Chapter 412: The Science and Technology Examination

At the fourth hour, the sky was still dark, and the scholars from Chang'an got up early. Today is the fourth day of the ninth lunar month, which is the first examination for the new emperor's ascension to the throne. This examination for the science was originally scheduled for August 25. Since the Khitans and Shatu people who moved inland hoped to take this examination, the court decided to postpone the examination for ten days, and the official examination originally scheduled to be at the end of August was also postponed for ten days.

The test for the preparation of the subject is different from the common subjects. The questions tested have no fixed style, either poetry, or policy discussion, and vary. The emperor usually sets the questions. Moreover, there are many new changes in this test. The original three games were changed to two games, and the first time the name system was adopted, so that the candidate's name could not be known after the admission was completed.

This new change is a formal reform. You can be immediately appointed to an official position when you are admitted. You still have to examine your moral character by the Censorate. Those who have lack of moral character such as unfiliality, disrespect, prostitution, and gambling will be punished. Those who are later added will be replaced. Even if they are only discovered after being appointed as a substitute, they will still be disqualified from being an official position. These rules have been explained as soon as the scholars were in the process of taking the exam. Therefore, although the brothel industry in Pingkangfang was prosperous, the business was extremely depressed during the exam.

This time, two hundred Jinshi will be admitted, which is the highest among all the Jinshis. Although you can't become an official directly after the Jinshi, some details that have occurred this year have made the scholars happy. First of all, the Tang Dynasty official examination will be held three days after the Science and Technology Examination. This is also the first time that new situation has occurred. It is said that a large number of incompetent officials will be laid off after this Science and Technology Examination will be freed up and the seats will be given to the recruiters of the Science and Technology Examination. If this is just a rumor, then another thing can explain the problem.

Generally speaking, the imperial examination is the first examination of the Ministry of Rites. Those who pass the examination will be awarded the qualifications of Jinshi or Mingjing, and then the examination of the Ministry of Personnel. Only after passing the examination of the Ministry of Personnel can they be officially awarded the official position. However, this examination of the examination is not presided over by the Ministry of Rites, but directly presided over by the Ministry of Personnel. In other words, there is no second examination of the Ministry of Personnel after passing the examination.

Although this change is subtle, it is enough to make the scholars excited, to abandon the title, cancel the examination of the Ministry of Personnel and the supervision of the Censorate. These three new changes mean that poor children also have equal opportunities to compete with officials and children from aristocratic families.

Zhengzhou candidate Bai Juyi lives in Shunfeng No. 5 Inn in Chongrenfang. Shunfeng Inn has fifteen semicolons in Chang'an. It is known for its cheap, clean and convenientness. It only provides three-person accommodation, no single room, and food, washing and other things are taken care of by the candidates. The person who lives with Bai Juyi is Liu Zongyuan, a scholar from Chang'an. Liu Zongyuan's background is completely different from Bai Juyi. He is a noble family. The Liu family has been a prominent family in Hedong since ancient times. His father, Liu Zhen, served as a doctor of Taichang during the Tianbao period. He retired from office due to illness the previous year. Although Liu Zongyuan had a large mansion in Chang'an, he and Bai Juyi were very aggressive, so he simply moved to the inn to live with him.

There was another scholar in the same room. It was coincidentally Guo Mu, a scholar from Hedong who had passed the Jinshi and took the exam again. Guo Mu is 30 years old this year. Compared with the young Bai and Liu, he is the eldest brother, but even so, Guo Mu still can't stand the airs of the eldest brother. He was surprised to find that Bai Juyi and Liu Zongyuan are very talented, but he is far inferior to him.

Guo Mu was a little nervous these days. He reviewed until very late last night before going to bed. So much so that after Bai Liu and the others woke up, he was still asleep. Finally, he was awakened by the rapid footsteps in the corridor. He opened his red eyes slightly and glanced out the window instinctively. The sky was already tingling, like a needle poking his body. Guo Mu's thin body suddenly popped up from the bed and shouted: "Brother Bai, Brother Liu, get up quickly, today is the day for the exam."

