Chapter 120 The candidates were confused
Hai Wenyou naturally didn't know what to say when he heard Zhao Xing say that.
After all, Zhao Xing was the chief examiner and he was the one who paid the money and food.
Moreover, he could more or less guess Zhao Xing's intentions, so he would not object.
Zhao Xing asked Sanshui to arrange this matter, and he and Hai Wenyou took another walk before going back to the house to rest.
Soon, the news that rice porridge would be provided during this imperial examination spread.
The students who took the exam were full of praise for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's move.
But how much sincerity there is in this is unknown.
But Zhao Xing didn't care. All intellectuals have a common problem, which is that they like to use morality to label everything.
Regardless of whether they were sincere or not, even if they knew that Zhao Xing was trying to win people's hearts, they would still praise Zhao Xing's behavior.
I just wonder if they will curse him in their hearts when they see the policy essay topic.
Thousands of students were busy until noon, when they all completed the checking and searching and entered their respective examination rooms.
The examination room was a very narrow hut, about the same size as a toilet in later generations, with only half a door, which made it convenient for patrolling soldiers and invigilating officials to understand the students' situation and add hot water for them.
After the students entered their dormitories, the noisy examination hall became quiet.
The candidates were busy packing their things and preparing for the exam.
Some candidates came in early and had already packed up. Thinking about the previous notice that rice porridge would be provided, they saw soldiers patrolling by and hurriedly picked up the bamboo tubes used for water and went to the door to wave.
After a while, two soldiers came over carrying a steaming wooden barrel, took the bamboo tube, scooped a bamboo tube full of rice porridge for the student, and handed it to the student.
Neither side said a word during the entire process, and the two soldiers carried the wooden barrel away.
The student brought the rice porridge to the bed, sat down and started drinking.
The rice porridge was not as thin as he had imagined. Although it was not thick, it still contained quite a bit of rice.
It was still a little hot when I drank it, but after finishing the rice porridge, not only did I feel warm all over, but my stomach also felt full.
Even my somewhat anxious and hesitant heart felt much calmer.
The scholar clenched his fists, encouraged himself, and felt grateful to Zhao Xing.
At the end of the day, the test papers were distributed, and the first round of questions was about the meaning of the scriptures.
After receiving the test papers, some candidates did not rush to answer the questions after reading them, while others started writing quickly.
The entire Imperial Examination Hall was very quiet except for the occasional footsteps of patrolling soldiers.
During the imperial examination, the entire examination hall was closed, and Zhao Xing and a group of invigilating officials had to live in the hall.
However, their conditions are much better than those of the candidates. Not only do they live in single rooms, but they also have their own kitchen for meals.
After Zhao Xing had lunch, he went back to his room to take a nap.
He slept until after 3 ., washed his face, and then wandered around accompanied by Gu Tingye.
Looking at the students writing furiously in the small examination room, Zhao Xing did not disturb them.
Time flies, and six days have passed in a blink of an eye. The poetry and prose test is also completed.
Tomorrow will be the final policy essay question.
"Zhong Huai, do you think they will scold me when they see the test questions tomorrow?" Zhao Xing said with a smile.
Gu Tingye looked a little strange, not knowing how to answer this question.
The imperial examination has already begun, so there is naturally nothing to hide about the test questions.
Zhao Xing was bored these days, so he told him the test questions and asked him to write an essay.
When he first learned about the test questions, Gu Tingye was stunned for a long time, feeling like a dog biting a turtle but not knowing where to start.
Anyway, if he were a candidate taking the exam, after seeing the test questions, he would definitely curse the person who set the questions in his heart.
Of course, these cannot be said out loud.
"It's getting late. I'm going back to sleep." Zhao Xing didn't make things difficult for Gu Tingye. He yawned and said.
To be honest, the ancient imperial examination was a bit too tiring, and he couldn't stand it after being the invigilator for a few days.
As for those candidates, they had no space to move around in the cramped examination room and couldn't even talk. I really don't know how they managed to hold on.
Zhao Xing also saw many old men with silver hair and beards among the candidates. At this time, Zhao Xing finally understood why Fan Jin went crazy after passing the imperial examination.
If these old men passed the exam, they probably wouldn't be much better than Fan Jin.
Many people have fallen ill in the past few days, but fortunately no one has died.
Once the examination begins, the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall shall not be opened until it is completed, unless there is an imperial decree.
If you are sick, you can only wait until the imperial examination is over. If you can't wait, you can only wait for death.
Such a harsh environment really proves what Hai Wenyou said before: working hard and starving your body.
Those who have taken the exam for decades would go crazy if they suddenly passed it.
Shaking his head and putting aside these distracting thoughts, Zhao Xing quickly fell asleep.
Although the imperial examination system had many shortcomings, it provided common people with a relatively fair opportunity to change their destiny.
Before the imperial examination system was established, children of commoners almost never had the opportunity to become officials.
Almost all of them are monopolized by the aristocratic families.
The so-called children from poor families are not the children of common people as many people think.
Only children from poor families are qualified to be called poor families if they are from a family that has fallen on hard times.
There is a saying that poetry and books are passed down from generation to generation. Children of ordinary people want to study, haha...
……
The answer sheets were collected on the evening of the sixth day of the examination, and the policy essay questions were distributed on the morning of the seventh day.
Therefore, the candidates had a good night's rest, and early the next morning, after drinking hot porridge, they were all in good spirits.
When the clapperboard sounded for distributing the papers, the candidates took a deep breath and began to grind ink.
Ten years, or even dozens of years of hard study, all depends on this last step.
Policy essay questions account for a very high proportion of the score. Even if you don’t perform well in the first two rounds, as long as you write a good policy essay, you still have a chance to pass the exam.
After the candidates received the test papers one after another, they looked at them first to see if they had guessed the questions correctly.
When they saw the title, everyone was dumbfounded.
What the hell is this? What kind of question is this? Can this be considered a test question?
This is the thought that most candidates have after seeing the test questions.
If talking was not prohibited in the examination room, I'm afraid someone would loudly ask if there was a mistake.
The test question is a circle, not a word but a picture.
It’s only because there are no Arabic numerals now, otherwise the candidates would have to distinguish whether it is a zero or a circle.
The candidates were all a little confused. When they saw “drawing an egg”, did they mean we should write an egg?
To be honest, single policy questions have appeared before.
According to the normal way of solving the problem, candidates should first recall where this word appears in the book.
Then consider the context to determine the meaning of the word, and finally expand the discussion around this point.
But there's no point in asking them to answer right now.
In simple terms, 策论 means strategy and argument. Just draw a circle, not even a word, how can they answer?
Some candidates had no choice but to ask the clerk who distributed the papers whether they had made a mistake in the questions or had forgotten to print them.
According to the rules, candidates are not allowed to have any communication with patrolling soldiers or clerks distributing papers, but they cannot care less at this moment.
As the saying goes, the law does not hold everyone responsible. In addition, those petty officials also felt that they had made a mistake, so they did not pursue the responsibility, but reported the matter to the higher authorities.
In fact, they don’t need to report it. The invigilators also get a copy of the test paper when it is distributed.
Although they are invigilators, they do not know the test questions beforehand.
All those who knew the test questions, including those involved in printing, were under strict surveillance and would not be released until the end of the examination.
In previous years, when the invigilators were bored, they would write an essay based on the policy essay questions when they knew the questions.
Firstly, it can help you relieve boredom, and secondly, it can show off your talents.
(End of this chapter)