Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 101 Advancing into the Top Five

"This article does not dwell on the trivial details of military strength and weakness, but focuses on the overall situation of the world, using Han and Wei as the key points to analyze the situation of Qin's unification of the six states. It is indeed excellent."

Li Tian's white eyebrows twitched slightly. After carefully reading Su Zhe's "On the Six States," he offered his evaluation.

Since no one had handed in their papers yet, the two started chatting.

Jiang Zicheng introduced, "This Su Zhe is the younger brother of Su Shi, who won first place in the New Year's Gathering held in Meizhou three years ago."

"I've heard of Su Shi, and I've read his articles. They're powerful and unrestrained. He's a young man with great potential."

Li Tian said slowly, "I have seen many young people with this temperament over the past few decades. In my experience, most of them are prone to impulsiveness and making mistakes. Being too sharp in the imperial examinations does not necessarily lead to good results, and the same is true in the officialdom."

"Does Mr. Baisha like this kind of person?"

"Of course I like it," Li Tian replied with a smile. "Who doesn't like their younger self?"

Jiang Zicheng couldn't help but smile, and then said, "Su Zhe's personality is completely opposite to his brother's."

“It’s good that young people are more composed.” Li Tian looked up at Su Zhe in the distance, “but a composed person’s writing is destined to be inferior to his brother’s in terms of literary achievement.”

The two chatted idly while looking at the exam papers.

He didn't know how much time had passed. When the last stroke was finished, Lu Beigu put down his brush, looked up and looked around. Most people had already handed in their papers, and only a few people were still writing furiously.

He noticed that Su Zhe, who was not far away, was talking quietly with his classmates Cheng Jianyong and Yang Yaozi. Su Zhe looked calm and was obviously quite confident in his answer sheet.

There were servants on site specifically responsible for collecting the exam papers. Lu Beigu gave a slight signal and came over to collect the papers.

The servant handed his exam paper to Professor Jiang Zicheng first.

"Lu Beigu's exam paper?"

When Li Tian took the paper from Jiang Zicheng, his eyes lit up slightly, seemingly attracted by the unique opening.

Zhou Mingyuan then moved closer to Lu Beigu and asked in a low voice, "How did it go? I noticed that Mr. Baisha seemed to be paying special attention to your answer sheet."

Lu Beigu was indeed a little uneasy, because his approach and viewpoints were quite sensitive, so he was unsure of Li Tian's attitude towards his answer sheet.

Looking from afar, one can only see Li Tian placing his answer sheet alongside those of others, sometimes comparing them, sometimes lost in thought.

"That depends on Mr. Baisha's attitude towards the Qingli Reforms."

Lu Beigu shook his head, banishing the anxious thoughts from his mind.

In fact, his move was somewhat risky. After all, old people are usually more conservative, but Li Tian didn't seem like the kind of stubborn old man he had imagined, so he decided to try this approach.

The grading process lasted for about half an hour.

The freshmen were gathered in twos and threes, discussing the poems they had just read or speculating about the rankings in history and theory.

But then they saw that Li Tian had already put down the last answer sheet, exchanged a few words with Jiang Zicheng in a low voice, and then stood up.

The whole place fell silent immediately.

"I have read through all of your historical writings."

Although Li Tian's voice was somewhat hoarse and his speech was slow, each word was clear: "Among them are many excellent works, especially those by Su Zhe of Meishan County, Meizhou; Fang Wei of Bodao County, Rongzhou; Dong Hongyi of Hongya County, Jiaozhou; Yu Duo of Luchuan County, Luzhou; and Lu Beigu of Hejiang County, Luzhou." Hearing his name mentioned, Lu Beigu felt reassured.

This year's New Year's gathering attracted a bunch of top scorers from the county-level examinations. Being able to break through and make it into the top five would be considered a great achievement. As for whether they could win first place, no one was absolutely certain; winning would be an unexpected surprise.

Ultimately, the grading is up to the people.

"Su Zhe's argument takes the overall situation of the world as its framework, analyzes the key geographical features of the six states, advocates an alliance against Qin, and is well-written and insightful."

Upon hearing this, Su Zhe bowed respectfully to Li Tian, ​​his expression calm and without any arrogance.

"Fang Wei's argument, based on the concept of 'seeking talent,' discusses the gains and losses of talent among the six states. His writing is elegant, citing classical texts and demonstrating considerable skill."

Fang Wei, standing not far away, straightened his back slightly, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes.

"Dong Hongyi's main point is that the six states bribed Qin. Although this is a view of his predecessors, his writing skills are particularly solid."

At this moment, Zhou Mingyuan whispered to Lu Beigu, "The Dong family of Hongya produced a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) named Dong Que in the third year of the Xianping era, so their family has a deep-rooted academic tradition."

Lu Beigu nodded slightly. Although the scholar-official families of the Song Dynasty could not compare with the powerful clans of the past, family tradition was still very important for the vast majority of scholars. Of course, the most important thing was personal talent.

"Yu Duo from Luchuan County, Luzhou, also focused on the theme of the six states bribing Qin, and his writing is exquisite and his allusions are appropriate."

"As for Lu Beigu of Hejiang County, Luzhou."

Li Tian paused here, raising his white eyebrows: "His viewpoint is the most unique. He argues about the shortcomings of the six states based on their systems. Although it goes against the mainstream, it is reasonable and well-founded, and it is refreshing."

The whole place was in an uproar.

The Qingli Reforms were only twelve years ago!
Although most of the gentlemen of the Qingli era were demoted, at this point in time, Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi jointly took charge of the government, and Ouyang Xiu and Cai Xiang had also returned to the court, and there was a faint resurgence of their former momentum.

Of course, time changes people, and in fact, almost all the gentlemen of the Qingli era are no longer the same as they were back then.

However, many people in the government and the public do not see this clearly, and many people hope that the two prime ministers, Wen and Fu, can reinstate the new policies.

For those at the Luzhou State Academy at this moment, everyone knows that historical commentary is not only about history, but also about the present. Therefore, since Lu Beigu takes the system as the main theme of his article, his support for the new policy is quite obvious.

Lu Beigu felt dozens of gazes directed at him, some surprised, some doubtful, and some admiring.

At this moment, Li Tian shook the five test papers in his hand and said to Jiang Zicheng.

"I will decide the top five, but who will come in first place depends on everyone's opinion. Each person can only cast one vote."

Jiang Zicheng nodded and summoned all eight teachers from the state academy who were participating in the welcoming gathering, making a total of nine people including himself.

Five papers were laid out neatly on the table and weighed down with paperweights. The teachers from the prefectural school looked at them one by one.

Almost without exception, they were not optimistic about Dong Hongyi and Yu Duo's papers winning first place. Although the view of "bribing Qin" seemed to be both correct and could criticize the Song Dynasty's tribute policy, it had been written to death since Jia Yi's "On the Faults of Qin".

For this reason, Su Zhe's mature and prudent analysis of the strategy to resist Qin based on geography, and Fang Wei's seemingly flamboyant but clear-cut view on seeking and cultivating talents, were actually well-received.

Lu Beigu's exam paper sparked the most controversy, with the teachers splitting into two factions and almost arguing fiercely.

(End of this chapter)