"No hurry, it's still early!" Bai Juyi smiled and walked in from outside the door. He was wearing a long green gown, his head was steaming and full of energy. He probably had just returned from a run outside. He picked up a pair of bowls and chopsticks and smiled, "I have to go to have dinner first. Today the restaurant provides breakfast for free. It's too late, and the good food will be gone."

"Where is Brother Liu?" Guo Mu put on his clothes embarrassedly. Seeing that Liu Zongyuan's bed was empty, the bedding was neatly folded, his old face turned slightly red.

"His examination is at home. He went home early in the morning and set off from home." Bai Juyi smiled and walked out quickly.

September in Chang'an has entered Mid-Autumn Festival. It is not yet bright, but the air is filled with mist, with a hint of early autumn chill. After breakfast, more than 100 scholars from Shunfeng Inn packed up their luggage for the exam and squeezed in front of the gate to wait for the carriage entering the Zuoyuan. The exam is about to begin, and the candidates whispered, and there is a lot of noise in front of the inn, mostly discussing today's test questions. But soon, with the arrival of the first carriage in Suzhou, the time for the scholars to break up.

Preparing carriages for the scholars of this state to rush to the examination room has always been a tradition for the Jinzou Academy in Beijing. This subject-made subject examination is no exception. Although the subject-made subject is different from the usual subject, this is the first imperial examination specially held after the new emperor ascended the throne. Each Jinzou Academy attaches great importance to it and tries to snatch out several carriages from the officials who have entered to arrange the travel of the scholars of this state.

Orange-red lanterns appeared at the entrance of the inn. Carriages from several major states had passed one after another, and a large number of scholars from the state were taken away. This time, the number of people in the subject was large, so it was mainly held in four places, one was the Hanlin Academy in Chongrenfang, one was the Taichang Temple in the imperial city, the other was the Xuanzheng Hall of the Daming Palace, and the other was the Mingde Hall of the East Palace. In order to show their favor, the emperor specially arranged candidates from the Central Plains, Hedong and Chang'an to conduct them in the Xuanzheng Hall of the Daming Palace.

In this way, Bai Juyi, a scholar from Zhengzhou, was inconvenient to walk to the Daming Palace, so he had to take a carriage. But when he waited left and right, the carriage from Zhengzhou Jinzhaoyuan still did not come, and there were only more than twenty people left in front of the inn. At this time, another large carriage came from afar. The special orange-red lantern indicated that this was also a carriage transporting candidates.

"It's the carriage from Fenzhou!" Several scholars who rushed up retreated in depression, but Guo Mu happily picked up his luggage and greeted him. He suddenly seemed to think of something, so he turned around and smiled at Bai Juyi and said, "Anyway, it's all an examination room. Brother Bai might as well go with me!"

Bai Juyi shook his head and smiled, "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Guo, I'll wait."

"Are you a candidate from the Central Plains?" The official of the Jinzou Academy in Fenzhou is a fat and white middle-aged man. Seeing that Bai Juyi was alone, he smiled kindly and said, "The carriages from several states in the Central Plains are already full in Pingkangfang. If you don't come here, you might as well take a ride."

"Yes! Brother Bai, you will have to check your name later. If you go late, it will affect the exam. You should get in the car!" Guo Mu invited again.

Bai Juyi thought about it and bowed to thank him, "It's better to obey your orders than respect."

He got on the carriage, which started slowly, and soon boarded the main road and drove quickly towards the direction of Daming Palace.

Since today and tomorrow are the national examinations, and they are also preparing for the official examinations to give officials time, the imperial court took special holidays these two days. The Daming Palace was deserted and only a few officials who arranged on duty appeared in the Daming Palace. The side door of the Ming Dynasty, the Wangxian Gate slowly opened, and carriages loaded with scholars drove into the Daming Palace under the guidance of hundreds of cavalrymen in the Flying Cavalry Camp. The magnificent palace complex of the Daming Palace suddenly aroused the scholars' exclamation. This was the highest authority of the Tang Empire. The Hanyuan Palace several miles away made countless scholars fascinated. Bai Juyi also looked at this huge palace silently, and his heart was filled with endless yearning.

