On March 18 of the fifth year of Tiansheng, the edict of March 20 held a palace examination in the Chongzheng Palace.

On the 20th of March, Xiuxiu called Xu Ping up without waiting for dawn and whispered: "Official, today is a big day, don't delay it." Get up quickly, I'll wait for you to wash your face. ”

Xu Ping got up in a daze, washed up and woke up, remembering that today was the day of the palace test.

Seeing that it was dark outside, Xu Ping said to Xiuxiu: "Be quiet, don't disturb your father's rest." ”

Xiuxiu smiled: "What did the official say?" Mrs. Waiwai was already waiting outside, and the whole family got up early, but there was no movement for fear of disturbing your rest. ”

It turned out that the family was more nervous than himself, so Xu Ping had to remain silent.

Out of their own courtyard, when they arrived at the main hall, Xu Zheng and Zhang Sanniang sat there early and waited. Xu Zheng deliberately put on his green robe and sat in the hall. Zhang Sanniang also deliberately cleaned up, and the whole person looked energetic.

Seeing Xu Ping, Zhang Sanniang hurriedly asked, "Da Lang, did you sleep well last night?" ”

Xu Ping nodded: "I slept until dawn, now is the time to be spiritual." ”

Dou'er brought breakfast up, and Zhang Sanniang strongly persuaded Xu Ping to eat more: "Da Lang, today is different from ordinary days, the emperor took the exam in front of him, and he didn't eat for a day, so eat a little more, don't be hungry." ”

Xu Zheng coughed and said in a deep voice: "Women's Taoist family, I don't have any knowledge!" It's easy to get sleepy if you eat too much, how can you answer the questions? Just eat half full, bring a few more buns when you go out, and wait until you are hungry! ”

Zhang Sanniang was unconvinced: "You are old, so you will be sleepy after eating!" How old is Da Lang? How can there be any such problems! How do you eat cold with food? ”

Xu Zheng said disdainfully: "The emperor gave me hot tea, I have already asked my in-laws, why don't you understand?" You don't have to say a word, Da Lang just listen to my arrangement! ”

Xu Ping just kept his voice in a row, and the two old men tossed around.

After breakfast, Liu Xiaoyi led the horse and waited for Xu Ping to get on the horse.

Zhang Sanniang came up, grabbed Xu Ping on the horse, and tears flowed down before she could speak, and said: "Da Lang, everything is going well in your scientific expedition this time, and you have to fight for it today, earn a Jinshi and come back, and glorify the lintel for our family." Your father and I are just a child, I expect you to do everything, and you must be angry! Even when you are in front of the emperor, don't panic about everything! ”

Xu Ping praised again and again on the horse.

After making a fuss for a while, Zhang Sanniang was forced back into the room by Xu Zheng. Xu Zheng was wearing a green robe, patted Xu Ping's body heavily, and said: "Those who travel a hundred miles are half ninety, don't be sloppy!" ”

Xu Ping was also nervous about the palace test, but he didn't expect his parents to be much more nervous than himself, so he calmed down and became calm.

Outside the Donghua Gate, a large area of black pressure was full of servants who came to participate in the palace examination and their entourage. It is full of people, interspersed with vendors selling all kinds of food, and it opens into a lively market at night.

Liu Xiaoyi led the horse and found an open place with few people to stop.

Xu Ping got off the horse, looked left and right, and saw Bao Zheng and Wen Yanbo standing together not far away, whispering something.

Since the provincial test list, the people on the list have become the center of gossip in the capital, and a lot of gossip has come out. Xu Ping also understood why Bao Zheng hurried back to the hotel that day. The chief examiner Liu Yun once served as the governor of Luzhou a few years ago, and he appreciated Bao Zheng very much, and he was considered to have the friendship of teachers and students, and Bao Zheng wanted to avoid suspicion. At this time, there are still public papers in the provincial examination, and it has something to do with the examiner, but it is a great thing, Bao Zheng must keep a low profile.

