Chapter 770: A Difficult Examination

The civil service examination was held in a military camp outside the garrison city. The military academy and civil academy were on the eastern road of Xuanfu Garrison, a bit too far. Other places like the garrison city examination hall and the Confucian temple could hardly accommodate several thousand people taking the exam at the same time, so it had to be held in the military camp.

The mess halls inside the military camp were especially bright, clean, and tidy — perfect for use as examination halls. Now that the main army was continuously marching beyond the frontier, the garrison city's military camp had emptied out considerably, and many mess halls were even more vacant.

These examinees had all been notified beforehand that the Xuanfu Garrison examination was different from the rest. Although it lasted two consecutive days, it was not a matter of staying for days on end, eating and sleeping inside. Rather, they took one session in the morning and one session in the afternoon, then returned to their inns to rest after finishing.

Moreover, after the morning session, lunch was provided inside the military camp, so there was no need to bring bedding or eating utensils.

The notice the examinees received was that on the twenty-second, the morning session ran from the middle of the chen hour to the middle of the wu hour, and the afternoon session from the middle of the wei hour to the middle of the you hour. Then tomorrow morning they would take one more session, and the civil service examination would be over.

Facing a major turning point in their fate, Zhao Zhongju and the others were tense. So when the sky was barely bright and they followed the scholars to the Juxian Pavilion Grand Restaurant for breakfast, they found the food rather tasteless.

The breakfast was actually quite good — plain congee and small dishes, and each person even got an egg. It was well-balanced and nutritious, but Zhao Zhongju and the others were simply too nervous.

And like him, many people had bloodshot eyes and pale, ashen faces, clearly the result of staying up late studying the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, the Great Ming Code, and other texts.

"Papa, you must do well on the exam. Cher wants to stay in Xuanfu Garrison and drink congee and eat eggs every day."

His daughter Cher drank her congee and spoke to her father with childlike innocence.

His wife scolded, "Cher, just drink your congee. Don't make things difficult for your father."

She said gently to Zhao Zhongju, "Husband, just take the exam with peace of mind... even if you don't pass this time, you can take it again next time. I can still grind bean curd in Xuanfu Garrison, so you can study and take exams without worry."

Zhao Zhongju trembled. Looking at his wife's thin, sallow, withered face, a sudden surge of guilt welled up in his heart.

She had once been so graceful and beautiful, but now she was so haggard. It was all because year after year she had supported his studies. As a grown man, yet he had made his wife bear the pillar of the household's livelihood — he was deeply ashamed.

He seemed to let go of something in his heart and said with a bright laugh, "My wife is right. I shall take the exam with peace of mind. Even if I don't pass... it's no great matter. I am well-read in the sages' books. Even teaching elementary studies at a Xuan Garrison academy, I would not starve."

A moment of quiet fell around them. Many people, like Zhao Zhongju, seemed to let go of something and laughed, saying, "This brother speaks truly. If you don't pass the civil service exam, can you not go on living? Xuan Garrison has so many opportunities — there is always a way to survive."

Someone even praised, "Brother Zhao has a worthy helper at home. We are all envious."

This made Zhao Zhongju's wife a bit bashful. Zhao Zhongju laughed heartily, feeling proud. With a virtuous wife at home, what more could a husband say?

At the same time, many people's nervousness faded. Indeed, if they didn't pass, would the sky fall? Would they die? These past few days they had truly been frightening themselves.

On that floor of the building, many people set their minds at ease and peacefully drank their congee and ate their eggs, amid a chorus of slurping sounds.

With his worries gone, Zhao Zhongju's appetite opened wide. He finished his portion in a few big gulps, and at the same time licked his vegetable plate and congee bowl perfectly clean, leaving not a single scrap or drop behind.

Looking around at the surrounding scholars, all were the same. Everyone's plates were gleaming white and bright — clean without even needing to be washed.

With the Great Ming suffering drought everywhere these days, how hard was it to eat and drink one's fill? So the scholars all cherished the food before them.

He set down his bowl and chopsticks comfortably and saw that his daughter had also eaten her fill, though some leftover congee broth still remained in her bowl. Zhao Zhongju earnestly taught her, "Cher, you must not waste. For every meal and every morsel, you should remember that it does not come easily."

