Being able to take the test is no less than going to jail.
The examination room of Gongyuan is called "Hao She", and each examinee has one room.
The number house is three feet wide, four feet long and six feet high. More than one square meter is limited.
In this space of just over one square meter, candidates not only have to rack their brains to write beautiful articles, but they also have to solve the problem of eating, drinking, sleeping and sleeping.
Let’s talk about eating first.
Candidates need to bring their own food, which will not be provided by Gongyuan.
In the Ming Dynasty, there were poor scholars, but there were absolutely no poor people.
Even if the poor rats in your family walk by with tears in their eyes, as long as you win the election, there will be people who will "donate" their fields, properties, gifts, and daughters to be your concubines or maids.
These people usually eat hot and spicy food, but when they get to the Gongyuan examination room, they can only eat pot helmets or fried rice and boiled water.
Nine days. Only by bringing your own food such as pot helmets and fried rice that are not perishable or prone to diarrhea can you ensure the successful completion of the three exams.
Let’s talk about sleep.
There is a wooden board in the dormitory that can be put down to sleep. But the total length of the dormitory is four feet. When you lie down to sleep, you have to curl up into a prawn.
Almost all candidates will choose to sleep on the table.
After sleeping for eight nights in a row, no matter how healthy you are, you will suffer from back pain.
Next is drinking.
Gongyuan places a bucket in each cell. Buglers will help fill the buckets every day.
Candidates wash their faces and drink water every day, all relying on this bucket of water.
Of course, Gongyuan provides boiled water. To prevent the elites of the empire from having diarrhea due to drinking raw water and failing to complete the exam.
Finally there is Ra and Sarah.
There is a pail in the dormitory. Shit and pee all in the bucket. As a result, the entire Gongyuan became stinky in spring.
Buglers push the dung cart at Mao hour every day and come to help empty the buckets.
Experienced candidates will hold in their stool for a whole day and wake up early to have a bowel movement near midnight. This will save you the smell of room number one day and even the smell of your answer sheet.
Chang Feng has passed the joint examination three times. This is the fourth time he has participated in the joint examination. He is full of experience.
At nine o'clock on the second day of the first game, he stuck out his butt and accurately pulled a lump of cake into the bucket.
It didn't take long for the bugler to pour the bucket.
Chang Feng thought: As the ancients said, if heaven entrusts a person with a great responsibility, he must first work hard on his mind, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, and deplete his body.
There are still eight days left. Just take your time.
Originally, Chang Feng answered the questions smoothly. The last question on classics and meanings handed out on the third day of the first session gave him a hard time.
This question is tricky and weird. Chang Feng simply didn't know how to solve the problem or carry it through.
If you don’t know how to answer, you can’t hand in a blank paper.
Turning in a blank paper is a matter of attitude. Once you hand in the blank paper, you will lose your qualifications.
I can only bite the bullet and answer the questions in neat handwriting.
Chang Feng spent an hour and cobbled together an essay on the meaning of the scriptures.
He comforted himself: I can't answer such a tricky and weird question, and I'm afraid not many others can.
For the seven questions in the first session, candidates will write seven essays accordingly. Write on seven answer sheets. Counts as one answer sheet.
In the evening, buglers came to collect the papers.
In the next two and final six-day exams, Chang Feng felt that his performance was average. It seems that this time he will lose his reputation again.
He admired those old candidates who frequently took exams in seven or eight subjects.
There was a top-ranking scholar in the last subject who was over sixty years old. The examination took eleven subjects for a total of thirty-three years.
From a heroic young man, he has become a gray-haired old man. Finally got a title on the gold list.
In order to commend the perseverance of the old Jinshi, Emperor Hongzhi made an exception and allowed him to enter the Hanlin Academy as an academic official. Of course, he was also afraid that he would be old and dim and be sent out to serve as a county magistrate, which would harm the people of the county.
All in all, the imperial examination was like a carrot tied to the eyes of scholars through dynasties.
The carrot is the running head of the donkey. With Bentou, the donkey will not rebel.
The gong finally rang after the test.
Chang Feng left the Beijuan Room. On the long walk leading to Longmen, he met Wang Shouren who came out of the Nanjuan Room.
