38. Pass the Exam

Wang Quan wrote this article to praise the emperor by taking advantage of the capture of the white pheasant as a good omen. Read

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The saint refers to the emperor.

"The Book of Changes·Shuo Gua" says: "The saint faces south and listens to the world, and governs with wisdom."

In the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, was called the Saint Khan by ethnic minorities. The saint here refers to the emperor.

What does Wang Quan say in this article? It is precisely because the emperors of the Qing Dynasty were frugal that these auspicious plants and animals filled the mountains, rivers and lakes, but these fools can't see them. Now this white pheasant happened to be caught in Wuwei Mountain. What does this mean? It means that you, the saint, are in power!

And the white pheasant was also a tribute to the Zhou Dynasty when the four guests surrendered to the Zhou Dynasty in ancient times!

"Shangshu Dachuan" records: "During the reign of King Cheng of Zhou, there were seedlings with different stems, but they were all one ear. They were so big that they filled the carriage, and people climbed up to them. The king summoned Duke Zhou and asked him, and he said: 'Three seedlings are one ear. Will the world be harmonious?' As expected, the Yueshang clan came again. To the south of Jiaozhi, there was the Yueshang Kingdom. Duke Zhou was in charge for six years. He established rituals and music, and the world was harmonious. The Yueshang clan repeated the translation with three elephants and presented a white pheasant."

In Ban Gu's Dongdu Fu, there is also a poem called "White Pheasant Poem"!

There is also a poem written by Bai Juyi: "Duke Zhou was afraid of rumors, and Wang Mang was humble before he usurped the throne." It was because when Wang Mang was the Grand Marshal, the Yueshang Kingdom offered a white pheasant and three black pheasants. Therefore, Bai Juyi compared Duke Zhou and Wang Mang together, saying that the two did the same thing when Wang Mang had not usurped the throne.

...

With the auspicious white pheasant, Bai Gui also had courage in his heart.

It gave him more confidence in the imperial examination.

Once the ancient county magistrate knew about this, he would not dismiss anyone else's paper... Once dismissed, it would mean violating the theory of prophecy!

Auspicious signs cannot protect one person, so how can it protect the Qing Dynasty?

For the sake of his official hat, as long as his test paper is not really unbearable to look at, he will basically be allowed to pass.

"Only by studying can you be wise..."

Bai Gui sighed lightly.

When he was in Bailu Village, although he knew that the legendary white pheasant might be an auspicious sign in ancient times, he didn't know why, he only knew that it might be an auspicious sign. But it was not until he read through the Five Classics that he suddenly realized it.

"Brother Bai, you are right. I have studied hard for so many years, and I can't give up easily because of this. At worst... at worst, I will go to the south!"

Zhou Yuan was shaken.

Although the current Qing court ruled the mainland with high pressure, it was somewhat different from before the two crows. At that time, they searched the mountains and seas to capture fugitives. Now there are foreign concessions in the south, just hide in them, and the Qing court pursuers dare not go in.

He had also envied the freedom of the south for a long time, but he was reluctant to leave.

"From what I see, the county magistrate Gu is still on good terms with you. He is a good man at heart. He asked the rich to donate grain and millet a few days ago. Although he embezzled a lot, he could still give the poor a way to live. Besides, the county magistrate would not dare to suppress you without authorization. As long as the article is correct and he can't find any fault, it's okay..."

Lu Zhaopeng hesitated for a while, but still chose to take the exam.

"It's the same for me..."

Seeing that his classmates had decided to take the exam, Bai Xiaowen also made up his mind to go with them.

Although they are not sure about the county exam now, and the scriptures are not yet mature. But the county exam may be a blind cat meeting a dead mouse, and it happens that they are destined to be able to do it.

No one will give up this opportunity.

If there is really danger, they don't need to worry about it. Mr. Zhu will also warn them and let them choose to give up the exam. Now that Mr. Zhu has not spoken, why should they worry about themselves.

