A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 216 Who is the top scorer in Yingtian Prefecture?

"I think this poem by Song Twelve is one that is hard to surpass."

Su Qi agreed again and again:
"Unless another exiled immortal like Li Bai appears in the future, Song Twelve's poem will be the swan song of Mid-Autumn Festival poetry."

"Hahaha."

Yan Shu stroked his beard and immediately burst into laughter.

He paused for a moment before saying:
"Back then, Song Twelve was fishing in his hometown of Lema Town, and it was me who was attracted by him while I was walking on Wolong Bridge."

"At that time, I thought he was just an ordinary student who loved to play around. I never thought that after a few random tests, I would find that Song Xuan was a good seedling."

"It's a pity that due to family reasons, I wasn't taken seriously. Otherwise, I would have taken the prodigy exam long ago. Why would I continue to take the imperial examination here?"

Everyone also understood that the countryside was isolated from news and was not very sure about some of the court's policies.

Some people didn't even know that the emperor had died and a new emperor had ascended the throne.

"That's why I invited him and Zhang Fangping to come and take the exam at Yingtian Academy."

"good."

Song Shou stroked his beard with a look of emotion:

"At that time, Prefect Yan was also addicted to fishing. Song Twelve kept catching fish, but Prefect Yan couldn't catch a single fish."

"In the evening, he told me that the local fish didn't recognize his bait, which was from a foreigner, so he tried to make up for it. It's definitely not because his fishing skills are bad."

"Hahaha."

Everyone burst into laughter as they listened to Song Shou's description.

Now that the heavy work is over, new talents have emerged.

Most of them were in a cheerful mood.

Besides, Song Xuan and others were talented people valued by Yan Shu himself.

If during Yan Shu's tenure, Yingtian Academy participated in the palace examination in the fifth year of Tiansheng, many people would have passed, which would be enough to prove Yan Shu's educational achievements.

Song Qi was also thinking of inviting everyone to his place for a banquet, as a way to deepen their relationship.

Yan Shu recalled his first meeting with Song Xuan and found it quite interesting.

Especially the policy essay that was asked that time left a deep impression on Yan Shu.

Now that Song Xuan's essays are well written, it will be easy for him to win the top spot in the imperial examination in the fifth year of Tiansheng.

However, Yan Shu did not intend to reveal Song Xuan's trump card in advance.

What if the imperial court continues to procrastinate and is unwilling to reform the imperial examination?
Yan Shu felt that the best follow-up would be that after the examinations in various parts of the Song Dynasty were over, many students would make a fuss, at least to get their voices heard.

Only by forcing them to speed up reforms can Song Xuan completely gain a foothold and reap the benefits.

Seeing the envy in everyone's eyes, Yan Shu stroked his beard and said:
"Song Twelve, he's just too ambitious and never does his job properly."

"His mind was always elsewhere."

After hearing Yan Shu's words, local officials such as Su Qi expressed their understanding.

Some of the things Song Xuan did were enough to make them dumbfounded.

How can people have so much energy?
However, if they were able to govern a region in the future, they would hope to have talents like Song Xuan under their rule.

Whether it is supporting college education or using money to take care of the elderly and the weak.

In short, Song Xuan made great contributions.

In addition, people actively asked to pay taxes.

I haven't seen such a person in all these years!

The rest of the businessmen either evaded taxes or hid two account books.

Anyway, as long as I can put it in my pocket.

Who is willing to spend money?

Unlike Song Xuan, who just threw money out on a large scale.

However, fewer people are concerned about whether he has made a fortune or not.

In short, everyone knows that Song Xuan is a timely rain who is eager to help others, but behind his back, many people call him a prodigal son.

People show off when they have some money, but they don’t realize they should leave some money for their descendants.

Will you have the chance to earn that much money in the future?
Who doesn't know that Song Shier can make money and squander money?
Yan Shu looked at Song Xuan's poem, stroked his beard and continued:
"Originally, Song Twelve's ability was enough to make the list during the last exam, but I wanted to temper his temper and make him focus on the imperial examination."

"That's why we deliberately deposed him. Now he has lived up to everyone's expectations and finally passed the exam!"

"what?"

