Literary Assessment

Dao Assessment ran in rounds of twenty. By the time all three hundred-odd examinees had finished, it was already dusk. According to the schedule for this unified examination, the Literary Assessment would be completed the following day.

Nothing happened during the night. Early the next morning, Wei Yuan was led into a brightly lit hall. Tables and chairs, along with the Four Treasures of the Study, had already been set out. Just like during the Dao Assessment, as soon as Wei Yuan entered the hall, he saw his number flickering on a table.

Wei Yuan walked over and took his seat. He felt as though an invisible wall had risen around him, shutting out all sound and commotion. He couldn't hear anyone else, and the surroundings grew blurry. He couldn't even make out what was written on the paper at the next table.

The furnishings on the desk were simple. A sheet of white paper lay in the center, and a brush rack sat on the right, holding a fine-bristled writing brush. In the middle of the desk sat an inkstone and a bowl of clear water. Then a Daoist Master's clear voice sounded beside Wei Yuan, briefly explaining how to use the various writing implements. The bowl of water was the most remarkable item: if he wrote a character incorrectly, he could dip his brush into the water and use it to erase the mistake before writing again.

After explaining how to use the writing implements, the Daoist Master's voice turned stern. "The Literary Assessment begins!"

As the Daoist Master spoke, lines of densely packed writing appeared of their own accord on the white paper before Wei Yuan. He had already picked up his brush, but froze when he saw the test paper. There was hardly any blank space on it. Where was he supposed to write his answers?

Wei Yuan steadied himself and read the questions carefully. The first one said:

In the Thirteenth Year of Jingxuan, () stopped Emperor Hui's carriage and presented the Eight Strategies for Pacifying Liao.

A: Zhong Heng B: Ding Shu C: Gongshu Luyuan D: Daoist Master Xianju

Wei Yuan had never seen a question like this, and Zhang Sheng had never taught him one. Fortunately, it wasn't difficult. This was a major event in the history of the Tang dynasty, and Wei Yuan's foundations were solid. He searched his memory, then picked up his brush and checked D.

The second question read: In the Thirty-fifth Year of Mingde, () led eight thousand one hundred armored soldiers and crushed the mountain tribes at Ji, beheading two hundred and seventy-three.

A: Mao Gong B: Xu Chu C: Master Huihai D: Hanikuzi

This question couldn't stump Wei Yuan, who knew the history of the Tang dynasty by heart. One glance was enough for him to spot Xu Chu's name, and he checked B. Only after answering did little Wei Yuan's pounding heart gradually settle. The question format was strange, but the difficulty wasn't high. If they were all like this, the Literary Assessment would be a gift.

But a strange thought suddenly surfaced in Wei Yuan's mind: what if the question hadn't been about Xu Chu, but whether it happened in the Thirty-fourth, Thirty-fifth, or Thirty-sixth Year of Mingde? Or, worse, what if it asked whether there had been eight thousand one hundred or eight thousand two hundred armored soldiers, or whether two hundred and seventy-three or two hundred and seventy-four had been beheaded...

Little Wei Yuan suddenly shivered. He hurriedly drove the terrifying thought from his mind, then chuckled to himself. Who would be so stupid as to set such a ridiculous question?

Wei Yuan gradually calmed down and answered with ease. The later questions didn't include anything else that frightened him like that.

When he finished a page, Wei Yuan set it aside. A fresh sheet of white paper appeared on the desk by itself, with new questions emerging on it.

Soon, Wei Yuan encountered another type of question he had never seen before: In the Twenty-first Year of Xuanwu, Emperor Taizong of Tang defeated Northern Liao at (), reclaimed seven thousand li of territory, and established () Prefecture.

This time there were no A, B, C, or D options. He had to fill in the answers himself.

This battle had established the Tang dynasty. Emperor Taizong fought for seven months, finally crushing Northern Liao at Wuyang and killing two of Northern Liao's Three Great State Preceptors. He then established the Seven Commanderies of Yanzhou. Of course, present-day Yanzhou had twenty-two commanderies—that was another story.

