The snow scenery in the South is a unique sight.
Although the snow has fallen once on Huanghua Mountain where the county school is located, it is still difficult to cover up the yellow and green color of the mountain. Some young grass and trees have been suppressed by the heavy snow this winter. When spring warms and the flowers bloom, they will become more green and tall next year. .
It's night, and it's freezing cold.
There is a verandah room at the east end of the Xianshi Hall of the County School. Several rafter candles are lit around like arms, illuminating the hall brightly.
There were more than twenty Confucian students studying the meaning of the Confucian classics in the hall.
It was Zhang Yue's suggestion that everyone gather together to study together.
The county school encourages Jinshi classics students to study in their own studios, but Zhang Yue always felt that it was not good to sleep alone in his studio, so he always liked to go to the veranda to study by himself, each with a book and a lamp.
Guo Lin saw him and came here with Zhang Yue. The two of them had been together for a long time, and many businessmen gradually followed suit.
Gradually, the students who became good friends with Zhang Yue gathered in a circle, and they all read in a veranda at night. The number of people increased, and now there are more than 20 people.
Jing Shengli saw this scene and jokingly called it "Yue Zhai".
After Zhang Yue entered the county school, he took several private exams. At first, he did not put all his efforts into it, but focused on the "Book of Rites" and the Three Biography of the Spring and Autumn Period, which he was unfamiliar with before. I memorized all the notes.
If anyone else saw that someone could read the "Book of Rites" and the Three Chuanqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals), which have the largest number of words among the Nine Classics, within half a year, they would definitely be so surprised that they would dislocate their jaws.
When the night drums were played, everyone dispersed from the veranda and went back to their houses to sleep.
Zhang Yue and Guo Lin left with their books in hand, and happened to witness the scenery of the snowy night, with all the people dispersed beside them, and the sound of drums, one long and one short, in their ears.
"Again, we have lived up to our efforts. Now the public examination is coming! Senior brother, are you sure?"
After studying for more than half a year, Guo Lin looked more stable than before: "Let's do everything we can and obey the destiny. This time, in the public examination of Jingshengzhai, the first meridian must be proficient in nine or more to be qualified, and the second meridian must be proficient in eight to be qualified. If you treat the three meridians, you will be able to understand seven, and you will be considered qualified. If you treat the five meridians, you will be able to understand six, and you will be qualified. I don’t know how many meridians my brother has treated?"
Zhang Yue said: "Will this public audition be reported to the Imperial College?"
"That's true. In the past, those who excelled in the public examinations of Jingshi Zhai could be recommended by the state school to take the interview to the Nanjing Imperial College. Those with outstanding erudition could be directly recommended to the Bianjing Imperial College for the interview."
Zhang Yue said: "Senior brother, how can you be considered to be erudite and outstanding?"
"There is no explanation for this. According to the usual practice, it must be decided by the state's xuezheng, and finally reported to the magistrate for recommendation to the Imperial College. There is at most one person in this state, and there are only two in Nanjing's Imperial College."
Zhang Yue thought of the three-part method in Wang Anshi's political reform.
Wang Anshi's Three Houses Method set up Taixue as outer house, inner house, and upper house. Among them, there are two thousand people in the outer house, three hundred people in the inner house, and one hundred people in the upper house.
In the internal examination of Taixue, students are promoted from the outer house to the inner house, and then from the inner house to the upper house. After passing the examination, Shangshe can become an official.
This reform was not abolished even after Sima Guang came to power. When Cai Jing became the prime minister, it was carried forward and implemented in schools in prefectures and counties all over the world, and it was called the Three Shed Law in the world.
Cai Jing also established the method of three houses in prefectures and counties. Students with outstanding results in the upper house and inner house of the county school can be recommended to the outer house of the state school, and outstanding students in the upper house and inner house of the state school can be recommended to the outer house of Taixue.
When the Sanshe method was first established, in order to support the theory of selection reform, Wang Anshi specifically said that this was the method of "selection in rural elections" of the three generations.
But no matter whether Wang Anshi has reform or not.
In the Song Dynasty, one condition for entering the Imperial Academy remained unchanged, that is, the children of officials below the eighth rank could enter the Imperial Academy without taking the exam, while the children of ordinary people from poor families had to take the exam.
