If there was a drought, the solution would not be to build a wall or a fortress. It would be to build a canal to irrigate the land. Then, it would be to divert the water from the sea into the river. Then, it would be to divert the water from the river.
This was Nong Li.
Before the modern world had large dams and artificial rainfall, this was a problem that had to be considered in ancient times.
Fang Zhengzhi's focus was on irrigation as well.
However, if one did not understand history, then one would not know what had happened in the past, nor would one know where there had been water conservancy projects.
Most importantly, it was geography.
Where was the sea? Where was the river? Where was the river? Where were the lakes... where was the source of water? Where was the drought? What was the point of all of this?
Policy theory was not much different from the theses of his previous world. How could a thesis be written without evidence? There was no way to judge.
Fang Zhengzhi broke out in a cold sweat.
Am I going to fail?
Just as he was thinking about this, the sound of a golden gong finally rang out. Following that, a row of imperial messengers from the Imperial Academy wearing black official robes with the word 'Imperial' printed on it walked over from afar.
The leader of the procession was a young man dressed in a rank four official robe. It was Su Qing.
Su Qing's face was rosy today. He held a list of the candidates for the court examinations in his hand as he led the group of imperial messengers to the front of the candidates.
All of the candidates did not speak. They waited quietly for Su Qing to speak.
Although it was a lecture, it was actually just a lecture about the rules for entering the court examination, the history of the court examination, and the rules for the mid-term examination.
"The founding of the Great Xia Dynasty..." Su Qing walked in front of the candidates and began to explain. After explaining the rules of the examination, Su Qing looked at the time, "The auspicious hour is approaching. Let's enter the court examination!"
"Thank you for your instructions!" All of the candidates bowed in gratitude.
Of course, Fang Zhengzhi would not stupidly bow like these people. He was an adult, why would he need to thank them? They were all rank four officials. He had to be that stubborn.
There were more than ten people who did not bow, including Yan Xiuhuan, Wu Feng and the rest.
From the looks of it, there were at least a dozen people who had inherited the title of nobility in this court examination.
Of course. Fang Zhengzhi was not included.
It was time for the court examinations to begin. All the candidates went through another round of verification. After all, the court examinations were held in the palace and the Emperor was present. It wasn't too much to verify it twice.
It was different from the identity verification when they entered the palace. This time, they had to be verified by the monster trainers. They were mainly asked about their experiences, and finally, they had to do a blood test.
It was probably because of what happened in the World of the Sage during the Imperial Examinations.
Fang Zhengzhi had seen such a blood test when he was six years old in the Southern Mountain Village. He was not too surprised. The blood test this time was mainly to check if there was a demon invasion, and did not test his bloodline. Hence, it was faster than the one in the Southern Mountain Village.
Before long, all of the candidates for the court examinations had been tested.
Next. This was the official entrance. The imperial messengers from the Imperial Academy personally led the candidates to the White Jade Plaza at the entrance of the Throne Room.
Fang Zhengzhi was curious.
He knew that Nangong Hao was going to participate in the court examinations. However, from the reactions of the crowd, it seemed as though Nangong Hao was not there.
"Why is Nangong Hao's presence so low?" Fang Zhengzhi did not ask further. He remembered that Nangong Mu's presence was quite low during the examinations.
I wonder how Nangong Mu is doing now?
Fang Zhengzhi looked towards the south. He did not know if that was where the Nangong Family was located. He just subconsciously looked in that direction.
...
Very quickly, under the guidance of the Imperial Academy's Imperial Messengers, the candidates arrived at the entrance of the White Jade Plaza. Two rows of golden armoured guards guarded the entrance.
They all looked incomparably solemn.
Fang Zhengzhi had been to the palace before. Of course, he knew that the security in the Imperial Palace had always been strict. It could be said that there was a sentry every ten steps, and a sentry every hundred steps. However, there were clearly more guards today than usual.
