The Bookish Scholar of the Red Mansion

When Chen Heng entered the examination room, his genius was bright. His seat was in row 13, row B. When Chen Heng found it, he found that the seat was pretty good and out of the sun.

After taking out your brush, water bottle and other items from your baggage, the next thing to do is to wait. The county examination cannot begin until the gate is closed after all candidates have entered.

What you can do at this time is to relax, but be sure not to whisper to each other. This will attract the attention of the invigilator. In serious cases, you may be detained directly and deprived of your exam qualifications.

Of course, Chen Heng would not do such a stupid thing. He just looked at his desk in a daze and remembered the interesting things about Master Wang during the exam.

The culture and education in Yangzhou Prefecture slowly developed with the support of the previous and current dynasties. However, it has the hometown of saints and is adjacent to Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi. Students from Jiangxi have not achieved satisfactory results for many years.

There's nothing we can do about it. The scholars in these places are better than each other. Especially in Jiangxi, during the previous dynasty, it was regarded as the dominant one in the examination room, and it was at the level of killing randomly after coming out.

There were once three consecutive No. 1 picks, all of whom were from Jiangxi, and it was widely rumored for a while.

When Wang Xianming took the county examination, it was when Taixing County began to pay attention to the imperial examination. The preparations were very hasty at that time. Many examination tables were borrowed from shops in the county. Some were high and some were low, which sounded pitiful.

If we really want to say that the most prosperous county examinations in the world are Wanping and Wannian counties in the capital, only their county examinations have their own Gongyuan. Each candidate has his or her own seat, unlike Chen Heng who has to squeeze in with everyone.

But there is no way, those are Wanping and Wannian counties in the capital. Have you never heard of the saying The imperial court governs the world, and Wanping governs the imperial court?

I don’t have a Beijing household registration, so I’ll just accept my fate. Anyway, I have to go to the Gongyuan during the imperial examination, so I can 'feel' the legendary 'Room' then. Chen Heng suppressed his smile and looked ahead calmly.

Now that most of the candidates have entered the room, Chen Heng silently counted the number of people. There were about fifty people. Chen Heng did not dare to look around. He thought that the actual number of people would be more or less.

With the sound of three gongs, the door of the county government office gradually closed. Surrounded by eager government officials, the county magistrate, the county magistrate, the magistrate and other officials walked up to the candidates and led everyone to salute to the portrait of Confucius.

The ceremony was completed and the county examination began.

The test papers were carried out from the ceremony room and distributed to everyone one by one under the escort of several officials. There were several others holding tall signs and showing the questions for this exam.

They will walk back and forth in the examination room to prevent candidates with poor eyesight from failing because they cannot see the questions clearly.

Chen Heng has very good eyesight and could already see the title clearly when the sign came up.

The first question is, if you do what you want, the people will obey.

The second question is, Heaven descends on the people.

After Chen Heng read the questions, he copied them on the scratch paper. It was not easy to start writing right away, and the draft paper was limited, so he had to formulate it in his mind first.

The first question comes from the Weizheng chapter of The Analects of Confucius. The original text is Ai Gong asked: What should be done to make the people obey? Confucius said: If you raise the straight and ignore the wrong, the people will obey. If you raise the straight and wrong, the people will not obey.

It is said that the king of Lu asked Confucius how to convince the people.

The problem-solving technique for this question is based on Confucius's answer, which roughly means: Only by choosing upright people can the people be convinced. If someone who is not upright is used, the people will naturally not be convinced.

The content of the answer should of course be closely related to this topic, and then the answer can be completed in the form of an eight-legged essay.

But when Chen Heng thought about it carefully, he felt something was wrong. There is a sentence in the Commentary on the Analects of Confucius: At that time, when the Duke lost his virtue, the people were disobedient. Ai Gong is troubled by this, so I ask this question.

Thinking about the process of today's Holy Emperor's enthronement, could this be done intentionally by the examiner? Chen Heng couldn't help but think about it.

At this moment, he remembered an anecdote that Wang Xianming told him many years ago, about the scholar who was disqualified for writing about Li Tang.

It seems that this article is not suitable for the words Ai Gong and immoral. Chen Heng has already worried about it, but this does not stop him.

If there is a ravine in the heart, the article will be filled with ink.

Chen Heng picked up the pen and wrote quickly on the paper. After writing a few hundred words eloquently, the article appeared on the paper in one go. He picked up the draft paper and read it silently again, feeling quite satisfied.

Modifications can be left behind. Chen Heng planned to take advantage of his active thinking to solve the second question.

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While the candidates were busy writing and reading, the county magistrate did not just sit and wait. As the question maker, he was also the examiner. He can stand up and walk around the examination room.

Xu Pingzhi saw the test papers of four candidates in a row, his face began to darken, and he silently gave them a cross in his heart.

These scholars are really too stupid. They only know how to study, and they don't even have the agility that they should have when they become wise. Rather than letting you go to the government examination and cause trouble, it is better to stop at the county examination and leave it to my successor to have a headache after I leave office.

