Confucian scholars walked into the county government office one by one, and some were found to have cheat sheets and were disqualified from taking the children's exam. However, there were very few such people, and it took a long time to find out only a few.
In the Ming Dynasty, anyone who studied knowledge was called a Confucian scholar. Even if he did not pass the Tongsheng examination, he could still be called a Confucian scholar. However, if he failed to pass the Tongsheng examination, he would find other jobs, such as being a head catcher, or For example, becoming a tailor means abandoning the identity of a Confucian scholar and no longer being called a Confucian scholar.
But if you become a teacher, or write letters and couplets, you can barely be called a Confucian scholar, but there are very few such people. After all, even the lowest child student cannot pass the exam, and very few people will hire such people. There are very few people who work as teachers, and there are very few people who write letters and couplets, because they earn very little, and their daily income can barely support themselves. Of course, there are very few, but there are some, just rare.
If you are a child student, it is different. You will have fame in this way. Although it is only the lowest grade, even if you do other jobs, such as tailors and gardeners, you can still be called Confucian scholars. Some people who cannot afford to hire scholars can still be called Confucian scholars. In the village, children are usually taught writing and calligraphy. Of course, those with higher status, such as being a scholar, or being a scholar, or higher, will get more benefits.
More than a dozen people passed by in the blink of an eye, and it was Guan Zheng's turn. Guan Zheng had already drunk the little book boy back, took the little book boy's food box, and checked the person with his head, and the food box. If there was nothing wrong, he let him go. Guan Zheng passed by. Guan Zheng winked at Qi Bingzhang and Zhang Ran as if to say, I'll wait for you inside, and then walked into the gate of the Yamen.
Zhang Ran was helpless, what are you waiting for? I'm right behind and can go in right away.
But the next person's turn was Qi Bingzhang, and then Zhang Ran. Zhang Ran didn't care who was first or second. It would always be his turn anyway.
Qi Bingzhang also drank the boy back a long time ago and walked over with the food box. The catcher just turned over his clothes and opened the food box and looked at it before letting him pass. After all, they still knew the county magistrate's son. That's almost it.
It was Zhang Ran's turn. Of course, there was nothing wrong with Zhang Ran. After the examination, Zhang Ran was put in. In the past, Zhang Ran had always carried the book containing the cold iron coffin and could collect things at any time. However, this time for the imperial examination, Zhang Ran I put it in a small hidden mechanism designed at home and did not take it with me.
Zhang Ran walked into the yamen and saw that there were many wooden cases in the yard. The wooden cases were black, similar to the desks in the Warring States Period. There was a small cushion on the ground behind the cases, and he sat on the small cushion. Then you can write on the case.
This exam scene was different from Zhang Ran's imagination. Wasn't it a test in a small room? Why was it in the yard? This reminded Zhang Ran of his previous life. When Zhang Ran was a junior high school student, he moved a small table and sat a small boy. Maza, the scene of taking the exam in the college.
Zhang Ran saw Guan Zheng waving to him, and Qi Bingzhang was sitting on the left side of Guan Zheng, but there was already someone on the right. Zhang Ran walked over and sat behind Guan Zheng.
Guan Zheng said excitedly: "I have counted the number of cases here, there are three hundred. When I went there, there were actually three hundred people participating. I did not expect that the scale of this children's examination would be so large."
Qi Bingzhang placed the pen, ink, paper and inkstone on the case. There was white paper in the middle and a dragon-shaped inkstone on the upper right side. The inkstone had been ground inside and the brush was placed on the inkstone.
After hearing what Guan Zheng said, Qi Bingzhang couldn't help but said: "Although there are three hundred desks here, there are not so many people attending. Every time Tongkao County Yamen prepares so many desks, I'm afraid that too many Confucian scholars will come and there won't be enough desks."
Guan Zheng's face suddenly turned pale and he said, "How do you know that?"
Qi Bingzhang said: "With a family like ours, almost everyone knows this. This is common sense." As he spoke, he emphasized the word common sense.
