Although the inner curtain official is beautiful, it is also very hard, there are too many test papers, and it is not so simple to judge them all in just ten days, sometimes I am dizzy to watch, and I can't eat food, but I have to persevere.

Comparatively speaking, the hardest is the transcriptionist and the reader, they have already started to do things, after the first exam, the transcription officer will start to copy the test paper, all the articles they have to copy aside, the candidate's test paper is sealed and returned to the paper, the examiner sees the article, all are copied by them, so that it can effectively prevent what clear marks are made on the article, the duty of the reader is to proofread, to see if there is a transcription error, if the error is found, it must be revised in time.

After so many years, the township test is already considered to be a complete system, but if you really want to cheat, there is no problem, if you can bribe the examiner, then you can agree to make a specific mark on the number of words in the article, etc., so that the examiner knows who wrote the article.

Marking is divided into three levels, the first level is the same examiner, ten same examiners first start to score, from which to select good articles, put aside, the rest of the bad articles, put on the other side, the second level is the deputy examiner, the same examiner selected the article for review again, after eliminating a part, the rest to the examiner, the third level is the examiner, have seen the article selected by the layers, decide the admission of the person and ranking.

As soon as the examination of the Gongyuan was over, the marking began.

More than 7,000 test papers, which means that you need to read about 700 test papers every day, and the industry is the article, which is assigned to the hands of the same examiner, each person has 70 test papers, a full 70 articles, and the excellent test papers must be selected from the middle, I am afraid that even the gods will not be able to complete such a difficult task.

Therefore, the article of the first exam Baguwen has become the focus.

The test papers of the first exam, each examiner needs to review about 20 sheets a day, although it is also very hard, but after all, if you can complete the task, you can still select excellent articles from it, and the format of the eight strands of the text is unified, as long as you look carefully at the content, but this also means that the examiner does not have much energy to look at other test papers, which indicates that the test papers of the second and third games are basically a foil, no one will read them seriously, and it is too late for time and energy.

Dong Qichang, who has never cared much about political affairs, suddenly came to the spirit, and paid special attention to this township examination, the examiner reads about 40 articles every day, and about 10 good articles can be selected from them, and the total is about 100 articles, and Dong Qichang has read most of them.

This surprised all the examiners and vaguely felt unusual.

There are more than 2,000 candidates in Nanzhili, only one hundred and fifty people can be admitted to lift people, and only one person in nearly twenty people is lifted, the competition is very fierce, this is no way to do it, there are too many people in Nanzhili, and it is also the place with the largest number of Jinshi.

The gap between the number of scholars in the north and the south is mainly reflected in Nanzhili and Zhejiang, where the number of readers is too powerful.

Dong Qichang's dedication made other examiners dare not be negligent, and the speed of marking the papers was accelerated, but the gold content of the selected articles was much higher.

On the fifth day of grading, the article Dong Qichang saw was indeed a good article.

The deputy chief examiner Wei Chengrun is as serious as he selects the articles, he has to filter them through, and then give them to the chief examiner Dong Qichang, he also has the right to decide which people to admit, and sometimes he even has the right to decide.

Every qiē has to rely on the article to speak.

From the sixth day of grading, it is time to admit the candidates.

At this time, Dong Qichang, Wei Chengrun, and ten fellow examiners entered the stage of sprinting, and every selected test paper, or article, they had to sign on it for future reference.

There are ten test papers on Dong Qichang's desk, which are selected articles by thousands of people, and there is no doubt that the solution to the Nanzhili Township Examination will be produced in these ten articles.

Dong Qichang, who was slightly tired, looked at Wei Chengrun, who was reading the article carefully, and slowly spoke.

"Lord Wei, the official's opinion, these ten articles, all of them can be admitted, and the solution of the township test is also produced in this ten-person system, I don't know if you have any objections to this."

"The lower officials have no objections."

"Very good, you take a closer look at this article, the official has read it three times, this article, from Yao Shunyu Tang, all the way to Zhu Xi of my dynasty, boldly made an evaluation, especially this passage, the official is particularly appreciative, the Western Han Dynasty article, such as Ziyun, similar to the majestic, this heaven and earth are strong, and the beauty of yang and rigidity is also, and the righteousness of this heaven and earth is also. Liu Xiang, Kuang Heng's Yuanyi, the gentle air of this world, the beauty of yin and softness, the benevolence of this heaven and earth, this is a summary of the ancient and modern articles, it is very difficult, and later combined with the government, put forward the hardships of the world's affairs, there is the so-called and dare not speak, the selfishness of greed, not to do its own but to say the end, and to learn, so that the combination of knowledge and politics, let people be inspired......"

