A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 182: The same thing but different results, why?

Song Xuan rode a donkey and was led by Wang Gui to the Imperial Examination Hall.

Zhang Fangping followed beside him.

There was only a donkey at home, and Song Xuan was sick.

Otherwise he wouldn't have traveled on a donkey, especially with a friend beside him.

I hadn't slept well for two days and was feeling unwell. Add to that the high-intensity exams, and it was something not everyone could handle.

Fortunately, Song Xuan was young and felt refreshed after a short sleep.

But the cold still hasn't healed.

The last exam today is policy essay.

As social contradictions intensified during the reign of Emperor Renzong, the court's need for talent in governing the country became more urgent.

People of insight gradually realized that "the success or failure of the Jinshi examination is determined by poetry and prose, and scholars may suffer from problems with rhythm and unable to display their talents." Such examination content was of little use in governing the country. They petitioned the emperor to request that the Jinshi examination "take policy essays into consideration to determine the quality."

In the early Song Dynasty, "poetry and prose were used to determine one's fate." In the fifth year of Tiansheng (1027), "an imperial decree was issued to the Imperial Examination Hall that in the future, the examinations for Jinshi candidates should not be based solely on poetry and prose, but policy essays should be taken into consideration to determine their merits and demerits."

This was the first reform of the content of the Jinshi examination in the Song Dynasty, and Song Confucian scholars shifted their focus from poetry and prose to policy essays.

After the Qingli New Deal several decades later, the imperial examination system was completely changed.

Policy essays should be tested before poems and essays to highlight their status.

But they also took history backwards.

For example, students had to study in school for more than 300 days to be eligible to take the Fajie exam, and the sealed copying of exam papers was abolished, with local officials guaranteeing the students' conduct.

These practices inevitably allowed power, bribery, favoritism, and personal preferences to play a role in the imperial examinations.

Returning to the old path of "Tongbang" and even recommendation would shake the construction of a series of systems in the early Song Dynasty aimed at justice and fairness.

Just like Song Xuan, who took the exam just over two months after entering school, he was directly rejected.

"Twelfth brother."

Wang Xiuyong shouted from behind.

Song Xuan glanced back and asked Wang Gui to stop and wait.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Won't it be uncomfortable to take the exam after running all sweaty?"

Song Xuan casually handed over his sweat towel.

Wang Xiuyong held the donkey, waved his hands and took a deep breath. After a few breaths, he spoke:
"Twelfth brother, the one surnamed Gu has woken up. He said that the one who assassinated him was the Fire-Eyed Suanni, and that he was ordered by the Dou family."

"Oh?"

"I didn't expect that Mr. Gu would just give up. I thought he would fight till the end and be a filial son and grandson to his teacher."

"That's really not a good thing."

Song Xuan snorted and laughed:
"There really aren't any good people in the Dou family. They're trying to kill people to silence them!"

Zhang Fangping said indignantly:
"Gu, you're lucky he still has some conscience left, otherwise I'd really like to put a sack on him and beat him a few times."

Wang Xiuyong looked at Zhang Fangping in surprise.

Brother.

That’s the Tongpan of Yingtian Prefecture!

At least he was the second-ranked official, even though there were several Tongpans in Yingtian Prefecture.

But it's not something students like you and me can afford to provoke.

However, when Wang Xiuyong thought that Song Shier could even afford to provoke the Hanlin scholars, he had nothing else to say.

Sure enough, following Brother Twelve helps you grow in abilities.

Wang Xiuyong actually felt a little frustrated.

After all, everyone around Song Xuan is quite capable.

The key is that the twelfth brother is good at medicine, which makes his father proud.

My father is a miraculous doctor who has been famous in Song City for more than ten years. There is no doctor in the entire Song Dynasty who is better than him.

As a result, the twelfth brother dragged a man who his father had judged to be beyond saving back from the jaws of death!
That's quite a skill indeed.

Wang Xiuyong also read Journey to the West and easily accepted the setting of the underworld.

"Twelfth brother's medical skills are truly superb. Even my father admires him."

Song Xuan said while riding on a donkey: "It was just good luck. If something like this happens again and I have to do it, maybe the next person will die."

Wang Xiuyong expressed his understanding. His grandfather was a doctor and he knew how dangerous the life-threatening method was.

Basically, the conventional method for this person is to wait for death, so he must try a method with a very low success rate.

Wang Xiuyong's father also used this method, and where there are successes there are naturally failures.

The three of them arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall chatting and laughing.

Wang Tai and others surrounded them directly.

"Shi Er Lang, we were worried that you wouldn't be able to take the exam!"

"Thank you very much."

