Chapter 123: The Military Strategy Examination

The military examination was far more straightforward and direct than the civil service examination. Once Chen Lin made the announcement, the candidates immediately headed toward the dozen or so massive military tents set up along the edge of the grand parade ground.

Fang Xian’s assigned number was C-22. Seeing that each tent was marked with a giant placard labeled with characters such as Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding, he made his way toward the third tent, the one marked with the character "Bing."

"Is Brother Fang in the Bing tent? I am in the Ding tent. I wish you a flying start and hope you secure the title of top military scholar," Xia Zhenghong said, glancing at Fang Xian’s number before they parted ways, cupping his hands in a polite salute.

"I wish you success on the golden list as well, Brother Xia," Fang Xian replied, returning the gesture.

Just as he was about to enter the tent, someone suddenly shoved past him, knocking him aside to push into the tent first. Fang Xian looked up to see it was Guo Shunsheng and could not help but frown. He had already realized that this man was narrow-minded and the type of petty character who would seek revenge for the slightest grievance. However, he could not fathom why he was being targeted—could it simply be because he was acquainted with Xia Zhenghong?

With the examination imminent, he ignored the man. Upon entering the tent, he saw twenty or thirty desks arranged inside, each equipped with the four treasures of the study and a numbered placard.

He found desk number twenty-two and sat down. Just then, an insolent voice drifted over from nearby: "Hey kid, what’s your relationship with Xia Zhenghong? With your pathetic look, you want to win the top military scholar title? You’d better go back to your mother’s womb and drink some more milk."

Guo Shunsheng’s words drew a ripple of mocking laughter. Many of the surrounding military students seemed to know Guo, and seeing that Fang Xian was a stranger outside their circle, no one paid him any mind.

"You are ill and need treatment," Fang Xian said calmly after glancing at Guo Shunsheng.

"What did you say, you brat?" Guo Shunsheng slammed his desk and stood up. He was quite large, at least 1.8 meters tall and weighing over 170 pounds; it was no wonder Xia Zhenghong was no match for him in martial arts.

"I am a master physician. I said you are ill, and quite severely so. If you do not treat it soon, I fear you won’t live another five years," Fang Xian replied, his tone still indifferent.

"You scoundrel! How dare you curse me? Do you want a beating?" Guo Shunsheng was so enraged he began to hop, ready to charge at Fang Xian.

"What is going on? The exam is about to begin; everyone sit down," the proctor interrupted as he entered. Seeing Guo Shunsheng, he barked an order. The latter had no choice but to sit back down, though he shot a menacing glare at Fang Xian.

"Brother Guo, there is no need to bicker with him. Isn't there practical combat this afternoon? We can deal with them then," a young man whispered to Guo Shunsheng. Fang Xian heard it quite clearly.

"My treat at noon. Call everyone we know. This afternoon, help me vent my frustration—we must see to it that those two are squeezed out," Guo Shunsheng whispered back, leaning in to whisper in the man’s ear before they began coordinating with other military students nearby.

"Attention, students. The military strategy examination this morning will last for one and a half hours. Please answer the questions carefully," the proctor announced as he distributed the papers. There were three proctors in the tent for roughly forty candidates.

Fang Xian scanned the questions. There were three in total: the first was an analysis of a historical military defeat, the second an analysis of a historical military victory, and the third was a hypothetical scenario requiring strategic and tactical analysis of a potential war.

The difficulty lay in the fact that the first two questions provided only the names of the wars without specific details. This required the candidates to have read military classics extensively and be intimately familiar with those representative historical conflicts to provide an analysis; otherwise, most would find these questions impossible.

Before obtaining the second volume of the *Art of Strategy*, Fang Xian would have been ignorant of these historical cases and would have had to give up on those two questions. But now, he felt confident. He began to think, analyzing the scenarios based on his own perspective, even proposing his own strategic insights and pointing out the critical blunders and brilliant strokes of both sides in those wars.

The final question posed a scenario where the Man Kingdom and the Xia Kingdom jointly launched a full-scale invasion of the Wu Kingdom from the northwest, asking for a strategic and tactical response.

Although Fang Xian had not previously considered such a scenario, his current strategic vision allowed him to quickly realize that the Wu Kingdom had likely already sensed the movements of the Man and Xia kingdoms, and it was highly probable that the two nations were indeed forming an alliance.

He quickly simulated the likelihood of this in his mind and concluded that the probability was extremely high; it was even possible that the joint invasion would commence before long.

Immediately, he mentally magnified the map of the five kingdoms to search for a breakthrough point. He concluded that the key location was Jianmen County in Guangyuan Prefecture, where a modest pass called Jianmen Pass stood.

As long as the Wu Kingdom could hold Jianmen Pass, the Xia and Man forces would be unable to advance an inch, allowing the kingdom more time to mobilize reinforcements and stall the enemy's progress. Once Jianmen Pass was lost, the joint forces could drive deep into the heart of the territory, sweeping through Guangyuan Prefecture and threatening Huayang Prefecture, eventually striking directly at the capital, Wudu.

Fang Xian then began to hypothesize the troop strengths of both sides and the conditions required to hold the pass, including logistical support, the timing of reinforcements, and the deployment and offensive directions of the Man and Xia forces. With that, he completed his paper.

However, after finishing, Fang Xian felt a cold sweat break out. He realized that even with an army of one hundred thousand, they could hold the pass for at most two months, and that was only if the number of powerful combatants on both sides was roughly equal; otherwise, holding for any longer would be impossible.

*Sigh...*

When Fang Xian set down his pen, it felt as heavy as a thousand catties. He let out a long breath, closed his eyes, and waited quietly for the exam to end. It did not take long, and by the time he handed in his paper, his composure had returned.

"Military students, time is up for the strategy examination," the proctor announced. As the papers were collected, the students began to talk among themselves.

"What kind of questions were those? The first two were fine, but I hadn't the slightest clue about the last one," one student lamented, scratching his head.

"And how did you answer the first two?" someone asked.

"Quite simply, I analyzed their strategies from the perspective of the victor. That must have been the best way, otherwise, how could they have won?" the other replied.

"Do you think the Xia and Man kingdoms would really jointly attack our Wu Kingdom?" another asked with concern.

"What’s there to fear? Without war, how would we have the opportunity to make a name for ourselves? As long as they dare to attack, we have a chance to earn merit. One day, we could be Generals of Eagle-Soaring, Generals of Conquest, Great Generals of Tiger-Might, or even Marshals," a student said, his eyes filled with longing.