The time has entered August, and the subordinates of the Yu family are talking and doing things much quieter.

Yu Wenming, the old man of the Yu family, changed his previous way of not caring about the world, and moved a chair every day, sat under the porch of the main house, and stared at the whole family.

Yu Yanzhao simply moved out of the main house because of a lot of entertainment, and lived in another courtyard these days, but he still had to go home every day to chat with his son Yu Qian and comfort him.

The entire Yu family mobilized because Yu Qian was close to Qiuqiu, just to provide a comfortable environment for Yu Qian.

When Yu Wenming was in the Hongwu Dynasty, he became the head of the Ministry of Industry, but he did not rely on the imperial examination to advance.

Yu Qian's great-grandfather, Yu Jiusi, was the general manager of Hangzhou Road and moved to Taipingli, Qiantang County, Hangzhou. When the Ming Dynasty was established, the number of scholars in the country was scarce, and as long as they were literate, they could basically get a half-official job.

It is in this environment that Yu Wenming can be the head of the six products of the imperial court.

When it comes to Yu Yanzhao's generation, although he is smart by nature, he is not a material for reading, regardless of scriptures and theories, he can do very well, but he can't do it well.

Yu Wenming saw that his son was not this material, and gradually became discouraged and pinned his hopes on his grandson.

And this grandson did not live up to his expectations, he showed superhuman talent since he was a child, and now he is a famous talent in Hangzhou.

Whether he can be admitted to the Juren is a major event related to the Yu family's century-old plan, and no one dares to be sloppy, and tries his best to create a quiet environment for him.

But in fact, Yu Qian didn't care about this, he read a series of books over the years, carefully studied the art of making, and the eight-strand text he made has been respected.

The examination of people, everything is under control.

On the seventh day of the eighth month, before it was dark, three tables of banquets were set up in the door of the Yu family, and more than 20 people from three generations of grandparents and grandchildren drank happily.

Yu Yanzhao is very strict with Qian on weekdays, but on this day, he deliberately drank three glasses of wine with this son who had high hopes.

When it was dark, several brothers sent Yu Qian, who was a little drunk, back to the room, and the whole house was quiet in an instant.

Just after the hour, Yu Qian woke up, and at this time, the scholar who had not slept all night immediately came in to serve him to freshen up. "Young master, the old lady and the old man have not stopped, just waiting for the young master to go and worship the ancestors."

Last night, Yu Qian was only slightly drunk, and he had a good night's sleep, and he felt a hundred times more energetic.

The scholar's robe worn today is the standard robe of the Ming Dynasty, which is different from the ordinary robe in that this robe is not only a single layer, but also not even buttons.

This is convenient for the examination room to strictly check the entrainment, if you wear clothes with a laminate, it will take a lot of time just to check.

In the ancestral hall of the West Courtyard, under the dim candlelight, in the eyes of outsiders, this ancestral hall full of wooden plaques is particularly gloomy. But in the eyes of the family, this is the safest place for the family because it is protected by the ancestors.

Yu Qian followed behind his father and ancestors, respectfully kowtowing to his ancestors, and asked his ancestors to bless him with all the best in this autumn.

After a set of rituals, Yu Wenming looked at the young and upright grandson in front of him and sighed: "Since your great-grandfather, neither your father nor I have been proud of scientific examinations. At the time of your great-grandfather, my Yu family became the general manager of Hangzhou Road, and since then, the situation has deteriorated, and one generation is not as good as the next. Now you have placed the expectations of me and your father, I only hope that you can work hard and go all the way to the Fengtian Temple. ”

Fengtian Hall is the last pass of the imperial examination, and it is also the examination of the Son of Heaven himself, if he can go to that step, it can be said that it is the highest honor for a student.

Yu Qian knelt down in front of his grandfather, kowtowed three times, and then raised his head and said: "My grandson doesn't dare to be proud, I should do my best to win glory for my grandfather and the family." ”

Yu Wenming didn't dare to put too much pressure on him, helped him up with both hands, and said with a smile: "Good boy, go, grandfather is waiting for you at home to return smoothly." ”

In the past, Hangzhou was still under curfew. But today, the fire is shining everywhere, and half of the officials in Hangzhou City have not rested to escort the scholars of the scientific expedition.

