Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination

Chapter 62

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Yongping Mansion was hit by an earthquake in the first month of the year, and the area around Fuzhi, Funing, and Linyu was the worst hit. Numerous houses and walls collapsed, and victims were injured. The prefect Wang Wen is busy with disaster relief, and the government test has been delayed again and again, and it will not start until the end of February.

Students from the six counties of this prefecture, Jiashan Haiwei and several military villages, have to go to the Fucheng for the exam. Zaoli, who guarded the gate, ordered the students to check their identities and search their bodies in the order of Lulong, Qian'an, and Funing. The government test is not only a guarantee for five lives, but a guarantor for a senior, but two guarantors.

Zhao Yinglin asked his eldest brother to help find someone, meaning he took the insurance premium of one tael of silver per person from this group of elementary school students, and stood outside the Dragon Gate to prove their identities.

This time, Cui Xie didn't have the preferential treatment from the county, so he really made people go through the examination and entered the examination room with his head unkempt like other Confucian boys. In front of him, there were a few people who were found to be entrained, and they all asked the officials to drag them to the sidewalk and kneel with their backs against the wall. Only those who had to be left outside the examination room for a day were allowed to leave. There are also those who are timid, throwing the notes and mini question bank they brought to the roadside before they go through the inspection, and honestly enter the arena empty-handed.

The three exams in the prefectural exam are more difficult than the county exam. After all, if you pass the prefectural exam, you are a child, and you can take the academy exam directly every year. Lord Fu Zun Wang is not an examiner like Qixian magistrate who pursues the ancient style and can't even bother with small questions. Although he didn't come up with a topic that couldn't be traced, he also wanted to put it in another chapter:

The first two scriptures of the government test, the four books are titled "Ploughing in the Spring Province to make up for the deficiency, for the princes to save." After that, there is a Xia proverb poem, the last sentence of which is "One tour, one Yu, save for the princes", that is, an alternate sentence, which can also be regarded as a sentimental one; "Daya·King Wen" takes "Xiaoya·Tong Gong".

In the next two games, it was easier than Qixian Zun, with only one theory and one policy question. On the topic of "Li Lu", the question is about disaster relief. What Cui Xie County simulated before the trial were all disaster relief strategies, and it was like a duck to water. After writing the first two classics and meanings, I was a little uneasy. I wrote this policy question with a sense of pleasure when I defended my graduation thesis.

The government exam is also not sealed. Although Wang Zhifu does not know his people, he is familiar with his name. Looking at the papers he had handed in three days in advance, the last time we met, I couldn't help making him stand, holding his papers and asking, "You are Cui Xie from Qian'an County who published "The Four Books of Dialogues" ?"

Cui Xie lowered his hand and replied, "It's the student."

Fu Zun asked, "You are very good at composing sentences, but do you know how to write poetry?"

This really won't work... Cui Xie knew in his heart that even if he had memorized an anthology of Ming and Qing poems, he would not be able to reach the level of instructive writing, let alone memorizing it. So he said honestly: "I have never done it before. Students have only a short time to study seriously. They first learned to write essays from the master, and have not yet learned poetry."

If a child prodigy can't write poetry, the word "God" will be discounted.

Wang Wen was disappointed, and wanted to send him back directly, but thinking that his previous prodigy name was written in a couplet sentence, he said, "I've read your "Four Books and Two Books", since you are familiar with the four books , good at the words in the book are right, this government will issue a couplet, you come to the right sentence."

He pondered for a while, and said, "Leave the eyes and the electricity."

This sentence comes from the third chapter of "Book of Changes: Shuo Gua Biography". The original sentence is "Li is the eye. Li is the fire, the sun, and the electricity." Cui Xie had also read the Book of Changes once, but he didn't write it as the original scripture, he just carved the contents into the hard drive, and he couldn't remember where it came from.

He was not familiar with the Book of Changes, but he was familiar with the "Four Books". After listening to the rhythm of the first couplet, he immediately thought of the first sentence of the first chapter of "The Analects of Confucius: Zihan", "Zihan said benefit and fate and people", and replied: "Profit and fate and people."

Wang asked "um", looked up at him, and said, "You are indeed proficient in the four books, but the couplets collected in the four books are all short sentences. If you write too much, you will be afraid of restricting your literary thinking, so I will test you one too. long sentences."

