The next day.

Bai's father paid a lot of money to hire a famous Lin'an teacher to teach Bai Gui.

"In Chongning, during the Xuanhe reign, I taught three Jinshis from Lin'an Prefecture. Your son is very talented and will definitely come out on top and win the exam in one fell swoop!"

An old Confucian scholar with loose clothes and long sleeves said this to Father Bai in front of the Bai family hall.

"I feel relieved to have Teacher Zhou teach the dog's lessons."

Father Bai stood by and cupped his hands.

Don't look at this old Confucian scholar who has no fame, and his best result is just to pass the examination (those who pass the tribute examination are called candidates), but he is good at teaching students. Lin'an Prefecture is the quintessence of Jiangnan, and he can teach

Candidates from Lin'an Prefecture passed the examination and became Jinshi, which shows their ability.

"Fugui has met Master Zhou..."

Bai Gui also bowed in front of the hall and worshiped this old Confucian scholar as his teacher.

However, the relationship between master and apprentice was not settled between them. This was just a temporary arrangement in which Bai's father paid a high price to hire a famous teacher so that Bai Guineng, a prodigy, could pass the examination.

Shaoxing’s 12th Spring Scientific Examination has already begun.

The scientific examination list for the Provincial Examination (Shangshu Provincial Rites Examination) will soon be listed by Gongyuan.

Therefore, Zhao Gou's imperial edict specifically approved Bai Gui to directly participate in the palace examination.

According to past practice, the palace examination will begin within nearly one month after the results of the provincial examination are released to determine the ranking of Jinshi in the provincial examination.

The Ministry of Rites Examination of Shangshu Province can be regarded as the joint examination of the Ming and Qing dynasties. If you pass the rural examination and gain the title of Juren, you can enter the capital to participate in the joint examination. As long as you are famous in the joint examination and do not lose your reputation, you will be regarded as a prospective Jinshi and will be ranked for subsequent imperial examinations.

Ranking.

The imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty were not as complete as those in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and there was a strict promotion system. For example, Xining Xingxue (Xining, the reign name of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, presided over by Wang Anshi), Chongning Xingxue (Chongning, the reign name of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, chaired by Cai Jing),

The three-level law was implemented, "the upper-level students are exempted from the official examination, the middle-level students are exempted from the Ministry of Ceremony examination, and the lower-level students are exempted from the examination." This means that students from the upper-level schools can be directly appointed as officials, students from the middle-level schools are exempted from the provincial examinations, and they are exempted from the imperial examinations. Students from the lower-level schools are exempted from assessment by various states.

If you don't know how to solve the test, you can directly enter the provincial examination to take the exam.

In the Song Dynasty, there were three levels of imperial examinations, including the Jie test (state test), the provincial test, and the palace test.

The child prodigy department is not as strict as other departments.

Directly entering the palace examination is not a special favor, it is just a common practice.

With the surprise training from the old Confucian scholar, Bai Gui gradually began to master the Confucian classics at that time and became familiar with them.

…

Five days later, the provincial examination rankings were announced and the time for the palace examination was set.

More than twenty days later.

The imperial examination begins.

Bai Gui entered Lin'an Palace to take the exam.

Chui Gong Hall.

Rows of wooden cases are displayed, and candidates are all lined up to answer questions.

There are candidates for Jinshi, Nine Classics, Five Classics, Kaiyuan Rites, Three Histories, Three Rites, Three Chuans, Xuexue, Ming Fa, Ming Jing and other subjects.

"In the eighth year of Xining, Wang Anshi carried out a reform and ordered to abolish poems and poems, stick to the classics, and select scholars based on their meanings, and select scholars based solely on the meaning, theory, and strategies of the classics."

"The people of the Song Dynasty also said: 'The state uses subjects to network the world's elites, meaning to observe their mastery of classics, endowments to observe their erudition, theory to observe their knowledge, policy to observe their talents.'"

"That's why throughout the dynasties, policy questions have been emphasized and poems and poems have been neglected."

Bai Gui was sitting in the prodigy section. He raised his head and looked at the examination questions for the Jinshi section and other subjects. These examination questions were all held up by scribes and walked back and forth with lanterns, so he could see a few of them.

In terms of questions, the questions in the palace examination are all policy questions.

