Chapter 19 College Examination
From a distance, Zhao Yushu saw Ji Leng sitting with one foot on the chair and eating rudely. Thinking that all his ten taels of silver had gone into this kid's stomach, and he had only drunk two glasses of cold wine, he couldn't help but sneer, "Is it delicious?"
Ji Leng raised his head and said: "It's delicious! Thank you for the reward, sir!"
“But I haven’t eaten yet.”
"Oh, then please order more."
"I'm full of anger, let's go back!"
After returning to the Academy Guest House and sending Ji Leng away, Zhao Yushu hesitated whether to tell Wang Yuan about Rulan's affairs, but finally gave up.
He didn't want Wang Yuan to think about his favor every day, and he didn't want his new sister to be affectionate with this guy in front of him every day. Moreover, he wanted to spend two years observing Wang Yuan. If he was really a person who liked new things and disliked old things, then Liu Rulan would really be Zhao Rulan and had nothing to do with Wang Yuan anymore.
Am I a bad person?
I wanted to practice the Shadow Steps a few more times, but after thinking about it, I decided not to. This is not an inn, but a hidden academy. If someone with ulterior motives saw me, a few big shots from the inner world would come over and investigate me thoroughly in a matter of seconds.
Keep a low profile Keep a low profile
A rooster crowed and woke Zhao Yushu from his sleep. After washing his face and eating the breakfast provided by the guesthouse, Zhao Yushu walked towards the teaching building with trepidation.
Although Liu Jijiu is the strong support behind him, it is still the world-famous Baima Academy, and it is not easy to get through even if it is just a formality.
The teaching building covers a large area and is seven stories high. There is a huge bluestone square downstairs, which is comparable to the Olympic Stadium in the past. At this time, it is already crowded with people.
“How many people are needed!”
"Brother Zhao! Brother Zhao! You made it so easy for us to find you!" Wang Yuan and Ouyang Wen squeezed over and asked, "Everything went well yesterday, right?"
They were naturally asking about the so-called haunting.
"Nothing, those monks were talking nonsense and have been detained in the academy." Your future wife is now my sister, so I don't need to tell you this little thing.
"Congratulations, Brother Zhao, are you confident today?"
"Well, a little bit, it depends on what the college tests."
Wang Yuan and Ouyang Wen were stunned: "Brother Zhao, do you know what the academy exam is about?"
Oh? You sound like I should know this. Damn, did I miss something again?
"After all, it's my first time taking the exam, hehe," Lao Zhao smiled shyly, and then saw that the two guys opposite him were a little embarrassed. Oh, yes, they took the exam once last year and failed.
"I didn't mean it..."
"Brother Zhao, don't worry about it. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Since we are scholars, we naturally have to take the classics of the saints. In the future, we will govern the world for Your Majesty, so we naturally have to take the state governance policy. The Liao Kingdom has always been eyeing us covetously, so we naturally have to take the military strategy."
That makes a lot of sense, and it's all something I don't know. I'm sure you'll get it. See you next year, brothers. Lao Liu, I'll *you**
"Aren't you going to test poetry and songs?"
"Poetry is good, but it is a minor subject after all. It is tested, but I have never heard of anyone being listed based on it."
Oh, a minority language, that's no problem, Lao Liu, I love you
"The princess is here!" A loud voice sounded, and Zhao Yushu's pupils shrank suddenly.
The sound of horse hooves came from behind, and all the scholars turned around to look.
A white horse came first, and the princess in purple and white clothes rode slowly. Behind her was a long team of cars, each of which was loaded with something. No one knew what it was.
Although she was not wearing a palace dress, Zhao Yushu still recognized the cold and beautiful woman who almost killed him with just one sentence.
The princess rode her horse to the platform of the teaching building and dismounted, then walked quickly downstairs: "My daughter Li Tong, under the order of my father, has donated thirty carts of study supplies, clothing, and other items to the academy. I hope the academy will have more talented people and that all the scholars will pass the imperial examinations."
A voice sounded in the air: "Thank you, Prince Fu. Princess, please go upstairs to watch the ceremony."
"I don't want to delay the exam, so I'll take my leave first."
She is very polite. She never calls me "my daughter" but "my little girl". She doesn't wear palace clothes but ordinary clothes. She leaves as soon as the gift is delivered. She is very humble. The rumor that the royal family is afraid of the academy may not be groundless.
Wang Yuan sighed: "I have always heard that Princess Fu is the most beautiful woman in the East Capital. Seeing her today, I can see that her reputation is well-deserved."
