Three Kingdoms

Longyou.

Jincheng.

Zao Zhi looked at the three or two big cats and kittens taking the exam in the audience, scratching his head somewhat.

Why is one fat and four fat?

Zao Zhi turned to look at Jia Xu, but saw a complicated look on Jia Xu's calm face.

Jia Xu didn't say much. In this exam, Zao Zhi was the examiner and Jia Xu was just cooperating.

Zao Zhi looked at the students in the field, nodded, and announced the start of the exam.

Perhaps in some people's perception, there is a linear relationship between payment and return, that is, how much you pay, how much you get in return. This does make some sense, but sometimes this is not the case.

It's like the imperial examination.

The rewards of the imperial examination are a bit like stages.

For candidates, studying hard does pay off, but it does not mean that one book will be rewarded after reading one book. The rewards can only be seen after reaching a certain stage.

Therefore, the current imperial examination is also a stage for Fei Qian. He sent people to various counties to hold county exams, but it was not that after sending people out, you could see the progress bar rising there, and then linearly changing by a percentage every day. Instead, you had to wait for a stage. Knowing the final result, and whether the result is consistent with the original expectation, is not a linear relationship.

It's like the problem of Hedong having Hedong, and the problem of Longyou having Longyou.

Zao Zhi is in charge of Longyou.

In Hedong, Sima Yi encountered the problem of too many people coming, and as a result, he was not fully prepared. However, it was completely different in Longyou.

Few people come.

At such a young age, Zao Zhi himself had some doubts. Could it be that the county magistrates and village elders under Longyou were not doing any work and were not notified at all, resulting in many people not knowing about it?

But after some investigation, Zao Zhi discovered that this was not the case, but that there really was no one.

There are no scholars.

Reading also takes time, especially if you want to read the book well, it takes even more time.

It’s not even just a matter of personal time, but time that the family has to squeeze out.

Jincheng is very large, an important town in Longyou, and the reference number is small, so there is no situation like Hedong Anyi where people have no place to live. However, it has only been a few years. It can even be said that the entire Han Dynasty has opened up the world in three or four hundred years. The Longyou imperial examination attracted many ordinary people, and foreigners joined in the fun in their spare time.

Outside the examination room, there was a bustle of people selling items and talking about the examination. It was like a grand festival.

But Zao Zhi felt that with just such a small number of people, how could it be like a festival?

Jincheng also deployed a lot of inspections and soldiers to stand outside the examination room to maintain order.

After leaving the busy streets and entering the government office, after passing through the layers of portals and courtyard walls, it suddenly became quiet and the hustle and bustle was isolated.

In the examination room, it was extremely quiet, with only a few sounds of paper and clothes, and even breathing seemed to be light.

Because the number of people was relatively small, it could fit inside the government office square, so it was not moved to any other location. The environment inside the government office is certainly much better than elsewhere.

Under the guidance of soldiers and servants, the students taking the exam were divided into six rows in the square.

There were soldiers on duty around the square, and many scribes were patrolling.

Under such an environment, any small thoughts will be very obvious. If you make a big move, you will be warned. If you still think of making small moves, you will be taken away directly.

Therefore, even if there is no strict inspection like Changan, there will not be any major fraud problems.

In fact, speaking of it, it is still because there are few people.

There are just a few of them, right under their noses, how can they commit fraud?

It's like the kind of exam in later generations where thousands of people take exams, and then a dozen or dozens of people go on inspection, and then there is room for cheating. Now around Jincheng Square, there are soldiers, servants, scribes, scribes, etc. It cannot be said that there are more students than those taking exams. Every student is patrolled by several or even a dozen eyes at any time. Under such circumstances, if you can still take a peek with a cheat sheet or perform other actions, then you are really a hero. …

The exam questions are actually not difficult.

At least Zao Zhi thought it was not difficult, but when he saw the students in the examination room, many of them had bitter expressions on their faces.

So much so that Zao Zhi once suspected that he had made a mistake in the question.

Although Zao Zhi's question is different from Sima Yi's, it is also based on Chang'an's previous model. The first part is the dictation of the scriptures, specifying a certain paragraph, and then asking the candidates to dictate and explain the dictated paragraph. the meaning of.

The other part is policy analysis.

The entire exam lasts a whole day, which is longer than Hedong. Well, it’s not a complete day, it’s from the early morning till the evening, and winding up before the sun goes down. During the exam, you can take two breaks, each time not exceeding two moments. During the rest time, you can eat snacks, drink water, change clothes, etc. There are also dedicated people responsible for guarding and patrolling the corridors and side rooms on one side of the square.

If someone needs to go to the toilet to relieve themselves or something, they have to ask for instructions, and there are dedicated people following them every time. Whether it is for major or minor relief, these people are always there.

The spare food in the room is also simple dry buns, water, and pickles. There are also dedicated people standing aside and watching.

No one handed in their papers in advance, and most of the candidates turned in their papers one after another until it was almost dusk.

There were also two or three individuals who had to put their heads almost on the table because of the increasingly insufficient light, writing something in a hurry...

