Chapter 198 Leaping over the Dragon Gate

The second round of the exam was not much easier than the regular round. The exam lasted three days, and the first question was a policy essay, followed by an imperial edict, an imperial edict, a chapter, and a memorial. The essence was still writing an essay.

But the policy essay had the highest weight in the second round. Most examiners who graded the papers would only look at how well you wrote the policy essay. If it was good, you would be accepted, and if it was not, you would be rejected.

First, the policy essay had to be written more than 2,000 words, but within 3,000 words. How could the 18 examiners review such a long essay one by one? Second, the last four questions were all tricky, and as long as you paid attention to the taboos in the writing and the use of rhetoric and allusions, most of them were stable.

The scholars who had the confidence to participate in the provincial examination had been trained in this matter and were the most well-behaved. Therefore, the candidates, including Chen Heng, focused their main energy on the policy essay.

The question of this provincial examination was————Governing the Border.

This question is easy to write, but it is also difficult to write. Fortunately, the place is flat and the fish leap and the birds fly, so the candidates can write freely. The difficulty lies in making the words meaningful, reasonable, and self-consistent.

As of today, more than 5,000 candidates in the Imperial Academy have been eliminated, and the remaining candidates are frowning and thinking, and can't wait to write.

Chen Heng picked up the stone to hold down the blank paper, and wrote down his ideas and inspiration on the draft paper next to him. The difficulty of writing lies in being consistent and integrated. To do this well, you have to find the thread first.

Now the border war is endless, and Dayong and the grassland tribes have fought to this point. Both sides are anxious. Whether to fight or make peace, the court is also arguing about it. But this time the test question uses border governance instead of defeating the enemy. I think the court has made a decision.

After closing his eyes and thinking for a long time, Chen Heng wrote the two words "Anmin" on the paper. This is the point he chose to break the topic, and it will also become the core of his writing. The argument between war and peace is nothing more than whether the people of Dayong can continue to bear it.

If every household of the people has a surplus, then the court will naturally be able to raise troops with ease and confidence. On the contrary, it will be difficult to take care of both ends, like a thorn in the back.

With a judgment in mind, you can think about the specific writing. Chen Heng has been studying history in the academy for several years, and has been taught by the headmaster for two years. The first thing that comes to mind is the strategy of pacifying the enemy from ancient times to the present.

"It is difficult to distinguish between good and bad laws in the world. The distinction between good and bad lies in heaven, earth, and people. You must remember the principle of adapting to local conditions and acting according to the times at different times." Pei Huaizhen used this sentence as an enlightenment sentence for students when talking about the rise and fall of the Six Dynasties.

The headmaster's intention is to say that there are good and bad methods in the past. Just because the history books praise it, you should not blindly believe in the good methods and think that they can be applied today.

Learning to look at problems dialectically is the principle that the ancient sages have always wanted to teach. Summarizing his thoughts bit by bit, Chen Heng began to write.

"If you want to cure border troubles, you must first cure the people. The difficulties of the people of Dayong are also the difficulties of the people of the grassland."

The beginning of the short twenty-one words, like the cry of a young phoenix, is concise and to the point. It not only points out his own difficulties, but also the plight of others. They are all ordinary people with two shoulders supporting one head and need to eat and rest. Chen Heng doesn't believe that the other party can live in the wind and rain.

With this tone, Chen Heng continued to write on the paper. The contradictions between the people on both sides can be resolved. It is not these people who are promoted and made rich. The real opponent of Dayong is the group of people who rule the people of the grassland.

A trick of "seeking common ground and dividing" is to first divide the rulers and the people into two ends. It is to extend the previous remarks and also to pave the way for the following views.

In the following text, Chen Heng only takes border trade as the topic and briefly describes his ideas on exchanging silk, tea, raw salt and other things for cattle, sheep, blankets and horses of the grassland tribes. Looking through the three hundred pages of history books, the methods that can be found have been exhausted by predecessors. Every time there is a large-scale change in the grassland tribes, the biggest background factor must be that their grasslands cannot support cattle and sheep.

Although it is an old saying, Chen Heng gave a more detailed overview of the current situation. Now the border troops are brave and the soldiers are good at fighting. They have been defending the enemy outside the country for several years. This is an opportunity for negotiation. The people on both sides are exhausted, which is the reason for negotiation.

But to really accomplish this, Chen Heng knew that there was still a reason to convince the war faction. He thought about it and wrote on the paper, "Avoiding war is not not fighting, but to achieve success in one battle and once and for all."

With the current national conditions of Dayong, borrowing border trade to exchange for a few years of breathing time is the most appropriate and practical way. Chen Heng put the main object of border trade on the grassland people, and then talked about the price changes of things obtained from the grassland and transported to various places in Jiangnan.

