Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

After judging that the test paper belonged to Lu Ci, they felt a chord, and nervously reviewed the dozens of test papers.

After reading it, the tone they had been holding on to unknowingly dissipated.

Just these few well-behaved articles... nothing to be afraid of at all.

Even if the prejudice and hostility of the southerners towards the northerners are discarded, this poem and prose is certainly well done, but in terms of literature and science, it has obvious defects of avoiding the most important and not citing, and the writing is a bit hasty, making it difficult to scratch. itch.

It can only be regarded as "more than inferior, less than superior", but not "amazing" at all.

This is obviously better for them.

If Lu Ci, who is well-known outside the country, wrote a beautiful article in this provincial examination that made people judge the case amazingly, and they joined forces to lower the score, they would definitely be dissatisfied by the people from the north.

If they were targeted by the Yushitai people, and their small thoughts were made public and impeached, it would be even more distressing.

It's much easier now.

Although the two lived separately in the second room, they had a tacit understanding to suppress Lu Ci's rating.

After reading it several times, they unceremoniously wrote down simple comments, and after amplifying and emphasizing the shortcomings, they all gave a "moderate" rating.

After all, most of the candidates in this session have lost their halberds on policy propositions that focus on current affairs, and they have brought out this work that can only be said in a normal way.

Although the rating was slightly low, they knew well that they intentionally lowered it, and Liu Yun, the chief executive, must also intentionally raise the opponent's score.

When making the final evaluation, Liu Yun, even as the director, had to take their opinions into consideration and make a compromise.

Based on such a combination, it is likely that Lu Ci will enter the final list with a rating of 'upper middle'.

They are not as clear-cut as Kou Zhun was when he was targeting Yan Shu, who was recommended by Zhang Zhibai, and they did not keep a line in everything.

If you use too much force when obstructing, you will completely offend such a man who is destined to have a bright future... Not only will you be easily stabbed out, failing to achieve your goal, but you will also create a deadly enemy.

If it is only slightly lowered, it can be said that it is because "the reviewers are different, and the balance should not be based on people's hearts", and you can also defend yourself.

After thinking about it this way, they felt much more at ease, and put aside the reviewed Lu Ci papers, waiting for them to be sent to Zhigong Juguan to determine their superiority.

Liu Yun, who was still buried in the first round of school examinations, didn't know anything about it.

The test papers of more than 7000 people were piled up like a sea of ​​smoke. He reviewed them day and night, and it was not until early February that he finally approved the last [-] papers.

When I turned to the "焨" volume, I was very tired. After reading a few pages hastily, Liu Yun still couldn't help but let out a "huh".

After a brief moment of astonishment, without thinking, he immediately turned back to the front of the scroll and checked Feng Mi's name in person.

After making sure that no one carelessly mixed in the public papers, he was stunned on the spot, which was even more inconceivable.

How can this be?

Even if it is only a cursory glance, it can be easily seen that this subtlety of ease is basically insulated from the tight time limit of the examination room.

After all, the public volume is a splendid collection of his favorite works by Juzi himself, and it is mostly the essence of inspiration at the moment, rather than an on-the-spot display.

It's not on the same level as other people's level.

Liu Yun was full of doubts and puzzled, so he read it again.

It's just that reading it again this time is much more detailed than the previous cursory browsing.

If it is said that the poems and prose of the first trial are already brilliant enough to shock people, if they want to chew them over and over again...

Then, the answers in the second round of policy theory thoroughly reveal the author's knowledge and strengths. Whether it is calm writing, pure vocabulary, or careful thinking, it can bring readers an involuntary immersion in it. Enjoyed it.

Liu Yun has tried her best to read it with the most critical eyes, but she still can't help but become more and more fascinated by it.

The four current affairs strategies he intentionally put out, which stumped countless others, were brought into full play as if they were a ladder for this person to ascend the clouds.

When citing and annotating, it is easy to come at your fingertips, when explaining ideas, the words are sonorous, when diction is refined and beautiful, when listing ideas, it is orderly...

He reviewed more than 7000 papers, which was unmatched by anyone.

At the end of the reading, he was sure that even if he compared it with the excellent chapters in the previous provincial examinations, it would still stand out. model.

Not to mention it was placed in this provincial test where most people were caught off guard and performed poorly due to the slant of the proposition sword.

This gap has been widened infinitely. To use a crude metaphor, it is like putting a dazzling phoenix among a group of disheveled chickens.

As long as the reader is not blind, it is impossible not to see the extraordinary and peculiarity of this test paper.

Where did this guy come from?

Liu Yun couldn't figure it out.

Looking at this wonderful brushwork and exquisite control, one knows that it cannot be a pure fluke.

It was only when he read it for the third time that he noticed a detail that surprised him: due to the cold weather, inkstones are easily glued together, but it is easy for his writing to be sluggish. Once this happens, he needs to stop his pen and meditate.

After such a short delay, the thin layer of ink was frozen and had to be researched again.

In this way, the ink density is uneven and the color is not allowed in the words written on the paper.

