Chapter 492
Chapter 492
At that very moment, the grading of the provincial civil service examination papers was in full swing.
The examiners, who held the fate of every candidate in their hands, were truly remarkable individuals. However, the moment these esteemed examiners began grading, they likely felt an overwhelming urge to vomit. A total of six examiners were involved in the grading, but since the chief examiner typically didn't participate enthusiastically, the main grading force consisted of five people. Moreover, the capital was one of the larger examination districts, and with over three thousand candidates taking the exam this time, each examiner was responsible for grading six hundred papers.
The reason the examiners struggled was that ninety-nine percent of the candidates' essays were unremarkable and written in a similar style. The policy essays, in particular, were likely to be nearly identical, down to the very words and punctuation they used. Perhaps fifty percent of the essays were practically carbon copies of one another.
The candidates eligible to participate in an examination of this caliber were all reasonably skilled students, save for the dim-witted underachievers at the Imperial Academy. Ultimately, grading their papers was like sampling food at a large supermarket. Whether it was Sichuan, Hunan, or Cantonese cuisine, the first few bites always tasted delicious. But what would happen if you were forced to eat more than just a few bites? You would want to throw up. Even a few of the more profound essays were enough to numb the senses. Sichuan food, with its heavy flavors, seems incredibly tasty at first, but eating too much of it numbs the palate with its spiciness, dulling your sense of taste. Thus, the atmosphere inside the Examination Hall where the grading took place was utterly grim.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Make no mistake. This wasn't the sound of some madman tapping away at the grading table. It was the sound of exam papers landing. When an examiner graded, he would scan the paper rapidly, reading ten lines at a time, and if it displeased him in the slightest, he would put it back in its paper sleeve and toss it on the floor. Yes, he truly tossed it on the floor, hence the sound of it landing. Of course, according to the grading procedure, a paper on the floor still had a chance. This was because they would be re-examined later, with examiners swapping papers to grade. However, that was only in theory; in reality, a paper, once discarded, had no chance of making a comeback.
Could there be a case of an unfairly judged paper among those tossed on the floor? There was a ninety-nine percent chance that was not the case. Regardless of their personal virtues, the examiners' ability to appraise writing was undoubtedly superb. Furthermore, with a rare genius like Zhu Hongbing participating in this provincial examination, the possibility of cheating was essentially eliminated.
So, how many candidates would pass this provincial civil service examination? There was no fixed number, but it generally did not exceed one hundred, meaning only one in thirty would pass. According to unspoken practice, ninety percent of the papers had to be discarded in the first round of grading. So, each examiner counted silently, selecting only the one outstanding paper out of every ten.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
One by one, the exam papers were tossed to the floor, and the atmosphere in the room was exceedingly somber. With each passing examination cycle, the quality of the candidates seemed to decline. The examiners didn't voice this sentiment, but it was written all over their faces. The chief examiner this time was the Vice Minister of Rites, a very high-ranking official. This Vice Minister was also grading papers. He would scan through a paper, and if it displeased him even slightly, he would flick his wrist sharply and send it straight to the floor.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
After tossing more than thirty papers in a row, he finally set one aside, placing it on the right side of his desk. This Vice Minister had placed third in the palace examination twenty years ago, so his ability to judge writing was absolutely first-rate. He could discern the quality of a candidate's policy essay and poetry with just a single glance, sometimes after reading only one paragraph.
How difficult it was, then, to pass the imperial examinations. Talents that appeared once in a hundred *li* were weeded out at the prefectural examinations, never even getting a chance to enter officialdom. Talents that appeared once in a thousand *li* barely made it to this examination hall. But to pass from here, one had to be a talent found once in ten thousand *li*. The population of the capital city and its subordinate prefectures and counties likely amounted to at least three and a half million people. The examination was held on average once every three years, with about one hundred people selected each time. Thus, the probability of passing was incredibly low.
The Vice Minister graded at a blistering pace, all the while searching for Zhu Hongbing's exam paper. He was itching to read what the young man had written, and he was also eager to curry favor with the Grand Chancellor. He, too, was an official of the Zhu Faction. Of course, he wouldn't engage in any cheating. There was a saying that in both literary and martial arts, there is no clear first or second place. Literature is relatively subjective and lacks clear, objective distinctions, so it was rare for a universally acknowledged first place to emerge.
In such situations, reputation became all the more important. Zhu Hongbing had already earned a reputation as a literary genius throughout the land and was undoubtedly the foremost talent in the capital. Although Zhu Hongbing had not taken the previous examination, he had written an essay at home based on the official questions, and a few examiners had graded it separately. The result was a consensus that had Zhu Hongbing taken the exam, he would have undoubtedly placed first.
The last autumn examination was held last year, when Zhu Hongbing was sixteen. The one before that was held four years ago, when Zhu Hongbing was only thirteen. Though he did not participate, he obtained the exam questions and wrote his answers at home. Then, too, several examiners graded his paper and concluded that he would have placed first. This meant that Zhu Hongbing had possessed the ability to rank first in the capital's provincial examinations since he was thirteen.
