Of course, there are many poetry gatherings during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but there are not many good poems and lyrics. Even if there is an occasional scholar who becomes popular in poetry, it is considered good to write a famous poem.

Because the literary thoughts of most scholars have long been exhausted in the Gongyuan with lights on all night long ago. How can they write any good poems now?

Zhou Bai also visited lantern festivals and poetry festivals, but he did not write poems for the limelight.

Of those Mid-Autumn Festival poems in his memory, any one of them could be handed down from generation to generation. He didn't want the examiners who were grading the papers to think that the candidate wanted to force them to do so by using the title of the essay.

In the next few days, Zhou Bai did not rely on Qi Hua to make friends with state officials. A left counselor was enough to provide him with protection for the future development of the Zhou family.

He personally went deep into the establishment of Xuanyiwei's intelligence agency. For example, there were several state officials from the city inspection department who needed Zhou Bai to personally carry gifts and money to deal with them. After all, Yao Ping and Yao An had no official status.

Recognize them.

By now, the Zhou Family Bookstore and Ping An Medicinal Materials Store have completely taken root in the city and have also recruited a considerable number of helpers.

Others don't know why, but some old Jianghu people know that Ping An Herbal Medicine Shop is definitely not simple. They have never seen any familiar faces in the shop, and they change people almost every few days.

On August 25, the grading in the Gongyuan finally came to an end. There were more than 1,500 candidates for this Dingzhou Provincial Examination, far more than the previous one.

Even if it was just the first step of transcribing by a dedicated person, it took two or three days to complete all the transcribing. As for the subsequent layers of review, it took even more time.

At night, in the main hall of Gongyuan, the surroundings are still heavily guarded, and the bustling hustle and bustle outside cannot penetrate the place at all.

The invigilators, civil servants, and the previous guards are still locked in the Gongyuan, and they are not allowed to leave unless they are ranked.

In a brightly lit place, stacks of test papers are divided into grades according to the number of red circles marked by the marking officials, just like the county examination is divided into four grades.

The first class is the best. Each marking officer marked this type of paper with a red circle. The number is only fifty, which is in line with the number of candidates this time.

Yes, even for the rural examination, which has more candidates and is more difficult, the number of candidates for the examination is actually the same as the number of scholars in a county, only fifty.

This is the disadvantage of not being prosperous in culture and being in a border area. The number of candidates assigned to a state by the imperial court is often only half of that of the major states in the interior.

Second and third class, which means the number of red circles is uncertain. There is a glimmer of hope for this type of paper, which accounts for almost 500 copies.

As for the fourth grade, there are one or two red circles, which is almost a death sentence.

They are inferior papers in the eyes of the examiners, with the largest number, close to 800.

But according to the rules at the moment, he cannot be completely deposed, and he must pass the inspection of culture and luck.

Of course, more than two hundred defective papers have already been excluded from the fourth class. These papers were either not finished by the candidates, or the writing was too rubbish, and all the examiners did not even give them a chance to get the fourth class.

"Examiner, you can let go of Zhenyun's suppression." At this time, a deputy examiner reminded Xue Qing in a low voice.

Hanlin Examiner Xue Qing nodded slightly. He glanced at the four neatly arranged stacks of test papers and solemnly reached out to pick up the gold medal that had been suppressed for half a month.

A vague dragon roar sounded, and all the test papers were ready to move, and the literary spirit contained in them could no longer be restrained from showing off.

Lei Haomiao took a deep breath and picked up the governor's seal of Zhenyun at the right time.

Suddenly, countless lines of various literary styles spurted out from the test paper.

The first is the largest number of fourth-class texts. Their white text is overwhelming, completely covering the ground of the hall almost instantly, and the clouds are dense like a fairyland.

A small number of red test papers inside moved to the position of third-class papers on their own initiative, as if they knew they did not belong here.

Then there are the positions of third-class and second-class scholars. Rich red and even crimson have become the mainstream. They represent the achievements of most scholars, but hard work cannot make them stand out.

Only the more than 70 test papers that oozed golden literary spirit, leaping to the first-class position step by step, are qualified for this.

However, the fifty volumes of first-class essays that have long been favored by the examiners are not inferior. Feeling the majestic literary spirit of the same kind, they also show their own literary spirit without timidity.

In an instant, a bright golden color was like a scorching sun that shocked the entire audience, and the green aura within it suppressed all the test papers and made them unable to raise their heads.

