Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

After Liu Qi's little episode, not only did Lu Ci, who had been ridiculed, look calm, but the other four people who watched the scene were dumbfounded and calmed down unknowingly.

Lu Cipan looked at the four people who had unconsciously completely relaxed and were concentrating on looking for their respective houses, and then decided not to bother with Liu Qi who played cards out of common sense.

When entering the door, the prison guard conducted a simple search of the bags of the five people as usual, but did not ask them to undress.

I didn't see any books, and I checked the identities of the five people. After there was no ghostwriting, I let them go.

...Why is it different from what I heard?

Lu Ci was thoughtful, but Teng Zongrong probably saw his doubts, and took the initiative to clear up his doubts: "On the day of entering the examination room, the investigation will be more rigorous. But undressing and searching, it is considered by the officials to be a failure to obtain a scholar. body, no more."

Lu Ci nodded.

In terms of the arrangement of the house, the Gongyuan decided that there would be a room for two people, and the arrangement was based on the guarantee form.

Lu Ci thought that no matter who he lived with, he could get along quite well, so he didn't rush to check the schedule, and just walked slowly at the end.

On the other hand, the other four secretly competed, especially Zhu Shuo Yishu, who were determined to win, so they inadvertently quickened their pace.

As a result, several people gathered to have a look, and they were all disappointed—the only one among the five who was assigned to live with a stranger was none other than Lu Ci.

Zhu Shuo shared the room with Zhong Yuan, Yi Shu shared the room with Teng Zongliang, and Lu Ci shared the room with Cai Qi.

Lu Ci: "..."

Although it is a trivial matter, it is somewhat unlucky.

He smiled helplessly, but there was no resistance at all.

Although it is unavoidable to be a little regretful not being able to be with someone he is familiar with, as long as this short-term roommate who will be together for more than a month is not too weird, he is also willing to make friends with him.

——If it is really unbearable, he has plenty of ways to deal with it.

With the help of Zhong Yuan, Lu Ci put the luggage into the room, and casually glanced at the other side of the room.

It was still empty, no one or luggage, and it was obviously even later.

He didn't pay much attention. After he came out, he saw that the other people who had also packed up were still looking sleepy, so he couldn't help but comfort him with a funny voice: "So what if we don't have the same room at night? Can't we still get together during the daytime?" Is it? Besides, the test will be introduced tomorrow, so you'd better pay attention to the ranking of the seats first."

Lu Ci's words successfully drew the attention of several people to the business, so they stopped entangled.

It was an official residence of the previous dynasty that was temporarily 'borrowed' by the government as a tribute courtyard.Even if only some repairs are made on the original basis, it will be much better than Lu Ciyuan's temple.

The Hengjian Hall is the home of the examiners and officials, so it is naturally heavily guarded, and Lu Ci and the others have no intention of approaching it, so as not to cause trouble for no reason.

They deliberately made a small detour, walked through the corridor, passed the courtyard, and found the second row next to the gate.

Different from the care taken during house allocation, when arranging seats, the few people on the guarantee certificate are deliberately divided into different places, which is more or less for the purpose of preventing acquaintances from deliberately spreading rumors.

Both Lu Ci and Zhu Shuo knew about this from Liu Qichu, and Teng Zongliang once responded with a friend, so he was also very clear about this, only Zhong Yuan and Yi Shu were a little confused.

For the first time, Zhong Yuan was a little worried: "...if I sit in the wrong seat, or can't find a seat, will I be framed as a troublemaker?"

Lu Ci said with a smile: "After the search before entering the venue, there will be an examiner who will take you to sit in front of the seat. You really don't have to worry about this."

Zhong Yuan let out a long sigh of relief.

Zhu said that he was keenly aware that Lu Ci had been secretly fixing his eyes on the small group of people gathered in the courtyard, and raised his eyebrows slightly.

He also took a few glances at those people, but he was not as experienced as Lu Ci, and his observations were too blatant, and he was almost discovered soon.

Just before he was noticed by the other party, Lu Ci grabbed him as if by chance, and headed towards the kitchen: "It's almost lunch time, let's go and have a look."

