In the days that followed, when Zhou Jun and Hua Yue got along, although each other's words and deeds were the same as before, they always felt that something was different.
The two of them had a tacit understanding, and no one could reveal this change. They just lived as usual, day after day.
On the ninth day of June, he was going to participate in the small election for foreign officials. Zhou Jun studied martial arts in the morning and practiced official writing in the afternoon. He was so busy every day that he couldn't take care of the villa's entry and exit accounts and neighborhood chores at the same time.
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Fortunately, the Moon Painter was here, and he not only took care of the money and accounts, but also managed all the affairs of the Villa in an orderly manner, and everyone in the Villa was convinced by him.
Time flew by so fast, and in a blink of an eye, the day came for Liu Waiquan.
In the early morning of that day, with the stars and the bright moon still hanging in the sky, Zhou Jun got up early. He first washed himself carefully, and then with the help of Hua Yue, he put on the outfit that he didn't usually wear.
After everything was put on, Hua Yue walked around Zhou Jun and said, "It looks good now."
Zhou Jun adjusted his collar, moved his neck and said, "It's a little tighter."
Huayue: "Don't move. If you move, it will cause chaos. That's how it is."
Zhou Jun had no choice but to put down his hands, walked to the desk, and checked Liu Waiquan's belongings again.
Seeing that everything was ready, Zhou Jun packed it up and walked towards the door of the hall.
Hua Yue followed him out.
The two of them were walking in the courtyard of the outer garden. People saw them along the way, but they just kept coming to salute.
When he came to the concierge, Zhou Jun saw the Fan family and the Qu family, and then went to build an oil mill by the Bahe River. He remembered something and asked: "Then the eldest son of the Fan family has sent meals to the Yin family for so many days. Why?"
Didn’t you hear him talk about his favorite girl?”
Huayue: "When did this happen? Why do you still think of it?"
"Erlang, please know that it is impossible for the eldest son of the Fan family to fancy a maid from the Yin family."
Zhou Jun asked curiously: "Why?"
Huayue just pushed Zhou Jun out of the door: "He has already fallen in love with someone."
Zhou Jun wanted to ask again, but couldn't stand Hua Yue's repeated urging, so he could only take the reins of the horse, get on his horse, and rush towards Chang'an City.
By the light of the rising sun, Zhou Jun entered Chang'an City and then entered Daoxingfang. He left his horse in a stable and looked in the direction of the Imperial City of the Tang Dynasty, quietly waiting for the moment.
After a while, a piece of chuck sign was placed outside the door.
The candidates who came to participate in Liuwaiquan gathered near the board and looked at the notice above.
Zhou Jun held the application form and recommendation letter for participating in the primary election in his hand, and read them carefully again.
On the body of the official was written Zhou Jun's personal name in the counties and counties, the official household he held, internal and external marriages, his age and appearance, and his merits and demerits.
And in the push letter, according to the Tang Dynasty law Liu Waiquan's provision that "those who are in the same stream should form a couple, five people from the capital will protect them, and one person will recognize them." There are not only the seals of Pang's marriage, but also the seals of the other five capital officials.
Accept the guarantee.
Zhou Jun just felt grateful when he recalled that Pang Gong had gone to great lengths to find a Beijing official as a guarantee for him.
With the sound of three gongs, the door was closed and the small door was opened. Several military guards followed an official from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and began to check on the candidates who had left the country.
Zhou Jun entered the queue, and in front of him was an old man with gray hair and a little trembling when he walked.
Seeing that it was difficult for him to walk, Zhou Jun felt uneasy, fearing that the old man would stumble, fall to the ground and never get up again.
After finally lining up in front of the door, Zhou Jun handed over the petition and recommendation letter. Seeing that he was still young, the official from the Ministry of Civil Affairs was stunned for a moment, then took the document and read it, and was shocked again.
After looking at it for a while, the official handed the document back to Zhou Jun and nodded to indicate that he could enter.
After entering the door, Zhou Jun and other candidates walked forward along the corridor under the watchful eyes of many military guards.
In the imperial city of the Tang Dynasty, the Shangshu Province was located to the east of Chengtianmen Street and north of the Fourth Hengjie Street; and the Selected Yuan of the Officials Department, where the official affairs were held, was located to the east of Chengtianmen Street and to the north of the Fifth Hengjie Street.
From a geographical point of view, the Selected Court of the Ministry of Personnel is separated from the Province of Shangshu by a cross street, so it is also called the South Courtyard of the Ministry of Personnel, also known as Nancao.
