Chapter 102: There is an island in the North Sea, and it will change after a hundred years? I have done this question before!

In the official assessment system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the temple examination was the final hurdle.

At the hour of Mao on February 3rd, Zhao Xing left home and rushed to the Sinongjian.

At 3:30 am, all 15 participants arrived, including Zong Shichang, Xiao Ze, Wen Nanxing, Ding Shan and others.

Chen Shijie and other assistant officials of the Ministry of Agriculture had also been waiting here for a long time.

After seeing that everyone was present, Chen Shijie spoke up: "Whether you can accept the appointment depends on today."

"You all have a chance of passing, so don't be nervous, just stay calm and perform normally."

"This official and the other gentlemen wish that you all get what you wish for."

"Thank you, sir." All the officials bowed their heads in thanks.

After finishing his nice words, Chen Shijie continued:

"There is already a set of special clothing for reference in the bathroom at the back."

"Except for this set of clothes, you may not take anything else with you."

"There are still three quarters of an hour left, and I'll go in and change my clothes first."

The officials were already familiar with the rules of the temple examination, and they all went inside and began to change their clothes.

Zhao Xing also walked in and changed into a long gown.

He did not bring any external objects with him, even the sixth-level soul armor had been removed and hidden in the Dameng Academy, handed over to the mechanical beast Xiezhi for safekeeping.

Originally, the Dameng Academy did not provide this function. All other things were allowed to leave but not come in, but the soul armor was special and was allowed to leave or come in.

As for other items, such as the almanac for warding off evil and the token for transmitting messages over a thousand miles, they were borrowed in the first place and were returned to the Si Nong Nei Ku after the Xuan Tian Sect incident.

The Fengjing earrings are left at home, and now I can be said to be alone.

After changing clothes, Zhao Xing and other officials came out to wait.

At this time, no one was talking to each other, just waiting silently.

At six quarters past the hour of Mao, a ship with clouds and rain came from the south and landed at the Sinongjian in Gucheng.

Four officials came down from above.

Two of the temple masters held four statues of the prince.

There were also two invigilators of the seventh rank.

After reading out the rules as usual.

At exactly 7 am, he led 15 officials from the Ministry of Agriculture into the temple in Gucheng.

Under the leadership of the master of ceremonies.

The officials first paid homage to the various halls in the temple, such as the Donghu Zhenjun Hall, the Caoxi Zhenjun Hall, and the Hall of All Saints.

This process is to thank the Yin God for passing on the Dharma.

Zhao Xing mainly paid homage to Caoxi and Zheng Lun.

Most of his magic spells were taught by these two Yin Gods.

The worship process is over

Fifteen officials then came to Tianxin Square, the center of the temple, and stood there.

At three quarters past noon, two emcees from the county city placed the statue of the prince in the four corners of the square.

"Om~"

As the golden light shone, a new palace suddenly appeared at the location of Tianxin Square.

The fifteen candidates were originally standing in the center of the square, but the next moment they suddenly appeared in this new palace.

Tianxin Hall is dedicated to the Great Zhou Taizu.

The festival is only held during major festivals in a year, such as the temple examination and the emperor's sacrifice.

"bye!"

The master of ceremonies led the candidates to burn incense and worship the statue of Taizu.

Thanks to him for building temples to spread the Dharma, and for establishing an official assessment system to provide low-level officials with a way to rise.

Chen hour and four quarters.

The master of ceremonies threw the yellow paper representing the official's name into the huge bronze incense burner in front of Taizu's spirit platform.

"Om~"

The next moment, fifteen tables and chairs appeared on the ground.

"Please take your seats according to your numbers, clerks."

Zhao Xing found the long desk with his name on it and sat down.

"Wow~"

As soon as I sat down, writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone appeared.

When I looked up, the figures of the other candidates and officials faded away.

The theoretical phase of the temple examination officially begins.

It lasted a total of thirty-six hours.

Leaving your seating area will be considered as submitting your paper early.

Once the time is up, there is no more answer.

"finally come."

Zhao Xing let out a long breath, then picked up the test paper on the table and began to review it in its entirety.

There are forty test papers in total.

Thirty of them contain test questions and ten are blank.

Just like the assessment on the White Dew solar term at that time, the questions were set by Chen Shijie according to the court's regulations.

The first ten are basic questions, the kind that can earn points just by memorizing them. Compared to the Bailu test, there are one-third fewer such basic questions.

The temple examination involves formal submission to the government, so there will be fewer easy-to-score questions.

Zhao Xing took a quick look and started answering the basic questions.