Because it was an exam for a primary school student who was taking the government exam, he came up with an interesting sentence: "The talent of the Eight Fights should be in the Jieyuan, Huiyuan, Zhuangyuan, even in the three-yuan, Hanlin, and 18th bachelor's degree."

Cui Xie said without blushing: "Students should work hard and live up to the expectations of the government." He bowed his hands to the west, and said, "The emperor of ten thousand years will be the first, the teeth, the virtues, and the master. Return to one, Xuan Dan decreed, and dawn on hundreds of millions of living people."

This pair of sons is still from Mencius, in the second chapter of "Gongsun Chou Chapter Sentences", "there are three great respects in the world: one rank, one tooth, and one virtue."

Wang Zhifu smiled knowingly, waved his hand and said, "Forget it, it's enough to test your "Four Books", go back and review carefully to prepare for the college test. This time, you will be chosen."

Cui Xie thanked him, walked outside the Dragon Gate, and waited for a while. He gathered five students who had submitted papers in advance and went out together. Unexpectedly, as soon as they walked outside the gate of the Confucian Temple, a group of Zao Li came to stop them. Among them was a sergeant wearing a red cloak and a six-petal felt hat. Is it? If you are here, come with me, the adults have something to ask you."

Several students turned their heads to look at each other. Cui Xie's heart skipped a beat. He didn't know what could happen to him if he tried hard enough to take the exam. Could it be that the parents in the family did something wrong and he could no longer take the imperial examination

There were many messy thoughts in his mind, and the coldness on his body became heavier. He stood up and replied, "The student is Cui Xie. I wonder which adult is looking for the student?"

The sergeant's expression was not very stern, as if he had been famous for a long time, and finally saw the emotion of the real person, and sighed: "So you are Cui Xie. Come with us, we Qianhu and Censor Liu should both be meet you."

A few students who went out together left him a few feet away in an instant, and the flow of people blocking the door also automatically separated, Cui Xie just walked on the red carpet, walking on the empty road to the sergeant, and asked in a low voice: " But I don't know where we are going? Where are the thousands of households that the adults mentioned?"

As he walked, the sergeant replied in a low voice: "Of course we thank Qianhu, do you know Qianhu of another guardhouse? The Censor Liu is waiting for you in the ya, and you'll know what's going on when you get there. , let's go."

It turned out to be Xie Qianhu, so he can rest assured... Wait, Jin Yiwei! The imperial censor took Jinyiwei to the countryside to handle the case! What the hell did the Cui family do? Even his child in the countryside had Qianhu Jinyiwei personally ask him

In a hurry, he was pushed into a sedan and carried into the government office. The Fuya and Xue Temple were built on the same street. The Fuxue was in the north, and the Yamen was in the south. They were only half a street apart, and the sedan chairs were carried outside the Yamen within a few steps. The Jin Yiwei who led the way called him down, led him in through the small door, and went to the second hall.

There are two officials sitting in the right seat in the hall, all dressed in black official robes, but the clothes are one green and one green. The one on the left hand is named Liu Qibuzi with the seventh grade of a civil official, which should be Liu Yushi; the one on the right... Don't look at it. Buzi, you can tell by looking at his face that it is a thousand households of the fifth grade of Jinyiwei. He was sitting next to an official who was dressed in the same clothes as him, but who was only playing the white pheasant to fill the child.

Although he knew that Xie Qianhu was here to raid the house to get people, but seeing his face, Cui Xie somehow felt a sense of security, and his heart was settled after he was busy all the way. He walked to the center of the hall, stood firmly on the hall, and bowed his hands: "Cui Xie, the Confucian boy in Qian'an County, has seen two adults."

He has indeed grown taller, and he has indeed lost weight.

The first time Xie Ying saw him, although he was ill, he still had flesh on his face, and because he had a fever at the time, his cheeks were flushed, but he looked good. But this time, he had just come out of the exam room, and he felt tired and haggard. He didn't know if his face was cold or tired.

But his figure is more slender and taller than before, wearing layers of jade-colored gowns, like a tree of jade standing on the hall, illuminating the inner hall a bit. His face was thin, and his chin was pointed out, but it wasn't that kind of morbid depression, but a heroic spirit that grew out of the cuteness of a child.

Only those eyes did not change much, the tail of the eyes was slightly raised, and when they lowered their eyes, they only felt warm and delicate, but when they raised their eyes to look at people, they showed a scorching brilliance.

