Aspirations

Chapter 40
"Okay, very good." Wen Chang motioned for his subordinates to open the question, "Let's talk less, and open the question now. After the question is opened, everyone will enter a single room, and no longer go in and out on their own."

As soon as the words were finished, the two of them lifted out a curtain, and on the curtain was written the question of this year's test - the theory of punishment and reward.

As soon as the topic came out, all the students immediately discussed it.

Wen Chang said loudly: "If you have any doubts, feel free to ask questions. If you have no doubts, you can go back and answer the questions."

The Daxia Imperial Examination usually requires four subjects: Poetry and Fu, Classics and Meanings, Theory and Strategy.The strategy is generally above the palace examination.Poetry, classics and meanings, on the three subjects, are in the examination papers. "The country uses subjects to collect the heroes and heroes of the world, and the meaning is to observe their passage through the classics, the ancients are to be seen, the discussion is to observe their knowledge, and the strategy is to observe their talents." Poetry is used to test candidates' literary talent and aesthetic ability. It examines the understanding and interpretation of the classics by means of the test scriptures, examines the knowledge and opinions of the candidates by means of test theory, and examines the knowledge and ability to solve current affairs by means of test strategies.

Because Daxia paid more attention to knowledge and insights, insight and talent in the selection of scholars, and Ou Yangming strongly opposed the use of poetry and poetry as the standard for admission to scholars, Daxia emphasized the meaning of scriptures and strategy theory over poetry and poetry.

Some candidates only glanced at them and walked away, thinking they understood the meaning of the question.Some candidates thought for a long time before they smiled knowingly and turned away.After a while, more than half of the candidates stopped in the examination room. Some people shook their heads and thought, some frowned, some stood with their hands behind their backs, and some turned around.

"Brother, in your opinion, how should I ask the question?" An old man in his fifties bowed his hands to Zhang Hou. This year is the No. 15 imperial examination for the little old man. Ashamed, none of the first fourteen times were in high school."

"No.15 this year? Congratulations Brother Wu High School Jinshi." Zhang Hou bowed his hands and smiled teasingly, "Brother Wu doesn't have to bother with solving the questions anymore, just write and draw pictures on the test paper, or write poems First, you can sit back and relax and get a Jinshi, so why bother?"

Daxia has the name of Encott, and those who have taken more than [-] exams and are not admitted can no longer pass the exam, and they will be awarded an undergraduate degree.

Wu Yongwang suddenly changed his face: "Zhuzi is not enough to speak! Hum, hum, hum, although I am old, I still have ambitions, and besides, taking exams is a major event for the country and a major event for people, how can you joke?"

Seeing this, Zhang Hou laughed and said, "The old man lacks words."

Shen Bao hurriedly said: "Brother Wu don't need to get angry, Brother Zhang didn't mean anything malicious, it was just a joke. From my point of view, this question should be asked with light punishment and heavy reward..."

"It makes some sense." Wu Yongwang lost his anger instantly, stroked his beard and nodded, with a thoughtful look on his face, "However, I always feel that there is something lacking, I don't know where it is not thorough enough, who can give some pointers to the old man... …”

Candidates can also discuss one or two topics before entering the single room.Therefore, it is normal for the examiner to be at the top and the candidates at the bottom to discuss with each other or ask questions directly to the examiner.

It was fine if he didn't ask questions, but when he asked, four or five out of ten of the surrounding candidates left in a blink of an eye, leaving only a few hundred people.Standing among the candidates who were all young talents, Wu Yongwang seemed to stand out from the crowd, and he laughed at himself: "Forget it, let it be, since you all think that I am a thief because I am old and not dead, I just shut up .”

"Wu Weng, I have a half-knowledgeable idea about the topic..."

Wu Yongwang was quite disappointed, a deep sense of loss flashed across his vicissitudes and weathered face, yes, even if he was a Jinshi in high school, it would be difficult for him to have a chance to be promoted again.He turned around and was about to leave, his lonely back was full of helplessness and loneliness.Not wanting to take a step, a young man's clear and brisk voice came from behind him.

Wu Yongwang turned around and saw a handsome Kaozi in a gray cloth shirt with red lips and white teeth. Although he was dressed in ordinary clothes, he couldn't hide his heroic brows and friendly smile.

Wu Yongwang bowed his hands and bowed: "Xiongtai invited me." Having said that, he didn't have much hope for the test student in front of him, just wanted to deal with the matter, "Didn't ask Xiongtai Gao's name?"

