A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 176: One Poem, One Fu, One Fill-in-the-Blank (asking for monthly tickets at the beginning of the month)

The question about the Hongmen Banquet.

What Yan Shu did was really not simple.

Wang Tai, the prime minister's son, who has always had great confidence in the Xikun style, also frowned at this time.

First of all, it is difficult to come up with allusions for historical poems.

Unlike other poems about objects and feelings, it is easy to piece together without being too abrupt.

"Damn it! Yan Shu's questions are way too difficult."

Wang Tai cursed inwardly and looked up at the person in front of him.

Many candidates scratched their heads subconsciously.

For a moment, everything seemed a little difficult to deal with.

After all, poetry and prose account for a larger proportion of the weight in the imperial examination.

After seeing this scene, Wang Tai felt much more comfortable.

Don't be the only one who finds it difficult.

It would be better if everyone finds it difficult!

Then Wang Tai's eyes began to continue searching for the key target.

Song Twelve.

He is sick.

Hearing people talking about a fire at home at night, I guess they didn't get enough rest.

His Xikun style has always been targeted by Master Wang, and he is not good at it.

But his poetry has long proved that he has talent in this area.
So Wang Tai always felt that Song Xuan liked to play the pig and eat the tiger game.

really.

He saw Song Xuan writing something from a distance.

Wang Tai sighed slowly.

Sure enough.

These unexpected things were not difficult at all for Song Twelve.

He has been living independently since he was young. If I were to switch situations with him, I would never be able to reach his level.

This young man has damn charm and strength.

Wang Tai thought about it and decided that since he didn’t know how powerful Xiang Yu was, should he use Song Xuan as a replacement?
Then he looked towards the position of Han Qi in front of him.

Han Qi was also writing.

Others don’t know Han Qi’s strength, but Wang Tai knows it.

Otherwise, the academy would not have given him a break and allowed him to take the exam alone because of the incident at his family.

Because I don't want to miss this good seedling.

Moreover, according to the review plan that Master Wang gave him, it was not related to the Xikun style.

This further proves that Han Qi has reason to be proud of this aspect.

Wang Tai sighed slowly. What kind of monsters are his classmates?
Wang Tai felt a headache when he thought about having to compete with candidates from all over the Song Dynasty for the top spot in two years.

Now most people feel that it is difficult together, and it can also comfort themselves.

But some people start writing answers without thinking.

People in the same examination room felt disappointed.

"You bastard, I'm going to be the top scorer in the imperial examination too, I won't be worse than those two."

"I'll write too!"

"You two, one is Xiang Yu and the other is Liu Bang, both of you, put yourself in my shoes, I will write you to death!"

Wang Tai took the draft paper angrily and started marking.

I vow to give a satisfactory answer.

Faced with the same difficult problem, every student has different thoughts.

As the chief examiner, Yan Shu knew the difficulty of this poem.

There are so many people applying for the exam this year, more than seven thousand.

There are very few places available, and only a hundred or fewer people are admitted.

These more than 100 places include students from various subjects in addition to the Jinshi subject.

It’s just that the Jinshi exam is the most important and has the largest number of students taking it.

The competitiveness is also greater!

The number of places is slightly higher among the more than 100 people, but that is the only advantage.

The imperial court does not need talents from the Jinshi examination, but talents from the Jinshi examination are the easiest to get promoted!

The policy that the prime minister must be a scholar further aggravated this choice.

Therefore, whether it is an official school or a private school, students must work hard to become Jinshi.

Our study of "Confucian classics" is also very utilitarian.

After learning the literary and martial arts, I sell them to the imperial family, hoping to get a good price!

Yan Shu was strolling around the field, since he learned from Song Xuan that sitting for a long time can easily cause hemorrhoids.

He doesn't sit all the time while working on weekdays.

Since Yan Shu's inspection, he was sure that most of the students were very anxious.

But there are also a few good ideas that are still being conceived.

This is the advantage of examination selection.

For the same question, how can we tell who has a higher level without taking an exam?
It's much better than the law of inheritance by bloodline.

Even if they are children of high-ranking officials and receive a lot of training, they may not be able to pass the exam.

The system of hereditary privileges does satisfy their desire to become officials, but your future prospects will not be very bright.

Gu Zimo is now looked after by Cao Liyong.

Yan Shu had been watching for a while just now.

He found that Gu Zimo was now completely distracted and was always absent-minded.

