Chapter 22: The question, Mr. Cheng will ask again
Wei Dynasty.
One year in Wuchang.
March twenty-fifth.
Ping'an County.
Xu Qingxiao stayed at Zhou Ling's home for ten days in a row.
In the past ten days, I have been reading and practicing calligraphy every day.
Reading is okay, for Xu Qingxiao, she can absorb all kinds of knowledge like crazy and supplement her blind spots.
But this calligraphy practice made Xu Qingxiao feel a little uncomfortable.
His handwriting is not ugly, but the problem is that it is not neat, which is a big taboo for scholars, especially when they are about to take the government examination.
Various imperial examinations in the Wei Dynasty not only valued your personal talent, but also had a hard standard for writing.
As the saying goes, words are like people. If an article is turned in crookedly and messily, it will be a kind of torture for the examiner who is reviewing the manuscript, and it is also a kind of torture for yourself.
Of course, if your article can really shock the world and make people cry, then that will be fine.
Can Xu Qingxiao write this kind of article?
Xu Qingxiao didn't believe it herself.
So I can only practice calligraphy honestly.
It's just that the process is painful.
First, practice grip strength by holding chopsticks with two fingers. A stone is tied to the head and tail of the chopsticks, each weighing about two kilograms. Then, maintain balance without a trace of trembling for two hours.
Then there is the practice of calligraphy, just like writing a copybook, writing a word a thousand times, and so on.
Fortunately, as a martial artist, Xu Qingxiao could withstand the hardships. If it were an ordinary scholar, his wrist would be broken in half an hour if he practiced calligraphy with such high intensity, let alone two hours.
But Xu Qingxiao knew that there was nothing that could be done about it.
April 15th is the day of the Nanyu Mansion Examination. In twenty-seven days, Xu Qingxiao must seize the time to practice.
In Zhou Ling's words, you don't expect to be able to practice calligraphy well, but at least it should be neat and concise, and you can't lose the impression points.
Fortunately, although the process of practicing calligraphy was painful, Xu Qingxiao was able to do it neatly in ten days.
The font is okay, at least it looks good on its own.
And now you can practice grip strength and read a book at the same time without delaying the process.
In the past ten days, Chen Xinghe has been writing articles in his study. After he finished writing, he showed it to Zhou Ling, and Zhou Ling started to explain it after reading it.
The life was relatively boring, but it seemed very peaceful.
Reading is like this, boring and tasteless, but it is also the only shortcut for poor families to escape class.
This has been true since ancient times. Reading is the fastest and only shortcut.
At least compared to those in business, the status of scholars inherently suppresses the rich. Even if some wealthy people ask scholars to work for them, in the final analysis, if they are at the top, no matter how rich they are, they cannot be higher than the status of a master.
Xu Qingxiao understood this. She suffered the pain of not studying in her previous life, so she would not repeat the same mistake in this life.
In the side room.
Xu Qingxiao recovered her mind and started practicing calligraphy.
The font is small but very neat.
Xu Qingxiao wrote ten words in a row, and then wrote ten more words.
The ten words written in succession are extremely neat, and the ones written after are also neat.
An hour later.
Xu Qingxiao practiced until her wrists were sore before she gave up. Putting the brush aside, Xu Qingxiao stretched her muscles, stretched her waist, and rubbed her wrists.
At this moment, Zhou Ling's voice sounded.
"Qingxiao."
Hearing the shout, Xu Qingxiao immediately stood up and walked towards the study.
Arriving in the study, Zhou Ling prepared a board with a piece of white paper on it. Chen Xinghe sat on the desk and nodded when he saw Xu Qingxiao.
Xu Qingxiao also nodded as a return gift. The two of them had been together for ten days, and their relationship was pretty good. However, Chen Xinghe was indeed a bit colder. He didn't talk much at ordinary times, but he always answered questions and was very responsible.
"Qingxiao, sit down first."
Zhou Ling asked Xu Qingxiao to sit down first.
After Xu Qingxiao sat down, Zhou Ling took the brush in hand and wrote a few words on the white paper.
【Yasukuni】
【Xingguo】
【Lord】
【border】
【demon】
When the five words appeared, Xu Qingxiao was a little curious, but said nothing and waited for Zhou Ling to continue.
"Qingxiao, Xinghe, I have been studying this for dozens of days as a teacher. I even discussed it with several classmates a few days ago. If nothing else, the questions for this year's government examination should be these five questions."
Zhou Ling said with some confidence.
Betting on questions is actually a technical job. If you win, you will get twice the result with half the effort. If you don't, it doesn't matter. Just pretend that you have never bet.
The two of them didn't speak, just nodded, and their eyes fell on these five questions.
And Zhou Ling didn't hold back and spoke directly.
"The ascension of the female emperor to the throne created an eternal legend. Seven hundred and forty-three years after the founding of the Wei Dynasty, the country's fortunes were prosperous. However, the emergence of a new dynasty brought changes."
"Since ancient times, no woman has ever proclaimed herself emperor. Everyone in the court is dissatisfied. There are also many voices of opposition outside the temple, especially among the people, who are easily controlled."
"Nowadays, demons and monsters are in trouble, and everyone knows that the empress's ascension to the throne has brought about unknown things. Therefore, your majesty needs to take measures to stabilize the country and control the country. Otherwise, rumors will spread everywhere, people will be panicked, and the fate of the country will be blocked."
"The reason why I am so confident as a teacher is because all the examination papers must be presented in Kyoto. This kind of treatment is only available to Jingke, but Jingke still has to wait for half a year."
"Your Majesty couldn't wait any longer, that's why he did this."
Zhou Ling opened his mouth, and his words were all precious.
