Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 212 Palace Exam
The time of the palace examination is the same as that of the court meeting, entering the palace at 06:30 in the morning.

Before dawn, nearly [-] examinees drove into Xuandemen in more than [-] imperial court carriages.

The carriage stopped in front of a row of tall palaces, and the scholars jumped out of the carriage one after another. An official from the Ministry of Rituals shouted: "Form up, follow me to take a bath and change clothes!"

590 The six scholars immediately formed a long line, with fifty boy examinees walking in front, and everyone followed the officials of the Ministry of Rites to the palace.

Although bathing and changing clothes is an etiquette need, it also has another special function for the imperial examination, which is to prevent coercion and cheating.

After all, they all passed the provincial examination, and it would be rude to the scholars to search the body like before, so taking a bath and changing clothes is a flexible and elegant way.

It is just a ritual for the scholars to bathe and change clothes, not to let them take a real bath, rinse a little, and then go to the latrine to clean up the three urgent matters.

Nearly half an hour later, the scholars wearing new white court uniforms began to line up to the Daqing Palace Square.

The sky was not yet bright, and a bright moon was still hanging in the sky, but the sky in the distance had already appeared a touch of blue. In the moonlight, the tall and majestic Daqing Palace stood in front of the candidates, and the black figure looked even more majestic.

This is the political center of the Song Dynasty, and also the main hall of the imperial palace. Every year on the first day of the first lunar month, the Great Court Meeting is held here, and some major political events such as the canonization of the prince and the enthronement of the new emperor will also be arranged here.

590 The six scholars stood silently in front of the Daqing Hall, waiting for the time to enter the hall.

The sky is gradually getting brighter, and a ray of morning glow has appeared in the distant sky, covering the sky with a layer of gorgeous rose color.

At this time, there was a crisp sound of cloud boards in the hall, and an official walked out of the hall and shouted loudly in front of the jade steps: "The time has come, candidates enter the hall!"

590 Six scholars wore white court uniforms and entered the main hall in two long lines along the [-] jade steps of the Dragon Head Road.

The main hall is ready, with [-] tables neatly placed, but no chairs. This is the tradition of the palace examination. Standing up for the written test puts high demands on the calligraphy of the scholars, who almost have to hang their wrists to write.

However, this is also the basic skill of calligraphy, so it is not a big problem, but the physical strength test for scholars is more severe. If you are weak and sick, and you are nervous, you may not be able to survive the exam for a long time.

Fortunately, even if he leaves midway, it will not have any serious impact. At most, the score is fifth, and in the end he is still born as a Jinshi. These do not involve moral faults, and the emperor is more tolerant of the scholars.

In the end, the results of the palace examination and the provincial examination were combined and rated as the fifth class.

The first category is "excellent knowledge, pure rhetoric, outstanding and unique, and unparalleled." '

The second category is "skills and learning should be well-versed, the arts and sciences are thorough, and they can be regarded as high-level among the crowd." '

The third class is "the art industry can be adopted, and the arts and sciences are both good." '

The fourth class is "slightly inferior in arts and sciences, proficient in arts and sciences." '

The fifth class is "the literature and science are shallow, and there is no doubt that it has retreated." '

Among them, the scholars who passed the first and second ranks in the examination, and ranked in the top [-], will have the opportunity to be interviewed by the emperor in person, and the champion, second place and Tanhua will be among them.

The No. [-] Scholar, No. [-] and Tanhua are on the top list of Jinshi, which are called Jinshi Jidi.

Even if the top [-] scholars did not get the top three, they could still be on the top two list and be granted a Jinshi background.

If the grade is third, of course there will be no chance of an interview. Being on the top three list is also a Jinshi background, but in future competitions among colleagues, the ranking will not be as good as the second top list, and the status will be slightly lower.

Those with the fourth and fifth grades will be listed on the second list, and they will be awarded with Jinshi background.

The top three and the second list have the largest number of scholars, accounting for more than [-]% of the total number of scholars.

The papers and test questions have been handed out and placed on the table with pen and ink on it. The papers also need to be sealed, that is, to be named.

Although the palace examination was presided over by the emperor, the emperor just sat high on the dragon couch, and the actual presiding officials were several prime ministers.

Wen Yanbo, Song Xiang, Pang Ji, Gao Ruona, Liang Shi and other five prime ministers patrolled the hall respectively, and of course the left and right ministers of the Ministry of Rites were invigilators.

The time starts in the early morning and ends at dusk. You can hand in the papers in advance, but you must wait for the emperor to leave the palace before you can hand in the papers.

