Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 166 Never to be employed again in this lifetime!
Three days later.

The afternoon sun in winter shines through the clouds, like a thin layer of golden gauze, lazily spreading across the glazed tiles of the Imperial College.

This once-renowned literary hub, located in the northeast corner of the capital, is no longer the tranquil and solemn place it once was.

A restless atmosphere filled the air, like the whispers among the plants before a storm.

Thousands of students were emerging from their respective classrooms and dormitories, converging on the central hall of the Imperial College—the Biyong Hall.

Their faces did not show the solemnity of facing an upcoming test; instead, they wore expressions that were a mixture of humiliation, anger, and contempt.

"Absurd! This is utterly ridiculous!" A handsome young student, dressed in a sky-blue robe and wearing a square cap, stood in the center of a group of people and spoke eloquently.

This man, named Wang Zixuan, came from a prominent family in Jiangnan and was highly respected in prison. He considered himself a leader of the Qingliu faction.

"We have spent ten years studying diligently, immersing ourselves in the classics, destined to become generals and ministers, governing the country and benefiting the people! Now, we are to be tested on mathematics and physics? Aren't those the 'strange skills and tricks' of craftsmen and sorcerers? This is turning barbarians into Chinese, disrupting education, and is the greatest humiliation for us scholars!"

Someone immediately chimed in, "Brother Wang is absolutely right! I heard that the exam questions this time were drafted by the likes of Xu Guangqi and Li Tianjing. These people spend all their time mingling with Western missionaries and have long forgotten the teachings of the sages. They only think about using these unorthodox methods to curry favor with the emperor and gain fame and fortune!"

"Yes! We can't just let them manipulate us like this! I propose that today's exam be either a blank paper to show our disdain, or we fill it with the 'Ode to Righteousness' so that His Majesty and the officials of the court can see that the integrity of us scholars will never bow to such crooked ways!"

"Okay! Let's do it!"

"Go together, go together!"

The crowd was immediately aroused, and many responded.

It was as if they weren't going to take an exam, but rather to embark on a tragic holy war to defend civilization!

Groups of three or five gathered, talking loudly and confidently, firmly believing that their resistance would create a powerful momentum that would force the young emperor, far away in the palace, to retract this absurd decree.

……

In this bustling trend, there are always a few corners that stand out from the crowd.

Outside the Biyong Hall, at a corner of the wall, a young scholar dressed in a worn blue robe, his face showing signs of travel, stood quietly, out of place among the spirited young students around him.

He was not a student of the Imperial Academy; his actual job was a minor county school instructor in Fenyi County, Jiangxi Province, which was thousands of miles away.

A month ago, an unexpected official decree, like an invisible hand, propelled him directly from that remote and isolated rural school to the heart of the empire's cultural center, right under the emperor's nose.

Even now, he still feels like he's in a dream.

He didn't understand why the imperial court knew his name, a mere instructor, and even less why they summoned him to participate in this examination specifically prepared for the chosen ones.

The only thing he could think of was that some miscellaneous notes he had written during his spare time from teaching, traveling to the fields and working with farmers, craftsmen, and miners, about agricultural tools, water conservancy, and metallurgy, had entered the Forbidden City through some channel he himself was unaware of.

Ignoring the curious or disdainful looks from the other students around him, he followed their example and squatted down in a corner, not to rest, but to quickly calculate something in the dust between the bricks with a dry twig.

The classics and sages were his duty to make a living, but the mathematics and the principles of investigating things hidden in the workings of all things were his true love that haunted his dreams.

For him, coming to Beijing to participate in this unprecedented selection test was like a gift from heaven!
humiliation?

No, this was the closest he ever came to his ideal in his entire life!
In stark contrast to his excitement and focus, not far away, another young man in fine clothes leaned against the stone railing, idly playing with a piece of white jade hanging from his waist.

He was the second son of a hereditary noble family in the capital. His family had already paved the way for him to become an official through his family connections. Studying at the Imperial Academy was just a way to add a layer of prestige to his resume.

He had no interest in classical Chinese texts; his greatest hobby was disassembling and studying the Western-made chirping birds in the mansion, their intricate gears and springs, which he found far more interesting than the Four Books and Five Classics.

"Unorthodox methods?" He listened to the lofty pronouncements of Wang Zixuan and others not far away, a disdainful sneer curling at the corner of his mouth. "A bunch of people who can't even measure the land beneath their own feet, yet they always think about pointing fingers at the world. How laughable."

"Boom-thump-thump-"

The bell of the Biyong Hall rang out, deep and long.

Thousands of students, each with their own thoughts, entered this waterside building, which symbolizes the highest hall of Confucianism.

Thousands of examination papers had already been set up inside the hall, creating a solemn and dignified atmosphere.

Xu Guangqi and the newly appointed Director of the Imperial Firearms Bureau, Sun Yuanhua, stood in front of the hall, calmly watching the students file in.

The students' gazes were like countless tiny needles pricking the two of them.