Xie Ying came to ask about him, but not to come and salute him. When he saw him bowing, he said, "No need to be more polite. Master Liu, Zhang Tongzhi and this official are not people who pay attention to vulgarity, and you are not a criminal. Stop standing, and sit next to Master Zhang."

Lord Liu glanced at him. As if he didn't feel it, he held the tea cup and said, "Give Master Cui a cup of tea. Since the Holy Order didn't say to ask him about it, he should still be treated as an official student and a student of the government exam."

There is still a holy life? But he wasn't here to arrest him, so he should be a witness? Could it be that there is something wrong with the White Lotus Sect...

With Cui Xie's barren experience and imagination, this is all he can think of. Anyway, as long as it wasn't to catch him, he got up and walked to the head of fellow acquaintance Zhang Gui, but instead of sitting down, he respectfully cupped his hands and said, "I don't know what your lord is going to ask, Cui Xie will definitely ask. Know everything."

Liu Zan also liked his face very much, but he was afraid that his morality and talent would not match his face. ghostwriting.

However, he was the censor who was ordered to ask the case, and he had to endure it until the case was finished, so he couldn't wait for him to sit down and drink a cup of tea, so he asked directly, "The library on Yahou Street, Qian'an County. Was it your family's property? Did you dedicate it to Qian'an County?"

Not the White Lotus? Is it the library

Cui Xie was stunned for a moment, falling in the eyes of Liu Yushi, and suspecting that he didn't know about donating the library at all. He bowed slightly, looked at Cui Xie and said warmly: "Just tell the truth. This official and Xie Qianhu are both here on the emperor's orders. No matter what grievances there are, we can call the shots for you."

Xie Ying also smiled and said: "Master Liu is right. If you have any grievances, just come back in person. The emperor is holy, the candle shines thousands of miles, and I am deeply grateful to the emperor. How can I allow those ghosts and tricks to harm good people?"

Cui Xie came back to his senses, took a step forward quickly, looked at the two commissioners and said firmly: "The yard of the library was donated to this county on my own initiative, and I have never had any grievances. The two adults came to ask these questions, could it be that? Am I supposed to donate this place?"

of course not.

Donating property to the imperial court is a righteous act, and building a library in Qian'an County for free reading is also a moral policy, and no one dares to say that it is wrong. What the censor wants to play, what the imperial envoy wants to investigate is not that they shouldn't donate the courtyard to build a museum, but how did such a child who was not yet born last year think of donating the courtyard—

Was it really out of his heart, or was he deceived

Liu Zan's body leaned even more, almost stood up from the chair, looked at Cui Xie's bright and clear eyes and asked, "You didn't become a child last year, right? How did you know to donate the courtyard to the county to build books at a young age? Museum? But someone taught you this? Or promised you something?"

Cui Xie squeezed out a few shallow lines of Sichuan characters between his eyebrows and asked him, "Why do you think so? The donation of the library came from the students' hearts. It is clearly written in the "Record". The students donated the dowry in order to use it in a more beneficial place, and were not persuaded by others."

Liu Zan's clenched brows relaxed slightly, and asked again, "The shop is your first wife's dowry, and there are more than a hundred taels of rental income every year, right? You have a child living out of town, and your family's share has to be sent from the capital. , it is always inconvenient to come and go, without this income, are you not afraid that it will affect your study?"

Don't be afraid. Without Zhirong Bookstore, there are still two homes, Anzhai, and Qingzhutang, which opens with the festival.

Cui Xie looked away slightly, and said solemnly: "The student once heard the servants say that when my late mother married into the Cui family, my father was still a student, and my grandfather's family brought a bookstore with him just to take care of his father's studies. Later, my father had the opportunity to read a lot of books, so he was successfully admitted to the jinshi and served the court. I came to Qian'an to prepare for the test, and Chongci also made the decision to hand over the bookstore to me with such expectations. I can read at will, so I learned to write in the county for more than a year, and I can rush to the government to test..."

It turns out that this bookstore has such a tortuous reason. Liu Zan nodded again and again, until he heard "you can learn to write in the county within a year" before he woke up—

wrong! That's not something you can learn by reading a book! Most people certainly can't write articles just because they read a few books!

The scriptures are not enough, and if you ask the gentleman to change it a few times, you can also correct the clear sentences. Such skillful and sophisticated counseling is not something that a child who has never seen the world can write. Even those literary attendants in the Hanlin Garden asked them to write classics and ancient texts, and they were full of flowers; when it came to such a current policy, they would always attack the story for a long time.

