The rise of the late Song Dynasty reigns supreme

Chapter 340 Who is the chief examiner?

The Gong Yuan of Xiangzhou Prefecture was built separately in the southeast of Yecheng. It was used as an examination room for the rural examination, and a plaque of "Gong Yuan" was hung in front of the gate.Everyone looked at the word "Gongyuan" with burning eyes, fascinated, as if they were already in the examination room, fascinated.

Zhao Gou smiled lightly, turned around and left; it just so happened that Shao Jun and others came late and met Zhao Gou.

"Brother Wei, when did you arrive in Yecheng? Why did you arrive earlier than me?"

Zhao Gou exchanged pleasantries with them. Shao Jun saw that Zhao Gou separated from himself and the others and headed south all the way, but they didn't delay for a moment. On the contrary, Zhao Gou arrived first and he waited for others later. Unbelievable, unbelievable.

"Brother Shao Jun is surprised!" Zhao Gou smiled calmly, "My brother and I have a different way of entering the city. I ride a fast horse and can travel thousands of miles a day with better footsteps; while Brother Shao Jun Whether it’s riding in a carriage or walking, it’s only natural to be slower.”

Shao Jun and others suddenly realized, Zhao Gou then asked: "Brother Shao Jun and others are also here to visit the Gongyuan?"

"No! I'm not waiting for a visit, I've been here before!" Shao Jun recalled the past, looked sadly at the Gongyuan, this is his sad place, and sighed: "Brother Wei Guo doesn't know anything. , I have been to the Gongyuan once, and this is the second time."

"The second time?" Zhao Gou exclaimed.

Shao Jun smiled wryly and said: "That's right! I came here once in August, and that time I was on the brink of success and didn't get the honor of Juren. If it weren't for the great grace of the emperor this time, I would have to wait another year to have the chance. Revisiting the old place!"

It wasn't until this moment that Zhao Gou understood what was going on with the complex look on Shao Jun's face.If you come here after a failure, it is not to revisit the old place, but to stand up wherever you fall.If the emperor hadn't opened Enke again, giving the candidates who failed the exam in August a chance to make amends, that's why it was called 'Enke'.

"Why didn't Brother Shao Jun mention it?" Zhao Gou was a little puzzled. It was the first time he had participated, so there shouldn't be any news.

The corner of Shao Jun's mouth twitched, he wanted to say something but didn't know where to start.

Zhao Gou was stunned for a while, and then he understood Shao Jun's suffering, and said apologetically, "Zhao has offended me, brother Shao Jun forgive me!"

Shao Jun smiled bitterly, but said nothing.Zhao Gou didn't know that his words hit his sore spot unintentionally. Even if he took part in the provincial examination, he didn't get any fame, but he was still a college student. How could he speak up, so he could only keep silent.

If Shao Jun passed the township examination and obtained the honor of juren, I don't need him to say more, it would have already spread throughout the academy.Because of this, Zhao Gou's ignorance made Shao Jun extremely embarrassed, and his unintentional words were even more ironic and sarcasm in his heart.

"No matter what this time, I must get the honor of Juren, otherwise I will have no face to meet my parents in my hometown and live up to my parents' expectations. I must not fail again!"

Shao Jun secretly made up his mind to study harder than anyone else this time, and won the No. 1 exam.Although Shao Jun knew that he failed the exam last time due to his lack of knowledge, so he had to work harder in the past few months, and he also knew that the candidates who had failed with him before were also working hard.

As for Zhao Gou, Shao Jun couldn't say he liked him.Zhao Gou's achievements in the academy are obvious to all. Shao Jun doesn't believe that he is really such a genius. He plays as much as he wants on weekdays, but when others are entertaining, he is working hard; while others are working hard, he is still working hard. multiple times of effort.

Martial arts practice depends on talent, so reading also requires talent.Although hard work can make up for one's weakness, it's just that some people are born with test materials.On weekdays, he looks jovial and doesn't work hard, but when it comes to exams, he is often much better than the students who usually seem to work hard.

Even if Shao Jun doesn't admit that Zhao Gou is better than himself, he has to admit that Zhao Gou is very talented, and he has read a lot of books, and he knows everything about it.In Shao Jun's eyes, Zhao Gou is the kind of student who doesn't work hard and doesn't want to communicate with him in depth, but he doesn't know that he himself has missed such a great opportunity, and he can't be blamed for that.

After all, Zhao Gou did not disclose his identity, otherwise Shao Jun would not have treated him like this.Although it may not be flattering, it will not be sarcastic.Zhao Gou didn't know that his unintentional words aroused the hatred hidden in Shao Jun's heart, so he glared at Zhao Gou viciously, and then quickly withdrew his gaze.

Zhao Gou's feeling is so sharp, any clues cannot escape his internal force, and his series of actions have long been known to Zhao Gou.He remained calm on the surface, but he already denied this person in his heart.In his opinion, if he really benefits the common people, he doesn't have to be an official, he can also be a businessman.

Or the class concept of thousands of years makes everyone think that doing business is something that useless people will do, even farmers have a higher social status than businessmen.If Zhao Gou was not a descendant of the Zhao family, he would definitely choose to do business instead of politics.

The common people of the Song Dynasty looked down on merchants, even kings and grandsons. Zhao Gou came from a later generation, and he was also a merchant himself. 'Everything is inferior, only reading is high! With this kind of fixed thinking, and under the ethos of the Song Dynasty emphasizing literature and restraining martial arts, the status of scholars reached its peak.

Even if you don't have the strength to restrain a chicken and don't have any way of making a living, as long as you read and practice, you are high above you, and you are respected wherever you go.From Zhao Gou's point of view, it's self-entertainment and self-deception.If you can't even support yourself, you even say that you are benefiting the people, and you will even sneer at it.

Zhao Gou saw that Shao Jun didn't want to talk to him, so he just smiled and said nothing, and heard that the candidates around him were discussing who the examiner was this time.

"Brother Wang, have you ever heard who the chief examiner is?"

"I don't know, and I haven't heard who it is this time." Hearing what the two of them said, Zhao Gou guessed that they knew each other. The competition in Enke is even fiercer."

Zhao Gou thinks so, the number of people in the township examination this time is probably more than the previous ones, there are candidates who failed last time, and candidates who took the new test, the combined number of the two is large, and candidates from four counties participated , I'm afraid this time it will be one in a thousand, or even one in a thousand.

"Usually speaking, the chief and deputy chief examiners of the state examination are all selected by the imperial court to come here!" The man talked eloquently, frowning: "This time it is the emperor's grace, if I guess correctly, I'm afraid that the chief and deputy chief examiners have a lot of background this time."

"This is a good thing!" One of them clapped his hands and applauded, "If the background is not small, there must be officials with real power; it is better to be knowledgeable and familiar with the past and present. Only the list chosen by this person is fairer. If not, I'm afraid it's a secret operation again, which is unfair!"

"Exactly!" The man nodded in agreement.

Zhao Gou thought secretly: "According to the usual rural examinations, the imperial court sends officials to come. This time is different, but I am really curious about who is the examiner!... If a person who is upright, knowledgeable and talented, as he said It is indeed a lot more fair, and it is indeed a good thing!..."

(End of this chapter)