As the name suggests, the prefectural exam is an exam that is held in the prefecture. With the power of a county to provide an examination venue for hundreds or even thousands of candidates, the conditions can be imagined. Generally, when the exam is approaching, a temporary examination booth is set up.

For some poorer counties, even building such an examination shed is so difficult, not to mention the lack of decoration and beauty, even the ground is exuding the fragrance of earth...... Dirt soil, dusty on a sunny day, muddy on a rainy day...... Because there is no money to build a roof.

But that's not the worst of it. The most miserable remote states and counties do not even have the most basic tables and chairs, and candidates need to bring their own. There are still many candidates from the countryside who can take the exam, and there are no roads extending in all directions at this time, and many people have to go over the mountains and mountains to come to the county seat for the exam, and it is just a matter of carrying a bench, and it is impossible to bring their own tables.

So after they arrived in the county seat, they had to show their magic skills and try their best to borrow a set. But how can there be so many tables and chairs in a small county? If you can't borrow it, you have to settle for the next best thing, borrow a door board or a cutting board, or even a coffin board, a wooden pier or something, and then take a few bricks to enter the field.

When the time comes, divide the bricks into two stacks, one stack of shelves, one stack of buttocks, and then just lie on top of the answers, if you are unfortunate enough to catch up with the rain just now, your ankles can sink into the mud...... It was a very special experience.

However, it is a different scene for Jiangnan, which is rich in the world, where there are basically special colleges, which are usually used for county school teaching, and can accommodate thousands of people to take the exam at the same time during the county examination, and the conditions are much better than elsewhere...... For example, this will be the county school, so the huge yard will be paved with green bricks, and then put a clear pineapple wood table and chairs, and even set up a grass shed above the tables and chairs, so that even if it rains, there is no need to interrupt the exam.

Shen Mo and the two followed the crowd into the county schoolfront street, and now the candidates around him, regardless of age, have a cute title called 'Tongsheng'. Then he saw a hunchbacked old man with gray hair, who looked to be seventy or eighty years old, and walked in a white shirt with a basket. In fact, I saw him when I was outside, but at that time, I thought that the old man was sending his grandson to take the exam.

When the children gathered in front of the county school, they were divided into five teams by officials wearing big red uniforms and stood in front of the door.

I saw Li Xianling wearing a crown of Erliang Dynasty, wearing a green and red robe, with a leather belt around his waist, a jade pendant hanging on the leather belt, and a red and white silk belt on it. Under the hood to cover the knees, stepping on the black face and white bottom of the official boots, standing on the stone steps quite majestically...... The court clothes of Manchu officials were generally like this, the difference was the number of beams on the crown, the leather belt around the waist, and the ribbon with jade pendants. For example, Li County's two-beam crown, silver leather belt, glazed pendant, and three-color flower brocade ribbon with Lian Que pattern can clearly indicate his identity as a seven-rank official.

After the expiration of the candidates, Li Xianling began to speak, which was nothing more than to preach Confucius and Mencius first, and then praise the emperor, and then announce the number of examinations, and strictly enforce the discipline of the examination room...... Except for the time and number of exams, it's basically all nonsense.

The degree of freedom of the county test is relatively large, and the county order decides whether to take five or four tests, and this time Li County's order is chosen to be four, the first is called the main field, the second is called the first resumption, the third is the resumption, and the fourth is called the face repetition, each day is a day, and one every other day.

However, as long as the candidate passes the main test, he does not need to participate in the 'initial repetition' and 're-re-examination', and only needs to wait for the fourth interview in five days. Those who fail the main exam, they have to honestly participate in the initial re-examination, if they do not succeed again, they can still take the 're-examination', if they do not succeed, they can only wait for the next county exam.

After the county lord finished nagging, the five-room scribe began to roll call, calling whoever came forward to verify the identity, and then after a simple search, he put it in, and its strictness was not a little worse than the township test.

But that's it, not for an hour or two, don't want to put more than a thousand candidates in...... It's just the right time for the exam.

As a person favored by the county magistrate, Shen Mo naturally didn't have to wait too long, and after about seven or eight children, it would be his turn. The scriven who checked just smiled at him, gave him an answer sheet and said, "Go in for the exam." ”

smiled silently and thankfully, and took the answer sheet into the examination room. Although the serial number is written on the exam paper, it is not on the exam table, and then the advantage of coming in is reflected - you can pick a good seat!

Shen Mo looked at the neat rows of desks and felt worried, he didn't know where to sit. Is it sitting in the first row? No, although the question is clear, it is too close to the edge of the grass shed, and the sun is very hot at noon, and it will be even more troublesome in case of rain!

That sits in it? It's not good. The shed is a bit low, the light inside is very bad, and the county test is not allowed to light the light, I am afraid that it will be affected. After pondering repeatedly, he sat in the eighth column of the second row, 2816, No. auspicious, he could see clearly, the light was good, the sun could not be sunny, the rain could not be wet, and the air was still very fresh, which was really a rare good position.

After sitting down silently, the candidates have not yet come in, so naturally the questions will not be announced. He was a little bored for a moment, so he had to look through his answer sheet...... In some poor states and counties, even this thing has to be brought by yourself. But no matter whether it is issued by the yamen or brought by yourself, the format is the same.

There are a total of eleven pages, the first page is the cover, the county examination is not so strict, the candidate's situation is directly written on the cover, and there is no 'paste', let alone 'transcription', so Li County Ling patted his chest and said, 'Protect your case'. Shen Mo saw that there was a number stamp on the cover, which read 'County Examination A Zi No. 107 Plate', and there was a line of small words below it: 'Shen Mo, sixteen years old. Thin and slightly taller, white and beardless, and very good-looking. Nationality. Great-grandfather Yannian, Zulu, father. Subscriber Wu Dui. ’

After opening the back cover, the other ten pages are the place to answer the questions, with 14 vertical lines on each page, 18 red grids on each line, and one word written in each grid. In addition, there are several pages of scratch paper.

By the time all the candidates were seated, it was already dawn, and it was time for the exam.

Li County's order was no longer verbose, and after the official locked the door, he wrote down the topic of the main examination on a blank horizontal axis - a current essay and a trial poem.

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Chapter 3, Asking for Votes......