The other people didn't know the situation and just followed subconsciously.

Lu Ci smiled and asked Zhu in a low voice, "What did you see?"

Zhu said honestly: "A group of people..."

Lu Ci: "To be precise, a group of people surround a person."

Zhu said that he was taken aback for a moment, thought carefully for a moment, and nodded hesitantly: "It doesn't seem like there is any bullying."

Lu Ci blinked at him, and gave him one last reminder: "Have Brother Zhu ever heard of 'Towel Box Book'?"

Zhu said that he instantly entered the usual serious mode of being randomly checked by Lu Ci, and recited "Shu Pu" very smoothly: "Wang Jun of Hengyang, Nanyang, wrote the Five Classics by hand and put them in a towel box. He Jie said: 'There is a grave in every family. Su, why do you need to write carefully?" The answer: "It's easy to review, and you can't forget to write by hand." The kings followed suit."

Lu Ci was deeply aware of his mistake.

How could a top student who has always been rigorous in his studies, always demanded himself as a gentleman, and never slack off for half a day, understand the crooked ways that some scumbags are proficient in?

Lu Ci's eyelids twitched, and he patted Zhu Shuo's shoulder silently: "Go back to the room and get your favorite jerky in honey sauce, let's have dinner together."

After lunch, when they went back to their rooms to rest for a while, Lu Ci also lay idle on the bed, sorting out the scene he had just seen.

Through that observation, he was basically sure that the dozen or so people gathered money together and hired the surrounded man to carry the book on his behalf.

The towel box book is a small invention secretly sold by some small bookstores. It is specially published on a small board with a collection of classics and history and Cheng Wen, which is specially used for carrying.

In addition, when a group of people gather in a certain room, it is easy to attract attention; while in a courtyard surrounded by people coming and going, even if others see it, they will only regard it as a companion who is chatting, and will not easily become suspicious.

When Lu Ci looked at them, he found that they had arranged another person to guard the corridor of Hengjian hall without any trace, just in case an official appeared suddenly.

For the employer, as long as they spend some money to let others bear the risk of fraud, if it goes well, then of course everyone will be happy; if someone finds out, only the person who held the book will be punished.

As for the hired party, because of the huge profits, even if most scholars cherish feathers, there will always be those who are poor and know that they are not talented enough and are afraid of difficulties. They are willing to take risks in order to earn extra money.

Of course, Lu Ci would not allow this kind of group cheating, so it went smoothly.

——Are you kidding, if you want those group of people to cheat by cheating, wouldn't it make you look like an idiot after working so hard to prepare for the exam?

At that time, he could of course report directly to the examiner, but this would only result in the expulsion of those who were hired to coerce the letter, but the dozen or so people could easily separate their relationship on the grounds of ignorance, and they could still take the test and would not be rejected. To the slightest implicated.

Moreover, he easily exposed himself to those people, and then he had to guard against retaliation, which was not worth the candle.

Therefore, Lu Ci didn't say anything, and he didn't want to let the jealous Zhu Shuo know too much, lest the other party lose his temper and startle the snake.

If you want to catch everyone, you have to catch everyone and get all the stolen goods. If you don't lose one, you have to pick yourself clean.

Then, even if the group of people who got the books escaped the inspection, when will they be able to read them after entering the heavily inspected examination room?

Lu Ci thought for a while, and suddenly the corners of his lips raised slightly, and he had an idea.

When Lu Ci quickly finished the arrangement and came back, he saw that there was one more person in the room.

Cai Qizheng was absently packing his luggage, when he heard footsteps behind him, he quickly cheered up, turned around, and bowed to Lu Ci first: "This must be Lu Ci, Lu Langjun. My sire, Cai Qi, because of the matter Delay, I was a little late just now, and I didn't have time to say hello, please forgive me."

The other party was polite and polite, so Lu Ci naturally reciprocated. After returning the gift with a smile, he exchanged pleasantries with Cai Qi.

Cai Qi already has a lot of gorgeous hair on his head, and when asked again, he is already past his age.

