After visiting the prime minister, at noon, Gao Yue went to the courtyard under the guidance of Pan Yan to visit Cui Youfu, a scholar in the middle school.

Cui Youfu was dressed in official uniforms, spread a banquet on the steps of the courtyard to entertain everyone, and then encouraged Gao Yue and others: Winning the Jinshi is just the beginning, and immediately as soon as you pass the examination of the Ministry of Officials, you will all be "Advance Scholars".

Cui Sheren's words deeply touched Gao Yue, who was sitting in the seat:

In the examination, the Jinshi is only "passed", and it is not finished, and there is still a level called "Dengke" that has not passed.

It turned out that in the Tang Dynasty, those who passed the Ministry of Rites Examination were called "Xinji Jinshi", who could be exempted from their own taxes and servitude, and entered the ranks of "well-dressed households" by confessing themselves, and then went to participate in the "Guan Examination" of the Ministry of Officials (that is, as Liu Yan said before, to the Ministry of Officials Nancao to try a short sentence of two ways), which can be regarded as a real release, and it is called "Qianshi"; What is a "close test"? Guan, that is, the meaning of Guan Bai, ancient refers to the official office of the document exchanges, Jinshi to participate in the Ministry of Officials to pass the test, the Ministry of Rites will be the name of the Jinshi, materials (that is, what we now call the personnel file) handed over to the Ministry of Officials, since then Jinshi is "the Ministry of Officials to keep the election", before the Ministry of Rites management, after the Ministry of Officials to manage, is considered to obtain the qualification to be an official.

But it must be noted that even if he passes the customs test, Jinshi is only "subordinate to the Ministry of Officials" - the most important thing is the last two words "Shouxuan", to put it bluntly, it is waiting to be an official, as Cui Youfu said, guarding the election is a very torturous thing: there may not be a member in three or five or even ten years, and even if there is, it may be taken first by others, and there are still many variegated officials queuing up every year, and they have to squeeze inside; In addition, even if there are many official positions, you can't do it as a jinshi, because if you become a jinshi, you can only take the route of "clearing capital"; Moreover, the imperial court may also say to you, are you tired of guarding the election, Chang'an is expensive, is it like this, there is a county lieutenant vacancy in a certain county in Lingnan that you can't go, as long as you can come back alive in a few years, the court will not forget you, and give you preferential policies when you are elected - in short, "If you want to be an official, you still want to die." ”

Of course, the most important thing is that because you have no position in the election period, you have no money to take, that is, you are poor.

Therefore, it is not surprising that some Jinshi in the Tang Dynasty, although they reached the first early, wandered between the lakes and seas all their lives, and never held a half-official position. In addition, the selection of officials is not so easy, to give two examples: after Han Yu finally passed the Jinshi examination (three times down), he was deposed in the erudite Hongci Department who participated in the election of the officials three times in a row, which once made Han Yue suspect that his life spirit collapsed; Ouyang Zhan, a literary scholar who was the same year as Han Yu, also called himself "five tests in the Ministry of Rites, and sold Xianggong Jinshi; Four trials in the Ministry of Officials, the first four teaching assistants", the same is a hard life.

After leaving the dormitory, Gao Yue sat under the east corridor of Guangfan Gate, and his heart was even more worried than when he participated in the Spring Festival before.

Then use the legendary text to blackmail the Ministry of Officials? But the secretary of the ministry is Liu Yan, and he is afraid that he will not be able to go for a round in front of him.

Wang Tuantuan saw his appearance, leaned over with concern and asked, "What the hell is going on with Gao Langjun?" ”

"The ladder of a hundred thousands, I stepped on the first step with great difficulty, but I found that the next road to take is even more difficult......" Gao Yue sighed heavily, looked at the undulating and majestic palace towers of Daming Palace, and then stopped making a sound, and couldn't help but think of what he said when he first met Liu Yan, the other party said, from his own house day after day to the center of power in this empire, unconsciously walked for decades, to sideburns and hair dye.

Then Jinshi's period, Gao Yue didn't have any thoughts, he was hesitating:

What should I do now, after passing the official examination, where to go, to participate in the book judgment or to be erudite? You have to make up your mind quickly, because the selection of officials started from Mengdong last year, and usually ends before March 30 this year, and there are not many days left (Gao Yue can participate in the election of officials that year, while Zheng Qi can only participate in the next time, the specific reasons will be explained later).

The book is outstanding, and it is said that the difficulty and the pass test are not of the same level.

And erudition, I'm afraid it's even more ......

When Gao Yue was at a loss in his heart, he naturally thought of someone first.

"Refiner!" In the Red Peony Pavilion, Gao Yue shouted affectionately, then sat on the Qi banquet and bowed to Xue Yaoying behind the curtain, "The protégé has been instructed by the refiner, and finally burned his tail and left the water, turning into a tiger!" In order to thank the refiner for his kindness, he specially prepared seasonal fresh fruits for the refiner to taste, hoping that the refiner would be young forever and his face would never grow old. ”

Zhi Hui opened the fresh fruits presented by Gao Yue in front of Yaoying's banquet: a basket of plums from Luoyang Jiaqing Fang, a basket of Chang'an Mourning pears, a plate of Queen Mother peaches from Luoyang Hualin Garden, and the last plate full of green copper coins, and it was Gao Yue who took out the last savings.

"Well, I haven't forgotten that Xin Ruo is your lord." Xue Yaoying breathed a long sigh of relief, when the news of Ziting's retest came out, she thought that Gao Yue would be completely finished, so she was so frightened that she almost fled from Chang'an and went to the Taoist temple in Zhongling to avoid the limelight.

Fortunately, fortunately, this Gao Yisong has a few brushes, and he actually turned the danger into a disaster, and his position is as stable as Mount Tai.

As soon as Xue Yaoying's words came out, Gao Yue's head paused on the floor and began to cry.

"Third brother!" Zhi Hui was most concerned, and hurriedly grabbed Gao Yue's sleeve, not knowing what pain he had suffered.

Xue Yaoying raised her hand and knocked on the copper furnace beside her with the dust handle, and she already knew eight or nine points in her heart, "Yisong is worried about the election of officials?" ”

"The Ministry of Rites tried to get a first-class head, but if you stay in the Ministry of Officials to guard the election and are not official, how can you get it if you want to buy some fresh fruits to honor the lord in the future?"

"What does Yi Song mean is that he wants to participate in the book judgment and erudition?"

"Please ask the alchemist for advice."

Xue Yaoying sighed and said, "Since the funeral of my Tang Dynasty, the political situation has been turbulent, and the election of the officials has reached the point of an election every three years a few years ago, and it has been maintained for two years and an election every year, and I don't know the days to come, Yisong, you really can't afford to wait!" But in the past year, this refiner has been clear that most of your energy has been devoted to essays and poems, and the judgments have not yet been refined. Therefore, the time is not ripe to participate in the book judgment. Yi Song, write a few words for me to see. ”

Gao Yue wrote two sentences by hand on a piece of paper and handed it to Xue through the curtain.

"Oh, it used to be unsightly, but now it's unbearable, and it's a bit of progress - but the calligraphy is outstanding, as the name suggests, calligraphy and judgment must be first-class, and your cultivation is not enough." Xue Yaoying looked at Gao Yue's words and said in surprise.

"Thank you, alchemist." Gao Yue's smile gradually faded, "That erudite ......"

"Don't even think about it!"

"Yes, yes, yes."

Just when Gao Yue was depressed, Xue Yaoying laughed, "But Yi Song is fallacious, in addition to erudition and outstanding judgment, there is still a way to go, that is, 'equal judgment and waiting'." ”