Although Wang Shouren lived in the capital with his father, because his ancestral home was in Zhejiang, he took the provincial examination in Zhejiang, so he was a candidate from southern China. So what he did was Southern Volume.
The questions in the second and third exams of the Southern and Northern Volumes are different, but the questions on book meaning and classic meaning in the first exam are the same.
Chang Feng complained: "Brother Wang, isn't the fourth question of Jingyi too tricky and weird?"
Wang Shouren echoed: "I'm afraid it will take two or three days of searching ancient books to figure out how to solve the problem and succeed in it."
"But brother Chang, don't worry. I estimate that there are only a few of the thousands of Southern and Northern exams who can do this question well."
Suddenly, Chang Feng heard the conversation between the two men with southern accents.
"Brother Tang, how did you do in the exam?"
"It's a piece of cake to pick out things from a bag. Being able to try and pull a tribute, isn't it just something you have the skills to do?"
"That's that. Brother Tang's talent is unparalleled in the world."
"Ha, to put it bluntly, you can do it even if you know how to test the Pugong dog."
Chang Feng heard that these two people were talking very wildly, so he deliberately walked quickly in front of them and looked back at them.
Those two people were Tang Yin and Xu Jing.
Of course, Chang Feng didn't know them yet.
After nine days of hard work in the Gongyuan, the exams were finally finished. Naturally, they wanted to have a party and have a wild time.
The gathering after the examination was very much like the social season for foreigners.
People from all over the world gather together to eat, drink, get to know each other, and expand their connections.
Even if you fail the exam, it would be great to know a few more candidates.
Maybe after losing his reputation, he would go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to hang up his name and wait for the "big selection" of candidates. In the future, everyone would be destined to be a minor official in the same place. There's no harm in making friends in advance.
Chang Feng returned to his house and slept for a day and a night to catch up on his sleep.
The commander, Mou Bin, sent someone to tell him that he would try hard. Let Chang Feng rest for three days before returning to Weili as an errand.
It is rare to be idle in the constant wind. In the back garden, I watched my wife Liu Xiaoyan teach her 13-year-old son Chang Ponu archery.
Chang Po Nu follows his mother and has superb shooting skills. The arrow hit the bullseye.
Grandfather Liu Bingyi, who was holding a fishing rod by the pond, complained that the bastard didn't take the bait today.
Chang Ponu walked directly to the pond, drew his bow and stringed it, and aimed at the water.
"Whoosh!" The arrow cluster was released. An unlucky tortoise was hit in the middle, and the arrow penetrated the tortoise's shell.
Liu Bingyi exclaimed: "Grandson, you are so talented!"
Chang Feng also said: "It's amazing. I've only heard of someone who can walk through a poplar with a hundred steps. Today I saw my son walk through a turtle with a hundred steps."
Experts watch the excitement, while laymen watch the door. Liu Xiaoyan said: "It is much more difficult to penetrate a turtle than a poplar. The turtle swims, and the water surface reflects its shadow."
"If Zhuangzhuang joins the army in the future, he will definitely be as good as a flying general."
At this moment, Huang Yuan led Wang Shouren over excitedly.
Huang Yuandao: "Brother, tonight the undergraduate candidates are holding a wine and poetry party in Hongbin Building. You can come with us."
Chang Feng asked: "Today's imperial examinations are serving wine. Why are you, a high-ranking scholar, joining in the fun?"
Huang Yuandao: "Tang Yin, the leader of the four great talents in the south of the Yangtze River, will also go. Brother Shouren and I will go to pay homage to him."
Chang Feng burst into laughter: "Is this the Tang Yin who wrote the limerick 'It's better to go home and play with my wife'?"
Wang Shouren nodded: "It's him! Not only is he good at poetry, but he is also unique in the south of the Yangtze River in his craftsmanship. Last year, he was in Yingtian Township to try Jieyuan."
"It shouldn't be a problem for him to be a bachelor."
Liu Xiaoyan said from the side: "Tonight, there will be two tables at home. One table is for dad and his former colleagues, and the other table is for me and several good wives."
"There is no place for you at home. You go out to drink, write poetry, and relax."
Chang Feng is also idle when he is idle. Then he agreed.
At night, Hongbin Tower.
The upper and lower floors have been taken over by the descendants. There were more than thirty tables seated. There is also a poetry contest platform set up in the center of the hall on the first floor.
