Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

The palace examination usually locks the courtyard on the first day, introduces Jinshi for examination the next day, and introduces various subjects for examination the next day. After three to five days, it is the time for roll call and award.

Confucian classics are mainly examined in various subjects. The test method is mainly based on Mo Yi and face-to-face classics. The difficulty of the test is much lower, but the quota is given a lot. They can also enter the court and become an official. Therefore, the number of applicants in various subjects is compared with that of Jinshi. More than ten times more.

However, there is an old saying, "Thirty old Mingjing, fifty young Jinshi". At the age of 30, it is still not surprising that people have learned the classics and passed the degree. On the contrary, those who are among the fifty talents can still become young talents in the eyes of others.

After all, although it is difficult to get on the list of Jinshi subjects, once you succeed in admission, you will be rewarded generously and have a bright future, which is far beyond what other subjects can compare.

Except for the fifth class who needs to "keep the election", those who are admitted with the first to fourth class will be immediately awarded official positions according to their rankings.

Looking at the previous prime ministers, more than [-]% of them were Jinshi.

The advantages of various subjects are low difficulty and many admissions, but the disadvantages are also very obvious: the space for career advancement is much narrower, they are not so valued by others, and the positions they are given rarely involve confidentiality.

Therefore, all young scholars with great ambitions are unwilling to settle for second best and change various subjects, and would rather stick to Jinshi subjects.

Lu Ci didn't insist on the belief of Jinshi admission, but he has always been pragmatic. After he figured out the promotion prospects and related remuneration of various subjects, he completely gave up the idea of ​​taking this shortcut.

Whether it is a low-level civil servant who is looked down upon by Jinshi and enrollees, or a scholar who is lucky enough to be erudite, it runs counter to his purpose of seeking an official.

In the few days when the general situation has been decided and the final dust settles, the students are either anxious to drink away their sorrows, or they are busy going out to meet with friends to answer each other's answers, and there is no lack of self-abandonment seeking flowers and willows to resolve the depressed ones.

Last time, Liu Qi thought she had made a mistake in answering the palace exam questions, and wandered in the gentle place all day long with a depressed mood. After knowing that she had failed, she was even more depressed.

However, no matter whether it was Liu Qi, Zhu Shuo or the others, they all agreed that since Lu Cilian was not arrogant or impetuous after winning Jie Yuan and Sheng Yuan one after another, he would not forget to read books in addition to a little restraint and relaxation. , then this time the result has not come out, I am afraid that after a little rest for a night as before, it will return to a tight rhythm.

This kind of impression is so deep that even the most sloppy Liu Qi has silently prepared to continue studying during the day.

As soon as Lu Ci went out the next day, he saw them all sitting obediently by the desk, as if waiting for his instructions as a matter of course: "..."

Lu Ci frowned, and said inexplicably, "The exams are over, and you still want to stay in the room?"

Liu Qi was stunned and said, "Didn't Yu Yu make any arrangements?"

In their minds, what a nerdy image of him obsessed with studying?

Lu Ci speechlessly took out his packed itinerary for several days: "There are still five or six days before the release of the list. Today I will go to Yujin Garden, tomorrow I will go to Jinming Lake, and the day after tomorrow I will go to Qionglin Banquet..."

This year's tribute examination has been completely over, and it will take at least three years before the next one, and it is rare to come to Bianjing.

When he finished reading it in one breath, he met the curious eyes of several people: "Do you want to walk with me?"

Zhu said he was the first to react, got up in a hurry and said, "Brother Yu Yu, please wait a moment, I will come back after I go back to clean up."

Only then did Liu Qi and the others wake up as if they had just woken up from a dream, and they went back to their houses to change their clothes and go out.

In the next few days, they watched in amazement. Lu Ci, who had clearly lived a more self-disciplined, calm and stable life than anyone else before, seemed to be a different person. Play even crazier.

Lu Ci didn't know what thoughts were spinning in their minds. After secretly giving up the plan to repeat the exam and retake the exam, he held the plan of "if you fail the exam, you may come back to Bianliang for the last time" to play enough in the imperial capital. Ben was willing.

