Chapter 166 165 The ancients have never been seen before, and the newcomers have never been seen after
The rules of the examination room, including the test questions, are exactly the same as those of the provincial examination, including four calligraphy essays, five-character and eight-rhyme poems, five scriptures, and policy questions.
A few days before the exam, Wei Guangde went to the large temples and Taoist temples near Beijing to seek peace of mind.
If you don’t ask, you won’t know. There are so many temples and Taoist temples in Beijing that you can’t even count them with just your hands and feet.
At the same time, the chief executive appointed by Emperor Jiajing, the examiners from the Eighteenth Household selected by the Ministry of Rites, as well as the examiner, promotion officer, sealing officer, examination examiner, examination examiner, and Mi A total of fifty-six people including appointed officials, copying officers, reading officers, inspection and supervision officers, and supply officers all entered the Gongyuan to wait for the examination.
In February, the temperature did not rise much higher than before. Wei Guangde finally made it out alive after six nights in the cold examination tent.
Those years of boxing training have made his body and bones much stronger than those of other athletes, unlike a few in the guild hall who entered Gongyuan with a high fever in the last round and fought hard.
After Zhongjuzi appeared on the 17th, the atmosphere in the entire Jiujiang Guild Hall was not very good.
Not only did the disciples suffer in the Gongyuan, five of them fell ill when they came out, and now they still haven't gotten up from their beds.
The examination results will be released earlier than the provincial examination. Even though the exams start at the same time, the results will be available before the end of February, and the emperor will be invited to release the results.
In a tense and solemn atmosphere, when the time came to February 25th, the atmosphere in the hall became even more depressing.
Because on this day, the examiners and chief examiners from each room gathered together, starting from the 19th place - that is, the second place in each room - filling in the test paper numbers into the draft list.
Only the test paper numbers were filled in on the draft list, but they did not correspond to the names of the people.
After filling it out, let the Foreign Corruption Officer send in the original ink scrolls corresponding to these numbers, then lock the door, and number the ink scrolls and the ink scrolls one by one. If they are found to be correct, the ink scrolls will be The rolls and ink rolls are bundled and sealed and stored in the hall until the official list is filled in tomorrow.
At this time, the fate of the candidates has already been decided, because who will be on the list and who will fail are determined after this day. It is meaningless to formally fill in the list the next day. Not big.
Time came quietly to February 27th, which was just an ordinary day.
While eating in the lobby at noon, Wei Guangde heard Jiujiang Juzi say: "Today the list of examinations has come out. The Ministry of Rites has reported to the emperor that the lowest number will be taken. Three hundred places should be like this The results will be released in two days.”
The words reached Wei Guangde’s ears, and Wei Guangde didn’t know what he was thinking at this moment.
Soon, in two days, everything will be settled.
Wei Guangde knows the person who is speaking, his name is Wang Jiashi, who was elected in the 25th year of Jiajing. He has taken three consecutive examinations and is now participating in the examination for the fourth time.
He is already over 40 years old. According to current theory, if he fails to pass the exam again, he will probably not take part in the 38-year-old exam. I am afraid he will have to take the path of being promoted to an official by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
In the past two years, I have been traveling a lot with Jiangxi officials in Beijing, and I am afraid they are also preparing for this.
It is worth mentioning that Wei Guangde talked to him quite a lot, because he was also from Pengze and was sitting at the table opposite and chatting with other candidates about the information he learned about this examination.
“I don’t see those fellow villagers delivering anything these days.”
Lao Kan said while eating.
The Jiujiang Guild Hall was naturally started by businessmen from Jiujiang and the following counties who pooled their money to entertain family members who came to Beijing. Of course, it was also open for business on weekdays, but it was only dedicated to serve the people in their hometown during the annual trial period.
Since the first month of the year, Jiujiang businessmen in Beijing have been coming here every now and then, bringing a lot of things with them each time.
In fact, Wei Guangde and the others live here. In addition to the servants' rooms, their own room and food are free of charge, because every year during the meeting, businessmen donate more money.
Perhaps they know that waiting for the test results is the most torturous period, so they don’t come to this stall.
"Twenty-nine, they will definitely come then. They usually release the rankings at this time."
Xia Kefan said, he has taken the exam twice, this is the third time, so he naturally has more experience.
"The day after tomorrow, I will be tortured for two more days."
Lao Kan sighed.
"If you are willing to spend money, it is said that if you find the person who handles the errands in the Gongyuan, you will have a chance to know whether you are on the list tomorrow, but I just heard about it, so I have never seen it."
Xia Ke Fan also shook his head and sighed.
"Leave it to fate, why are you thinking so much? We will go back and continue the war later."