Their gazes were filled with contempt and hostility; in their eyes, these two were the culprits who had led the king astray from his duties!
Xu Guangqi acted as if he hadn't seen them, and only after everyone was seated did he announce in a loud voice: "By His Majesty's decree, the selection examination shall be held! May you all investigate things to acquire knowledge and seek truth from facts!"

At his command, nearly a hundred minor officials began distributing the exam papers.

The exam paper was printed on the finest Xuan paper, and its exquisite printing made it immediately apparent that it was extraordinary. The beginning of the paper featured four ancient seal characters: "格物致知" (Gewu Zhizhi).

Wang Zixuan sneered. He was ready. In a moment, he would write a magnificent article condemning the treacherous officials on this exquisite paper.

However, when he turned his gaze to the question, the sneer on his face froze instantly.

"Question 1: There is a well whose depth is unknown. A rope is used to measure its depth, and the rope is more than five feet long. The rope is then folded in half, and the end of the rope reaches the well opening. What is the depth of the well and the length of the rope?"

Wang Zixuan was stunned.

What is this? A tongue twister?

He read those few lines over and over again seven or eight times, his mind a complete mess.

What does this talk of pulling a rope, covering a rope, leaving five feet, reaching the wellhead... have to do with the teachings of the sages? What does it have to do with governing the country and bringing peace to the world?!
He looked up and around, and found that most of his classmates had the same expression as him: some were bewildered, some were surprised, and some were already scratching their heads.

Wang Zixuan took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and continued to look at the second question.

"Question 2: Gongsun Long said, 'A white horse is not a horse.' Please use the three-part method to argue the fallacy of his statement."

"A white horse is not a horse?" He knew that, it was a sophistry of the School of Names, thoroughly refuted by Confucian sages long ago. But what on earth was this "three-part method"? He'd never heard of it before! To refute its fallacy, shouldn't one simply cite classical texts and condemn it from the perspective of "name" and "reality"?

An ominous premonition began to spread in Wang Zixuan's heart. His hands trembled as he looked at the last question.

"Question 3: There are two iron balls, one weighing 10 pounds and the other weighing 1 pound. If they are released simultaneously from the top of a tall tower and allowed to fall, which one will hit the ground first? Please explain your reasoning."

It’s his mother’s fault!

Wang Zixuan felt as if his brain had been hit hard by these two iron balls.

This question is an insult to his intelligence!
When two balls fall together, the heavier one will fall first. Isn't this common sense, known to everyone, even women and children?!

Do you need to ask more?
Does it need further explanation?

The reason for this is "weight"!

The person who set this question simply treats all scholars in the world as ignorant fools!
"Absurd! Utterly ridiculous!"

Finally, someone couldn't take it anymore and slammed their hand on the table, standing up abruptly.

He pointed at the exam paper in his hand, his face flushed and his whole body trembling: "What kind of exam questions are these! They are simply mocking all scholars in the world! We disdain to associate with them!"

After saying that, he tore the exam paper up violently and turned to leave.

"Throw him out." Xu Guangqi uttered three words expressionlessly.

Two fierce-looking Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward, each taking one arm, and dragged the enraged student out of the main hall.

This stunned many who wanted to follow suit, but the entire examination hall was in complete chaos.

“This rope-based well-gauging technique, could it be some kind of Zen Buddhist verse? I think the ‘rope’ is the ‘Dharma,’ and the ‘well’ is the ‘mind’…” A student began his “problem-solving” with feigned profundity.

"No, no! I think the deep well and long rope are a metaphor for the relationship between ruler and subject! The rope being longer than the well means that the subject's talent should be greater than that of the ruler..." As for the saying "a white horse is not a horse," there are many different opinions. Some people have started to write "On the Rectification of Names," citing classics and denouncing Gongsun Long for his clever words and flattery, which have disrupted the moral order.

As for the third question, it was almost universally regarded by the students as an unspoken favor.

Many people wrote unequivocally on their papers: "The heaviest falls first! This is a natural law, no further explanation needed!"

Even worse, some added a sentence afterward: "Whoever set this question is utterly foolish!"

The entire Biyong Hall, once a solemn examination hall, was transformed into an absurd farce of ignorance and rage.

……

Amidst this chaotic background noise, there are a few corners that are as quiet as the eye of a storm.

Song Yingxing's pen moved quickly across the draft paper. His hand was trembling, not from nervousness, but from excitement!

"When using a rope to measure the well depth... if the rope is five feet longer than the well depth, then folding the rope in half will bring it to the exact depth of the well..."

In a flash, his mind clicked.

"The rope is folded in half to reach the depth of the well, meaning that half the length of the rope is the depth of the well. And the length of the rope is five feet more than the depth of the well..."

Once you open your mind, the answer becomes self-evident!

Instantly, the many ingenious methods of the "Excess and Deficiency" chapter of the *Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art* flashed through his mind. A sense of sudden enlightenment and joy filled him with a sense of complete comfort, almost making him want to applaud in admiration. The ingenuity of this problem was exactly what he had been looking for!

The second question: the method of three premises? He vaguely recognized a similar logical deduction method. Major premise, minor premise, conclusion… He frowned and pondered, beginning to try to construct it.

