When Zhu Ping'an and the others were taking the second exam, the examiners also started to get busy.
In fact, after the first exam, at five or six o'clock in the afternoon the next day, the first batch of one hundred sealed examination papers had been delivered to the examiners, and then five more were delivered. More than a thousand examination papers. On the seal of the red scroll, there are also different words "South", "North" and "Middle".
This was the regional ranking examination system pioneered by the Ming Dynasty. With the conclusion of the "North and South Ranking" confusion case in the 30th year of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty's "North and South Ranking" examination system was established. In the following days, , it was constantly revised, and by the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it finally became the division method of "Southern List", "Northern List" and "Middle List" (Anhui and the southwestern provinces). The admission ratio is also fixed at 55% for the south list, 35% for the north list, and 10% for the middle list.
While Zhu Pingan and the others were taking the second exam, the examiners had already started marking the papers.
The place where examiners mark papers is in the "Zhigong Hall" of Shuntian Gongyuan. The Zhigong Hall is behind Mingyuan Building, with outer curtains on the east and west sides for the residence of administrators. After arriving at the court hall, there is an inner curtain for the examiners to live. This is where the examiners grade the papers.
There is a couplet outside the main entrance of Zhigong Hall, which is intended to explain that it is not easy for candidates to take the exam, emphasizing the examiner's "awareness of being empty" and the selflessness of selecting candidates, thinking that only in this way can we select true talents for the country and convince the candidates.
"I have worked hard to come here for three years, but I have the heart to sell it. If I am not impartial, I will be happy if I do it. If I make a mistake, I can't be without resentment. Resentment will lead to slander."
"I hope to sit in this hall all my life and be good at the knowledge of empty groups. As long as I am extremely cautious, I will gain quickly and lose without shame."
In the Zhigong Hall, after the first red scroll arrived, the chief examiner Xu Jie and the deputy examiner Yan Maoqing led eight fellow examiners to the portrait of Confucius in the curtained lobby of the Zhigong Hall. The two examiners came forward. After burning three sticks of incense, he knelt three times and kowtowed nine times under the statue of Saint Gao Kong.
Xu Jie is at the front. Followed closely by Yan Maoqing, and several other fellow examiners arranged themselves in order according to their positions.
"Select scholars impartially for the country and the country, without favoritism, without asking for favors, and without taking bribes - if you fail in this, you will be punished by the gods."
Xu Jie led the examiners and swore an oath together. This has been an unchanging rule for hundreds of years. After taking the oath, the two examiners retired. Then came the busy work of the Gongyuan deacons, offering sacrifices to Emperor Wenchang, worshiping Kuili, and inviting Emperor Guan Sheng... All the various procedures were strictly in accordance with the precedents.
After the procedure was completed, the drawing of lots began. First, the examiner Xu Jie and the deputy examiner Yan Maoqing drew lots, and the chief examiner drew lots. The deputy examiner draws lots for the test papers, and then decides which bundle of test papers will be assigned to which room for marking based on the results of the draw.
The examiners drew lots and distributed the red papers. Each examiner divided about 500 red papers, which were all test papers containing different areas of "South", "North" and "Central". According to the calculation, 55% of the South list and 35% of the North list were , the 10% proportion of winning the list is based on the winning test paper, which is the recommended paper.
"Everyone, even if I don't say it, everyone should know the importance of this exam. The Holy Master attaches great importance to this exam, and everyone must also see it. The Qing Ci in the second scene is the Holy Master's will. So, just now we vowed to show our hearts..."
Xu Jie said as he glanced at the examiners one by one. Xu Jie, a good old man who always had a smile, was rarely serious at this moment.
"Otherwise, be careful with your wealth and life! The Holy Emperor cannot tolerate sand in his eyes! Well, I believe that you are all fair people, so let's start recommending papers."
After Xu Jie finished speaking, he waved his hand to indicate that the examination marking for this session had officially begun.
The grading of the examination papers is the same as the grading of the provincial examination papers. The marking officers of each room have no decision-making power. They just circle the papers that they think are good and recommend them to the examiner. This is called a recommendation roll, commonly known as leaving the house. Those papers that are particularly outstanding and highly recommended are called 'highly recommended', while those papers that are not recommended by them are called 'failed papers'. The examiner must also write comments on these rejected papers, explaining the reasons for not recommending them.
If it becomes a recommended volume. The probability of being chosen is only five to six points. If the deputy examiner likes it, he will put the word "take" on the recommended paper and send it to the main examiner. If he gets the word "take", the probability increases to eight or nine points, and when the examiner finally likes it, . Then you will be able to pronounce the word "中" again. A Zhujuan will be regarded as a positive result after going through these procedures. Congratulations on graduating from high school.
The examination time is only about twelve days. In these short twelve days, each examiner has to read more than 500 papers. The cumulative number of papers for the three sessions is nearly 1,500. In such a rushed time, it is almost impossible to read all the papers for each session. Therefore, it gradually came to be that only the first test paper, that is, the "four books" that every candidate must write, was focused on, and the answer papers of other tests were not paid too much attention.
Of course, with the exception of this examination, they also have to pay special attention to the second test paper, because this test paper contains Qingci questions written by Emperor Jiajing.
While the examiner was busy marking the first test paper, the second test had already ended. This is the last exam left in this conference.
The test questions for this last exam were handed out in the expectant eyes of all the candidates. The candidates’ prayers throughout the night were not in vain. This last exam finally did not have any troubles like the second exam. This exam The test was the same as before, and it was also a test of the Five Classics and Histories.
The five questions in this exam were also quite satisfactory, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. After working hard to conceive Qingci, the candidates can finally breathe a sigh of relief and start answering the questions step by step.
The same goes for Zhu Pingan. The only difference is that he has one more mask than other candidates. Of course, he also has a historical understanding that surpasses them for hundreds of years, which is very helpful for the economics and history questions. If you stand high, you can naturally see far; if you can see far, you naturally have an advantage.
While Zhu Ping'an was working hard on his last exam, three large ships came to Tianjin Port along the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, which is mainly used for water transportation and commerce.
"Miss, where are we? Why are there so many ships? Wow, that ship is so big!"
A little maid with steamed buns appeared on the high pavilion of the big ship pavilion. She looked at the ships that were several miles away in front of Tianjin Port and pouted her mouth in surprise.
"It's rare and strange. That's a sea ship. This is the Tianjin Guard. Ships from all over the country carrying water to the capital must pass through here." Another beautiful girl appeared on the high pavilion of the ship pavilion, holding a book in her hand. The little maid tapped her forehead lightly and said coquettishly.
"Tianjin, aren't we about to go to the capital? Miss, I wonder if my uncle has finished the exam..." The fat little maid of Baozi covered her forehead with her hands, her big round eyes sparkling.
"Who has time to care about that toad?"
The beautiful girl flattened her lips and said angrily, then closed the book with her slender hands and walked to the pavilion.
Inside the scroll, a small corner of a carefully collected Wen Si Quan Yong Talisman was revealed. (To be continued.)
