Shen Yanyan and Zhang Yue's argument was comparable to Ping Bian Ce, which made the examiners feel that it was a bit too much, but such excessiveness was also expected.
Shen Tan is a good friend of Yang Tian, so he naturally supports him. At the same time, he also has a good relationship with Ouyang Xiu. Moreover, it was him who ordered Zhang Yue's famous roll, so those words of flattery are perfectly normal.
Yang Wei said: "Since it is a palace examination policy discussion, it is natural to answer whatever is asked. In this way, Wang Kui has been an official for several years, governed several places, and heard many temple discussions."
Wang Anshi said: "Wang Kui's poems and essays are average in every sentence, which shows that he has awe. What's more, in terms of essays and poems, this person is better than Zhang and Jiang."
An examiner on the side said: "Jiefu, this poem is based on the Spring and Autumn Period, and it is in line with Mencius's theory of noble people. It is refreshing to read. Didn't you also value Mencius's words?"
Wang Anshi said: "Otherwise, Mencius is Mencius, and Dongzi is Dongzi. Mencius acted in the kingly way, and the kingly way is not domineering, let alone the way of a king."
"Mencius said that nature is good, but Dongzi said that there are three qualities, namely saints, middle-class people and doushao. Can this be confused with the same thing? Dongzi often said that heaven and man are in harmony, but floods and droughts are constant, and Yao and Tang are inevitable."
Wang Anshi's words made all the examiners present feel confused.
Is it wrong to say that heaven and man are in communion with each other? Our civil servants have been saying this for thousands of years.
Wang Anshi was eloquent and eloquent, and no one could refute him for a while. Of course, those who can refute are unwilling to refute.
To be honest, Zhang Yue, Wang Kui and Jiang Yan all came from poor families. After some disputes among several examiners, they separated the candidates by their names just to see who had the best background.
But in terms of origin, all three of them were from poor families, so controversy arose.
Originally, most officials on the field were still inclined to choose one of Zhang Yue and Jiang Yan as the first choice to submit to the emperor. However, Wang Anshi, as the detailed official, had to fight hard, and Wang Kui was pulled up by him for a while.
Wang Anshi was still arguing with Yang Tian and Shen Yu on the court.
Zhu Congdao, the Taichang Shaoqing who was the official official, stayed out of the situation and was extraordinarily calm. He smiled and chatted with his colleagues: "I have heard in the streets of Bianjing more than ten days ago that Wang Kui is the number one scholar."
"The people's hearts have been decided, but these two princes are still fighting on their own. Why bother?"
Many examiners have heard of the rumor that Wang Kui won the top prize, but no one would think it was a joke, but the market talk can be regarded as nonsense.
At that time, many people believed in the prophecy and thought it was a sign from God.
Even officials and scholars are no exception. They all believe that the imperial examination is rarely done by one's own efforts, but mostly depends on the favor or favor of ghosts and gods.
Otherwise, just look at the incense at Erxianggong Temple and Daxiangguo Temple before the exam, and most people believe in the divination people who tell dreams.
Often these two words of gossip spread to the court, and under the amplification of hearsay, they become extremely important and can influence the final result.
After hearing what Zhu Congdao said, more and more examiners supported Wang Anshi.
However, Yang Tian and Shen Tao did not believe this, and Wang Anshi just insisted on his own principles.
To be fair, Wang Kui's and Zhang Yue's articles each have their merits. Wang Kui wins in diction, but the truth is as if it is not stated. However, this is not a shortcoming. In the imperial examination, it is a good thing to keep your words steady and not show off your edge.
Zhang Yue excels in reasoning and his diction is not bad.
Compared with other Jinshi volumes, the articles on Noble Scholars can be said to be well-written and of high quality.
But if we insist on comparing, it is a debate whether literature is better than quality or quality is better than literature.
When the two sides were in a stalemate, everyone finally made up their minds and asked Yang Tian and Wang Anshi to submit their proposals to the emperor for the emperor to make the final decision.
