Tibet

The next day, the imperial examination continued. The content of each subject test on the second day was different, and the difficulty was obviously increased. Some people were happy and some were worried, but at least there was no despair, because there was still a third day, where all those who failed the test would be saved. A glimmer of hope.

But after the exam on the third day, many candidates walked out of the examination room crying.

The topic of countermeasures made many people collapse, "Discuss the pros and cons of water transportation and land transportation."

Oh my God! This strategy requires a boating expert at home to be able to answer this question.

Wei Gao and Su Hui were also in a bad mood. They both did well in the exam on the second day, but the strategy question on the third day stumped them.

Of course, some common sense is not a big problem. Everyone knows that water transport has a larger volume of freight, far more than land transport. Everyone also knows that water transport in the south and water transport in the north have their own characteristics. There are many mountains in the south and ice in the north in winter. These are not conducive to water transport. .

Moreover, Sanmenxia and Hukou severely restricted water transport on the Yellow River.

Wei Gao and Su Hui sighed in the room, but Guo Jun did well in the exams in the next two days. He estimated that he could be admitted. He was in a very calm mood. Seeing that his two friends were in a bad mood, he didn't know how to comfort them.

"Let's go have a few drinks! After the exam is over, let's get drunk!" Guo Jun suggested.

Getting drunk played into their hands. They stood up and said, "Let's go! Get drunk and commit a crime."

"Who wants to get drunk?"

A person walked in outside, it was Wei Yingwu.

The three of them were startled and saluted quickly, "Brother Wei!"

Wei Yingwu glanced at them and said calmly: "Did you do well in the exam?"

Wei Gao sighed, "I didn't do well in the exam today, so I wanted to get drunk and forget about it."

Su Hui also said: "I didn't do well in the exam either!"

"Sit down first!"

The three of them sat down next to their own beds, and Wei Yingwu also pulled a chair and sat down. Thanks to Li Ye's leadership, Chang'an chairs have become very common. Except for some extremely conservative famous families, they are basically used in ordinary homes and public places. chair.

Wei Yingwu smiled and said: "His Royal Highness the King of Qi personally came up with the strategy questions. It is indeed difficult to write, but you are not the only one who is frustrated. I think almost all the scholars who have passed the examination are extremely frustrated. Do you understand what I mean?"

Wei Gao and Su Hui looked at each other, and Wei Gao asked tentatively: "Brother, what do you mean, the shortest ones are the tallest ones?"

Wei Yingwu clapped his hands and laughed, "That's exactly what I mean. It doesn't matter how well you answer this question. The key is to have new ideas. As long as you write new ideas, your score will not be low."

Wei Gao scratched his head, "One of the weaknesses of water transportation is that it is slow and time-consuming. The countermeasure I came up with is to build a large number of transit warehouses."

"Not bad!" Wei Yingwu praised: "The transit warehouse is a good idea, what else?"

Wei Gao received the praise and quickly said: "There is also ice in the north in winter. I suggest that we can use the principle of ice sled to build a large ice sled carrier, put the boat on it, and let the camels pull it for transportation on the ice! "

Wei Yingwu laughed loudly and gave a thumbs up: "Your idea can be put to the arithmetic test. It is indeed a very good idea. You can sail the boat during normal times and put the boat on the ice sled in winter. You can continue to transport it, and it is still possible to transport food." Not easy to break."

"Brother, is this a new idea?"

"It's definitely a new idea. These two new ideas are enough."

Wei Yingwu asked Su Huidao again: "What's new in Brother Su's answer?"

"Brother, is dredging the river a new idea?"

Wei Yingwu pondered for a while and said: "Dredging rivers is quite meaningful, but I guess most candidates can write about it, so it can't be said to be new."

Su Hui thought for a while and then said: "For land transportation, I suggest using camels in the north and elephants in the south. I also recommend using elephants at the dock."

Wei Yingwu suddenly became interested, "Why would you think of elephants?"

Su Hui said with some embarrassment: "My family has a sugarcane plantation in Yaozhou, and there are twenty elephants responsible for transportation. When I was a child, I saw an elephant dragging a cart loaded with several kilograms for transportation, and its trunk It can roll up more than a thousand kilograms of weight, which I find very useful when loading cargo onto the dock. Elephants are not picky about their food and are easy to feed in the south.”

Wei Yingwu nodded, "I don't know if elephants can replace cattle for transportation, but using elephants on the dock is indeed a very good idea and quite innovative!"

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief. Brother Wei said this, and they could see a glimmer of hope again.

Wei Yingwu added: "I came to you today mainly to tell you two things. First, don't be discouraged and leave Chang'an for the time being. Second, don't go to brothels. We have regulations. Officials are not allowed to go to brothels to visit prostitutes. Once they are arrested, If the inner guard catches it, it’s fine if he fails the exam. If he passes the exam, it will be considered a violation and he will be disqualified from admission. Do you understand?”

The three of them nodded in succession, "Thank you, Brother Wei, for reminding us, we will remember it!"

After the imperial examination, the first thing to do is to return the papers and bind together the papers of each candidate for three days. This matter is the responsibility of the invigilator for each purpose.

After the papers are returned, the papers for each purpose are packed in a big box and sent to the marking center, where they will be marked by thirty examiners.

There are ten examiners for each subject. It seems that there are very few examiners. It is difficult to mark the examination papers, but in fact it is not difficult. First of all, the first level is to eliminate all the examination papers that fail to pass the calligraphy test.

Calligraphy is very important. It may seem like only ten points, but those ten points are the icing on the cake. The premise is that the calligraphy is good.

But the first step is to see if the calligraphy is up to standard. Words are a knock-on point. Every student has been practicing calligraphy since childhood. After finishing the county school, they have basically practiced calligraphy for at least ten years. That must be good. In the imperial examination, you can also be judged as qualified and enter the next evaluation link.

But if your calligraphy is unqualified, the reviewers will think that you have not studied well. Even if you answer well, you will not have a chance to show it. Before you can read the content, you will be eliminated if your calligraphy is unqualified.

This level of calligraphy will eliminate 20% of the scholars, and then the second level. The second level still has no formal review and is still in the stage of widespread elimination.

The examiner will briefly scan the paper to see if the answers are complete.

If there are questions that you have not answered and are empty, then this paper will also be eliminated. Because you have not answered the questions, even if there is only one question, you will definitely not be among the top 500. Reading your paper is a waste of time and you will be eliminated directly. This level will eliminate 30% of the soldiers.

So after two rounds of elimination, half of the scholars fell off the list.

The third level is called the preliminary review. All the papers that have passed the calligraphy and have complete answers are gathered together. Everyone divides the work and cooperates. Some specialize in reading scriptures, some specialize in literature, and some specialize in countermeasures.

Of course, each test paper must be read by at least two examiners, and each will give a score. The score will be about the same, and the one with the higher score will be considered. However, if the score difference is too big, a third person will be required to review it. This situation often occurs in literature. In terms of strategies and countermeasures, sticking to scriptures is the standard answer, unless there are errors that have not been discovered.

The examination was carried out day by day, and more and more candidates were eliminated. That afternoon, the examiner Cen Shen put down his pen, and the admission list of one hundred and fifty candidates was released.