Zhou Xin was ordered to leave. Two soldiers from the Imperial City Division were left outside Zhao Jun's wooden house. There were soldiers guarding every wooden house around, working in shifts 24 hours a day. There were also people patrolling outside all the time, and the security was very strict.
After they left, Zhao Jun threw his things on the bed. Today was not an exam, so he could only lie on the bed and rest. New candidates were brought in from time to time outside the wooden house and then arranged in a nearby wooden house. The air was filled with all kinds of chaotic noises.
At this moment, a surprised voice came from outside: "Brother, I didn't expect you to be here too."
Zhao Jun was lying on the bed. He turned his head and saw the scholar he had met in the teahouse standing outside the wooden house, holding a pot in his hand. He smiled and greeted him, "You're here too. What are you planning to do?"
The scholar pointed ahead and said, "Let's go get some water. The water supply in the Imperial Academy is limited. If you go too late, it will be gone. Brother, will you come with me?"
Seeing that the soldiers did not stop him and that many scholars were walking around with pots, basins, and other utensils, Zhao Jun also took out a kettle from his belongings, stood up and left the wooden house, and asked, "Don't the Imperial Examination Hall distribute water every day? Are you worried about not having water to drink?"
The scholar laughed and said, "Brother, this is your first time taking the Imperial Examination, right? The day of the lock-up is when the scholars come in and settle in. The soldiers and officials from the Ministry of Rites are all busy getting the scholars in, so who has time to help you fetch water? Besides, today isn't an exam, so the scholars are free to move around. It's just that everyone is busy reciting the text and doesn't want to chat and distract them."
"I see."
As Zhao Jun and he walked, they looked around and saw that except for the scholars who went to fetch water, most of the scholars stayed in the wooden house and muttered to themselves. Only a very few of them were chatting idly.
Although I have memorized the text, as the saying goes, it is better to sharpen your sword before the battle than to burn it. It would be better to deepen my temporary memory. What if the exam happens to test the part I have memorized?
"By the way, my name is Song Cai. I saw your extraordinary aura that day and wanted to make friends with you. I don't even know your name yet."
"Delivering food? What a good name. My name is Zhao Hanlong."
When Zhao Jun heard Song Cai's question, he did not give his real name. After all, no one in Bianliang knew what he looked like. However, in recent days, people who were interested already knew his name, so it was better not to make things more complicated.
"It turns out to be Brother Hanlong."
Song Cai was quite familiar with the situation. While thinking about which Zhao family was powerful in Bianliang, he said with a smile: "Brother, this is your first time taking the imperial examination, and you are so cautious to choose the "Book of Filial Piety" exam?"
"Well, I only read the Book of Filial Piety."
Zhao Jun answered truthfully.
Song Cai's face froze, then he smiled wryly, "Brother Zhao, you're joking. I chose the 'Book of Filial Piety' because I had no other choice. I hadn't memorized the 'Spring and Autumn Annals' and the 'Book of Rites' completely, and as a result, I failed the exam twice before. I had no choice but to use the 'Book of Filial Piety' to pass the preparatory exam first, and then I can take the Jinshi exam after I've mastered the 'Spring and Autumn Annals' and the 'Book of Rites'. How can you take the imperial examination after only having read the 'Book of Filial Piety'?"
"Isn't that possible? I heard that the test only requires familiarity with any one of the seven classics."
"That's not impossible, but I'm afraid it will be difficult for the Jinshi exam later."
"It's okay, I'm just taking the test for fun."
Song Cai was speechless. This guy was really weird.
As they were talking, they had already drawn a pot of water from the water collection point in the backyard of Taichang Temple. They chatted for a while before going back.
Zhao Jun returned to his wooden house, closed his eyes and began to think.
Time passed quickly, minute by minute.
By the appointed time in the afternoon, all the scholars had entered and the Imperial Examination Hall was officially closed and locked.
The examination room for "The Book of Filial Piety" was small and quite quiet, with only the occasional sound of bored scholars chatting.
After the yard was locked in the afternoon, it became completely quiet and everyone stayed quietly in the wooden house.
Zhao Jun was bored and did not take the imperial examination seriously. He just used it as a means to deal with people like Lu Yijian and prevent them from causing trouble for him behind his back.
So he didn't take it seriously and didn't look forward to the test questions. When it got dark, he fell asleep unknowingly.
The next morning, the sound of gongs and drums rang out.
The imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty were held from the beginning of the third watch to the end of the fifth watch at night, a total of six hours.
In the Song Dynasty, because there were too many candidates for the imperial examinations, the court could not afford to use too much candles to take the exams at night, so they changed it to daytime.
The imperial examination officially began.
The scholars could only stay in this wooden house, eating, drinking, defecating and urinating in this room of a few square meters, and they were not allowed to go out until the courtyard opened.
The wooden house doesn’t even have a door, so if it rains or the temperature drops, you can only endure it.
Teams of soldiers patrolled back and forth. After about a minute, examiners from the Ministry of Rites began to enter the room. They brought test papers with them, and the soldiers behind them came in with a large amount of blank paper.
"The Imperial Examination has begun. Silence in the examination room. The papers will be distributed now!"
As one examiner shouted loudly, the other examiners came in in an orderly manner and placed the test papers one by one on the desk of each examinee.
The soldier behind him divided the two test papers into three pieces of rice paper, and soon there were rice paper and test papers on Zhao Jun's desk.
Zhao Jun looked down.
I saw two sentences printed on the test papers: "Strategies for regulating the great river!" and "Why the Qin State was able to unify the world."
The first day's exam was for policy essays, which consisted of two sections.
The second day's test was on the meaning of the scriptures.
The third day is for poetry and songs.
"Ce" asks about the method of controlling the Yellow River, and "Lun" discusses why the Qin State was able to unify the six states.
These two topics are not new.
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