189, monthly exam

189, monthly exam

As Kyoto Prefecture entered early winter, the monthly examinations at the Imperial College were approaching.

Imperial College didn't have a grade system, meaning there was no distinction between new and existing students. Regardless of whether you were a first-year student or a veteran, all exams were taken together, all random questions were tested together, and scores were ranked together.

However, the Imperial Academy didn't have a grade system, but rather an elimination system. If you were ranked last in several competitions, you would be expelled and sent home. Therefore, this ranking system and elimination system was very advantageous for students who had been studying there for a few years, but very disadvantageous for new students who had just entered the Imperial Academy.

Therefore, many new students who had just come to study at the Imperial College discussed this matter privately after learning about the rules of the competition.

Back in the small courtyard where they lived, Ye Zhuoran looked as if the sky was falling. He said in a state of despair, "This is so unfair to us. We've only been studying at the Imperial College for less than two months, and we have to compete with those who have been studying there for three to five years. How can we possibly beat them? Isn't it obvious that they want us newcomers to go home?"

Zhang Lingxuan and Fu Boming were both annoyed and depressed when they heard the news, because they both knew that the competition rules of the Imperial Academy were too disadvantageous to them, students who had just been studying at the Imperial Academy for less than two months.

Among the four of them, Lu Mingfei was the only one who remained relatively calm after learning about the competition system of the Imperial College.

Lu Mingfei looked at the three anxious classmates in front of him and reminded them, "But don't forget, when we took the provincial examination, we sat in the same examination room with people who were ten, twenty, or even thirty or fifty years older than us. Many of them had studied for decades longer than us. Can those who came later say that it's unfair? Should we just not take the exam?"

"If we don't want to fall behind and leave the Imperial College, we can only work hard to move forward."

"Instead of getting anxious and irritated here, we might as well calm down and review what we have learned before. Maybe it will be helpful for our upcoming competition." Lu Mingfei actually knew in his heart that this way of competition was very unfair to them, the freshmen, but the system was established by the dean and teachers of the academy, and it was useless for them, the students, to object.

If opposition were effective, those who raised it would have changed the system long ago. But the fact that it failed to change proves that no one can change the rules.

So he thought that instead of wasting time complaining, they should make good use of the time to read a few more books so that they could cope with the upcoming competition.

In fact, whether it is the competition in the Imperial College or the imperial examination, it can be said to be the fairest selection in this era.

"Well, Mingfei is right. Instead of complaining here, we might as well seize the time to review a few more books." Zhang Lingxuan looked at Lu Mingfei, who always looked like he was not in a hurry even if the sky fell, and felt a little envious and admired him.

But looking at Lu Mingfei's face, which was not anxious or worried at all, his heart was also somewhat infected, and miraculously calmed down.

"Let's eat quickly and go back to study." Fu Boming nodded, knowing that the only way for them to compete with others now was to study hard.

Only Ye Zhuoran looked like a rooster that had lost all its strength, with its crown drooping.

On this day, the four of them took the time to discuss their study plans while having dinner. After dinner, the four of them went back to their respective rooms to study.

Even Ye Zhuoran, who used to visit other people when he came back here, lost the mood to visit or play in the next few days.

As soon as the competition time was announced, the atmosphere in the entire Imperial College became serious. All the students were immersed in studying and preparing for the exam, and even their pace on the road became hurried.

At this time, the principal and teachers of the Imperial College gathered together to drink tea, discussing the arrangements for the competition.

***

At the end of September, it was time for the Imperial College competition.

The competitions at the Imperial College were based on the Six Arts. Students were tested not only in literature but also in martial arts, arithmetic, and music theory.

In fact, Lu Mingfei felt that the Imperial College's examination system was quite good. It could encourage students to develop morally, intellectually, physically, and aesthetically. This was much better than the test-oriented examinations of their previous era.

Moreover, although there is an elimination system here, it only eliminates students who rank last in all subjects for three consecutive times. It is still a bit difficult to rank last in all subjects for several consecutive times.

If you're not good at literature, you have to be good at martial arts, right? Even if you're not good at literature or martial arts, you have to have at least one artistic talent, right? If you rank last in literature, last in martial arts, and nothing in literature, and you're still last in literature... then being eliminated and going home doesn't seem unfair.

