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

As expected, among the six test papers, three of the major policy essay questions were centered around the current situation of the court.

One of the questions was, "King Wu of Jin conquered Wu by his own decision-making, while Fu Jian conquered Jin by his own decision-making and was defeated; King Huan of Qi relied solely on Guan Zhong to become the hegemon, while King Kuai of Yan relied solely on Zi Zhi and was defeated. The events were the same, but the achievements were different. Why is that?"

This question is concise and simple, but the content covers a wide range of knowledge. Candidates with weak knowledge may not even understand the historical allusions in the question.

In fact, the core is to require candidates to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of autocracy, to quickly find the right argument, and to complete a policy article with clear arguments, clear structure, thorough analysis and argumentation, and profound insights within a limited time.

The decline of imperial power can also be seen from this title. Such a title was impossible before. Master Lu had previously specifically talked about the situation in the court, which included this point.

There was also a question titled "The Ultimate Theory of Punishment and Reward for Loyalty and Honesty, and the Way to Keep the Country and the Army Safe." The title had less than twenty words, but the meaning contained therein was extremely profound, and it would be impossible to answer it completely without a thousand words.

After reading all the questions, Zhang Pingan felt relieved and began to answer the questions on the draft paper. After checking them all, he copied them onto the main paper.

Although the weather was hot, the examination room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. From time to time, the chief examiner, deputy examiner and buglers would come to inspect.

Zhang Ping'an focused on answering the questions. He didn't put down his pen until he finished the first test paper in one breath. Then he stretched himself and rubbed his eyes to relax.

I don’t know who invented the examination room. It is small and narrow. It is not comfortable for sitting, but it is not comfortable for leaning or sleeping. It is very painful!

After resting for a quarter of an hour, Zhang Ping'an ate half a pancake, drank some water to moisten his throat, and then continued to answer the questions.

There are mountains and rivers in my mind, and I can write as if inspired by God.

Zhang Ping'an felt that he was now full of ideas, but he regretted that his writing speed was not fast enough. Unconsciously, he wrote all the way until the evening. It was already dark, and he had already answered three of the six test papers. He didn't need to rush for the remaining two days.

Not having to worry about going to the toilet at night, Zhang Ping'an took out an iron pot and calmly cooked a pot of fried rice. He also added a spoonful of brown sugar. Eating sweets can make people relax and there is no need to worry about stomach upset. After eating two big bowls of food, Zhang Ping'an was ready to go to bed.

He first went to the toilet, and when he came back he put two wooden boards together, and sprinkled realgar powder around the examination room to prevent snakes, insects, rats and ants, and then curled up to sleep.

At dawn the next day, the bell in the examination room rang three times in a row, indicating that it was the hour of Mao.

The candidates got up rustlingly. There was no conditions to wash their faces or brush their teeth, and there was no need to do so. It would be a waste if the test paper got wet, so basically no one washed up. After eating something, it was daylight and the candidates continued to answer the questions.

Zhang Ping'an was very quick and finished all six test papers by the evening. He only had to wait until tomorrow to check them and then copy them.

Time passed very quickly in the examination hall, and in a blink of an eye it was already the third day at 3 p.m. The curtain officials, along with the bugle soldiers, began to collect the examination papers. After collecting the examination papers, the curtain officials needed to rewrite the names of the examinees and seal them with names, which could prevent cheating in the imperial examination to a certain extent.

This rule also existed during the academy examination, but at that time the yamen runners collected the papers. Zhang Ping'an felt that this provincial examination was stricter.

After handing in their papers, candidates can line up to leave the examination room.

Zhang Ping'an was in a front position, so he got out quickly.

The people queuing in front and behind all had a foul smell on them, and no one looked down on anyone else. But after leaving the Imperial Examination Hall, everyone covered their faces with their sleeves, fearing that they would be recognized.

Zhang Ping'an is also a worldly man. He doesn't want his sloppiest side to be seen by acquaintances, so he covers his face with his sleeves and looks for his father through the gap. They will definitely come to pick him up after the exam.