I just don’t know what evidence Song Xuan has on him?
However, what is certain is that Song Xuan did not lose in the battle with the Dou family.

As for Song Xuan, he was sick again, and something happened at home at night, etc.

Yan Shu didn't think that Song Xuan would be unable to display his full strength because of this little disturbance.

Song Xuan is just like himself. He is not an ordinary student at all. He gets very panicky when encountering problems.

The fact that it was Gu Zimo who was in a panic now was enough to make Yan Shu more in favor of Song Xuan's methods.

Do you understand the value of a child prodigy?

When Yan Shu walked to Song Xuan, he glanced at him.

I found that he had already written a version on draft paper and came up with a framework.

Song Xuan was writing various allusions on the draft paper, intending to cram it in.

Yan Shu had no expression on his face, but he was very proud in his heart.

really.

A child prodigy is a child prodigy!

Even if he encountered external interference, it would not affect his knowledge and he could perform well in the examination.

At this time, Song Xuan was completely immersed in the idea of ​​using allusions.

It should be antithetical, gorgeous, reasonable and appropriate.

This workload is not low at all.

He couldn't understand why the imperial examination was so difficult?
As for the examiner who stayed beside Song Xuan, he didn't pay any attention to him at all.

"Straight bitch!"

Song Xuan couldn't help but complain:

"This question is a bit too difficult."

When Yan Shu heard Song Xuan's little words, he didn't blame him.

On the contrary, I was extremely proud!
difficult.

That's it!
Can you come up with questions that are not difficult?
How can we select the right few from so many students if it is too simple?

If everyone can do it, it will be extremely troublesome to mark the papers.

Anyway, it’s better to have this difficulty from the beginning.

They will also encounter such high difficulty when facing the provincial examinations and palace examinations.

At that time, I wouldn't be afraid anymore, and maybe I could answer better.

Song Xuan cursed, but in fact the poem did not make much progress.

But at this moment, the yamen runners began to walk around holding signs.

Start showing the title of the fu.

Song Xuan looked up.

I saw that it was a fu poem with Chibi as its theme, with a limit of 300 words or more.

"You're a jerk."

Song Xuan cursed again.

Is Yan Shu planning to pick one out of a hundred?
There is no restriction on the topics in general examinations. They can be from classics and history, or they can be set by the examiners at will, and they can be about scenery or objects.

In addition to Song Xuan cursing loudly, a large number of students began to wail.

The examiner shouted for silence, and anyone who made a sound would be kicked out of the examination room.

Song Xuan was muttering about the autumn of the year Renxu, on the 15th day of the seventh month, when Su Shi and his guests were boating at the foot of Chibi. There was a gentle breeze and the water was calm.

After he read half of the verse, he found that it was more than three hundred words.

Song Xuan then wrote directly on the draft paper:

Bong

Try Red Cliff Fu:

According to the requirements of the Song Dynasty imperial examination, there are thirteen rules when writing fu.

The first move is Fengshi, which is equivalent to the format of "jie".

If any of the thirteen rules, such as not writing "Fengshi" on the examination paper, is violated, the candidate will be expelled.

"In the autumn of the year Renxu, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, Song Zi and his guests were boating at the foot of Red Cliff. A gentle breeze blew, and the water was calm."

As for the year, Song Xuan was too lazy to change it, but he also had to pay attention to the rhyme.

Just think of it as the Chibi I went to in my dream that year.

After all, this kind of fu doesn't require personal experience to write. Yan Shu just turned back from another line and saw Song Xuan writing it in one go.

He took a few quick steps.

He walked to Song Xuan and slowed down his pace.

Then he openly took a look at his test paper.

The beginning is: the autumn of Renxu?
Yan Shu subconsciously counted on his fingers.

Now is the autumn of Jiazi year, and Renxu year will be the autumn forty-five years later?
Good guy.

What a great guy.

Song Twelve is indeed an unconventional person!
Imagine yourself traveling to Chibi with your friends forty-five years later, right?
Yan Shu didn't know how to complain about Song Xuan's fabricated ideas.

But as the examiner, it would be inappropriate for him to stay here forever.

At this time, Yan Shu's mind was full of questions, and he walked away slowly.

Because he was also a child prodigy, he didn't understand Song Xuan's way of thinking.

After all, in his opinion, the paths of child prodigies are similar, and he can understand what each other does.

Moreover, as a representative figure of child prodigies, Yan Shu had certainly seen many of them.

