Chapter 501: Seven Subjects of the Imperial Examination

"How can the imperial examination be done with the snow falling like this!?"

You Chu opened the curtain and entered the house, cursing.

However, after entering the house, a wave of heat hit his face, and he could feel his almost frozen face slowly regaining consciousness.

Next to the door, you used a small broom to carefully sweep away the mud and snow on your shoes. You Chu just sat down and groaned:

"The Lord is alive!"

He was not the only one in the school building, but the others were already familiar with him, so no one paid him any attention. They were all doing whatever they were supposed to do.

You Chu didn't admit it, he went directly to the young man in the adjacent bed and said:

"Master Zhou, are you reading The Analects of Confucius again?"

The young man shook his head and laughed:

"Brother You, how many times have I told you that my surname is Zhou Sheng, and my given name is Lie. My surname is not Zhou Sheng, but my given name is Shenglie."

You Chu chuckled, lowered his head and took a closer look and understood:

"Today it's time to change Zuo Zhuan. It seems that even if you fail to pass the imperial examination, Master Zhou's trip will not be in vain."

Zhou Shenglie was not annoyed when he heard this. He nodded in agreement gracefully and even advised:

"Brother You, you have the imperial examination tomorrow, are you really not talking about old acquaintances today?"

You Chu patted his chest and said:

"In this imperial examination, I rely not on the words of a sage, but on the millions of soldiers hidden in my heart."

A gentle smile appeared on Zhou Shenglie's face and he said:

"Brother You is a great talent, and he will definitely win the favor of General Zuo."

However, not everyone agreed with Zhou Shenglie's opinion. A voice from across the room interrupted:

"Hmph, I'm afraid that these one million soldiers are not enough to defeat the enemy, and we will eventually have to beg for money and return home."

This is a man of about forty years old, sitting there holding a scroll of slips, and he has a certain momentum - the books borrowed by the Imperial College and the candidates are all made of paper, so the slips can only be brought with you. From then on It can be seen that they are not poor households.

You Chu curled his lips and said softly: "Hey, Goujiexu."

The man was immediately furious and ready to explode, but at this moment, a crisp voice intervened again:

"The imperial examination will be held next year. It will be the first time in the 400 years since General Zuo opened the Han Dynasty. If something happens the day before the imperial examination, aren't you afraid of upsetting the master here?"

So the man who was ridiculed as "dog-footed" glared at You Chu, and finally sat down angrily, then changed his face and looked away.

You Chu didn't take it seriously, spat lightly at his back, then leaned next to the crisp voice and said with a smile:

"Thank you to Brother Ma Zhong for rescuing the siege, but the heavy snow will not stop, will the imperial examination really be rescheduled?"

Although his face was green, he had a calm demeanor in his dealings with others. Ma Zhong nodded lightly and said:

"I have heard the news that there will be no snow tomorrow, so the imperial examination can be done."

You Chu nodded and did not continue to ask. He just returned to his bed and scanned the room.

He was originally from Feng Yi, but his father You Yin was framed to death by Dong Zhuo's Sili captain Hu Zhen nineteen years ago, and his family's fortune, which had only a few taels of wealth, was completely ruined.

Fortunately, during his father's lifetime, he had a grudge against Zhang Ji, a talented fellow from his hometown, and Zhang Ji was also a loyal and kind man, so You Chu turned to follow Zhang Ji, and the two became brothers.

You Chu had also determined to take revenge. Unfortunately, a year after his father was falsely accused, Hu Zhen died of a sudden illness, and Dong Zhuo died at the same age. The great revenge was inexplicably avenged, and You Chu followed Zhang without any worries. Wandering around.

Fortunately, the eldest brother's official career was smooth. After being promoted to Xinfeng County Magistrate, his political performance was remarkable. In the seventh year of Jian'an, he persuaded Ma Teng to fight against the thieves to ensure peace in Guanzhong. Happy to enter Chang'an and lead the army.

Then this year, the Wei River Valley Road was defeated, and the eldest brother Zhang was captured. You Chu, who stayed in Chang'an, made many inquiries to confirm that his eldest brother was safe, and then moved around in Chang'an City. Fortunately, the rebuilt Chang'an City also had many people. There is no shortage of food for him.

Then he heard that Xuande had held an open imperial examination. After careful consideration, You Chu decided to use what he had learned to save his eldest brother from prison!

What's more important, of course, is that the imperial examination candidates are treated quite well, at least they have a place to live, and with his sharp tongue, he is basically familiar with the candidates in the same room.

Zhou Shenglie, courtesy name Wenyi, was born in Dunhuang. He was fond of reading classics and biographies. He came to Chang'an to study non-stop, and he was always reading whenever he saw him.

There is another person who is very similar to Zhou Shenglie, named Jiao Xian, who is from Hedong and whose family is extremely poor. According to his fellow villagers, when he heard about the decline of the Han Dynasty, he cried and coughed up blood and lived in seclusion to avoid Cao officials. Now General Zuo has returned to Guanzhong to conduct the imperial examination. This person came as ordered.

