Shen Yichen didn't know what was going on in the mind of the receiving officer at the moment, if he knew, he would probably say the famous sentence in the future.

"I'm sorry, but you can really do whatever you want......"

Of course, this is just a little episode, and the examiner is hindered by the rules of the examination room, and it is impossible to have too much communication with Shen Yichen, so after briefly confirming his identity, he took his test paper.

During the three nine-day exams, unless the Jingshi is about to be captured by the rebels, the locked dragon gate will not be opened no matter what.

So even if he handed in the papers, Shen Yichen couldn't leave, and he couldn't even walk around loudly, he still had to stay in the house honestly.

After all, there are other candidates who have not finished writing and handing in their papers, and their deadlines can theoretically be delayed until the second exam starts tomorrow morning.

So the only thing Shen Yichen could do was to go to the thatched house accompanied by the soldiers, and he didn't have to worry about the test paper being stamped with a black seal.

On February 12, the 10th year of orthodoxy, the second exam of the Yichou Branch Examination came as scheduled, and this time it was the "Theory", "Edict Table" and "Judgment".

"Treatise" is an argumentative essay, which is based on the questions of the Four Books and Five Classics, but it is no longer required to answer in the eight-strand essay, and you can play freely.

The "edict table" is a collective name for the three official document formats, which can be simply understood as how to write official documents after becoming an official, imitating the words, deeds and writing of superiors.

The word "judgment" is the most simple and clear, which is the comment you give after judging the documents submitted by your subordinates, mainly to test the scholar's familiarity with the "Da Ming Law".

Just like the township exam, the second exam in the general exam is not highly valued, and it still attaches more importance to the first four books, five classics and eight strands. But considering that if you get a jinshi, you will be assigned to an official almost 100%, so you can't write without knowing anything, right?

Therefore, as long as these questions can be written smoothly and there are no taboos, you can pass it smoothly.

February 15 is the last exam of the general examination, and the test is "policy questioning". Each question begins with a question, followed by a paragraph of material that the candidate reads to answer or write their understanding.

This question is theoretically the easiest of the three exams and only serves as the icing on the cake. The truly decisive question examination has to wait until the palace examination to face the emperor's personal questions.

Speaking of this third exam, we have to mention the "Question" case of Hongzhi's 12 years, which is the famous Tang Bohu fraud case.

At that time, the difficult and lonely exam questions were out of this inconsequential exam, Tang Bohu and Xu Jing answered too perfectly, and they were finally found to have leaked the exam questions.

Maybe this is fate, even if Tang Bohu wrote blindly at that time, maybe he could be selected as a jinshi. However, the strategy theory was too perfectly written, but it was implicated in the fraud case.

Time also, luck also.

Not long after the "Policy Questioning" test paper was issued, Shen Yichen had already finished answering and writing, and then fell into a long period of boredom.

Not only Shen Yichen, but most of the other candidates are also like this.

Because the "test-oriented education" criticized by later generations is not a matter at all in the Ming Dynasty. Almost every literati has pursued a lifelong pursuit of knowledge for the sake of the imperial examination, and asks what is the hanging thing.

Therefore, few of them are willing to write about this kind of inconsequential exam questions. In the case of comparing each other, Shen Yichen has a basis for argumentation, and he has nothing to do to read "Da Ming Law", and his question is definitely above the passing standard.

In order to pass the time, Shen Yichen could only work on eating. When the trial enters the end stage, the dried fruits, dried meat and other dry foods brought basically have some peculiar smells.

The main reason is the existence of a brazier, the relatively high temperature of the house, and the continuous rain and humidity in spring, which contributes to the deterioration of food.

But there's no way, that's all there is to it, and if you don't eat, you'll have to go hungry. Therefore, if you want to eat these slightly deteriorated stomachs, you can only suppress the peculiar smell in other ways, otherwise it is really difficult to swallow.

The solution that Shen Yichen thought of was "Barbie Q (barbecue)"!

Put on the jerky with a bamboo skewer, then smear the little remaining grease and place it on top of the brazier to grill slowly. As the temperature gradually rises, the fat begins to "crackle", and a rich aroma of meat comes to the nose.

This is not the most critical point, Shen Yichen also prepared pepper, salt and spices early, sprinkled a handful on them, and with the blessing of the charcoal fire, the whole house was filled with a smell of food, completely suppressing the smell.

