The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Although Master Lin comes from a wealthy family, he is not arrogant and can be considered a responsible teacher.

Seeing Liu Shengyuan and Zhang Ping'an both back for class early, he was quite pleased. After class, he called them to his study and said, "You three are the only students from our outer residence taking the county exam this time, and you all made it, which is a pretty good result. Lin Junhui is my nephew, and I know his ability very well. Passing the prefectural exam won't be a problem. The problem now is that you two are still a little lacking in preparation. The prefectural exam is in April, and there are still two months left. These two months of study are crucial. I plan to give you two individual lessons, and you can come directly to my study for classes later."

Zhang Pingan and Liu Shengyuan looked at each other and bowed together, saying, "Thank you, Master."

This is an opportunity that one can't wait for. Master Lin passed the imperial examination more than ten years ago and was a student on government stipend, which means he was the best among the scholars. He has also been teaching in the academy for so many years and has the most experience in the imperial examinations. With Master Lin's personal guidance, his confidence in coping with the provincial examination will be increased several percent.

"Although you two are still young, you are extremely talented and self-disciplined. It would be best if you could achieve the title of scholar in one go. This will be beneficial for your future studies and you won't be too tight on finances. Only those who endure hardships can become successful people," Master Lin said earnestly.

"Thank you, Master. We understand," Zhang Ping'an and Liu Shengyuan said in unison.

"Okay, you guys go back first and come to me for class tomorrow."

"Teacher, the student is leaving," Zhang Pingan and Liu Shengyuan went out together, feeling very excited.

"Ayuan, we are so lucky. From the time we started school until now, all the teachers we met along the way were very good." Zhang Pingan sighed.

Liu Shengyuan nodded: "Yes, it would be best if I could pass the prefectural and academy examinations in one go this time."

After Zhang Ping'an returned home, he couldn't help but share the good news with Zhang Laoer. Zhang Laoer nodded and said, "We must remember the kindness others have shown us, and repay the favor when we are able to do so in the future."

"Yeah, I know," Zhang Pingan replied.

"I plan to go back to town in a few days and tell your brother-in-law that I can ask him to accompany us to the provincial capital for the exam. He is strong and most people won't dare to bully us, so I will feel more at ease," Zhang Laoer continued.

"Okay, it happens that Maodan's birthday is in a few days. You can give him a generous gift then. Although my brother-in-law is our relative, we have to show our appreciation."

"I know that, don't worry about it," Zhang Laoer waved his hand.

The next day after arriving at the academy, Zhang Ping'an and Liu Shengyuan went directly to the study to find Master Lin for lessons. Lin Junhui had already returned to his family. The Lin family was a scholarly family with many talented people. With individual guidance from the elders at home, the effect would be better than taking classes in the academy.

So Zhang Ping'an and Liu Shengyuan started one-on-one individual lessons. Master Lin first strengthened their knowledge of current affairs. The examination format of the prefectural examination was the same as that of the county examination, but it was much more difficult and was presided over by the prefect.

Current affairs policy accounts for a large proportion of the total. If you do not have a basic understanding of current affairs, it will be difficult to get a good score when answering current affairs policy. You may even answer the questions in the wrong direction, and the examiner will directly cross them out.

For this purpose, Master Lin also collected a lot of official reports from the county government to explain to the two of them the current national situation, official system and the approximate distribution of power.

It may not be completely accurate, but it is definitely much better than Zhang Pingan and Liu Shengyuan, two poor students from the countryside.

In ancient times, information was delayed, and many official reports were transmitted several months ago. For example, one official report read, "At the end of the Ji Hai year and the beginning of the Geng Zi year, a major epidemic broke out in Jin, infecting tens of thousands of people." By the time it reached Ezhou Prefecture, the epidemic might have already ended.

Zhang Pingan then realized that the current emperor is over 50 years old, but he is young at heart. He holds a beauty contest every three years. His harem is now full, with more than 20 princes. The crown prince is born to Queen Li, who is now over 30 years old and has become a grandfather.

The other adult princes each had their own fiefdoms. For example, Ezhou Prefecture was the fiefdom of the Sixth Prince. Based on this, it can be inferred that the Sixth Prince must be quite favored by the Emperor, otherwise he would not have been assigned to the Land of Fish and Rice.

Among the northern ethnic minorities, the Tatars and the Jurchens were the most powerful. They would go south to raid the valleys every one or two years. Fortunately, their invasions were only small-scale, and with the Wei army in the north, they could not cause any trouble.

After reinforcing the famous sayings from the Four Books and Five Classics, Master Lin compiled fifty questions that might be tested based on his own experience and the information from the court reports, which was equivalent to predicting the topics.

The ultimate goal of the imperial examination is to select talents for the country, so there will be relevant hot topics in the examination every year. Among them, the cutting and connecting questions are the most likely to appear and are also the most difficult.

In the previous provincial examination, there was a question: "Zhou and Tang emphasized the exterior and neglected the interior, while Qin and Wei emphasized the exterior and neglected the interior. Each has its merits." On the surface, it seems to be discussing history, but in fact it is discussing the issue of feudal lords.

The days of concentrating on studying passed by in a flash, and it was April in the blink of an eye. I was about to go to the provincial capital for the exam.

That night, Li Mingxuan brought his mother to visit Zhang's house, which was rare. His mother also brought two pieces of meat and two bags of snacks. Although Xu was surprised, she poured tea for the two of them and sat down to talk.

Mother Li said in a gentle voice, "Excuse me, we have been neighbors for such a long time. Due to my status, I have never visited you. I am really rude."

Xu couldn't handle the flowery talk. She was impatient and asked directly, "Is there anything I can help you with? Just tell me directly. We will definitely help you if we can. I'm from the country and I can't speak well."

Mother Li hesitated for a moment, and Li Mingxuan continued, "It's like this, Auntie. My son and I are going to the provincial capital to take an exam this April. However, I only have my mother at home. My father has passed away, and I don't have any elders I know. So I'd like to travel with your family. Is that possible? Of course, I'll take care of my own food and accommodation, so you don't need to worry about it."

"This..." Xu was a little hesitant. She couldn't make the decision on her own. "This... My boss is not here today. He has returned to town. How about I give you a reply tomorrow? Is that okay with you?"

"Okay, thank you for your help," Li's mother thanked him.

"Hey, what's the big deal? You can take these meats and snacks back and eat them yourself. We have enough at home. Don't spend money." It was not certain whether the deal would be successful or not, and Xu did not want to accept such an expensive gift from others.

But Li's mother and Li Mingxuan refused resolutely, saying, "It's unreasonable to take back a gift you've given away."

After saying that, he went back.

Zhang Ping'an was doing his homework in the study. He heard the conversations in the yard and could guess the difficulties his neighbor was facing. It was probably not because he had no familiar elders, but because he had a bad relationship with his own family. In this clan society, it was impossible to have no relatives.