World-Ending Demon Emperor-Chapter 75 - 72 Write with the brilliance of a god awaken the deaf and make the dumb speak!
75: Chapter 72: Write with the brilliance of a god, awaken the deaf and make the dumb speak!
75 -72: Write with the brilliance of a god, awaken the deaf and make the dumb speak!
Under this topic, there is a brief introduction.
The Rage Wave Kingdom was established two hundred years ago, and it has been recognized as a kingdom for one hundred years.
Since His Majesty the Dragon Emperor unified the Human World, countless kingdoms have risen and fallen, with the longest-lasting ones not even surviving beyond five or six hundred years, and the shortest-lived ones lasting less than several decades.
So, in your view, how many more years can the Zhi Family’s rule over the Rage Wave Kingdom last?
What reasons might lead to the kingdom’s downfall?
“King Zibian really has his own style,” Lanling mused with emotion after reading the topic.
Such a policy essay topic would be forbidden even to be discussed in other countries.
Although history has not seen a kingdom that lasted a thousand years, every king of the current kingdoms claims that their family’s reign will last forever.
Yet King Zibian straightforwardly asks all the students how many more years his Rage Wave Kingdom can exist?
Lanling clearly felt that this policy essay was very difficult to write, yet if done well, it could be very impressive.
The entire exam time was only three hours, truly a moment to test one’s level of skill.
To earn a high score, one’s opinions must be different from most students.
Because a saying goes quite well, “The truth is in the hands of the few,” and this saying itself is the truth.
Besides, the scope of this policy essay is very difficult to grasp.
For instance, if you write that the Rage Wave Kingdom has a national destiny of a thousand years, then you’d be treating the king like a fool.
But if you only give the kingdom a lifespan of a hundred years, that’s like cursing the Rage Wave Kingdom.
Next, Lanling realized a deeper implication in this question; it wasn’t just about how many more years the Rage Wave Kingdom could exist.
Even more important was pointing out in the essay what the biggest problem Rage Wave Kingdom currently faces is, and what will be the biggest issue it confronts over the next decades or centuries?
This requires a very high level of political insight and wisdom to see clearly and to write clear.
And the highest realm of this essay would be to ask the examinees how they would sustain the Rage Wave Kingdom through its next crisis of destruction.
This is a very vast and grand topic.
To truly complete it, at least tens of thousands of words would not suffice; it simply cannot be contained in one policy essay.
Therefore, Lanling only needed to find an entry point, then break the topic from this point with a sharp and brief policy essay.
He had to write exceptionally dazzling, extremely heart-stirring work that would make the reader’s eyes light up, to be enough to awaken and shock the king’s heart, in order to achieve a higher score.
Because he sought to obtain the noble samurai medal and enter the top ten.
He couldn’t fail in any examination.
Even a single failure could lead to complete forfeiture of all his previous efforts.
It’s not enough to be merely outstanding; he must be unrivaled and incomparable.
Lanling closed his eyes and began to rack his brains to think.
…
A full hour later, he had finished his deliberation.
His entry point was something completely unprecedented to the entire Flame Dragon Continent: factional strife!
This term was going to be a new concept for this world.
His policy essay’s title was: Factional Strife Misleads a Nation, Factional Strife Destroys a Nation
Having found this entry point, Lanling was very excited and quickly began to write as if inspired, his thoughts flowing like a spring.
No human kingdom on the Flame Dragon Continent has ever experienced real factional strife in these three thousand years because, for thousands of years, all countries have adopted the feudal system, where nobles held all the power.
The civilian elite class, namely the scholarly and military elites, only began to rise in recent decades.
The one who sparked the rise of civilian elites was Rage Wave Kingdom, particularly King Zibian.
And it has only been a few years since a large number of civilian elites entered high military positions, became governors of provinces and counties, and even senior officials of the cabinet.
So, the rise of the civilian elites, thus far, has been only for less than twenty years.
Currently, the number of civilian elites is still small, so they are in a somewhat scarce state.
King Quo Bian suppressed nobles, leaving positions and power to be distributed among these civilian elites.
However, elites also reproduce, and with time, the number of civilian elites will increase.
Then there won’t be enough power and positions to distribute.
When the king no longer has enough power to give to these civilian elites, they will undoubtedly band together to form factions, relying on the power of connections to compete for greater authority. freewebnøvel.coɱ
After the imperial examination system was introduced in ancient China, the history of noble families monopolizing state power came to an end.
A great number of scholars went on the stage to govern the country together with the royal family.
Inevitably, factionalism arose.
There was the Niu-Li factional strife during the Tang Dynasty, the New and Old factional strife during the Song Dynasty, and by the Ming Dynasty, factionalism reached its peak.
In the fierce struggle between eunuch factions, Donglin Party, and Zhe Party, they fought to the death, leading directly to the complete destruction of the great Ming Dynasty.
So, once factionalism occurs, a nation’s strength will be greatly depleted.
It might be a lesser issue for other kingdoms, but the geographic location of Rage Wave Kingdom is so perilous, situated between the Barbarian Tribes and the Flame Empire, that stagnation means regression.
