Sword from the Immortal Mountain

Chapter 83: On-the-spot exam questions, the first place in the case (ask for first order)
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The imperial examination system during the Qianlong period underwent several reforms, which were generally beneficial to the candidates.

For example, in the previous dynasty, after a boy passed the first level of the county examination, he had to go to the provincial capital to take the subsequent prefectural examination and the academy examination.

In that case, for the candidates in the county towns, the mountains are high and the roads are long, which requires a long journey and is inconvenient and unsafe.

In view of this, after the founding of the Qian Dynasty, a new system was implemented, stipulating that examination venues for the boy's examination should be set up in designated locations in states, prefectures, and counties.

At the same time, in order to avoid wasting resources, there are also relevant conditions required: it must be a large county with a large number of candidates and a certain number of quotas.

As for some remote areas with a sparse population, they are close to nearby county towns.

Genshui County has always been a place of outstanding people and a strong culture of reading, so it has set up a designated examination institute. Local candidates do not need to go elsewhere, which can save a lot of energy and travel expenses.

Of course, precisely because it is a culturally rich county, the competition is fierce and it is not easy to be admitted as a scholar.

After all, there are limited places for each exam in each place.

The three examinations for boys are held every year: the county examination is in February, the prefectural examination is in April, and the academy examination is in June.

It just so happens that the imperial examination for the imperial examination will be held in August this year.

It is really one test after another, and I don’t know how many people are concerned about it.

As for the imperial examination, that is too far away.

At present, Chen Liang was only thinking about how to pass the college examination and be admitted as a scholar.

Compared with Chen Jin, he passed the examination for Tongsheng later, a full ten years later.

You have to know that age is extremely important in the road to success and official career. Sometimes a one-year difference in age may mean you can no longer climb up a step and can only stay where you are.

Of course, for someone who is not even a scholar, it is a bit too much to think about a career in politics at this moment.

But there is no way, Chen Liang is a very utilitarian person, and it is inevitable that he will have wild thoughts.

This thought brings up a lot of mixed thoughts.

Suddenly, I thought, if I fail the exam this time, how can I go back to face my parents who have high expectations of me at the age of thirty with nothing to rely on?
What will be the right and wrong of the villagers?
It is even more likely that he will no longer be able to study, and can only stay at home to look after his wife, manage tenants, and drink wine all day long...

Days like this are really boring.

What should I do?

He couldn't help feeling panic and restless.

"Snapped!"

There was a crisp sound, and it turned out to be a slap on the cheek.

Chen Liang felt the pain and shuddered. He came out of his state of panic and opened his eyes wide: "A Jin, why did you hit me?"

Chen Jin stretched out his palm, and there was a dead mosquito lying in the palm: "There is a mosquito."

"oh oh."

Chen Liang didn't think too much about it, but he felt that after being slapped, the previous messy thoughts disappeared like mosquitoes that were slapped to death.

My mind suddenly became clear.

It seems that I have to thank Chen Jin for this slap in the face, which woke me up.

There was no more conversation along the way and we entered Genshui County smoothly.

This was not the first time Chen Liang had taken the exam, and he had done a lot of preparation beforehand. His driver drove the mule cart directly to the "Qingyun Inn" near the examination hall.

This inn is very famous among the scholars in Genshui County.

Not only does it have an extremely advantageous geographical location, with the county examination hall just over thirty feet away, but it also has a very good name.

Soar to the sky!
Those who can open an inn here are certainly not ordinary people. It is said that the owner is of great background.

For candidates who come to take exams and stay in hotels, what they care about is convenience and safety, and they don't care about other things.

Chen Liang had already sent someone to book two upper rooms here in advance, next to each other, one for him and one for Chen Jin.

After you come here, you just need to identify yourself and you can check in.

If this is not the case, it would be difficult to live in the house in an emergency and we would have to find another place.

Chen Jin doesn't actually care about the accommodation conditions, but it must be said that Chen Liang is a good person and is good at socializing.

