Subsequently, the gate of the Gongyuan was opened, and the soldiers from all walks of life were also in place, and began to maintain the flow of people on both sides of the road and slowly enter the gate. Walk along the gate and go inside, which is the Yimen. After entering the instrument gate, there is the dragon gate, and between the instrument gate and the dragon gate, is the search channel for candidates to enter the examination room.

Because the search was extremely careful, it took a long time, so many candidates did not go in and were crowded, but sat and rested in the square outside, waited for the sun to rise, and then hid under the wall to find shade. Only then did He Zhiyuan discover that the wall of the Gongyuan was two zhang high, and it was covered with thorns, which was similar to the prisons of later generations, and it must be of similar use.

After waiting for two hours, a soldier came out and shouted: "Qingzhou's search." ”

He Zhiyuan hurriedly followed the flow of people, and when he arrived at the gate of the Tribute Academy, Yin Lifu couldn't go in, so He Zhiyuan had to carry the examination box by himself and enter the Tribute Academy.

Don't look at the high-sounding official, he relies on entry and exit, and the scenery is decent, which is enviable. But before squeezing into this public gate, both physically and mentally, and even in self-esteem, we will go through an inhuman trial...... Mencius said well, the husband will descend to the black yarn so that the person must first suffer his mind, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, empty his body, and act chaotically, so he can be motivated and forbearant in order to be qualified to be an official.

Of course, this is the opinion of those candidates who pass the first place, because the imperial examination has become the starting point of his meteoric success, so it must be regarded as an ordinary experience in life. And the younger brother suffered several times the suffering of the younger brother because of his life's hard work, but there was no return, but he suffered all his life and suffered from the white eyes of the world. Therefore, I often regard life in the field as the biggest pain of my life experience, and I hate it very much.

You don't see that almost all the articles describing the science field are from the hands of the frustrated people in the science field, and the tragic description can be imagined.

He Zhiyuan didn't want to become the creator of accusing literature in later generations, so he couldn't make any mistakes in this exam. When he was found to be at the gate, he sat down on the ground like everyone else, and took off his shoes...... Of course, it is not to play hooliganism, but to prepare for the first body search.

Because the imperial examination is the only way to become an official, you will have power, money, beauty, and status when you become an official, so although the ban has been very strict in the past dynasties, there will still be a small number of candidates, regardless of the honor and dignity of learning, and try their best to cheat.

What is "coercion"? It is said that the popular point is entrainment, mainly to entrain some scriptures written in small block letters, as well as Cheng Zhu's notes, and there are also articles written outside, which are also written on pieces of paper in small letters, called small volumes, hidden on the body or in the test blue, and brought into the examination room.

Once the materials are brought in, things are easy to do. Because the township examination is in the number room, that is, everyone is in a separate small room, eating, drinking and sleeping on the answer sheets, even if someone is watching, there is always an opportunity to cheat in three days.

Therefore, the imperial court stipulated that the search and inspection officials should conduct a search before each examination room, and the search and inspection officer should record the names of the candidates in question, and pull them out of the examination room, and they were not allowed to take the test again.

Therefore, before entering the venue, a strict body search must be conducted. Especially in this dynasty, Emperor Lao Zhu formulated a severe punishment system for the first time, and the candidates who were found to be in the examination room should be "flailed for a month", and after the expiration of the detention period, they will be questioned for the people, that is, they will cancel their student status, and they will not want to take the exam again in this life.

But just like a butcher's knife can't kill corrupt officials, Emperor Zhu's severe punishment can't discourage unscrupulous candidates, and the wind of coercion is uncontrollable, so the court has to reiterate again and again to strengthen search and inspection, and increase the punishment.

He Zhiyuan couldn't help but think about the college entrance examination in his previous life, and the invigilator would pull his throat before the exam: "Put everything that has nothing to do with the exam in front!" "But they won't let the candidates untie their clothes and search them carefully. Psychologically said: "This is really the evil old society!" ”

While he was thinking wildly, he heard a loud shout: "Prepare for search!" I saw a group of officials of eight or nine grades, leading the search army to the alley.

"A group of ten people stand against the wall!" As soon as the inspector gave the order, all the candidates stood up one after another, barefoot, wearing underwear, holding clothes and socks in their hands, and stood in line in the corridor.

The first examinee was searched from head to toe by two search officers, while the officials kept an eye on him in case anything went wrong. The examination of these people is extremely perverted, from the hairline to the knees and abdomen, and there is no omission, and there is no sense of courtesy to the scholars.

In fact, the reason why these search and inspection troops are so serious is, of course, not because they are responsible for the fairness of the national talent selection ceremony, but because if they find a fraudster, they will be rewarded with three taels of silver, and they will be paid two months' salary! Of course, it is also a rare opportunity to be able to ravage the high-ranking readers, how can you not cherish it?

These search and inspection troops are experienced, in addition to the candidates, the test box they carry is more focused on inspection, with a small hammer to knock east and west, listen to whether the pen barrel is hollow, inkstone, test box and other large pieces have a mezzanine, and the bedding should also be disassembled for inspection, and even the buns and steamed buns brought by the candidates are also cut, to see if the Sui is sandwiched.

It is also possible to check out some entrainment, whenever there is a gain, the search army will shout excitedly, and drag out the cheaters who are like mourning the exam, every now and then, the rest of the candidates can't help but feel sad about the death of the rabbit and the fox, and the impression of the exam is even worse.

