It was chilly spring, and people were trembling on the cold day of the imperial examination.

Xu Erlang has been practicing martial arts all year round and is healthy, so he is not afraid of this little wind and cold. However, many juren who came to the scientific examination obviously don’t think so.

They looked at the dark sky and looked sad, fearing that if God was unhappy, there would be a light rain or a light snow, which would make people cry without tears.

Scholars are generally weak, and even if they don’t have any illness, their bodies will not be as good as normal young people. So when they are blown by the bone-broken cold wind, their hearts are really cool.

Xu Erlang stood in the corner with Suqian in a cloak, she sheltered from the wind and was not cold at all. While talking, the two watched where Mohe and Suqian servants lined up so that they could go over and replace them out of the team in time.

Suqian prepared very well this time, and he also had enough lessons from the last autumn examination. So during this spring examination, he asked about many ways to avoid the cold and keep warm in the tribute courtyard. The details are as follows

The fabric of the clothes you wear should be thick. If your family background allows you, you can carefully peel the skin and find an embroiderer with superb skills to make clothes and wear them on your body. Not only does it keep warm, but it is also resistant to wind.

The charcoal fire is limited in the Gongyuan. If you can’t bring too much, you have to find another way to keep warm. You can bring some solid copper balls or eggs and carefully bury them in the charcoal fire. When the flames are not strong or the body is cold, you can take out the copper balls or eggs and hide them on your body to keep warm.

If you don't feel that it's detrimental, you can bring a shitty girl in. Of course, the feasibility of this idea is very low. After all, students need face, and they are afraid that this move will become a dark history and will be ridiculed and ridiculed in the officialdom in the future. They are even more worried that the invigilator will know that this move has a bad impression and will eliminate the possibility of progress in the imperial examination. Therefore, this method can only be used when it is very, very unscrupulous.

In addition to these, you should also pay special attention to eating and other foods. You must bring medicine to prevent wind and cold, and ginger slices and other foods are also indispensable. The best thing to eat in the tribute court for a great nourishing and warming body is to keep your physical strength in the best condition. The fast-frozen mutton soup is undoubtedly the best. When eating, boil it in a small pot, break the cakes and put it in, and it will be a delicious meal.

Suqian and Xu Erlang were muttering about what he had been carrying, and then they saw Xu Erlang signaling him with his chin, "It's our turn."

Suqian looked over and saw that three or two more people checked Mo He and his servant, and quickly went over and replaced him.

Seeing this, the officer in charge of the body search only looked up at them and looked away. It was obvious that he had seen such operations many times, and it was no longer surprising.

After entering the Gongyuan, Xu Erlang and Suqian separated. One went east and the other went west, and there were different roads. In the Gongyuan, the three steps, one post and five steps, was banned from students' noise and talking, so the two just exchanged eyes and looked for their respective seats.

Xu Erlang was assigned a good location this time, but the number room was not good. There was a big hole on the top of his head and behind him. The cold wind came in through the gap, making people feel cold all over.

It is not time for the scientific examination yet, and the students are still entering the venue. Xu Erlang stood up and looked at the two loopholes, thinking about how to plug them.

After observing around, I saw all the items in the room. There was only a single bed less than three feet, a table and a stool, and a thin quilt. It was obviously unscientific to use these things to repair the room.

Xu Erlang thought about it and accepted his fate and took out a few tree branches and a small piece of oil paper cloth from the basket he brought in.

Whether it is a tree branch or a paper cloth, it is not a prohibited item for taking the exam. It is just that these things are too "poor", so candidates generally cannot remember to carry them.

However, on the eve of the exam, Xu Wenqing specially sent these "treasures" to Xu Erlang. According to him, the number room of the tribute court in the capital was disrepair for a long time - I don't know if the Ministry of Revenue was short of the few taels of silver, or the court felt that "hard his heart and mind, and hard work" could better temper the will of the candidates and better select officials who meet the needs of the Daqi. Therefore, although many censors wrote to the tribute court before each imperial examination, the tribute court was still the same year, and even more dilapidated than before.

To be honest, the tribute courts in Kyoto are not as good as thatched houses in the homes of poor people.

After all, the thatched houses can be repaired well and can be free from wind and rain. But the number room in Gongyuan is different. If you don’t have tools and materials to repair, and the number room assigned to you is all dilapidated. What can you do? There is no way, you can only suffer from the bone-broken cold wind and wait.

Xu Wenqing gave Xu Erlang naturally accepted it. Not only that, he also sent a letter to Suqian, urging him to "just be in case." Now he doesn't know what the situation is in Suqian, but he has to use spare things here.

The soldiers standing guard in front of the number room watched Xu Erlang easily pasted the leaking holes with oil paper cloth, and then easily inserted several tree branches around the oil paper cloth to fix them. The holes were blocked instantly, and the soldiers were dumbfounded.

Can I still do this?

All the holes are blocked, so how do they think these juren are making fun of it?

