On February 29, today is the day of the Ministry of Rites' trial list.

Although those who have a way in Kaifeng Mansion knew last night whether they had a high school jinshi or not, most of the five or six thousand people gathered in this city were poor people who had no way out.

This road to the imperial examination was originally a road to rise paved for the children of the poor families in the world!

However, there are so many poor disciples in the world, how many Jinshi do they get? In recent years, the imperial court has gradually widened the number of scholars, and the number of scholars on a list can be as many as more than 500 people, which is far more than a dozen or even a few people on a list in the early days of the founding of the Song Dynasty. However, the number of students from poor backgrounds has also increased significantly. Now just the people who have gathered in Kaifeng Mansion, not including the old people who have played the famous Jinshi in Kaute, there are as many as five or six thousand people on the list. There are 561 people who have taken the lottery today, and there is only about one percent of the winning rate!

If you count the Confucian students who participated in the Liberation Examination from all over the country, I am afraid that it is 100,000 or even hundreds of thousands of students to fight for 561 precious Jinshi places.

Among these many students, such as Wu Haowen and Ji Yi, who were born in a big city industrial and commercial family, are only one percent at most. The Confucian students who were born in poor families or landlord families (including Yimen) accounted for more than eighty percent.

At the same time, the Confucian scriptures used in the imperial examination are relatively easy to get started and relatively cheap to learn. Therefore, the relationship between the financial resources of high school jinshi and the lifting family is not particularly large. Most of the righteous families and landlord families could afford their children to study Confucianism.

As for whether or not you can win, it is the Five Classics that rely on hard reading, and the articles rely on talent. As long as you have these two things, you will have the opportunity to go to Kaifeng Mansion.

And in order to allow poor Confucian students to enter Beijing to take the exam, the government will also issue post coupons, and the food and lodging are free!

The so-called bridge section where there is no money to enter Beijing to take the exam did not exist in the Northern Song Dynasty.

It is precisely because of this policy of encouraging the poor to make progress that a very high proportion of civil officials from the poor or from the countryside in the officialdom of the Northern Song Dynasty were quite high. The national policy of the Northern Song Dynasty, which emphasized agriculture and suppressed commerce (in fact, it is not bad compared with other dynasties), to a certain extent, also comes from this.

Like most of the lifters, Fan Zhijin, who is from the countryside, is heading towards Guozijian with Huang Qianshan and Wang Hao at this time. The closer you get to Guozijian, the more pedestrians there are on the street, and when you get to the place where the Ministry of Rites tries to release the list outside the gate of Guozijian, it is already crowded. For such a situation, Wang Hao, a native of Kaifeng Mansion, and Fan Zhijin, who has taken the Ministry of Rites exam several times, are used to it. When the list is released over the years, often from the third watch, there are constantly people running to sit down.

Oh, not all the people who came to watch the list were lifters, and a considerable number of them were officials and businessmen who came to catch their sons-in-law under the list.

The so-called catching a son-in-law under the list is to put countless dowries upside down and marry his daughter to the Jinshi master who has just reached high school. Don't think it's a loss-making deal...... The people on the yellow list are at least "county public security chiefs"! And there is a fairly certain prospect of promotion.

However, it is not easy to catch a promising Chenglong fast son-in-law on the yellow list, because the really talented and famous person has already been booked before he has stepped into the examination room, and only the sick and crooked Daimyo Mansion Xie Yuan Fan Zhijin is not wanted...... Well, if he hadn't jumped in the water in the winter, he might have been able to catch an upside-down mother-in-law before the imperial examination.

"How can you get in now?" Huang Qianshan from Fujian is the first time to take the imperial examination (he is a typical example of being able to enter the middle school early), so he was a little stunned when he saw this scene.

"Don't worry," Wang Hao said with a smile, "Let's look at a certain family." As he spoke, he took out a small silver ingot and roared, "Is there a directory copyist?" ”

Copying directories is also business! Generally, it is the officials of the Guozijian who do it. They are all proficient in writing, and some of them have passed the imperial examination themselves, so they will definitely not make a mistake in copying a list.

And they didn't copy it under the chaotic wall, but after they got the directory, they copied it before posting it, waiting to sell it for a good price - not only did Wang Huang buy it, but more sold it to merchants in Kaifeng Mansion who had daughters who were anxious to marry Jinshi.

Soon, five pieces of paper filled with names, places of origin, and year numbers were handed to Wang Huang. Wang Hao, Fan Zhijin and Huang Qianshan found a teahouse, asked for a small private room, and then opened it one by one.

The first thing that catches your eye is a name that Wang Hao is very familiar with - Ji Yi! He is the first place in the Ministry of Rites, that is, the provincial yuan.

"Pingjiang Jiyi, he is a famous talent in Taixue, and he has already been awarded an official, and he also sent an envoy to Liao last year, and now he is from the ninth grade." Wang Hao said in a tone of envy, "And he also became Zhang Xianggong's grandson-in-law, this time he will probably be able to enter the first class." ”

Although Ji Yi feels that he has been very unlucky recently, in the eyes of more unlucky people, he is simply a star-like figure.

Fan Zhijin suddenly shouted at this time: "Why is he also on the list?" ”

"Who?" Wang Hao asked.