Kaozi returned a salute: "My surname is Xia Mingxiang." Xia Xiang didn't care about the flickering prevarication in Wu Yongwang's eyes, nor did he care about the doubts, jokes or disapproval glances from Kaozi around him, and said calmly, "The theory of punishment and reward for loyalty and honesty - from the commentary of Kong Anguo in "Shangshu": 'Punishment and suspicion pay lightly, reward suspicion and conformity, loyalty and honesty', in my opinion, the point of this question is to make the suspected crime light, not light. The meaning of punishment and reward."

Shen Bao had already walked a few zhang away, when he heard Xia Xiang's words, he stopped suddenly, turned around and bowed deeply to Xia Xiang: "Brother Xia's words can wake up the dreamer. If I win the first prize, it must be your reminder. Thank you."

Zhang Hou and Shen Bao walked side by side and stopped at the same time, but he did not look back, thought for a while, nodded secretly, and a knowing smile flashed on the corner of his mouth.

The surrounding kaozi were silent for a moment, and suddenly applauded, and many people bowed their hands to Xia Xiang.

Wu Yongwang was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and thought for a long time, then suddenly rubbed his palms and laughed: "Wonderful, wonderful, Brother Xia's words are like a slap in the face. If Brother Xia doesn't dislike it, from now on, I will take you as my teacher."

"Don't dare, how dare you." Xia Xiang waved his hand and smiled, "Wu Weng is too modest. With Wu Weng's talent, it is more than enough to be the magistrate of any county to benefit the people of one party, share the worries of the emperor, and serve the court."

"Haha, borrow Xia's auspicious words." Wu Yongwang laughed loudly in the sky, and in the laughter, he left with his hands behind.

There were no fewer than dozens of people around and bowed their hands to Xia Xiang to thank him for his enlightenment.Xia Xiang took the trouble to return the greetings one by one.Suddenly one person separated from the crowd, came to Xia Xiang, pointed at Xia Xiang's nose, opened his mouth and cursed: "Xia Xiang, you are worthy of being a teacher with such conduct? Others don't know your details, but I know what kind of person you are." .”

Xia Xiang was immediately stunned on the spot, and when he looked closely, there was a person standing in front of him with a round face, big eyes, thick eyebrows, and a beard. It's Zhang Fei's reincarnation.

"Why, don't you remember me? Last time on the street, you confronted His Highness Jian Wang, and I watched the battle from the sidelines, and I helped you..." The round-faced scholar couldn't help being angry when he saw Xia Xiang's strange expression on his face. He said unfairly, "Remember, my surname is Teng and my name is Zhengyuan. I am the queen of Teng Xiangtian, the general who guards the southeast. I will teach you well when I am the number one scholar in high school."

As soon as he finished speaking, he snorted coldly and walked away.

Xia Xiang looked stunned and smiled at a loss, remembering that Teng Zhengyuan had supported him at that time, and later when he forced Wang Xiacun to make concessions because of his retreat, he left angrily and shook his head.Compared with Zhang Hou's bravery and Shen Bao's straightforwardness, Teng Zhengyuan's anger is more candid.

Xia Xiang bowed his hands to the surrounding Kao Zi and walked towards his single room.Looking at the back of his departure, Wen Chang raised his eyes slightly, and a stern smile flashed in his eyes.

It was not until all the examinees entered the single room one after another, and the examination room was empty, that Wen Changju turned around and said to Gao Hai, one of the three examiners behind him: "Gao Shilang, this year's competition, whoever regards 'the punishment and reward of loyalty and loyalty' as the Candidates who break the question with the argument of “suspecting a lesser crime” will not be admitted.”

Gao Hai bowed and replied, "Yes, Wen Shangshu."

One of the examiners, Chen Feng and Gao Hai, were both ministers of the Ministry of Rites. He got up and asked, "Wen Shangshu, since the scholar Sima University advocated a plain and honest style of writing, the atmosphere has always been clear and bright for more than ten years. Candidates can freely interpret the scriptures, pass annotations, Questioning ancient theories, expounding new ideas, and using other topics to express their own truths, even if they disregard the scriptures, make their own opinions, are bold and bold, and dare to be novel and strange, it is all right. Let the world's talents be used by the imperial court, so that there is no sage in the world..."

Zhang, one of the examiners, was a Hanlin bachelor. He also got up and said, "What Wen Shangshu said is too biased. How can we generalize? Besides, in the opinion of the following officials, Xia Xiang's question is very considerate and deserves praise."

Wen Changju's face sank, and he snorted: "Sima Shi's style was very open back then. He knew that in the year of tribute, he enrolled Lian Che and Lian Yi, but Lianche was demoted to Hainan, I'm afraid it will be difficult to return. Going to Beijing. Lian Yi is even more arrogant. During the palace examination, he was frivolous and frivolous.