Not only in Hangzhou City, but also in the capital and in other prefecture cities.

As the first test of the three major examinations, the township test is the first level for all ordinary people to cross the civilian class.

Only when he was admitted to the promotion of people did he really break away from the ranks of the people, have the qualifications to be officials, and become a tax-free class.

Those officials were superior to ordinary people, but in the face of these students, they groveled one by one.

No one knows how many big masters will appear here, and how many people can become officials and change their fate.

Yu Qian sat in his carriage and kept quietly looking at the scenery outside, although he was a little excited in his heart, he was more calm.

Over the years, he has done everything he can do, and as for whether he can be admitted to the lifting of people, it is more left to fate.

Qiantang is in the south of Hangzhou City, the southeast corner of West Lake, and the examination room is outside the Tongyue Gate of Hangzhou City, not far from his home.

The carriage traveled for a while, but it couldn't get through because of the traffic jam. The officials on duty lit torches, stopped the carriage, and combed the traffic.

Some students from other places were still not happy and wanted to play some prestige, but those officials explained that the front was blocked, and laughed with them, but they resolutely asked everyone to walk to the examination room.

Yu Qian has seen many scientific expeditions and knows that traffic jams on this day over the years are common. So I was prepared to take the exam box from the scholar's body. "Don't go in with me, it's crowded all the way, and your little body can't stand it."

The scholar didn't comply, hugged the exam box tightly and said, "Young master, I want to see you enter the examination room with my own eyes, otherwise, the master will beat me to death when I go back." ”

"Then I'll carry it, there's dry food in it, it's a bit heavy."

"The little one grows up, and the back moves, how can the young master carry ......"

Yu Qian smiled and flicked on his head. "Yes, Xiaozhu has grown up, and he is old enough to marry. You carry the quilt, and I still carry this test box myself. ”

Xiao Zhuzi was not ashamed, hugged the quilt, took the lead in getting out of the carriage and said with a smile: "The little one knows that the master has entrusted someone to go to Yongfeng County to spread the word, and when the young master finishes the exam, he will get married." ”

Yu Qian smiled, and there was a hint of sweetness in his heart.

Although his father Yu Yanzhao himself was never lifted, he had a friend Dong Yong who was admitted to the Jinshi.

At that time, Yu Wenming was still the head of the Ministry of Industry, and the Yu family was a big family in Qiantang.

The two families set a marriage for Yu Qian and Dong Yong's eldest daughter in the early years, and now Dong Yong is serving as a county magistrate in Yongfeng, Jiangxi, and the family has all moved to Jiangxi.

This year, when the other party turned sixteen, he took the initiative to mention the marriage.

Yu Qian postponed the marriage for the sake of Qiuqiu, but he couldn't postpone it for too long, and it would inevitably cause criticism when the woman got married again when she was seventeen.

The Yu family is ready, which means that after the Qianqiu exam, no matter whether they can be lifted or not, they will hold a marriage first.

If you can't get the lift, you have children at home first, and then take the exam after three years.

If you pass the exam and go to the capital for spring after getting married, you are not afraid of being matched by the officials of the capital and the rich businessman.

In some ways, the Ming Dynasty inherited some customs from the former Song Dynasty. The unmarried Jinshi were the most favored marriage partners of the Beijing officials, nobles, and wealthy merchants.

There are certainly some good things in this, but most of them are not so satisfactory. Because of this method to pull Lang matching, how many outstanding women can there be?

But this era will not give you the opportunity to choose, as long as you start to be fooled and enter the other party's door, then you will never go back on your word.

If you end up in a bad name, the other party is powerful, and you don't want to be an official.

Hangzhou Fuxue was formerly known as Lin'an Fuxue. Built in the first year of Song Shaoxing, rebuilt on the old foundation of Hui'an Temple in the west of Lingjiaqiao, there are ten fasts.

In the fourth year of Shaoding, Yu Tianxi, the governor of the government, added a school field. In the eighth year of Chunyou, he rebuilt and added a school.

Since then, the Yuan and Ming dynasties have been repeatedly destroyed and repaired. The most recent damage was in the 17th year of Yongle, when a fire burned down the Halberd Gate to the Halberd.

