Lu Zhan said unhappily, "He is just quick-witted, but far from having a photographic memory. That can only be achieved when you become a Jinshi. Besides, Jiangzhou has nine prefectures under its jurisdiction, and Dayuan Prefecture Academy of Literature is just one of them. If he is really a genius, the 'master' of the prefecture's academy, Li Daxueshi, will definitely make an exception and accept him into the prefecture's academy, and he will study with the top scholars and juren in the prefecture as a student! Do you think it's possible? Li Daxueshi is a third-rank official like the governor of the prefecture, and his literary rank is even higher. He is responsible for the education of tens of millions of people in the prefecture. Without his approval, no one is worthy of being a child prodigy!"
Everyone laughed secretly. Last year, Fang Zhongyong went to Lujia Town, and Lujia Town happened to hold a small poetry meeting. As a result, Fang Li asked Fang Zhongyong to write a poem at the poetry meeting, which overwhelmed the scholars present and made the students of Lujia Town lose face. Lu Zhan was among them, and he was dissatisfied with Fang Zhongyong more than once.
Liang Yuan whispered, "What Lu Zhan said makes sense. Fang Zhongyong is too young after all. His best poem is only at the level of 'out of the county', not at the level of 'reaching the mansion'. But with time, he may achieve higher achievements."
Lu Zhan added: "Yes! He can be considered a child prodigy only if he has at least one poem that surpasses Dafu to 'Mingzhou'. As for 'Zhenguo' or even higher realms, that is not something we can discuss."
Counties, prefectures, states, and countries, each level is larger than the previous one. This is the common administrative division in Shengyuan Continent.
Ge Xiaomao whispered, "In fact, it's good to have a poem published in the county. Many scholars can't write a poem published in the county in their entire lives. Even if a juren can write a poem published in the county, it's good enough to hold a banquet to celebrate."
Lu Lin, who had been silent the whole time, said in a deep voice: "The barbarians are causing chaos, and Qing is watching covetously. Instead of fighting for fame and fortune, it is better to think hard about resisting foreign aggression!"
Lu Zhan and Ge Xiaomao looked ashamed. Liang Yuan smiled and said, "Lu Shitou, we are just talking. Don't be so serious."
"Alas, the border troops have suffered repeated defeats in battles with the barbarians, and Liu... some people have ignored the dangers of the country for their own selfish desires! If I can pass the examination to become a scholar, I will definitely join the army, not to serve the court, but only for my people!"
Lu Lin spoke passionately and the surrounding area was completely silent. Except for a few people who laughed at him, most people looked in admiration.
There are three barbarians in Shengyuan Continent, namely Grass Barbarians, Sand Barbarians and Forest Barbarians. Each of the three barbarians has its own tribe, such as Wolf Barbarians, Tiger Barbarians, etc. It is said that they are the descendants of the hybridization of monsters and humans.
Fang Yun took a closer look at Lu Lin, who had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a square face. He was also the most upright person in the private school. When Fang Yun first entered the private school, someone bullied him, but it was thanks to Lu Lin that he reached out to help.
Among the five people, Lu Lin doesn't talk much, but he is the most respected.
However, even he did not dare to scold the Left Prime Minister Liu Shan in public.
After Lu Lin finished speaking, he looked at Fang Yun.
Fang Yun was stunned and realized that he had made a mistake. Although Fang Yun was not as upright as Lu Lin in the past, because of his poor family background, he knew the sufferings of the world well and wanted to pass the imperial examinations and then stabilize the country. He was a staunch advocate of war.
Fang Yun immediately said: "Lu Lin is right. A man should be determined to fight on the battlefield and die on the battlefield!"
Lu Lin showed an approving look, and Liang Yuan smiled and said, "Fang Yun, your ability to flatter others is getting better and better."
The others chuckled.
Everyone chatted as they followed the team forward. Fang Yun spoke very little as he was digesting his memories.
When he arrived at the entrance of the Academy of Literature, two expressionless soldiers were standing there, and one of them reached out to Fang Yun.
