The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and I got up early to wash up as scheduled.

In order to prepare for the imperial examination, the store owner would prepare hot water and meals in advance on the two days of the examination, so they quickly finished breakfast at the inn.

There were more than twenty candidates taking the college exam at this inn, but they did not go there together. They still went there together with acquaintances.

Although the exam was divided into two exams, there were not necessarily few students taking the test. After crossing Zhuangyuan Bridge and walking onto Gongyuan Street, there were more people on the street. Everyone looked solemn, and there were few students with relaxed expressions.

They all know the importance of the college examination, which is too cruel.

Wei Guangde didn't know how many of the students standing on Gongyuan Street at this time wished they were born in the north or southwest, because in the Jiangnan area, the elimination rate for college examinations is really scary.

As far as Pengze County where Wei Guangde is located, it doesn't actually matter how many people there are. What's important is that the number of scholar places is only about ten. But if you go to Shanxi or Yunnan and Guizhou in the southwest, the number of places in each county is smaller, and there are at least ten. eight.

But how many scholars are there in these two places?

There are always thousands of scholars in Pengze. It’s hard to say how many thousands there are. But among those who can pass the Tongsheng Examination, after so many years of accumulation, there are still a few hundred people, and then hundreds of people compete for a dozen or so places.

In the north or southwest, there may be more than a hundred people competing for eight or nine spots.

Why did the Ming Dynasty have separate rankings for the North and the South? The imperial examination competition here in Jiangnan was so cruel that those who were close were squeezed out. Those who participated in the examination were all the best among the best, so they would naturally get good rankings in the imperial examination.

Along the way, I saw gray-haired old men from time to time. Of course, they were not here to take the exam, but to take the scholar exam themselves.

For these older candidates, Wei Guangde had no other emotions except a little admiration in his heart.

Even though they were old, they still came to compete with the younger candidates. At least at this moment, before he had crossed that hurdle, he was very disgusted with these old candidates.

Near the gate of Gongyuan, Wei Guangde and the others soon saw a large lantern with the name of Pengze County. That was where their Pengze candidates gathered.

There was a large table placed near the door, with several uniformed officials behind it, flipping through the rosters in their hands.

The college examination also involves the screening process. According to the candidates' registration for the examination, the relevant information of the candidates must be registered in a register, detailing their place of origin, age, facial features, etc., as well as the enrollment information.

Seeing that the time is almost up, the officials over there will start to roll the roll, and those whose names are called will have to stand up. The officials will screen based on the information on the roll call book, mainly to prevent fraud by imposters.

As for the students who were guarantors, they had already been checked before the exam, but now they were all standing next to the officials waiting for the roll call.

After going through a process similar to that of the government examination, Wei Guangde had the opportunity to approach the gate of Nanchang Gongyuan.

There are a pair of stone lions and two stone squares with ancient patterns on both sides of the main entrance. The east stone square is said to be "recruiting scholars for the Ming Dynasty", and the west stone square is said to be "seeking talents for the country".

Wei Guangde couldn't help but pause for a moment, looking at the two stone squares, and then strode into the gate of Nanchang Gongyuan.

After entering the door, there is another small square and the same search and collection procedure as in the government examination.

But it was June now, and although the weather was early, it was not cold. Wei Guangde's clothes were also thin, so the search was completed quickly.

The college examination was similar to the government examination. Wei Guangde didn't bring anything with him, because these would be prepared for the candidates in the examination room, so he could just come directly.

After all, there are too many candidates, and it would be too time-consuming to search for the items they carry.

Go through the small square and enter the second gate. The five gates in the middle are parallel to prevent candidates from crowding each other.

Going deeper is the "Dragon Gate", commonly known as the "Dragon Gate". From this point on, no one except candidates and officials administering the examination is allowed to enter.

Moving forward from Longmen, there is a three-story tower-shaped high-rise building with brackets and flying eaves, named "Mingyuan Tower". You can have a panoramic view of Gongyuan by climbing up.

The word "Mingyuan" comes from the "Dayong" "Pursue the distance with caution, and the wise will return to the thick". Mingyuan Tower was the place where deacons and officials gave orders during the previous examinations, and where supervisors, examinations, inspections, etc. were on duty to take a lookout.

"Follow up, don't look around. There are candidates behind you to lead. Just go in and confirm your exam number."

There was a clerk leading the way, and Wei Guangde and the candidates in front and behind him walked forward together, bypassing the Zhigong Hall before entering the examination room where they were.

"Keep an eye on your exam number and don't leave the exam booth."

The clerk continued to speak from the front.

The examination sheds here are similar to those in the Jiujiang Prefectural Examination Institute, but they occupy a larger area. There are probably dozens or hundreds of examination rooms in a row.

Wei Guangde didn't bother to count how many test booths there were in a row. He just stared at the font size on the test booths, found his own test booth area, and then left the group of people and walked straight in to take his seat.

Entering the "Wen" examination room, I looked around and saw that the specifications of the single-room room were 6 feet high, 3 feet wide and 4 feet wide.

After some time in the Ming Dynasty, Wei Guangde finally began to use the measurement units of this era to judge data, instead of the meters or kilograms of the past.

Between the two walls, one or two feet above the ground, there are two brick joints, upper and lower.

Pick up the wooden board that was leaning next to it and place it on the two brick gaps. This will be the desk and chair for the exam.

After Wei Guangde sat down, he felt that the examination room was a bit narrow, but he had no choice but to do this.

Thinking about how many more such exams he would have to go through in the future, each time more brutal than the last, Wei Guangde could only shake his head and stop thinking about it.

After getting the test basket filled with test supplies, Wei Guangde began to prepare for the test, first polishing the ink, and then waiting for the questions.

I don't know how long it took before I heard a harsh metal collision coming from upstairs in Mingyuan.

"After the entrance, the whole audience is silent."

At this time, the clerk in charge of this row of examination rooms walked directly through the examination room and whispered something so that all the candidates in the examination room could hear.

With the arrival of the servants, the examination questions for the current Academy of Science Examination also appeared in front of Wei Guangde.

The first question is simple but not simple, just two words: "Confucius said".

It's very simple. It's really very simple. It can be said that all the candidates here must have done this question before. I put it first. I am afraid that I want the candidates to relax a little and not to be too nervous and affect the exam.

The second question doesn't seem to be very complicated, "Which one is better, a woman or a Hui?"

The third question is a little more troublesome. Two short passages from the "Book of Songs" and "Book of Rites" are selected and required to be written silently. This is purely to shorten the time for candidates to answer the first two questions.

Of course, if you encounter candidates with poor memory, this third question will be very fatal.

Without saying anything, Wei Guangde quickly copied the test questions into a draft, and then prepared to start from the third question. He couldn't afford to waste time.