You must know that at such a stage of the examination, all the candidates are in a state of hunger, and as soon as they smell this tempting aroma, they begin to scold their mothers in their hearts.

"Damn, who is doing food to tempt Lao Tzu, and is there any public morality?"

"After the examination, I should report it to the academic administrator, such a move completely affects the fairness of the imperial examination!"

"It must be the bastard of the 'Fire No. 'again', he also made the stir-fry in the No. 1 house before!"

All kinds of whispered scolding kept sounding everywhere in the examination room, and Shen Yichen was out of sight and out of mind about this, and was still roasting beautifully.

Even the aroma of barbecue also attracted the chief examiners Qian Xili and Ma Yu who were patrolling the examination room, and when they found out that it was Shen Yichen's examination booth, the expression on their faces was a little exciting.

"Lord Qian, is Shen Yichen so eclectic, and he is still in the mood to fiddle with his cooking skills when he can take the scientific examination?"

Compared with Qian Xili, this is the first time Ma Yu has seen Shen Yichen up close. He really didn't expect that the dignified Shuntian Jieyuan, the leader of the young students of Beijing Normal University, would be like this, completely subverting the inherent impression.

Qian Xili couldn't say a word for a long time, and Shen Yichen came to visit his house several times, and he was polite and courteous, and he had a gentlemanly demeanor.

You must know that the ancients paid attention to a gentleman's cooking, and now Shen Yichen's image is too contrasting......

"Master Ma, why don't we go over and take a look and see how Shen Yichence wrote?"

Qian Xili sent out an invitation, and he was quite curious at the moment. Since Shen Yichen is so free of himself, he must have a full grasp of the article, since he has already inspected this house, it is better to see what the level is in advance.

"Just according to what Lord Qian said."

Ma Yu readily agreed, and he was extremely curious about Shen Yichen's level. After all, the battle for the leader of the Yichou Branch Examination can be described as very fierce, and it is not only the ministers of the DPRK who want to support their relatives and protégés to take the position.

Even Ma Yu himself plans to let his son be in the first class in high school.

Because Ma Yu often felt numb in his hands and feet in the past two years, although medicine was not developed in ancient times, he could always accumulate some experience for pathological causes, which was the precursor of stroke.

Sudden stroke is a high-risk disease in modern times, and in ancient times, it was either death or disability. Therefore, he must hurry up and let his son Ma recruit in the township examination of Yichou Branch, where he is the chief examiner, otherwise he will not know if he will be able to wait for another three years.

The two walked in front of the house like this, and at this time, Shen Yichen was squatting in the corner, roasting jerky with a brazier, and he didn't notice that the two examiners were inspecting at all.

The test paper was placed on the table, and Ma Yu only glanced at it, and his face showed a look of shock.

Look at the text first and read the words, as far as Shen Yichen's hand on the test paper can be called a "ghostly workmanship" general pavilion body, he has been an official for decades and has seen a few people with this level, and they are all famous all over the world.

This scene reminded Ma Yu of Jingshi's rumors about Shen Yichen, that is, he said that his words have the charm of Master Shen and the muscles and bones of Huaisu, and it seems that what he said is true!

Imagine the Chinese network

Qian Xili saw the shocked look on Ma Yu's face out of the corner of his eyes, and couldn't help but show a smile at the corner of his mouth, he had never seen the world when he was a scholar, was it necessary to be so surprised?

It's just that Qian Xili forgot that when Shen Yichen wrote in his mansion, the look of surprise he showed was even worse than that of Du Ma Yu now!

However, the handwriting is good, it does not mean that the article is necessarily good, Ma Yu picked up Shen Yichen's test paper from the table, and carefully read this "question".

To be honest, the impact of this question is far inferior to Shen Yichen's hand, which can be called the best young scholar. It can't be said that the writing is poor, it can only be described by the word "mean", a standard passing online article.

But having said that, almost all the candidates who will test the "strategy" are basically written at random. Even if he is the chief examiner, he will not take the test papers seriously when he is marking, Shen Yichen is already very good.

"I don't know how this son's eight-strand article is, but it aroused the curiosity of the old man."

With that, Ma Yu put the test paper back on the table.

Shen Yichen was concentrating on the barbecue, when he suddenly heard the sound of someone talking behind him, but he was startled.

