The Heavens: From Knowing Whether You Rule the World

Chapter 14 Thousands of people cross the single-plank bridge!

While Chu Hong was asking people to spread the story of "Standing in the Snow at Hanmen", he was also studying Zheng Jun's preferred style.

Involving the cabinet ministers of the time, the "original" story of "Standing in the Snow at Han Men" achieved good results. Everyone praised Chu Hong's sincere desire to learn and Han Zhang's patience with poor students.

After this incident, Chu Hong clearly felt that he had a place in Han Zhang's heart, and Han Zhang was very happy to see such a good story.

Chu Hong even obtained the qualification to enter the mansion to pay a visit without a visiting card.

In the entire Great Zhou, theoretically, there are only a handful of people who enjoy such preferential treatment.

Chu Hong could feel Han Zhang's closeness, so he naturally followed suit and climbed up the ladder. He often went to pay his respects to him, and asked him some questions concerning major national and family affairs, showing off his extraordinary vision from a historical perspective.

In other words, Zheng Jun was the chief examiner and he needed to avoid suspicion. Otherwise, Chu Hong felt that he might be taken by Han Zhang to see Zheng Jun.

As for the imperial examination, the preferences of the chief examiner account for a very high proportion in the evaluation ranking, and it is necessary to cater to the writing style of the chief examiner.

Chu Hong took a quick look and found that Zheng Jun's literary style tended to be conservative. He seemed to be very comprehensive, considerate of many aspects, and weighed the consequences carefully.

If I am not mistaken, it is most likely because Fan Wencheng's new policy failed.

At that time, Zheng Jun, Han Zhang and others were the main driving forces of the new policy, but it failed. The prime ministers and cabinet ministers who should be demoted were demoted, and those who should be suppressed were suppressed. None of the people below escaped either, and most of them were liquidated.

Although he was later reused by Renzong, he naturally cherished it more after losing it. The former radical and reformist bigwig became more conservative after being bitten by a snake.

As a result, Zheng Jun prefers to consider multiple aspects and consequences when doing things. His writing style also tends to be comprehensive and he likes to write in-depth articles.

Chu Hong didn't think there was anything wrong with this. Both the radicals and conservatives had their own reasons for existence.

With the policy article in the style of Zheng Junwen, Han Zhang also gave high support. Now it all depends on my own ability.

If you still can't get good grades even with such help, you can't blame others for not wanting to train you.

Take your time!

March 1st, cloudy.

The sky was slightly bright, and dark clouds were hanging high above Bianjing, making it hard to breathe.

There were people coming and going in front of the Imperial Examination Hall, and at a glance, all you could see were candidates coming to take the imperial examinations.

After going through four major examinations, namely county examination, prefectural examination, academy examination and provincial examination, each of the candidates who are now eligible to take part in the metropolitan examination is a talent picked out of thousands.

The candidates were no longer common people, but officials, and in theory they were reserve officials.

Now, the candidates who have walked across the single-plank bridge and surpassed thousands of scholars will have the most important fight in the Imperial Examination Hall.

The most respected scholars in each county traveled thousands of miles to reach the Bian Jing Examination Hall, and eventually became an inconspicuous one among thousands of people.

To be honest, most of the candidates who came from small counties to Bian Jing to take part in the imperial examination for the first time found it difficult to adapt to this change.

If you don't go to the capital, it's really hard to feel the shock of seeing Jinshi everywhere.

A group of people in Yangzhou had already gathered together to encourage each other.

Chu Hong looked at the full list of candidates with great interest. They practiced hard for thousands of years and finally ascended to the fairyland. Then, they became immortal soldiers who were killed by Monkey King with one blow!

"Bang bang bang!"

The cannon sounded, and the candidates slowly entered the examination room, with passion in their hearts, but also a faint fear of the unknown and failure.

Most people start to become candidates for the imperial examination when they are already thirty years old. The imperial examination is held every three years. How many three years are there in a lifetime?

How many people secretly look down on you and look down on you every time you fail?

"Let's go in too! I wish you all good luck in your scientific expedition and hope you will succeed in your first attempt!"

"sure!"

Chu Hong smiled slightly, and led everyone into the ceremonial gate to wait for inspection.

After the inspection, each person received a number and they wished each other well before officially parting.

Chu Hong was lucky as he drew a middle-level house number. The house had no other defects except that it was quite dusty. If he had drawn a shit number or a rain number, the scientific expedition would have basically been over.

However, if you have bad luck, you can only accept your fate.

