The township exam is a very annoying thing, you have to take the exam three times, each time you have to enter the venue one day earlier, then take the test one day, and then appear the day after the exam.

That is to say, although there are only exams on the ninth day of August, August 12, and August 15, candidates have to go to the tribute institute from the eighth day of August, and they can come out to have a full meal and sleep well on the tenth day of the first month, and they have to go to the examination room on the eleventh day and wait for the twelfth to continue the exam.

So after these three exams, Hu Ye felt that he was about to die, he was tired to death, he never thought that the exam could be so tiring, even if he went to move bricks.

When he left the examination room on August 16, Hu Ye saw that the people who came out had not gone in for many years, because many candidates couldn't stand the life inside and quit directly halfway.

Hu Ye didn't despise them, because the body of this young person is really not very good, especially the body of a scholar, who reads sage books all day long, and doesn't have much time to go out to exercise. In addition, this year is another year of great disasters, and it is difficult for the children of ordinary families to eat well, and their bodies cannot keep up, and it is not uncommon for them to be unable to persevere.

Yin Changlong didn't disappoint Hu Ye after all, he still persevered, otherwise Hu Ye would doubt the authenticity of the history he knew.

"Brother Yin, how did you do in the exam?" Following Yin Changlong out of the examination room, Hu Ye asked Yin Changlong with a smile.

Although Yin Changlong looked very haggard, he could still see that kind of confidence in his eyes, and he must have done well in the test.

"Hehe, it's not bad, the top three don't dare to say, but it should be no problem to lift people." Yin Changlong smiled at Hu Ye, and then said confidently.

Hu Ye smiled and joked, if you can't even pass the exam, you won't have to die.

"By the way, I think this year's policy is a bit strange, it is actually about the current affairs of the imperial court. Yesterday I had been meditating all day, and I didn't start writing until an hour before I handed in my paper. It's not easy to write about the current affairs of this court. Yin Changlong's face immediately changed slightly.

It turned out that on August 15, the township examination was a policy test, and individual candidates were asked to discuss the questions they had raised. In previous years, the policy discussion was nothing more than a major event in the world, and the people of Li were born, and all the candidates could only speak on behalf of the saints and express their views on these matters.

Originally, this year was a year of great disaster, and many candidates thought that this year's strategy was about this drought.

As a result, almost half of the candidates put their strategy on the drought, and memorized the discussion on disasters in the Four Books and Five Classics, trying to stand out in the policy theory.

But what surprised many candidates was. This year's policy did not come out of the year of the catastrophe, but about the current affairs of the imperial court.

However, there are still many candidates who are in a hurry and connect the catastrophe with those corrupt officials and corrupt officials, which is barely suitable for the topic. It's not hard to pass, but it's hard to stand out.

"What? Could it be that Brother Yin thinks this year's strategy is difficult? Hu Ye asked Yin Changlong curiously.

"It's not that it's hard, it's the conspiracy behind it." Yin Changlong said with a frown.

Hu Ye looked around and found that there were many people, so he hurriedly pulled Yin Changlong out of the tribute courtyard.

At this time, Lao Qian had already been waiting outside in the carriage, so Hu Ye pulled Yin Changlong into the carriage. Let Lao Qian walk while saying to Yin Changlong in the carriage, "Brother Yin, have you seen the conspiracy behind this township test?" ”

"Actually, it's not a conspiracy. It's just that this is a kind of wind direction in the imperial court. Yin Changlong said in a low voice, obviously not wanting what he said to be heard by others.

"The direction of the wind?" Hu Ye looked at Yin Changlong curiously, he didn't understand that a poor scholar usually didn't even have a full stomach. Where did the mind come from to pay attention to the court officialdom.

"That's right, Brother Hu still remembers the topic of the strategy?" Yin Changlong nodded affirmatively, and then didn't wait for Hu Ye to answer. He repeated the title of the policy theory, "Wan Zhang said: "Shunliu worked together in Youzhou, put the donkey in Chongshan, killed three seedlings in three dangers, died in Yushan, and the four sins and the world were salty, and the punishment was unkind." If you are not benevolent, you will be sealed. Someone who has a sin to ridicule him? What is benevolence? In others, they will be punished, and in their younger brothers, they will be sealed. Mencius said: "A benevolent person is also a brother, he does not hide anger, he does not hold grudges, he just loves him." The relatives want to be expensive, and the love wants to be rich. There is a treasure in the seal, and there is also wealth. ”

"Then it was on this topic that we discussed our views on the current affairs of the imperial court in recent years." Yin Changlong said slowly.

"Isn't that just a very general strategy? Why does it smell of conspiracy in Brother Yin's mouth? Hu Ye pretended to be amazed and asked Yin Changlong.

"Brother Hu doesn't think that the scope of current affairs in this court is too wide? This kind of topic has been presented in the past, but there is also a specific direction. For example, there are specific questions about taxation, or about the Japanese bandits, or about corruption. But this time the scope is extremely wide, and I think the imperial court wants a big change. Yin Changlong replied.

