Thousands of candidates slowly moved forward in the corridor between Longmen and Yimen. After passing extremely strict inspections, they slowly entered the examination room.
After entering the examination room, the candidates followed the instructions to find their respective dormitories. They first cleaned the dormitories, and then placed their clothes, charcoal basins and other items. Looking at the sky, it was almost noon.
The candidates took out some food from the test boxes and baskets they brought with them to pad their bellies. Not long after, they heard the sound of a cloud board, and the clerks began to distribute the test papers one by one along the examination alley.
At this point, the Enke Examination of the First Year of Public Security in the Great Zhou Dynasty officially began.
Wei Chen and all the examiners also came down from Mingyuan Tower, and a large group of people patrolled and monitored the examination room.
Seeing the seriousness with which the candidates were immersed in answering the questions, Wei Chen and the examiners all nodded slightly. Wei Chen couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Thinking back to those days, he himself was one of them!
Wei Chen has also been a candidate, so he can naturally understand how difficult it is for these candidates to get to where they are today.
Five years have passed in the blink of an eye. Today, Wei Chen has transformed from a candidate for the joint examination to the chief examiner of the joint examination. He holds the power in his hands that attracts the attention of the government and the public, and he also bears a heavy responsibility.
Only by adhering to the public spirit and recruiting scholars for the court fairly can we be able to live up to the expectations of scholars all over the world and prevent the hard work of the candidates from studying hard for many years in vain.
The examination lasted for nine days and six nights, and the first session alone took three full days. Of course, the examiners could not wander around the examination room non-stop. After walking around in a circle, they saw that there was nothing going on in the examination room. Wei Chen and everyone The examiner then returned to the Zigong Hall to rest.
The chief examiner Wei Chen and the deputy chief examiner Ding Siquan went to the back of the hall to discuss the matter of weighing papers in this meeting, while the remaining eighteen fellow examiners were sitting around in the hall.
With two or three exceptions, these fellow examiners are basically among the top ten Jinshi in the last subject or the previous few subjects, and there are also many Sandingjia among them.
For example, Li Zuochang was the second pick in Tianyou's sixth year, and Chen Shao was the top pick in Tianyou's ninth year.
The two examiners were all absent, and the atmosphere in the court hall suddenly became much more relaxed. A dozen seniors in the examination hall were sitting together in boredom, with nothing to do but chat.
"I wonder whose family the top scholar in this subject will go to?"
Chen Shao smiled and asked, only he, the number one scholar in the previous subject, could talk about the number one scholar in the current subject in such a senior tone.
"Chen Xiuzhuan, it's still very early before the imperial examination. You don't have to worry about someone taking away your title of Sanyuanlang. Let's guess who will be the first in the examination."
The speaker was Gong Tan, the imperial censor, who was ranked second in Tianyou's third year. His words sounded a bit contradictory to Chen Shao, but in fact they were mostly meant as a joke. All the examiners smiled when they heard this and became interested in discussing.
Zhu Yuan, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, said: "King Ang of Kaifeng is outstanding in talent and learning, and is well-known in the Imperial Academy. He should have a place in the current battle of Huiyuan."
Another fellow examiner with a Hanlin background said: "Zhang Xiaoxiang from Hangzhou has long been famous. In the several literary conferences he participated in in Beijing, he also outperformed all the others and became famous in the capital. Li thought that this was not the reason for the modern science conference. No one else belongs.”
"Song Zhun of Jinan, his literary talent and knowledge are beyond ordinary people, it should and is possible."
"There is also Jiujiang Huo Changyan, his articles are not bad either..."
"Prince Shize of Xiangyang..."
"Taiyuan Zhang Jiucheng..."
Among the three thousand people gathered in Bianjing City, most of those who can spread their names are not simple figures.
Wang Ang, Zhang Xiaoxiang, Song Zhun, Wang Shize and others mentioned by the examiners all have the potential to impact Huiyuan in terms of talent and learning. All the examiners felt that the Huiyuan of this year should be among these people.
At this moment, someone suddenly mentioned a name: "Where is Jiangning and Lu Siheng?"
Upon hearing this name, all the examiners stopped talking, and the atmosphere was a little awkward for a while.
The reason is also very simple, because this Lu Siheng is not only from Jiangning, but also a member of Jingxi Club founded by Wei Chen.
Candidates who are related to Wei Chen, the examiner, and the examiners naturally do not dare to speak nonsense without knowing Wei Chen's intentions.