The only fun was "confiscated", the officer was holding his face and was unhappy.

Xu Erlang blocked both holes, and the room was much warmer. Although he could still feel a little coolness running in, it was always more comfortable than the big hole.

After he finished his work, he threw the remaining branch into the basket for scientific research. As a result, he saw the officer staring at him fiercely as soon as he looked up.

Xu Erlang paused and asked, "But my approach is inappropriate?"

The officer said in a muffled voice, "No."

“That’s good.”

“…”

As the sky gradually became darker, Xu Erlang moved the charcoal fire, put it in a small pot, took out a piece of frozen mutton soup and threw it into the pot, and began to prepare dinner.

The spicy aroma came to my face, and Xu Erlang's expression became a little happy. Then he broke the cake and threw it in. After eating the food in the small pot, he felt warm all over. Then he lay on the couch to rest.

Although the test paper has been sent, it is even colder at night, and if you are not properly prepared, you will get cold. Besides, if you don’t nourish your energy, you will have poor energy during the day, which will also affect your answering questions, which is not worth the effort. So, let’s go to bed first.

He blew out the candle and closed his eyes. But he kept thinking about the test questions on the test paper, thinking about where to start answering and writing them better.

When it was dawn, Xu Erlang opened his eyes. He got up and quickly put on his clothes. After rinsing his mouth with green salt, he didn't have time to eat, so he took advantage of the brightest momentum to start grinding ink to answer questions.

At this time, many candidates got up and lighted on the table. While they were so cold that they had to take good care of the candles and not extinguish them, they also had to greet them so that the tears of the candle would fall on the test paper, and they were a little busy.

Xu Erlang didn't have this trouble. He had amazing eyesight and could see the test paper clearly without lighting the light. What's more, there was a servant in front of him holding a torch to monitor the test students' every move. The candidates on both sides also lit candles to prepare for answering questions. His eyes were very bright and he didn't need to light wax at all.

Shure heard several coughs, and the entire examination room was quiet.

On the first day, some candidates could not withstand the wind and cold and had coughs. This really sounded the alarm for everyone, making everyone more cautious. When lighting the charcoal fire to keep warm, they were especially worried that their bodies would be frozen. They really wanted to put a quilt on their bodies.

The tribute courtyard was silent, with only the rustling sound of the brushstrokes on the paper.

Xu Erlang had already thought of the idea of ​​solving the problem last night. Now he wrote with divine help and answered very smoothly.

The day passed peacefully.

The next day, the clouds disappeared, the sun jumped out from behind the dark clouds, and the whole sky finally cleared.

The sound of the candidates gasping in the examination room was heard, and it was obvious that the severe cold these two days left a deep psychological shadow on everyone. It is a good sign now that the weather has finally cleared up.

Xu Erlang's mood was already very stable, and he was also answering questions with peace of mind.

He felt that the first two games went smoothly, but he didn't expect that when the third exam, his handwriting was frozen.

The first question is the military system since the Han and Sui Dynasty, which is to prove it with today's situation.1

The next question is to the people of the world, gather the goods of the world, and return after transactions, and each gets what it means. 2

Three questions? Now if you want to make evil in the world, you will not be able to rise. If you are studying hard, what will you do? 3

Not to mention the difficulty of these test questions is seriously higher than the difficulty of the previous year's tests, I'm afraid it's not much easier than the difficulty of the palace examinations in the past few years. Xu Erlang felt that it was a lucky chance to pass the imperial examination, and to pass the palace examination, it was really more difficult than crossing a single-plank bridge with thousands of troops.

To put it simply, based on his accumulation and background, we must answer these questions comprehensively, outstandingly, innovatively, and so whimsical.

I am afraid that Master Qian and Mr. Ming will come over and scratch their heads at these questions.

Xu Erlang frowned and thought deeply. From the corner of his eyes, he saw that many students should have answered this place. At this time, they were scratching their ears and cheeks, looking extremely distressed. Some of them even showed depressed and declining expressions, which was obvious how much the test questions had hit everyone.

Seeing this, Xu Erlang felt much more relaxed. And just that, even if it is difficult, it is not just difficult for him. All the students who participated in the examination now answer the same set of test questions, which is difficult for everyone to work together.

If Jinniang knew Xu Erlang’s thoughts, she would probably hold his hand and say “Among the fellows”. This kind of Ah Q’s spirit has really been learned by the candidates throughout the ages. It seems that no matter which dynasty or generation, it will be the same during the scientific examination.

Not to mention Jinniang, but to continue talking about Xu Erlang, he has already started to answer the questions.

At this time, he had a good mentality because he remembered that he had another advantage over other students - he had been practicing martial arts since he was a child and was expected to enter the military camp. His military books at home were almost ruined by him, so he knew the pros and cons of various military systems. He even had ideas about proposing a new military system. This question is like a bonus question for him. As for the next two... let's finish answering this question first.

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Chapter completed!