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Chapter 100: Winter Evaluation and the Temple Exam, Year 16 of Jingxin
🕑 Added 2024-10-13 10:18:13 +0000 UTCThe weather was bitterly cold, and dusk was approaching.
In Gucheng, the lights in the households began to flicker on one by one, casting a heavy shadow over the sky, already filled with gloomy clouds.
The snow on the ground had accumulated to over a foot, and the snowfall showed no signs of stopping, growing heavier by the moment.
A piercing northern wind lifted the snow from the ground, turning the entire city of Gucheng into a vast white expanse.
"Crunch, crunch."
Zhao Zheng trudged through the thick snow, his body leaning forward at a forty-five-degree angle as he strained against a thick rope slung over his shoulder, his small face flushed red with effort.
"Ugh!"
He gave it his all, trying to pull the plow behind him, but the snow was too thick, and the plow was deeply embedded in it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move it forward an inch.
"Thud~"
His foot slipped, and Zhao Zheng fell face-first into the snow.
He lay there, gasping for breath:
"Big brother, I can't pull it anymore!"
Zhao Xing pulled the plow out of the snow and leaned it against the wall. "Get up and grab the small shovel. Keep shoveling."
"Okay." Zhao Zheng scrambled up from the snow and went back to the yard to fetch the small shovel.
Everyone was busy clearing the snow in front of their homes. At Kangping Lane, neighbors were starting to come out one after another to clear a path for people and horses to pass through.
Zhao Xing looked up at the sky, feeling a bit of the biting cold himself.
It was already the solar term of Xiaoxue (Light Snow).
It had been half a month since the Xuantian Sect’s attack.
"Light Snow arrives with heavy snowfall, but when the Great Snow term comes, there will be no snow."
"First, the rainbow hides and disappears; second, the sky rises and the earth's veins sink; third, everything seals, and winter arrives."
"During this solar term, even I have difficulty sensing the earth's veins, and the height at which I can gather clouds has decreased."
"However, the power of Ice Rain techniques has only increased. Although the earth’s veins are sinking, as long as I can summon Yin Wind, its power has grown considerably as well."
Zhao Xing and his younger brother finished clearing most of the snow in front of their house, then he gathered up some preserved vegetables, cured meats, and dried fish made by Madam Cai and headed to the Xue Residence.
Upon arriving, the gatekeeper opened the door without any need for an announcement, recognizing Zhao Xing immediately.
The old Shennong Division officer was busy by a high stove in the courtyard.
"Teacher, why are you brewing Xiaoxue wine so early?" Zhao Xing set down the things he brought and hurried over to help.
"Not much else to do, so I decided to keep myself busy." Xue Wenzhong smiled as he took the long spoon Zhao Xing handed him, standing on a ladder to stir the wine vat.
A young man in light clothing came out from the wood shed, carrying an armful of firewood.
He bore a striking resemblance to Xue Wenzhong—this was Xue Bai, recently released after serving his sentence.
"Uncle Master."
"Mm, give it to me." Zhao Xing took the firewood from Xue Bai.
Xue Bai was Xue Wenzhong's grandson and had been released shortly after the Lidong (Beginning of Winter) festival.
At that time, Zhao Xing had accompanied Xue Wenzhong to the prefectural city to bring him home.
When Xue Bai was released, he spoke slowly and respectfully. Upon learning that Zhao Xing was his grandfather’s disciple, he addressed him as "Uncle Master." It was hard to associate this polite and well-mannered young man with the reckless youth who had injured someone over jealousy.
Perhaps he had been beaten in prison, but whatever the reason, Zhao Xing’s impression of him improved after a few interactions.
Xue Wenzhong was even more delighted. A grandson who could reform was the best outcome.
With his students also performing well, especially Zhao Xing surpassing his expectations, Xue Wenzhong had been in an excellent mood recently, smiling at everyone he met and even looking healthier than before.
After working for a while, Xue Wenzhong came down from the ladder.
"You don't need to keep coming to see me. After the winter evaluation, the temple exam is in early spring."
"The imperial examination, especially the theoretical portion, will cover the seasons and geography across the nineteen provinces. You should focus on your studies and prepare."
"Yes, Teacher. I'll study right after we eat," Zhao Xing said.
"We've got plenty of time before the meal. You can study in my study. There's not much more I can teach you now, except for theoretical knowledge." Xue Wenzhong clapped his hands and smiled.
December 7, Great Snow.
The waters of East Lake had frozen over with a thick layer of ice, and many of the waterways around Gucheng were frozen, halting transportation.
Only a few main rivers were barely functional, but even that greatly impacted Nanyang County's commerce.
