Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

Waking up again to the sound of reading aloud through the half-opened window, Liu Qi sat up sleepily, still immersed in the dreamland of soft jade and fragrance, for a moment she didn't know where she was.

Under Lu Ci's orderly arrangement, they rented a spacious courtyard the next day, hired two servants to clean and take care of the daily life, and after adding a cook, they arranged the things for the servants , according to the request of Shangshu Province to submit the paperwork.

After accepting the test papers, they had to wait for the Tribute Academy of the Ministry of Rites to check to determine whether they would be accepted for the test, and prepared for the group meeting at the beginning of the first lunar month.

But at this moment, the vast majority of those who live far away from Bianjing are still on their way to take the exam.

The rent of this institution is generous, and the location is very ingenious: it is not far from the busiest state bridge, but there are no vendors selling their houses and mats around, so it seems that the quietness in the middle of the noise is just right for them Concentrate on studying.

Including Teng Zongliang who came to join them a few days ago, everyone was very satisfied with this, except Liu Qi who was always in a turmoil.

Whenever he has free time, he can't help thinking about the Chong Niang who is only a few streets away and hasn't seen for many years.

——No matter what, I have to go to see her today.

After Liu Qi made up his mind, he thought that Lu Ci and the others got up very early this day and were reading in the next hall. If he sneaked out through the back door, he probably wouldn't attract attention.

He hurriedly changed his clothes, took some money with him, and tried to escape lightly.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked out of the room, the rhythmic reading sound stopped abruptly.

The five people sitting in the front yard directly opposite the door of Liu Qi's room turned their heads in unison, and looked at him who was sneaking around blankly.

Liu Qi: "..."

Why did you forget to take a look out the window before going out?

Lu Ci saw that he was full of annoyance, smiled slightly, and greeted him actively: "Brother Liu has got up. Come and sit down, I will wait for you."

As soon as he spoke, the others turned their heads back tacitly and continued to read.

Liu Qi smiled dryly, sat down subconsciously, and started reading along with the other five people.

After reading the book for half an hour, the person was almost awake, and the cook under Lu Ci's order promptly placed the hot breakfast on the round table for everyone to eat.

In the half hour after everyone had their breakfast, Lu Ci made room for them on purpose, and led them for a walk in the surrounding streets, not only to help them digest food, but also to strengthen their bodies and relax along the way.

Zhouzhou Bridge, also known as Tianhan Bridge, is supported by stone pillars and is located in the center of Zicheng. It is wide and long, just like the Milky Way connecting the two ends of the sky.

The flowing water of the Bian River is rushing past underneath, while above the bridge is a chain of vendors selling all kinds of high-quality delicacies.

It is precisely because everyone is in a state of eating and drinking at this time that they can enjoy the bustling market calmly.

At first, Lu Ci thought about taking them to the nearby Taixue every day, to feel the strong academic atmosphere, and to see if he could meet some strong competitors along the way.

He didn't expect that someone would be so whimsical and build the most solemn Taixue next to Huajie Liuxiang.

So much so that those melodious reading sounds were completely overwhelmed by the melodious sounds.

In addition, in recent years, officials who are keen on the illusory "Book of Heaven" and "cultivation of the Tao" have spent huge sums of money here to build a very majestic "Five Sacred Mountains Temple", which makes the left side of Taixue full of fragrant chanting. , the right is flirting and cursing mixed with silk and bamboo music, which is really disappointing.

After Lu Ci only took people around once, he no longer had the desire to get close to that area.

——It's better to feel less of this unscrupulous atmosphere.

When you come back from your walk, you will draw lots, divide them into two groups, and help each other choose a sentence from the collection of classics and history as the topic of a poem, fu or policy theory.

After drawing, they each went back to the room and had to finish answering within the three-hour limit required by Lu Ci.

Compared to the incomparably hearty breakfast, lunch was very simple: Lu Ci just asked the cook to prepare two large glasses of honey water for each person on the grounds that 'there must be a lack of appetite during the test'.

In Lu Ci's view, if you eat food that is high in calories and needs to be digested by the stomach, it will divert the blood that supplies the brain. It is better to just eat sugar, which gives the brain enough energy and is more conducive to thinking.

The others knew nothing about the reason behind this, but out of their trust in Lu Ci, they accepted the arrangement without any objection.

Even Liu Qi, who was still in the fog, was led by the nose all the way by the strong and natural Lu Ci, and unknowingly reached the stage of the mock exam.