Those who were able to enter the Imperial Academy had all passed the provincial and academy examinations, which at least proved that they all had a solid foundation in the liberal arts. If they entered the Imperial Academy and not only did not improve, but actually regressed, it was no wonder that they were expelled and sent home.

This is like being admitted to Peking University or Tsinghua University and staying in the dormitory playing games, or being expelled and sent home because of being ranked last in the grade exam. Who can you blame?

The saying "if you don't advance, you will retreat" is timeless in any era.

Lu Mingfei was a little bit looking forward to the first competition for these freshmen after they entered the school. He also wanted to know his current ranking in the Imperial College.

The exam lasts for three days. The first day tests literature and arithmetic, the second day tests riding and archery, and the last day tests music theory.

The Imperial College exams were random, meaning you were tested on whatever question you drew. If you got an easy question, you were lucky; if you got a difficult question, you needed a solid foundation.

The first two days of exams had been okay for Lu Mingfei. The questions he'd picked for the liberal arts exam were within his academic scope, and he felt he'd done well. Arithmetic was his strong point, and if he couldn't answer a math question, he figured few in the Imperial Academy would be able to. However, for this first Imperial Academy math exam, he felt the questions were quite easy.

As for horseback archery, he had studied horseback riding and archery with Zhao Lang for over half a year. Although he wasn't at the level of being able to kill an enemy while mounted, he could still pass the exam. He had to thank himself for his foresight and Mr. Zhao Lang's careful instruction. Otherwise, he might have ended up at the bottom of the archery exam at the Imperial Academy.

However, there were still a lot of jokes on the training ground that day. Some students had never ridden a horse and almost fell off the horse when they got on; some people didn't know how to use the bow, or the arrows they shot missed the target.

However, most students can pass the riding and archery exams, and some are even very good at it, and it is obvious that they have been practicing riding and archery since childhood.

But on second thought, Lu Mingfei felt it was normal. In this era, the main means of transportation for long-distance travel was horses, so most children from aristocratic families would basically master the skill of riding horses. The emperor would organize officials to go on autumn hunting every year, so hunting was also a sport that the children of aristocratic families liked in this era. Therefore, many of these children from aristocratic families learned archery from a young age.

The four people in their dormitory performed quite stably in the previous two rounds of competition. Even if they couldn't get the top rankings, at least they wouldn't be ranked at the bottom in this exam.

After the first two days of competition ended, the third day came.

The last day's exam was about music theory, which is about playing music.

Lu Mingfei knew that compared to his classmates who had been learning to play the piano since childhood, music was his weak point. In his previous life, he had attended piano lessons for a few years as a child, but after a family crisis, he no longer had the opportunity to attend music lessons. However, while living in an orphanage, he did learn the erhu from the director of the orphanage.

The piano was an unavailable instrument in this era, but even if it existed, he would probably only be able to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." As for the erhu, he could still manage to play it.

Fortunately, the erhu is already an instrument in this era.

On the first day he learned he had an exam, he asked Zhao Lang to get him a erhu. He practiced hurriedly for a few days and came to prepare for the exam today.

The previous candidate was a handsome young man who played the guzheng. His performance fell into silence throughout the audience, and everyone was listening attentively. Even after the performance ended, the lingering sound of the music was still lingering in the air, and all the gentlemen in the audience gave him an "excellent" grade.

"Next, Lu Mingfei."

When he heard someone calling his name, Lu Mingfei felt a surge of emotion... Well, it was his turn, so he went up to take the test! He couldn't hide from it.

"Mingfei, it's your turn." Zhang Lingxuan looked at the motionless person with a little worry.

"It's okay, I'll go up." Lu Mingfei gave his friends a look that told them not to worry about him, and went up with the erhu in his hand. He asked someone to move the guzheng on the stage to the side and brought him a stool.

After sitting down, facing so many pairs of eyes looking at him, Lu Mingfei bowed slightly to the judges who were sitting up with his erhu in his arms and the audience in the audience before sitting down on the stool.

After a moment of silence, he put one hand on the strings and pulled the bow with the other.