To be selected as a scholar in the imperial examination, one must be lucky, which is beneficial to the country's destiny, isn't it?
The examination took quite a long time, but Chu Hong was not in a hurry. He quietly cleaned the room, lit the charcoal to warm the sugar water, cooked rice, put the bacon on it and ate a full meal before he started to look at the test questions. The first seven questions of this examination were not difficult. They mainly involved extracting famous sayings from ancient people from the Five Classics and the Four Books. The candidates had to guess the meaning of the test questions based on the famous sayings and write a policy essay.

1. The way of the university is to manifest the illustrious virtue, to love the people, and to rest in the highest good.

2. To be neutral and not lean to one side is a sign of strength and righteousness.

3. Attract the people of the world, gather the goods of the world, trade and leave, and everyone will get what they deserve.

These questions at least have an introduction, and candidates who are qualified to reach this step are basically unlikely to deviate from the topic. The only difference may be the level of their policy essay.

Chu Hong had memorized all the top policy papers from past dynasties, so he naturally knew what was most important in this kind of article.

The opening is clear, concise and precise, adding the finishing touch and finishing touch.
That's the point. After thousands of years of history, the structure of this set of policy essays is beyond doubt. A person with average ability can basically polish out an article of above-average quality by following this method.

Chu Hong is very aware of his own strengths. He has the level of classical Chinese that an ancient scholar should have, and he also has an extraordinary vision of looking at things from a historical perspective.

As long as these two elements are slightly demonstrated in the essay and the examiner can understand it, then the policy essay will basically start out as an excellent one.

There is one path to imperial examinations. The first thing you need is luck, the second is talent, and the third is words.

The status of handwriting in imperial examinations is unquestionable, and the initial impression a candidate makes on the examiner basically depends on his or her handwriting.

During the years in Yangzhou, Chu Hong specifically asked Sheng Hong, the Tongpan of Yangzhou, for advice on calligraphy.

Although Sheng Hong favors his concubine over his wife, his ability as an official is truly impeccable, and his calligraphy is also quite impressive.

It should be noted that Sheng Hong had been serving as a local official for decades. As soon as he was promoted to Bian Jing and mentioned his name, Emperor Zhao Zhen recognized Sheng Hong almost instinctively.

This handwriting has been remembered by the current emperor Zhao Zhen for decades.

Such people are really impeccable in calligraphy.

After Chu Hong specifically sought advice from Sheng Hong, his handwriting improved significantly. It was now black and shiny, square and neat, comparable to machine printing, and pleasing to the eye at first glance.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Hong felt that ink was ready in his mind. He immediately picked up the pen and wrote quickly without stopping.

For a while, the only sound in the entire building was the rustling sound of writing.

Time flies, and before I knew it, the first exam was over.

After the first exam, the second and third exams came soon after.

The second test was on the Five Classics, mainly focusing on writing edicts, memorials, judgments, decrees, and policy questions.

These are basically the basic skills for being an official. The status of a Jinshi is not ordinary. Most people who pass the Jinshi exam are immediately sent to other places. Once sent to other places, they basically become the main officials of a state or county, and they will officially govern the country after taking office.

Therefore, the skills of an official must naturally be assessed.

The weight of this test is much lower than the first one, which is unavoidable. If the weight of the second test is raised, there will be basically no chance of a commoner becoming a Jinshi.

Ordinary people don't have much opportunity to come into contact with imperial edicts, proclamations and the like.

The questions mainly asked about the emperor's governance and policies.

This question focuses on comprehensive assessment, involving all aspects of the emperor's rule and politics.

This big question also requires you to pay more attention to taboos. You need to answer the key points, but you cannot touch the taboos.

Chu Hong pondered for a moment, and then he was inspired and wrote as if inspired by God...

"I am sorry:
I have heard that when an emperor rules the world, he must have practical policies to manage the affairs of the people, so that he can control the people and handle all affairs, so that he can achieve the rule of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing; he must have a sincere heart to lead people, so that he can..."

The third question in the imperial examination is about historical essays, which also involves writing a policy essay.

1. The Zhou and Tang dynasties emphasized the exterior but neglected the interior, while the Qin and Wei dynasties emphasized the interior but neglected the exterior. Each has its own merits.

2. Ban Gu criticized Jia Yi's theory of five baits and three memorials as being too brief, but Qin Mu once used it to dominate the Western Rong, and Zhonghang Shuo was also used to warn the Chanyu, so his theory was not without effect.

3. Zhuge Liang had no intention of using Shen Shang’s tactics.

4. Pei Du suggested that the prime minister should recruit talented people from all over the country as advisers and meet with them in his private residence to discuss the matter.

(End of this chapter)