Wei Guangde sighed in his heart, but said relaxedly.
How to get rid of random thoughts at this time, then play with money.
At night, Wei Guangde and the others were still not sleepy, so they sat around a table and played cards. Some mansions in the inner city were also very lively at this time.
"Dad, why did you call the child here?"
A fat man with a broad body walked into the room and said to the old man who was reading a book inside.
"Have you heard about the thing I asked you to pay attention to?"
The old man did not look at him and continued to look through the book in his hand. The pages of the book were yellowed and it was obviously old.
"I asked someone about it. He is on the list, but his ranking is over two hundred and seventy. He is really lucky."
The fat man replied.
"Who ordered him?"
In the old man's impression, this person was said to have an average level of eight-part writing, and the probability of failing the list was actually very high, but he didn't expect to be on the list.
"Kang Siqian pointed it out. I asked someone to read his paper. The fourth book question is: Therefore, the gentleman's words are so great that nothing in the world can contain them. It is said that this question was answered well, and the others were average, and there was policy theory. The question of finance is how to increase the revenue of the national treasury without wasting people's efforts. He suggested increasing the production of silk and porcelain, and exchanging them for gold, silver, and grain through shipping and exploration and trade."
The fat man talked for a long time, and saw his father still sitting there reading, seemingly completely satisfied. I didn't take it to heart, and my interest in talking waned.
"Dad, if nothing happens, I will go back first. Maoqing Longwen and the others are still waiting for me over there."
"Go, remember my words, don't interfere in this matter."
The old man continued to read without raising his head. The fat man felt bored and signaled to the two maids next to him to serve the good old man here, and then turned around and left the room.
In the 35th year of Jiajing's reign, more than 5,300 people applied for the Bingchen Science Examination. At this time, more than 5,000 people were suffering and waiting for the results. , for those powerful people, as long as they inquire a little, the names on the test list can be easily figured out.
Of course, this is just knowing the names of candidates on the list in advance. It is not a major case of examination fraud such as leaking test questions. For those big shots, it is still a very simple matter.
On the evening of the 28th, the Beijing Gongyuan was very busy inside and outside. As usual, the results will be released tomorrow. The yamen and helpers in the capital yamen have all gathered here, waiting for the people inside to deliver the news to them. It's good to beat gongs and drums to send good news and earn some happy money.
This is perhaps the biggest difference between the mid-level examination and the provincial examination. Instead of the yamen organizing people to send good news, people outside the Gongyuan and the newspapers inside do this business together. The result is that the candidates for the mid-level examination You may not know how many good news you will receive for the audition.
Of course, the involution of this business is not that serious, because most newspapers will only compete for the top candidates to send good news. If they like the candidates on the list, they will be happy to give more rewards. Naturally, few people care about it.
This is actually an unspoken rule of the imperial examination. Generally, the results of the imperial examination are similar to those of the general examination, and the ranking changes are very small.
If the results of the palace examination are disrupted and the gap between the rankings in the examination is too large, especially the huge changes between the number one scholar and the first scholar, it often represents a change in the political wind direction and the emperor's opinion of the president or chief examiner of the examination. dissatisfied.
What needs to be mentioned here is that the people responsible for controlling the examinations are the Zhigong Juguan appointed by the court or the emperor, that is, the chief executive. They have to manage the internal and external affairs of the Gongyuan, but they are not responsible for judging the papers, that is, who should be selected. They He has no right to intervene, or even enter the inner court to participate in the evaluation of candidates.
The officials appointed for this examination are Lü Ben, the Second Assistant to the Cabinet, and Zhan Shi Yintai, the Young Master of Zhan Shi Mansion.
The ranking of the candidates in the back row is mostly determined by the chief examiner and deputy examiner. Only the top five candidates need to be jointly arranged by the two chief examiners and the eighteen room co-examiners, so the selected Huiyuan and Wu Jing Quebec is very, very difficult.
Tomorrow the results will be released, and there are signs in the Gongyuan area. The inside and outside are decorated with lights and decorations, and they have to be cleaned. Especially the large number of newspapers gathered outside the Gongyuan, which is the strongest evidence that the results are about to be released.
At this time, servants from the Jiujiang Guild Hall had already reported what happened at Gongyuan. The officers and soldiers near Gongyuan did not expel those who gathered around Gongyuan. After all, most of these people were locals. Most of the people and the officers and soldiers in the Beijing camp knew each other.
Especially at this time, all the verification procedures in the Gongyuan should have been completed. The transcripts and ink rolls have been taken out for verification, and the seals have been opened. The comparisons are correct, and the candidates' rankings have been determined. All we have to do is wait for the president. Fill in the list.
When the CEO fills out the list, it is also when the people in the Gongyuan pass on the news.
