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

Chapter 428: Examination (Part 2)

Almost an hour later, all the candidates entered the venue.

The gate of the Imperial Examination Hall was then locked!

The door will not open again until after the afternoon of the day after tomorrow, after the first exam.

The chief examiners of this joint examination were Minister of Rites Tao Kaizhi and Lecturer of the Hanlin Academy Pan Tingqian.

Zhang Ping'an had heard from several of his classmates and his father-in-law, Minister Qian, that these two were staunch monarchists, did not participate in party struggles, and had an excellent reputation among scholars.

When he got married, these two people sent gifts to the Qian family.

However, they were quite far away and I couldn't see what the two people looked like. I could only hear the voice reading the emperor's edict sound a bit old.

But his words were steady, powerful, and full of energy, which showed that he was most likely a serious person.

After the emperor's edict was read out, the curtain officials began to distribute the papers one by one.

It was already light outside and I could barely see the paper.

However, everyone still lit candles in the examination room so that they could see more clearly.

The examination content of the joint examination covers subjects such as the Four Books, the Classics, essays, decrees, imperial edicts, edicts, chapters, and memorials.

To be completed within the specified time.

Candidates who passed the exam were given the title of "Gongshi", and the candidate with the best score was known as "Huaiyuan".

Only after passing the imperial examination will one have the opportunity to participate in the final palace examination and compete for higher honors.

However, when it comes to the palace examination, there is no such thing as failing.

Therefore, being able to calculate is the last hurdle on the road to the imperial examination.

After Zhang Ping'an got the test paper, he first reviewed it from beginning to end as usual, and found that most of the questions were the same type as those taught by the teacher in the provincial school, and they were not too difficult.

At this point, the idea of ​​solving the problem has already appeared in my mind.

After reading it all, Zhang Pingan ground the ink and started to answer the questions.

The first one is "The way of the university is to manifest the bright virtue, to love the people, and to rest in the highest good." This sentence comes from "The Great Learning" and is one of the core ideas in Confucian classics.

"Ming Ming De" means to demonstrate one's own bright virtues and carry forward the moral brilliance in one's heart, and "Qin Min" means to promote this bright and upright virtue in daily life, to influence and educate others with one's own behavior, and to achieve self-purification and moral improvement.

"To stop at the highest good" is a further pursuit of the previous "manifesting the bright virtue" and "being close to the people". It means that people should constantly pursue moral cultivation, eventually reach the ultimate in morality, and become a perfect person.

This question mainly emphasizes the importance of cultivating personal morality to the stability and harmony of social order.

Consider the current political situation.

In fact, it is intended to test and warn the candidates.

The question is not difficult, the difficult part is how to answer it brilliantly.

The pen flew by and soon the morning passed.

The sounds of fire and boiling water could be heard from the examination rooms on both sides.

Zhang Ping'an then put down his pen, stretched, and prepared to make a fire and cook.

I haven't moved much the whole morning, and the examination room is small. I'll feel really suffocated if I don't move around!

Zhang Ping'an cooked some dry noodles and ate a big bowl of them, including the soup and noodles. He immediately felt much better all over.

Only then did he flip over the wooden sign at the door and go to the toilet under the supervision of the soldiers.

After finishing this trip to the toilet, he should drink less water and try to limit the number of times he goes to the toilet to two to three times a day.

Avoid dirty papers, they are all dirty marks.

After returning to the examination room and resting for a while, Zhang Pingan continued to answer questions.

At night, after putting away the papers, I put the two wooden boards together and could barely curl up on them to sleep.

This went on for three days, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the afternoon of the third day.

Zhang Ping'an hadn't washed for two days, and he hadn't slept well, so there were dark circles under his eyes. He didn't look handsome at all.

It's almost time to collect the papers.

After carefully checking to make sure there were no typos or omissions, Zhang Ping'an waited patiently for the curtain officer to come and collect the papers!

The difference in teachers is most obvious in the imperial examination. Whether it is the question type, the examiner's preferences, or political inclinations, the teachers in the provincial school are all very clear.

Every year, there are cases where the questions are predicted correctly.

Students from remote areas simply cannot compete.

Some of the questions involve issues such as money, grain, and water conservancy, requiring candidates to analyze specific issues in order to examine whether they have the ability to deal with practical problems.

These all require excellent teachers to teach.

After finishing the first exam, Zhang Pingan felt much more at ease and had greater confidence in this imperial examination.

After the papers are collected and the bell rings, the candidates can leave one after another.

Zhang Ping'an followed everyone out and met Green Bean Eyes at the door.

Green Bean Eyes' face was full of fat and his hair was greasy. Even a mosquito would slip if it stood on it. With his small eyes, he looked so disgusting.

But he didn't realize it. He even raised his fat hand to smooth his hair, thinking he was very handsome.

After seeing Zhang Ping'an, he immediately ran over with the exam basket.

"Ping'an, how did you do in the exam? I didn't see you when I was queuing the day before yesterday," asked the man with green eyes with a smile.

Zhang Pingan looked at his energetic face and couldn't help wondering: "You are in good spirits. It seems that you answered well. I am also okay!"

Green Bean Eyes waved his hands and said, "No way, I haven't even finished the questions, I'm definitely not going to stand a chance in this exam!"

"Then why are you so excited?" Zhang Ping'an widened his eyes.

"I'm just trying to please my dad. I won't pass the exam anyway, and I know my own limitations very well. But after the exam, I'll get a job, which is also a happy thing." The man with green eyes seemed to be in a good mood.

I wasn't discouraged at all by the three-day exam.

"Ping An, here," Zhang Lao Er shouted from not far away, accompanied by the housekeeper and fifth brother-in-law Fang Ziqi.

"My family is here to pick me up. I'm leaving first. I have to go back and take a shower. We'll get together again after the exam," Zhang Ping'an said, waving his hand.

"Okay," the man with green eyes replied with a smile.

Every time Zhang Laoer saw his son's drained look after taking an exam, he felt distressed and quickly took the exam basket and said, "Here, hold it for me. Take a break!"

Fang Ziqi also hurriedly handed over the warm tea in his hand and said, "Come, drink some tea and relax!"

The two men helped Zhang Ping'an get on the carriage and went home together.

Only then did Zhang Ping'an realize that his fifth brother-in-law had specially greeted his father and came to pick him up. No matter what others thought, this thoughtfulness was still very heartwarming.

When they got home, Xu had already asked the servants to prepare the bath water. "Son, come and wash up. We'll eat after you're done. You must have not eaten or slept well these past few days because of the exams. You need to make up for it!"

Qian Youyi had already asked the maid to prepare clean clothes.

Zhang Ping'an felt relaxed after washing up.

After drying my hair, I put on my clothes and went out to eat.

It is said that you need to nourish yourself, but you should not eat too greasy food during the exam to avoid upsetting your stomach. Most dishes should be steamed.

Light and delicious meals are many times better than dry noodles.

No one asked Zhang Ping'an how he did in the exam. There were still two exams to go and he couldn't be distracted.

After dinner, I went to bed early, and the next day, when it was dark, I got up and went to the Imperial Examination Hall.

It was Zhang Laoer and the housekeeper who sent him to the exam.

Time passed quickly, and finally it was the afternoon of the ninth day when the last exam was over.