Zhuge Liang raised his eyes and looked at Sun Zhong.
He knew Sun Zhong.
Sun Zhong is a son of a peasant family. He was able to go to school because of the support of the imperial government's policy. The imperial government's policy provided them with subsidies and free meals, accommodation, and learning tools in exchange for their enrollment in school. Even so, every time when farming was busy, they also Go home and help with agricultural production.
Therefore, the academic performance of children from peasant families in prefecture schools is generally not as good as that of children from noble families, let alone keeping up with geniuses like Zhuge Liang.
However, they are generally hard-working, tenacious, and cherish the opportunity to learn.
Sun Zhong was a particularly outstanding farmer's boy, and he was very studious and eager to ask questions. Because Zhuge Liang was the number one, he often asked Zhuge Liang questions humbly.
Zhuge Liang was naturally happy to answer. After Sun Zhong was taught, he would salute and bring Zhuge Liang some agricultural products from home to express his gratitude. After going back and forth, Zhuge Liang remembered this taciturn and studious classmate.
Among the more than 900 people selected for the Xuzhou Prefectural Examination, most of them were children of the original gentry and wealthy landlords and wealthy businessmen. Although there were many children from peasant families, not many children passed the second round.
Sun Zhong ranked more than 200, and he was quite good among the farmers' children. Zhuge Liang paid attention to this classmate and felt that his future would be relatively bright.
However, Zhuge Liang did not know much about his origins and his experiences before entering the state school.
However, from these few words, Zhuge Liang could feel that this classmate must have suffered a lot and experienced many miserable things personally, which he could not imagine.
Zhang Yue seemed to know something inside, so he patted Sun Zhong on the shoulder and said nothing.
The atmosphere in the car became dull. It was not until they arrived at the new station in the evening that they could have dinner, and then they gradually regained their interest in joking.
After that, the journey was smooth and smooth, the official road was very stable, and the operation of the station was also very good. This group of candidates arrived in Luoyang without experiencing any setbacks. Compared with their group, which had to go through 9981 difficulties to reach Luoyang For our seniors, we are so lucky.
For example, Gao Shun, Mao Jie and others, one of them had to fight all the way to Luoyang with his guards, winning three battles and three victories, full of black humor, while the other became a refugee and almost lost his life trying to reach Luoyang.
Compared with these predecessors, the 10,000 candidates who arrived in Luoyang this time were extremely lucky and arrived safely. Of course, hundreds of people did get sick on the way and were delayed, but they were also properly cared for. heal.
At the end of the first month of the sixth year of Zhenguan, all the candidates arrived in Luoyang, and no one lost the qualification for the examination due to other reasons.
Liu Bei was very satisfied with this.
But what made him even more satisfied was that he saw some familiar names among some of the lists for this exam.
In this selection, the top ten in each state's examination were considered to have a high probability of passing the examination, so their lists were compiled and handed over to Liu Bei to let Liu Bei know who the 130 best students in the empire were. .
Then Liu Bei saw Pang Tong, Xu Shu, Deng Zhi, Dong He, Sima Yi, Liu Ba, Lu Su, and Lu Yi in these lists.
In addition, Liu Bei also unexpectedly saw the name that made his heart move.
Zhuge Liang.
Xuzhou is the leader in state examination.
Liu Bei then laughed loudly, and in the incomprehensible eyes of the people around him, he touched Zhuge Liang's name and sighed: "The heroes of the world have fallen into my lap!"
Zheng Xuan, who was reviewing the list, was very interested when he heard this.
"It's just a test, how can you be called a hero in the world? Your Majesty has already said it."
Liu Bei looked at Zheng Xuan and smiled: "Maybe, but I am really happy. One imperial examination can select so many outstanding talents. If we continue to examine the examination, we don't know how long it will take to discover so many heroes." ."
"Even so, you have recruited too many people."
Zheng Xuan smiled bitterly and said: "Recruiting three thousand people at a time, even if it is only one in a hundred, the number is still too many. Originally, one thousand people were enough. If there are three thousand people, the pressure on the court will be great."
"Fortunately, it's not too big. Compared to the people we need now, I even think three thousand people are insufficient."
