As the sun sets, the cool breeze blows, Du Zhongxiao and Su Song walk on the avenue by the Bian River in front of Daxiangguo Temple, leisurely and lazy.

The wine lees in the Eight Great Kings Mansions have almost been steamed. Du Zhongxiao did not want to stay in the capital anymore. He was working hard to improve his wine booklet and asked Su Song to help review the manuscript. One of the main purposes of studying abroad is to communicate with scholars, talk about knowledge with the same scholars, and then increase his knowledge. However, Du Zhongxiao was very lucky. With the recommendation of a senior official like Li Du, most of them were excellent people in the museum. They read poetry and books, and most of them were enthusiastic about worrying about the country and the people, and they talked about everything, but Du Zhongxiao had little experience in the imperial examination. These were still too far away from Du Zhongxiao, and it would be too much for them to get along with these people. It would be better to go back to your hometown to prepare for the imperial examination.

Su Song was interested in technology, but instead got a talk with Du Zhongxiao. Both of them wanted to participate in this imperial examination. When they talked about knowledge, they were much more practical than officials in the Pavilion. How could they be considered by examiners and more practical than inheriting the legacy of sages?

After looking at the sky, Du Zhongxiao said, "It's still early, let's go to the place where the books are sold behind Xiangguo Temple. I will go back to Xuzhou in a few days. If there are any suitable books, take more back."

Su Song naturally agreed and walked north with Du Zhongxiao through the lively waiting road.

Not far away, I saw a great monk and two scholars in green clothes coming towards me, and bowed from afar: "Brother Du, where is this?"

Du Zhongxiao replied: "There is nothing to do, so go to the stall selling books in the back to take a look. Where did the three brothers come from?"

A scholar said, "I went to the yamen to have some chores, but I got back. If my brothers have nothing to do, drink together at night."

Du Zhongxiao agreed and bowed to the three of them and left.

Watching the three of them leave, Su Song asked, "Who are these three? Judging from their accents, it seems to be from the northwest."

"It was from the northwest. The two scholars in green shirts were Jinshis of Yongxing Army, one was named Yang Zhu and the other was Lu Kai. When the battle in the northwest, they felt that they had some talent and learned in their hearts. They wrote to the court, hoping to win a job with half a job and serve the country. The monk named Daoxin, who had good skills, was a good player at the same time, and they also came to the capital to fight for their future. Like me, they lived in Daxiangguo Temple, and met by chance, and drank together in their spare time. When they heard what they said, things were a little surprised."

The officials in this era are different from later generations. Many low-level officials have little power, but they just have a job to support their families. They are more casual in using people. Especially in the northwest, because of the war, it is time to use people. As long as they have a skill, they can recommend themselves. Yang Zhu and Lu Kai are both rural tribute Jinshi in Yongxingjun. They feel that there is little hope of being admitted to the imperial examination and the imperial examination, so they come to the capital to seek official positions. Daoxin was a monk, Kong Wu was powerful, and he came to the capital to test martial arts. These things are accepted by special yamen, and only depend on their own luck.

Daxiangguo Temple is mixed and lively. Du Zhongxiao is well-informed here, and there are many shops selling books. When he lives here, he goes to the book shop for a walk in his spare time. He has found a lot of good books these days. From the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, all the excellent poems and essays for the imperial examination and Jinshi were about to be collected. If there are so many collections of real questions for the imperial examination, Du Zhongxiao was one of the top figures in this era. At this time, the imperial examination questions were often used to test the Tang Dynasty, but the Tang people took poetry tests. When the essays were changed, the real questions had their unique value. It was just some classic works that scholars valued, and he had few of them. Du Zhongxiao was studying now to get the imperial examination, and it had nothing to do with it, so he was not very interested.

When he arrived at the book shop, he took a random look and Du Zhongxiao said to the shopkeeper: "Master, what good imperial examination books are there recently?"

Manager Cheng smiled and bowed: "The books I have liked, and the little officials have bought, but there are not many new books. A few days ago, I got a set of questions for the provincial examinations in the current province. Although it is not very good, it is still acceptable. Should the little officials take a look?"

"Since there is, let's take a look." For Du Zhongxiao, the more books of this type, the better, the more expensive it is.

Manager Cheng took a wooden box from the cabinet and opened it to Du Zhongxiao: "This is a scholar from Jiangnan. He lost all his money and sold it to me. It was said that it was done by the elders in the family. The title was very effective, but he had no choice but to sell it."

Du Zhongxiao took out the book and saw that it was a handwritten copy, which was very neat and not printed. Looking through the content, he drafted the topic by himself according to the provincial examination and palace examination. It seemed that it was a textbook for his family to teach his children. At this time, the most developed culture was except for the Kaifeng Prefecture in Tokyo, Henan Prefecture in Xijing and Yingtian Prefecture in Nanjing, and the most developed Jiangnan West Road and Fujian Road. Especially the imperial examinations, there were many families there, which continued since the Tang Dynasty and had a very rich experience, which was incomparable to other places. This kind of title was one of the contents, which could not be done by the imperial examination families. The children of these families had done such topics since childhood and learned this article. The foundation of the imperial examinations was far from comparable to that of a small family like Du Zhongxiao.

After reading it casually, the articles inside were ordinary and were no better than Du Zhongxiao himself.

Su Song also picked up the other volumes and read it a little, "This is a bit mediocre. I'm afraid that some country scholar will teach his children. In Jiangnan, Fujian, this article cannot even be published and tested, so what's the point of learning it?"

Du Zhongxiao smiled and said, "The trials in Fujian and Jiangnan are said to be more difficult than provincial trials, so of course you don't see them. But in our Zhongyuan Prefecture Army, such articles, it is enough to come to the capital."

Putting down the book, Du Zhongxiao said: "This book seems to have been written in the past one or two years. The topic of the Fu Theory of the Great Affairs of the Rong and the Country is directly tied to the northwest. The Shunde Chang Theory is connected to the last palace examination. It seems that the person who made this plan was a thoughtful person. The master, how much does it cost to wrap it with me."

Su Song shook his head: "The articles in this book are really mediocre. Brother Du doesn't need to spend this money in vain."

"Brother Su can't say that. Just looking at the test questions here, you can tell that you have put some thoughts on it. What's wrong with the article being a little mediocre."

There are also guessing questions in the imperial examination. You may not necessarily learn the articles in it. If you carefully understand the other person’s ideas for setting questions, you will not lose money by buying books. Moreover, no matter how mediocre the article is, there will be some bright spots in your thoughts, which can broaden your thinking. Du Zhongxiao’s idea is different from Su Song. Su Song has solid basic skills. As long as it is not too weird, it will not affect his performance. Du Zhongxiao hopes to broaden his horizons. It is best to have a general framework in his mind as soon as he sees the question. If he fills in some shining sentences, he will be sure to win an exam.

Su Song looked down on this book, but Du Zhongxiao thought it was worth buying because most of the topics in it were innovative. Du Zhongxiao had no big family to rely on, so many of these books have been read as homework since childhood.

After paying the money, Du Zhongxiao carried the wooden box out of the book shop and said to Su Song: "It's okay to go home and go home. Brother Su will stay for a while and drink two drinks together? It's good to listen to the people from the northwest who come to talk about the frontier war. By tomorrow, we will do the fan of boiling water, and several major things will be done. Brother Su has read the booklet for steaming wine, so I presented it to the court and prepared to return to my hometown."
Chapter completed!