And this well-known and crowded Yujin Garden did not disappoint him.

Although Lu Ci had visited zoos with a larger scale, advanced equipment, and a wide variety of species in modern times, after visiting Yujin Garden, he was somewhat amazed at the richness of the species.

Lions, peacocks, white camels, etc. are all available, and there are 46 elephants alone.

As for Liu Qi and the others, after their tour, their poetic sentiments flooded, and Lu Ci was so used to the gesture of leaving a penny behind, that he could calmly ignore it.

When Lu Ci took his friends around, the examiners had already completed the preliminary examination of all the test papers.

No matter whether it is the prime minister or the emperor, they are all busy with their affairs and have a lot of time to manage, so naturally they don't have the time to spend time reading each test paper.

Only the test papers selected by the examiners as the top ten can enjoy the honor of being sent to the chancellor's office for re-examination, and then approved by the emperor's imperial pen.

However, the papers read by other examiners have been sealed and transcribed, so it is impossible to determine the identity of the candidates.

Only when it is sent to Zhao Heng, not only will it include the order drawn up by the previous examiners, but even the names of the candidates will be reported together, and he will make the final decision.

Perhaps there is someone who is quite interested, and Zhao Heng can be said to have attached great importance to this tribute: when the first ten papers that had been sorted out were delivered, he immediately put down the few pages he had just read. The Daoist scriptures, I took a leisurely look at them.

The minister carefully observed from the side for a while, and soon realized that it was not so much that the official was reading through it in a cursory manner, but rather looking for someone's paper with a clear goal.

And who 'somebody' is, it's ready to be revealed.

Since the test papers had already been transcribed and it was impossible to compare the handwriting, even if there were some careful thinkers among the examiners who knew that the officials valued Lu Ci and wanted to help, they couldn't do anything.

Only the top ten can be decided by His Majesty himself, and whether Lu Ci can be included in it really depends on his ability.

What Zhao Heng thought was that if Lu Ci, who appeared so calm and confident in the examination room, was actually just a show, he would be really disappointed.

Even if it is directly dismissed, it is not too much.

It was only when Zhao Heng casually turned to the second copy that he saw Lu Ci's name and surname clearly engraved on the front of the scroll, rather than his detailed family history.

"Ok?"

Zhao Heng was completely refreshed.

This means that Lu Ci's test paper not only passed the assessment of the first examiner and the examiner, but was also unanimously recognized as ranking second.

At first, Zhao Heng thought that with Lu Ci's young age and experience, it would be pretty good to be able to hang on to the tail of the top ten.

If Lu Ci's other excellent conditions are taken into consideration, especially his handsome appearance, it is not impossible to promote him as Tanhua based on this.

But he didn't want Lu Ci to perform better than he thought, directly ranking second.

In this way, wouldn't it be a bit condescending to be placed in the third place?

Thinking of his own insight, Zhao Heng suddenly felt better.

He didn't hide his partiality at all, and ignored Cai Qijuan, who was promoted by the examiners as the first, and read Lu Ci's paper carefully.

When he finished reading the poems and prose, he couldn't help nodding his head in admiration, and soon after he started reading the essay, he was completely engrossed.

After the minister realized this, he quickly held his breath, for fear of disturbing the attentive officials.

"Good, good, good!"

After reading the most exciting part, Zhao Heng rarely felt a bit of hearty joy. He couldn't help but slapped the table fiercely, and praised loudly: "This son knows the past and the present, and he writes with a strong heart, and draws consideration into his thoughts." Ink, the great achievement of swaying, is the rare chic and handsome in the world! This work must be preserved, and it can be used by future adults!"

The courtier was taken aback by the official's reaction, and Zhao Heng, who was still a little unsatisfied, had already turned back to the first copy before he had time to stop his words from echoing.

With full expectations, he read Cai Qi, which was listed first.

Since he was promoted to the first place by all the examiners, it should be better than Lu Ci's, right?

However, after reading it, Zhao Heng didn't respond, but frowned subtly.

The styles of the two test papers are very different, and each has a clear focus.

In Cai Qi's test paper, he unceremoniously focused all his attention on Fu, and his writing was bold and brilliant.

