On the seventh day of the first month of March, the day of the unified scientific examination in various parts of the Great Song Dynasty, because this examination is to make up for the autumn examination of the end of the year, and the next month is the provincial examination of the spring and the summer, so the time seems to be relatively rushed, and it adds a more tense atmosphere to the people of the world.

The examination room of Jingxi Road is located in the Gongyuan of Rendian Street on the left side of Bianliang City, which is also the examination room of the provincial examination.

As early as more than ten days ago, the entire Jingxi Road including Kaifeng Mansion, Yingtianfu, Jeju, Yunzhou, Caozhou, Xuzhou, Shanzhou, Puzhou, Gunzhou and other places of Fuxue Zhou Xuejuzi have come to the capital one after another, the reference number is as high as more than 8,000 people, and the Ministry of Rites issued the admission quota, Jingxi Road is only 270 people, close to 30 to 1 admission ratio, it can really be called a single wooden bridge, its fierce degree of competition can be imagined.

Su Jin slept very early last night, got up as soon as the sky was bright, and after the thunderous morning exercise and bath, he had breakfast, and under the service of everyone, he put on the moon-white gown, square hat and other lifting clothes issued by the Tribute Academy, of course, he would not forget to hang the big three-yuan jade pendant in a conspicuous position on the belt.

Xiao Sui'er commanded the servants to pack the quilts, food boxes, changing underwear, kettles and other things in a large examination basket with a shoulder-type type, carried them to the carriage, and carefully checked them.

Several people took two carriages and went straight to the Gongyuan, the closer to the Gongyuan, the more people flowed, the lifters gathered in the Gongyuan Square from all over the inns, Su Jin lifted the curtain and looked at the people on the road who hurried with the examination basket on their backs, and sighed in his heart, this imperial examination is the starting point for young people in this era to pursue their dreams; After ten years of hard study, no one asked, and once he became famous and known to the world; This is similar to the college entrance examination in later generations.

What surprised Su Jin was that there were many hunched old men on the road, with a lot of eyebrows and beards, and the wrinkles on their faces were like ravines crisscrossing the high slopes of loess.

Before the car arrived at the Gongyuan Square, he heard the voices of people in front of him, and it could be seen from a distance that the square was full of people, and the carriage could not enter the square at all, and everyone had no choice but to get out of the car outside, Su Jin instructed Xiao Zhuzi and two coachmen to wait here, and he took Xiao Sui'er and Rou Niang Huanniang to walk towards the square.

Walking into the square, but seeing the tall, short, fat, thin, old and young, all kinds of people gathered into a circle of high-minded talk and noise, and everyone's demeanor was also different, some were nervous, some were confident, some laughed and laughed, and some were silent; Small traders and vendors also shuttled through the crowd, using it as a bazaar, hoping to make a few small profits, but unfortunately most of the scholars were poor scholars, and when they came, they were ready to stop everything, and the business was not very good.

Su Jin took three beautiful women to the square to stop, and immediately attracted countless eyes, some people regarded Su Jin as a gentleman in their hearts, and they also brought women to take the exam, showing that he was a wealthy son of the Yanei, I was afraid that he was just going through the motions; Some people were envious, and secretly vowed to go to high school, and when the time came, they would marry a few concubines who were more beautiful than these three women, and they would also take them around.

Su Jin didn't care what everyone thought of him, he was turning his head to look around for Wang Anshi and others, there were too many people here, and he couldn't see Wang Anshi and others at all if he blocked his view; Just when he was in a hurry, he heard someone in the east shouting, "Brother Su Xian, we are here." ”

Su Jin turned his head to look, on a dismounted stone at the east end of the square, a person was standing on the top of the stone and waving his hand to himself, and under a closer look, it was Wang Anshi.

Su Jin hurriedly waved his hand in response, and led people all the way over to meet Wang Anshi, where hundreds of Yingtian Academy members gathered, most people knew Su Jin, this gentleman was a big celebrity in Yingtian Academy, how could he not know.

Su Jin clasped his fists all the way, came to Wang Anshi and the others and said with a smile: "A few brothers came so early, I thought you didn't come." ”

Wang Anshi said with a smile: "How are we like you, I woke up in the middle of the night on the hard bed of the inn, so I pulled out the two virtuous brothers Songhe and Hengxin to occupy a place." ”

Su Jin said with a smile: "As soon as the test is over, Brother Jiefu will say goodbye to the hard bed. ”

Wang Anshi laughed and said: "I borrow your auspicious words, but if you look at this posture, there are seven or eight thousand people taking the exam, and it is only two or three hundred in front of you, which is difficult." ”

Su Jin said: "Brother Jiefu is not confident, what will I take the test later, I will go home with a bunk." ”

Wang Anshi chirped: "Don't come to sell well, let's hurry forward, and after a while, we will ask for the name and the number, I hope we can get the first batch of numbers, otherwise we will have to suffer for three days." ”

Su Jin understood what he meant, there were only more than 400 sheds in the Gongyuan, and there were only 100 sheds in each shed, and there were only more than 4,000 people entering the house, and 8,000 people could only be divided into two batches to enter the exam, saying that it was the third day and three nights of the first month, but in fact, the exam could not end until the twelfth.

Su Jin was also a little worried, obviously the test questions in the two batches before and after were different, and if the rules he found out failed because of this, it would be infuriating.

