The Sage of Confucianism and Taoism

Fang Yun said: "If this is the case, the three policy papers that everyone chooses are Ten Kingdoms, Yaoman and Anmin. But in fact, it is impossible for all Jinshi to choose these three papers. Should the Holy Academy have some means to avoid it?"

Magistrate Dong said: "Of course. If you forcefully choose these three questions and answer them poorly, you will be overestimating your capabilities and not knowing how to choose. You will have already lost before you answer the questions. And Jinshi is not just a high-ranking official who is in charge of politics. , the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Punishment all need a large number of relevant talents. People who get a B in writing strategies for exterminating demons and barbarians go to the Ministry of Punishment, far away. Far less than the person who got B in writing legal theory and policy theory, then the latter is more likely to become a Jinshi, because I, Jing Guo, lack a Jinshi who is proficient in judiciary, and it will not be surprising if both of them fail. The latter is very likely to become a 'Tong Jinshi', which is the additional Jinshi quota that Jingguo requested from the Holy Academy."

"That's it. If you want to be in the top three for Jinshi, you'd better write these three policy essays. If you want to be more likely to get Jinshi, you should avoid at least one of the three old essays. Although the Juren Examination is different from the Jinshi Examination, But in order to prepare for the Jinshi examination in the future, it is best to choose whatever you choose in the Jinshi examination," Fang Yun said.

"That's right. What you want to compete for is the number one pick."

"Students, please remember this," Fang Yun said.

"In addition, due to the movement of Wenquxing, the number of places for the Juren Examination and the Jinshi Examination this year has increased, which is both good and bad for you. With more people, your chances of competing for the top prize will be smaller, which is a worry. As for the good news, then That’s why our country has thirty additional Jinshi places this year,” Magistrate Dong said.

Fang Yun was overjoyed at first, because Jingguo only admitted thirty Jinshi last year, and even if it doubled to sixty this year, the additional thirty Jinshi would be a huge number. Then Fang Yun was stunned and said: "Hello? Could it be that the number of Jinshi scholars is related to me?"

Magistrate Dong smiled and said: "Of course it has something to do with you. Before you came out of the Holy Market, the people in the Holy Court said that you had passed the Three Mountains and Two Pavilions for the first time, but for some reason a large number of scholars from the Wu and Qing countries failed, causing great trouble. The half-sage believed that the students from the two countries were unworthy of education, so he sent the other two Some of the fellow Jinshi quotas in the country were taken away and assigned to our Jingguo. But now we know that you have not only passed the third mountain and the second pavilion, but you have already entered the fourth mountain! Those thirty fellow Jinshi will definitely remember your great kindness. , this is a heavy network of connections!”

Fang Yun nodded. He was not polite or modest this time. These thirty fellow Jinshi scholars in Jingguo were all obtained through his hard work in Shushan.

"This factor will also be taken into consideration for this knighthood. The title may only be from the third grade Wenhou, but other rewards will be very heavy. Okay, let's continue to talk about policy. The Ten Kingdoms, Monsters and Anmin are the major categories in the policy. , and the real test questions are sometimes one sentence, sometimes they are hundreds of words written by the semi-sage, and sometimes they are even excerpts from ancient books."

Fang Yun nodded slightly.

Magistrate Dong added: "The Jinshi Examination and the Juren Examination are different. The reason why there are three old chapters in the Jinshi Examination is because the Jinshi Examination is to select talents for the human race, so the questions are very big. But the Juren Examination is mainly about selecting talents for the country, so I have experienced Choose three questions from the 2018 policy review. You answer them quickly before dusk, without trying to be perfect. The purpose is to let me figure out your strengths and weaknesses. After you finish answering the three questions, I will leave you ten more questions. Question, I will judge it tomorrow night.”

Fang Yun had a bitter look on his face. It would take others at least twelve hours to answer three policy papers, but he would have three hours at most.

"Don't be pretentious. I know you have a quick wit and a good writing skills, so you can definitely finish it. Get paper and pen ready!"

After Magistrate Dong finished speaking, he picked up the writing brush from the table, thought about it for more than ten seconds, then picked up the writing brush and said while writing: "I will choose three questions from the National People's Government Examination nineteen years ago, and you will answer them."

Not long after, Magistrate Dong finished writing the first question, handed it to Fang Yun, and said, "You answer this policy first."

Fang Yun took it and looked at it, frowning slightly. The title of this policy paper was a double question, starting with "Sacred teachings, kingship and state governance. A wise king knows how to consolidate his roots and focus on agriculture, and he can manage the army and prepare for it."

The title of this article is based on the previous question. The saints are responsible for education, while the monarch is responsible for government affairs. A real monarch should give top priority to agricultural and military affairs. So, as a scholar of a country, how should he provide advice to the monarch.

Fang Yun did not answer immediately, but first thought about the relationship between farming and military affairs, because this kind of question is called a "double question."

Fang Yun thought that double questions were rarely seen in the Jinshi examination, but there was such a question in the examination that year, and he felt deeply that the examination nineteen years ago was unlucky.

The Ten Kingdoms attach great importance to classics and meanings, so the classics and meanings have been studied in every detail by the candidates. Although poetry and policy theory have been studied, books are not easy to buy. Fang Yun has only read seventeen writing guidance books on policy theory, and The methods for solving double questions in those books are too vague.

There is no solution to the double question in the world of strange books. Fang Yun can only rely on himself.

At that time, Fang Yun collected all the double-question policy essay topics that could be found in recent years, a total of 32 questions, and then found a total of 170 sample essays on these topics, and then repeatedly read the excellent policy essays and the poor policy essays, and compared the two. The differences between them, and then look for the similarities between excellent policies and theories.