The only person at the scene who didn't know about this was Song Qi.

He looked at Yan Shu in horror, wondering if he would deliberately depose Song Xuan!

How disgusting is this for the candidates?
If Song Qi encountered such a situation, he would definitely not be able to accept the result.

Why should I work hard to pass the exam, but you deliberately demote me just because you want to teach me a lesson?

What if I give up on myself.

How to do?
It's all your credit.

If I lose, it means I don’t have the ability!
"Fortunately, Song Twelve is not the type to give up on himself."

Yan Shu glanced at Song Qi's surprised eyes and said, "So this method has to be tailored to the individual."

Song Qi nodded subconsciously.

Because he didn't think he would do that.

He used to look down on Song Xuan.

Song Qi felt that Song Xuan couldn't even pass a small hair test, so what was there to be arrogant about?
However, he did not expect that there was a misunderstanding during this period, and it turned out that Yan Shu deliberately dismissed him.

Even though Song Xuan was selected as the top scorer by Yan Shu this year, Song Qi still felt that Song Xuan was lucky!

It turned out that there was this inside story that he didn't know about.

"Yes."

Song Shou also nodded slightly:
"So I also dismissed Zhang Fangping."

"He could have finished last in the standings, but unfortunately it didn't have to. This time he finally showed some real ability."

Su Qi and others looked at Song Shu.

It would be fine if Yan Shu was just pretending to be cool.

Why are you pretending too?
Yan Shu glanced at Song Shou with considerable pride.

He used to blame himself all the time, but now after seeing the results, he started to praise my foresight.

It's really just a joke.

"Gong Chui, you resented me so openly back then, I wonder how much more you resent me behind my back!"

"Ha ha ha ha."

Song Shou smiled but said nothing.

Some old things are not worth mentioning.

Anyway, he and Yan Shu had never won the bet between Song Xuan and Zhang Fangping.

He's used to it.

Who lets him be a child prodigy?

The key is that the other child prodigy has never disappointed the old child prodigy in front of him.

Everyone laughed in unison.

They all expressed their admiration for Yan Shu's method of encouraging people to make progress.

At least Song Xuan's performance did not make his methods and efforts become empty talk.

Now the tangible results are showing.

"Prefect Yan has great foresight in finding talented individuals for the court!"

Song Qi quickly praised him.

Yan Shu waved his hand and said with a smile:
"Song Twelve is just a piece of unpolished jade covered in dust. With just a little polish, he will be able to shine brightly."

Everyone had a smile on their face and didn't say much.

It was just that someone next to me reminded me of the time, as the results would be announced soon.

At this time, there were already huge crowds of people outside the Imperial Examination Hall.

Song Xuan stood under the shade of a tree with his friends Zhang Fangping, holding a folding fan, and was not in a hurry to look forward.

There were more than 300 people this time, but only the names of more than 100 people were read out.

In this way, the time required will be very short.

The key is that there are many people watching the fun.

Everyone wants to see who will be the champion this time?

Wang Tai is so hot that he is dying of heat.

He couldn't stop wiping the sweat off his face:
“When the time comes, I really don’t know if I can make it through the second round and make the list.”

"Didn't you say you had your heart set on competing with Song Twelve for the title of Jieyuan?"

Lu Lejian immediately refuted and continued to look around:
"And do you want to compete with Song Twelve for the title of Jieyuan?"

"Why are they all so listless before the red list comes out?"

"Could you please stop shaking your legs and then talk about us?"

Lu Lejian was naturally very nervous, after all, he had failed the exam before.

If you are stuck in the first round and cannot enter, you will be in big trouble.

"Hahaha."

Song Xuan was too lazy to mention this and laughed a little when he heard Zhang Fangping's complaints.

As for being nervous, Song Xuan rarely gets nervous, but at this moment he is also very concerned about the red list.

He was confident that he could make the list, but he also had some ideas about the top scorer.

As long as your name is not on the red list, it is futile to say anything else.

Zhang Fangping also noticed that the classmates around him were very nervous.

Only the twelfth brother didn't care, thinking that the top scorer would definitely fall into his hands.

When will I be able to learn this mentality?
"No, do you really believe that Song Twelve can pass the exam and that everyone else can pass?"