He was about to interrupt Cui Xie to ask about the end of the article, but Cui Xie stepped forward more generously, raised his head and said to him, "Students thought that day, women in the world don't expect their husbands to study and enter office; Mothers in the world, don’t expect their son Toad Palace to win laurels; and scholars in the world… no matter whether they are the children of the poor family or the sons of officials, who would be more reluctant to pick up books at will in the library to read?”

Liu Zan froze him for a while, and forgot to interrupt him, instead he nodded and said, "That's why you donated your bookstore..."

Cui Xie laughed and said softly, "Your Excellency has said it into the hearts of the students. Although the students are not very knowledgeable, they understand the same as the Imperial Censor and the magistrate of this county. He took great pains and pity Han Su's children's difficulties in studying, so he donated the yard to the county, and did his best to serve the imperial court."

Xie Ying nodded at the side and praised lightly: "That's right. You can do this righteous act, and you can live up to the sage's decree to reward you 'loyal to the king'."

Liu Zan was stunned for a moment, remembering the plaque on the Cui family's door, "Being Urgent and Loving Righteousness", and the imperial decree archway at the street entrance, and immediately did not dare to go deeper and ask him how he could have such a thought of helping the world and serving the country at such a young age.

That is not an ordinary child who does not know the importance of wealth and silk, but a righteous man who received the imperial edict at the age of fourteen!

Now that he has passed the county exam, the government exam, and the Taoist exam again, he is a student. Even a student should be treated as an adult. A student who is eager for justice and righteousness donates his property and books for others to borrow, what is there to ask

I'm afraid it's the county magistrate Qi who knows that he has such a desire to repay and seduces him in the name of the court...

Liu Zan hesitated for a moment, then asked again, "Qi Sheng and you, who on earth wanted to build the library first?"

The construction of this should be the achievement of the county magistrate Qi, or should it be said that he mentioned it? Cui Xie glanced at Xie Ying subconsciously, wanting to get some hints from him, Xie Ying glanced back at him, only smiled and shook his head: "Let's be honest. The county magistrate Qi has already said it, and Yushi Liu only needs Hear what you have to say."

That must be what he thought. The county magistrate Qi will not lie.

Cui Xie made up his mind and said, "It was built by the students. Originally it was Qian'an Dashui in the 17th year, and the bookstore couldn't operate, so it had to be rented to outsiders. That house was a woman who lived in the backyard of the bookstore, and there was someone in charge of the bookstore. The pictures and books printed on the inside were called 'Cui Meiren' or something. The students thought they had a bad reputation, so they didn't want to open a shop after taking back the yard, and because they wanted to make the students all read books, they turned it into a book. Hall.

"Master Xianzun knew about this and said that I, a student, can't afford this, so I have to allocate the county's financial and taxation, and choose another location to build a library. Because I made up my mind to do this, I can't do it myself, and I can't do it myself. If Master Qi can make it, he will donate the yard together with the books in it to the county."

Speaking of Cui Meiren, Liu Yushi couldn't help showing a bit of pity: "Then why Cui Meiren moved away, do you know where she went?"

As soon as he said this, Cui Xie's face was even colder than when he first entered the second hall, and he replied with a stiff face: "Students don't know, students have never seen the face of that Cui Meiren with their own eyes, and they never asked him where he was going. ."

Xie Ying's smile instantly became fresher. She lowered her head and pursed her lips slightly. She quickly returned to her usual gentle expression, and turned to persuade Liu Zan, "Sir, what are you asking about? He's a child, so he doesn't know if he is beautiful or not. You just ask him about the case."

Aw... It's a pity that this elementary school student is too young to appreciate beautiful women!

There is nothing to ask about the case. Since Cui Xie himself wanted to donate the bookstore, the reasons were clearly stated, and there was no trace of reluctance, so Qian'an County was cleared of the crime. It's just that Cui Xie, as a son of man, should not dispose of his parents' property in the imperial history book, and he needs to ask him face to face.

Liu Zan's expression had relaxed, and she sat deeply in the chair and asked him, "After all, the bookstore in your house belongs to your parents. Did you say hello to your family when you donated it to him and get your parents' permission?"

