In the court hall, after Zhang Yuanzhen finished reviewing the test papers in his hand, he asked the clerk next to him: "Have all the answer sheets of the chief ministers been sent over?"
Upon hearing this, the scribe bowed and replied: "Sir, the answer sheets of the seventh-level masters have also been sent here this morning, and the eighteen-level masters have been completed. Do you want to review them now?"
Zhang Yuanzhen nodded, and upon seeing this, the scribe went to fetch the Shibafang Jingkui scroll.
As usual, Zhang Yuanzhen first read the comments given by the same examiner and deputy examiner. Most of the comments made by the examiner were 2-word or 4-word phrases. The more comments, the more optimistic the examiner was. After reading the 18 first papers, one of them was the most eye-catching. , with the most comments.
"It is a harmonious blend of rationality and interest, which is especially true of a sage who realizes the purpose of heaven and his nature. His words are effortless and unique in meaning, and he is the master of all scriptures."
"Pure and elegant, unique among other works, cleansed from the mundane world, those who are pure in learning and achieve something should be recorded in this style. A good scholar! A good scholar!"
Seeing such praise from his fellow examiner and deputy examiner, Zhang Yuanzhen also became interested. He picked up Li Jie's answer sheet and read it. After reading all seven questions, Zhang Yuanzhen wrote.
"There are no traces of the twists and turns. They are like clouds that naturally relax and unwind in the wind. Carefully play with the clarity of the veins and the denseness of the leads, and they are all extremely precise. It is a true stroke of chemical engineering!"
After writing the comments, Zhang Yuanzhen thought for a long time, thinking about the answer sheet he had just reviewed. If nothing else happened, this candidate would be the candidate who won the Fujian Provincial Examination this year.
Zhang Yuanzhen was about to mark the next answer sheet, but suddenly he thought that he was too excited and forgot to write the word "中" on the test paper. He smiled and shook his head and then wrote the word "中" on the answer sheet. At this point, Li Jie's test paper was all collected. "Recommended", "taken", and "selected" can be regarded as the official selection of the candidate.
August 28th is the day to fill in the official list.
Before filling in the main list, there is another time to fill in the list, which is generally called the rough list. The 25th or 26th is the day to fill in the rough list. Everyone is present when filling in the list. The list is written by the deputy examiner himself. Candidates who are ranked after eight will fill in the rough list, while those who are ranked before eighteen will need to wait until the correct list is filled in and be evaluated under the supervision of everyone.
In the public hall, all the officials, supervisors, and promotion officers of the Ministry of Rites came to the inner curtain to supervise. The examiner Zhang Yuanzhen and the examiner Zhang Yuanzhen sat at the top, and the deputy examiner, fellow examiners, and the supervisor censor were placed on both sides.
Ninety volumes of ink scrolls lay quietly on the table. Starting from the 19th person, they opened the volumes at the beginning of each room after they were all opened. From the 12th to the 26th, they were reviewed in just fourteen days. After finishing the answer sheets of three thousand candidates, which totaled tens of thousands of answer sheets for each test, the examiners in the courtroom all looked tired.
The examiners were reviewing the test papers of the Eighteenth Fang Jingkui. From time to time, some examiners became red-faced. Unexpectedly, there was no debate about the Shang Shufang, because the first test paper of the Shang Shufang won everyone's approval.
Zhang Yuanzhen rubbed his temples to relieve his fatigue. Seeing that the controversy in the hall had disappeared, he lowered his head and asked.
"Everyone, the first volume of each sutra room can be judged well!"
The deputy examiner heard this and replied: "Sir, the assessment has been completed."
"Okay, let's start unwinding the scroll!"
The clerk opened the test papers one by one according to Zhang Yuanzhen's instructions. Each time he opened the paper, he called the names to facilitate the deputy chief examiner to fill in the results. At the moment, only the roll call was left in the courtroom.
"Lin Ting'ang, a scholar from Min County (that is, Fuzhou), is the leader of the Spring and Autumn House!"
