two discusses financial issues.
Ju Ming wrote the article truthfully. Although he did not explicitly criticize Cai Jing and Tong Guan, he emphasized the corruption of officialdom.
Based on what he wrote, it would be difficult for the six questions on the third day to be approved by the marking officer.
In this era, even the imperial examinations have to flatter you!
Take the last examiner Cai Hao as an example. He was the number one scholar in Chongning for five years.
This No. 1 pick is extremely talented, and he got there entirely by flattering others.
At that time, Cai Jing was impeached by an official, and Song Huizong was forced by his ministers to make concessions.
During the palace examination policy discussion, Cai Hao frantically spoke favorably for Cai Jing and attacked his political opponents.
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty was overjoyed when he read Cai Jing's book, so he selected Cao Cao as the number one scholar, and his articles were published throughout the world. Within nine months, he was promoted to the fourth grade.
Then, Cai Hao looked up the family tree and recognized Cai Jing as his uncle.
One time when he came to visit, Cai Jing asked his three sons to greet him. Cai Hao immediately changed his mind and said that the genealogy was wrong in the past. Cai Jing was actually his great-uncle, and Cai Jing's son was his uncle.
Then, Song Huizong could not withstand the pressure and planned to pardon some of the Yuanyou party members. In order to please Cai Jing, Cai Hao actually disobeyed the emperor's order and did not write the edict in accordance with the imperial edict. For such a serious crime of deceiving the emperor, he was only demoted to the prefecture, and was quickly recalled Serve in court.
In less than ten years, Cai Hao went from being a commoner to being the examiner of the national examination!
After three exams, Zhu Ming handed in his papers and left, taking his stove with him.
The candidates walked out of the Gongyuan one after another. They were all sleepy and tired. They had no energy to talk at all, and they were too lazy to answer questions with their friends.
"elder brother!"
Bai Sheng had been waiting on the street for a long time, holding a lantern and leading his horse.
There were so many candidates that it was difficult for Ju Ming to find friends, so he simply rode back to the inn alone.
I ate a whole meal, didn't even bother to take a shower, so I lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
…
The four examiners are still locked in Gongyuan because they are still marking officers.
The copying officer copied the red scroll and sent it to the marking officials.
There were also a dozen officials from the third library who also came to help mark the papers. After they marked the papers for the first time, they eliminated some of the papers that were too poorly written and then handed them over to the four examiners for review.
Four examiners will determine the test scores and cross-mark the papers.
Ju Ming's two volumes of classics and meanings both received pretty good reviews.
For example, in the "Analects of Confucius" volume, Zhai Ruwen's comments are: The analysis is clear and clear, the words are smooth, there is no omission and no lack, it can be an excellent work.
Although the names are anonymized, each answer sheet has a number, and the candidates' answer sheets from several sessions are put together.
The number of admissions is variable, probably around 700, it can be more or less.
Because Murong Yanfeng and Zhai Ruwen were very strict in judging papers, they eliminated too many people, resulting in only 671 candidates admitted this year.
There were 713 people in the last Jinshi class!
The arbitrariness of the imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty was clearly reflected in the number of admissions. It was greatly influenced by the examiner. For example, the next Jinshi was not so strict and a total of 783 people were admitted.
After determining the winning papers, the four examiners gathered together to rank the papers.
As the examiner, Wang Fu can make the final decision.
Murong Yanfeng was so angry that he pounded the table, pointed at the first place test paper and said: "This person's policy and argument are as flattering as possible. The article has no merit, so why can he be ranked first?"
Wang Fu asked back: "Is it wrong for this man to compare the official family to Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty?"
Murong Yanfeng couldn't answer and forcefully suppressed his anger.
Zhai Ruwen took out an answer sheet: "This person's answer sheet has detailed analysis of classics and meanings, and his policy analysis can be ranked among the top three. Not only does he understand the classics and understand the meaning, but he also knows the current affairs of the world. His discussion of finance and military affairs can be regarded as an important minister."
Shu Zhiyan. Why was he judged to be the last one?"
Wang Fu said: "This son is sarcastic about the courtiers, saying that the officialdom of the Song Dynasty is corrupt. Nowadays, when the saints come to the court, the country is peaceful, the Henan Province is prosperous, and all the officials are honest, how can the officialdom be corrupted? If the two of them had not insisted on recording him, I would definitely
We must let this person fail! It is extremely merciful to sentence him to the last place."
Murong Yanfeng was furious: "All officials are honest, do you believe this?"
"Isn't it true? When a saint comes to court, how can a greedy person be an official?" Wang Fu asked.
Murong Yanfeng was furious, but there was nothing he could do.
The imperial examinations in the late Northern Song Dynasty focused on policy analysis. Ju Ming's policy analysis article would have no problem ranking in the top three.
But under the leadership of Wang Fu, Sheng Sheng Jue was ranked last.
The last one is also the first, which makes it easier for Ju Ming to see the list.