The ancient farming life of liberal arts scum

Before the scientific examination, the emperor gave a lecture to the tributes.

The middle-aged emperor stood in front of the hall. His voice came from above and echoed inside and outside the hall. The voice was not loud, but it was extremely clear and majestic.

"Since I took the throne, I have gone through six scientific examinations, and this is the seventh time for you to take the examination. Seeing that all the talents from all over the world are gathered here, I am very relieved... After the palace examination, everyone will have fame. I am an official of one party. I am here, and I hope that you will work hard for the national economy and the people's livelihood, and never lose your youth."

After the emperor had finished his lecture, the officials in green robes immediately sent the question papers to each examinee's desk with a tray on the order of the chief.

The imperial examination officially begins.

Shen Ge ranked seventh, and soon got the title.The policy question paper was rolled up and tied with a small thick strip.

Shen Ge opened the title, only to see the first few big characters read:

The southern barbarians are invading, and the people are unbearably disturbed. Some generals propose to fortify the walls and clear the country, and some officials think that it is out of the style of a great country. What do you think?

He was actually asking about the military!This question is actually asking about the military!

Shen Ge read the title carefully from the beginning, thinking quickly in his heart.

Most of the other candidates in the hall were stunned, and many of them didn't even know what it meant to strengthen the wall and clear the field.

At this time, the Great Yan Dynasty was passed down to the Second Emperor, and the scientific examinations were only held dozens of times.In the past, the Palace Examination asked more about political affairs, taxes, answers, and herdsmen's policies. This is the first time that military affairs are asked.

This policy theory is not entirely military. Generally speaking, it is mainly political affairs. The translation is: the foreigners in the south often invade our dynasty, and the residents along the coast are unbearable. How should we deal with it now? Fight or avoid?

Information is extremely underdeveloped these days. Candidates for many things do not know the outcome of the southern war, who the foreign barbarians refer to, and where they come from. When faced with such a problem, they naturally have no way to start.

When Shen Ge saw this question, he broke into a cold sweat, not because of the difficulty of the question, but because of the similarity of history.

Jianbi Qingye comes from "Three Kingdoms · Wei Shu · Xun Yu Biography". Jianbi refers to building fortresses, while clearing fields refers to gathering food, so that the enemy can neither attack the stronghold nor grab supplies, so naturally they cannot invade.

In his previous life, anyone with a bit of culture would never forget that period of modern history.First Shunzhi and then Qianlong, fortified the walls and cleared the country, closed the country, and the actions of several successive Qing emperors finally dragged the entire country into the abyss, causing harm for thousands of years.

Shen Ge did not expect that history would repeat itself, and he would become a witness of this history.

Gathering his mind, Shen Ge took out the manuscript paper and wrote the first word on the paper.

"... People often say that my Great Yan has a vast land and rich resources, but they don't know that the foreign barbarians are even more vast, with mountains and seas, and I don't know how many things are bigger than the Great Yan... Today, the foreign barbarians have strong ships and sharp weapons, and our dynasty is already unbearable. Some people think Retire and avoid it. One year, two years, ten years, when the foreign barges become stronger and the weapons more sharp, what should I do?..."

"Knowing that there is a strong enemy outside but turning a blind eye, not thinking of guarding against it, not winning victory, not communicating with it. The strong enemy is getting stronger day by day, but I have no progress in the future. The consequences can be imagined..."

"Three-year-old children all know the classics of hiding their ears and stealing bells, and passively resist with a strong wall to clear the field, just like a commoner who knows in the middle of the night that there are vicious bandits outside, so they quietly go home and close the door, hide under the quilt, don't listen, don't look, don't think, just want to be safe Spend the night. I don’t know that the bandits are ambitious, how can they let go of the fat in front of them? Sooner or later, this son will eventually become the food of the bandits. It’s the same in my dynasty. They all say that my dynasty has a vast land and rich resources, how can foreign barbarians let go of this fat meat land?"

