The Dao Test took groups of twenty at a time, and by the time the more than three hundred examinees had all been tested, it was already evening. According to the schedule for this unified examination, the Literary Test would be completed on the following day.
There was no conversation throughout the night, and early the next morning, Wei Yuan was brought into a brightly lit hall. The hall already had tables and chairs arranged as well as the four treasures of the study, and like with the Dao Test, Wei Yuan saw his own number twinkling on a table as soon as he entered the hall.
Wei Yuan walked over and took his seat, feeling as if invisible walls had risen around him, blocking all sounds and noise from the outside. He couldn't hear other people's voices, and the surroundings became blurry, so much so that he couldn't even see clearly what was written on the paper right in front of him.
The desk setup was simple, with a piece of blank paper in the center, a pen stand to the right side holding a fine brush. In the center of the desk, there was an inkstone and a bowl of clear water. Soon after, the Daoist's clear voice arose beside Wei Yuan, briefly explaining the use of various stationery items. The most magical was that bowl of clear water: if he wrote a character incorrectly, he could dab the brush in the bowl's water to erase it before rewriting.
After explaining the use of the stationery, the Daoist's voice turned commanding, "Begin the Literary Test!"
With the Daoist's word, lines of dense characters automatically appeared on the paper in front of Wei Yuan. He had grabbed the brush, but paused when he saw the test paper—it hardly had any blank space for him to write his answers.
Wei Yuan steadied his mind and read the questions closely. The first question read:
In the 13th year of Jingxuan, () stopped Emperor Hui's carriage and presented "Eight Strategies to Pacify Liao".
A: Zhong Heng B: Ding Shu C: Gongshu Lu Yuan D: a retired Daoist
This type of question was unfamiliar to Wei Yuan, and Zhang Sheng had never mentioned it. Fortunately, the question wasn't difficult, as this event was also significant in Tang History. With a solid foundation, Wei Yuan quickly found the answer in his memory and checked the option under "D".
The second question followed: In the 35th year of Mingde, () led 8,100 armored soldiers to decisively defeat the mountain people at Ji, killing 273.
A: Mao Gong B: Xu Chu C: Master Huihai D: Hanickz
This question also posed no challenge to Wei Yuan, who could recite Tang History by heart. A quick scan brought him to the words "Xu Chu," and he checked the option under "B." After answering this question, Little Weiyuan's heart which had been thumping loudly, began to calm down gradually. Although the format was peculiar, the difficulty was actually not high, and if all the questions were like this, then the Literary Test would be a giveaway.
However, a strange thought suddenly surfaced in Wei Yuan's mind: What if the question wasn't about Xu Chu, but about the 34th, 35th, or 36th year of Mingde, or even more absurdly, about whether there were 8,100 or 8,200 armored soldiers, or whether 273 or 274 were killed…
Little Weiyuan shuddered suddenly, quickly dispelling this terrifying thought from his mind, then chuckled to himself, thinking who would be so stupid as to set such foolish questions?
Wei Yuan gradually calmed down and flowed through the answers. The subsequent questions didn't spring any fearful surprises on him either.
After finishing one page, Wei Yuan set it aside, and a new sheet of white paper automatically appeared on the desk, showing new questions.
Soon, Wei Yuan encountered another type of question he had not seen before: In the 21st year of Xuanwu, Tang Taizong defeated Northern Liao at (), conquering 7,000 miles of territory and establishing () State.
This time there were no options like A, B, C, or D; he had to fill in the blanks himself.
This battle was a defining one for Great Tang, with Taizong fighting for seven continuous months, finally defeating Northern Liao decisively at Wuyang, killing two of the three State Preceptors of Northern Liao, and setting up seven counties of Yan State. Of course, Yan State now comprises 22 counties, but that's a story for later.
This significant event couldn't stump Wei Yuan. When Wei Yuan picked up the pen, he began writing, with each character bold and forceful. He discovered that the pen in his hand also had its subtleties, capable of creating extremely fine strokes, and it didn't matter even if the characters were as small as grains of rice. In contrast, the pens he used as a child wouldn't work for such, easily blurring into a blob when the characters were as big as beans.
Wei Yuan wrote fervently, and the stack of test papers on the desk grew taller. After answering a dozen pages in succession, only one line of text appeared on a new blank sheet:
Discuss Xu Jie's presentation of the "Book of Talent" to Tang Mingzong.
A policy discussion!
Wei Yuan immediately felt a surge of energy, familiar territory had finally arrived.
Xu Jie was a famous minister in the early stage of Great Tang, who presented the "Book of Talent" to Tang Mingzong shortly after his accession to the throne, suggesting to broaden the channels for recruiting talent to establish a prosperous era that lasted a century. This question was actually about the strategies of employing people, focusing on whether to employ people for their virtue or their talents.
After briefly pondering, Wei Yuan's writing flew like a dragon and a snake, his pen swiftly moving. When Zhang Sheng had taught him, he had not only required Wei Yuan to memorize the "Book of Talent" but had also explained each point in detail, discussing the real impact of each clause with historical facts and even challenged Wei Yuan to consider how the strategies in the book would differ in impact if applied in different eras. Only fully answering this was considered satisfactory.
There was no definite answer to this type of question. According to Zhang Sheng, it had to be answered in the context of the current situation to be deemed acceptable. Anything detached from the contemporary situation was mere speculation.
In a short while, Wei Yuan had written a full page, set it aside, and started on the next question:
Tenth year of Xuan Guang, the earth shook in three prefectures of Western Jin. In March, famine-stricken people rose in revolt; by May, mountain people from the south invaded. Should General Fan Yuan lead his fifty thousand troops from the capital to advance west or to move south?
This question examined whether to first address external threats or to stabilize the internal situation, and in reality, there was no definitive answer. In history, Fan Yuan advanced west to suppress the famine-stricken rebels, beheading hundreds of thousands, yet the turmoil was not quelled. The mountain people seized the chaos to invade, pushing directly towards the capital, ultimately forcing Western Jin to sign an agreement under duress. As a result, Western Jin's national power greatly diminished, falling from one of the three great powers to the bottom among the Nine Countries.
This question was quite difficult. Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, found several real cases from history books as references, and started discussing the pros and cons.
To truly excel in the answer, besides learning from history, one must also be familiar with the geographical environment of Western Jin at the time, the characteristics of the sovereigns and ministers, and the movements of neighboring countries. This, however, was far beyond Wei Yuan's capabilities. Without being a grand historian, this problem was tough to tackle properly.
Sheet after sheet of paper was filled with writing and set aside, and without realizing it, nearly two hours had passed, yet Wei Yuan felt no fatigue. The chair he sat in continually emitted a cool breeze, keeping his mind clear and his spirits high.
When Wei Yuan filled another sheet of paper and set it aside, no new blank sheets appeared on the table. He exhaled, placed the pen back on the stand, and picked up the completed papers, reviewing them once more. Throughout the entire exam, Wei Yuan had not encountered a question he could not answer. Although some policy discussions had no definitive conclusions, Wei Yuan carefully reasoned his answers to satisfaction.
Just from the policy discussions alone, the questions Zhang Sheng used to give Wei Yuan were much harder than this exam.
A bell rang, and the Literary Test ended.
All the examinees left their papers on the table and filed out of the hall, returning to the dormitory to rest.
Leaving the hall, Wei Yuan immediately felt a significant sense of fatigue welling up. Despite the support of the treasured chair, the three hours of the Literary Test had drained him. The other examinees were also too tired to talk, hurriedly heading back to their rooms to rest. The Martial Test was first thing in the morning, and they needed to fully regain their strength.