Gongyuan is generally located in the east of the city, taking the meaning of oriental civilization.
The entire Gongyuan sits north to the south, standing on Gongyuan Street, facing the city wall and the Kuixing Tower at the head of the city. Its gate has three pairs, with three gates and four-pillar stone archways in front, with the book 'Gongyuan' in the square, and the book 'Kaitianyun' in the front.
At this time, the street in front of the Gongyuan was densely populated with human heads. Under the light of the torches jumping around, there was a somewhat strange atmosphere. The street was quiet and silent. It seemed that someone was lecturing in front of him. Anyway, standing in Xue Tingxiang's position, he couldn't see the front.
Suddenly, there were three drums, and the gate of the Gongyuan slowly opened.
The candidates surrounding the main entrance involuntarily retreated to both sides, leaving a passage in the middle.
In the crowd, Xue Tingxiang saw a black wooden fence at the end of his line of sight. Inside and outside the wooden fence stood soldiers wearing red cloth vests. They held torches in their hands, illuminating the gate of the entire Gongyuan.
Two teams of soldiers in big red cloth armor came out of the Gongyuan. At this time, someone blew a horn on the Mingyuan Building, the highest building in the Gongyuan.
The sound of the trumpet was mournful, long and melodious, and the soldiers of the two teams had solemn expressions and shouted in unison: "If there is grievance, there will be revenge, and there will be revenge!
This kind of situation, in such an atmosphere, seems extraordinarily infiltrating. There are timid scholars, or it is the first time to participate in the township examination, and even faintly have some weak legs. Including Mao Badou and a few others, their eyes were full of surprise, and they were probably thinking about what these people were doing.
Xue Tingxiang was not in a hurry. Lin Miao's students were frightened and said in a low voice, "Don't panic, this is the rule for opening the gate."
Just as he was talking, a group of examiners had appeared in front of the gate of the Gongyuan, led by Huang Mingzhong and Ye Ju.
Huang Mingzhong was wearing a scarlet official uniform. He said some words of encouragement and warning not to cheat according to the rules, and then said solemnly: "Call by name."
The fence was removed, and the candidates walked in along the flow of people. Lin Miao didn't move, instead he told Xue Tingxiang and the others to wait, they wouldn't be able to get in, and it was probably noon when it was time for Pingyang Mansion.
Lin Miao guessed accurately, and when it was almost noon, the soldiers shouted: "The inspection of Pingyang Mansion."
They found Xue Tingxiang and others who sat down at the base of the wall, and then they hurriedly stood up and walked inside. After I entered, I couldn't tell who was who and who was with whom, and I felt that there were people everywhere, crowded with people.
Some soldiers shouted: "Don't look up, you come with me, you go over there, and each take the initiative to remove the bun, clothes, shoes and hats, so that our brothers don't really make a move and you suffer."
The township exam is different from the government exam, and the imperial court attaches great importance to it, so these soldiers are extraordinarily rude. In fact, something similar happened before. Some candidates protested on the spot that the searchers were too rude, but they were thrown out by these soldiers in the name of disturbing the Gongyuan.
I don't know what happened to the soldiers. Anyway, the candidates will have to wait for another three years.
Xue Tingxiang knew this, so he was very sensible. He took off his hair bun, unbuttoned his shirt, took off his shoes and socks, and stood barefoot on the ground.
He opened the luggage and the test box that he was carrying, and everything inside was spread out. Even the small bag of rice he was carrying took the initiative to untie the rope on the pocket.
Seeing that the candidate was so active, two Souzi in uniforms stepped forward and said, "Raise your hand and stand up. You know your interests, and our brothers will also make a quick decision."
Xue Tingxiang immediately raised his arms, this searcher looked like an old hand, he hardly felt too much touch, and the whole person was searched from top to bottom.
Then there are those things that were carried, the inkstone was picked up and knocked, and the ink stick and the brush were also studied. Even the bag of rice was stretched out with a big palm, and it was stirred back and forth a few times. Xue Tingxiang didn't bring dry food and steamed buns or anything. He knew that even if he did, he couldn't eat it. When this kind of thing is brought in, it will be split into several pieces to check whether there is any sandwich.
"Okay, pack up."
At this time, Xue Tingxiang was also dressed. He didn't care about his loose hair, and took back all the things that were scattered outside.
Don't look at Xue Tingxiang's search here, but it's not so good elsewhere.
Because of these searchers, some scholars rummaged through their belongings and yelled and annoyed these military men. Some people deliberately made things difficult for them, and some even ordered a scholar to squat down and learn frog jumping. This is to check There may be entrapment in his underwear.
This person was humiliated, and his face was ugly as if he had opened a dye shop. His eyes were red and he stared fiercely at the people in front of him, but these people didn't even give him a single look, but instead burst out laughing.
Someone sighed in Xue Tingxiang's ear, he looked back, it was Lin Miao.