It didn't take much effort for Zhang Ping'an to find his father and Jinbao. The reason was simple: Jinbao had hung a piece of rag on a bamboo pole and held it high up, making it difficult for him not to see them. In the crowd, he could see him and Zhang Laoer at a glance.

Zhang Ping'an walked quickly towards them. When he got close, Jin Bao recognized him and laughed so hard that he couldn't straighten his waist. He pointed at Zhang Ping'an and said, "Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter. Why are you hiding your face behind your sleeves? If I hadn't seen your familiar walking posture, I really wouldn't have recognized you!"

"Stop laughing and let's go," Zhang Pingan urged. He also found it funny, but now he just wanted to go back, wash his hair, take a shower, and have a good sleep.

Zhang Laoer's face was filled with worry. He quickly took the exam basket and bamboo tube from his son's hands and said distressedly, "Son, you've suffered a lot these past few days. You look a little pale. You must be exhausted these past few days. Let's go home!"

Zhang Pingan smiled and shook his head: "Dad, I'm fine. The location of the examination room I was assigned this time is not bad. I didn't suffer much. I just didn't get enough rest in there."

The three of them squeezed out of the crowd and arrived at a nearby parking lot. The second brother-in-law Liu Husheng stayed in the car to help watch over the car.

Seeing Zhang Ping'an coming over, she quickly jumped out of the car and said with concern: "Ping'an, you must have worked hard these days. Hurry up and get in the car. Let's go home now. Mother has been preparing dinner since noon, so we can eat it when we get home."

"I'm fine, thank you for your hard work, brother-in-law," Zhang Ping'an thanked him.

The mule cart went all the way home. On the way, Zhang Ping'an listened to his father telling about the trivial matters at home in recent days. He felt peaceful and satisfied in his heart.

When I passed by the market, I smelled the aroma of meat. I haven't eaten fresh food in the past few days, so I was really greedy.

When he got home, Da Ya, Er Ya, Uncle Xu, Grandma Zhang, uncle and aunt, third uncle and aunt were all there. There was such a large group of people that the yard was almost full of people. They were all very concerned to see Zhang Ping'an come back.

Mrs. Xu had already prepared hot water. When she saw her son coming back, she hurriedly instructed her uncle Xu to help add water and fill the large wooden tub for bathing.

Zhang Ping'an took a good bath, brushed his teeth, and felt much better. He changed into clean clothes before coming out of the room.

When I came out, everyone else had left.

Zhang Laoer explained, "Your grandma asked them to go back. We'll have dinner together after you finish your exam."

Zhang Ping'an nodded, grandma was very thoughtful.

After dinner, the family sat together. Zhang Ping'an talked about the exam and briefly mentioned the exam questions. He felt that he was quite confident about this provincial exam. Although Zhang Laoer didn't understand, his eyes were full of pride. He had confidence in his son.

At night, Zhang Ping'an lay in his familiar bed, thinking about the test results in his mind, but he soon felt relieved. No matter what the result was, as long as he had tried his best, he had done his best!

Moonlight poured into the room, accompanied by the chirping of insects outside the window. Zhang Pingan slowly fell asleep and had a good night's sleep!

Just after the Yin hour, the second brother-in-law Liu Husheng and Jinbao came over with lanterns. Xu had already prepared the examination basket and got up in the middle of the night to work on it. Zhang Laoer took his son and set off for the Imperial Examination Hall again.

After the few people left, Xu went back to the room and lay down, but she couldn't fall asleep again. She was praying silently in her heart.

Fortunately, the weather was good. It was sunny every day during the nine days of the exam. There was no wind or rain, and the weather was very good.

Zhang Ping'an also felt that the exam went very smoothly and he answered the questions smoothly. When he walked out of the examination room on the last day, he felt light all over. What the result would be, all depends on God's will!

The results will be announced in half a month, and Zhang Pingan decided to spend this half month getting together with his friends.