Chapter 228 Government Examination
Sun Shan and his classmates were squatting in the small courtyard like they were in a prison cell, and they could not go anywhere.
I get up early in the morning, read after breakfast, read after lunch, and read after dinner.
Sun Boming, Liang Fu, Zheng Hongyuan and other five accompanying personnel ran outside. No one knew why they were running. Perhaps in order not to disturb the candidates, they stayed outside all day and went home only after dark.
During these five days, Hong Xiucai came to the small courtyard once and mainly talked about the examiner and the prefect's personality and behavior.
He also found out these things from outside. As luck would have it, the prefect had just taken office this year, and it was difficult to find out what kind of writing style he liked for someone like Hong Xiucai, who had the lowest rank in official career.
Hong Xiucai tried desperately to find out the news, but found that the information was complicated and varied. Some said that the prefect liked plain articles, while others said that the prefect liked colorful articles.
Hong Xiucai simply stopped asking. He knew himself well and it would be difficult for someone of his status to find out the prefect's hobbies.
I have a thousand words to say to students: don’t think about anything, just do your best in the exam.
Sun Shan wanted to know what kind of articles the prefect liked so that he could please him, but he didn't have the ability to just go his own way and let others talk.
He needs to pass the imperial examination before he can be himself.
The reason why he studied was for the imperial examination, and the purpose of the imperial examination was to pass the exam and become one of those people who live a better life.
As for the great life pursuit of "studying for the rise of Daqian", he will talk about it after he passes the examination to become a scholar.
Hong Xiucai couldn't find out, so he had even less way to find out.
In the end, I had no choice but to study hard and try to perform exceptionally well in the exam and get a good grade.
Zheng Hongwen asked nervously, "Ashan, we don't know what kind of writing the prefect likes, what should we do? If I write in the style he hates the most, won't I fail the exam?"
Sun Shan wanted to say: Brother Hongwen, you think too much. Stop dreaming. You can't pass the exam, not because the prefect doesn't like your writing style, but because your ability doesn't allow it.
It means literally, you can’t pass the exam.
Considering the passing rate of the Huangyang County Prefecture Examination and the Imperial Examination, it is very normal to fail.
But he said comfortingly: "Brother Hongwen, don't think too much. What if the prefect likes your writing style? Even if he doesn't like it, there will be next time. The prefect will not stay in Zhangzhou forever."
The prefect is different from the county magistrate. The prefect's term of office will not be like that of the county magistrate, who can stay in a place for more than ten or twenty years.
Zheng Hongwen rolled his eyes at Sun Shan: Ah Shan really doesn't know how to comfort people. You don't have to say the following sentence. If you can't speak, no one will think you are dumb.
Liang Can shook his head and patted the nervous Zheng Hongwen on the shoulder: "Hongwen, you said you did very badly in the last county exam, but you passed. It will be the same this time. It will look very bad, but you will pass in the end. Relax yourself and don't think too much. It's wrong to be discouraged before entering the examination room."
Liang Can rolled his eyes at Zheng Hongwen. Before Liang Can, who had failed the exam repeatedly, could say anything, Zheng Hongwen, who was taking the exam for the first time, started to complain that he had failed.
Hmm, that's really annoying.
The other two candidates who came with him also comforted Zheng Hongwen, telling him not to be nervous and just study hard.
With a look of excitement and a look of lowness, on April 20th, the provincial examination officially began.
The provincial examination is similar to the county examination.
However, the prefectural examination only required three sessions, one a day, and the content of the examination was similar to that of the county examination, including pasting scriptures, ink interpretation, scriptures interpretation, and poetry.
The content of the prefectural examination is broader and more in-depth than that of the county examination. It is an expansion and extension of the county examination. It tests students' proficiency and understanding of the Four Books and Five Classics.
Sun Shan was very confident about the provincial examination. After all, he thought he was very proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics. As for his understanding, there was still room for improvement, but on the surface he understood it very well.
It’s just that the meaning of a book will become clear after reading it a hundred times. I’m just afraid that my understanding will be different from that of the examiner, and I will inevitably lose points.
