The imperial examination system in the Song Dynasty was inherited from that of the Tang Dynasty and was centrally arranged by the Ministry of Rites. It not only borrowed the territory of the Taichang Temple, the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy, but even mobilized the imperial guards to maintain order.
At this moment, there is a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps around the entire Taichang Temple. There are also a large number of patrolling soldiers, who are lined up in neat rows to patrol everywhere.
When Zhao Jun came, there was no commotion because no one knew him. Unless he was showing off his badge as the Director of the Imperial City Division, who would know his identity in this era when there were no cameras?
Seeing him with so many servants, especially those from the Gongsheng Army carrying swords, everyone speculated about which family he belonged to. After all, in Tokyo Bianliang, apart from the Emperor, only the top yamen from these families with connections in the Imperial Guard could barely mobilize a few teams of the Imperial Guard.
Therefore, when Zhao Jun arrived, there was actually a commotion in the queue. Many people were afraid that the yanei would be unreasonable and tried to force their way into the queue. But fortunately, Zhao Jun did nothing and simply quietly joined the queue at the end, observing the order very reasonably.
The scholars slowly entered the Taichang Temple one after another. When Zhao Jun's turn was about to come, Di Qing and others handed him his bedding, examination basket, and other things, and whispered in his ear, "Young man, we can only send you here. Please be careful inside the Imperial Examination Hall."
Zhao Jun smiled and whispered, "It's all right, go ahead. You've all been working hard lately. Go ask Cao Xiu for an advance of fifty strings of cash so you can relax in Bianliang. The examination room I'm in is for the 'Book of Filial Piety' exam, so there aren't many people there, and they're all guarded by soldiers from the Imperial City Division."
"That's good."
Di Qing felt relieved and watched Zhao Jun enter the Taichang Temple from outside.
After entering the Taichang Temple, there is a huge square. The scene inside is a bit disgusting. A large number of scholars were taken aside and their bedding, examination baskets, and clothes were searched. Even the clothes and shoes on their bodies had to be taken off, leaving nothing behind.
Zhao Jun frowned. Zhou Xin led a group of soldiers over. He bowed his head slightly as a gesture of respect, then whispered, "Chief Zhi, just follow me over there."
He pointed to a less crowded place not far away. Although he was in public like everyone else, there were relatively fewer people over there. With his back to the wall, he could barely maintain a bit of decency.
Zhao Jun was speechless and had no choice but to follow.
The Confucian scholars were taking off their clothes, and the soldiers were checking on the side. Some officials from the Ministry of Rites, wearing blue and green, that is, officials between the ninth and sixth ranks, were patrolling around the venue.
Zhou Xin and others were responsible for examining Zhao Jun. According to the rules, he still had to take off his clothes. However, unlike other soldiers, the other soldiers were dispersed and checked the things they carried with them while carefully examining the clothes taken off by the scholar.
On Zhao Jun's side, they quickly checked his clothes first, asked him to take them off and put them back on quickly, and then began to check other items.
A seventh-rank official from the Ministry of Rites nearby saw this and wondered what family this boy belonged to, that he deserved such discrimination from the imperial guards. However, since the inspection was thorough, he did not intervene.
The body search was soon over, and Zhou Xin and others took Zhao Jun all the way to the backyard of Taichang Temple. Taichang Temple actually covers a large area, but there are too many Confucian scholars coming to take the exam, so there are not enough houses. Therefore, every year the Ministry of Rites has to ask people from the Ministry of Works to help repair a lot of wooden houses.
These wooden houses serve as temporary residences, occupying an area of about four square meters. They basically have a bed occupying two square meters, a table occupying one square meter, and a toilet in the corner of the wooden wall. People eat, drink, defecate and urinate in them, and are not allowed to move around freely.
Zhao Jun chose "The Book of Filial Piety" in the imperial examination, and very few people chose this subject.
This is probably because the Song Dynasty was not like the Ming and Qing Dynasties, where those who passed the imperial examination had the power to exempt a certain number of people from corvee labor and taxes. They could only exempt themselves from corvee labor and taxes. Therefore, if one wanted to truly prosper, one had to pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi.
The Jinshi examination generally does not test "The Book of Filial Piety", but basically only tests "The Spring and Autumn Annals" and "The Book of Rites". The content of these two books themselves exceeds 100,000 words, and when combined with the annotations and explanations of great scholars from all dynasties, there are more than one million words, making the examination extremely difficult.
Therefore, if a candidate directly aims to take the Jinshi examination at the beginning, he will never learn the "Book of Filial Piety". At most, he will memorize the "Book of Filial Piety" to prevent one or two passages of the "Book of Filial Piety" from being asked in the Jinshi examination occasionally.
As a result, more than 99% of the candidates would choose "Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Book of Rites" as the first or second examination texts. Those people were placed in a large examination room and supervised by officials specifically responsible for this examination.
Amidst the contemptuous gazes of many people, Zhao Jun was taken all the way to a remote corner in the backyard of Taichang Temple, where all the people were taking the "Book of Filial Piety" exam.
A small examination room also has its advantages. Zhao Jun's seat was arranged next to the back wall of Taichang Temple. There was a towering tree next to it, and the shade of the tree covered the wooden house. Although it was Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather was not cold. The morning sun shone, casting spots of light in front of Zhao Jun's wooden house.
"Master Zhi, we will be standing guard nearby. The soldiers patrolling the area are all Imperial City Guards. Every year, the Imperial City Guards are called upon by the Ministry of Rites to maintain order at the examination halls. So if Master Zhi needs any help, please let us know."
Zhou Xin led Zhao Jun to his seat and said to him respectfully, "It's just that our authority is limited. Besides maintaining discipline in the examination room, the most we can do is get some water for the examinees."
"It's okay, go ahead."
Zhao Jun nodded. He knew that only the examination room and water were arranged by the venue for the imperial examination. There was a quota for water delivery every day. In order to prevent soldiers from being bribed, even the water delivery was monitored by officials at all times. Soldiers like them really had no authority.
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