The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

On the day of the county examination, it was just dawn.

The entrance to Runzhou County School was already packed with people. Hundreds of students, carrying their exam baskets, lined up like a long queue during the Spring Festival travel rush. They were surrounded by their parents who came to see them off, stuffing eggs and amulets into their hands. The sounds of crying and shouting created a chaotic mess.

The air was filled with the smells of sweat, ink, and chive buns.

Jiang Lin stood on the periphery of the crowd with three students.

Compared to the other test-takers around them who were so nervous they were about to faint, the four of them, master and apprentice, had a unique and unusual style.

Jiang Lin waved his folding fan, looking relaxed as if he were on vacation.

Having undergone grueling training, Su Shi, Zeng Gong, and Su Zhe now stood amidst the noisy crowd with a strange sense of calm, as if they had never been there before—after all, compared to that smoky, noisy little dark room, this place was simply paradise.

"Is that Jiang Lin?"

Someone in the crowd recognized them.

"That madman who wants to take all three top spots?"

"Pshaw, look at those three students, dressed in rags, they think they can compare to Wenchang Academy? Dream on."

The murmurs and whispers came over without any attempt to hide them.

Su Shi raised an eyebrow, about to retort, when Jiang Lin tapped his shoulder with the handle of his folding fan.

"If a dog bites you, do you bite it back?" Jiang Lin said calmly. "Using academic achievements to slap their faces is the true retaliation of a scholar."

Su Shi took a deep breath and nodded: "What you say is right, sir."

Just then, a commotion broke out.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

Several luxurious carriages stopped at the intersection, and more than thirty candidates dressed in identical brocade robes filed out.

The leader was Wang Shichang.

This group of people acted aggressively, as if they weren't there to take an exam, but to cause trouble.

Wang Shichang spotted Jiang Lin at a glance, swaggered over with a victor's fake smile on his face:

"Hey, Jiang Shanchang, you're here so early? Are you in a rush to finish your exams and move back home?"

The Wang family candidates behind him burst into laughter.

Jiang Lin didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, his tone calm:

"Young Master Wang, you're up quite early. But if I were you, I should be memorizing a few more lines of text now, instead of just spouting nonsense here."

Wang Shichang's face stiffened, and he snorted coldly:

"Stubborn to the end! Let's see who's the best in the exam! Our Wenchang Academy predicted the questions perfectly this time, so you'll just be left eating dust in the back!"

After saying that, he waved his hand and led the thirty candidates in a grand procession to squeeze inside.

"Predicting exam questions?"

Su Zhe looked at Jiang Lin with some worry, "Sir, what if they really guessed the question correctly..."

Jiang Lin scoffed.

"Predicting exam questions? In the face of absolute strength and scientific methodology, predicting exam questions is a joke."

At this moment, the vermilion gate of the county school slowly opened.

The bailiffs shouted, "The time has come! Candidates, enter the examination hall!"

Jiang Lin turned around and looked at the three "humanoid weapons" that he had personally crafted.

He reached out to straighten Su Zhe's clothes, then patted Su Shi and Zeng Gong on the shoulder:

"Go."

"Remember, you're max-level characters entering the newbie village. Don't feel pressured, just perform normally and don't scare the examiners to death."

The three felt a warmth in their hearts and bowed in unison, saying, "These students are leaving!"

He turned around, strode into the examination room, his back view resolute.

……

"Clang!"

The gate was closed and locked.

The examination room was filled with a somber and tense atmosphere.

The chief examiner sat solemnly in the Minglun Hall, opened the sealed examination paper, and read aloud:

"The first session: the interpretation of scriptures."

"Title: Governing with virtue is like the North Star, which remains in its place while all the other stars revolve around it."

As soon as the question was announced, the candidates below erupted in uproar, followed by whispers.

This is a famous quote from the Analects of Confucius; it's so common!

Common topics are easy to write about, but they also mean it's hard to stand out. These kinds of topics are the best test of basic skills and the ability to develop a clear idea.

Wang Shichang sat in his cell, a smug smile playing on his lips.

Sure enough! The gentleman guessed correctly! He had memorized model answers for similar questions!

He picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and was overjoyed: Jiang Lin, you're doomed!

Meanwhile, in another corner of the examination room.

Upon hearing the topic, Su Shi's lips curled up slightly, revealing a familiar "Jiang-style smile."

"This question...the teacher explained a similar logic on the second day of the special training."

"It may seem like we're talking about benevolent governance, but in reality, we're talking about core leadership and cohesion."

