It's also a coincidence, the inn where this jade-faced scholar lives is also a Pengju Inn.

It's not surprising when you think about it. After all, Pengju Inn can accommodate hundreds of people, and the people who have recently moved in are all students who went to Wuchang Mansion to take the township exam, so Ning Xiu naturally would not have any impression of the three strangers.

The jade-faced scholar is surnamed Cui, and his name is Fan He. The other two are named Zhao Yuan and Qian Zhan.

The three of them are all scholars from Huguang Changsha Mansion.

Ning Xiu ordered some wine and food to eat in the room with the three Changsha scholars and Liu Weining, and chatted while eating.

"Speaking of which, we are also students of Changsha Fuxue. It's just that Ning friends also know that now that the official school is in ruins, the things taught are really useless, so we can only go to Yuelu Academy to listen to the lectures in the name of study tours. ”

Cui Fanhe took a sip of wine and said helplessly.

Ning Xiu realized in his heart.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the official school was abandoned, and many county schools and government schools were almost in a state of semi-abandonment. Many students simply go out to study and wait until the entrance examination is close before returning to the government school to prepare for the exam.

Cui Fanhe and others taking a long leave in the name of study tours will naturally not arouse the suspicion of government officials.

It's just that they didn't really go on a study tour, but went to Yuelu Mountain outside Changsha City to study at Yuelu Academy, which was really unexpected.

"yes, at first we were just trying it out. After all, we had never studied in a private academy before. ”

Zhao Yuan said with emotion.

"But after only two lectures, we were blown away. Whether it is the interpretation of Confucian classics or the understanding of Yangming Xinxue, the lecturers of Yuelu Academy are far better than those of official scholars. ”

Qian Zhan's voice was a little choked and said, "This is the real way to do knowledge." ”

Ning Xiu and Liu Weining glanced at each other, and their eyes showed admiration.

Neither of them had ever heard a lecture in the academy, and Ning Xiu had only had the experience of passing by Songyang Academy once, so he really wanted to try what it was like to study in the academy for a long time.

"Uh, then this imperial court issued an order to ban the destruction of the academy, I'm afraid that Yuelu Academy will not be spared, right?"

Liu Weining shook his head and sighed.

"Yes and no."

Cui Fanhe smiled bitterly: "Although Zhang Xiangguo ordered the destruction of the academy, he did not have to kill it all. Yuelu Academy is only temporarily closed, and it will still reopen for lectures in the future if there is an opportunity. ”

Ning Xiu let out a sigh of relief.

If there is anything that Zhang Juzheng did not consider during his administration, it must be to order the destruction of the academy.

Although this decision is inevitable in the context of the times, it has undoubtedly indirectly caused academic losses.

A famous academy like Yuelu Academy had to be temporarily closed, which made a group of scholars sigh.

"That's good, Ning firmly believes that one day the imperial court will allow the academy to give lectures."

Cui Fanhe took another sip of wine and said lightly: "I hope so." By the way, if Friend Ning has the opportunity to come to Changsha Mansion, he must inform me, and arrange it in advance for his brother. In terms of beautiful scenery, Changsha is no worse than Jingzhou. When the time comes, you and I will be boating on Orange Island and climbing Yuelu Mountain to chant poems, wouldn't it be beautiful? ”

"Yes, if you don't say that you don't know yet, it turns out that you are the one who made 'If life is only as first seen, what is the autumn wind and sad fan.' Waiting for idle changes but old people's hearts, but old people's hearts are changeable. 'Ning Xiu's. Friend Ning is talented, this township test will definitely be on the list, and if someone wins the championship, he will not be surprised at all. ”

Qian Zhan quipped: "I can't produce this kind of poem in a hundred years, at first I thought that Brother Yanqing was the first talent in Huguang, but since the poem came out, I think Brother Yanqing has an opponent." ”

Liu Weining laughed and said: "Look, Brother Ning Xian, your opponent is here, why don't you see who is higher in this township test." ”

Ning Xiu saw that Liu Weining was in a good mood, and knew that he had adjusted his body, and he was sincerely happy for him.

There is another strategy next, if Liu Weining can play well, he may not have a chance to turn things around.

"Don't dare to be, Ning really doesn't dare to be. The township test is a grand examination for the political secretary of Huguang, and scholars from all over the world will gather here, how can Ning dare to be the leader? ”

Low-key, you must be low-key.

What's more, at such a sensitive juncture as the township test, you must not travel to the pool.

"Friend Ning is too humble, that is, the imperial examination does not test poetry, otherwise with the talent of Friend Ning, we don't need to take the test."

