Dress to be a celebrity

In February, the exam is already in sight.

In the morning, Huan Ling hurriedly rode to the Metropolitan Procuratorate to make an appointment, and the three brothers of the Song family stayed at home to study the preferences of the two examiners:

Zhang Cifu is just a master who studies the Spring and Autumn Period, and has written a set of "Spring and Autumn Guidelines".The two elder brothers of the Song family studied the scriptures with their father since they were young, and they studied the relatively popular "Book of Songs", which could not be liked by him, but Song Shi could start from here and write better scriptures and meanings according to his theories.

Although these years have been three rounds focusing on the first round, and the first round focuses on righteousness, the subsequent questions are not for nothing.According to Mr. Huan Fang’s experience, even if he does particularly well in two or three exams, he can rely on his comprehensive score to overwhelm the only one who did well in the first exam. Can leave a good impression in the mind of the examiner.

He took away the "Spring and Autumn Guidance", and Brother Song and Second Brother concentrated on studying the writing direction of the main and secondary exams.Zhang Cifu's style of writing is calm and gentle, while Xueshi Zeng's style is full of flamboyance and boldness. Their brothers can't take the secondary exam, but they can restrain their writing style and move closer to the style that the chief examiner likes.

Song Xiao had taken the general examination for one subject before, and had some experience. While reading Mr. Zhang's article, he reminded his younger brothers: "Although it is good to apply for the main exam, it is important to write a good article. Don't do it. I became a toddler in Handan, and in the end I couldn’t even write my own articles.”

Song Yun accepted the instruction with a serious face, turned his head and lectured his younger brother: "Did Shi Guaner hear what elder brother said? Your second brother will be a spectator at the Tribute Academy this year. It doesn't matter if you learn from the examiner or not, but you have to be careful—— Your scriptures are learned from the family tradition of the Huan family, if Zhang Cifu has any quarrel with the Huan family, your article might not be eye-catching."

Ever since Shilang Huan divorced his family and became the fourth assistant with his granddaughter, his respect for high officials in the court has faded a lot.Since Ge elders can offer their grandsons to beg officials, they must have likes and dislikes like ordinary people, so with the character of Old Huan, Cifu might also hate him in his heart?

They were good officials at the time, and they had already tricked the Huan family once, if they tried again because of their family's grievances, they would be wronged.

Song Shi replied complacently: "Two brothers, don't worry, I am studying the Spring and Autumn Period now, and I can count the strengths of all families, not just those taught by Mr. Xuehuan. It is not my younger brother boasting. When it comes to Spring and Autumn Studies in today's world, it is true. It's hard to find someone who knows more than I do..."

Hehe, he has read the famous monographs of "Spring and Autumn" in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. Even another time traveler can't beat him!

His frowning eyebrows were raised, and the second elder brother couldn't help but slap him on the head, and scolded with a smile: "How can anyone praise himself like that! No one heard it. If your senior brother heard it, wouldn't you say that we People in the Song family have thick skins? If you want to praise, you have to wait until my brother and I praise you to be decent!"

The eldest brother coughed lightly, threw a book to each of the two younger brothers, and told them to study quietly.

Song Shi held the book "Chunqiu Zhilue" in his hand, but his mind hadn't returned to his studies. He always wanted to tell his eldest brother and second brother: If Teacher Xiaohuan was in front of him, he probably wouldn't need his brothers to praise him, let alone boast. Brother Huan can do all the work of boasting.

He tossed and turned in his thoughts for a while, and suddenly realized that his thinking was a bit dangerous, he quickly cleared his mind, and asked his eldest brother: "Our father just passed the three-year exam by the end of last year, I wonder if there is any news from the Ministry of Officials? "

Song Xiao smiled and said: "Yesterday I was happy to see you back, but I forgot to tell you this. I asked Chen Yuanwai, who is acquainted with the official department, and said that my father is going to be promoted this time. Which mansion may he be transferred to?" It is also possible to transfer back to the capital for experience, but it has not been decided yet, and we have to wait for the results of the promotion from the Ministry of Officials."