Zhang Ran heard the tone of their children, and black lines appeared on his forehead. Well, they are just children. It is not their fault but his own fault.
Guan Zheng said: "Well, don't you just say that I am playful and don't even know these common senses."
"Silence."
I don't know when the county magistrate came to the lobby. The shout was not from the county magistrate, but from the arresting squad leader.
Entering the courtyard of the county government office, in front of the courtyard is the lobby. The lobby is where the county magistrate hears cases and adjudicates injustices and performs government affairs every day.
Zhang Ran looked at the squad leader and saw that he was at the third level of blood refining, comparable to the elders of the three major martial arts schools.
The squad leader is the boss of all the catchers, also called the big catcher. The squad leader is the official title.
Suddenly, the Confucian scholars no longer whispered to each other, but sat upright and looked at the county magistrate in front of them.
"This year's children's examination is different from previous children's examinations. This year's children's examination only takes one question, which is to compose a patriotic song by a reigning Confucian scholar." The county magistrate said: "For this reason, I have used the test questions that were used to select scholars. Bring the Wenqi Chime Bell over."
When it came to the chimes, the two catchers brought the Wenqi chimes over.
The chimes in front of you are eighteen oblate bronze bells arranged on a huge bell frame.
Chime bells emerged in the Zhou Dynasty, from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties. Hitting the bell with a wooden hammer can produce different sounds. Each bell has a different tone. If you strike it according to the music score, you can play beautiful music.
Qi Bingzhang muttered angrily: "It's bullshit to say that poetry and the Analects of Confucius are the foundation for young people and cannot be changed."
Qi Bingzhang was very indignant about replacing poems and Analects with songs.
Not only Qi Bingzhang was like this, but many other people were like this. They knew that the test was about poetry and the Analects of Confucius. For the children's test, they all prepared for poetry and the Analects of Confucius. But now all the preparations were in vain. They changed to songs and they were not prepared. , and even some Confucian scholars who could not compose burst into tears.
The county magistrate looked at these Confucian scholars and felt a little helpless. In fact, he didn't want to change the topic. Who asked today's young saint to temporarily change to a patriotic tune because of some mistake in his brain? He even sent a messenger to spread the word. In the world, not only Qiantang County needs to be changed, but all children's examinations must be changed.
What kind of music can these children compose and how many years of studying literature would they not put composition into the examination for students. Students are also called scholars, but they are called by different names.
I'm afraid not many people will be left in the Tongkao this time, and most of them will be eliminated.
Although they were all dissatisfied, one of them looked overjoyed. He was Guan Zheng. He looked at the chime with shining eyes: "So this is Wenqi chime, and I finally saw it today."
Zhang Ran noticed the word Wenqi when he heard the county magistrate talk about Wenqi chimes. He also noticed that the chimes were no different from the chimes used for music.
Although he didn't see any difference, Zhang Ran knew that Wenqi Chime and Chime must be different. Now that he heard Guan Zheng talking about Wenqi Chime, he immediately asked: "What is Wenqi Chime?"
"Wenqi Chimenzhong is a chime bell that has a history and age that a great Confucian scholar used to cultivate it. As long as it continues to be cultivated for five years, the chime bell will become a wenqi chime." Guan Zheng said.
Zhang Ran felt tall and classy when he heard it. What is a great scholar? A great scholar is equivalent to a warrior above the warrior blood realm. Because Zhang Ran doesn't know what level is above the warrior blood realm, he can only describe it this way, otherwise Zhang Ran doesn't know what to do. Describe the power of the great scholar.
Asking a great scholar to cultivate something for five years shows how precious this chime is.
Guan Zheng said: "And the purpose of Wenqi Chime is the most powerful."
Zhang Ran followed his words and said: "What's the use?"
"The Wenqi chime is a musical instrument. As long as it encounters a good piece of music, it will automatically start playing music." Guan Zheng said: "And it seems that this Wenqi chime was brought from Jiangnan Mansion. If the Wenqi chime rings, half of Qiantang It can be heard in every county. If I compose good music, half of the people in Qiantang County can hear my music, and then I will be famous."