Although Lu Lejian had been studying and taking mock exams with Song Xuan, he didn't quite agree with his methods. Especially since his chances of winning the title were extremely uncertain.

After all, we all failed the exam before, so how could we all pass it?
Bao Zheng nodded slightly:

"With Shi Erlang's method, I have adapted to the imperial examination. I will definitely be on the list for this test!"

"what?"

Lu Lejian looked at the black-faced bun in front of him, who ate the buns Song Xuan brought him every day. Was he so confident in Song Twelve's method?

Wang Xiuyong was sweating profusely and felt like he was about to have heatstroke.

Seeing his expression, Song Xuan comforted him:
"Just sit still and study hard with me for so long, you will definitely pass the exam."

"Twelve Brother, I don't have the confidence to make the list, but I'm actually quite happy to have passed the first round."

Wang Xiuyong sat in the shade, his voice trembling a little when he spoke.

Song Xuan fanned him a few times to comfort him. After all, this kind of thing is a matter of mentality.

Which candidate present here was not terrified?
"Twelfth brother."

Song Hao immediately came over to say hello, with Song Ming beside him.

"The results will be announced eventually. Are you confident?"

"some."

Song Xuan waved his fan with a smile on his face.

Upon hearing this, Song Hao was stunned for a moment, because he did not expect Song Xuan to give him such an affirmative answer.

Look at the people in the room. Who among them is not hesitant and afraid, fearing that they will pass the first round but fail in the second round and not be able to make it onto the red list?
"Hahaha."

Song Hao laughed dryly and said quickly:

"I knew that Twelfth Brother has always been confident."

In fact, he was thinking in his heart that Song Xuan still failed, while he succeeded.

At that time, the twelfth brother knew about the top scholar's notes and how much influence Song Qi, as the actual top scholar, would have on a person.

Song Xuan smiled, but did not continue the conversation:
"I know that it won't be difficult for Fifth Brother and Seventh Brother to pass the Fajie test."

Song Hao smiled shyly, but he was actually a little proud.

At least this test was not difficult for him.

As long as the poems and essays are written well enough and the other three subjects are not too lagging behind, you can definitely make the list.

"I hope so. When my name wasn't on the list, my heart would have jumped for joy."

Song Ming was willing to confide his true feelings to Song Xuan. After all, there was no hatred among the families. Ultimately, it was Song Hao himself who was conflicted.

No one else is to blame.

In addition, even if Song Xuan failed the imperial examination, Song Hao felt that his achievements in this life were incomparable to ordinary people.

Just the attitude of not treating money as money is enough to charm a large group of people.

In the crowd, Yu Linglong was also standing there wearing a veil, waiting for the result.

She wanted to see if Song Xuan could pass the imperial examination like Mother Ding did.

Yu Linglong has been trying to find out more about Song Xuan's character these past two days.

He is usually very generous, but when he went to the brothel, he didn't spend a penny and even took away gold.

Simply unheard of.

It was Song Xuan's unique approach that made the courtesan Yu Linglong curious about him.

"Miss, I just asked around for a while, and everyone knows that Zhao Gai has a 90% chance of passing the Jieyuan exam, but Song has no chance at all."

"Let's go. If we stay any longer, you'll get tanned, miss."

"No rush, the results will be out soon. I just want to see it with my own eyes, and then I'll go talk to him and ridicule him. He pretends to be a gentleman and doesn't like women, but he even uses the excuse of liking strong women to humiliate me."

Yu Linglong has made up her mind.

I have to meet Song Xuan no matter what. If he doesn't pass the exam, hehe, it will be fun.

If he is thin-skinned, he should know what to do.

"Brother Zhao, the title of Yingtian Prefecture champion must belong to you!"

"Ah." Zhao Gai waved his hand. "There are always people better than you. Besides, after Song Twelve's poem comes out, maybe he can write an even better one in the exam."

"That's true."

Zhao Gai longed to defeat Song Xuan.

Who doesn’t want to be number one?
Finally, under the attention of everyone, the results of the examination held in Yingtian Prefecture in the fourth year of Tiansheng were announced.

Yan Shu and others were still standing at the gate of the yamen, and he naturally wanted to say something.