So what are the benefits after entering the Imperial College?
The Imperial College of the Song Dynasty could directly participate in the supervisory examination.
In Kaifeng Prefecture, the Ministry of Rites takes about 150 Jinshi each year, the Imperial College has about 70 or 80 people, and the proportions among various subjects are also similar.
Before Zhang Yue traveled through time, he often remembered that the college entrance examination was unfair, such as regional issues.
So among the Jinshi in the Song Dynasty, nearly two-thirds were from Kaifeng Prefecture and Imperial College.
To use a very crushing phrase to describe it, what you pursue all your life is nothing more than what others are born with.
Why is there such an unfair thing?
This has to do with the Song Dynasty's consistent national policy of "strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches."
Strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches is an established national policy adopted by the Song Dynasty from Taizu of the Song Dynasty after it absorbed the Anshi Rebellion and the separatist rule of the vassal towns at the end of the Tang Dynasty.
Just like "using culture to control force", it is only a part of strong trunk and weak branch.
From what Zhang Yue saw, why did the descendants of the Zhang family and the Wu family in Pucheng not stay in their hometown, but entered the capital, and even registered in Kaifeng.
With Zhang Yue's identity as a son of the Zhang family, if Zhang Yue asked the Zhang family to come forward, even if they were distant relatives, Zhao Asi would not almost force them to a dead end.
Because most of Zhang Dexiang's descendants, Wu Yu, Wu Chong's descendants, and Wang Anshi's descendants did not return to their hometowns but stayed in Bianjing and became registered in Kaifeng, just to facilitate the imperial examination.
The benefits of this are obvious. Children of local powerful clans moved to the capital one after another for the imperial examination, which made it much easier for the officials sent by the imperial court to the local areas to govern.
This method is much gentler than that of Emperor Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wu of Han who forcibly moved local wealthy families to Beijing, and it can also be regarded as an aboveboard conspiracy.
From Fan Zhongyan's reform to establish prefecture and county schools, to Wang Anshi's three-partition method, and to Cai Jing's three-partition method for the world, the shadow of strong branches and weak branches can be seen in the reform ideas that have been inherited from the same line.
Of course, this national policy of strengthening the weak branches is very deceptive for Zhang Yue's current situation.
There are one hundred and fifty places for Jinshi in the provincial examination. For poor candidates, they must first take the first-class examination among one hundred people in each state, while official candidates can take the first-class examination among one hundred people and fifteen people. Everyone Let’s compete together for provincial examination places.
Candidates with official status can directly enter the Imperial College, but Zhang Yue must be recommended by the prefecture and county schools for excellence before he can go to the Imperial College to take the exam.
Of course, although there is a risk of rejection when taking the Imperial Examination, the admission rate is still extremely high. Because the Imperial College mainly looks at the true talents and learning of the corporal scholars, so as to prevent the prefectures and counties from recommending people with connections who are not talented and learned.
After entering the Imperial College, the imperial court had 80 Jinshi quotas for each subject dedicated to the imperial students, and the same was true for all subjects.
So for Zhang Yue, getting recommended by the state and county to go to the Imperial College was definitely worth the effort.
But the question is why do states and counties have to recommend you? This is also the problem of the Three Ways of Giving Up in History and the Three Ways of Giving Up in the World.
There are only a few places in the entire state, and they are recommended to Bianjing Imperial College and Nanjing Imperial College.
If everyone’s public examination scores are similar, who will the state recommend? The problem with the three-part method is that the grades are about the same, and the academic officials are asked to refer to the students' daily virtues. When it comes to virtue, it doesn’t mean that if you are good at it, you are good at it, and if you are not good at it, you are not good at it.
It doesn’t matter if it works in the end, it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t.
Zhang Yue said to Guo Lin: "Now I am Mr. Boyi's favorite student, and Hu Xuezheng from the county school also appreciates me very much."
Guo Lindao: "Hu Xuezheng and Mr. Boyi are indeed famous figures in the county magistrate, but recommending them to the Imperial College is a matter for the state. I'm afraid they won't have enough weight."
