A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 257 Power really is fascinating.
The provincial examination was more rigorous than the civil service examination.

Invigilators are not allowed to look at the candidates' exam papers.

Similarly, if these prime ministers did not complete the aforementioned confidentiality measures, they would not be able to see the candidates' examination papers.

Lü Yijian, however, did not want to argue with Wang Zeng about this matter.

Who doesn't want to improve?
Emperor Zhenzong once wrote his name on a screen, and it was rumored that he would be appointed prime minister.

Unfortunately, Emperor Zhenzong didn't last long enough to promote Lü Yijian before he collapsed.

He was formally appointed prime minister only after Emperor Renzong ascended the throne.

However, Wang Qinruo was the main figure previously, and he was recuperating in Nanjing; who knows when he might pass away?
Now, Wang Zeng is in charge of the work.

People say that Lü Yijian was Empress Dowager Liu's confidant, but Lü Yijian himself felt that he was not.

He just wants to improve!
He simply wanted to be the prime minister and oversee all the work of the Song Dynasty court.

Wang Zeng was able to get to where he is today because at the time no one dared to stand up for him, except for him, who stood up against the powerful minister Ding Wei.

Only by upholding the legitimacy of the Song Dynasty and preventing it from falling into the hands of powerful ministers could the officials submit and the Empress Dowager gain their trust.

At that time, Lü Yijian did not stand up with him.

Once the danger was over, Lü Yijian wanted to become the foremost civil official.

The provincial examination is the most important step, as it is for selecting candidates for the country.

The prime ministers also took the time to pay attention.

"I looked at today's exam materials, and the questions set by Sun Shi and Feng Yuan were quite difficult."

These two men were renowned Confucian scholars of their time, and were favored by Wang Zeng to teach the emperor.

Sun Shi, in particular, was a veteran official who served three emperors.

He studied under his teacher when he was young, but the teacher suddenly died.

Then he took over the hundreds of students who had come to study under the master, and continued to teach these classmates.

Sun Shi was able to answer all kinds of questions from his classmates in detail, and later, when he got a little older, he started his own private school.

After Sun Shi passed the imperial examinations and became a scholar, he lectured at the Imperial Academy, and Zhao Kuangyi secretly went to listen to his lectures.

Sun Shi subsequently received high praise and appreciation from Emperor Taizong of Song.

In the 160 years of the Northern Song Dynasty, only 23 people were able to pass the imperial examinations in all nine categories.

It can be said that Sun Shi was someone who could both teach and test students.

How could the questions he sets be simple?
Wang Zeng could not deny it.

If the questions are too easy, the more people who pass the provincial examination, the more people will need to be dismissed in the palace examination.

It would be better to intercept a large number of people at the provincial examination stage.

There are simply too many officials in the Song Dynasty now; they can't possibly be managed properly.

In the past, you could be transferred after about three years at the grassroots level, but nowadays there aren't that many official positions available for you to hold.
In particular, His Majesty wants to expand the recruitment.

The number of officials for the Imperial Examination was already too large to handle, and with the addition of officials for other examinations, the total number was eight or nine hundred.

"It may be difficult, but there are so many talented people in the Song Dynasty. Someone will eventually pass the exam."

Nowadays, the imperial examination system is highly competitive.

Wang Zeng achieved the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations, and Lü Yijian was also a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest level of the imperial examinations). They both understood how difficult it was to pass the Jinshi examination.

But the imperial court doesn't need that many officials.

However, the generous treatment of officials in the Song Dynasty prompted many people to aspire to rise above their station and enjoy a life of luxury.

Seeing that the topic had been changed, Lü Yijian lost the desire to continue the conversation.

Wang Zeng didn't say much, but instead checked Song Shou's name.

Now that the political situation is stable, it is time to record the conclusions of the previous dynasty. Song Shou and his group of highly talented writers are to be transferred to the capital to compile the "Veritable Records of Emperor Zhenzong".

Time flies by in the blink of an eye.

The spring imperial examination in the fifth year of the Tiansheng era.

The second exam was on poetry and prose.

Because many candidates had the experience from the previous day, they were not as nervous today.

Anyway, the message I got was that everyone was having a hard time.

That puts my mind at ease.

If I'm the only one who finds it difficult, then what's the point of taking the exam?

Unlike in the Ming and Qing dynasties, Song dynasty scholars did not take exams in cramped examination cells.

Everyone was sitting in the veranda.

The houses were simple structures supported entirely by pillars, with no walls or wooden partitions separating them.

In this way, the chief examiner and other invigilators can detect any student's intention to cheat immediately.

Song Xuan sat in his seat.

He remained calm and focused, grinding ink as he prepared for the exam.