Nanyang County relied heavily on water transportation, and if the waterways couldn't be maintained for a month or two, prices in the city would skyrocket.
"The snow and ice have affected Nanyang everywhere, and Gucheng has been hit hard as well."
"This is quite a severe ice disaster."
"In past years, Nanyang County has never seen such extreme weather."
With the ice disaster hitting, the Shennong Division officers were busy across the county.
As the disaster affected the entire Nanyang region, clearing just one county's waterways wouldn't be enough. It required coordination from the prefectural level.
Otherwise, if Gucheng's section of the river was cleared, ice from upstream would float down and block it again in a day, affecting downstream as well. And if the water overflowed the ice, who knew what disasters might follow?
If a flood hit in winter, it would be catastrophic.
Chen Shijie, holding his last post before moving on, led the Shennong Division officers on a frantic campaign, traveling through various districts and not returning for several days.
"During ordinary times, if the weather is altered too much without maintaining the balance of the five elements, problems accumulate in the dark, eventually leading to natural disasters that are difficult to counter." Xue Wenzhong explained to Zhao Xing at home, analyzing the causes of the snow disaster.
"The twelve counties of Yushan, Huxian, Mingshan, Shuihe, and others made mistakes during the first three seasons of this year. Some Shennong Division officers were lazy, while others lacked ability and repeatedly altered the weather with techniques."
"According to the official notice from the prefecture, they were merely addressing the symptoms, not the root cause, which led to an excess of Yin energy in these twelve counties, while Yang energy rose too sharply."
"After Lidong, the power of the Xiaoxue term multiplied."
"Three of these counties—Mingshan, Shuihe, and Dangyue—made particularly grave errors. Instead of identifying the root cause, their Shennong Division officers tried to reverse the Xiaoxue term and reinstate Lidong."
"As a result, the problem escalated, and the earth's veins in these counties sank completely, causing Yin energy to spread to neighboring regions. The Shennong officers of these three counties will face harsh evaluations this year, and if they don't handle the situation well, they may be demoted." Xue Wenzhong concluded.
Zhao Xing looked at the official document. The orders from Fan Dongping to the three counties were marked as "proclamation," beginning with "Command to the Shennong Division of Shuihe County…."
The style and wording made it clear that the mistakes made by these three counties were serious.
For the other counties, the documents were merely "official letters," with more polite language, starting with phrases like "announce, inquire, or investigate," and these letters were for internal use only, not made public.
"These cases should serve as lessons for you. Similar questions may appear in next year's temple exam."
"Yes, I'll study them carefully."
December 21, Winter Solstice.
Three days of Winter Solstice also marked the Winter Evaluation.
Due to the ice disaster, Gucheng's Shennong Division did not conduct field tests this time but followed Nanyang County's instructions, using the ice disaster as a case study for the exam.
Though Zhao Xing didn’t need to participate, he went anyway.
Three days later, Nanyang County’s Shennong Division released the Winter Evaluation results.
Only fifteen people from Gucheng qualified for the temple exam.
As usual, only about a third, or even just a fifth, of those fifteen would pass and officially join the government.
As for the rest of the more than four hundred Shennong Division officers, they were merely along for the ride, with no chance of qualifying for the temple exam.
"This year was all for nothing again."
"Only fifteen temple exam spots? Last year there were twenty-five."
"What’s the point? Last year, out of twenty-five, only five made it."
"And those five were transferred to places like Shangdang and Fengshan, a thousand miles from home. What’s so great about that?"
"Don't be so bitter, Brother Liu. That's still a ninth-rank position! If they gave you the chance, you'd crawl your way there."
"True, true. Hahaha!"
In front of the bulletin board, the Shennong Division officers chattered amongst themselves.
Zhao Xing also went to take a look. When he arrived, the crowd made way for him.
"Zhao Xing's here!"
"Congratulations, Zhao Xing!"
"Make way, let him through!"
"Zhao Xing has the best chance among the fifteen. He’s the hope of Gucheng’s Shennong Division."
Zhao Xing returned their greetings with a bow, glanced at the announcement, and then left without lingering.
January 5, Minor Cold.
As the Yang energy increased slightly, the prolonged ice disaster was finally resolved, thanks to the cooperative efforts of Nanyang County's various districts, returning things to normal.
Chen Shijie, after more than a month of hard work, finally returned to Gucheng.
"The Shennong officers of Mingshan, Shuihe, and Dangyue counties are absolute idiots."
"I almost died of frustration dealing with these fools for half a month."
Chen Shijie drank Xiaoxue wine and ate roasted meat, still visibly agitated.
"What happened?" Zhao Xing asked.