Nearly 10,000 scholars were lined up in five groups in the square in front of Xuanzheng Hall, and there were soldiers maintaining order. Bai Juyi and Guo Mu arrived a little later and lined up behind.

"Juyi, Brother Guo!" Someone was calling them in a low voice. The two of them looked at each other and saw Liu Zongyuan running over from the team and laughing excitedly, "I have been waiting for you, why did you come?"

Seeing that there was no one around, he lowered his voice and said, "I heard a news that the chief examiner of the Ministry of Revenue was Han Huan, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and the deputy chief examiner was Hu Yong, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The list of examiners was announced three days ago, and all examiners were not allowed to go home immediately."

Liu Zongyuan is a child of a noble family, and his news is naturally reliable. Without waiting for nothing, Guo and the others spoke. Liu Zongyuan said again: "There is another news that this time, the exam will not be taken for the posting of the scriptures."

‘Don’t you take the exam for the scriptures?’ Bai Juyi and Guo Mu looked at each other. When they signed up, they learned that they would take the exam for poetry and poetry reviews. Of course, scholars from the Tang Dynasty had to rely on writing poetry, but poetry reviews were the first time they started. Everyone was talking about the emperor’s question setting today, which was really unique. Unexpectedly, they got news again today and would not take the exam for the scriptures. Guo Mu’s face was extremely depressed. He built a house for his mother for three years and forgot many sutras and treatises. In the past two months, he tried his best to make up for the scriptures, but he did not take the exam.

"Poetry reviews must account for 40% of the scores. The test of poetry reviews can best see the real level. This method is the best." Liu Zongyuan was extremely excited. This was his expertise. He suddenly saw Guo Mu's expression was haggard and there was still blood in his eyes. He couldn't help but complain: "I know that today is an exam, why did Brother Guo stay up late last night? Are you not afraid of affecting his performance during the exam?"

Guo Mu smiled bitterly and said, "I have always focused on the classics and have not paid attention to poetry. But today, I not only have to take poetry exams, but also poetry reviews. I think the emperor nowadays attaches great importance to people's livelihood, so he put his treasure on Du Gongbu's poems and made up for it last night."

Bai Juyi heard that he was not confident enough and asked again: "If you unfortunately fail to go to high school, will Brother Guo return home?"

Guo Mu looked sad, and he shook his head and said, "To make up for the travel expenses, the few acres of thin land at home have been sold. If I can't win, I will go to Anxi to join the army and make achievements in the border. Brother Bai, where are you?"

Bai Juyi smiled slightly and said, "If I fail, I will follow Brother Guo to Anxi to join the army. How about you?"

"Brother Bai, how could he not win?"

Guo Mu smiled, took off his shoes and threw them into the sky, 'Click!' The two uppers were facing up and landed. He stroked his palm and laughed, "It's okay! This is Shun Gua." Bai Juyi and Liu Zongyuan couldn't help laughing when they saw him interesting.

"Shh!" A man next to him stopped whispering: "Don't quarrel, it's already started."

The three of them were excited and looked at the front of them. The gate of Xuanzheng Hall had been opened. More than a dozen guide boys stood inside the door holding orange-red lanterns. There were faint black words on the lanterns, probably the examination room number. Another seventeen and eight officials came out and began to issue examination indices one team after another.

"Zhengzhou Bai Juyi! Zhengzhou Bai Juyi!"

Bai Juyi quickly raised his hand high and replied: "Here."

Two officials came over to check his examination and looked at him carefully, "He is seven feet tall, with a national face, and a scar on his left hand." He confirmed that it was correct, and then he gave him the admission certificate. Bai Juyi took it and saw that it was 'No. 3,218 in District A', he quickly asked the other two, "Where are you?"

"I'm in District B." Guo Mu looked at his admission certificate.

"Where is Brother Zong Yuan?"

“I’m in District B too.”

After getting the admission certificate, several teams began to slowly walk up the steps. Bai Juyi grabbed Liu Zongyuan and smiled and said, "We are not in the same exam room. We may not meet after the exam later. Brother Zongyuan can go back to the inn by himself."