As for poetry and theory, due to time constraints, they can only be regarded as quite satisfactory, but they are readable and can't find faults.

In Lu Ci's test paper, the poems and fus are good, fluent yet delicate, and the words are clear. If the emperor hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes, it would be hard to believe that it was an excellent work that he completed together in just half an hour.

But compared with Cai Qi's, the result of this talent is undoubtedly much inferior.

However, looking at the essays that Lu Ci spent most of his time on, compared with this painstaking work of more than 9000 words, even Cai Qi's wonderful Fu was instantly overshadowed.

If the importance of theory can be compared with Fu, the examiners will definitely rank Lu Ci's test paper first without hesitation.

However, it is well known that Fu is the most important thing to look at when one of the first subjects of Jinshi is selected.

With limited time, Cai Qi deliberately sacrificed poetry and theory, and focused on his poems. Naturally, he was able to successfully compare the poems that Lu Ci completed in a very short period of time.

According to the consistent way of selecting scholars in the court, even if his Fu was completely overwhelmed by Lu Ci's theory at the next moment, because his theory could not be compared with Fu after all, he should be promoted to the top.

After reading the two test papers, Zhao Heng also had a personal experience of the entanglement and embarrassment of the examiners at that time.

Poetry and prose can reveal the meaning of words, while policy theory can reveal talent and knowledge, which one is more important?

He frowned, not in a hurry to make a decision, but put it aside first, and quickly read the next eight papers.

But with that deafening treatise first, reading the others will inevitably seem a bit dull.

Only when turning to the ninth copy, Zhao Heng inadvertently glanced at the name printed on the front of the scroll, couldn't help giving a soft 'huh', and said to himself: "Liu Sanbian? This name is somewhat familiar .”

It seems to have heard of it somewhere.

When Zhao Heng was still thinking about it, he didn't remember the song "Crane Soaring to the Sky" three years ago at all, but the courtier who had a good impression of several close friends of Lu Ci because he had been to Lu Ci's office had already helped to remind and explain: " This Liu Sanbian is one of the close friends who live and eat with Lu Shengyuan."

Zhao Heng nodded casually, didn't take it seriously, and went on to the next one.

After he finished reviewing the others blankly, he didn't change the rankings, but went back to the beginning and continued to hesitate between Lu Ci and Cai Qi.

The author has something to say: Notes:

1. Yujin Garden: The Royal Forest Garden "Yujin Garden" in the Northern Song Dynasty also has the function of a zoo. Rare birds and animals paid tribute by foreign countries are kept in Yujin Garden. In the fifth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1012), Song Zhenzong issued an edict, " Lions, tame elephants, and strange beasts from various countries are listed in the outer garden, and the ministers are instructed to have a feast in the garden." The outer garden is Yujin Garden.Animals raised in Yujin Garden include Cochin Elephant, Champa Golden Retriever, God Sheep (绌), Consonance, Tianzhu Suanni (lion), Peacock, White Pheasant, Elephant, Ox, Drone Camel, White Camel and so on.Among them, there are 46 elephants. In order to provide enough fodder for the elephants, the imperial court "ordered the Yujin Garden to plant [-] hectares of wild rice grass", that is, opened up [-] hectares of land in the Yujin Garden to plant wild rice grass. ("Song: The Dawn of Modern Times")

2. In the Northern Song Dynasty, before the roll call, for example, the palace examiner entered the top ten test papers, and the prime minister re-examined, the emperor approved, and then the roll call was released (Chapter 6 of "General History of the Chinese Imperial Examination System·Song Dynasty Volume")

3. In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the palace examination officer was often appointed on a certain day in March and the court was locked up. Jinshi was introduced on the second day, and various subjects were introduced on the third day. ("General History of China's Imperial Examination System Song Dynasty Volume" Chapter 6)

4. Mingjing subject mainly examines Confucian classics, first written test and then oral test.If you pass the Mingjing examination, you can also enter the civil service system. However, due to the low difficulty of the exam and the high admission rate, the Mingjing diploma is not very popular, and the room for career advancement is relatively narrow. ("Living in the Song Dynasty")