Kuang Yangming was already old when he presided over the county examination, and his official career was advancing rapidly. He adopted a prudent strategy to protect himself. Now he is full of energy and ready to make great achievements.
After understanding the mentality of the examiner, when answering these two four-part essays, you no longer need to study the literal meaning of the two articles. You only need to control the turbulent waves in the examiner's heart, and be able to use the articles written in his pen to make people understand.
The waves in his heart are even bigger, even if he is a great success.
If the article you write weakens the surging momentum in his mind, then it is a failure. If you make him feel depressed and talk about wise principles to protect himself, then he does not know how to adapt to the situation. How can he get high scores?
Out of hundreds of candidates, only forty were able to pass in the end. If you want to impress the examiner who is looking at the many articles, you can pass this level that makes countless people sigh.
Catering to the examiner's mentality is precisely the most difficult part of the imperial examination, and many people cannot understand it throughout their lives.
It's useless if you have talent and learning. If you write in a colorful way and don't reach the examiner's mind, it's all in vain.
Let’s solve the first question first.
You advocate governing the country with benevolence and virtue, and you also admire the Book of Changes and pay attention to the cycle of heavenly principles. That's very good. Let me talk about the way of heaven first.
"The way of heaven bestows benevolence, and kindness is won by the hearts of the people."
Look at this broken question.
First of all, from the perspective of the way of heaven, Zhu Hao suddenly thought of the "Tao Te Ching" that "the way of heaven damages more than makes up for the deficiencies". After a slight modification, it became that the way of heaven will be given to a benevolent king, and the king's heavenly grace will come from
People's hearts.
The king lives under the sky and above the hearts of the people.
Don't let the emperor be the highest, but don't belittle him too much... just lower than the sky. What else do you want? A little water can carry the boat, and water can capsize it. It contains the idea of disregarding the emperor and the people, which is exactly what the old Neo-Confucian scholars like most.
Argument.
Next, let’s talk about how to give charity.
If you want to be generous, you must be compassionate and compassionate. Learn from King Xuan of Qi. He would feel pity when he saw the slaughter of cattle and sheep. Wouldn't it be even worse to kill someone?
Therefore, we must first talk about the Mohist philosophy of "non-offensive", that is, not to fight unjust wars, but to focus on defense, just like this war against bandits.
Kuang Yangming dispatched local officers and soldiers to cooperate with Prince Xing's Mansion to complete a great victory. It seemed that he committed a murderous crime, but because of the guidance of benevolent thoughts, the fault was not yours, Kuang Yangming. The small bloodshed sacrifice was to ensure more
The stability of the people...
This direction of discussion can be said to be related to the current situation.
Zhu Hao really couldn't think of anything wrong with this general direction...
…
…
Question two.
That would be easier to say.
Others only thought that Kuang Yangming was expressing his feelings, thinking that the current chaotic situation was due to evildoers in the court and persuading the emperor to stay away from traitors...
This involves a problem.
The idea expressed by Kuang Yang during the county examination was that he wanted to express his inner "true feelings" to the emperor, or to those in power.
Because he was about to resign at that time and his future was bleak, he expressed his loyalty to the emperor before resigning, indicating that I had noticed the evil behavior of Prince Xing's Mansion, but it was difficult to express it without evidence. After I retired, I would
I have studied the Book of Changes carefully and have no intention of seeking fame and profit, so please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will never cause trouble to the court.
But things are different now...
Having achieved great success among thieves, Kuang Yangming no longer needs to directly enter the official position. The central ideas expressed in these two articles are all addressed to his "boss".
who?
In Chaozhongtang, those who have higher official positions than him and who may be replaced by him due to his efforts.
Why express it this way?
Because becoming an official requires being judicious and protecting yourself, the emperor must not be suspicious of himself, and not be affected by possible changes that may occur in the future of Prince Xing's palace.
After all, Kuang Yangming once served as the magistrate of Anlu, where Prince Xing’s Mansion is located. Who can guarantee that Prince Xing’s rebellion will be traced to him in the future? What will you do if someone says that you, Kuang Yangming, have close contacts with Prince Xing’s Mansion? The key is
You can always come up with this county examination question to defend yourself.
Now that Kuang Yangming no longer needs to serve as an official, he can continue to be an official. So what does the superior emperor have to do with a lower-level official?
The person who can determine Kuang Yang's status in the court is no longer the emperor, but the ministers of the six ministries, local governors, vassals and other officials, so his words are meant for these dignitaries in the court.
You see, I believe that when a country is about to fall, evildoers will appear in the dynasty. This is a sign of chaos in the country. Do you and I have a high degree of unity in our thinking? Being of the same mind as the leader is the necessary condition for ascending to the throne. I don’t talk about being fifty years old.
From now on, I will study the Book of Changes, and I will talk about governing the country with benevolence and eliminating traitors from the court...
Do you think Kuang Yangming is really so "strong" that he dares to directly challenge the emperor because you are close to a traitor and the Ming Dynasty is about to perish?
Does he really dare to fight head-on with those in power in the DPRK, such as Qian Ning and Jiang Bin?
He didn't dare.
But why did he ask such a question that could easily cause trouble for him?
This involves another problem, that is, different people have different thoughts when they see the same paragraph of text.
