Chapter 73 Exam Preparation Checklist
On that day, I went to the government office.
Xiang Tiange was shooting arrows at home. When he was shooting with great enthusiasm, the sound of the silver bowstring sounded like the roar of a dragon or a tiger, shaking the roof tiles. Two maids were beside him, wiping his sweat and feeding him fruits. One was named Chunhong and the other Qiubi. Both were beautiful and served their young master attentively.
Chunhong picked up a piece of melon soaked in ice water, gently handed it to Xiang Tiange's mouth, and said softly: "Young master, you must be tired from archery, eat some fruit to quench your thirst." Qiubi picked up a silk handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead, her eyes full of concern.
Xiang Tiange smiled slightly, savored the sweetness of the melon, and said, "You two are really my close friends." After that, he picked up the bow and arrow and continued shooting arrows.
The servant sent by Xiang Tiange to check the academic performance came back to report the news.
"Young Master, you will be assigned to Class 4 of Xuanzi Class next month! This is a big change!" The servant panted as he reported the news impatiently.
Xiang Tiange frowned slightly, put down the book in his hand, and asked in a deep voice: "Xuanzi Siban!?"
The servant wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a breath, and explained, "Master, Xuanzi Class 4 is a new class established in the Imperial College, which is specially used to accommodate students with excellent academic performance and special talents. The teaching staff of this class is very strong, and I heard that they are all top teachers in the academy."
Xiang Tiange's face became more gloomy when he heard this, and a nameless anger rose quietly in his heart. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, obviously very angry about this arrangement. He knew very well that although Xuanzi Class 4 was not the worst class, most of the students in it were mediocre, which was far from his ambition.
Especially knowing that Deng Ziqiu is also in the Xuanzi Class 4.
Xiang Tiange's face became more gloomy, he stared at the servant coldly, a sharp cold light flashed in his eyes. The servant shuddered involuntarily, secretly complaining in his heart, secretly blaming himself for not reporting truthfully.
"Deng Ziqiu?" Xiang Tiange sneered, a disdainful arc appeared on the corner of his mouth, "That useless guy who only knows how to study all day is worthy of being in the same class with me?"
The servant bowed his head and answered carefully, "Although Master Deng studies hard, his grades are indeed outstanding. He ranks among the top this time and deserves to be in the same class with you."
Xiang Tiange was even more unhappy after hearing this. He originally thought that he would definitely stand out and become the top disciple of the Xuan class, but he didn't expect to be assigned to the fourth class with Deng Ziqiu. How could he hold his head up in front of his fellow disciples?
"Hmph!" Xiang Tiange snorted coldly, standing with his hands behind his back, thinking for a moment, and suddenly a cunning light flashed in his eyes, "In this case, I will show him that I, Xiang Tiange, am not a person who gets my reputation for nothing!"
Seeing this, the servant was secretly delighted and nodded in agreement: "My lord, you are wise. I will prepare it right away and make sure you shine in the Xuanzi Class 4."
"Xuanzi Class 4! Deng Ziqiu, I remember it." Xiang Tiange's voice was cold, and he widened his eyes, as if he wanted to engrave this name in his heart. He secretly swore in his heart that he would surpass this so-called idiot in academics no matter what, to let him know how powerful he is.
……
In the morning in the Imperial College, Shangguan Zhengming called ten disciples from the Huang class, including Jiang Zhiyu, to Xuan Mo Zhai.
"Why did Shangguan Siye come to us?" Liu Mengmeng asked in confusion. "Maybe it's about today's homework." Xiao Wen said softly, frowning slightly.
"But we don't have any special homework recently." Qi Zimo touched his chin, thoughtfully.
Zhang Anjie widened his eyes and asked curiously, "Could it be about our debate yesterday? After all, Hu Jiahong and Kang Yining from our class performed very well."
"Debate?" Jiang Zhiyu rolled his eyes and smiled. "That should be a good thing. Shangguan Siye won't call us for this."
Zou Ting frowned and said in a deep voice: "Maybe it has something to do with our recent behavior in the Imperial College. After all, someone in our class made a mistake."
Liao Zhen shook his head slightly and denied it, "It's unlikely. If it's a character issue, the superiors will call the person involved individually, not all of us."
Xu Guokun clapped his hands and suggested, "Let's go directly to Xuan Mo Zhai and see what Shangguan Siye wants from us."
Everyone nodded in unison and followed Xu Guokun towards Xuan Mo Zhai.
As soon as they entered Xuan Mo Zhai, they felt that the atmosphere was a little different. Shangguan Zhengming was sitting at the desk, holding a list in his hand and with a mysterious smile on his face.
"Shangguan Siye, what do you want to talk to us about?" Jiang Zhiyu asked on behalf of everyone.
Shangguan Zhengming raised his head, glanced at everyone, and said slowly: "I have heard about your recent performance in the Imperial College. I called you here today to announce something."
Everyone looked at each other and looked at Shangguan Zhengming in confusion.
"In the last ten-day test, the ten of you performed very well. You should prepare well for the annual test in two months," Shangguan Zhengming said to them.
Jiang Zhiyu seemed to be thinking about something, and then he said, "Master Dean, although the ten of us were lucky enough to pass the ten-day exam, the annual exam is very important. It involves the reputation of our Imperial College, so we must go all out. I wonder if Master Dean can give us some advice so that we can better prepare for the exam?"
Shangguan Zhengming smiled slightly, looking at Jiang Zhiyu with eyes full of praise: "Jiang Zhiyu, it is rare that you can be so humble and ask for advice. The annual test is different from the ten-day test. It involves many subjects such as classics, history, poetry, and policy essays. You need to review them comprehensively. As for specific instructions, I will ask Liu Mengmeng to distribute a preparation list to you later."
Liu Mengmeng nodded in agreement, and the other disciples also listened to Shangguan Zhengming's teachings.
Xiao Wen couldn't help but ask, "Master Siye, in addition to the exam preparation list, do we need to strengthen actual combat drills?"
Shangguan Zhengming said: "Actual combat drills are important, but don't neglect the basics. Only with a solid foundation can you cope with various changes. The ten of you can learn from each other and make progress together."
Zhang Anjie then asked: "Then how should we arrange our time so that we can review all the subjects?"
Shangguan Zhengming replied: "Time allocation should be determined according to personal circumstances, but it can generally follow the principle of 'the way of civil and military affairs, one should relax and work hard alternately'. During the day, you can focus on studying classics and historical books, and at night you can study poetry and policy essays."
Kang Yining asked in confusion: "Master Siye, poetry and policy essays seem similar, but in fact they are quite different. How can we take both into account?"
Shangguan Zhengming smiled and said, "Poetry and policy essays are both tools for expressing ideas. Poetry focuses on artistic conception and emotion, while policy essays focus on logic and argumentation. You can study the two separately first, and then try to integrate them and learn from each other."
Hu Jiahong asked, "Master Siye, do the ten of us need to supervise and encourage each other during the exam preparation process?"