The final poem is just an embellishment of the exam. If you score higher, you will rank higher. If you lose points, it won’t be so outrageous that you will fail.
Sun Shan straightened his chest and encouraged himself confidently!
Zhangzhou Prefecture has six counties under its jurisdiction, one large county, two medium counties, and three small counties.
As for the Xiaxia County among the Xiaxian County, it must be Huangyang County.
The number of admissions in the county examination is determined based on the size of the county, but the difference will not be too great.
The six counties combined admitted 6 people. I heard that the top 150 would be admitted this time. That means Sun Shan would have to rank 45th to officially become a student.
It seems that the admission rate is higher than the county examination, but it is actually much more difficult than the county examination.
There were many poor students in the county exams, and anyone with slightly better grades could stand out. But the prefectural exams were all for the best students, so it was really hard to stand out.
In particular, Huangyang County, a lower-level county among lower-level counties, ranks last in Zhangzhou Prefecture in terms of population, economy, and education.
In the last one, the short person chooses the taller one, and in the first one, the tall person chooses the taller one.
It is really hard to say whether Sun Shan's chance of being admitted to the provincial examination will be much greater than that of being admitted to Huangyang County.
Looking up at the night sky, Sun Shan sighed deeply, then washed up and lay down on the bed. He had to get up at two in the morning and go into the city at three or four in the morning, so he might as well get some sleep first so that he could do better in the exam when he was fully energized.
I had just fallen asleep for a while when I was woken up by Sun Boming. It seemed that it was time to go to the examination room.
Zheng Hongwen, with dark circles under his eyes, looked at Sun Shan with resentment, and said with envy and jealousy, "Ashan, you are so careless. You fall asleep as soon as you say you will. You just lie down on the bed and close your eyes and fall asleep. You won't wake up unless I call you."
Sun Shan covered his mouth and chuckled. Not only Zheng Hongwen had big dark circles under his eyes, but Liang Can and the two candidates who came with him also had dark circles. It seemed that they closed their eyes but could not fall asleep and stayed awake until they entered the examination room.
After taking a quick bite, the first shot went off, warning people to get ready for the exam, as it was about to begin.
Hong Xiucai's son's home is really close to the examination venue. No wonder Hong Xiucai let his students live here directly. It only takes a quarter of an hour to walk to the examination venue, which is more convenient than staying in an inn.
Moreover, this is a residential area, which is quiet in the midst of bustle, a rare good place.
Sun Shan carried the examination basket and followed Hong Xiucai, Sun Boming and others to line up in the examination room.
The examination hall for the prefectural examination was even busier than that for the county examination. There were 150 candidates, but for some reason there were hundreds of people waiting in the examination hall.
Mr. Hong had already contacted a student to act as a guarantor, and everyone stayed beside the student waiting to enter the examination room.
The lunch for this examination is not prepared by the county and must be purchased like in the county examination. This time, you can bring your own.
After five people discussed it, they finally chose the exam venue package.
The food you bring with you will be like the one that the student mentioned above, which will be crumpled into pieces by the inspecting yamen runners. The pastries will become a pile of powder, and you won’t want to eat them even when you see them.
Sun Shandong looked to the west and saw that Zhang Yue, the first in the Huangyang County case, was standing in a separate row and was allowed to enter first.
It is said that the top candidate in each county will sit in the first row, face to face with the examiner, the prefect and other officials.
It is said that this is done to test the true ability and knowledge of the top judges in each county, and to check whether the county magistrates below are falsifying information or showing favoritism.
According to gossip, the magistrate of Huangyang County was once suspected by the government of cheating in the county examination, because the top scorers in the county failed the prefectural examination, and some passed the prefectural examination but failed the imperial examination.
Thanks to Huangyang County's poor performance, the prefect let the magistrate of Huangyang County go.
The prefect was amused and confused when he saw the results of Huangyang County. The imperial examination had been held for so many years, and except for two local scholars who passed the examination when the new dynasty was just established, the results were zero after that.
I believe that no matter how the magistrate of Huangyang County commits fraud, it will be useless, so I am convinced that he has no need to commit fraud at all.
In his official assessment, he scored a big "0" in the cultural aspect.