After passing Taichang Temple and then Taifu Temple, Zhou Jun followed the walking signs and looked up to the north.
At the other end of the horizontal street, there is a magnificent villa, which is the government center of the Tang Dynasty - Shangshu Province.
Further north is Zuowuwei, followed by Menxiawaisheng.
After passing the resplendent Changle Gate in the distance, there is a palace bathed in sunlight, like a fairyland, which is the heart of the Tang Dynasty - Tai Chi Palace.
Zhou Jun looked away and just thought in his heart, wondering if one day he would be able to walk through the gate and see what the Tai Chi Palace looked like.
After entering the south courtyard of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhou Jun stood still in the courtyard and watched the assistant examiners singing the roster.
The person who is called should go up with the documents, verify their identity, and then enter the examination room.
In Liuwaiquan, the inspection at the outer gate is called the "first inspection", and the roll list is also called the "second inspection".
After completing the second inspection, Zhou Jun entered the examination room.
When I walked to the seat corresponding to the list, I saw that there were group seats and desks in the small three-meter-square space.
On the desk, there are paper, ink, pens and inkstones.
The examination subjects of Liuwaiquan in the Tang Dynasty were far less than those of regular examination and system examination. In total, there were only three examination subjects.
They are writing, accounting, and current affairs. To put it bluntly, they are official document writing, accounting, and policy questioning.
The first two are written examinations, and the second one is an interview, both of which are conducted in the South Campus of the Ministry of Personnel.
The first thing to do is the first examination course - books.
The official documents that officials in the Tang Dynasty had to deal with on a daily basis can be roughly divided into six categories: talisman, transfer, interpretation, ultimatum, coupon, and case.
During the writing test, the examiner usually selects three types of official documents, writes some basic elements such as the yamen, reason, official position, time, copy, etc. on the test paper, and then asks the candidates to write three complete official documents.
This sounds simple, but the official document format of the Tang Dynasty had very strict requirements for neatness.
The running script is beautiful, without ink, which is the most basic.
In addition, it is more important that the literary and scientific contrasts are in correct order, the description is concise, and the coherent style is flawless.
Before joining Liuwai Quan, Zhou Jun spent five days just memorizing the format of Tang Dynasty official documents.
Holding a chicken-tip pen, Zhou Jun carefully wrote the official document stroke by stroke and let the paper dry.
After looking at it again, although the cursive writing is still a bit ugly, fortunately the official document is correct and there should be no serious problem.
Not long after, the second exam began again.
The second test was about accounting, which is accounting.
There are still three questions on the examination paper, namely check and answer, warehouse closing and thin accounting. In vernacular, they are audit accounts, warehouse pallet count and single department ledger.
Along with the test paper, there was a bag sewn from linen, which contained wooden sticks of different lengths.
This thing's scientific name is a calculation bag, and its nickname is a calculation tube.
The wooden sticks of different lengths inside are the tools used by accountants in the Tang Dynasty to calculate accounts - calculation chips.
Looking at the candidates around them, they all placed their calculations on the desk and began to meditate hard on the questions while playing with the wooden sticks.
Zhou Jun didn't even open his arithmetic bag, and directly used the multiplication table and the borrowing method to start calculating the three questions of the calculation test.
The inspector in charge of supervision in the examination room was stunned when he saw Zhou Jun's move.
Pretending to walk over casually, the inspector glanced at the test paper beside Zhou Jun for a few times, and suddenly his whole body seemed to be petrified, and he stayed in place.
I saw Zhou Jun writing non-stop, each number that required a lot of calculations was written on the test paper with just a little thought.
The inspector was startled, turned around, and without even saying hello to Mr. Zhang in the outer corridor, he rushed directly to the mansion in the south courtyard.
The exam was originally scheduled for one hour, but Zhou Jun only took a quarter of an hour to finish it.
I spent some time and checked it from beginning to end.
After confirming that there were no mistakes, Zhou Jun breathed a sigh of relief and then raised his head.
Looking to the side, Zhou Jun was immediately startled.
Before he knew it, four or five officials had gathered behind him.
When these officials saw that Zhou Jun had finished answering the questions, they picked up the test papers and circulated them. They looked at each other and looked at each other a few times.
After everyone had finished reading, the leading official said to Zhou Jun: "The next exam is a current matter, so you can go to the room, the doctor is waiting for you."