Wen Yanbo's father and Bao Zheng's father had a good personal relationship when they were officials in the capital together, and the two were considered world friends, so they naturally came together.

Not long after standing, a young man in his twenties came to Xu Ping with two servants, and said, "Yunxing came so early!" Have you had breakfast? ”

Xu Ping replied: "It's already been used at home." ”

The person who came was Cheng Jun, and the two of them were close these days, and they were the only ones Xu Ping could talk to in the new list. In fact, the personalities of the two are very different, Cheng Jun's family is rich, eats, drinks and lusts, and most of them linger in the brothels of Qinglou every day, and Xu Ping is much duller. But there was no way, there were not a few children from merchants among the hundreds of new science and technology scholars, and those from official eunuchs inevitably looked down on them, and they didn't have a common language, so the two had to barely get together. It is natural for things to gather like and people to divide into groups. Xu Ping also wanted to have a relationship with Han Qi and Wen Yanbo, but at this time, people didn't look down on him, and he didn't bother to bother.

A total of 498 people were selected in this provincial examination, 35 were ranked by Xu Ping, 119 by Cheng Jun, and the first provincial yuan was Wu Yu. At this time, the palace examination will continue to fall, and those who have passed the palace examination are really Jinshi. However, the acceptance rate of the palace examination is basically above seventy percent, and Xu Ping and Cheng Jun are very hopeful.

Sang Yi really didn't pass the provincial test, and went back early, at this time it was the busy time of spring, and he had to go back to farming honestly. Fortunately, although there is no victory, there is no punishment.

To Xu Ping's surprise, Ouyang Xiu actually failed in the provincial test, and he was puzzled. He is the leader of the literary circles of the Two Song Dynasty, and it is said that he has been brushed down once, and he finally passed the release test, and the provincial test was brushed again, which really does not correspond to his reputation in later generations. I discussed it with Cheng Jun a few times, and finally thought that the reason was still in the poor word, if you don't have money, you are not fully prepared, and the imperial examination is not for poor people after all.

Cheng Jun didn't think much of Ouyang Xiu's fall, especially when he tried to rhyme, which made him despise him very much. Xu Ping couldn't bear to say it, he dared to despise Ouyang Xiu, if it weren't for him, Cheng Jun's nephew Su Shi, the great writer, didn't know how many times he would have to toss it. The chief examiner of Su Shi's provincial examination was Ouyang Xiu, and when he caught up with Ouyang Xiu, he wanted to use the imperial examination to reform his literary style, so that Su Shi was the second and became famous in one fell swoop. You must know that at that time, Su Shi's Fu had not been practiced well, and the palace test was ranked in the second grade, not Ouyang Xiu, and the provincial test might not be able to pass.

In the provincial examination, Xu Ping's acquaintance also fell first, that is, Zhang Xian, who was good at writing poems and was good at writing poems on the bounty Mingchi, and accompanied Liu San to compose lyrics early. Zhang Xian and Liu Sanbian are equally famous in the word world, and the two brothers will not be on the list until the next session.

After waiting for a while, someone from the officially designated bookstore came, directing a group of people to line up and receive the document marked with the seat number first. The bookstores of the Song Dynasty had the function of notarization, and these things had to be done by them. There is content such as the name and place of origin on the document, which is actually the admission ticket at this time. When entering the palace for the exam, the bookstore will take back the document with the gatekeeper, and the document will be directly disqualified from the examination if it is lost, which is very important. When the list is released, the book list is stamped with a red seal on the document according to the list, and it is still used when it is introduced, and it must not be sloppy.

After receiving the papers, the palace gate was opened, and everyone moved in turn.

The emperor personally took the exam in the Chongzheng Palace, and the process was extremely cumbersome. Bustling with hundreds of people, Xu Ping was crowded in the crowd, but with everyone performing various etiquette, he didn't even see what the emperor looked like, so he was led to the seat with his name written on it.

