Prefectural examination
Early in the morning, the sky was slightly white, and the fog was still present. Not far away, a boat was slowly moving along the river. Pei Zi Yun held a lantern in his hand, and carried the examination basket, as he headed towards the examination grounds.
"This prefecture has seven counties. Line up according to the county. Do not make any noise!" Three muffled sounds could be heard from within the academy. Soldiers lined up and someone shouted.
The Xu Dynasty established a system. The county schools were called academies, the prefectures were called academies, the provinces were called academies, and the central government was called academies.
The Changzhou Prefectural Academy had its own system. Early in the morning, the air was chilly. Under the starlight, there were a total of seven corridors, all of which were blocked by wooden fences. The examinees carried their examination baskets and lined up to wait.
Pei Zi Yun found his way to the gates of Slow River County and saw a group of people standing there with lanterns in their hands. Someone then said, "Brother Pei, you're here!"
Pei Zi Yun looked over and saw that the person who had spoken was Tang Zhen. Beside him, Wang and Li snorted coldly and did not speak.
Pei Zi Yun didn't think much of it and greeted Tang Zhen. He then smiled at Wang and Li without saying a word. A few days ago, the three of them had invited him to the Literary Meet. Pei Zi Yun saw that the examination date was nearing and rejected them. Tang Zhen didn't mind, but the two of them bore a grudge against him.
"With such a big heart and brain, it's no wonder he's not an Elementary Scholar." Pei Zi Yun thought about how the two of them were still hoping that the Principal Scholar would reveal some of the questions and cursed them for being so stupid, "Under these circumstances, how could the Principal Scholar give any pointers on the questions? Wouldn't that be akin to giving someone a handle on the questions and causing a huge scandal?"
At this moment, the two of them cupped their hands together and chatted for a while. None of them were in the mood to talk, so they kept their mouths shut.
Under the system of the Xu Dynasty, the county tested its students, the prefecture tested its Elementary Scholars, and the province tested its High Scholars. This was somewhat different from the Imperial Examinations of Pei Zi Yun's original world, but that was normal. It would be strange if they were exactly the same.
"Peng, peng, peng!" A muffled drum sounded.
The fish door slowly opened.
Tong Sheng entered the field to conduct a search.
He then thought to himself, "It's coming!"
He reported his name and handed over a document and an examination token. The scholar first looked at the document of recognition, then at the portrait. There were words describing the person's physique and appearance.
After confirming, it was time for the inspection. First, the examination basket had to be checked, followed by the brush, ink and paper. Even the steamed bun had to be torn apart. Pei Zi Yun was experienced in this, and knew that the food in the examination hall must not be oily. Oily food would spoil easily, and when the examiner tore it apart, it would be tainted. If he ate something bad, he would be done for. Hence, he only brought fried pancakes and eggs. As for water, the examination hall would provide it.
The next step was to take off his clothes and shoes. Even his hair had to be untied for inspection.
Soon after, it was Pei Zi Yun's turn. After a round of inspection, the student stamped his seal and shouted, "Take your seat according to your number."
When Pei Zi Yun received the admission ticket, he saw that other than his seat number, there was also a stamp on it. If there was any cheating during the examination, the examiner would be held accountable.
The moment he entered the examination hall, he looked for his number. The number room was a row of small rooms, with a row opposite it. The distance between the two rows was about five meters. No matter how good one's vision was, one would not be able to see the other side.
Inside, there was a bed, a table and a stool. On the table, there were three candles and a brush washer.
"Eh, the conditions are better than the county examination, there's an extra bed."
It was said that the county examination only took one day, the capital examination took two days, and the province examination took three days.
Pei Zi Yun placed his brush, ink and paper on the table. Opposite him was a twenty-five or twenty-six year old youth. After the examinees had entered the examination hall, the magistrate gave his speech, and the examiners patrolled the examination hall. When everything was done, the cloud board rang, and the examiner handed out the examination papers.
Pei Zi Yun took the exam paper and saw that besides the exam paper, there was also a stack of white paper which served as a rough draft. Pei Zi Yun lit a candle. The sun had just risen, and the room was still dark. He quickly looked through the exam paper from top to bottom. Only after confirming that the questions were clear and there were no mistakes or mistakes, did he relax.
This was the experience of his previous life. If there was a problem, he had to ask it quickly and change the paper. But if he delayed, he would not be able to answer it. Who knew what was going on.
When he finished reading, he thought to himself, "This is much more difficult than the county examination."
In the county examination, there was a large proportion of the questions.
Mo Yi was a fill-in-the-blanks question. Needless to say, the Sutra was a question written from memory. The examiner would select a page from the Sutra and print a line from it on the test paper. Based on this line of text, the examinee would have to fill in the relevant context.
In the capital examination, there was still the questions. However, there was only one roll of paper. There were only five questions for the questions, and twenty questions for the questions for the scriptures. The ratio was much lower. What was tested was memory. The original owner's memory was not bad, and with the help of the old Elementary Scholar, Pei Zi Yun was able to memorize the book without any questions.
Next, there was Clear Calculation and Clear Law.
"Aiya, this dynasty is much more practical than the ancient dynasty I came from!"
Clear Calculation was mathematics, and Clear Law was understanding the basic laws. Although the proportion was not large, it showed that the examinees were not limited to the Four Books and Five Classics.