The current school was renovated just last year, and the examination room has also been rebuilt, speaking of which, Yu Qian and they are still the first batch of candidates after the repair.

Autumn is also called the township test. It took Hongwu thirteen years to formalize the examination norms. The township test is held once every three years, and is held every child, mao, noon, and unitary year, and is also called the township, but because it is held in the autumn, the common people generally still call it the autumn festival.

The examination will be held in the place where the southern and northern Zhili and the political envoys are located.

At the level of the township examination, the academic administration of the provinces could not preside over the township examination, and the imperial court selected Hanlin and cabinet scholars to serve as the chief and deputy examiners in the provinces and preside over the township examination.

The examination mainly examines the "Four Books", "Five Classics", "Strategy", "Eight Strands", etc., and the subjects tested in each dynasty are different.

On the sixth day of the first month, the examiners entered the court, and first held a banquet on the curtain, and all the internal and external curtain officials had to go to the banquet.

After the banquet, the inner curtain officer enters the inner curtain of the back hall, the invigilator seals the door, the inner and outer curtain officials do not interact with each other, and the inner curtain official cannot have anything to do with him except for reviewing the test papers.

The exam is divided into three sessions, each of which lasts for three days, and all three need to enter the exam room one day in advance, that is, the eighth, eleventh and fourteenth days of the first month, and the day after the exam.

Although it is a continuous test for nine days, there will be half a day for the officials to enter to replenish food, drink water, and dispose of the candidates' feces.

Because of the examiners, candidates are not allowed to come and go at will. When you first enter the exam room, you can still smell the smell of the exam room, and in the later stages of the exam, the smell here can smoke people to death.

If you are not in good health, this exam can cost you half a life.

Although he came early, when Yu Qian entered the venue, it was already early and dark.

The officials in charge of the inspection were basically not local officials in Hangzhou, but were transferred from other places. Of course, the officials in Hangzhou also had to be transferred to other places for duty.

The inspectors carefully inspected the test box and Yu Qian's clothes, and opened the special quilt directly to see if there was any entrainment.

The quilt carried in the examination room, according to the requirements of the imperial court, is separated from the quilt sheet for easy inspection.

But only large families can have extra quilts, and ordinary poor families, where are there spare quilts?

But at this time, because the inspectors have taken your quilt apart, you should not complain. At most, you can bring your own needle and thread, and then sew it up after you get in.

The first day of inspection is the strictest, and thousands of people have to be checked, so you need to enter the venue a day earlier to get used to the environment by the way.

Yu Qian's luck is good, it is located in the south-facing room on the west side of the examination room, and it is the penultimate room.

There are only two planks in this room, one for sitting and one for writing, and at night, when the two are together, you can sleep.

After coming in, except for being able to come out once a day to get water, eating, drinking, and sleeping in it. After nine days, the smell inside will naturally not be good.

It's a bit far from the free water supply, but because it's on the edge, you don't have to worry about gas attacks.

Putting your own things away is already the third pole of the day.

Afraid that his pen, ink, paper and inkstone would be stolen, Yu Qian didn't dare to leave his room, if these things were gone now, he wouldn't even be able to take the exam.

Even if no one stole pen, ink, paper, and inkstone and took away his dry food, would he be hungry these days?

Standing at the door of the room, he looked around and made out the direction. At this time, he saw Wang Gan carrying his package.

Seeing that the other party was carrying a dilapidated test box, and the quilt under his armpits exposed a large piece of cotton wool, he smiled and shouted, "Wang Zhaonan." ”

Wang Gan saw him and walked over with a smile, not embarrassed at all because of the shabby quilt. "Yu Tingyi, you are in a good position, sitting in the north and facing south, and you are still on the edge of the examination room, so you don't have to worry about the smell."

Yu Qian saw the stack of baked cakes on his test box, and said with a smile: "I like the pickles made by your mother very much, why don't we change some dishes to eat." ”

Wang Qian looked at Yu Qian, there was no ridicule on his sunny face, only a faint concern.