He took his daughter's congee bowl and licked the leftover congee broth inside clean.

After breakfast, there were designated clerks to lead these scholars from the Yingfu Inn to the examination site. Beforehand, they were instructed to take good hold of their examination placards — without a placard, they would not be admitted.

As Zhao Zhongju's group walked along the street, people constantly merged into their ranks along the way — all scholars staying at other inns. Although the sky was only faintly bright, the garrison city streets were already bustling. After all, today was the day the civil service examination began, and countless commoners, officials, and officers were paying attention.

There were also local examinees, continuously sent off in person by their families — a scene that moved one to tears, with mothers seeing off sons and wives seeing off husbands. Most of their families would accompany them all the way to the examination site entrance, then could go no further.

Zhao Zhongju's wife and daughter each clutched a corner of his robe, one on the left and one on the right, sending him off with words the whole way. Liu Dongyang's family had also turned out in full force — his wife, his son and daughter, his parents, and his younger sister would all accompany him all the way to the examination hall gate.

After exiting the city gate, it was an even more vast and surging stream of people — all examinees and their families. On both sides of the road, countless commoners stood watching and pointing, guessing how many people would pass this time.

In the northeast of the garrison city lay an enormous military camp, a large part of which had been vacated to serve as the examination site. A horizontal banner was stretched across the main gate, and armored and helmeted Jingbian Army soldiers stood guard, each holding a firelock in hand. The atmosphere was solemn.

The scholars continuously gathered, assembling according to the directions on their examination placards — mass after mass of dark, dense crowds gathering on the flat ground outside the examination site.

Holding their placards, each and every one nervously awaited the arrival of the examination hour.

At last the chen hour arrived. Several signal cannon blasts sounded within the military camp examination site — the time to enter had come. Immediately the barricade gate opened. Zhao Zhongju and the others, holding their examination placards and carrying their examination boxes on their backs, filed in one after another. Behind them rose a chorus of voices.

"Husband, do well on the exam!"

"My son, do well on the exam..."

Hoping one's husband would become a dragon, hoping one's son would become a dragon — unchanged for thousands of years.

Zhao Zhongju, Liu Dongyang, and the others were veterans of examination "battles" and naturally knew all the rules of the examination site. Before entering the examination cells, a body search was mandatory. And here, anything smuggled in for cheating would be discovered, after which one's academic registration would be revoked and one would be barred from taking examinations for life.

And this kind of body search was naturally rather humiliating — being felt from head to toe by the searching soldiers, even having one's rear hole probed a few times to prevent anything from being stuffed inside. Each person's examination basket and box were also checked and rechecked to prevent hidden compartments. Even each person's writing brush would be taken out and examined to see if it was hollow.

In short, it was extremely strict and utterly devoid of dignity. Moreover, the examination cells were low, cramped, and narrow — one could not stand straight, could not lie down to sleep, could not turn comfortably. For the several days of the examination, one ate, drank, defecated, urinated, and slept all inside. It was truly comparable to sitting in prison.

But to become an official through the imperial examinations, this ordeal was necessary. Yet here at the Xuanfu Garrison civil service examination, there was no body search procedure whatsoever. The examinees simply passed straight through.

Many felt a moment of joy, but at the same time a chill in their hearts. It seemed the Xuan Garrison authorities were extremely confident in their exam questions, certain that even if examinees cheated, it would be useless.

The examinees passed through the main gate and headed straight for their examination rooms. Along the way, soldiers or clerks guided them from time to time. Zhao Zhongju, Liu Dongyang, Huang Bowen, Li Tanran, and the others were led to their examination room. It turned out to be a Jingbian Army mess hall — clean, bright, and tidy inside, with rows of large, spacious desks and matching armchairs.

Beside each desk, a stove had also been placed, so that if one's hands and feet grew cold, one could warm them. This style of examination hall rather surprised Zhao Zhongju and the others, but they had no time to look around more. They quickly followed the numbers on their placards to find their own desks. Each desk had the examinee's examination number posted on it, also arranged using the Thousand Character Classic.

As everyone took their seats, they took out their brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones while looking around. Amid their novelty, they all thought, "With everyone in one room like this, wouldn't it be very easy to cheat off each other?"

