Chapter 110: The Sage Rules the World (Seeking Subscriptions)

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“My heavens, Young Master Fang Xian is actually the Divine Physician Fang! Unbelievable! Hurry to the clinic and get in line—I want to meet him!”

When the news reached the Imperial Entertainment Bureau and all the pleasure houses, numerous celebrated courtesans hurried toward the First Medical Hall Under Heaven.

“The Divine Physician Fang went to take the palace examination today. He’ll be gone all day. You should return home.”

Only after they arrived at the clinic in high spirits were they told that Divine Physician Fang had gone to sit the palace examination.

The celebrated courtesans did not leave, however. More and more people gathered until they completely surrounded the clinic. Everyone excitedly discussed the matter, while some nearby commoners began recounting stories about the Divine Physician Fang.

It was not until the city guards came to persuade them that the crowd gradually dispersed. Even then, many remained unsatisfied. Several of the celebrated courtesans agreed to return the next day and perform “Prelude to Water Melody” before the clinic.

Fang Xian knew nothing of this. Holding the subject of the palace examination, he was deep in thought. The topic was so broad that there was far too much one could write about; the key was determining how best to address it.

“A sage governs the world by emptying the people’s minds, filling their bellies, strengthening their bones, and curbing their desires. Today, five kingdoms stand together. If a sage were to appear, how should he govern the world?”

That was the subject of the examination. At a glance, Fang Xian knew that Emperor Wu Qing had personally composed it.

The five kingdoms now stood opposed to one another. The northern Barbarian Kingdom had been Wu’s hereditary enemy. For more than a decade, the western Xia Kingdom and Wu had been locked in continual warfare. The southern Liang Kingdom occasionally clashed with Wu along the border. Only the eastern Zhou Kingdom had always maintained relatively good relations with Wu.

This year in particular, the Barbarian Kingdom had once again massed troops along the frontier. The commander of the Snow Wolf Legion, Wu’s border army, had been replaced by Sirius, a war hawk known as the Killing Star. As a result, friction between Wu and the Barbarian Kingdom had intensified, and a major war seemed imminent.

Meanwhile, the border armies of Xia and Wu had already fought dozens of battles, large and small. The entire Golden Guard Army had been tied down, while vast numbers of refugees had been created in the border regions. The situation there was utterly chaotic.

At the same time, locust plagues had erupted in Qingyang and Guangyuan Commanderies. Floods had struck Jiujiang and Lujiang, while earthquakes had devastated Qingyuan and Dongjiang, causing enormous losses. Peasant uprisings had broken out in various places, and even now, hundreds of thousands of refugees had yet to be properly settled.

Under such circumstances, Emperor Wu Qing placed great hopes in the candidates sitting this year’s palace examination. He hoped that among them there would be men of genuine talent who could offer strategies to the court and reverse Wu’s present decline.

After receiving the subject, Fang Xian thought of many things. Through his dealings in the capital with Wu Qingluan, Wu Yunxiao, and others, he had gained a deeper and broader understanding of the situation throughout the realm.

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Present-day Wu could not exactly be said to be besieged on all sides, but it was beset by internal troubles and external threats. Several princes sought to seize the throne, while the ministers were divided in their loyalties, forming factions and pursuing private interests. Enemy kingdoms invaded the borders, leaving the frontier unstable and warfare unending. Natural disasters followed one another, and the people were plunged into misery.

Emperor Wu Qing could not be called incompetent, but neither was he a wise ruler. In the more than twenty years since he had taken the throne, the administration had largely continued in the old manner of the previous dynasty. There had been no notable achievements in civil governance or military affairs; instead, life for the common people had grown steadily more difficult.

“There are countless ways to govern the realm, and far too many aspects to write about. But if I want to win the approval of these examiners, earn Emperor Wu Qing’s recognition, and take the top position, I’ll have to offer something substantial.”

Fang Xian pondered in silence. The many scholars around him were doing the same, racking their brains to determine which passages from the classics might prove useful, then recalling famous quotations and examples from the past.

After roughly two hours, Fang Xian finally organized his thoughts. Combining the historical knowledge he had gained from the Classic Compendium with the history of later ages, and adding certain advanced ideas from the modern world, he began to write.

By then, other scholars had also begun putting brush to paper. Some pondered deeply, some cited the classics, some listed precedents, and some used small matters to illuminate great principles. In short, all were displaying the full extent of their talent and learning as they composed grand policy essays.

Fang Xian, however, took a different approach. He seemed to be drafting the outline and articles of an entire book, dividing the governance of the realm into dozens of subjects, including the imperial court, agriculture, commerce and industry, civil affairs, military preparedness, education, hydraulic works, and disaster relief. He then summarized the fundamental principles of each subject, filling them with various advanced ideas and scientific methods.

Clearly, it was impossible to complete an entire treatise in such a short time. Fang Xian could only write the general discussion for each subject, but taken together, they still formed a detailed strategy for governing the realm.

He wrote feverishly for most of the day. Apart from stopping for lunch, Fang Xian did not even take an afternoon rest. He continued writing quietly and requested more paper from the examining officials several times.

Fortunately, Fang Xian possessed the original body’s memories of calligraphy. He had also practiced whenever he found the time at Azure Cloud Stockade, and during idle moments at the clinic he had continued writing. His calligraphy was therefore quite passable.

Still, writing continuously for three or four double-hours would have exhausted an ordinary person’s wrist. Fang Xian was a martial artist, however, and he could cultivate as he wrote without being affected in the slightest.

“Dong…”

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At dusk, a bell rang, announcing that the examination period had ended. By then, most of the scholars had finished their papers and were sitting around listlessly. Only Fang Xian had just completed his.

There was little for Fang Xian to put away. He merely checked that his name had been written correctly. After confirming that everything was in order, he handed in his paper and headed outside. An examining official soon came over to collect it.

“My heavens, Fang Xian’s examination paper is incredibly thick—two or three times longer than those of the other scholars!”

Once all the papers had been gathered, a serious problem arose as they prepared to seal them: Fang Xian’s paper was simply too thick. Even if his name were covered, everyone would still know which paper was his.

“It is no wonder he is the prodigy who wrote such a masterpiece as ‘Prelude to Water Melody.’ This thick examination paper may well bring us a surprise. Let everyone take turns reading and assessing it. There is no need to conceal his name; we shall grade it openly.”

Zhou Weiyang, the Director of the Imperial Academy, was presiding over the examination site. When the matter was finally reported to him, he made the decision.

“Then perhaps Lord Zhou should be the first to review it,” one of the examining officials suggested.

“You review it first. I will read it last, and then we can all assign our scores at the same time. What do you think?” Zhou Weiyang said after a moment’s thought.

The palace examination results were to be announced the next day. Moreover, the top thirty candidates would have to appear before the emperor for a personal interview, during which he would select the top scholar. The examiners of the Imperial Academy therefore had to work through the night reviewing all the papers.

Fortunately, there were only a little more than three hundred candidates, and the examiners were divided into ten groups. Each group had to review only about thirty papers, so there was no need to remain awake until dawn.

“Young Master Fang, how do you think you did?”

When Fang Xian left the Imperial Academy, an unfamiliar scholar approached him and struck up a conversation.

“More or less,” Fang Xian replied with a faint smile.

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