When Gao Pragmatic was confused because Gu Xiancheng criticized Xinxue at the banquet, Shen Shixing, the examiner of the Gengchen Examination, was also confused. After seven consecutive days of grading, Shen Shixing and other examiners followed the rules and stayed in Gongyuan without ever stepping out of the gate. As of today, all the Chinese-style examination papers have been selected, and now it is the most critical moment of ranking.
But the problem lies in the rankings.
The ranking in the general examination does not actually affect the final ranking after the palace examination, because the final ranking is the exclusive power of the emperor, and only Zhu Yijun can make the decision. However, the ranking in the imperial examination is still an important qualification for a scholar. After the palace examination, the Ministry of Rites will compile an undergraduate Jinshi record, and the imperial examination ranking will be included in the Jinshi register.
What's more, the emperor may not read all the more than 300 Jinshi examination papers one by one. He usually looks at them based on the rankings. Then the rankings of the examinations will also affect the emperor's judgment, so he will decide the list on a trial basis. Still incredibly important.
In particular, the selection of Huiyuan is a top priority.
The source of Shen Shixing's current dilemma is the two examination papers, both of which have the ability to aspire to become the Huiyuan.
The fellow examiners were also arguing, and one said, "The meaning of this volume is better than the diction, and the words are shocking, so it should be regarded as a Hui Yuan."
Another said, "This volume analyzes innocence like a cook dissecting an ox. If you read it carefully, you can't help but become intoxicated."
Shen Shixing was so noisy by them that his brain ached. After a while, he couldn't help but said, "You'll just have to wait." Then he said to Pan Sheng, the Minister of Rites, who was holding two transcripts and looking carefully at them, "Pan Gong, you are always a scholar. Senior Xuedao, what do you think of these two articles?"
Pan Sheng slowly put down the two test papers, closed his eyes and thought for a while, then twirled his beard and muttered, "You can tell a good article at a glance, but if you want to distinguish between two good articles, you must savor them carefully." If you just look at the article at first glance, it is true that the first part is better because of the higher quality of the article, while the second part is better for the analysis. The two seem to be on par.”
Pan Sheng showed off his 20-year Jiajing gold list second place qualifications. Although his tone was light, everyone was a top student, so it was natural to hear that he thought he could tell the difference, so they all stared at Pan Sheng to see what he was going to do. What to do.
Pan Sheng himself was a top scholar in his early years, and he worked as a minister of the Ministry of Rites several times. It took many years in total. Naturally, he was not afraid to discuss knowledge. He said calmly, "But if you read it carefully, you will find that although the first volume has high meaning, it has gradually faded at the end of the article." Although the second volume focuses on analysis, the end of the article conceals a high meaning.
The former is like a flying dragon in the sky, and its power is majestic, but the power of a powerful dragon can never be stopped. The latter is like a hidden dragon in the abyss. Although it is under the Nine Netherworld, there are hidden opportunities, so in the end it is like a trapped dragon ascending to the sky. The superiority and inferiority have been judged.”
Pan Sheng stood out as a senior here. When everyone heard that he spoke so clearly and eloquently, they couldn't help but be impressed and thought to themselves, "Younger is still hotter when you are old, why didn't I see such a big difference?"
Only Shen Shixing was a little confused. Although Pan Sheng was Jiajing's predecessor for 20 years and came from second place, he was an absolute authoritative figure in every aspect, but his Shen Shixing was not bad either. He was Shen. He was the number one scholar in the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing reign, and he won the first place after the palace examination, beating Xi Jue, the Yuan King of the Academy of Sciences. Why didn't he see that the first chapter had the danger of overpowering the dragon and regretting it, and the second chapter was about trapping the dragon and ascending to heaven? state
I read it very carefully.
Shen Shixing frowned deeply and picked up the two articles again and compared them carefully.
Pan Sheng glanced at him and secretly thought that although the two articles were so clear for a while, it was impossible to tell them apart, but the former one was from the Candidates' Benjing, and the second one was from the Candidates' Benjing. Obviously, the latter was the boy of the Gao family. His work is what I promised Zhang Xueyan and Wei Xuezeng, and it cannot be ruined by Shen Shixing.
So Pan Sheng coughed lightly and said calmly, "Yaoquan, since ancient times, there has been no first in Yun Wen, and no second in Wu Wen. These two works are both excellent works. It is rare to be able to distinguish them by just a hair. "
Shen Shixing originally wanted to compare, but when he heard what Pan Sheng said, he suddenly came to his senses, thought for a moment, and nodded thoughtfully, "What Mr. Pan said is true. It is really not easy to compare two such magnificent articles. It only takes a few days to complete the trial reading volume. How can we delay how to determine the ranking? We have our own reasons. In this case, we will follow what Pan Gong said as a comment on these two volumes and determine the Tibetan characters. Volume 49 is Huiyuan, what do you think?"