Chang Feng sat at the same table as Wang Shouren and Huang Yuan.
Opposite them, Tang Yin and Xu Jing sat.
Wang Shouren pointed with his hand: "Look, Brother Chang, that man is Tang Yin, the leader of the four great talents in Jiangnan."
Chang Feng glanced at it and said with a smile: "Ha, this is not the same person who said when he finished the test yesterday that he could do it even with dogs, as long as he had hands."
Wang Shouren said: "Brother Chang, Tang Yin is famous for being crazy in Jiangnan. But his madness is supported by great talents."
All the people gathered around the table, changing cups and cups, and making friends with each other.
Chang Feng did not dare to admit his name. He was afraid that his reputation as the Butcher of Jinyiwei would scare the people and ruin the relaxed atmosphere after the exam. He falsely claimed that he was "the leader of Northern Zhili".
After three rounds of wine, the five flavors of food are gone. Everyone began to compose poems, comment on poems, and compare poems.
It happened to be a spring rain outside the restaurant.
One of the candidates suggested: "How about we take rain as the theme today?"
All the people responded one after another.
Chang Feng was pushed to the poetry competition stage by Huang Yuanqiang.
Chang Feng was pushed to the shelf by his brother-in-law. He usually doesn't like to write poetry very much, and only studies the eight-legged writing.
He had no choice but to pick up a pen and write a five-character poem.
"The Emperor's favor is as deep as the sea, and all the vegetation is alive."
"The rain moistens the universe, and Tianchou recommends abundant nourishment."
"The emperor is benevolent and the country is vast."
"Everyone in the universe celebrates together, and auspicious clouds fill the sky."
Since Cangjie coined Chinese characters, articles have been like people.
Chang Feng, the leader of the Imperial Guard, was the emperor's domestic slave, and he couldn't help praising the emperor even when he wrote poems.
If this poem were submitted to a poetry contest held by Jiangnan literati, it would definitely be ridiculed.
But it was considered appropriate to get it to a poetry competition held in Beijing. After all, everyone is struggling to enter the official career and bathe in the emperor's favor.
In this poetry competition, there are grades A, B, C, D, E, etc.
After a public discussion, Chang Feng was given a B grade. It's considered above average.
In later generations of parties, the biggest star will always be the last to appear. The Spring Festival Gala is the finale of Grandma Li Guyi.
The same goes for the poetry contest held by Ming literati.
Tonight's protagonist, Tang Yin, was the last one to attend the poetry competition.
Tang Yin has drunk too much. Walking swayingly, he picked up the pen, splashed ink, and wrote a poem "A pruning of plum blossoms, pear blossoms in the rain and the door is closed behind closed doors".
"The rain beats the pear blossoms behind closed doors, and you are living up to your youth."
"Who cares about pleasure? I am ecstatic under the flowers, and ecstasy under the moon."
"The eyebrows are full of sorrow, and there are thousands of crying marks, and tens of thousands of crying marks."
"Looking at the sky at dawn and the clouds at dusk, I think of you when I walk and when I sit down."
After finishing writing this poem and hanging it up, there was silence in Hongbin Tower.
Every man longs for a beautiful woman to fall in love with him. When we get together, we feel "ecstasy under the flowers and ecstasy under the moon."
When parting, "I miss you when I walk, and I miss you when I sit."
Tang Yin's words resonated with everyone.
After a brief silence, praises for Tang Yin filled the restaurant.
"Brother Tang deserves to be the first of the four great talents in the south of the Yangtze River! His literary talent is indeed outstanding!"
"I think in this subject, Brother Tang will definitely be nominated for the apricot list and even be on the gold list!"
"Brother Tang's poem, if it gets to the Jiaofang Division, it will definitely be the most widely sung poem in the capital this year!"
"What a great talent! I am truly lucky to be able to drink with Brother Tang today."
Tang Yin returned to his seat proudly.
At the end of the poetry competition, people held a public discussion and found that Tang Yin's poems far exceeded those of A, B, C, D, Wu, etc. So it was designated as super.
The shopkeeper of Hongbinlou knows how to market. I gave a fortune of one hundred taels to Tang Yin, hoping that his handwritten words could be given to the restaurant and framed and hung.
