Rebirth, end of the world, time travel, escape famine, make money!

Passing by Wan Tongsheng’s school at the entrance of the village, the door was open and someone was talking inside.

Father Liu and Luo Hong took a look inside.

What a coincidence! The village chief was talking to Wan Tongsheng.

The two stood outside the door, thinking about what to do. The people inside had already noticed the two people outside the door.

Wan Tongsheng is a hospitable person. After all, he is popular and taking in a few more students can also bring in income.

"It's Uncle Liu and Uncle Luo, where are you going?"

"Wan Tongsheng, Village Chief Wan, what a coincidence, we just wanted to come visit you two and ask you something."

"That's perfect. I've finished talking to Wan Tongsheng. Why don't we sit here together for a while?"

"excuse me!"

Wan Tongsheng invited them in. There was a pavilion in the middle of the yard, but there was no stone table or stone bench in the pavilion. It was just the right size for the four of them to sit down. There were two other men there, who briefly introduced themselves to each other and then left.

The two were from the next village and wanted to send their children to the school for enlightenment. They just came to understand the situation and booked two places for school. The school is not very big, and although the quota is not exceeded, it is always good to book it in advance. It is better to be safe than sorry.

"If there's anything I can help you with, just ask. I'll be happy to tell you everything I know." Wan Tongsheng was the first to ask.

Maybe it was because neither of them knew how to start.

Father Liu looked at Luo Hong, meaning to let Luo Hong ask. After all, Luo Hong knew a lot, but he just didn't know what was different about this dynasty, so it was better not to say anything casually.

"We want to learn about the imperial examination. It's like this. We also went to school in the western border, but I didn't take the exam because it was too far from the county seat. Our village is different from other villages. We are self-sufficient in many things. We are close to the border between Bhutan and Myanmar. We rely on doing business at the border market from time to time, so we can live a rich life. After the villagers learned to read, no one wanted to leave their hometown, let alone pass the imperial examination."

Father Liu added, "Yes, there are many villages like this in the mountains over there. If it weren't for the severe drought in the west, we wouldn't want to leave our hometown and come to live in an unfamiliar place. I guess we can't go back to our hometown, not to mention the time and money it will take to go back. It will be even more difficult to start a new life after returning. It's better to settle down here. Since we have spent all our savings, if we want to settle down here, we have to think of a way to make a living and think of a way out for our children, so I want to learn about the imperial examination."

"Yes, although I didn't pass the imperial examination, I was familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics since I was a child. I would borrow and copy the books brought back by merchants who went out to read. I bought a lot of books along the way, learned a lot about local customs and people, and read a few books on current policies.

My child is still young and probably won’t be able to take the exam in the short term. First of all, I want to know, can I take the exam at my age?

"Uncle Luo, you are already very good at reading the Four Books and Five Classics. You are fully qualified to take the exam. Let me first tell you about the first level of the exam, which is the Tongsheng exam.

There is no age limit, as long as you sign up, you can take the exam. It is held once a year and lasts for three days. Those who pass the exam are called Tongsheng, which means they are eligible to take the Xiucai exam one month later. The Xiucai exam lasts for six days and can be taken every year.

However, if you pass the Tongsheng exam but fail the Xiucai exam, your status will be invalid the next year, and you have to take the Tongsheng exam again and pass it before you can take the Xiucai exam again. This was set by the imperial court to prevent local officials from cheating in the Xiucai exam. In the past, if you passed the Tongsheng exam but failed the Xiucai exam, you could take it again and again. Later, many people did not want to continue studying every year, but only wanted to get the Xiucai degree, so they bribed the county magistrate and cheated to get the Xiucai degree.

There was a period of time when too many people passed the examination for the title of scholar. The court discovered this problem after a thorough investigation. Some people who passed the examination for the title of scholar failed the examination for the title of student again.

"Then you can bribe the county magistrate. Isn't it possible to cheat in the Tongsheng exam?"

Luo Hong was a little confused. If someone had the ability to cheat, he could cheat at any time.

"There are quite a lot of people taking the Tongsheng exam, and most of the questions are basic stuff that requires rote memorization. The exam is not difficult, but the amount of questions is huge. Even if you can buy the questions, you still need to memorize them yourself. It is unrealistic to bring in answers with such a large amount of questions."

Luo Hong understood the reason as soon as he heard the large amount. It seems that the Tongsheng exam mainly tests rote memorization, while the Xiucai exam will have difficult reading comprehension questions. "I see! What happens after the Xiucai exam?"

"Uncle Luo, I have taken the examination for the title of Tongsheng every year for ten years now, but I still haven't passed the examination for the title of Xiucai. As for how to take the examination next time, I have only heard about it from the teachers in the county school.

After passing the examination, you can go to the county school or a higher level school to study. You can take part in the prefectural examination held every three years in the prefectural capital. The prefectural examination lasts for nine days. In our country, it is basically held in the prefectures of the four continents. If you pass the prefectural examination, you will be called a juren.

After passing the Juren exam, one can take part in the joint exam hosted by the Imperial Academy of the Ministry of Rites in the capital. Those who pass the joint exam are called Gongshi. One month later, one can take part in the Palace exam, which is presided over by the emperor. Those who pass the exam are called Jinshi, and are divided into the first, second and third classes. The court will directly arrange an official position for them. "

Father Liu was confused by what he heard. He had a general understanding of the situation, but it was still a bit confusing to distinguish what was what. Luo Hong nodded. The examinations after the Xiucai were roughly the same in every dynasty, but the examinations for the Xiucai in this dynasty were a little different.

Never leave its origins.

"Uncle Luo, in fact, it is already a great achievement to pass the examination. None of us passed the examination. There are only three living scholars in the whole town, and the age of those who passed the examination is over 35 years old. It is completely fine for you to apply for the examination at your age.

The examination for Tongsheng is held in March, and the examination for Xiucai is held in May. If you pass the Xiucai examination this year, you can take part in the prefectural examination in September. If you pass the Juren examination, you can take part in the joint examination at the end of February next year. The palace examination is held at the end of March.

The drought in the west and northwest was severe before, so it was too late to hold the examination in February this year, and it will probably be postponed to next year. Let's wait and see if there are any new decrees issued by the court at the beginning of the new year. If not, it should be postponed for another year."

Luo Hong originally wanted to ask whether the imperial court would hold an imperial examination for special merit. After all, the imperial court would hold such an examination after many disasters. But then he thought that he had not even passed the examination to become a Tongsheng student, so if he failed, all his subsequent questions would be in vain.

"Then are there any rewards from the imperial court after passing the examination?"