An official holding a sign came over; the test question on the sign required writing a poem about listening to the sound of the flute.

Song Xuan raised his eyebrows slightly.

From the "Spring Official" section of the Rites of Zhou:
"The Grand Tutor used the same musical scale to listen to military sounds and then issued decrees regarding good and bad omens."

Ancient people believed that the outcome of a battle could be predicted through music.

As Shi Kuang heard from the sounds of the Chu army, he knew defeat was inevitable.

The person who set this question is quite interesting.

Song Xuan copied the requirements onto a draft, not in a hurry to come up with a plan.

For exams like these, you always have to figure out what the question setter is thinking.

Song Xuan was unsure whether he wanted to see a version that praised the emperor or a version that was more radical.

However, given how tricky yesterday's exam questions were, Song Xuan didn't plan to write anything praising or eulogizing.

He was just guessing whether it was a helpless cry in response to the Liao Dynasty's recapture of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, or a concern about the impending war in the Northwest.

After all, the people who set the questions had to be selected by the prime minister.

Once their identity was confirmed, the person who set the questions was "locked up," and the questions were not reported to the emperor or the empress dowager to prevent them from circulating.

In other words, during the palace examination, the examiners would selectively allow the emperor to set the questions.

Yesterday's questions were quite bold, because the person who set them believed that Empress Dowager Liu did not understand the underlying principles.

Given its consistent style, today's question should also be bold.

Song Xuan wasn't in a hurry to write it; he wanted to see what the requirements for that poem were.

Combining the two approaches might yield even greater results.

Song Xuan didn't have to wait too long.

Choose either the "Ode to Receiving the Sacred Offering in the Xuan Room" or the "Ode to the Spiritual Crow," with the theme "The Harmony of Heaven and Earth, and the Daily Renewal of Sacred Virtue!"

The first story comes from Jia Yi's meeting with Emperor Wen of Han.

After the sacrificial ceremony, Emperor Wen of Han sat in the Xuan Room. Moved by matters concerning ghosts and spirits, he summoned Jia Yi and inquired about the origins of ghosts and spirits.

Jia Yi explained in detail the existence and function of ghosts and gods, and Emperor Wen of Han listened with great interest, even moving his seat closer to Jia Yi.

After listening, Emperor Wen of Han lamented that he had not seen Jia Yi for a long time and felt that he was not as learned and insightful as Jia Yi.

It goes without asking about the common people, but about the origins of ghosts and gods!

However, considering the current political situation of the Song Dynasty, Song Xuan did not believe that the emperor was asking about ghosts and gods instead of the common people.

Song Xuan wrote down the question.

He felt that the intention behind the question was to use the story of Emperor Wen of Han to imply that "the Empress Dowager should return power to the Emperor."

After all, His Majesty doesn't have any particular fondness for ghosts and gods, and he can't even get a minister like Jia Yi.

Not to mention having late-night chats with some people, even if they talked until dawn, the emperor was not the one who made the decisions regarding the policies of the Song Dynasty.

Song Xuan silently wondered if the emperor's public announcement of the order had reached the ears of the person who set the questions.

He lamented that the emperor had grown up, hinting at Empress Dowager Liu's return of power.

In particular, the Shishinden Hall and Nishi-no-Shikaku Pavilion of the Tokyo Imperial Palace, where Emperor Shinzong handled state affairs both in the year of his reign, carries a strong allegorical meaning.

As for the Ode to the Spirit Crow, it goes without saying that it is a song praising the Empress Dowager for bringing good news to the spirit crow.

Are these two options fundamentally about finding people who will stand by you?

Song Xuan didn't know who set the questions, but it was probably a great Confucian scholar who could frequently communicate with the emperor.

so?
Song Xuan raised his head and glanced at the people in front of him; there were not only proctors.

There were other people doing odd jobs in the examination room as well.

The inkstone water, snacks, and meals needed by candidates in the examination hall could be supplied or sold by the patrolling soldiers.

Song Xuan was still deep in thought, recalling how the scholar who had smuggled a note was pushed out yesterday.

In such situations, there will always be someone who is a bit dim-witted and takes a chance.

Today's poetry is difficult to copy; its value lies in innovation, and only those who are intelligent and learned can create masterpieces.

After a slight hesitation, Song Xuan proceeded to write in the radical style.

If you're writing something that sings praises and eulogies, it's hard to make it stand out.

Since we're here to win the top prize anyway, how can we not give it our all?
In "Listening to the Sounds of the Hexi Army by Playing the Pitch Pipe," Song Xuan directly focuses on the Anxi Army.