Liu Bei shook his head and said: "Jiaozhou, Liaozhou, and several counties in the Western Regions are all in need of manpower. I am worried that there will be no more candidates after allocating too many capable manpower to fill them. Now there are so many excellent candidates. , of course we must seize the opportunity.
Judging from the current rate, the population of the Han Dynasty is constantly increasing, and the territory of the Han Dynasty is constantly expanding, so the number of officials needed will be larger. In addition, there are still many old officials who cannot keep up with the times and need to be eliminated. , then it will be even more necessary for new people to join to replace it. "
Zheng Xuan had nothing to object to.
"If you put it this way, these three thousand people do seem a bit insufficient..."
"You can't recruit too many people."
Liu Bei smiled and said: "It's almost one out of three people. If there is no urgent shortage of manpower, we really don't need so many people. We can take our time in the future. I think once every three years is appropriate. Unless the population of the Han Dynasty continues to increase, the territory If it continues to grow, it will indeed require a larger number of officials, let’s talk about that.”
"Well, that's fine."
Zheng Xuan nodded and said nothing more.
These days, in order to stand up for the last shift, Zheng Xuan has personally done the scientific examination matters. If he can do it himself, he will not let others do it. He is afraid that a little mistake will lead to the failure of this first imperial examination. trouble.
Even the troops and officials who need to maintain law and order in the examination hall and supervise candidates not to cheat during the examination period must be divided into three groups, one group per day, and the same group of people will not be allowed to stay in the examination hall for more than one day, so as to maximize the possibility of Avoid cheating.
Because they were fully prepared, after the candidates arrived in Luoyang, they were arranged to the candidates' dormitory not far from the examination hall.
The candidates' dormitory is also a brand-new building. It was built with a lot of money to support the examination room's supporting facilities, specifically for the use of candidates during the imperial examination.
Because the selection exam is in mid-February and the Jun exam is in early March, the final results will not be available until after mid-March, which means that the candidates will have to stay in Luoyang for at least two months.
Some candidates from poor families obviously did not have the financial resources to live alone in Luoyang for two months, so Liu Bei adopted Zheng Xuan's advice and built candidate dormitories specifically for candidates to live in Luoyang.
During the period of residence, as long as you are a candidate, you can eat and live in the candidate dormitory for free without paying.
Of course, if you feel that you are rich and want to go out to improve your life, of course you can, but it depends on your financial resources. Even if you go out to live a life of debauchery, as long as you bring enough money and do not violate the law, the court will control it. It's not very harsh either.
It can be said that the imperial court has considered the Shangluo candidates to the extreme, and their parents are no more than this.
On February 14th, the sixth year of Zhenguan, the second round of the first imperial examination was officially launched. The examination time was the same three days, and the candidates were not allowed to leave the examination hall for three consecutive days. They had to eat, sleep and rest in the examination hall. However, The equipment in the examination hall is much better than the crude equipment used in state examinations.
There are only classrooms for the state examination, and the examination hall where you choose to take the test is divided into single rooms. Each candidate has a small cubicle to use. The layout of the entire examination hall is based on Liu Bei’s reference to the Jiangnan Gongyuan in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The structure is built like small alleys.
When Zhuge Liang arrived at his own cubicle in the examination hall, he found that the equipment in the cubicle was quite interesting.
The first is a long-legged desk with stationery such as pens and inks needed for exams.
The height of the table almost reached Zhuge Liang's waist, which was obviously different from the table they were familiar with.
Then he discovered that there was a stone bed in the compartment with bed utensils on it. He looked carefully and found that the stone bed seemed to be solid and integrated with the entire compartment.
Only the part near the outside of the cubicle is a walking space. Walk a little further inside, and it's all beds.
The height of the desk matched the height of the bed. He sat on the stone bed and lifted the desk in front of him. He found that it was just suitable for writing at the desk and seemed to be more comfortable than ordinary desks.
Then he noticed that although the compartment was not wide, and he could almost touch both sides of the compartment with his open hands, the compartment was quite deep. He lay on the stone bed and found that with his relatively tall body, The length of this stone bed can also accommodate it well.
This is great for resting your head at night.
