Future library

The weather is still very cold.

Before greenhouse gases put a cap on the earth, the cold wind in the air seemed to be a little stronger, giving people a shuddering feeling.

There are no more wanderers on the streets, leaving only a mess at the base of the city wall, and the hastily built thatched houses and holes have become the main buildings.

Cheng Jinzhou nestled in his room, occasionally recalling the mathematical theories he had learned, and spent more time preparing cheating materials. The imperial examination was approaching, and he never had the idea of ​​defeating his opponents with strength - for mercy's sake, those Gentlemen who have studied hard for more than ten years in the cold window are basically like a heavy-duty truck driven by drunken people when they squeeze into the single-plank bridge. Those who do not have a steel butt will be knocked into the water in addition to expecting to be talented.

The charcoal emits a light pine scent, which brings warmth and makes the house drier.

As the most extensive promotion path in this era, the imperial examination is always the choice of the most people. It does not require piety like the Holy Temple, nor does it require talent like the Star Warlock. Anyone who is willing to study can get rewards from it. Even if they are just a scholar, they will have tax-free treatment for the whole family. Of course, a 60-year-old boy is more miserable, but to support his family without engaging in physical labor and to be an old white-collar worker in the feudal era, studying diligently is the only choice.

Of course, for Cheng Jinzhou, it just means cheating diligently, which may be easier than becoming a star warlock.

Even in the 21st century, transcribing the Records of the Provincial Examination is a huge and desperate project, and few libraries can include it all in their e-book libraries. Cheng Jinzhou has no delusion that he can copy all the contents. In fact, he doesn't want to do the copying work at all. If it were possible - even the slightest possibility - to allow him to escape these heavy tasks, Cheng Jinzhou would use laziness to succeed. Sex in return.

There aren't that many good things in the world, so he has to keep copying them and copy them skillfully.

Don't ask for something that is too famous. Responsible examiners will even memorize it - there is no need to question the memory of some gentlemen. In ancient China, there were many talented students who had memorized more than 2,000 articles, as many as elephants on the African grasslands. , are all hiding in the Hanlin Academy, hoping to catch a few plagiarists and gain the praise of being knowledgeable.

Those that are too bad must be eliminated in advance. Basically, articles ranking 100 or higher in the provincial examination do not need to be considered. His inclusion on the list is probably related to the overall article, but Cheng Jinzhou was preparing to have his leg amputated and reattached.

The examination style of the Great Xia Dynasty still requires inheritance and integration, and strict requirements are placed on each part. There are other criteria for judging the connection between each other. With Cheng Jinzhou's level of plagiarism, if he is to be promoted to Jinshi, he has little hope of relying solely on plagiarism. , but there is a great chance to become a scholar. Shaonan Prefecture has hundreds of places every year. Calculated based on the population literacy rate, the admission rate is a little lower than the judicial examination.

Of course, with so many restrictions, Cheng Jinzhou copied even more slowly. He often only used one-tenth of a rural examination record, and from time to time he had to send people to ask the clan teachers. Shi Yan and Shi Mo's hands hurt from carrying books, and their feet hurt from walking back and forth. They looked like they were undergoing special training from the devil.

That is to say, in the Cheng family, if Cheng Jinzhou traveled to a lower-middle-class family, let alone copying books, even if he wanted to take a look at their collection of books, he would have to break his knees - there was no public library for people to use in the Great Xia Dynasty. The price of ink is beyond the reach of ordinary farmers, and buying books is out of the question. Even small landowners dare not buy engraving books easily, and the hand-copied editions by scholars are even more expensive. They are equivalent to high-tech in the 21st century. Artificial talent.

Because of this, in the history of China, scholars have always been wealthy families. The so-called children from poor families are mostly from poor families politically rather than economically. A few talented and intelligent people may be able to show their prominence temporarily in the provincial examinations. But the opportunity to pass the Jinshi examination is best left to sons - those who spend huge amounts of money on travel, food and accommodation, and have a one in ten thousand percent chance of succeeding for the first time still need financial support from their relatives and the government. How difficult it is to get funding. The real situation is often that promising scholars spend ten or twenty years spending all the property left by their parents, but they fail to get the title of judicial officer and become an official, so they have to return to their hometown to become private school teachers. Then he placed his hopes on his children and grandchildren. If necessary, he could marry his daughter to the nephew of a wealthy local gentry so that his son could receive funding.

The reason why squires are willing to let their son marry the daughter of a poor scholar - if he is lucky enough to marry one - is entirely because of the privileges and prestige attached to fame. Within a few hundred miles, a squire with a wealthy family may have the opportunity to marry him. There may be hundreds or thousands of scholars, but there may only be a few dozen famous scholars.