For example, the ministers in the court who are known for their direct admonishment and integrity saw the second half of his title, "The country will perish, and there will be evildoers." They thought that Kuang Yangming was as staunch as we are, and he understood the worries of the Ming Dynasty.
Working hard and worrying is exactly the same as when we govern.
But what about the emperor and the traitors in the court?
What I saw was the first half of his title: "When the country is about to prosper, there must be good fortune."
The emperor and those treacherous sycophants will think, you are a famous Kuang, this flattery makes us very comfortable, not bad, not bad, they must reuse you, let you enjoy this prosperous dynasty with us, and be in power with us.
If someone criticizes Kuang Yangming as actually saying that the Ming Dynasty is about to fall?
joke!
Even if the emperor continues to act nonsense and the Ming Dynasty has foreign troubles, can this be seen in the eyes of the emperor and those traitors? They can only see the good side of the country and never think about what will happen if the country dies...
…
…
There are various indications that Kuang Yangming was not only a master in setting questions in the imperial examination, but also a master in pondering people's hearts.
Zhu Hao thought of the inconsistent attitude of the state government in suppressing bandits, and when the battle against bandits made significant progress that night, they rushed out to grab the credit, which showed that Kuang Yangming was a man who was eager for quick success and could not listen to advice.
Therefore, in Zhu Hao's two articles, there is no need to persuade a mediocre official who only has power in his eyes, is conservative and has no great ability.
Zhu Hao found that he had participated in two imperial examinations presided over by Kuang Yangming, and when he saw the four questions he asked, he almost understood this person.
This is probably the origin of the ancient saying that "half of the Analects rules the world".
After studying the Four Books, I can understand a person's personality and political opinions, and then infer what he likes to hear, what his personality is like, and how to cater to him...
Probably officials who have received the influence of systematic Confucianism like to study other people's preferences, and this is how human relations accidents in Confucian society come about.
Zhu Hao found that he was becoming the person he once hated... But the problem is that you are in this society and have no power or status to change everything. What can you do?
Don’t follow the crowd?
Then you are an outlier and will be eliminated by the tide of the times!
Zhu Hao couldn't help but think of the words to comfort Yuan Rulin, and felt that they were also said to him. Sometimes studying people's hearts is not because he likes it, but to gain the opportunity to change the times...
…
…
Just as Tang Yin had guessed, it didn't take Zhu Hao even a whole morning to complete the two government examination articles.
Tang Yin did not have a complete and systematic understanding of Zhu Hao's talent and learning, but one thing he knew very well was that Zhu Hao's level was simply "killing a chicken with a bull's knife" in order to cope with the Anlu Mansion Examination.
But Zhu Hao was afraid of capsizing in the gutter.
Who knows what could happen in this quiz!
For example, if you can't grasp the direction of Kuang Yangming's question well, who would know that he is so high-spirited now that he can't listen to advice at all?
If the direction of the discussion is wrong and the writing of the article makes him anxious, no matter how talented you are or how well the article is written, you will be dismissed without any discussion.
This is also the reason why many people have been frustrated in the imperial examination.
It’s not that you have no talent, it’s that you don’t know how to understand people and the world. Many officials are like this too... You can’t control other people’s behavior, so you have to figure out what they think and prescribe the right medicine.
Of course, trying to figure out the psychology of the person who asked the question is also part of Zhu Hao's knowledge.
Tang Yin knew this very well, so he trusted Zhu Hao.
Zhu Hao wrote the two articles on the draft paper. When he finished writing and took a break, he thought that it was almost time for Tang Yin to receive Wang Shouren, right?
If you hand in your papers as early as possible, you will be able to meet Wang Yangming, another extraordinary person in the world. He is also a famous philosopher, writer, educator, military strategist, and priest who all teachers and students majoring in ancient Chinese want to meet.
The Fang family in Confucius Temple is more exciting than Tang Yin.
But Wang Shouren will definitely not be controlled by him like Tang Yin. Who makes Wang Shouren an important minister in the court, and his identity and status are beyond his control?
However, in the future, when King Ning is in trouble, I can give him some advice and perhaps become a lifelong friend.
Thinking of this...
What a hidden front, low-key, Zhu Hao didn't have to worry about it. He transcribed the article on the draft paper onto the paper in three strokes, five divisions and two divisions. At this time, it was less than an hour before the government examination started.
Is it difficult to write a composition of 800 words in two hours?
Are you insulting me, a doctor of literature with two lifetimes of knowledge?
When Zhu Hao raised his hand to indicate that he was going to hand in the paper, the surrounding officials and candidates were shocked.
Especially candidates.
We haven't even started writing yet, and this guy has already handed in the paper?
What's the fuss about?
"Little official, don't be anxious. If you don't know how, you can think about it carefully..."
An official came to persuade me.
The yamen chief who had bowed his head in front of Zhu Hao appeared again and slapped the yamen officer on the buttocks with his knife: "What nonsense are you talking about? This young master is the county examiner and a scholar.
How can I sit here without talent? Mr. Xiucai, are you done?"
"Yes, I have something to do today. Wang Zhongcheng, the governor of southern Jiangxi, is coming to Anlu this morning. I want to accompany Mr. Lu to greet him. Why don't I finish the exam questions and go to the appointment... That's it."
Zhu Hao is very high-profile.
It was so high-profile that the candidates around him almost vomited blood!
What nonsense is this kid talking about?
Governor Zhongcheng came to the county and he said he would go to greet him?