As the chief examiner of the county exam, the magistrate Xu is also the judge.
He has to judge hundreds of papers in just one day, and he has to release the rankings before the second test starts. Naturally, he has to fight at night and stay up all night. Even so, it may not be possible to complete it, so the Xu county magistrate hopes that the sooner the candidates submit the papers, the better.
Xue Tingxiang was also a little surprised that he handed in the papers so early, but when he took the papers and just glanced at them, he knew that this person was definitely not giving up on himself, and he just handed in the papers in advance after answering them indiscriminately. If nothing else, just based on the upright and beautiful words on it, no examiner can pick out a mistake.
But even if he appreciates it in his heart, the magistrate Xu will not say it. This is a taboo in officialdom.
After Xue Tingxiang left, he fixed his eyes on the paper in front of him. After reading it, Fu Zhang praised it, only to say that this test paper is perfect.
In fact, as the first step in the imperial examination, the chief examiner of the county examination is very embarrassing, that is, to be the magistrate of a large county, it must be a serious imperial examination background. When it comes to the imperial examination experience, the magistrate Xu is extremely rich. What kind of questions he can't answer, but he is the last one in the academy, prefecture, and county examinations.
The questions he asked couldn't be too difficult, otherwise the questions in the government and academy exams would be easy, wouldn't it save Shangfeng's face? It can't be too easy, this will reduce the difficulty of the county test, which will be detrimental to oneself.
For the question of this county exam, the magistrate Xu considered and considered before deciding on the most important four-book question in the main field. It won't be overwhelming, and it won't be too simple.
Because the topic is too mediocre, the article will appear unremarkable, and in order to write a mediocre topic to catch the eye, you need a certain foundation.
This is what the magistrate of Xu praised. From his point of view, this paper is ingenious in breaking the question. You won't be surprised at first glance, but when you examine it carefully, you will find that the question is not as broken as this. for the appropriate method.
As for the other point, only those with rich imperial examination experience can see it. Xu county magistrate is over forty years old. If he talks about his life experience, he can only answer one sentence, whether it is extremely peaceful.
In the first 30 years, he tried and failed again and again, and nearly 40 people were still 'Tongsheng'. Although Tong Sheng is called Master, it does not mean that Tong Sheng is all old. The older Tong Sheng is, the less valuable it is. But all of a sudden he got enlightened one day, all the way from Xiucai to Juren to Jinshi, everyone said that he had accumulated a lot of money, but only Xu County himself knew that he was enlightened.
And this paper let him see an enlightened person.
If this paper allowed him to give a comment, it would be peaceful and fair.
Breaking the questions is just right, taking questions, starting stocks, etc. are all too fat, and a little less is not beautiful, especially when trying to figure out the examiner's mind and fit the general direction of the court, the most amazing thing to do.
You must know that young people are full of vigor, so it is inevitable to appear radical in the test-taking essays, or to be self-satisfied, to wait for me, or to take a slanted sword to catch people's attention, or if the field of study is not smooth, and there is infinite depression in my heart.
As everyone knows, if I don’t wait for me, I will definitely appear anxious and eager, and eagerness will make mistakes, and it will appear impetuous.
Since it is called the sword to go sideways, it is necessary to meet Bole who understands to appreciate it. If you meet an examiner who just doesn't eat this set, it will only be counterproductive. This is also the reason why some people are clearly recognized as very talented, but they fail after repeated attempts.
In the same way, there is resentment in the article. Who wants to take a person who has resentment against the court and even the examiner? Not disgusting is good.
In Xue Tingxiang's article, there was actually no such breath at all. He just complained plainly, with reason and evidence, giving people a sense of old life and a leisurely stroll.
If the magistrate of Xu hadn't known that he was just a stupefied young man who had only studied in a rural school and had not even been admitted to school for a year, he would have thought it was an article written by someone who had been ups and downs in the field for many years.
It is inevitable that people have preferences, whether they like flowers and flowers, or they like simple and unpretentious, but such a paper is probably not a fault that any examiner can pick out.
With the eyes of the old magistrate of Xu County, you can almost see a new star rising.
Don't be human at this time, what more!
So he immediately called a yamen and said something in his ear. Out of prudence, there was room in his words. After the yamen left, he picked up the exam paper in his hand and read it again.
Not to mention here, outside the gate of the county government, everyone's jaws dropped when they heard the words of the yamen and looked at their attitude.
They didn't miss what the yamen said, and let Xue Tingxiang come back when the list is released. What does this mean? Of course, Lord Xianzun has already stated that he will recommend Xue Tingxiang to the government for a test, and to let Lord Xianzun guide him, at least one child is safe.