Song Xuan got off the donkey and saluted everyone, saying:
"Thank you all for your concern. Fortunately, the heaven has eyes. The clear will be clear, and the turbid will be turbid."

Bao Zheng heard Wang Tai mention this when he was waiting in the wings.

He was about to leave when Wang Tai stopped him and told him not to cause trouble.

With Prefect Yan here, can he not protect Song Xuan?

So when they were looking forward to it, they saw Song Xuan coming over on a donkey.

"You don't know, a lot happened last night."

Wang Xiuyong mentioned it with a smile.

"Hey, Xiuyong, don't occupy our heads with such trivial matters. Let's talk and laugh together after the exam."

"Hey hey hey."

After listening to Song Xuan's dissuasion, Wang Xiuyong deliberately kept the matter a secret and did not tell them.

As people lined up to enter, some laughed and scolded.

Captain Ding Zhe was checking there with bloodshot eyes, and he didn't sleep at all.

"Shi Er Lang, have you rested well?"

Ding Zhe hurriedly greeted him personally and became more impressed with Song Xuan.

What kind of medical skills must be possessed to be praised by Dr. Wang?

"It's out of the way."

When they entered the door, Yan Shu and Cao Liyong saw that Song Xuan did not look sleepy at all, and they could not help but sigh that he was truly a young man.

The spirit is good.

"Who is your master?"

Cao Liyong was particularly curious. There was such a skill in the world that could bring the dead back to life, but its name had not been widely spread.

"Old Cao, I'm sorry I can't tell you." Song Xuan lowered his voice and said:

"My master has already turned into a pile of yellow earth. He doesn't want to be disturbed!"

Cao Liyong secretly said what a pity.

He felt that although Song Xuan was smart, he certainly had not learned even 30% of his master's skills.

After all, medical skills are something that can only be mastered through practice, and there are still a large number of cases for him to improve.

People like Song Xuan who haven't done anything for many years, especially those who do the work very roughly, are really bad.

In other words, Mr. Gu was lucky and did not die on the hospital bed.

Cao Liyong patted Song Xuan on the back and said, "Try hard on the exam and try to get the top spot."

Everyone waited again, and the patrolling soldiers began holding signs.

In fact, many candidates do not pay much attention to policy essays.

Because now we mainly rely on poetry and prose as our sources of material, as long as the poetry and prose are good and there are no major problems in the policy papers, it will be fine.

Song Xuan looked up.

Policy topic:

"King Wu of Jin conquered Wu by his own will, while Fu Jian conquered Jin by his own will."

"Qi Huan relied solely on Guan Zhong and became hegemon; Yan Kuai relied solely on Zi Zhi and was defeated."

"The work is the same, but the results are different. Why is that?"

Song Xuan discovered that Yan Shu had his own ideas when setting questions.

The meanings of these four sentences are:

1. Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, made decisive decisions in the process of pacifying the Eastern Wu, and was not overly influenced by the opinions of his court officials. He ultimately succeeded in destroying Wu and unifying the country.
2. After the Former Qin unified the north, Fu Jian decided to attack the Eastern Jin in the south. Although he was also arbitrary, he eventually suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of Feishui, and the Former Qin began to decline.

3. With the assistance of Guan Zhong, Duke Huan of Qi implemented a series of reform measures, making Qi the overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period.

4. King Kuai of Yan handed over state power to Zizhi, which resulted in civil strife and weakening of Yan.

Song Xuan thought about it and realized that it was related to Yan Shu's experience, and it was a question he would ask.

This question requires candidates to compare different historical events, analyze the impact of leaders' decisions and personnel selection on the outcomes of events, and explore the reasons for success and failure.

Song Xuan thought about it and began to write down his argument on the draft paper.

These four things are all centered around arbitrary decision-making and exclusive responsibility.

However, the results are very different, some may succeed, some may fail, some may thrive, and some may perish.

At its core, it is not the fault of arbitrariness or exclusive responsibility.

It depends on whether the master uses it appropriately and appoints the right people to positions.

Now let us discuss the principle to clarify how to govern a country and employ people.

An argumentative essay like this is quite easy to write.

Song Xuan naturally divided it into four subheadings.

The first is the error of dogmatism.

Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, was able to assess the Eastern Wu. He dispatched numerous spies to the region, gathering information on its declining power, disunity among its people, and the internal strife within its ranks. He then decisively launched an attack on Wu, ultimately unifying the country. In contrast, Fu Jian's arbitrary decision to invade the Jin dynasty led to his downfall. His failure stemmed from his stubbornness, his refusal to heed advice, and his failure to send spies to gather detailed information on the battlefield.

