A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 780 Difficult Exam Questions
The official examination is held in the military camp outside the town. The Military Academy and the Civil Affairs Academy are located on the east road of Xuanfu Town, which is a little farther away. The rest, such as the Gongyuan and Confucian Temple in the town, can hardly accommodate thousands of people for the exam at the same time, so Only in the barracks.

The canteen in the special barracks is bright and tidy, and it is best used as an examination room. Now that the army is constantly moving outside the fortress, the barracks in the town have been emptied a lot, and many canteens have become vacant.

These candidates have been notified in advance that the exam in Xuanfu Town is different. Although the exam lasts for two days, they don't stay for a few days and eat and sleep in it. Instead, they take one exam in the morning and one in the afternoon. Return to the inn to rest.

And after the exam in the morning, lunch is provided in the barracks, so there is no need to bring bedding and tableware.

Candidates were notified that the exam on the 22nd was from Chenshi high school to noon in the morning, from Weishi high school to Youshi middle in the afternoon, and then another exam tomorrow morning, and the official exam was over.

Facing a major turning point in their fate, Zhao Zhongju and others were nervous, so when the sky was bright, when they went to the Juxian Pavilion Restaurant for dinner with the scholars, they felt rather unwilling to eat.

In fact, the breakfast was good, porridge and side dishes, and each person had an egg, which was a good combination and rich in nutrition, but Zhao Zhongju and the others were nervous.

And like him, many people have bloodshot eyes and pale faces, obviously the result of staying up late reading Nine Chapters of Arithmetic, Great Ming Law and other books.

"Daddy, you must take the exam well. Ji'er wants to stay in Xuanfu Town and eat porridge and eggs every day."

His daughter, Bi'er, was drinking porridge and said innocently to her father.

His wife reprimanded: "Zi'er, have some porridge, don't make things difficult for your father."

She said warmly to Zhao Zhongju: "Sister, take the test with peace of mind... even if you fail the test this time, you can take the test again next time. You can also grind tofu in Xuanfu Town, so that Xiang Gong can study and take the test with peace of mind."

Zhao Zhongju shuddered, looking at his wife's thin and yellow face, a sudden sense of guilt welled up in his heart.

She used to be so beautiful, but now she is so haggard. This is all because of supporting myself to study for a year. As a man, I feel ashamed to ask my wife to support the family's livelihood.

He seemed to let go of something in his heart, and said with a loud smile: "Young lady is right, if you take the test for your husband's peace of mind, even if you fail...it doesn't matter. I have read the books of sages and sages, and even if I teach in the Xuanzhen School, I am not alive. not go down."

It was quiet for a while, and many people laughed like Zhao Zhongju and said, "What this brother said is very true. If you fail the official examination, you can't live? There are so many opportunities in Xuanzhen, there is always a way to survive. "

Someone even praised: "Brother Zhao's family has good help, we are envious."

It made Zhao Zhongju's wife a little ashamed, Zhao Zhongju laughed, proud in his heart, he had a good wife in his family, so what could he say.

At the same time, many people also lost their nervousness. Indeed, if they fail the exam, the sky will collapse?Do not live?These days I'm really scaring myself.

Many people in this area relaxed their minds, drank porridge and ate eggs with peace of mind, and there was a sputtering sound.

After worrying, Zhao Zhongju also had a big appetite, and drank his share in a few gulps, and at the same time licked the dishes and porridge bowls clean, leaving no leftovers.

Looking at the surrounding scholars, they are all like this. Everyone's dinner plates are white and bright, and they are clean without washing.

Right now, there is a severe drought everywhere in Daming, how hard is it to be able to eat and drink enough?So scholars cherish the food in front of them very much.

Putting down his bowl and chopsticks comfortably, seeing that his daughter was full, but there was still some porridge and soup left in the bowl, Zhao Zhongju taught her earnestly: "Zi'er, don't waste it. One meal is one meal, it is hard to think about it."

I took my daughter's porridge bowl and licked off the remaining porridge soup inside.

……

After breakfast, special officials took the scholars from Yingfu Inn to the examination room, and ordered them to take their examination cards beforehand, and they were not allowed to enter without the examination cards.

Zhao Zhongju and his group were walking on the street, and people joined them from time to time along the way. They were all scholars staying in other inns. Although the sky was only slightly bright, the streets of Zhencheng were already full of noise. After all, today is the official exam. In the days to come, countless civilian officials will pay attention.

There are also local candidates, who are continuously sent out by their family members. The scene of a mother sending off a child, and a wife sending off a husband makes people cry. Most of their family members will send them outside the examination room, and then they cannot enter.

Zhao Zhongju's wife and daughter, one on the left and the other on the right, each grabbed a piece of his clothes and saw each other off without a word.Liu Dongyang's family is also dispatched in full. His wife, his son and daughter, his parents, and his younger sister will accompany him all the way to the entrance of the examination room.

