Ask Sword

  Chapter 58 Preliminary Test

  The atmosphere of the wine order was very good, the wine was staggered, and the cups were exchanged. Everyone waited until late at night to have a banquet. They took the carriage rented by the Yang family and lived in the hotel in Huaidefang, west of the West Market.

  Yang Yu obviously kept in mind what Li Ang said during the day. The hotel he was looking for was a set of courtyard houses.

  The Yang family also sent someone to pick up and put away the luggage that everyone left in the post house outside the city.

  Such meticulous thought and ability to act made everyone look at Yang Yugao again,

   According to the boy in the hotel, the Yang family in Chonghuafang runs a silk business in Chang'an City, and the scale is quite large.

  Yang Yu is the fourth son of the Yang family. His deceased great-grandfather was a student of the academy and an honorary doctorate, and the Yang family prospered because of this.

However, in the past few decades, the Yang family has not produced another school disciple, and only recruited the son-in-law of the school. If Yang Yu's generation cannot produce another school disciple, then the internal power of the family may slip to the other side. house.

   "The troubles of the rich N generation."

   Li Ang muttered softly, picked up the towel and wiped his face.

  Chai Cuiqiao's voice came from the study, "What did you say, young master?"

   "Nothing, is the ink grinding done?"

   Li Ang wrung out and hung up the towel, walked out of the bedroom and came to the study.

  Chai Cuiqiao has finished grinding ink, laying out rice paper, pen mount, paperweight, and neatly stacking books on the table.

  Eating, drinking and having fun are just temporary pastimes, and entering the academy is the meaning.

  Li Ang first practiced calligraphy for a while, and then asked Chai Cuiqiao to randomly pick out a few books from those thick books, turn pages at random, and read out the paragraphs in them.

   Write down the context of the passage on paper yourself, and the annotations for each version.

   "Rote memorization is not a panacea, but without rote memorization is absolutely impossible."

  Li Ang rubbed the aching brows, and complained: "Tsk, can't the Academy be like the previous imperial examinations? Anyway, there is still room for some manipulation."

  Chai Cuiqiao blinked her eyes, "Eh? What do you mean? Isn't the imperial examination fair?"

   "I don't understand."

  Li Ang glanced at the little maid, and said casually: "In the past, the imperial examinations in Chang'an had many skills. At that time, the imperial examination papers were not vague.

   Candidates can use the reputation of dignitaries or great scholars to influence the decision-making of the chief examiner, thereby increasing their chances of passing.

  For example, candidates edit their usual poems and essays, write them into scrolls, and send them to the residences of high-ranking officials, dignitaries, and famous Confucians for recommendation.

   This is called row volume.

   And dignitaries with status in the political and literary circles publicly recommend talents to the examiners before the examination results are released, so as to influence the final ranking list,

   This kind is called public recommendation and general list. "

   "Oh, yes, I know."

  Chai Cuiqiao nodded, "Li Taibai, Han Tuizhi, and Bai Letian all passed the test."

   "Well, the grass on the Xianyang Plain grows once a year and withers. The wild fire is endless, and the spring breeze blows and regenerates.

  Bai Letian's "Fu De Gu Yuan Grass Farewell" is a scroll poem written to Gu Bu Weng. "

   Li Ang said casually: "In Yuchu's time, it was quite common to publish scrolls, and there were like forests of visitors and clouds of book presenters.

   But then the Academy began to smear names on the examination papers, and the ordinary imperial examinations also learned to follow up. It is not so simple to try to cheat for personal gain. "

   "It's better to be strict."

  Chai Cuiqiao thought for a while and said: "Master, you study so hard, you will definitely pass the fair exam."

"ha,"

  Li Ang put down his pen, rubbed Chai Cuiqiao's hair with a wry smile, "Those who can come to Chang'an to take the academy exam, which one is not a genius, and which one is not a poor student studying hard.

  But in the end, there are still not one out of ten who can successfully pass the exam.

  I don’t know where the official’s door is, and I’m in the shadow of Jiuqu Chun immediately.”

  ——

  The green trees are thick and shaded, and the summer is long, and the reflection of the buildings and terraces into the pond.

   Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and finally, the day of the school's first exam arrived.

  The first ray of sunshine in the morning illuminates Chang'an, and the gates of houses in various squares and cities are opened one after another.

  Street vendors set up roadside stalls, pedestrians ate breakfast in silence, and almost no one made any noise.

  dangdangdangdang—

  Accompanied by the sound of Maozheng’s six bells resounding throughout Chang’an,

  From the twelve city gates in the southeast, northwest, twelve long teams of carriages with the logo of the Ministry of Rites came.

  All convoys, under the command of the yamen servants, drove through the slightly empty streets of Fangshi after Jingjie, and met the students holding vouchers and waiting in line at the corner.

  Students from each state hold their vouchers and take turns boarding the convoy in an orderly manner.

   Li Ang, who was mixed in the crowd, got into the carriage with Chai Cuiqiao, opened the curtains, and breathed the morning air with the fragrance of earth outside the window.

