Chapter 75 "My lord, I have found a scroll..."
What should I do if I guessed the questions correctly for the big exam?
The moment Fusu saw the question, he gasped. He finally understood why the reaction in the exam hall had been so strong, while the invigilators had remained unmoved. Instead of the elation of guessing the question correctly, a faint sense of worry welled up within him.
Hopefully, many people won't underperform today.
Unlike him, many of the candidates in the autumn imperial examinations came from impoverished families, such as Zeng Gong and Li Guanlan. They genuinely needed the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations) to make a living. If they had studied diligently for over a decade, only to fail on this seemingly unrelated question, their morale would probably be quite low.
After all, when the word "border affairs" is mentioned, everyone immediately thinks of the Liao or Western Xia kingdoms to the north. They are the greatest border threats facing the Song Dynasty. In previous years, military strategies were all based on these two regions, asking candidates to discuss how to defend the border troops and how to prevent future troubles. Almost no one cared about the southwestern region, with its complex terrain, numerous small states, and mixed ethnicities, where even the central government adopted a policy of appeasement.
Except for this year.
Fusu sighed softly, but his hands didn't slacken at all, and he began to quickly write down the previous policy essays on agriculture, sericulture, and water conservancy. As he wrote, he suddenly realized that the last question wasn't actually that obscure.
At least, two days before the autumn imperial examination, he overheard his fellow students at the Imperial Academy discussing the court's conscription of a large army to quell the rebellion in Guangyuan Prefecture. Two of his fellow students even discussed Di Qing's background and experiences. This suggests that the choice of commander-in-chief was not a secret and could be easily determined with a little research.
Moreover, the previous day's Confucian classics exam included a question from the *Gongyang Commentary* on the theme "Even a nine-generation feud can be avenged." Emperor Wu of Han was the first emperor to conquer Nanyue, manage the southwest, and bring Yunnan and Guizhou, which would later become part of the Central Plains. Isn't this a kind of indirect reminder?
Even if they were not very familiar with Nong Zhigao's rebellion, Emperor Zhenzong promoted Champa rice during his reign. Dali also maintained a stable annual tribute to the Song Dynasty, and Dali merchants firmly held a place in the streets of Bianjing.
Therefore, the question "How did the Song Dynasty handle its relationship with the people on the southwestern border?" may seem like an obscure topic, but it is actually a challenging selection question that tests the candidates' daily understanding of national affairs, the people's livelihood, and even their quick wit and adaptability.
As expected, after the initial scratching of their heads, the students in the examination room began frantically searching for material in their brain cells.
Those who have heard of "Champa rice" should write that they should cultivate good relations with the people of the northwest border regions and introduce this species, just as Zhang Qian brought back grapes, potatoes, coriander, and other crops that were unheard of in the Central Plains from the Western Regions.
Those familiar with the details of Nong Zhigao's rebellion and Di Qing's suppression of it have divided into two camps. The first camp takes a more hardline stance, arguing that force is necessary to subjugate surrounding states. They believe Nong Zhigao's rebellion challenged the authority of the Song Dynasty, and only victory could deter the rebellion. The second camp, however, believes that the legitimate Chinese nation has a long-standing tradition of "pacifying distant peoples," and that winning over border residents requires education, ensuring they eat Song rice and learn Song characters.
As for Fusu?
Fusu was rather greedy; he wrote everything.
First, they discussed the historical relationship between the central government and the southwest, citing Zhao Tuo's establishment of the Nanyue Kingdom based on 200,000 Qin soldiers—Fusu felt a pang of sadness at this point. Alas, 200,000 Qin citizens—that was only 100,000 fewer than the border troops he had when he was supervising the army in Shangzhou.
He then listed the abundant products of the southwestern border regions: tea, Yunnan horses, medicinal herbs, trees, etc., to demonstrate the rationale for the Song Dynasty to maintain trade relations with the people and numerous small states in the southwest. He also cited the examples of Zhang Qian and Emperor Zhenzong to emphasize the necessity of introducing new species. It's a pity that the existence of cotton had to be kept secret for the time being, otherwise he would definitely have written about it.
Building upon this, let's discuss the causes and consequences of Nong Zhigao's rebellion—while the Song Dynasty's appeasement policy proved to be a failure, the arrogance of the Li Dynasty of Jiaozhi, which had killed Nong Zhigao's father, was the true culprit. This time, the Song Dynasty's pacification army not only aimed to eliminate Nong Zhigao, who was terrorizing Song territory, but also to deter and even threaten the Li Dynasty of Jiaozhi, ensuring they would never dare to act arrogantly again.
He spoke on his own behalf, believing that General Di Qing could definitely accomplish it.
As for the last point, Fusu pondered for a while before writing down the words "abolition of the native chieftain system and its replacement with direct imperial administration." The real obstacle preventing the border people from turning towards the Song Dynasty was not themselves, but the local chieftain families. They naturally hoped that their subjects would "not even know of the existence of the Song Dynasty," which contradicted the court's expectations. Therefore, to truly win over the border people, the abolition of the native chieftain system and its replacement with direct imperial administration was imperative.
However, the local chieftain families were powerful and influential, controlling the thoughts of the border people through religion and other means. Therefore, the "abolition of the chieftain system and its replacement with direct imperial administration" was not a task that could be accomplished overnight, but rather a massive project requiring gradual implementation. But as mentioned earlier, strengthening trade with the border people would eventually leave an impression of the Song Dynasty on them. And this might just be the fulcrum that could unlock the "abolition of the chieftain system and its replacement with direct imperial administration."