The questions are all about the current situation.

There are many disadvantages in finance, people's livelihood, border preparedness, etc. How to solve them.

“Easier said than done.”

"Zhao Jiumei also has ambitions in her heart, but unfortunately... she only has ambitions, but no courage. It is not that the people of Song Dynasty did not have any national scholars at their disposal, but Zhao Song cannot do it."

Seeing this, Bai Gui shook his head.

He is a candidate for the child prodigy subject, not the Jinshi subject, Mingfa subject and other subjects. Although he can answer these questions, one has nothing to do with him, so what if he answers both. I know you have talent, but you don’t know how to use it.

you.

He lowered his head and concentrated on the poems on the test paper.

Hmm... Although the Zhao and Song dynasties have emphasized policy questions over poetry and prose, when it comes to state affairs such as policy questions, I would never ask a child prodigy candidate, Huangkou Ruzi, what he can say.

Soon, the paper was written.

Wrote a poem that should be written.

He went on to write again and wrote a poem with gorgeous words.

Zhao Gou, who was above the Dan Emperor, was sitting on the dragon chair, looking down at the candidates. All the small movements of the candidates could not escape his eyes.

Bai Gui's actions made his eyes light up.

Although other prodigies are smart, they are still young and more active. It is rare for someone to develop Bai Gui's indifferent demeanor. At the same time, when Bai Gui was watching the card questions of Jinshi and other subjects just now, he looked as if he was

The thoughtful look was caught in his eyes, and he suddenly became curious.

This is not because Bai Gui cannot pretend, but that there is no need to pretend.

No one would suspect a six or seven year old child.

Furthermore, Bai Gui's cultivation level is quite high at this time, and he no longer needs to deliberately hide himself. At this time, he came to participate in the child prodigy department just to temporarily reassure the parents in this world. There is no need to be too cautious.

"Go and bring me the boy's test paper for a look."

Zhao Gou ordered the eunuch beside him.

He saw that Bai Gui's test paper was already stained with ink and was full of writing.

Among all the prodigies, he stands out.

So, I got interested in visiting.

The eunuch walked up to Bai Gui, apologized, took away a poem and a fu that Bai Gui had written, and took them away for Cheng Sheng.

Bai Gui was calm and calm, not surprised.

This was what he expected.

The number of child prodigies who have been granted the qualifications for the imperial examination is not large, only seven or eight. Among the many scientific examination scholars, it is inevitable that the child will attract some attention, after all, it is auspicious.

It was even easier for him to stand out among these people.

"Good poems, good poems, good literary talents..."

"Unexpectedly, a boy can be so good at writing, and his writing is no worse than that of the Jinshi candidates."

Zhao Gou saw the poem written by Bai Gui and praised it.

This is a poem written by Bai Gui deliberately, and its level can only be regarded as average. But who knows that Bai Gui is relatively young in this world at this time, and even if his writing is average, it is enough to be surprising.

"Hey, what do you think of this poem?"

Zhao Gou looked at the middle-aged purple-robed official on the side, handed over the test paper, and asked.

The Song Dynasty adopted the system of the Tang Dynasty, and the third rank and above wore purple robes.

This official has three strands of clear beard under his chin, a square face, and the look of a straight-laced and loyal minister.

(Qin Hui, courtesy name Huizhi.)

When Qin Hui heard this, he cupped his hands and said, "Let me have a look."

He said and took the test paper.

"This poem is not bad... and it was written by a student of the Child Prodigy Department. Your Majesty may choose to record it."

He chewed on the verses of the poem, and after a while, he said:

He was very knowledgeable. He passed the Jinshi examination and later served as prime minister. He had read many wonderful poems throughout the ages. In his opinion, Bai Gui's poems and essays could only be regarded as good.

But he's pretty good, and he's definitely at the top among child prodigies.

"Let... this Mr. Bai come over and have a talk with me."

Hearing this, Zhao Gou chuckled lightly, nodded, and gave instructions.

The eunuch issued an order.

Bai Gui stepped forward, left the wooden case, bowed his hands to Zhao Gou, and stood before His Majesty Dan.

"You little boy, please come to the temple."

"Sit here with me."

Zhao Gou put on a friendly look, pointed at his thigh, and said with a smile.
To be continued...