Generally speaking, the farther away from the capital, the earlier the examination time, which is convenient for remote scholars to enter Beijing in the spring of the second year.

Although Yangzhou is not far from Kaifeng, the exam time is the same as Chengdu, which is more than two months in advance.

Outside the city of Yangzhou, Li Hanzhang said goodbye to everyone, and he was going to Xingyuan Mansion alone to take the Cao test.

After taking a few steps, Li Hanzhang turned around again and pulled Zhu Ming aside: "Da Lang, you will definitely be able to solve the test, even if you don't win, you can solve it." So, don't worry, relax the test. ”

"Can you solve it if you don't hit?" Zhu Ming didn't understand it a little.

Li Hanzhang explained: "My father and Yang Zhizhou can recommend scholars to directly explain. As long as the number of recommendations is small, the Zhongshu Province will generally not reject it. ”

And this kind of operation?

Zhu Ming really doesn't know!

In other words, even if Zhu Ming does not take the local exam, he can be escorted to the capital to catch the exam.

This is a kind of "recommendation power" of local officials, which in principle requires the approval of the central government, but in fact the central government is too lazy to manage it. Anyway, in the Song Dynasty, there was no privilege to raise people, and no matter how many candidates were recommended by the local government, the central government could only read a few more papers.

If you don't have real talent and real learning, it's useless to recommend, and you have to fall off the list.

Li Hanzhang said: "Although the recommendation is convenient, it is not as good as the examination. Dalang can write an article to familiarize my father with handwriting. My dad ...... He is the chief examiner of the Yangzhou exam. ”

"No need." Zhu Ming politely declined.

The back door is opened like this, and it is too much to ask the examiner to help.

Before Wang Anshi reformed the imperial examination, the state judged that the main examination was for the Jinshi department, and the main examination for the military was recorded. After the reform, it was still the state judge who took the entrance examination, and the general law department that was not permanent when he joined the army.

Compared with the Ming Dynasty, it is very unrigorous and formal, and the chief examiner of the Ming Dynasty is the Scholar Envoy (Dao Examination) and the Supervision of the Imperial History (Township Examination).

But it's still that sentence, the Song Dynasty has no privilege to lift people, so what can you do if you cheat?

After Li Hanzhang left, Zhu Ming, together with other scholars, went to the stationery store to buy paper.

You need to pay for the test paper.

"A few small ministers please!" Warm welcome from the bookstore owner.

Zheng Fatzi said: "Each person has a set of test strips, and I will give money." ”

Wang Chang was unhappy: "This is my family's bookstore, who wants you to give money?" One set for each person, on my account. Two more sheets, write a family letter and a letter of protection. ”

Zhu Ming is embarrassed to buy ink strips again, once he speaks, it will definitely be free.

The crowd was in the bookstore, finishing the various forms.

The content of the family form includes name, age, family status, three generations of ancestors, whether it has been lifted, how many times it has been lifted, and so on.

The guarantee is that the candidates guarantee each other to ensure that the information on the family certificate is true. If it is found to be false, the other two guarantors will be convicted together.

After all this, everyone went to the state government together.

Even Zheng Fatzi went, it doesn't matter if he can pass the test or not, the focus is on participation.

The etiquette clerk is very neat, and there is no need to eat and take cards, after all, most of the candidates cannot afford to offend.

The family form and the certificate of guarantee shall be sealed by the government after verification.

It stands to reason that he had to show his household registration book, but Zhu Ming didn't bring it with him, but the clerk didn't care. After all, it is a scholar of the Eight Elements, just brush your face, and click the two big seals on the pestle.

The test sheet is also stamped and the name is written and then sent back to the candidate. This thing needs to be kept well, and if it causes defacement, don't think about exams this year.

Zhu Ming put the test paper at the bottom of the bookcase and pressed it with a few books, but he didn't take it seriously. He participated in the imperial examination purely to experience life, and by the way found reasons to refuse the emperor's conquest.

Hengzhi will rebel in the future!

Bai Chongyan was very careful, and specially prepared a bamboo tube to roll up the test paper and put it in. After closing the lid, I wrapped the outside in oiled paper for fear that it would be drenched on a rainy day.

He said to Zhu Ming again: "Da Lang, there are many bamboo tubes here, and it is easy to break them if you put them like that." ”

"Okay." Zhu Ming is as good as a stream.