   It is a lie to say that you are not nervous. Years of hard study and hard work are about to be tested, and the fate of your life will also be reversed on this day.

   "Master."

  Chai Cuiqiao carefully took out an exercise book from the bag, and said softly, "Do you want to memorize it again?"

   "No, I should remember, I have already remembered."

   Li Ang took a deep breath, listening to the rustling sound of the carriage rolling over the stone road, his slightly irritable mood gradually calmed down.

  The horse-drawn carriage convoy did not drive towards the northern imperial city, where the Ministry of Rites Gongyuan was the place for the imperial examinations.

  The location of the initial examination of the Academy is at the foot of Xiashan Mountain in the southwest of Chang'an.

  The Ministry of Rites motorcade drove across bridges, streets, and city gates in turn, and finally formed a long queue at the city interchange, heading southwest, followed by a larger and messy motorcade—that was the motorcade hired by the family members of this year’s candidates.

  The wind and the sun are beautiful, the grass grows and the warblers fly,

  The long convoy, guarded by the sharp soldiers leading the Zhenfusi dogs, drove through the forest and mountain roads,

  Suddenly, the illusion of being drenched by the rain flooded his mind again. Li Ang subconsciously raised the curtains and looked out of the window, but only saw the colorful mountain flowers and the Xiashan Mountain in the far distance that was covered by clouds and mist.

  School Palace is just behind Xiashan Mountain.

  Chai Cuiqiao also poked her head out of the car window, smelled the fragrance of flowers in the mountains, and whispered: "Master, the convoy has slowed down."

   "Well, the carriage in front should have arrived."

  As Li Ang expected, the carriage team slowed down, drove towards the foot of the mountain, and stopped on the hillside.

  The hillside is gentle, with green grass, and there are more than 20 pavilions on the banks of clear streams. Each pavilion has three floors, red walls and blue tiles, and painted buildings.

  This is the pasture on the edge of the school palace,

Accompanied by the sound of drums from the Ministry of Rites, tens of thousands of examinees stepped out of the carriages, stood in a row according to the region of origin, walked to the stream in an orderly manner, and listened to the persuasion read by the senior officials of the Ministry of Rites—the content is nothing more than the reading of scholars, remember Loyal to the emperor and patriotic and so on.

  As for the large number of dignitaries, family members, and servants, they waited in the pavilions and corridors downstream of the stream.

   "Sunrise,"

  Song Shaoyuan, who was standing in front, turned his face sideways and whispered, "How are you getting ready?"

  Li Ang nodded, "It's okay, Brother Song."

   "It's okay."

  In order to resolve the tense conversation, which was not nutritious, the senior officials of the Ministry of Rites on the stage babbled for a while, and finally ended the persuasion of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

  Chen Danqiu, a middle-aged man dressed in plain green clothes and expressionless, came up and began to explain the examination criteria.

  The first examination of the school is divided into two parts: compulsory content and optional content.

  Compulsory test content includes scriptures, poems, policy questions, riding and shooting,

  The first three items are tested in the same test. Those who finish the test first will be given priority in the riding and shooting test.

  The selected content includes but is not limited to mathematics, Yulu, national history, phonology, Danqing, Bingji, chess, and engineering.

  The standard for passing the initial examination of the Academy is comprehensive scoring, which mainly refers to the scores of compulsory content such as scriptures and poems.

   As for the optional content such as mathematics, rhythm, phonology, etc., it is up to the candidates to choose whether to participate.

   Only when the performance of the selection items is particularly excellent, meeting or even exceeding the psychological expectations of the school's teaching, can the score be given as appropriate.

   This can also be regarded as an additional opportunity for those students who are not good at writing and ink, but also have a skill.

   But it's hard, hard,

   You must know that the teaching of each major in the Academy is the authority in their respective fields.

   Want to stand out from the crowd, only a genius among geniuses can do it.

   "Among the additional subjects, I am most confident in mathematics. Calculus, algebra, geometry, etc., are more than enough for "Nine Chapters", "Zhushu", and "Sea Island".

   Others are not sure, especially soldiers. "

  Li Ang glanced at the muscular, chubby, and bearded students recommended by the Ministry of Military Affairs in the distance, and silently complained: "The maximum age for admission to the academy is eighteen, right?

  Are these veterans eighteen years old?

   Did you take hormones? ! "

   It’s okay to attack the soldiers, it’s the site where the Ministry of Military Affairs recommends students,

  When the students from other state capitals were still learning to kill chickens, those brothers probably already killed the enemy generals on the battlefield.

   "Yu Lv and Guoshi feel a little bit reluctant, and the results of the real questions in previous years are a little above the passing line.

  Danqing can give it a try, he has experience in medical drawing and illustration”

   Li Ang shook his head, shaking the messy thoughts out of his mind.

The lecturing of Chen Danqiu's sacrifice to the academy was still going on, and Zhai Yiming scanned the stage with his gaze, and took note of the faces of the academy's Siye, Jiancheng, doctor, and teacher, and murmured in a puzzled voice, "Why didn't you?" Did you see the head of the mountain?"