There was a faint feeling in his heart, but he didn't twist it in the slightest, threw the quilt on the ground, and then took off the exam box behind him.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the management of the examination room was still relatively strict, and open flames were strictly prohibited in the examination room. Like the rich children who directly carried an oil stove to make hot pot in the exams in later generations, there was no such thing at this time.

Whether it is a poor person or a rich person, they basically prepare three days of baked cakes, and some people in Jiangnan are not used to eating baked cakes, so they will prepare some fried rice, and then take hot water from the examination room to soak it and eat it.

Baked cakes are also different from baked cakes, like the baked cakes brought by Wang Qian, which are mixed with miscellaneous grains in wheat flour, although the taste is not good, but it can be more resistant to hunger.

And Yu Qian's baked cakes not only have all kinds of meat fillings, but also all of them are made of white flour.

The dishes he brought were also very rich, all of them were meat dishes with more salt, he took out one, exchanged one pickles with Wang Gan, and exchanged a few of his own meatloaf with Wang Gan.

"This kind of meatloaf is not hungry, so exchange your pancakes with sorghum with me."

Wang Qianleng paused for a moment, and said with a smile: "It is precisely this intention, and it also allows me to fight tooth sacrifices......

In the face of Qian, he smiled very brightly. But when the two separated, Wang Qian repacked his bags and went to find his room, his eyes couldn't help but moisten a little.

He swore in his heart. "Yu Tingyi, one day, I will repay the spring!"

When everyone was checked and came in, the examiner announced that the venue was closed, and it was already sunset.

There was no exam scheduled on the first day, but after everyone came in, the examiner read out the edict of Taisun and then explained the discipline of the examination room.

When it was getting late, everyone began to prepare their first meal, and after they were full, only a few students came to the door and whispered to their classmates, and most of them rested quietly in their own rooms, recuperating.

On the second day, at dawn on the ninth day of August, the first exam officially began.

The examination questions of each province are written by the outer curtain officer, and the inner curtain official marks the papers, and the two sides cannot go out or see each other before the results come out.

Although the questions are different from province to province, the content is basically the same.

In the first exam, the essay "Analects", the essay "The Mean" or the essay "University", the essay "Mencius", one poem with five words and eight rhymes, and four poems of scripture and meaning, each of the three questions and four books in the initial field must write more than 200 words, and the four questions of the scriptures need to be written more than 300 words.

This exam belongs to Baguwen, and it is also the most important of the three exams, because if you don't do well in the first exam, no matter how good you do in the later exams, it will be difficult to get the favor of the inner curtain officer who examines the questions.

On the 12th, the second session was to try the Five Classics, and to try the edict, judgment, table, and edict, and the argumentative essay required more than 300 words, and there were changes in the future.

On the 15th, the third session was held, and the five current affairs were tried to express their opinions or opinions on the current affairs and government affairs at that time in combination with the theories of scriptures.

Yu Qian also knew the importance of the first session, he first carefully reviewed the questions, but did not write in a hurry, but pondered in his heart for a long time before filling in his name and place of origin in the standard position of the exam paper.

Although the three-day exam may seem like a short time, most people will not be able to use it.

The style of the eight-strand essay has a fixed format: it is composed of eight parts: breaking the topic, undertaking the topic, starting the lecture, entering the topic, starting the stock, middle stock, back stock, and bundle stock, and the title is all from the original text in the Four Books and Five Classics.

Each of the last four parts has two strands of dual text, for a total of eight strands.

The eight-strand text should speak in the tone of Confucius and Mencius, and the four pairs of sons should fight against each other, and the saints should not be blasphemed with allusions to the wind and snow, and each article includes four parts from the beginning to the bundle.

Moreover, the Baguwen has many restrictions on the content, and the views must be the same as that of the "Zhu Sage" Zhu Xi, which greatly restricts the emergence of rich content. If you have a different point of view, you will not be able to pass the exam.

Each paragraph of the article is stuck in a fixed format, and there is a certain limit on the number of words, especially the part of the starting stock, middle share, back share, and bundle strand, which is strictly counterparted, similar to the pun text, and the writing difficulty is very high.

It's easy to answer a question, but it's hard to answer a question if you answer it properly.

It's like giving you a few topics and asking you to write a few poems of a few hundred words. If you want to write a poem of a few hundred words brilliantly, it is not ordinarily difficult.