[In which dynasty, year, and month was "Tian Shi Bai Jie" written? Who compiled it? What is its ranking among the holy temples of this dynasty? ]

Zhao Xing quickly wrote down the answer: [Qian Dynasty, July of the 149th year of Zhiyuan, compiled by Grand Minister of Agriculture Chen Yi, ranked 27th among the Holy Temples of this Dynasty.]

On the day of the Great Heat, rotten grass turns into fireflies. ________Five days later, heavy rains fall.

Answer: Five days later, the soil is moist and hot.

Rotten grass does not turn into fireflies, and grains never fall. ________
Answer: If the soil is moist and not hot, things will not be punished. If the rain does not come at the right time, the country will not be blessed.

Zhao Xing answered fluently and quickly finished the basic easy-to-scoring questions.

Now comes the situational advanced questions for screening candidates.

"In the land of Nanzheng, if we want to take its soil, the loose soil is powerless and instead helps fire to generate soil; if we want to use metal to release the essence, the dry soil will brittle the metal and make it difficult to work. Why is that?"

Seeing this question, Zhao Xing frowned slightly.

I didn't expect that the first situational question on the eleventh card would be so difficult.

"This question is about how to use earth, but why does it happen that gold is used to release beauty and dry earth breaks gold?"

There are certain rules for obtaining soil, so this question should be answered according to the method of obtaining spring soil, summer soil, autumn soil and winter soil in "The Method of Using Soil Month by Month".

The soil is not able to be loosened, but it helps fire to generate earth, proving that the soil selected is "summer soil".

Using the power of metal in the earth's veins to release the beauty is supposed to be the method mentioned in "The Monthly Method of Using Earth". How come the power of the earth's veins is "dry earth and brittle metal", making it difficult to use?
Zhao Xing scanned the question and his eyes fell on the word "Nanzheng". Two seconds later, he suddenly realized.

Then he picked up his pen and replied: "The land of Nanzheng is the ancestral land of our dynasty, and there are only two seasons, summer and autumn."

"Without the coldness of spring and winter to balance it, the summer fire will be too strong. To obtain summer soil, you need to take water from the source. The power of the earth veins is weak but not exhausted. Use the water earth veins to moisten the soil and control the fire, and use the metal earth veins to release the beauty, then you can achieve the effect of Ji Ji."

After finishing writing, Zhao Xing finally relaxed his brow.

The monthly use of earth is included in the content of "The Benefits of the Five Elements of the Earth's Veins".

But the question is not only difficult in this regard, it also tests the agricultural officials' understanding of the world's geography.

What is Nanzheng? That is Taizu's hometown!

You don’t even know that such a famous place has only summer and autumn seasons, and you still want to be an official?
Go back home and feed the pigs!

If the officials did not understand the situation in Nanzheng, they would definitely be scratching their heads.

If you know the situation of Nanzheng, then this question will be much easier to answer. Just remember the method of adapting to the five elements of the land veins, and you will be able to answer it.

For the following situational questions, Zhao Xing carefully reviewed the questions and answered them fluently.

It was only when it came to the last big question that my smooth thinking was hindered.

[There is an island in the North Sea. On the day of the beginning of winter, the water begins to freeze. Five days later, the sea begins to freeze. Five days later, a giant whale breaks through the ice and turns into a black bird. A blue bird enters the water and turns into a purple snake. Five days later, fire erupts from the bottom of the sea.]

[There are tens of millions of islanders, but only two officials, the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Natural Resources, if you were the head of the Minister of Agriculture, how would you resolve this natural disaster?]

When Zhao Xing looked at the question, he was stunned for a moment. He thought he had read it wrong.

As the last big question in the advanced situational test, it is indeed difficult.

But Zhao Xing was stunned, not because the question was difficult.

But he did it when he was a player.

And the impression was very deep.

Because he made a mistake that year, he didn't get the job change because of this question.

"The last question about natural disasters on an island turned out to be an easy-to-score question." Zhao Xing was happy.

This is a "phenological question", and the question mentions the unpopular century-old phenology.

The giant whale breaks through the ice and turns into a black bird, and the blue bird enters the water and turns into a purple snake. Five days later, the seabed fire erupts. These are all centennial phenomena.

The natural disaster caused by the century-old phenology, I ask you as the agricultural officer of the island, how should you deal with it.

There are three difficulties in the question. The first is to recognize that this is a century-old phenomenon and to confirm the intensity of the natural disaster.

The second is to calculate your own strength in the question scenario based on existing conditions.

Third, provide appropriate solutions to natural disasters.

First, although the 100-year phenology is unpopular, it is not difficult for the well-informed officials to know it. The black bird and the purple snake are both sixth-grade exotic beasts. At the same time, the 100-year phenology will only cause a single number of species changes, which means that there is only one black bird and purple snake in it. Second, through the existing conditions in the question, you can get the power you can use.