After hearing this opinion, Yang Tian and Wang Anshi both agreed and stopped quarreling.
The examiners retreated to the next best thing. They first selected one of Zhang Yue and Jiang Yan according to Yang Tian's opinion, and then presented the test together with Wang Kui, who was recommended by Wang Anshi.
In the end, most examiners believed that Zhang Yue's literary talent was superior and excluded Jiang Yan. Based on the previous rankings, Jiang Yan not only missed the top spot, but also fell to the 19th place.
Because Shen Tao and other preliminary examiners assigned Jiang Yan exactly nineteenth place.
It can be said that if you take a step forward, the sky will be brighter, but if you take a step back...
The fate of many people is just one step away.
Then everyone was immediately busy booking other places.
The second place was finally decided on Chen Mu. This person was the son of the famous minister Chen Dongzhi. As a son of an official, he was not allowed to be the number one scholar. This person would not be the number one scholar anyway.
The third person is Wang Zhichen. The other party turned out to be a craftsman and supervisor. As a court official, it is even more impossible for him to be the number one scholar.
As for the four and five, they have also been decided.
After careful consideration, all the examiners reserved the top prize and the sixth prize for Zhang Yue and Wang Kui. While they were discussing, they filled in the rankings and examinee roll numbers. It was almost dawn when they finally finished writing.
All the names were written on the list and just submitted to the emperor before the Cold Food Festival. Wang Anshi and Yang Tian then each made their own plans to explain Zhang Yue, and Wang Kui gave their respective reasons to the emperor.
March 9th is Cold Food.
The examiners were waiting in the palace to celebrate the festival. When the examiners were speaking.
Suddenly, the Imperial Pharmacy School reported that the emperor's original decree was in the original volumes of the 笾, 菹, and 忁 fonts.
Cold Food Festival, light rain.
For the people in Bianjing, this is just an ordinary Cold Food Festival, but for the scholars, in two days it will be the time for the Donghua Gate roll call.
Bianjing is a scene again during the cold food period. The paper horse shops on the street are stacked with paper gongs to look like pavilions and placed on the street.
People in Bianjing have wicker sticks inserted in front of the lintel of every house. Date noodles are shaped into flying swallow shapes and strung on the wicker sticks, which is called Zitui Yan. These jujube swallows can be used to treat aphthous ulcers if they are eaten by children.
The ten days after the imperial examination were normal days for Zhang Yue, and the engagement was left to his brother and sister-in-law.
Guo Lin and Zhangqiu were preparing for the Imperial Examination.
There was no movement from the Wu family, and it was something that should be avoided before the engagement, with the matchmaker mediating.
On the cold food day, Zhang Yue, Huang Lu and other Taixue classmates went on an outing, or went to the market to buy some cold food such as thick glutinous rice cakes, wheat cakes, cheese, and milk cakes.
When returning to the city, the forbidden carriages and horses swept the temples and Taoists' courtyards to pay homage to the tombs of the palace people returning from outside the city. The palace people carried gauze lanterns in front of them to lead the way.
Watching the royal horses galloping past the palace, Zhang Yue avoided chatting with Huang Lu on the side of the road. In the past few days after the palace examination, news about the palace examination was flying all over the sky. One moment it was said that Wang Kui was the top scholar in high school, and the other moment it was said that Jiang Yan was the top scholar in high school. The top pick, of course, there is talk of Zhang Yue High School's top pick, but there are quite a few.
Zhang Yue never believed in these things, but no matter how often someone told them, they would reach his ears.
Han Zhongyan spent a day to see Zhang Yue and said that there were rumors that Zhang Yue was spreading rumors in order to discredit Wang Kui so that he could compete for the top prize.