Oh, you beast, my sister is no worse than her, this woman is so vicious, but I always feel something is wrong
Zhao Yushu hesitated for a moment and said, "Brother Wang, isn't the term 'passing the imperial examination' used in the imperial examination? Why are you, um, how can I put it, so excited about applying to a college?"
Lao Wang was stunned: "What is the imperial examination?"
"Ah? It's the examination for selecting officials."
"Isn't that a college? Once you pass the entrance exam, you will be recommended by the chief priest to take up a position in various places when you graduate! Don't you know that?"
"Oh ha ha ha, in our hometown dialect it's called imperial examination. It's an accent problem and I couldn't get it right for a while, ha ha ha ha"
"I see"
Guaranteed assignment, no wonder you guys are so concerned, luckily Lao Wang is stupid
When a bell rang, all the scholars shut up and looked towards the teaching building.
A water curtain suddenly appeared on the upper floor, and an old man with white hair and beard appeared on the water curtain, followed by two middle-aged men. Liu Jijiu was among them.
Damn, holographic projection!
"I am Wen Zairen, the chief priest of Baima Academy, and I will be presiding over the entrance examination of the academy today."
The scholars all bowed and said, "Greetings, Mr. Wen."
"No need to be polite, everyone please stand three feet apart from each other, please..."
The scholars were in a commotion and moved quickly. Soon they were standing in position, faster than in military training. The deterrent power of the academy was truly terrifying.
Zhao Yushu's eyes blurred, and suddenly a bamboo slip made of light appeared in front of him. The bamboo slip slowly opened, and faint words appeared on it.
Before he could take a closer look, another voice came from the water curtain: "There are four questions in this exam. You can answer them directly with your fingers. It will take two hours. You can start writing now."
The three priests disappeared from the water curtain and were replaced by a huge burning incense stick. The countdown began.
Is this test so casual that they don’t even need to check my credentials?
Zhao Yushu forgot that he was staying in the guesthouse, and those who came in from outside had already been checked.
Looking down at the bamboo slips, the first question slowly emerged: Last year, there was a severe drought in Ganzhou, and the rice harvest was only 20%. Why?
There were no punctuation marks in ancient times. Zhao Yushu tried hard to break the sentences and realized that this was a national policy question. He quickly recalled that the court report from last year that he had read the day before seemed to mention this matter, and Ganzhou seemed to be an important military grain production area.
Disaster relief? It's definitely not that simple
Tax cuts? More than that.
From past experience, before answering a question, you should first figure out what the questioner wants to ask you. Once you know what he wants to ask you, you will naturally have an idea.
Thanks to the history and ideological education he received in his previous life, Zhao Yushu quickly discovered the problem. The focus was not on taxes or disaster relief, but on military rations.
The imperial court always took the initiative to attack Liao. Last year's military rations were prepared for this year's spring offensive. Without military rations, there would be no offensive this year. If you don't attack, the enemy will attack you. After all, you can't hide the fact that you have no food.
What needs to be solved is how to defend the place when there is no food, or how to attack it.
Zhao Yushu thought about what he had learned in his previous life, organized his words, and wrote decisively.
In the teaching building, Wen Jijiu looked at Zhao Yushu who was writing furiously, and asked with his head tilted: "Is he the person you mentioned who has so many famous poems in his mind? He doesn't look like he knows nothing except poetry as you said."
Liu Jijiu nodded and said, "It is this person. I still can't figure out whether those poems were written under his name. The poem "Jiang Cheng Zi" doesn't seem to be written by a young man who has never been an official, but the allusions to Sun Lang and Feng Tang seem to be made up on the spot. I have never heard of them before."
Wen Jijiu chuckled and said: "If he doesn't answer the first three questions well, let him enter the academy to be an editor and hone his skills for two years."
“What if I answer well?”
Wen Jijiu narrowed his eyes and said, "Then let him take that road."
Upon hearing this, Liu Jijiu's face changed drastically, and he exchanged a glance with the other deputy Jijiu: "Teacher, I think he has no cultivation."
"Seeing may not be believing, and who says you can't go to the Tianji Pavilion without cultivation?"
After saying this, he turned and left, leaving the two deputy priests at a loss.
Zhao Yushu naturally didn't know what the three academy bosses had decided about his future. He just focused on answering the questions. There were only two ways to deal with this situation. Either he gritted his teeth and plundered other states and forcibly attacked, or he switched from offense to defense and survived this year.
But Lao Zhao refused. He wrote another way.