Often, these people are the odd jobs in the Gongyuan, and their daily salary is very small. That is to say, they can make a lot of money to support their families through this examination, so the officials do the following things for the scribes: The children also turned a blind eye and pretended not to know.
All the disciples of Jiujiang Prefecture have come out. The few who fell ill before have also recovered, but are a little weak. At this time, they have all sat in the lobby. The two tables next to them are those of Jiujiang Prefecture in Beijing. Businessmen also have a keen sense of smell, and everyone follows the usual routine.
Once there is good news about a move, these businessmen will send gifts to congratulate them on the list.
The candidates who have reached this stage can no longer be said to be candidates, but Jinshi, because the palace examination does not determine candidates, but only compares the rankings.
But no matter how high or low the ranking is, they all have official status and can be officials.
In this world, businessmen need to be dependent on officials. Even if they are not dependent, they have to have a good relationship.
The king of hell is easy to mess with, but the devil is difficult to deal with. This saying makes sense.
All the officials in Jiujiang Prefecture were drinking tea leisurely at the moment. Although they had experienced the test of winning the provincial examination, at this moment, Wei Guangde still noticed that many people occasionally held the teacup with their hands slightly. tremble.
On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, at a banquet at the Jiangxi Guild Hall, someone invited Jiangxi governors to gather at the Jiangxi Guild Hall to wait for the news, but many local governors declined.
Not only are there too many candidates, but the distribution of candidates in Jiangxi is also very uneven. Candidates from Jiujiang Prefecture have always been ranked in the middle or lower ranks among various prefectures in Jiangxi, so naturally they are not willing to go there.
That is to say, the candidates in prefectures and counties with more Jinshi, such as Ji'an and Nanchang, are eager to compare themselves, so they made an appointment to go to the Jiangxi Guild Hall to wait for the good news.
Not long after, the sound of gongs, drums and suonas came from outside the door, which sounded very festive. This was a team of newspaper reporters who had received the news about the examination and sent good news to the candidates.
However, the group of people got closer and slowly moved further away.
In fact, for the person sitting here, ranking is no longer important. What is important is to be on the list. As long as he is on the list, his hard work will not be in vain.
There are many guild halls scattered around the Jiujiang Guild Hall. Naturally, the sound of gongs, drums and suonas was heard soon. This time, it sounded like this group of people did not turn at the intersection in front, but played all the way. .
It was not just Wei Guangde. At this time, people in the room were clenching their hands, and all ten toes of their feet were firmly gripping the ground. They could only feel their hearts pounding.
Of course, the current state of others is only Wei Guangde's guess, because he is like this at this time.
When the team announcing the good news walked outside the gate of Jiujiang Guild Hall, everyone, including the merchants at the two tables next to it and the people in the store, all looked towards the gate.
Unfortunately, the team announcing the good news did not stop in front of the door and continued on.
"Is the news of the examination also reported from the end to the front?"
Wei Guangde asked at this moment, not only Lao Kan and Shen Liangdong were sitting at their table, but also Zhu Shilong and Zhang Ke These candidates for the last provincial examination, Xia Kefan and Chen Zhonglie, two candidates for the 28th provincial examination, are also sitting here.
"It was like this in previous years."
The person speaking was Chen Zhonglie, who was in his forties. He had only arrived in the capital in the first month of the year. He must have suffered a lot along the way.
Wei Guangde and the others left early and were not too cold on the way here. It was only after the convoy passed Shandong that they felt the severe cold in the North.
Chen Zhonglie left late, so he had to brave the wind and snow all the way.
Okay, Wei Guangde sighed in his heart.
If there is no good news of my own in front of this good news team, then it seems that I can only really wait for the 38th Jiajing Conference.
It has been another three years. It is no wonder that Chen Ziang wrote the song "Song of Dengyouzhou" after failing the imperial examination.
"The ancients have never been seen before, and the newcomers have never been seen after. Thinking of the long journey of heaven and earth, I shed tears with sadness!"
This is the poet's lament for the short life. The words are grand and heroic, but full of tragedy.
At this time, Wei Guangde would definitely not read out this unpleasant poem, it was so unlucky.
Now that the list has not been seen, my name may not be on it. Even if I have to sigh that my future is bleak, three years will come and another three years will come, and my youth will be wasted, so I have to wait until tomorrow.
But thinking of "Deng Youzhou Taige", Wei Guangde unconsciously read out softly the sentence in "Chu Ci - Yuan Yu Pian", which is similar to the beginning of this poem:
"But the heaven and earth are infinite, and I mourn the long and diligent life. Those who have gone by are beyond my reach, and those who come are not heard by me."
(End of this chapter)