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

Chapter 443 Palace Examination

The palace examination lasts one day and admission begins at dawn. Candidates must arrive at the designated area of ​​the palace in advance to wait for roll call.

After entering, the official answering time generally starts from chenshi in the morning and ends at shenshi in the afternoon.

As the highest-level examination in the imperial examination system, the palace examination has a tight and strict schedule, mainly divided into three parts: entrance, formal examination and paper collection. Although there are short breaks or meal times in the middle, candidates must complete all the examination content within the limited day.

Characterized by high intensity and short time limit, it not only tests the candidates' academic reserves, but also demonstrates their physical strength and adaptability, thus meeting the standards for talent selection.

Although the emperor is still young, just a little boy under ten years old, Zhang Laoer and Xu are still very excited and honored that their son can meet the emperor in person!

This is the most noble person in the world!

What an honor it is to be able to see the emperor in person!

Before daybreak, the whole family got up and started working, and the old couple insisted on sending their son out.

Xu raised her hand to help Zhang Ping'an straighten his clothes and hair, and gently instructed him, "Do well in the exam. Mother will ask the kitchen to stew a chicken and wait for you to come back to eat it tonight!"

"Well, Dad, Mom, Youyi, you guys go in. It's very cold in the morning," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the carriage.

Qian Youyi also urged: "Dad, Mom, let's go in, my husband will be back in the evening!"

The old couple watched their son get on the car, and then reluctantly went in.

The housekeeper and the coachman were both very familiar with Lin'an City, and the carriage went all the way to the palace.

The Nanxia Imperial Palace is located at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain in the southwest of Lin'an. There are Lizheng Gate and Dongbian Gate on the south side of the palace city, the Zhengbei Outer Gate and Ning Gate on the north side, and the Donghua Gate, the inner gate in the northeast.

Inside the Lizheng Gate is the outer court area, where there are halls used for formal court meetings, such as the Wende and Chuigong halls.

The whole was expanded on the basis of the original Lin'an Prefecture.

Zhang Ping'an had passed by the imperial palace several times, but the nearby Suzaku Street was guarded by guards, so he could only see a rough outline from a distance.

To be honest, it cannot compare with the vastness and grandeur of the Forbidden City in Beijing in the past life, just in terms of the area covered.

But it’s real and vivid!

It was not as dilapidated as what Zhang Ping'an saw when he visited the palace in his previous life.

It was still dark outside.

Zhang Ping'an supported his head with his hands and took a nap in the car to recharge his energy.

About three quarters of an hour later, the carriage stopped.

The butler whispered, "Master, we're here!"

Zhang Pingan was half asleep and woke up suddenly after hearing the words.

He drew aside the curtain and looked outside.

There were many horse-drawn carriages parked nearby, all of which were carrying the candidates who came to take part in the palace examination.

Not far away, there were palace guards standing guard in front of the palace gate.

Zhang Pingan got off the carriage and ordered, "Come pick me up in the evening!"

After saying that, he walked towards the palace gate.

I looked around as I walked, but unfortunately, I didn't see my eldest brother and Lin Junhui, nor did I see my third brother-in-law Qian Wei.

Instead, I met Jiang Fengping, my classmate from the provincial school!

Jiang Fengping also saw him.

Their eyes met, and Zhang Ping'an couldn't pretend not to see it.

Jiang Fengping had been lagging behind, but now he quickly caught up with Zhang Pingan and greeted him with a smile, "Brother Zhang, what a coincidence!"

"Yes, Brother Jiang, I haven't had time to congratulate you yet!" Zhang Ping'an also laughed.

"To be honest, I'm not ranked as high as you," Jiang Fengping said politely.

After saying that, he looked up at the palace gate and continued, "Brother Zhang, let's go together, please!"

It’s definitely hard to refuse this time!

Zhang Pingan also made a gesture of invitation: "Brother Jiang, please!"

The two of them walked to the palace gate and presented their household registration cards and related documents. The guards checked and confirmed their identities, searched them and made sure they were not carrying any sharp weapons, and then let them in.

After entering the palace gate, a eunuch led the way and led everyone to a side hall.

It was still dark, and the entire palace could not be seen clearly.

Zhang Pingan was a little confused, but didn't ask.

Jiang Fengping explained in a low voice, "We will first attend the imperial banquet hosted by His Majesty, and then go to the main hall to take the exam."

"Thank you for letting me know," Zhang Pingan said in a low voice.

It was still early, and when the two of them entered the side hall, only half of the people had arrived.

The young eunuch who led the way didn't say much. After bringing the two people there, he left. Other young eunuchs in the side hall served them tea and snacks.

But most people are a little nervous and don't touch these things much.

To be on the safe side, Zhang Ping'an didn't move, worried that he would have to go to the toilet later and it would be bad if he made a fool of himself.

After about two quarters of an hour, the rest of the candidates arrived one after another.

Zhang Pingan finally met several other acquaintances.

Just nod to each other.

At this time, an elderly eunuch came in and said loudly: "Exam participants, please take your seats according to your numbers and refrain from making any noise!"

To be honest, the sound is too thin and quite unpleasant.

Everyone sat down quickly.

The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

After a while, a eunuch at the door announced loudly: "The emperor has arrived!"

The voice is sharp and has strong penetrating power!

Everyone quickly stood up and knelt in greeting, "Your Majesty, long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor!"

Then, all that could be heard was the slow, rhythmic sound of footsteps approaching.

Finally, there was the sound of someone taking a seat at the top of the table.

"Stand up," a childish voice came.

Everyone then stood up one after another.

Zhang Ping'an took the opportunity to look up while standing up, and saw the little emperor sitting at the top, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and a golden winged crown on his head, sitting in the wide golden dragon throne at the top.

He was a little thin, with very white skin and calm eyes, completely different from the child Zhang Pingan had in mind.

After everyone stood up, the little emperor stopped talking and the eunuch began to lecture him according to the procedure.

After that, the so-called imperial banquet also ended.

Everyone moved to the main hall, Huangji Hall, and began to wait for the formal palace examination.

There are platforms at the top and on both sides of the main hall, on which are placed tables and chairs for the emperor and officials to watch.

Several accompanying officials had arrived, and Zhang Ping'an heard them saluting the emperor.

But I didn't dare look up, for fear of breaking taboo.

Below are examination papers, test papers and pens and ink for the candidates to use.

The surrounding layout is simple and elegant, not as luxurious as imagined.

The examination content mainly focuses on policy essays.

As soon as the hour of Chen arrived, the eunuch loudly announced the official start of the exam.

Zhang Ping'an followed his old habit and scanned the questions from beginning to end. After he had a clear idea of ​​the answer, he took a deep breath and started answering.

One of the questions was "Wu did not learn from Sun Wu, Ding questioned him, and he said, what about Gu's strategy?"

Another one is "Privately own armor and crossbows, but the first cloud is only a spear, the weight is different, if it is a category."

The last question was, "A prisoner on death row has no relatives. He petitions the emperor for permission to serve as a servant. If he is pardoned, will he be spared from death?"

These questions are all very practical, testing the candidates' ability to handle and solve practical problems after becoming officials, and testing their administrative capabilities.

Not on the surface!

Originally, the palace examination should have been set by the emperor himself, but the emperor was too young, so he had to be assisted by ministers.

From this we can also see that there are still capable people in the court and those who are willing to govern the country.