bullyxtreme Chapter 308 The essay writing exam has officially begun!
Chapter 308 The essay writing exam has officially begun!
Standing in the center of the hall, Zhang Fan looked at the group of civil and military officials who were scratching their heads and sweating profusely with anxiety, and suddenly felt refreshed!
This is the culmination of the wisdom of the top "civil service exam experts" among China's 1.4 billion people!
It would be a piece of cake to crush these ancient bureaucrats.
Even Ying Zheng, standing on the high platform, felt dizzy and lightheaded looking at the exam paper in his hand.
It contains everything from astronomy and geography to logical reasoning, law and practical matters. Without extremely strong thinking ability and rich knowledge, one simply cannot begin writing it.
"Ahem!"
About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn has passed.
Zhang Fan glanced at the burnt-out incense sticks in the corner of the hall, coughed heavily twice, and loudly interrupted everyone's thoughts: "Time's up! The civil service exam is over!"
Upon hearing this, all the ministers were greatly shocked!
"What? That's it?"
"I've only done half of it! I haven't even figured out the last few derivation problems yet!"
The group of civil officials who had just mocked Zhang Fan now had ashen faces, holding their appalling exam papers, unsure how to answer them.
It was a complete defeat!
Just when they thought the embarrassment was over, Zhang Fan suddenly pulled out an even thicker stack of exam papers from his wide sleeves, grinned at the assembled officials, and revealed two rows of teeth:
"Oh, right, I almost forgot to tell you all."
"That test question was just the civil service exam section, prepared for county-level officials and minor bureaucrats!"
"This next one is for the county, prefectural, and palace examinations, the selection of high-ranking officials and key ministers of the state! It includes essay and policy essay questions! Gentlemen, please continue answering!"
"Whoosh!"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall gasped in surprise!
If the civil service exam is already that difficult, what kind of dazzling array of questions will the essay section for selecting high-ranking officials be?
Ying Zheng's curiosity was now fully piqued. With a wave of his hand, he impatiently ordered, "Curly! I want to see for myself what kind of principles of governance this essay is testing!"
Zhao Gao then led his men to distribute the exam papers again.
Upon receiving the exam papers, many civil servants, who had been on edge, breathed a sigh of relief after quickly glancing at the question types.
"I thought it was some kind of monster, but it's just an article!"
"You've scared me to death! When it comes to writing essays and policy proposals, who in the world can compare to the profound heritage of our aristocratic families?"
Inside the main hall, the officials from those aristocratic families whispered among themselves, their faces once again displaying an arrogant expression.
As long as it involves writing articles and testing literary knowledge, the children of these aristocratic families will definitely crush those poor students who haven't read many books to the bone!
Just as the ministers breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to pick up their pens and show off their literary talents...
in the crowd.
The usually taciturn Shaofu Zongyu turned deathly pale the moment he carefully read the question.
He abruptly raised his head, his voice trembling, and growled at the smug officials from the surrounding noble families:
"Don't get too excited! You...you should read the question carefully first!"
Upon being shouted at by Zong Yu, the civil officials frowned in displeasure and turned their attention back to the handwriting on the examination papers.
Upon seeing this, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence!
[Strategy Essay 1: "Pacifying and Reducing the Feudal Powers of the Former Clans of the Six States"]
[Question: The Qin Dynasty has unified China for several years, but the old powerful families of Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Han, and Wei still hold sway over their territories, cultivate retainers, and secretly gather popular support, harboring ambitions of restoration. If the court suppresses them, they will be forced into rebellion; if it lets them run rampant, they will become too powerful to control.]
Please discuss this with the scholars:
How can we gradually weaken the power of the former nobles of the six states without waging war or indiscriminate killing, thereby consolidating their power, disbanding their factions, and pacifying their people, thus permanently eliminating the threat of restoration? (Requirements: Provide a detailed and feasible strategy.)
"hiss!"
A collective gasp filled the hall.