Zhang Ran was a little disappointed when he heard it. It turned out that it was used to sense the quality of music. It was considered an auxiliary treasure, and it was perfect for use in the examination room. No wonder the county magistrate put it here with peace of mind. No one would snatch it. Then he heard Guan Zheng's next sentence was casually: "Are you good at composing music?"
Guan Zheng puffed up his chest and said, "I like listening to music most in my life. I even often go to Hualou to listen. I am very confident in composing music."
When Zhang Ran heard this, his face suddenly darkened. Originally, Zhang Ran thought that Guan Zheng had already gained some knowledge in music, but when he heard that he was going to the Hualou to listen, Zhang Ran turned around. In fact, the Hualou was just a brothel. Ah, Guan Zheng was the first to describe prostitution as so elegant and refined.
"Stop making any noise, compose the music within three hours, and the children's exam will begin."
"I'll go in three hours. I didn't tell you earlier. In the past, children's exams were held for seven or eight hours. They were divided into two exams. The first exam was about the Analects and the second exam was about poetry. I can still eat after one exam, so I came with a food box, but now you are saying that you only have three hours to take one test and write one song, so what’s the point of me bringing a food box?”
This was the helpless complaint of all the Confucian scholars present. However, as the children's examination officially began, no one dared to be presumptuous anymore. Those who knew how to compose were composing, and some who couldn't were sitting there blankly, not knowing what they were thinking. Some simply handed in their blank papers and left the examination room.
After all, in order to take the children's examination, most people put their energy into the Analects of Confucius and composing poetry, but they know nothing about composing music.
Zhang Ran looked at the white paper in front of him and wrote what kind of music to compose. Zhang Ran himself could not compose music, but he liked to listen to songs in his previous life. He listened to a huge amount of music, including a lot of patriotic songs, so he felt uncomfortable There is something in it, it’s just a matter of choosing which song is suitable, Zhang Ran is thinking about it.
As Zhang Ran was thinking about it, little by little passed, and at this moment a piece of beautiful music sounded:
A warrior is strong enough to fight thousands of armies,
Crossbows and sharp swords eliminate enemies,
…………
When the song sounded, phantoms appeared in the sky of the entire county government. The warriors of the Ming Dynasty fought with the enemy invincibly, beating the enemy back step by step, and finally planted the flag of the Ming Dynasty on the opponent's position.
This is a frontier army war poem, praising the soldiers to praise the power of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhang Ran looked at the chimes. The sound came from the chimes. Now the chimes are ringing automatically. Not only do they have their own soundtrack, but they also sing songs automatically. Moreover, Guan Zheng said that according to this spread, half of Qiantang County can hear it. .
Just how did this phantom appear in the air? Could it be the influence of the chimes, but Zhang Ran didn't look like it.
The music lasted for half a quarter of an hour and then stopped. At this moment, Qi Bingzhang handed the music he wrote to the patrolling head catcher, then glanced at Guan Zheng and Zhang Ran, and left the examination room.
Zhang Ran was sure that the frontier army war poem was written by Qi Bingzhang. He deserves to be called a child prodigy. He wrote it so well.
The county magistrate took Qi Bingzhang's paper from the catcher's hand and read it. He couldn't help but nod his head as he read. After reading it, he sighed and said: "As expected of Brother Shi Yuan's son, he is extremely talented. This time he won the children's examination." He should be the first, and he will definitely be one of the top three in the future."
The top three are number one, top pick, and second place. If you want to get the top three, you have to select them from tens of millions of people. Everyone is a scholar and has great talents. It is a high praise for the county magistrate to say this about Qi Bingzhang.
The county magistrate is not here. After all, his son has come to participate. He wants to avoid suspicion. He knows his son's talent very well and is not worried about failing the exam. Therefore, the county magistrate does not seek benefits for his unsatisfactory son like some officials. He Just wait patiently.