I just feel that I can succeed if I just whip the river to stop it!
Fu Jian ignored the opposition and advice of his ministers and former prime minister and rashly launched an expedition to the south, which ultimately led to a great defeat in the Battle of Feishui and the decline of the Former Qin Dynasty.

This is a mistake of arbitrary decision-making.

From this we can see that arbitrary decisions are not impossible, but they must be made with caution.

If the decision is in line with the times, arbitrary decision-making can achieve great things; if it is done with stubbornness and self-righteousness, arbitrary decision-making will lead to failure.

Qi Huan relied solely on Guan Zhong and became the hegemon, while Yan Kuai relied solely on Zi Zhi and was defeated.

Guan Zhong was a man of extraordinary talent and good at governing the country. The trust and support of Duke Huan of Qi and the strong economic and military strength of Qi were indispensable.

On the other hand, although Zizhi was resourceful and ambitious, he lacked the talent to govern a country. How was he different from Sun Quan?

One is the gain of being fully dedicated, and the other is the loss of being fully dedicated.

From this we can see that it is not impossible to appoint a person to a specific position, but it is necessary to get the right person.

If you appoint people based on their merits and give them exclusive authority, you will prosper; if you appoint people based on their personal connections and give them exclusive authority, you will inevitably fail.

The third point is the reason why the results are different despite the same behavior: Wu of Jin and Fu Jian, Huan of Qi and Kuai of Yan, all had the same behavior but different results. Why?
There are three private points.

First, the times are different.

Wu of Jin attacked Wu, causing the decline of Wu and the disunity of its people.

Fu Jian attacked Jin. Although Jin was weak, the people were united.

Different times lead to different results.

Second, the gains and losses of employing people.

Qi Huan appointed Guan Zhong, who was a talent for governing the country;
Yan Kuai appointed Zizhi as the ruler, but Zizhi was incapable of maintaining peace in the country.

The success or failure of employing people is determined by their performance.

Third, make prudent decisions.

When Emperor Wu of Jin attacked Wu, he made plans before taking action.
When Fu Jian attacked Jin, he was stubborn and underestimated the enemy.

Whether the decision is prudent or not is related to the overall situation.

Song Xuan spoke eloquently and began to talk about the fourth point, which was the way to govern the country and employ people.

From this perspective, both autocracy and full authority can be strategies for governing a country, but they must be based on prudence and the availability of talented people.

Those who govern a country should be able to discern the current situation and make decisions prudently; those who employ people should know how to appoint the right people to the right posts and select people based on their talents.

If one is arbitrary and not prudent, and is in charge of things without the right people, then even if the task is the same, the results may be different, and ultimately failure will occur.

After reading it through, Song Xuan wrote a conclusion:
"Those who govern a country should take this as a lesson, assess the situation, and appoint the right people to the right positions, only then can they accomplish great things and establish great undertakings."

"The people of Qin have no time to mourn for themselves, so that future generations will mourn for them; for future generations to mourn without taking note of it will also cause future generations to mourn for future generations again."

"This is an unchanging truth throughout the ages, and it is something that those who govern today should ponder deeply."

Song Xuan checked for typos again and confirmed that there were more than a thousand words before he began to copy.

At this time, many students were slowly deducing the deeper meaning behind Mr. Yan's question.
Anyway, the judgment of policy essay questions is quite subjective. If you can write something that touches the examiner's mind, you will definitely be ranked high.

Song Xuan waited for the ink to dry and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the preparation was rushed, I finally finished the exam.

His only concern was that his Xikun-style poem was mediocre and used fake allusions, hoping to deceive the chief examiner, Yan Shu.

The inspector here, Su Qi, saw that Song Xuan had put down his pen early, and it was impossible not to be impressed by him.

He always gave good answers, especially the Red Cliff Fu, which was really beautifully written. He was sure that no other candidate present could surpass him.

It is the poem about the Hongmen Banquet. Although every sentence uses allusions, the words are not gorgeous or rhyming enough, and there are even allusions that I don’t know.

Su Qi had to admit that Song Xuan had read more than ten thousand books.

An allusion he hadn't heard of in all these years.

Later, Su Qi told Song Shou about it. Song Shou thought about it for a long time and realized he had never heard of it.

Of course, the two of them could not have imagined that Song Xuan was so bold as to compile his own allusions during the test.

Su Qi and Song Shou only felt that they had not read as much as Song Xuan.

After all, although there are many books in the world, many books were lost during the wars of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. It is normal that these people have not read them.

Thinking of this, Su Qi also stood up, pretended to be normal, and walked to Song Xuan.

"Are you still submitting your paper early today?"

