A book boy of twelve or thirteen years old came running with a box on his shoulders: "Master, take a look at the box!"
Wang Ce opened the test box by candlelight and checked it again. After making sure that there were no omissions, he handed it to the boy.
Song Ling'er was still carefree and patted her son on the shoulder: "Don't panic about the exam, it's not a big deal. It's just a boy taking the exam. If you fail the exam this year, you can continue taking the exam next year."
"Mom, I'm not panicking." Wang Ce smiled.
Huang E, Xia Chan, and Xiang Xiang were all present, and the aunts each prepared food. They all gave it to the book boy. Unfortunately, the book boy was still a child and couldn't carry so many odds and ends.
Zhou Chong, who had been a housekeeper for a long time, took the initiative to help and arranged all kinds of food and drinks for himself.
Wang Yuan imparted his experience and said: "After entering the examination tent, nail the tarpaulin and go to bed. A sergeant will wake you up at dawn. You must get enough sleep, otherwise you will be dizzy and unable to show your abilities."
This is something truly useful. Wang Ce immediately said: "Thank you, Dad, for your advice!"
"Go!" Wang Yuan waved his hand and said.
The adults went to bed, and even Song Ling'er, his biological mother, did not accompany her son to the examination room.
Wang Ce took the book boy with him, followed by Zhou Chong, and Zhang Mu stayed far away to protect him.
The students in the capital city are so good that they borrowed the examination room directly. The examiner was the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture of the third grade. In terms of official rank, he was already on the same level as Wang Yuan. Unlike local students who participated in the boy examination, they were all invigilated by the county magistrate of the seventh grade. Even in remote areas, some
You must bring your own test desk.
It's quite a distance from home to the examination room. We need to go from the northwest to the southeast of Beijing, diagonally across the entire city of Beijing.
By the time Wang Ce arrived at the gate of Gongyuan, there was already a queue to enter.
It's just a test for boys. There is no need to take off clothes. After verifying the identity, a few casual touches will count as a body search.
We don't arrange seats in advance, we just sit casually after entering. Since the Rites Gongyuan is very large, it is impossible to fill it with all the schoolchildren, so there will be no situation of being next to the shit seats.
Wang Ce randomly chose a place, took out a hammer and nails, and set up a bench to nail the oilcloth there. He kept his father's advice in mind and went to bed immediately after nailing the oilcloth. It was already dawn when he was woken up.
The test questions are mimeographed. After years of improvement, the high-end products are no longer easy to lose ink, so candidates are spared the trouble of having their hands full of ink.
The county examination in the capital requires two eight-part essays, which are much more formal than those in remote places. Unlike Wang Yuan's time in Guizhou, where one could pass the exam if he could answer the questions accurately, the difficulty level between the two was very different.
The county examination is not so particular. Unlike the examinations for Judicial Examinations and Jinshi Examinations, the examiner must sit inside.
While Wang Ce was reading the test questions, the examiner was already patrolling the examination room, wandering around the examination room with his hands behind his back. Wang Ce only glanced at the examiner and then answered the questions seriously, because the examiner was so familiar that he would sometimes see him twice a month.
three times.
The name of the examiner is Yan Song.
Yan Song was previously the official envoy of the third rank of Zhengsan, and last year he was transferred to the third rank of Shuntian Prefecture. It seems to be a horizontal transfer, and his authority seems to have been weakened. However, the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture is a springboard for promotion. In the future, he will either be transferred to a local governor or be the right minister of the Sixth Ministry.
, you can even be directly promoted to Zuoshilang (this situation is rare).
By the way, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty had land in Tiannongtan, and he had to pretend to cultivate it himself every year, that is, the emperor encouraged farmers. The emperor's land in Tiannongtan must pay taxes to Shuntian Fuyin, which means that no one can be exempted from taxation -
- There are strict restrictions on tax reductions for officials and scholars. It does not mean that you can be exempted from taxes if you become an official, but there are various loopholes in the implementation.
Yan Song walked around the examination room for a few times and already knew where Wang Ce was, but he just pretended that he didn't see anything.
It is not easy to be the governor of Shuntian. There are too many things to take care of. If you take it seriously, it is easy to offend the powerful. He is more afraid of the emperor's personal conquest. Every time Zhu Houzhao goes out to fight, the person who is most stressed is no one else but the unlucky Yin of Shuntian.
!
Yan Song's successor was called Hu Zongdao. Because Zhu Houzhao personally conquered King Ning, the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture had to be responsible for recruiting civilians and collecting food and fodder for tens of thousands of troops. The war with the Mongolian prince had just begun, and the people of Shuntian Prefecture could no longer bear it.