Tang Yin was disrespectful.
Literary people don't actually hate money.
To use an analogy. For future generations of Internet writers, if readers are willing to spend money on what I write, it means that what I write has a certain value.
Some old men and women who write traditional literature always feel that they can win the Nobel Prize for Literature. You can't make money because all readers in the world are illiterate and vulgar.
I write just for art, not to make money.
Then the association held a meeting, and the old men and women licked their faces and asked the young Internet writers: How to make money online by posting
Back to business.
The poetry contest is over. Everyone had drunk enough wine, and everyone looked drunk.
Everyone began to discuss the apricot list and predict their own rankings.
Wang Shouren said to Chang Feng: "I should be able to enter the apricot list in this examination."
Chang Feng sighed: "I guess I'm still famous. Alas, I'm used to it."
At this moment, Tang Yin suddenly jumped onto the wine table.
Sure enough, madmen are running wild!
Tang Yin said loudly: "Don't say anything, everyone. It must be me, Tang Yin, who will be the first person in the undergraduate program!"
Everyone was stunned!
Hui Yuan is the best at testing!
The examination is a competition between the elites among the imperial scholars.
Before the list of Gongsheng students is announced, claiming to be on the apricot list is just self-confidence.
Claiming to be number one on the apricot list is either arrogant or there is something fishy in the exam!
At this moment, everyone felt that Tang Yin was so arrogant that he spoke arrogantly.
After all, they have crazy capital.
Chang Feng whispered to his brother-in-law Huang Yuan: "This talented man from the Tang Dynasty should learn to clean his mouth. If the apricot list is announced, he really becomes a Huiyuan. That will be an unexplainable trouble."
Huang Yuan smiled and said: "How can it be such a coincidence? He was supposed to be trying to solve the Yuan in Ying Tianxiang, and if he wins the Hui Yuan, he will win two Yuan in a row."
"Winning two yuan in a row requires not only world-famous talent. It also requires the luck of breathing fire from ancestral graves."
Chang Feng said: "That's right. It's getting late. I'll go back to my house and see how your sister-in-law is doing, whether she's winning or losing."
Chang Feng broke up with Huang Yuan and Wang Shouren and returned home.
Liu Xiaoyan is simply a girl who spreads her wealth. I spent a night playing Ma Diao and lost more than two hundred taels of silver.
Chang Feng didn't take it seriously. The hemp hanging table set up by the noble ladies is the best place for gathering intelligence. The lost money should be used as money to buy information.
Let’s talk about the father-in-law’s table next door. Liu Bingyi killed everyone and won three to four hundred taels of silver. It made up for Liu Xiaoyan's shortfall.
At the same time, the lobby of the Ministry of Etiquette.
Cheng Minzheng was reviewing the papers overnight with eight marking officers.
Until dawn, the intense grading finally ended.
The examiners began to count the number of circles, triangles, slashes, vertical bars, and crosses on the papers to determine the ranking.
Cheng Minzheng was complacent. The tricky and weird questions he asked this time really played a role in selecting the most talented people.
Only two candidates scored nine full circles on this question.
These two candidates were also the ones who answered the rest of the test questions most satisfactorily. It should be the first and second place on this apricot list.
Finally came the exciting stage of name-dropping.
Cheng Minzheng was curious, is the first place his most valued Ying Tian Juren Tang Yin?
If it is him, it proves that we, Old Cheng, have the ability to recognize people.
The names of the top ten papers will be torn up by the examiner himself.
Cheng Minzheng first tore up the name of the tenth place: Wang Shouren.
Cheng Minzheng smiled and said: "Everyone, the tenth place in the undergraduate examination is actually Wang Shouren, the son of Wang Hua, the scholar's family."
"Wang Shouren is famous in Beijing, but he failed in two subjects. This time he was finally nominated on the apricot list."
"It can be seen that there is no limit to learning, and there will always be some ups and downs. If the green mountains cannot cover it, it will always flow eastward!"
An examiner echoed: "What Cheng Budang said is absolutely true. When Wang Shouren came to power six years ago, Li Cifu asked him to compose a poem called "Ode to the Number One Scholar."
"I wonder if Wang Shouren can come out on top in the next palace examination and use the "Ode to the Number One Scholar"."
