Fortunate Young Gentleman

When Peng Chen walked in from outside, Tang Yaoyao ran over impatiently and asked, "How is it, what's his ranking this time?"

Peng Chen glanced at Tang Ning and said lightly, "No. 1 on the A list."

Tang Ning noticed that Peng Chen looked at him with a wrong look in his eyes. He had the same look when he saw the beast who was arrested and taken to the county government for not paying for prostitution last time.

He is not a beast, he just stood on the shoulders of beasts.

Wen Tingyun is the founder of the Huajian School and a pioneer of Huajian poetry. As a man, he wrote about boudoir love better than women and had a great influence on the poetry world. How could his masterpiece be ordinary?

A man who writes about boudoir love better than most women is a real beast.

Yu Qian was the prime minister who saved the Ming Dynasty. There was no simple person who could become the prime minister. This "Lime Chant" is his most famous poem and the life creed he followed throughout his life. This is a real giant, and Tang Ning just got the glory of this giant.

So it was not surprising that he won the first place in the second state exam.

Tang Yaoyao was not only surprised, but also happy.

After being the first in two lists, she found that Tang Ning was not as stupid as she thought. She would ask Xiaoru if he was so smart before. Could it be that she opened his mind with a hydrangea?

At the dinner table, his father-in-law drank a few more glasses.

"There is only one state exam left..." He took a sip of wine and said, "Although the court has gradually attached importance to policy essays and recruited officials based on policy essays in recent years, you won the first place in the first two lists. As long as you perform well in the second one, you will be almost certain to win the state exam this time."

Although there are three state exams, the elimination is done one by one, but the two that have been completed are not just for elimination.

After the third round, the examiner will also take the results of the first two rounds into consideration when determining the final ranking. Of course, this is a method that will be adopted when the policy essays of the two are similar and it is impossible to choose.

Of course, over the years, those who can get the top spot in the first two rounds are all talented people, and they will hardly fail in the third round. Unfortunately, there are exceptions to everything.

Tang Ning is that exception.

Although the eight-part essay has not yet appeared, the imperial examination has already had a well-known structure and routine, and he has not yet learned the structure and routine of the policy essay.

If he topped the list in the first two rounds and failed in the third round, it would be a huge shame. It would be better to perform mediocrely in the first two rounds...

Should I take advantage of the time and curry favor with Fang Xiaopang...

After thinking about it, I decided to forget it. Cheating is enough. If I bribe the examiner... I still have to have a bottom line.

He has the last two days to prepare for the exam.

After reading countless policy essay questions, Tang Ning gradually realized something.

Eight-part essays cultivated a large number of scholars with rigid and inflexible thinking, which led the imperial examination system to a dead end. Although the eight-part essay had not yet appeared at this time, the imperial examination of the Chen Dynasty also had some fixed patterns and routines, or it could be said that it was a different path from the predecessors.

In the previous policy essays, candidates could criticize the current ills and speak freely. They could openly point out the shortcomings of the court or even the king without being punished.

But in the imperial examination here, no matter what kind of policy is asked, first a few words of saints are said, praising the great achievements of ancient sages, then praising the wisdom and bravery of the current monarch, and finally expressing loyalty, inspiring to assist the emperor and accomplish great things. The real policy essays are mostly empty words and clichés...

Throughout the whole article, it seems that a lot is said, but in fact nothing is said. The writing is extremely gorgeous, and the whole article is full of nonsense...

It's a bit sour to say, because Tang Ning himself can't write so many nonsense, and can't go as far as the ancient sages...

After reading for a while, he went straight to wash and go to bed. Tomorrow is the last exam. After tomorrow, it's time to relax and sleep in...

...

In the last exam of the state, Zhongyi and Xiaoru sent Tang Ning to the outside of the Imperial Examination Hall. When he walked into the door, he turned around and waved to them.

Su Ru let out a long sigh and said with a smile: "After this exam, the state exam is over, and Brother Xiao Ning doesn't have to work so hard."

Tang Yaoyao thought for a while and asked: "If he can still get the first place in this exam, what is the first place?"