He could also guess the thoughts of those child prodigies, but he happened to meet a delayed child prodigy like Song Xuan, and Yan Shu could never guess Song Xuan's thoughts.

This kid's ideas are always different from ordinary people!

Song Xuan finally encountered a simple question, so he started to write a close-up.

I don’t care about your this and that!

Looking at the requirements of this poem, Wang Tai had no idea.

He paid little attention to this kind of history.

On weekdays, I mostly read collections of scriptures and the like.

Who would have thought that this time Yan Shu didn't look for the information from anywhere, and just made up the test questions according to his own ideas.

This made Wang Tai feel a little bit awkward.

The decision he had just made became a little impetuous, especially when he saw Song Xuan writing there all the time.

Wang Tai was a little discouraged.

"Damn it! The examiner is infuriating, but compared to my own failure, my classmates' success is even more heartbreaking."

"We all study in the same academy, why am I the only one who is so bad?"

"Does a child prodigy have to be great?"

But Wang Tai had no choice but to force himself to continue writing.

Although Yan Shu was surprised by Song Xuan's "opening move", he had to admit that he was very smart as he could come up with an idea so quickly.

Because under Yan Shu's observation, many students were deep in thought.

Even Han Qi, whom Yan Shu favored, was reluctant to start writing.

Even though his Xikun style poem was well done.

While strolling, Yan Shu returned to the starting point.

Cao Liyong pointed at Gu Zimo, who was a little restless. He had been sitting there without patrolling the area.

Anyone could tell from the expression on Gu Zimo's face that he was frightened.

At this time, he didn't care about the official's etiquette and kept wiping the sweat off his face.

Because the longer the time went on, the more Gu Zimo thought about it.

Although these people who came from the imperial examination system were good at taking exams, most of them were really fragile inside.

"Drag him."

Yan Shu decided to wait until Song Xuan handed in his paper and then ask him what was going on.

Cao Liyong nodded and then asked:
"I see many people are complaining about your questions. Are they too difficult?"

"That's right, it's difficult."

Yan Shu stroked his beard and snorted:
"That's just over 7,000 people. By the time they go to Tokyo to take the provincial exam, I'm afraid all the students who are good at taking exams from all over the country will be able to make up for the 20,000 people. If they can't pass the exam, it's better to give up early."

Cao Liyong didn't say much. In short, it was quite difficult to pass the imperial examination.

Because the number of people to be exempted during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong was more than 15,000.

This group of people all have to take part in the provincial examination, and the best few hundred people will be selected to enter the palace examination. Then half or one-third of them will be eliminated, and the rest will be the Jinshi.

The Northern Song Dynasty adopted a large-scale policy of supporting scholars and admitting more Jinshi in the palace examinations. This was not until the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song that all the candidates were admitted.

The poems and essays stumped many students, and many of them were sweating through their clothes.

Whether it is the stuffiness or the tension, many students feel uncomfortable.

When the time comes, there will be a gong sound.

Indicates that it’s time to eat.

If you want to go to the toilet, you must raise your hand and someone will take you there. You have to queue up and multiple people are not allowed to leave at the same time.

Song Xuan took out his pancake, put some beef slices in it, opened his mung bean soup, and started eating lunch.

He planned to take another nap and go to the bathroom after copying all the questions for the next exam.

Anyway, the afternoon test is just fill-in-the-blank questions.

Time flies by in the blink of an eye.

"You're a jerk."

Song Xuan couldn't help but yell while peeing:

"Old bastard Yan came up with thirty questions. Luckily, I've been reading the Analects lately, so at least there are three I haven't remembered yet."

When he went out holding his nose, he saw Yan Shu waiting on the side.

He smiled and said, "Song Twelve, are you satisfied with this question?"

"It doesn't matter whether I'm satisfied or not, as long as Mr. Yan is satisfied."

Song Xuan bowed slightly and then wanted to go back.

But Yan Shu said:

"I forgot to tell you that I had someone cover up your test paper just now to prevent it from being seen by others and to avoid the reputation of actively helping others cheat."

In the Song Dynasty, examination halls were set up in a row, making it very convenient to convey the knowledge during examinations.

Just by raising your head slightly, you can convey information through secret codes, or people with excellent eyesight can see it.

The most important thing in writing poetry and prose is innovation. It is difficult to write a good piece without being smart and knowledgeable.