"If this is true, the examination room will also have a good story about perseverance and the ability to carve gold and stone."
Cheng Minzheng shook his head slightly: "I don't think he will be the number one winner. He only got three circles for the fourth classic question."
"The top pick should be among the first two papers. I want to see who these two extraordinary talents are."
Cheng Minzheng tore up his name seven more times.
Finally only the first and second were left.
He took a deep breath and revealed the second name: Xu Jing.
Cheng Minzheng remembered that Tang Yin had mentioned it to him. This trip to Beijing was thanks to a man named Xu Jing who took care of me all the way.
A smile appeared on Cheng Minzheng's face, and he thought to himself: As the sage said, fish looks for fish, shrimp looks for shrimp, and turtle looks for a big tortoise.
Being able to walk with the most talented person in the south of the Yangtze River means that this person is also a person with great talent and learning.
If you can answer my fourth question on the meaning of scriptures well, it seems that you deserve to be ranked second in the test.
Then, he took a deep breath and tore away the name of the first place.
Cheng Minzheng looked at the name and shouted: "This boy is a genius of the world! He has a path to become a prime minister!"
An examiner asked: "Cheng Butang, who is the first person to make you so amazed?"
Cheng Minzheng replied with a smile: "Tang Yin! Yingtian was elected to Tang Yin! This son Yingtian was the first to win the title of Jieyuan in the provincial examination. Now he has been promoted to Huiyuan. Maybe he will win the first prize in the palace examination!"
"In ancient and modern times, there were two consecutive winners of the Three Yuan Dynasties in the Tang Dynasty. There were six in the Song Dynasty. In this dynasty, there is only one, Wen Yi Gong Shang Lu."
"If Tang Yin can win three yuan in a row, this dynasty will have one more good story!"
In fact, there is another person who won three yuan in the Ming Dynasty, Huang Guan.
Huang Guan is not only winning three yuan in a row. He is also the only "Six No. 1 Scholar" who has ranked first in the county examination, prefecture examination, hospital examination, township examination, general examination and palace examination since the imperial examination was launched in the Tang Dynasty.
It's a pity that Huang Guan was in the wrong team and threw himself into the river to die as Emperor Wen. After Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, his imperial examination achievements were removed.
All the examiners quickly started to flatter Cheng Minzheng.
"Hey, Cheng Butang is the chief examiner of the general examination. If you can really select a talented person who wins three yuan in a row, the emperor will definitely issue a decree to praise you!"
"I think it won't take long for Cheng Butang to be promoted to Chunguan Zhengtang. It won't take more than a year or two for him to join the cabinet!"
Cheng Minzheng smiled and stroked his beard. He was very pleased with the flattery of his subordinates.
He thought to himself: Only a person like me who has a keen eye and knows talents is worthy of becoming the prime minister.
It won't be long before Cheng Minzheng can no longer laugh.
The day the results are released.
Chang Feng made an appointment with Wang Shouren and came to the gate of Gongyuan to look at the list.
After the tedious etiquette was over, the apricot list was announced.
Chang Feng is still the same, looking for his name from the back. In the list of 300 tributes, I have read 2890 names, but the word "Changfeng" is still missing.
Suddenly, Wang Shouren beside him shouted: "Oh, okay, I got it!"
Chang Feng took a closer look and saw Wang Shouren ranking tenth on the apricot list!
Wang Shouren repeated excitedly: "Oh, okay, I won!"
Although he was very excited about the imperial examination, Wang Shouren was still very excited when it came time to name his name on the apricot list.
"Pah!" Chang Feng gave Wang Shouren a big blow directly.
Then he roared: "Beast, what did you hit?"
Wang Shouren was stunned! A pair of big confused eyes looked at his friend Chang Feng.
It's too late, but it's soon. Chang Feng gave Wang Shouren another big dick "Pah!"
Then Chang Feng asked Wang Shouren with a fierce look on his face: "Your fucking name is Wang Shouren, right?"
At this time, Wang Shouren was really in a state of confusion under the tree, and I was the only one under the tree.
A smile appeared on Chang Feng's face: "Brother Wang, congratulations! I slapped your big ears, I learned it from Baozi when Huang Yuan passed the exam."
