Chapter 309: I am the master of my own paper (1/2)

Chapter 309: I am the master of my own paper

Translator: Sparrow TranslationsEditor: Sparrow Translations

”Who is it?!” Wu Feng was furious. For the court examination, their scripts had to be immaculate. This blob of ink basically rendered his script useless.

There were about a dozen other candidates who were just as infuriated.

They had suffered the same fate as Wu Feng. One of them had already written more than 300 words. That blob of ink of his paper meant that it was all a waste.

The person responsible was Fang Zhengzhi. He was ecstatic.

Sometimes the believers were rewarded. He had thought that he was going to fail, yet, the reality was a huge surprise.

He was right to snatch this seat.

The question was changed!

As a major in history, Fang Zhengzhi knew little about water security. However, he was well read on governance and management of threats.

He knew what the Emperor wanted.

During the Three Kingdoms Era, Cao Cao had commanded an army of over 800,000 to attack the Eastern Wu. Most of the officials had suggested that they surrender.

However, Zhou Yu knew what his King wanted.

Similar events could be seen throughout history. Emperor Wu of Han’s attack of the barbarians, Kang Xi’s suppression of the Revolt of the Three Feudatories... All of these told Fang Zhengzhi that an Emperor’s ambition was boundless.

Furthermore, the Great Xia Dynasty had remained peaceful for so many years. Their coffers were full. This would fan the ambitions of the Emperor.

He could see this from what Emperor Lin Mubai had said just now.

If one continued to write about peace and diplomacy, even the most well written policy would not be in line with the Emperor’s wishes.

It was simple. He would have to write about battle!

Or at the very least, the idea of it.

He could simply use the threat of an army to suppress the enemies of the empire. Simply by marching to the border could instill fear in the enemies, making them afraid to rise up for generations.

Now that he knew what he was going to write about, it came down to the details.

A plan?

Fang Zhengzhi did not have one. He had no idea that the court examination would be a policy paper. He also did not know that it would be a topic like this.

But it was no matter.

In his previous world, there were many classics that discussed policy. The three most famous were ”Early Qin”, ”Feudalism”, and ”Six Nations”.

”Early Qin” discussed why the Qin Dynasty managed to prosper and its eventual downfall. It was a book on governing policy.

”Feudalism” was a book on revolution.

It analyzed the pros and cons of each revolution and had links to government.

These two classics were of little use, but it did not matter. ”Six Nations” was apt! This book recounted how Qin managed to conquer all the other six nations.

It targeted the passive attitudes of the other six nations at the time.

They had all given Qin parts of their land or a number of cities in order to maintain temporary peace. However, they did not expect Qin to grow stronger as a result.

In the end, after Qin destroyed the countries which did not carve out land for them, they managed to turn back to conquer those which did.

Even though it was a novel on the cowardice of the six nations, it all pointed to one lesson...

Do not surrender, fight!

What if the vassal states do not keep in line? Beat them till they do? Pacify? That is something one does when one is not powerful enough. No true Emperor would want to employ such a strategy.

Fang Zhengzhi had no idea if Emperor Lin Mubai was a Holy Spirit. However, he knew that he was not a careless man.

The best example was...

Emperor Lin Mubai had given Fang Zhengzhi his personal token to facilitate his entry into the Ministry Of Rites. This was sufficient to show the Emperor’s decisiveness.

With this in mind, Fang Zhengzhi began to write.

Then, he saw the enraged glances of the candidates around him?

”Is there something wrong, Young Master Wu?” Fang Zhengzhi looked at Wu Feng with confusion.

”Nothing!” Wu Feng grit his teeth and forced a smile. He rolled up his script which was destroyed by the ink.

”Then you should continue writing your own paper. Even if you keep looking at me, I will not let you copy my script!” Fang Zhengzhi shifted his table closer to himself.

Wu Feng was furious!

Why would I copy yours? I did not spend my two years as poorly as the others! I had prepared plans for all six ministries!

Do I need to copy your script?

Wu Feng was scornful.

However, he was also infuriated. He realized that Fang Zhengzhi was even more scornful than him. In fact, Fang Zhengzhi’s attitude bordered on condescension.

Clear, unadulterated condescension.

”Just wait and see. When I top the theory examination, we will know who is the one who needs to copy!” Wu Feng turned back to look at his script. As he was about to write, he frowned.

Where was he at?

God damn it!

”Ahem! No communication during the examination!” One of the invigilators coughed lightly when he saw Fang Zhengzhi and Wu Feng talking.

Fang Zhengzhi raised his middle finger at that imperial messenger.

He seduced me.

He did not continue debating with Wu Feng. Fang Zhengzhi realized another problem.

Did this world have the Warring States Era?

Fang Zhengzhi was not very familiar with the history of the Great Xia Dynasty. Even if the Warring States Era existed, it was unlikely that the countries would be called Qin, Chu, Zhao...

If they were, it would be too much of a coincidence.

Without this period in history, the ”Six Nations” could not be used either. How was he going to solve this?

Fang Zhengzhi looked into the sky. There were a few leaves floating in the air, blown around by a light breeze.

The world keeps changing - flowers bloom and wilt, spring came and went.

When was he ever going to find himself a wife?

Hang on... he was taking an exam now.

He had to concentrate on that first. How was he going to use the ”Six Nations”? Six Nations, Seven Nations, Eight Nations, Three Nations...

I got it!

If there isn’t, I’ll just make up a story.

In many novels, the stories within them were all made up. They were there for the sole purpose of allowing the author to push his point.

This was a simple concept.

In primary school, they were tasked to write an essay. The topic of the essay was observing the growth of plants.