The latter is Chen Heng's specialty. He has the habit of paying attention to prices. He also knows that there are bold adventurers at the border all year round who make profits from smuggling. With the actual operation of Qiupu Street in hand, his arguments and means of operation are not general talks that remain in imagination, but the right medicine combined with current factors.

In recent years, the reduction of smuggling due to the war has caused the prices of things from the grassland to be ridiculously high. Rare things always have admirers. There are many such people in Yangzhou City.

After writing a series of data with extensive evidence, Chen Heng talked about the benefits before he began to finish his article. Use the things that the grassland people need to win over the lower classes, and use high officials and generous salaries to divide the grassland tribes. In exchange for three to five years, you can diligently cultivate yourself, be frugal above and generous below, and live in peace and security for the people, and eliminate border troubles.

After writing an impassioned article, Chen Heng couldn't help but feel both fortunate and regretful in his heart. Fortunately, the test question this time is only about border management, and there is no need to focus too much on internal affairs, which can save some energy.

It's a pity that I don't have any more information about the grassland at hand, and I don't know their internal relationship. If he had these information indexes, Chen Heng was confident that he could write a more detailed policy.

The rest of the time is spent revising and polishing, slightly deleting the sentences. After Chen Heng confirmed that a few articles were all right and he had done almost the same in the second exam, the remaining third exam followed closely.

The third exam was relatively easy. Apart from the twenty arithmetic questions, the only one that could be called difficult was the judgment question. The so-called judgment refers to the judgment that once caused Chen Hengda to suffer.

Because those who succeed in the examination can become officials, the five examination questions issued by the examiner are related to the division of inheritance, neighborhood disputes, accidentally hurting others, and avoiding paying taxes and grain.

For these questions, Chen Heng, who was familiar with "Dayong Code", quickly finished writing the judgments, but when he saw the last question, he couldn't help but be shocked.

It's about a daughter of a rich man's family who is engaged to the son of an official. It so happened that this young girl's beauty was noticed by another yamen. So the rich man went to an official to cancel the engagement. The latter did not agree, because it was his family who was the first to get engaged, so he accused the rich man's daughter of many marriages.

The rich man spent 3,000 taels to bribe the superior of the official family, forcing the latter to cancel the engagement. When the rich man's daughter heard that the divorce was successful, she was ashamed and blamed herself and hanged herself at home. When the son of an official family heard about this, he also threw himself into the river and died in love.

Ask the candidates how they should judge the case.

The facts listed in the question are all the facts, and candidates are not allowed to add any additional conditions.

Chen Heng couldn't help but frown. Why did this case look so similar to Wang Xifeng's attempt to gain power over the Iron Kan Temple? Even the amount and the ending are exactly the same. Except for the names of places and people, nothing is mentioned, which really makes people think a lot.

Thoughts flashed slightly, and Chen Heng decided to concentrate on the exam first. From this point of view, the crime of a daughter from a wealthy family, Xu, and the two families is definitely enough. But how should the yamen and the bribe-taking Shangguan be convicted?

If he were punished only for accepting bribes, it would be difficult to convince everyone. But they didn't kill anyone directly. The two deceased people said they committed suicide. It's really difficult to handle.

Chen Heng thought in his mind, thinking about what Pei Huaizhen taught, 'Govern people according to law, and more importantly, rule people according to morality. ’

The law is the bottom line, and morality is the standard for the people. There are always places in this world where the law cannot shine. In those dark places where the light cannot be seen, the only thing that can protect the people is the morality hanging in people's hearts. The essence of following the law is to maintain the existence of morality.

Thinking of this, Chen Heng already understood the key points of solving the case. Shangguan was convicted of manslaughter, corruption, bribery, and abuse of power for personal gain. He was considered the mastermind of the case and was sentenced to three thousand miles of exile with no chance of pardon for life. The father-in-law was punished as an accessory and sentenced to a thousand miles of exile. Thinking of the recent loss of my daughter, I changed the number from 1,000 miles to 500 miles.

Although the matter started in the government office, it ultimately came down to the greed of the daughter's father. And because the life of an official's son was spared, the father-in-law could not spare his life.

Although Yameni was the main cause, he was not subjectively involved. He was sentenced to one year in prison and five years of hard labor as a warning. Another fine of five thousand taels of silver was delivered to the eunuch's family.

When he stopped writing, Chen Heng reviewed the question again and found that there was indeed no mention of the affair between the yamen and the official. Since the examiner had emphasized that no additional conditions were allowed, Chen Heng had no choice but to give up.