"Okay! I wish Brother Juyi a high level of performance." Liu Zongyuan bowed and left strode. Everyone walked up to the gate of the hall. After the soldiers searched for the examination and admission certificates, everyone followed the guide boy to go to the examination room.

Xuanzheng Hall is the main hall of the Daming Palace after Hanyuan Hall. It is divided into the main hall and the left and right side halls. The main hall can accommodate tens of thousands of people at the same time, and the two side halls can also accommodate thousands of people. The main hall has been separated by simple wooden boards in the hall, and a seat and a table are placed in each test position. There are paper, pens and other necessary items for the examination on the table, and all the paper and pens that the candidates bring must be handed over.

It took a cup of tea to find his exam seat. He sat down, his heart pounding. There was a walkway in front, and the candidates behind and on both sides were already sitting there. No one dared to speak. The admission certificate was clearly written. Those who whispered to each other after entering the venue were treated as cheating. If there was any emergency, the invigilator could take it out. The first day of the exam was poetry and poetry reviews, and the total exam was four hours. The afternoon ended, and the water and lunch would be provided by the examination room.

"Everyone, I am the chief examiner of the examination room in District A of Xuanzheng Hall today. My surname is Hu, and I am also an official of the Ministry of Personnel. I will announce the rules of the examination room. First, no whispering is allowed."

The voice of the examiner echoed in the empty hall, and the examinees were listening quietly. At this time, several small cars carrying full test papers came, and each handed him a test paper, whispering: "Discard the name first and then write."

Bai Juyi no longer wanted to listen to the rules of the exam room. He wrote his name and quotation marks on the edge of the exam paper, and carefully muffled the name with the name sticker prepared on the table. Then he expanded the paper. The test questions were two parts, the first part was a poem, and the topic was a scene in Chang'an. It must be written in reference to "Wenxuan". This is not difficult. The Tang people could write poetry as long as they read books, but their level was just high and low.

The second part is the difficulty: poetry commentary. Those with low level can only discuss poetry about poetry; those with medium level can extend the historical background of this poem; and those with high level can even comment on the author's political views and the root causes of political clarity or social turmoil at that time.

Bai Juyi's heart was pounding, not knowing what the question was today, but when he closed his eyes, he suddenly opened the test paper. After a while, he opened a crack slightly and looked closer and closer to look closely, and was stunned. The topic was the three officials and three farewells that Guo Mu had debated with him last night. Du Fu's famous poems actually meant to write about the root of the Anshi Rebellion and the sufferings of the people.

While Bai Juyi was excited, he also admired Guo Mu's vision. He really hit the question. It seems that the emperor is really paying attention to people's livelihood, and time is no longer allowed to think too much. When the bell rings, Bai Juyi calms down and his thoughts slowly fly to the turning point of the Tang Dynasty from the prosperity of Kaiyuan to the Anshi Rebellion.

There was only rustling sounds in the room, and occasionally dry coughs came. The examiner had a blue face, holding an iron ruler in his hand, and patrolling around the examination room with his hands behind his back. His eyes were sharp, and no one could escape his eyes with a slight movement. From time to time, someone waved his hand gently to signal that he was in a hurry and needed to go there. As soon as the examiner whispered, soldiers immediately accompanied him out.

More than two hours have passed, and Bai Juyi has finished writing the poem review in one breath, with nearly ten thousand words flowing back to the test paper and preparing to write a poem. The title of the poem is the scenery of Chang'an. These days, he and Liu Zongyuan have traveled all the beautiful scenery of Chang'an, especially the love for Qujiang. He suddenly thought of the brilliant and gorgeous sunset scenery on Qujiang at dusk last night. His inspiration increased, so he picked up his pen and wrote the title of "The Song of the Twilight River".

"Why didn't you write "Farewell to the Ancient Grass"?" A low voice suddenly came from beside you. Bai Juyi was shocked and found that there was someone standing beside you at some point. Bai Juyi was confused. He had never seen his "Farewell to the Ancient Grass" before. How did he know? And who is he?