At the time, Zhu Hongbing's fame soared. It wasn't just the chief examiner who judged he could take first place; even the King, after reading his paper, had remarked, "Our family has a thoroughbred." The King treated the members of the Zhu Clan exceptionally well, viewing their children as his own, and he was particularly fond of Zhu Hongbing. Therefore, the scholars who had placed first in the previous two autumn examinations felt a lingering sense of unease.
‘What is Zhu Hongbing playing at? He should either take the exam properly or stay out of it. He takes the test at home, has the examiners grade it, but his name never appears on the final list of successful candidates. What's the meaning of that? Is he just showing off?’
Everyone said that if Zhu Hongbing were to officially take the capital's provincial examination, he would certainly be the top scorer. To put it another way, this implied that the top scorers of the last two examinations had not earned their first-place ranks legitimately. In truth, this was all part of building his reputation. The scion of the Zhu Clan was a heaven-sent prodigy, but if he took the exam and immediately placed first, everyone would suspect him of cheating, even if he hadn't. That was why Zhu Hongbing had refrained from taking the official exam, instead writing it at home and proving twice that he was capable of placing first. This way, when he finally took the real examination for the third time and came in first, his victory would be seen as completely legitimate. Who in the world could accuse him of cheating then? Moreover, it would become a celebrated tale for the ages.
‘Lord Zhu is a dignified Grand Chancellor, yet he dissuaded his own grandson from taking the exam twice. Does that not prove how fair-minded he is?’
Thus, Zhu Hongbing was determined to secure the top position in this examination. The chief examiner was naturally happy to help him achieve his goal. However, with over three thousand papers, finding Zhu Hongbing's was no easy task. The grading proceeded torturously, with no sound other than the thudding of papers. On the rare occasion that an examiner came across a fine piece of writing, he would call the others over to appreciate it together. They would typically share any essay deemed worthy of the top ten, and such a fine piece would appear only once every few hours.
“Excellent, excellent…”
Suddenly, one of the examiners slammed his hand on the table, startling everyone. One of them was so surprised that his hand trembled, causing him to drop the paper he was holding. He bent down to pick it up. The essay on it was quite good, enough to pass the first round of grading.
The Vice Minister of Rites asked.
“Is the writing on that paper you dropped exceptionally good?”
Examiner B replied.
“Not exceptionally good, but it was quite decent.”
The chief examiner, the Vice Minister of Rites, said.
“Then just let it fail.”
And so, some unlucky candidate's paper was failed just like that. An examiner from the Hanlin Academy, who was also the primary assistant examiner for this examination, spoke up.
“Chief Examiner, my esteemed colleagues, please put down your papers and take a look at this. It is truly a magnificent piece of writing!”
The primary assistant examiner placed the paper on the chief examiner's desk. The other examiners instantly put down their papers and crowded around. With just one glance, they all exclaimed inwardly.
‘We’ve found it.’
It was Zhu Hongbing’s exam paper. They all recognized his familiar handwriting at a glance. In truth, it wasn't just the chief examiner who had been searching for his paper; every examiner in the room had been. While they were partly motivated by a desire to curry favor with the Zhu Clan, a more significant reason was the excitement of unearthing a treasure, wondering who would be the lucky one to discover it. The paper was soon in the chief examiner's hands, and the other five examiners gathered around to read it together.
“Well done, well done… Young Master Zhu Hongbing is truly a rare genius. To answer eighty-eight out of ninety Aptitude Problems and twenty-nine out of thirty Mathematical Problems correctly. A true genius! Out of the one hundred and twenty total questions, what was the highest score in previous examinations?”
“Fifteen years ago, in the metropolitan examination, the top scholar Zhang Zixu answered one hundred and fifteen correctly. He now serves as the Chief Administrator in the Area Command of Tianbei Province.”
Zhang Zixu was another genius from the Zhu Faction. At only thirty-nine years old, he had been promoted to Chief Administrator of the Area Command, a rank similar to Zhang Chong's. He was more than ten years younger than Zhang Chong. Coincidentally, both men shared the surname Zhang, but they were not related by blood in the slightest.
“It seems a successor has appeared, as the saying goes, ‘the waves behind drive the ones before.’ Not only has Zhu Hongbing broken a decades-old record, but he has surpassed even the top scholar Zhang Zixu.”
The Aptitude and Mathematical Problems were minor sections in the Great Yan Dynasty's civil service examination. One didn't need to excel at them, but answering at least half correctly was required to pass. Failing to answer more than sixty of the one hundred and twenty questions correctly indicated a lack of fundamental knowledge, leading to an automatic failure, no matter how well one wrote the policy essay and poetry sections. If a candidate answered half of the one hundred and twenty questions correctly, they would pass this section, but a high score here was of little additional benefit. Ultimately, the return on investment for studying these subjects was too low, so most candidates did not pour too much effort into them. Yet, Zhu Hongbing had answered 117 questions correctly in this section, proving he was indeed a genius.