After the first month of the year, the imperial examination, held every three years, begins.
As the imperial examination approached, the atmosphere in the capital became lively yet tense.
The candidates who took part in the imperial examinations were like taut bowstrings that could collapse and break at any time.
The number of people cramming at the last minute has increased significantly.
Around the capital, major temples and Taoist temples are doing booming business.
They are all candidates who cram for the exam at the last minute.
Everyone burns incense and worships Buddha, praying for the Buddha's blessing.
I don’t know whether the Bodhisattva will bless us.
All I know is that time does not stop according to human will, but rushes forward, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the imperial examination arrived.
The teachers and students of Shanhe Academy collectively sent the candidates who were taking the imperial examination down the mountain.
Lord Li has been at Shanhe Academy for nearly a month.
As the highest-ranking instructor in the history of Shanhe Academy, he naturally stood up and spoke.
Sanyuan Gong Yang Yuanqing secretly rolled his eyes, showing his disgust without any concealment.
Sun Zhuangyuan muttered secretly, "Brother Li really knows how to seize opportunities. Even at this time, he didn't forget to show his presence in front of everyone."
Sanyuan Gong said, "That's called being good at scheming. He relied on this skill to rise to prominence."
Sun Zhuangyuan chuckled.
Ever since Lord Li came to Shanhe Academy, he often heard the dark history of both sides.
Very good, very good.
Talk more about the other person's dark history to satisfy his desire for gossip.
I really want to publish the gossip I heard on the lifestyle show.
In the end, Sun Zhuangyuan gave up the idea. This idea was too dangerous. He would be killed by Brother Yang and Brother Li.
After Lord Li finished speaking, he successfully gained a lot of favor.
The students boarded the carriages prepared by the academy, went down the mountain, and headed to the examination hall.
"How sure are you?"
Lord Li came to Sanyuan Gong and asked quietly.
Sanyuan Gong said proudly, "The students of our academy have been practicing in the examination rooms for a long time. They are very familiar with the imperial examination. As long as they perform normally during the exam, their results this year will definitely not be bad."
Lord Li raised an eyebrow, "Do you know anything about the situation at the Imperial College?"
Sanyuan Gong said: "The Imperial College was severely damaged last year, so there is no need to worry."
"Don't be careless, be careful of capsizing in the ditch."
Sanyuan Gong sneered, gave Lord Li a look, letting him understand it himself, then turned and left.
Lord Li muttered, "Stingy as always."
…
Gu Jiu and Liu Zhao were also paying attention to this imperial examination.
She said to Liu Zhao, "Once the imperial examinations are over, the court should start taking action. It's time for the Northwest Military Governor's Office's proposal to appear on Your Majesty's desk."
"Let's wait until the results of the imperial examination are out. Aren't you worried?"
"What are you worried about?"
"I'm worried about the exam situation at Shanhe Academy."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "There's no point in me worrying. In the imperial examination, strength is certainly important, but luck is also important. The weather is unusually cold this year."
The cold weather had a significant impact on the candidates taking the imperial examination, significantly increasing the difficulty.
You will stay in the dormitory for nine days.
Eating, drinking, defecating, urinating and sleeping are all done in a three-foot square cell.
It’s so cold today, and sitting in the cell, you’re at risk of catching a cold at any moment.
In freezing weather, not only must they complete three exams, but they must also ensure clarity of thought, neat handwriting, and meaningful writing. Crucially, they must stay on topic and avoid any taboos. This was a rigorous test of each candidate's willpower, physical fitness, talent, and daily accumulation.
How many people write brilliant essays on weekdays, but become paralyzed when they enter the examination room and are finally carried out.
Year after year, time is wasted.
The only advantage of Shanhe Academy is that every candidate in the academy has simulated the exam at least three or five times in the replica examination room.
Each stay lasts for nine days.
We have experienced severe cold and heat, strong winds and rainstorms, and all kinds of extreme weather.
When they walked into the Imperial Examination Hall and faced the examination rooms, they probably would not feel guilty.
And they will do more preparation than other students.
Liu Zhao said, "I heard that the Imperial College imitated the Shanhe Academy and also built a number of dormitories. Their students lived in the dormitories during the first month of the year to simulate the imperial examinations."
Gu Jiu laughed. "As a competitor of Shanhe Academy, the Imperial College naturally has to have some merits. Knowing to use Shanhe Academy's mock exams as a reference is a bit of an improvement."
Liu Zhao said, "If Shanhe Academy performs well in the imperial examination this time, I think academies across the country will learn from its experience, imitate the examination halls, and hold mock examinations. This will allow students to experience the difficulties of the examination in advance and prepare in advance."
Gu Jiu smiled brightly upon hearing this. "I've always hoped to spread the experience of our mock exams. In the past, everyone was dismissive of Shanhe Academy, so its experience couldn't be promoted. Now everyone is actively learning from its teaching experience, which is great. In another ten years, Shanhe Academy will surely become the most prestigious academy in the world, attracting students from all over the world."
"Ten years from now, will you still be providing free teaching?"
Gu Jiu said as a matter of course, "For sure! As long as I can still make money, I will keep doing it. It's rare to find a place that provides free education opportunities for everyone, so we should stick with it. Teaching and educating people is a long-term plan. If education and thinking don't keep up, any reform will be castles in the air. In a generation, everything will be back to square one."
