The second year of Shaosheng was the second year of Song Zhezong's pro-government of Zhao Xu.

During the Shaosheng period, the Northern Song Dynasty seemed to be peaceful and prosperous on the surface, but in fact, the undercurrent was surging and torrential, especially in the court, where the party struggled and was turbulent. The whole country has been suffering from a lot of evils and has been suffering from a long period of trouble, and it is in the midst of turmoil without knowing it.

In September of the eighth year of Yuanyou, the Empress Dowager Gao died of illness, and Zhezong Zhao Xu was in power.

After the pro-government, Zhezong Zhao Xu, out of dissatisfaction and disgust with the Empress Dowager Gao, wanted to inherit the will of his father Shenzong to implement the new law, change the Yuan Shaosheng, and appoint the new party generals Zhang Chun, Zeng Bu, Li Qingchen, Yang Wei, Lu Huiqing, Cai Bian, Cai Jing, Xu Jiang, Lin Xi, Zhang Shangying, Huang Lu and other ministers, and joined hands to carry out crazy revenge and suppression against the old party members of Yuan You, chasing down Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang, Lü Gongshu and others, Sima Guang and Lü Gongshu were not only posthumously robbed of their official gifts and titles, Even the inscription written by Zhezong Zhao Xu for them and the inscription written by Feng Yi were also destroyed.

He belittled Lu Dafang, Liu Zhi, Zhao Yanruo, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Fan Chunren and other old party members, and even ordered dozens of people such as Lu Dafang to never be hired, and they were degraded again and again. Lü Dafang, Su Zhe, Liu Zhi and others were successively deposed to Lingnan; Fan Chunren was demoted to Hubei and placed in Yongzhou; Huang Tingjian was successively demoted to Fuzhou and Qianzhou; Han Wei's dismissal; Su Shi was relegated to Huizhou, Lingnan, and then to Danzhou, Hainan, Changhua Army; Cheng Yi was also relegated to Fuzhou; Almost all of the other living ministers were relegated to Lingnan.

Lingnan is a wild land, a place that does not obey education, the mountains are high and the roads are far away, the mountains are poor and the water is evil, and the miasma is rampant. The party struggle intensified, so much so that later, the New Party itself staged a dog-eat-dog farce, and Li Qingchen, Yang Wei, Lu Huiqing, Xing Shu, and Lin Xi were also demoted from the capital by Zhang Chun and sent to other places as officials.

The so-called Shaosheng Shaoshu called for the restoration of the new law, in essence, only restored the regulations implemented during the Yuanfeng period, and the content of the Xining new law focusing on the development of production was castrated, and the so-called new party did not think about how to strengthen the country and the army, and all the thoughts were put on how to retaliate against the old party members of Yuanyou.

Shao Sheng Shao's toss made the politics of the late Northern Song Dynasty, which was difficult to return, worse, and directly led to "the emptiness of goodness, the chaos of state affairs, and the sect and society". The tragedy of the broken mountains and rivers behind is doomed.

It can really be said that he was born in troubled times, and he was sad, and he actually traveled to the end of the stormy Northern Song Dynasty! If nothing changes, he will become a slave in more than twenty years, and Wu Zhi feels frustrated when he thinks about it!

If you want to change this status quo and change your life, you must have strength. And what is the strength? It is nothing more than money, power, and soldiers, and having money, power, and soldiers is the foundation of the foothold!

It's really difficult to have money and soldiers now, so let's start with power! And the current tribute is a stepping stone to power!

Therefore, Wu Zhi must participate in the imperial examination as soon as possible, strive to become an official as soon as possible, get power, and plan the rest slowly.

On the eighteenth day of the fifth month of the second year of Shaosheng, the summer solstice, at nine o'clock in the morning, Wu Zhi sat alone in the small study, silently combed his head, clenched his fists, and secretly made up his mind.

The road is long, I will go up and down and seek!

At present, the Song Dynasty is governed by civil officials, and it has always been emphasizing literature over military force, and suppressing military force with literature.