"Test card, document."
Liang Yuan handed the book box to Fang Yun. Fang Yun opened the book box, took out the wooden test card and identity document on the top and handed them to a soldier, then handed the book box to another soldier.
The soldier on the right took the book box and looked through it. Inside were brushes, ink sticks, inkstones, pen holders, pen stands, paperweights, bamboo tubes for holding water, cloth bags for sugar cakes, etc. The soldier nodded and handed the book box to Fang Yun.
The soldier on the left took a look at the test card, then at the identity document, which had a portrait of Fang Yun when he applied for the exam, and also described Fang Yun's physical appearance in words. He looked at Fang Yun for comparison, and finally his eyes fell on the medical bandage wrapped around Fang Yun's head.
"What's the matter? Are you the one who came here on the ox cart?" the soldier asked seriously.
Fang Yun replied, "I was attacked by four gangsters with Dayuanfu accents last night. Fortunately, I survived. The one who bandaged my wound was Doctor Li from Cishengtang. He can testify for me."
The soldier nodded and said, "Every time there is an imperial examination, there are three ancient saints sitting in the Holy Court, looking down on the world. No one can hide from the eyes of the saints. You know the consequences yourself."
"I know."
The soldier handed the test card and documents to Fang Yun and let him in.
Fang Yun's friends then realized that Fang Yun had been beaten up and were very angry, but this was the College of Literature, so they dared not say anything and could only suppress their anger in their hearts.
The square behind the main entrance of the College of Arts is wide. Fang Yun raised his head slightly and saw that the sky nearby was blue and cloudless. The blue sky was in the shape of an irregular circle. Outside the circle, there were dark clouds and it was still raining, as if there was a majestic force that dispersed the dark clouds nearby to ensure the smooth progress of the exam.
After all the two thousand candidates entered the Holy Academy, they walked together to the front of the Holy Temple. Soldiers and yamen runners stood on both sides of the candidates, and local officials stood in front of them. At the front of the crowd were the three county examiners: the county magistrate, the president of the county academy, and the principal of the prefectural academy.
On the Shengyuan Continent, the "Academy of Literature" is an extremely important system, and is known as one of the three major systems of each country along with the military and civil service. It is responsible for educating the people and for the imperial examinations. It is also the best school in all places. Once a war breaks out with monsters and barbarians, the teachers and students of the Academy of Literature will rush to the battlefield.
At the county or prefectural level, the status of the prince is usually slightly lower than that of the county magistrate or prefect, but in each state, the prince of the state is equal to the governor in terms of official rank, and often exceeds it in terms of theoretical rank, and his overall status also exceeds that of the governor.
The National Academy of Literature is also known as the "Palace of Learning". The person in charge of the Palace of Learning must be the "Minister of Literature", one of the four ministers of the cabinet, also known as the "Master on Behalf", because the only person qualified to be called "Master" is Confucius, the teacher of the world.
The real person in charge of all the academies was only Confucius. Whether he was the Lord of the Academy or the Prime Minister of Literature, they were just managing the academies on behalf of Confucius.
The Academy of Literature was where sages preached, while the various government offices were merely part of the monarch's court. In the minds of many scholars, the Academy of Literature had a higher status.
Before the three examiners stood a copper incense burner half a person's height, with three thick incense sticks emitting green smoke.
In front of the copper incense burner is the holy temple, with red walls, black eaves, red doors and red pillars.
At the innermost part there is a standing statue of Confucius, below which are six smaller statues of sub-sages, namely King Wen of Zhou, Mencius, Xunzi, Zengzi, Zisi and Yan Zi.
Under the statues of the two sub-saints, there are holy tablets of dozens of semi-saints.
Fang Yun looked at the holy temple in surprise. He could clearly sense that this building exuded a tangible yet invisible power, with the majesty of mountains and the vastness of the blue sea.
"That's probably the talent contained in the holy temple, and it's also the power to dispel the dark clouds." Fang Yun thought to himself.
The county magistrate shouted, "Pray to the saint!"
Everyone bowed and paid homage.