"But it won't be difficult for me!" Forget about the calculation, Clear Law was a memory problem. The original owner's memory had solved it.
"Let's settle these first!"
By this time, the sky had already brightened. Looking up, he saw that the student opposite him was slow in thinking and didn't know whether he should answer the question or not. Smiling, he sharpened his brush and ink, and immediately filled in the blanks on the draft. After filling in the blanks, he checked them again and then wrote them down on the draft word by word.
"For this kind of examination, whoever can write it down on the script without thinking is either a genius or a fool." After finishing the question, Pei Zi Yun heaved a sigh of relief. He felt that his back was slightly sweaty and hurriedly took out a towel to wipe it off. He noticed that the youth opposite him was pale and looked exhausted.
"Ah, it's noon." In the blink of an eye, it was noon. Pei Zi Yun drank some water and ate some fried pancakes. He then peeled an egg and ate a piece of salted lean meat. The food was not warm, but he could not ask for more. After eating, he rested for a while before looking at the next question.
"Next is the meaning of the scriptures. There are three important questions!"
The meaning of the scriptures was a discussion that revolved around the meaning of the book. Pei Zi Yun looked at the first question, "Empty, the people are incapable. Majestic, the people are successful, the people are brilliant."
"This question is well written!" Pei Zi Yun thought to himself. This was what Confucius had said in the Analects of Confucius. He said that Yao was a great man.
However, with the knowledge of the Elementary Scholar, he had an answer.
"The core of this question is to praise the achievements of the ancient sages. The first paragraph is to point out what Yao had done, and which sages he had used to achieve great things!"
"The extension is to say that the ancestors of the dynasty were wise and powerful. They also wanted to express their loyalty and support the Emperor."
With this, the question was solved, "Let's do it in one go!"
To solve the question, one had to be concise and comprehensive. The essay had to be eloquent and majestic. Pei Zi Yun thought about it and wrote it down in one go!
After he finished writing, he placed the draft aside and moved on to the next question.
"Old friends do not abandon each other if they have no major problems. They do not ask for anything from one person!"
The meaning of this question was clear. The Duke of Zhou had told his son, the Earl of Lu, that if old friends did not do anything wrong, they should not abandon them.
When Pei Zi Yun saw this question, he couldn't help but slap his own forehead. "Pa!" A loud sound was heard, attracting the attention of the people in front of him. Even the Patrol Officer looked over.
"Don't be too proud, don't be too proud." The Elementary Scholar was at home. He did not pass the High Scholar examination. His only thought was that the higher-ups would not abandon them, and not ask for anything from them. He had written this question many times before, and could just plagiarize it.
His luck was so good that he could cry. When Pei Zi Yun looked at the question, he had several essays in his mind. He could not stop writing. He did not add any points to the essay, and it was done in one go.
After blowing the ink dry, Pei Zi Yun nodded his head in satisfaction. He thought to himself, "I did not spend much effort on this essay. It's just that writing it by hand is tiring."
Just like before, he placed the draft aside and looked at the third question.
"Water, Fire, Metal, Wood, Earth, and Grain!"
"The last question is indeed the most difficult." Pei Zi Yun frowned as he analyzed. This question was rather difficult, and came from the Book of Books.
"Water can irrigate, Fire can cook, Metal can cut, Wood can grow, Earth can reproduce, and Grain can nurture. These are known as the 'Six Prefectures', and are used by nature to nurture all living things!"
"All these can be extended to the phrase, 'As long as one does not violate the farming season, the grain cannot be eaten'. This describes the importance of farming, and further extends to the phrase, 'Virtue lies in good governance, and governance lies in nurturing the people'. This is where the virtues of the sage are reflected, and this is' Only Cultivation '."
After Pei Zi Yun had solved the question, he sighed and continued writing. This time, his speed was not as fast as before, but it was not slow either. He rubbed his eyes and realized that it was already dusk.
Pei Zi Yun felt dizzy, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. He laid the draft paper flat, but did not copy it. The sky had already darkened, so he lit a candle. The entire examination hall was filled with the smell of candles, and the officials also lit up the torches in the examination hall.
The chief examiner had his hands clasped behind his back as he led a group of examiners around. Pei Zi Yun was already hungry, but did not care about it. He wolfed down his food. The chief examiner looked at him and could not help but smile.
Pei Zi Yun lowered his head and pondered. When the examiners had finished their rounds, Pei Zi Yun calculated the time. Today was only the first night, and he could wait till tomorrow to copy it. Seeing that the papers had already dried, he folded them and blew out the candle. He then lay down on the wooden bed and covered himself with a thin blanket.
Before he fell asleep, he glanced at the youth opposite him, and saw that the youth was still working on his questions. He then closed his eyes and fell asleep to the sound of the paper flipping.
"Having the Plum Blossom is indeed different." Pei Zi Yun did not know why, or perhaps it was the side effect of receiving the Plum Blossom in his dreams, but as long as he wanted to sleep, he would fall asleep within a few breaths. This time, even though he was in the examination hall, it was the same. After lying down for a few minutes, he started snoring softly.
At this point, the examiner happened to be making his rounds, and was speechless. The atmosphere in the examination hall was extremely tense. Although some people knew that they had to rest up, most of them were tossing and turning in their beds, causing their beds to creak. Yet this person was able to sleep so peacefully. The examiner did not know if he had a card up his sleeve, or if he was just a broken jar.
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