After Tang Jun's army was wiped out after 42 years of hardship in the Western Regions, the next Han Chinese army to appear was a thousand years later.

As for poetry and prose, they were written about Yin and Yang. In the fifth year of the Tiansheng era, Empress Dowager Liu had been ruling from behind the curtain for several years. Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen, was already seventeen years old and had not yet been diligent in his duties.

In addition, this topic also has a rhyme trap, with "Kun De" representing the Empress Dowager.

Song Xuan wrote a poem that openly praised the Empress Dowager but secretly promoted the Emperor.

He had mastered test-taking skills to an unparalleled degree.

As for Kunde, Song Xuan directly referred to it as the earth, rather than the Empress Dowager.

While the other students were scratching their heads and racking their brains, Song Xuan had already finished writing all his poems and was waiting for the ink to dry.

The chief examiner, sitting at the very front, was astonished to see Song Xuan, a scholar in the first row, complete the exam in one go.

Although he could see that Song Xuan had finished writing all of yesterday's exam, he had also thought about it carefully for a long time before putting pen to paper.

Today's poetry is anything but simple.

How could this scholar have finished writing so quickly?
The examiner suppressed his urge to look at Song Xuan's exam paper and didn't dwell on it.

The provincial examinations all have a unified entry and exit time, and everything is locked down.

Song Xuan didn't even have a chance to hand in his paper early.

So after the ink dried, Song Xuan simply tidied up the exam papers, ready to put them into the box as soon as the time was up.

Song Xuan then lay down on the table and fell asleep to pass the time.

Scholars as unconventional as Song Xuan are truly a minority.

Those around him looked puzzled. Was the question too difficult, and he simply gave up?
Or did I just write something random and give up on myself?
Of course, no one believed that Song Xuan would finish writing poetry so quickly when faced with such a difficult task.

Most people are willing to believe what they think in their hearts.

Zhang Yuan also noticed Song Xuan's actions and chuckled. He knew that the person in front of him was Song Twelve, who was famous throughout the three capitals for his poetry and prose.

While others were scratching their heads in frustration during the exam, how could Song Xuan be stumped?
A talent that others can only envy.

Zhang Yuan sighed, then buried his head in thought again, trying to figure out how to sing praises, but it didn't quite come together.

A scholar should still maintain his integrity!
Sun Shi and Feng Yuan, who were the ones who set the questions, sat quietly inside the room.

The steam from a pot of tea slowly rises.

Although the days have been somewhat tedious, they will eventually come to an end. Once tonight is over and tomorrow's essay topics are announced, they will be free.

"Zonggu, the questions you set this time were a bit too difficult," Feng Yuan said, pouring him a cup of hot tea.

Sun Shi simply nodded in acknowledgment and said with a smile:

"It's good that it's difficult, so that the Emperor won't be too conflicted when it comes to the palace examination."

Feng Yuan could not deny it.

While others might not understand the difficulty of these questions, Feng Yuan believed that Wang Zeng and others, as prime ministers, would comprehend them.

Whether Empress Dowager Liu understood or not is not important.

No one will tell her the real meaning.

Scholars often naturally unite when faced with external forces.

As the emperor grew older, and with favored ministers gaining power, the situation became increasingly complex.

Many officials naturally hoped to set things right and restore the court to its original course.

Furthermore, they must select like-minded successors through rigorous examinations.

Sun Shi picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and remained silent.

Even Emperor Zhao Zhen had no idea what the questions would be for today's test.

After the exam began, the Imperial City Guard came to copy the papers, and then had them sent back to the Imperial Palace.

After receiving the note, Zhao Zhen unfolded it and examined it carefully.

He recalled how, when Master Sun was lecturing him, Master Sun would stop explaining if he lost focus, until he came back to his senses.

In the end, Zhao Zhen didn't say anything, but just sighed softly.

I have indeed grown up!
She could have shouldered more responsibilities, but unfortunately, her mother was unwilling to relinquish any power.

As Sun Shi's most dedicated student, Zhao Zhen understood the profound meaning behind the poem topic he was given today.

Just a power grab?

Zhao Zhen wasn't ruthless enough, so he could only choose to test the waters step by step.

He finally crumpled the paper into a ball and had his trusted eunuch burn it.

Zhao Zhen then thought of Song Xuan, wondering what his twelfth brother's choice would be.
When it was time to hand in the papers, Song Xuan was the first to put his paper in the box, and then stood at the door waiting for the soldiers to open the gate of the examination hall.

At this time, there were also many idlers outside the examination hall who came to ask Song Xuan how he did on the exam and what the questions were.

Many people make money by selling information.

Song Xuan simply said it was quite difficult, and that he hadn't remembered the questions clearly, so he asked the people behind him.