There are several test papers with green and yellow literary styles, and one test paper with light blue throughout. This is a complete Qingwen.

"Sir Xue, Lord Governor, Zhou Bai is indeed the first in literary style in the examination paper."

"Not to mention a poem about the way of heaven, but as for the policy theory on military affairs, I think it is at the level of a young scholar, so it should be him!"

"Everyone, as a rule, Zhou Bai must be one of the fifty people, right?!"

"That's right, this man is the first in literary style among young writers, and he can be classified as a must-have for the imperial court!"

Even though Zhou Bai was born in a rural clan and might not have good luck in the future, he could not throw away the imperial decree that had been stipulated in the law for a long time.

All the marking officers and busy clerks came forward and were surprised. Most of their faces were filled with joy. This was their achievement.

Xue Qing stroked his beard, nodded with satisfaction and said: "Next, let the chief Taoist official completely release the suppression of luck."

"Please ask the real person to lift the Suppression Array!" Several deputy examiners pointed towards a place above their heads and said in unison.

The roof seemed empty, but after spending so much time with the Yin Shen Taoist, they all figured out where the Taoist official liked to stay.

"Ahem, in that case, good luck!"

An old voice suddenly sounded in the void, and suddenly, everyone felt that something was missing from their bodies.

The performance of the examination paper in the palace is even more obvious. One after another, the fortune rises vigorously from the words, and finally forms the pillars of fortune that line up side by side with the literary spirit.

The brilliance is overflowing, the culture is dazzling, luck and culture blend with each other and support each other.

The golden scroll was helped by the yellow luck, and the literary spirit became more and more intense, as if it was not succumbing to the current situation.

There are even a few test papers from the children of aristocratic families in the state. They are blessed with blue luck and great literary talent.

A large number of test papers written by the children of big families were supported by luck, and they instantly moved forward in many rankings. Even the rankings of many test papers in the top fifty were changed.

However, Zhou Bai exceeded many people's expectations. He firmly sat in the first place and remained motionless.

Although its luck is not the precious blue state gas, it is full of county gas that is as majestic as the abyss, and the wisps of yellow luck are even more solid.

When more and more Qing Qi chased him, the large enough amount of Qi Luck kept him from falling too far behind, and he was finally able to take the lead relying on his essential Qing Wen.

"This guy is not simple. How did he get such good luck from a mere rural scholar?" Many officials couldn't help but have this thought in their minds.

In the end, the top fifty still stabilized their rankings, and those below that, regardless of their talent or luck, were all deposed.

It’s meaningless, as long as it’s not in the top 50, it’s a failure.

In fact, Xue Qing already knew this in his mind, but because he was worried about the governor's face, he still discussed it with Lei Haomiao in a low voice.

"We take Zhou Bai first, Yu Song second, Sun Yucheng third, Qi Hua fourth..."

"If you have no objections to the rankings of the above fifty candidates, please sign and sign and fill in the list immediately!"

"We have no objections." As everyone responded in unison, the ranking of the provincial examination in Dingzhou was finally settled.

Then the Dingzhou Superintendent followed the list and filled in the names one by one on the official and specially made B list red paper.

In the 46th year of Daxu Xiangxing's reign, Dingzhou ranked second.

After Governor Lei Haomiao officially stamps the state government seal, this list will take effect immediately.

Of course, the state government still needs to jointly submit a report to the capital through Taoist officials and Xue Qing, firstly to register, and secondly to ask the court to review whether the people on the list can be selected as new imperial examination candidates.

It goes without saying that the B list in the provincial examination and the A list in the imperial examination are valuable, and there is no room for mistakes.

But according to common practice, the court will basically not reject the list.

When the news came out from Yinshen Old Dao, everyone stayed in front of the list until dawn the next day.

"Come, come, the court has agreed!"

Suddenly, the little official responsible for keeping track woke up everyone who was somewhat drowsy, and they looked up.

The red paper on the list trembled, and the fifty names shone with golden light.

Zhou Bai, who was still asleep, suddenly woke up. He looked up and saw a wave of luck coming from the court, which seemed to have a small amount of authority.

Zhou Baifu reached into his soul and opened the heavenly book of destiny.

I saw that the natal figure of the projected human figure was advancing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The pure white natal destiny, which represented ordinary people, gradually became red, and the red color became more and more intense, as if rushing towards the red destiny.

Promotion of birth? Zhou Bai understood and quickly turned to the second page.
Chapter completed!