After several reviews, wait until the paper is submitted. Chen Heng, who was tired of being freed from his cage, finally walked out of the Gongyuan with a relaxed body.

At this point, the nine-day rural examination finally ended.

Afterwards, Xinda asked his brother what he thought on the carriage ride back.

Chen Heng couldn't help but laugh, "This is satisfying and happy."

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Candidates can enjoy a stress-free vacation, but examiners have to start their most stressful work. There were more than 5,000 papers in total. Together with Cao and Yao, there were 18 room examiners accompanying them, including Li Bian, a scholar from Yangzhou.

This long-lost man no longer has the same energy as when we first met him. In the past two years in Yangzhou, his life was like a year and he was tortured. One moment he suspected that Lin Ruhai would look down on him, and the other moment he worried that Gu Xiang would blame him. You can imagine how embarrassed he is now after living in panic.

Cao and Yao ignored him and only told the examiners in their room to examine the papers more carefully. He began to select talents among his students.

In order to avoid favoritism and malpractice, the examiners review the transcribed "Red Scroll". The sealed original scroll is called the "Ink Scroll" because it was written by the examinee with an ink pen.

The five classics selected by the candidates are different, and their examination papers will be sent to different rooms for correction according to the different classics. The Five Classics were used to recruit officials, and twenty people were selected from each of the Five Classics, making a total of one hundred people. The top two in each round will be selected into the top twenty in the provincial examination, and then the best will be selected from the best.

The Five Classics have different levels of difficulty. The Spring and Autumn Annals are the most difficult and have the fewest papers. Therefore, there are only two room examiners in charge. There are several CEOs under the room examiner's name, helping to grade the papers together. These people are also from Juren background and have good literary talents.

The first thing to read must be the main four volumes. This one can directly determine the candidates' success. After all, they have to announce the results before the end of the month, so the examiners have to make some contingency measures.

In the middle of the night, candidates like Chen Heng have gone home and are fast asleep, while the examiners are still burning the midnight oil.

The explanations for the Yuan Dynasty in the provincial examinations every year mostly come from the "Book of Rites", "The Book of Songs" and "Shangshu", and most candidates take them as their classic texts. There are eighteen room examiners, and these three rooms alone occupy thirteen positions.

But tonight, the first laugh came from the "Spring and Autumn" room. The examiner surnamed Huang held a red scroll, patted the table with his left hand and said: "Zhao Zhao is as bright as the sun and the moon, and separation is like the journey of stars. Good article , What a great article! Lao Ye, come and read this article.”

The other examiner was moved when he heard this, and only halfway through, Examiner Huang said proudly: "This time, it's our turn to solve the problem."

As soon as he said this, the other four CEOs also got up out of curiosity and came over. Everyone gathered around Examiner Huang, scrambling to look at the exam paper.

"When looking at talents, the most important thing is to gain insights. It should be promoted." Someone praised.

Another person saw half of it, and also said aloud: "Exquisite reasoning and writing, delicate and brilliant. And being able to complete it in one go is really an incredible underachievement."

Examiner Ye also felt the same way. He looked around at everyone and said with a smile: "Jing Kui must be the person who wrote the book. Congratulations to Brother Huang. I don't know, this time the solution to the problem is the hand of the emperor."

Jingkui is the first in the Five Classics, and Jieyuan in the rural examination must also come from among the five people. When the five classics are combined together, they are commonly known as the Five Classics.

Examiner Huang shook his head and nodded, and only said: "It is not easy for the Spring and Autumn Sutra Room to come up with a solution. I hope you will speak up for me when the time comes."

"This is natural." Everyone said in unison.

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The next day, Cao Tingshou sat at the table and looked at the twenty articles selected from the Five Classics Room. The students who write these articles are the top candidates in this provincial examination.

The debate has been going on for some time, and a total of seventeen articles have withdrawn from the election of the first three. The articles left to the end are the articles by Chunqiu Fang, Shijingfang, and Shangshufang.

The honor of Jieyuan is so important that the examiner of the third room did not hesitate to give in and started arguing in front of the two adults, Cao and Yao. Among them, the people in the Spring and Autumn House suffered the most. They only had two house examiners, while the other two houses had four house examiners.

Seeing that his subordinates were holding their own opinions, Cao Tingshou also knew some ways of being an official. After a second thought, he said: "Since the essays are not good or bad, bring up all the papers for their second and third exams, and let's take a look at them together and rank them."

This is also the reason why. Although the provincial examination is more formal, the weight of the second and third examinations will not be much different. Over the years, Dayong has also had the qualifications to commentate on the Four Books and Five Classics, and has established the practice of formulating rankings.