Seeing Zhang, and Chen Feng wanted to say something else, Wen Chang raised his right hand and stretched out: "Don't say it anymore, since the emperor ordered this official to be the main examiner, this year's competition will be decided by this official."

Zhang Ze and Chen Feng looked at each other, the two shook their heads and the other smiled mysteriously.However, Gao Hai had a respectful look on his face, his eyes were not squinting, only Wen Changju was in his eyes and he ignored Zhang Ze and Chen Feng.

After Xia Xiang entered his private room, the door was locked outside, and he was not allowed to enter or leave for three days.Zhang Hou and Shen Bao were arranged in single rooms far apart, but no matter how far they were, they couldn't see each other again in three days.

In the single room, except for a table and a chair, there are no other items.Xia Xiang first walked back and forth in the room a little, then sat back on the seat and closed his eyes to rest.

I don't know how long it took, the door rang, the partition on the door opened, and the pen, ink, paper and inkstone were handed in.

Xia Xiang didn't wait to unfold the test papers. This year's chief examiner was temporarily replaced by Wen Changju, so he knew that this year's big test was a little more variable than usual.He didn't know much about Wen Changju, but he was an extraordinary person who was able to become a minister of the Ministry of Rites.It's just that in the current turbulent moment, the change of the chief examiner will inevitably make people have more associations with the third prince.

Zhang Hou and Shen Bao had already inquired clearly that when Wen Changju was the Minister of Rites, he was the power of the Three Kings' recommendation.There is no doubt that Wen Changju's replacement of Yang Ting is also the result of the three kings behind it.It's just that I don't know how serious the emperor's condition is, and how much weight Xia Cunxian has in the emperor's mind.But one thing is certain, the emperor made an exception and sealed Xia Cun first to see the king, and he was extremely favored, obviously it was intentional.Xia Cunxian is much younger than the third prince. He is also the son of the first prince, Prince Jing, and the nephew of the third prince, the fourth prince and the fifth prince. If the emperor can appoint Xia Cunxian as the prince, he will be better than the third prince and the fourth prince. The heart of the prince and the five princes.

After all, in comparison, Xia Cunxian's threat is much smaller than that of the third prince. Needless to say, the first prince, King Jing, even the fourth prince, Qing prince and fifth prince Yun, would be willing to have a nephew emperor rather than a peer emperor. What's more, compared with the monstrous power of the Three Kings, even if the king, who has no foundation, is fortunate to sit on the throne, he is still unstable and needs to rely a lot on the uncles.

After sitting for half an hour, Xia Xiang began to study ink.Learning the arts of literature and martial arts, goods and imperial family, is the foundation of every Kaozi reading.Xia Xiang is no exception. When he was in Zhongshan Village, his mother often did not forget to teach him when he was working in the fields. People have no ambitions, and if they are not a good minister, they must be a good doctor. This is the common aspiration that all scholars should have.To be taught by sages is to open up the wisdom of the people, to make plans for the emperor, and to make a living for the people of the world.

Although Zhongshan Village has simple folk customs and no competition from the world, it is similar to the place where Lao Tzu yearns for a small country with few people. Xia Xiang grew up in purity, but he has no heart to avoid the world.He also praised Lao Tzu's pure inaction, but even more recognized Confucianism's active participation in the WTO.If you want to apply what you have learned, if you want to be safe and secure for the world, you can only be alone if you are born in the world.

Deeply taught and influenced by his mother since he was a child, and later taught by Li Dingshan, Xia Xiang meditated deeply, with a thousand words in his mind, a thousand words in his pen, and a free and easy thousand-character essay in one go.

"The "Book" says: 'The suspicion of crime is only light, and the suspicion of merit is serious. Rather than killing innocent people, it is better to fail to pass.' When a reward can be rewarded or not, the reward is too benevolent. When it can be punished or not punished, the punishment is too harsh.” There is a saying in the Book of Songs that if a gentleman opens up his way of speaking, the chaos will stop quickly. If a gentleman refutes slander in anger, the chaos will also stop quickly. Therefore, the gentleman has a moderate degree of anger and anger, and he adopts different methods according to people and things, and he does not lose the way of the gentleman. Therefore, the gentleman is benevolent, administers the king, pushes the law, the law has no fixed law, and the water has no constant shape.

After Xia Xiang finished writing, he didn't take a second glance, abandoned it, and fell back to sleep. He slept until dawn.

The three-day exam is over in a blink of an eye.Xia Xiang, Zhang Hou, and Shen Bao walked out of the gate of the Gongyuan, talking and laughing, and several people came to greet them.Xiao Wu, needless to say Shi'er, the two of them have been waiting here and have never left. In addition to the two of them, there are four more people.

