Shuntian Gongyuan is a courtyard with three entrances. The gate has five couplets on each side, which is called Dragon Gate, which means carp leaping over the dragon gate. There are horizontal plaques on the three middle gates. The middle gate is inscribed "World Civilization" and the east gate is inscribed "Yu Gate". , the west door is inscribed "Zhou Jun".
Beyond the second dragon gate, there are thousands of houses made of wooden pallets on the east and west sides of the gate, which are the dormitories where the candidates answer questions. They are surrounded by walls made of thorns. This kind of examination shed with a straw mat and wooden board structure is the most popular. For fear of catching fire, there were many large tanks filled with water in the courtyard to prepare for fire fighting. However, as the fire spread, this little water was of no use, so fires broke out from time to time.
In the Shuntian Provincial Examination in the third year of Orthodoxy, on the eve of the first examination, a fire broke out in Gongyuan and burned down the examination papers and dormitories. The examination date was eventually changed. The most serious one was the fire in Gongyuan in February of the seventh year of Tianshun. In this fire, all the people were burned to death. More than ninety people.
Yan Yuxi, then the Prime Minister of the Imperial Academy, petitioned for the title of Jinshi for these dead men, although some people impeached him for this and he was imprisoned for a time. However, Yingzong finally took pity on the deceased scholars and awarded the more than 90 people who were burned to death as Jinshi. They gave each deceased a coffin and buried them in the open space outside Chaoyang Gate.
Until the Wanli period, Zhang Juzheng, who served as the chief minister of the cabinet, decided to renovate and expand the Gongyuan. Construction officially started in March of the second year of Wanli and was officially completed in September of the second year of Wanli. After the reconstruction, on the one hand, the building area was increased, with more than 4,800 buildings, and more than 49,900 gold was spent. On the other hand, the original wooden building was changed to a brick structure, which enhanced the fire protection performance. Since then, the Gongyuan has been used in many places. It has not been overhauled for a long time.
After a rigorous search, the sergeant looked surprised when he saw Li Jie's number plate. Thirteen-year-old Jie Yuan was really rare, but this did not make him lower his search requirements. It was still a routine search that treated everyone equally.
After the inspection, Li Jie entered the Gongyuan. The first thing that caught his eye was an ancient locust tree from the Yuan Dynasty. It is said that this is the place where Wen Guang shot bullfights, so it was called "Wenchang locust tree". It is said that this locust tree is related to the literary fortune of the candidates. related. Therefore, basically all the candidates who pass by the locust tree will bow solemnly. Li Jie bows to this locust tree as the customs do in his hometown.
Mingyuan Building in the Gongyuan is located in the center of the corridor, surrounded by watchtowers. The Zhigong Hall is located in the north of the Gongyuan. To the east is the Supervision and Examination Hall, where most of the outer curtain officials live. To the east of the Supervision and Examination Hall are the three offices of Mi Feng, Shou Juan, and Gui Gong. , and to the west are the dual reading and copying halls. The Huijing Hall is located in the north, where fellow examiners mark papers.
Li Jie found his dormitory according to the number plate. Li Jie looked around the examination shed. There was no obvious damage. Except for the inevitable air leakage, he was not afraid of water leakage. Li Jie had been lucky since the imperial examination. Like Yuhao, I've never encountered a stink before.
Because Li Jie has practiced martial arts all year round, although he is only fourteen years old now, his figure is no less than that of an ordinary adult man, so the room is still a little small for him, but he had to endure it for the sake of the scientific examination, and secretly swore in his heart that, When I take power, I will definitely finish Zhang Juzheng's work in advance and treat it as a benefit to the majority of candidates.
Li Jie first cleaned up the room a little, then took out an oilcloth and spread it on the roof of the room to prevent the rain from getting the exam papers wet. If the rain splashes on the answer sheet, the paper will be unclean and it will be judged as failed. Li Jie is still unable to release his internal force outwards to form an aura shield. According to his master Chen Xianzhang, only an innate master can release his internal force outwards to surround the whole body and achieve a state of invulnerability to water and fire.
While Li Jie was cleaning up the examination booth, candidates from the surrounding examination booths also arrived one after another. There was no one they knew among them, but most candidates looked surprised when they saw Li Jie. Although Li Jie was tall, He looks like an adult, but the childlike look on his face is still there, and ordinary people can tell at a glance that he is not very old.
There are only a handful of people at his age who come to take the imperial examination, because the imperial examination basically determines life in one examination. For example, if you pass the examination this time and you rank among the top three in the palace examination, then the difference between the first, first and second place will be When you get older, the top 1st graders in the Imperial Examination will go directly to the Hanlin Academy. Although both the 2nd grader and 3rd grade jinshi can take part in the Shujishi assessment, the probability of being admitted to the 3rd grade jinshi is very low.
Shujishi are affiliated to the Hanlin Academy, and those who are good at literature and calligraphy are selected as Jinshi. This has been the practice since the Ming Dynasty: non-Jinshi will not enter the Hanlin, and non-Hanlin will not join the cabinet, which is equivalent to the current "reserve cadres" (in the true sense) , so Shujishi is also known as "Preserver Prime Minister", so being selected as Shujishi also means that the chance of rising to prominence is greatly increased.
Therefore, these candidates were very surprised to see Li Jie taking the exam at such a young age. There were not many young Jinshi scholars in the Ming Dynasty. The reason was for a better ranking. A better ranking means a higher starting point, because Once admitted to the joint examination or palace examination, there is no chance for a second examination. Most prodigies often delay taking the joint examination for one or two years in order to be more sure.
Everything is ready, Li Jie is waiting for the test papers to be distributed. There is a sergeant guarding each candidate's examination booth. One person per room is more stringent than during the provincial examination. The sun slowly shines through the clouds. At this time, all candidates have been admitted to the hospital. The examination booths are all locked.
After a while, a powerful drumbeat came from the Mingyuan Building, and the Gengxu Science Examination in the third year of Hongzhi officially began.
The first test is the same as the hometown test. There are three questions on the "Four Books", each of which is more than 200 words, and four questions on the meaning of the classics, each of which is more than 300 words.
After the clerk handed out the examination papers, Li Jie scanned them briefly and looked at the first question with the inscription "Unjust War in the Spring and Autumn Period".
For a person like Li Jie who is familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics, he can tell at a glance that this topic comes from "Mencius: End of the Heart". The original text is: Mencius said: "There are no unjust wars in the Spring and Autumn Period. If someone is good at this, then he will have it." . Those who conquer are to attack from above and below, and the enemy countries do not conquer each other.
The general idea is that there were no just wars in the Spring and Autumn Period. Which country may be better than this country? This situation does exist. The so-called conquest refers to the crusade from above. Princes at the same level cannot crusade against each other.
When Zhu Xi explained a chapter in the "Collected Commentary on Four Books", he said: "Every time the Spring and Autumn Annals are written about the wars and conquests of the princes, they will be ridiculed and criticized for the crime of being good at prosperity. There is no one who thinks that it is consistent with justice. However, there are those who are good at this, such as the master of Zhaoling."
What Zhu Xi means is that the Spring and Autumn Annals have always had a very clear stance when describing the wars between princes, that is, they ridiculed wars and crimes that were not in line with etiquette and law, and were not in line with morality, but did not praise the situation that was in line with morality. "He If you are good at this, you will have success." Zhu Xi cited the master of Zhaoling as an example.
"The Master of Zhaoling" was Duke Huan of Qi, under the banner of respecting the king and repelling the barbarians, he successfully curbed Chu's northward expansion, thereby safeguarding the interests of the Central Plains countries and achieving a peaceful victory.
