The small things in the mountain village came to an end. When the morning sun came again, Song Mu and others repacked and continued on the road to Fucheng.
Song Mu and others spent nearly three days on the hundred-mile journey to Fucheng. On the afternoon of the third day, they finally saw Fucheng from a distance.
"Finally arrived in Fucheng!"
A child got off the carriage and saw the tall city walls of Jizhou Fucheng. He shouted loudly, and the surrounding children were also very interested.
Song Mu also opened the curtain and looked outside.
Although this is the capital city of Jizhou Prefecture, there are still muddy dirt roads outside the city. But now that we have arrived here, we can already see a bit of prosperity along the way.
Pedestrians passed by in a hurry, but there were far fewer people with sallow faces and skinny muscles. From time to time, you could even see some richly dressed people walking toward the city surrounded by a few servants.
The wheels of the carriage turned, and Song Mu came to the city gate in a blink of an eye.
There were soldiers guarding the city gate, and everyone entering the city needed to be inspected. Song Mu also saw a dog held by a soldier. This slender dog sniffed everyone under the command of the soldier.
Everyone who was sniffed had a somewhat frightened look on their face.
"This specially trained thin dog is said to be able to smell the scent of demons, but I have never seen it before."
Kong Zong stood beside Song Mu, saw Song Mu looking at him, and immediately spoke.
"Perhaps it was the incident that happened in our Shiyang County not long ago that made the whole government nervous." Kong Zong said lightly. Song Mu also nodded and looked up at the high city wall.
The height of this city wall has reached ten meters, and the turrets built on it are also different. They are covered with arrow stacks, and each section of the wall will protrude a little outward to prevent dead ends.
There are also the soldiers who are always on guard on the city wall. The armor they wear also has patterns on them. They are all bright and energetic, with solemn expressions. They are obviously elite soldiers who have fought in hundreds of battles.
These soldiers are the real soldiers of the imperial court. They are different from the regiment training troops in the county. Not only do they wear armor with text patterns, but each of them has the strength of a child.
That is a method developed by the Poetry Sect of the Frontier Sect, which can elevate ordinary people to the rank of Tongshengwen, but they will stop there in their lifetime. However, with the rank of Tongsheng, and good armor and weapons to match, they can also fight against monsters.
Soldiers counterbalance.
Looking at these people, Song Mu thought of the hundred-man team that Fucheng sent to Shiyang County not long ago. Although the number was small, in just a few days, they led the county teams to clean up the monsters in the mountains, forests and rivers around Shiyang County.
.
Its combat power is evident.
Song Mu only watched for a moment. Master Xun had already handed over the documents. Knowing that it was a student from Shiyang County who came to take part in the college and annual examinations, he handed them over again and again. The officer immediately opened a way for Song Mu and others.
Go first.
The people around saw these scholars walking forward, and none of them said anything. Instead, they looked at them with a bit of envy. There was even a woman who pulled her child who was still eating his fingers and pointed at Song Mu.
Waiting for someone to preach.
In this world, powerful literati are the privileged class. Everyone aspires to achieve greatness in reading and respects scholars.
However, despite this, Song Mu and others could only enter the city first. When entering the city, the thin dog still had to sniff and prick his finger at the entrance to draw blood to verify whether there was any demonic cause in the body.
Entering the city, you will see the North Street of Jizhou Prefecture, which is also the central axis of the city. The wide streets are lined with shops on both sides, and the sounds of shouting and selling are endless. Such scenes made Song Mu unconsciously admire him.
Scenes like this are a true portrayal of ancient prosperity.
Other children who also entered the city were also exclaiming in admiration at this moment. Although everyone had been to Fucheng once before, they were in a hurry at that time and had come ashore from the waterway pier. They had never seen such a scene before, but some of them had been to Fucheng before.
Tong Sheng, who had passed by several times, was busy talking about some strange things he had seen here before, which immediately attracted the attention of others.
As for the scholars, they acted very calmly and just followed the group forward.
Master Xun was indifferent to the children's performance and led everyone towards Ti Xue's mansion in the city.
This is a rule for scholars. When you go to Fucheng to take exams, you must meet with the superintendent. Even if you can't meet him, you must hand over the cards as soon as possible.
The Wen Dynasty ruled the world with literature, so the education system was very complete. It was under the leadership of the Ministry of Rites. Each province had an academic administration, each government established a teaching school, and each county established a teaching edict. They were all excellent Jinshi.
, the province established academies and diligently encouraged talented people from all over the country to study.
