Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 53 The Curtain Falls

Upon seeing the question, he subconsciously assumed that it relied on the law, primarily testing the balance between public order and good morals and the law.

Therefore, when answering questions, I tended to focus on this aspect, taking into account both public order and good morals, and pointing out that the ambiguities in the law should be clarified.

But then a sudden inspiration struck him, and he thought of the sentence at the end of the question.

As the chief official, how should one rule in such a case?

This statement is rather intriguing.

If it's just a simple question asking for his personal opinion, then his answer isn't wrong.

But the question is how the official in charge should make the judgment, which is quite intriguing.

It can be seen as asking candidates to share their personal views, but it can also be interpreted as asking candidates to put themselves in the shoes of an official and consider how they would handle similar situations.

It wasn't that Zhou An was overthinking things; rather, the purpose of the imperial examinations was to select officials.

Zhou An pondered for a long time before finally choosing to answer using the latter method.

This approach also expresses a personal opinion while taking the latter into account.

To answer according to the latter, one needs to follow the procedures officials use to handle such incidents.

Generally, when officials face such cases where the law is not clear enough, they should report to the Court of Judicial Review for instructions.

Zhou An only needed to add the procedure to the beginning, indicating that he would handle it according to the procedure, and at the same time submit his personal views for the Dali Temple officials to consider.

His previous writings can be considered as his personal opinions submitted to the Dali Temple.

.........

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and the third round of the provincial examination was approaching.

Zhou An also understood why many people in the ancient imperial examinations passed only after taking the exams multiple times, and among these people were many famous figures throughout history.

Having previously experienced the county-level examination which lasted three days and two nights, he felt he could easily endure the provincial-level examination.

Moreover, he maintained a very calm mindset.

But when he actually participated in the provincial examination, after the first two sessions, Zhou An also felt exhausted.

The provincial examination was extremely mentally and psychologically taxing.

Zhou An hadn't held out much hope initially, but his mindset changed, and he now hoped to be on the list.

It wasn't that he was particularly confident in himself, but rather that he didn't want to continue experiencing this kind of high-pressure torment.

Fortunately, there's only one game left. If we can get through it, we'll be free.

"Phew~"

Zhou An closed his eyes, regulated his breathing, and waited for his hair to curl.

After waiting for who knows how long, the final essay question was finally released.

—Why did Qin conquer the six states and unify the world?

Upon seeing this question, Zhou An frowned slightly.

This question asks why Qin was able to conquer the six states and unify the world.

Upon seeing this question, the first thing that came to his mind was "On the Faults of Qin".

This article covers the period from the Qin Dynasty's unification of China to its eventual demise.

It not only elaborates on the reasons why the Qin state unified the world, but also lists some of the mistakes made by Qin Shi Huang in the political system, which led to the rapid demise of the state.

One of the most famous lines is: "Building upon the legacy of six generations, we will implement long-term strategies to govern the world."

This policy question asks why Qin was able to conquer the six states and achieve unification. One can draw on some of the views on Qin's unification in "On the Faults of Qin".

However, the imperial examination questions were not that simple. The questions asked why the Qin state was able to unify the world, but the answers could not just be about the reasons.

If you were to discuss why the Qin state was able to unify the world by examining the various systems, military, and economy of the six states, no matter how well you wrote it, you would not pass the exam.

Because it lacks the most crucial argument, which is using the past to illustrate the present.

Jia Yi's main purpose in writing "On the Faults of Qin" was not to summarize the rise and fall of the Qin state, but rather to persuade the emperor to implement benevolent governance and allow the people to recuperate and thrive, given that the Han dynasty was in dire need of rebuilding at that time.

Even those who wrote such articles in the early Han Dynasty did not actually intend to discuss the rise and fall of the Qin Dynasty.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had been separated from the Qin Dynasty for over a thousand years, so why would it care about such things?

Therefore, the key to answering this type of question lies in using the past to illustrate the present.

Thinking of this, Zhou An recalled another article, Su Shi's "On the Six States".

He couldn't remember the exact text of Su Shi's article, but he remembered the general meaning.

He attributed the downfall of the six states to their bribery of Qin.

It is said that the six states frequently ceded territory to Qin due to various disputes, which made Qin stronger, while the six states became increasingly weak and were eventually annexed by Qin one by one.

This view is definitely wrong. The circumstances surrounding the fall of the six states were very complex, and they often joined forces against Qin.

It wasn't as Su Shi claimed, that they kept ceding territory to the Qin state.

However, Su Shi's purpose in writing this article was not really to explain how the six states perished.

He attributed the fall of the six states to their constant compromises with Qin, which was actually a comment on the Zhou dynasty's foreign policy.

The core objective was to ensure that the emperor and his officials adopted a firm stance towards foreign powers, rather than resorting to constant compromise. Otherwise, they would only enrich the two other nations while weakening the Great Zhou, ultimately leading to its demise at the hands of the enemy.

Zhou An decided to write according to the approach of "On the Six States".

The topic of reform has been hotly debated for the past year or two. When he saw this question, he did consider focusing on Shang Yang's reforms in his answer.

While the Qin state's ability to conquer the six other states and unify the world was certainly due to the accumulated achievements of six generations of its rulers, it would have been difficult to achieve unification without the foundation laid by Shang Yang's reforms.

However, after careful consideration, Zhou An abandoned the idea.

The court was too weak in its foreign policy, a point that was opposed by both conservatives and reformers.

The change of laws is different; apart from a few, most people oppose it.

In a sense, the essays written during the imperial examinations also reflected a person's political leanings.

If he answers like this and doesn't pass the exam, that's fine, but if he does pass, it will be very detrimental to his future.

.........

Including the breaks between each session, the provincial examination, which lasted for twelve days, finally came to an end.

After leaving the examination hall, Zhou An returned to the inn to rest.

When Zhou An woke up the next day, he felt that his energy and spirit had been elevated.

"Knock knock knock!"

While Zhou An was having breakfast, there was a knock on the door. Shi Tou went to open it and welcomed Feng Xiucai and Wu Xiucai in.

"I didn't know Huai De had just finished eating. I'm sorry to have disturbed you!" Feng Xiucai said apologetically.

Zhou An smiled and said, "It's alright. The provincial examination is finally over. I overslept last night. Please wait for me for a moment."

"That's normal. Back when Brother Feng and I were young and taking the imperial examinations, we would sleep for several days after each one. Now that we're older, we're not as sleepy as we used to be," Wu Xiucai said with a smile.

Zhou An invited the two to sit down, quickly finished the porridge and the remaining steamed buns in his bowl, and then asked Shi Tou to clean up.

"Gentlemen, what brings you here together?"

"Although the provincial examination is over, we two would like to come and discuss the exam questions with Huai De!" said Scholar Feng.

Although there was a day and a night between each exam, they were busy resting and adjusting, and worried that talking about it would affect their mindset, so they didn't talk to each other much.

Now that the provincial examination is over, there are fewer concerns. Discussing each other's views on the exam questions can provide some inspiration, thus helping us to judge whether our answers were correct.

"Why don't we invite Zining and the others to come and chat?" Zhou An suggested.

He felt that Sun Zhigao must have tricked Guo Xun into spending money to find that so-called young master.

He was curious about their reactions after they realized they had been scammed.

"Huai De, you may not know this, but they left immediately after returning yesterday," Wu Xiucai said with some disdain.

The five of them were all from the same hometown and were acting as guarantors. Even if there had been some unpleasantness before, they wouldn't have left without saying goodbye.