pappabearbooks Chapter 2: Ink Exhausted, Rolled Up, Storm Begins
Chapter 2: Ink Exhausted, Rolled Up, Storm Begins
The examination papers were in the standard format for the Sui Dynasty's imperial examinations, divided into three sections: Classics, Policy Essays, and Current Affairs.
The original owner did write the title of the classic text, with neat handwriting and quotations, but that was all; it was conventional and lacked any inspiration.
Questions on the interpretation of Confucian classics are often the easiest minefield to expose a candidate's political leanings.
He crumpled up what he had written, threw it away, and left it as is.
The title consists of only one line, taken from the Analects of Confucius, Zilu: "If one's conduct is upright, one's orders will be followed without being given; if one's conduct is not upright, one's orders will not be followed even if given."
Upon seeing these words, Yang Yan's lips curled into a playful smile.
The question is so cleverly posed that it's practically a dark joke of our time.
What did that silly boy write under this question?
Yang Yan looked down and saw that the draft section of the exam paper had sixteen characters written crookedly at the beginning: "When the ruler is wise and the ministers are loyal, the world will be at peace; when the sage governs with his hands folded, all people will submit to his will."
"Ha, he really is courting death."
Yang Yan mercilessly sentenced the original owner to death in his mind.
These sixteen characters, if placed in the early years of the Kaihuang era, would have been excellent verses praising the emperor. But in today's context? They're just nonsense! Even—irony.
In the court today, who is "righteous" and who is "unrighteous"?
Yang Jian claimed to be a sage ruler, but his ascension to the throne was illegitimate, and he later became suspicious of his meritorious officials. Now, he has even imprisoned a great general like Yu Qingze because of his suspicion. Is this "righteous"?
Yang Yong, as the crown prince, favored his concubine over his wife, indulging in debauchery and showing no semblance of the image of a crown prince. Is this "correct"?
Yang Guang feigned filial piety and brotherly love, but in reality he was ruthless and vicious. As the second son, he coveted the throne. Was this "righteous"?
In an era where the entire court is putting on an act, and even the emperor is leading the way in "entrapment," what's the point of talking about "obeying orders without command"? The current Sui Dynasty is clearly one of "multiple orders issued from different sources, with orders changing from morning to evening!"
"I can't stand it anymore, it's pure nonsense." He crumpled up what he had written and threw it away.
If you're going to write, write what others dare not write.
If you're going to write, you have to plunge this knife into the rotten flesh in Yang Jian's heart—the part that hurts the most, itches the most, and yet longs to be healed.
"This question cannot be answered by simply discussing morality; we must also discuss the foundations of 'power politics' and 'law'."
Yang Yan's wolf-hair brush trembled slightly as it became fully dipped in ink ground from cold tea.
He didn't want to become a bookish pedant; he wanted to prove to his high and mighty grandfather that even if he were in the mire, his vision could still penetrate the many palaces of Daxing City and see the true hidden dangers of the Sui Dynasty.
Yang Yan closed his eyes and quickly constructed a logical chain to solve the problem in his mind.
If it were an ordinary Confucian scholar, he would definitely start with "cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world," and talk at length about the virtues a ruler should have.
But he refused.
He wants to use the perspective of modern political science to deconstruct this ancient saying from two thousand years ago.
"Uprightness" in this context means that in times of chaos, "uprightness" means force; in times of peace, it means law and order; and in the current situation of prosperity and crisis, this "uprightness" should be—trust.
It is not only about the personal integrity of the monarch, but also about the credibility of the state apparatus!
Yang Jian's biggest problem in his later years was that he used "rule of man" to undermine "rule of law" and "suspicion" to destroy "trust".
Yang Yan suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze gleaming with sharp light, showing no trace of his previous dejection and fear.
He picked up the manuscript paper again and made his first stroke, sharp and decisive.
"Theory without practice is ultimately superficial. Today, let me, a butterfly that has flown back from the future, flap my wings for the first time in the court of the Great Sui Dynasty!"
……
"Collect your papers!"
As Xue Daoheng's voice rang out, Yang Yan's wrist remained firmly suspended, and with the final stroke, the ink was rich and powerful, penetrating the paper.
