Chapter 66 Xianchun Imperial Examination

Since mid-February, the temperature has gradually risen, and spring flowers have bloomed all over the south of the Yangtze River, and red and green can be seen everywhere.

The inns and hotels of all sizes in Lin'an City are almost full, and candidates and students from all over the world have arrived in the capital one after another to participate in the triennial provincial examination and the palace examination. Most of these candidates have gone through ten or even twenty or thirty years of hard study, and their only goal is to hope that one day they can jump into the dragon gate and become the protégé of the Son of Heaven.

The proportion of scholars in ancient times was quite small, so the entire Song Dynasty attached much more importance to the imperial examination than the college entrance examination in later generations.

The imperial examination system was founded in the Sui Dynasty, formed in the Tang Dynasty, completed in the Song Dynasty, strengthened in the Ming Dynasty, and tended to decline in the Qing Dynasty, which lasted for more than 1,300 years before and after, and had a significant impact on the political, economic, educational, cultural concepts and social customs in the middle and late stages of China's feudal society.

The imperial examination is a system in which feudal dynasties select officials through examinations, and it is called the imperial examination because of the method of selecting scholars by subject.

In the Song Dynasty, "literature was emphasized over martial arts", so the emperor Yanjing attached great importance to the imperial examination. Since the reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Song Dynasty, a three-level examination system has been established once every three years, the first level is the state examination conducted in the state capital, generally after the autumn, the second level is the spring provincial examination conducted in the Ministry of Rites, and in the same year, the third level examination is held, which is the palace examination held in the inner courtyard of the palace. Candidates who have passed the palace examination do not need to go through the official examination, and can be directly appointed by the emperor as officials.

With the rise of Mongolia, the territory of the Song Dynasty was reduced, and many aspects of the procedure were simplified.

The content of the examination is basically the same, the first day is the provincial examination, the examination of the Great Scriptures, and the scriptures and theories, the second day is the palace examination, only the examination of policies, limited to more than 1,000 words of policy.

Before the exam, the preparation of the Ministry of Rites was all ready. Ma Tingluan, who is the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, is very busy, but fortunately, he is very familiar with these examination etiquette systems, but he also seems to be busy but not chaotic, and orderly.

The focus of the court was also focused on this exam, so the court meeting was basically peaceful.

While the Ministry of Commerce was established, it registered the entire Lin'an shops and commercial houses, and at the same time, a code of conduct was quietly released. Due to the lack of manpower, Jiang Wanli and Liao Yingzhong also went out in person and ran around.

After Quanjue sent the first batch of magnifying glasses, goose feather hard pens and other items, Xiao Tian immediately organized people to set up stalls in places where candidates were more concentrated to promote these new things.

Xiao Tian did not set the sales price, but let these candidates set the price arbitrarily according to the situation. This kind of promotion method caused a sensation among the candidates, it was a new thing, and this unheard of pricing method attracted a large number of candidates at once.

In front of the Tribute Courtyard next to the Imperial Palace, there is a small square. Gongyuan is the place of this provincial examination, and both new and old candidates will come here to familiarize themselves with the venue before the examination. This surname has been passed down to this day.

Approaching the last day before the exam, Fang Ling and I came to the square in front of the Tribute Academy.

"Brother, it's crowded here, it's really lively."

"yes, it's rare."

"Look, Xiao Tian is there, let's go and have a look." Fang Ling pulled me over.

Xiao Tian's booth is huge, there are three desks on the left, covered with white paper, there are several quill pens on the paper for the candidates to test the pen, a guy holds a quill pen, showing the way to hold the pen to these onlookers, the candidates who are used to using the brush will feel uncomfortable at the beginning, but after all, they are all the pride of the sky, and it didn't take long for many people to feel handy, and the more they wrote, the faster they wrote.

"This Xiao Tian still has some brains, and he knows that he will let the candidates practice the pen first."

"Yes, brother, your subordinates are very good." Fang Ling also learned the use of this cow character.