Zhang Yue admitted that what Guo Lin said made sense, but there was something else he hadn't said. The business of Zhang's restaurant was booming at the moment. He helped the chief of the restaurant to point out some textbooks for undergraduate examinations, and the other party made a lot of money, and he also Got a lot of benefits.
In our Song Dynasty, money can be converted into power.
But this little money is still not enough.
"If I want to win steadily, I have to be superior. I have to leave everyone speechless!"
Guo Lin said: "Then what are your plans?"
Zhang Yue said: "Didn't you just say that those who treat one meridian must have a thorough understanding of nine or more to be qualified? Those who treat two meridians must have a thorough understanding of eight to be qualified; those who treat three meridians must have a thorough understanding of seven to be qualified; those who treat five meridians must have a thorough understanding of six. To be qualified. If I pass all nine classics, how many of them will be considered qualified?"
Guo Lindao: "In the past, it was Tongwu!"
"What if it's all-access?"
"All passes? Junior brother, please don't surprise me." Guo Lin couldn't help but be dumbfounded, "I passed the nine classics subjects in the provincial examination, but I only passed the sixth. Not to mention how the Mo Yi of the county academic examination can compare with the public examination. The public examination Mo Yi is as rigorous as the provincial examination, and the wording is extremely sophisticated."
"Let's talk about the public examination and the provincial examination. Every time they are asked about the ten principles of righteousness, I have never heard of anyone who can master all ten principles of righteousness."
Guo Lin talked a lot.
Zhang Yue smiled and asked, "What about you? How many tests will you take this time?"
Guo Lindao: "I am only taking the exam on the Five Classics. The exam on the Nine Classics is too time-consuming and laborious. What's more, there are also the Analects of Confucius and the Classic of Filial Piety. There are many questions on each of the two classics."
"In addition to the Analects of Confucius and the Classic of Filial Piety, it is said to be the Five Classics. In fact, the test results are seven classics, and your nine classics are actually eleven. I guess few people in the county school except you would have such a plan."
Hearing this, Zhang Yue smiled at Guo Lin and said, "If not, how can I show off my skills?"
The Bianjing Imperial College and the Nanjing Imperial College only have a few places in Jianzhou, so even if Zhang Yue gets the first place among the county's economics students, he may not be sure to advance.
Therefore, if you want to win, you must win beautifully, and win until people have nothing to say. Zhang Yue recited the Nine Classics in one breath, just to win until people have nothing to say.
It is said that 30% of destiny is determined by fate and 70% of hard work. Zhang Yue put these 70% of hard work into 10%.
Of course, it is difficult for Zhang Yue to take the Nine Classics exam, but that does not mean that it is easy for county school students.
The county school public examination stipulates that the first class to be tested must be the Great Classics, and the Great Classics are the Book of Rites and Zuo Zhuan.
To examine the two classics, one must have one large classic and one middle classic. The middle classic is the Book of Songs, Zhou Rites and Rites. Of course, if some people want to show off their talents (seeking death), there is no problem in studying the two great classics, the Book of Rites and the Zuo Zhuan.
The three classics must be one large, one medium, and one small. The small classics are Yi Jing, Shangshu, Gongyang, and Guliang. Of course, if you want to show off your ability, you can also take the test of two major classics and a small classic, or one major classic and two medium classics.
For the Five Classics, there must be two major classics, and the remaining three classics are arbitrary.
Of course, in terms of one meridian connecting to nine, two meridians connecting to eight, three meridians connecting to seven, five meridians connecting to six, and nine meridians connecting to five, the minimum difficulty level for everyone is not much different.
The upper limit of difficulty is different.
Moreover, the provincial examination of the Nine Classics test consists of 120 essays and 60 answers to the questions, and the Nine Classics are tested in one paper.
However, the county school public examination is divided into eleven examination rooms.
Two exams of "The Analects of Confucius" and "The Classic of Filial Piety" are compulsory, and one exam is required for the other nine classics. You will take as many exams as you take for the scriptures.
Zhang Yue, on the other hand, has to take eleven full exams!
Therefore, on the registration day for the public examination, Zhang Yue was the only one in the Jingsheng Zhai who applied for the Nine Classics.
After everyone in the county school learned about Zhang Yue's move, they all thought this man was crazy.