"call……"
After writing the last word, Fusu stopped and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had so much to say, and writing it all down would take quite a while; the intense mental activity had also left him feeling empty. But this time, he wasn't as leisurely as he had been the first time. He grabbed a handful of fried dough twists and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing as he quickly organized his drafts before beginning to copy them.
His hand ached from copying, and he kept looking up at the candlelight as he worked, finally stopping just before the exam ended, with about an incense stick's worth of time remaining. He then began checking the previous material.
Indeed, in his previous essay question about water conservancy, he even provided a formula, just like a modern word problem, giving the exact length of the dam—much like word problems in later mathematics. However, compared to things like Army A chasing Army B, or water flowing from one pipe while gushing from the other, the Song Dynasty was still a minor player.
He checked his calculations to make sure there were no mistakes, and then discovered that he hadn't checked for any errors or typos. Just then, the candle was about to burn out. The clerks shouted, "The examination is over!" and rushed into each examination room to collect the exam papers. Only after this was done did they allow the students, who had been trapped in this small space, to go home.
Amidst the surging crowd, Fusu spotted several pale, dejected faces, looking as if they had lost their parents. He didn't see Yan Jidao; perhaps he had been separated from them by the crowd. But when he reunited with his fellow students outside the examination room, he found that they all looked quite well.
"It's all thanks to you, Zhao Xiaolang!" Li Guanlan rubbed his hands together, looking like he had just escaped a disaster. "If you hadn't been constantly reminding us about Guangyuan Prefecture and the commander-in-chief, we wouldn't have paid any attention to the southwest."
"...I didn't! I only said that once!"
Fusu blushed slightly and argued.
He was very careful not to mention too many important court matters in front of his senior brothers. What if he revealed that he knew too much and accidentally exposed himself?
"Alright, since you, Zhao Xiaolang, are unwilling to take credit, shall I?" Fan Chunren's eyes crinkled into a smile. "In my letter to Father, he did mention the suppression of the rebellion in the southwest. General Di, the commander-in-chief of the army, was recommended by him. But Father is also puzzled. Could it be that someone in the capital has also heard of General Di's extraordinary bravery? The conditions listed by the recommender seem to be tailored to General Di's strengths."
"My father ordered me to inquire about the situation in the capital, but unfortunately I was not capable enough and could not find out anything."
Where Fan Chunren couldn't see, Fusu guiltily averted his eyes, pretending to be absentmindedly watching birds flying in the blue sky, but actually thinking to himself: Senior brother, of course you wouldn't find out. That was a secret letter between me and the Emperor; it would be strange if anyone else could see it.
However, from these words, it can be inferred that at least his friends performed quite well. At least they all had something to write about on the last question. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Su Shi suggested, "Why don't we go back to the Imperial Academy first? We can talk about everything on the way."
He glanced back at the cramped, honeycomb-like examination room, and sniffed his sleeve with a sigh: "Then I'll go back and take a good bath. I've really had enough."
"After we wash ourselves clean, let's go to Xiangguo Temple Night Market and have a good meal together, hehe!"
This statement was immediately met with unanimous approval.
After this autumn imperial examination, everyone understood why the examination rooms were so infamous. They were simply too small and suffocating. It was bearable for children, but even adults had difficulty bending their legs inside. What was worse, if one passed this time, they would have to return to the same place next spring to endure this torture again.
Fusu said quietly, "That's still better than failing the imperial examination and having to come here to be tortured at my own expense every three years."
"Hiss." Su Shi gasped. "You're right. Zhao Xiaolang, I'm going to Xiangguo Temple tomorrow, no, tonight, to pray to the God of Literature and ask him to bless me so that I can pass the imperial examination this time."
“But you’ve already handed in your paper.” Fusu, displaying the ruthless style of a materialist, coldly exposed the truth: “It’s no use praying to any more bodhisattvas.”
"...But there's still the grading, isn't there? What if the Star Lord blesses me and the grading teacher finds me pleasing to the eye?"
Having just finished a major exam, they were incredibly relaxed, joking and chatting freely on their way home. Meanwhile, the marking team was already working feverishly.
Ouyang Xiu was the chief examiner for this autumn imperial examination.
The examiner was originally to be Fu Bi, but unfortunately, because Yan Jidao, the seventh son of Yan Shu, was going to participate in this autumn examination, Fu Bi, as Yan Shu's son-in-law and Yan Jidao's brother-in-law, had to avoid suspicion. So the responsibility of the examiner fell on Fu Bi's shoulders.
Last year, his essay "On Factions" made him a sensation in the Song Dynasty, solidifying his status as a leading figure in the literary world. Having him as an examiner this autumn will benefit all the students participating. At the very least, wouldn't it sound impressive to have the literary patriarch read your paper?
Unfortunately, this batch of candidates failed to satisfy Ouyang Xiu.
There's no other reason than that I answered the policy essay question very poorly.
Some papers consist of only a few words, while others are filled with clichés like "barbarians are like the Chinese, yet they are Chinese," without mentioning the southwestern border at all, clearly showing a complete lack of understanding of that region. Still others only know a few fragments, presenting a very one-sided view, and yet these are considered among the best papers on the exam.
Suddenly, a cry of surprise came from not far away.
He immediately stood up: "What's wrong? What happened?"
"It's nothing, sir. I just happened to find a test paper... Would you like to take a look at this?"
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Author's Note: Finally reached 300,000 words! This chapter will receive a 20 RMB red envelope (▽｀)
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