A host of cheating methods immediately surfaced in their minds — tossing little paper balls, or looking up, down, left, and right. But these desks were placed quite far apart. To look at each other's papers required very good eyesight. And there were proctors patrolling the room — presumably the Xuanfu Garrison authorities had anticipated this point.

Better to focus on the exam. Everyone settled their minds and waited patiently.

If nothing else, this kind of examination hall was indeed far more comfortable than the exams they had taken before. It was not like sitting in prison, but a proper assessment of learning, reflecting the Xuanfu Garrison local authorities' respect for scholars.

Soon, the middle of the chen hour arrived. With the sound of signal cannons, proctors with stern expressions and personnel distributing examination papers entered each examination room one after another...

Zhao Zhongju and the others could not wait to open their examination paper bags. Before opening them, they felt that the paper bags were far too thick.

After opening them, they took out the question papers and answer sheets and looked. Many people could not help but stare blankly.

After the examinees had entered, Wang Dou also led the various staff members of the garrison city into the military camp examination site. Vice Protector Li Banghua accompanied him as well.

Wang Dou naturally attached great importance to this civil service examination. Looking at an examination room not far away, he mused leisurely, "This civil service examination — I wonder if any talents who dazzle the eye will emerge?"

Zhao Zhongju and the others were not newcomers to the examination site. Many had fought many battles before. In their impression, although the imperial examinations might have several dozen questions, the essays one actually wrote were only a few of them. The essays that needed to be written might number fewer than ten.

But observing Xuanfu Garrison, it was different. They only saw examination questions densely packed — all questions that needed to be answered, making one's scalp tingle just looking at them. Moreover, a single total sheet listed all the examination questions, and then for each question or group of questions, one or several answer sheets were provided, along with some sheets of scratch paper.

The eight-legged essay strictly adhered to a set format, not to be deviated from in the slightest. Completing it in the end could leave one mentally and physically exhausted. But observing Xuanfu Garrison's examination questions, they won by sheer volume — also no simple or easy matter. There were also points to note, such as when answering questions, one must use the punctuation marks of Xuanfu Garrison.

Gazing at the densely packed exam questions, many felt a wave of dizziness. Fortunately, having weathered countless “examination” trials, their mental fortitude remained strong. Each person steadied their mind and began carefully reviewing the papers and questions.

At a rough first glance, many nodded inwardly. The Xuanfu Garrison’s questions were clear and straightforward, unlike the imperial examinations, where after centuries of exhausting every possible topic, questions were often truncated and jumbled, forcing candidates to spend ages just deciphering what was being asked.

Yet when it came to answering, those who had rigidly studied the eight-legged essay still groaned inwardly, for the scope of these questions was simply too broad. Confucianism, humanities, worldly affairs, society, administration — everything was covered. It seemed that apart from daily accumulation of knowledge, rote learning was utterly useless.

No wonder the exam hall did not fear candidates cheating, for even if one smuggled in the Four Books and Five Classics, they would be of no use whatsoever.

Some questions even incorporated law and a touch of military matters. For instance, one question stated: “In the Tang dynasty, a county magistrate, when hearing a case, was offered a gift by someone, and he ruled: ‘The principle is forgivable, the circumstances are understandable.’ Another person offered a gift, and he ruled: ‘The circumstances are understandable, the principle is forgivable.’… If you were the county magistrate, what would your verdict be? Answer in no more than one hundred characters.”

“What would my verdict be?”

Zhao Zhongju’s eyes stared blankly; for a long time, he could not set brush to paper.

Another question: “Li Qingzhao sued her second husband, yet was instead sentenced to prison. If you were the presiding official, what would your judgment be?”

And there was a military judgment question: “Bandit slaves drive women and children to assault the formation. If you open fire, the women and children die, but our troops live. If you do not open fire, the women and children live, but our troops are annihilated. What is your choice? You must decide within ten breaths. Give your order now. Immediately. At once!”

Zhao Zhongju’s hands trembled. Before his eyes seemed to flash the overwhelming wails of women and children driven against the formation. Among them might be children the same age as his own daughter, herded forward, beaten onward. Behind them, the Tartar soldiers, eyeing hungrily, arrayed in strict battle order.