The scale of "Tens of Millions of Islanders", the specifications of Sinongjian, Tiangongfang, and their internal treasury must not be lower than level five.

This is a test of the officials' understanding of the official system of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

It is not required for other departments, but Tiangongfang and Sinongjian are strongly related departments and must be understood.

In addition, since the question does not mention other institutions, you cannot involve other court departments when answering the question.

Otherwise, you can just answer "One hundred thousand troops will go out together to kill Xuanque and Zishe and eat barbecue" and that would be it.

There is another trap in the second point, which is the "there is an island in the North Sea" in the first sentence.

"The North Sea is an important frontier area, with over 10 million islanders. The specifications of the Sinongjian and Tiangongfang's inner storehouses must be raised to a higher level, and sixth-level treasures can be used to fight the enemy. You can choose from large magic weapons such as the Dragon Bone Ship and the Xuanyuan Giant Crossbow, as well as personal magic weapons such as the 'Wind and Thunder Straw Coat', 'Hundred Flowers Hat', and 'Wind Evil Pearl'."

"But these treasures cannot be used indiscriminately. They must be used in a reasonable combination."

“That brings us to the third point, providing a proper solution.”

Zhao Xing did not rush to write, but sorted out his ideas for answering the question in his mind.

Make sure there are no problems before you start writing.

"A giant whale breaks through the ice and turns into a black bird. A blue bird enters the water and turns into a purple snake. This is the century-long evolution of the North Sea."

"The Black Bird and the Blue Bird are both sixth-grade exotic beasts."

"An important town in the North Sea, with tens of millions of islanders, it must have a sixth-level treasure house."

"A natural disaster is approaching. We must quickly order the Tiangong Workshops on the island to activate the large-scale sixth-level magic weapon [Moshou Realm] to protect the people."

"Then we will go out to sea with the dragon-bone building ship, accompanied by the dragon-head building ship, and release the floating cloud flying boat to rescue the people outside the island."

"Chief of the Ministry of Agriculture, please activate the sixth-level 'Wind and Thunder Straw Coat' in the treasury and move at superb speed."

"The sixth level of the Hundred Flowers Hat will enhance the skill."

"Please read the two books, Hou Tu and Si Hai, to restore the earth's veins and restore the four seas to their original state."

"Implement the Solar Terms Order, and reverse the three changes of the Beginning of Winter, repeating the cycle, causing the black bird to transform into a whale, and the purple snake to transform into a blue bird..."

Since he knew the answer, Zhao Xing wrote very smoothly and finished answering the question in one breath.

In order to avoid losing points on this question, he also gave several solutions, including subsequent appeasement measures.

Of course, these are just minor details, and they are enough even if there is no backup plan. As for comforting the people, it is enough to mention it in passing, because this is not the responsibility of the Minister of Agriculture.

The question itself mainly tests the official's understanding of phenology, the North Sea, official system, and treasures.

It is a comprehensive assessment of the quality of officials to see whether you are ready to be an official.

If you can answer some of the questions that officials of the sixth and seventh ranks encounter, then there will be basically no problem for you to become an official of the ninth rank.

This is the idea of ​​the person who set the question.

Time passed slowly, and after the advanced situational questions, Zhao Xing became more and more fluent in answering the subsequent questions.

I also saw familiar topics many times.

Before I knew it, there was only a piece of paper left in front of me.

There is only one question above.

[Please match the five elements, heavenly stems, earthly branches and the four seasons, and explain the matching ideas. ]

"The teacher guessed the test questions correctly."

Zhao Xing smiled slightly.

The theoretical questions for Bailu's test were set by Xue Wenzhong.

The last big question is exactly the same as the current one.

"Old Sinong is truly a good teacher. These fifteen people from Gucheng will all benefit from him today."

I took the test before, and afterwards I made my standard answers public for everyone to guess.

This will give the officials in Gucheng an advantage in the last big question.

Zhao Xing sighed in his heart, and then began to answer.

He didn't plan to make any changes this time, so he would just answer according to the same standards as last time.

The answer from the last time was enough to make Chen Shijie, the examiner with geographical advantages, meow like a cat, so it was completely sufficient for this temple examination.

"The mainstream view now is that the Earth King says that it's summer. If I answer the Earth King says that it's four seasons, then I'm too advanced and it might even backfire."

Having made up his mind, Zhao Xing began to answer.

He was not afraid that other officials would surpass him, because the previous difficulties were already great enough. Besides, his standard answer was only seen by people in Gucheng, and the temple examination and selection were coordinated by the imperial court.

We are colleagues, so it doesn't matter if I let others take advantage of me.