For a time, complex, jealous, envious eyes came in, and of course there were also dismissive ones. That expression was obviously because he thought that Xue Tingxiang must have something to do with Lord Xianzun.
But generally people with brains don't think so, unless the magistrate Xu doesn't intend to be famous, even the magistrate Hu before, did not dare to be so blatant, or this Xue Tingxiang really has the ability.
There were also two candidates who were open-hearted. They released their suspicions and apologized to Xue Tingxiang, and then handed over to him to congratulate him. Xue Tingxiang's face was full of modesty, and he did not deserve such praise.
How hypocritical!
Xue Qingshan's eyes were all red with jealousy. You must know that when he took the Tongsheng exam, he spent a lot of effort, and now this kid has won so easily.
He was quite uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but think of Xue Juncai who was still in the examination room.
It's really a hopeless person, and this kid has come out on top. He didn't have to think about it to know that his father would be very surprised to know this news. If the Xue family had two children in the future, or even this kid became a scholar, would there still be a place for him in this family
Thinking of this, Xue Qingshan gave Xue Tingxiang a resentful look.
He really didn't want to be surrounded by people watching monkeys, so Xue Tingxiang took Zhao'er and left first. In fact, he wanted to wait for Mao Badou and others.
After resting in the inn for a while, he changed his clothes, and then he and Zhao'er went outside the county yamen, and finally Mao Badou, Li Datian, Chen Jian and others came.
Forget Mao Badou, he has always been heartless, and he didn't see any dejected expression on his face anyway. Li Datian seems to be honest and honest, but he is actually a big-hearted person, but Chen Jian looks preoccupied.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, just thinking about the previous question."
Therefore, among the four, talking to Chen Jian is the most refreshing. If Mao Badou, he will definitely jump from this sentence to other things, and then pull you to make fun of it. Anyway, he can't come up with an idea for a long time.
Xue Tingxiang patted him on the shoulder: "Since the exam is over, don't think about it anymore."
Chen Jian nodded and smiled.
As the two were talking, Mao Badou squeezed over and winked: "I was waiting inside to be released. I heard that there was a candidate named Xue who was recommended by the county magistrate to be sent to the government for examination. Could it be you? Hehehe, too. It's annoying, and now I think almost everyone knows about it."
After saying that, he looked Xue Tingxiang up and down, and smacked his lips: "I changed my clothes, obviously I came back after I went back. I heard that that person was the first to submit the papers."
Xue Tingxiang laughed: "Okay, you, don't stand here, go back." After speaking, everyone remembered that Xue Juncai had not come out yet.
At this time, Xue Qingshan was obviously very impatient, pacing back and forth.
Looking at his eyes and face from time to time, he knew that he must have no good words in his heart, and it is estimated that Xue Juncai also fell into a row. No wonder he failed after repeated attempts, just because of this kind of temperament, it was strange that Xue Jun had such a father, and he was considered unlucky.
"Your uncle is really, it's a pity that Xue Juncai is that kid." Mao Badou said.
The five of them came together, so naturally they couldn't leave first, they could only wait outside. It wasn't until it got dark that Xue Jun came out with a pale face.
"Why have you been dawdling for so long!" Seeing his son, Xue Qingshan took a few steps forward. At this time, there was no one in front of the county government office, and they were the group that stood out.
Xue Juncai didn't say anything. Xue Qingshan wanted to say something. At this time, Xue Tingxiang stepped up and said, "Uncle, don't talk about it, let's find a place to eat first."
Several people then got into the car.
It is expected that there must be a lot of people in the inn at this time, Xue Tingxiang and others just found a food shop to eat. During this period, Xue Qingshan kept asking how Xue Juncai did in the exam, but Xue Juncai kept his head down and did not answer.
However, it seems that he did not do well in the test. If only Xue Juncai would end up alone this time, Xue Qingshan would definitely not be like this, but with Xue Tinglan Meiyu in front, as long as he thought of how disappointed his father was when he went back, and how the villagers were talking about it, there was a problem. A sense of irritability.
"Okay, big brother, what are you talking about? This test has already been completed, whether it's good or bad, it's all about it. If you didn't do well in this test, the next test will be a good test." Xue Qinghuai said.
"You know shit!"
Xue Qinghuai really didn't understand that although there were five county exams in total, not everyone took the five exams. After the first test, the case will be released before the second test the day after tomorrow.
This 'case' is a small case, not a big one.
The paper for the county trial case is round, so it is also called a group case. In the center of the group case, there is a capital '中', which is very skillfully written. There are two circles around the word '中', the inner and outer circles, and they are arranged counterclockwise.