"First place." Zhong Yi said softly, but a trace of worry appeared on his face.

He was able to rank first in the first exam because he was knowledgeable and had a strong memory, and in the second exam, it was because he was very good at poetry, but in the third exam, policy essays... Zhong Yi knew very well that policy essays were not his strong point.

Policy essays are the most important of the three exams. How easy is it to become a first place?

Tang Ning sat in the room, feeling very calm.

He didn't really care whether he was a first place or not. If it wasn't for not wanting to make Xiao Ru sad, not wanting to disappoint Zhong Yi, and not wanting his father-in-law and mother-in-law to find out that he was a nobody, he should be thinking about how to make a fortune now, instead of sitting here to take the exam.

After the gong sounded, the officers soon handed out the test papers and manuscripts.

There are three questions in the policy essay, and the title is usually within five words. Candidates put forward their own opinions or countermeasures around the title.

In fact, it means writing three argumentative essays a day, each of which is about 1,000 words. A 1,000-word essay is a piece of cake for Tang Ning, but if he is asked to write in classical Chinese, and write it in a flourishing style, he will not be able to finish it in three days.

This policy essay is more difficult for him.

He opened the test paper, and the first question had only four words.

Flood control strategy.

The first question asked how to control floods.

The topics of policy essays are usually very simple. The topics of the last state exam were "Reform official corruption", "Prepare for military pay", and "Reform the army". The test questions are different every year and are usually linked to current affairs.

The control of floods can be traced back to the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, when Dayu controlled floods.

Water control must take into account the actual conditions of different regions. Tang Ning did not have a detailed understanding of the water control strategies of this era, but the general idea was to change blocking to dredging. Due to limited knowledge, they did not have the concept of modern comprehensive water control.

Tang Ning was not a water conservancy major, and he had some understanding of this, but not in depth.

He could not write directly, so he first wrote down "dredging", "straightening", "river regulation", "afforestation", etc. on the draft paper, and listed the specific After thinking about the pros and cons, I thought about how to organize the language and string it into an article...

After finishing this question, the gong sounded once, indicating that at least two hours had passed.

He ate a few bites to fill his stomach, and then looked at the next question.

When he saw this question, he was slightly relieved. This question asked the candidates to explain how to control the epidemic.

This is not a medical question. As a local official, even if you don’t understand medicine, you must know how to deal with such emergencies.

The general meaning of this question is that if you are a county magistrate, when an epidemic occurs in your jurisdiction, how should you control it to minimize casualties...

This question is not about treatment, but prevention. He had an in-depth exchange with Dr. Sun about this question. .

Pay attention to water sources, drink more hot water, popularize medical knowledge on weekdays, prevent the occurrence of epidemics, and once an epidemic occurs, isolate in time, pay attention to disinfection, and properly bury the deceased...

The two questions took more than two hours, and there was still time. Tang Ning looked at the title of the third question, rubbing his wrist while thinking.

The last question was about which was more important, punishment or education.

In essence, it asked which was more important, rule of law or rule of virtue.

This should be answered in combination with the actual situation. In troubled times, heavy punishments are used, and in peaceful and prosperous times, "virtue is the main and punishment is the auxiliary". In recent years, the Chen State has been relatively stable, investigating cruel officials, reducing penalties, and strictly prohibiting the use of lynching... From this series of measures, it should be biased towards the latter. To cater to this point, it should be There won't be any big mistakes.

Tang Ning probably answered that moral governance and legal governance should complement and promote each other. After writing, he found that the number of words was too few. After all, he neither mentioned the sages nor praised the kings. The number of words was far from enough...

In desperation, he had to list the advantages and disadvantages of both, how to grasp the scale, how to improve, and what details need to be paid attention to...

The gong sounded for a long time to remind the submission of the paper. When Tang Ning finished copying the draft and packed up his things, the police had already come to clear the room.

He walked out of the examination room. There were only a few candidates around him. However, this time, it was not that he came out early, but most of the candidates had finished answering and left...

Walking out of the Imperial Examination Hall, he saw four figures waiting in the distance.