I

It was still very early before noon, so the food box he brought into the examination room was useless, so Zhao Han brought it out intact.

Fei Chun stood outside the examination room and immediately came up to him and asked, "Brother, have you finished the examination?"

"The exam is over," Zhao Han opened the food box and handed out a piece of cake, "You have been waiting for a long time, so you must be hungry, so take it to fill your stomach."

While eating the cake, Fei Chun comforted him: "Brother, don't worry, I won't be able to do it this year, I'll just come back next year."

Zhao Han smiled and said, "I passed."

Fei Chun continued: "I'm afraid the young master will have to take the exam for two or three years. Let's come together next year."

"I passed the exam." Zhao Han repeated.

"I know my brother passed the exam... uh," Fei Chun was stunned, "My brother was admitted?"

"I got it." Zhao Han nodded.

Fei Chun held the cake in one hand and helped Zhao Han carry the book box with the other: "Brother must be joking and coaxing me to have fun. How long has it been? I'm afraid the young master hasn't gotten up yet."

"Then go back to the inn to find the eldest young master." Zhao Han was too lazy to explain.

Fei Chun said: "I still have to wait for the young master."

At this moment, Fei Ruhe has also handed in his paper and is being interviewed by Feng Zhixian.

Feng Zhixian looked strange and looked at the two articles in his hand.

The first chapter is titled: "As a matter of fact, if you don't listen to the words of the sage, you must not but listen."

Well, it’s barely normal, and the county exam essay requirements are not high.

The second article is titled: "Don't eat too much, otherwise you will get fat."

What the hell is this?

Feng Xun held back his laughter and asked, "Are you also a descendant of the Fei family in Ehu?"

Fei Ruhe nodded: "Yes."

Feng Xun asked again: "Fei Dazhao is also your father?"

Fei Ruhe nodded: "Yes."

"Hahahahaha!"

Feng Xun finally couldn't help it anymore and sat there laughing. Many candidates peeked over curiously.

Fei Ruhe seemed very happy when he saw that the magistrate seemed to be happy, and he immediately became proud: "My lord, did I do a good job?"

"Very good, absolutely wonderful," Feng Xun almost stopped laughing. He bit his lip to stop laughing and waved, "Let's go."

Fei Ruhe left in a happy mood. Passing by an examination booth in the front row, an examinee whispered: "The county magnate appreciates it so much. Brother, your article must be good. How do you solve the question of 'not much food'?"

Fei Ruhe has a bold personality and is willing to share his successful experience with everyone. He said loudly: "You can't eat too much, otherwise you will get fat."

"Leave the venue immediately and don't make any noise!"

The invigilator quickly stopped.

Hearing Fei Ruhe's answer, some candidates covered their mouths and snickered, while some felt like they were hearing fairy sounds.

By noon, candidates were turning in papers one after another, many of which were related to food. Feng Zhixian was laughing so hard that his cheeks were stiff.

At this moment, the master came to take over. Feng Xun did not leave immediately. Instead, he took out Zhao Han's paper and said, "Look, dear brother, there is a magnificent article here."

The master glanced at it with a strange expression and said, "It's really a good article."

Feng Xun said excitedly: "This article can be a model. It should be posted on a poster for all students to learn from it."

The master suppressed a smile and said, "This must be the case."

Today's exam questions are from this master. Magistrate Feng went to drink wine last night.

Looking at Feng Xun who ran to have lunch, the master's flattering expression was gone, replaced by a look of contempt.

…

Let's say that Fei Ruhe left the examination room and immediately greeted him: "Let's go back to the inn. Daddy must not have left yet."

Fei Chun took the book box and asked, "How did the young master do in the exam?"

Fei Ruhe said happily: "Although it was all scrawled, I am very resourceful. The county magistrate laughed heartily when he saw it and praised me on the spot."

Fei Chun was surprised and happy, and said: "Congratulations, young master, congratulations, young master. Let's go back to the inn quickly and tell the young master the good news."

"Let's go quickly." Fei Ruhe couldn't wait.

The three of them returned to the inn. As expected, Fei Yinghuan hadn't gotten up yet, and Wei Jianxiong had gone to the river to prepare the boat.

Qin Xin, Jian Dan, and Jiupo didn't wake up either. They were all playing mahjong with Fei Yinghuan last night.

Fei Ruhe excitedly ran to knock on the door: "Dad, dad, the baby is here to announce the good news!"

Fei Yinghuan got up in a daze, yawned and opened the door. He said with a look of excitement: "It's only been a while, how come you have already handed in the paper?"

Fei Chun rushed to report the good news: "Dad, the young master did well in the exam and was praised by the county master."

While getting dressed, Fei Yinghuan asked, "What article did you write?"

"The first question was okay," Fei Ruhe said proudly. "The county magistrate laughed heartily after reading the second question. The question was 'Not enough to eat', and the child thought, 'You can't eat too much, because if you eat too much, you will get fat.'" To break the topic, I think this is right in the county's hands... Dad, what are you doing with the bench?"

"boom!"

A bench flew by.

Fei Ruhe quickly dodged and said in horror: "Dad, why did you hit me? My child did very well in the exam this time."

Fei Yinghuan closed his eyes to calm down, as if he didn't want to look at his stupid son anymore, and ordered Zhao Han: "Help me teach this bastard a lesson!"

"Okay!" Zhao Han kicked out.

Fei Ruhe was completely unprepared and was kicked to the buttocks. He immediately fell down in the room. He got up, turned around and glared at Zhao Han: "How dare you sneak attack me!"

Zhao Han pointed at Fei Yinghuan and expressed that he was obeying orders.