Zao Zhi couldn't bear it, sighed, discussed with Jia Xu, and asked his servants to prepare candles, light them, cover them with a cover, and put them on the tables of those people. It was considered as the last extra time for them. When the fire burned out, it was the last moment for them to hand in their papers.

By the time the papers were collected and handed over to Jia Xu and Zao Zhi, the sunset had already set.

Strictly speaking, the examination currently being carried out by Feiqin in the surrounding counties is more difficult than the boy examination, but it is not yet to the level of a scholar.

In the eyes of future generations, a scholar seems to be a very low-level person. Well, it cannot be said to be a low-level person. Perhaps it is more appropriate to use a low-level term. It is just a starting point for taking the imperial examination. But in fact, in ancient times, many people ended their lives in In this low-level position.

It was like Zao Zhi thought that the questions he asked were very easy and simple. Most people would not be stuck on such low-level questions. However, when he actually got the paper, he found that almost half of the people were accurate. It should be said that about 40% of the people were eliminated in the first question.

The imperial examination in any feudal dynasty is like thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge.

But in the early days of the imperial examination, the bridge deck was still relatively wide, or there were not many people who wanted to cross the bridge.

Before Zao Zhi came to Longyou, he knew a little bit about Longyou's situation, so the topics he set were not difficult. In other words, the bridge was not very narrow. Even the topics he proposed were close to the topic. Yu Longyou's situation.

Policy theory, the so-called "policy" is to pick a problem in current affairs and then propose a solution to the problem. And "discussion" means discussion, discussing or commenting on previously or currently controversial matters. This strategy is easy to talk about, because sometimes it doesn’t need to involve specific matters in detail, it just needs to be well-spoken and self-explanatory. But it’s difficult to say. After all, people without practical experience can easily fall into falsehood and shout a few slogans without finding out the real useful points.

The topic of the policy discussion proposed by Zao Zhi is about "pacifying the herdsmen".

This is almost consistent with the current main policy direction of Longyou, and it is also an area where problems have repeatedly occurred in Longyou over the years. Therefore, normally this topic is very experienced for people in Longyou, at least not Will be at a loss.

What type of questions would make people in Longyou confused?

For example, "controlling floods".

There are rivers in Longyou, but floods are rare. Most of the time, drought is a problem rather than flood control.

If the topic of "controlling floods" is wrong, it is not. Because this is a matter of national importance, such as Sangzi, how can it be said that it is the wrong topic?

But if the students from Longyou are tested on "controlling floods", then even if these students from Longyou who have no experience or feelings about floods can write, most of them will be just an article shouting slogans. The beautiful flowers are also useless.

The policy topic of "pacifying the herdsmen" obviously fits Longyou a lot.

But even so, Zao Zhi still couldn't help but sigh when he saw the answer sheets of these students.

Policy theory does not require writing poems. Well, of course, if you can be like Zhang Heng, Jia Yi, Ban Gu and others, who can not only speak meaningfully, but also explain profound principles, and at the same time can consolidate the rhythm of the text and achieve high literary talent, then it will be really Just excellent.

But in the three to four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, how many people wrote Han Fu, and how many could reach the level of Zhang Jia?

Therefore, Zao Zhi's requirements for these students' policy discussions are that their words are meaningful and their sentences are smooth.

pity……

Even such a request seems too high.

Zao Zhi had read several policy papers in succession, and then he closed his eyes after reading the beginning.

Later, when I opened the webpage, the screen was full of shocked people. Then I clicked on it, and it seemed that it said a lot, but it didn't seem to say anything at all. In the end, it just pretended to have a summary. The result was all clichés, and at the end there were more I'm lying again, "That's all the editor said, what do you think, please leave a comment."

Similar to this kind of shock body, although they are all scams, at least these editors are trying their best to round it, no matter whether it is rounded well or not, but you can see the strength of breaking it back, but Zao Only the policy papers I saw right now were off track from the very beginning, and they were still running away without any intention of looking back...

Zao Zhi sighed, silently put down the paper in his hand, turned around and asked Jia Xu, "Wenhe, is there something wrong with my question...this paper...?" 』

Jia Xu was silent for a while, and then said to Zao Zhi: "Today is too late, tomorrow, tomorrow I will take you around... then you will understand..."

The next day.

Xiahe Village.

There are not a dozen such randomly named villages in China, but probably seven or eight.

Because it relies on an unknown small river, it is called Xiahe Village.

There is a smaller village on the top of the mountain called Shanghe Village.

But what is very interesting is that the river near the village is not called a river, but it is called Mingxi.

It really can't be called a river, after all, the river is too shallow and too small.

Zao Zhi got off his horse by the river, then asked the guards to take the horses to drink water, while going up the hillside. Looking at the river not far away, which was probably only deeper than the ankle, he frowned slightly, "There is no need to build channels for this river." ...I guess there will be no water this winter... It would be helpful to build a few reservoirs..."

In this regard, Zao Zhi is professional.

Jia Xu was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that this was Zao Zhi's first thought when he arrived here.

But what Zao Zhi said was not wrong at all.

