39. Hidden Rules

The county examination center was located at a market in front of the county government, and many test booths were temporarily set up. read

Like the county government, М faces south.

Once the orientation is wrong, the candidates will be scolded.

Roadblocks were set up around the huge examination booth to prevent anyone from rushing into the examination room. There are east and west gates to the south of the examination shed, surrounded by wooden fences, and a large courtyard. To the north of the courtyard is the main gate, which is called the Dragon Gate, which means carp leaping over the Dragon Gate.

Behind the dragon gate is a large courtyard for candidates to wait for their names to be called.

In front of the examination booth, there is a "souzi", that is, a government official, with a cold face, a knife on his waist, and a water and fire stick in his hand. These people are used to check whether candidates are carrying entrapments.

Checked very carefully.

Generally speaking, there are many ways to cheat in imperial examinations.

One is to hide, that is, to carry cheat sheets. The imperial examination lasted for several days, and you needed to carry food, candles and tableware. Therefore, there was a method of hiding the Four Books and Five Classics in steamed buns, sewing them in the middle of clothes, and some people even stuffed them into candles. , it is difficult to check when molding wax.

The second is abbreviations. Although there were no modern abbreviations in ancient times, there were endless ways to cheat. For example, some people use "mouse hairs" made of mouse whiskers, and the writing is also in Guange style. After finishing a four-book chapter and sentence collection with hundreds of thousands of words, it is only the size of a palm.

The third is to turn the silver salt into black. A chemical method is used to write densely written words on the inside of the clothes with salt water. After mixed into the examination room, the words can be revealed when burned with a candle.

There are also many methods such as squid juice, flying pigeon calligraphy, toilet cheating, bribery, and taking exams for others.

In the final substitute examination, Wen Tingyun of the Tang Dynasty was definitely a master. In an imperial examination, he actually helped eight people complete the substitute examination at the same time. He was also a god of his generation.

"We're almost there."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, feeling a little excited, but also a little worried and anxious.

"Don't worry. We have consulted with the seniors in the academy. We have done enough homework. There will be no problem."

Bai Gui comforted several people.

He is the oldest among them, has the most stable personality, and has the best homework.

As soon as the words came out, several people became calm.

As Bai Gui said, after entering Bailu Academy, he benefited from the love and care of many senior brothers. When asking them what to pay attention to in the imperial examination, each of them took the trouble to teach them. The four of them kept these points that needed attention in mind. It can be said that the most basic problems will not arise during the imperial examination.

Zishui County is not a county where literary style thrives. There are nearly a thousand Confucian scholars taking the county examination.

There are young men like Bai Gui and others. Each of these young men is dressed at a higher level than other Confucian scholars. Most of them are children of wealthy families. The clothes of the young and middle-aged Confucian scholars are a bit shabby, and the gray-haired old scholars have patches one after another on their bodies, with the word "desolate" written on them from head to toe.

Studying costs money. It’s difficult to raise a full-time scholar who is not engaged in production!

The inspection of the candidates by the yamen officers was just like the modern security inspection, but they seemed to be treated somewhat differently. The yamen officers wanted to cut open the first few candidates carefully, cut them into ten pounds of meat dumplings, ten pounds of fat meat, and ten pounds of meat. Thin...

Clothes, snacks, preserved fruits, and candles were all chopped into fine pieces.

But when it was their turn, the four of them only searched briefly and let them go.

He didn't react until the Yamen servant reminded him.

"This is unfair. Why did the four of them let it go like this..."

The next few candidates muttered dissatisfiedly. They thought the yamen servant was tired, so they relaxed the examination. Just when they were feeling happy, when it was their turn, they repeated the same behavior as before.

Although they did not carry any cheat sheets, the inspection was uncivilized. Even if they took off their clothes, they would have to count the few hairs on the back of their buttocks, not to mention that some items would be broken once cut into pieces with a knife.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I am a student of White Deer Academy. Is it possible for me to be copied?"

"Who do you think you are!"

The officer yelled.

The next few Confucian scholars suppressed their faces and blushed. Bailu Academy is the county school in the county. It is basically a place where students enroll, and the teachers are also the county's teachers.

It is equivalent to those who graduated from a prestigious university and directly join the company without an interview.

During this exam, it was impossible for a few people to get angry with the government officials. After being suffocated, he secretly swore that when he gained fame, he would make these officials who looked down on them look good.

Bai Gui, who had already walked into the main door, shook his head and said nothing more.

White Deer Academy has this ability, but it is not for them. This is just a refusal.

He could clearly see the gratitude in the Yamen servant's eyes.

Since Mr. Zhu joined hands with the gentry of Qin Province to submit a letter, many people have rushed to the academy to express their gratitude to Mr. Zhu. When students of Bailu Academy are walking on the street, people will also send fruits and food...

In ancient times, county magistrates were from other provinces, but the most basic government servants and officials in these county offices were all locals.

Who doesn’t appreciate Mr. Zhu’s affection?

It doesn’t matter if this happens or not!

Those who work for everyone should not let them freeze in the wind and snow!

The simplest concept.

Strong men who build tombs can always get a few relatives by climbing on them. It is not possible that only one county imposed corvées, but that strong men were detained in several nearby counties and sent to Ganquan Town, including Zishui County.

Although the yamen servant is evil, his heart is still as bright as a mirror.

Bai Gui and other candidates were first taken to the examination room to wait in front of the court hall. On the side were the county officials who called the roll call, saluting the ancient county magistrate one by one, and asking the guarantor to pledge their bail.

Gu County Magistrate had no expression on his face and nodded slightly.

Bai Gui bowed his head and saluted Gu County Magistrate. After a while, a loud voice came out, "Student Wang Ruqin guarantees Bai Gui!"

The hall was full of students, and he couldn't see clearly which one was Brother Wang. He could only salute in the direction of the voice, and then was taken to the examination room by the clerk to take the exam.

"Is it Master Bai? Please follow me."

The clerk smiled and took Bai Gui to the examination room which was obviously better than the others along the way. Not only was the environment quiet, but it was also not exposed to the cold wind. There were also several braziers nearby, far away from the smelly horns.

"This..."

Bai Gui was surprised. He didn't pay the clerk, and Mr. Zhu was not that kind of person. The examination room was also set up seven days ago and could not be changed at will. The examination papers did not leave names, only the examination room number. Could it be that the clerks of these government offices had already arranged it for them?

"Mr. Zhu speaks out for justice, and we are grateful. We want to show our respect. Please do not refuse, Mr. Bai."

After speaking, the clerk left.

There are unspoken rules everywhere, but Bai Gui always thought that unspoken rules were bribes, but he did not expect that there are such unique unspoken rules.

People are all made of flesh and blood.

God is watching, people are doing, and the "superstitious" ancients would pay more attention to loyalty and righteousness.