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

Today is the third session of the imperial examination, and it is also the essay section that will determine life or death.

Having endured the ordeal of the first two rounds of classical texts and poetry, the candidates' minds were stretched to the limit. At this moment, when the wooden plaque with the exam questions was slammed onto the wall by the yamen runners, a series of extremely suppressed gasps filled the entire examination hall.

The title, though only seven characters long, exudes a strong, enigmatic flavor of Confucian philosophy:

[On the utmost importance of fair punishment and reward]

(Meaning "the ultimate principle of loyalty embodied in punishment and reward")

This question seems mild, but it's actually a huge trap.

The Song Dynasty valued civil administration over military affairs and emphasized benevolent governance. However, in recent years, in order to rectify official corruption and maintain social order, punishments have become increasingly complicated and harsh.

The examiner's question clearly asks: When the current emperor governs the country, should he use strict laws and severe punishments to set the record straight, or should he be lenient and benevolent to nurture the people's spirit?

That's a difficult question to answer!

Answering with harsh laws and severe punishments easily leads to being criticized as a cruel official; answering with leniency and benevolence easily leads to being criticized as pedantic.

What's worse is that the question requires quoting classical texts. If you misremember a single word or the quoted story isn't "highbrow" enough, you'll be eliminated immediately.

The examinee in the next cell was already studying frantically, muttering to himself, probably reciting the Book of Documents and the Criminal Code of the Song Dynasty. He seemed to want to empty his head of all the books, afraid that he wouldn't have enough allusions to make himself seem unlearned.

Only Su Shi, in room number seven of the "Heavenly" section, looked at the question and a mischievous smile crept onto his lips.

He slowly pulled the empty red brocade pouch from his pocket, his fingers stroking the rough fabric, a feeling of indescribable admiration welling up in his heart.

"Sir, you're amazing! You even managed to guess such an obscure and uncommon question!"

The teacher even laid out the solution to the problem for him...

Su Shi suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes flashing with an almost insane confidence, a unique quality he had acquired after being "corrupted" by Jiang Lin—a kind of madness that disregarded rules.

Since you say it's okay to make something up, let's make up a big one!

He picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and without the slightest hesitation, began to write with bold and sweeping strokes, as if a historian were recording ancient secrets:

"During the time of Yao, Gao Yao was the Minister of Justice. When Yao was about to execute someone, Gao Yao said, 'Execute him three times,' and Yao said, 'Pardon him three times.'"

(Translation: During the reign of Emperor Yao, Gao Yao was the judge in charge of punishments. When a criminal was to be executed, Gao Yao pleaded three times for him to be killed, but Emperor Yao pleaded three times for him to be pardoned.)

This anecdote is described vividly and with a strong sense of imagery. It's as if Su Shi personally witnessed Emperor Yao and Gao Yao's debate in the court: one upholding the majesty of the law, the other advocating the benevolence of a virtuous ruler.

But in fact--

There is no record of this in historical books at all!

You won't find this sentence anywhere in the Book of Documents, Records of the Grand Historian, or Zuo Zhuan. Su Shi made it up on the spot!

But he wrote it so well.

He used this "fake allusion" to cleverly construct a perfect conflict: the law is cold, but law enforcers must be warm.

It was precisely because of Emperor Yao's "three acts of leniency" that the ultimate "kindness" was embodied. This kindness did not mean abolishing the law, but rather giving the greatest respect to life within the scope permitted by law.

In the following article, Su Shi wrote with great fluency and ease, like a river flowing down its banks.

He no longer adhered to the dogmas of the ancients, but used an almost "naive" yet incredibly insightful logic to explain what it means to "give rewards when in doubt, and waive punishments when in doubt."

"It is better to lose the innocent than to kill the innocent."

Every word felt like a slap in the face to those test-takers who were still piling up fancy words and pursuing a "bizarre" writing style.

This is an open mockery of the formalism of the "Imperial Academy Style" and a devastating blow to test-takers who rely on rote learning.