When he was actually sitting in front of the case and began to rack his brains on how to make a strategy based on the question Zhu Shuo asked him, he suddenly realized his original purpose.

No, no, I clearly want to visit Chong Niang!

Liu Qi stared at the proposition on the paper, caught in a dilemma.

To go, or to stay?

If he sneaked out by urinating, those healthy servants guarding the door and staring at him would immediately report the news to Brother Yuyu, and maybe stop him on the spot; , Zhu said, who is extremely serious, formed a group, and he was afraid that he would be noticed by the vigilant opponent soon, instead of being fooled like the careless Zhong Yuan...

After struggling for a while, Liu Qi decided to write something random, so as to save Brother Yu and Brother Zhu from working together to trouble him in the future.

As for finding the insect lady...

Unwillingly, Liu Qi looked through the timetable that Lu Ci had given everyone a copy, and finally decided to go there openly during the half-hour walk after dinner.

Although the others followed Lu Ci habitually, Lu Ci never said that they had to follow him.

Then go another way by yourself, come back a little later at that time, and deliberately miss the night's "self-study", Lu Ci will definitely have nothing to do with him.

After Liu Qi thought about it, her mood became relaxed, and after a little thought, she began to write wildly...

Three hours passed in a flash, no matter whether they finished writing or not, everyone gathered in the hall again, waiting for dinner to arrive, while reviewing each other's articles.

Considering that literati will inevitably have the problem of bragging about each other in business, and because they are too familiar and have a good relationship, it is difficult to criticize harshly, so he specially prepared a scoring standard for reference, and let people check it one by one. , and finally play.

Among them, what needs to be checked includes the most basic, but also the most likely to lose points in urgent situations: smearing and not making mistakes, wrong questions, missing questions, off-topics, wrong rhymes and missing rhymes, missing words and annotations accuracy and more.

Zhu said that he was in a good mood at first, but when he saw Liu Qi's perfunctory answer sheet, his complexion gradually became clouded.

He never expected that in Liu Qi, who had passed the provincial examination and was famous for his talent in poetry and prose, there would be some joke-like phrases in his practice work when preparing for the exam——'Heaven and earth roll together, everything thrives, and a sage hair'.

Everyone understands the meaning, and there is no major mistake.

But in an article that is serious and logical, it must be like a game of words, but it is a dead end.

He frowned tightly, and while reading word by word, he mercilessly annotated with a red pen.

Even if he didn't say a word, Liu Qi, who knew what he had written, felt a little restless with guilt.

He made up his mind, raised his eyes inadvertently, and happened to meet Shang Lu Ci's thoughtful eyes.

Liu Qi: "..."

The lingering ominous premonition in my heart became even stronger.

Lu Ci didn't seem to notice anything about it, and nodded to Liu Qi with a smile, and then continued to review Zhong Yuan's paper which was full of errors and omissions.

Unlike Liu Qi's absent-minded essay, Zhu Shuo, who always followed Lu Ci's words meticulously, obviously cherished the opportunity to revise each other's papers in order to make progress.

For the propositions that Liu Qi picked up casually, he also took twelve points seriously, and he was very good at absorbing mistakes and summing up lessons. Even within the time limit that Lu Ci deliberately shortened, he was inevitably nervous Pay special attention to the rhyme, and almost never make mistakes and smear problems.

Liu Qi felt somewhat ashamed while reading it.

He hadn't finished reading Zhu Shuo's article, but Zhu Shuo had already approved his masterpiece, with a gloomy face, he ignored him, and directly put the approved work on the table beside Liu Qi, Go straight to find Lu and resign.

Liu Qi was silent for a moment, and then carefully picked up his article, and saw that Zhu said that it was like painting a wall with a bright red vermilion brush, and wiped it from the beginning to the end, and made a six-character annotation unceremoniously.

——"Scholar stabs, examiner brushes."

Liu Qi was silent for a while, her face flushed with shame.

Zhu said it was natural to file a complaint with Lu Ci.

Among these six people, including Teng Zongliang who joined last, even if they are not familiar with each other, they still know the level of each other.

Even though Liu Qi was too obsessed with the wind and dust, he was tainted with the atmosphere of the market when he wrote his lyrics, and wandered between grandeur and glamour, but his talent, sincere and hearty temperament, and sincerity towards others are also well known by everyone.

The article he just read really disappointed him, how could it be written by Brother Liu?

Thinking of Brother Yu Yu's busy schedule for them, he did not hesitate to share his test-taking experience of winning Jieyuan, and he did not hesitate to waste time and energy, arranging an intensive itinerary for them...