"What else? They're idiots! Especially the Shennong officer from Shuihe County!"
"Shuihe is located at the confluence of four rivers. Five hundred years ago, Li Erlang and his father, Li Yu, divided the rivers into inner and outer branches, modeled after the work of Lord Cao Xi, constructing dikes and installing Guiyuan waterwheels."
"They also set up four formations—Separation Heap, Returning Sand Dam, Jade Vase Mouth, and Fish Trap—harnessing the terrain to turn the river’s threats into benefits."
"Fifteen years ago, these formations and projects started to deteriorate and needed regular maintenance."
"Following Li Yu and Li Erlang’s methods would have been the best solution."
"But the Shennong officer from Shuihe decided to learn from Lord Cao Xi and dug eight new channels in the county."
"Then, in one go, he set up one hundred and eight five-element waterwheels."
"The water veins in that area are already turbulent, and the earth veins are fragile. Li Yu and his son, although they also followed Lord Cao Xi's methods, adapted them to Shuihe's conditions, providing the best possible solution."
"But this idiot took it upon himself to think he could surpass his predecessors and tried to create a spirit mountain in Shuihe County, just like Lord Cao."
"He spent fifteen years on this, with no results, and instead completely collapsed Shuihe’s earth veins. It’s sheer stupidity!"
Zhao Xing asked curiously, "Did it really take fifteen years to discover the problem?"
"Of course not! The problem showed up early, but this idiot thought he could handle it and refused to admit his mistake. Every time an anomaly occurred in the seasons, he would forcefully alter it with techniques."
"When I reviewed the Shennong Division records, I almost couldn’t hold back from killing him. In fifteen years, this fool secretly altered the seasons more than three hundred times!"
"During the summer and autumn seasons alone, he altered the terms over a thousand times!"
"He thought he was clever, but he was just an irredeemable idiot. When I went to help, he still insisted he was right, saying he just needed a few more years to solve the problem."
Zhao Xing, surprised, asked, "How can there be such a person? What did you do?"
Chen Shijie replied, "I can’t stand idiots, especially stubborn ones. After a few words, when he wouldn’t listen, I threw him into the river."
"He thought he wasn’t wrong, so I let him experience firsthand whether he was."
Long Xiao, sitting nearby, laughed, "Old Chen used a water prison technique. That guy was stuck underwater for ten days. However long Old Chen stayed in Shuihe, that guy stayed submerged. He was only released when someone from the prefecture arrived."
Zhao Xing raised his cup, "A toast to your strength, Chen Daren!"
Chen Shijie and Long Xiao downed their drinks in one gulp, feeling much more relieved after venting.
After discussing official matters, Chen Shijie asked, "How's your studying under Old Shennong?"
Zhao Xing replied, "I have about a one percent chance."
Chen Shijie was puzzled, "Only one percent?"
"The one percent refers to the chance of an unexpected failure. The other ninety-nine percent is a smooth path to government service."
"Hahaha, you rascal."
January 19, Major Cold.
End of the year, Weiya Festival.
By this time, few people in Gucheng were still working.
Households were cleaning and preparing for the new year, and neighbors began visiting each other, eating, and celebrating together.
It was either feasting at one house or another.
Even Zhao Ruide had stopped practicing martial arts, instead visiting friends and relatives with Madam Cai.
As for Zhao Xing, since he had to prepare for the exam, he didn’t go out much. But he did spend a few days eating, drinking, and having fun with Zong Shichang, Chen Ziyu, and Qian Dong.
Even Zhao Zheng, who rarely had time to relax, stopped practicing martial arts and spent his days happily playing.
One day, Zhao Zheng rushed into Zhao Xing’s room, his black eyes darting around.
"What are you looking for?"
"Big brother, do you still have any of those firecrackers from last time?" Zhao Zheng asked. "Give me some more, with more power this time!"
"You're lucky I gave you a few small ones. More power? You want to blow up the county office?"
"And didn't I already give you plenty? How did you use them up so quickly?"
Zhao Xing asked, "Tell me, what did you use them for?"
Zhao Zheng avoided his gaze, "Oh, nothing, just playing with Ergou and the others."
"Hmm? Did you get into trouble?"
Just as Zhao Xing finished speaking, there was a loud knock at the door.
"Open up! Open up!"
"That damn Zhao Ruide! What the hell did your brat throw at me while I was in the latrine?!"
"Open the door, you little bastard…"
Zhao Xing: "…"
February 3, Year 16 of Jingxin, Spring.
All things began to revive, and the frozen rivers thawed.
Zhao Xing stepped out of his house.
It was time for the annual temple exam for the officials of the Great Zhou.
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