The examination venue was at the county office, as the Agricultural Affairs Bureau did not have enough desks and chairs. The county magistrate, who also oversaw civil administration, typically held theoretical examinations in the examination rooms of the county office.
County Magistrate Li Wenzheng was not present, but the chief examiner and proctors were still familiar faces from the Agricultural Affairs Bureau. However, the number of proctors sent from the county office increased to fifty, along with clerks responsible for delivering meals and water.
This time, endurance was not tested, so meals would be delivered to the examination rooms during the exam.
The examination lasted two days, and naturally, there would be no shortage of test papers.
After Zhao Xing found his corresponding examination room and sat down, he waited for the test papers to be distributed. In total, there were forty sheets!
Among them, thirty sheets contained questions, while ten were blank.
Zhao Xing did not rush to write; instead, he first glanced through the questions and requirements, checking for any errors or omissions.
The first fifteen sheets were easy questions, which could be answered through rote memorization.
For example: “The ‘Monthly Regulations of Seventy-Two Phenomena’ is derived from which ancient book? Who compiled it and when?”
Zhao Xing did not need to think; he directly wrote down the answer: “It is derived from ‘Shixun Jie’, compiled by Grand Minister of Agriculture Wu Cheng in the ninth year of Kaiping.”
Or he might extract a sentence from a work and fill in the preceding or following sentence.
For instance: “When duckweed does not grow, the yin energy is excessive.” ____
Answer: “The mourning dove does not shake its feathers, and the country does not train its soldiers; the crested ibis does not descend upon the mulberry, and the governance is not in order.”
This question is an ‘Yin-Yang Phenomena Question’, indicating that if the yin energy in the yin-yang qi is too heavy, then corresponding abnormal ‘phenomena’ will appear. At such times, it is best for the country not to engage in warfare or issue new decrees, otherwise, the results will be poor.
Zhao Xing answered fluently, and soon the easy questions came to an end.
Next came the situational questions that screened the candidates.
“There is wind in the south of the city, violent and rampant, causing frequent droughts in spring and autumn. In the east of the city, there is a river, with excessive rainfall, leading to floods in summer and winter, making it difficult for the grains to survive. What is the solution?”
If it were a clerk with a shaky foundation in theory, they would surely answer directly, “Use the Harmony of Winds and Rains spell to change it, and the grains will flourish.”
Such an answer would earn at most 2 points out of 10, or even none at all.
Because there is only an answer without a process, this is unacceptable for a theoretical exam. Moreover, the answer does not address the point; it indicates a failure to understand the question or a lack of theoretical knowledge about spells.
“The small city has a constant south wind, violent and rampant, blowing away the clouds and rain of spring and autumn, leading to drought. However, there is a river in the east of the city, with rising clouds, causing floods in summer and winter. Therefore, this is not a question of weather but rather a question of geographical advantage. Using any weather-related spells would be incorrect.” After recognizing the trap embedded in the question, Zhao Xing began to answer.
In fact, the solution was quite simple; it was something that True Lord Cao Xi had done before.
“Cultivate the earth veins in the south; if the land is elevated, the winds will be harmonious. Construct channels in the east, guiding water around the city, and select a low-lying area in the east of the city to store water in a lake. Then, repair the Guiding Water Wheel, and the rainfall will be balanced throughout the four seasons. With the aid of seasonal decrees, in three years, there will be harmony of winds and rains.”
After Zhao Xing finished writing, he confirmed that he could score full marks before continuing to answer the next questions.
It was not until the last question that he encountered difficulty.
This was a situational question involving the five elements and the seasonal do's and don'ts:
“The earth is cold and yin, spring wood cannot be used; summer yang is excessive, locusts flourish. What is the solution?”
The fewer the words, the harder the question.
Moreover, it was a linked question.
Because it described seasonal chaos and natural disaster phenomena, the question connected both, so the answer must also be combined; they could not be separated.
