Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 302 Thank you, Prime Minister Song

After the two poetry recitals on the second day, Lu Beigu's mind was like a bowstring that had been fully drawn and then suddenly relaxed. His ears were ringing and his body felt exhausted.

That essay, "Ode to Ensuring People's Persistence Through Adaptation," almost drained his last bit of energy for the day.

The distorted vision I had yesterday hadn't completely disappeared; instead, it reappeared due to my fatigue today. My temples were throbbing, and each heartbeat felt like a heavy pounding on my eardrums.

He dared not lie down, wrapped himself tightly in his green squirrel fur cloak, pressed his still slightly warm hand warmer against his lower abdomen, and paced slowly in the narrow examination room.

As he moved around, he chewed on some salted meat jerky, his mind drifting involuntarily to what the "grand finale" current affairs policy meeting would be tomorrow morning.
He knew it must be an urgent matter concerning the national economy and people's livelihood, but he was completely confused about its specific implications.

"How would examiners like Ouyang Xiu and Mei Yaochen set their questions?"

Lu Beigu shook his head, forcing himself to stop making pointless guesses; the most important thing right now was to recover his spirits.

In the first month of the lunar calendar, darkness falls early, and the sky quickly darkens completely, making the examination hall eerily silent.

Just as he was trying to clear his mind again using meditation techniques, a faint rustling sound began to come from the roof tiles and the gaps in the reed curtains of the examination hall.

——It’s snowing.

At first, it was just a few scattered snowflakes tapping on the roof, making a soft, pattering sound.

Gradually, the snow intensified, turning into goose feather-like snowflakes that fell silently and densely.

The cold wind, carrying snowflakes, seeped in through the gaps in the reed curtains and the doorways of the examination hall, bringing a biting, damp chill.

The already extremely low temperature plummeted even further with the falling snow.

Lu Beigu shivered, turned the cloak inside out and wrapped it even tighter around himself, burying his face in it.

The snowy night only added to the torment.

Physical exhaustion, mental fatigue, and biting cold intertwined, making the footsteps of the night patrolmen and the clanging of armor plates sound muffled in the snow.

"This person was so cold that he couldn't stand it and wanted to be carried out himself."

"Where's the old man? Why isn't he breathing warm air anymore? Quickly call for help!"

Lu Beigu was curled up in the quilt and cloak, half asleep and half awake, when he heard the sounds of candidates being carried out, more than once.

"Thump! Thump-thump! Thump!"

The sound of the clapper pierced through the wind and snow, tearing apart the silence of the examination hall once again in the darkest and coldest moment before dawn.

Lu Beigu opened his eyes. After a night of wind and snow and a light sleep, even though he was wrapped in a lot of clothes and blankets, his body was still like a frozen piece of wood, and his spirits were in terrible shape.

"Damn it!" He struggled to sit up, his joints making a stiff "crackling" sound, and he cursed, which was rare for him.

There's no way around it; this experience is like sleeping under a bridge overnight in winter—no one would be in a good mood.

Moreover, although Lu Beigu had heard experienced senior students such as Cui Wenjing and Zeng Gong talk about how difficult the examination conditions were before the exam, he really didn't expect it to be this difficult!
He brushed aside the snowflakes that had drifted in from the blankets and saw that the passageway outside the door was covered with a thick layer of snow that was still falling.

The heavy snow seemed to isolate the entire examination hall from the world, leaving only this small space inside the examination room.

There was no water, no fire, only the last two frozen, gritty sesame cakes.

Lu Beigu bit down hard, the cold crumbs melting with the warmth of his mouth, providing his last bit of energy.

Fortunately, he was young enough, healthy enough, and had a strong enough will to live.

At this moment, a resolute will to burn one's bridges surged from the bottom of his heart, overcoming all discomfort.

The final day, it all comes down to this!
"Silence, students!"

"In the second year of the Jiayou reign, the Ministry of Rites' provincial examination questions were released!"

The clerk's footsteps crunched on the snow, much slower than yesterday for fear of slipping.

After receiving the exam paper, Lu Beigu took a deep breath of the cold, snow-laden air, rubbed his hands together to try and restore some flexibility to his fingers, and then quickly unfolded the exam paper.