Policies and essays require a comprehensive understanding of changes in the past and present. Unless they are already written, it is difficult to plagiarize them in the studio.

Tiejing and Moyi are similar to today's fill-in-the-blank questions and question-answer questions (answering scriptures and annotations).

Both are mainly based on memorization.

It is very easy to bring in cheat sheets and pass on information during the exam, so the precautions against these candidates in the exam hall are particularly strict.

In the eighth year of Emperor Renzong's Tiansheng reign, Ouyang Xiu, out of sympathy for a sick candidate named Li, placed his answer sheet on the candidate's desk so that he could "open it up and use it as he pleased."

Soon, "the list came out, Ou Gong was the first, and Li was also on the list"!
By the Southern Song Dynasty, when taking this subject, bringing books privately had become a semi-public open-book exam, and several people even hired a ghostwriter to pass the answers to everyone.

Because this subject is most likely to be plagiarized.

"Thank you, Mr. Fan."

Yan Shu did not take Song Xuan's thanks to heart at all, but waved his hand to signal him to go back and answer the questions.

After Song Xuan reluctantly finished writing the "allusion" poem, he still handed in the paper early.

Because of this situation, Song Xuan was still called in for questioning by Yan Shu in a businesslike manner.

Song Xuan took the opportunity to glance at Gu Zimo, whose face looked a little pale. He must be a little panicked now.

If he catches the assassin, he won't be able to explain himself.

Gu Zimo saw Song Xuan staring at him and smiling. He was strong and calm, and glared back.

Song Xuan waited for a while as usual, but unexpectedly Zhang Fangping also handed in his paper.

"Twelfth brother." Zhang Fangping's face looked a little unhappy.

"Ah."

Song Xuan responded, but he did not take the initiative to ask how the exam went.

There is absolutely no need to check the answers after the exam.

"I didn't do well in the exam?"

"Ah."

Song Xuan responded: "Actually, I didn't do well in the exam either."

"Ah?" Zhang Fangping couldn't believe it, but suddenly he remembered:
"Twelfth brother, is it because something happened at home?"

"No, I'm simply not very familiar with the Xikun style, and my poetry isn't very good. Some parts of the fu don't rhyme, and as for the fill-in-the-blank questions, I didn't remember three of them clearly."

After hearing Song Xuan's words of comfort, Zhang Fangping did not feel happy at all. He really hoped that Song Xuan could do well in the exam, and he could do well too, so he sighed slowly:
"Twelfth brother, I'm not good at writing poetry. I didn't use any allusions, and my fu barely made it to 300 words. As for the rhyme, I'm a little unsure."

"It doesn't matter. If we both do very well in the exam, wouldn't it prove that we can still do well in the exam without the training of the academy?"

"Then what the hell is Yingtian Academy for!"

Zhang Fangping smiled helplessly:
"Twelve Brother is right. It's me who's a little anxious."

Song Xuan sat on the steps and chuckled:
"Besides, we are here just to test the waters, and the chances of passing are slim."

He patted Zhang Fangping on the shoulder:

"There's no need to put too much pressure on yourself. Besides, your uncle has been admitted. He can give you careful tutoring at the academy. We can take the exam again next year."

"It's just right to go home. The matter has been resolved. There is no danger for the time being. Qu Ze and the others are leading the government to encircle and eliminate the last killer today."

Zhang Fangping nodded dejectedly. He didn't want to drag it on any longer, so he might as well hand in the paper and end the torture early.

Because the questions Yan Shu asked were really too difficult.

When the two men went out, the onlookers saw that Song Twelve was still the first to come out, which caused some sensation for a while.

Various versions of what happened in his shop have long been circulated.

Whether it was the Dou family's revenge or people who were jealous of his business, there were all kinds of rumors.

There were even rumors that Song Twelve, a young talent, was assassinated to death.

"Shi Er Lang, how did you do on the exam?"

"It's just so-so." Song Xuan said with a serious expression:
"The questions asked by Mr. Yan are too difficult."

After hearing Song Xuan's answer, many gamblers felt a little depressed.

I thought it was a good deal that I could make money while protecting my capital, but it was too difficult for the original poster to respond to the question!
How can this be good?

"Hey, Shi Er Lang, you have to study hard in the exam. I bet you can win the first place."

Song Xuan really ignored these people and climbed onto the donkey. After he walked out of the crowd, he asked Wang Gui:

"Brother, have you cleaned up everything?"

(End of this chapter)