After a night of drinking and getting drunk, Xu Yan woke up the next day with a splitting headache.
This hangover feels really bad.
He can't drink much to begin with, so it seems he'll have to drink more slowly in the future.
Xu Yan got up, washed, changed his clothes, had a quick meal, and was ready to go out.
Chen Maoli from the next room came over and said, "Brother Yishi, I heard that the Grand Master has entered the city."
It turned out that Chen Maoli had also slept until noon last night after getting drunk. However, he heard the scholars in the neighboring room talking about it, so he hurried to find Xu Yan.
Xu Yan thought to himself that Lei Li had arrived in Ningbo Prefecture just in the past few days, so there was nothing surprising about it.
"According to old tradition, the Grand Master will retreat for a few days upon arriving at a place to prepare for the final examination. My dear brother, please do not wander around the streets during this time and cause trouble."
Xu Yan shook his head and said with a smile, "Brother Lu Qing, so this is what you're worried about. Do you think I'm someone who would cause trouble for no reason?"
Chen Maoli quickly waved his hands and said, "That's not what I meant. Brother Shi, I'm just afraid..."
"Brother Lu Qing, I'm just out for a stroll. I'm almost suffocating staying indoors all day."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Xu Yan, Chen Maoli had to compromise and said, "Since that's the case, I and my brother Yishi will go together."
Xu Yan did not refuse and accepted it happily.
But Xu Yan took the little servant and Chen Maoli and went out to the street together.
He didn't actually want to wander around, but wanted to see how the collection of poems and essays Chen Maoli mentioned yesterday was selling in the market. It was just that he couldn't tell Chen Maoli, so he made this excuse.
Unfortunately, Chen Maoli followed him, so Xu Yan felt embarrassed to go to the bookstore to read it.
As the three of them passed the provincial school, they saw a dozen scholars coming towards them.
Standing in the middle is Zhang Yinian from Yin County.
He was also stunned when he saw Xu Yan.
The two sides were more than ten steps apart, but both stopped.
Xu Yan thought to himself that it was really a narrow road for enemies to meet. He could run into Zhang Yinian just by walking down the street.
Xu Yan won the first place in the palace examination, and Zhang Yinian came in second, which naturally made him very unwilling.
He hesitated for a moment, then took the initiative to step forward.
"Mr. Xu, how are you?"
Xu Yan smiled and said, "Of course I am fine, but I wonder if Master Zhang's lung disease has healed."
Zhang Yinian knew that Xu Yan was alluding to the fact that he had coughed up blood out of anger, mocking him for leaving behind a root of illness, so he responded coldly, "Don't worry about it, Master Xu."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "The Grand Master has arrived in Ningbo and will preside over the academy examinations soon. I'm sure Master Xu is confident about this exam, right?"
Xu Yan saw that every word he said was full of thorns, so he didn't give in and said coldly: "At least I have more confidence than some people."
"In that case, Mr. Xu, do you dare to make a bet with Zhang?"
Zhang Yinian shouted.
Xu Yan was not in the mood to be angry with him, but Zhang Yinian had said so much, if Xu Yan did not bet, it would seem like he was afraid of Zhang Yinian.
"What's the bet?"
"I'll just bet on my future."
Zhang Yinian gritted his teeth.
"If Zhang is ranked higher than you, you should just go back to Dinghai County and stop coveting the imperial examination."
"What if I win?"
"Mr. Zhang will never take the provincial examination again in his life."
Xu Yan thought that this bet was quite interesting.
However, Chen Maoli pulled Xu Yan's sleeve, hinting that Xu Yan should not gamble with Zhang Yinian.
"Why, are all the scholars in Dinghai County so timid?"
Zhang Yinian sneered.
"Okay, Xu will make a bet with you."
Xu Yan's bet with Zhang Yinian was certainly motivated by emotion, but more importantly, he knew that Zhang Yinian would not be able to get a very high ranking in the exam.
The Zhang family is indeed a prominent family in Yinzhou, and Zhang Yinian is also quite talented.
But so what? This kid has talent but no morals, and his reputation is extremely bad.
After the provincial examination, Zhang Yinian even launched a regional ridicule and attacked the scholars in Dinghai County, and his reputation was ruined.
Grandmaster Lei Li is a person who values virtue over talent and learning.
Even if Grandmaster Lei gave the Zhang family a favor and allowed Zhang Yinian to pass the college entrance examination, his ranking would definitely not be high.
And Xu Yan has Qian Dehong and Zhao Ruohai to support him, so his ranking will not be bad.
Of course, Zhang Yinian didn’t know this, otherwise he wouldn’t have made such a harsh bet with Xu Yan.
You asked for it.
Xu Yan said secretly.
"good!"
Zhang Yinian was overjoyed when he heard this.
"You can all bear witness."
He looked around and said loudly, "Lest anyone regret and deny it."
After saying that, he laughed loudly, flicked his sleeves and left.
A group of bad friends followed him.
After Zhang Yinian left, Chen Maoli frowned and said, "Brother Yishi, why are you angry with this kind of person?"
Xu Yan shook his head. "If he was just provoking me, I wouldn't have bothered to fight him. But he brought the entire Dinghai County scholar with him. If I didn't stand up, the Dinghai County scholars would have broken my spine."
Chen Maoli thought the same thing.
"It's better for you to be careful, brother."
"Brother Lu Qing, don't worry. I can't lose."
...
...
In Ningbo Prefecture School, Zhejiang Provincial Education Officer Lei Li had a solemn expression on his face.
He attached great importance to this college entrance examination, so he arrived at the provincial capital early and began to work on the questions in seclusion.
Compared with the county examination and the prefectural examination, the academy examination is the last of the three stages, and its selection function is naturally stronger.
Candidates who passed the academy examination could obtain the title of scholar and officially study in the official school.
Out of a sense of responsibility towards the imperial court, Lei Li decided to increase the difficulty of the examination, that is, to only test questions from the Four Books and the Five Classics.
Compared with other questions, questions on the Four Books and Five Classics are obviously more difficult and can better reflect the comprehensive qualities of the candidates.
Although this would greatly increase the examiner's workload, Lei Li felt it was worth it.
Lei Li decided to give two questions on the Four Books and one question on the Five Classics.
Opening the Analects, Lei Li happened to see the chapter on government.
"The Master said: 'To offer sacrifices to a ghost which is not one's own is flattery. To see what is right and not to do it is a lack of courage.'"
Seeing this, Lei Li nodded.
Not afraid in times of crisis, acting when seeing injustice, sacrificing one's life for justice, and dying for the sake of righteousness, this is what an upright gentleman does.
On the other hand, in the imperial court, there are countless people who, faced with major issues, should argue in court but do not, and instead team up with their cronies to attack those who dare to speak out against them. They are truly despicable villains.
Lei Li was inspired and wrote down the first question - If you do not act when you see what is right, you are not brave.
Once you have published one Analects, you naturally cannot publish another Analects.
Lei Li opened Mencius again.
After reading "The King Hui of Liang, Part One", Lei Li calmed down.
Since ancient times, saints have been able to rule the world with only a hundred miles of land. Why?
Isn't it just about exercising benevolent governance and winning the hearts of the people? Reducing penalties and lowering taxes wins the hearts of the people.
Thinking of this, Lei Li directly wrote down the second topic of the Four Books - Provincial Penalty Book.
Afterwards, he gave five questions based on the Five Classics for the candidates to choose from.
After finishing it in one go, Lei Li finally breathed a sigh of relief.
...
...
P.S.: This is the last of the three levels. What kind of answer can Xu Xiaolangjun give? Let's wait and see. Please vote by the way~
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