The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

Inside the exam hall, the air was as stuffy as an open steamer.

The proctor in charge of the examinations was surnamed Wang, an old scholar who had spent half his life in the Hanlin Academy. What he hated most were those candidates who deviated from the norm and did not write down the profound meanings of the sages.

At this moment, he was walking with his hands behind his back to the "Number Seven in the Heavenly Class" examination room.

Sitting inside was none other than Su Shi, who had made a great splash at Wangjiang Tower yesterday.

"Hmph, a crowd-pleaser."

The examiner snorted inwardly and glanced sideways at Su Shi's paper. The topic was "On Sufficient Food and Military Strength." This was an old topic from the Analects; when Zigong asked about governance, Confucius replied: "Sufficient food and sufficient military strength will earn the people's trust."

According to the standard format, test takers should write "benevolent governance and love for the people, frugality and prosperity for the people, and cultivating virtue to win over distant peoples".

But when Wang Jiankao saw the first sentence written by Su Shi, he stumbled, his knees buckled, and he almost bowed deeply to Su Shi.

On the scroll, a line of words was written in bold, powerful strokes:

"When granaries are full, people know etiquette. This is not due to the teachings of sages, but rather the result of surplus production. If people are struggling to survive, even if they recite scriptures every day, it will be difficult to stop them from exchanging children to eat. If every family is well-off, even if they are illiterate, they will know not to pick up lost items on the road."

Invigilator Wang stared wide-eyed, his beard trembling.

This...this is absolutely outrageous!

Is this saying that the teachings of sages are not as important as "surplus output" (productivity)?

He intended to reprimand him on the spot, but for some inexplicable reason, he continued reading.

"Food is the foundation of a nation. However, food does not fall from the sky; it depends on the two words 'circulation.' If commerce is suppressed, goods will not circulate, and if goods do not circulate, grain will not accumulate. Therefore, the way to ensure sufficient food is not to store grain, but to facilitate trade..."

The proctor was dumbfounded.

He felt his worldview was being rubbed into the ground. There wasn't a single word of nonsense in this article; it was all "practical tips" that he hadn't figured out even after half a lifetime in officialdom.

What "supply and demand balance" and what "trade surplus" (although expressed in classical Chinese)? Every word felt like a hammer, smashing down on his head, which could only memorize books.

After an unknown amount of time, Su Shi looked up and stared at him innocently, saying, "Sir, you're blocking the light."

The proctor, Wang, seemed to snap out of his daze. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, glanced at the chubby examinee with a complicated expression, and silently stepped back.

He had only one thought in his mind: this test paper would either be a zero or... a perfect score.

……

At the same time, two other examination rooms were occupied.

Zeng Gong's writing was extremely steady; his articles were well-balanced and structurally rigorous, like a heavily fortified fortress. However, the core of his argument was Jiang Lin's "institutional construction"—how to ensure food security by regulating officialdom.

Su Zhe's style was even more incisive. He directly approached the issue from the perspective of "redundant troops and expenses," arguing that "sufficient troops" do not depend on quantity but on quality, and on the financial capacity to support them.

These three articles, although taking different approaches, all share a common core:

Let's leave aside abstract morality and focus on the bloody logic of reality.

……

Three days later, in the examination room.

The chief examiner for this prefectural examination was Lord Han, the transport commissioner of Jiangnan East Circuit.

Lord Han was rubbing his temples in front of a pile of papers on "benevolence, righteousness, and morality."

"It's all the same old thing! All clichés!"

Lord Han tossed a test paper aside. "These days, all the scholars know how to do is shout 'Long live the Emperor!' They can't even explain how to transport a ship full of grain!"

"Sir! Please take a look at this!"

At that moment, an examiner excitedly ran over, holding a paper in his hands, which were trembling. "This paper, 'On Sufficient Food and Military Strength,' is simply... simply the insight of a prime minister!"

When Lord Han took it, he saw that it was Zeng Gong's examination paper.

The more Han read, the brighter his eyes became: "Excellent! Clear and logical, with rigorous legal provisions! Especially this sentence, 'Without laws, there is no stable supply of grain,' it resonates deeply with me! This scroll should be number one!"

"Wait! Sir, there's another one here!"

The proctor, Wang, who had almost fallen earlier, shakily handed over Su Shi's exam paper, saying, "You...you should prepare yourself, this essay is a bit 'over the top'."

Lord Han took the book with a puzzled look, and after reading only three lines, he suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

"How dare you!"

Everyone in the examination room was startled.

Lord Han's breathing quickened, his face flushed crimson, but his eyes gleamed with wild joy: "Bold...but exhilarating! So exhilarating!"

He pointed at the exam paper, his voice trembling: "This isn't something a candidate wrote! It's clearly written from the position of Minister of Revenue! Promoting trade and industry, generating wealth through circulation... This level of insight... it's insulting me! But what he said is true!"

"Sir... I also have a remarkable article here." Another examiner timidly raised his hand. "This one is about military system reform. It's very insightful and sent chills down my spine."

This is Su Zhe's exam paper.

Three exam papers were placed side by side on the desk.

Lord Han and several examiners sat in a circle, looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Have you guys noticed?"

Lord Han stroked his beard, his eyes deepening. "These three articles have different handwriting and writing styles. One is unrestrained, one is rigorous, and one is sharp."

"but……"

Invigilator Wang swallowed hard and continued, "But the underlying 'flavor' is the same. That flavor of not taking the dogmas of the ancients seriously and only emphasizing 'practicality' and 'logic'... it's practically identical."

Lord Han took a deep breath: "These three must be from the same school."

The examination room was deathly silent.

After a long silence, Lord Han finally uttered a single sentence: "Runzhou...when did such a divine teacher emerge?"

"Sir, how should we judge this?" Invigilator Wang asked cautiously. "Although Su Shi's essay is brilliant, it is somewhat unconventional. If we judge it as first place, there might be controversy."

"dispute?"

Lord Han sneered and waved his hand, "What our Great Song Dynasty lacks right now are people who can get things done! Get rid of all those bookworms who only know how to study!"

"These three papers are currently ranked in the top three! As for who is number one..."

Lord Han's eyes flickered, and a playful smile appeared on his lips. "Then let's see if they can give me such a big surprise in the next poetry recital."

"After all, writing good policy essays might be due to good teaching. But talent in poetry and prose cannot be taught."

……

Outside the examination hall.

Jiang Lin remained lying in the rattan chair, holding the account book that Qian Duoduo had just delivered.

"Sir, aren't you worried?" Qian Duoduo asked while counting money. "I heard that many candidates came out crying and complaining after the first exam on classical texts, saying that the questions were too obscure."

"Off-center?"

Jiang Lin chuckled, peeled a grape, and popped it into his mouth.

"For mediocre people, anything that isn't memorized from a book is considered off-topic. But for geniuses..."

He looked toward the examination hall, his gaze seemingly piercing through the high walls.

"This is just a warm-up game for them."

"Just wait, the next exam is poetry. Zizhan has been holding back his pent-up frustration for so long, he's finally going to find a place to vent."