Brother Liu didn't cherish such good intentions at all!

Really hateful.

Lu Ci guessed Liu Qi's careful thoughts clearly, so he had expected it long ago.

If it weren't for Liu Qi's sincere friendship with them all the time, the small criticisms of his conduct would not hide his flaws, and coupled with the regret that this person's official career was slow and he failed to realize his ambitions in his life, Lu Ci might have let himself go early in the morning, watching coldly, and Not so 'nosy'.

Although Liu Qi, who no longer "writes lyrics according to the order", may not be able to write so many words that have been passed down through the ages, but as long as his own wish is "Quijia ascends to the top", Lu Ci is willing to do his best to help draw him.

Zhu said to the indignant Zhu that Lu Ci could only laugh.

After a little appeasement, he simply added a new rule.

——After reviewing each other every day, recite what you have done in front of everyone, and decide the best and worst one of the day.

As long as you don't deal with it deliberately and sloppily, even if it is the worst, it will not be so bad that it is ridiculed by others, and it will have a spur effect.

Just as Lu Ci thought, this small method of healthy competition has aroused everyone's fighting spirit.

Liu Qi didn't know what he was thinking, and he was very silent. During the walk after dinner, he did not go to find Chong Niang as originally planned, but walked silently with the other five people. Together.

However, during the "self-study" at night, Liu Qi wanted to go to the latrine because he drank a few cups of honey water earlier, but as soon as he got up, he immediately attracted the attention of almost everyone.

Liu Qi: "..."

Zhu said that he took a deep look at him, as if anticipating that he would sneak out, and heaved a long sigh; Zhong Yuan and Yi Shu glanced at him curiously, and then continued to write silently; Teng Zongliang showed a comprehension She smiled and raised an eyebrow at him.

Lu Ci didn't raise his head, and said casually, "When you pass the Zhou Bridge, please stop by and bring back six servings of roasted and frozen fish fillets."

As for why Liu Qi was not allowed to bring hot food, the reason is self-evident - someone who feels sneaky must not come back for a long time, once the hot food is completely cooled, it will become difficult to eat.

Liu Qi immediately tasted the taste of being misunderstood by everyone, especially the hateful gluttonous brother Yu Yu, who actually said something.

He couldn't bear it until he couldn't bear it, and he called Qu: "I'm just going to the latrine!"

Everyone said "Oh" noncommittally.

Even a fool can see that their attitude is clearly unbelieving.

Liu Qizong still had a plan to sneak out for a while, but in the face of this naked suspicion, it disappeared in a flash.

Unable to hide his dissatisfaction, he hurried back and forth, not even thinking about lingering in the yard for a while, so he returned to his seat and buried himself in his studies.

As soon as he sat down, Lu Ci exchanged a tacit look with Zhu Shuo, and continued to recite silently.

The author has something to say: Notes:

1. Heaven and earth roll, everything grows, and saints grow

It is quoted from a certain scholar's answer in the examination that Ouyang Xiu was in charge of in the second year of Jiayou. Ouyang Xiu did it himself. "If This Is Song History: The Era of Change (3)"

2. The description of the state bridge and the buildings near the state bridge comes from "If this is the history of the Song Dynasty·The Era of Change (3)"

3. Because there will be a lot of involvement in the later stage, only an overview is given here.

At this time, Song Zhenzong was still obsessed with enshrining the heavenly scriptures and advocating Taoism. He built Taoist temples all over the country. Among them, the Yuqing Zhaoying Palace in Bianjing was the largest. The paintings were all made of gold, and the ancient famous paintings of the four directions were also hidden in it. The materials were used to build the Temple of the Five Sacred Mountains.

He also tossed a Fengchan in the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu. It was only the expenditure of the treasury, and the Jingde sacrifice alone wasted more than 830 million yuan. In fact, it was far more than that.The amount of rewards for officials (especially those who embezzled public funds and forged heavenly scriptures to follow his practice) was as high as more than 1000 million.

The years of extravagance and waste, the extensive cultivation of Taoist temples, the increase in the number of tax-free monks, the redundant soldiers and officials, and the abuse of villains can be said to be these masterpieces of Song Zhenzong, which greatly exacerbated the poor and weak situation of the Song Dynasty. ("Song Dynasty Political History")

Finally, irrelevant to the history, but unless ketones are consumed in the hypoxic state, the brain usually only uses glucose.Therefore, increasing the intake of sugar before the exam is helpful for thinking, which has some scientific basis.