He slowly set down his wolf-hair brush, his fingertips tinged with the cool fragrance of pine soot ink. Looking at the lines of text on the scroll—texts powerful enough to shake the imperial court—he felt no fear; instead, a hunter's calm, as if having just laid his net, flashed in his eyes.
As the yamen runners filed in and collected the exam papers, the tense exam hall, which had been tense for an hour, finally became noisy with people.
Pushing open the heavy vermilion gate of the examination hall, a biting cold wind rushed in.
Yang Yan subconsciously squinted. A cold wind rushed into his collar, making his sixteen-year-old body shiver. His back, which had been stiff from sitting for a long time, became a little more awake.
It was nearly dusk, and the setting sun, like blood, cast a chilling, desolate light on the gray stone pavement of Daxing City.
The old locust tree outside the door crackled in the wind, like the whimper of a dying person.
Yang Yan pulled his thin blue cloth robe tighter around himself. Instead of leaving immediately, he stood on the steps, his gaze sweeping over the crowd like a hawk's.
The area outside the examination hall was already bustling with traffic.
On the other side, the well-dressed sons of the five prominent families and seven noble clans, surrounded by servants, draped in fox furs and holding hand warmers, discussed the evening's drinking party in Pingkang Ward with haughty expressions, as if this fateful imperial examination was nothing more than a formality for them to gild their resumes.
On the other side, countless students from impoverished families hunched their shoulders, some even hurrying along to save a few coins on charcoal, their faces etched with anxiety and uncertainty.
"Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, the bones of those frozen to death lie." Du Fu was not born for over a hundred years, but under the prosperous reign of the Sui Dynasty, such people were already rotten to the core.
Yang Yan let out a cold sneer in his heart.
He looked down at the coarse cloth clothes he had specially changed into for his "incognito visit," and a self-deprecating smile appeared on his lips.
"Anonymous testing? Ha, that'll only fool that naive old man."
Yang Yan knew all too well how deep the waters were in Daxing City.
Yang Yong thought he could fool everyone by stuffing his son into the pool of test takers and changing his name, just to see if his eldest grandson had any real talent or ability? How naive!
Today, Daxing City is a giant prison.
In his later years, Yang Jian's paranoia became outrageous. He conducted a "massive search" to count even the mice under the beds of ordinary people, let alone the whereabouts of his imperial grandson.
As for his second uncle, Yang Guang, who was secretly sharpening his knife, he probably knew exactly how many eggs were missing from the Eastern Palace kitchen every day. The moment he, the eldest son born out of wedlock, stepped out of the Eastern Palace, a detailed report of his whereabouts would likely be on the desk of the Prince of Jin's residence.
Since we can't hide it, we might as well not hide it at all.
He recalled the answer sheet he had just handed in—
On the topic of doctrine, he didn't talk about benevolence and morality, but rather about "the cost of governance after the collapse of trust and righteousness";
In the policy essay question, he did not praise the equal-field system, but instead pointed directly to the "hidden household registration under the rule of powerful families."
On current affairs, he did not boast about the Turks' submission, but instead warned of the "crisis of trade that breeds a tiger" and briefly discussed "the underlying logic of why the grasslands have always attacked the Central Plains".
Each of these moves was a dance on Yang Jian's nerves, and even more so, a move outside of Yang Guang's calculations.
This was indeed a risky move.
But it is also the only viable move.
If one were to write bland, uninteresting drivel, even if one weren't rejected, one would be buried at the bottom of the chest by the examiners controlled by powerful families, with no hope of ever getting ahead. Only such shocking and incisive "poison" would prick one's hand like a nail.
Xue Daoheng was an upright official who valued talent, and also a clever man. Upon seeing such a paper, he dared not hide it, much less destroy it. Moreover, this paper was bound to appear before Yang Jian, so he was not worried at all.
Once this scroll is presented to the Emperor…
A glint of light flashed in Yang Yan's eyes.
"The gamble is that although Yang Jian is old and senile, he still has the instinct of a great ruler who founded the Sui Dynasty! He needs someone to tell him the truth, even if the truth is bloody."