The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The rules of the examination room, including the test questions, are the same as those of the provincial examination, including four calligraphy prose, five character and eight rhyme poems, five scriptures and policy questions.

A few days before the exam, Wei Guangde went to large temples and Taoist temples near Beijing to seek peace of mind.

If you don’t ask, you won’t know. There are so many temples and Taoist temples in Beijing that you can’t even count them with just your hands and feet.

At the same time, the chief executive who was appointed by Emperor Jiajing, the examiners from the Eighteenth Household selected by the Ministry of Rites, as well as the examiner, promotion officer, sealing officer, examination paper collector, examiner, sealing officer, transcription officer, A total of fifty-six people including reading officers, patrol officers, and supply officers entered the Gongyuan to take the examination.

In February, the temperature did not rise much higher than before. Wei Guangde finally made it out alive after six nights in the cold examination tent.

These years of boxing training have actually made his body and bones much stronger than other boxers. Unlike a few people in the guild hall, they all entered Gongyuan with a high fever in the last round and fought hard.

After everyone came out on the 17th, the atmosphere in the entire Jiujiang Guild Hall was not very good.

Not only did the princes suffer in the Gongyuan, five of them fell ill when they came out, and now they are still in bed.

The results of the general examination are released earlier than the provincial examination. Even though the exams start at the same time, the results will be available before the end of February, and the emperor will be asked to release the results.

In the tense and solemn atmosphere, when the time came to February 25th, the atmosphere in the hall became even more depressing.

Because on this day, the examiners and chief examiners from each room gathered together, starting from the 19th place - that is, the second place in each room - to fill in the test paper numbers into the draft list.

Only the test paper numbers were filled in on the draft list, which did not correspond to the names of the people.

After filling it out, let the foreign official send in the original ink scrolls corresponding to these numbers, then lock the door, number the ink scrolls and the ink scrolls one by one, and if they are found to be correct, tie up the ink scrolls and the ink scrolls. It will be sealed and stored in the hall until the formal filling of the list tomorrow.

At this time, the fate of the candidates is actually determined, because who will make it to the list and who will fail will be determined after this day, and it will be of little significance to formally fill in the list the next day.

Time came quietly to February 27th, which was just an ordinary day.

While eating in the lobby at noon, Wei Guangde heard a Jiujiang Juzi saying: "Today the list of examination candidates has come out. The Ministry of Rites has reported to the emperor that the lowest number will be selected, 300 places, and the list should be released in the next two days. "

The words reached Wei Guangde's ears, and Wei Guangde didn't know what he was thinking at this moment.

Soon, in two days, everything will be settled.

The person who spoke was known to Wei Guangde. His name was Wang Jiashi. He was a civil servant in the 25th year of Jiajing reign. He had taken the examination for three consecutive times and was now participating in the examination for the fourth time.

He is already over 40 years old. According to current theory, if he fails to pass the exam again, he will probably not take part in the 38-year-old exam. I am afraid he will have to take the path of being promoted to an official by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

In the past two years, I have traveled a lot with Jiangxi officials in Beijing, so I am afraid they are also preparing for this.

It is worth mentioning that Wei Guangde talked to him quite a lot, because he was also from Pengze and was sitting at the opposite table chatting with other candidates about the information he learned about this examination.

"These days I don't see those fellow villagers sending me anything."

Lao Kan said while eating.

The Jiujiang Guild Hall was naturally started by businessmen from Jiujiang and the following counties who pooled their money to entertain family members who came to Beijing. Of course, it was also open for business on weekdays, but it was only dedicated to serve the people in their hometown during the annual trial period.

Since the first month of the year, Jiujiang businessmen in Beijing have been coming here every now and then, bringing a lot of things with them each time.

In fact, Wei Guangde and the others lived here, except for the servant's room, and their own room and food were free of charge, because every year during the meeting, businessmen donated more money.

Perhaps they knew that waiting for the test results would be the most torturous period, so they didn't come to this stall.

"Twenty-nine, they will definitely come then. They usually release the results at this time."

Xia Kefan said, he has taken the exam twice, this is the third time, so he naturally has more experience.

"The day after tomorrow, I will be tortured for two more days."

Lao Kan sighed.

"If you are willing to spend money, it is said that if you find the person who handles the errands in the Gongyuan, you will have a chance to know whether you are on the list tomorrow. But I just heard about it, so I have never seen it."

Xia Kefan also shook his head and sighed.

"Leave it to fate. Why do you think so much? We will go back and continue the war later."

Wei Guangde sighed in his heart, but said relaxedly.

How to get rid of random thoughts at this time, then play with money.

