Chapter 48: Provincial Examination
On the eighth day of the fourth month of the fourteenth year of Xuanwu in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Qingzhou Prefecture's provincial examination came as scheduled.
The sky was still pitch black. At the hour of Yin in the morning, the students who were taking the exam were waiting at the door with lanterns in their hands.
The prefectural examination was held in the examination hall of the Confucian Academy. Because it was the same examination hall as the provincial examination, there were examination tents that could shelter from wind and rain. Overall, the conditions were better than those of the county examination.
Su Fengzhang only had the examination permit with him, which was the ancient admission ticket he had received after registering. He stood in line among the other candidates.
The rules of the prefectural examination are much stricter than those of the county examination. Candidates are not allowed to bring anything except the examination guide, let alone the examination basket. Even the most basic writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone are not allowed to be brought. These are all provided by the official examination venue.
Of course, the meal you need to eat during the exam is also provided by the government. Don’t think that this is good, as these supplies are paid.
There were quite a few people waiting outside the examination hall at this time. After all, the prefectural examination was different from the county examination. Scholars from the entire prefecture and province would come to participate. Even if there were not many people who passed the county examination in each county, the total number would be large when gathered together.
Su Fengzhang waited in line with his hands held high. The registration, guarantee and even the examination content of the provincial examination were similar to those of the county examination, but there was one more student on government stipend to be the guarantor. This time, in addition to Mr. Wen, he also asked Mr. Wen's former classmates to be the guarantors.
The team moved forward slowly. The process of queuing up to enter the venue was almost the same as the county examination. They were searched first and then asked to sing a guarantee.
Before the body search, Su Fengzhang handed over his examination certificate, which was written in more detail than the county examination certificate:
Su Fengzhang, eighteen years old. About five feet eight inches tall, slightly thin, with a fair face and no beard, a red mole under his right eye, and a very good-looking appearance. He was a civilian. His great-grandfather was Fengnian, his grandfather was Gai, and his father was Wenhui. His guarantors were Wenwen and Wu.
When the recommendation was being made, the chief examiner's seat was empty, with only a few deputy examiners present. Naturally, Su Fengzhang did not see the prefect, Lord Fang.
He found a seat according to the seat number and sat down. He found that the seat was pretty good. At least it was clean and there was no strange smell. It seemed that he was lucky.
It was not until the sky was getting light that all the candidates entered the examination room. Around the hour of Mao, the examination papers began to be distributed amid the sound of gongs and drums.
At this time, there was a noise in the central hall. It was probably the prefect Fang who appeared. Su Fengzhang could not see the situation over there from his position, but could vaguely see a corner of the official robe.
The provincial examination only requires three sessions. The first session tests scriptures, the second tests essays, and the third tests policy essays. All three examinations are held on only one day, and the papers must be submitted on the same day and not left overnight. These rules are similar to those of the county examination.
The test questions on scripture posts are from the Five Classics. Although they are randomly selected, they are actually similar to modern fill-in-the-blank questions. You only need to memorize the original text and then write it out from memory. The rest is to test your memory and understanding of the Five Classics.
Su Fengzhang's strengths were his extensive knowledge and strong memory. Although the topic was a bit biased, he finished it in half a day and put down his pen after making sure that he had copied it correctly.
At noon, some people actually stood up and handed in their papers early.
The imperial examinations in the Zhou Dynasty allowed you to submit your paper in advance, but once you had submitted the paper, you could not leave immediately. You could only wait at the door until all the exams were over before you could leave together. This was also a way to avoid cheating.
Su Fengzhang had no intention of handing in the paper early. After all, in his opinion, it would be better to sit in the shed than to stand at the door over there and be blown by the cold wind. At least there was a shed here to shelter from the wind and rain.
Of course, it is also possible that the student who handed in the paper early did not do so to get up early and stretch his muscles, but to take this opportunity to make an impression in front of the examiner.
Only after the bell rang did Su Fengzhang follow the crowd out of the examination room.
The candidates were severely polarized. For example, the one who handed in his paper early was full of energy and had a rosy face.
But most people looked solemn, and some even complained bitterly: "Why is the topic of this sutra post so biased? I haven't read it before. This is the end. I will definitely not even pass the first round."
There were many other candidates as anxious as he was. Su Fengzhang then suddenly realized that the test questions were actually quite difficult.
Perhaps because the examinees all looked unhappy, Uncle Su didn't dare to ask him how he did in the exam. Mr. Wen and Wen Zhu at home avoided mentioning it and just told him to eat and sleep well.
It was not until the third day that the results of the first round of the college entrance examination were counted, and the results posted were also group cases.
Su Fengzhang arrived late this time. When he arrived outside the examination room, there were not many people there. He easily found his seat number and breathed a sigh of relief.
Just by counting the number of people, it was found that two-thirds of the people were eliminated in the first round of the provincial examination. It can be seen that the prefect has no intention of easing up. Many people were directly eliminated and are now crying outside the examination room.
The second test was essays, which was completely different from the test on scriptures. It was relatively down-to-earth and a style of writing that reflected social current affairs. When Su Fengzhang got the paper, he was slightly stunned because there were a few big words written on it.