The county court official shouted: "Bye, Saint!"
Everyone bowed again.
"Pray to the Saints!" the schoolmasters shouted.
Everyone bowed for the third time.
Then the county magistrate read the "Sacrificial Oration to the Saints".
Fang Yun has this article in his memory. It was originally written by the semi-saint Dong Zhongshu. The article lists the name of each saint and a summary. After Dong Zhongshu's death, it was added by Confucius' direct descendant "Yansheng Gong".
Then, the principal of the provincial academy of literature read out the examination rules.
Finally, the county magistrate announced the start of the examination, and the candidates, led by the yamen runners, entered the examination room according to the numbers on their examination cards.
Fang Yun took a close look at his exam card, which read "Di Ding Chen San", and then he slowly searched with his bookcase on his back.
The examination room was a series of small houses connected together, and the road between every two rows was wide enough for two carriages to run side by side.
The examination room faced south and was less than ten feet high. If Fang Yun entered and stretched out his arms, he could touch the east and west walls. It was very narrow.
There was a table, a chair and a toilet inside. There was a pen washer filled with clean water on the table, and nothing else.
Fang Yun found his examination room and looked around from the door. From the moment he sat down, no matter what happened, once he left the examination room, the examination would be considered over and he would not be allowed to re-enter the room.
Fang Yun couldn't help but clench his fists and slowly walked into the examination room.
"I can do it!" Fang Yun said firmly in his heart.
Fang Yun sat quietly and looked up at the sky. Due to the eaves blocking the view, he could only see half of the sun.
The sunlight in the academy became exceptionally soft, and Fang Yun did not feel any discomfort even when looking directly at the sun.
Fang Yun thought of the aura of the holy temple and became even more eager for this mysterious power.
The sound of a carriage came from the east, getting closer and closer.
Not long after, a carriage slowly appeared in front of the examination room, and a man took out a stack of yellowish paper from the carriage and handed it over.
Fang Yun stood up, took the test paper with both hands, and said, "Thank you."
The person delivering the papers nodded, glanced at Fang Yun, and continued to hand out the papers to the next candidate.
Fang Yun put the test paper on the table and sat down. Looking at the test paper that was both familiar and unfamiliar, he gave a strange bitter smile.
"Even if I go to another world, I can't escape exams. I wasn't a top student in my previous life. I hope I won't be a poor student in this life."
Fang Yun thought about it and did not start writing immediately, but looked through the test paper first.
He once read a story about some people taking an exam. There were a lot of questions on the exam, but there was only ten minutes left, so it was impossible to answer all the questions. Yet, many people started answering the questions in a hurry, hoping to write as much as possible.
However, the last question on the test paper read: Answer only the last question.
After reading this story, Fang Yun checked each test paper every time he took an exam. He did not look at the last question, but carefully checked to see if there were any damages or omissions.
During an exam, Fang Yun discovered that there was a problem with the second test paper, so he asked the teacher to change it in advance. If he had waited until he finished the first paper to change it, it would have wasted a lot of time.
After having tasted the sweetness once, Fang Yun developed a habit.
The test paper is larger than the previous test papers. It has a total of 40 pages, 30 of which are printed with test questions, and the other 10 are blank. If there is a problem with the previous test paper, the candidate can manually rewrite the entire test paper.
The quality of paper and printing is excellent, only a few decades behind the level of Earth. Fang Yun is not surprised at all. This is a world of talent. If they were behind in basic aspects such as writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and printing, they would have been wiped out by the monsters and barbarians long ago.
Fang Yun took a quick look and got a general idea.
The first three pages of the test paper test the life or deeds of some saints, among which the sage Confucius and six sub-sages must be tested. It seems simple, but the answers must be texts from the classics of the saints. You cannot answer in your own words, otherwise it will not be asking for the words of the saints.
The next three pictures are poems and songs by the emperor.
The next fifteen sheets each have a sentence and then fill in the original text before or after it.
The last nine sheets are all large passages or even entire chapters of the works of the saints that were copied from memory.