Rise From the Humble

Early the next morning, Zhu Pingan woke up from his sleep, lifted the rabbit fur blanket and opened his eyes, only one of which felt cold.

Then I was surprised to find that it was snowing outside. It was snowing heavily. Dense white snowflakes fell freely from the sky and landed on the roof, the ground, the trees, and everywhere they could. It was snowy outside, and the ground seemed to be covered with a snow-white carpet. Occasionally, a few lines of footprints could be seen, probably left by the soldiers changing the guard outside.

I am a wolf from the north, but I froze into a dog in Nanjing.

I used to be confused when I heard this sentence in modern times. Nanjing belongs to the south. How could it be so cold? Just kidding, but now I have experienced it firsthand. It is really cold, and it is not ordinary cold. As soon as Zhu Pingan opened the door The quilt was shivering because of the cold. Fortunately, I had prepared and brought enough clothes.

After Zhu Pingan got up, he picked out a rabbit skin coat from his luggage and put it on, and then he felt warm. After washing his face and having breakfast in the charcoal brazier, Zhu Pingan cleaned up the dormitory, restored it to a table and chairs, and devoted himself to his career of answering questions again.

Zhu Ping'an's only neighbor next door put all his clothes on and was still shivering from the cold. He couldn't help but put his hands on the brazier to roast them while writing a few words. He also had to be careful not to let the cold happen. The runny nose was dripping on the test paper. At this time, this man was extremely envious of the innocent boy next door who came in carrying a huge suitcase.

The heavy snow fell all day long, and on this day Zhu Pingan finished writing all the remaining four eight-part essays. The last piece was written at dusk, with a small candle.

These four eight-part essays are all eight-part essays based on the meaning of the Five Classics, and they are not difficult. However, one of the questions is very interesting: I am thinking about it. This sentence comes from "Shang Shu Qin Oath". Mu Mu originally means to think secretly, which means to think deeply and quietly (that is, I think secretly in my heart).

There is a joke about this topic in modern times. It is about the annual scientific examination in the late Qing Dynasty. The title of the article is "I am confused and I am thinking about it". It may be based on the questions in this provincial examination. However, one candidate had not read "The Oath of Qin" and mistook "ambiguity" for "sister", so the whole article was about the elder brother and younger sister, and a declaration of love between you and me. The examiner couldn't laugh or cry after reading it. He was silent and commented: "Brother, you are wrong." It became a momentary joke.

I don’t know if anyone will make the same mistake in this exam.

This evening. The snow stopped.

But on the third day, the weather got even colder. It was obvious that the snow was not cold but the snow was cold.

At about five o'clock in the afternoon on the third day, Zhu Pingan had neatly copied all seven eight-part essays on the test paper. After checking it several times, he was waiting to hand in the paper.

This is the first test of the Provincial Examination, and it is also the most important test. For example, the grading is based on the seven eight-part essays in the first test, and then combined with the second and third test after reading. Read and discuss with each other and decide on the middle amount.

This day is the date for handing in papers. Papers are handed in in three batches on this day, one before noon, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The collecting officer will issue a signature for each roll collected, and the signatures will match the rolls. The names of the examination papers are unknown. Before the examination paper is marked, a copyist will copy it with a red pen. The marking officer will review the red paper and mark it with a blue pen.

Zhu Ping'an hurriedly handed in the paper in the evening and packed his things. Followed the crowd out of Jiangnan Gongyuan.

When Zhu Ping'an appeared, there were still candidates in the Gongyuan who were racing against time. The provincial examination stipulated that the venue should be cleared at midnight, which is around 7 to 9 p.m. If they haven't finished it by then, they will have no choice but to fail.

Wish ya'll good luck.

When Zhu Pingan left the examination room, he said something silently.

It's the same as the modern exam. When I left the examination room, I saw people gathering in twos and threes, talking about the examination room. Of course, the main thing is to discuss the test questions. You say something and I say something. The argument turned red, and then someone felt something was wrong, and finally turned pale.

Why bother? If you don't have enough psychological quality, why should you discuss the test questions at this time? Zhu Ping'an shook his head slightly, curled his lips, and strode towards the inn.

"Zhu, Brother Zhu, wait for me."

The fat man's voice came from behind, and Zhu Ping'an stopped. When he turned around, he saw the fat man running over shivering, washing his runny nose as he walked, and he was as cold as a dog.

The fat man walked up to Zhu Pingan and saw the two layers of rabbit skin coat on Zhu Pingan. His eyes were shining and he rushed forward to take off one piece and put it on. At the end, he was still shouting that his godmother was partial.

"There is one more thing in the bag for you." Zhu Pingan turned around and threw the bag he was carrying into the fat man's hands.

Then the fat man hurriedly found a rabbit skin jacket from his luggage, and couldn't wait to put on the rabbit skin. In an instant, the long-lost warmth came again, and the fat man's happy eyes were so narrow that he couldn't even find it.

Because they had exams tomorrow, Zhu Pingan and Fatty simply had a sumptuous dinner at the inn, and then went back to their rooms to rest.

In the early morning of the next day, Zhu Pingan and other candidates lined up in front of Jiangnan Gongyuan again to wait for admission. This time everyone brought more things, including more clothes.

At about three o'clock, Gongyuan began to check in, and at about six o'clock, Zhu Ping'an arrived at yesterday's dormitory.

This session is the second session of the rural examination. There is one trial discussion, five judgments, and one imperial edict, imperial edict, and internal medicine.

This exam was not difficult at all. Most of them were official papers. Zhu Pingan finished this exam as if he wasted no time. The quality of his answers was also very good. He handed in the paper in the afternoon of the third day.

Then we queued up for the third exam in the early morning.

This exam is much more difficult, and it tests the Five Paths of Shi Ce. The first policy question was nothing, but when they saw the second question, 80% of the candidates were about to collapse.

"Confucius has seventy-two sages. How can they be sages?"

Damn it, I can't even tell you all about Confucius's seventy-two disciples, but you ask me to tell you what they are capable of! So many candidates collapsed.

Zhu Pingan was a little happy when he saw this question. For me, who has a strong memory, this question is not difficult. I have deliberately looked up relevant information about Confucius's seventy-two disciples on the Internet before, including scattered records in "The Family of Confucius", "Spring and Autumn Annals", etc. For example, "Historical Records of the Family of Confucius" records: "Confucius... There are three thousand disciples in poetry, calligraphy, etiquette, and music education, and there are two in seventy who are proficient in the six arts." Therefore, this question is almost not difficult for Zhu Pingan.

Yan Hui was Confucius' favorite disciple, who was studious and benevolent; Min Sun, who was famous for his virtues; Ran Qiu, who had many talents and was famous for his political affairs; Zaiyu, who was good at rhetoric; Duanmu Ci, who had excellent political and diplomatic talents, and superb financial management and business skills

In addition to this policy question, there is another interesting policy question, which asks about policies to control Japanese invaders.

Zhu Ping'an almost didn't need to think about it. After polishing the policy he had made to control Japan, he copied it directly on the draft paper.

At dusk on the third day, the creaking door of Jiangnan Gongyuan broke the loneliness on the street.

A young man wearing a rabbit fur coat walked out of the door, stopped and looked back at the gate of Jiangnan Gongyuan. He raised the corners of his lips confidently, showed a silly smile, and then disappeared into the vast snow.