On March 18, the fifth year of Tiansheng, the imperial edict was issued to hold a palace examination at Chongzheng Hall on March 20. The provincial examination was formally reported by famous Jinshi and must participate on time and will not be in the past.

On March 20th, Xiuxiu called Xu Ping up before dawn and whispered: "Official, today is a big day, so don't delay it. Get up quickly, I'll wait for you to wash your face."

Xu Ping got up in a daze, and then woke up after washing up. He remembered that today was the day of the palace examination.

Seeing that it was pitch black outside, Xu Ping said to Xiuxiu: "Move it less, don't disturb your parents' rest."

Xiuxiu smiled and said, "What are the officials saying? Mrs. Aiwai was waiting outside long ago, and the whole family got up early, just because she was afraid of disturbing you to rest, so there was no movement."

It turned out that the family members were more nervous than themselves, so Xu Ping had to remain silent.

After leaving his yard and arrived at the main hall, Xu Zheng and Zhang Sanniang sat there early waiting. Xu Zheng put on his green robe in the Beijing official and sat upright in the hall. Zhang Sanniang also specially cleaned up and looked energetic.

Seeing Xu Ping, Zhang Sanniang hurriedly asked, "Dalang, did you sleep well last night?"

Xu Ping nodded: "I slept until dawn after a night, and now is the time to be energetic."

Dou'er brought the breakfast, and Zhang Sanniang kept urging Xu Ping to eat more: "Dalang, today is different from ordinary days. I took the exam in front of the emperor and didn't eat a day. I must eat more, so don't be hungry."

Xu Zheng coughed and said in a deep voice: "Women, I don't have some knowledge! Eating too much is easy to get sleepy. How can I answer questions? Just eat half full, bring more buns when I go out, and wait until I'm hungry to satisfy my hunger!"

Zhang Sanniang was dissatisfied: "You are old and you feel sleepy when you eat! How old is the man? How can you have these problems? Just bring food and eat it coldly?"

Xu Zheng said disdainfully: "The emperor gave him hot tea. I have already asked my in-laws. Why don't you understand? Say less, Dalang just listen to my arrangements!"

Xu Ping just kept talking nonsense, and he was just having trouble with two old men.

After breakfast, Liu Xiaoyi led the horse and served Xu Ping to get on the horse.

Zhang Sanniang came up and grabbed Xu Ping on the horse. Before she could speak, she shed tears and said, "Dalang, everything went well for your scientific examination. Today, you must be more successful and earn a Jinshi and come back to shine for our family. Your father and I are the only child, you, I will rely on you in everything. We must be successful! Even if we are in front of the emperor, don't panic in everything!"

Xu Ping immediately praised him.

After a long time of trouble, Zhang Sanniang was forced to go back to the room by Xu Zheng. Xu Zheng was wearing a green robe and patted Xu Ping's body immediately, saying, "Those who travel a hundred miles are half a dozen, don't be careless!"

Xu Ping was also nervous about the palace examination, but he didn't expect that his parents were much nervous than him. After this trouble, he calmed down and became calm.

When we arrived outside Donghua Gate, a large area of ​​darkness was filled with servants who came to participate in the palace examination and followers. The crowds were filled with people, interspersed with hawkers selling all kinds of food, and it opened late to become a lively market.

Liu Xiaoyi led the horse and stopped in a spacious place with few people.

Xu Ping got off the horse and looked around. He saw Bao Zheng and Wen Yanbo standing together not far away, whispering something.

Since the provincial examination was released, the famous people on the list have become the center of gossip in the capital, and a lot of rumors have spread. Xu Ping also understood why Bao Zheng hurried back to the hotel that day. The chief examiner Liu Yun was the governor of Luzhou a few years ago and appreciated Bao Zheng very much. He was considered to be a teacher-student friendship. Bao Zheng wanted to avoid suspicion. At this time, the provincial examination still had a public paper, and it was related to the chief examiner, but it was a great thing, so Bao Zheng must keep a low profile.

Wen Yanbo's father and Bao Zheng's father had a good personal relationship when they were an official in the capital. The two of them were considered family friends, so they naturally got together.

Not long after standing, a young man in his twenties came to Xu Ping with two servants and said, "Yunxing is so early! Have you used breakfast?"

Xu Ping replied, "It has been used at home."

The person who came was Cheng Jun. These days, they got close to each other, which was the only one Xu Ping could speak well in the new Jinshi. In fact, the two had a very different personality. Cheng Jun's family was rich, delicious, and he was lustful. Most of them lingered in brothels and brothels every day, so Xu Ping was much more bored. But there was no way. Among the hundreds of new Jinshi, there were not many children from business families. Officials and families were inevitably not interested in them and had no common language. The two had to barely get together. Birds of birds of people gathered together, which was natural. Xu Ping also wanted to date Han Qi and Wen Yanbo, but he didn't look down on him at this time, and he was too lazy to curry favor with him.

A total of 498 people were selected in this provincial examination, with Xu Ping being 35, Cheng Jun being 119, and the first provincial general was Wu Yu. At this time, the palace examination will continue to be demoted, and only those who pass the palace examination will truly be Jinshi. However, the admission rate of the palace examination is basically above 70%, and Xu Ping and Cheng Jun are both extremely hopeful.

Sang Yi did not pass the provincial examination and went back early. It was the time for spring to be busy. If he failed, he had to go back to farm honestly. Fortunately, although he did not win, there was no punishment.

What surprised Xu Ping was that Ouyang Xiu had failed in the provincial examination and was puzzled. He was the leader of the literary world of the Song Dynasty. It is said that he had been eliminated once in the imperial examination. After finally passing the imperial examination, he was eliminated again. He really couldn't match his reputation in later generations. He discussed it several times with Cheng Jun, but in the end he thought the reason was that the word "poor" was not prepared enough if he had no money. After all, the imperial examination was not played by the poor.