Zhang Yue knew that there is no smoke without fire, and it was probably because Wang Kui's teasing of a good girl spread, that he fell into the trap instead. Of course, Zhang Yue knew that it was Huang Lu who said it, but Wang Kui mistakenly thought that he had spread it. After all, if Wang Kui was ruined and could not win the top prize, he would benefit the most.
Zhang Yue said to Han Zhongyan: "I have never said anything unfavorable about Wang Kui. As the saying goes, the pure will self-purify, and rumors stop with the wise. I don't want to explain to others, lest I encourage the rumors."
Han Zhongyan said: "I believe that you act openly and aboveboard, and I will explain something to you when the time comes. However, it is always difficult to guard against rumors, so you should be more careful."
Zhang Yue said: "Thank you very much, but I don't do anything to deceive people, and I am not afraid of what others say."
Han Zhongyan sighed: "It's a pity that people's hearts are unpredictable and difficult to measure. Since you are here to compete for the No. 1 Scholar, how can you not be jealous? Sometimes you don't want to fight, but today you can't tolerate not fighting. As long as you are in it, you can't escape. All kinds of open and hidden arrows. As the saying goes, if you want to reach a high point, you must first bear its weight. If you are in trouble, come to me at any time."
Zhang Yue thanked Han Zhongyan after hearing this, knowing that as Wang Kui's voice for winning the top prize became louder, the news that he had been misunderstood and slandered him behind his back would have some impact on his reputation.
Zhang Yue is not so strong in his heart that he doesn't care about other people's opinions of him at all.
But he knows that regardless of this incident, controversy will always follow, as long as you want to go there.
No good thing is perfect in the world, even if you win the top prize, you have to look at it in two. Han Zhongyan's words also reminded him, but he did not tell Huang Lu about it because he was worried that the other party would feel guilty.
Anyway, there are various versions of the news, and unfounded things disappear after two or three days. People chase hot topics, which are three-minute popularity. After the palace examination results are released, all controversies will stop, and others will arrange it.
There are only two days left.
Now Zhang Yue said that he didn't want to get the No. 1 pick, which was definitely a lie, but it didn't hurt to think that he could get into the No. 2 pick.
The No. 1 pick can be said to be a good starting point, but more importantly, it is a reputation that allows the world to know oneself, just like no one knows who the second person on the moon is. If you win the No. 1 pick, you will become a household name.
However, although the starting point is good, it is up to you to decide how you will go in the future. There are many Jinshi who did not win the first prize but were ranked among the top officials.
Zhang Yue took a look at the loess under his feet and answered what he said, the road is at his feet.
When the passing palace carriage passed by, Zhang Yue and Huang Lu, who were hiding by the roadside, got back on the road.
Looking around, the outskirts of Bianjing look like a city. People are outing and outing. Among the tall trees and fields, scholars are sitting here, setting out wine cups and bowls, and encouraging each other to drink. It is very lively.
The people carried their food and swam until dusk before returning to the city. There is a small bridge and flowing water beside the road. Farmers holding pack horses have just returned from selling goods in the capital.
Zhang Yueyuan looked at the scenery of Bianjing City Wall illuminated by dusk, and thought, why should he worry about fame and wealth all day long and miss such a beautiful spring?
As soon as the cold meal was over, the imperial medicine office sent another order to take a few volumes to the imperial palace for review. In the afternoon, Yang Tian and Wang Anshi were announced to the imperial palace to see them.
After the two arrived, they saw that above the imperial palace, the official was looking at the papers. Han Qi, who was wearing a purple robe, and Zeng Gongliang was sitting by the imperial desk drinking tea. Now that Fu Bi is in Dingyou, only Han Qi is in charge of the political affairs hall. It is rumored that Zeng Gongliang will also join the political affairs hall from the Privy Council to assist Han Qi.
Yang Wei, after Wang Anshi saw the ceremony.
The official then looked away from the scrolls and said to the two of them: "Two nobles, I am looking for you to discuss these scrolls in detail and discuss the matter of ranking first in the imperial examination."