The one in front of him was over fifty years old, with white hair and a childlike face, quite immortal. He took the lead, and quickly came to Xia Xiang, and grabbed Xia Xiang's arm: "Mr. Xia, follow me quickly."

Zhang Hou and Shen Bao were stunned for a moment, they thought they were catching their son-in-law under the list, but if they thought wrong, they just finished the test today, not the day the list was released.
Zhang Houcai thought so, his eyes flashed, and he landed on a woman in a plain skirt behind.The woman's lightly crescent eyebrows, her bright eyes are good for looking forward to her appearance, her red lips are bright and bright, and her teeth are fresh, which is more bright and charming than her childhood.How could he care about Xia Xiang, he immediately took a step forward and bowed his hands to the woman: "This little lady has invited me, next Zhang Hou, Jianning's family, this year's big exam year, just finished the exam, he must be the champion of the undergraduate. If the lady is interested, you don't have to wait for the list to be released before catching her son-in-law, she can lead me today..."

The little lady was going straight to Xia Xiang excitedly, but was stopped by Zhang Hou halfway, showing a little displeasure, and then covered her mouth and smiled: "My lord, what did you lead you to do? What will you do?"

Zhang Hou's exam went well, he was in a good mood, and he was even more delighted to see the little lady in a graceful manner: "If you take me there, you will naturally be your husband. I know how to play chess, calligraphy and painting, and..."

"I know all these myself, what use are you for?" The little lady interrupted Zhang Hou's eloquent boast without waiting for Zhang Hou to finish, "Zuo'er, if you like it, you can take him there. If you are a book boy, He's a little older. It's too weak to be a porter. Tell me, how about letting him feed the horses?"

The last time Zuo'er came to visit Xia Xiang, he didn't see Zhang Hou, only Shi'er.She had just seen that Shi'er and Zhang Hou were very close, so she knew they were brother and sister. She was angry with Zhang Hou at first sight, and Zhang Hou didn't have long eyes to tease the little lady, so she couldn't be more angry: "My lady just joked, The horse in my family is born. If he goes to feed the horse, he will be kicked by the horse until his nose is bruised and his face will be swollen, and he will be ashamed to see people. Let me tell you, this gentleman is squatting next to the stone lion tied to the horse post at the gate of Cao’s mansion. Pretending to be a pair with the stone lion is the most appropriate."

Cao Shuli smiled happily and bowed to Zhang Houfu: "I offended, I laughed." Turning around and running towards Xia Xiang, she didn't look at Zhang Hou any more.

Zhang Hou was stunned, but when he saw Cao Shuli's brows and eyes flirting with Yi Xi and Yi anger, he rushed towards Xia Xiang, and then he realized what he had done. He patted his forehead suddenly, and laughed at himself: "It turns out that it is Brother Xia's wife. After saying this, when I rolled my eyes, I was amazed by Zuo'er's playfulness, and he smiled, "Does this little lady really want me to raise a horse? Forget about being with the stone lion, I am much more interesting than the stone lion, why not? Let's still talk about how to raise horses?"

Shi'er got angry, and came to Zuo'er with his hands on his hips, and stretched out his arms to block Zuo'er: "Stop!"

Here Shier stopped Zuoer, Zhang Hou teased Zuoer again, over there Cao Shuli ran towards Xia Xiang, Xia Xiang was held back by Jin Jia and left, Shen Bao thought something happened, stepped forward to stop Jin Jia way to go.Holding the successfully produced emblem in his hand, Cao Shujun stayed on the spot, stunned by the chaos in front of him.

"It's too messy, it's too messy." Cao Shujun just wanted to talk to Xia Xiang about the medicine bed and medicine chair and let Xia Xiang see his first finished emblem, but he didn't even have the chance to get close. He simply retracted the emblem and stood with his hands behind his back, "I'll talk about the business when you're done messing up. Alas, absurd, absurd, absurd, indecent."

Xia Xiang was pulled hard by Jin Jiasheng, struggling with Jin Jia: "Sir, don't be in such a hurry, tell me what happened first."

"Of course something happened." Jin Jia glared angrily at Shen Bao, who was standing in front of him, and pushed Shen Bao away, "Get out of the way, don't delay the shocking event of this old man and Xia Langjun."

Shen Bao still wanted to stop him, Xia Xiang shook his head at him, and he stopped. He turned around and saw Cao Shuli trotting over quickly. He stepped aside and bowed to Cao Shuli: "Is the little lady inside Xia Langjun?"

(End of this chapter)