The candidates left the examination room one after another. However, compared with the confidence they felt when they entered the examination room, most of the candidates looked solemn. It must be that their performance in the mathematics test was very unsatisfactory.
Ye Changshan, Yingping, and the Qin family's father and son met at the gate of Taixue Palace, agreed to have something to eat, and then headed to the shooting range together.
"This year's question is a bit too difficult. I knew a little bit about the music subject last time, and I was lucky enough to get on the B list. But this time, Jingqing really couldn't do anything about the math subject question. I'm afraid it's not stable." I’m going to be at the bottom of the rankings.”
Qin Jingqing shook his head and said helplessly. It seemed that he had not solved the problem either.
Yingping agreed: "Yes, this test question is very weird. How can you get half of seventeen good horses? I just said, 'The eldest son gets nine horses', and I didn't write anything else. But Mr. Jiang is really good. , I couldn’t solve this problem in just one cup of tea at the beginning of the exam. There are really such geniuses in the world.”
"A cup of tea? Isn't this too fast? But there is actually a solution to this question? I once suspected that the teachers at Taiyuan College were confused and got the question wrong!"
"If Mr. Jiang hadn't solved this problem, I would also suspect that the test question was wrong."
"Yes, you are indeed Mr. Jiang. I admire you! I admire you!"
"I don't know how many students were driven crazy in the Mathematics class this time. One of our students yelled like crazy and was kicked out by the soldiers. I don't think he is qualified to come to the Archery class in the afternoon."
After hearing this, Qin Jingqing shook his head with a look of regret.
Yingping also had a look of regret on his face, but he felt sorry for Mr. Jiang's departure and said: "It's just that Mr. Jiang left too fast, otherwise I could ask him what the mystery of the test question is and what the solution is."
"Yes, Jingqing is still thinking about this test question. I wonder if there is anyone other than Mr. Jiang who can solve this question..."
"I think I figured it out."
Seeing that everyone seemed to be still obsessed with solving math problems, Ye Changshan, who had never spoken to interrupt, suddenly said something.
Along the way, I could only hear Yingping and Qin Jingqing having a lively discussion, completely ignoring Ye Changshan who said nothing. The other three people thought that he had not solved the problem and were in a low mood, so they never talked to him. say. At this time, when they heard Ye Changshan suddenly say something like this, Yingping and Qin Jingqing didn't quite believe their ears, and looked at Ye Changshan with wide eyes.
"What? Changsha, what did you say?" Yingping asked in disbelief.
"I said I really want to solve this test question..." Ye Changshan looked at the disbelieving expressions of the two people and said a little uncomfortably.
"Is this true? Mr. Ye, are you saying that you... solved this problem before the end of the mathematics subject?" Qin Jingqing still didn't believe what he heard and asked again in confusion.
Seeing the two of them still looking shocked, Ye Changshan could only nod helplessly.
Yingping and Qin Jingqing turned their heads and stared at each other for a long time. Afterwards, the two of them questioned Ye Changshan doubtfully, and Ye Changshan acted like a master and patiently told them his ideas and methods for answering the questions. After listening, the two fell into deep shock and could not extricate themselves for a long time.
"It turns out that the mystery of this question is to 'borrow' a good horse, divide it up, and then return it. How wonderful! How wonderful! Why didn't I think of that?" Yingping patted his forehead heavily and said.
"'Borrowing' a good horse, the eldest son will get half to make nine horses, the second son will get half to make six horses, and the youngest will get nine to one to make two horses, a total of exactly seventeen horses... This question turns out to be like this Mysterious! Young Master Ye, you are so tall! He is really tall!" Qin Jingqing gave a thumbs up and praised.
"Young Master Ye is so young yet so smart, I admire you so much!" Mr. Qin also expressed great admiration after hearing this.
After Ye Changshan told everyone the solution to the problem, everyone suddenly realized it. They immediately looked at Ye Changshan with admiration and praised him endlessly.
"You can't see through the long gown, but it shows off your inner clothes very well!"
It was the first time that Ye Changshan was praised like this, and he was a little embarrassed. He could only sit aside and smile sheepishly: "It was only a fluke that I figured out the secret at the last moment."
"Why don't we have such a 'lucky'? Young Master Ye is still smart."
"Hey, Mr. Qin has given you a reward..."
Just as Ye Changshan was accepting the compliment, Yingping suddenly smiled and said:——
"Hmm... Then I, 'the eldest son gets nine horses,' am a little bit wrong? Haha! I was indeed right!"
It turned out that when Yingping remembered his answer, he suddenly felt like a blind cat had encountered a dead mouse, and he felt very happy. He seemed even happier than Ye Changshan.
…
Outside the shooting range, candidates have arrived one after another, and everyone is waiting for the shooting exam to start under the scorching sun.
Under the scorching sun, Ye Changshan did not feel anxious at all, but felt relaxed. In the past, crossbows were more commonly used in villages, but how could a hunter not know how to use a bow? When my father was still alive, he was well-known for his archery skills. Although he could not say that he could hit 100% of his shots, he was still at least 100% sure. Ye Changshan grew up in such an environment and was no stranger to archery. So I'm in a good mood now, just waiting quietly for the archery exam to start.
The 'Archery' subject is a martial arts examination, which is slightly different from the civil examination. The students are divided into several teams, each taking a bow and shooting three arrows in a row, and the average score is taken as the final score of the 'Archery' subject. Therefore, you can know your results after taking the exam. As for your ranking, you will have to wait until the results are announced.