In addition, some words should be avoided in the answer, such as the emperor's name, and when you want to write those words, you must use substitute words.

All kinds of frameworks have been completely wiped out by everyone's imagination, so Gu Yanwu in later generations will say that "the harm of the eight strands is equal to the burning of books, and the corruption of talents is even greater than the suburbs of Xianyang......"

In this kind of selection of talents, we will only select some rotten Confucians who follow the same trend, and their thinking has become completely ossified.

In Ying Tianfu, Zhu Zhanji, who was sitting in the temple, knew better than anyone the harm of Baguwen, which could be said to be a kind of regression in thought.

Future generations cannot have their own thoughts, they can only learn from the ancients, so how can the times develop? How can society progress?

The founding of the Ming Dynasty was in 1368, and the first scientific expedition of the Ming Dynasty was in 1367.

Why is this happening? It is because at the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there were not many literate talents at all.

That's why Zhu Zhanji will use the eight-strand text to select materials, because a person who can read the scriptures and meanings is already a talent.

Even so, the officials of the Ming Dynasty are still insufficient, and in the Hongwu Dynasty, the prisoners of the Guozijian do not need to take exams, and they can directly become officials, just because there are too few talents.

Until the Yongle Dynasty, although the Baguwen was still not abolished, it had not yet formed a strict framework.

Scholars must pass three examinations to participate in the imperial examination. However, the way of writing is occasional or scattered, and there is no rule at the beginning.

In later generations, during the Chenghua period of Ming Xianzong, advocated by Wang Wei, Xie Qian, Zhang Mao and others, the Baguwen gradually formed a relatively strict procedure to pay attention to the rules and steps. In the twenty-third year of Chenghua, it began to change from "Jingyi" to the eight-strand essay for the examination, stipulating that the composition should be composed in the eight-strand way, with a strict format and a limited number of words.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang just carried the black pot for Confucianism, and it was Confucianism and not Zhu Yuanzhang who really made Baguwen prosperous.

Zhu Zhanji wants to abolish the eight shares, it is difficult to say that it is difficult, and it is easy to say that it is easy to say.

The difficulty lies in the fact that he is not yet the emperor, and he has not yet subdued the Manchu courtiers.

When he becomes emperor, everyone will learn according to his preferences.

Just like he favored Ma Di, as a result, now whether it is Yulin Weixue or Guozijian, many people have begun to learn Gewu.

Whether they really like it or are trying to cater to Zhu Zhanji's preferences, this is a kind of progress.

After he ascended the throne, he did not say that he would ban the Baguwen all at once, but only need to increase the scores of physics, chemistry, agriculture, and mathematics in the future examination questions, and the Confucian doctrine would only account for 30% of the scores, and at that time, everyone would actively study other subjects.

As for Confucianism, since it is useless to learn it, naturally not many people will learn it.

Therefore, Zhu Zhanji is not in a hurry now, according to his plan, wait for the next autumn and spring season, I am afraid he will be able to take charge.

Now he is not rightly named, and he is not ready to replace Confucianism and Baguwen's learning of talent.

What's more, the students have no chance to learn other knowledge at all, and no one knows how to solve his questions.

Even if he wants to add some content in next year's spring season, that is, he will try, but these contents will not occupy too much weight for the time being.

This matter can only be done slowly, and the more urgent it is, the more mistakes will go wrong.

"Your Highness, in a few days it will be August 15, the Mid-Autumn Festival. Zhang Guifei in the harem said that she had rehearsed a few more scenes, do you want the slave to arrange it? ”

Zhu Zhanji shook his head and said, "You go and talk to the concubine, let her arrange for the lonely concubine to have a fun with the child, and the lonely will not be involved." ”

People in this era like to watch dramas, but for Zhu Zhanji, these are not only not enjoyment, but also torture.

He didn't want to pretend and sit there for hours.

But since it's the Mid-Autumn Festival, it's time to relax. He also said: "I will arrange the play during the day and in the East Garden at night, and I will play games with the children and enjoy the moon." ”

(Academic things are too brain-consuming, solved in one chapter, and I won't write too much about these later)