But on this person's paper, the degree of thickness is shockingly consistent. It is obvious that the writing is smooth and smooth. Besides, it is absolutely impossible to complete an entire article before the ink freezes.

How could such a person be unknown before?

Is it deliberately hiding, or...

Liu Yun read it over and over several times, and her heart became heavier and heavier.

His memory is not bad, but after hastily flipping through the mountain of public documents, except for the most outstanding Lu Ci who deserves a little attention, he doesn't bother to pay attention to other people's handwriting at all.

It doesn't really matter who this person is.

For him, the important point is that with this extremely eye-catching jewel in front, the other test papers have already been set off dimly.

Unless he was so stupid that he wanted to give away his wealth and life, it would be impossible for him to act against his conscience to rate Lu Ci's share as "the last time" and list this one under it.

Not to mention that Lu Ci and him are not related, but because they are both from the north, they feel a little more affectionate.

Even if it is his own son, he would never dare to do such nonsense.

Liu Yun sighed deeply, and read the entire paper again without giving up, but after finding no mistakes, he decisively returned to the beginning of the paper, and dropped the word "last time" without hesitation.

——This is the second 'last time' that came out from under his hands, and it is also the one that was most convincing.

A pity, a pity.

He originally wanted to save money for the northerners, but with such a stumbling block in the way, Lu Ci now showed that he was hopeless.

The shock that Liu Yun received at this time was also met by the two examiners soon after.

It's just that after they were stunned, they turned to joy: there is such an excellent and well-deserved first-class work in front of them, if Liu Yun still boldly wants to make Lu Cizhi's work the top of the list, it will be tantamount to suicidal road.

Because of this, without knowing the identity of this person and only confirming that he was not Lu Ci, they happily gave the rating of "Last Time" with the intention of hindering Liu Yun.

Ten days later, it was the third round of evaluation.

After removing the previous two test papers, they returned to Liu Yun's hands.

When he was in the final school, Liu Yun was still thinking about the paper that completely disrupted his plan. He didn't even care about the paper that Lu Ci admired before, so he turned to the bottom one and found it. The word "焨" was written.

When he saw that the other two deputy directors both rated the first-class "Last Time", and his own initial rating was undisputedly all "Last Time", although his mood was a little complicated, more , but felt somewhat relieved.

That's all, that's all.

Since Lu Ci was destined not to get the top spot, Liu Yun was rather lazy, and didn't pay too much attention to the "medium" rating given by those two, and made a choice directly according to the regulations, and let it It has won the second-class rating of "upper middle".

Different from the unique "Last Time" of the three consecutive times - the two examiners obviously cherish the feathers like Liu Yun, and they don't open their eyes and talk nonsense that someone can stand shoulder to shoulder with it - the people who were rated as "upper middle" Although very few, but there are seven or eight.

In any case, the ranking on the list is considered extremely high.

The difficulty of this provincial examination obviously lies in policy theory, not poetry.Most of the moves that fall into the fifth and fourth ranks, which symbolize dethronement, are basically due to a big failure in current affairs policy, or simply because of insufficient time, they have not been completed.

The most common thing is that a lot of time was spent on the first article, with more than 7000 words in eloquence, and the subsequent current affairs policies were hastily and perfunctorily.

There is also no lack of people who make up the minimum word limit through some nonsense nonsense, and even the last one is so dry that not even a word is moved.

Regarding these, Liu Yun and the others showed no mercy, allowing them to be deposed without exception.

When the third grading was in full swing, many candidates who went back to Beijing for the first time had already left behind the disappointment in the examination room, fascinated by the prosperity of Bianjing, and were busy watching the blooming flowers. Peaches and plums.

It's just that Lu Ci has more plans compared to those scholars who are scurrying around like headless chickens and going where the excitement is going.

Long before he came to the capital, he had bought the latest version of the Dijing and made a travel guide, and was waiting to experience the scenic spots and various delicacies of Bianjing before the arrival of the homecoming day scheduled for April [-]. again.

For Zhu Shuo Liu Qi and the others, all they had to do was follow closely behind Lu Ci who was orderly.

Especially on the day of the Lantern Festival when there were so many people, they listened to Lu Ci's advice, went out three hours earlier, and took a seat in front of Xuande Gate.

Although the waiting time was quite long, the six of them traveled together, talking and laughing, and didn't feel boring.

At night, when there are thousands of bright lights, they will be able to fully taste the benefits—not only did they see the governor of Kaifeng riding a car from the best angle, congratulating the citizens along the way, but also distributing money to the small business owners. 'Buy market money', and then successfully visited the holy face on the Xuande Gate, tasted the imperial wine distributed, and watched sumo, Cuju, Baixi and other performances performed by folk artists for the emperor.

Liu Qi had seen quite a few such grand occasions, and she was still able to remain calm, joking with Lu Ci and Teng Zongliang.

Yi Shu and Zhong Yuan, on the other hand, were stunned and kept yelling.

Zhu said that his expression was calm and he did not participate in it, but his glowing eyes still revealed his inner excitement.