The examiners had been arguing about the dispute for nearly two hours, and indeed they could no longer argue. Seeing that the chief examiner and the deputy examiner had reached a consensus, there was no room for other people's objections, and they all immediately expressed their agreement.
Shen Shixing then started to write and signed and wrote comments at the end of the volume. Then Pan Sheng wrote again, the room master wrote again, Zhigong Zhiguan wrote again, the promotion officer wrote again, and the supervisor wrote again, and then he signed ** names. It can be regarded as the final volume of Gengchen Huiyuan Zangzi No. 49
At this time, all the papers had been ranked. Shen Shixing, in front of all the invigilators and marking officials, took a deep breath and announced, "The papers for the Spring Examination of Wanli Eighth Gengchen Branch have been completed. Each official unsealed the papers and made them in detail." The list is still made and published to the world."
The officials had been working tirelessly in the Gongyuan for nearly a month, and this was considered the last moment. They couldn't help but loudly agree, celebrating that they had finally completed another wave of qualifications and would be "released after serving their sentences". The atmosphere was very warm.
Senior Pan Sheng also stood up and said with a smile, "As usual, you can take a look at the list at this time. This department is also very interested in the authors of the two articles just now. It's just a good time to see who they are and what they are capable of. Yaoquan has written such a beautiful article, you should read it together."
Shen Shixing twisted his beard and said with a smile, "Shi Xing has exactly what he meant. I am willing to share the reward with Mr. Pan."
So he ordered someone to bring in the ink scroll, open the seal, and reveal the candidate's name, place of origin, three generations of fathers, brothers, and other information on the top of the ink scroll.
Pan Sheng was anxious, so he took the Tibetan calligraphy volume No. 49 and took a look. There were three big characters written in front of his head: Gao pragmatism.
In the two lines below it, one side reads the official registration of Xinzheng County, Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan Province, and the other side reads the character "Zhi Zhouyi" with the character "Qiuzhen Xing" born on the 26th of May in the 18th year of the new year.
On the line further to the left are written the three characters Zeng Zukui. Below it is written in small characters that Chenghua Bingwu imperial examination candidate was awarded the bachelor of Zhongjidian, Zhuguo Shaoshi.
Under it are three characters: Zu Shangxian. Below it is written in small characters that Zhengde Gengwu Branch Jieyuan, Zhengde Dingchou Branch Jinshi, and Zhuguo Shaoshi's Zhongjidian bachelor's degree are presented.
The two big characters at the bottom are "father". Below it is written in small characters the general magistrate of Fengyang Prefecture and the magistrate of Shouzhou.
Pan Sheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that fortunately I had a good eye and didn't guess wrong on the paper.
Then he looked towards Shen Shixing with a smile. Shen Shixing looked calm, but sighed slightly, but he didn't know what he was sighing for.
Pan Sheng was satisfied that the matter was settled, and he said with a smile, "Since he has a great family background and is known as a child prodigy, it is not surprising that he has such a good article. No wonder, no wonder."
Shen Shixing had a smile on his face, but he couldn't see any emotion or anger. He said calmly, "This makes sense." Then he said, "Let's take a look at the other volume."
Pan Sheng didn't want to be obviously biased. He smiled and called the other examiners, "Here, take another paper and take a look."
Everyone hurriedly presented another ink scroll and opened the seal as well. When they opened the scroll, they saw three big characters, Xiao Liangyou. The two lines below are the place of birth, Hanyang County, Hanyang Prefecture, Huguang, and the folk registration is Spring and Autumn. He was born on October 7th, the 31st day of the fifth year of Zhanxing.
Shen Shixing suddenly said, "He was a child prodigy in Huguang in the past. Former Prime Minister Zhang Taiyue once mentioned this person to me, saying that he was a young talent in Huguang." After a pause, he asked again, "His younger brother Xiao Liangyu is also said to be a rare hero." "Have you ever taken the same exam for this subject?"
An examiner below immediately laughed and said, "Old Shen Ge knows how to teach, and his younger brother Liangxu is also ranked second and fifty-sixth on this list."
Shen Shixing and Pan Sheng were both greatly surprised. They looked at each other and said with a smile, "What a pair of talented brothers."
