Journey to the West: Sun Wukong's Advice System-Chapter 279 - 258: The 54th Imperial Examination of the Great Han Dynasty

Chapter 279: Chapter 258: The 54th Imperial Examination of the Great Han Dynasty

Are we going to war?

Startled by the words, Pang Tong poked his head out of the window, carefully observing the bustling street below and, with his Innate level of martial prowess, attentively listened to the transactions of the merchants.

As the saying goes, "seeing the small to understand the large," he quickly noticed the subtle, silent changes within the Han Dynasty from these transactions.

At the same time, he also felt that Kong Ming was even more meticulous than him, having not forgotten to observe every detail during their earlier conversation.

Then confusion set in. With the Han Dynasty at the height of its power, occupying a whole region, who would they be going to war with?

The East Sea Fairy Islands, or the various island nations of the South Sea?

After some thought, Pang Tong quickly came up with an answer. He said to Zhu Geliang, "Has the court finally decided to make a move against those kingdoms to the west?"

Zhu Geliang gave a slight nod, "Indeed, from the news bulletins recently published by the Department of Commerce, we can see some clues. Our great Han has successively terminated trade with Ussang Country, Elephant Country, Black Chicken Country, and Slow Cart Country."

Pang Tong had read these news bulletins, which is why he could make this judgment. He knew these western kingdoms were obstacles to the Han Dynasty’s expansion westward.

Furthermore, combining changes in various industries among the common folk, it was clear that the Han Dynasty was adjusting its policies in preparation for war.

Zhu Geliang continued, "Let’s not drink anymore. I’ve been busy preparing for the scholarly examination lately; I haven’t even had the time to check the latest news from the court."

Finishing his words, his figure flashed, and he disappeared from sight.

Pang Tong grabbed a handful of snacks and hurried after him, "Wait for me." fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

...

The Han Dynasty’s imperial examination was divided into civil and military tracks.

The civil track used to consist of four stages: the college exam, the prefectural exam, the metropolitan exam, and the palace exam. Since Emperor Liu Xiu delegated power to the Cabinet, the palace exam was eliminated, leaving only the first three stages.

After the metropolitan exam, the Cabinet Ministers jointly graded the papers to determine the final rankings of the top three tiers.

The imperial examinations were held every three years, and this year was the 54th civil metropolitan exam.

Before the exam, the chief examiners, Guo Jia, Fa Zheng, and Lu Su, were discussing what to ask for the third essay question.

Guo Jia suggested with a smile, "Let’s set it on the strategy of the Han’s westward expansion. Let’s see if we can find a Prime Minister among these candidates."

Fa Zheng shook his head, "This is too difficult for them. The key information about westward expansion is within the Cabinet and has not been made public; few candidates would be able to deduce these subtle changes from their regular lives."

Lu Su furrowed his brows, "The candidates are all busy with the examination; they’re unlikely to have noticed the recent changes within the court and among the common folk."

Despite the opposition from two of them, the essay question was still set on the strategy of the Han’s westward expansion.

Because Guo Jia was the chief examiner, and Fa Zheng and Lu Su were deputy examiners.

Additionally, Guo Jia was the top scholar of the 52nd imperial examination in the civil track, while Lu Su was the second-top scholar.

And Fa Zheng was the second-top scholar of the 53rd imperial examination; at that time, the top scholar was Zhou Yu and the third-top was Yang Xiu.

...

Once the metropolitan exam began, Zhu Geliang and Pang Tong entered the examination hall together and found their respective exam rooms.

Because the court had specially arranged for immortals to oversee the examination, there was no chance for anyone to cheat.

Pang Tong sat in the exam room, mentally psyching himself up: "I must win against Kong Ming this time; I need to rank higher than him!"

He had fantasized about being ranked in the first tier, but with so many geniuses emerging in the Han Dynasty in the past two to three decades, simply surpassing Kong Ming would suffice for him.

The following exams went smoothly for Pang Tong, and he felt that he could at least make it into the top of the second tier.

But when the last essay question was announced, Pang Tong was stunned.

The strategy of the Han’s westward expansion? It was this topic!

He smiled wryly, "I am not as good as Kong Ming."

After their last tea-brewing gathering, he and Zhu Geliang had been studying the Han Dynasty’s various policy changes toward the west, and they had also strategized about its westward expansion.

Frankly speaking, he was not as good as Zhu Geliang in this respect.

On the other side, Zhu Geliang also saw the essay question and smiled lightly, confident in his well-conceived strategies, as if he was orchestrating the war from a thousand miles away.

This imperial examination was his to lose.

One month later, the much-anticipated results of the civil imperial examination were announced.

The entrance to the examination hall was abuzz with noise as one by one, the lists of the top three tiers were hung in the air and viewed by countless eyes.

"New third-top scholar, Shi Mayi!"

"New second-top scholar, Pang Tong!"

"New top scholar, Zhu Geliang!"

The three names were shouted by thousands and soon spread throughout the alleys and streets of Chang’an City, known by myriad people.

Despite his youth, Shi Mayi had the patience to sit at home reading, without bothering to check the results at the examination hall.

It wasn’t until the servant who had gone to look at the lists returned and reported the names of the top scholar, the second-top, and the third-top, that he reacted.

"Just the third-top scholar?" Shi Mayi frowned slightly.

He hadn’t checked the list partly because of his temperament; he genuinely had the patience, and partly because he was confident that he would certainly be named the top scholar this time.

Since his father, Shi Mafang, although not a Cabinet Minister himself, held a high position as the Prefect of the Capital and oversaw the region of the Han capital.

Moreover, the most powerful Prime Minister in the court today was someone his father had supported from the beginning.

Thus, his father had the qualifications to participate in important Cabinet meetings, and he frequently discussed some non-secret matters with Shi Mayi afterward to develop his decision-making skills.

In other words, he was very familiar with the Han preparations for westward expansion and had done his own strategizing, forming a set of ideas.

Compared to his peers in the same examination cohort, this essay question might as well have been giving away points to him.

Yet unexpectedly, he was only named third-top scholar.

Shi Mayi couldn’t understand how this previously unknown Zhu Geliang, along with Pang Tong, could have achieved higher scores than him!

Before the exam, he had heard Zhu Geliang’s name from his father, as someone the Prime Minister Cao sought, but he did not pay it much heed at the time.