Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 40 A Mini Test on the Beginning of Spring

At Jiangyin County School, the copper bells on the eaves jingled crisply, signaling the end of the school term.

The headmaster of the county school.

Cai Chaoli stood before a fragment of the "Book of Agriculture and Warfare," carefully examining it.

He glanced back and saw Zheng Shuqian enter the hall. He stroked the jade belt at his waist and asked with a smile, "Instructor Zheng, did the instruction you gave to the newly recruited students of the outer dormitory today on the art of 'seeing grass and trees as soldiers' cause any harm to the students in the dormitory?"

In previous years, newly enrolled students, like wooden puppet soldiers, often went out of control and easily caused damage to the outer quarters.

but,

Zheng Shuqian knew that Lord Cai's seemingly casual inquiry was actually not about such a trivial matter; he simply wanted to inquire about Jiang Xingzhou's condition.

If the county college wants to achieve political success and rank highly in the annual performance evaluation, it must produce outstanding talents.

In Jiangyin County today, the most promising candidate is undoubtedly Jiang Xingzhou, who was first in the child prodigy case.

"Your Excellency, I'm afraid I cannot teach Jiang Tongsheng his literary skills."

Zheng Shuqian looked ashamed.

Although he was a scholar, his knowledge was not even comparable to that of a child scholar, and he was quite inadequate to teach Jiang Xingzhou.

"What do you mean? Is this young man arrogant and disobedient to the teachings? This has never happened before in decades of the Holy Judgment Scholars. It is quite normal for him to be a little arrogant."

Cai Chao asked in surprise.

No, that's not it.

Jiang Tongsheng was extremely quiet and reserved, unlike ordinary young men.

He won't say a word unless you ask him.

If you test him, he will answer all your questions without reservation.

His literary skill is so high that it is truly amazing, and I am ashamed to admit it!
The phrase "[Every bush and tree is an enemy]" that I taught today may seem like an ordinary literary technique. However, this technique is extremely profound. Even those who have passed the imperial examinations or become successful candidates in the provincial examinations often use it. It is the most useful four-character literary technique.

Jiang Xingzhou possesses profound knowledge of this literary art, having read extensively in various classic texts, which he can readily draw upon—a level far beyond my reach.

Zheng Shuqian recounted the entire conversation that took place in class, his expression filled with emotion.

"This young man is no ordinary student; such strength is to be expected."

Cai Chao suddenly realized,

I finally understand that Zheng Shuqian's statement that "it cannot be taught" is true.

He chuckled, hands behind his back, "If he were to take the prefectural examination and become a scholar, what are his chances?"

"Given Jiang Xingzhou's profound knowledge, Zheng could not see through him."

Even among the top students in the academy, few could rival him; passing the county-level imperial examination would be no problem. The only difference would be whether he achieved the highest or lowest rank!

Zheng Shuqian said.

"Very good, but the prefectural examination is in midsummer. It's only just past the Awakening of Insects solar term, so there's no rush."

If he can once again rank first among the candidates in the prefectural examination, becoming the top scholar, it will be another major achievement that will shock Jiangzhou Prefecture!

Cai Chao pondered for a moment.

According to Instructor Zheng's description, Jiang Xingzhou's abilities are unfathomable, and he still has a good chance of ranking first twice in the prefectural examination.

Once that happens, you'll be just one step away from achieving the "Triple Crown Top Spot".

In the current court of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the only person to have achieved the title of "Triple Top Scholar," Lord Chen of the Yingchuan Chen Clan, is still serving as the Minister of the Three Departments.

If this can be achieved, Jiang Sheng will be favored by the Emperor, and Jiangyin County may produce a high-ranking official from the Three Provinces of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Cai Chao took a deep breath and said, "In the next few months, we should give him a good test! Our performance evaluations, which are crucial for our promotions, will likely depend on this young man!"

This might be the greatest stroke of luck in his career, and it must be treated with utmost seriousness.

"Yes, Lord Cai!"

Instructor Zheng Shuqian cupped his hands in greeting, his heart warmed.

If the educational commissioner Cai Chao is promoted to Jiangzhou Prefectural School due to his political achievements, he will also have the opportunity to advance further in the county school.

This was an opportunity for all the officials of the county school.

"In just over ten days, it will be the Spring Equinox."

Please inform the outer and upper dormitories to arrange a spring equinox mini-exam!
The assessment content can be described as "seeing enemies everywhere"!
Thirty newly recruited students, including Jiang Xingzhou, formed one side.
Then select thirty older students from the upper dormitory, and the two sides will pit them against each other as puppet soldiers! The winner will be assessed as top-ranked in the Spring Equinox evaluation!

Cai Chaodao, the academic director.

He had a deep understanding of agricultural literature and was quite interested in it. Hearing that Jiang Xingzhou was highly skilled in the art of "seeing every bush and tree as an enemy soldier," he was itching to see it in action.

"Upper dormitory?"
The students in the upper dormitory are the strongest, the elite among the students of Jiangyin County, and the main force in the examination for the title of Xiucai! How about switching to the inner dormitory?

