Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

Upon entering the examination hall, the first thing that caught Chen Chang'an's eye was a wide bluestone passageway.

On both sides of the passageway, dozens of small houses are neatly arranged, with cloth curtains hanging at the door of each house.

At the entrance of each small booth, candidates were queuing up.

Chen Chang'an had done his homework beforehand and knew the process of the imperial examination. To prevent cheating, candidates had to undergo a strict body search after their identity was confirmed and they entered the examination hall.

These small rooms are where body searches are conducted.

A staff member from the examination hall, dressed in yellow, pointed at Chen Chang'an with his left hand and at a small room with his right, saying, "You, line up here!"

Chen Chang'an walked over slowly and stood in line behind one of the candidates.

A candidate emerged from a small room, holding an examination permit, and searched for his assigned examination cell according to the number on it.

Soon it was Chen Chang'an's turn. Just as he was about to go in, a commotion suddenly came from a small room not far away.

"How dare they smuggle it in!"

"Take him away! He's a fugitive from the imperial examinations! According to the law, strip him of all his academic titles and permanently disqualify him from taking the exams!"

……

Chen Chang'an saw a bald young man being carried out of the small room by two constables.

One of the constables was holding a wig, and you could see that the inner layer of the wig was covered with tiny writing.

The examinee was pale, limp, and dragged away like a dead dog.

The other candidates also turned pale upon seeing this.

Chen Chang'an shook his head slightly, indicating his incomprehension.

The imperial examinations in Da Ning only tested essays, poems, and policy discussions; they didn't test knowledge of classical texts or the like. These were subjects where candidates could perform on the spot, so there was absolutely no need to cheat.

At that moment, the curtain of the small room in front of him was lifted, and someone said, "Next."

Chen Chang'an entered the small room, which was narrow. There was a low table and a long bench, with two bailiffs sitting on the bench. One of them got straight to the point: "Place the examination certificate and household registration certificate on the table, loosen your clothes, take off your shoes, remove your hat, and open your arms..."

Chen Chang'an did not wear a hat. As instructed, he put away the examination certificate and household registration certificate, took off his shoes and outer robe, and opened his arms.

The two men stood up and touched him from head to toe, even turning over the soles of his shoes to check. They even tugged at Chen Chang'an's hair to see if it was a wig...

After checking everything inside and out, the constable gestured for Chen Chang'an to put on his clothes and said, "You're all set. The examination certificate has your room number on it. Go find your room."

Chen Chang'an dressed, took the examination certificate and household registration certificate, and walked out of the small room.

The two inspectors in the room did not rush to call the candidates behind them in, but instead whispered among themselves.

"Is he Chen Chang'an?"

"That courtesan poet?"

"I heard that before he entered the examination hall, the ten most beautiful courtesans in the capital saw him off. For a man to go to such lengths, he could die without regrets..."

……

Chen Chang'an was unaware of the two people's discussion; he had already found his cell.

The examination room was narrower than he had imagined, no more than three feet wide and five feet long. A low table was placed against the wall, with several writing brushes, an inkstone, and an ink stick on it. There was also an oil lamp and a half-burnt candle at the corner of the table.

In the corner was a wooden bed, covered with a thin straw mat and a quilt, which smelled faintly of mildew.

Sleeping in this cramped space isn't just a matter of not being able to stretch your legs out; you have to be half-bent over the whole body.

Chen Chang'an deeply felt how serious the problem was that Da Ning valued martial arts over literature.

The conditions in the examination cells were extremely rudimentary.

The candidates had to stay in this cell for three days and three nights, which was simply torture.

Chen Chang'an placed the examination certificate and household registration certificate on the bed, and then sat cross-legged on the bed himself.

The imperial examination officially began at noon, with more than half an hour to go before the start of the exam.

Since I'm just idling around anyway, I might as well practice some kung fu.

Chen Chang'an sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, his legs crossed, palms facing up, resting on his knees.

It's difficult to stretch out my legs in this room, but sitting cross-legged is just right.

He closed his eyes, focused his mind on his dantian, and circulated the internal energy of the Breaking Army Technique.

This internal energy is still too weak to open up the twelve regular meridians of the human body, let alone the Ren and Du meridians, but it has the advantage of improving every day.

As his internal energy slowly circulated, Chen Chang'an felt a warm current flowing through his body, filling him with power and making his mind much clearer.

After an unknown amount of time, a clear gong sound suddenly came from outside.

A constable, carrying a gong, quickly passed by the cell, banging it as he shouted, "It's noon! The exam begins!"

Another constable walked along the passageway between the examination rooms, stopping at each one and placing an envelope sealed with red wax on the examinee's desk.

Chen Chang'an picked up the envelope, confirmed that the wax seal was intact, and then opened it, pulling out three pages of paper.

He picked up the first page, which contained the exam questions for the essay.

The exam questions were very long, almost filling the entire page.

"In the autumn of that year, the Yan Kingdom sent an envoy to the capital with a couplet to provoke Da Ning. All the civil officials looked at each other in dismay. The Hanlin scholars racked their brains for a long time but could not come up with a matching couplet. The emperor was furious, the officials were ashamed and fearful, and the national dignity almost collapsed."

The Yan envoy declared in the palace that he would wager a city outside Yanmen Pass against Da Ning in a literary contest of couplets. If Da Ning lost, Princess Zhaoyue would have to be married off to the Yan court to become the consort of the third prince. The third prince of Yan was cruel and lustful, and this was an insult to Da Ning. At that moment, the officials in the palace turned ashen-faced, because due to the long-standing emphasis on military prowess over literature, there were very few people in the court skilled in couplets, and no one could answer the challenge.

At that time, the talented scholar Chen Chang'an composed three couplets outside the palace gate. Each word was perfectly crafted and the meaning was profound. The Yan envoy was so ashamed and indignant that he committed suicide by hitting his head against a pillar. The delegation hurriedly returned north, the princess was saved, and Liangzhou outside the pass was also returned to Daming.

Da Ning was not without talent, but its talented people lived in obscurity; it was not without learning, but its academic atmosphere was neglected. Now, taking the events of Chang'an as a lesson, we can discuss the essential points of encouraging learning.

May all the youth of the world know that the prosperity of a nation depends not only on its armor and weapons, but also on its culture and learning; and that the success of an individual depends not only on family background, but ultimately on education. Diligent study leads to talent, and talent leads to national strength. Strive for it!

Chen Chang'an held the exam questions and stared blankly for a long time.

He never imagined that the essay topic for this year's imperial examination would be related to him...

The meaning of the question is very obvious.

The imperial court used a couplet competition against the Yan state, in which Da Ning nearly lost and suffered national humiliation, as a starting point to conclude that Da Ning should prioritize the development of its cultural heritage, cultivating a scholarly atmosphere from the youth onwards…

The students are required to write an essay aimed at encouraging young people, urging them to study hard and become useful members of society for the country in the future.

It seems that the last literary examination with the Yan Kingdom did indeed wake up some people in the Da Ning court.

In an effort to rectify the academic atmosphere in Daning, they actually used it as material for imperial examination essays.

Chen Chang'an looked at the exam questions, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said softly, "Encouraging learning...?"