After a pause, Gu Jiu continued, "We can't go back to the old ways. Our era shouldn't be a repeat of history. From prosperity to the end of a dynasty, then overthrow and then restart, it's another reincarnation. This is a vicious circle. We must try to break it."
Liu Zhao frowned.
This topic is too big, too serious, and too grave.
Gu Jiu asked solemnly: "Do you support me?"
Liu Zhao nodded. "Of course I support you. But in what direction are you changing your education and thinking?"
Gu Jiu said simply: "Naturally, we should seek a long-term development path, rather than reincarnation again and again."
Liu Zhao asked, "Is there such a road?"
Gu Jiu picked up his pen and drew a long curved line on the white paper. "This is the path we took in the past. After reaching the peak, we started to go downhill and finally fell to the bottom. We changed people and the court and started all over again. After starting over, we still took the same path, there was no difference. Now we have to try to take another path."
As she spoke, she picked up the pen and drew a wavy line with ups and downs.
"We must take a path that, even when we hit a downhill slope, we can stand up again and continue to climb. Despite the ups and downs, there will always be forward movement, not backward movement. There will be valleys, but there will also be peaks. Countless valleys and peaks will form a new path. Ultimately, we will break out of the vicious cycle of history and enter a new situation."
Liu Zhao looked solemn.
I stared at the two lines for a long time.
Finally, he picked up his pen and drew a mark where the curve began. "This was when Taizu first started his army. No one knew what the future would hold. Without money, food, or soldiers, the army could be wiped out at any moment, becoming a stepping stone for others."
Then he drew another mark on the rising part of the curve. "This is when Taizu first established the country. Everything was in ruins and full of hope."
His pen reached the apex of the curve, "During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, a prosperous era arrived, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, with neither internal nor external troubles."
Then, his pen slowly slid down the curve. "During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, the government was in chaos, treacherous officials were in power, and internal troubles were prominent. During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong, there was some improvement, but external threats resurfaced. The rise of Beirong and Xiliang put the Great Zhou under great pressure. Several major wars left the court with annual deficits, and taxes continued to rise.
Afterward, the late emperor ascended the throne, and the court barely managed to maintain its status quo. He resorted to killing to stop the killing, barely maintaining order. But the Great Zhou Dynasty inevitably continued on its downward spiral. It wasn't until my father ascended the throne that this storyline began to see some slight ups and downs. And you played a significant role in this slight ups and downs.
I think if the line hadn't undulated here, it would have continued to decline, decline, until the end of the dynasty, when it would have been replaced by someone else. As you said, a new cycle would have begun.
Gu Jiu said, "So we have to take a different path. Although we don't have the experience of our predecessors to draw on, the worst situation can't be worse than the end of the dynasty and the people's miserable lives."
As he spoke, Gu Jiu picked up the pen and continued drawing at the end of the curve.
The single curve turned into a wavy line, rising and falling, high and low, long and long...
She looked at Liu Zhao and asked solemnly, "Are you willing?"
Liu Zhao looked solemn and nodded solemnly, "I do."
"You know, if you want to take a completely new path, you must make changes, and even sacrifice the interests of the royal family. Are you really willing?"
"I'm willing to give it a try."
Gu Jiu hugged him tightly and said, "Thank you for being willing to accompany me in this arrogant attempt."
Liu Zhao chuckled softly and hugged her. "It's a bit arrogant, but I like it. No one wants to follow the old path that our ancestors have already taken, and neither do I. Just like you said, changing the path, no matter how bad it is, it won't be worse than changing the dynasty."
Gu Jiu laughed, "I have never dared to mention the change of dynasties, but I didn't expect you to say it."
"Privately, there's nothing we can't talk about. You're afraid that talking about the change of dynasties might irritate me. You underestimate me. Am I the type who can't handle irritation?"
Who are you!
Absolutely!
Gu Jiu rolled his eyes at Liu Zhao.
She crumpled up the paper with the lines on it and threw it into the brazier, and it burned to ashes in an instant.
"We'll talk about the future later. Right now, the imperial examination is the most important thing. The reputation and status of Shanhe Academy depends entirely on these candidates who take the imperial examination."
…
The imperial examination is very difficult, testing physical strength and even more so luck.
Just look at this: on the second day of the imperial examination, someone was carried out with a high fever, crying and shouting that he could still hold on.
The soldiers ignored him and carried him out of the Imperial Examination Hall, placing him in the gatehouse and notifying his family to come and pick him up.
No family members.
Then notify the inn where you are staying to pick someone up.
By the third day, more people were carried out.
They all looked as if they had lost their parents.
Some people vomited blood and fainted as soon as they were carried out.
As more and more people were carried out of the Imperial Examination Hall, the atmosphere in the capital became increasingly tense.
As time goes by, everyone is suffering.
This damn weather is so damn cold.
No wonder so many people were carried out this year.
Fortunately, there is only one last day and the examination will be over.
Both Shanhe Academy and the Imperial College sent people to guard the Imperial Examination Hall and count the people being carried out.
Once they were sure that none of their own people were there, they all looked relieved.
Imitating the number dormitory and taking mock exams are indeed useful.
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