Li Jie informed the two of them about what happened with Lin Han when he came back. After listening to the explanation, the two finally felt relieved. Lin Tingang laughed beside him and said: "Shenzhi, it seems that you will try harder this time. Alas, I just don’t know what the final outcome will be for me and Uncle Thirteen.”
Li Jie smiled slightly and said: "Now that the first exam has been completed, it is useless to think too much. Let's prepare for the second exam tomorrow. I hope all three of us will be on the spring list this time."
Outside Shuntian Gongyuan, as soon as the fourth watch arrives, the dragon gate opens wide.
On August 12, the second exam came as scheduled. The difference from the previous one was that none of the scholars who took this exam were as nervous as the first one. It was the first test of the Science and Technology Weightlifting and they did well in the first exam. Candidates can take the second exam with peace of mind. Those who did not do well in the first exam can also relax knowing that there is no hope for this exam.
Compared with the first round, the inspection standards for the second session were not lowered, because the law does not care which session you are in. As long as the examinee is found to be involved after entering the venue, the inspectors will be held accountable. After some searches Li Jie entered the examination room.
When the second exam started, almost four thousand examination papers had been sent into the inner curtain by the outside examiners one after another, and the marking officers in the inner curtain also began to formally mark the examination papers.
A familiar person came to the examination booth. It was still dark, so Li Jie took a short rest. The red sun in the sky jumped slightly and appeared above the horizon. The drums of Mingyuan Tower sounded, and the second examination officially began.
The second examination is the same as that of the local examination, with one essay and five judgments. One of the imperial edicts, imperial edicts, and internal medicine papers can be chosen. The essay requires more than 300 words.
The clerk handed out the test paper. As usual, Li Jie read the questions first. The first question was: "You are always upright."
This is a topic about governing a country. The original text comes from the section "Zhengjun" in "Mencius Li Lou Chapter 1". The original text is: A ruler is benevolent, and nothing is unkind; a ruler is righteous, and nothing is unjust; a ruler is upright, and nothing is unfair. With a righteous king, the country will be stable. "
If the monarch is benevolent, no one will be unbenevolent; if the monarch is moral, no one will be unjust; if the monarch is upright, no one will be dishonest. Once the monarch follows the right path, the country will be stable.
Mencius believed that if you want to govern the country well, you should first make the monarch's behavior conform to the standards and be benevolent, upright, and wise. Throughout the Hongzhi dynasty, Emperor Hongzhi did indeed do this.
After the death of Emperor Xianzong, Xiaozong ascended the throne and changed his reign name to Hongzhi. At the beginning of his succession, Xiaozong faced not only a chaotic government, but also a country riddled with holes. If decisive measures were not taken, it would definitely threaten the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, a series of measures were taken in various aspects such as politics, economy, culture, and military to revive the Ming Dynasty.
Although Mencius's words are narrow-minded from the perspective of later generations, who made it the Ming Dynasty now? The theory is somewhat similar to modern argumentative essays. Li Jie quoted the classics and elaborated on "The king is right and everything is right" by presenting facts and reasoning. That's right. The prosperous times in history are all the result of honest and wise monarchs. If the monarch is mediocre, it will inevitably create a political environment in which villains are in power, and the country will be in turmoil.
After finishing writing the thesis, I looked at the five questions of Judgment. "Judgment" is equivalent to the current judgment. Judgment is a test of officialdom practical writing before a candidate enters an official career. It is conducive to improving the level of officialdom, including all aspects of economy, military, and culture. have.
The first sentence is "Don't repair the embankment when it is too late." The "Da Ming Law·Gong Lv" clearly stipulates that "Anyone who fails to repair the river embankment or repairs it when it is too late will be promoted to officials and can be whipped fifty times each. If other people's houses are damaged or rivers are damaged, they will be flogged. Those who lose property and belongings will be punished with sixty punishments. Those who cause harm to people's lives will be punished with eighty punishments. Those who fail to repair the polder bank and repair it in time will be punished with thirty punishments. Those who are responsible for drowning the fields will be punished with fifty punishments. There will be heavy water and continuous rain. Damage to the embankment that was not caused by human effort will not be affected."
Embankments are built by the government, while polder banks are water conservancy projects built by private citizens. Water conservancy construction is one of the responsibilities of promoted officials. If they sit idly by and do nothing or fail to repair it in time, the promoted officials will be held legally responsible based on the size of the damage. According to the law, If water conservancy officials and their employees have subjective faults that cause damage to water conservancy projects, they will be punished in accordance with the law. If it is caused by force majeure, they will not be held accountable.
The main basis for the judgment is the "Da Ming Law", "Imperial Imperial Edict", "Da Ming Order" and "Inquiry Regulations". Candidates must memorize the clauses in them. If they answer the questions randomly, they will not be able to win the first test of the imperial examination. , may also be deposed. Scholars in the Ming Dynasty who wanted to be officials did not just need to read the Four Books and Five Classics well. They had to understand the legal provisions and current affairs, and develop in an all-round way.
Because the various laws, edicts, orders, and regulations are very complicated, scholars are not required to memorize them all, but they must remember the commonly used ones. The next judgment is "good at deploying officers", which is about military aspects.
Li Jie wrote a colorful and splendid article according to the provisions of the Ming Dynasty Code. Compared with the judgments in practice, Li Jie will pay more attention to literary talent and be more ornamental.
The subsequent three-question judgments were also not difficult for Li Jie. He is a little expert in writing official documents. He has an excellent memory and a huge reserve of knowledge, and the judgments he wrote are also brilliant.
It took no more than noon to finish the five judgments, and the quality and speed of the answers were the best in the audience. Most of the ordinary people scratched their heads and thought hard when writing the judgments. Even if the imperial court delineated the scope of the examination, for most people, these laws are still It's too complicated and difficult to remember. Not everyone is as talented as Li Jie. What's even more annoying is that he cheated.
After simply making some food, Li Jie began to write the last question. He chose one of the imperial edicts, imperial edicts, and internal medicine to answer. Li Jie had already prepared the draft when cooking, and chose the table "To imitate the additional purchase system of the Song Dynasty and lift six". To express gratitude to all the officials in the department, candidates must have an understanding of the talent selection system of the Song Dynasty and be familiar with the selection system of the Song Dynasty. Otherwise, they will not be able to answer this question.
During the Hongwu period, it was stipulated that candidates should answer questions: "If you ask about money and grain, you will talk about money and grain. If you ask about water conservancy, you will talk about water conservancy. What is gained and what is lost? Don't focus on the classics. Do not be perfunctory and complicated." What you say must be meaningful, and what you write in the article must be correct. There is a source, and you cannot write random answers. The examiner also uses this as a criterion for judging.
Li Jie finished answering all the questions in the second session. It was only around 3 pm. He first checked whether there were any disqualifications or taboos in the text. For veterans of the imperial examination, it is basically unlikely to make such mistakes, but Li Jie was still patient. I checked one side and then copied the answers on the manuscript paper onto the main paper. If there is no manuscript paper for the provincial examination and the general examination, I will be dismissed.
However, when it came to the palace examination, it was not so strict. When Qian Fu answered the policy question in the palace examination, he did not make a draft, and he was later selected as the number one scholar. Because the imperial examination questions are usually drafted by cabinet ministers and submitted to the emperor for approval one day before the examination, the possibility of leakage of the examination questions is basically eliminated.