Fortunately, there was still time. After several people agreed to take the exam, they went to the county government's ceremonial room to submit their names.

There were still three days before the exam.

The morning dew was slightly wet.

It rained continuously last night.

The group went out from Mingfeng Gate of the east gate, waded through the winding Zishui River, and came to the other side of the Zishui River under the ferry of an old man wearing a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat. After walking five or six miles on the mountain road, they saw the towering mountain.

This is Fenghuangzui, a place name, and the nearby village is called Jiangcun.

"Ba Ling was built on the mountain. Because it is close to the Zi (Ba) River, it is named Ba Ling, which can also be written as Ba Ling. It is the tomb of Emperor Xiaowen of the Western Han Dynasty. I heard from Senior Brother Wang that it is particularly useful to worship Ba Ling before the exam..."

Zhou Yuan closed the oil-paper umbrella. Just when he was halfway there, it started to drizzle again. It rained for about half an hour, and stopped when he was one or two miles closer to Ba Ling.

"Guanzhong has been the imperial state since ancient times, and 72 emperors are buried here..."

Several people casually talked about the mausoleums of emperors in other places.

For example, Duling, which is not far from Ba Ling, is located in the southeast of the ruins of Weiyang Palace in Chang'an City of the Han Dynasty. When going from Zishui County to Xi'an City, you can pass Duling.

Not long after, we arrived at the southwest of Ba Ling, which is the Nanling of Empress Dowager Bo, the mother of Emperor Wen, and there is also a monument with the words "Han Bo Empress Dowager".

"Nanling looks across the Wei River to the west to the Changling of Emperor Gaozu of Han, so there is a saying in the history book: 'Look east to my son, look west to my husband.'"

Bai Gui smiled slightly and told the allusion.

He studied the Spring and Autumn Annals, not only reading the Spring and Autumn Annals, but also other historical books.

The mausoleum system of the Western Han Dynasty was that the emperor and the empress were buried together but not in the same mausoleum, that is, the empress and the emperor were buried together. When Empress Dowager Bo was in Liu Bang's time, she was just Bo Ji, and she was not qualified to be buried with Liu Bang, so she built another Nanling next to the tomb of Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng.

After a while, they passed through the Empress Dou's Mausoleum of Emperor Wen and arrived in front of the Mausoleum of Emperor Ba.

"Emperor Wen, Emperor Wen, you can pass the imperial examination with your literary talent!"

"Although I don't know where this sentence came from, it's nice to come here to see the beautiful scenery and pay homage."

Several people muttered this sentence.

I don't know how this sentence got spread. It's a homophonic pun, but local Confucian scholars often come to the tomb of Emperor Wen of Han Liu Heng to pay homage when they take the imperial examination.

The world is called Wen!

Emperor Wen is almost the highest posthumous title. Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, admired Emperor Xiaowen of Han Liu Heng all his life. During his lifetime, he repeatedly hinted to his ministers that after his death, he should be given the posthumous title of Emperor Wen of Tang, and he got what he wanted.

"It's not a big deal to review the books. Anyway, it won't take much effort. The Ba Mausoleum is only an hour away from the county town."

"Besides, walking is also good for physical and mental health."

Bai Gui said with great understanding.

This kind of thing is common in the past and future. When he encountered multiple-choice questions when taking the exam, he would also silently pray for the blessing of his ancestors.

Seek peace of mind.

He was holding some offerings in his hands. They were very simple offerings. A plate of Fuping persimmon cakes represented everything going well, and four large pomegranates meant "the pomegranates are good for the imperial examinations". The pomegranate flowers had not yet bloomed in February. These were placed on the tribute table last year.

There are not only many willows in Guanzhong, but also many pomegranate trees. The pomegranate flower became the city flower of Xi'an in later generations.

And the wild flowers picked along the way were gathered into bunches and placed in front of the stele.