"In April of the first year of the Jiayou era, the new dike of the Liuta River breached again, causing great floods in Hebei and eastern Hebei, resulting in widespread death and loss of life and depletion of the treasury. Now, with frequent floods, there is no consensus on how to dredge and block the floods. I request that you refer to the classics and history, and consider the current situation, to elaborate on the essentials of dredging and channeling, in order to meet the urgent needs of Hebei."

After reading the first question, Lu Beigu had only one thought in his mind.

—Thank you, Prime Minister Song!

He had done this question almost exactly as it was, and Song Xiang had even corrected it for him step by step, producing a paper that could be considered the "standard answer".

It is not surprising that Ouyang Xiu would set this question, because Ouyang Xiu's views on this issue have always been contrary to those of the two prime ministers, Wen and Fu. He was a very resolute "pro-memorial faction" and had repeatedly submitted memorials to argue his case before the incident at Liuta River.

Therefore, Lu Beigu was very clear about how to answer in a way that would please the examiner.

The *Yu Gong* records that "the nine rivers were channeled," highlighting the divine skill of Yu the Great, which lay in dredging rather than damming. Mencius said, "Yu controlled the waters by following their natural course," emphasizing the natural flow of the water. The collapse of the Six Towers was not a divine calamity, but rather a result of flawed human planning. Forcibly suppressing the floodwaters inevitably leads to collapse, resulting in a devastating disaster and severely damaging the nation's foundation. Reflecting on this painful experience, we understand that dredging is the fundamental solution to mitigating disaster, while damming is merely a temporary fix. The urgent need in Hebei today lies in deeply understanding the importance of dredging, drawing lessons from both ancient and modern times, and diligently implementing these principles.

The key to dredging and channeling water lies first in understanding the terrain and following the nature of the water. The *Zhouli* (Rites of Zhou) states, "All ditches must follow the flow of water, and dikes must follow the terrain." Water naturally flows downwards; its flow cannot be reversed. The Yellow River flows through the Hebei Plain, vast and eastward—this is its nature. To manage it, one must first dispatch capable ministers, leading experts in hydrology, to travel throughout the prefectures of Daming, Chan, and Hua, thoroughly surveying the elevation and valleys, measuring the width of the river, and assessing the speed and force of the water. In low-lying, unobstructed areas, one should guide the water by dredging and channeling it back into its proper course. To forcibly block it against its natural flow is like trying to fight nature with human effort; though the effort may be immense, it will ultimately lead to collapse. The example of the Six Pagodas serves as a clear warning.

Secondly, the flow of water should be diverted to reduce the pressure on the main river. The essence of Jia Rang's "Three Strategies for River Management," particularly the "middle strategy," lies in "dredging more canals to divert and control the raging floodwaters." This is indeed an effective emergency measure. In critical areas, such as the Chan and Hua sections of the river, the terrain should be assessed to dredge several diversion channels to guide the surging floodwaters. Furthermore, Hebei has ancient ditches and marshes, such as the Dalu Marsh and the Hulu River, which have become silted up over the years, losing their function of flood diversion and water retention. These should be urgently dredged to deepen and widen them, enabling them to accommodate floods again. Just as a blockage in the blood vessels of the human body must be cleared to prevent the main channel from bursting, diverting the flow of water ensures the safe flow of the main river and prevents the disruption of the Bianjing (Kaifeng) water transport.

Thirdly, dikes should be used to confine water to canals, not to compete with the river for land. Dikes should be built at the mouths of waterways, key points of canals, and at the passes of cities and towns, to confine the water's flow, prevent the rapid current from eroding sand, and guide it into channels, thus protecting vital points. It is absolutely unacceptable to build high, long dikes along the river for hundreds of miles as in the past, competing with the water for even an inch of land. At that time, the farmland within the dikes was ultimately destroyed; once breached, the disaster would be even more devastating. The construction of dikes must be consistent with the strategy of diversion; only the most essential parts should be fortified, and the rest should be abandoned rather than contested, so that the water has a wide and gentle path to flow.”

(End of this chapter)