At the end of the article, Su Shi didn't even conclude with his usual humble tone, but instead went straight to the highest level:

"One may reward, or one may not reward; to reward excessively is to go beyond benevolence. One may punish, or one may not punish; to punish excessively is to go beyond righteousness. Going beyond benevolence does not detract from being a gentleman; going beyond righteousness leads to being a cruel person. Therefore, benevolence can be excessive, but righteousness cannot be excessive."

This passage means that it is better to be overly kind than overly righteous. Being overly kind is the mark of a gentleman, while being overly righteous is cruelty.

After writing the last character, Su Shi looked at the scroll and let out a long sigh of relief.

He could almost see Jiang Lin giving him a thumbs-up in Runzhou.

"Lord Ouyang."

Su Shi blew on the ink to dry it, chuckled, and a hint of youthful slyness flashed in his eyes. "If you haven't read the story of 'Yao Killing Gao Yao,' don't blame yourself for not being well-read. After all... this is history I just 'invented.'"

Meanwhile, at the other end of the examination room.

Zeng Gong's paper remained as solid as a mountain. He didn't have Su Shi's audacity to "forge" anything, but he possessed a terrifyingly solid foundation.

From the perspective of institutional development, he discussed how to establish a judicial system that balances leniency and severity. His article is structured as rigorously as a heavily fortified fortress, with every statement supported by legal principles and leaving no room for error.

Su Zhe, however, chose a different path.

He wrote, starting from the suffering of the people, "The law is a public instrument of the world, not a private punishment of one family."

His writing is sharp and incisive, directly addressing the ills of the time. He vehemently criticizes the cruel practices of corrupt officials who fabricate charges and calls on the court to prioritize benevolence and not allow the law to become a tool for harming the people.

In this competition, the three students from Jingshi Academy did not compete in economics or in rhetoric.

What they're competing on is—their vision.

While other test takers were still struggling with "how to write this character in a way that sounds profound," they were already discussing "the essence of law" and "the brilliance of humanity."

……

As the sun sets in the west, the bell tolls to signal the end of the exam.

Su Shi walked out of the examination cell, stretched, and felt as if his bones had become lighter.

"Brother Su!"

A fellow examinee who recognized him leaned over, looking distressed, and asked, "This 'Punishment and Reward' question is too difficult. I quoted three articles from the Tang Code, but I don't know if that's enough. What did you quote, Brother Su?"

Su Shi blinked, his face full of inscrutable meaning:

"I quoted the dialogue between Emperor Yao and Gao Yao."

"Huh?" The examinee was taken aback. "Did Emperor Yao and Gao Yao have this conversation? From which classic text does it come?"

Su Shi patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly:

"Read more books. There are golden houses in books, there are... well, that's just wishful thinking."

After saying that, he laughed loudly and strode away, leaving the examinee bewildered in the wind, beginning to doubt whether he had studied something fake.

Back at the Gaosheng Inn, the three of them gathered in the room.

"Brother, you really made this up?" Although Su Zhe knew the plan, he was still a little apprehensive. "What if Lord Ouyang takes it seriously and checks the books?"

"check?"

Su Shi took a sip of tea and said nonchalantly, "The master said that Ouyang Xiu was a gentleman. A gentleman reads articles for their spirit and atmosphere. As long as the spirit and atmosphere are there, the source of the allusions becomes secondary."

"We'll see."

A glint of light flashed in Su Shi's eyes. "If even the chief examiner doesn't know this allusion, it can only mean that the allusion is too obscure and too profound. He will only feel that he is ignorant and will never think that it was made up by a candidate in the examination room."

Zeng Gong listened in stunned silence, and could only shake his head with a wry smile in the end:

"Zizhan, Zizhan, only you would dare to do something like this. If it were me, I would never dare to cheat in the imperial examination."

"That's what you call talent."

Su Shi lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the image of Jiang Lin appearing in his mind.

"However, to be fair, your 'creating something out of nothing' move really hits the nail on the head when it comes to human weaknesses."

"Now, let's see if this good show can be put on in the examination room."