After leaving the city gate, there was a mighty flow of people, all candidates and their family members. On both sides of the road, there were countless people standing, watching and pointing, guessing how many people will pass the exam this time.

A huge military camp in the northeast of the town has been vacated as an examination room at this time, and there are banners drawn at the entrance of the camp, and soldiers of the Jingbian army in helmets and armor standing guard, each of them holding a flint blunderbuss, the atmosphere is awe-inspiring.

The scholars kept concentrating, gathering according to the direction of the examination cards, one after another, only gathered on the flat field outside the examination room.

Holding their own cards, they all nervously waited for the exam time to come.

Finally when the time came, several horns sounded in the barracks examination room. When the time came to enter the arena, the fence gate opened immediately. Zhao Zhongju and others filed in with their own test cards and their own test boxes on their backs. There was a sound behind them.

"Sir, take the test hard!"

"Son, take the test well..."

Hope your husband will become a dragon, hope your son will become a dragon, this has not changed for thousands of years.

……

Zhao Zhongju, Liu Dongyang and others have experienced the "examination", so they naturally know all the rules in the examination room. Before entering the examination room, a body search is a must, but here, any cheating things will be searched out and then cancelled. Student status, no re-examination for life.

And this kind of body search is naturally quite humiliating. The soldiers being searched will be touched from head to toe, and even their buttholes will be touched a few times to prevent things from being stuffed in.There is also everyone's test basket and test box, which must be checked and checked again to prevent traps inside.Even everyone's brushes will be taken out to see if they are hollow.

In short, it is very strict without any dignity, and the test room is low and narrow. It is impossible to stand upright, lie down, fall asleep, and turn around comfortably. After a few days of the exam, you eat, drink, and sleep in it. It is really comparable to going to jail.

But to become an official in the imperial examination, this test is necessary, but the official examination in Xuanfu Town does not have any body search procedures, and the examinees pass it directly.

Many people were overjoyed and at the same time chilled. It seemed that Xuanzhen was very confident in the questions, and it was useless to think that the candidates were cheating.

Candidates passed through the gate and went straight to their own examination room. Along the way, there were sergeants or officials to guide them from time to time. Zhao Zhongju, Liu Dongyang, Huang Bowen, Li Tanran and others were led to their own examination room. It turned out that the canteen of Jingbian Army was clean, bright and tidy inside , A large table is placed, and then equipped with armchairs.

Next to each table, there is a stove, which can be roasted when hands and feet are cold. This kind of examination room surprised Zhao Zhongju and others, but they didn't bother to look, and quickly found their own On the table, everyone's examination number is posted on it, and it is also compiled in a thousand-character script.

Everyone sat down, took out their pens, inks, papers and inkstones and looked around, wondering at the same time: "It's so easy to cheat each other in the same room?"

There are a lot of ways to cheat in their minds, such as throwing small balls of paper, or looking up, down, left, and right, but these tables are quite far away, and they need good eyesight to see each other, and there are proctors patrolling the field It is expected that the officials of Xuanfu Town have also expected this.

Let's concentrate on the exam, everyone calm down and wait patiently.

Among other things, this kind of examination room is indeed much more comfortable than their previous examinations. It is not a prison sentence, but a formal assessment of knowledge, which reflects the respect of Xuanfu Town for scholars.

Soon, when the time came, following the sound of the trumpets, serious-looking invigilators and examiners entered the examination rooms...

Zhao Zhongju and others couldn't wait to open their examination paper bag. Before opening it, they felt that the paper bag was too thick.

After opening it, many people couldn't help being dumbfounded when they took out the test paper and answer paper.

……

After the examinees entered the arena, Wang Dou also led the members of the shogunate in the town into the barracks examination room, and Li Banghua, the deputy governor, also accompanied him.

Of course, Wang Dou attached great importance to this official examination. Looking at an examination room not far away, he thought slowly, "I wonder if there will be some outstanding talents in this official examination?"

……

Zhao Zhongju and others are not newbies in the examination room, and many of them have fought many times. In their impression, although there may be dozens of questions in the imperial examination, the articles they wrote are actually only a few of them, and they need to be written. articles, probably fewer than ten.

However, looking at Xuanfu Town is different, I only feel that the exam questions are densely packed, and they are all questions that need to be answered. Looking at it makes people's scalp numb.And the total one paper lists all the test questions, and then one or several answer sheets are given for each or several test questions, with several drafts attached.

The eight-legged essay has a strict format, and it cannot be deviated a bit. It may make people physically and mentally exhausted after completing the final answer. However, looking at the exam questions in Xuanfu Town, winning by quantity is not an easy task.There are also things to pay attention to, such as using the punctuation marks of Xuanfu Town when answering questions.