Song Shi excitedly stood up as a staff officer for the Ministry of Officials: "It's good to be transferred back to Beijing! Beijing is close to our hometown, and we can go home to have a look at New Year's and holidays in the future - if we don't go home, mother, sister-in-law and nephews I can also come and see his old man. If you don’t go back to Beijing, it’s better to go to Suzhou and Hangzhou. The scenery is beautiful, it is a place to support people, and it also has fashionable clothes. Isn’t my mother a little weak? Our family moved there, in the south It is kept in a warm and gentle place, and it is not easy to cough..."

Brother Song said with a smile: "Father is alone, so he can't occupy official positions in two places. The family feels that father is getting old, and it would be best if he could be transferred back to Beijing. The rest is up to fate. If the whole family wants to go to the south of the Yangtze River, we must count on you to be admitted as a Jinshi, and you will be sent to Wuzhong, Wulin, Huating and other big counties to be parents, and our family will enjoy your blessings."

Song Shi looked at the book in his hand, and said with great ambition: "I will definitely get a second-class exam in this subject. Those who get second-class are all in big counties, which is better than the third-class!"

He has a strong head ahead, and his spirit of reading has grown. He devoted himself to studying "Spring and Autumn Guide" all afternoon, and sorted out the ideas of this Zhang Cifu. Think of it as a "book of praise and criticism", and regard it as a book of self-denial and restoration of etiquette.

He is not obsessed with "one-word praise and criticism", but believes that the meaning of praise or disapproval should be based on the historical facts in the sentence, and there is no uneasy rule that using titles, official positions, or names and words must represent the historian's praise and criticism of people. .When analyzing some missing words in the book, which are difficult to understand when reading, I don’t think that Confucius deliberately recorded the historian’s clerical errors to show prudence, but pointed out that Confucius would not leave "broken classics" for future generations when he governed the classics. , These should be missed in later generations.

Back then, Wang Anshi demoted "Spring and Autumn", removed "Spring and Autumn Classics" from the list of scientific research, and satirized it as "Banlan Chaobao". It's hard enough to say that you don't change.

Song Shi laughed outright, and even provoked the second brother to ask: "Looking at the book carefully, why are you laughing? Who are you missing?"

Cough, he has been traveling for so many years, and he doesn't even remember what Guo Degang looks like, so who else would want to laugh?

Song Shi felt that the time was passing easily, and he wanted to give his brothers an official explanation: "I just finished reading the "Spring and Autumn" by Zhang Cifu, the chief examiner, and I saw that the meaning of the title is to read all the scriptures and biographies as history books, and I don't demand a single one. The meaning of the word name is praise and criticism, which is consistent with what I have learned, and it should be easy for him to write articles that he likes in this exam, so he laughed."

His elder brother read the homework he brought home back then, and he clearly remembered that the Huan family taught "one-word praise" and "word-by-word arrangement", but today Song Shi said that his method of governing scriptures is slightly closer to that of Zhang Cifu...

The younger brother will definitely not lie, could it be that Huan Ling taught him in Fujian?

When Huan Ling returned to the courtyard again, the Song brothers treated him a little more politely, and even asked the younger brother to pour tea and wine for the senior brother and room teacher himself.

Huan Ling was favored more and more times, so he wasn't surprised, but he still couldn't help asking: "Brothers, didn't they take Shi Guaner out during the day and met something gratifying?"

I don’t have time to go out. Isn’t it because you taught our brother well, thank you.Brother Song said bluntly: "Today, Guan'er read the book and said that the theory of this assistant is in line with what you taught Huan Xian. No matter whether he can pass the exam this time, we have to thank you first. Nian taught him carefully."

Huan Ling frowned slightly, not even drinking, and first clarified the facts with the two elder brothers: "When we were studying scriptures in Fujian these years, it was not my teacher or his younger brother, but he taught me more!"