After Shaosheng, the imperial court followed the Xining trial system for talent selection, only retaining the Jinshi Department and the System Department, and setting up the Xinming Law Department to select judicial officers. The highlight of the selection of civil officials, especially the officials of the Jing Dynasty, is the Jinshi Gongju Examination, which is held every three years and is generally held in the state capitals. It is necessary to go through the three-level examinations of the interpretation examination, the provincial examination, and the palace examination, and the selection at all levels, and the second can enter the court as an official.

The solution test, also called the state test, is a kind of examination that is passed by the prefectures, Kaifeng Prefecture, and Guozijian to pay tribute to the Ministry of Rites, and it is also the township test of the later Ming and Qing Dynasties. The examination held by the local state capital is generally held in autumn, so it is also called "Qiubin". During the state examination, the judges of the prefectures presided over the examination of the scholars who applied for the jinshi examination, and the records of the military officers presided over the examinations of the other subjects. If the examiner does not understand the scriptures, he can choose a subordinate official to fill the position, but the examination must be invigilated by the judge. The test paper should be stamped with the seal of "Chief", and the examiner and invigilator should sign the back of the test paper. If a candidate is found to be cheating, he will be expelled on the spot, and the examiner will be severely punished for accepting bribes and cheating.

Every year, the examination will be held on August 15, and the examination will be held for three consecutive days, with a total of three examinations: the first test is three major classics and righteousness, and one is each the meaning of "Analects" and "Mencius"; In the second session, one poem or one poem is written; The third scene is a sub-history theory, and the current affairs are a policy. If the person passes the examination, the state government or the transfer department, the national superintendent, etc., will be released to the gift department according to the amount of the solution, and participate in the provincial examination.

The provincial examination, also known as the spring examination, that is, the candidates who passed the examination are called "juzi" or "gongsheng", who are concentrated in Beijing in the winter of that year, and participate in the "provincial examination" at the beginning of the spring of the following year, which is generally arranged to be carried out in February and March, so it is also called the "spring examination". The so-called "provincial examination" is named after the province of Shangshu for the examination, and it is actually presided over by the Ministry of Rites.

After arriving in Beijing, the "Gongsheng" must report to the Ministry of Rites, write down the family status, year, place of origin and the number of times he has participated in the imperial examination, and obtain the qualification for the provincial examination. Before the test, the Ministry of Rites will first issue a "capital list", also known as a "mixed list", that is, a seating table. On the day of the provincial examination, the candidates will be seated in turn after arriving at the Gongyuan, and the courtyard will be locked, and the candidates will not be allowed to leave, and they will be allowed to eat and stay. After the examiner writes out the test questions, candidates can ask the questioner if they have questions about the question, and the questioner must answer them in detail. After the exam, open the door to let the candidates be discharged from the hospital, and the test papers are put into the cabinet. In addition, it is also stipulated that "except for the book, no one is allowed to bring in tea kitchens, candles, etc., and except for officials, they are not allowed to coerce books." The offender is helped out, and the temple is lifted in one fell swoop."

There are four provincial examinations: the first test is the scriptures, the second is a scripture, the third is a poem, and the fourth is a three-day test, and you can't leave the venue halfway. The test papers should be named, transcribed, and marked by multiple people. The marking is divided into two times: the first reading and the second reading. Those who pass the results will be announced by the Shangshu Provincial Zhang Bang, and the first name is "Provincial Yuan". Those who fall behind can apply for a retest.

The palace examination is actually a form of re-examination of the provincial examination. The palace test of this dynasty began in the sixth year of Taizu Kaibao. Since then, there has been a difference between the rankings of the provincial examination and the palace examination, and the names of "provincial yuan" and "champion" have also appeared. The power of the scholars was further controlled by the imperial court.

After the middle of the dynasty, those who participated in the temple examination were generally given a rank and were no longer dethroned, but only rearranged according to the results of the temple examination. The palace test of this dynasty is generally divided into five grades. The first and second class are given to the Jinshi and the first, the third and fourth are given to the Jinshi origin, and the fifth class is given to the same Jinshi origin. After the results came out, the yellow list was announced, commonly known as the "gold list title".