After stepping through the gates of the White Jade Plaza, the area in front of him widened.
White Jade Plaza. As the name suggested, the ground was made entirely of white jade. It was surrounded by white jade fences that were carved with dragons and phoenixes.
And today, in the center of the White Jade Plaza, there was a golden platform. The platform was covered with golden silk and a huge dragon umbrella was erected on the platform, blocking the sunlight from the horizon.
Below the high platform was a field paved with red silk. On the field, there were about two hundred mahogany writing desks. Each desk was at least three to four meters apart.
Okay...
A wide field of vision, separated by such a long distance.
Fang Zhengzhi was almost certain that cheating under the nose of the Emperor would be harder than reaching the heavens. Furthermore, there were 20 to 30 imperial messengers standing at the edge of the field.
"Let's go." Yan Xiu said as he looked at the field.
"Mm." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
The other candidates also walked towards the mahogany table. This was different from the previous examinations. This time, everyone sat in front of the table in unison.
It felt as though they were sitting in front of the table.
Fang Zhengzhi's gaze casually swept across the mahogany desks. Very quickly, he found two good spots. They faced the dragon's mouth directly in front of the Throne Room. Furthermore, they had a wide field of view. These were excellent spots.
Since he did not have much confidence in the policy discussion, Fang Zhengzhi decided to talk about fengshui. He hoped that he would be lucky.
Just as he was about to go over, he saw a fatty running towards one of the two positions like a pig that was about to be released from the pen. His speed was extremely fast.
"Fighting for a spot?" Today, Fang Zhengzhi came unprepared. His heart was in a mess. If the position he was eyeing was snatched away, it would not be a good sign.
He waved his hand and sent a nail flying.
"Aiyo … Why is there a nail on this seat?" As soon as Fatty sat down, he immediately bounced up like a ball.
All of the other candidates were shocked by the fatty's actions. They all turned to look at their seats, thinking that this was a test of the court examinations.
However...
There were no nails on their seats.
"What a good omen!" Fang Zhengzhi was very satisfied with the effect of Fatty sitting down. He leisurely walked to the chair and put the nails back into his arms. Then, he slowly sat down.
"Fang Zhengzhi. What are you doing? "The fatty was indignant.
"Nothing much, I am just bullying you. Do you have a problem with that?" Fang Zhengzhi was straightforward.
"You... you dare to bully me? Do you know who I am? I am the Southern Region... "The fatty was infuriated when he heard Fang Zhengzhi's words. He pounded his chest as he spoke.
"You want to fight?" Fang Zhengzhi did not wait for the fatty to finish. He asked directly.
"Yes!"
"Report me, he wants to hit me!"
"What are you doing? This is a theory examination. Don't make a ruckus! I will disqualify you! "An imperial messenger walked over when he saw this.
The fatty shrank back and his aura weakened. He shook his head at the messenger, indicating that he would not fight. After the messenger left, the fatty glared at Fang Zhengzhi.
"Hmph, Fang Zhengzhi. Just you wait! "
"What, you want to fight?" Yan Xiu walked to Fang Zhengzhi's side and waved his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan. He looked at the fatty coldly.
"No... I wouldn't dare." The fatty's expression changed as he fled.
All of the other candidates sat to the side when they saw this. No one dared to provoke Fang Zhengzhi again.
This way, Fang Zhengzhi had some peace and quiet. He leaned back on the chair, then tilted his body. He chose a comfortable position and closed his eyes.
"Irrigation?"
"Water conservancy?"
Fang Zhengzhi tried to recall what he had learned in his past life. Yu the Great controlling the flood? Hmm, that did not seem appropriate. How about Sun Wukong wreaking havoc in the East Sea Dragon Palace?
Alright...
That did not seem right.
Should he write a poem about farmers? Hoeing the fields in the afternoon, sweat dripping down the fields.
Aish!
Fang Zhengzhi's mind was in a mess. He could not think of any classic strategies to control the drought. As such, he decided not to think about it.