Chen Jin wanted to give him the money, but Chen Liang said generously: "You and I are not only from the same hometown, but also classmates. If you care about a small amount of room fee, you will look down on me."

Chen Jin was too lazy to push it around, so he carried his bookcase into the room and closed his eyes to rest.

By the evening, the entire inn was full and became lively and noisy.

Tomorrow is the day for the college entrance examination, and the candidates will come here in advance. Except for a few who live in the city, all others come to the inn to stay, rest well, and get enough energy to prepare for the exam.

As the number of people increased, those who knew each other began to greet each other. Those who had good relationships gathered in the room, ate together, and discussed together, mainly exchanging information and experience about the topic predictions, which could be regarded as sharpening their swords before the battle.

Perhaps an unintentional word can trigger certain insights.

Among them, Chen Liang was quite active. He knew many people and greeted them everywhere. When he met someone, he would always say "Hello, brother so-and-so". Then he would join the circle and start talking.

He originally wanted to ask Chen Jin to join him, but Chen Jin declined.

At the hour of Hai, the crowd dispersed and began to rest, and the inn gradually became quiet.

After much deliberation, Chen Liang finally knocked on Chen Jin's door and walked in:
"Ah Jin, do you know who the academic administrator who will be in charge of the exam tomorrow is?"

"I don't know."

Chen Jin really didn't care about this matter.

Chen Liang sighed, "You can't just bury yourself in studying and taking exams like this. As the saying goes, 'The best way to write is to be proficient in human relationships.' So, most of the time, what is tested is not the writing, but the human relationships."

Chen Jin smiled and said, "Do you have any connections with the academician?"

Chen Liang laughed in silence: "What are you talking about? How is it possible? If I knew the academician, I wouldn't be so worried and unable to sleep."

"Then you said the test is about human relations?"

"What I mean is that when you write an essay, the viewpoints you want to express should be in line with the examiner's preferences, and then you will be more likely to pass the exam."

Chen Jin nodded slightly: "That makes sense."

Chen Liang continued, "I didn't realize this last year, which led to my failure."

Chen Jin smiled and said, "So, you will definitely win this year?" But Chen Liang said with a bitter face, "It's even worse this year."

"Why?"

"This academic official, Mr. Zhou, is new to the position. He belongs to the new school. Ah Jin, do you know what 'new school' means?"

Chen Jin shook his head: "I haven't heard of it."

Chen Liang sighed: "Alas, I just heard someone say that the new school of thought and the old school of thought are in opposition to each other. Their views on the government are quite radical. They want to make innovations and implement new policies with great determination."

Chen Jin raised his eyebrows: "If that's the case, then why don't you just write in this direction according to the title?"

Chen Liang complained bitterly: "How can it be that easy? If you write badly, too much is as bad as too little. If you write in the wrong place or express the wrong point of view, you may be convicted for your words, which would be terrible. So after thinking about it, I decided not to gamble. I'd better just write some stable articles. I don't seek to achieve anything, but to avoid mistakes."

Chen Jin said: "You have thought of the ideas, that's it, just take a nap and take the exam tomorrow."

"But I was a little unwilling. I couldn't sleep and felt irritated."

"Haha, if you can't sleep and have no energy, how can you take the exam tomorrow?"

Chen Liang took a step forward: "So I came to you and asked you to help me."

Chen Jin asked: "How can I help?"

Chen Liang said a little embarrassedly: "On the way here, I was full of wild thoughts and panic, but after you slapped me, I came to my senses. So now I want you to slap me again."

Chen Jin: “…”

Snapped!
He raised his hand and slapped him cleanly on the other cheek.

Chen Liang shuddered suddenly, blinked his eyes, and said in surprise: "Okay, okay! Thank you, Jin, I can go to sleep peacefully now."

Say goodbye and leave.

Chen Jin smiled slightly, took out the Kuixing Wenhuo Lamp and put it on the table.

He pointed and the lights came on.

Kuixing kicks the bucket, kicking away distracting thoughts and delusions, his mind becomes clear and he slowly feels the magical rhyme and spiritual light contained in the lights.

He was not reading, but practicing.

