BSI Chapter 48 Cheating?
Chapter 48 Cheating?
"Huai De!"
Sun Zhigao walked over with a big smile and said, "I guessed you would definitely participate in this provincial examination. According to the usual rules of joint guarantee, you and I should be in the same group!"
"Zining has participated in the provincial examinations several times, and being in the same group as you is an advantage for me," Zhou An said with a smile.
He naturally didn't want to be in the same group as Sun Zhigao, but according to the joint guarantee rules, those with closer household registration would be given priority in being grouped together.
Both of them were from Youyang Town, so it was inevitable that they would be assigned to the same group.
"rest assured!"
Sun Zhigao patted his chest and said, "I know Tongzhou very well and have made many friends there. Even if I can't find an inn, I'll have somewhere to stay!"
"No need to trouble Zining, my in-laws have business in Tongzhou and have already made arrangements for me!" Zhou An said.
Upon hearing this, a hint of jealousy flashed in Sun Zhigao's eyes. His wife came from a wealthy family in Qinghe County, but she still couldn't compare to the Sheng family, and her dowry was far inferior.
"Huai De, this is your first time taking the provincial examination, you are unaware of the inside story!"
Sun Zhigao leaned closer and said, "Once a joint guarantee is established, it cannot be taken into account if even one person is missing. It is best if the people involved in the joint guarantee go in and out together, so that they can look out for each other."
After a moment's thought, Zhou An understood Sun Zhigao's meaning: if something were to happen to the other members of the joint guarantee before the provincial examination began, preventing them from taking the exam, then the others would also be unable to take the exam.
The so-called "having someone to look out for" can be considered a form of mutual supervision, preventing anyone from acting alone and causing any accidents.
"Thank you for the reminder, Zining. It would be best if we could find an inn with plenty of rooms!" Zhou An said.
"This is for..."
Before Sun Zhigao could say anything more, Master Xu walked in, and the classroom instantly fell silent.
When Master Xu finished reading out the academy's group assignments, he was unsurprisingly grouped with Sun Zhigao.
Two of the other three looked to be nearing thirty, while the other was in his early twenties.
After a brief chat and introduction, the five men headed to the government office together.
After the county clerk checked the document, he stamped it with his official seal, and the joint guarantee was considered complete.
The five agreed to set off together early the day after tomorrow to Tongzhou, and then they parted ways.
Sun Zhigao followed Zhou An and said, "Huai De, let's find a place to have a few drinks. I have some good news to tell you!"
Although Zhou An was unwilling to associate too much with this kind of person, he was still somewhat interested in the good thing the man mentioned, so he agreed.
The two found a restaurant, asked for a private room, and ordered a few side dishes and a pot of wine.
"I wonder what good thing Zining is talking about?"
Zhou An originally wanted to wait for him to speak, but after the food and drinks were served, Sun Zhigao kept asking him to drink, so he couldn't help but speak first.
"Huai De, do you know what the most important thing in the imperial examination is?" Sun Zhigao put down his wine cup, keeping everyone in suspense.
Zhou An could only patiently say, "The most important thing in the imperial examination should be talent and learning, right?"
"No!"
Sun Zhigao picked up the wine jug and poured himself a drink, pretending to be mysterious, and said, "Talent and learning are only the foundation, but you can't pass the imperial examination just by having talent and learning. I believe my talent and learning are no worse than some of the successful candidates, but they passed while I failed several times."
Zhou An almost burst out laughing when he heard this. How dare Sun Zhigao say that his talent was no less than that of those scholars?
However, he was very curious about what Sun Zhigao said next, and suppressing his laughter, he nodded in deep agreement and said, "What Zining said makes a lot of sense. Zining passed the imperial examination at the age of twelve and is a famous child prodigy in Qinghe County."
"It's only because the government doesn't hold examinations for child prodigies that Zining would likely have become an official long ago."
The previous emperors of the Great Zhou Dynasty favored child prodigies and held special examinations for them in addition to the imperial examinations.
To participate in the prodigy exam, one must be no older than fifteen, and the difficulty of the exam will be set according to age.