He considered the emperor's thoughts from the perspective of the country, and at the same time speculated on the issues of the imperial examination from the perspective of entering Beijing for the imperial examination.
Ginger is worthy of being old and has a clear mind.
"The strategy to rejuvenate the country is to prepare the topic. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, he has conquered the border seven times, the national treasury is empty, and hundreds of industries are waiting to be prospered. Although it is important to rejuvenate the country, rejuvenating the country is still important. You should also pay attention to this."
Zhou Ling said that rejuvenating the country is his alternative. In order, it is naturally not as important as Anguo. What the emperor needs now is to stabilize the country. How can it prosper if it is not stable?
Xu Qingxiao looked at Xinguo. During this period, he also read many history books, especially those about modern times.
Seven hundred and forty-three years after the founding of the Wei Dynasty, Taizu founded the country. Three generations of martial emperors were launched in succession, and they conducted conquests year after year, laying the foundation for the power of the Wei Dynasty. They attacked externally and attacked internally. Regardless of whether you are immortal or evil, everyone under the king's rule will submit.
Afterwards, five generations of Emperor Wen came out to govern the country, stabilize the country and prosper business, which led to rapid economic development. It was precisely because of the birth of Emperor Wen of the Five Dynasties that the military generals of the Wei Dynasty were suppressed and the civil servants became prominent.
The consequences of advocating culture and restraining force will always be bad. There have been many troubles at the border. Emperors of the Five Dynasties all adopted a lenient approach and intended to assimilate. Unfortunately, the wolf is not fed well.
The border invasion caused the "Shame of Jingcheng", and the northern barbarians almost came to Kyoto. If it were not for the strong foundation of the Wei Dynasty, and the massacre of the city by the barbarians, it aroused the anger of gods and men, and sects from all sides also came to help.
I'm afraid that I really want to enter Kyoto.
One year after the disgrace of Jingcheng, the eighth emperor of the Wei Dynasty, Emperor Jiankang, passed away, ushering in the ninth emperor, who was also an emperor full of miracles.
Because the emperor was born to a concubine, not the queen, but a concubine.
Theoretically, he could not become an emperor at all, but because of the shame of Jingcheng, Emperor Jiankang understood that the Wei Dynasty needed a Emperor Wu, and the people of the world also knew that the Wei Dynasty needed a Emperor Wu, and the civil and military officials also knew that the Wei Dynasty needed a Emperor Wu.
Therefore, this prince who was born as a concubine miraculously inherited the throne and was named Wu Yuan.
Using the character "武" as his national title is enough to show his courage.
In the next fifty years, Emperor Wu Yuan truly supported the Wei Dynasty. He led seven personal expeditions and seven Northern Expeditions. He killed countless barbarians with his iron-blooded methods and was known as the emperor on horseback.
However, it is a pity that due to long-term expeditions, he suffered countless injuries, and he was away from the court for a long time. After the seventh Northern Expedition was defeated, he became suspicious.
Furthermore, during the seven Northern Expeditions of the Wei Dynasty, the strength was restored, but the money was gone, the treasury was empty, and taxes were rising year by year, making it difficult for the people to make a living.
The most direct one is the official salary. The monthly salary of a Yamen servant is one tael of silver, which is the lowest salary since the founding of the Wei Dynasty.
Just a year ago, Emperor Wu Yuan passed away, leaving a huge mess behind.
The first half of Emperor Wu's life was full of great achievements. How passionate and courageous were the seven Northern Expeditions?
But the second half of his life was regrettable. He could not distinguish between loyal and traitorous people. He was surrounded by suspicions. He killed innocent people indiscriminately and was self-willed. In the end, he was given the posthumous title of Wu Fu.
It has the intention of the Northern Expedition, but also has the intention of evil. In short, it will be judged by future generations.
Emperor Wu Yuan still had another problem. This problem was that he had no heirs. To be more precise, he had no sons, only one daughter.
I thought that the important officials in the imperial court would choose someone from other vassal princes or from the royal family to inherit the throne.
But what everyone in the world didn't expect was that Emperor Wu Yuan's only daughter, who was just over 24 years old, ascended the throne and proclaimed herself emperor.
It caused chaos all over the world.
The reason why Zhou Ling chose [Rejuvenate the Country] as an alternative was because Emperor Wu Yuan made seven Northern Expeditions and emptied the national treasury.
So it is very likely that this will be the title.
Corresponding to the history books he read recently, Xu Qingxiao understood why Zhou Ling used this as a topic.
Then, Zhou Ling pointed to the next three questions and said.
"The probability of these three questions appearing, such as vassal king, border gate, and demon, is not very high, but it is possible that they will appear."
"Since Emperor Wu Yuan came to the throne, vassal kings from all over the country have trained their descendants to worship Wu. Now it has caused a series of problems, which may appear in the test questions."
"There is no need to say anything more at Border Pass. The chaos at Border Pass will never change. It will be difficult to quell the chaos without destroying one's clan, but it will be as difficult as ascending to heaven to destroy one's clan."
"This demon chaos is related to magic, but theoretically it won't be this topic."
Zhou Ling pointed to the last three questions.
In fact, he wanted to explain these three questions well, but he was unable to do so.
Whether it was a vassal king, a border officer, or a demon, they were far away from him. It was pretty good that he, a scholar, knew a thing or two about court affairs and military matters, but he definitely didn't know what they were like.
As for demons, let alone them. There are specialized agencies to deal with them, but they don’t understand them either.
After all, he is just a teacher. He knows a lot about national affairs, but he only knows that. Being able to guess five topics with this amount of information is already pretty good.
Xu Qingxiao absorbed these information points carefully.