To be honest, in the minds of fellow examiners, although Lu Siheng's talent and learning were the best among the candidates, he was still not as good as those mentioned earlier, and could not reach the level of competing for Huiyuan.
However, now Jingxi Society has produced two champions one after another, and one has won the sixth prize and the other has won the third prize. The momentum is booming.
Before the examination started, there was public opinion from the outside world that Lu Siheng also came here to win the top prize in this subject, and to earn another top prize for Jingxi Club and become the third leader of the first club.
This argument became even more popular after Wei Chen was confirmed to be the examiner of the joint examination.
The examiners were locked in the Gongyuan for half a month and could not hear rumors from the outside world, but similar worries were unavoidable.
Although Wei Chen, as the examiner of the joint examination, needs to avoid Lu Siheng when it comes to him, given Wei Chen's influence among the examiners, and the deputy examiner Ding Siquan has no independent opinion, as long as Wei Chen wants to, there is always a way to push Lu Siheng to Huiyuan position.
Upon thinking of this, everyone in the hall gradually focused their attention on Sheng Changbai and Chen Shao.
Sheng Changbai is the vice-president of Jingxi Club, and Chen Shao is also from Jingxi Club. Moreover, one of them is Wei Chen's best friend, and the other is Wei Chen's direct disciple. They have known Wei Chen for many years. The examiners hope to see the meaning of Wei Chen from their words. Chen's attitude towards Lu Siheng.
Sheng Changbai and Chen Shao had known Wei Chen for many years, and naturally knew that Wei Chen was devoted to the public good and was definitely not a person seeking power for personal gain. Sensing the doubts about Wei Chen in everyone's eyes, they both couldn't help but feel a little angry.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to defend Wei Chen, he heard a majestic and clear voice coming from the back of the hall.
“When recruiting scholars for the country and the country, we should not indulge in selfish motives, accept no requests from others, and do not accept bribes. Anyone who fails to do so will be punished by the gods.
This is the oath that I and you swore in front of the most holy teacher. I will always keep this in my heart and practice it unswervingly. Please rest assured. "
After the words fell, Wei Chen and Ding Siquan stepped out from the back of the hall, their eyes calmly and firmly scanning the faces of their fellow examiners.
Hearing this, the fellow examiner who had previously questioned Wei Chen couldn't help but feel a fever on his face. He quickly stood up with the colleagues around him and saluted Wei Chen: "President."
Wei Chen nodded slightly, and then as if nothing happened, he turned to talk about the Hengwen rules that he had just discussed with Ding Siquan later.
Such a calm and unhurried demeanor made many fellow examiners secretly heartbroken.
I only heard Wei Chen say: "I have read all over modern science and literature, but I feel that scholars are trying to show off their talents and the trend of writing is becoming more and more popular... This not only leads to a deterioration of the literary style, but also greatly affects the recruitment of scholars in the court. unfavorable……
Because of this, I have learned from the painful experience and decided to change the rules of Hengwen in previous years. In addition to being clear, elegant and upright, Hengwen should also be based on practical application of the world. Articles must be meaningful and avoid the habit of being lengthy and superficial. , using authentic words to express real principles and facts! "
Hearing this, the fellow examiners couldn't help but show surprise on their faces.
The four words "pure, elegant and upright" have been the literary standards that have been adhered to in all provincial and joint examinations since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty. Wei Chen said it again now, and there is nothing new.
But Wei Chen added the words "intellectual and practical" after "pure, elegant and upright". This is because Wei Chen changed the rules of the meeting based on his own personality and preferences.
I have long heard that Wei Chen always emphasized the four words "managing the world and applying it" when he was a tutor of Shujishi in the Hanlin Academy. Unexpectedly, now that Wei Chen has become the examiner of the examination, he still has not changed his original intention and still takes this as his purpose. , to recruit talents for the country.
However, Wei Chen's current status is that of the examiner of the examination. It is his power as the examiner to decide the rules of the examination. Only the deputy examiner can compete with him.
Thinking of this, the fellow examiners all looked at the deputy examiner Ding Siquan.
Ding Siquan said in a deep voice: "The president's intention is my officer's intention."
Seeing that the chief examiner and the deputy chief examiner had the same caliber, it was obvious that they had discussed it long ago, and the other examiners also nodded in agreement.
The rules of Hui Shi Heng Wen were thus laid down.
