Chapter 17 - His Majesty supervises the palace examination (2/2)

Xu Ning’s ideas were bold for the era. However, what was even more extraordinary was that his ideas could be implemented with contemporary conditions and were capable of improving the situation of the Great Heng.

Gu Yuanbai promptly asked Tian Fusheng to bring out a collection of books about craftsmen from the Inner Palace and give them to Xu Ning, and afterwards he arranged for Xu Ning to enter the Engineering Department, on the outskirts of the capital.

Gu Yuanbai had set up the department personally, and it was under direct management of the Supervision Office. The Supervision Office discovered and selected the people there, all of whom were skilled craftsmen with a love for the craft. Gu Yuanbai declared that, as long as they managed to develop something of use to the country, no matter what it was, they would be rewarded.

However, the end results were always lackluster, and the Engineering Department’s research costs were extremely high. The officials from the Supervision Department had complained many times to Gu Yuanbai about it, thinking that the Engineering Department had no reason to exist.

Regardless, Gu Yuanbai insisted, giving the Engineering Department his full support. Xu Ning’s arrival was an unexpected delight. Gu Yuanbai always thought that what the Engineering Department was lacking was an enlightened mind, and now, that mind had arrived.

Xu Ning took the book collection and the appointment, still in a daze. He touched the books and listened to the Emperor’s encouraging words, and his eyes went red.

All these books had been forbidden by the Great Heng, and artisans and merchants were always considered the last class in dynasties. These scorned books about craftsmen were more rare than a manuscript from a renowned scholar. Xu Ning’s voice trembled. “Your Highness, this youngster won’t let you down!”

His gaze gradually became firmer.

The Emperor himself had said so. Not only did he not look down on artisans, he appreciated them and had many ideas. The Emperor mentioned things such as ‘improving the repeating crossbow’,2 ‘tying up cattle to shorten ploughing’, ‘a bullock cart combining sowing and fertilizing’, and even a ‘spinner weaver’ and ‘water wheels’, and so on, that Xu Ning found both surprising and plausible.

His hands were itching and he was so excited that he wanted to hurry to the Engineering Department, as the Emperor said, to work with other colleagues that were also familiar with artisanal work in order to realize the Emperor’s ideas.

If he was able to work on what he loved, contribute to the world, and help solve the Emperor’s problems, could there be anything better than that?

Xu Ning no longer felt pain from the injuries covering his body.

Gu Yuanbai was ecstatic to take in such a talented researcher, and he remained joyful until the day of the Palace Examination.

The candidates entered the Emperor’s Audience Hall at dawn. The people from the Ministry of Rites were in charge of the entire process of the Palace Examination, and, by the time the formal procedures before the exam had been completed, the sky outside was already bright.

The Palace Examination could be supervised by the Emperor himself, or by officials sent by him as replacement. Of course, Gu Yuanbai was supervising in person, and all the candidates, peacefully sitting in their positions, kept their heads lowered without a saying word.

The atmosphere in the entire Audience Hall was solemn and quiet, with a bit of diffused tension permeating it. The candidates noticed two rows of strong guards with tall and muscular bodies standing vigilant, and, with the Emperor sitting on top of the high seat, no one would dare break the rules.

The seats for the Palace Examination were assigned according to the results of the Metropolitan Examination, so the one closest to Gu Yuanbai was none other than the Huiyuan, Chu Wei.

Gu Yuanbai looked around. There were many familiar faces in the first two rows. Besides Chu Wei, there was Chang Yuyan, as well as the son of the Minister of Revenue, Tang Mian. Tang Mian had not yet had his capping ceremony,3 but he had achieved the seventh place in the Metropolitan Examination. The Minister of Revenue’s household was rather proud of his achievement.

Gu Yuanbai also took a special look at Kong Yilin, who was ranked third. Kong Yilin’s ancestral home was Qingzhou, in Shandong, which had been Confucius’ home. It was said to be a place full of talented people where the competition among scholars was fierce. Kong Yilin had been the top ranked student from Shandong in the examinations.

Kong Yilin was born extremely tall. Seeing such a big person crouched behind a small table made people feel uncomfortable for him. This person was extremely quiet, sitting silently with his head down, making it impossible to discern how he looked. He had a calm temperament, like an old farmer planting rice steadily, and his presence was weak and ordinary, but very firm.

From this look, Gu Yuanbai had a better impression of Kong Yilin.

At the beginning of the palace exam, the test papers were handed out, with only one policy topic written on top. The candidates had to write at least two thousand words. The palace exam would last for one day, finishing when the sun set in the evening.

Suddenly, the only sound in the hall was that of brush across paper. Gu Yuanbai sat for a while before starting to work on handling government affairs.

The people sitting in the front noticed the sound of the Emperor opening the memorial. Many of them were conceiving their policy essays while listening to the movement from above.

Chu Wei, as the number one ranking student, had attracted the most attention. He was so forthright that he didn’t even look at the Emperor and simply acted as if he wasn’t there, and he continued to concentrate on his policy essay.

He wanted to get the first place from the Emperor’s hand.

After all the candidates were in this state, Gu Yuanbai put down the memorial and began to walk slowly among the candidates.

When some people glimpsed the dragon robe he wore, their wrist would shake and ink spots would stain the draft. Others had their legs shake nonstop, their teeth knocking together so loudly that Gu Yuanbai could hear them.

Wherever he strolled, the people there would become incomparably nervous. The bad ones would be lost on the spot, the good ones would tense up, too rigid to write.

The Emperor’s bright yellow dragon robe gradually moved towards the front row, and Chang Yuyan glanced at the shadow at his back. His hand shook, and he forced himself to calm down.

With his heart pounding, Chang Yuyan felt as if the Emperor had been standing by his side for a long time. However, once he turned to face him, the Emperor had already walked up to Kong Yilin, and he was standing still by his side.

Gu Yuanbai looked down at Kong Yilin’s draft. It was neatly written, as clean as a formal document. At first, he just wanted to take a rough glance, but gradually, his expression became serious.

When Kong Yilin’s last stroke fell, Gu Yuanbai came back to his senses. He took a deep look at Kong Yilin, whose head was still down, and, instead of continuing to walk among the students, he strode back up the steps.

The Emperor’s move was noticed by those around him, and many of them glanced secretly at Kong Yilin. Faced with so many stares, Kong Yilin continued to write his answer, immobile.

Chu Wei, who was also looking in Kong Yilin’s direction, looked away lightly, dipped his brush with some ink, and continued to write.