Five hundred and seventieth chapters the so-called favor
If a modern person saw the scene when Qin Dewei, the chief examiner of the provincial examination, just got off the boat, he would be stunned and unable to understand.
There may even be doubts, if you make such a big splash, aren't you afraid of being traced and punished?
But in feudal imperial society, the factor of human relationships was as important as institutional laws.
And it can be said that favor is not even a hidden rule, it is an explicit rule.
For example, a son is not allowed to denounce his father, and a slave is not allowed to denounce his master. This is a reflection of human kindness.
When it comes to exams specifically, if the examiner supports a few fellow villagers, no one would consider it a fault, except for people like Hai Rui.
When it comes to this provincial examination specifically, it is the collective will of the whole city of Nanjing to hope that Qin Dewei can visit relatives and increase the opportunities for Qin Dewei to have contact with local people.
As the saying goes, officialdom is not about fighting and killing, but also about human relations...
Even the Imperial Guard School, which is responsible for monitoring Qin Dewei, cannot stand up to the collective will of the city.
What Qin Dewei needs to pay attention to is to be careful not to go too far, and not to trample on the rules too blatantly.
For example, Wu Qing, the chief examiner of Nanzhili during the Jiajing period of 40 years, is a negative example.
As we all know, there are only 135 places to be admitted in the Nanzhili Township Examination, while there are more than 100 counties in Nanzhili. If they are evenly distributed, there will be almost one quota for each county.
As a result, Wu Qing, the examiner from Wuxi County, Changzhou Prefecture, got 13 candidates from Wuxi, as well as a large number of candidates from Changzhou Prefecture.
This caused huge public outrage, and then the imperial court issued regulations that people from South Zhili could not serve as examiners for the South Zhili Township Examination.
However, it was said that Qin Dewei heard that his uncle was "seriously ill" and after repeatedly pleading with the Jinyi guards, he did not go to Gongyuan and returned home to visit relatives first.
All the way to the Qin Mansion on the west side of Wuding Bridge and on the south bank of the Qinhuai River. After getting off the car, accompanied by the Jinyiwei Official School, we continued walking inside.
After passing the Yimen, I saw Mrs. Gu standing in the entrance hall on the middle road, accompanied by a group of maids, holding two children, one big and one small. The older one was two or three years old, and the younger one was still in his infancy.
Qin Dewei sighed and could only wave to Mrs. Gu and her sons.
Business is busy and my uncle is still "seriously ill". Now is not the time to talk or be affectionate.
Then he turned to the west and went to the courtyard where his uncle lived. Then he saw several relatives and friends who came to visit him standing under the corridor in the back hall.
Qin Dewei glanced briefly and found that they were all old acquaintances.
For example, Wu Chengen from Huai'an Prefecture, local Gao Changjiang and Xing Yifeng, and He Liangjun, a guest of the Qin family, from Songjiang Prefecture.
There is also Wang Fengyuan who doesn't know what the situation is, but he is actually standing here.
Qin Dewei knew very well that not everyone was qualified to "visit patients", and the people standing here must be "connected".
Wang Fengyuan, who has thick eyebrows and big eyes, has not been excluded from his circle of relatives and friends. It seems that he has a few brushes.
There were several big men in uniforms watching behind him, and Qin Dewei couldn't directly discuss the topic of the provincial examination with everyone.
And he still had to pretend, so Qin Dewei went into his uncle's bedroom to visit the patient.
For the benefit of the whole city of Nanjing, in order to allow Nanjing to win a few more places, uncle Qin Xiang, who was forced to be "seriously ill", was lying on the bed, very dedicated.
Although midsummer has passed, the autumn tiger is here again. Qin Xiang, who was lying on the quilt, was sweating, his whole body was in pain, and his face was full of lovelessness.
Qin Dewei almost couldn't hold it in and tried his best to hold back his laughter.
You'd better leave as soon as possible, leave early and be freed early. The longer you stay here, the more painful it will be for your uncle.
After seeing the patient, Qin Dewei turned around, walked outside the house, and stood on the platform.
Everyone in the corridor looked at Qin Dewei with eager eyes, full of the brilliance of humanity.
Qin Dewei looked back at the bedroom again, looked up to the sky, sighed, and said: "I talk nonsense in the temple, but when facing my respected relatives, I can't understand the pathology and treat it with my own hands!"
Immediately, Qin Dewei said nothing else and left the Qin Mansion without looking back, heading east along the Qinhuai River and straight to Gongyuan.
The few relatives and friends in the corridor did not disperse, some looked at each other in confusion, and some looked thoughtful.
After the examiner appeared, he only said one sentence. So there is no need to think about it, just focus on this sentence.
Although this sentence seems ordinary, it also seems to be cloudy and foggy.
But everyone believes that the examiner is definitely not misguided. As long as he understands the secrets, he will be sure of success in the provincial examination.
So none of these people left and chanted this sentence over and over again.
I talk nonsense in the temple, but when I face my respected relatives, I can't understand the pathology and treat it with my own hands. What's the mystery behind this sentence?
As sunset approached, Xing Yifeng suddenly raised his head and shouted: "I guessed it! The number of days is the way of heaven. If you can't understand the pathology and cure it with your own hands, it's just not possible!"
The way of heaven? Not available? He Liangjun also realized it, and he quickly recited a sentence:
"That's right! There is a saying in the Analects of Confucius that the Master's words about nature and the way of heaven cannot be heard without being heard!
In my opinion, this is probably the exam question formulated by Academician Qin! And it is very likely to be the first question!"
As we all know, there are three rural examinations. Although the examination content is very large, the examination styles are also many, ranging from eight-legged essays to poetry and official documents.
However, because the examiners have limited energy and limited time for marking papers, the rules of the examination room are that basically only the first classic questions will be admitted.
As for the first question on the meaning of scriptures, there are three questions on the "Four Books" and four questions on the "Five Classics", a total of seven articles.
However, the examiners still don't have enough energy, and they often only focus on the first "Four Books" question. Often, the first article is well-written and the winner is successful.
There are even lazier examiners who don’t even bother to finish reading the first article, so they only read the first three parts of the first article.
All in all, as long as you know the most important first question of the "Four Books", the significance is almost equivalent to knowing the questions of the provincial examination.
Cheers rang out in the courtyard, and the atmosphere was full of joy. Qin Dewei lived up to everyone's expectations and really extended a helping hand.
Suddenly someone poured cold water on it and said: "Even if you guessed the question, do you know how to answer it?
Our examination papers were anonymous, and the manuscripts were transcribed before being shown to the examiners. How could Qin Dewei tell the difference?
Those great talents, even without preparation in advance, can still write better articles than you on the spot. There are too many people like this in Zhili, Quannan!"
This unpleasant tone sounds like that of Wang, who is known as the poor man's version of Qin Dewei.
Gao Changjiang couldn't help but slap Wang Fengyuan: "If you still have any ideas, just tell me!"
Wang Fengyuan first straightened the Confucian crown on his head, and then said: "I just want to remind everyone that making an issue about a topic like the Way of Heaven is the most likely to trigger academic speculation."
Then Wang Fengyuan walked away proudly with his head held high.
What a bunch of scum, including He Liangjun, a member of the Songjiang Prefecture, who can't even understand Qin Dewei's deep meaning. It turns out that he is the only one who understands Qin Dewei best.
