prosperous age

Chapter 52
It was dark outside the window, but candles were already lit in the house.

Wei Guangde had already been woken up by his mother, and it was only Mao hour, probably around five or six o'clock in the morning in later generations.

It was still early in the morning, but Wei Guangde was about to wake up, wash up, have breakfast, and prepare to go out to the county government to take the exam for this subject.

When he was eating, Wei's mother, uncle, and aunt sat quietly watching him eat, and didn't say any words of encouragement. What should be said has been said long ago. At this time, they are also afraid of adding to Wei Guangde's attention. pressure.

When Wei Guangde went out with the test basket prepared by his mother, the sky was still dark without a ray of light, but the day that determined Wei Guangde's fate in the Ming Dynasty had already begun.

The county office is not far from my uncle's home, but my uncle Wu Zhankui still prepared a carriage for him to travel.

As they got closer and closer to the county government office, the number of Jinke students gathered on the side of the road continued to increase. There was still a distance to the government office, and the carriage could no longer go on.

In fact, at this time, there were a few carriages parked on the side of the road, all of which were framed by the county gentry as a reference for his children, and they had to park on both sides of the road because they couldn't get in.

Wu Zhankui got out of the car first, and then Wei Guangde got out of the car with the test basket, and squeezed forward with his uncle.

The two servants opened the way in front, and quickly squeezed away the candidates who stood in front of them. Even if someone looked back at them in displeasure, Wei Guangde didn't care much. He didn't see that there were two groups of people similar to them in front, both of them were strong and strong Does your servant open the way in front and squeeze the examinees out of the way?
Soon he arrived at the gate of the county government office. At this time, there were also several groups of people standing there. Apart from the examinees, there were also a few people dressed as family servants around the outside.

Wei Guangde found an open space to wait, and the servant kept the others away from him, preventing them from approaching Wei Guangde. Uncle Wu Zhankui was beside him, but he seemed to see some acquaintances, and kept bowing to the group of people, and the other party also returned the salute. .

Don't look at my uncle as an official, but after all, he is only a military officer. In this era when the gentlemen are noble and the martial arts are cheap, uncle often has to bend down a little when he is outside.

That's why my uncle's family is as busy as my own when taking the exam for my nephew. My uncle sincerely hopes that Wei Guangde will be able to pass the exam.

Not to mention Jinshi, even if he is a Juren, Wu Zhankui can stand up in Pengze County and not be afraid of any forces in the county.

As the gate opened, a team of yamen servants stood up to block the way of the candidates. Before entering the examination room, they had to search and pick them up, and then they could enter the examination room. According to the examination number issued when they signed up, they found their place to take the examination.

Pengze County can be regarded as an upper county. Although it cannot be compared with some big counties, it is also more than most counties in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the desks and chairs for the exam can be prepared early, and candidates do not need to bring their own.

After the search started, Uncle Wu Zhankui just walked Wei Guangde to the door and then backed away slowly, but this was enough for the officials who searched to see.

The search for Wei Guangde went very quickly, at least in Wei Guangde's view, it was rough, he just checked his test basket and let him in. At the same time, there were a few more, all standing in the same position as Wei Guangde before. Among the gang near the gate.

As for whether the search officers in front of the gate would do the same to the rest of the candidates, that's not what Wei Guangde needs to pay attention to. It has nothing to do with him. Anyway, he didn't entrain him, so even if he searched seriously, he wouldn't be afraid.

After entering the door, Wei Guangde was stopped by a small official behind the door, looked at the admission ticket in his hand, then took him to an open space next to him, and whispered to him for a while before leaving.

At this time, Wei Guangde also noticed that the two sides of the corridor in front of him were full of examination tables, and there was a paper lantern hanging next to every few examination tables. Naturally, there was an examination number on it, so that candidates could find their place more quickly.

But Wei Guangde already knew where his seat was, it was under the eaves of the lobby.

Although the county examination is a frequently conducted examination in the local area, there is no special examination room and examination shed, and it is often just to find a larger open space in the county office or around it for the examination.

In Pengze County, the examinations over the years were all held in the open space in front of the county government hall, because it is large enough.

It's okay if the weather is good, but if it is windy and rainy, it will be a disaster for the candidates in the open space.

In the county test in February, the scorching sun may only exist in the southernmost part of the empire. For most of the empire's territory, it does not exist. In fact, it is just afraid of rainy days.

Under the eaves, it's not bad, although the weather is obviously beautiful today and it won't rain.

It was already light.

Wei Guangde stood for a long time, and there was already a huge crowd of people standing behind him, almost reaching the gate. At this time, the roll call began.

However, before the roll call, Tang Xianzun, who had heard the name for a long time, appeared in an official robe, which caused some commotion among the waiting students.

Tang Xianzun only encouraged the candidates standing outside, and then turned back to the lobby.

He didn't say much, but Wei Guangde could hear clearly, after all, he was standing in the front, and there were five county exams this time.

In fact, the county examination in the Ming Dynasty was very selective, and it was all chosen by the county magistrate himself. Four exams were acceptable, and five exams were also acceptable.

Wei Guangde didn't have too many thoughts on the number of exams, he took the exam as he wanted.

As Tang Xianzun left, the officials began to roll their names, and all candidates whose names were called had to stand up, usually calling five people's names, and let them enter the hall together.

Wei Guangde reckoned that this was based on the mutual guarantee relationship. After all, five people are mutual guarantees, and they will meet each other when they are called together. If there is a gunman, they will be found. Even sat down.

Wei Guangde heard his own name before calling several groups of people in.

Although Wei Guangde may be the last one to sign up for this exam, but his uncle's relationship is there. Wei Guangde doesn't know that his uncle also used money, and Wu Zhankui naturally won't say it.

There are many things, human feelings are human feelings, and what should be expressed must be expressed.

"Wei Guangde, Lin Tianti, Liu Shizhen from Madang Town"

Hearing the name, Wei Guangde walked a few steps forward and entered the arena. Soon after, four people stood up behind him. They were all classmates for many years. same action.

"You five protect each other, do you have something to say now?"

The roll-call official asked several of them. In fact, this was repeated several times before, just to confirm that there was no problem with the identity of the mutual guarantor.

There is no problem, and naturally there is no room for any explanation when it is discovered later.

When asked by the officials, the five of them bowed their hands and said, "No."

"You go in."

The official glanced at them, turned his body slightly and said, letting them walk into the lobby.

(End of this chapter)