The content of the palace test, Taizu only tested poetry, and Taizong added a test. In the third year of Shenzong Xining, the palace tried to enter the scholars, and the three topics of poetry, fu and discussion were specially planned and limited to 1,000 words. Later, he tested the law and decided the case. During the reign of Zhezong Yuanyou, the three themes of poetry, fu and treatise were restored. After Shaosheng, he followed Xining's trial system.

Two years after Shaosheng, the content of the imperial court tribute examination was divided into two parts: scripture and righteousness and policy theory.

The scriptures are taken from the scriptures such as "Zhou Yi", "Book of Songs", "Book of Rites", "Spring and Autumn", "University", "Analects", "The Mean", "Mencius" and other scriptures to be tested out of context.

The essay is similar to a propositional essay, which usually asks the candidate to comment on an allusion or a historical figure recorded in history. For example, the topic of Jiayou's second year of the provincial examination for entering the Shike is "The Theory of Punishment and Rewarding Loyalty", and Kong Anguo's annotation in the "Book of Shang" is exemplified: "The punishment is light, the reward is suspicious, and the loyalty is great." In today's parlance, the title is "On the leniency of doubt." Back then, Su Shi's exam-taking essay "On the Punishment and Reward of Loyalty" was deeply appreciated by the examiner Ouyang Xiu.

The test strategy is equivalent to a question and answer, which is generally the examiner who asks specific questions about current affairs and allows the candidates to express their opinions, so it is also called "policy questioning", and the candidates' answers are called "countermeasures". The countermeasures are usually written in 1,000 words, but there are also countermeasures that are written in tens of thousands of words.

Shao Sheng just opened the first year of the department, and there are still one or two years before the next big exam, with the knowledge and experience of his two lives, and with the terrifying experience of being admitted to the university by brushing the questions before he was reborn, Wu Zhi will prepare for another year or two, and there should be no problem with Jinshi and the first.

Therefore, the heavens will descend on the people, and they must first suffer their minds, strain their muscles and bones, starve their bodies and skins, empty their bodies, and act chaotically. Whether it's a mayfly shaking a tree, or a mantis arm as a car, he has to go to Bo no matter what, and fight to make a good fortune.

After making up his mind, Wu Zhi's heart calmed down, and he no longer had the previous panic and anxiety, and casually picked up a copy of "The Book of Rites" and read it.

When they had dinner together in the evening, Wu Zhi solemnly proposed that he was going to take the big exam next year. Wu Xiu and Feng Niang were all happy for him after hearing this, after all, the burden of revitalizing the martial arts family business was on him, and they were naturally overjoyed to see him so courageous and confident.

The next day, Wu Zhi got up early, brushed his teeth, washed his face and ate breakfast, and then he took Xiao'e, set up an ox cart and rushed to the county seat of Qinghe County.

Why go to the county seat? Because after inquiry, I learned that there is only Keju (football) sold in the county seat of Qinghe County! He's going to buy a kemari to intensify his practice. He is now carrying the 100 yuan he asked Feng Niang for in his arms to buy money.

The county seat of Qinghe County is only a dozen miles away from Wujiana Village, and it takes less than an hour to arrive at the city gate with an ox cart. The city gate towers, the two big characters of "Qinghe" on the city head come into view, only to see people coming and going at the city gate, in and out, there are two soap officials at the city gate who are listlessly watching people go in and out, sometimes symbolically checking, Wu Zhi and Xiao'e still look like children, and the city gate soap officials will let them go without looking at them.

Entering the doorway, in the market, a lively and noisy scene spread out in front of their eyes, with memory, and Xiao'e has obviously been to the county seat, the two of them came to the stall selling Keju easily, and the rows of various Keju were included in Wu Zhi's eyes.

