prosperous age

Chapter 97
Three days passed in a blink of an eye, and I got up early to wash up according to the time.

For the imperial examination, the store will also prepare hot water and meals in advance on the two days of the exam, so they quickly finished breakfast at the inn.

There were more than 20 candidates in this inn taking part in the hospital examination, but they didn't get together to go there, they still went there with acquaintances.

Although there are two exams, there are not necessarily fewer students who take reference. After crossing Zhuangyuan Bridge and walking to Gongyuan Street, there will be more people on the street. Everyone looks solemn, and there are few students with relaxed expressions.

The importance of the hospital exam is well known to them, it's too cruel.

Wei Guangde didn't know how many students standing on Gongyuan Street wished they were born in the north or southwest at this time, because in the Jiangnan area, the elimination rate of the college examination is really high and frightening.

As far as Pengze County, where Wei Guangde is located, the number of people is not really important, the important thing is that there are only about ten places for scholars, and if you go to Shanxi or Yunnan and Guizhou in the southwest, each county has fewer places, and at least there are eight.

But how many scholars are there in these two places?

There are always thousands of scholars in Peng Ze. It is hard to say how many thousand, but those who can pass the Tongsheng exam have been accumulated for so many years. There are still hundreds of people, and then hundreds of people compete for a dozen places.

But in the north or southwest, there may be more than a hundred people competing for eight or nine places.

Why did the Ming Dynasty divide the rankings into the north and the south? The competition in the imperial examinations in the south of the Yangtze River is too cruel, and almost all of them are squeezed out. Those who participate in the general examination are selected from the best, so naturally they can get a good ranking in the imperial examination.

Along the way, I saw gray-haired old men from time to time. Of course, they didn't come to take the exam, but came to take the scholar exam by themselves.

For these elderly candidates, Wei Guangde had no emotion except a little admiration in his heart.

Even when he was old enough, he still came to fight with the young students. At least at this time, when he hadn't crossed that hurdle, he was very disgusted with these old candidates.

Near the gate of the Gongyuan, Wei Guangde and the others soon saw a big lantern bearing the name of Pengze County, which was where their Pengze candidates gathered.

A large table was placed near the gate, and a few officials in uniform were there at the back, just flipping through the roster in their hands.

The college examination also screens this link. According to the candidates' registration for the examination, the relevant information of the candidates must be registered and compiled, indicating in detail the place of origin, age, facial features, etc., as well as health insurance information.

Seeing that the time was almost up, the officials over there began to roll their names, and those who were called had to stand up. The officials would screen them based on the information in the roll call, mainly to prevent fraudulent acts of impersonation.

As for the guarantor students, they had been checked long before the exam, but at this moment they were all standing next to the officials and waiting for the roll call.

After going through the same process as the government examination, Wei Guangde had the opportunity to approach the gate of Nanchang Gongyuan.

There are a pair of stone lions and two stone squares with ancient patterns standing on both sides of the main gate. The east stone square is called "acquiring scholars from Mingjing", and the west stone square is called "seeking talents for the country".

Wei Guangde couldn't help but stop for a while, looked at the two stone workshops, and then strode into the gate of Nanchang Gongyuan.

After entering the door, there is another small square, and it is the government's search and pick-up procedure.

But now it is June, the weather is not cold even though it is early, and Wei Guangde's clothes are also thin, so the search was completed very quickly.

The college exam is similar to the government exam, Wei Guangde didn't bring anything, because these will be prepared for candidates in the exam room, just come directly.

After all, there are too many candidates, and it would be a waste of time if they had to search for their belongings.

Pass through the small square to enter the second gate, and open five gates side by side to prevent candidates from being crowded with each other.

Going deeper is the "Dragon Gate", commonly known as the "Dragon Gate". From then on, anyone other than candidates and officials who administer the examination is not allowed to enter.

From the dragon gate forward, there is a three-story tower-shaped building with bucket arches and flying eaves, named "Mingyuan Building", from which you can have a panoramic view of the Gongyuan.

The word "Mingyuan" comes from "Dayong" "Pursuing the distance with caution, and returning to the depth with clarity". Mingyuan Building is the place where deacons and officials issue orders and supervise, supervise, inspect and inspect the buildings on duty during previous examinations.

"Keep up, don't look around, there are still candidates to guide you, so you can check your test number by yourself, just go in directly."

There was a small official leading the way ahead, and Wei Guangde walked forward with the examinees in front and behind him, bypassing the Zhigong Hall before entering the examination room where they were.

"Be optimistic about your test number, don't go out of the test booth."

The little official continued to speak in front.

The examination sheds here are similar to the ones in Jiujiang Prefecture Examination Institute, but they occupy a larger area. There may be dozens or even hundreds of examination sheds in a row.

Wei Guangde didn't bother to count how many test booths there were in a row. He just stared at the name on the test booths, found his own test booth area, and then left the group of people, went straight in and took a seat.

Entering the "Wen" test shed, I looked around. The specifications of the single room are 6 feet high, 3 feet wide, and 4 feet wide.

It was some time in the Ming Dynasty, and Wei Guangde finally began to use the measurement units of this era to judge data, instead of meters or kilograms in the past.

Between the two walls one or two feet above the ground, there are two upper and lower brick joints.

Pick up the wooden planks leaning on the side and put them on the two brick joints respectively. This is the table and chairs for the exam.

After Wei Guangde sat down, he felt that the test room was a bit narrow, but there was no other way, it had to be like this.

Thinking about how many times he will go through this kind of exam in the future, and each time is more brutal, Wei Guangde can only shake his head and stop thinking about it.

After receiving the test basket filled with test supplies, Wei Guangde began to prepare for the test, first grinding the ink, and then waiting for the questions to be issued.

I don't know how long it took before I heard a piercing metal impact coming from Mingyuan upstairs.

"After entering the arena, the audience is silent."

At this time, the little official in charge of this row of test rooms walked directly through the test room, whispering something in his mouth so that the candidates in the test room could hear.

With the arrival of the guards, the exam questions of the Academy of Sciences also appeared in front of Wei Guangde's eyes.

The first question, simple but not simple, is just two words: "Zi Yue".

It's very simple, it's really very simple. It can be said that all candidates here must have done this question, and it is placed first. I am afraid that I want the candidates to relax a little, and don't be too nervous to affect the exam.

The second question does not seem to be very complicated, "Which one is better between women and Hui".

The third question is a bit more troublesome. Two short essays in "Book of Songs" and "Book of Rites" were selected and required to be written silently, which is purely to shorten the time for candidates to answer the first two questions.

Of course, if you encounter candidates with poor memory, this third question is very terrible.

Not to mention, Wei Guangde quickly copied the exam questions to the draft, and then he was going to start from the third question, and he couldn't afford the time delay.

(End of this chapter)