Hu Ye looked at Yin Changlong in surprise, he didn't understand how this poor scholar could see so many things from a paragraph, but it sounded very reasonable.

"I don't know what Brother Yin thinks about this." Hu Ye asked modestly.

"Presumably Brother Hu also knows in his heart that the current emperor doesn't have much time to live." Yin Changlong said in a low voice.

Hu Ye was shocked when he heard this, he couldn't talk nonsense, although he had said it countless times in Beiping, but this was in Nanjing, and being listened to by others would be a matter of losing his head.

"Brother Yin, don't talk nonsense, even if it's an obvious thing, we can only bury it in our hearts." Hu Ye replied in a whisper.

"Brother Hu don't worry, you are a god operator, you must know better than I know." Yin Changlong seemed to be a different person than before, and his words were much more sonorous and powerful than before, "Since people like me can see it, there is no reason why those ministers in the court can't see it." ”

"Brother Hu, do you know who produced the test paper for this township test?" Yin Changlong asked again.

"Isn't it the examiner?" Hu Ye asked curiously, if it weren't for the examiner's question, when I went to visit Wang Wei a few days ago, I wouldn't have met so many scholars.

"Maybe it was the examiner who made the questions before, but this time I think the examiner may just give opinions, and the person who asked the question must be much older than the examiner." Yin Changlong analyzed.

"How so?"

"The reason is very simple, I have not dared to come up with such a broad topic, which will definitely be opposed by a large number of scholars. Therefore, I dare to conclude that the questions in this township examination must be those of a group of university scholars. ”

"And the meaning of their wide range of topics is obvious, that is, they want to find people who are eclectic. If there are the previous directional questions, the candidates' answers are very limited, and they can't show their talent at all. Yin Changlong said.

"Eclectic talent? Could it be that Brother Yin is saying......" Hu Ye looked at Yin Changlong curiously.

"Yes, I think the senior members of the DPRK and China are already starting to select talents for the next emperor." Yin Changlong guessed confidently.

Hu Ye was directly taken aback by Yin Changlong, this thing really dares to say anything, Zhu Yuanzhang is still in power, he dares to say such a rebellious thing, and he is about to catch up with his courage. The important thing is that this product is said in Nanjing, which is really fatal.

"Brother Yin, it's just a policy topic, how can there be so many ways." Hu Ye knew that Yin Changlong guessed very accurately, and there were indeed many talents in this imperial examination, which had a lot to do with the deliberate actions of the senior officials in the DPRK.

But Hu Ye still wanted to see what else this poor scholar knew, because although Yin Changlong in history was admitted to the list, his actions were not great. If Yin Changlong in history really had such insight, it would never be possible to be so obscure.

"What's this, it's not like it hasn't appeared in the previous dynasty. Brother Hu should have heard of a son of heaven and a courtier, once Emperor Hongwu died, whether it was the emperor's grandson ascending the throne, or a certain vassal king returning to Beijing to usurp the throne, the ministers in the court would definitely have to be replaced. ”

"But these ministers can't be obscure, they have to cultivate their own power. And the candidates have become the easiest objects for them to woo, so they have come up with such a wide range of strategies, and they can select candidates who echo their own interests and cultivate them. In this way, when they become officials in the future, they will also become their allies, and even if they go into hiding, they can watch every move in the court. ”

"That's why there are a lot of things hidden in this strategy, so I thought about it for a day, and I didn't start writing until I was about to submit the paper." Yin Changlong replied.

Hu Ye looked at Yin Changlong in shock, this is definitely not the insight that a person who has been down-and-out since he was a child should have. Even the disciples in the family may not see the things in the court so thoroughly, and even their own understanding of the court is not as clear as his.

"Then how did Brother Yin answer? Which minister of the DPRK and China is in your answer? ”

"Hehe, Brother Hu laughed, the current situation is not obvious, since the scholars have made such extensive strategies, it shows that they themselves are still unclear about the future changes, how can we stand in line lightly."

So I just analyzed the surface of Mencius's words, that is, the word "benevolence" made a penetrating analysis, not praising the current emperor, not complimenting the emperor's grandson, not catering to the ministers of the court, and not praising foreign vassal kings, this is the essence of the mean. Yin Changlong is like a different person, and he is like the two of Yin Changlong, who was often hungry before.

If it weren't for the fact that he has often seen Yin Changlong these days, Hu Ye would have thought that this was Yin Changlong's twin brother in front of him.

"By the way, Brother Hu, what is your strategy, I believe that with Brother Hu's knowledge, the answer must be very distinctive." After Yin Changlong finished talking about his understanding, he asked Hu Ye curiously.

Because from these observations, he thinks that Hu Ye is the only person he can't see through all these years, but he is not a little wary of Hu Ye.

"What's special is there, it's just a decent opinion." Hu Ye shook his hand in embarrassment, he didn't expect that he was blind, this Yin Changlong was actually hidden.

However, he also has some confidence in his own strategy, and it shouldn't be difficult to make a move, at least he doesn't have to be Ruan An's apprentice, which is still gratifying. (To be continued......)