He ground the ink, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

In my mind, the "formulaic template" ingrained in my bones instantly came to mind.

Breaking the ice: A single sentence reveals the secret.

Following the theme: closely adhering to the original intention of the sage.

The opening statement: The momentum is like a rainbow.

Su Shi suddenly opened his eyes and picked up his brush to write.

"The direction of governance is guided by virtue; the stars revolve around the planets, and the constellations are revered..."

The pen tip scratched across the paper, making a soft, rustling sound. He didn't pause for a moment; those once-constraining frameworks had now become his sharpest scabbard, gathering his once boundless talent into an invincible beam of light.

On the other side, Zeng Gong remained as steady as Mount Tai.

Looking at the topic, he quickly constructed the framework of the entire article in his mind.

First stock, second stock, third stock...

It fits perfectly, without a single leak.

If Su Shi's writing was like a sword blazing with fierce energy, then Zeng Gong's writing was like an impregnable fortress. He wrote each word carefully, each one like a nail, firmly driven into the examiner's heart.

As for Su Zhe...

He glanced at the question, his hand unconsciously touching the brocade pouch in his pocket, but quickly let go.

"This kind of question doesn't need a trick."

He recalled the method of "incorporating policy essays into classical texts" taught by his teacher, and with a change of tone, although he wrote about classical texts, it subtly revealed a pragmatic approach to governing the country.

Time passed by, bit by bit.

Inside the examination room, some people were scratching their heads, some were sweating profusely, and some even spilled ink due to nervousness.

Wang Shichang wrote very quickly, but all he wrote were clichés and piles of flowery language.

The three students from Jiang's Academy were like three sophisticated machines, steadily producing results in the noisy examination room.

……

At noon, the gong was struck.

"carry out an assignment--!"

The candidates seemed to have been drained of their energy, and they dragged their feet out of the examination room.

Wang Shichang, beaming with health, emerged surrounded by a group of Wang family students:

"Young Master, this question is a sure thing!"

"I know that model essay by heart!"

"We're definitely going to win this time!"

Wang Shichang looked smugly at Jiang Lin by the roadside and shouted, "Jiang Shanchang, have you prepared the land deeds?"

Jiang Lin ignored him, his gaze searching through the crowd.

Soon, Su Shi and the other two came out.

Although her face showed signs of fatigue, her eyes were bright and her steps were light.

"teacher!"

Su Shi strode over, lowering his voice, his tone filled with barely concealed excitement:

"It went so smoothly! That template is simply divine! When I was writing, it felt like I was just filling in the blanks; I didn't need to think about the structure at all, I just kept filling in the blanks!"

Zeng Gong nodded in agreement: "I believe this essay is three points better than my usual practice essays."

Su Zhe breathed a sigh of relief: "We didn't need the brocade pouch; we'll save it for tomorrow."

Looking at the three of them, Jiang Lin finally felt a huge weight lifted from his heart.

He pulled out three still-warm meat buns from his pocket (which he had just bought from a roadside stall):

"Alright, stop reviewing. The first round was just an appetizer; these rote memorization questions won't create a significant difference in performance."

His gaze fell into the depths of the county school, where the examiners were sealing the papers.

"tomorrow……"

Jiang Lin took a bite of the steamed bun, his eyes narrowing slightly:

"Tomorrow's poetry will be your true slaughterhouse."

……

At this moment, inside the Minglun Hall of the county school.

Dozens of clerks are covering up the candidates' names, preparing to send the exam papers to the examiners for grading.

One of the deputy examiners in charge of the preliminary review picked up the top paper at random.

He was a little sleepy and glanced at the first line absentmindedly.

Suddenly, his hand trembled.

"This problem..."

He sat up straight and continued reading.

The more he looked, the wider his eyes widened.

This structure...I've never seen anything like it before!

The parallelism is so perfect it's outrageous, the logic is so rigorous it's impeccable, and the style is magnificent and easy to read aloud!

"Great article!"

The deputy examiner couldn't help but slap the table in admiration, drawing the attention of his colleagues.

"What's wrong? Did you see a good test paper?"

"This...this is more than just a good paper!" The assistant examiner exclaimed, his beard trembling with excitement. "It's as if...as if this essay was written specifically for the imperial examinations!"

He glanced at the obscured name and thought to himself:

"If this child doesn't have the talent to become the top scholar, I'll eat this inkstone!"

The handwriting on that scroll was elegant and lively, and it was written by Su Shi.