There is also a middle-aged man named Shi Delin in a corner of the house. It is said that he once studied under a famous Confucian scholar. After the Guanzhong Rebellion, he fled Hanzhong and was almost forced to join the Five Pecks of Rice Sect. Now he has returned to Chang'an with General Zuo.

As for the person he mocked for his stupidity... Feng Yi bullied Xu Ying, kept slaves and seized land, and once used his power to whip his elder brother for thirty years. You Chu clearly remembered this hatred, so the two of them started bickering constantly from the time they lived in the same house. .

The last person was Na Ma Zhong...the youngest one even had a Shuzhong accent, so Xu Ying looked down upon him at first.

But seeing this son acting under the orders of Dr. Lu, and meeting the two military advisors Wolong and Fengchu, who treated him as a disciple and treated him as a gentleman, Ma Zhong became vaguely respected in this school.

Either because the dispute between You Chu and Xu Ying disturbed other people's interest, or because Ma Zhong said that he would take the imperial examination next year, no one spoke in the room, and there was only the sound of turning the pages of books. And the sound of a brush full of ink rubbing against paper.

When it was time to cut the wick again, You Chu heard the assistants of the Imperial College knocking on the door and telling him that he had to get up at 12:00 a.m. tomorrow for the imperial examination, so he had to go to bed early today.

If it was spring or summer, getting up at 12:00 a.m. would not be a big deal, but now it was winter... The people in the dormitory did not say much, and one by one they pulled open the quilts and lay down, and soon someone blew out the lights.

You Chu listened to the sound of the falling snow outside the house gradually stopping, and he could even clearly hear the barking of dogs in the city.

In the darkness, he suddenly couldn't help but have wild thoughts: Can he really win the favor of the left general tomorrow?

If not, what should his elder brother do who is imprisoned?

However, You Chu knew that the best way to relieve depression was to drag others to be depressed with you, so he kicked the bed next to him in the dark:

"Master Zhou, if I fail the imperial examination tomorrow..."

Even in the dark, Zhou Shenglie's unhurried voice was still very recognizable:

"My family is poor, I have no family background to rely on, no support from others to survive, and all I can rely on is my talent. Why can't I succeed?"

Zhou Shenglie did not mean to lower his voice at all. Perhaps because he had the same idea, a hoarse voice slowly but firmly said:

"Even if it fails... cough, wait for the next imperial examination. How wise is the left general to save the Han Dynasty from decline. This imperial examination will win..."

You Chu could tell that this was Jiao Xian from Hedong. Maybe his throat was injured by coughing up blood due to the decline of the Han Dynasty, and he has not recovered yet.

As for the unspoken meaning, You Chu also understood. To put it bluntly, it was better than the Xiaolian Law. After all, it was no secret that Xiaolian and Ma Cai were clearly priced in many places nowadays. It was just that knowing was one thing, and whether one could say it was another.

However, Jiao Xian's words aroused some dissatisfaction. Someone on the bed across the coal stove snorted heavily.

You Chu immediately became alert:

"What's wrong with dog-foot Xu!? Do you think that the farm slave in your family can be passed down for generations? Do you doubt the order of the imperial examination of General Zuo?"

The people in this room were either born in poverty or fell into poverty early. Moreover, as long as they were interested, it was not difficult to find out that General Zuo had woven mats and sold shoes. In this case, Xu Ying, who was rich and powerful, was out of place, so he simply stopped talking.

Adding to the trouble for his enemy made You Chu forget his previous nervousness and fell asleep.

He was pushed awake by Zhou Xianlie in the dark, and then someone turned on the light.

Hearing the messy noise outside, You Chu reluctantly got out of the quilt and put on his clothes. After confirming that they had brought their names, they went out.

What he heard last night was right. The snow had stopped falling long ago. The huge Imperial College was now brightly lit. Soldiers were constantly running back and forth with torches and shouting orders:

"Team forward, go straight along Xuan Street!"

You Chu slapped his face in the cold air to wake up, and then went back to the dormitory to share the hot water in the pottery basin on the coal stove with others for washing.

Nowadays, it is difficult to get water in winter, so they also learned from the people of Chang'an. They cut ice in the basin before going to bed and sit on the stove. It was just right to use when they got up the next day, and it also prevented the house from being so dry.

After they were ready, they went out together and moved forward in the direction pointed by the soldiers along the way. Only then did You Chu understand what Xuan Street was - the two sides were covered with snow, and a road had been cleared in the middle, which looked dark, but it was Xuan.

The examination room was on the other side of the Imperial College. After walking along Xuan Street for a while, another soldier came and ordered people to line up and enter. So a large group of people began to line up again.

"Zhou Shengwen Yi!" You Chu listened to the soldier in front verifying Zhou Shenglie's name, and then hurriedly took his own name in his hand.

"You Zhongyun!" The same soldier sang his name. After checking it, another soldier searched the book in his hand and stuffed a wooden sign into his hand:

"Examination Room No. 24, go straight ahead and don't delay. Someone will lead you there!"

Holding the wooden sign, he walked dizzily along the instructions. In front of the examination room marked with No. 24, the soldier checked the wooden sign and explained the general precautions to him before letting him in.

