The college entrance examination, which had been postponed for a long time due to various reasons, has finally arrived. All the scholars from Ningbo Prefecture are ready to give their best.
Xu Yan naturally took it more seriously because of the bet between him and Zhang Yinian.
He has done his utmost in preparation for this college entrance examination and believes that with his unique writing style he will surely win the favor of Grandmaster Lei.
At the first light of dawn, Xu Yan got up early to wash and dress. After breakfast, he and Chen Maoli went to the prefectural school for study.
Ningbo Prefecture School is very close to Tailai Inn, and Xu Yan soon arrived at the gate of the school.
Taking the examination basket from the little servant, Xu Yan began to queue up.
The procedures for the academy examination and the prefectural examination are similar, except that the chief examiner has changed from the prefect to the education inspector.
As for the exam questions, they are all similar.
Candidates who can pass the provincial examination all have good basic skills, and what matters is their on-the-spot performance and response.
Due to the large number of candidates, the examination started earlier, but the level of detail was not reduced at all.
As usual, the examination basket, the whole body and even the hair bun should be checked.
All possible places where items may be smuggled will be checked one by one.
One after another, candidates passed the examination and entered the provincial school.
Of course, there would be one or two candidates who were caught cheating and were taken away directly.
In this case, it generally depends on the attitude of the examiner. At the very least, the candidate will be disqualified from the exam, and at the worst, the candidate may be permanently disqualified from taking the exam.
Xu Yan shook his head and continued walking forward.
When it was Xu Yan's turn, as usual, there was not much preferential treatment. After a routine inspection, Xu Yan was let in.
Like the provincial examination, this academy examination is also divided into the examination hall area and the Minglun Hall area.
Candidates who ranked top in the last provincial examination can take the exam in Minglun Hall and enjoy a better environment.
Xu Yan took his exam basket and sat down in the first row of Minglun Hall, and found that Zhang Yinian was sitting at the next table.
As for Chen Maoli, he was on the other side of him.
Xu Yan ignored Zhang Yinian's jealous gaze and took out the pen, ink and inkstone from the examination basket one by one.
Soon, the candidates came to the hall one after another and sat down, all waiting for the arrival of Grand Master Lei.
Xu Yan simply closed his eyes and rested.
This is his habit before exams.
Firstly, it can calm your mind, and secondly, it can help you think about the key points you have reviewed recently.
After a while, Lei Li came to Minglun Hall surrounded by the crowd and sat down at the top of the table.
Everyone in the hall held their breath and waited for the Grand Master to announce the start of the exam.
However, what they first waited for was Grandmaster Lei’s announcement that this college entrance examination would be a anonymous exam and that the examination papers would be copied by a special person.
This is very unusual. Normally, only examinations above the provincial level will have names covered, while the examinations at the lower three levels will not.
However, since the Grand Master has made this decision, there is nothing to question.
For Xu Yan, whether he is well-known or not does not have much impact.
After all, Mr. Qian has been giving him special training in writing style during this period. As long as he can write an article that satisfies Lei Li, he will definitely pass the college entrance examination and get a very good ranking.
In fact, Hu Ming helped Xu Yan to some extent. After all, Xu Yan's handwriting was only neat, not beautiful.
After copying it under a false name, Xu Yan's poor handwriting was avoided.
The next step is to announce the exam questions.
There are three questions in this college examination, two from the Four Books and one from the Five Classics.
Xu Yan wrote down the questions one by one and started to solve them from the first one.
If you do not act when you see what is right, you are not brave.
This question comes from the Analects of Confucius, and Grandmaster Lei was very kind and did not give a question that was too complicated.
Although Xu Yan had never seen this question before, he still found it easy to solve.
He thought for a moment, then picked up his pen and wrote.
The sage expects the world to follow righteousness and inspires its original bright heart.
Courage is born from righteousness, and righteousness is found in action. It is only to see it, what hope do I have?
......
There are many things happening in the world today, and the orthodox teachings are also very strict.
If the abundance of right and wrong is not contrary to benefits and harms, how can there be loyal and good people in ancient and modern times?
If people's likes and dislikes are not contrary to praise or slander, then how can they have a sense of shame?
The large amount of practice of reading several articles a day finally paid off. With the guidance of Mr. Qian, Xu Yan's writing is now very smooth.
The more he wrote, the smoother it became, and he felt as if he was being assisted by God.
Because the Qi is strong, it fills the heaven and earth, flows through the deep springs, and reaches everywhere.
Because the Qi is pure, it is able to achieve a hundred things and penetrate all matters, and nothing is inappropriate.
Alas, this is enough.
After writing the last few words, Xu Yanzhi felt a surge of exhilaration.
Compared with a month ago, the biggest change in his writing style is that he pays more attention to the connection between the internal structure of the article, giving the whole article a good integrity.
After reading the whole article, you will feel it is very smooth.
In addition, he can imitate Mr. Qian's writing style, so Lei Li thinks his articles are absolutely top-notch.
Perhaps because he had expended too much energy, Xu Yan rested for a long time.
Picking up the pen again, Xu Yan began to review the second question from the Four Books.
The title is the Provincial Penalty Book.
This question is much trickier than the previous one.
Contemporary literature focuses on filial piety and brotherly love, so scholars practice a lot in this area.
But this time, Grandmaster Lei did the opposite and posed a question about governing the country.
The average reader would be completely clueless when given this question.
After all, they turned a deaf ear to the world outside and focused on reading the books of sages.
His head is filled with nothing but the words of sages, so he has no idea about governing a country.
Even if you force yourself to write, it will most likely be empty and you won't know what it's talking about.
But Xu Yan is different. He had studied the history of the Jiajing Dynasty for so long in his previous life, and he had a comprehensive understanding of the Jiajing officialdom.
In this situation, even if he didn't use his best skills, just a part of them would be enough to crush these bookish students.
After a little thought, Xu Yan picked up his pen and wrote:
A benevolent government will surely win over others, and when governing a country, one must first focus on its fundamentals.
They enjoy a little rest and work hard in the fields. If they can handle affairs in this way, the people can be used.
Xu Yan's opening is perfect, with a concise outline and straightforward expression of his thoughts.
He paused for a moment, then wrote: "I am speaking of benevolent government. Please finish your speech. One is about punishment, one is about taxation, one is about cultivation, and one is about teaching...
Xu Yan became more and more excited as he wrote, and wrote several hundred words.
When it came to the conclusion, he was not vague and wrote:
Ten years of accumulation, ten years of training, regardless of age or weakness, will result in a country with many strong men. Strong men should not be left idle; too much idleness weakens their muscles and strength, and they may become old and frightened...
The art of war says that the army of father and son is a loyal and faithful army. In this battle, we can use the imperial court to defeat the strong armor and sharp weapons of Qin and Chu.
After writing this article, Xu Yan felt that he was stable.
He was in very good shape today and his writing style was on point. All he had to do next was follow the process and finish the questions on the Five Classics.
His original book is the Book of Songs, and the title is "Lamb Fur and Leopard Kill".
The original text is:
The lamb fur and leopard fur are gone, I live alone. Is there no one else? It is because of you.
Lamb fur and leopard skin, they are all mine. Is there no one else? Wei Zi's goodness.
This title was intended to satirize those who abandoned their old friends. After a little thought, Xu Yan found the key point.
...
...
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