An important event like this could hardly stump Wei Yuan. He picked up his brush and wrote, each character upright and vigorous. He discovered that the brush in his hand had its own marvels: it could produce strokes as fine as he pleased, and even characters the size of grains of rice posed no problem. The brushes he had used as a child couldn't do that. Characters as large as beans would easily blur into a mess.

Wei Yuan wrote furiously, and the stack of test papers beside his desk grew higher and higher. After he had answered more than a dozen pages, only one line appeared on the new sheet of white paper; the rest was blank:

Discuss Xu Jie's presentation of the Book of Recommending the Virtuous to Emperor Ming of Tang.

An essay question!

Wei Yuan's spirits lifted. At last, something familiar.

Xu Jie was a celebrated chancellor in the early Tang dynasty. He had presented the Book of Recommending the Virtuous to Emperor Ming of Tang, who had only recently ascended the throne. He advised the emperor to open more channels for recruiting talent and welcome worthy men from far and wide, laying the foundation for a century of prosperity. The question was really about strategies for employing people: should one prioritize virtue or talent?

After a moment's thought, Wei Yuan's brush flew across the page, scratching rapidly as he began to write. When Zhang Sheng had taught him, he hadn't merely required Wei Yuan to memorize the Book of Recommending the Virtuous. He had also carefully explained it point by point, using the historical events of the time to show the practical consequences of each proposal. Then he had asked Wei Yuan to consider how those proposals would have had different effects in different eras, and wouldn't let him stop until he had answered everything.

There was no single correct answer to this kind of question. According to Zhang Sheng's instruction, one had to take the broader circumstances of the time into account to give a satisfactory answer. Anything that ignored the situation of the era was empty talk.

In no time, Wei Yuan had filled the page. He set it aside and began reading the next question:

In the Tenth Year of Xuanguang, three commanderies of Western Jin were struck by earthquakes. In the third month, starving people rose up in revolt; in the fifth month, mountain tribes from the south invaded. General Fan Yuan left the capital with an army of fifty thousand. Should he advance west or march south?

This question asked whether one should repel external threats first or pacify internal unrest. There was no definitive answer. In the historical record, Fan Yuan had marched west to suppress the starving people, beheading hundreds of thousands without putting an end to the unrest. The mountain tribes took advantage of the chaos and invaded, advancing right up to the capital and eventually forcing Western Jin to accept a humiliating treaty. As a result, Western Jin's power declined sharply, and it went from being one of the Three Great Vassals to the weakest of the Nine Kingdoms.

This question was rather difficult. Wei Yuan pondered for a while, then found some real historical examples to use as reference and began discussing the pros and cons.

To answer well, it wasn't enough to learn from history. One also had to know Western Jin's geography at the time, the strengths and weaknesses of its ruler and ministers, and the movements of the surrounding kingdoms. That was far beyond Wei Yuan's abilities. Unless one was a great historian, it would be difficult to answer this question well.

One sheet after another filled with writing and was set aside. Before he knew it, nearly two hours had passed, yet Wei Yuan didn't feel the slightest bit tired. The chair he sat in kept sending out wisps of coolness, leaving his mind clear and his spirits high.

When Wei Yuan filled another sheet and set it aside, no fresh paper appeared on the desk. He let out a breath, returned his brush to the rack, and picked up the completed papers to read through them again. He hadn't encountered a single question he couldn't answer during the entire exam. A few of the essays had no definitive answers, but he had remembered to make his arguments self-consistent, and he was reasonably satisfied with them.

Judging by the essay questions alone, the ones Zhang Sheng had given Wei Yuan in the past had been far more difficult than this exam.

A bell rang. The Literary Assessment was over.

The examinees left their test papers on the desks and filed out of the hall, returning to their dormitories to rest.

As soon as he left the hall, Wei Yuan felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. The Literary Assessment had lasted three full hours, and even with the support of the marvelous chair, it had drained his mind completely. The other examinees had no energy to talk either; they hurried back to their rooms to rest. The Martial Assessment would begin early tomorrow morning, so they needed to be well rested.