After all, the fact that Gu Zimo was assassinated in the street had already spread throughout the streets and alleys.

The news that Judge Yi Jun had directly arrested Song Xuan from his home was widely circulated.

"May I?"

Song Xuan immediately stood up and said, "Thank you, sir. I wanted to hand in the paper early. Too many things have happened in the past two days."

"Please pack your things."

Su Qi naturally picked up Song Xuan's test paper and draft paper, then went to the front desk and sat down.

Even though the examination is strict, examiners can still see the students' test papers most of the time.

For example, they are also happy to take a look at those who submitted their papers early, since they have nothing to do anyway.

What's more, he is one of Song Xuan's guarantors, so it is normal for him to see his strength.

Su Qi sat on the chair, spread out Song Xuan's test paper and looked at it carefully.

Then he straightened up and continued reading.

Su Qi had to admit that Song Xuan had his own unique insights on some things.

Such knowledge is not something that ordinary people can match.

Su Qi's own son, Su Shunqin, was studying at Yingtian Academy. How could he not understand his son?

Although this was his first time taking the imperial examination, he failed.

Now he started taking the exam again and was sent by Su Qi to study at Yingtian Academy.

Su Qi had high hopes for his son, but he didn't know that his son had failed the exam three times in a row. It was not until the fourth time he took the exam in Tokyo that he was admitted as a Jinshi. However, just two months after his joy, his father Su Qi passed away due to illness.

"Shi Er Lang is probably a strong contender for this year's Jie Yuan title."

Su Qi thought secretly.

Song Xuan was still squatting in front of the door with his exam basket, waiting for the door to open on time.

Then, three consecutive times of submitting the papers early attracted attention.

Cao Liyong was tired from patrolling the area, so he sat aside and looked at Song Xuan:

"Do you have the confidence to pass the exam?"

"If you pass the exam, I'll take you on a tour of Tokyo."

"No."

After hearing Song Xuan's straightforward answer, Cao Liyong didn't respond to Song Xuan's words.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No." Song Xuan raised his hand and pointed at the candidate in front of him:

"Just look at their expressions and you'll know how difficult the questions Mr. Yan asked are."

Cao Liyong also saw the test questions and was patrolling the exam room, taking in the expressions of many candidates.

It is indeed difficult.

In addition, Song Xuan did not get enough rest and so many things happened.

But never mind all the external factors.

You, Song Xuan, are different!

Even the child prodigy Yan Shu was acknowledged as a rare talent.

Cao Liyong believed in Yan Shu's eyes, he could never make a mistake in judging people!
Regardless of his ability to fight in official circles, Yan Shu had his own strengths in judging people.

In addition, Cao Liyong's contact with Song Xuan, from the previous joke about tying up and capturing the son-in-law, really took it into his own consideration.

Although Song Xuan's status in Cao Liyong's heart had risen, he had no idea about this matter.

But many people have high expectations of him.

"Don't lose heart. If even you find it difficult, then other students won't do very well!"

“I didn’t find it difficult!”

Cao Liyong immediately looked at Song Xuan with joy, and he was sure that he had not misjudged him.

Song Xuan spread his hands and said, "It's just that I feel my answer is not good enough."

"That's all."

Cao Liyong hadn't experienced anyone daring to speak to him like this for a long time. Even the prime ministers had to be polite.

At least if you say any gossip, exclude him from the conversation and prevent him from hearing it.

"When I'm not busy, I'll go back to discuss your method of resurrection."

When Song Xuan heard this, he subconsciously narrowed his eyes and then nodded:
"Alright, I'll tell you everything I know when the time comes."

Cao Liyong patted Song Xuan on the shoulder, stood up, and continued to patrol.

Song Xuan was still the first to appear.

At this time, there were many people gathered outside the door, and some people were constantly opening the market and placing bets.

Even though Song Xuan said in public that he had no confidence in passing the imperial examination.

But he was the first one to walk out of the examination room for three days. Isn’t that enough to prove Song Twelve’s strength?

Everyone gathered around to ask questions, and Chief Constable Ding Zhe naturally tried his best to maintain order.

After all, the portrait of the Fire-Eyed Suanni has begun to circulate on the streets. If he were to make a surprise attack, it would be disastrous.

Song Xuan looked at the bustling crowd and of course understood the gamblers' minds. He said nothing and waited for the bailiffs to clear the area for him.

Wang Gui led the donkey over and asked Song Xuan to get on it.

He had just been watching outside for a long time but didn't see the Fire-Eyed Suanni. Perhaps it had quickly fled the city after assassinating Gu Zimo.

After all, in any dynasty, killing an official in the street is a serious crime!
(End of this chapter)