On the Flood in Qingzhou Prefecture
This Prefect Fang is too honest. Last year, many people died in the flood in Qingzhou Prefecture. The officials under the prefect have been replaced. I heard that the previous prefects were beheaded. This is not something that can be discussed casually.
Su Fengzhang thought about it for a moment and decided to avoid the political part. He also guessed that given the character of Prefect Fang, he probably wasn't the type who liked to hear flattery, so he simply started writing from post-disaster management.
Although he had never personally dealt with floods, he had watched the news broadcast for decades. What's more, he had rich experience in two lives and had a forward-looking perspective on people and things. This was his golden finger that other candidates could not compare with.
There was plenty to write about post-disaster reconstruction; as long as we eliminated the content that didn't fit the times or was limited by technological development, it would be practically ready-made. Su Fengzhang had to be restrained from writing too much, as it would become a waste of space if he exceeded the word limit.
Su Fengzhang was so excited about writing that he spent twice as long as yesterday to finish copying the entire test paper.
When the results of the second exam were announced, his name was indeed listed high up on the list, one character higher than everyone else's, which showed that he was the top scorer in this round.
Just as he thought, Prefect Fang was a capable and practical man who could distinguish right from wrong. Su Fengzhang's down-to-earth articles actually pleased him.
He got first place in the second round. As long as there is no problem in the third round, he will basically pass and become a successful candidate.
However, the third round mainly tests the policy essay, which is quite difficult because you have to discuss current political issues and even offer suggestions to the court.
As to whether the court will adopt it, that is another matter.
Mr. Wen and County Magistrate Cai had given him many books before, most of which were about policy essays. This was because if one was not familiar with the court when taking the exam for this subject, it would be easy to write an essay that was full of beautiful scenery but empty. Unless you met an examiner who liked this kind of essay, you would definitely fail.
In fact, Su Fengzhang also felt that policy essays were his weakness, and this weakness was also caused by his two lives.
Unlike poetry and songs which require natural talent and literary talent, he felt that policy essays were difficult, and the contradictions lay in the thinking.
Having lived for so many years in his previous life, some of his ideas have become deeply rooted. For example, he will never understand the awe that people of this dynasty have for imperial power and the emperor.
He also respected the emperor, but more because of the power in the other party's hands, because he could decide his life and death, and it was definitely not because the other party was the emperor, had a special seat under his buttocks, and had a special surname.
Because of this difference, Su Fengzhang was particularly cautious every time he wrote a policy essay, for fear that he would show any disrespect. If that happened, it would not be a matter of failing the exam, but a disaster would come if he did not handle it well.
But he practiced hard for three years and now he can write with ease.
The more cautious he was, the more energy he consumed. When he finished writing the policy essay and walked out of the examination room, Su Fengzhang only felt a slight headache and a little tiredness in his body.
"Erlang."
"Xiao Feng'er!"
This time, Uncle Su and Wenzhu were both waiting outside. They rushed over at the same time and supported him on both sides.
Su Fengzhang said helplessly: "Not really, not to this extent."
Wen Zhu said, "Of course not. Last time, when I came out of the provincial examination, I almost fell down the stairs."
"Yes, yes, Erlang, don't be stubborn. Your uncle will help you get in the car. It's not a shameful thing." Uncle Su wanted to carry him on his back. Of course, he had tried before and was rejected.
So Su Fengzhang had no choice but to be supported by them and put into the carriage.
Wenzhu dug out a pillow from somewhere and said, "Lean on it for a while, or you can rest on my legs."
Su Fengzhang rubbed his brows and said helplessly, "Xiao Zhuzi, I appreciate your kindness, but it's really not that serious. I'll just sit down and get some fresh air to sober myself up."
"Tsk, are you really okay?" Wen Zhu looked at him carefully and felt that he looked tired, but he seemed to be in good spirits. Only then did she give up the idea of letting him go back lying down.
"Then drink some hot water. I asked someone to prepare it specially." Wen Zhu said again.
Su Fengzhang did not refuse this kindness. It turns out that he felt much better after drinking the hot water.
Wen Zhu watched him quickly recover and said, "Tsk tsk, it seems that exercise has many benefits."
Su Fengzhang rolled his eyes, suddenly looked outside, and asked curiously, "Who are those people?"
Two people came out of the roadside shop, both wearing scarlet flying fish uniforms. The Great Zhou did not have the Jinyiwei, so the so-called flying fish uniform was actually just an official uniform, mainly scarlet in color, with four-clawed flying fish embroidered on it. It was said that the rank could be seen by the number of flying fish.
You should know that the Feiyu Clothes were imperially bestowed clothing and could not be worn by anyone except the royal guards. It was obviously not an official uniform that would appear in Qingzhou Prefecture.
Unfortunately, Wenzhu took a look and was also confused: "That's the Flying Fish Uniform, right? It looks like there are six flying fish on it. Doesn't that mean they are sixth-rank guards? Where did they come from?"
Su Fengzhang frowned, feeling somewhat uneasy. It was impossible for someone to pretend to be wearing the Feiyu suit; that was a capital crime.
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