The speed of this kind of search was extremely slow, and when He Zhiyuan was checked, the sun was already in the west, and the two search soldiers were just about to make a move on him, the one on the left was suddenly stunned, and gave a look to the one on the right, and the soldier was also taken aback, and then returned to normal, pretending to search, but in fact, his hands did not touch He Zhiyuan's body.

Facing He Zhiyuan's inquiring eyes, the one on the left took advantage of getting close and whispered in He Zhiyuan's ear: "We are soldiers under Duan Qianhu in Qingzhou, and here are all soldiers under Duan Qianhu." He Zhiyuan suddenly realized for a while, when he cleared up the bandits in Ma Qishan last year, He Zhiyuan once gave Duan Qianhu's soldiers a reward of five taels of silver each, obviously these two soldiers knew He Zhiyuan.

Since there are acquaintances, I was spared from being abused, but I just made a show of covering people's ears, so I was let in, took the exam paper at the door, and finally entered the dragon gate, only to see a pair of black and gold couplets hanging next to the door, and the upper couplet is "a thousand words under the pen, when the cinnamon is fragrant, after the yellow acacia flower." "Xialian is" go out and smile, see the moon is full in Minghu, and the water is gushing in a hundred springs. ”

Seeing this heart-warming couplet, the impetuous heart because of the long search, he calmed down, and stepped into the tribute courtyard with a vigorous spirit, and saw that its pattern was regular and solemn, and a wide bluestone slab passage was facing the tallest building of the Quangong Courtyard, "Mingyuan Building". This building is the center of the entire Gongyuan, there are three floors high, except for the first floor of doors and windows, the second and third floors have only pillars and no walls, which is of course not cutting corners, but because the word "Mingyuan" means "to see the distance and near", that is, this building is used for inspection and invigilation.

During the examination, the officials who are responsible for the discipline supervision, promotion, and inspection of the examination room will climb to this building, and have a condescending view of the entire examination room. Monitor whether there is collusion in cheating between test takers, between soldiers who are specifically invigilated, between soldiers and test takers, and inside and outside the test room.

He Zhiyuan saw that Mingyuan was upstairs, and there was also a couplet hanging on it, on which "the low house is quiet, listen to the sound of frogs, and dare to forget the hard work of the year"; The next link is "Wen Xingguang is shining, look at Lingyun Jizu, and it will be famous for the day." Seeing this couplet and thinking of the fame that was just around the corner, the candidates had already forgotten all their hard work and filth, and they couldn't wait to get into the low house immediately and start the big test of life.

The so-called low house is the number house, neatly and densely distributed on both sides of the road, around the Mingyuan Building, row by row, narrow and dense, like a beehive. Each row of numbers is numbered as a font number, and it is written on the lintel wall at the entrance of the alley 'a certain font', such as the first row is 'Tianzi'. This order is obviously arranged in order to facilitate candidates to find their location as soon as possible.

The official has numbered the examination room, stating that 'a certain line and a certain number is a certain place and a certain candidate's number house', and posted the names of the candidates outside the number room to reveal the list to everyone.

At this time, the list was crowded with people, and the candidates stared wide-eyed to find their position, and after being determined, their expressions were different, some people were smiling, dancing, and some were depressed and wanted to leave.

Before this, He Zhiyuan had heard Zhao Nai and others talk about the classification of the number houses, and he had made full countermeasures to all kinds of houses, so he was not very worried about being assigned to the rain number or the stinky number. But I still look forward to being assigned to the old number, after all, the three-day exam will be more comfortable.

In fact, He Zhiyuan doesn't have to worry about getting a bad number at all, the news of He Zhiyuan's Jane in the emperor's heart has already spread among the hundred officials, and Emperor Hongzhi said last year that he would wait for him in the Beijing Palace. These scheming officials have long been thinking about how to facilitate He Zhiyuan's scientific expedition this time, so it is even easier to divide the old number.

Long before the township test, Xu Yuan, who was the governor of Shandong at the time, and Shao Xian, the school official, discussed together, although He Zhiyuan had never been to Jinan, but because Emperor Hongzhi was very interested in He Zhiyuan, they still tried to ensure that He Zhiyuan, the township test, could be the middle brother. But He Zhiyuan has never contacted them, and they dare not take the initiative to contact He Zhiyuan, so they can only try to make it as convenient as possible in the exam. Later, they found out that Duan Xiuhuai's army in Qingzhou had dealings with He Zhiyuan, so this time the search army deliberately used Duan Xiuhuai's soldiers.

That's why there was a scene He Zhiyuan experienced just now, the soldiers who also invigilated the exam in the number house are also the soldiers of Duan Xiuhuai in Qingzhou, so even if He Zhiyuan cheats in the exam, these soldiers will not care. But He Zhiyuan didn't know anything about all this, and was completely in the dark.

He Zhiyuan was in front of the crowded list, and he struggled to find it for a long time before he saw his name, He Zhiyuan, a candidate from Qingzhou Mansion, and the test house number was "Japanese No. 8". There is a saying that "the heaven and the earth are yellow, the universe is desolate, and the sun and the moon are full of ......", and the eighth day is the eighth number of the ninth line.

Seeing that Kaoshe was so high, knowing that it must be the "old number", He Zhiyuan's hanging heart was half relieved first.