He quickly made his way through the crowd to find Wang Gui's donkey cart.

To prevent cheating among candidates during the provincial examinations, candidates from the same prefecture, even if they did not know each other, would be placed in separate examination rooms.

This is just in case, so we can cooperate with each other.

"Twelfth Brother, the exam is over."

Wang Gui was overjoyed to see Song Xuan come out first.

He knew that the poetry exam was no challenge for Song Xuan at all.

"Ah."

Song Xuan stretched and laughed, "Just keep going tomorrow, and we'll be done."

This is actually no different from taking the college entrance examination; time just passes by as you take the exam.

Wang Gui watched Song Xuan jumping around and stretching his muscles. He must feel quite stifled having to sit there all day.

"I slept for quite a long time, and my head is still a bit foggy. I suspect I'll be more alert tonight."

"Haha, as expected of you."

Wang Gui also felt that, given Song Xuan's abilities, he would be able to finish writing it very quickly.

What's left is what Brother Twelve calls "garbage time".

Unable to look around, I can only pass the time by sleeping.

Bao Zheng's expression was somewhat solemn, but he still walked over step by step.

Everyone simply greeted each other, without asking how the exam went, which was perfectly in line with everyone's understanding.

"Hey." Lü Lejian skipped over, asking with great gossip:
"Did you hear what was happening while you were queuing?"

"What did you hear?" Song Xuan retorted, he quite enjoyed hearing gossip.

"There was a student who couldn't write poetry, so he just wrote something random and slept for a long time."

"Unlike me, I spent three hours conceiving the idea before I even put pen to paper."

Lü Lejian shared with a grin the gossip she had overheard while queuing to leave.

Which venue?

Song Xuan never expected to face such a formidable opponent in this exam.

"The thirty-first match of the Sino-Japanese War."

"What a coincidence!" Song Xuan pointed to himself and said.
"I'm also from the Sino-Japanese War."

Lü Lejian immediately became unhappy!

This exam is a test.

It was too simple for Song Xuan; he would have finished writing it in one go and then, out of boredom, gone to sleep.

If others don't understand, how could I not understand?

Song Xuan patted Lü Lejian on the shoulder:

"It takes three hours to conceive a poem, tsk tsk tsk. Little brother, do you know about the saying that if there are ten lotus flowers in a pond, I pick one and you pick nine?"

Lü Lejian raised an eyebrow slightly:

"Twelfth Brother, what you're saying sounds like you're trying to take advantage of me, but I don't think that's what you mean!"

"You just need to practice more."

Bao Zheng had, of course, heard Song Xuan say this; he already knew it himself.

"what?"

"Bao Heizi, you're so wicked!"

Lü Lejian immediately called out Bao Zheng's nickname.

Bao Zheng nonchalantly replied, "Just practice cooking more!"

At least when he was composing his poems, he didn't spend as much time composing as Lü Lejian.

Wang Bao couldn't understand, but when Wang Gui explained it to him, his eyes lit up immediately.

So this is the benefit of reading!
He had only ever heard that scholars wouldn't use foul language when they cursed, but today he finally witnessed it firsthand.

Bao Heizi was already used to it, but Lü Lejian was indeed more skilled at playing against weak opponents and had to practice more to improve his skills.

Lü Lejian loved to joke around, but when others joked around with him, he still couldn't quite take it. After all, he was the son of the prime minister, and the Lü family was a large and powerful clan.

So Lü Lejian angrily said he wouldn't share a donkey cart with Bao Heizi.

Bao Zheng laughed twice, then turned and got into Song Xuan's donkey cart.

After hearing the whole story, Wang Tai chuckled and got out of the car, switching places with Han Qi. He knew he had to teach Lü Lejian a lesson.

It took three hours to come up with the idea, that's really terrible!
When she got back to her doorstep, Lü Lejian was completely dejected.

It seems that none of the other people were stumped by the poems and essays, except for him.

Fortunately, poetry and prose are no longer the main criteria for selecting officials, otherwise Lü Lejian wouldn't need to take tomorrow's policy essay exam.

They were eliminated immediately!

The competition for the provincial examinations is becoming increasingly fierce.

Although it's not a one-in-a-hundred selection, the people who come to participate in the provincial examination are probably all quite capable.

Jiao Ming, as always, prepared the meal early, waiting for them to come back and eat.

"By the way, Twelfth Brother, what kind of questions do you think will be on tomorrow's policy essay?"

Upon hearing Zhang Fangping's question, Song Xuan thought for a moment:
"The political questions have already been asked. As for the policy essay, my personal opinion is that it will mainly focus on either economics and ethics or military matters."