As for the talented scholar, his teacher was his teacher all the way through the imperial examination, giving lectures, advising on studies, and studying politics. He respected his teachers, so he naturally had to be polite.
Song Mu and others naturally understood this truth, so soon after the initial excitement of entering the city, they all looked serious again, adjusted their robes, got off the carriage one after another, divided into two columns and followed Master Xun forward.
Many people on the road saw this group of students walking forward and immediately gave way. In some prosperous areas, there were even government officials coming to clear the road.
After walking for almost a quarter of an hour, just when everyone felt that their backs were soaked, they finally saw a mansion not far in front of them.
The residence of Fan Zhengxiong, a scholar in Jizhou Prefecture, is here. At this moment, the door is opened, and several servants are greeting him at the door.
And those who arrived here were not only students from Shiyang County such as Song Mu and others, but also students from the nearby Taihe County.
Taihe County has always had a prosperous literary style, and the number of students who came to visit him was also much larger.
The two teams formed a mighty formation and were queuing up at the entrance of the mansion. The atmosphere of the scholars standing with their hands down made people around them look at them. Song Mu also stood calmly and calmly among them.
The etiquette in ancient times is complicated, and there are many things that you have to get used to slowly.
Not long after, an old man who looked like a butler walked out of the mansion. He looked at the two groups of students under the steps in front of the door, held his hands in his hands, and said respectfully.
"Sir Ti Xue, please come into the mansion to see me and encourage all students to go well in this exam."
"Thank you, sir!"
Everyone responded with their hands, and several boys came to guide the way. Master Xun and Xuexue Zheng, a county student from Taihe County, took the lead in climbing the stairs. They looked at each other and smiled, and it seemed that they knew each other.
Then the scholars climbed the steps, and then the children. Everyone stepped forward in an orderly manner, slowly passed through the gate of the mansion, and walked into it.
After passing through the screen wall, a wide courtyard appeared in front of everyone. At this moment, a man wearing a red official robe was sitting in the east direction. Master Xun and others had already stood in front of him. Song Mu followed him and walked in.
He looked around unconsciously.
This courtyard is not very large, but it is an official residence after all, and some of the decorations were built with funds allocated by the city, so it does look somewhat elegant.
Sitting on the Grand Master's chair in front is a middle-aged man with a Chinese character face and a gentle face. He is also looking at everyone at the moment.
This person is none other than Fan Zhengxiong, a scholar from Jizhou Prefecture.
"Sir Tixue, there are a total of seventy-seven talented people in Shiyang County taking the exam this time, including twenty-one scholars and fifty-six young students."
"Master Tixue, there are a total of eighty-eight talented people in Taihe County taking the exam this time, including twenty-nine scholars and fifty-nine young students."
"I came to visit Tixue today and wish the Wen Dynasty and the world prosperity."
Master Xun and the scholars from Taihe County both spoke at this moment, and all the students also immediately bowed and saluted, saying loudly.
"Students have met Mr. Xuezheng and wish the Wen Dynasty prosperity and the world prosperity!"
"Okay, okay, this is the prosperous scene, get up, get up!"
Fan Zhengxiong glanced at everyone, and then he stroked his beard and laughed a few times. He seemed very happy, and there was a faint pressure coming from the other person's body.
The coercion is not as breathless as others. On the contrary, it makes people feel like a breeze is blowing on their faces, and they feel a lot more relaxed.
This made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
After all, the person in front of him was a Jinshi, and everyone had to behave respectfully and cautiously. Seeing this at this moment, he felt a lot more relaxed.
At this moment, Fan Tixue glanced at everyone's faces and chatted a few words with Master Xun. When he saw Sun Xiucai standing in the front row, he came out and cupped his hands. Fan Xuezheng also nodded.
"Not bad, not bad. Now Jizhou Prefecture is becoming more and more prosperous. People are willing to let their children study. Many good talents appear every year."
"Over the years I have been here, I have also seen everyone's efforts. This year, two people in our Jizhou Prefecture won the Jinshi. This is the third consecutive year that we have had cultural background."
"I believe that one day, our Jizhou Prefecture will also be a treasure land for literati."
Fan Tixue seemed very happy at the moment, and he was smiling and talking to a few people.
"I am very moved when I see hundreds of students from you today. To be honest, there are really talented people from generation to generation who have been leading the way for hundreds of years!" Fan Tixue suddenly sighed with emotion, but blinked his eyes.
He seemed to have remembered something, and immediately said to Master Xun.
"Yiyi, if I remember correctly, this poem was also written by your student from Shiyang County, right? That student named Song Mu is here now?"