But Lin Miao didn't say anything to him, nor did Xue Tingxiang say anything. In the Gongyuan, private conversations are not allowed. A careless, is the end of being thrown out of the Gongyuan.
On the other end, it seemed that someone had been found something, and several soldiers set up a soldier who was crying for his father and mother and went to the outside world. That person had no face, and repeatedly begged for mercy, saying that he was confused, and gave himself another chance, but ignored him.
After this incident, some of the scholars who had not been searched were all honest and cooperated with the next search.
At this time, Xue Tingxiang had already passed the Dragon Gate and entered the examination room.
The entire Gongyuan is divided into two parts, the east and the west. The Mingyuan Building stands in the center, and there are watchtowers at the four corners. In the future, there are the Dagongtang, the Licheng Office, the Mifeng Office, the Duo Reading Office, the Transcription Office, and the Scroll Office, etc. There are thousands of houses on the east and west sides.
These houses are low and narrow, neatly and densely distributed on both sides of the corridor, and extend backward. Each number house is numbered with a font size and arranged in thousands of characters.
When Xue Tingxiang took out the number plate issued to him when he just entered the Dragon Gate, he found his position corresponding to each row of numbered quarters. His luck was not bad, and the number of houses assigned to him was medium. Although it was not as good as the number of houses in the circles closest to Mingyuan Building, it was not bad.
At least-
Xue Tingxiang stood still, and drew a stroke on the row of numbers at the destination, so as not to make him stand upright.
I don't know if it leaked or not. If it is near the end of the roadway, adjacent to the latrine, the house will immediately drop from medium to last and so on. It's still hot now, and there are seventy or eighty people in a row, all urinating in the same place.
However, Xue Tingxiang estimated according to the brand, he should be regarded as the middle position.
Thinking like this, he showed the number plate to the number of soldiers guarding outside the alley. After the other party checked it clearly, he opened the fence and let him in. He walked along the road all the way, looking up from time to time at the font size posted on the house, and sure enough he found his place in the middle.
The house is very cramped, with walls on three sides, and the entrance faces the walkway. On the two walls, there are two brick supports, which are covered with number plates, which can just be assembled into tables and chairs. When you go to bed at night, take apart the number board and lay it flat, which is a ready-made wooden bed.
It is naturally impossible to lie down comfortably, you can only lie on your back.
Xue Tingxiang put the bag and the test box on the ground, first opened the bag and took out a piece of dark blue cloth, then took out two nails and a small hammer from the test box, and nailed it.
After a while, the number house was facing the aisle, and there was an extra curtain.
Put it down when you use it, lift it up when you don't use it, it's very cheap.
After that, he entered the number house and put the oil lamps, book boxes and the like, one by one. After packing up, he came out and stood on the aisle, pretending to be loose, but in fact looking around.
After a while, he felt bored. Look at the sky, it's already Shin Shih, no wonder he feels hungry. From Yin Shi to the present, it was almost five or six hours, and he just had a meal before going out.
He entered the number house, opened the test box, took out a small copper pot, and pulled out a small stove. The firewood is also brought, and the fire is started with firewood, and good charcoal is added. This charcoal was also carefully selected by Xue Tingxiang. With that low-quality charcoal, who would use it in such a small place would know.
He grabbed a handful of rice from the small pot, took it to the spare water tanks in the roadway to wash it, and took a pot of water. This rice has also been specially treated. It was soaked for a few hours in advance. When the inspection was carried out, the reason why Souzi would stir so many times in the rice bag was because these rice were different from ordinary ones and had water vapor on them. .
The reason why Xue Tingxiang brought in the rice was just because it was convenient for cooking porridge. This is what Zhao'er told him, because the rice has been soaked in advance, and it usually takes nearly an hour to cook a pot of porridge before it becomes sticky. It may take two quarters of an hour to cook with this kind of rice.
Lin Miao and Mao Badou were the same rice that he brought, which he strongly suggested. As for other people, some people do it like him, some don't. Anyway, Xue Tingxiang suggested it. As for whether they want to do it or not, it has nothing to do with him.
The porridge in the pot was simmering, and from a distance it was already sticky. Xue Tingxiang was hungry, sniffing the fragrance of the porridge, and missing Zhao'er more and more.
I don't know how she is now, whether her stomach has grown bigger, but the child is obedient. Xue Tingxiang also learned after a long, long time that it was so difficult for women to be pregnant, but when he returned home, the child had already been born.
He silently stirred the pot again with the wooden spoon, and then picked up the small copper pot. He took out an identical copper pot, heated it on the stove, and took out a small jar with only a shallow layer of oil in it. The oil seems to be very little, but it is enough for him. There is too much oil, and there is no way to bring it in. When the Souzi searched and inspected the can of oil before, he saw that the mouth of the jar was wide open, and there was only a layer of oil at the bottom. He just glanced at it and let it go.
Xue Tingxiang poured some oil into a small pot, and took advantage of this time to take out two eggs from the test box. He only brought a total of six eggs, so he had to eat more. It's not that I'm really hungry today, Xue Tingxiang will put the eggs to eat tomorrow.