Wei Chengrun had already noticed this article, and his impression at the time was that this article was hidden and not published, and within the scope allowed by the imperial court, it summarized and summarized ancient and modern scholarship, and it was said under the pretense of Confucius and Mencius, and it was very rare to skillfully combine the allusions in the Four Books and Five Classics with his own concepts.

However, the only problem is that in terms of borrowing the past to metaphor the present, it has infiltrated some of its own understanding, and some understandings cannot be found in the Four Books and Five Classics, which is also not in line with the rules of the Eight Strands.

"What the adults mean, the lower officials understand, this article, the lower officials have also read it carefully, it is indeed very good, don't hide it from the adults, the lower officials have also read it three times, there is no problem in this article, and there is no problem with ranking high, if the adults have other decisions, the lower officials still have to speak."

"What does Lord Wei think, just say it."

"The article is good, the writing is good, the idea is good, this student is knowledgeable, it is really good, but the requirements of the eight shares, can not appear the student's personal understanding, all views must be quoted from the classics, so as to meet the requirements, there is a sentence in the article: the way of the first king, the so-called self-cultivation of the people, the longitude and latitude of the Wanhui, how to return, also said the rites, this sentence is good, the so-called self-cultivation Qi family to govern the country and level the world, but in the allusions, there is no such saying, such a point of view can be expressed at other times, But it should not appear in the township test article. ”

Dong Qichang looked at Wei Chengrun for a long time before he spoke.

"Lord Wei, ancient and modern sages, why can their views and understandings be passed down to this day, they don't dare to put forward their own understanding, if they are all in accordance with the rules, don't say anything, then what are the classic inheritances, the official doesn't like those cumbersome things in the court, but it can also be seen that the emperor is for the Ming Dynasty, hard work, the emperor is thirsty for talent, if you and I read the papers, or according to the old rules, students are not allowed to put forward any views, just imagine such a person, even if they participate in the palace examination, is not it also decent, And how can you take on the big responsibility......"

Wei Chengrun rarely lowered his head, although Dong Qichang's words were very vague, but the hidden profoundness made him smell something, think about the first year of Chongzhen, the emperor implemented the Ming Bu ceremony, and promoted the cabinet ministers in the court, creating a precedent in ancient and modern times, doesn't this show that the emperor is thirsty for talent.

No wonder Dong Qichang worked so hard in the township test this time, he was simply fighting for his life, you must know that Dong Qichang is already an old man in his old age, at the age of seventy-five, he can't bear to read so many articles every day.

After a long time, Wei Chengrun raised his head.

"What the adult means, the lower official understands, the adult is the chief examiner, Xie Yuan should be decided by the adult, the lower official is just talking about his own understanding, if there is something wrong, the adult can point it out directly."

"Lord Wei, you are polite, you and I are the same internal curtain officials, and the views must naturally be unified, otherwise this ranking will be announced, and if there is a controversy, it will be difficult to say."

"The lower official understands, and the lower official agrees with the adult's decision."

Dong Qichang stood up, moved his muscles and bones, walked slowly a few steps, read the article for a long time, his body was often numb, he had to stand up and move, he had already made a decision in his heart, this article, at least the ranking is in the front, as for the final ranking decision, it depends on the situation of the later marking.

August 25, the tenth and last day of grading, all the test papers have been read, of course, the focus is still on the eight strands of the first exam, and Dong Qichang also agrees with this rule.

The admission list of one hundred and fifty people has been basically determined, and all the same examiners and deputy examiners Wei Chengrun have signed and endorsed, and the next thing is to determine the matter of Xie Yuan, it should be said that the number of places admitted will not change, and the next thing is the time to copy and close all the test papers, and the article of Xie Yuan in the township test will be sent to the Beijing Ministry of Rites for storage.

Dong Qichang has been thinking about it, the three articles are placed in front of him, and Xie Yuan is also produced in them, the deputy chief examiner and the same examiner will not have any opinions, and the final decision is in his hands.

After thinking about it for a long time, no one would bother him at this time.

Dong Qichang picked up one of the articles, opened the place where the north endorsement was made, Wei Chengrun and others had already endorsed it, he picked up the brush on the table, wrote the first two words in the back, and then carefully signed his name.

At the age of seventy-five, it should be a great honor to be able to preside over a Nanzhili Township Examination, but Dong Qichang, who has avoided politics all his life, also understands the mystery.