Chapter 91: A Difficult Question (1/2)
Chapter 91: A Difficult Question
Translator: Sparrow TranslationsEditor: Sparrow Translations
…
”Boom!” The gong rounded, and represented the official start of the theory examination.
The examination paper was very quickly given out. A group of scholars instantly began to briefly glance over the questions. When they finished, their faces instantly turned into a bitter, forced smile.
Difficult…
It was too difficult!
Who was the one who had set this paper? He actually even included the Diagrams Tactics, and also the I Ching volume. This was a notoriously hard volume in the Law of Dao.
Even the vocabulary used was foreign and exotic. Most of the scholars simply skipped over this volume, even if there was someone who was able to read it, all they could do was read…
At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi also saw the contents of the I Ching that were being tested. Without the countless numbers of later generations' annotations and interpretations, it was really very hard to understand.
Just the terms mentioned in it - Force Hexagram, Field Hexagram, Sprouting Hexagram, Enveloping Hexagram, Attending Hexagram, Arguing Hexagram, Leading Hexagram, Grouping Hexagram, Small Accumulating Hexagram, Treading Hexagram, Pervading Hexagram, Obstruction Hexagram....
All these could cause people to become dizzy.
But, this evidently couldn't stump him. After all, the efforts of the later generations were great, and they had already used simple words to express the deep meanings behind this, and, the summary was very beautiful.
Other than the I Ching, the theory examination paper also tested the contents of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, the main area being tested being the judgements and usages under different conditions.
From the examination paper, one could infer that the capital theory examination, compared to the county theory examination, was indeed much harder. Furthermore, the questions were very flexible, hence the possibility of cheating and copying the model answer was much lower.
Fang Zhengzhi saw this, he couldn't help by sigh. Even if Li Zhuangshi really managed to sabotage him, Cai Yongfeng probably wouldn't be able to care about him?
After all, based on conventional reasoning, it wouldn't be possible for answers that were completely the same to appear.
Hence, why would Cai Yongfeng take the risk to share his answers with Li Zhuangshi?
Fang Zhengzhi didn't think further, and quickly started to answer the questions. The summary of the Thirty-Six Stratagems was already done and classified nicely by later generations. Winning stratagems, desperate stratagems, enemy dealing stratagems, attacking stratagems etc… Theory-wise, Fang Zhengzhi had long ago committed these to heart.
As the surrounding scholars scratched their heads and pondered hard, Fang Zhengzhi had already begun to write furiously, wearing a light smile on his face, just as if he was copying out notes in class.
”He's so powerful?!”
”Such a hard question, yet writing after taking just one look?”
”Isn't this a little too extreme?”
The surroundings scholars were somewhat in disbelief. But, after all, Fang Zhengzhi had attained Roll Champion in the Huai An County, hence the possibility of him failing the theory examination was ultimately very small.
Even though they were dubious, but nobody believed that Fang Zhengzhi was scribbling nonsense.
Hence...
The surrounding scholars became much more stressed. They were initially already anxious, but when they saw Fang Zhengzhi's pen flying, and considered that the number of people passing the capital examination was limited, their foreheads instantly beaded with sweat.
”I must pass!”
”The reward of this capital examination is going to be the one and only of its kind!”
When the scholars thought of that special reward in this capital examination, they all couldn't bear to give. One by one, they calmed down, and began to ponder seriously.
But...
The capital examination's questions were really too difficult!
Fang Zhengzhi wrote very quickly, and continued to write just as fast the entire way. He just had to sweep his gaze across the question to come up with the answer. This feeling was very comfortable, just like a university student studying literature competing with high school students in an essay competition.
It was a bit of a bully.
But, bullying once in a while, what was wrong with that?
As he wrote, Fang Zhengzhi saw a weird question. Write from memory the twenty-seventh chapter in the Law of Dao and the Six Secret Teachings. This question wasn't too difficult.
After all, the Six Secret Teachings was a text even the generals in his previous world had to read.
The capital examinations emphasized military tactics and this was understandable.
However, when Fang Zhengzhi read, he was used to classifying them by name and title. When he read the Six Secret Teachings, he would split them into six portions, then, giving a title to each portion.