As the sound of the exam starting spread in all directions, many petty officials quickly walked into the scene. They each performed their duties and began to distribute pens, inks, paper and inkstones.
Immediately, a small official held up a sign and handed out a scroll to each student without looking away.
Song Mu reached out to take the question paper, and printed his name on the paper he was responsible for recording, and then carefully opened the scripture and meaning test questions.
This year's examination questions may be difficult. Song Mu, who had listened to these remarks for a long time, looked at the paper in front of him and was inevitably a little excited at this moment.
As Song Mu slowly unfolded the question paper, the questions of the Jingyi Examination had already fallen into view.
At the first glance, Song Mu raised his eyebrows unconsciously, and was a little surprised by the many scripture questions listed above.
These are now all lyrical questions, and even the last one is no longer a cross-section question, but three sage words juxtaposed, making people discuss their meaning.
Confucius said: A benevolent person loves others. To deny oneself and restore propriety is benevolence. Filial piety and brotherhood are the foundation of human beings.
Mencius said: The people are the most valuable, the country is the second most important, and the king is the most important.
Duke Dong said: A country is a country of kings, and there is no one other than a king.
Song Mu was also stunned when he saw this situation. Although these three sentences were familiar, the meaning behind them was so confusing that it was difficult to write down.
Confucius, Mencius, and Dong Zhongshu are all representatives of Confucianism. To connect these three people, there are so many aspects, but what is the meaning of them?
What kind of discussion can explain the truth, and what exactly does the person who asked the question want to see?
Song Mu suddenly had an illusion in his heart, that is, this kind of question was not really meant to bring good luck to the exam, but to make everyone make a big mistake and fall hard.
Song Mu's thoughts were swirling for a while, but he felt that he could never grasp the key points. Even if he had only a general understanding, he would feel that the rest of the text was like a fog and he didn't know how to proceed.
Song Mu raised his head and looked outside. The sky had darkened. It darkened especially early in the cold winter night, and the cold wind suddenly blew up.
I don’t know if it’s the wind or the meaning of the scriptures that makes my hands and feet cold.
Song Mu roughly read through the questions in his hand, then put down the paper in his hand and prepared to eat something first.
This book of scriptures and meanings lasts for three full days, leaving you a lot of time to think, and you must not be careless.
At that moment, Song Mu opened the table, lit the stove next to the examination room door, and began to cook meat porridge. While cooking the porridge, he did not forget to think about the solution to the last question.
There were clattering sounds in the surrounding examination rooms at the moment, and many people had already lit candles, preparing to take advantage of this first night to make more things.
…
At the same time, in a pavilion in the Gongyuan, the place was brightly lit, and many officials in red robes were sitting inside, counting the candidates who entered today.
An old man with gray beard and hair and a red face was sitting on the main seat, drinking tea and waiting for everyone's report.
This person is Yan Fu, the examiner of this exam. He is now a hundred years old and has been an official for seventy years.
Today, Yan Fu no longer participates in government affairs, because his cultivation has stagnated, and he is mostly concentrating on exploring ways to go further.
It's just that this is an unusual state, and a breakthrough may require an opportunity, and Yan Fu has been thinking hard for many years to get it.
Therefore, Yan Fu also found himself a slightly easier job as the editor-in-chief of Tianwen Magazine.
This job is quite comfortable, and I can read articles from all over the literary dynasty every day, and feel the vitality of the world's literati students, which often makes Yan Fu very emotional.
It's just that at the beginning of this year, I was appointed as the examiner for this examination.
Yan Fu was an extremely orthodox civil servant, and had also served in the Ministry of Rites. Logically speaking, he was familiar with the imperial examination, but unexpectedly he had never been an examiner in any imperial examination.
It's not that I'm not knowledgeable, but that I don't temper my opinions. Later, due to changes in my official position, I never served as an imperial examiner.
As for why he has now become the examiner of this examination, Yan Fu is very clear in his heart.
Seven years ago, Tan Zhongye, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, who had been serving His Majesty in front of and behind the horse, was promoted to the right minister and became a true minister.
From that time on, the power struggle began. The left prime minister and the right prime minister seemed to be suddenly at odds with each other, and they were vaguely suspected of forming factions, and disputes continued.
But His Majesty seems to be very happy to see this situation, allowing it to grow wantonly and barbarically. Today, the left and right factions, each holding a lot of real power, are often at war with each other.
The chief examiner of this examination had already had some disputes, but it seemed that His Majesty did not want to believe them this time and actually thought of himself for some reason.
Yan Fu was not very happy about this. This kind of thing was not easy to do. He had no intention of officialdom, but now, he was forced to make some choices.
And this time, Xiang Tan's son seems to be among them. The boy himself has seen it. There should be no problem in reaching the realm, but how to rank may be a headache.
There is also a nephew of Feng Xiang...
Thinking of this, Yan Fu had a look of worry on his face, so he simply put down his tea cup and stood up.
"How is the arrangement going?"
Yan Fu asked the Gongyuan officials in front of him. These people quickly straightened up, and immediately an official came forward to report.
"My lord, there are a total of 5,432 candidates entering Gongyuan this time. After repeated inspections, there is nothing wrong."
As he said that, the other party handed over a roster, but Yan Fu did not take it. He just looked outside and asked.
"So how many students are taking the imperial exam this time, and how many students are taking the exam from the north and the south?"
"this……"
Several Gongyuan officials were stunned and hurriedly checked it before handing it over and saying.
"My lord, there are 174 people taking the examination at Imperial College, and students from the south account for... 70%."
Hearing this, Yan Fu nodded silently, but he was suddenly a little surprised in his heart.
Previously, several elders of the Ministry of Rites said that the south was talented. Later, the literary dynasty relied mostly on students from the south.
But this is not a good thing.
While Yan Fu was thinking this, he suddenly remembered something and asked several people again.
"Is there a student named Song Mu among them who is taking the exam?"
After hearing what Yan Fu said, an adult immediately came forward and nodded.
"The person you are talking about is Song Mu who was the leader of Jiangnan West Road two years ago? Now he is in the examination room, and his location is No. 380 Guiquan."
Yan Fu nodded and spoke immediately.
"This guy is really amazing. His poem about writing made me deeply touched at the beginning. I knew that this guy would have a bright future. Now he is only twenty years old and he is already famous all over the world. I will go to the exam this time. , but I don’t know how capable he is.”
Saying this, Yan Fu's heart moved, and he smiled and said to everyone.
"My lords, I see that it's getting late now, and we are going to have dinner. Why don't you come with me to the examination hall, and first take a look at the many students who have taken the examination in the thirty years since our literary dynasty has been a cultivator?"
All the officials looked at each other and nodded immediately.
So everyone filed out and walked into the Gongyuan examination room one after another.
When he arrived at the examination room, Yan Fu looked up and saw that the huge disk-shaped examination room in front of him was now dotted with lights, and there were many students writing furiously, and he couldn't help but nod.
"Let's go see Song Jieyuan first."
Yan Fu flicked his sleeves and led everyone forward.
…