After a day of hard work, Fang Yun finally discovered that the key points of the dual question policy theory are "correlation", "equal emphasis" and "unification". After understanding this point of view, Fang Yun compared the sample essays and found that most of the essays that could be written on these three points were mostly It is grade A, and those who write two points well are at least grade B. In addition to answering the wrong questions, those with poor strategies mostly fail to grasp two points.

Fang Yun's thoughts were racing, and he applied his own experience to this policy topic.

"If you want to get the B-level, you must have good strategies for farming and military affairs respectively, and connect the two. But if you want to get the A-level, it is not just as simple as connecting, but from a higher perspective. Standing in the position of the prime minister of a country, those first-class essays are good if they unify agriculture and military affairs, but they cannot be called wonderful because they force the two questions to be different. Unification of categories. Taking this article as an example, farming is farming, and military affairs are military affairs. Forcibly unifying them can only be done by some old-fashioned methods such as "farming", but if we want the two to be more perfectly unified, a link should be added! In today's country, this bond cannot be stronger than agriculture and military affairs, otherwise it will be overshadowed, digressed, and simply ignored."

"So, a real first-class double greeting article must not only have 'connection', 'equal emphasis' and 'unification', but also a 'bond'! This is the direction, and how to specifically contribute to agricultural and military affairs is the way. If To get a first grade, both are indispensable!”

Fang Yun has the experience of living in a highly developed society, so he naturally knows what a universal link is.

After thinking about the bond, Fang Yun analyzed Jingguo's current situation and then thought about countermeasures.

A quarter of an hour later, Fang Yun took up his pen and pointed directly at the unification at the beginning, replying: "I am correct: there is no stability without farmers, no solidity without an army, no wealth without merchants. Farmers..."

Magistrate Dong stood next to Fang Yun and only looked at the first twelve words, his eyes flashing.

The most taboo thing about policy discussions is digressing from the topic. It is clearly about agriculture and military affairs, but adding a businessman whose status is inferior to the two. If it is written well, then let it go. If it is not well written, I will just wait.

However, Magistrate Dong did not jump to conclusions easily and continued to read.

After five talent initiations, Fang Yun also received the Wenquxingzhao, and his thinking was extremely quick. He quickly connected everything he knew, saw and heard, then quickly classified it into categories, then selected the content suitable for this policy, and finally further refined it. .

The writing process of ordinary people is done subconsciously, but after Fang Yun got Wenquxingzhao, his thinking had reached the level of a Jinshi, and these processes appeared very clearly in his mind.

After writing a few sentences about farming, a smile suddenly appeared on Fang Yun's face, because he made new discoveries during the writing process. This strategy is different from the classic meaning. The classic meaning is to analyze the words of the saints, and must be comprehensive. The main performance In the way of saints, I am still in a secondary position.

The policy essay is basically about offering suggestions and showing yourself to the emperor and the examiner. If you are comprehensive, you will be inferior. One specialization and multiple abilities are the second factor in answering the policy essay question.

Therefore, when writing about farming, Fang Yun did not use thousands of words to offer advice like a policy guide book. Instead, after writing some solutions to problems, he changed his pen and wrote: "Without farming, there will be no stability. How can we stabilize farming?" ?”

Then, through what he saw and heard, Fang Yun focused on "stabilizing agriculture".

When Magistrate Dong saw it, he almost burst into laughter. In terms of farming, many people have put forward ideas and countermeasures to support agriculture, but "stabilizing agriculture" is more specific and precise than "focusing on agriculture". It can not only catch the examiner's attention, but also It is more in line with the concept of policy theory.

Magistrate Dong stared at Fang Yun's head, wondering what was in this guy's mind and how he could be so smart, because as soon as the words "How to stabilize agriculture" came out, even if it was Fang Yun's strategy for stabilizing agriculture and someone else's, The policy of supporting agriculture is exactly the same, but these four words can also stabilize the other candidates.

After writing about farming, Fang Yun started writing about military affairs. Jingguo was suffering from serious border problems. If the candidates in Jingguo were to answer questions, they would inevitably focus on dealing with demons and barbarians. However, Fang Yun adhered to the concept of specialization in answering questions and did not write about military industry or military generals. , and write "military discipline", and then slightly extend from military discipline to military morale, clearly stating that only military discipline can make soldiers have heart and soul.

After writing about military affairs, Fang Yun breathed a sigh of relief, stabilized his mind a little, re-read the previous article, and finally nodded, making sure that what he wrote was consistent with what he thought, and his demeanor became more calm.

Magistrate Dong had been observing Fang Yun, and when he saw this scene, he secretly sighed in his heart that his reputation was truly well-deserved. Fang Yun's actions just now seemed ordinary, but he was close to "knowing himself." The longer a person lives, the more he realizes that it is most difficult to understand oneself, and "knowing yourself" is even higher than "introspection". Self-examination only reminds you of your faults, but "knowing yourself" can accurately know your own mistakes and right. Correct your own mistakes, but also insist on being right.

Magistrate Dong has been immersed in the two strategies of "stabilizing agriculture" and "military discipline". He did not expect that a young scholar could write such profound truths, which were not only far superior to him as a Jinshi, but also very feasible.

"Master Dong, I've finished my answer. Master Dong?" Fang Yun said.

"Oh?" Magistrate Dong broke away from thinking about two options, then sighed and looked at Fang Yun.

"If you were in Mizhou nineteen years ago, I would not have been the one who solved the problem."

Fang Yun suddenly realized that this was the exam question for Magistrate Dong that year. Not only did he take the exam nineteen years ago, but he was also the first in the exam in Mizhou.