"I'm afraid that if you are happy for a moment, your mind will be confused by the phlegm. So I'll scare you first."
Wang Shouren suddenly realized: "Ah, so that's it! Brother Chang, have you found your name? I'm going to slap you twice too."
Chang Feng took another look at the apricot list and scanned the top ten. There is no one named Chang among the top ten.
Chang Feng smiled bitterly: "It seems that you have no chance to slap me. Come on, even in the four subjects, I failed."
"In a few days, I'll go to the etiquette department and ask how many circles are missing this time."
Wang Shouren comforted Chang Feng: "Brother Chang, don't be disappointed. You have accumulated a lot of experience, and you will definitely succeed in the next subject."
The famous candidates on the list were all overjoyed.
The candidates who failed the exam were whispering.
"Oh my God. Huiyuan is really Tang Yin! The second one is Tang Yin's good friend Xu Jing. Isn't this a coincidence?"
"Ah! I understand!"
"Understand what?"
"No need to ask! There is fraud in this subject's examination! How could Tang Yin know that he was Huiyuan before the apricot list was announced?"
"Yes, yes! Fraud! It must be fraud. Xu Jing is like Tang Yin's follower. Ranking second is definitely not a coincidence."
Since ancient times, human nature has been to hate others and laugh at others.
I didn't pay tribute, so there must be fraud. The candidates who failed the exam all had this mentality.
Chang Feng frowned when he heard these gossips. It seems that Jin Yiwei is coming to work!
There was chaos in front of the Gongyuan Gate.
There were only three hundred tribute soldiers. There are more than 3,000 failed candidates.
They started chanting: "Cheating on the exam! Retake the exam! Retake the exam!"
There was a brave man who actually tore up the apricot list.
The Ministry of Rites was helpless. They had to ask the Five Cities Military and Horse Division to send one or two thousand soldiers to maintain the situation. Otherwise, the failed candidates will surely destroy the Gongyuan.
When the examiner Cheng Minzheng saw this scene, he broke out in a sweat: "How could things become like this?"
Tang Yin shouted: "I didn't cheat!"
A group of failed candidates surrounded him, and they were about to punch him when he spoke.
Xu Jing was more clever and picked up Tang Yin and ran away. It's a pity that the leader of the four great talents in Jiangnan was reduced to a rat that everyone shouted at in front of the Gongyuan Gate.
Morning next day.
The young Hu Ke was the first to report to Zhonghua Chang, and he participated in the impeachment of Cheng Minzheng for cheating and leaking the issue. Tang Yin, Xu Jing and other crazy boys cheated on the questions.
Hua Chang, the sound of "Chang" is the same as the "shovel" in "Xianjia shovel".
This man was a Jinshi in the ninth year of Hongzhi. Young and energetic. Because he was an official, he always wanted to become a big shot and become famous in the science and technology.
Now that he knew such a big scandal, he worked hard and vowed to take down Cheng Minzheng.
If you can defeat the six officials in the job, you will leave a mark on your resume.
Emperor Hongzhi frowned after hearing Hua Chang's report.
Among the emperors of the past dynasties, except for the faint emperor, which one did not pay attention to the ceremony of promoting talents in the court?
Now such a scandal has occurred in the Talent Recruitment Ceremony. Being recorded in the history books will cast a shadow over the prosperous times of Hongzhi.
Emperor Hongzhi said: "I was extremely surprised when I heard what Hua Aiqing said. Li Dongyang, the second assistant to the cabinet, together with the bachelors of the Hanlin Academy and the commander of the Imperial Guard Zuo Tongzhi Changfeng, re-read the examination papers to find out the matter."
This imperial edict has a deep meaning.
Emperor Hongzhi believed that he knew how to know and employ people. If he didn't trust Cheng Minzheng, he wouldn't have entrusted him with the important task of opening a subject to obtain a scholarship.
Deep down in his heart, Emperor Hongzhi did not believe that Cheng Minzheng had cheated by leaking the news.
So he asked Cheng Minzheng's good friend Li Dongyang to investigate the matter, so as to avoid the trouble-making officials from falsely accusing Cheng Minzheng.
But he couldn't completely rest assured. So Chang Feng, the leader of the domestic slaves, was asked to participate in the investigation.
(End of chapter)