During state exams, sleeping is a big problem.
After almost all the candidates were in their seats, a group of examiners came and conveyed the examination rules to the candidates in batches.
The exam lasted for three days and thirty-six hours.
Candidates can answer questions within thirty-six hours after the exam is announced. During this period, they cannot leave the examination hall. They will have food and accommodation in the examination hall. If they have to leave due to emergencies, they need to obtain permission from the examiner, the Minister of Academic Affairs Zheng Xuan. Allowed and arranged accordingly.
Candidates’ food and water are provided by the Central School. Candidates do not need to prepare three meals a day. At each meal time, a dedicated person will deliver food to the candidate’s compartment. Candidates can get food and water without leaving the compartment. This is enough. Satisfied.
Therefore, candidates are not allowed to bring outside food and drinking water into the examination hall, regardless of whether they live around Luoyang City. Once discovered, their qualifications for the examination will be cancelled.
In addition, there are sufficient single-room toilets in the examination hall. If candidates need to use the toilet, they can request the examining examiner, who will personally take them to the toilet. Without the supervision of the examining examiner, candidates are not allowed to go to the toilet alone.
The examination center will provide curtains for night use to keep out the cold, but they must be opened during the day and must not be closed. Only after dark, if you are ready to rest, you can turn off the lights, close the curtains, and go to bed after obtaining permission from the patrol examiner. rest.
If candidates have any additional needs or special emergencies, they also need to contact the examining examiner, who will handle the matter in accordance with the examination regulations. Candidates must not act alone in any case, otherwise they will be disqualified from the examination.
There are more than ten rules in total. The examination rules can be said to be very strict and full of taboos. If you are not careful, you will be disqualified from the examination.
And it depends on the situation. If the situation is serious, you may lose the qualification for the next or next two imperial examinations. If you cheat, you will permanently lose the qualification to participate in the imperial examination.
It can be said that precautions have been taken, and the punishment regulations have reached the maximum level. If something goes wrong, the candidates may lose their future at any time.
So even Zhuge Liang seriously memorized the rules of the imperial examination and followed them carefully to prevent the boat from capsizing in the gutter.
After the examiners read out the examination rules, they began to distribute the examination papers to the candidates with the assistance of the Central Forbidden Army. The candidates will receive six examination papers that need to be answered and ten pieces of scratch paper for calculation. If the number is not enough, they can Apply to the inspector.
In the same way, the same is true for pen and ink, and the same is true for the candles needed for night lighting.
Zhuge Liang sat in the examination cubicle and quickly got his six test papers and ten calculation papers. After the examining examiner left, he picked up the test papers and began to review the questions.
After flipping through the six test papers, he found that the content of the selected test was different from the state test.
The test questions of the state examination are like a question and answer game between the examinee and the examiner. All questions have standard answers, whether they are difficult, simple, complicated, or concise. No matter what, there are standard answers. It is an assessment of knowledge reserve.
As long as there are standard answers, it is possible to get full marks.
The selection process is different.
The optional exam also has basic knowledge questions and answers in various subjects, but the number is smaller and more in-depth questions, and the proportion of agriculture and astronomy and geography is relatively large. There are fewer purely academic questions and more questions related to Practical questions.
For example, the manpower, material resources, and financial resources required for road construction, as well as the deployment of personnel and materials and the calculation of employees' daily material expenditures, break down a government affairs that court officials may encounter into many detailed steps. Standard quantities of materials are given, and candidates are required to answer questions about material allocation.
For these questions, Zhuge Liang saw at a glance that this was definitely not a simple knowledge question and answer, but required the candidates to make plans as a responsible official and ask his subordinates to implement them.
During the state examination, it can be regarded as a question and answer game between the examinee and the examiner. However, the selection examination has advanced to the professional ability of an official. The candidates need to answer questions with the mentality of a responsible official and give correct answers. s answer.
Of course, Zhuge Liang also knew very well that there were too many uncertain factors in actual operations. The questions on the test paper were as close to reality as possible, but the actual problem was far more difficult than a math question on the test paper.
This understanding is mainly because Zhuge Liang's brother Zhuge Jin encountered some things that left people speechless.
(End of chapter)