Cheng Jun disagreed with Ouyang Xiu's failure, especially when he found the exam, he was very despised. Xu Ping endured and did not say it out loud, and dared to despise Ouyang Xiu. If it weren't for him, Cheng Jun's nephew Su Shi, who had no idea how many times would have to make trouble for the Jinshi exam. The chief examiner of Su Shi during the provincial examination was Ouyang Xiu. As Ouyang Xiu wanted to use the imperial examination reform style to select Su Shi as the second in terms of theory and become famous in one fell swoop. You must know that Su Shi's fu had not been well practiced at that time, and the palace examination was ranked second. If it were not Ouyang Xiu, he might not have passed the provincial examination.

Another acquaintance of Xu Ping was also in the provincial examination. Zhang Xian, who had met in the bounty Mingchi, who was good at writing poetry, accompanied Liu Sanbian to write lyrics early. Zhang Xian and Liu Sanbian are as famous in the lyrics world. They both have to wait until the next session before they are on the list.

After waiting for a while, the official book shop came and directed the group of students to line up and receive the documentary with the seat number. The book shops in the Song Dynasty had the function of notarization, and these things must be done by them. The documentary contains names, origins and other contents, which is actually the admission certificate at this time. When entering the palace for the examination, the book shop will take back the documentary with the gatekeeper, and the documentary will be directly lost to the examination qualification. It is very important. When the report is released, the book list will stamp the documentary with the documentary according to the list, and it will still be used when introducing it, and it is not negligent.

After receiving the documentary, the palace gate opened and the sons advanced one after another.

The emperor took the exam in Chongzheng Hall personally, and the process was extremely cumbersome. Hundreds of people were bustling with each other, and Xu Ping was crowded with people. However, as everyone performed various etiquettes, he did not even see what the emperor looked like, so he was entrusted to a seat with his own name written on it.

After the exam questions are issued, there is one poem and one poem.

Xu Ping first read the poem title, "The Poem of the South Wind" and was delighted. This was a tribute that was used in the Tang Dynasty. Xu Ping memorized it well. The poems and essays were roughly similar, so he would definitely pass it. This is the benefit of studying the real questions, which is not as good as any simulation.

The fu is "Sheng Youmo Xun Fu", which comes from "Shangshu". Xu Ping's most unfamiliar with the scriptures is "Shangshu" and "Zhouyi", and he was stunned for a moment.

Not only Xu Pingfameng, but many scholars in the palace didn't know where this sentence came from. They didn't even examine the Book of Books and Mo Yi, and many scholars wouldn't put too much effort into it.

Wu Yu of the Yuan Dynasty took the lead in leaving the list and asked the examiner to explain the meaning of the test questions. This was a common thing in this era. The questions may not be from classics, and they cannot be done without explanation.

After Wu Yu, many more scholars asked for the problem to be solved, and they were crowded. Chongzheng Hall was about to become a vegetable market. The arrogant little emperor was so upset that he simply put a big list and published the question where it came from and what it meant. He was not allowed to ask again.

After being stimulated by this, Emperor Renzong later stipulated that he could only use fixed classics to set questions, and canceled the right of the examiner to ask the examiner to solve the questions. If anyone can't even understand the questions, he can only admit that he is unlucky.

Seeing so many people like him, Xu Ping felt relieved and just answered the questions with peace of mind.

The fu during the palace examination is the most important, and it basically determines the ranking. If you want to get a high grade, the most advanced thing is to have a sarcastic meaning, and to lift the emperor up high in the sarcastic advice. If you can reach this level, the examiner dares not suppress it and will definitely win the high grade without any suspense. The second-rate is to praise merit, but you must have skills. You cannot make the emperor flatter at first sight and feel disgusted. No matter how bad the fu is, you are stable and write according to the topic, and the content is placed on the topic. As long as you don’t make mistakes, you can get a good ranking.

Xu Ping has been studying this for the past two years, especially his work of satirizing and admonition is particularly attentive. He is not a slander, but must be well-regarded, otherwise it will backfire. For example, persuading to harm humility and benefit from humility. Advice to be humble is a sarcastic admonition, and saying that the stubborn and self-righteous means cursing people.

Xu Ping naturally wanted to use a sentence from Song Taizu, so that no one dared to deduct his paper. Then he changed his meaning and looked at it with the development and changes of the times. Although he didn't know much about the government affairs, he could not say that he had any insightful opinions, and he was considered a matter of perfunctory.

Regarding "Theory of Governance Like the Stone of the King of the World", this is similar to the anti-world essay. The format is relatively free, and Xu Ping's answer is much easier.

At this time, the lamp is not allowed to be tested at night. Feng Mi also eliminated the old habit of determining rankings in the order of handing in the papers. After writing Xu Ping's poems and essays, he carefully checked them over and over again, for fear of being negligent. This is a good habit developed in the exams in previous lives, and it is much more passionate and reliable than many candidates next to him.

There was a rhyme book published before the exam. Xu Ping read it over and over again, for fear that there would be a rhyme or a taboo. This mistake is called miscellaneous crimes. The first level of marking the paper is to ask a special person to pick out such papers and throw them aside. Not only will he lose the qualification for evaluation, but he will also have to be punished. Even if he has not been dismissed for decades of the palace examination, miscellaneous crimes will only be placed behind to make up the numbers.

It was not until many people handed in the papers that the light in the hall became dim and Xu Ping handed out the papers.

In late spring in March, the wind blows on your face lazy.
Chapter completed!