Fan Ning quickly glanced at the depths of the hall, the light was very dim, and he saw a few eunuchs standing on top of the majesty Dan, and a person sitting faintly on the top, whose appearance and clothing could not be seen clearly, probably the emperor Zhao Zhen.

He took his mind back and opened the question paper. There were indeed only three questions. The first question was about strategies for enriching the people, the second question was about strategies for calming the people, and the third question was about strategies for governing the people.

The questions are very large, and I am afraid that a million words cannot be written, but there are detailed instructions below the questions. Each question has many detailed directions. Candidates can choose one or two directions to elaborate in detail. Each question is required to be no less than five. One hundred words, no more than one thousand words.

Fan Ning calmed down, and he wrote a summary of the content of each question on straw paper, and then he didn't need to write drafts again when playing, and the time was more tolerant.

The first topic is the strategy of enriching the people. Below is a summary of more than a dozen directions, such as tax cuts, persuading farmers, promoting business, and trade. Choose the direction to trade to enrich the people.

. . . . . . . . .

As time passed, there was only a rustling sound in the hall. The emperor Zhao Zhen sat on the high dragon couch, drinking tea while looking at nearly six hundred scholars.

Looking at the young and energetic faces, Zhao Zhen also feels quite emotional in his heart. Only young people have the determination to reform and have great ambitions. Perhaps among them will appear the backbone of the reform of the Song Dynasty.

At this time, Zhao Zhen's eyes fell on the three rows of scholars in the front. These were all young scholars, and they should be candidates for the boy examination.

Zhao Zhen was in the dark, and the candidates were in the light. The candidates couldn't see him clearly, but Zhao Zhen could see every candidate clearly.

His gaze finally fell on Fan Ning, and Zhao Zhen laughed. If he hadn't known about it in advance, he really wouldn't have recognized the young man who had left a deep impression on him three years ago.

The childishness on Fan Ning's face has gradually faded away. Although he is still a teenager, the outline of a young man has faintly appeared on his face, especially the calmness and composure on his face, which Zhao Zhen admires.

"Your Majesty, it's time to take the medicine!" An eunuch reminded Zhao Zhen carefully.

Zhao Zhen had been sitting for more than an hour, and he was indeed a little tired, so he ordered: "Let the Xiangguo entertain the talented people for lunch, and I will retire temporarily."

Zhao Zhen got up and left, but the scholars in the hall didn't pay attention, they were all immersed in the thoughts of expressing their ambitions.

These three questions are very easy to start, and everyone can explain from their own angles and express their ambitions.

This is also the original intention of the question maker, to understand the mind and ambition of every scholar through the palace examination.

Soon, it was noon, and dozens of maids entered the hall to give each scholar a hot meal. This treatment was different from the provincial examination. Everyone was already a prospective Jinshi, so the court would naturally treat them kindly.

Moreover, most of the scholars have already reached the end, so cheating at this time does not make much sense.

The maid served food at random, even if someone wanted to send a note to someone, the note might not reach the target person's table.

Soon, the eunuch brought chairs to give the scholars the opportunity to sit, eat and rest, which made many scholars who were standing with sore backs feel very grateful.

After resting for half an hour, the scholars continued to write with their wrists hanging. In the afternoon, as the bell rang, the scholars could hand in their papers. Scholars began to hand in their papers in twos and threes and walked out of the hall to drink tea at a designated place. .

After another half an hour, more and more scholars handed in their papers, and before dusk arrived, the last scholar also left the hall.

Hundreds of scholars sat in the side hall, drinking tea and whispering.

"Fan Ning, how did you do in the exam?" Taking advantage of people not paying attention, Su Liang asked Fan Ning beside him in a low voice.

"That's it!"

Fan Ning took a sip of hot tea, and said lightly: "Just write down what you think, it's not a big deal."

"Me too. After I figured it out, I performed well. At least three questions were solved."

Su Liang glanced at Liu Ran who was sitting in front, and whispered to Fan Ning, "That Liu Ran is very arrogant when I heard that he passed the No.

"Maybe he will do well in the exam in the end!" Fan Ning smiled, but he didn't take Liu Ran seriously.

"I heard that only the top three in Tongzi Division have interview opportunities. Don't lose to Liu Ran in the end."

"It doesn't matter, I just want to get the fifth-class score, and I will be satisfied if I have a fellow Jinshi background."

Su Liang rolled his eyes when he heard this, how insincere this guy's words are.

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[To clarify, it is Xiangguo Song Xiang, pronounced Xiang, not Song Itching, Lao Gao made a mistake earlier. 】

(End of this chapter)