And his own soldiers, anxiously awaiting his command — to open fire, or not to open fire?

Along with Zhao Zhongju, many other candidates were reeling. Heavens, so these were the Xuanfu Garrison’s civil service examination questions — they seemed even harder than the Metropolitan Graduate exam.

Yet many still answered with swift strokes, such as Li Tanran, Huang Bowen, and others, for what was being tested was their grasp of human affairs and worldly wisdom, their analytical ability, and their own judgment and decisiveness.

For them, many questions posed no problem. But for those bookworms who shut their ears to the outside world and read only the sages’ books, their fate in this exam hall was destined to be miserable.

Fortunately, there were still some simple parts. For example, one question was to transcribe the Thousand Character Classic from memory, or optionally to write a poem by Li Bai about the northern barbarians.

Zhao Zhongju’s spirits lifted. He naturally chose the Thousand Character Classic. Phrases like “Heaven and earth were dark and yellow, the cosmos vast and wild; the sun and moon waxed and waned, the stars and constellations spread in array…” flowed slowly through his mind. He did not even need a draft, writing directly onto the answer sheet.

His brush calligraphy was elegant and upright, bearing a certain Tang-dynasty small-regular-script style.

……

Overall, when the morning examination concluded, sighs and blank stares were the majority. That afternoon, the exam seemed to focus on policy essays, and many candidates’ spirits lifted.

Writing expansively, flourishing brush and splashing ink, was their favorite activity. Yet upon receiving the questions, many again got headaches, for none of the topics, large or small, followed conventional logic. Many questions were arguably unprecedented in history, with no clue or trace to be found in any previous dynasty.

For example, this question: “There is a prefecture. At the founding of the dynasty, it had a registered population of over 340,000, and the annual summer tax and autumn grain levy totaled over 140,000 shi. Now it has a registered population of over 600,000, yet the annual summer tax and autumn grain levy totals 50,000 shi. What is the reason? Please explain.”

And this question: “What is responsibility? Please discuss the relationship between family and state.”

And this question: “Please expound on the necessity of universal taxation.”

These questions left Zhao Zhongju and the others utterly dazed and disoriented. Only after the papers were collected did they leave the exam hall in a daze, as if their souls had fled.

They could not even remember what they had written in their answers, only hoping that their responses would satisfy the examiners, and satisfy the Marquis of Yongning.

After they emerged from the exam hall, word of the exam questions spread outside, stirring an equally great uproar. All manner of “experts” instantly emerged, and countless people began analyzing the Xuanfu Garrison’s question style, forming experience for future examinations.

In truth, Zhao Zhongju and his cohort were the first batch to tread through this minefield. It was not without reason that later they would be revered as “senior predecessors.”

……

Setting aside the wailing that filled the land that day, the public outcry that the Xuanfu Garrison’s civil service assessment was perverse and many times harder than the imperial examinations of any previous dynasty — the second day’s exam was still held as scheduled.

Yesterday had tested classical Chinese, law, and worldly affairs, causing many candidates to inwardly curse “what a trap,” for there had truly been no pattern to follow. But today’s test was arithmetic — surely there would be a pattern to follow now?

Especially when word spread that today there was an arithmetic problem meticulously designed by the Marquis of Yongning himself, and that solving it would immediately earn one the treatment of a Researcher, many people summoned every ounce of their focus.

Again, sealed exam packets were distributed into the hands of Zhao Zhongju and the others. Opening them and looking at the first few questions, even those like Zhao Zhongju, weak in arithmetic, showed expressions of relieved smiles. Indeed, there was a pattern to follow.

“Now there are: a Physician, a Bugeng, a Zanniao, a Shangzao, and a Gongshi — five men in total. Together they hunted five deer. They wish to divide them according to rank. How many does each get?”

Such a simple problem — even Zhao Zhongju, after a few casual calculations on his abacus, worked it out: “The Physician gets one deer and two-thirds of a deer; the Bugeng gets one deer and one-third of a deer; the Zanniao gets one deer; the Shangzao gets two-thirds of a deer; the Gongshi gets one-third of a deer.”

“Now there is a square pyramid. The base side is two zhang seven chi; the height is two zhang nine chi. What is its volume?”