   "This is the first test, and the head of the mountain will naturally not show up."

  Yang Yu got out of the crowd, smiled and jumped in front of everyone in Weizhou, lowered his voice and said, "If you want to see the head of the mountain, you have to try the last three times."

   "Brother Yang?"

  Song Shaoyuan whispered in surprise, "Why are you here, aren't you from Chang'an?"

   "It doesn't matter. Candidates from all over the place will disrupt the order and be randomly assigned to each examination room. It doesn't matter which side they stand on."

  Yang Yu chuckled, pouted his mouth towards the front left, "Didn't Yong Erlang stand with the candidates from Xiangzhou?"

   Li Ang followed his line of sight and looked forward to the left, only to see Yong Hongzhong standing with a group of luxuriously dressed boys and girls with a calm demeanor, looking a little nervous.

   "Those are the sons and daughters of honorable nobles from Chang'an."

  Yang Yu snapped his fingers and said casually: "The left servant of Shangshu shot Pei Jing, the fourth son of Pei Su's family,

  Chou Jinghuan, the eldest son of Qiu Wenhan's family, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials,

  Six sons of Shizhong’s family under the door,

  The daughter of General Zuo Xiaowei's family"

  Zhai Yiming's eyelids twitched, Yu inherited the Sui system, and the Shangshu Ling of Shangshu Province was in charge of hundreds of officials and managed six ministries, and his actual power in the court was second only to His Majesty the Emperor.

   But this position has been vacant and unoccupied.

  Shang Shu Zuo Pushe is actually Shang Shu Ling, the real prime minister of Yu State.

   "But think about it, aren't we now standing in the same place as those heaven's favored sons and heavenly daughters?"

  Yang Yu said with a chuckle: "The exams in the academy are strict, and you won't be lenient because of the relationship between princes and generals.

   Whether you can pass three levels in a row depends on your knowledge and luck. "

   Is it luck?

   Li Ang glanced at the tense scholars around him, and his eyes stopped on a group of high-nosed, blond-haired and blue-eyed Huren boys and girls.

   "Why are there so many barbarians?"

   A student from Weizhou asked in advance, and Yang Yu replied in a low voice: "It's a school, there is no discrimination in teaching.

  Don't look at those Hu people with blond hair and blue eyes, they are actually the children of the Hu merchant family who have lived in Chang'an for tens of hundreds of years, and they speak Chang'an fluently than anyone else.

  In addition to the Hu people, there are Zhou people, Nanzhao people, Xijing people, Fusang people, and even Turkic nobles and barren people from the barren mountains. "

  Yang Yu pointed to the outlier students with different skin colors and hair colors in the distance, and said casually: "As long as they can pass the exam, they can also be recruited by the academy."

"this"

   The students of Yanzhou asked dumbfounded: "Aren't we hostile to the Southern Zhou Dynasty and the Turks?

  The school accepts them as disciples, isn't it afraid that they will go back to enrich the national strength of the mother country? "

   "The barbarians are rude and backward. If those people really become school disciples, receive the best education and the best life, and then return to their barbaric mother country, they will not be able to adapt themselves, and they will have to return to Chang'an for a long time.

  Not to mention enriching the national strength of a big country, which can be achieved by only one or two schoolchildren, it's just a drop in the bucket.

   It's almost the same for a hundred and ten doctors. "

  Yang Yu said: "Like the Turks, their tribes live by water and grass, move with the seasons, and migrate thousands of miles every year.

  If you really want them to learn from Yu State to farm and settle down, build palaces, and set up etiquette for hundreds of officials, it will only make their tribe collapse on its own—

  Even if the development continues like this, the national power of Yu State and Turkic State will be further and further apart, and they will collapse sooner or later. "

  Yang Yu's face showed a proud smile unique to Yu Ren.

  In this world, the powerful Yu State is not afraid of any force, even for the Haotian Temple on Mount Taihao, it only respects it more than awe.

  The Academy is the confidence of Yu State.

  dangdangdangdang—

  With the end of Chen Danqiu's speech, the melodious bell rang, and a teacher from the academy cut the hemp rope in front of the examination room with scissors, allowing candidates to enter the examination room.

  The first round of exams in the Academy has begun.

  The family members of the candidates in Xuanxie Langfang on the lower reaches of the stream also heard the loud bell,

  Many parents sat in their seats, silently or softly praying for their children.

  Chai Cuiqiao was also among them. She closed her eyes, clasped her palms together, with a pious expression, muttering words in her mouth.

A girl in Chinese clothes next to her listened curiously, but she heard Chai Cuiqiao muttering: "Amitabha Buddha, the Supreme Lord, the God of Wealth, the God of Wealth, and the God of Stove King are as urgent as a law, and women are willing to use it for three years, ah no, two years. Years, ah no, it’s better for three months, three months for dinner and supper in exchange for the young master’s high school, young master, you must pass the exam.”

   Available on November 1st

  (end of this chapter)