For example, using textual exegesis and object name textual research to prove the original meaning of the scriptures, such as making a chronology of the Spring and Autumn Period to verify the correctness of the scriptures, such as a new interpretation of the distinction between the principles of heaven and human desires...

The brothers of the Song family saw the sentence that Song Shi wanted to say but didn't say in person.When Huan Ling praised him, he was more attentive, sincere, and eloquent than his own elder brother. Hearing that, the two older brothers were a little ashamed of themselves, and accidentally ignored his blurted out once or twice. "Time official".

This Huan Ling and his younger brother lived and ate and lived together since they were young. The relationship between the two is different from those of the Huan family.

Or maybe his father forgot about the divorce not long after meeting him in Fujian and regarded him as a good person again.

The Song brothers entrusted the youngest brother to Teacher Huan, and their own brothers lit lamps in the west room to review, discussing their own affairs and Huan's affairs at the same time.And in the Nuan Pavilion across the hall, Teacher Huan was also pointing at them to teach Song Shi: "The two elder brothers are betting on you for the mid-term exam now, and you have to study hard in the room for a few days because of them. Don't worry." I am in a hurry to go out to meet friends. When the test results come out, where can I go? Even if you want to go to the Shegong Tanu Club, Qiyun Club and other places to play, I will accompany you there."

Song Shi said reasonablely: "Brother, don't worry, even if I don't go out until the palace examination, I can bear it."

Although he is a Jieyuan, Jieyuan is not a gold medal for avoiding death. Tang Bohu was still Jieyuan back then, didn't he also get involved in the cheating case in the examination room and was deprived of his fame?

As a native of Northern Zhili, he was already flamboyant after passing the Fujian Juzi exam, and he is the ex-fiancé of the current emperor's eldest concubine. He must have a lot of hatred on his body, and he can give people some excuses by saying casually when he goes out!So he didn't think about going out to cause trouble at all. He usually stayed at home to review, as long as he went out early and returned late every day during the three days of the exam, and just endured these days in a low-key manner.

This is the price of popularity!

His good attitude remained until the day of the exam on the ninth day of February. After getting the papers, he immediately stepped up to another level-the first four-book question was Chapter 1 of the Doctrine of the Mean, "Emotions, Anger, Sorrow and Joy Haven't Been Expressed".

When he presided over the lecture meeting, some students happened to ask how to observe the human desires born in their hearts when "emotions, anger, sorrow, and joy have not yet occurred", so as to maintain respect and cultivate the mind, and abide by the principles of heaven.After the meeting, he used all the questions that the students didn't understand much to do mock questions, and his brother also helped him revise and polish them.

This time, he hit the questions at the beginning of the exam, which not only saved a lot of effort in writing the essay, but also was a rare good start, which indicated that he would be able to write the next questions smoothly!

Song Shi was full of self-confidence, and turned to the second question, but it was the four sentences of "Do not regard evil as evil" in "The Analects" that are so famous to the later generations.These four sentences talk about the meaning of "restraining oneself and returning to ritual".Etiquette is reason, and a deep study of its essence is the distinction between heaven and human desires. The clue of this question has come out, and it is also easy to write.

The third question is the section "From Confucius" written by Mencius.This article does not need to answer the profound content such as xinxing and self-cultivation. It follows Mencius's spirit of inheriting the sages and orthodoxy.

These three questions are not very difficult in his opinion, but the Five Classics questions need to consider how to vote for the examiner's preferences, which will take longer.He simply didn't look back much, and wrote out the third question in the early morning when his brain power was at his best——

This is also a small trick for the answer sheet.He can transcribe refined old essays for the first question, and he can write it until the end; he has already figured out the scientific thinking that he needs to integrate into the second question.The third question is a relatively new one, and it must be answered in the morning when the brain is most awake. At this time, the mind is open and it is easier to get a good work.

He dipped his brush in thick ink, and wrote the thick and dignified characters, which are completely opposite to hard-tipped calligraphy: "The great sage is the sage, and I am deeply impressed by the successor!"

Mencius don't need to worry, Song Zi will be the heir to the line of great sages in the future!