With the sound of a thorn, the egg was beaten into the pot, giving off an alluring aroma. It was a time when people were coming and going, and all the candidates who passed by looked at him in astonishment.
In no time, the eggs are ready to fry.
Xue Tingxiang put out the eggs, turned off the fire, and took out a bowl with pickles. The pickle was only half a bowl, and it was brought to Beilu Academy by Zhao’er with the letter. He has been saving it for the sake of today.
It is not an exaggeration to say that it is delicious to eat porridge in a pot, eat small pickles, and accompany fried eggs.
Xue Tingxiang licked the bottom of the pot clean, only to find that he couldn't bend over to eat. He went out of the house to wash the pots and spoons, and someone at the bottom of the alley made a wailing sound. It seemed that this person was the most unlucky 'shit', the house near the toilet.
In his heart, he mourned for that person for a moment, and then took the pot and returned to the house.
There are more and more people in this alley, and there are noisy footsteps in the ears, some cursing, some howling, some complaining, the sound is endless. These voices were not lowered until a trumpet army came to shout a silence.
Xue Tingxiang took down the number plate and made it into a bed, and then took out two thin mattresses and laid them on it, one for the bed and the other for the cover. Today is just for admission, the main test is tomorrow, and when the exam questions are issued in the middle of the night, he intends to sleep first, otherwise he will be out of energy until tomorrow.
When I slept until midnight, a low drum sounded.
The sound of the drum was very dull, and it seemed to hit the heart of the heart, so no matter whether the candidates fell asleep or not, they all got up. Xue Tingxiang got up from the bed and came to the door of the number house. He heard voices coming from a distance, and he couldn't make out what he was saying. After waiting for a while, a team of number soldiers appeared with exam papers in their hands.
"Don't make noise, don't talk to each other, don't walk back and forth, don't go out of the house. Don't worry, one person is one, two of you are indispensable."
The leading trumpet army walked back and forth to give lectures, and all the candidates entered the trumpet house, only showing their heads and looking out.
The exam papers started from the hair and were quickly distributed to Xue Tingxiang in a thick stack. Don't look at how light this thing is, but as long as it is stained and damaged, you don't need to take the test this time, just go home.
Some candidates took the exam papers and couldn't wait to place candles to read the questions, but Xue Tingxiang was not in a hurry. The trumpet troops who issued the test papers did not leave, but patrolled the alleys in teams of two.
Since then, even if the first exam has started, it will begin in this quiet night with a hint of coolness, in this cramped and cramped hut, under the eyelids of the horner who seems to be staring at a thief.
Xue Tingxiang also lit candles, not one, but several, and then looked at the exam questions from a distance.
The first round of the township examination consists of seven questions, three in the Four Books, and four in the Five Classics. Because when applying for the exam, it was decided which of the Five Classics to choose as the exam question, so all the questions that Xue Tingxiang had to take the exam were printed on the paper. Including his name, age, place of origin and other personal information, are also printed in advance on the examination paper.
Xue Tingxiang reviewed them one by one, not only on the questions, but also on the possible mistakes, including every word above. After confirming that he was right, he read the seven questions again before putting the test paper into the special question bag and blowing out the candle.
He didn't intend to smear it. First, the dim light was annoying, and secondly, he wanted to play the draft first.
On the night of August, it was still quite cold. Xue Tingxiang got into the quilt again and thought about the problem quietly.
Obviously, there are many people who think differently from him. Standing on the Mingyuan Building, you can clearly see a little candlelight, which is densely lined up. Those who haven't seen such a scene thought it would be a firefly, but they don't know that it is a firefly, but no one knows if the firefly will burn into a fire.
Looking at this scene, Huang Mingzhong inexplicably came up with such a thought.
He shook his head with a laugh, feeling that he must have been too nervous these days.
The examiner seems to be beautiful, and once the exam is over, there are countless students. But behind the scenery, there are all kinds of invisible crises hidden.
He had to take advantage of this opportunity, after all, this is what Elder Ge painstakingly fought for him. When this is over, his reputation in the court will rise to a new level. The Minister of Rites, Tan Liang, is getting old, and he will be old in two years. It is time for him to ascend to the position of the sixth minister. .
"President, the night wind is very cold..."
The person standing behind him stopped after saying just that. In officialdom, what is important is to reveal half of it and hide the other half, and let you tell everything. Do you teach the people above to be a person or to do things
Huang Mingzhong glanced at the little firefly again before turning around. The person who spoke to him was Jianlin Zhu Zhi, who this time led the governor of Shanxi, and was the general photographer of the examination room to inspect customs affairs, and he was also his person.
He remembered what the old man had explained, and as he walked out, he lowered his voice and said, "How many people are you keeping an eye on? Others are fine, the one surnamed Xue..."
The voice disappeared in the air, and when they got out of this place, the two of them looked serious, and went back to their respective places.