We walked to the right side of the stall, which was a place for buying and selling, and there were more onlookers, Xiao Tian saw me and was about to speak, but I saw a lot of people, so I signaled him to leave us alone.

Younger candidates are more receptive to quills, and many offer their own opinions, while older candidates prefer magnifying glasses.

At this time, a candidate who had been watching with a magnifying glass for a long time took out a crumpled banknote from his bag and said, "Is this okay?" ”

This candidate is in his early forties, his face is wrinkled, and his shirt is full of patches, which shows that he is a poor old scholar.

A young examinee next to him seemed to know this and said, "I said Lao Fan, you better not buy this magnifying glass, keep the money and take care of your stomach first." ”

"Old Fan?" I immediately thought of Fan Jin in "The Outer History of Confucianism".

"Alas, you don't know, my eyes are getting more and more difficult to see, with this magnifying glass, I can see the exam questions clearly."

Xiao Tian took the banknote and saw that it was a banknote with a very small denomination, and his heart moved, folded the banknote and returned it to the candidate, and took back the magnifying glass in his hand.

Lao Fan was in a hurry, and raised his voice suddenly: "Didn't you say that banknotes can't be used?" ”

Although the Great Song Dynasty clearly stipulated that paper money could be used universally, because it depreciated too quickly, many merchants did not accept Jiaozi, so Lao Fan thought that Xiao Tian was unwilling to accept Jiaozi.

Without waiting for Xiao Tian to reply, another young candidate in white saw Xiao Tian like this, not only was he a little annoyed, but said loudly: "Shopkeeper, isn't it written on your propaganda board that the price is self-determined?" This Jiaozi is also the currency of our dynasty, and it does not violate your rules. ”

The voices of the two were very loud, and everyone else quieted down and looked at Xiao Tian.

Xiao Tian smiled, ignored the white-clothed candidate, and said to Lao Fan: "This guest officer, it's called Lao Fan, this is a sample, give you a packaged." ”

Lao Fan took it and handed the banknote to Xiao Tian: "Then this money is for you." ”

Xiao Tian didn't accept it: "Lao Fan, look at our propaganda column, it says that the price is set by you, that is, the price can be arbitrary, there is no cap on the top, and it can be zero on the bottom, and you can buy it with a small amount of money." ”

Lao Fan saw that Xiao Tian didn't seem to be a fake: "That's not good, how can a scholar shop without giving money?" ”

"Lao Fan, I didn't say that you didn't give money. Do you think this will work, if you have to give money, I'll keep an account for you first, and then give it to me after you finish the exam? ”

Lao Fan hesitated and said, "Then thank you shopkeeper, I will definitely return the money to you." After speaking, his face was slightly red, and he left in a hurry.

I know that people in ancient times were very good-looking, and this old fan was no exception, but he was really shy.

The white-clothed candidate was stunned for a moment, instantly applauded, and laughed: "Shopkeeper, good people, I'll also buy a quill." ”

With the applause of the white-clothed candidates, others also applauded, and the lively scene resumed in front of the booth for a while. The white-clothed candidate put down a tael of silver and walked away amid the applause of everyone.

"Hehe, this Xiao Tian, it's very good."

"Yes, Xiao Tian's business has grown, and these candidates have become Xiao Tian's propagandists, and they will soon spread to all over the world."

"Well, Ling'er also knows how to do business."

"Hehe, follow you all day long, this is called the black one who is close to ink."

"I'm not a merchant."

"I know, brother, by the way, why don't you take the exam, Ling'er thinks that brother, you will definitely be able to top the high school prize."

"How so?"

Fang Ling said solemnly: "This test is focused on strategy, brother, your views are very accessible, and they are natural." ”

I smiled: "Ling'er, you have won the prize, I am not that material." ”

Fang Ling pretended to be angry: "You just pretend." ”

I also pretended not to know: "What are you pretending?" ”

"Pretending to be a ghost."

After saying that, the two of us didn't care about the others, and laughed to ourselves.