Chapter 42: A Thousand Armies Crossing a Single-Plank Bridge

"There really are quite a lot of these scholar gentlemen."

Wu Song sized up the scholars, who numbered at least a thousand, and clicked his tongue in wonder.

He had not expected that scholars, who were quite rare in a single county, would become so "overflowing" here at the examination compound.

Outside the current examination compound, if one were to throw a few bricks at random,

nine out of the ten hit would be scholars who held considerable status in their own counties.

Even Pan Jinlian felt a bit dizzy looking at the dense crowd of scholars.

Facing their shock, Zhang Jie only smiled.

This was nothing yet.

It was only because Shandong was located in the north and not as wealthy as the Jiangnan region; otherwise, there would be tens of thousands of people taking the provincial examination.

Some history he had read before transmigrating recorded that the number of people taking the provincial examination in a single province exceeded everyone's imagination:

According to a memorial by Zhao Ruyu, the Prefect of Fuzhou in the eleventh year of Chunxi during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong,

the number of applicants for the "guarantee of family status" before the preliminary examination for the provincial tribute that year reached sixteen thousand,

while the quota for successful candidates was only sixty-two, meaning one person was selected out of every two hundred and seventy.

Selecting one out of two hundred and seventy might not seem like much, but one must know,

scholars were already the cream of the crop among the literate, with one selected out of tens or even hundreds.

Among these vast numbers of scholars, any one picked at random would be in the top few dozen of their county.

The difficulty of the imperial examination was truly no less than a fish leaping over the dragon gate.

The so-called "thousand armies crossing a single-plank bridge" from before his transmigration paled in comparison to this.

Those who became successful candidates were no longer balance experts crossing a single-plank bridge with their eyes closed,

but immortals who could directly fly or leap over the single-plank bridge!

If Zhang Jie's spirit had not undergone a positive change after transmigration,

becoming nearly photographic, he would have long ago abandoned this path of the imperial examination.

The "General Who Storms the Heavens" Huang Chao and God's second son, the orthodox successor to the Vatican, Hong Xiuquan, tell us:

The difficulty for an ordinary person to get into Chang'an is even harder than storming Chang'an!

Time passed in Zhang Jie's aimless reverie,

and he also took the examination basket specifically prepared for the imperial examination from Wu Song's hands.

"Young Master, good luck!"

When Pan Jinlian left, she was still full of energy as she cheered for Zhang Jie.

Soon, Zhang Jie, who was lined up in the middle-to-rear position, arrived at the entrance of the examination compound.

Here, not only were there proctoring officials watching, but also dozens of fully armed soldiers on guard.

"Zhang Jie from Yanggu County?"

The minor official checking the list found Zhang Jie's name.

"That is correct."

Zhang Jie answered while handing over his identification document.

Candidates for the provincial examination needed to have their identities verified in advance: carrying an "admission ticket" (called an "identification document") inscribed with their name,

age, place of origin, and physical characteristics,

to prevent substitute test-takers (in ancient times, there were no photos, so they relied entirely on written descriptions, such as "fair complexion, no beard, black mole on the left eyebrow").

After the minor official took the identification document, he carefully flipped through it a few times,

and from time to time looked up to observe Zhang Jie, only nodding after several times:

"Hmm, that's right, you have passed."

Zhang Jie, having completed the first step, walked quickly to the second step.

"Hmm, Scholar Zhang's clothing is thin, and there is no place for concealment."

Looking at Zhang Jie's natural appearance, with no inexplicably thickened or bulging areas in his clothing,

the minor official responsible for checking for concealment nodded with satisfaction.

The provincial examination was too important, and there were always muddle-headed scholars who tried every possible way to cheat.

From their hair to the soles of their shoes, there were people who used them for concealment.

Some candidates copied scriptures into the linings of their clothes and shoes,

and the scriptures were mostly written with mouse-whisker brushes on paper as thin as cicada wings.

In the imperial court, there were ministers who, in order to avoid concealment, proposed that candidates should be required to remove their clothes and socks, or even undergo a naked inspection.

However, the Emperor and other ministers felt that this was too unrefined,

losing the dignity of a scholar, and thus dissuaded them.

"Scholar Zhang, please open your examination basket."

The minor official continued.

To prevent concealment, the examination basket naturally also had to be carefully inspected.

Zhang Jie placed the examination basket on the desk and naturally opened it.

"Scholar Zhang is quite knowledgeable about the rules!"

The minor official, after taking a look at the examination basket, smiled even more satisfied.

On one side of the examination basket were stationery items such as brushes, ink, an inkstone, a paperweight, and a water dropper.

To prevent candidates from cheating through concealment, the inkstone had to be thin,

the water dropper had to be made of porcelain, and the brush handle needed to be hollow, not to mention the rest.

Because the provincial examination lasted for three days, there was naturally some food on the other side of the examination basket.

What satisfied the minor official was that the steamed buns, sesame cakes, pastries,

and pickled vegetables that Zhang Jie carried were all broken open, and the only roast duck was also cut open.

These foods looked like they couldn't be used for concealment at a glance, saving them a lot of energy.

There were thousands of candidates, and there were only a few dozen of them checking,

so cutting open every piece of food to check would simply exhaust them to death.

It was just that there was no way to refuse, otherwise he wouldn't want to come and do this job at all!