If all layers of the kingdom are united and devoted, not only can the nation be preserved, but it can also expand and grow stronger.
But once factionalism arises and internal strife begins, the speed of destruction will far exceed expectations.
In the essay, Lanling boldly speculated that there would be three episodes of factional strife in the Rage Wave Kingdom.
The first factional strife will be between the noble class and the civilian elites, which will occur within the next ten years.
Under the tacit approval and manipulation of the royal family, the civilian elite will surely continue to squeeze the space of the nobility, taking power away from them.
In this first factional conflict, while the royal family can profit from it, there won’t be too great a mortal crisis.
Furthermore, within at most twenty to thirty years, the outcome of this strife will be determined, and the noble class is bound to suffer a complete defeat.
Because the nobility is becoming increasingly decrepit, like the setting sun in the west, while the civilian elites represent a rising force, like the sunrise in the east.
After the first party struggle ended, the noble class became a complete shell, with the civilian elite exclusively enjoying the power of the kingdom, and this class thoroughly metamorphosed into the scholarly and martial elite.
The scholarly and martial elite who enjoyed exclusive power over the kingdom were also in the position where not advancing meant retreating.
As they grew ever more powerful and could not obtain greater power from the royal family, they would inevitably target the royal family as their next goal, and the absolute political correctness for them would become to render the royal family powerless.
Therefore, the second party struggle would be the struggle between the scholarly and martial elite and the royal family.
This struggle would bring immense damage to the Rage Wave Kingdom and would not yield a clear winner or loser.
Because the royal family held the moral high ground, once the scholarly and martial elite factionalized and came to possess power, their power would no longer originate from the royal family.
So, the second party struggle, fundamentally, could not have a victor.
Or rather, before a winner could be determined, the Rage Wave Kingdom would fall.
The third party struggle would be within the scholarly and martial elite itself, the conflict between the civil and military factions, and even the internal strife between different factions within the scholarly and military classes.
Moreover, the third party struggle would take place concurrently with the second.
If the Rage Wave Kingdom did not fall during the second party struggle, it would surely perish in the third.
So, at last, Lanling drew his final conclusion.
The Rage Wave Kingdom only had a hundred years of national destiny and was bound to perish due to internal strife.
In the end, he should have written about a method to unravel this predicament, but Lanling was not that naive.
He ended his piece with four characters: “An insoluble situation!”
After pouring two thousand words onto paper, Lanling finally finished writing his treatise on the downfall of a nation through party strife.
And now, less than half an hour remained before the end of the examination.
Lanling read his essay from start to finish—concise and potent, with a sharp and clear thesis, and its conclusion was startling.
The entire treatise could certainly be called ear-splitting and mind-shaking.
Whether in vision or wisdom, it was a top-notch choice.
After all, on Earth, Lanling had two thousand years of history to reference.
The tragedies that befell several dynasties fully validated his views.
“Dong dong dong dong…”
The bell rang, signaling the end of the second exam.
Twenty tutors came one by one to collect the exam papers and then gathered them together to hand over to the examiners for marking and review.
This second exam’s essay marking was no simple matter, requiring a full two days to complete.
After all, there was no definitive right answer, necessitating extensive time for deliberation and discussion.
After the exam, Lanling returned directly to Count Tianshui’s residence.
Tomorrow was a day off, and the third exam on the arts would continue the day after tomorrow evening.
Moreover, the results of the second exam would be released before the third exam began.
…
After returning home, Suo Ningbing immediately asked, “Little brother, what was the topic of today’s treatise?”
Lanling said, “How long can the Rage Wave Kingdom last?”
Hearing this topic, Suo Ningbing was momentarily stunned, seeming extremely incredulous.
“Our King Zibian is really full of character,” Lanling said with a laugh.
Suo Ningbing said, “But this treatise is very difficult.
It tests not only courage but also wisdom and vision.
I would find it hard to stand out.”
Suo Ningbing was a talented woman who had also prepared many treatises for Lanling’s second exam and was very confident in her own talent.
However, the topic of how long the Rage Wave Kingdom could last was indeed broad and profound.
“How did you write it?” Suo Ningbing asked.
Lanling said, “Within a hundred years, the Rage Wave Kingdom will certainly perish due to party strife, beyond salvation.”
Upon hearing this, Suo Ningbing was immediately shocked.
Then, Lanling recited his essay, which was very clear and to the point.
The first party struggle, the second, the third, and then the downfall of the Rage Wave Kingdom.
After listening, Suo Ningbing looked at Lanling for a long time, admiration glowing in her beautiful eyes as she murmured to herself, “Little brother, you truly are a genius.
This treatise will shock everyone.”
…
Zhi Ning, one of the examiners sent by the royal family, also began the lengthy task of marking the essays.
She was a proud and picky person, so as she picked up each essay and barely read a hundred words, she would frown, almost impatiently wanting to toss it aside.
Because these treatises were too vague, too unbearable to look at.
As Zhi Ning marked and critiqued the papers, she also gloated in anticipation of seeing Suo Lun’s essay and just how ignorant, superficial, and terrible it would be.
