On the outskirts of the capital, a carriage was driving slowly, followed by two men on horseback. They were Xu Mochen and his party in disguise.
Since they are pretending, they must be presentable. Mi Luonan disguised himself as a young master, while Xu Mochen and Tang Derun disguised themselves as slaves.
This imperial examination was the first since unification and was of unprecedented scale. The Ministry of Rites also acted very quickly. In addition to recruiting a large number of B&Bs, it also expanded suburban inns as a place for students to stay.
Of course, inns or places with good conditions were reserved for immortal cultivators, while inns with average conditions became the domain of gentry students.
When Xu Mochen and others arrived, they saw many carriages parked near the inn, with many horses tied to them.
People walking in and out of the door were all people dressed as students.
Tang Derun went to make arrangements and quickly booked a room.
Xu Mochen and Mi Luo settled the carriage and went to the room to stay.
The room is not big, just a bed and a small table and chairs.
It is mainly reserved for masters who are rushing to take exams. Slaves like Xu Mochen usually have to squeeze into a big bunk bed.
Naturally, these are just a formality and you won’t actually live there.
After settling in, Mi Luo and Xu Mochen headed to the hall.
The cost of holding the imperial examination is relatively sufficient, so the food provided by the inn is good. There are many tables in the hall, which are basically full of people.
They are all gentry students from various states, and many are on their way.
The ones who came first have lived here for a few days and are very familiar with each other. They chatted and joked while eating.
"After the unification of the Great Qian Dynasty, four years have passed. It can be said that everyone is paying close attention to this imperial examination."
"When today's emperor is a sage, he governs the country with benevolence and filial piety and opens up the way of saints. This is a situation where civilized governance will flourish."
"Brother, I can only say half of this. People in the capital have mixed reviews of the emperor."
"If nothing else, the students are very satisfied with the hybrid rice developed by His Majesty."
"Farming is the foundation of Daqian. Think about it, emperors of all dynasties have never done anything similar."
"There are also medicines from the National Medical Center and pharmaceutical factories that are very unusual and not expensive. They have cured many difficult and complicated diseases."
"These are all for sure, but a wise king should govern the country according to the way of a saint. Strange words and skills will never reach the stage of elegance."
"This inn has some kind of electric lights installed. It's very bright at night, and the wind doesn't blow it away and the water doesn't get wet. It's eye-opening."
"It is said that for the sake of electricity, large-scale construction projects have been carried out in the barren land of Lanzhou, which has wasted people and money."
"Be careful what you say! Be careful what you say! This is the emperor's feet. Brother, it's better to be careful about what you say."
Someone finished, and everyone stopped discussing the emperor.
Mi Luo looked at Xu Mochen with a half-smile but not a smile: "Look, you, a foolish king, still have some complicated arguments."
Xu Mochen didn't answer.
The students in the hall turned to another topic.
"The imperial edict says that this time the imperial examination will admit a large number of talents, whether it is the Imperial Academy, history books, or decentralization, are there so many places that need officials?"
"I heard that it was the Prime Minister and others who took the initiative to increase the number of government agencies in various states and counties. From this point of view, it will naturally require a lot of officials."
"Although there are many admissions, you see, there are also many students coming to take the exams."
"I don't know what the questions are. Hundreds of years ago, the civilized world was in chaos, and the emphasis of exams in various countries was different. This time, the range of questions is difficult to guess."
"No matter how difficult it is, you can't escape the way of the saints. Just read and recite those ancient classics."
"I don't know who came up with the question. Is there any inside story?"
"You don't understand this. Those who have skills will naturally have skills..."
Xu Mochen listened and couldn't help but frown: "Could it be that the test questions of the imperial examination will be leaked?"
Tang Derun was embarrassed: "It shouldn't be the case. The question
As for the purpose, His Majesty personally determined it, gave it to the Ministry of Rites, and sealed it. Even the immortal cultivators can't tell.
only……"
After all, this is a world where you can cultivate immortals. Some cultivators may have special magical powers, but he can't guarantee it 100%.
Xu Mochen has read history books and knows some of the tricks in the imperial examination, especially in this era, when the means to prevent cheating are not high.
"I'm just asking casually," Xu Mochen said without getting angry, "I just want to go back and check it out privately."
It would be such a shame if fraud was revealed in the first imperial examination.
Listening to the following conversation, the content changed again.
"If I can leap over the dragon gate this time, my marriage to the Cui family will be settled."
"Oh, what a coincidence. My family also thinks the same way. With the addition of fame, it's somewhat different."
"We are all scholars. Why don't we be so direct? It would be insulting to the politeness."
"Can Sven eat it? Brother Xinze, I don't believe you were still Sven with your sister-in-law on the night of your wedding."
"I don't know about Sibusiwen, but it's the same as everyone else. When the time comes, things will inevitably go up and down."
As he said this, a group of people burst into laughter.
"A polite scum," Mi Luo sneered, "If there are too many of these men, it's not a good thing. They only think about that kind of thing.
Hunjun, are you the same? "
Xu Mochen shook his head: "I don't need it."
"That's true. I think my father has three thousand beauties in his harem." Mi Luo looked back at him, "You only have two concubines in your harem and there are not many girls around you. Are you in poor health?"
As he spoke, his eyes kept glancing.
Xu Mochen's face was ashen, what was this and what?
After the students discussed youth, they started to get down to business again.
"But I don't know if the saint will come to the capital this time."
"The Duke of Zhou is the civilized sage in the world. The imperial examination is related to the literary career, but the literary career is different from the official career. Saints will not come."
"On the contrary, the student copied a lot of the latest saint's words and bought them at a huge price."
As soon as these words came out, the whole place immediately became a sensation.
Everyone gathered around and watched the man take out a pamphlet.
"Let me see...well, he is indeed a saint. This debate is clear and the truth is contained in it."
"The latest? That's first-hand information."
"Copy it and look at it together. Maybe you can answer the test questions this time."
"You can copy it, don't forget Aduwu."
"Brother Yiren, you already have a huge fortune, why would you still care about such a small amount of money?"
"Yes, it is orthodox to promote literature and morality."
Everyone was talking about it, and the student with the pamphlet was very proud, because all he wanted was face.
Everyone put the table together, took out pens, ink, paper and inkstones, laid out the paper, and a student who was good at calligraphy volunteered to start transcribing.
This is intended to be hung up for everyone to appreciate and ponder, so the characters are written in larger sizes.
Characters the size of a fist gradually appeared one by one, and Xu Mochen found that there was a touch of literary spirit in the students who were watching.