Zhao Zhongju calculated and answered: “Seven thousand forty-seven chi.”

Another question: “Now there is an ox, a horse, and a sheep that ate a man’s seedlings. The seedling owner demands five dou of millet as compensation. The sheep owner says: ‘My sheep ate half as much as the horse.’ The horse owner says: ‘My horse ate half as much as the ox.’ Now, wishing to compensate proportionally in decreasing amounts, how much should each pay?”

Zhao Zhongju furrowed his brow, his abacus beads clacking rapidly. Fortunately, he managed to calculate it in the end.

But the next strange question made Zhao Zhongju freeze. What? The epitaph of Diophantus?

The question read: “Passerby, here lie the ashes of Diophantus. The numbers below can tell you how long his life was: One-sixth of his life was a happy childhood; after another one-twelfth, fine beard grew upon his cheeks; Diophantus married, but had no children yet, and thus passed another one-seventh of his life; after five more years, he had his firstborn son and felt very happy; yet fate granted this child a brilliant life in this world only half as long as his father’s. After his son died, this old man lived four more years in deep sorrow, then ended his earthly journey… Please tell, how old was Diophantus when he died?”

This — Zhao Zhongju’s hand on the abacus did not move for a long time. His mind was a tangled mess.

“The tone of this question is a bit odd. Could it be from the Marquis of Yongning? But the problem itself is actually very simple. I shall use the Celestial Element Method to solve it!”

Huang Bowen, seated at a desk not far from Zhao Zhongju, had a glint flash in his eyes. He stroked his goatee, smiled calmly, and flicked a bead on his abacus, sending it flying. “I set the Celestial Element One as Diophantus’s age. Thus, increasing powers, decreasing powers, advancing left and right, charging straight through…”

His abacus clattered like a sudden rainstorm. In just a short time, he obtained the result and, brimming with confidence, filled in the answer sheet: “Eighty-four years old.”

Looking over at Liu Dongyang, Li Tanran, and the others, their faces also wore relaxed smiles. Their fingers nimbly worked the abacuses, and soon they too arrived at the same result.

For this kind of simple one-variable linear equation, there had been a dedicated Celestial Element Method since the Southern Song dynasty. For many candidates, it was not very difficult. Judging by the clatter of abacuses, in this exam room alone, over half the candidates solved the problem.

Later came another one-variable linear equation problem: “Measuring a well’s depth with a rope: when the rope is folded in three to measure, there are four chi of rope left outside the well. When the rope is folded in four to measure, there is one chi of rope left outside the well. What are the well’s depth and the rope’s length?”

Huang Bowen and the others also solved it easily. However, the subsequent questions gradually grew harder, slowly introducing two-variable and three-variable equations, and even the famous Hundred Chickens problem appeared — though not the original from Zhang Qiujian’s Mathematical Manual; the number of chicks had changed.

And in this exam room, only a handful — Huang Bowen, Liu Dongyang, Li Tanran — were still calculating. Each question was harder than the last, and they too began to feel dizzy.

Huang Bowen stared fixedly at the question: “Now there is: one rooster, worth ten qian; two hens, worth five qian…”

He took a deep breath: “I invoke the Four Elements Method… Set the Celestial Element, Earth Element, Human Element, and Matter Element as the four variables…”

His fingers flicked the abacus beads as he frowned, calculating this four-variable higher-order system of equations. After calculating for a long time, he finally got a result, but in his heart, he was no longer certain whether it was right or wrong.

And if these questions were already this hard, what would the arithmetic problem meticulously designed by the Marquis of Yongning, placed at the very end, be like?

“There is a number: when divided by three, the remainder is two; when divided by five, the remainder is three; when divided by seven, the remainder is two. What is this number?”

Huang Bowen shook his groggy head: “I invoke the Dayan Seeking One Method…”

“Now there is a triangular pile of fruit, worth one guan and three hundred twenty wen in total. It is said that the topmost fruit is worth two wen, and each layer downward, each fruit costs one wen more. How many fruits are on each side of the base?”

“I invoke the Pile Summation Method…”

By now, in the entire exam room, only Huang Bowen and Liu Dongyang were still calculating and answering. Li Tanran was still busy using the Four Elements Method to solve that chicken problem. (To be continued

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