However, the prodigy examination was not as complicated as the imperial examination, and it did not have a specific time to be held; it depended entirely on the emperor's wishes.
When the emperor was pleased, he would issue an edict to hold a prodigy examination, and children from all over the country would be selected and sent to Bianjing (Kaifeng).
The Ministry of Rites would conduct two rounds of examinations, and the child prodigy selected at the end would be summoned by the emperor and rewarded.
Rewards were entirely at the emperor's discretion, and were nothing more than official positions or some kind of money.
Although the official positions they were granted were all sinecure, at least they had an official status.
Every time a prodigy test is held, families with children who are of the appropriate age will send them to participate.
The prodigy exam was easier than the county exam.
However, the current emperor only held the event a few times before taking personal control of the government after ascending to the throne, and has not held it since then.
Sun Zhigao was able to pass the imperial examination at the age of twelve, so his performance in the prodigy examination must have been quite good.
"Ha ha."
Sun Zhigao waved his hand dismissively and said, "The prodigy test is somewhat opportunistic, so it's right that the government doesn't hold it."
He actually wanted to participate in the prodigy examination, but there was a lot of criticism of the prodigy examination in the court. Everyone supported and praised the emperor for not holding the prodigy examination. He couldn't very well say that the emperor was wrong.
Sun Zhigao didn't want to talk about this topic anymore, so he leaned closer and whispered, "The most important thing in the imperial examination is to predict the questions. The provincial examination will test policy essays. Many talented people fail, not because they didn't perform well, but because they lost on the policy essay questions."
Upon hearing this, Zhou An raised an eyebrow slightly, but remained calm and asked, "Does Zining perhaps know who the chief examiner for this year's provincial examination is?"
The so-called "predicting the questions" refers to guessing the policy essay topics for the provincial examination based on the examiner's preferences and temperament.
Even if you guess the wrong question, you can still cater to the examiner's preferences and inclinations when answering.
In order to prevent this phenomenon, the imperial court strictly required local authorities not to announce the chief examiner in advance during the county and metropolitan examinations.
If you don't know who the examiner is, you naturally can't predict the questions.
Although the number of qualified examiners in a state is limited, there are still a few.
It would be time-consuming and a waste of energy to study all of these people in detail.
Concealing the examiner's identity can also ensure fairness as much as possible.
When Zhou An asked him a question, Sun Zhigao gave him a cryptic smile, picked up his wine glass, and drank it down.
Zhou An picked up his wine cup and poured him some wine, smiling slightly, "I hope Brother Zining can enlighten me. I will surely reward you handsomely after the matter is resolved!"
Seeing how sensible Zhou An was, Sun Zhigao whispered, "We're from the same hometown, so I won't hide it from you. I know a young master in Tongzhou who can tell me the examiner's identity in advance, but I'll have to give him some benefits."
"You can only know the examiner's identity, but you can't get the exam questions?" Zhou An frowned.
"Is that the same as cheating?"
Sun Zhigao shook his head and said, "We are quite talented. If we know who the examiner is in advance, we can gain an advantage."
"How much money will it cost?" Zhou An asked.
Sun Zhigao held up one finger.
"One hundred taels?"
"Huai De, are you truly oblivious, or are you feigning ignorance? I meant one thousand taels!"
Sun Zhigao always felt that Zhou An was deliberately playing a trick on him.
"Zining, don't be angry."
Zhou An quickly replied, "You know my family's situation. We can manage to scrape together a hundred taels, but a thousand taels is simply out of the question."
"Could the Sheng family possibly be short of money?"
Sun Zhigao curled his lip and said, "This is the provincial examination. If you pass it, you'll become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination). And if you pass the metropolitan examination next year, you can become an official. Is it more than a thousand taels of silver?"
"But I can't exactly use that as a reason to ask the Sheng family for money, can I?"
Zhou An feigned reluctance, saying, "I can't bring myself to ask my wife for money."
"Fine, do as you please. I'm only telling you this because we're from the same hometown. Others who want to spend this money wouldn't even know where to start!"
As he spoke, Sun Zhigao stood up and left in a huff.
"Zining!"
Zhou An called out a few times, pretended to stop him, and then let him go.