Predicting exam questions is something like that.

This has been a very common occurrence throughout history.

Zhang Fangping nodded slightly: "I think the economic aspect is the bigger issue."

Who can say for sure about something like this?
Anyway, that's the current situation. Even if we guess the general direction, we still need to adjust the specific details.

"Do you think it might be related to water conservancy?"

Bao Zheng, holding the bowl, said in a serious tone:
“A few years ago, the imperial court ordered the connection of various canals. Several waterways surrounding Tokyo were renovated. Although most of them were completed, the Yellow River is still difficult to manage.”

Song Xuan nodded: "That's probably one direction as well."

"But we had this question on the test when we were given the solution!"

Zhang Fangping remembered this question; it was the same policy essay that Yan Shu had set, but the selection of officials was not based on the policy essay itself.

"The local civil service exams and the provincial civil service exams are not set by the same people. They are all based on real-life situations, so it is normal for them to have some similarities."

Song Xuan gave an explanation, but anyway, there wasn't much of a possibility.

Lu Lejian quickly said, "If it's really this question on the test, that would be great. We've all done it before."

"Since I have nothing else to do, I might as well look up some information about the Yellow River."

Fan Xiang was the most excited, as he liked to predict exam questions:
"Last time, Prefect Yan tested us on the Grand Canal. Now that Tokyo is so close to the Yellow River, if we test our water conservancy skills, it will definitely be related to the Yellow River."

"It's better to predict two questions than one." Han Qi had also read the official gazette:

"The imperial court has already made deals with the Uyghurs in the northwest. If a policy proposal is issued regarding the northwest border, it wouldn't be out of the question?"

Song Xuan put down his bowl and chopsticks, called over the old servant, and wanted to ask him if he had any information about the Yellow River's repairs or about the Uyghurs in the Northwest, and whether it could be bought in Tokyo.

The old servant thought for a moment and said, "Please give me half an hour, Twelfth Brother, so I can go and ask."

"Thank you. It's okay if we don't get the answers. We just had a sudden urge to try and guess the exam questions for fun."

Song Xuan smiled.

Based on what Cao Yong had told him about the recent situation in the court, he felt that the investigation should focus on the relationship with Western Xia.

The old servant nodded and left.

Song Xuan wasn't in a hurry, and asked the maid to prepare the bathwater for him.

He needs to take a bath for a while, and he has plenty of time.

Upon hearing that Song Xuan and others had prepared the most important policy essays for tomorrow, Cao immediately ordered his men to search for them within an hour.

He went directly to the Ministry of Works to borrow some data about the Yellow River.

There are quite a few students like Song Xuan who rely on predicting exam questions, and many are enthusiastic about this kind of game.

Starting a couple of days ago, there have been quite a few idle people in Tokyo selling things like "exam predictions".

There are quite a few buyers.

While taking a bath, Song Xuan was actually thinking about the Western Xia and Uyghurs, which was to use barbarians to control barbarians. He believed that granting them Song Dynasty citizenship if they behaved well was a feasible idea.

He already had a draft in his mind!
As for the task of repairing the Yellow River, that's far too difficult.

After all, it has been thousands of years.

Countless people want to tame this mother river.

But Mother River doesn't listen to you, her son; it just keeps suddenly elbowing you, her good son!

This is to let you know that she exists and should not be underestimated.

Song Xuan tried hard to recall the methods used to repair the Yellow River throughout history.

For example, Jia Lu of the Yuan Dynasty was named the Jia Lu River in his honor. The river flows through Zhengzhou, but it also gave rise to the famous saying, "Don't say that the stone man with only one eye can stir up the Yellow River and make the world rebel."

Liu Daxia of the Ming Dynasty is said to have burned materials related to Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean, but he also made contributions to the management of the Yellow River by building dikes to block the northward flow of the Yellow River and allowing the river water to flow south into the Huai River.

Pan Jixun achieved considerable success in his three attempts to manage the Yellow River, but he was punished by Emperor Shenzong of Ming for pleading for the family of the deceased Zhang Juzheng and was stripped of his official rank and reduced to commoner status.

It wasn't until the Yellow River once again thwarted the Ming Dynasty that Emperor Shenzong reinstated Pan Jixun. However, due to a lack of funds, he made little progress in the fourth attempt to manage the Yellow River. Instead, the flood breached the river and submerged the ancestral tombs of the Ming Dynasty, leading to his impeachment once again.

During the Qing Dynasty, the Yellow River breached its banks approximately fifteen times during the reign of Emperor Shunzhi, and as many as sixty-seven times during the first fifteen years of the reign of Emperor Kangxi. Afterward, Emperor Kangxi decided to send Jin Fu to oversee the repair of the Yellow River.

