Chen Lotian and Sun Zishu returned to the Qiushi Inn. It was not dark yet, Qin Tieniu was settling accounts behind the counter, and he was counting with relish, Chen Letian greeted him, he didn't even have time to raise his head, and he chattered while calculating: "Ten taels more than the day before yesterday, five taels more than yesterday..."

Chen Letian smiled: "Tie Niu, don't forget it, go get a few specialty dishes." ”

Qin Tieniu shook his head and said, "I'm not free, I'll go out after I'm done in a while to talk about business with people." ”

Chen Letian was curious: "What kind of business are you talking about?"

Qin Tieniu said: "I'm going to recruit a few merchants for our inn, which can be regarded as settling in our Qiushi inn to sell wine or snacks or something..."

"Yes, yes, it seems that you are quite suitable for business. Okay, then you continue to work hard, I'll go to the kitchen and let the chef make a few dishes, so I won't trouble you. Chen Letian smiled and nodded, feeling that Qin Tieniu was in the right line this time.

After a while, three dishes and two pots of wine came up, and Chen Letian and Sun Zishu began to eat and drink.

Chen Letian took a sip of wine and said, "How did you do in the exam, Zishu?

Sun Zishu said: "The question is not difficult, but my answer is not good, and I guess it is not even a middle school." What about you, how did you answer and provoke the anger of the teacher?"

Chen Letian laughed and said: "I forgot to tell you, this is my secret, let out a lot of nonsense, so as to leave an impression on the teaching, no matter what grades they give me in the end, at least they remember me, so that in the exams of other subjects, they will pay attention to me, as long as they pay attention, I can show my ability." ”

Sun Zishu frowned, expressing disagreement.

Chen Letian said: "Don't believe it, if you want to stand out among tens of thousands of candidates, there are only two ways, one is that you do have strong ability, and the other is that you must be very different from others." ”

Sun Zishu said: "This is true, but I look at the previous exams, and I think that the teachers value a person's heart the most, and those who are strong in heart will pass the exam even if their actual ability is not very strong." ”

Chen Letian gave Sun Zishu a thumbs up and said, "You are right. Those who are strong in their hearts have a strong ability to learn the day after tomorrow, even if their current strength is not as good as others, but they will progress quickly in the future. ”

The two chatted sentence by sentence, and before they knew it, they drank all the wine in their respective pots. For the imperial examination three days later, the two did not drink again, and Sun Zishu said goodbye and went home.

Three days later. Royal Examination.

Chen Letian is full of confidence.

I think back then, he worked as a chauffeur for the general Li Rongsheng for half a year. Li Rongsheng, the soul of the Northern Army, has always been known for loving soldiers like sons, and in addition to military discipline, the generals are very kind.

But when Chen Letian was a coachman for Li Rongsheng, he was beaten every day. When the two armies were fighting, the general often had a whimsical idea to charge with a single car, and a single car broke into the opposite side of the three or five hundred cavalry, if Chen Letian drove the car without the slightest hesitation, the general would shout, "Chase your car, what are you panicking!" and the whip in his hand would be whipped on his back like a poisonous snake, and he grinned in pain, but he still had to drive the carriage with firm hands to rush towards the enemy. In the face of the black oppressive enemy army, it was simply a feeling of rushing to the underworld.

Therefore, Chen Letian has reason to believe that his results in the imperial department can at least enter the eyes of the teachers, and at least he can get a high school evaluation.

Due to the large number of students and the need to conduct the examination on a wide field, tens of thousands of students were divided into three groups for the exam. Each batch of students will take the test for one day, and the third batch will take the test for three days.

Chen Letian was assigned to the first batch, so he had to go to the exam room on the first day.

There are several wide areas in the mountain behind Qingtian Pavilion, which have now been repaired. Chen Letian was assigned to the second field, which was surrounded by a wooden fence into various running tracks for horse-drawn carriages. Various flags are planted on some joint points and waved in the wind.

The venue is surrounded by previous students, most of whom are already students of Qingtian Pavilion, most of them will participate in the entrance examination of the autumn festival every year, or assist in teaching, or decorate the venue, or serve tea and water, etc., and there are even many who are waving flags and shouting and cheering, such as today's imperial examination, there are many students who spontaneously organize to cheer for new candidates.

Chen Letian saw that the candidates around him were still the same classmates as he was in the exam, and before he had time to say hello first, the group of people took the initiative to talk to him.

"Brother Chen, are you in good health, today is the Imperial Branch, if your body has not yet recovered, you can apply to the teaching to postpone. Zhou Guoting, a poor student, said that he was still dressed in shabby clothes, and he still did not feel ashamed of himself.

"Yes, I think Brother Chen answered very well that day, but Master Jiaoxi was..."The fat man of three hundred catties, Tian Hao shook his huge body and frowned.

