Chapter 143 [VIP]
The preliminary exam, like the provincial exam, consists of five sessions and can be completed in two days.
Students were searched before entering the examination hall. Any student found cheating would not only have their grades canceled, but their title of "Student of Subsidized Meal" would also be revoked. In severe cases, they would even be expelled. Therefore, almost no one dared to cheat.
The morning exam consisted of composing classic texts and interpreting them in calligraphy; the afternoon exam consisted of poetry and prose and interpreting classic texts; the following morning was the exam on policy essays; and the results were released three days after all five exams were completed.
Needless to say, the tests on copying scriptures and interpreting meanings of calligraphy both tested basic knowledge. The Chen brothers' greatest strength was their excellent memory; the three of them could almost never forget the knowledge that required rote memorization.
The poetry and prose examination differs slightly from the county and prefectural examinations, which use scenery as the theme. The topic is "Feelings Upon Hearing of Border Beacon Fires," a five-character, six-line regulated verse.
It must take the loyalty of Du Fu's "The Generals" as its core and the earnestness of Bai Juyi's "Qin Zhong Yin" as its spirit. It may describe the suffering of soldiers on the frontier, pity the hardships of farmers, think of the talents of officials, or discuss the strategies of the court.
This question tests whether the candidate has a heart for farming and aspirations for the common people. The parallelism must be perfect, but the meaning should not be sacrificed for the sake of the words, resulting in empty and superficial language or mere embellishment.
Chen Qingyan is best at writing factual poems; when asked to write landscape or lyrical poems, he is actually quite average.
Since it's about the frontier, war is naturally an essential element.
The Wu Dynasty has been established for over a hundred years and can be considered a period of peace, but wars continue to rage on the borders.
Take a few years ago as an example, when the Northern Qiang invaded and occupied Xizhou and Tingzhou.
Although these two prefectures are mostly inhabited by non-Han people, they have been part of China since ancient times, and their unique location is right on the westward trade route.
The emperor ordered the Northwest Army to recover the lost territory. It is said that it took more than a year and resulted in the loss of several thousand soldiers. In the end, they only managed to recover two empty cities.
Because some of the people of Xizhou and Tingzhou were killed by the Qiang people, half fled to Loulan and Kucha, and only a small number returned to their hometowns after the Wu Dynasty recovered the lost territories.
This battle sparked great discussion in the court, with many civil officials feeling that it was pointless to waste money and grain on such a war.
Xizhou is a hundred and eight thousand miles away from the Central Plains. The land there is barren and mostly desert, so there is really no point in attacking it.
The military generals, however, had a different idea. The Tianshan Mountains lay outside Tingzhou and Xizhou, a natural barrier. If they were allowed to be occupied by foreign tribes, they could easily regroup and invade the Central Plains later.
The arguments went on and on without any resolution, but it seemed the Emperor had no intention of giving up. He continued to pour a lot of money into the Northwest Army every year, with the aim of defending the two prefectures of Xiting.
That said, Chen Qingyan had learned about these facts from Elder Liang, which made writing poetry much easier for him.
After pondering for a while, I picked up my pen and began to write: "Autumn comes early to the frontier, the dust of the borderlands obscures the sun. The bugle sounds from the watchtower, a sick horse lies in the setting sun. The bones of warriors have been buried in the wilderness for a long time, their battle clothes are sent far away in haste. When will the beacon fires cease, and the horses return to the sunny side of Mount Hua?"
To produce such a poem in such a short time is truly outstanding.
Fang Wenke, who was also ranked first in the examination, was stumped. He usually wrote poems about romance, nature, fish and birds, and rarely wrote poems about real events.
For a moment, I was scratching my head, unsure of how to begin writing.
As the incense burned shorter and shorter, with less than half an hour left before it ended, Fang Wenke reluctantly picked up his pen and began to write.
"Beacon fires illuminate the clouds and peaks, scholars weep deeply, the border town hears the mournful sound of flutes, and the cold pestle beats against the homesick heart. The soldiers on the frontier have meager clothing and food, and the poor live under heavy taxes. Who can offer a strategy for securing the border? I can only remember the Marquis of Dingyuan."