Seeing that the deputy examiner Yao naturally nodded in agreement, the examiners from the third room hurried back to adjust the papers. At this juncture, it was no longer their turn to mark the papers. Cao and Yao personally picked up the red scroll and read it piece by piece.

Yao Ziran serves as a doctor in the Ministry of War, and is mainly responsible for the strategy of this provincial examination. His eyes passed over the three policy papers one by one, and he was immediately attracted by one of the articles.

The questions in this provincial examination are very large, and many candidates feel like they are just talking on paper when they are free to write. What kind of battlefield is the autumn deployment of troops? The more the better. If the soldiers are united, they will be able to conquer everything. They are all articles that you can listen to but have no practical use if you read them carefully.

This article is the only one that, apart from writing the thesis, quoted data and judged the situation of all parties, which made people excited.

"Wonderful, really wonderful." Yao Ziran nodded repeatedly and said with great joy, "Amazing talent and high ambition. This article deserves these eight words."

Follow the candidate's thinking and go through the strategies in the article again. Yao Ziran also felt that this policy was really indisputable. He immediately said to Cao Tingshou: "The first person to discuss the policy should be this person."

The latter nodded and leaned forward to take a look. I saw the place where the number was written, and it was written: Spring and Autumn Sutra Room No. 26.

When the third test paper is adjusted again, the winner is still No. 26. At this point, before Cao Tingshou could say anything, the examiners in the Spring and Autumn Room were already overjoyed. They were accustomed to observing words and expressions, so how could they not tell that one of their own students had won.

Cao Tingshou knew what he was doing, and sent the three examination papers of the three students to the examiners. Seeing that the articles on the twenty-sixth were all excellent, everyone reached a consensus.

The examiners in the Spring and Autumn Room returned to the room like a victorious general, with faces full of joy.

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August 30th is the day when the results are released. After sleeping at home for several days, Chen Heng finally had enough energy to go out. He took Xinda and rushed to the vicinity of Gongyuan, only to find Xue Biao, Jiang Yuanbai and others waiting here.

The four of them met again, each with their own feelings in their hearts. Seeing the crowd in front of the Gongyuan Hall. The four of them walked to a nearby restaurant together and waited on the second floor.

Xue Biao and Jiang Yuanbai knew that they had little certainty, and they could not withstand the unexpected luck. Although his face was tight, he spoke fluently and naturally. Only one hand picked up and put it down from time to time, showing careful nervousness and stiffness pretending to be relaxed.

Qian Dayou has put in the most effort, and he is worried about gains and losses the most right now. He hopes that Gongyuan will release the results soon, but also hopes that Gongyuan will release the results more slowly. Seeing Qian Dayou's appearance, Jiang Yuanbai couldn't help but joke about him, "Dayou, you should learn more from Brother Heng's composure."

Chen Heng laughed when he heard the sound. He looked at Xue and Jiang sideways and said to Qian Dayou: "Brother Qian, don't panic. You have tried your best. Just wait for good news."

"Okay... okay..." Qian Dayou began to tremble as he spoke.

Chen Heng had no choice but to get up and pour a cup of tea for his friend.

After that, the four of them were all bored, just waiting for the family members at the bottom of the list to report to them.

As the sun set a little bit, the gate of the Gongyuan finally opened. Dozens of officers cleared an open space among the crowd. Only then did several deacons arrive carrying long lists and worked together to post the lists on the wall.

The students in front of the list held their breath at the same time, looking back and forth, looking for their names quickly. Immediately, the first burst of laughter spread among the crowd.

"I won, I won!! Hahahahaha, I won! Hahaha..." The wild and wanton laughter floated in people's envious eyes, and the candidates rushed out, laughing as they ran, Go wild all the way.

Chen Heng and others who were sitting in the teahouse also saw it. Before they could make any expression, a low cry was heard from the list. It was the students who failed the exam.

By now, Xue Ke and Jiang Yuanbai's ease had disappeared. Both of them were worried, but Qian Dayou's expression turned into a fearless one.

After a while, the students under the list became more lively. There were people crying and beating their chests and stamping their feet, too many to count. It was really touching.

The stairs of the restaurant were also very lively. From time to time, there were messengers coming upstairs. Everyone knew that it must be a good news just by listening to the anxious footsteps. People came one after another, and soon the servants of the Qian family appeared at the stairs.

"Master." The servant of the Qian family trembled.

"Ah?!" Qian Dayou opened his mouth, wanting to ask but not knowing what to ask.

"Young... Young Master, you passed. It's the seventy-third place. You passed, Young Master, you passed the exam." The servant was talking incoherently. Qian Dayou swayed, but he didn't faint in front of his friend.