"...As the saying goes, blocking is worse than sparse, and the same is true in military affairs. Our military equipment is obviously not as good as that of foreign barbarians. Why don't we learn from the painful experience, let go of unnecessary prejudices, and learn from the barbarians' skills to control the barbarians?"

Shen Ge was furious in his heart, and he swiped his pen on the straw paper, and the rest of the papers were still thinking hard, and his writing had been completed.

One page, two pages, the song is like a stick in the throat, and I can't spit it out.

It was still early, and what Shen Ge wrote were all rough chapters. He wrote for himself, and he didn't care about the rules and regulations. If there was something in his heart, there would be words in his pen.

When it was time to polish it for the second time, he needed to carefully consider it, delete outdated parts, and then use the pavilion style to carefully copy it to the volume.

Shen Ge writes with dedication, which is quite different from other tribute scholars who are scratching their heads. The civil and military officials on both sides of the main hall frequently cast their eyes on him.

The emperor has been standing behind him for a long time, his expression is either worried or angry or thoughtful according to the words in Shen Ge's pen, Shen Ge doesn't notice it at all.

Shen Ge wrote with enthusiasm, and wrote a long article of more than [-] words in one breath. From refuting the disadvantages of fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness to opening up the coast and the feasibility and benefits of building a navy, it filled five pages with eloquence.

Civil servants were treated preferentially in this dynasty, and very few people were convicted for their words. Naturally, Shen Ge was not afraid of being punished for this paper.

No matter how narrow-minded the emperor is, he still can't even listen to these words. What's more, although he is at odds with Brother Xun today, he is not such a fatuous lord, so he won't blame him.

Shen Ge didn't expect to be promoted in the future, so he dared to write, he could write, and he tried to write to the point, so as to wake up the emperor and prevent the entire Great Yan Dynasty from going on the road of seclusion.

After Shen Ge finished writing the first time, he edited and corrected the words that were too offensive, but even so, the whole paper was still full of unruly feeling.

Since the Han Dynasty, the descendants of Yan and Huang have gone farther and farther on the road of the mean. Shen Ge read and read the articles in his pen, guessing that his articles should not be too popular with the examiners, so he couldn't help but smile with some helplessness and complacency.

He himself likes this article very much. Since he learned to write articles, he rarely has such a feeling of writing heartily and feeling refreshed both physically and mentally.

After carefully revising the article two or three times, the sun was already past the middle, Shen Ge took out the palace cake that he had received earlier, asked the eunuch for a glass of water, and ate two or three of the cakes hastily with warm water.

From the beginning to the end, Shen Ge didn't know that the emperor had stood behind him for a long time.

All the tributes around are writing hard and writing hard at their desks.

After lunch, Shen Ge flexed his wrists, re-laid the paper and rubbed the ink, and copied the papers.

A large part of the palace examination is calligraphy. The pavilion style requires black, square, light and large handwriting. If you don't concentrate on it, you can easily make mistakes.

Shen Gezai copied the corrected paper carefully, put it aside and waited for it to dry.The last paper that comes out has neat and beautiful handwriting, beautiful diction without losing depth, and it is pleasing to the eye.

Regardless of other people's evaluation, Shen Ge himself is very satisfied with the palace test paper.

Between Shen time and You time, a eunuch rang the bell outside to signal the end of the exam.

The bell sounded solemnly, and all the examinees waited quietly for the papers to be collected. After the clerk collected the papers, the candidates lined up according to their ranks, and followed the eunuch guiding them to the outside of the palace.

Xun Feiguang waited for Shen Ge in front of the palace gate, and when he saw him come out, they got into the carriage together.

Seeing his tired face, Xun Feiguang made room for Shen Ge to lie down on his legs, with his head resting on his lap, "Sleep for a while, and I'll call you when I get home."

Shen Ge took his hand to make him embrace her, sighed contentedly, and said lazily: "The palace examiner asked if the south side should fortify the walls and clear the country to resist foreigners. I answered no and wrote a whole five sheets of paper. I'm afraid the examiner They won't like my article, but I am very satisfied with myself."