The poem does rhyme, but it mentions someone who shouldn't be mentioned—the Marquis of Dingyuan.
This man was a famous general of the previous dynasty who once led troops to drive out the Xiongnu, and he was indeed very famous among the people.
But this is the Wu Dynasty now, what do you mean by mentioning famous generals from the previous dynasty? Especially since you added the phrase "who presented the strategy for pacifying the border."
Fortunately, it was just a minor exam at the prefectural school. If this poem had been written for the provincial examination, it would have been considered treasonous and he would most likely have been punished!
Fang Wenke had just finished copying the paper when time was up. Without time to make any corrections, he handed it in in a daze.
Because of this poor performance, she also didn't do well on the policy question the following day.
After the minor exam, it just so happened that Elder Liang had also returned from his travels. Instead of going straight back, he went to the prefectural school to find Lu Zhongqi.
The two sat on rattan chairs outside the library, fanning themselves and chatting.
"You seem to have it easy, going wherever you want. How was your trip? Did you encounter anything interesting?"
Liang Boqing took a sip of tea and said, "I didn't encounter anything interesting, but I did run into quite a few bandits and outlaws."
Because of last year's floods, many severely affected areas are struggling to survive, and some people have resorted to crime, such as highway robbery.
"When we reached Shanguang, we couldn't sleep at all. Bandits came in waves like locusts at night. They didn't hurt people, but they stole things and carriages. Fortunately, Chen Guang was with us to protect us, and we returned safely without any major incidents."
Old Lu asked sarcastically, "Are you still going out?"
"We still have to go out. If we don't go out and see the world, we'll be like deaf and blind people, knowing nothing. Only by going out can we understand the affairs of the world."
"I really envy you. I've gotten older these past few years and my health is deteriorating day by day. I'm too lazy to go out and move around anymore."
"I envy you, living a leisurely and carefree life teaching at the prefectural school while taking care of your children and grandchildren."
"You're coming to teach too? You'll see if the dean will welcome you to the academy with a grand procession of eight men carrying you."
Liang Boqing waved his hand with a smile, "Forget it, I'm already exhausted from teaching these three blockheads. If I were to teach a whole bunch of wooden stakes, I'd be so angry I'd die of anger long ago."
"Alas, you can't say that. The teachers at the prefectural school all praised the three of them for their exceptional intelligence and diligence."
"I wouldn't say they're exceptionally intelligent, but they are certainly very diligent. Ever since I started teaching them, these children have been studying and working hard every day, which is quite remarkable."
Lu Zhongqi said, "Let's see how this small test goes. Qingyan and Qinghuai will definitely get good results."
If the top ten students in the prefectural school perform normally in the provincial examination, it is generally assumed that they will pass the provincial examination and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination). Therefore, both of them attached great importance to this minor examination.
How is Changyi?
Mentioning his apprentice, Lu Lao gets a headache. "He's smart enough, but he lacks pressure. He's always just a step away from success, and I don't know if he'll do well on this exam."
Liang Boqing chuckled. "Don't worry, the pressure will come soon."
What do you mean?
"The Liu family and the Chen family are about to get married. My wife's brothers are all working so hard. If he is not as good as Chen Qingyan and the others, I'm afraid he will not be able to hold his head up in front of his wife."
"Really? That's great news!"
The two old men clapped their hands and laughed gleefully.
*
Three days later, the results of the quiz came out, and Chen Qingyan lived up to expectations and won first place!
His exam paper was posted on the wall for students from four classes (A, B, C, and D) to see. After everyone read the paper, they all nodded in agreement, convinced that he deserved to be number one.
Lin Zhen still came in second place. This kid had been outdone by Chen Qingyan three times in a row. He looked at the two papers with a distressed expression, trying to find his own shortcomings.
The third place went to Yun Huainan, a candidate from the previous year. He was a few years older than them, already twenty-eight. It was said that he only passed the preliminary examination at the age of twenty-five, and then went on to pass the county-level examination in one go. He came in second place in the previous provincial examination, so he can be considered a late bloomer.
