Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 155: Autumn Examination! (Coming)

Sun Sigong has strong execution ability.

Early the next morning, Su Yun met Zhen Shixuan again.

Su Yun was somewhat surprised and asked, "Zhen Zhonggui, does the emperor have another oral order?"

When Zhen Shixuan saw Su Yun, it was like seeing a relative. Oh, no, it was like seeing the parents who provided him with food and clothing.

Each of the red envelopes that Su Yun gave him the day before was wrapped with a gold leaf, and there were a total of six red envelopes that Su Yun gave him!

Six taels of gold, sixty taels of silver, one hundred and twenty strings of coins, nearly one hundred thousand coins!
Zhen Shixuan had been on many missions before, but he had never seen such a generous guest. Wouldn't this be more friendly?

Zhen Shixuan looked into the dormitory and asked with a smile, "Are you the only one here?"

Su Yun nodded and said, "The exam will be held in a few days, and the Imperial Academy will be closed for holiday so that everyone can prepare for the exam. They have been studying hard recently, so they are going out to relax."

Zhen Shixuan laughed and said, "That's good..."

He turned around and said to the imperial guards behind him, "Go guard outside. No one is allowed to get close. You should also stay away."

Several imperial guards hurried out, some guarded the gate, and some even went around to stand guard behind the house.

Su Yun saw it clearly and was a little surprised. He whispered, "What needs to be so secretive?"

Zhen Shixuan walked to the window and closed it. Then he took out a bamboo tube from his sleeve and handed it to Su Yun, saying, "This is the real test questions from previous years in Kaifeng Prefecture. The emperor asked me to bring it to you. The emperor said that you should answer it carefully and memorize it. It may be of some use."

Su Yun looked strange.

After saying this, Zhen Shixuan whispered, "Burn the papers after reading them. The papers after answering the questions must not be left behind. They must all be burned!"

After hearing this, Su Yun's expression became even weirder.

Zhen Shixuan said with a smile: "Mr. Su, the emperor's kindness to you is really as heavy as Mount Tai. You must not let the emperor down."

Su Yun quickly bowed towards the imperial city to show his gratitude for the emperor's grace, and then went to rummage through the cabinet.

Zhen Shixuan quickly grabbed Su Yun and said repeatedly, "Mr. Su, no, no, I have to thank you for such a great favor every time I come here.

"That's enough, don't take any more. I really don't have that much shamelessness! Please don't take any more!"

Su Yun smiled and nodded, "We won't take anything else this time, just some local specialties. It's not easy for the Imperial Guards to come out once. It's impossible that others have some but they don't, right?"

After hearing this, Zhen Shixuan realized the same thing and had to let go of his hand. Then he saw Su Yun take out a... um, jade pendant from the cabinet.

Zhen Shixuan could see clearly that the jade pendant was of very bright quality and was obviously worth a fortune.

Zhen Shixuan smiled bitterly and said, "Is this a local specialty?"

Su Yun nodded seriously and said, "There is a Qibaoshan jade mine in Gongjing, Shuzhong. I purchased a batch to play with. You can also take some to play with."

Zhen Shixuan gritted his teeth, stuffed the jade pendant back, and said, "This is too valuable, it's not appropriate to give it to them. Don't worry, I will arrange their reward money, and I will definitely make them satisfied."

Su Yun smiled and said, "Keep this. It's up to you how to arrange the people you brought with you. I don't care."

Zhen Shixuan looked at Su Yun deeply, nodded and said, "Okay, Mr. Su, then I will accept your favor.

Mr. Su, please don't stay in the Imperial College anymore. It's not convenient here. And for these real questions, please ask your uncle to help you with them."

When Su Yun heard Zhen Shixuan's emphasis on giving instructions, he was suddenly at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

This means he doesn't trust my academic ability. He gives me the test questions in advance. If I still don't do well in the test... Well, he is really good at judging people.

Zhen Shixuan smiled, then bowed to Su Yun and left quickly with the imperial guards.

Su Yun shook the bamboo tube in his hand and couldn't help laughing. He felt that the situation was extremely absurd.

The emperor helped me cheat... Who would believe it if I told others about this?

Su Che also found it hard to believe.

I asked this question several times in the study.

"Is this really given by the government?"

"Is this confirmed to be given by the government?"

You think it could be... Oh, forget it."

Su Che answered the questions seriously.

Su Yun was a little surprised and said, "Uncle, this is cheating. You shouldn't have scolded me harshly and burned this thing. Why did you help me cheat?"

Su Zhe looked at Su Yun expressionlessly, picked up the test paper and was about to tear it up.

Su Yun said repeatedly, "It's my nephew who is being mean, it's my nephew who is being mean, please don't take it seriously!"

Su Che sneered and said, "This time, because you put all your energy into the Annotated Mencius, it can't be considered as neglecting your studies.

So the government helps you, and I help you too, but I just don’t want a new scholar of classics to fail even a test of interpretation.

If that happens, the government's face will be trampled on the ground!
However, after the Jieshi, you have a few months to prepare for the Chunwei. Zihou and I will take turns to help you cram, so don't even think about getting away with it. The Libu test is different from the Jieshi. The Libu test is much stricter. The government can't and dare not interfere. You can only rely on yourself."

Su Yun nodded, then sighed and said, "The emperor has been so good to me. I have no way to repay this kindness. If my mother were here, she would cry bitterly."