His pale face immediately turned red with ecstasy, and Qian Dayou couldn't help laughing: "Hahahahaha, hahahahaha."

He laughed happily, but he didn't forget to hold Chen Heng's hand, "Brother Heng, thank you. Thank you so much." As he spoke, he couldn't help crying, which scared the latter.

Before Chen Heng reached out to dissuade him, a voice of "Second Brother" came from the stairs. Chen Heng was also frozen in place. He turned his head blankly and saw Xinda finally squeezed out of the crowd, looking straight at him and running to him, shouting repeatedly.

"Second Brother, you are the first."

"You are the first, Second Brother."

It's hard to say what he felt at the moment. Chen Heng just felt relieved, as if a heavy burden had been unloaded. From today on, the old Chen family in Shanxi Village will produce a champion.

The candidates around heard that the champion was right beside them, and they were frightened by his age and soured by the good news. But they were all waiting for the news and had no time to care about Chen Heng.

Qian Dayou was so happy about the news that he hugged Chen Heng.

After two friends passed the exam, Xue Ke and Jiang Yuanbai looked at the stairs. They all hoped that their family members would appear there with a happy face.

But when the servants of the Xue family appeared with a guilty look on their faces, Xue Ke had to swallow the bitterness in his throat and confessed to his two friends: "Before, I only thought that there was a long way to go. Today I know how difficult it is to fail." After forcing himself to finish this sentence, he could no longer continue and only uttered "Ah".

"I... should read more books. If I had worked harder before..."

Jiang Yuanbai couldn't help crying. He was smart, but sometimes he believed in his own intelligence too much. I hope that through this opportunity, I can let them understand the hardships of the imperial examination.

Chen Heng comforted his two friends and took Xinda downstairs to go home.

Grandpa and grandma are still waiting for the letter at home. They have visited all the temples in Yangzhou recently, hoping that they can pass the imperial examination. Now they have lived up to the expectations of their elders.

When the two walked to the door of their house, they saw the open door. The family members, young and old, stood in the yard and watched Chen Heng walk in with a relaxed look. Everyone's nervous mood couldn't help but relax, and they really wanted to ask.

Suddenly, there was a lively sound of gongs and drums outside, and the sound of firecrackers was endless. Chen Heng listened to the sound and didn't expect the good news officer to come so quickly.

Simply sold it for a while, just waved his hand, and motioned his family to come forward together. The family stood on the doorstep, and they had already recalled the scene of Chen Heng passing the imperial examination.

It was the same queue of gongs and drums, but the runners who ran errands to announce the good news had changed a group of people. The musicians played loudly, and the drums kept on playing.

"Hurry, hurry, the child of the old Chen family passed the exam."

"Come on, this is a great thing for our neighborhood, go and see."

"I think this child was extraordinary when he was young."

The neighbors who heard the sound surrounded the officers and came to the door of the Chen family.

"Good news————"

Just one word, the mood of everyone present was lifted. Among them, Gu held her daughter Chen Qing's hand and was very nervous. The latter was a new mother, and she had just recovered from her body. She was holding her daughter in one hand and holding Gu tightly with the other hand.

"Good news of the provincial examination——" The announcing officer said again, "Congratulations————Mr. Chen Heng from Shanxi Village, Taixing County, Yangzhou Prefecture, passed the exam————The first place in the provincial examination."

"Wow."

The crowd roared at once. This is the first place in the exam, the fifteen-year-old first place in the exam.

When he passed the exam, the onlookers just congratulated him. Now that he passed the exam, and he was so young, everyone was shocked and dumbfounded, and even forgot to ask for the money for the wedding.

It was the eldest brother-in-law Hu Xiangheng who reacted and the overjoyed Chen Qingyue who grabbed handfuls of copper coins and threw them out, awakening these people from their shock.

"Jie Yuan Gong, Jie Yuan Gong."

I don't know who took the lead in shouting, and then people shouted in unison, calling out one after another, finally let Chen Heng walk out from behind his family, come to the police, and receive the good news.

"Jie Yuan Gong, Jie Yuan Gong."

Life is like a wave, mixed with the sound of firecrackers and drums. Xinda carefully protected Chen Heng and got out of the crowd again.

The police who received the reward kindly reminded the people of the old Chen family before leaving, saying: "Don't forget to make a plaque and hang it on the door."

"Okay, okay, okay. Hahahaha." Chen Gaishan nodded repeatedly, shaking his beard, and said happily: "Thank you for your hard work, thank you very much."

Hahahaha, please give me a monthly ticket, please give me a monthly ticket