County Magistrate Zhao was naturally very optimistic about Xu Yan, otherwise he would not have personally given him a name.
This was equivalent to him accepting Xu Yan as his student in disguise. What teacher wouldn't want his students to be successful?
Even from a fair and objective evaluation, Xu Yan's article is definitely outstanding among these many eight-part essays.
After tasting the delicacies, County Magistrate Zhao naturally lost interest in ordinary meals. Compared with Xu Yan's articles, the contemporary essays written by these students were simply nonsense.
He twirled his beard and looked at the Five Classics questions and test poems that Xu Yan had answered.
Although not as stunning as the essays in the Four Books, they are definitely among the best.
At this point, County Magistrate Zhao had already decided to select Xu Yan as the top scorer in this Dinghai County examination.
As for the remaining re-examinations, they were just formalities. How could someone who couldn't even pass the main examination expect to perform above their level and come out on top?
In the opinion of County Magistrate Zhao, Xu Yan's articles would definitely be considered excellent even if they were placed in places like Hangzhou and Shaoxing where culture and education flourished.
Putting these aside for now, Xu Yan soon received the news that he had passed the main exam.
Although the final ranking has not been announced yet and will have to wait for several re-examinations to be announced, according to convention it is certain that his ranking is among the top in this county examination.
This is extremely important.
Even though all candidates passed the county exam, those with higher scores would be in a better position for the next level, the prefectural exam. After all, the prefectural exam was the second round of examinations where the elites from all the counties gathered together, and the percentage of people who were eliminated was high. Candidates with higher scores in the county exam would leave a better impression on the prefect.
As long as you don't perform too badly in the upcoming provincial examination, those who rank at the top of the county examination will generally be able to pass.
During the few days of waiting, Xu Yan was not idle. Instead, he practiced writing an article every day as his mentor asked him to do in order to keep his touch.
Because of the Japanese invasion, the county and prefectural examinations in Zhejiang were postponed.
Normally, the provincial examination would be held two months after the county examination to give candidates sufficient buffer time.
But this year it was definitely impossible. According to the information Xu Yan had heard, the prefectural exam would most likely be held within half a month after the county exam.
From this perspective, he really has to race against time and be prepared to go to the provincial capital for the exam at any time.
But time flies, and in a blink of an eye, it was two days later, the day when the crime happened.
Xu Yan naturally took his little servant Shuangxi to the county government office early in the morning to check the list.
Xu Xiaolangjun, who had already passed the county examination, was not nervous, but rather felt a little expectant.
He wanted to see what place he could get in the exam.
There were naturally a lot of candidates coming to see the list, and Xu Yan had to use a lot of effort to barely squeeze through.
I saw that red paper had been pasted on both sides of the county government office, with the names of the successful candidates written in small calligraphy with hairpin flowers on it.
According to convention, candidates usually look at the secondary list first and then the primary list.
After all, only fifty people passed the county exam, while hundreds took the exam. No one would be so confident as to think they would definitely get the top spot.
Xu Yan, on the other hand, was confident. He had already passed the main test and should have been in the top 20.
So he simply squeezed to the right to look at the top list to save time.
There were quite a few candidates gathered around the top list. Xu Yan had wanted to look at it from the front to the back, but he was squeezed so tightly that he couldn't move and could only look from the bottom of the list to the front.
Zhou Sheng, Han Rui, Liu Ziwen, Xiao Ruzhen... Xu Xiaolangjun glanced at the names one by one but did not see his own name.
But he wasn't nervous at all. This meant he was ranked higher, which was a good thing.
Xu Yan patiently looked through the names one by one, until he saw Wu Siye at the very top, he was stunned.
What's going on? His name isn't even on the main list?
But he had clearly passed the main exam, so logically his name should be on the main list. Could it be that someone else performed exceptionally well in the subsequent re-exams and pushed him down?
Although this possibility is small, it is not impossible.
Although Xu Yan was a little disappointed, he could only squeeze to the west side to see the secondary list.
There were a total of thirty people on the secondary list, and this time Xu Yan looked from front to back.
Because in his opinion, even if he was pushed to the second place, he should still be at the top.
But things went against his wishes. He scanned the red list one by one but did not find his name.
It was not until he saw the last two words "He Lan" that Xu Yan bit his lip and remained silent.
"Master, don't worry. They must have copied it wrong and left you out!"
Seeing Xu Yan's pale face, the little servant Shuangxi hurried to comfort him.
Xu Yanqiang forced a smile and said, "Yes, there is no precedent in this dynasty where someone was rejected after passing the regular examination. They must have made a mistake."
At this moment, the bailiffs suddenly heard the gongs beating and shouting for silence.
Xu Yan and the other candidates looked up and saw Dinghai County Magistrate Zhao Ruohai walking out of the yamen leisurely, surrounded by officials from the yamen.
Everyone hurriedly bowed to County Magistrate Zhao and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency."
Magistrate Zhao was clearly in a good mood. He clasped one hand behind his back, gently stroking his beard with the other as he spoke, "Today is the day the county exam results are announced. You are all students of this county. Read the books of the sages and respect the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. Those who passed must be modest and cautious, and actively prepare for the prefectural exam. Those who failed shouldn't be discouraged; there will still be a chance next year."
After a bunch of meaningless nonsense, County Magistrate Zhao suddenly changed the subject and said, "Now, I will personally announce the top scorer of the Dinghai County Examination."
Hearing this, Xu Yan, who had already felt disheartened, regained hope.
It turns out that the fifty people on the list just now did not include the top candidate!
County Magistrate Zhao unexpectedly breaks the rules and plans to announce the top scorer of the county exam himself!
Of course, many failed candidates shared Xu Yan's sentiments. Although there was only a glimmer of hope, they were willing to believe that luck would eventually befall them.
Magistrate Zhao deliberately raised his voice, then said in standard Fengyang Mandarin: "The first place in this county exam is Xu Yan!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
County Magistrate Zhao was so good at keeping people in suspense that he almost scared him to death.
Shuangxi cheered excitedly, "Master, you are the first in the county exam!"
This was the first time in Dinghai County that a local official announced the top scorer of the county examination in public, and all the candidates started talking about it.
"Xu Yan? Is he the one who made the seven-foot dragon-wrapped black silk sash, the Japanese sword hanging from his waist? From whom did he personally hand it over to Xu Yan, who charged into the sea a hundred times?"
"Yes, I heard that he even exchanged poems and drank with the Governor at a banquet!"
"Tsk tsk, what a talented young man!"
"Who says it isn't?"
County Magistrate Zhao glanced at the crowd and coughed, "Silence!"
Only then did everyone quiet down.
"Where is Xu Yan?"
Seeing that County Magistrate Zhao had called on him, Young Master Xu hurriedly squeezed out and bowed to County Magistrate Zhao: "The junior Xu Yan pays his respects to the County Magistrate."
County Magistrate Zhao nodded in satisfaction and said in a gentle voice, "Xu Yan, please come with me."
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