However, the Yellow River waterway in the Northern Song Dynasty was different from that in the Southern Song Dynasty, as well as the old waterways of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties.

In the eighth year of the Qingli era during the later years of Emperor Renzong of Song, the Yellow River breached its banks and changed its course.

Song Xuan dried his long hair and wrapped it up for a while before he heard the servant come to report.

They said they found some information and sent it over for Twelfth Brother to take a look; the rest is still being organized.

"Okay, I'm coming right now."

Song Xuan got dressed, went out the door, and went to his study.

Zhang Fangping and the others were already sitting there, looking at the documents.

"You're a jerk."

Lü Lejian assumed that Song Xuan had made contact with Zhang Qi, the most favored minister of the Song Dynasty and the Privy Councilor, and that he could even borrow and look at the books stored in the Ministry of Works.

As for information regarding the war in the Northwest, Cao Yong didn't need anyone else; as the Privy Councilor, he could handle it all himself.

"Twelfth Brother, Twelfth Brother, if you don't become the top scholar, it's a real waste of such a great help!"

Lü Lejian picked up a booklet and started reading.

Song Xuan didn't take it to heart, only feeling that his father-in-law was really capable.

Now he suddenly understood that Song Ci's father-in-law was the Minister of Rites, a first-rank official, who had repeatedly used his power to provide support for Song Ci.

If it weren't for his father-in-law's support, he would have died countless times over.

"If you don't have connections in the court, you shouldn't become an official; if you have connections in the court, it's easy to get things done." This saying is not just empty words!

Han Qi and the others were both surprised and delighted.

They were completely clueless in Tokyo. Even if they suddenly felt like finding study materials for exam questions, they couldn't find any in the entire city.

Song Xuan, however, did not have such profound insights.

Deep down, he simply felt that power was truly fascinating!
The thought flashed through his mind, and Song Xuan began to look at information about the Yellow River.

The group watched for a long time, until it was late at night, before finally resting.

Last night was very fulfilling; I didn't have any random thoughts, and I used my brain to the fullest.

This morning, while Song Xuan was eating, he instructed his old servant to return the government documents first, as it was important to be mindful of the consequences.

I'll express my gratitude after the exam.

With these people around, Song Xuan didn't reveal his true colors.

The old servant just smiled and hoped that his twelfth son could pass the imperial examination, so that everyone's efforts wouldn't have been in vain.

While a few people were queuing, I listened to their casual conversation.

The comments about Song Xuan sleeping yesterday weren't entirely sarcastic.

Some people even believe that as long as you do well on the policy essay, you can write poetry and prose casually without much impact on your ranking.

Just like before, if you write good poems and essays, you can enter the second round. If you don't do too badly in the later exams, you can pass.

They each went to their respective examination rooms.

Song Xuan sat in his chair and began grinding ink, pondering how to write a more outstanding essay on relations with the Northwest.

But when the official holding the sign appeared...

Song Xuan was somewhat bewildered.

The Northwest is too far away!
The closer the city of Tokyo is, the more attention it attracts.

Because the questions in this provincial examination were indeed related to the management of the Yellow River.

Song Xuan thought of Bao Zheng, wasn't it said that people with bad luck are unlucky?
How could he have guessed it correctly!
Bao Zheng was overjoyed beyond measure. It took him a while to calm his excitement, and he could hardly sit still.

They really guessed the question correctly!

Zhang Fangping and the others were overjoyed and began to devise their plans.

A rare opportunity!

Song Xuan began by writing a plan for the repair of the Yellow River water conservancy in Tokyo.

As the ancients said, "Water conservancy is to the world what blood and qi are to a person. If one breath is blocked, the four limbs will cease to exist."

“I observe the strategic importance of Tokyo, with the Yellow River hanging overhead and the Bian Canal running through its heart. Since the Yellow River breached its banks at Chanzhou in the fourth year of Jingde (1007), the dikes have been gradually weakening over the past twenty years.”

"If another major flood occurs now, the millions of people in Bianliang will likely become fish and turtles! I humbly present a plan to safeguard the foundation."

"I recall that Wang Jing was ordered to carry out comprehensive management of the Bian Canal and the Yellow River, relying on the strength of hundreds of thousands of people."

On the one hand, a more than 1,000-mile-long dike was built along the Yellow River, stretching from the south of Puyang City to Qiancheng on the Bohai Sea.

On the other hand, the Bian Canal was dredged and new sluice gates were built.

It not only quelled the Yellow River's flood disaster, but also made full use of the water resources of the Yellow River and the Bian Canal.