You must know that the examination requires absolute silence, and whoever dares to make noise will be expelled directly from the examination room, just like the unlucky ones in the first exam. So Shen Yichen hurriedly turned around, only to find that it was Qian Xili and Ma Yu who came to his house.

"The juniors didn't know that the president was coming, so it was very rude and I ask for forgiveness."

The chief examiner of the examination also has the title of "president", so Shen Yichen also apologized according to this title.

"It's okay, we're patrolling the examination room, you can continue."

Qian Xili saw that Shen Yichen's barbecue was fragrant, and it was not easy to interrupt the other party's "Yaxing". Besides, the examiner inspects the examination room to talk to the candidates, and still has to pay attention to the scale and boundaries, once the rules are exceeded, there is a suspicion of favoritism.

"Yes."

Shen Yichen bowed his hand, but he was not embarrassed to continue the barbecue, but sat down and pretended to answer the question, his expression was slightly embarrassed.

Ma Yu and Qian Xili did not stay for long, and went to other places to continue to inspect the examination room.

After turning around and returning to Mingyuan Building, Ma Yu said: "Lord Qian, this township test can be described as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I don't know who you think can win?" ”

"Master Ma, you're digging a hole for me, hahaha."

Qian Xili replied jokingly, cleverly avoiding the question and answering.

Once you reach the level of the entrance examination, in addition to knowledge, the ranking can also be called a wrestling between the forces of the DPRK and China.

Whether it is the chief examiner, or the same examiner, or even the nominal boss Zhigong Juguan, they all have acquaintances who they are optimistic about. Now if you say the candidate in your heart early, you will be at a disadvantage, and it is easy to be listened to by people with ulterior motives as a handle.

"It's the official's gaffe."

Ma Yu also snorted, he didn't have any gaffes at all, he just asked to make money, and if he couldn't ask, he wouldn't lose.

It is worthy of being an old fritter who presided over the township test and the meeting test for nearly ten sessions, and his tone is relatively tight, and he is clearly optimistic about knowing Shen Yichen, and he is always unwilling to let go.

"It's okay, Lord Ma is polite."

With the politeness of the two people, the orthodox ten-year B Chou Ke will take the test and come to the last day of February 16.

In fact, to be precise, the examination ended on February 15th, but considering that it was impossible for students to hand in their papers and leave the Gongyuan in the early morning, it was postponed to the morning of the 16th.

It is still the same as the old process of the township examination, after the candidate submits the paper, the examinee will classify it according to the scriptures he has governed, and then send it to the sealing officer to seal it, and the personal information of the examinee on the test paper will be stamped with a seal of control.

After that, it will be sent to the scribe to transcribe it with a red pen, and the preliminary marking will begin.

Once in the process of transcription, it is found that the candidate's test paper is not evasive, discusses the government and politics, the number of words does not meet the specifications, or even the paper is not neat enough, it will be directly dismissed and sent to the real marking officer.

Shen Yichen, who was on the other side, after packing up the items he was carrying, also strode towards the dragon gate of the Gongyuan.

The sky was still overcast and drizzling, but Shen Yichen's mood was different, quite a sense of relaxation after the college entrance examination in later generations. After all, as long as you pass the examination, the palace examination will no longer involve failure, and the imperial examination career is almost over.

The next step is to enter the official according to the ranking, and officially jump from the scholar class to the ruling class.

Many candidates at the Dragon Gate were walking out in turn, and when they saw Shen Yichen coming, many people bowed their hands to him, looking quite respectful.

Shen Yichen naturally returned the salute one after another, showing a modest attitude.

Just as Shen Yichen was about to leave, a person hurriedly ran in front of him, panting and said, "Brother Shen, I can be regarded as catching up with you, and I almost missed it again!" ”

The person who came was none other than Xu Fengyuan.

After helping him connect with Ye Zong that day, Shen Yichen uneasily asked the miner Wang Neng to follow him for a few days, and verified that he was indeed the son of a merchant, and there was a large backlog of goods in the warehouse of Jingshi that could not be sold.

Later, after Zheng Xiang and Xu Fengyuan negotiated, in order to express their attention, the two rushed to the source of goods in Jiangxi by sea.

So far, Shen Yichen has not seen Xu Fengyuan again.

I originally thought that this kid might miss the general examination of the B Chou Department if he went back and forth, but I didn't expect him to catch up.

"How?"