At night, Wei Guangde and the others were still sleepy, so they sat around a table and played cards. Some mansions in the inner city were also very lively at this time.

"Dad, why did you call me here?"

A fat man with a broad body walked into the room and said to the old man who was reading a book inside.

"Have you heard about the thing I asked you to pay attention to?"

The old man didn't look at him and continued to look through the book in his hand. The pages of the book were yellowed, obviously they were old.

"I asked someone about it. He is on the list, but his ranking is over 270. He is really lucky."

The fat man replied.

"Who ordered him?"

In the old man's impression, this person was said to have an average level of eight-part writing, and the probability of failing the list was actually very high, but he didn't expect to be on the list.

"Kang Siqian pointed it out. I asked someone to read his paper. The four questions are: Therefore, the gentleman's words are so great that no one in the world can contain them. It is said that the answer to this question is good, and the others are average. There are also questions about policy theory and finance. How to increase the revenue of the treasury without wasting people's labor, he suggested increasing the production of silk and porcelain, and exchanging them for gold, silver, and grain through shipping and prospecting trade."

The fat man talked for a long time, and when he saw his father still sitting there reading, he seemed not to pay attention at all, and his interest in talking faded.

"Dad, if nothing happens, I will go back first. Maoqing Longwen and the others are still waiting for me over there."

"Go ahead, mark my words, don't interfere in this matter."

The old man continued reading without raising his head.

The fat man felt bored and signaled to the two maids next to him to serve the good old man here, and then turned around and left the room.

In the 35th year of Jiajing's reign, more than 5,300 people applied for the Bingchen Science Examination. At this time, when more than 5,000 people were suffering and waiting for the results to be released, for those powerful people, as long as they had a little If you ask around, you can easily figure out the names on the A-level list.

Of course, this is just to know the names of candidates on the list in advance, and it is not a major case of examination fraud such as the leakage of test questions. For those big shots, it is still a very simple matter.

On the evening of the 28th, the Beijing Gongyuan was very busy inside and outside. As usual, the results will be released tomorrow. The yamen and helpers in the capital yamen have all gathered here, waiting for the people inside to deliver the news to them. It's good to beat gongs and drums to send good news and earn some happy money.

This is perhaps the biggest difference between the mid-level examination and the provincial examination. Instead of the yamen organizing people to send good news, people outside the Gongyuan and the newspapers inside work together to do this business. The result is that the candidates for the mid-level examination will not receive the good news. There may be some good news about the trial.

Of course, this business is not so involved in the internal affairs, because most newspapers will only compete for the top candidates to send good news. If they like the candidates on the list, they will be happy to give more rewards. Naturally, few people will pay attention to the candidates who are ranked lower. .

This is actually an unspoken rule of the imperial examination. Generally, the results in the imperial examination are similar to those in the general examination, and the ranking changes are very small.

If the results of the palace examination are disrupted and the gap between the rankings in the examination is too large, especially if the number one scholar and the first scholar change drastically, it often represents a change in the political winds and the emperor's dissatisfaction with the president or chief examiner of the examination.

What needs to be mentioned here is that the people responsible for controlling the examinations are the Zhigong Juguan appointed by the court or the emperor, that is, the chief executive. They have to manage the internal and external affairs of the Gongyuan, but they are not responsible for judging the papers, that is, who should be selected. They He has no right to intervene, or even enter the inner court to participate in the evaluation of candidates.

The officials appointed for this examination are Lu Ben, the second assistant to the cabinet, and Zhan Shi Yintai, the young master of Zhan Shifu.

The ranking of candidates in the back row is mostly determined by the chief examiner and deputy examiner. Only the top five candidates need to be jointly arranged by the two chief examiners and the 18th and 18th room co-examiners. Therefore, the selected Huiyuan and Wu Jingkui are very, very different. Easy.

Tomorrow the results will be released, and there are signs in the Gongyuan area. The inside and outside are decorated with lights and decorations, and they have to be cleaned. Especially the large number of newspapers gathered outside the Gongyuan, which is the strongest evidence that the results are about to be released.

At this time, servants from the Jiujiang Guild Hall had already reported what happened at Gongyuan. The officers and soldiers near Gongyuan did not expel those who gathered around Gongyuan. After all, most of these people were locals and officials from the Beijing camp. Most of the troops also knew each other.

Especially at this time, all the verification procedures in the Gongyuan should have been completed. The transcripts and ink rolls have been taken out for verification, and the seals have been opened. The comparisons are correct, and the candidates' rankings have been determined. All we have to do is wait for the president. Fill in the list.

When the CEO fills out the list, it is also when people in the Gongyuan pass on the news.