After Wang Jing's management, the Yellow River's course roughly passed through the northern parts of Dongjun and Jiyinjun, across the North China Plain, and finally flowed into the sea at Qiancheng. It has not experienced a major course change for over eight hundred years.

"However, after the establishment of the Song Dynasty, breaches occurred frequently, and many rivers were diverted over short periods and distances. If this was not addressed, a breach would inevitably occur again in the future, causing the Yellow River to change course once more and bringing disaster to thousands of miles."

"I have also heard that a minister named Li Chui wants to actively change the course of the Yellow River so that it will flood the Liao Kingdom. I think this is ridiculous."

"Since ancient times, Henan has been located on a plain, while the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun are mostly mountainous, with the plains being far from the Yellow River channel."

"Water flows downhill. If the Yellow River were to be diverted by human intervention or natural means, it would surely flood the land south of the Yellow River, instead of flooding the land north of the Yellow River. Such a thing is wishful thinking and should never be done."

"The Yellow River can only be managed by taking advantage of its natural course. We must never easily destroy its original channel. Otherwise, it will find a new path on its own and will never follow your ideas."

Cao used the reference books he found for Song Xuan.

In his book "Guiding the Horizons of the Yellow River", Li Chui believed that if the course of the Yellow River were changed, the downstream section, which originally flowed into Henan and other areas, would instead flow into Hebei.

This would cause the Liao Kingdom, which ruled the Hebei region, to suffer from the torment of the Yellow River.

The Song Dynasty, which was already at war with the Liao Dynasty, could then easily achieve victory.

The key point is that this idea is extremely absurd.

However, the prime ministers of the Song Dynasty did find it very feasible and studied it repeatedly, which was recorded in some of the Ministry of Works' registers.

In addition, Li Chui himself was politically single-minded; he would not follow the trend of others to curry favor with the prime minister, and he had his own unique ideas.

Therefore, the emperor and the prime ministers were willing to believe that Li Chui's "Yellow River diversion" governance plan was correct because of his character.

Wen Yanbo then persisted in Li Chui's idea.

At that time, Li Chui had already died, and then Wen Yanbo was in charge of diverting the Yellow River at the Liuhe Pagoda northeast of Kaifeng. As a result, the Liuhe Pagoda dike collapsed just a few hours after it was completed.

Many nearby areas in Hebei Province were instantly turned into swamps, resulting in countless deaths and injuries among local residents.

Wang Anshi also worked on repairing the Yellow River, attempting to use rakes to dredge the silt and sediment accumulated in the riverbed, and even set up a special agency for this purpose.

However, under Wang Anshi's management, the Yellow River was in a more serious condition than it had been under Wen Yanbo.

Not only did the dikes collapse, but approximately 30 million mu of fertile land were flooded, turning the once prosperous Huaihe River region into a ghost town in an instant.

In the early Song Dynasty, both the economy and politics were on a steady upward trend.

However, the Yellow River never showed any mercy to the Song Dynasty, causing countless natural disasters that occurred without warning.

This posed a significant threat to the Song Dynasty, which focused its development on the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River.

Therefore, the measures taken to change the Yellow River were intended to safeguard national interests.

This prevented the capital, Tokyo, from suffering from floods again.

However, these "elite scholars" who emerged from the imperial examinations subconsciously overlooked Huang He's elbow strike ability.

The naive belief was that human effort alone could skillfully tame this temperamental mother river.

Just like Wang Jing's river management thousands of years ago!

Most importantly, if the Yellow River could be tamed, the people would no longer have to live a life of displacement, the people's hearts would remain, and the Song Dynasty would not perish prematurely.

Song Xuan first refuted Li Chui's naive idea before he began to explain his own strategy.

"The Yu Gong records that the Yellow River was guided to Jishi and reached Longmen. This was not only dredging, but also intended to constrict the water. I observe that the Yellow River's flow should be modeled after Yu's method of narrow dikes to prevent rapids and wide dikes to contain floods."

The Yu Gong (Tribute of Yu) never said this. Song Xuan fabricated it to provide greater proof.

In any case, many officials are completely clueless about how to manage the Yellow River.

This is a river management strategy that uses water to control sand.

"The Yellow River is the most turbid. If you measure it by the bushel, six parts are sand. If you go to the late summer or early autumn, then two parts are water. If you carry eight bushels of sand with two bushels of water, it will inevitably stagnate unless the current is extremely swift."

"When water flows slowly, the sand settles, the river is full, and even small bodies of water have a sandy surface, only showing their height. When water flows together, the current is strong, the sand is washed away, the river is deep, and even large bodies of water have a riverbed, only showing their lowness."