Fei Ruhe sat down angrily, probably trying to understand the situation, and muttered: "I'm embarrassed this time. The county magistrate must be laughing at me."

Fei Yinghuan finally got dressed and asked Zhao Han, "Why did you hand in the paper too?"

Zhao Han replied: "I wrote two random articles, and the county magistrate asked me to go home and prepare for the imperial examination."

"Recorded on the spot?" Fei Yinghuan was a little surprised.

"Recorded." Zhao Han nodded and said.

Fei Ruhe and Fei Chun, the master and servant, immediately looked at each other, thinking that Zhao Han was really awesome.

Fei Yinghuan asked: "How did you survive?"

Zhao Han explained: "For the first question, the child copied Su Dongpo's prose, but the county magistrate was so impressed."

"He is also ignorant," Fei Yinghuan couldn't help but sneer. He didn't know whether he was mocking Zhao Han or Feng Zhixian. He asked, "Which article did you copy?"

Zhao Han replied: "I haven't even finished copying it. I can't remember the rest, so I can only make up the number of words at random. The topic is 'The Master Said', and my child solved the problem by saying, 'A common man is a teacher for hundreds of generations, and one word is the law of the world'."

"That sentence actually came from Su Dongpo..." Fei Yinghuan suddenly paused and changed his words, "Good copy!"

Zhao Han:? ? ? ?

No way, no way.

Fei Yinghuan prides himself on his literary talent, but like Feng Zhixian, he has never read Su Dongpo's articles?

I really haven’t read it yet!

The Ming Dynasty was restricted by Neo-Confucianism, and in the early days it was all about moral articles. Even mourning poems in memory of his wife are not allowed to write about the love between men and women, only how virtuous the wife is.

During the Hongzhi and Zhengde dynasties, Wang Yangming and Zhan Ruoshui began to improve the study of mind, and a large number of Confucian scholars also improved Neo-Confucianism. The first seven disciples launched a retro movement, and Ming Dynasty's academic thoughts and literary atmosphere were broken through.

Gradually, mental learning lost its vitality, and practical learning came into being.

Later Qizi continued to engage in the retro movement, but by the end of the Ming Dynasty, it completely went astray: literature must be compared to the Qin and Han Dynasties, and poetry must be compared to the prosperous Tang Dynasty!

Articles written in the late Ming Dynasty imitated the ancient writings of Qin and Han Dynasties in various ways, and even went to study the pre-Qin scholars. They may have read "Mozi" and "Han Feizi", but they have not read the prose of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. This is a very strange trend in the literary world.

Nowadays, Qian Qianyi is engaged in the "New Culture Movement". He highly admires the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties and calls for poetry and articles to return to their essence. He can be called the standard-bearer of the literary restoration movement in the late Ming Dynasty.

Take Fei Yinghuan for example. Of course he knew Su Shi and was familiar with Su Dongpo's poems, but he just didn't read Su Dongpo's prose.

An ordinary man can be a teacher for hundreds of generations, and a single word can teach the world.

Fei Yinghuan memorized these two sentences by reciting eight-part essays when he was young.

Fei Yinghuan smiled and pretended to be calm: "Have you studied Su Dongpo's prose?"

"I read it in full." Zhao Han replied.

"Have you read the prose of the eight great masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties?" Fei Yinghuan asked again.

During the restoration movement in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, Tang Shunzhi and Mao Kun belonged to the Tang and Song Dynasty schools and compiled the "Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasty", hence the term "Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasty".

This book had a great influence during the Jiajing period, but not after Wanli. Many scholars only heard of its name and were too lazy to spend time reading it.

Zhao Han said: "I have only read some."

Fei Yinghuan asked during the exam: "Which article do you like best?"

Zhao Han replied: "The Story of Yueyang Tower is not from the Eight Great Masters."

"Can you recite?" Fei Yinghuan asked.

"Perhaps I have forgotten some sentences," Zhao Han began to recite. "In the spring of the fourth year of Qingli, Teng Zijing was relegated to Baling County. Over the next year, the government was well-organized and people were harmonious, and everything was restored..."

The more Fei Yinghuan listened, the more frightened he became. This article was so good that he had not read it and only knew some of its famous lines.

"Good, very good!" Fei Yinghuan praised repeatedly.

Zhao Han became more and more frightened the more he carried his back, and carefully observed Fei Yinghuan's expression. This old man didn't know "The Story of Yueyang Tower"?

Juren in the late Ming Dynasty was too weak!

It cannot be said that Fei Yinghuan was familiar with hundreds of schools of thought and had many Qin and Han articles collected at home.

"Let's go, let's go," Fei Yinghuan concealed his embarrassment and asked the children to board the boat for a trip. On the way, he quietly said to Qin Xin, "Go and buy a copy of "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties". Go and come back as soon as possible. I'll wait for you on the boat."

After everyone boarded the ship for a long time, Qin Xin finally came back after buying a book.

"Dad, I went to several bookstores and finally bought a book." Qin Xin's hands were covered with dust, and she didn't know how many years this book had been disliked.

Set sail for Shitang Town.

Fei Yinghuan sat alone in the cabin, reading several powerful articles in succession, and suddenly burst into tears: "Today I know the true meaning of the article, and I have wasted half my life!"

In fact, it is not too late. Qian Qianyi, the standard-bearer of the New Culture Movement, did not read the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties until he was forty years old.

Zhao Han sat on the bow of the boat, looking at the scenery on both sides of the strait, with extremely complicated emotions.

This Ming Dynasty should not only provide food for the common people, but also provide spiritual food for the scholars of the world.

A very talented person didn’t even know "The Story of Yueyang Tower"!