Bai Juyi suddenly remembered that his poem was read by a Taoist priest when he was in a restaurant. What does this person have to do with that Taoist priest? Bai Juyi looked up and saw that he was over thirty years old, with three wisps of clear beard floating on his chest, his eyes clear and soft, wearing an unusual green robe and a gauze hat, and no official title could be seen.

At this time, Bai Juyi suddenly saw the examiner winking at him from behind and signaled himself to stand up and answer. He looked extremely nervous, but he also announced that he was not allowed to speak in the examination room!

Despite his surprise, Bai Juyi decided to stand up and answer. However, before he could get up, the man pressed his shoulder and smiled gently, "Don't get up, continue writing poetry."

After saying that, he smiled at him, and went to inspect somewhere else with his hands behind his back. Bai Juyi thought for a long time but couldn't think of his identity. His thoughts slowly returned to the poem. He pondered for a moment, then picked up his pen and wrote:

A setting sun spreads into the water, half of the river is shining and half of the river is red.

Poor night on the third day of the September 20th, the dew looks like the true pearls and the moon looks like the bow

After lunch, some people started handing in the papers one after another, either with a relaxed expression or a gloomy face. After Bai Juyi finished writing the last word, his heart suddenly relaxed and lay down. After the ink traces were slightly dry, he read them again from the beginning. He felt quite satisfied, so he handed in the papers and left.

Without a carriage, Bai Juyi walked all the way and wandered back to the inn. He did a good job today. He went to buy some wine and food, and was still ten steps away from the room. Then he heard the clear sound of reading: "However, Qin used a mere place to bring the power of ten thousand chariots, and recruited eight states and ranks together for more than a hundred years. Then he used Liuhe as his home and Guhan as his palace. One man was in trouble and fell into seven temples, and his hands were killed. Why is it that the world laughed at? Benevolence and righteousness are not used, but the offensive and defensive momentum is different." The sound is pleasant, indicating that scholars are in a good mood.

Bai Juyi was clear and pushed the door and laughed: "Today, Brother Guo hit the question. Do you want to write the 'Brief of Qin' tomorrow?"

There was only Guo Mu in the room. He was standing in front of the window and reading "Theory of the Qin Dynasty" loudly. When he heard Bai Juyi's laughter behind him, Guo Mu put down the book and turned around and smiled: "I guessed the question today, but I won't have such good luck tomorrow, so I read the wonderful articles of the ancients to find a sense of language."

Bai Juyi smiled, then put the wine, food and food boxes on the table, and asked again: "Where is Brother Zong Yuan? Haven't he come yet?"

Guo Mu was also a little surprised, "Didn't Brother Liu come back with you?"

"I'm here!" Suddenly, Liu Zongyuan's laughter came from behind. The two of them turned around quickly and saw Liu Zongyuan at the door, while an old Taoist stood behind him.

Bai Juyi suddenly recognized the old Taoist behind him as the one he met in the restaurant. He quickly met and asked Liu Zongyuan: "How is it, how did you do the exam?"

Liu Zongyuan bowed to Guo Mu first and smiled and said, "You discussed the three officials and three farewells last night until midnight. I hated you so much, but I am grateful to you now, but it's too late!"

Bai Juyi smiled and said, "I think so too, thanks to Brother Guo."

"It seems that all three of them did well in the exam. The old master congratulated me." Li Mi bowed his hands and smiled slightly.

Bai Juyi suddenly remembered the strange person in the exam room, immediately pulled Li Mi in, bowed and asked, "Did you give me my poem to someone else after reading it last time in the restaurant?"

"Such a wonderful poem has been introduced to many people." Li Mi asked with a smile: "Why, Brother Bai is in any trouble."

"No wonder, but who will he be?" Bai Juyi said to himself.

"What happened?" Liu Zongyuan and Guo Mu asked in unison when they saw his serious expression.

Bai Juyi shook his head, "This is strange, let's talk while eating!"

As he said that, he invited the three of them to take their seats and poured each of them a glass of wine. Then he remembered that he didn't know the old Taoist's Dharma name, so he asked, "I would like to ask the Taoist Master's Dharma name, where to practice in Baoshan?"