"Success or failure is here!" Bai Chongyan cheered himself up, according to popular sayings, the son of a rich man in the countryside like him can already be called a "poor scholar".

Zhu Ming arched his hand and said, "Zhujun High School." ”

Zheng Hong didn't think about the exam at all, he was bored and moldy in the mountains, and when he returned to Yangzhou, he wanted to play: "There is no sumo wrestling today, but you can go to my restaurant to watch a miscellaneous show." ”

Zhu Ming said: "The luggage hasn't been put away yet." ”

"I'll get someone to take it back!" Zheng Hong immediately called a donkey cart and took Zhu Ming and Bai Chongyan to the restaurant to watch the play.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they asked their entourage and the coachman to send their luggage to Zheng's house.

Bai Chongyan was afraid that the test paper would be lost, so he held it in his arms and refused to hand it over.

This restaurant is quite large, with two floors.

Zheng Hong introduced as he walked: "In the past, when I only ate, there were many guests in the restaurant. Since there is Junzi Tea, there are more guests who drink tea, and it is really a joy in life to drink tea and watch a play at the same time. ”

There were also tea shops in the Song Dynasty, but most of them were low-grade, providing loose tea to ordinary people.

There are also high-end tea houses, which are scarce in number and mainly exist in big cities.

Zheng's restaurant, which is considered a high-end consumption place in Yangzhou, is generally not used to drinking loose tea, and group tea is more troublesome, and it cannot be brewed repeatedly.

The emergence of green tea has filled the gap in the market.

Now there are always acts in the restaurant, and occasionally sumo wrestling. Even if they are not at the meal, there are guests who come, rich people drink first- and second-class green tea, and those who drink third-class green tea shyly in their pockets.

Even third-class green tea is expensive here, twenty wen a bowl, and the amount of tea is more.

Watching a play is free, making a bowl of tea can be watched for half a day, and the ticket price is all in the tea. The repeated brewing function of green tea provides the possibility of continuing to drink tea and watch plays.

It was the middle of the afternoon, and the restaurant was almost full.

No matter how commercial Yangzhou is, it is also the second largest city in the entire Lizhou Road, and there is never a shortage of rich people.

Zheng Hong chose a table in front of him, brewed three cups of first-class green tea, and ordered some candied fruits.

"This Yang Guifei is played by Wang Shounu, a famous singer in Yangzhou, and Emperor Tang Ming is her husband." Zheng Hong chewed candied fruit to introduce the actor.

Zhu Ming asked curiously: "Are they husband and wife free?" ”

Zheng Hong said: "The imperial court no longer raises official slaves, and also advises the people not to raise private slaves. In fact, it doesn't matter if they are slaves or not, it is not cost-effective to raise slaves, and they have to be fed and drunk. It is easier to sign the deed, there are five years, there are ten years, and when the deadline comes, each does not owe each other. ”

This is a social change brought about by the economic boom, and it is more cost-effective to hire actors in a contractual form than to keep a group of actors as slaves.

In the Song Dynasty, there were no Kun classes, women could still be on stage, and there were a lot of female stars with names and surnames, and their income was even much higher than that of small businessmen.

The bigger the city, the more "women are preferred over men" by the common people.

Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty is "the middle and lower households do not rebirth men, and the birth of girls is like holding a pearl", and the Southern Song Dynasty Hangzhou is "the customs are still extravagant, and the fine people are happy if they have women, and they do not lift (discard male babies)".

The reason is very simple, city dwellers don't farm, so it's useless to raise so many men, but it's easier for daughters to find jobs, and the cost of marriage is not so big.

"Hahahaha!"

The audience burst into laughter, but it was a gag on stage.

This miscellaneous drama is based on the Northern Song Dynasty short story "Yang Taizhen's Biography". Most of the lines are in the form of recitation, and they suddenly start singing again, and there are a lot of jokes in the middle.

It was the first time for Zhu Ming to watch a Song Dynasty miscellaneous drama and he thought it was quite interesting.

After the stage is staged, there is a series of performances in the middle.

The two actors are turning their heads there, and they look like a matchmaker, and the male actor is grease and powdered, laughing and scolding, which is a bit like stand-up comedy.

