The Ming Dynasty's Spokesperson

In the entire imperial examination level, the government examination is not considered high. The examination procedures of the government examination are similar to those of the county examination, and there is no essential difference.

Because the prefecture and county are in the same city, the examination venues for the Suzhou Prefectural Examination and the Wuxian County Examination are the same, except that the examiner is changed from the county magistrate to the prefect.

Sitting in this examination room again, twelve-year-old Feng Menglong felt that he was already an old examinee.

Compared with the nervousness during the last county examination, Xiao Feng Menglong's mood was much more relaxed this time.

Especially when he was assigned the auspicious seat number "Bing 29" again, it made him feel at ease.

He was in this position last time and passed the county examination.

Until a huge shadow appeared out of thin air and enveloped him.

Xiao Feng Menglong raised his head and looked to the side, and saw the man named Lin Tailai smiling at him, and said in surprise: "What a coincidence, your and my seat numbers are the same as last time."

In low-level exams like the county and government exams, the questions are not weird. They are usually complete sentences, not complex questions.

The topic of this government test is "A gentleman is ill and loses his reputation."

After the exam started, Lin Tailai borrowed the original text from Xiao Feng Menglong next to him and then started writing the article.

The county and government examinations do not test policy theory, and the articles written are commonly known as eight-legged essays.

The eight-part essay is an article genre with a fixed format, and the full text structure is subdivided into several parts.

Moreover, the content must be stated in the tone of a sage, and the principles cannot exceed the scope of Cheng and Zhu's annotations.

In addition, there are many detailed requirements, and there are so many rules and regulations that people who are not dedicated to eight-legged essays will not understand at all.

Take the most important opening question as an example. Although there are only three or four sentences before Wanli, and only two sentences after Wanli, the rules are still very complicated.

If the two sentences of the question are broken by the upper part, it is called linking up, and if the words are intruded into the lower part, it is called committing. If the meaning of the question is not completely broken, it is called missing question. If all the words of the question are written out and cannot be integrated, it is called scolding question.

The names of so-called saints, sages, Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, King Wen of Zhou, and King Wu of Zhou cannot appear in the title, nor can the names of birds, animals, plants, and utensils appear. All names must be used.

When making two sentences to break the question, you cannot use empty words such as "ye, yan, just" in the previous sentence. You can only use them in the next sentence, otherwise the writing style will not be clear.

If you make any of the above mistakes, the test paper will be deemed unqualified.

There are so many rules in just two sentences of breaking the topic, and the rules of the entire eight-legged essay can be imagined.

So it’s not that smart people can’t write eight-legged essays well. Smart people like Wang Yangming, Tang Yin, Tang Shunzhi, and Zhang Juzheng are all masters of eight-part essays.

But smart people whose brainwaves don’t match their brainwaves can’t write eight-part essays either. Such people write articles wantonly, without adding points, and can’t stand the constraints of rules and regulations.

For example, Wen Zhengming and Gui Youguang, two buddies, often ended up on the street every time they took the eight-part essay test.

In response to the title "A gentleman is ill and has no reputation after his death", Lin Tailai wrote with a brush: "It is a sage's worry to have no reputation for future generations."

These two sentences are the beginning of the article and establish the theme and ideas of the entire article.

Then continue to write the second part of the eight-legged essay with the title: "It is not necessary to have a name for a moment, but it is indispensable to have a name for future generations. Therefore, a gentleman does not seek fame, but he has no choice but to do so."

Until the entire article was completed in draft, about 700 words.

After Lin Tailai copied it again, he stood up and handed in the paper.

The government examination was not anonymous, and the papers were handed directly to the examiner, the prefect Zhu Wenke.

Lin Tailai was not the first to submit his paper. There were more than 20 people who submitted papers before him.

According to the regulations of the examination room, you cannot leave the examination room after handing in your papers. Only after fifty people have filled up will the door be opened to let this group out.

So those who handed in their papers first could only stand on the sidelines, waiting to gather enough people.

Many classic jokes about the question and answer between the examiner and the candidates took place in this scene.

Lin Daguan always believed that his imperial examination was just a formality, so after he handed in the paper emotionally, he turned around and went to the crowd to wait for his release.

But the examiner, Zhifu Zhu, asked, "Are you Lin Tailai?"