This is Cai Qi's third time to apply for the exam, the first three rounds were without exception, and all regrets lie in the step of understanding and trying.He studied hard behind closed doors for five years, preparing for the solution with great ambition, but due to bad luck, he caught up with successive imperial edicts to stop the tribute examination.

It was not easy to wait until the second year of Dazhong Xiangfu, and he was unable to go because his father died of illness and had to observe mourning for three years, so he missed it again.

Cai Qi smiled bitterly and said: "Don't be afraid of Lu Lang's jokes. If you don't win this time, the remaining wealth in the family should not wait until the next time, and you have to think about making a living."

There are too many scholars like Cai Qi who are poor and have to change their careers due to repeated failures in examinations.

With enough perseverance and financial resources, there will always be only a small number of people who have no real jobs in the court and only talk about the "special performance name system" for consolation.

Speaking of the sad part, Cai Qi was no longer interested in talking, and Lu Ci didn't want to force him, so the two went about their business in a tacit understanding.

The night before the introduction test, except for Lu Ci, who was in the most normal state of mind, everyone could not sleep all night and could not close their eyes.

When the sky was bright, the inspector knocked on the gong, urging the scholars to prepare their belongings, and when they entered the examination room one by one...

Among the sluggish, disheveled, and even busy-footed scholars, Lu Ci, who was radiant and always smiling calmly, stood out from the crowd like a chicken.

Zhu said they were fine, and after they had trouble falling asleep, they lit the calming incense that Lu Ci had prepared for each of them beforehand, and finally fell asleep for two or three hours.

But he was never as energetic and calm as Lu Ci.

They only thought that Lu Ci was full of confidence, but they didn't know that the other party had a relaxed mentality of "it doesn't matter if you fail the first time, just explore the way". After checking the study room and test paper with each other, they went to the shop inspector Under the watchful eye of a tiger, they lined up in front of the proctor.

Seeing the scholars who are accustomed to the inspection step, they suddenly realized that they had missed something under their business-like inquiries, and ran back like crazy to get it; The tense posture that returned after a long time...

When it was Lu Ci's turn, the expressionless proctor finally changed his expression.

Lu Ci smiled slightly, took out the study room and test papers from the bag, spread them on the small wooden table, took a step back unhurriedly, and said politely, "Thank you."

After the examiner finished reading it and nodded, Lu Ci quickly put it away again, so as not to delay the work of the scholars behind him.

When he took his seat with others, he still did not forget to say softly: "Thank you."

The proctor nodded solemnly, and did not have a half-word conversation with him.

——That's what makes sense.

The author has something to say: Notes:

1. The practice of undressing to check whether there are embroidered private documents was stopped on February 2, the fifth year of Dazhong Xiangfu, for the reasons listed in the article.This practice appeared again in the Southern Song Dynasty. ("General History of China's Imperial Examination System - Song Dynasty Volume")

2. The prison gate officer is responsible for the search and inspection, and the patrol officer (not patrol arrest!) is responsible for the inspection after the candidates enter the examination room.The examiner is responsible for leading people to sit and other things (detailed later) ("General History of the Chinese Imperial Examination System-Song Dynasty Volume")

3. Towel box book = entrainment book, a cheating tool secretly sold by Song Xiaoshufang.Later, it was once burned by the government.

4. Ouyang Xiu once mentioned the situation in which more than a dozen people collected money and hired one person to bring the books.

5. Chuanyi: Refers to teaching or passing words from a distance in the examination room ("General History of the Chinese Imperial Examination System-Song Dynasty Volume")

6. On the day before the exam, a list will be posted to announce the seat number. Candidates must 'take the seat according to the list and not move it'. ("General History of China's Imperial Examination System - Song Dynasty Volume")

7. The name of Hengjiantang is borrowed from the "Picture of Reconstructing the Gongyuan" in "Jingding Jiankang Zhi", and its function is as described in the text.

8. Special name system: Song Taizong invented such a consoling ceremony for those who failed the exams for many years, and the gold content can be imagined... ("Yi Zhongtian Chinese History-Da Song Innovation")