“Building dikes to confine water and using water to attack sand will prevent the water from overflowing to the sides, and it will inevitably wash straight to the riverbed. This is an inevitable principle and a natural trend, which is why unity is better than division.”

"Build dikes according to local conditions, and never use a one-size-fits-all approach."

Song Xuan then began to give examples.

If the traditional method of damming is used, it would cost about 500,000 strings of cash per year and more than 100,000 people to serve in the government each year, but the lifespan of the dam is only about three years.

If this method is used, 200,000 strings of cash can be saved every year, and the number of people who need to perform military service can be halved.

As for those to serve, there is no need to rush to transfer them from various places. We can simply wait for the refugees to come to Tokyo to make a living and organize them into river work battalions, which can both save lives and reinforce the dikes.

Nowadays, Song Dynasty merchants are becoming increasingly active. They can be allowed to contract the embankment to plant trees, and after ten years, the willow trees will belong to them. This way, government expenses can be saved while the people benefit, and the people will not be allowed to cut down trees privately.

If this strategy is implemented, the Yellow River can be restored to its former glory within ten years.

If we continue to repair the breaches every year, I fear that one day the Khitan will hear of the flood and launch a direct attack on Bianliang!
Even after the Treaty of Chanyuan was signed, the Liao Dynasty still used the Yellow River as a pretext to launch attempts to invade the south.

Song Xuan finished writing in a long and detailed manner.

Fortunately, I did some homework yesterday, otherwise some of the data and arguments would have been really difficult to handle.

The host of the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) must pay attention to Song Xuan.

It's one thing for this student to just casually answer the poem yesterday, but how come he can write such a huge question so quickly today?
The proctor understood that many people were completely clueless about how to manage the Yellow River.

Especially these candidates, even though the imperial court had started repairing waterways a few years ago, how many of them would pay attention to such matters?

Not knowing where to start is the most common reaction.

The examiner looked at all the candidates in the room, but only this one stood out.

After seeing the topic, I started scribbling on the draft paper, and then in a short time, I finished writing the policy essay in one go!
He didn't know if Song Xuan could actually write, or if he was just writing whatever came to mind in a self-destructive way, like before.

The chief official couldn't go see it, which made him very eager to see it.

But that's the rule.

No one can destroy it.

Feng Yuan and Sun Shi had already emerged from the small dark room.

It was inevitable that they would patrol the various examination rooms.

Overall, the current challenge of managing the Yellow River has left many students at a loss.

This truly satisfied them.

If we can find one or two students who truly have ideas, then we are recruiting talents for the country, which is a real win.

When they reached the Jiawu Examination Hall, the two of them were surprised to find that Song Xuan had already finished writing the exam paper and was waiting for the ink to dry.

However, they couldn't go over to look at the exam papers, so they had to continue patrolling.

After patrolling the entire area, Sun Shi finally spoke:

"Do you really think that student who finished writing during the Sino-Japanese War wasn't just writing randomly?"

"I am not sure."

Even though Feng Yuan was very curious, both of them were renowned scholars of their time and could not do anything that violated the rules.

Sun Shi sighed, "I really want to see it."

The exam paper contained Song Xuan's name and place of origin, which must not be known in advance.

Otherwise, the anonymous naming would be meaningless.

"Wait a little longer. It won't take more than a few days until they finish copying."

You don't need to worry too much about the first two exams.

Judging from the students' moods, there's probably no need to worry too much about today's exam!

Just as the two question setters had thought.

Many candidates, upon seeing this question again, would begin to curse inwardly.

Who cares when the Yellow River will flood Tokyo?

Is this possible?

Especially the scholars from the south knew very little about the Yellow River.

Even though the south has many waterways and frequent rainy seasons, it shouldn't cause major floods!
As for the Yangtze River basin, its climate is mild and humid, with lush trees, strong self-repairing ability of vegetation, and no serious soil erosion.

From the Tang Dynasty onwards, the Yangtze River gradually experienced some floods, but they were not large in scale until the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, when the first major flood in history broke out.

Therefore, none of these candidates understood the Yellow River.

This is what left them speechless.

Besides Song Xuan and others who guessed the question correctly, the other students in Yingtian Prefecture were also able to write something, after all, the Grand Canal was a river after all!

Prefect Yan treated them very well.

They are the same type of questions, tested once in the provincial exam and once in the provincial exam.

Sun Shi sighed softly:
“I always felt that Li Chui’s method was a bit off, but I couldn’t think of a way to refute it. I hope that someone today can be more ‘out-of-the-box’ to refute Li Chui.”

Feng Yuan laughed and said, "Don't overthink it. I think Li Chui's method is entirely beneficial!"

(End of this chapter)