Lin Tailai replied: "That's right!"

In today's examination room, it was indeed the first time that Zhu Zhifu saw this newly famous and unruly citizen in person.

After being stopped by the examiner, Lin Tailai could not leave, so he had to stand in front of the examination form and wait to continue questioning.

Magistrate Zhu lowered his head and glanced at Lin Tailai's article and asked casually: "Did you write this?"

Lin Tailai asked back: "Of course I wrote it, what's the evaluation of Futai?"

Magistrate Zhu implicitly said sarcastically: "Whether this article is good or not, does it mean anything to you?"

He doesn't believe that with your great ability, Lin Tailai, you can't get the test questions in advance?

After you have the test questions, isn’t it easy to find a shooter to write an article in advance?

Lin Tailai heard what Zhu Zhifu meant, and immediately felt with grief and anger that Liu Feishuang, what kind of grievances were higher than the sky and deeper than the sea!

He did cheat and borrowed the original text from the seat next to him, but he really wrote the exam essay himself!

Why are there so many people in this world who judge people by their appearance? Can’t Lin Tailai write an article?

More than 20 people who submitted papers also began to discuss in whispers when they heard the prefect's words.

Suddenly, a young scholar seemed to be encouraged by the prefect, stood up and said loudly: "I am Wang Yusheng of Dongshan, and I would like to ask Mr. Lin for advice on an article!"

After hearing this name, the buzz around him became louder, and even Lin Tailai looked at this person a few more times.

The Wang family in Dongshan, Taihu, is one of the four major families in Wuxian County and is famous for being half Confucian and half businessman.

In other words, being rich and powerful is not just ordinary money and power.

For example, there are eight major business gangs in the world today, the most famous of which is Huizhou merchants.

In addition, there are the Longyou Commercial Gang in Zhejiang, the Jiangyou Commercial Gang in Jiangxi, the Shanshan Commercial Gang in the west, etc. The merchant gang representing Suzhou is the Dongting Commercial Gang.

This Dongting is not Dongting Lake, but the East Dongting Mountain and West Dongting Mountain in Taihu Lake, referred to as Dongshan Xishan, and the Wang family of Dongshan is one of the leaders of the Dongting Business Gang.

A hundred years ago, the Wang family in Dongshan produced a great scholar, Wang Jiao, who almost won three yuan in a row. This person also had a very high status in the Suzhou literary world.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Suzhou's morale was sluggish as it was suppressed by Emperor Taizu.

Later, the Suzhou Shilin Renaissance was led by the top scholars Wu Kuan and Wang Hao.

In fact, there were three generations of leaders who led the Suzhou Renaissance. Wu Kuan and Wang Hao were only the second and third generations. The first generation was Xu Youzhen, who Suzhou people don't want to mention now.

In today's Suzhou city, Wang Hao left behind three gardens, including Yi Lao Garden, which covers an area of ​​80 acres.

Moreover, the main north-south road next to the west city wall and Xueshi Street, which Lin Tai must pass when going to the county government, were named after Wang Hao, which shows Wang Hao's status in Suzhou literary circles.

The Wang Yusheng standing in front of Lin Tailai was Wang Hao's great-grandson.

Others were still wondering, whoever dared to challenge Lin Tailai would risk his life.

But if they are from the Dongshan Wang family, then there will be no problem.

Magistrate Zhu then smiled and said, "Is it possible that Wang Sheng is not convinced by the county trial leader?"

Wang Yusheng also saluted Magistrate Zhu and said: "The county case leader is the face of the county, and I am also a person of Wu County. How can I not cherish my face?"

There is dirt on your face, and it is human nature to want to wipe it off. I hope the government will understand. "

Lin Tailai looked at Magistrate Zhu and Wang Yusheng suspiciously, and said loudly:

"Your Majesty's Office! Could this friend Wang be the sitter you hired?

As soon as Futai questioned it, friend Wang jumped out and felt that there was a tacit understanding, as if they were singing in harmony.

If the government wants to remove me from the government examination, just remove me directly, why bother to collude with the Wang family of Dongshan and cover up the unnecessary trouble! "

Magistrate Zhu: "."

I looked through countless materials today and couldn't find anything new. The classic jokes about the imperial examination have been used by others. What should I do? . . . . I've had a headache all night