Shen Yichen asked meaningfully, this sentence not only refers to how the test is, but also asks how the "smuggling" business is.

"Brother Shen, I'll talk to you about a restaurant, how about Xue Ling Pavilion?"

Xu Fengyuan opened his mouth to be the best restaurant in Jingshi, and if nothing else, he made a lot of money.

"Okay."

Shen Yichen nodded yes, in fact, after the examination and before the release of the list, most of the literati participated in various banquets, literary meetings, or visited ministers and celebrities.

In fact, the imperial examination is a thing to put it bluntly, aren't the scholars who come to the examination just to make a name for themselves, and how many of them are willing to do their studies sincerely?

Many people who feel that Chinese style is hopeless, and that is the main force of various banquets. As the saying goes, there are people in the DPRK who are easy to do, and if they make friends with a powerful person or a potential stock or something, wouldn't it be a big deal?

So, Shen Yichen and Xu Fengyuan called a carriage and went straight to Xueling Pavilion.

During the journey, Xu Fengyuan also talked about his experience during this time, and quickly rushed from Beijing to Fujian by sea, and met Ye Zongliu and others.

In order to prevent the government from backing the water, they still hid in the deep mountains and old forests. However, the complexion looks pretty good, and the low value-added trade with the Japanese country, even if it can't make a lot of money, is not much better than the previous food in the mountains.

Ye Zongliu and others sent Xu Fengyuan to the source of goods in Jiangxi, and then without enough capital, Xu Fengyuan looked at Shen Yichen's face and traded goods worth 10,000 taels on credit with the Japanese slaves.

On the premise of not controlling the bulk of the transportation links and commissions, this batch of goods made a profit of nearly 200%, that is, 20,000 taels of silver, which is not an exaggeration.

It wasn't until he saw that the goods were delivered on the overseas outlying islands, and Xu Fengyuan hurriedly returned to Beijing by sea. If he hadn't completed the registration early after several exams, I'm afraid that he would have been absent from the examination of the Yi Chou subject.

"Brother Xu, are Ye Zongliu and the others properly stocked for the winter?"

Now the heavy snow in Songjiang Mansion has poured into the capital like snowflakes, and there are countless frozen bones on the side of the road.

Shen Yichen doesn't really care about how much money he makes at the moment, after all, silver can't be eaten as food, and if he can't store enough winter food in advance, Ye Zongliu's group of miners may still have a hard time.

"Brother Shen rest assured, after Leader Ye got the money, he bought enough food from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Huguang and other places to eat for two years. Not only are they sufficient, but they also have the spare strength to distribute to the furnace masters in Fujian, and they all deeply feel the great virtue of Brother Shen! ”

Hearing this, Shen Yichen breathed a sigh of relief, he still instigated the butterfly's wings after all. Otherwise, according to the course of history, under the famine and heavy snow at this time, Ye Zongliu and other miners have already begun to rebel.

After saying this, Xu Fengyuan seemed to remember something, took out a money bill from his arms, handed it to Shen Yichen and said, "Brother Shen, this is a 5,000 taels of silver ticket exchanged from Zhejiang merchants, and I hope to accept it." ”

When the bridge was first matched, the two sides reached an agreement to give Shen Yichen 20% of the net profit. This was a thousand taels more than the originally negotiated figure, apparently for gratitude, and the profit margin was far higher than expected.

"Okay, I'll take it this time, and next time I'll follow the established two-percent."

Shen Yichen was not hypocritical, he understood that this was just the beginning, as long as the smuggling trade could be guaranteed, the Wa Kingdom at this time could be called an inexhaustible silver mountain, and a thousand taels were not worth mentioning at all.

The carriage staggered to the front of Xueling Pavilion, and after getting off the car, the old lady who solicited customers at the door obviously remembered Shen Yichen and understood that this was a distinguished guest, and she was very hard at soliciting.

However, at this moment, several groups of high-headed horses roared towards the Snow Pavilion, ignoring the pedestrians on the road and the guests at the door.

Fortunately, Shen Yichen reacted quickly, twisted to the side, and pulled the old mother who was picking up customers, otherwise both of them would have to be knocked over by the horses.

These people who came had no intention of apologizing for their actions at all, and even completely ignored Shen Yichen's existence.

The man at the head shouted arrogantly: "Old mother, call the Flowing Frost girl to come out to pick up the guests, I have chartered the venue today!" ”