"Major premise: 'Horse' refers to form. 'White' refers to color. Color is not form. Therefore, it is said: A white horse is not a horse." He first wrote down Gongsun Long's logic, then began searching for its flaws. "This argument uses a fallacy of semantics, forcibly separating the set of 'white horses' from the set of 'horses'..."

Meanwhile, Li Jingze was deep in thought as he faced the third question.

The heavier one hits the ground first?
really?
He recalled playing with those clappers and noticing that the swing times of pendulums of different weights seemed...not much different. He also remembered once accidentally knocking two objects of different sizes and weights, several times different, off an upper floor; they hit the ground almost simultaneously...

why?
He picked up his pen, hesitated for a long time, and finally wrote down a question that seemed almost absurd.

"People say that the heavier object falls first, but this may be due to the obstruction of air. If there is no air, it is unknown whether the heavier or lighter object will fall first... However, all things have the tendency to return to the ground. Is the origin of this tendency really the weight of the object, or is it the natural law of heaven and earth?"

Li Jingze didn't know if his question was ridiculous, but it was a bold inquiry into common sense that he had made after repeated observation and reflection.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the exam, thousands of exam papers were collected.

Wang Zixuan proudly handed in his answer sheet, which bore only a few bold, elegant characters: "Purge the court of corrupt officials and punish the treacherous ministers!"

He believed that he represented the voice of the majority.

As a result, the statistics were completed by the morning of the third day and posted outside the gate of the Imperial College.

"The number of participants in this screening test is 3,472."

"Two hundred and eighty-six people passed the test."

"Three thousand one hundred and eighty-six people were unqualified."

Less than three hundred!

This number was like a resounding slap in the face to all the self-important students.

The Imperial College was bombed.

"There's something fishy going on! There must be something fishy going on!"

"We refuse to accept this! Why should those unorthodox methods be qualified?"

"It must be that old scoundrel Xu Guangqi who secretly orchestrated this; all those admitted are his disciples!"

Amidst wails and curses, countless people surged toward the examination hall, submitting petitions to impeach Xu Guangqi for "disrupting education and recruiting officials through unorthodox methods," and requesting the emperor to rescind his decree and severely punish the treacherous official!
Public opinion throughout the capital seemed to be on their side; newspapers and restaurants were filled with voices expressing their indignation on their behalf.

Wang Zixuan stood in the crowd, enjoying the company of others, a victorious smile on his face.

He believed that the emperor would have no choice but to compromise in the face of this overwhelming public opinion.

However, just as public opinion was about to reach its peak, and some censors were even preparing to launch an attack in the court, a calm imperial edict was issued from the palace and delivered to the Imperial Academy at a leisurely pace.

The contents of the imperial edict were very simple.

"The emperor is destined to be carried by heaven, and the edict says:"

"All 286 students who passed this selection test should assemble in their everyday clothes outside Chengguang Gate of Xiyuan at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow."

This imperial decree was like a bucket of cold water poured onto a boiling oil pan.

Xiyuan!

Royal Forbidden Garden!

Dressed in casual attire. See you there!

What an incredible favor this is!
Those students who failed the exam were instantly stunned.

They originally thought they were the embodiment of justice, and that the 286 people were traitors to the civilized people.

But now, the emperor is going to meet these traitors in person!

The names of Song Yingxing, Li Jingze, and others were prominently listed.

Holding the gold-embossed list, facing the envious, resentful, or disdainful gazes of their classmates, they were filled with trepidation and a barely suppressed excitement.

……

This is not the end.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the imperial edict summoning the emperor, the latest reprint of the "Da Ming Yue Bao" newspaper was distributed to every corner of the capital and even the whole country.

The front page headline was an imperial edict bearing the emperor's imperial seal!

It doesn't use any fancy language; it's all in plain language, yet every word is sharp and incisive.

"I have heard that the Imperial Academy is a place for cultivating talent for the nation. However, what constitutes talent? One who can recite the Spring and Autumn Annals but is ignorant of arithmetic and unable to manage finances is a corrupt talent. One who can recite the Book of Poetry but is ignorant of the principles of things and unable to govern the world is an empty talent. The nation has nurtured scholars for centuries, not to support a group of useless people who only know how to talk but cannot lift a finger or carry a load! This selection examination is both a selection process and a warning."

"I hereby proclaim to the world:"
All students of the Imperial Academy who are absent from the examination without a valid reason, or who submit blank papers or make incoherent statements in protest during the examination, shall be stripped of their academic titles and honors, effective immediately!
Never to be employed again in this lifetime!

"Never hire him again!"

These four words truly resounded like thunder from the heavens above, echoing in the ears of every student who did so!

This means that they will never have another chance to embark on an official career and receive a government salary in their lifetime!

All their efforts, pride, and dreams in the first half of their lives were crushed to pieces by this cruel and merciless decree at this moment!

Wang Zixuan stared at the newspaper in his hand, his face ashen, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

World
shock!

(End of this chapter)