There were also many students who came to greet Chen Letian, Chen Letian saluted one by one, and said: "Thank you for your concern, my body is already well, and it will not affect today's exam at all." Also, after I went home, I thought about it for a long time, and I thought that it was appropriate to teach Master Xi a lesson to me, because we are all young people, so it is better to be cautious in our actions and words. ”

In the midst of everyone's chatter, dozens of cars and horses have been pulled onto the field, and the exam is about to begin.

All the candidates stopped talking and looked nervously at the runway.

Chen Letian observed the runway, the total length is about ten miles, the widest part is six cars wide, the narrowest part is only one car wide, the ground is some earth, some are stones, and some are puddles of unknown depth. Obviously, this is a runway made in imitation of the battlefield. Chen Letian agrees with this arrangement, many times, readers are born with a sense of superiority, and feel that the development of limbs always has an ambiguous relationship with a simple mind, but this sense of superiority is unreliable, it is based on the peace of the country. The soldiers lived on the battlefield without knowing where they died, and the scholars lived a life of wine and beauty in the city. This is unfair, and this sense of superiority needs to be eliminated.

And now, the Qingtian Pavilion, which the entire younger generation of the Great Song Dynasty wants to enter, has brought the matter of driving on the field to the examination room. Then the direct consequence is that if you want to participate in the Autumn Festival, you have to have a minimum ability to ride horses and horses, you have to have some physical strength, and you have to know some skills to drive horses.

To put it simply, you have to practice.

If the imperial court wants young people not only to study, but also to train their bodies, this is probably the only best way. Give young people a reason and temptation to practice their bodies, and they will naturally take the initiative to practice.

Xiliang dismounted for the people and went on horses for soldiers, because bending bows and archery, at least hunting, was born to learn, otherwise they would have to starve to death. So Xiliangguo doesn't have to think about this problem.

The Great Song Dynasty was different, and the people of the Great Song Dynasty relied on plowing the fields and cultivating the land for food. So Da Song needs to be considered. When the Great Song Dynasty was first founded, Qingtian Pavilion did not have the imperial department, only poetry, books, rituals and music, so the military strength of the Great Song Dynasty has been very weak, until the Qingtian Pavilion began to take the imperial subject and began to take the practice subject, and the Great Song Dynasty quickly became strong.

Chen Letian knows very well, and the imperial court also knows very well: everyone pursues profit. So today, the imperial department must be examined.

"Brother Chen, my family is poor, I haven't driven a carriage since I was a child, that is, ten days ago, thanks to Brother Tian Haotian's care, I went to his house to practice a few times, and now I am still very handy. Zhou Guoting, a poor student, suddenly remembered that during the previous rite exam, Chen Letian said that he was the commander of the Northern Army, and since he was a person in the army, he must have driven a carriage, so he hurried over to ask for advice.

Chen Letian said: "Brother Zhou, there is no trick to driving, you must practice often, but if you have a large waist and abdomen strength and arm strength, it is very flattering for a novice." ”

Zhou Guoting thought about it and said: "I usually practice my waist, abdomen and arms every day, but I have only been in contact with the carriage for a few days, and my grasp of the horse is still not enough." ”

Chen Letian patted Zhou Guoting's shoulder and comforted: "That's okay, Brother Zhou don't worry, I see that most of the candidates are novices, since you have tried your best to prepare, do your best for this imperial exam." Even if the imperial examination is not satisfactory, there are other subjects, and the teachers will understand. ”

"Thank you, Brother Chen, for your advice. Zhou Guoting arched his hand and sighed lightly, how could he not be worried.

A crisp gong sounded, and the candidates and onlookers fell silent.

The teacher standing in the field said loudly: "The imperial examination is about to begin, and the candidates are in place." ”

Dozens of candidates, led by the teaching deputies, stepped into their carriages in turn at the beginning of the track. All carriages were exactly the same, and the horses were about the same height. Chen Letian was placed in the fourth row at the back. Everyone held their breath and waited for the instruction to begin.

Chen Letian observed the surrounding candidates, and he found that most of the candidates could see that they were laymen when they looked at the standing posture. Obviously, the proficiency of these candidates in the royal car is very different from that of him Chen Letian. But there are a few people who look like that. For example, in the second row, there is a noble boy who is dressed in luxurious clothes, but his whole body is relaxed and his hands are firm, and he obviously practices regularly. There is also a candidate who looks like he has an average family background, who is sitting, judging from his hanging-up expression, he should not be a freshman.

Chen Letian believes that, in general, winning this exam is not a big problem. It's a royal skill honed on the field.

He looked up at the rising sun, the cold of late autumn in the morning was still very strong, but the sun was very good today, and it was warm on his body. Suddenly, he felt that someone was looking at him, and he swept his gaze and met the noble boy looking at him. The noble man's eyes were a little cold, and when he saw that he was discovered, he did not immediately withdraw his gaze, but continued to examine Chen Letian before slowly turning his head and looking at the front of the runway.

Chen Letian didn't know him, and he didn't care, anyway, since the etiquette exam, many candidates knew him, and he only regarded him as an admirer's observation.