"Of the Five Elements, none is more precious than earth. Earth is in charge of all the four seasons, and it has no share of fame or honor with fire."

"Wood, fire, metal, and water each govern one season, with earth in the center, holding the rope to control the four directions."

"Earth King Jixia said something..."

After finishing writing, Zhao Xing went over all the answers twice.

Make sure nothing is missing and get up from your seat.

"Om~"

As soon as he stood up, he saw the other clerks and the invigilating officials again.

At this time, there are Yin gods patrolling outside, and no one can cheat through external force.

"Clerk Zhao Xing, are you sure you have finished answering?"

An official asked a question.

"Your Excellency, I confirm." Zhao Xing bowed.

"Whoo~"

As soon as he finished speaking, the test paper flew up automatically and burned in the incense burner in the Tianxin Hall.

The answer sheet was seen dancing in the golden flames, but it did not burn. It just rolled a few times and then disappeared.

"You are the first one to hand in your paper. You can choose to rest for half an hour or proceed to the second half of the temple exam immediately." The invigilator had a blank expression.

"I chose to conduct the field assessment immediately."

Zhao Xing had just finished speaking.

hum~
The statue in Tianxin Temple emits bursts of golden light.

Afterwards, Zhao Xing discovered that the other officials had disappeared, the sky was dark, and he appeared in a golden field.

Zhao Xing knew that this was the internal assessment space of Tianxin Palace.

It is refined from some fragments of the small world of the cave.

Although it is a small world fragment.

But the place is still huge.

Zhao Xing looked with his bright eyes, but could not see the end at all.

"Om~"

While he was watching, a golden document floated over from the sky, landed in front of Zhao Xing and opened automatically.

"Clerk Zhao Xing, the scope of this assessment will be based on the county's standards."

"The assessment time is twelve hours."

"You need to observe the weather, location and time yourself."

“And complete the assessment according to the following requirements.”

Zhao Xing took the document and looked at the assessment requirements:

"At Chen, clouds appear, at Si, thunder sounds, at Wu, it rains, and at Wei, it rains hard. The total number of rain points is 48? And it must cover the entire test space?"

Zhao Xing frowned and found that things were not simple.

"It's dark. If you haven't practiced the universal spell Bright Eyes, you can't see anything. This greatly increases the difficulty of casting the spell. This is the first difficulty."

"At 7:00, clouds will appear; at 9:00, thunder will sound; at 5:00, it will rain; at 10:00, it will rain heavily. This will last for a total of four hours, testing the endurance of the officials. This is the second difficulty."

"To cover the area of ​​a lower county, the realm of the Four Laws of Time cannot be too low. This is the third difficulty."

"The rain count is 48 points, which is accurate to the last millisecond. It tests your ability to control spells. This is the fourth difficulty."

"The clerk didn't bring an almanac with him. It's dark here, so it's hard to tell what time it is from the outside. If you miss the time, you'll lose a lot of points! This is the fifth difficulty."

There are five difficulties in total, and each one is not easy.

For officials to become regular officials, it is like a huge struggle to cross a single-plank bridge.

Moreover, on-site assessment accounts for a large proportion.

No matter how good your theoretical knowledge is, if your score in the practical assessment is too low, you cannot become an agricultural official.

If one fails to pass the test and becomes an official in charge of agriculture, he may cause the people under his command to become homeless and suffer from disasters.

How can we trust people to be officials? Wouldn't that harm both others and ourselves?
"Even Wen Si Nong is like this, it shows how difficult it is to be a military Si Nong." Zhao Xing sighed. "But this is not a problem for me."

The Bright Eyes spell was at the maximum level, so the night was not an obstacle for Zhao Xing. He quickly jumped to a high place and looked at the surrounding environment, and found that there were plains and fields all around, with not much difference.

Judging from the humidity and temperature in the air and observing the growth of plants in the fields, it can be concluded that this is early summer.

The rainfall in the sky and the earth is at a relatively balanced level.

It is a neutral condition for officials to cast spells.

Fortunately, the examiner did not make a fuss about the topography and landforms, otherwise if there were extreme terrain and extreme weather, it would really worry the officials who took the exam.

Covering the entire county, having a battery life of four hours, and precise spell control, these are not difficult tasks for Zhao Xing.

The only thing that is a bit troublesome is calculating the time accurately.

"There is no almanac, no sunrise, and even the night is deliberately set, which hinders most of the officials' methods of judging the time."

"Everything must start and end on the hour, even the slightest error will result in a point deduction."

"If you don't know the time, you can't start. You must first determine the current time."

Zhao Xing thought for a moment, then immediately squatted down and touched the soil on the ground.

(End of this chapter)