The standard answer must start from the perspective of the five elements and the four seasons, and it is best to find a basis from classical works; otherwise, using the candidate's own words would lack foundation and persuasiveness.
Without persuasiveness, even if the answer is correct, points would still be deducted.
After understanding this point, Zhao Xing began to ponder and sift through various works, striving to find a perfect answer.
Fifteen minutes later, Zhao Xing picked up his brush to answer.
“If there is residual cold in spring, then the earth is yin, and the hundred woods do not grow. It is necessary to use the earth vein’s bing fire to adjust the climate; if there is no bing fire in the earth, then use ding. If both bing and ding are absent, then defer to the seasonal timing.”
“Excessive summer yang leads to a short spring; locust disasters must be directly addressed. Restore the seasonal timing to spring, use earth fire as ding, restore the timing to one season, and then revert to summer, shortening summer by one season, thus returning to the proper timing of the four seasons.”
The standard answer referenced the content from the work ‘Four Seasons and Five Elements Theory’, specifically the sections on geographical advantages and seasonal timing.
This question discussed how to resolve the situation when the Agricultural Officer's jurisdiction faced a scenario where spring wood could not be utilized, the earth's energy was cold and yin, and the summer heat led to locust disasters.
The question involved the five elements, four seasons, and natural disasters.
When answering, one had to use the five elements' heavenly stems and earthly branches, providing a relatively perfect answer.
First, using the geographical advantage method, adjust the power of the earth veins. The earth veins have different attributes; bing fire is the most vigorous and can be used to adjust the yin and cold phenomenon. Ding fire is second but can still be used.
If the local environment is too harsh to guide the bing or ding fire, then one can only change the seasonal timing to make spring pass quickly to the next season, which is ‘deferring to the seasonal timing’.
Excessive summer yang leads to steaming heat, resulting in various insect disasters, which is due to the short spring. This connects back to the previous statement, establishing a cause-and-effect relationship.
At this point, one should not overthink; directly change the seasonal timing, as the insect disaster has already occurred. Summer is the most suitable time for insect disasters to flourish, and staying in summer will not resolve the issue.
Thus, it is necessary to restore ‘the seasonal timing to spring’. But can it be changed to autumn or winter?
No, because the bing fire was used in spring to address the cold issue, resulting in a shortened spring. Now, it is necessary to supplement the time of spring.
The earth vein's ding fire is relatively mild, which will not cause the return of cold and yin, nor will it stray too far from summer. After resolving the insect disaster, one must return to summer, which is called ‘returning to the proper position of the four seasons’.
Zhao Xing, while answering, considered the possibility of a recurrence of the insect disaster, so when restoring the position, he wrote to shorten summer by one season.
Because the difference between the heat of summer and autumn is not too great, shortening summer by one season and lengthening autumn by one season is not a problem and will not have a significant impact. However, shortening spring by one season and lengthening summer would cause major issues.
“If the examiner is not blind, I should definitely get full marks for this question.” Zhao Xing checked his answer, turned over the sheet, and began to continue answering.
Time slowly passed, and by evening, many candidates had begun to stop writing, as most clerks did not possess the ability to see clearly at night.
Zhao Xing also did not wish to waste time, so he planned to finish early and submit his paper.
Thus, even as the light dimmed, he did not stop writing.
After completing all the various types of questions, he began to review, checking for better answers and where he might lose points.
After several rounds of verification, he moved on to the next category of questions.
When night fell, Zhao Xing was left with only the last type of question:
This type of question had only one sheet and was the most difficult philosophical question of the schools.
“Please match the five elements, heavenly stems, earthly branches, and four seasons, and elaborate on the matching philosophy.”
These theories can be skipped by those who are not interested, and for those who are, do not take it too seriously, as some elements have been integrated into the framework of fantasy by the author. After all, it is impossible to change the four seasons in the real world, so it cannot be entirely based on reality.
(End of Chapter)