Relatively speaking, political families with poor economic backgrounds are often more likely to go further on the road to imperial examinations. Fan Zhongyan, who is often used as a model of poverty and hard work in Chinese textbooks, is said to have only cooked one pot of porridge every day while studying in a temple. Four pieces, take two pieces in the morning and evening to mix with pickles. But this gentleman’s father was once the Secretary of the Ningwu Army Jieduzhang, equivalent to the chief of staff of the regional headquarters. If he had not died too early, Fan Zhongyan would have had a poor family. Distinguished high-ranking disciples. Even if his mother remarries, his future imperial examination path will inevitably be influenced by his father.

In the Great Xia Dynasty, more emphasis was placed on family background. In the relatively fair imperial examination field, the style was similar to that of the Tang Dynasty. The family background that needs to be filled in on the family status (personal resume) directly affects the academic performance of the scholar. In terms of political future, it is almost impossible for poor and weak families to get a high ranking, especially among those who take the examination.

Among the advantages that Cheng Jinzhou can rely on, family background is definitely an important one.

The door was gently pushed open.

Shi Yan tapped his toes, walked into the room without saying a word, stirred the charcoal a little, and then added cold water to the copper basin next to it for humidification. After doing this, he went to the desk to refill the tea and polish his ink.

How's it going outside? When someone was around, Cheng Jinzhou couldn't show off his craggy-looking wrist-hanging skills in the air, so he simply stretched and asked.

Everything is fine. Shi Yan put down the teapot and said, Today it's time to take the school homework test again.

Oh? Cheng Jinzhou looked at the sky outside, stood up and said, I didn't tell you earlier, I'm so busy that it's dark.

I'm here. As he spoke, Magistrate Cheng Yun'an pushed open the door and entered.

His voice was a little tired, and he stared at a pair of dark circles, looking very stressed.

As one of the heirs of the family, Cheng Yun'an may have been under the most pressure in his life during the imperial examination. It was still the job he was most familiar with. As for being an official, in the eyes of an aristocratic scholar like him, it is simply a second industry. The days of heavy snowfall are really tiring both physically and mentally.

Voice: She went to bed early and should be ready to eat at this moment.

After signaling Shiyan to go out, Cheng Yun'an said in a father's tone: Jinzhou, how are you preparing for the imperial examination?

Cheng Jinzhou was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses and said, Ready.

Obviously, the prefect is not optimistic about his future. Otherwise, according to him, it would be most beneficial to take part in the imperial examination in a few years.

Cheng Yun'an sat on another chair by the window, silent for a moment and said: My father has a friend who works in Hongwen Hall. He teaches etiquette there and can't help but learn astrology and holy religion. In two days, let Cheng Feng see you off. Enroll in school.”

Hongwen Pavilion? Cheng Jinzhou's eyes seemed to be swollen. It was similar to the Imperial Academy in ancient China.

There is a letter here. Take it with you and don't lose it. Just look for Li Jingyuan after you get there. Cheng Yunan's voice was low. If he loses his official position, Sanfang's status in the Cheng family will inevitably plummet, and he must make early plans for his son.

The Hongwen Museum seems to be in the capital. Cheng Jinzhou was still reluctant to leave Shaonan, let alone go to the capital. In fact, since he traveled to this era, he has never left the confines of Shaonan City. It would be an exaggeration to say that he is a little afraid.

Cheng Yun'an nodded and said, Let's set off in the next two days.

Hongwenkan is a central-level school and is a government school together with Guozixue, Taixue, Simenxue and Guangwenkan. Among them, Guozixue requires children of civil and military officials above level 9 to enter, Taixue and Simenxue require children of officials above level 12, Guangwenkan students are mainly children of officials below level 18 and scholars familiar to common people, and Hongwenkan students Then only the children of nobles are recruited, and the children of ordinary officials cannot be interested.

As the application of astrology became more and more widespread, Hongwen Hall was the first to allow students to learn astrology by themselves on the basis of etiquette. Naturally, it became more popular among the aristocratic children. Although he was qualified to enter, Cheng's father also used a lot of connections.

Cheng Jinzhou could understand his father's approach and thought: Then the provincial examination will also be taken in the capital?

He is a son of a nobleman and is not restricted by the examination area. He only needs to register in advance.

Yes, the competition in the capital is fierce, but the number of places is also the highest. You have to study hard after you go there. Cheng Yun'an said, and added: It would be better if you can learn astrology well.

This was the first time that he publicly encouraged Cheng Jinzhou to learn astrology.

Cheng Jinzhou understood the situation and stopped talking. He slowly put the letter with body temperature into his arms and patted it twice.

…