Several people squeezed forward with straight necks, and when they squeezed in front of the gate of the Gongyuan, they were shouted by the soldiers guarding the door: "What squeeze what, what squeeze what?" Later, they will be called according to the names of their respective state capitals, do you think you can get it by squeezing to the front? The order is set. ”

Su Jin, Wang Anshi and the others stared at each other, and a group of old-fashioned people around them looked at them with disdain and said, "At first glance, it is the first time to take the exam, and it is a chick." ”

Wu Hengxin sneered: "What happened to the first time I took the exam? Is it more humiliating than your repeated failures? ”

The few said angrily: "What has failed repeatedly? I waited for the Jeju Mansion to learn the exam, but I only took the exam three times, and Yunzhou Zhou Changqing took the exam for fifteen years, and I didn't see anyone ridicule him. ”

"That's it, the prefect of Yunzhou also praised him for his tenacity and disgrace."

Wu Hengxin was about to fight back, Su Jin grabbed him and said, "What's the point of the battle of tongues?" If you can't win, you can't win, it's to boast of a flower, or the generation of Sun Shan, people are proud of the number of exams, and we can't compare on this. ”

Those people rolled their eyes and muttered, "Let's see if you can go to high school in one fell swoop, don't become a member of Sun Shan at that time, big words will become a joke." ”

Wang Anshi said: "Several! Why don't we make a bet, Wang Anshi in Yingtian Academy, this is Su Jin of Yingtian Academy, these two are also classmates Wei Songhe and Wu Hengxin of Yingtian Academy, if any of us are successful, how about a few of you climb around this tribute academy? You climb one lap in one lap, and you climb two laps in two laps......"

The students said, "What if you don't win?" ”

Su Jin said: "How about anyone who doesn't get hit and crawl around this tribute courtyard ten times?" ”

The students hesitated and didn't answer, Wang Anshi said with a smile: "If it's inconvenient to bet that none of you won't win, a few of you but as long as you win one, I will wait to climb ten laps around the Gongyuan, otherwise, you will climb ten laps, then you should dare to bet, don't you think you can go to high school when you come to take the exam?" ”

One student said, "Then who dares to guarantee that you will win?" ”

Wang Anshi said: "If you don't dare to shut up, you have come to take the exam, but you have no confidence, is it here to try your luck?" The imperial examination is a matter of selecting talents, but it is not a place to gamble on luck; A few people have a lot of beards, and it is right to want to take the imperial examination, but they failed to pass the imperial examination three times, which is enough to show that several people are not this material at all; I would like to advise you that this year's good students will be happy if they can succeed, and if they don't win again, they should go back and pay some money and make a living; The wives and children at home still need to be supported by you, don't be burdened with the wives and children and parents who are suffering with you, what should you do? ”

Wang Anshi's words are gloomy, but it is indeed the same truth, in this era, the first examination of the imperial examination is forty or fifty years old, and the wife and children at home are living a hard life, which is really not like words; In the end, it is good that Fan Jinzhong was generally admitted, but if he failed the exam, so many years of perseverance were actually worthless; There are even more those who were later admitted to the imperial examination and entered the official career, and finally abandoned their bad wives, and those who were unsympathetic in order to marry a beautiful young man are even more hateful.

Several middle-aged students were embarrassed, annoyed and ashamed by Wang Anshi's embarrassment, and they were speechless with their eyes puffed out, until Su Jin and the others left, and one of them spat at the mouth and scolded: "These boys are five or six, what qualifications do they have to accuse us?" It's really unreasonable, I really think of myself as a garlic. ”

A student next to him leaned over and said, "Don't be unconvinced, do you know who the handsome young man among them is?" ”

"Who does he care? What do you have to do with me? ”

"Cut, the family is the famous Su Jin, everyone has reported their names and surnames, but you pretend not to know; Don't tell me that you don't even know who Su Jin is, it's the Taizu who entrusted the dream, was ordered by the emperor to handle food affairs as a civilian, rectified the rule of the officials on Huainan Road, and single-handedly picked up the bandits in Bagong Mountain. ”

"What......?" Several middle-aged uncles are full of black lines, I really didn't hear it clearly just now, I have long heard of Su Jin's name, Su Jin has become a new generation of idols in the world, Su Jin has made a name for himself these people who have no fame, what he did shows that those who have no fame have the same ability, several uncles also wanted to have the fate to visit Su Jin in person that day, but they didn't expect to meet each other, and they actually had a dispute when they met.

The uncles were very remorseful, and they couldn't help but condemn the person next to them at the same time: "Why didn't you say it earlier when you knew him?" At this time, there is a fart to put an afterthought? ”

The move was counted down, and he scolded in his heart: You don't care about yourself, but you come to blame others, it's really a bunch of nonsense, no wonder you failed in the Three Realms Imperial Examination, if you guys become officials, you must be a foolish official; Lao Tzu cursed you for failing in ten subjects, and you will not fail in the exam until you die.

……

As soon as the hour arrived, the closed gate of the Tribute Courtyard was opened, and one hundred and ten soldiers surrounded the three chief examiners from the Tribute Academy.

One of the chief examiners, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a thick black beard under his chin, frowned when he saw this, and said in a loud voice: "People come, draw a line, and those who cross the line will be dealt with immediately, what kind of system!" ”

One of the leaders stepped forward and gave a loud order, and the soldiers drew their whips and continued to whip the students, beating the students who came to the crowd so that they hugged their heads and retreated, and those who did not know it behind them also looked forward and squeezed forward, and hit each other twice, and several people fell to the ground and were trampled on the pig-like howl, leading the crowd to disperse, and there were already seven or eight students who had been trampled on their feet and hands broken, and collapsed on the ground and cried loudly.

Su Jin and the others were stunned when they watched from the periphery, what is the situation? Thousands of troops and horses crowded the single-plank bridge, but this has not yet reached the bridge, but a few have fallen.