Zheng Shuqian exclaimed in surprise, "No need! Select the thirty strongest senior students from the upper dormitory to serve as whetstones and test the mettle of the thirty newly promoted students!"

"Here!"

Instructor Zheng Shuqian informed the newly promoted students of the outer dormitory and the senior students of the upper dormitory of the content of the small examination to be held ten days later on the Spring Equinox, so that all students could prepare for the examination.

"Instructor Zheng, in the Spring Equinox mini-examination, we will be competing against the newly promoted students with the 'seeing enemies everywhere' method?"

"We have practiced this art for many years and are proficient in literature. Isn't this bullying them?"

"Instructor Zheng, your student Zhou Guangjin is willing to participate! Let them know how formidable we old scholars from Jiangyin are!"

The old scholar Zhou Guangjin laughed and said, "Let them taste my newly mastered bow puppet soldiers, the 'Ji Su Arrow Rain' technique!"

"The outer students can be wiped out with a snap of the fingers!"

Upon hearing this, the more than one hundred old students in the upper dormitory burst into laughter.

In the outer dormitory, the newly enrolled students, though new to the art of "seeing grass and trees as soldiers," were not yet proficient.

But upon hearing the provocation from the senior students of the Imperial Academy, they were naturally unwilling to back down and all accepted the challenge.

"Upper dormitory?"
If you were truly capable, you would have passed the prefectural examination and become a scholar long ago!

They're just a bunch of old students who haven't passed the county-level exam in years, failed the prefectural exam, and are always full of complaints. What arrogance do they have to offer?

Li Yunxiao was quite disdainful.

"Brother Li, you must not underestimate your opponent!"
As far as I know, Zhou Guangjin, the strongest student in the upper dormitory, has taken the prefectural examination three times and has a wealth of experience in failing. I am no match for him!

Lu Ming smiled.

The newly enrolled students in the outer dormitory burst into laughter, and the tense atmosphere vanished instantly.

In the evening, after school.

Jiang Xingzhou returned to the Xue residence, had dinner, and then went back to the side courtyard of Langhuan Pavilion.

Although most of the students admitted to the upper-level academy were those who failed the prefectural examinations and remained there, repeatedly failing the exams, could they be considered truly top-tier students?

But after all, he had many years of literary experience, which was incomparable to that of an ordinary student.

He still needs to prepare carefully for the Spring Equinox mini-exam!
On the desk by the window, the mayfly larvae in the bamboo tube have awakened, fluttering their thin, transparent wings and looking up at their owner.

It was noticeably longer than it had been last night.

"It's growing quite fast. In another three to five days, it will be fully grown into an adult insect!"
I'd like to witness your "Morning Enlightenment" technique!

Jiang Xingzhou took a little water from the Ganjing Well, mixed it with the ashes from the pages of the Book of Songs, and dripped it into the bamboo tube to feed the animals. He also poured ten strands of green light, representing talent, into the bamboo tube.

I teased the mayfly for a while.

Then, he lit a lamp on his desk and spread out a volume of the classic text "Essential Techniques for the Common People".

The *Qimin Yaoshu* (Essential Techniques for the Common People), in its chapter on bamboo armor weapons, states

Select nine sections of jade-green bamboo, bury them in a snow cellar for seven days, and then quench them with the morning dew at dawn. Melt pine resin and pine gum, wrap them with three layers of ice silkworm silk, and you can forge armor that is impenetrable to arrows—the finest bamboo spear and armor weapon.

"Let's use this material to forge puppet soldiers."

Jiang Xingzhou thought to himself.

The county school has a complete range of materials, but they are only for teaching purposes and cannot be taken out of the school.

Moreover, they are all made of rough raw materials, without being carefully refined, and lack sharpness and toughness, making them brittle.

To obtain high-quality plant and wood puppet soldiers, the plant and wood materials for the Spring Equinox Mini-Exam need to be prepared and refined in advance.

He went to the side courtyard outside the pavilion, where there was a dense bamboo grove. He used his sword to cut down several sturdy bamboo stalks and buried them in the snow cellar for seven days.

It is now the Awakening of Insects, the cold winter has passed, and the ice and snow have long since melted in the spring thunder.

Ordinary households in Jiangyin naturally do not have snow cellars.

But this was not a difficult matter for the Xue family. The Xue family had a large snow cellar filled with solid ice, which they would use to cool off during the sweltering midsummer season.

Such a snow cellar is only found in the mansions of the most prestigious aristocratic families in the entire Jiangyin County, such as the Xue, Han, Cao, Lu, and Li families, and there are no more than a dozen such families.

This means that only a few companies can prepare all the plant materials that have been stored in snow cellars for seven days to refine them.

While the material may be usable without being refined, its toughness is significantly lower.

"Use the morning dew at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) to quench it!"

"Melting pine resin and pine gum, then wrapping it with three layers of ice silkworm silk, can create armor that is impenetrable by arrows!"

Jiang Xingzhou prepared the various materials listed above one by one: pine resin, pine gum, and ice silk.

(End of this chapter)