This test wasn't about romance or poetry at all; it directly exposed the current internal problems plaguing the Qin Dynasty, demanding that scholars provide practical methods for weakening the regional powers and suppressing rebellions!
Before they could even recover from their shock, the second question was even more dazzling.
[Strategy Essay Two: A Strategy for Balancing the Xiongnu, Yuezhi, and Donghu in the Northern Frontier]
[Question: In the north today, the Xiongnu occupy the south of the Gobi Desert, the Yuezhi dominate the Hexi Corridor, and the Donghu are powerful in the Liaoxi Corridor. The three groups are very different. If the Qin Dynasty launches a large-scale northern expedition, it will consume money and grain and exhaust the people; if it garrisones the area for a long time, it will impose heavy corvée labor and easily cause resentment among the people.]
Please discuss this with the scholars:
What strategy should the Qin Dynasty employ to unite one force against another, sow discord among the three sides, weaken the enemy without fighting, fortify the Great Wall, and secure the border regions?
The entire room fell silent!
All the civil officials were dumbfounded!
This requires a strategic vision and a thorough understanding of border defense and military affairs. How could those scions of noble families who only know how to memorize classics write such military strategies?
But this is still just the beginning.
[Strategy Essay 3: "A Strategy to Reconcile the Harshness of Qin Laws with the People's Livelihood"] (Exploring how to alleviate harsh policies and appease public grievances without fundamentally altering the legal system!)
【Strategy Essay 4: "A Strategy to Counterbalance Powerful Families and Poor Scholars through the Imperial Examination System"】 (This directly addresses the potential for factional strife arising from the imperial examination system, demanding that scholars devise a system to balance power in the court!)
【Strategy Five: "A Strategy for Immigrating the Baiyue People to Securing the Borders"】 (Directly addresses the logistical predicament Qin is facing during its southern campaign against the Baiyue!)
[Strategy Six: "The Fundamentals of Agriculture and Commerce and the Strategy for a Full National Treasury"] (Examining the economic lifeline of the national treasury!)
When everyone's trembling gaze fell upon the final, most challenging question, even Prime Minister Li Si couldn't help but take a half-step back, his scalp tingling with fear!
[Essay 7: On the Four Pillars of National Security: Imperial Power, Aristocratic Families, Law, and Border Troops]
[Question: The emperor held imperial power, aristocratic families controlled local areas, Qin laws governed officialdom, and the border army controlled the northern frontier. The four were interdependent and mutually restraining: if the imperial power was too strong, the court officials would become disloyal; if the aristocratic families were too powerful, local separatism would occur; if the laws were too harsh, the people would resent; and if the border army was too powerful, the generals would be difficult to control.]
Scholars are requested to base their arguments on the overall situation of the world:
How can these four elements maintain a balance of power and harmony, ensuring that the imperial authority is not isolated, powerful families do not rebel, the law is not ineffective, and the border troops are not arrogant, thus preserving the Qin Dynasty's eternal foundation?
"This...this...this!"
The old scholar was trembling violently as he held the exam paper. His face was deathly pale, and his lips trembled for a long time, but he couldn't utter a single word!
This is hardly a civil service exam.
It's clearly a test of their skills in governing a country!
At this moment, no one in the Qin court dared to utter a single word of doubt about Zhang Fan!
Seeing these usually arrogant and haughty noblemen now pale as death, Zhang Fan smiled faintly, leisurely breaking the deathly silence in the hall:
"Gentlemen, how do you feel now? Do you find this set of test questions satisfactory?"
It took Li Si a long while to recover from his shock.
He took a deep breath, held the exam paper in both hands, strode to the center of the hall, bowed deeply to Ying Zheng on the high platform, and said in a passionate voice:
"Your Majesty! This scroll by the Immortal Master is truly a masterpiece for all time, a supreme guide to governance! The administrative aptitude tests practical skills, while the policy essay examines the overall strategic vision. If Great Qin could truly use such examination questions to select talent, how could it not find unparalleled geniuses capable of governing the world! This old minister is utterly convinced!"