"Dong!"
Just at this moment, the gong rang out.
All of the examinees instantly sat up straight. The first gong was the gong for the entrance. The second gong was the gong for the arrival of the Emperor.
Indeed, after the gong rang out, a voice rang out.
"The Emperor is here!"
"The Emperor is here!"
The voice grew louder and louder. Very quickly, a huge sedan appeared. It was made entirely out of gold and had a few golden dragons carved on it. Each of the dragons was engraved with complicated cloud patterns.
"These cloud patterns..." Fang Zhengzhi's eyes lit up. This was the first time he had seen Emperor Lin Mubai's sedan. However, it was the third time he had seen them. The first time was in The Vast World on Cang Ling Mountain. The second time was on Wu Feng's jade flute.
Three times?
This was no longer a coincidence.
Fang Zhengzhi felt that these cloud patterns had a special meaning. The Vast World had something to do with the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, and Wu Feng's master was one of the four sages.
As for Emperor Lin Mubai...
There was a sage in his name.
This thing should be called the Sage Pattern!
Alright, that was just a wild guess. Fang Zhengzhi felt that it would be faster to ask Yan Xiu after the theory examinations. There was no need to make such wild guesses.
The palanquin arrived at the platform of the White Jade Plaza. The door of the palanquin was gently opened and Lin Mubai, who was wearing a golden dragon robe, slowly walked out of the palanquin.
At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi noticed that there was a youth standing beside Lin Mubai's sedan. He was dressed in a white robe, but strangely enough, his white robe was stained with blood.
They were scarlet like blood, but their shapes were extremely unique. All of them were pentagons, and they didn't look like bloodstains. Instead, they looked more like maple leaves.
"Nangong Hao!"
"I didn't expect him to be in the palace!"
"He is traveling with the Emperor!"
All of the other candidates also noticed the young man. When they saw the young man's face, they couldn't help but start discussing among themselves.
"Nangong Hao?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the youth in white once again. He realized that Nangong Hao looked completely different from Nangong Mu.
If Nangong Mu was said to be ordinary, like a block of wood in the crowd, then Nangong Hao was like a bright star.
This was not the light of the sun, moon, or stars. Rather, it was light from within.
There was a better word to describe it.
Bright!
Sword-like eyebrows, jet black eyes, and thin lips. He did not have much of an expression on his face. However, he gave off a sense of transcendence.
Emperor Lin Mubai had already stepped out of the palanquin. He seemed to have noticed the discussions of the candidates below. He glanced at Nangong Hao beside him and nodded his head lightly.
Nangong Hao returned the gesture.
However, this was not the gesture of an official. It was the gesture of a junior greeting an elder. After returning the gesture, Nangong Hao walked towards his desk.
He sat down.
From beginning to end, he did not say a single word.
Emperor Lin Mubai looked at Nangong Hao and did not say anything. He walked up the stage lightly and sat on the Dragon Throne on the stage.
At that moment, the officials behind the palanquin walked over. With Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping at the front, they lined up on both sides of the stage.
All of the candidates held their breaths.
The biennial Law of Dao examinations and today's court examinations were the key to success or failure. Many people chose to enter officialdom after passing the imperial examinations.
However, they were not prepared for the court examinations.
Not many of the 200 candidates chose to become officials. Some chose because there were no vacancies, while others chose because they wanted to participate in the court examinations.
Who didn't want to climb to the top?
The court examinations.
This was the last mountain. Once they climbed over this mountain, they would be able to see a vast expanse of land. Their hopes for the next two years were all on this.
How could they not be nervous?
What would be the topic for this year's court examination? This was the question that everyone was most concerned about. This question would determine if their two years of hard work had been in vain.
Getting it right and not getting it right.
The difference between the two was like the difference between heaven and earth.
"Dong!"
The gong rang for the third time. This signified the beginning of the theory examinations. All the answers were about to be revealed.
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