There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 303 Palace Examination
March 5th.

Sixty-one successful candidates gathered at the examination hall to prepare for the palace examination.

The King of Han is too frugal. He has been king for more than a year and has been in rebellion for almost four years, yet he doesn't even have a proper palace, just a cramped mansion.

If the imperial examination were to be held at the Prince's Palace, the sixty-one candidates would probably have nowhere to stand, so it's better to hold the examination at the Imperial Examination Hall instead.

Before dawn, the sixty-one candidates sat in the open space in the center of the examination hall, waiting. Sixty-one desks had been set up, with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones prepared on them.

Cheng Siju's ranking was relatively low, so he sat at the back of the empty stadium, which made him less nervous.

After waiting for half a day, the Han King's carriage finally arrived at the examination hall. The Han King, dressed in royal robes and casual clothes, sat down on a chair above the open space.

Everything seemed rather simple, but none of the scholars present dared to look down on them, because there were too many people present, not only elite Han soldiers, but also important officials from various departments; almost everyone who could come had come.

Right beside the Prince of Han, Luo Dian, the chief examiner of the imperial examination who was eighty-two years old this year, stood there in good spirits.

Nie Yu offered to add a chair for him, but Luo Dian insisted that the King of Han was the sovereign, while he was merely a subject.

When the emperor sits on the throne to conduct the imperial examination, how can his subjects sit alongside him?

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects!"

The sixty-one successful candidates rose in unison and bowed. They were now successful candidates and could call themselves subjects.

Without using any external amplification, Nie Yu simply shouted in his own voice, "No need for formalities, please be seated!"

The content of the imperial examinations in the Han Dynasty differed from those in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but the results were the same: those who passed the provincial examination became tribute students, and those who passed the palace examination were granted the title of Jinshi and appointed to official positions. Therefore, there was no need to elaborate on any fancy procedures, and the palace examination still followed the Ming and Qing Dynasty practices and policies regarding the examination time.

Cheng Siju was still grinding ink when the examination questions were already issued: "On the fifth day of the third month, the examination will be held for all candidates from across the land." The imperial edict read: "I, Cheng Siju, respectfully receive the mandate of Heaven. You, my lord, have ruled over this land of both Chinese and foreign peoples for many years! Day and night I have been reverent and diligent, never daring to be negligent, always thinking of the people, wishing that everyone may find their place. Now, the situation in the four corners of the world is undergoing an unprecedented upheaval. To the west of China lies a vast continent called Europe, the homeland of foreign barbarians, especially England, France, and the Franks, who have already achieved the Industrial Revolution, becoming wealthy and powerful, establishing formidable naval fleets, and seizing and plundering the wealth of the four nations within the continent to support themselves. To the east, in the seas, lies another vast continent, sparsely populated, where the United States has quietly risen after defeating England. To the north lies the barbaric Russian Empire, ambitious and with its Cossack forces already ravaging the North Sea. Our Great Han Dynasty is facing this unprecedented upheaval; how should we respond?"
After reading the exam question, Cheng Siju looked completely bewildered. What on earth was this?

What does it mean that there is a continent called Europe west of China?

They also said it was the homeland of foreign barbarians, and there were also Frankish, English, French, American, and Russian countries. He had only heard of English, because a few years ago a British envoy came to the Qing Dynasty to pay tribute and happened to pass through Anhui.

Not only was Cheng Siju completely bewildered, but all the other candidates present were also questioning their existence after reading the questions.

The question was not only very obscure, but also very general and broad. It was as if the scholars were first told about the general situation of the outside world outside China, and then asked them how China should develop in the future and how the Han Dynasty should develop.

This left the candidates dumbfounded and somewhat caught off guard. As candidates for the special imperial examination, although the Han dynasty had its own methods of winning people's hearts, they were still top talents from Huguang, Jiangxi, and Anhui, and they had prepared the exam questions in advance.

In their previous view, the Han Dynasty was a powerful and well-equipped army, and the King of Han was ambitious and a worthy founding emperor. Therefore, the question they asked must have been related to conquering the world.

However, during the palace examination, the topic shifted abruptly. The King of Han seemed completely unconcerned about winning the throne; in fact, he was quite confident and even began asking them how the future Han Dynasty should face the changing world and seek development.

While the question posed by the King of Han was somewhat unexpected, it was still in line with the conventions of the palace examination. The metropolitan examination might test the Four Books and Five Rhymes, the Eight-Legged Essay, and might even arbitrarily test mathematics, physics, and chemistry.

However, the palace examination was different. It would always test practical questions, and these were often questions that directly addressed the court's actual needs. For example, after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, the palace examination asked how the Ming Dynasty should eliminate the Northern Yuan. The top scholar proposed military settlements in garrisons, gradually eroding the territory. Another example is in the late Jiajing period, when Jiaqing and his ministers were becoming increasingly alienated and the national treasury was extremely depleted. The palace examination asked how to get the ministers to obey him again, replenish the national treasury, and bring peace to the country.