Su Che was surprised and asked, "Why, the emperor is treating you well, but your mother is not happy?"

Su Yun chuckled and said, "Wu Qi sucked the carbuncle."

Su Che immediately understood.

It is said that after Wu Qi became the commander-in-chief, he wore the same clothes and ate the same food as the lowest-ranking soldiers. He slept without a mattress and did not ride on a carriage or a horse when marching. He personally carried bundles of food on his back and shared the hardships with the soldiers.

Once, a soldier had a malignant sore and Wu Qi sucked out the pus for him.

When the soldier's mother heard this, she burst into tears.

Someone said, "Your son is just a soldier, but the general is sucking out the pus for him himself, why are you still crying?"

The mother replied, "That is not the reason. In the past, Wu Gong sucked out the poisonous sore for his father, and his father fought bravely on the battlefield and soon died in battle.

Now Mr. Wu is sucking out the poison from my son’s sore again. I don’t know when and where he will die. That’s why I’m crying for him.”

Su Zhe shook his head and said, "Others hope to be favored by the emperor, but you are different. The emperor treats you well, but you are still being hypocritical?"

Su Yun shook his head and stopped talking.

Su Zhe shook his head slightly. In fact, he still understood Su Yun a little. Although Su Yun was quite rebellious in his eyes, he also valued gratitude. Otherwise, they would not have become friends.

For a person who knows how to repay kindness, too much kindness from others may actually be a burden.

After all, if someone shows him a favor, he might want to repay them tenfold. But if someone shows him an inch, he might have to repay them with his life.

The emperor is so good to Su Yun, so won’t Su Yun have to repay the emperor with his life in the future?
To repay the kindness on the Golden Terrace, I will die for you with the Jade Dragon.

However, Su Che did not think this was a big deal. Being loyal to the emperor and patriotic was a good thing, and it might also be a concern for Su Yun.

It would be a good thing if Su Yun could work hard because of this.

Su Che went through the test paper carefully, and then revised it several times over and over again, and finally finished it three days before the exam.

Su Zhe said to Su Yun with great pride: "It will be easy to get a first place in the exam with this test paper. As long as you memorize all the answers, I guarantee you will get a first place in the exam!"

Su Yun hesitated and said, "Isn't it too high-profile? I got first place in the exam, and then did poorly in the Ministry of Rites exam, or even failed. It would be a bad ending then."

Su Che sneered, "You are a great scholar of classics, a great poet who wrote masterpieces such as Linjiangxian and Qingyu'an, and you come from the Meishan Su family, a family that specializes in producing great writers. Tell me, is it high-profile to take the first place in the imperial examination?"

Su Yun felt numb all over.

With all these layers of buffs, if I don’t do well in the exam, it would be embarrassing, right?
Su Yun sneered: There is nothing wrong in gaining some face, but if you take face too seriously, then you are putting the cart before the horse!
If one has good talent and learning, he must pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi. Then wouldn't people like Liu Yong and Tang Bohu have passed the imperial examination and become Jinshi long ago?
Anyway, who dares to doubt one's own talent? In the imperial examination, it is not strange to do well, and it is normal to do poorly.

So, love whoever you want!
Su Yun memorized the answers carefully, but Su Zhe was still not satisfied, so he tested him several times. Only when he found that Su Yun had indeed memorized them all did he feel satisfied.

It's August.

The autumn examination is about to begin.

Kaifeng Prefecture opened the Imperial Examination Hall, swept the dust off the ground, and prepared to receive thousands of scholars.

The city of Bianjing was also crowded with scholars from all over the country.

Yes, that’s right, scholars from all over the place.

The imperial examination system of the Song Dynasty was inherited from that of the Tang Dynasty. It was divided into two levels, namely the preliminary examinations in local prefectures and counties and the provincial examinations in the central Ministry of Rites.

As for the so-called top scholar in the imperial examination, it was actually the palace examination. It was not until the sixth year of Kaibao in the Song Dynasty that the emperor personally attended the palace examination, which became a custom.

The first place in the county examination has been called "Jieyuan" since the Tang Dynasty. The first place in the central provincial examination was renamed "Provincial Yuan" in the Song Dynasty. The first place in the palace examination was called "Zhuangyuan".

The Kaifeng Prefecture Examination was an examination conducted by prefectures and counties.

In later generations, some parents changed their children's household registration so that they could take the imperial examinations in less competitive places. In fact, this practice had already existed in the Song Dynasty.

But some people may ask, isn't the competition more intense in a place like Kaifeng Prefecture? Why would you want to seek abuse?

This is true, but things exist for a reason.

Firstly, Kaifeng was the imperial capital, and studying and communicating in Kaifeng would allow one to be ahead of the examination culture;

Secondly, the number of people sent from different places was different, which led to the fact that it might be easier to succeed in the examination in Kaifeng Prefecture or other places with a larger quota than in one's hometown.

Just like today's "college entrance examination immigrants" who obtain Beijing household registration in order to be more easily admitted to prestigious Beijing universities.

According to the policies of the Song Dynasty, even if one was not a local but purchased land locally, he or she could have local household registration and therefore be eligible to take the exam.

Therefore, scholars with sufficient financial resources could purchase land in other states and counties, open more accounts, and "temporarily take the exam in their hometown."

A large number of scholars entered the city of Bianliang to prepare for the examinations, which brought prosperity but also chaos to the city.

(End of this chapter)