You Chu walked two steps inside before he realized what was happening and turned around to ask:

"Are there any meals today?"

The sergeant nodded and pointed to the room and said: "Breakfast is here, just eat it, and there will be another meal at noon."

The examination room was quite comfortable, with a coal stove and a low table. There was food on each table, and You Chu hurriedly found a seat to sit down.

The meal was simple, with two round steamed cakes and a cooked chicken in one bowl, and something white in another bowl.

You Chu was familiar with steamed cakes, and when he smelled the fragrance, he couldn't wait to grab one and take a bite. It was soft and sweet in the mouth, without the familiar sour taste, which surprised him.

As for this bowl of white stuff... You Chu studied it for a while, and it smelled like beans mixed with sweet fragrance, and the food would shake when he picked it up, like a thick soup.

At the moment, You Chu made up his mind, and he snored when he picked it up. It tasted sweet and smooth in the mouth, and his stomach became warm after finishing the bowl, which was extremely satisfying.

General Zuo is really a good man... You Chu thought to himself. After all, the imperial examination was free, but he not only provided accommodation but also food. You Chu was already looking forward to lunch.

General Zuo is such a good man. Even if he didn't pass the imperial examination, as long as he could see General Zuo and explain to him in detail that his elder brother Zhang was a good man, it should be okay?

Before he knew it, the examination room was full. After everyone had lunch, someone brought paper and ink to the table, and then a soldier announced the topic:

"Policy essay question: How to convert Qiang people into Han people?"

This is not a difficult question, but it takes a lot of thought to answer it well. Fortunately, You Chu has lived in Guanzhong with his brother for a long time, and he has his own views on the strategy of Han and Qiang. He immediately sorted out how to answer while grinding ink in his mind, and answered as soon as he was ready.

He even had time to think: I wonder what the topic of the classics and history section that Master Zhou reported is?

In addition to wanting to save his elder brother, You Chu participated in the imperial examination because he was really curious about the imperial examination, because just looking at the division of subjects, you can tell that General Zuo is an extraordinary person.

The imperial examination is divided into seven categories, namely classics and history, policy essays, literary writing, mathematics, engineering, tactics, and medicine.

Master Zhou once told him that if medicine, engineering, and mathematics were listed with classics and history a hundred years ago, the capital would be in an uproar.

But now... this old capital was set by General Zuo. With such regulations, what can others say?

However, when thinking of such division of subjects, You Chu was particularly curious. How is the medical examination? Could it be that a patient was pulled over for diagnosis and treatment on the spot?

When the ink was finished, You Chu held his breath and focused again, and put his attention back on the test questions in front of him.

The strategy of getting along between Han and Qiang, based on what he saw with his own eyes, reviewed the strategies of the previous dynasty, and then spoke of the new strategy after commenting on it. Finally, he finished writing it in a fluent manner, and more than an hour had passed.

After another half an hour, the soldiers entered the venue and asked the candidates to write their names on the cover and then cover it on the spot, and then took them away one by one.

Then the second question was announced. This strategy was actually about the strategy of the Western Regions. You Chu couldn't help but cheer in his heart, it was familiar to him again!

After writing the article in a fluent manner, the sky outside the house had already brightened. When the lunch was served, You Chu immediately ate it with relish.

It was food he had never seen before. Some mixed vegetables and diced meat were wrapped in dough and cooked, accompanied by a little bit of fermented black beans, which made You Chu eat it very comfortably.

The strategy test seemed quite simple. After lunch, everyone was even given a piece of cane sugar. The sweet taste made him particularly alert: Would the afternoon test be particularly difficult?

In the morning, each question took almost an hour, and in the afternoon, a single question took two hours. However, because the questions were too easy, You Chu was still dizzy until the test was over.

He returned to the dormitory subconsciously as if in a trance, and only woke up when he crossed the threshold: Can I still live here after the test?

But what he saw when he crossed the threshold was something he didn't expect:

Xu Ying was kneeling in the corner like a punching bag, and in the middle, a soldier was sitting with a big horse and a golden sword, his armor was broken, and his face was weathered.

And this face was the one that You Chu thought about day and night:

"Brother!"

This was naturally Zhang Ji.

Seeing You Chu, the frost on Zhang Ji's face melted a little, and he said in a gentle voice:

"Brother, I followed General Zhang under General Zuo to Liangzhou to quell the rebellion three months ago, and now I am innocent."

"After the defeat in Weihe Valley, I was sent by General Zuo to dredge the canals in Guanzhong. Later, I met General Zhang in Chencang and went to Liangzhou, so I didn't have time to tell you."

You Chu didn't say anything. He was not tall, so he could only bury his face in Zhang Ji's elbow and said in a muffled voice:

"I thought my elder brother was killed in the battle..."

The two of them also briefly described the situation to each other. Zhang Ji saw that You Chu's face was still a little unhappy, so he asked curiously.

You Chu didn't hide it either, frowning and whispering:

"The last question of today's policy discussion."

"General Zuo asked, who should be the master of this world?"