RPAGF Chapter 499 Scholars from all nations can take the exam 3
Chapter 499 Scholars from all nations can take the exam 3
In mid-July, the scorching sun seemed to be baking the earth. Above Daliang City, the blazing sun was like a red-hot iron, relentlessly pressing down on the city, making it hard to breathe.
Inside the Wei Kingdom's palace, the ice in the bronze cauldron had long since melted into a puddle of water, leaving only rings of water around it. King Wei leaned lazily against his throne, his fingertips casually tracing the bronze wine vessel on the table. The wine in the vessel rippled with his movement, reflecting the dark circles under his eyes.
Since ceding the three commanderies of Hedong at the beginning of the year, the King of Wei had been in a slump, indulging in wine and women all day long and rarely getting up before noon. However, today, he made an exception and arrived at the court early. The reason was nothing more than a secret report from Xianyang: Qin had reopened the imperial examinations, and this time the examinations were different from the past, as scholars from all states could take the exams.
"Prime Minister, what is your opinion on this matter?" Wei Jia's voice was hoarse from a hangover, and his gaze slowly fell on Wei Ziyuan below the steps.
The prime minister of Wei was intently holding the Qin imperial examination regulations. His fingers kept tracing the lines that read, "Anyone who is proficient in Qin law and skilled in arithmetic, regardless of their origin or nationality, can enter Qin as an official upon passing the examination. They can also bring their families to Guanzhong, be exempt from taxes for ten years, and receive Qin's 'mutual trade vouchers,' which allow them to do business on the Wei-Qin border with a 30% tax reduction!" as if he wanted to engrave these words deeply into his palm.
Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating Wei Ziyuan's slightly aged face and the white hair at his temples. The white hair stood out starkly in the sunlight, as if telling the story of the many years he had lived through.
Wei Ziyuan slowly raised his head, his gaze fixed on the distance, but his thoughts had already drifted back to the scene last year when he sent Crown Prince Ji of Wei to Qin. In order to allow the Crown Prince to study at the Xianyang Academy, the State of Wei paid a huge price. Not only did they offer the mining rights for salt and iron in Hexi for three years, but they also kept the Crown Prince in Xianyang for a full five years.
At the time, Wei Zi thought this was merely a stopgap measure to secure peace and development for the state of Wei. However, upon re-examining the imperial examination regulations, he suddenly realized that Qin's ambitions extended beyond salt and iron; it also included winning hearts and minds.
The Qin state attracted talent from other states with such generous conditions, aiming to utilize these talents for its own benefit and thus enhance its strength. Meanwhile, the Wei state unknowingly lost its own talent and the resources to compete with Qin.
"Qin is undermining our strength from the root of the problem." Wei Ziyuan's voice was extremely low, as if afraid of disturbing something. "Last year, when we sent the Crown Prince to Qin, we used the three-year mining rights of salt and iron in Hexi as collateral, hoping to temporarily avoid their sharp edge. But Qin immediately used those profits from salt and iron to build academies and cast classics in Xianyang, and now they are holding the imperial examinations—they have turned our 'collateral' into 'bait' to lure out talented people from all over the world."
A general below the steps rose, his hand on his sword, the bronze plates on his armor clanging crisply: "Prime Minister, you are too pessimistic! Our Wei Kingdom still has the fortified city of Daliang, and although our elite troops are not what they used to be, we still have 100,000 men! If Qin dares to be so presumptuous, we should lead our troops to reclaim the three counties of Hedong and bring the Crown Prince back!"
"Take it back?" Wei Ziyuan gave a bitter smile. "General, have you forgotten the fate of the Dai Kingdom? The Qin army's iron hooves can travel from Dai County to Hedong in just five days. The three counties we ceded have now been occupied by Qin's salt and iron bureaus. Those artisans who once boiled salt for Wei are now receiving salaries from Qin, and the ironware they forge is thirty percent sharper than ours."
Before the words were finished, an attendant stumbled in, carrying a cloth still wrinkled from its journey: "Your Majesty! Prime Minister! Something terrible has happened! The students of Daliang City... have run away! More than two hundred scholars from the Imperial Academy have gone to Hangu Pass in a group!"
The bronze wine cup in the King of Wei's hand clattered to the ground, splashing wine onto his dragon-patterned brocade robe.
"Stop them! We absolutely cannot let them escape!" King Wei's voice trembled with extreme anger and fear. He stared wide-eyed at the outside of the palace, as if the scholars were right in front of him.
"Immediately send cavalry to pursue them! Tell them that if they can capture those scholars, I will not only increase their salaries, but also allow them to enter the Imperial Academy as doctors!" King Wei's orders came out like a machine gun. His face was as pale as paper, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
Upon hearing the false words of the King of Wei, a nobleman below the steps suddenly slammed his hand on the table, causing half a bowl of chilled plum soup to spill out.
"This is simply outrageous!" The Grand Master of the Royal Clan was furious, his face contorted with rage. "Those scholars dared to betray Your Majesty and flee on their own. Such behavior is utterly heinous! I beg Your Majesty to order me to lead the army to seal off Hangu Pass and bring those traitorous scholars back. According to the laws of our Great Wei, they should be beheaded and their heads displayed to the public!"
“Execute?” Wei Ziyuan sneered, turning to pick up another document from the table—the household registration ledgers of the three counties of Hedong. “Of the three counties ceded at the beginning of the year, thirty percent of the people have already moved their families to Guanzhong. They say that Qin's petty officials don't cheat the people, and Qin's taxes are lighter than Wei's. Even ordinary people know to seek profit and avoid harm, let alone scholars? Chen Yu in the Imperial Academy, when he was young, copied books for a local official, and was flogged thirty times for contradicting our royal family—now Qin says 'talented people don't care about the past,' how can he not go?”
Before the words were finished, an official, his robes caked in dust, stumbling and crawling in, clearly having run from outside the city: "Your Majesty! Prime Minister! Something terrible has happened! Just now, at the west gate of Daliang, over two hundred scholars gathered, saying they wanted to go to Xianyang together! The leader, holding up a copied Qin imperial examination proclamation, shouted: 'If the Crown Prince can study in Qin, why can't we? If we pass the exam, we might one day serve in the same court as the Crown Prince!'"
King Wei clenched his fists, struggling to calm his murderous rage. He recalled three months ago when Crown Prince Ji had sent someone to bring back a gift—a newly cast iron inkstone by Qin craftsmen, with the four characters "Learning for Practical Application" engraved on its bottom. At the time, he had thought it was just an ordinary object, but now he realized that the iron inkstone was heavier than a bronze tripod: Qin not only wanted the Crown Prince to learn their laws, but also wanted to use the imperial examination system to make the people of Wei accept their laws.
"By my decree," Wei Jia's voice trembled, "all scholars who go to Qin to take the imperial examinations shall be stripped of their household registration! Their families shall be relocated to the border to serve as garrison troops!"
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!" Wei Ziyuan hurriedly kowtowed, his forehead hitting the blue brick with a dull thud. "Removing the household registration will only chill the hearts of more people! When the Dai Kingdom was destroyed last year, and we ceded the three counties of Hedong, the people already had many complaints. If we force the scholars away now, Daliang City will probably be empty!"
He raised his head, a resolute glint in his eyes: "I have a plan—why don't we have the court select fifty scholars to go to Qin to take the imperial examination as 'tribute students of Wei'? Firstly, it would be a gesture of goodwill towards Qin; secondly, these scholars could memorize the Qin imperial examination questions and selection criteria, so we could also hold a 'Wei imperial examination' in their place, which would at least help retain some talent."