There are lanterns and festoons everywhere, and the lighting decorations are changing, which can be described as dazzling. When they are burning, all the fires are bright, and the gold and jade shine together. The whole city is filled with splendid brilliance, shining as bright as day.

The most amazing thing is the Su lantern, which is three or four feet long, and the six walls are made of colored glaze. When the candle is lit inside, it rotates without wind, dazzling and dazzling, attracting countless tourists.

On the lamp shed far away, there is not only a winding fire dragon entrenched, but also a fountain that shoots beads and jade, which is so radiant that the water drops are almost splashing on him.

When he was in it, it was like being in a dream, everything was so noisy, but so beautiful.

But for some reason, the one that impressed him the most and was the most memorable was the Shangyuan Festival, which was a little inferior but also full of lights when he visited Mizhou City a few years ago with Brother Lu.

What Lu Ci originally thought was that it was the first time he saw the living emperor, and he was somewhat looking forward to it at first.

But after seeing it with my own eyes, I found that although it was not as abstract as the stick figures seen in history books, in the final analysis, it was just a middle-aged and elderly fat queen dressed in golden light, with an ordinary appearance and an out-of-shape figure...

Then I completely lost interest, and only concentrated on choosing delicacies from the hands of the small economy that cleverly sneaked through the crowd and sold all kinds of snacks.

Folk festival food is still worth looking forward to.

For example, this bowl of Kedou Yuanzi must be sweet and delicious, but not as sticky and sweet as Fuyuanzi.

The upsurge of carnival with lanterns brought by the Lantern Festival lasted for five full days before it slowly faded away. Countless fond memories were left behind, and countless wonderful poems were born. Unfavorable clouds in the exam.

Half of the first month is over in a blink of an eye, and what follows is a wave of spring.

Needless to say, the Zhonghe Festival on the first day of February is the Agricultural Festival, but the Huachao Festival on the fifteenth day of February is a good time for all things to recover and enjoy the flowers and willows.

Women in the capital call for friends and compete for wine, but all the gardens and courtyards with good scenery have been occupied by mountains of people.

Lu Ci was not in a hurry - he had already arranged everything in an orderly manner, so he didn't miss half a day of fun.

This time, Liu Qi was firmly attracted.

When he was in Bianjing before, although he occasionally followed the crowd to watch some excitement, but most of the time, he slept in the Qinlou Chu Pavilion and the gentle hometown of beauties, drunk and dreaming, occasionally writing lyrics, listening to new songs, fresh go out less.

It can be said that there is no plan, and it is very random.

Where is it like now, where you go together and form a group, always lively and organized?

After tasting the sweetness of Yuanxiao, he followed Lu Ci spontaneously, without even realizing that he had completely forgotten about Chongniang and the others.

These days, during the day, he only knows to actively respond to Lu Ci's suggestions, and play more happily than anyone else. At night, after writing songs and lyrics, he is full of ideas, and then lies on the bed excitedly.

Before he fell asleep, he was not idle either, he was looking forward to it and waited until tomorrow, where brother Yu Yu would take them to have fun again.

Lu Ci, who was still thinking about how to stop Liu Qi from hanging out with singing prostitutes before the announcement of the rankings, and then spread the reputation of debauchery: "..."

This is probably an inadvertent insertion of 'willow'.

Really counting, ever since Lu Ci and Zhu Shuozheng met and returned to Mizhou together, Liu Qi rarely set foot in the fireworks and willow field.

And because he insists on doing whatever he wants when composing lyrics, his inspiration basically revolves around his favorite little glutton, and there is no chance to come up with flamboyant lyrics.

After arriving in Bianjing, he never went to Bianjing even once, and he disappeared completely.

Under Lu Ci's deliberate guidance, Liu Yong's superficial name, which was always associated with Liu Yong, gradually fell silent.

The author has something to say: Notes:

1. Buy market money:

In the Southern Song Dynasty, according to "Wulin Chronicles", "Tianfu sent officials to watch every night, and each gave money, wine, oil and candles, depending on the amount." That is, the Lin'an government distributed money, wine, oil and candles to citizens to celebrate the Lantern Festival.According to the custom, on the fifth night of the Lantern Festival, the governor of Lin'an Prefecture will come out to visit the citizens. "Buy the market'" and distributed money to small businessmen along the way, wishing them prosperous business in the new year. "Those who are cunning store pears and lotus root in a small plate, jump out of the crowd, and those who ask for money from officials several times can't help it." Some cunning little citizens sneaked around in the crowd, The government doesn't care about receiving rewards repeatedly. ("Song: The Dawn of Modern Times")

2. The Lantern Festival lasts for five days:

"Yan Yiyi Mou Lu" records that in the fifth year of Qiande (967), Song Taizu said that "the lanterns in the Shangyuan, and the old three nights, there is nothing to do in the court today, and Yu'an in the district, so that the valley will be rich in those days, so it is appropriate to let the scholars and the people live." "Carpe diem", and add two nights, five nights is a good omen for a good harvest.