As for the first name, it is written on the word '中', and the word is improved.
These fifty people can participate in the second game, and there is a sub-list, and those who can be ranked in the sub-list can also participate in the second game. As for those who are not on the two lists, they will not be used. It is also called making a circle or a number.
This is why everyone in the world pays attention to the first game, because this game is related to the fate of this county test. Generally, those who can rank in the top 20, as long as there are no mistakes, can go to the government for a test. It's hard to say about the latter, because only 50 people are selected for the county test, and it is very likely that they do not perform well in the next few tests and will be squeezed out.
This is also the fundamental reason why so many people envy Xue Tingxiang when he heard that he was sent to the government for examination. If there is no accident, he will be the head of the case this time.
Of course, everything has to wait for the county to complete the test to know.
Therefore, if Xue Juncai did not do well in the first exam, he would probably go back here and come again next time.
Not to mention, while waiting for the rankings to be released the next day, the candidates all seemed very anxious, and some people were lingering in front of the gate of the county government early on.
On the contrary, Xue Tingxiang stayed in the inn and never went out, because by this time, many people knew about him, and he might be blocked and disturbed. And the people who went out to read the list soon came back. Xue Tingxiang was indeed the top one, Chen Jian was in the inner circle, Mao Badou and Li Datian were in the outer circle.
As for Xue Juncai, he was lucky to stay on the deputy list.
Being able to stay on the sub-list means that there is still a chance. It's just that this opportunity is much more important than others. He'd have to perform extremely well in the next second game, stay on the side list, or squeeze out the team case, to play in the third game. It wasn't until the fifth game, when we squeezed in within 50, that the county trial was passed.
You can imagine how difficult it is, if you accidentally go out of the circle and go home.
It was night, when Xue Tingxiang was about to rest in the latrine, he saw Xue Juncai standing alone in the courtyard of the inn.
"You seem to have something on your mind?"
Looking at Xue Tingxiang, Xue Juncai didn't know what to say for a while.
"I have studied hard for many years. Since I have come, don't leave any regrets. If you succeed, you will succeed. If you don't succeed, you won't lose your hair or lose a piece of meat."
"I… "
"think it yourself."
In the end, Xue Tingxiang is still not good at comforting people, let alone his old enemy.
Xue Tingxiang brushed off his clothes after the incident, leaving Xue Juncai to look at his back, unable to wake up for a while.
In the second game, the positions of Xue Tingxiang and Chen Jian did not change, Li Datian rose a few places, but Mao Badou lost one.
As for Xue Juncai, he was still stubbornly stuck on the sub-ranking list. By this time, half of the students who came to take the test had already gone.
The third game was still the same. In the fourth game, Li Datian successfully squeezed into the inner circle, with Xue Tingxiang and Chen Jian, but Mao Badou lost a few more places.
At this time, Mao Badou finally became anxious, and he just hugged the Buddha's feet in the middle of the night before the exam.
The results of the fourth game are actually almost fixed, because the fifth game is usually a cut-off. As long as it is not unfortunate, and there is a matter of losing etiquette in front of the county magistrate, the government test is stable.
In the fourth game, Mao Badou was lucky enough to hang on to the last name, and Xue Juncai finally failed to make it into the top 50, and was brushed down.
Xue Qingshan has been very anxious these days. After knowing that his son was really behind, he lost his temper, and it was Xue Qinghuai who came forward to stop it.
On the contrary, Xue Juncai let out a sigh of relief, and Mao Badou and others went to comfort him, but he seemed very comfortable, admitting that his knowledge was not good enough, and he used to claim to be talented, but he was arrogant.
In fact, it's not bad to have such a cognition, at least from Zhao'er's point of view, Xue Juncai's mentality has changed, maybe he can pass the next county exam in one fell swoop.
It is not terrible to lose, but it is terrible to lose without knowing how to lose.
This is what Xue Tingxiang said after listening to Zhao'er's retelling. The words are concise and clear, and there is nothing wrong. Zhao'er heard it very clearly and felt that he was right.
Finally, when the real crime happened, Xue Tingxiang was not surprised by the head of the case, beating gongs and drums to deliver the good news all the way to the inn where they lived.
Zhao'er had prepared the reward for a long time, and happily shoved the reward into people's hands.
At this time, the county government also printed out the top 20 exam papers of this county exam as Cheng Wen.
Xue Tingxiang's test paper is the most concerned. It can be recommended by the county magistrate in the first game. What kind of essay should be.
After reading Cheng Wen, there are some who like it, and some who disdain that it is not as good as myself, so I don't need to go into details here.
At the same time, the Xue family also received good news.