The land was devastated and thieves were everywhere. In the blink of an eye, the emperor wanted to go on a personal expedition again. Hu Zongdao, the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture, actually died of fear due to the great pressure.
Yan Song now has a headache, because he heard from Wang Yuan that the emperor seemed to be going on a personal expedition again this year, so he asked him to make various preparations in advance.
Getting ready, Yan Song wanted to curse, this emperor was too difficult to serve.
Back in the main hall, Yan Song was sitting there drinking tea and reading, just waiting for the schoolchildren to come over and hand in their papers.
Around noon, some students finally handed in their papers. Yan Song was a little disappointed because Wang Ce was not the first one to hand in his papers.
Those who submit their papers for the county examination in advance have a huge advantage. They can ask the examiner for an interview. If the examiner is satisfied, they can pass on the spot.
Yan Song quickly browsed this person's article, made a random pair, and asked with a smile: "How old are you?"
The schoolboy said: "Your Majesty, I am fourteen years old."
Yan Song nodded and said: "Go back and study hard to prepare for the government examination in April. I will still be the examiner then."
"Thank you, Master, for your support!" The schoolboy was overjoyed because he had passed the interview.
After interviewing two more students, Wang Ce finally handed in his fourth paper.
Yan Song picked up Wang Ce's answer sheet, looked at the first line, and laughed: "What a big tone!"
This time the county test asked two questions. The first question was: Doesn't the text matter?
The idiom "Siwen Zai Zi" comes from this sentence. Confucius is revered as "the most holy king of Dacheng Wenxuan", which is also related to the content of this chapter. This topic can be written in a large format, or it can be interpreted according to Zhu Zi's chapters and sentences, and the "
The students of "The Analects of Confucius" can all write articles.
And how did Wang Ce solve the problem?
This guy said directly: "The Tao is about to be destroyed, and its existence will continue to decline. Who else can it be than me?"
Yan Song carefully read the eight chapters of the whole chapter and asked: "Zhu Zi said in chapters and sentences that this 'article' is a system of rituals and music, and it is Confucius's words of self-effacement. You don't seem to agree very much?"
Wang Ce replied: "Sir, this 'wen' is 'tao', and Zhu Xi's annotations are a bit redundant."
Yan Song smiled and asked: "Who is your teacher?"
Wang Ce replied: "Yang Shen Gong (Yang Shen)."
Yan Song asked again: "How does your father interpret it?"
Wang Ce said: "The interpretations of my father and my husband are similar but slightly different. They both believe that the word 'wen' here refers to 'dao'. My father said that Confucius dared to do what he did and he did not hesitate to do it. Huan Miao of the Song Dynasty wanted to harm Confucius. Confucius
He bluntly stated that he had undertaken his natural mission, and he would definitely be able to turn disaster into good. How could Confucius suddenly be humbled when he encountered danger here? Zhu Zi judged others by himself and underestimated Confucius's pattern. His father also said, "Wen
"I don't care, I don't care." Confucius had such an aura that he would be better off than me. How could he pat his chest and boast while at the same time be humble with his words?"
Yan Song asked again: "What is Tao?"
Wang Ce replied: "Confucius said benevolence, Mencius said righteousness."
Yan Song smiled and asked again: "Then do you think it is benevolence or righteousness?"
Wang Ce suddenly asked back: "Why should the prince choose one? Benevolence and righteousness can both be harmonious."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Yan Song stroked his beard and laughed. He put Wang Ce's article at the top and praised: "You have the style of my father. I will wait and see. This eight-part article should be the first."
This is not to show favoritism, but Wang Ce's articles are indeed good. Although the language is simple and unpretentious, and the eight-part structure is also a bit loose, it is far less precise than when Wang Yuan was a boy, but it is more powerful and heroic.
Like a sharp blade coming out of its sheath.
If you look at people through literature, you can know their roots.
"The Tao is about to become extinct, and its existence will continue to decline. Who can replace me?" - This kind of eight-part essay is difficult for even an adult scholar to write, let alone a child.
On the other hand, the first student who submitted the paper wrote the title "The value of literature has declined, and the saints also doubted themselves", which means: the rituals and music are about to collapse, and Confucius is doubting himself.
One is the collapse of rituals and music, leading to self-doubt; the other is continuing to exist and die, who else can I be?
The size of the pattern is a matter of judgment!
Wang Ce thanked the governor for the support, packed up the examination box and left.
Yan Song lamented: "The tiger father has no dog son. This son scolds Baji, and he is another Wang Erlang."