"I see that His Majesty has stood behind you for nearly half an hour. Regardless of whether the examiner likes your article or not, he will eventually put it in the top ten and present it to the imperial examination."

"When did it happen? How come I don't know at all?" Shen Ge looked up at Xun Feiguang's face from the bottom, his face was full of surprise, seeing that he didn't seem to be joking, Fang covered his face and sighed: "Oh, I'm too slow, I didn't realize that His Majesty stayed behind me for so long."

"At the moment when you were drafting the article, His Majesty began to read it from the second scrap of paper until you finished the fifth sheet."

Shen Ge said: "I wrote the most sharp-edged version in that version. I almost pointed the nose at those adults who want to be tough and clear, and scolded them for their short-sightedness. The final draft is a bit more tactful."

Xun Feiguang said lightly: "Even if you scold him, it's okay, Your Majesty won't argue with you about this."

Those who enter the court and become officials without offending others are mediocre.

Shen Ge thinks about it too, anyway, he didn't scold the emperor for being stupid.

Shen Ge left the matter behind after the exam, and just waited quietly for the result of the palace exam in the Xun Mansion.

That night, His Majesty the Emperor took out the draft written by Shen Ge and read it again and again under the lamp. The person who accompanied him in front of the imperial court was the Eldest Prince.

The eldest son was born to the former empress, he was both eldest and a direct descendant, the emperor loved and respected this eldest son very much, and often took him by his side to teach him.

All the officials have a tacit understanding, as long as the eldest son of the emperor does not make any serious mistakes, the crown prince will surely fall on his head in the future.

The expression on the emperor's face did not change after reading it, and he handed Shen Ge's essay to the eldest prince, "Look."

The draft of Shen Ge's first edition consisted of five sheets of paper, and there were many alterations on it, and the writing was rather sloppy. Fortunately, his handwriting was good, and he didn't find it ugly when he wrote it like this.

The eldest prince took the draft and read it carefully, his eyebrows furrowed all the time.

"How?" The emperor, who was in his prime, asked under the lamp.

The eldest prince still stared at the draft, and murmured: "It's too bold, Shen Ge dared to write like this only because the person behind him is Duke Xun."

To ridicule ministers for their short-sightedness, isn't it just calling their father stupid?Otherwise, how could the courtiers with short-sightedness be allowed to mix in the court?The eldest prince sighed in his heart, really a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers, even Xun Feiguang didn't dare to write like that when he was young.

The emperor did not comment on his words, and handed him a few scraps of paper full of words, "These were all made by the top ten tributes."

The eldest prince took it and read it carefully one by one.

The First Prince has been taught by famous Confucians for more than ten years, and in recent years he has often been brought by his side. Naturally, his knowledge is not bad. He can see at a glance that the writing of the other tributes is far inferior to Shen Ge. It is not that the literary talent is inferior, but the intention .

"How do these articles compare with Shen Gezhi's?"

The eldest prince hesitated for a moment, and commented: "It's a bit superficial, not deep enough."

Those who can be admitted to the Gongshi, or the top ten Gongshi, the articles of these people are naturally not bad, even if they are only drafts, they are all readable to a certain extent.

If there were no jewels in Shen Ge's articles, the eldest prince would still be praised after reading a few articles, but after reading Shen Ge's articles, it would be a bit boring to read these articles again.

The article is not afraid of poor writing, but of contrast.

Shen Ge's essays are superior to other scholars in terms of vision and philosophy.

Most of the rest of the writing is the words of scholars, which are of little use to their superiors.And what Shen Ge wrote is the words of admonishing ministers, which is thought-provoking after reading.

The emperor sighed, "It's a pity that this son has such vision, but he has the intention of staying with Xun Qing."

When the emperor read the article about Shen Ge's meeting, he felt only a little pity in his heart.Now seeing his palace examination papers, my heart is full of great regrets, not regretting that Shen Ge has no chance of being a high-ranking official, but regretting that Shen Ge has no ambition in the court, and cannot help the monarch and his ministers to create a great cause together.