The exam questions were issued, and one poem was written.

Xu Ping first looked at the title of the poem, "The Smoke of the South Wind Poem", and was happy in his heart. This is a question used in the Tang Dynasty, and Xu Ping memorizes it well. The poems are roughly the same, and they will definitely be able to pass. This is the benefit of delving into real questions, and no simulation can compare to it.

Fu is "Shengyoumo Xun Fu", from "Shangshu". In the scriptures, Xu Ping is most unfamiliar with "Shangshu" and "Zhou Yi", and he couldn't help but be stunned.

Not only Xu Pingfameng, but many people in the hall didn't know where this sentence came from. Both the Book of Scriptures and Moyi are not examined in the Book of Shang, and many readers will not put much effort into it.

Provincial Yuan Wu Yu took the lead and asked the examiner to explain the meaning of the test questions. This is a common thing in this era, and the topics are not necessarily from the classics, and it is impossible to do it without explanation.

After Wu Yu, there were many people who asked for a solution, and they were crowded, and the Chongzheng Hall was about to become a vegetable market. The little emperor who was high up was so annoyed that he simply made a big list, where did this topic come from, what does it mean to publish the high list, and he was not allowed to ask again.

Stimulated by this, Emperor Renzong later stipulated that the questions could only be made from fixed scriptures, and cancelled the right to ask the examiner to solve the questions. If anyone can't even understand the question, they can only consider themselves unlucky.

Seeing so many people like himself, Xu Ping was relieved and just answered the questions with peace of mind.

The endowment at the time of the temple examination is the most important, and it basically determines the ranking. If Fu wants to be high, the highest level is to have the meaning of sarcasm, and the emperor is held high in the irony. If you can reach this level, the examiner will not dare to press it down, and you will get a high rank, without any suspense. The second class is to sing praises of merit, but there must be skills, and the emperor must not be disgusted at a glance. No matter how bad it is, it is stable and stable, according to the question, the content is all on the topic, as long as there are no mistakes, you can also get a good ranking.

Xu Ping has been studying this for the past two years, especially the satirical works. Sarcasm is not scolding, and the proportion must be taken well, otherwise it will backfire. For example, if you are full of tricks to benefit from humility, it is sarcasm to exhort you to be modest, and to say that the master is stubborn and self-serving is to scold others.

Hadith Xu Ping naturally wanted to take a sentence from Song Taizu out, so that no one dared to detain his scroll. Then the meaning will be changed again, with the development and change of the times, how should we look at it at this time. Although I don't know much about the government and politics, I can't talk about any insightful opinions, but I can be regarded as decent.

The argument is "Ruling Like a Golden Stone", which is similar to the anti-world argument, the format is relatively free, and Xu Ping's answer is much easier.

At this time, it is not allowed to light the lamp and test at night, and the transcription of Feng Mi also put an end to the old habit of determining the ranking in the order of handing in the papers. This is a good habit developed in the exam in the previous life, and it is much more passionate and reliable than many candidates next to him.

Before the exam, there was a rhyme book sent down, and Xu Ping read it over and over again, for fear that there would be a rhyme or a taboo. This kind of mistake is called miscellaneous offenses, and the first level of marking the paper is to have a special person pick out this kind of paper and throw it aside, not only losing the qualification for evaluation, but also punishing. Even if you wait for a few decades to try to dethrone people, the miscellaneous criminals will only be placed in the back to make up the number.

It wasn't until many people had already handed in the papers, and the light in the hall became dim, that Xu Ping handed in the papers.

In the late spring of March, the wind blows lazily on the face.

Out of Donghua Gate, Xu Ping lowered his head and walked slowly, persuading him to recall the content of the test paper and confirm that there were no mistakes. Judging from his ranking in the previous games, as long as there are no miscellaneous criminals, he should be in the middle this time.