When the deputy examiner heard Lin Tingang's name, he sighed: "The Lianjiang Lin family inherited the classics and history. His father, Master Lin Heng, inherited Peng Hua, but he did not join in the troubles with Wan'an and Li Zi Province like his master. In the treatment of "Spring and Autumn" He is one of the great masters in this world, and this boy really doesn’t fall into the trap of his family.”
Zhang Yuanzhen nodded when he heard this and said: "In terms of Confucian classics, this son is really worthy of his father's true inheritance. Whether it is the meaning of the classics or the other four books and strategies, he is outstanding. It is a pity that he is inferior when compared with the leader of Shang Shufang. Otherwise, this son When the time comes for the father and son to unify the yuan, it will be a good story."
Immediately it was the turn of the leader of the Shang Shufang to open the paper. This paper won unanimous praise from all the examiners. In addition to being rated first in the first session, the arguments, judgments, tables, etc. in the second session were all the best. The entry points of the three strategies were eye-catching, and all the examiners felt ashamed.
The clerk continued the roll call: "Gengzi is the leader of the Shangshufang."
Gengzi is the number for the answer sheet. Before opening the paper, the name of the candidate is not known and the number is used to replace it.
"Lin Pingzhi, a scholar from Fujian County, is the leader of Shangshufang!"
Yuan Xin, the fellow examiner who recommended this volume, said: "Is it him? Lin Pingzhi, a minor Sanyuan, was widely rumored for a while. I didn't expect that this son's skill in governing "Shangshu" would be so profound. He deserves to be a disciple of the famous Confucian Chen Xianzhang!"
Zhang Yuanzhen said: "Oh? This boy actually studied under Mr. Bai Sha. No wonder... No wonder..."
After the Five Classics Leaders are decided, the ranking will begin, Zhang Yuanzhen said to everyone in the hall.
"This time the provincial examination explains Yuan Lin Pingzhi, Yayuan Lin Tingang, Kuilun Wenxu, Zhang Wei, He Menglun, and they are ranked in order. Do you have any objections?"
Everyone replied one after another.
"No objection!"
Zhang Yuanzhen breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. The rural examination is basically over now, and only tomorrow is left to release the results. The burden on him can finally be relieved. He was appointed as the examiner of the rural examination just after he resumed his career. He was aging with so many things. My body and bones are a bit overwhelmed.
The day for the announcement of the results is getting closer and closer, and many scholars from other places are still staying in Fuzhou City. These scholars want to know whether they have been selected earlier, rather than waiting for the results to be distributed to each county and then having local officials come to their door. Annunciation.
The rural examinations held every three years have also brought huge economic benefits to Fuzhou City. Not to mention the huge amount of money spent by the government during this period, the daily expenses of the scholars who took the examinations alone made a lot of money for local farmers and businessmen. There is no shortage of taxi scholars from wealthy families, so every township examination also allows local residents to enjoy a policy dividend.
The fragrant osmanthus is on August 29th, the day when the results of the rural examination are released. Because of the season, the list is also called Guibang.
Outside the Gongyuan, there was a huge crowd of people, including scholars taking the exam and ordinary people who came to watch the excitement. The day when the results were released every three years was also a rare spectacle. The various performances of the scholars during the roll call were either Ecstasy or grief will be a hot topic of discussion in the city after dinner.
The scholars who were still staying in Fuzhou City all came to the gate of Gongyuan early today to wait for the release of the results. Those who knew that this scientific examination was hopeless still held out hope for the eventuality. After the examination, they have been suffering until today, and finally they can seek relief.
Seeing the government officials walking towards the place where the results were announced, the crowd became extremely commotion. At this time, countless scholars lost their past grace and pushed each other to squeeze into the front row to confirm immediately whether they had won the election.
Zhang Yuanzhen led a group of people to the nearby singing building. Officials would roll out the names of the Five Classics Leaders in turn. Only the Five Classics Leaders could be called. For scholars, it is the dream of countless people to be able to enjoy the roll call of the Scripture Building. , a great honor, something that can last a lifetime. Every time the roll call ends, the candidates who are called will be famous all over the world and become the idols of countless underachieving scholars.