Often, these people are handymen in the tribute courtyard, and their daily salary is very small. That is to say, they can earn a lot of money to support their families through this examination, so the officials turn a blind eye to the things done by the following scribes. Close one eye and pretend not to know.

All the disciples of Jiujiang Prefecture have come out. The few who fell ill before have recovered, but are a little weak. At this time, they have all sat in the lobby. The two tables next to them are businessmen from Jiujiang Prefecture in Beijing. Their sense of smell is also Be sensitive and everyone follows the routine.

Once someone gets good news, these businessmen will send gifts to congratulate them on the list.

The candidates who have reached this stage can no longer be said to be candidates, but Jinshi, because the palace examination does not determine candidates, but only compares the rankings.

But no matter how high or low they rank, they all have official status and can be officials.

In this world, businessmen need to be dependent on officials. Even if they are not dependent, they have to have a good relationship.

The king of hell is easy to mess with, but the devil is difficult to deal with. This saying makes sense.

All the officials in Jiujiang Prefecture were drinking tea leisurely at the moment. Although they had experienced the test of winning the provincial examination, at this moment, Wei Guangde still noticed that many people's hands occasionally trembled slightly when holding teacups.

On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, at a banquet at the Jiangxi Guild Hall, someone invited Jiangxi governors to gather at the Jiangxi Guild Hall to wait for the news, but many local governors declined.

Not only are there too many exams, but the distribution of candidates from Jiangxi Province is also very uneven. Candidates from Jiujiang Prefecture have always been ranked in the middle or lower ranks among various prefectures in Jiangxi Province, so naturally they are not willing to go there.

That is to say, the candidates in prefectures and counties with more Jinshi, such as Ji'an and Nanchang, are eager to compare themselves and went to the Jiangxi Guild Hall to wait for the good news.

Not long after, the sound of gongs, drums and suonas was heard outside the door, which sounded very festive. This was a team of reporters who had received the news about the examination and were bringing good news to the candidates.

But the group of people got closer, and then slowly moved further away.

In fact, for the person sitting here, ranking is no longer important. What is important is to be on the list. As long as he is on the list, his hard work will not be in vain.

There are many guild halls scattered around the Jiujiang Guild Hall. Naturally, the sound of gongs, drums and suonas sounded again soon. This time, it sounded like this group of people did not turn at the intersection in front, but came directly playing all the way.

It wasn't just Wei Guangde. At this time, everyone in the room clenched their hands, and all ten toes of their feet were firmly gripping the ground. They could only feel their hearts pounding.

Of course, the current state of others is only Wei Guangde's guess, because that's what he is like at this time.

When the team announcing the good news walked outside the gate of Jiujiang Guild Hall, everyone, including the merchants at the two tables next to it and the people in the store, all looked towards the gate.

Unfortunately, the team announcing the good news did not stop in front of the door and continued on.

"Will the good news be announced from the end to the front?"

Wei Guangde asked at this moment. Sitting at their table were not only Lao Kan and Shen Liangdong, but also Zhu Shilong and Zhang Ke, who were candidates for the last provincial examination. Xia Kefan and Chen Zhonglie were also candidates for the 28th provincial examination. Sit here.

"It was like this in previous years."

The person who spoke was Chen Zhonglie, who was in his forties. He had only arrived in the capital in the first month of the year. He must have suffered a lot along the way.

Wei Guangde and the others left early and were not too cold on the way here. It was only after the convoy passed Shandong that they felt the severe cold in the North.

Chen Zhonglie left late, so he naturally had to face wind and snow all the way.

Well, Wei Guangde sighed in his heart.

If there is no good news of his own in front of the team announcing the good news, then it seems that he can only really wait for the 38th Jiajing Conference.

It's been another three years. It's no wonder that Chen Zi'ang wrote the song "Song of Climbing Youzhou Taiwan" after failing the imperial examination.

"I never see the ancients before me, and I never see the newcomers after me. Thinking of the long journey of heaven and earth, I shed tears with sadness!"

This is the poet's lament for the short life. The words are bold and heroic, but full of tragedy.

At this time, Wei Guangde would definitely not read out this embarrassing poem, it would be too unlucky.

Now that the list has not been seen, his name may not be on it. Even if he sighs that his future is bleak, three years later will be another three years, and his youth will be wasted, so he has to wait until tomorrow.

However, thinking of "Dengyouzhou Taige", Wei Guangde unconsciously read out softly the sentence in "Chu Ci - Yuan Yu Pian", which was similar to the beginning of this poem:

"But the heaven and earth are infinite, and I am sorry for the long and diligent life. Those who have gone by are beyond my reach, and I will not hear those who come."