The eldest prince also felt a little pity, for this kind of talent, any road they take is a smooth road, and they have to choose a narrow path to walk.

After reading Shen Ge's article, the emperor said nothing, and when the Ministry of Rites sent up the palace examination rankings, the emperor saw that Shen Ge was ranked fourth, and it was Chuanlu, the first in the second class.

In the imperial examination that day, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the emperor stood behind Shen Ge for nearly half an hour. Anyone who is not blind would know how much the Lord appreciates Mr. Shen, so the main examiner naturally did not dare to let him fall out of the top ten.

The emperor asked: "Shen Qing's essays are still not top-notch?"

The examiner answered: "Shen Gongshi's writing is both beautiful in quality, but unfortunately it is not as good as the standard, and the handwriting is not as neat as a top-notch writing."

Chunwei is a major event in the country, and all the examiners responded in the hall.

The emperor glanced at him: "The selection of Jinshi is the pillar of the country. I have never heard of any official who governs the world with words, and I have never heard of any official who governs the country with handwriting. Wang Youjun's handwriting is the best in the world, and his political achievements are not seen. Can it be difficult for you and others?" Do you think the characters Yijia can defeat Wang Youjun?"

As soon as the emperor said this, everyone knew that he was extremely dissatisfied with the result, and for a while he held his eyebrows and held his breath, not daring to speak.

Shen Ge's essays are indeed well written, but they are too disrespectful to the seniors, and the examiners instinctively dislike his essays, and it is his luck to be able to be selected as the biography.

When the examiners decided the rankings, the names were blurred on the papers, and the rankings were judged by the handwriting of the articles. After they were opened, everyone knew that the fourth place was Shen Ge, but there was no special intention to target them.

Of course, the examiners didn't treat him preferentially, seeing that he was in the top ten, they ignored him.

After a while of silence, the examiners looked at each other, and judging from the expressions on their faces, they had all made a compromise.

The chief examiner said: "Shen Ge's essays can indeed rank first. I think Shen Ge's appearance is very beautiful, how about treating him as a flower explorer?"

The emperor's eyes swept over their faces, "You are also Jinshi. Now, if you read these ten articles and only look at the content, who can be the first?"

Just looking at the content, it is natural that Shen Ge wrote the best.

All the ministers are not blind, on the topic, Shen Ge is far better than others.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the examiner had no choice but to twitch his beard and nod to admit, "Looking at it this way, Shen Ge's essay is indeed the top one."

The emperor said in a deep voice: "In this case, how can we rank him third? I only heard that people suffer from being too ugly. If they don't want to be too beautiful, they will also suffer. This Shen Ge is obviously a champion, but he wants to make him He ranks third, I am afraid that the hermits hidden in the famous mountains and rivers will be more reluctant to come to the scientific examination after seeing this. I will entrust the scientific examination to you, and you will do things like this?"

All the examiners were covered in cold sweat and were speechless.

In the end, under the pressure of the emperor, all the examiners passed unanimously, and Shen Ge was established as the champion.

The emperor read the first ten articles one by one, and adjusted several rankings.

At this point, the dust of Chun Wei has settled.

Shen Ge is the first number one scholar in this dynasty who is not as good as the weak crown, and also the first number one scholar in this dynasty who is more beautiful than Tanhua.

Privately, the eldest prince asked: "Father, didn't you say that Shen Ge is a man of Duke Xun Guo?" Why do you still treat each other as the number one scholar?

The emperor was silent for a moment, and answered him: "I would like to have the friendship of a monarch and a minister with him, so I treat him as the number one scholar."

After the eldest prince heard it, he was stunned in his heart. His father, the emperor, spoke highly of Shen Ge, which was unprecedented.

A little Shen Ge would shake up the entire capital as soon as he entered the capital. If he is the number one scholar and the mistress of the Xun family, it is uncertain how big waves will be caused in the future.