Looking at the densely packed exam questions, many people feel dizzy. Fortunately, they have experienced the "test" and their psychological quality is still strong. Now everyone calms down and starts to review the papers and questions carefully.

After a cursory look, many people nodded secretly. The questions in Xuanfu Town are clear and clear, not as good as the imperial examinations, because the questions that can be asked for hundreds of years have been used all over the place, and they are often truncated and confused, which makes people judge. It takes a long time to guess.

It’s just that when answering the papers, many stereotyped essayists still secretly complained, because the coverage of the exam questions here is too wide, Confucianism, humanities, world affairs, society, management, everything is included. useless.

No wonder the examination room is not afraid of candidates cheating, because even if they bring in the Four Books and Five Classics, they will not be useful at all.

Even the law and some military affairs are included in it, such as an examination question: "There was a county magistrate in the Tang Dynasty. When someone gave a gift during the trial, he judged the case as unforgivable. Excusable, unforgivable... If you were a county magistrate, what would your sentence be? The answer should not exceed one hundred words."

"What is my verdict?"

Zhao Zhongju's eyes were straightened, and he couldn't write for a long time.

Another question: "Li Qingzhao sued the second minister, but was sentenced to prison. If you were an official, what would your verdict be?"

There is also a military judgment question: "Thieves and slaves drive women and children to attack the formation. If they fire the guns, the women and children will die, and I will teach them to live. If they don't fire the guns, the women and children will live. I will teach them. What is your choice? Within ten breaths, you must make a decision. Give the order now, immediately, immediately!"

Zhao Zhongju's hands trembled, and it seemed that the overwhelming cries of women and children who were driven out flashed before his eyes. Among them, there might be children the same size as his own daughter. They were driven and beaten to come forward. Zi Bing.

Another sergeant of our own side anxiously waited for his order, so should they fire their guns or not?
Along with Zhao Zhongju, there were many candidates who were dizzy. Oh my god, this is the official examination question in Xuanfu Town, which seems to be more difficult than the Jinshi examination.

However, there are still many people who answer quickly, such as Li Tanran, Huang Bowen and others, because this test is their ability to understand the world, analysis ability, and their own judgment and decision-making ability.

To them, many questions are no problem, but for dead readers who keep their ears off the window and only read sage books, they are doomed to be miserable in this examination room.

Fortunately, there are still some simple points in the examination questions, such as writing a thousand-character essay silently, or writing Li Bai's Hu Renren's poems.

Zhao Zhongju was refreshed. Of course, he chose the thousand-character prose, "The heaven and the earth are mysterious and yellow, the universe is prehistoric, the sun and the moon are full, and the celestial constellations..." The words slowly flowed through his mind, and he didn't need to draw a draft, just write it on the answer sheet write.

The handwriting is elegant and correct, which is quite like the small script of the Tang Dynasty.

……

Generally speaking, after the exam in the morning, most of the candidates sighed and stared straight. It seemed that the afternoon was mainly about strategy and theory, and many candidates were refreshed.

Eloquent writing is their favorite thing to do, but when they get the exam questions, many people have headaches, because the big and small questions are not played according to common sense, and many questions have never been seen in history. Clues and traces.

For example, this question: "There is a state with a population of more than 34 at the beginning of the country, and the annual summer tax and autumn grain is more than 14 shi. Today, there are more than 60 people. The summer tax and autumn grain are worth [-] shi. Why is this? Please answer."

There is also this question: "What is responsibility? Please discuss the relationship between family and country."

There is another question: "Please explain the necessity for everyone to pay taxes."

Zhao Zhongju and the others were so dizzy that they didn't leave the examination room until the test papers were collected.

They didn't even remember what they answered in the paper, they only hoped that the answers they answered would satisfy the examiner and the Marquis of Yongning.

And after they left the exam room, people outside the exam room got the news of the exam questions, and there was also an uproar. All kinds of "experts" were born immediately. I don't know how many people began to analyze the style of the exam questions in Xuanfu Town, forming experience for future exams in the exam room.

In fact, Zhao Zhongju's group of people can be regarded as the first group of people who went to landmines. It is not unreasonable for them to be honored as "senior" in the future.

……

Not to mention how wailing was everywhere that day, everyone exclaimed that the examination of officials in Xuanfu Town was abnormal, and the difficulty was many times higher than that of the imperial examinations of previous dynasties. The next day's examination was still held as scheduled.

Yesterday's exam was about Chinese, law, and social conditions, and many candidates secretly called it "bad dad" because there was really no trace, but today's arithmetic exam, there should be traces, right?

In particular, I heard that there was an arithmetic problem carefully designed by Marquis Yongning today. After solving it, he was immediately given the treatment of a researcher, and many people even put all their energy into it.