By the seventh year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the Ming Dynasty was already on the verge of collapse. In desperation, the Chongzhen Emperor even posed six questions in a row during the palace examination:

One question was raised: "There are too many corrupt officials in the court; how can we make them honest and upright?"

The second question is: How should the Ming Dynasty defend itself and counterattack when the Manchus invade?

Three questions to ask: How to eradicate the rampant bandits?

Four questions: With the national treasury empty, how can we make the Ming Dynasty rich?

Five questions for the Ming Dynasty: How should it respond when Huang Taiji begins to persuade the Mongols to surrender?

Six questions: With the country in turmoil and the people suffering, how can we break this deadlock?

……

In any case, once the six palace examination questions were asked, the Ming Dynasty's Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) that year were almost driven to their deaths by Emperor Chongzhen.

The final top scholar, Liu Lishun, only offered a superficial suggestion: select virtuous and capable officials, then first suppress the bandits, and then fight the Manchus.

These answers were obviously useless and could not save the Ming Dynasty. Ten years later, Beijing fell, and Liu Lishun, the top scholar in the imperial examination, committed suicide to serve his country, which can be considered as not failing the imperial favor bestowed upon him by Emperor Chongzhen.

Cheng Siju was still deep in thought, staring at his exam paper, while Yuan Mingyao, sitting two rows ahead of him, had already begun writing: "Your subject replies: During the reign of the Zhou Dynasty, the land of China was at its smallest, no more than one and a half acres. But by the Qin and Han Dynasties, north of the Great Wall was a land of archers, and inside the Great Wall were lands of nobles. Furthermore, the lands covered by the 'Yu Gong' and those governed during the Spring and Autumn Period were all inaccessible and unnecessary, so the Han Dynasty abandoned Zhuya. Now, Zhuya is Qiongzhou, and has returned to China. Why is this? It is simply because times have changed, and the China of the Han Dynasty cannot be compared with the China of today..."

"Even with the Tang Dynasty's great prosperity, it focused on internal China and external barbarians, employing the principles of benevolent rule. Although it used the Western Regions to subdue the Southern Qiang, who were connected to the Henghe River and bordering the Yixi, Beiting, and Anxi tribes, forming the border defenses of the Tang Dynasty, after the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty declined and lost its borders..."

"In the past, the capital was located in Youyan, which was guarded by the emperor himself. All areas covered by the *Yu Gong* and governed by the *Spring and Autumn Annals* were not to be considered subjects. But what about the land that our ancestors first acquired and incorporated into our territory? Could it be given to others? Moreover, this is the fertile land of China, a strategic pass, what the ancients called 'an inch of land is worth an inch of gold'? Unless it is absolutely necessary, and the fate of our nation rests on this, it cannot be easily abandoned..."

"The European countries to the west of China, the American continent to the east, and the Russian lands to the north all possess vast territories and seize wealth from beyond their borders. Why can't China do the same? China is a land of propriety and cannot be equated with barbarians. However, by promoting outward sagehood and inward kingship, and spreading education far and wide, the people are suffering more and more. Only the true solution lies in inward sagehood and outward kingship..."

"Foreign barbarians, through the Industrial Revolution, have built powerful navies and seized wealth from all corners of the world. Our Chinese nation should also learn from their superior techniques, not close itself off from the world, and not emulate the arrogant and self-important Qing dynasty. Instead, we should look to the world and govern accordingly. In the past, the Zhou emperor enfeoffed feudal lords and educated the barbarians; now, even the barbarians are subjects of China..."

"In this world, there is nothing like what has ever happened before. I believe we should extend our teachings to all the foreign lands overseas, and raise great armies of the sage kings, so that they may be bathed in the king's benevolent rule and receive the sage king's benevolent governance, just as the Zhou king enfeoffed the land in the past, using the feudal lords to educate the barbarians and make them subjects of our Chinese nation..."

He wrote a long and detailed account, first citing classical texts to explain the changes in the country's land and borders, arguing that the country is not static and that China has always been actively educating and expanding its influence abroad, which is why we have the current map of China.

Then, he went on to talk about his views on the changes overseas, arguing that if foreign barbarians can seize territory and plunder wealth everywhere, why can't China, as a country that spreads education, follow suit and learn from the barbarians' superior skills?

Yuan Mingyao's article had a very clear line of thought. Just from the content, you could tell that this guy was definitely from Hubei and Hunan, and he must have read the "Great Han Gazette" quite often. He had clearly put a lot of thought into the articles about the overseas situation that occasionally appeared in the gazette.

This is the only way for him to keep up with Nie Yu's train of thought.

(This person isn't very famous, but his students are.)
(End of this chapter)