Of course Cui Xie didn't ask. But the more guilty he was, the harder he had to act. He looked into Liu Zan's eyes and said with a slightly offended expression, "Because the county magistrate mentioned building a library, the students agreed on the spot, and it was too late to talk to the family. Discuss. However, being loyal to the monarch is filial piety, so why should we discuss such acts of benefiting the country and the people and repaying the saint's grace! The adults must have already asked the students' families in Beijing. My father is a loyal court official and Zhan Zhanqingliu, how can he say half of it? No words!"

Dare to say half a word is infidelity!

In this feudal society where the ruler is the master of the minister and the father is the master of the son, the festival of the ruler and the minister is far superior to the relationship between the father and the son. Taking out the title of loyal monarch, a little less filial piety is nothing, don’t you see that so many ministers don’t even keep their parents’ filial piety

Liu Zan nodded and said in agreement, "Ling Zun did say that he is willing to dedicate the property to the imperial court. In this way, you are not using your property for private purposes, but it's just a few days' journey back and forth between Beijing and Qian'an. In the matter of loyalty and righteousness, make an immediate decision, and you can't stay at home and call the shots from a few hundred miles away."

Cui Xie lowered his head slightly, stood there upright and replied: "Your Excellency is right, I know my father's loyalty to the emperor, and I will do anything that benefits the people of the court, he must agree, and there is no need to send someone. Contact please."

Xie Ying turned his eyes to the side, unable to look at him, for fear that he would burst out laughing at one more look.

Even if Liu Yushi had finished taking the confession, the secretary who followed him had written down the question and took it to Cui Xie and asked him to sign it for custody. Du Chayuan had one and Jin Yiwei had one. He glanced at them a few times, and when he saw that there was nothing wrong, he signed his name and took a fingerprint.

Tong Zhi Zhang Gui sat here for a long time to fill up the decorations. At this time, he relaxed his back a little and straightened up and asked, "The two adults have finished their inquiry. Are there any arrangements for them to come down?"

Xie Ying said: "We came with the imperial edict. Now that the errand is over, we have to rush back to pay the edict. There is no need to arrange anything. If it is too late today, Lao Yongping's mansion will prepare a few houses for Mr. Liu and our Jinyiwei to rest."

Zhang Tongzhi agreed and ordered people to go down and prepare. Seeing that Cui Xie had nothing to do with him, he was about to leave, but Liu Yushi reached out his hand to stop him, and shouted, "Wait a minute, although the mission sent by the sage is over, this official has one more thing to ask you. "

Cui Xie stood up immediately and looked at the two innocently. Although his face was right in the middle, his eyes fluttered towards Xie Qianhu several times.

Xie Ying said: "It's not a big deal. It's just that Mr. Liu never forgets the praise of you from Qian'an County, and he's a prodigy who learned to write in just one year. He wants to test you."

Come on, take the test! He has a hard drive in hand, and he is truly unforgettable.

Cui Xie's eyes lit up, and his face became even more radiant because of his excitement. Although Liu Zan had some doubts about his article, he also felt that this person was born like this, and he was really a champion of the character. The attitude of the investigation could not help but soften a little, and said warmly: "You wrote that in the Qian'an County test. A few articles are good, and this official has also read them. It is indeed a work with both theory and law. It's just too square and elegant, not like what you can do at your age..."

Before he came, he thought of asking the student how to make those articles sternly, but at this time he couldn't stand up, he sighed lightly, and said, "I didn't ask at all before. You can't forget it. Why? Just recite your three essays on the government exam here, and call me... to have the two adults and this official judge and judge."

Xie Ying glanced at Cui Xie and said to Liu Zan with a smile, "This is not a case study by the censor, and it is not a question for a teacher to test a disciple. Why should he be asked to answer while standing? Move him a chair in the middle and ask him to sit. Answer it."

Then Jin Yiwei moved up the chair, Cui Xie bowed his hands to Xie Ying, bowed and thanked: "Student, thank you for sitting down."

He is also very grateful to Liu Yushi for his willingness to test him - is his county chief worthy of his name, or is the county magistrate Qi likes him too much, and loves Wu and Wudi to give him the first name, relying on these few articles The article proves it.

Cui Xie sat shallowly on the edge of the chair, opened the PDF file in his mind, and slowly read: "'Spring saves farming and makes up for what's lacking, saves for the princes': that is to look at it without forgetting the diligent people, it can be done for the law. The world is over!"