Keju is also known as Keju, Keju, Keju, Ju Yuan, Building Ball or Kicking Circle, etc., from the ancients' name for it, this should be a kind of "ball" shaped object similar to a circle. The ancient meaning of "kick" is to kick and kick; The meaning of "ju" is a "ball" wrapped in leather on the outside and rice bran on the inside. Kemari together means to play football.

Keju is said to have originated in the Warring States Period, the Han and Tang Dynasties began to prevail, and reached its peak after the present dynasty. And what's even more amazing is that the Keju in the Northern Song Dynasty was an inflatable hollow ball, not a bulky solid ball! It's very close to modern football.

The Song people's "Imperial Facts Class Garden" recorded: "(For) Keju is based on skin, Zhongshi is based on things, and Keju is also used for drama and music, which is also called "Woyan." Today's oxen and slabs, when they are angry and open, they like to jump. This means that in the past, a solid ball was used for keju, but the leather bow used today is an inflatable hollow ball, with the bladder of a cow or pig as the center of the ball, and after inflation, the outside is wrapped with cowhide, and the bounce is very good.

The ball that can bounce has high requirements for a round shape, and the leather bow made by the Tang people, which is made of eight outer skins, is not round enough. The Song people used twelve petals of soft cowhide to stitch together, "twelve fragrant skins, square and round like the sky." a set of incense cells, and the son and mother are in it"; "Cooked nitrate yellow leather, light cutting of solid materials, dense sewing, no exposed line corners", "broken very round". Geometry tells us that twelve pentagons can form exactly one sphere. In this way, the sewn skin bow is very round.

How did the Song people inflate Piju? With a small blower, the Song people called it "beating". "Teasers, add anger. Although things are easy, but they are really difficult, they should not be too strong, and if they are strong, they will be strong and urgent, and they will be damaged; It should not be too wide, and if it is wide, it will be vague and unaffordable; It is necessary to breathe with nine points, but it is moderate." The Song Dynasty Piju also had a standard weight, which was "fourteen taels", which was about the same as the weight of modern football.

Isn't it amazing? During the Song Dynasty, the wisdom of the people cannot be underestimated.

Wu Zhi looked a little distracted, picked up a juju, turned it upside down, felt that it felt good, in Xiao'e's puzzled gaze, asked for a good price, spent fifty yuan to buy one, put it on the ox cart, and then the two drove the ox cart and continued to visit the Qinghe County market.

There are many liquor shops and shops on both sides of the market, all kinds of hustle and bustle one after another, all kinds of people and so on, there are traders shouting and buying, there are passers-by in a hurry, there are buyers who are bargaining slowly, there are also people who are juggling and performing arts, sometimes I see some women and young ladies who show their heads, sometimes I see children laughing and running by, all kinds of shouting and scolding are endless, and the end is very lively.

Walking and walking, Wu Zhi stopped the ox cart from time to time, bought some snacks and distributed them to Xiao'e, Xiao'e looked very excited, the two of them ate while walking, they were thirsty, jumped off the ox cart, and the two of them sat down on the street stall to drink some tea, but they also had a lot of fun.

At 3 p.m., the two returned home with their ox carts.

After the ox cart was cleaned up, Wu Zhi picked up Keju and played in the courtyard in front of the hall, sometimes kicking, sometimes picking up the ball, turning around and kicking, a familiar feeling arose, and his ball skills did not fall at all.

He was playing happily, but Xiao'e was stunned on the side, clapping her hands again and again, she was more excited than Wu Zhi.

Wu Xiu and Feng Niang couldn't help but be surprised when they saw that he could play Keju and kick so well, and they could only sigh in their hearts: "Blessing in disguise, the old fairy in this dream is really powerful, and he has taught Wu Zhi a lot of things and skills, and it has also changed his character!" ”

Since Wu Zhi woke up from a fall, he has completely changed from a taciturn and gloomy person to a sunny, cheerful, calm and sensible handsome guy, such an amazing change is really a bit unbelievable, so that Wu Xiu and Feng Niang can only attribute it to the credit of the old fairy in their dreams, and they are naturally overjoyed.