Zhao Yuan boasted about Ning Xiu, and said with emotion: "People are really far behind." Thinking that the scholars of Wuchang Mansion were above the top one by one, there was no one in their eyes. In their eyes, the township test list is like picking up things, is the examiner their uncle? ”

Forehead......

It seems that Cui Fan and them are also disgusted by Liu Wenguang, a kind of Wuchang Mansion scholar.

Also, these people jumped on their feet one by one, for fear that others would not know that they did well in the exam. Wuchang Mansion is so big, and the area where the examiners are active is even smaller, and it is difficult for Cui Fan and them not to know.

Liu Weining was ridiculed by Liu Wenguang before, and this time he naturally wanted to take the opportunity to take a breath.

He sneered and said, "Maybe this examiner is really related to that Liu Wenguang, otherwise why would he pat his chest and say that he must be lifted?" Friend Cui, let's take a look, when the list is released, this Liu Wenguang may not be Xie Yuan. ”

Cui Fanhe coughed lightly and said, "Who can say this kind of thing?" In Cui's opinion, it is better not to talk nonsense before there is conclusive evidence. ”

"What Friend Cui said is that Fang is Liu reckless."

Liu Weining's expression darkened, and he arched his hand.

The matter of the imperial examination is inherently secretive, and if there is full evidence, it is fine, but without evidence, it will only be caught and attacked ferociously.

"Don't talk about this, I am fortunate to meet Brother Cui, Brother Zhao, and Brother Qian today, and I will be a big deal!"

Ning Xiu raised his wine glass and laughed loudly.

"Come, drink this cup to the brim!"

"Get drunk today!"

......

......

The last test of the township examination is strategy.

The so-called strategy is that the examiner comes up with a question according to the current politics, and the candidate is free to write the essay.

Compared with the four books, the openness of the policy is great, and it is easiest to reflect the candidate's ideology.

For example, the palace examination is only a test of strategy, and the question is personally written by the Son of Heaven, and the candidate answers it in the main hall.

However, in the township examination, the policy theory is the last test, which seems to be a little insignificant.

Prior to this, the examiners began to mark the papers, and the focus was naturally on the four books of the examination.

The four books are easy to say, they are all required questions. The examination is to be marked separately according to the candidate's choice of the scripture.

The examiners will read the papers first, give recommendations, and then submit the papers to the examiner for re-approval.

In general, the examiner will respect the opinion of the examiner, but sometimes he will write the comments again.

......

......

At this time, Qiu Ying, the student examiner, and Zhao Minghe, the chief examiner of the township examination, discussed an article together.

As the chief examiner of the Huguang Township Examination appointed by the imperial court, Zhao Minghe is absolutely qualified.

First of all, Zhao Minghe was born in Shujishi, and after the museum was disbanded, he stayed in the Hanlin Academy, and worked hard to get a bachelor's degree.

Don't look at it, this is just an official position from the fifth grade, but in the Hanlin Academy, it is already second only to the Hanlin Bachelor, and it is on an equal footing with the Bachelor of Waiting.

Besides, the official position of the Hanlin Academy cannot be compared with ordinary yamen.

The people in the Hanlin Academy are all Qingliu, and they are all Jane's reserve officials in the emperor's heart, and they will have the opportunity to be reappointed as the speaker of the East Palace or directly enter the cabinet to participate in the maintenance of the aircraft and thus rise to the top. Zhao Minghe was sent to Huguang to serve as the chief examiner of the township examination, in a sense, it is to boil up his qualifications and prepare for future promotions.

And Qiu Ying, who is the political official of Huguang School, is only the deputy chief examiner, and he is not as good as this noble person from Beijing in terms of official position and prospects, so he naturally has to accompany him with great caution and serve carefully.

"Zhao Shi talked about it and looked at this article, and the lower officials thought that its text was correct and had something to say, and it was one of the few good articles in the undergraduate township examination."

Zhao Minghe took the article and hummed lightly.

He was very satisfied with Qiu Ying's attitude. Qiu Ying did not call him the chief examiner, but was commensurate with the official title of the Hanlin Academy, and he obviously understood the rules.

Mo said that the chief examiner of the township examination in this district is that none of the six Lang officials can compare to a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy.

Zhao Minghe unfolded it and was taken aback when he saw the first sentence.

"King Qi has the heart to serve the world, and he doesn't know how difficult it is. It is no longer a winning situation, but a desire to serve eight, or why underestimate Haineye? ”

This opening is amazing.

Zhao Minghe stroked his short chin and commented: "This son knows how to grasp the problem very well, and this opening can be described as sharp." ”

Zhao Minghe was born in Shujishi, and his article skills are naturally not said, so he can boast so much to prove that this article is indeed outstanding.