Chen Qinghuai ranked tenth, which was unexpected, and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
But upon closer examination, all those who ranked ahead of him were outstanding elites, so there's nothing to regret.
Chen Qinghuai clenched his fist and secretly vowed that he must work hard to catch up with his older brother and at least get into the top five in the next quiz!
Liu Changyi ranked thirteenth, which is his best result in the past two years. He jumped up excitedly when he saw the ranking. You know, he ranked thirty-sixth in the last small test and almost fell out of the top class!
Chen Qingsong ranked thirty-ninth, just barely making it into Class A with the last two spots! This was something none of the three of them had expected.
Chen Qingyan rubbed his younger brother's head and said, "Good lad, you've been working hard on your own!"
Chen Qingsong grinned from ear to ear, “My brothers are all in Class A, so I have to keep up too, otherwise everyone will forget that there are three brothers in the Chen family!”
Fang Wenke was probably the only one who failed this small test.
He knew he hadn't written a good poem, so when he looked at the rankings, he skipped the top ten and started looking for his name in the middle, but he couldn't find it after searching for a long time.
He looked at it again in disbelief, and when he saw the name of Chen Qingyan, who was in first place, it hurt his eyes. He quickly looked down, but his name was still not in the top forty.
“Impossible…” Fang Wenke murmured.
My friend standing next to me suddenly asked, "Humanities major, how did you end up in Class B?"
Fang Wenke's gaze shifted to the second-ranked list next to him, where he was shockingly ranked third... Overwhelmed with shame and indignation, he turned and ran away.
No one paid any attention to him except a few close friends who went over to comfort him.
"Don't be sad, humanities student. With your level, you're definitely more than just a second-class student. Maybe you can do better next time if you didn't perform well this time."
"Yes, I'm sure I can pass the test again next time."
Fang Wenke found these words piercing and felt increasingly angry. No matter how bad he was, he couldn't possibly fall out of the top class. Was he really not as good as the youngest student in the Chen family?
"There's definitely something wrong with this ranking. I'll go ask the teachers!" Fang Wenke hurried towards the rooms where the teachers were resting.
Before even knocking, I could hear several people inside talking about me.
"Wasn't Fang Wenke the top student in the previous year? How did he end up in Class B?"
“He didn’t do well on the test this time. Look at this poem he wrote.”
Several teachers gathered together and read it aloud once, their expressions instantly changing. "Quickly put it away so no one else can see it!"
"He's incredibly audacious to write about generals from the previous dynasty. If this gets out, he might ruin his chances of passing the imperial examinations!"
Upon hearing this, Fang Wenke, who was standing outside the door, felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water, chilled to the bone. Recalling the verses he had written, his scalp tingled...
"What's wrong with him? He's been doing worse and worse on these quizzes."
Master Du from Class A lamented, “This child doesn’t focus on his studies. He boasts of his talent and spends all day comparing his writing style with others. I’ve told him twice, but he doesn’t take it to heart at all. I’m afraid he’ll have a hard time passing the provincial examination.”
Fang Wenke left dejectedly. He knew that there was something wrong with his mentality. Ever since that poetry gathering, he had been unconsciously comparing himself to the Chen brothers and was jealous of their famous teacher.
To this end, he befriended many "talented men," and together they composed poems, painted pictures, and praised each other to prove that he was better than the Chen brothers.
Over time, his studies suffered. He used to be in the top three in small tests, but this year he couldn't even stay in the top ten. This sudden drop to Class B was like a heavy hammer that instantly woke him up.
I studied for so many years not to prove my talent, but to pass the imperial examinations and become an official.
After figuring things out, Fang Wenke was full of fighting spirit and determined to get back into Class A in the next quiz!
The Chen brothers were unaware of Fang Wenke's change of heart, as they had taken a few days off and were about to celebrate Qingyun and Liu Changyi's engagement.
A note from the author:
Chen Qingyan: Exam King
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