At the end of these performances, the matchmaker also turned her head and left, deliberately removing the cloth ball stuffed in her chest halfway. The matchmaker was about to end the game, so she hurriedly ran back, picked up the cloth ball and stuffed it back to her chest, and supported it with both hands, throwing a wink at the audience.

"Hahahaha!"

Zheng Hong was amused and slapped the table and laughed, he is a layman, so he likes to watch this.

Bai Chongyan also watched it with relish, and the countryside would only invite the troupe to perform during festivals, weddings and funerals. He is usually in the academy, and there is no entertainment, and he doesn't hate this kind of performance.

After the matchmaker left, Yang Guifei returned to the stage again, changed her outfit and sang while walking.

Looking at it, Zhu Ming felt that the taste was wrong, how could some of the dialogues on the stage seem to be ironic that Cai Jing is a traitor?

Zhu Ming asked: "How many years has this miscellaneous drama been performed?" ”

Zheng Hong replied: "It has been decades, and this year, a famous acrobat from Xingyuan Mansion has changed this "The Biography of Yang Taizhen" a little more, which is more funny and funny than the old dramas he played before. ”

Zhu Ming didn't ask again, he could already confirm that someone was deliberately sarcastic about Cai Jing.

This kind of pediatrics is still ruthless.

The content of that miscellaneous play is-

Cai Jing's younger brother, Cai Bian, wanted to hold up his father-in-law Wang Anshi and rearrange the seats when worshipping Confucius.

Confucius asked Wang Anshi to sit down, and Wang Anshi asked Mencius to take a seat.

Mencius excused himself and said to Wang Anshi: "The seats should be arranged according to the title, I am the duke, you are the true king, you should sit in front of me." ”

Wang Anshi invited Yan back to take a seat.

Yan Hui said: "I'm just a man in the alley, you have no achievements, you are the true Confucian in the world." ”

So, Wang Anshi sat down, only below Confucius.

Confucius couldn't sit still, so he hurriedly retreated and asked Wang Anshi to sit on his main seat.

Wang Anshi resigned in fear.

Zilu was outside, and he was so angry that he ran to the ritual room to find Gongye Chang (Confucius's son-in-law), and dragged Gongye Chang out of the Confucian Temple and scolded him.

Gongye Chang was stunned: "What mistake did I make, what are you scolding me for?" ”

Zilu pointed to the hall: "You don't know how to protect your father-in-law, you look at other people's son-in-law (Cai Bian)." ”

The miscellaneous drama brought Cai Jing, Cai Bian, and Wang Anshi to the sky, and it was performed this year.

In order to consolidate their own position, Cai Jing and Cai Bian asked Song Huizong to posthumously crown Wang Anshi as King Shu last year.

Before that, Wang Anshi had already been enshrined in the Confucian Temple.

As soon as the title is changed, the seat should also be changed, Confucius and Wang Anshi are both princes, and Mencius, Yan Hui and others are all dukes.

It was passed back and forth among the people, and it became that Wang Anshi was going to rank second in the Confucian Temple. The scholar was indignant about this, so he made up a miscellaneous drama to satirize the matter, without giving Cai Xianggong any face.

The Confucian Temple incident was one of the main reasons why Wang Anshi was spurned by Confucianism, and the rumors became more and more true, and even the great Confucians of the time expressed their opposing opinions.

The "Biography of Yang Taizhen" in front of him, openly and secretly satirizing Cai Jing, is estimated to be affected by last year's Confucian Temple incident.

If Wang Anshi knew underground, it was estimated that he would open the coffin board and run out to beat Cai Jing fatly.

Time gradually passed, Zheng Fatzi shouted some wine and food, and the three of them ate and drank in the restaurant.

Until the evening, they went to Zheng's house together.

The guest room has been arranged, the luggage is in the guest room, Zhu Ming lives in the east wing, and Bai Chongyan lives in the west wing, all in the same courtyard.

As soon as I moved out of the chair and sat down in the courtyard to chat, suddenly someone came in.

Zheng Yuanyi dressed up, not only with hair ornaments on her head, but also with some jade ornaments on her body, as if she was going to worship the Buddha.

"Isn't the second brother here?" Zheng Yuanyi seemed to have come to find Zheng Hong, but her eyes kept staring at Zhu Ming, and she was pleasantly surprised, "Oh, the elder brother of the Zhu family is also here!" ”

(End of chapter)