Anyway, as long as you don't get into trouble during my period, who cares about other people's lives?

Magistrate Xu met with the fifth person again and was deeply satisfied when he saw that his writing style was appropriate, his wording was careful and he fit the theme. There are still some smart people, but if they don’t have this understanding, how can they pass the college and provincial examinations in the future?

Xu Pingzhi returned to his seat and simply drank tea.

No one can explain the justice in this. But today's candidates really have to figure out the examiner's preferences and the court's taboos. After all, the decision-making power lies in their hands.

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For the second question, Chen Heng solved it with less effort. It comes from the chapter Mencius: King Hui of Liang. It basically means that kings and teachers should take good care of the people on behalf of God.

Mencius's central thought has always been the benevolent government of valuing the people and respecting the monarch, which is also the main policy policy of the current imperial court.

Chen Heng's answer to this question was smooth and steady. Since he was asked last month, his writing has stopped pursuing quotations from scriptures and has been full of flowers and flowers.

The choice of words and sentences are all based on the theme and extended, but there is no mystery in order to increase the credibility.

After answering two questions in succession, Chen Heng counted the numbers together and found that it was over seven hundred. He still had to streamline it and keep it within seven hundred.

Chen Heng took a few deep breaths and adjusted his thoughts. He picked up the draft paper from the beginning and looked through it. After some revisions, he was completely satisfied.

Next is the third question. This question is the simplest, which is to write a five-character poem.

The county magistrate Xu knew that he had dug a big hole in the first question, so he did not bother with the poem. Only a few topics were given for a month, but it was a pity that the Yong Dynasty imperial examination did not pay attention to poetry. If it is well written, it will only be counted as a bonus. I don’t know if it’s the luck or misfortune of being a scholar.

Chen Heng pondered for a moment, thinking of the scenery he had seen along the way. He wrote on the paper: There are wormwood on the willows outside the stack, and the spring water and mountains are the sheaths. I raise my head to see the beautiful moon, and I sing at night to celebrate my youth. (Note 1)

After answering the three questions in one go, Chen Heng finally breathed a sigh of relief. In his heart, he criticized the county magistrate's sinister intentions and was about to write down the answers on the answer sheet.

When Chen Heng finished his work, no one in the examination room got up and left. He was not in a hurry. This examination room was not a place where people could leave as soon as they thought of it. Ten people had to be gathered before a batch could be released.

I heard that when the first ten people go out, the officials waiting outside will beat gongs and drums to celebrate. But this is not for free, you will be rewarded.

Chen Hengqiong picked up the test paper and checked it again, not seeking that false reputation.

After a while, when most of the people in the examination room had left, and Chen Heng confirmed that everything was correct, he stood up and handed in the paper.

When Chen Heng walked out of the examination room, the sun was high in the sky, making people dizzy from the sun. He couldn't help but sigh: I didn't expect that the first game of the county examination would end like this.

Next, he can rest in the inn for a day, wait until the county magistrate finishes correcting the papers, and then participate in the second game according to his ranking in the first game. There will be a total of four county examinations, with one day of examination and one day of rest, lasting eight days.

But only the first game is called the main game. Those whose rankings are not bad on the first day will basically not fall behind, and their rankings will rarely change. Because the examiner's questions will only become easier and simpler, and they will not be too difficult.

The government examinations in the future will be similar. The difficulties will lie in the hospital examinations, provincial examinations, and general examinations. As for the three brothers, that is a different story, so there is no need to say more here.

Chen Qi, who had been waiting outside the examination room, saw his son coming out and hurriedly stepped forward to hold his arm. Chen Qi didn't ask how the exam went, he just said he would take him back to the inn to rest.

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At noon on the second day, after lunch, Chen Heng took out his books and started studying as usual. He will not rush to endorse just because the county examination is about to take place. I don’t think I can relax just because I’ve finished the exam.

Reading is a matter of time and effort. Until the last moment, he didn't have the confidence to relax.

But he had just looked at it for a while, and Chen Qi, who was going to look at the list, rushed in in a panic.

Heng...Heng'er... Chen Qi panted heavily. He was always running in a hurry. He pointed at his child and said excitedly, You got first place in the exam. After Chen Qi finished speaking, he changed his name again. In one breath, he shouted to his calm son: Heng'er, you are the head of the case in Taixing County.

Chen Heng just breathed a sigh of relief, not too surprised or surprised.

Several years of hard work finally bore the first fruit. Although the fruits are fragrant, if you stop to appreciate them too much, it will inevitably delay your time to continue on your way.

This is just his first step in a journey of a thousand miles.

Note 1: This poem was born out of an ancient song Singing at Night to Harness the Youth. It is a song that I heard a long time ago. It sounds like it has a youthful spirit in it, hahahahaha. Judges, you can go and listen.

PS: The third update is completed, get your tickets