As the soldiers came over in groups, they began to stand still to separate the crowd and act as megaphones.

The hearts of many students were lifted.

Who doesn’t want to go to high school?
"100th place, Wang Xiuyong, Yingtian Academy."

"Who?"

Wang Xiuyong looked incredulous, he really felt that he had no hope of making the list.

"You." Song Xuan hit him hard: "Finally, you are ranked on the same level as Fan Xiang."

"Hahaha." Wang Xiuyong burst into wild laughter:

"I'm going to tell my dad, I'm going to tell my dad!"

Doctor Wang always felt that his youngest son was not cut out for studying medicine or studying, and was probably just cut out to earn some money running a pharmacy.

So Wang Xiuyong himself had no confidence, but in Song Xuan's Qinglong mutual aid study group, even though his grades were at the bottom, he was pulled up.

At this moment, Wang Xiuyong was extremely excited and kept shouting excitedly.

In fact, he couldn't accept such great joy falling on his head for a while.

Song Xuan suddenly felt that he understood Fan Jin a little.

Because he is definitely not the only one who does this, but many students who take the imperial examinations do the same.

Fortunately, everyone can understand this kind of thing.

Who wouldn’t be excited after being on the list?

Now even Lu Lejian and others looked at Wang Xiuyong with envy.

Even if he is the last one on the red list, he is still on the list.

It can make him feel relieved, while lifting the hearts of many people.

As the name spread.

Bao Zheng, Lu Lejian, Wang Tai, Zhu Yu and others were on the list.

"Hahaha."

At this time, they were already huddled together. As for the title of Jieyuan, screw you, just make the list first.

When the 30th name was read out, Song Hao was a little worried, but then he heard Song Ming's name and he felt relieved.

"Congratulations, Seventh Brother."

Song Ming really didn't expect that he would score so high in the exam. There was a sense of relief and unexpected surprise on his face, and he grinned.

"Happy together."

Tenth place, Song Hao.

Song Hao finally felt relieved, as he had achieved the best score so far.

In this way, the top scholar's notes and Song Qi's personal tutoring of him played an even greater role.

"Fifth brother." Song Ming also pulled his shoulders excitedly.

Even though Song Hao wanted to tell himself not to be complacent, he couldn't control himself and laughed together with Song Ming.

In this way, they will have a greater chance of passing the provincial examination.

"Twelfth brother."

In the current small group, only he and Song Xuan had not had their names called out. Zhang Fangping pulled Song Xuan's sleeves harder and harder.

"Don't worry, Lu Lejian and the others are already on the list. We two brothers are much better than them, so we will definitely be at the top."

After failing the exam last time, Zhang Fangping's mentality is very different from when he first entered Yingtian Academy.

At least his confidence is not that strong, which makes him understand that there is always someone better.

Finally, amidst the attention of thousands of people, Zhang Fangping ranked third.

"Fang Ping is third."

After hearing this message, Zhang Fangping felt a little dazed. He could no longer support his body and leaned against the ground, slowly sitting down.

Tears suddenly welled up in his eyes.

For such a long time, he has been studying hard and his sleep time has been compressed.

Finally got third place.

How can you not be excited?
Satisfied, finally satisfied.

Now, Zhao Gai and Song Xuan are competing for the title of Jieyuan in Yingtian Prefecture.

At this time, even Zhao Gai, who was always confident, couldn't hold his temper and secretly clenched his fists.

He believes that he can achieve good results.

"Don't let my twelfth brother really pass the exam and become the top scholar."

After Lu Lejian got ashore by himself, his mentality was very different.

"What do you mean?" Wang Tai snorted and laughed: "What if he gets second place?"

"Hahaha."

“Who else can get first place?”

"Of course it's Zhao Gai!" Lu Lejian couldn't help shaking his head. "I'm not bragging about Zhao Gai, he's really awesome!"

Several people were joking with each other, but their mindsets were completely different.

"Second place, Zhao Gai, Yingtian Academy."

"Zhao Gai is second?"

Lu Lejian looked at Song Xuan in disbelief: "Could it be that you really passed the exam and became the top scholar?"

(End of this chapter)