Zhang Jie heard the minor official's words but smiled without saying anything:

If one didn't want to end up with a pile of finely shredded food,

it was better to do it oneself or prepare it well in advance.

Furthermore, who knew what the bailiff responsible for checking his food had touched before this?

After all, it was something that was going to be eaten into his own stomach, so Zhang Jie felt it was better to be careful and cautious.

Next, Zhang Jie was called by name in the order of the Thousand Character Classic (Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, Yellow),

and then pressed his thumbprint on the "personal guarantee form," similar to a modern "candidate signature confirmation."

Zhang Jie, having resolved all the procedures, took his number plate and went to find his cell.

The examination cell was a mini "single room," where candidates would eat and live for the three days of the provincial examination.

The entire examination venue was composed of rows of narrow cells.

Each cell was about 2 meters high, 1 meter wide, and 1.5 meters deep, equivalent to the size of a modern bathroom.

There was no door in front of the cell and no window in the back, only a cloth curtain hanging to block the wind and rain.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness, I wasn't assigned to a cell near the toilet."

Zhang Jie, who successfully found his cell according to the sign, said with great relief.

Because candidates could not leave the examination venue, the toilet for defecation was naturally also inside the venue.

And how "alluring" the smell of a dry toilet without a flush toilet was,

Zhang Jie, who grew up in the countryside in his previous life, knew all too well.

Being within ten meters of it was enough to make one dizzy and "floating like an immortal"...

Not to mention that Jinan was currently in summer, with high temperatures of over 30 degrees,

the fermented smell of the excrement of thousands of people was simply unimaginable.

It was said that the smell of the toilet was so overpowering that many candidates would rather hold it in...

Now, the scented sachet that Pan Jinlian prepared for him, mainly for the purpose of refreshing the mind

and masking odors, was considered useless.

"Damn it, these facilities are too crude, aren't they?"

Zhang Jie looked at the cell with only two wooden boards and was speechless.

These two wooden boards were used as a desk on the top layer and a chair on the bottom layer, and at night, the boards were put together to serve as a bed.

"No wonder they say the imperial examination is a dual test of body and brain."

Zhang Jie sized up the width of the cell and found that tall candidates couldn't even stretch their legs.

Moreover, the location of the cell was slightly lower than the surroundings, so if it rained,

the cell would inevitably accumulate water, and candidates would have to step in the water to answer the questions.

Zhang Jie first took out a rag to clean the cell, which, although it might, probably, perhaps have been cleaned before being put into use,

was still covered in spider webs and dust.

Pan Jinlian also prepared a roll of cloth and oilcloth for Zhang Jie.

The roll of cloth could serve as a felt mat when answering papers, and could also be used as a tablecloth when eating.

The oilcloth was to be used to block wind and rain when necessary,

as the cell only had three walls, and the roof might also leak.

Just in case, the completed papers could also be protected with the oilcloth.

Looking at the dazzling array of things Pan Jinlian prepared in the examination basket,

Zhang Jie couldn't help but sigh at the importance of having a virtuous wife.

That saying, "Behind every successful man is a

woman who silently supports him," still had some truth to it.

Then Zhang Jie took out a small stove, a small pot, and a few pieces of old ginger,

intending to boil some ginger soup to drink, to prevent a cold caused by the sudden changes in temperature.

Although he already had internal energy to protect his body and would almost never catch a cold,

this was, after all, Pan Jinlian's kind intention.

And, since he could be a little more comfortable, why make things difficult for himself?

At night, Zhang Jie, who had the experience of being a beggar in the Heavenly Dragon world and often using the sky as a quilt and the earth as a bed, slept very soundly.

But others were not so lucky.

Scholars from poor families were still okay; they could endure the hardships of the cell.

But for those aristocratic young masters who had lived in luxury since childhood, it was an unspeakable torture.

They tossed and turned and couldn't sleep, each one complaining bitterly.

However, the provincial examination was an important examination second only to the metropolitan examination and the palace examination,

and the elders of these aristocratic young masters had specifically instructed them on the rules of the provincial examination.

Therefore, although they were extremely uncomfortable, no one gave up the examination.

What made Zhang Jie feel lucky was that among these thousands of scholars,

no one collapsed directly due to too much pressure and started shouting.

Since ancient times, what armies feared most was not a night raid, but a camp explosion or camp hysteria.

Once a camp explosion occurred, no matter how well-trained,

an elite army would be mostly wiped out or completely collapse.

In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, on Andy's first night in prison,

there was a fat man in the prison who couldn't bear the fear and pressure,

crying out loudly, "I want to go home," which almost caused a riot in the entire prison.

As a result, that fat man was directly stopped by the prison guard captain Hadley with violence and was eventually beaten to death.

"Clang, clang, clang~"

The next day, as the gong was struck, this year's provincial examination officially began.

The first session focused on the classics, mainly revolving around the Four Books and Five Classics.

Candidates needed to write rigorous eight-legged essays based on the original texts of the classics, including sections like breaking the theme, inheriting the theme, and starting the lecture.

Zhang Jie, who had the ability of photographic memory, feared this the least; his thoughts flowed like a spring, and his writing was as if guided by a god,

and in less than an hour, he had roughly written an article on the draft paper... ===== CHAPTER 43 =====