……

The next day, all the candidates got up early, washed up, had breakfast at the inn, and then rushed to the examination hall, lined up, accepted searches, filed in, and took their seats according to their numbers, ready to start the exam.

The college entrance examination is divided into two sessions and is held on two consecutive days.

The first day, which is also the first session, is the main test, which mainly tests two essays and one poem; the second day is the re-examination, which tests one essay and one poem, which is actually an interview.

If you pass the interview, you can even get the results and determine the ranking on the spot.

Compared with the round lists of the county and prefectural examinations, the academy examination had square lists, with the candidates ranked according to their places. The first one was called "Anshou".

The exam room was very quiet and disciplined. I didn't even dare to cough, I had to cover my mouth and hold it in. If I couldn't help it, I could only cough gently.

Not long after, the chief examiner Zhou Xuezheng arrived with two adjutants and several stewards.

This Zhou Xuezheng was about forty years old, with a tall stature, three long strands of beard, a handsome and majestic appearance.

He glanced over it, confirmed that there were no problems, and then gave the order to start the project.

All the candidates did not dare to delay and quickly began to gather ideas, do questions and write essays.

Compared with the long and arduous Imperial Examination, the Academy Examination covers much less content, but it is not that easy to do.

Besides, there is only one day left, so time is quite tight.

"Those who are heavy on the outside and light on the inside, and those who are light on the outside and heavy on the inside, each have something to gain."

This is a topic about the Four Classics, which is a debate on opinions.

Chen Jin kept a calm mind. He first looked at the questions, then solved them, and then did them. Holding a brush in hand, he wrote them out quickly on the draft paper.

After writing, check, revise, and finally copy it neatly as a final document.

During the boy's exam, the papers are not sealed with names. But no matter what kind of exam it is, good handwriting is a plus point.

The day passed like this, the candidates handed in their papers, left the examination room and returned to the inn.

At this point, all the candidates showed their different attitudes.

Some were happy, some were calm, some were annoyed, and some even just started crying in the corner.

This is because I didn’t do well in the exam, knew I had no hope of getting admitted, and I was mentally devastated.

Chen Liang looked happy. He took the initiative to ask for it last night. After Chen Jin slapped him, he slept till dawn. He was full of energy. When it came to the exam, his thinking was sharp and he performed well. He felt that he performed above his level.

He came specially to thank Chen Jin and asked how Chen Jin did in the exam.

Chen Jin looked calm and there was no sign of anything wrong. He just said that he did about right in the exam.

For an exam like this, there's really not much to say until the results are out.

It’s not the kind of test question that has a standard answer.

Soon it was the next day and the second interview was held.

This time, the atmosphere was obviously more relaxed, and even the essay question was much simpler.

Most of the examinees finished quickly, and when they handed in their papers, they looked eagerly at the majestic academician, hoping that they would be noticed by him and have their ranking determined on the spot.

However, Mr. Zhou had a serious face and remained calm until Chen Jin came to hand in his paper. Then he suddenly asked, "Are you Chen Jin, the candidate from Chenze Township?"

Chen Jin replied: "Yes."

Lord Zhou stroked his beard and said, "I read your essay last night. It's well written. Now is a good time to test your poetry. Let's see how you do."

Chen Jin's eyes flashed, knowing that this was not a coincidence, and immediately said, "Please ask the question, sir."

Mr. Zhou said, "You should be staying at the Qingyun Inn outside. Let's use 'Qingyun' as the title. You can use any poem or song as long as it fits the rhythm."

Chen Jin thought for a moment, then chanted: "Spring dances in front of the White Jade Hall, the east wind blows evenly. Bees and butterflies swarm in disorder. How often have they followed the flowing water? Why must they be abandoned to the dust? The myriad threads will never change, let them gather and disperse as they please. Don't laugh at the rootlessness of youth. The good wind will help me soar to the sky."

After hearing this, Zhou Xuezheng's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands in praise, "What a great song 'Linjiangxian'. Chen Jin, you should be the first in this college entrance examination!"

(End of this chapter)