The Martial Arts Examination is usually organized by the Privy Council with the assistance of the Taiyuan College. After all, it is a bit difficult for the masters in the Taiyuan College to organize the 'shooting' and 'imperial' subjects. Therefore, the Privy Council takes the exams on behalf of the Taiyuan College, and finally the martial arts examination The score statistics can be handed over to Taipei University.
At the end of the day, the instructor came out of the shooting range and read out the disciplines and rules of the martial arts test. Then, the 'shooting' science examination began.
Compared with the Mathematics subject, the competition in the Shooting subject was much easier and could even be said to be lively. Isn’t it just archery? No matter how high or low your level is, it will end after shooting three arrows anyway, not to mention you can watch other candidates' shooting skills while waiting for the test. Therefore, the whole process was very lively, with exclamations and laughter coming and going.
During the school examination, the level of these candidates was uneven. Not to mention their scores, if they could hit the target, they would be considered to be above the level. But there were some, and there were some candidates who were not good at shooting. They couldn't even touch the target with three arrows. , can't help but make everyone laugh; but those who are good at shooting will draw the bow as full as the crescent moon, the body will be as steady as a pine, the arms will be as stable as Mount Tai, the eyes will be as sharp as an eagle, the two fingers of the right arm will hold the arrow feathers tightly, and the left arm will hold the handle slightly Raise it up, straighten the string and position it at your chin, close one eye and aim at the bull's eye. After a moment, the sharp arrow flies away from the string. He raised his bow and shot three times, and the wild grass was shaken by the wind. Looking from a distance, he saw that all three arrows hit the target, which attracted applause from the surrounding students. Even the military instructors secretly nodded in praise when they saw it. People like these who are good at shooting will have to write down their test cards later and recruit them into the army to serve the Tang Dynasty.
After about half an hour, it was finally Ye Changshan's turn. After picking up the bow and arrow, he stretched out his left hand to hold the bow and his right hand to hold the arrow. He quickly recalled the key points his father taught him - don't shrink your neck, don't bend your waist, keep your chest straight, straighten your body, aim at the bull's-eye, and take a deep breath. In one breath... as soon as he let go, the arrow landed steadily on the target like a rabbit.
Ye Changshan smiled with satisfaction, and then nocked an arrow again - after shooting three arrows in a row, Ye Changshan stood on tiptoes and looked at the target from a distance. Although he did not hit the target, it was not far away, so he put down the bow with satisfaction. Walk outside the shooting range.
When they arrived outside the shooting range, they saw that Yingping and the Qin family's father and son had not yet come out, so Ye Changshan stood there alone and waited. At this time, he heard several candidates next to him say in exclamation tones——
"Did you just see how Mr. Jiang shoots an arrow?"
"I was focusing on the target just now, so I didn't see it. How about it?"
"What a pity! What a pity! Mr. Jiang is really a god!"
Hearing the words 'Mr. Jiang', Ye Changshan's attention was immediately attracted, and he listened to the conversation between the two candidates.
"Hurry up and tell me, how awesome is he?"
"Master Jiang put three arrows on his bow and shot them at the same time. All three arrows hit the bull's-eye! This is a magical skill that no one but Master Jiang can do."
"Ouch! Seriously!?"
"Oh, if I didn't see it with my own eyes and just heard it from other people's mouth, I would definitely not believe it. But how can I deceive myself after seeing it with my own eyes?"
"Unheard of! Unheard of! What a pity! What a pity!"
"It's an eye-opener! It's an eye-opener! If you can see this magical skill, this trip to the 'shooting' department is not in vain!"
"Young Master Jiang's archery skills are so amazing, I'm afraid he won't have to give in too much compared to General Chang, right?"
"General Chang is the King of Martial Arts who descended from heaven to the Tang Dynasty. Although Mr. Jiang is powerful, compared with General Chang..."
"I see, it's not much different..."
"Hmm... General Chang is so powerful in the Central Plains. He can draw a nine-stone bow on horseback, and a six-stone bow on horseback. He can pierce a poplar with a hundred steps, and his arrows are all missed. Although Mr. Jiang's shooting skills are amazing, can he compare to them?" General Shangchang...it's hard to say...it's hard to say..."
"Hey, it won't be too different..."
Three arrows were fired together and all hit the bullseye! ?
Ye Changshan was secretly surprised after hearing this. What kind of archery skills could he use to fire three arrows in unison? Who is General Chang? The most brave general in the New Tang Army. He was previously a general in Guannei and suppressed the six kings for the Tang emperor. Now he is a general of Shence, guarding important areas in the capital. Even the children in the countryside have heard of his reputation. He himself is also a strong man. He can truly be said to be a man of both civil and military abilities and a pillar of the country. I heard that these two men compared Mr. Jiang's archery skills with General Chang's, which is really impressive.
A month ago, he had a happy family with both parents, but now Ye Changshan is alone without any relatives. Ye Changshan has to resent the injustice of fate to him.
A month ago, he was just a boy from the countryside, but at this moment, he was able to compete with a talent like Jiang Changming. Ye Changshan had to lament that fate had taken care of him.
The Wei River flows eastward but not westward. My parents are dead and cannot be resurrected. The past cannot be changed, but the future is still in my own hands. The more he comes into contact with the prosperous world and the more he gets acquainted with people with extraordinary talents, the more Ye Changshan wants to actively integrate into this world. In the troubled times, heroes emerge in large numbers in the Central Plains. Looking at the setting sun in the west, he thought to himself: Even if I am alone, it cannot be the end of me. On the contrary, I must recharge my batteries and prepare myself in the coming dark night to welcome the next day. A new round of sunrise dawned on the second day.
Although the world is difficult and dangerous, what should I fear?