"Wu Haogu, the sixth in the Ministry of Rites!"

"How is that possible?" Wang Hao knew Wu Haogu and Wu Haowen brothers, "Are you wrong?" It's Wu Haowen, right...... He is the younger brother of Wu Haogu, and he is also a talented man! After taking the sixth place in the exam, it seems that I can also get a top prize.

Oh, by the way, he seems to be engaged to the daughter of the daimyo Han Dafu, who is the prime minister's favorite. ”

What the!?

Fan Zhijin suddenly had a feeling of dizziness, he originally wanted to hold back a jinshi and then take refuge in Han Zhongyan, and then use Han Zhongyan's power to crush Wu Haogu...... It turns out that Wu Haogu is a relative of Han Zhongyan! His younger brother is not only Han Zhongyan's son-in-law, but also the sixth in the Ministry of Rites exam, which is very high!

"You've hit!" Wang Hao spoke again at this time.

Who got it? Fan Zhijin hurriedly looked up, only to see that Huang Qianshan's face was about to bloom with a smile.

"Congratulations, Brother Shige."

"Rejoice, rejoice."

Sure enough, Huang Qian was good!

At this time, the first list had already been read by Wang Hao and handed it to Fan Zhijin. Fan Zhijin took it and repeated it carefully, and there was really no pseudonym Fan Jin on it! Huang Qianshan ranked 98th.

"Still not." Wang Hao finished reading another one.

Fan Zhijin took it over and repeated it as usual, but there was still no "Fan Jin".

Wang Hao said "Huh" at this time, and Fan Zhijin's face immediately showed a look of expectation.

"Mi Youren also hit! 308 ......"

"Who is Mi Youren?" Fan Zhijin didn't know this name, he was a hard worker, and he didn't know much about the calligraphy and painting circle.

Huang Qianshan smiled: "Su Huang Mi Cai's son of Mi Dian." ”

Su Huangmi Cai Fan Zhijin still knew, but he wasn't interested either. A calligraphy and painting is worthy of thousands of acres of land in Yanggu County. Even if Fan Zhijin becomes a big corrupt official, if he has money, he will buy land.

The fourth list was read quickly, and there was still no name of Fan Zhijin and Wang Hao!

The last list was spread out on the table, and Wang Hao and Fan Zhijin looked carefully at each other's heads, looking for their names on it.

Find the last one from the first one on the list, or ...... No!

"Alas, it's still off the list." Wang Hao didn't do much, just grinned and said to Fan Zhijin, who was like ashes on the other side, "Let's wait for three years to take the test." ”

If you don't hit this time, try hard next time!

For a scholar like Wang Hao, who has money in his family and is a scholar who has given up his life to study. Whether or not you are in the middle of the class is just a question of how big the function can be, not whether there is an official to do it.

But Fan Zhijin can't do it, and it is a test of life and death for him! He is now a real cuoda, and he can't go back to his home, so he can only go to Liangshan. Now that he has fallen off the list, there are only two ways out in front of him, or die! Or go up to Liangshan again......

If you go to Liangshan again, you are not caught by someone, but you go up the mountain to be a thief!

A good man, who has read the books of sages and sages, and is still born in a peaceful and prosperous world, why does he not have any means to make a living, so he can only be a thief?

Thinking that he had to choose between going to death and being a thief, Fan Zhijin suddenly felt that his eyes were dark, his body shook, and he fell to the ground with a poof, and he didn't wake up......

……

Didn't hit, still didn't hit......

At this time, Fan Zhiwen had already finished reading the emperor's list. It took him a lot of effort to squeeze outside the gate of Guozijian, and he searched for a long time on the densely written imperial list, but he didn't find the three words "Fan Zhiwen". I saw Wu Haowen, who was only one word different from Wu Haogu, and the household registration of this Wu Haowen was also Kaifeng Mansion, and he was only 18 years old, and it seemed that most of them were Wu Haogu's younger brothers or clan brothers.

His family even has a jinshi, and it seems that my family's grievances will no longer be revealed!

Sighing in his heart, Fan Zhiwen turned around and squeezed out. His situation is much better than Fan Zhijin, and he is not very interested in restoring Yanggu Yimen Fan. Because Yanggu Yimen Fan is far more burdensome than beneficial to him.

His father is a special performance name jinshi with an official body, and he has 144 taels a year to get, and his family's household registration is also an official household. In addition, when the family was separated, his family also got hundreds of acres of good land, most of which were hidden fields. With this bit of belongings and the old man's wealth, the living standard of Fan Zhiwen's family is far better than when Yimen existed.

The only thing that worries Fan Zhiwen is that if he can't get an official position before his father dies, the good life of the family will not be able to last.

"I didn't succeed again, it seems that the next subject can only go to the martial arts test."

"yes, it's better to have a martial artist than nothing."

"You are young and strong, but the old man is not good, more than sixty ......"

Just when Fan Zhiwen was a little confused, he suddenly heard three people with famous accents talking about the martial arts examination, and his heart also moved suddenly.

Martial arts is easier than Wenju, Wenju can pass the test, and the two subjects of martial arts and strategy are not problems - these two subjects are actually writing essays, and the problems are just archery and horseback riding.

And these two subjects are not a problem for Fan Zhiwen, who is young and strong and has a little spare money at home.