This should be a river, or stream, that winds out of the snow-capped mountains. After the underground river flows, it emerges from the top of the mountain and becomes the source of life here. The amount of water changes with the seasons. The ice and snow in autumn and winter freeze the snow on the snow-capped mountains. Isn’t it because the flow is cut off downstream?

Zao Zhi did not know the specific origin of this river, but he had rich agricultural experience, so even if he came here for the first time, he could see the agricultural difficulties here.

Animal husbandry and agriculture are very different in terms of demand conditions.

Especially the demand for water sources.

Agriculture requires too much water, much more than animal husbandry. It is mainly used for irrigation. If crops do not have enough water, they will not be able to take root, germinate, and ear growth, and they will not be able to grout when they need to set seeds. Anyway, almost as long as crops are planted, they must be planted regularly. Water is needed all the time, but it is obvious that there is not much river water here, so there are not many acres that can be cultivated, or that can be supported.

And in the surrounding area, just on the way Zao Zhi came here, there are also villages that are far away from water sources, and all animals and plants, as well as people and animals, rely on pick-and-pull drinking water.

In such a village, even its survival depends on God's favor.

Differences in living conditions lead to inconsistencies in survival costs.

Longyou and Hedong are inconsistent.

"Shall we go to the village now?" ” asked Zao Zhi.

Jia Xu shook his head and said, "We are right here...we just need to look at these people...don't bother them..."

"..." Zao Zhi looked at the people in the village not far away.

Looking down from the hillside, you can generally see the entire village.

Apparently someone in the village had spotted Zao Zhi Jia Xu and his party, but Zao Zhi Jia Xu had no intention of entering the village, and no one in the village came out to greet them.

It's not that the people in the village don't know politeness or rules, but here in Longyou, because of the terrain, it looks close, but the straight line distance is not far. In fact, if you really want to go to the village, you still need to go up and down. Go around in a big circle...

Zao Zhi originally thought that Jia Xu wanted to take him to see the local teaching situation or something.

Because it is obvious that the standards of these students in Longyou are quite low.

In the Han Dynasty, the counties with the highest academic level were Yuzhou, and then Jizhou. Jizhou was a little worse than Yuzhou, but the difference was not much. Then the second level was in the areas surrounding Jizhou and Yuzhou, such as Jingzhou, Youzhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou, Yongzhou, etc. , there are also Sichuan, Sichuan and Hedong, and the third level is remote areas.

However, after Xiuqi took charge of Guanzhong, the academic level in Guanzhong has continued to rise. It can now be said that it has not only caught up with Yuzhou and Jizhou, but even has a tendency to overtake it. Under such circumstances, normally speaking, the surrounding academic level It will also be driven. For example, in Hedong, there are obviously many more people studying than in the Zhongping period.

But in Longyou, it still seems to be a cultural desert.

To be honest, Zao Zhi was actually somewhat annoyed. He is usually a very gentle person, but this time he came to Longyou to take the exam and found that the students who came to Longyou to take the exam were much different from what he had expected before. They were not at the same level at all!

Zao Zhi thought before that there were excellent students in Longyou. If those who went to Chang'an Sanfu and got relatively good results were considered to be ten points, then those who took the Jincheng local examination should have seven or eight points, or maybe five or six points if not. ?

But what Zao Zhi didn't expect was that the average level of these students who took the exam was only three or four points. The good ones were only five or six points, and those who were seven or eight points were really rare. If you choose carefully, you might only get one and a half.

This naturally made Zao Zhi feel a little angry.

Regardless of other things, Zao Zhi wondered if these Longyou students did not have the attitude to study hard. Do you think that you can't learn well anyway, so you just study casually, and then take the test casually, and if you are lucky enough to pass, you can go home to farm and herd sheep?

Those outstanding Longyou students went to Chang'an Sanfu. Did the rest just give up on themselves?

So does it make sense for the General Hussar to specially set up such an exam in Longyou Jincheng?

But after Jia Xu came here with Zao Zhi, he didn't say anything more and just let Zao Zhi see it by himself. Jia Xu did not mention the difficulties these students had in studying, because wouldn’t it be difficult elsewhere? There is no problem that the academy has not yet been built, because although there is an academy in Hedong, Chang'an, there are many other places without academy.

So Jia Xu just let Zao Zhi see the lives of these students. He told the village that there were students from Longyou.

But Zao Zhi didn't see anyone who looked like a student.

I only saw everyone in the village busy...

People in their prime, whether they are strong men or strong women, are naturally doing the most tiring farm work.

Those who are older are also busy doing various trivial matters.

Even half-grown children have no free time. They either help their elders or go to the mountains to chop wood and mow grass.

The younger children are responsible for taking care of the younger children.

The most idle ones are only the young children, those who are not very good at walking yet, smiling silly and rolling on the ground.

Zao Zhi didn't quite understand what Jia Xu meant at first, but after watching it for about an hour, he gradually understood it. He turned to Jia Xu and asked, "Among the Longyou villages, is this village considered a first-class one or a low-class one?" 』

Jia Xu shook his head and said: "There is no upper, middle or lower, there are only bad ones, and even worse ones... The village halfway up the road that is not close to the river is even worse..."

"Huh..." Zao Zhi sighed, "I kind of understand..."