Li Mi picked up the wine glass and smiled and said, "I am the common name of Li, and the name of the Dharma is Shuixin. The world is home."

Liu Zongyuan was impatient, and he didn't take Li Mi to heart, and asked anxiously: "Ju Yi said that he had encountered something strange, what was going on?"

"I met someone during the exam." Bai Juyi said the strange things he encountered in the exam room and finally said: "I thought he was an official, but all the officials I saw were wearing official uniforms, but this person was dressed in blue and gauze hat, which was very leisurely, which was really confusing."

Liu Zongyuan's expression suddenly became solemn, and he suddenly asked, "How old is that person? What does that person look like?"

"At about thirty years old, he is elegant and admired."

With a 'bang!', Liu Zongyuan slapped the table heavily, and the dishes jumped around, which scared the people, "Why is Brother Liu?"

"I know who it is." Liu Zongyuan lowered his voice and said to the three people: "Zheng Zheng, the chief examiner of the Ministry of Personnel, is always arrogant. The always awesome doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, can only be an official above the Shangshu. However, Han Huan, the youngest official at the Shangshu, is fifty years old, and he wears official uniforms in the morning. Therefore, this person who is thirty years old without wearing official uniforms can talk to the candidates at will in the examination room, and the person who is respectful to the Zhengshu can only be one person."

"Who?" Bai Juyi and Guo Mu asked in unison, but Li Mi stroked his beard and smiled without saying a word.

Liu Zongyuan finally couldn't help but urge to say the secret and said word by word: "The Lord of the present."

"Emperor!" Bai and Guo were stunned at the same time. Guo Mu suddenly said to Bai Juyi with a sour voice: "Brother Bai met a noble person in the exam, and his future is bright! I will also recommend my brother in the future."

Bai Juyi's mind was confused. In fact, he also thought of the possibility of the emperor, but he always felt incredible. Now, Liu Zongyuan, a son of an official, said it, and he had no choice but to believe it, but how could the emperor know his poem? He suddenly looked at Li Mi with caution and said coldly: "Who are you?"

Li Mi raised his neck and drank a glass of wine, and smiled faintly: "There will never be any senior official wearing Taoist uniforms to visit privately!"

But Liu Zongyuan stared at him, thinking about his name, "The secular surname is Li, the Taoist name is Shuixin, Li Shuixin."

He suddenly realized something and pointed at Li Mi and stood up, "You are Li Mi."

'Li Mi, the commoner.' Bai Juyi and Guo Mu were both shocked. They had heard of this person's name for a long time, but they did not expect that the legendary dragon was in front of them. Bai Juyi and Guo Mu quickly stood up to salute, "We are rude, please forgive me for Daoist Li."

Li Mi waved his hand and smiled, "You don't have to be polite, I'm just a poor Taoist priest. It's fate to be able to know everyone. Everyone is so distant, it's obvious that they want to drive me away."

Seeing that he was talking funny and had no airs, the three of them sat down. Guo Mu was still thinking about Bai Juyi's noble encounter, so he asked Li Mi: "Master Li, Brother Bai met the emperor this time, did he treat him..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Mi waved his hand and interrupted him, "It is impossible. Brother Bai must first stand out among the 200,000 candidates and be admitted, so that he can hope to get favor from the emperor again. Otherwise, the emperor will not have the right to hire him beyond the level of level."

At this time, Liu Zongyuan next to him asked, "I heard that this subject-making examination was held by the Ministry of Personnel, while the official examination was held by the Ministry of Rites. This seems to be a reversal. I wonder if this is because of the evil relationship between Han Shangshu and Lu Shangshu?"

Li Mi glanced at him and said coldly: "You are asking these official things at a young age? You should think about tomorrow's exam!"

Liu Zongyuan blushed and did not dare to ask any more questions. Li Mi took another sip of wine and said earnestly to the three of them: "The emperor attaches great importance to the discipline of the subject, so he sent the stern and upright Han Shangshu to be the chief examiner. This is your opportunity, so you should seize this opportunity!"
Chapter completed!