Qiu Ying smiled faintly: "Zhao Shi said that you might as well continue to read it." ”

Zhao Minghe bowed his head slightly, and continued to read: "The current husband's situation seems to be not enough to measure the king, and Gu Weiwei is not self-sufficient and light to the world; It is the one who has not ruled the king, and the few who want to coerce it are said that the world can be determined by itself, and they have not judged the trend of the world, and those who are cunning and reckless are also ......"

He was silent for a long time, and then said with joy: "Wonderful, wonderful! It's so natural that you can't fault it at all. There are no more than ten people in this dynasty who can write such articles. ”

After that, he felt that something was wrong, so he said, "Not more than a hundred." ”

In fact, he has already decided in his heart that this article can definitely be among the top ten in this dynasty.

"I want to say that the essence of this article is still in the end."

Qiu Ying said quietly.

Zhao Minghe was not in a hurry, and read it in order. It's just that when he read the end, he put a little more thought into it.

"Oh eight of its fruit is subject to one, one can be served eight? If you want to be far away to obey it, you can't afford it; If you want to attack at close range to subdue it, you are afraid that the army will be powerful or stopped; If you want to obey it in one fell swoop, they may cooperate to resist; If you want to divide it, he will welcome each other, and he will not be the same as the enemy and Chu will not be the same? ”

The imperial examination article pays attention to the eight strands, and every line and word is strictly required. Under such strict system requirements, it is a rare thing to be able to say something.

Zhao Minghe himself is very disgusted with articles that are empty of flowery rhetoric but empty of substance, and in his opinion, this is not an article at all.

But he has seen too many articles like this in this township test.

It stands to reason that Huguang is the fourth major province of the imperial examination after Nanzhili, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi, and it is really surprising that the quality of the students is so poor.

There are occasionally a few good articles, and they are also generals among the dwarves, which are far from Zhao Minghe's expectations.

Thinking about the main points, Zhao Minghe, who chose the person who made such a standard article, was depressed for a while. You must know that these articles will be announced after the exam, and the top ones will also be printed as an anthology of current essays.

How will the scholars who read the anthology feel when they see it? I'm afraid that I will have the idea of lifting the article in my heart, right?

Fortunately, he found this article. Don't say that it is the Huguang Township test, that is, this article can be used as a masterpiece for next year's examination.

Zhao Minghe secretly felt fortunate that with this article, no one would question his standard of judging the article.

"It's a pity that the strategy theory hasn't been finished yet, otherwise Zhao really wants to directly select this person as Xie Yuan."

Zhao Minghe expressed his feelings, and Qiu Ying immediately comprehended: "Anyway, the examination has already started, and the examiners will be asked to step up their review at that time, and the test papers will be presented to Zhao Shijiao tomorrow at the latest." ”

Zhao Minghe said quietly: "Seeing that this person's writing style is extremely old and spicy, he must be in the prime of his thirties and forties. ”

Qiu Yinglian claimed that it was, and slapped Zhao Minghe's ass by the way.

Zhao Shi said that although he is a Qingliu minister, Qingliu is also a cannibal of fireworks in the world.

He was photographed flutteringly, and said in a deep voice: "Then I will bother Qiu Tixue to keep an eye on it, once the room official has completed the review, he will send someone to send it, and the official will personally review it." ”

......

......

There are two flowers, one on each branch.

However, it was said that the examination was opened, and everyone started the last fight.

For those who have done well in the previous exams, I naturally hope to make persistent efforts to consolidate our advantages. And for those who don't do well in the test, of course, they hope to seize the last opportunity to complete the comeback.

Although they also know that it is very difficult to turn the tables by relying on a single strategy, people still have to give themselves a little hope.

The moment he saw the question, Ning Xiu smiled.

The topic is the theory of employing people.

This is obviously a topic that was created to cater to the reform of the bureaucratic system carried out by Zhang Ju.

This examiner doesn't seem to be an elm pimple either.

However, it is said that a very important part of Zhang Juzheng's new policy is to carry out the reform of the official system nationwide and implement the examination law. Both Beijing and local officials need to make a work plan for the whole year at the beginning of the year.

The plan covers many aspects such as politics, economics and culture, and is very detailed.

At the end of the year, the Ministry of Officials will send special people to inspect the plan, and officials who have not completed it or have not completed it will be punished by demotion, and if they are not completed in the next year, they will continue to be demoted until they are demoted.

Such a strict examination method naturally made the officials and men who were used to being powerful and blessed complain, but because of Zhang Juzheng's prestige, they had to comply with it.

The examiner came up with a question of 'employing people', obviously trying to take the opportunity to pat Zhang Juzheng's ass. After all, if one or two excellent articles are published, this examiner will also have a bright face.

......

......