Another roll bag was delivered to Zhao Zhongju and others. After opening the previous questions, Zhao Zhongju and others, who were weak in arithmetic, had a relieved smile on their faces, and there were indeed traces.

"Today there are five people, Da Fu, Bu Geng, Zan Niao, Shang Zao, and Gong Shi, who have hunted five deer in total. If you want to divide them according to their rank, how much will each get?"

For such a simple question, even after Zhao Zhongju thought about pulling it out a few times, he came out: "The doctor gets one deer and three parts of the deer, but the doctor gets one deer and one third of the deer, the hairpin gets one deer, and the superior builds three parts of the deer." Divide two deer, and the gentleman gets one third of the deer."

"Now there is a square cone, the bottom is two feet and seven feet, and the height is two feet and nine feet. What is the geometry?"

Zhao Zhongju did the math and replied, "Seven thousand and forty-seven feet."

There is another question: "Now there are cows, horses, and sheep eating human seedlings. The owner of the seedlings is responsible for five buckets of millet. The owner of the sheep said: "My sheep eat half of the horse. The owner of the horse said: My horse eats half of the cow. Now if you want to pay for it, ask What is the geometry?"

Zhao Zhongju frowned, and made a lot of calculations, but fortunately he finally figured it out.

But the next weird question made Zhao Zhongju stunned, what, Diao Fantu's epitaph?

The inscription said: "Passers-by, Diao Fantu's ashes are buried here. The following numbers can tell you how long his life span is: one-sixth of his life was a happy childhood; A thin beard grew on his cheeks; Diao Fantu was married, but had no children, so he spent another seventh of his life; five years later, he had his first son, I felt very happy; but fate gave this child half the splendid life in this world that his father had, and since the death of his son, the old man lived in deep sorrow for four years, and ended his earthly life... Please tell me, how long did Diao Fantu live before he died?"

Now, Zhao Zhongju's hand resting on the abacus didn't move for a long time, his mind was in a mess.

"The tone of this question is a bit strange. Could it be that the Marquis of Yongning came up with it? But the question is actually very simple, and I will answer it with the Tianyuan technique!"

Huang Bowen, who was sitting on the table not far from Zhao Zhongju, had a flash of light in his eyes. He stroked his goatee, smiled calmly, pulled out his finger on the calculation, and a bead flew out, "I set up Tianyuanyi as the year of Diao Fantu!" Years old, increasing power and decreasing power like this, advancing and retreating left and right, rampaging..."

He planned to pull it like a burst of rain, and within a short period of time, he got the result, and filled in the answer sheet with confidence: "84 years old."

Looking at Liu Dongyang, Li Tanran, etc., they also had relaxed smiles on their faces, drawing their fingers dexterously to calculate, and soon came to the same result.

This kind of simple one-dimensional linear equation, there was a special Tianyuan technique in the Southern Song Dynasty to deal with it. For many candidates, it is not difficult. Hearing the sound of the abacus, the candidates in this examination room alone, who made the questions accounted for More than half of it.

Then there is another question about a linear equation in one element: "Measure the depth of the well with one rope, fold the rope in three to measure, the remaining rope outside the well is four feet, and fold the rope in four to measure, the remaining rope outside the well is one foot, ask the depth of the well and the length of the rope. How many feet is it?"

Huang Bowen and others also calculated it easily, but the later exam questions gradually became more difficult, with binary and ternary equations gradually appearing, and even the famous hundred-chicken question appeared. The number has changed.

And in this exam room, only Huang Bowen, Liu Dongyang, and Li Tanran are still calculating. This exam question is more difficult than the last one, and they also feel dizzy.

Huang Bowen stared at the title: "Today there is one rooster worth ten dollars; two chicken hens worth five dollars..."

He took a deep breath: "I invite the Four Elements Art...to establish the four elements of Tian Yuan, Earth Yuan, Human Yuan, and Matter Yuan..."

He plucked the beads with his fingers, and frowned to calculate this quaternary high-order equation system. After a long time of calculation, he finally got the result, but he was not sure whether it was right or wrong.

And these questions are so difficult, what will happen if the arithmetic questions carefully designed by Marquis Yongning are placed at the end?
"There is one number, three and three are the remaining two, five and five are the remaining three, seven and seven are the remaining two, what is this number?"

Huang Bowen shook his dizzy head: "I set up a Da Yan to seek a technique..."

"Today there is a Triangular Duo fruit shop, the value of which is always 320 renminbi. It is only said that the previous one is worth [-] renminbi, and the lower ones are each worth [-] renminbi. How much is each side at the bottom?"

"I set up stacking technique..."

Up to now, only Huang Bowen and Liu Dongyang in the entire examination room are still calculating and answering the questions, while Li Tanran is still busy using quaternion to solve the chicken problem.

(End of this chapter)