Martial Saint through Reading-Chapter 45: Academy Assessment

"Politics refers to the cultivation of our ability to govern a region. It encompasses the broadest range of topics, such as local administration, judicial cases, agricultural development, forging industries, boosting local prosperity, and so on—these all fall under politics."

"History, put simply, means recording and researching past events, drawing on the wisdom of our predecessors and learning from their experiences and lessons."

"Rites include music and ritual, as well as qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, etiquette, institutions, and also private schools, management of places like the Academy. For example, ’Poetry, Politics, and Military’ is led by the Ministry of Rites."

"Military Skill includes both the deployment of troops and formations, as well as martial training."

"All in all, most people choose politics and history, since passing the county examination gives one a decent chance of becoming a civil servant or clerk. I chose politics and history myself."

"Then comes history and rites, which allow involvement in local policy-making and other affairs, where one’s abilities can also shine."

"Guan Chong picked history and rites."

"As for Military Skill..." Luu Xian’s eyes flickered with intrigue, "because Military Skill involves both learning troop deployment and martial training, very few people select it."

"And why is that?" Chu Ming had a guess but still asked.

"Brother Chu," Guan Chong interjected, "those who come to the Academy are all junior examinees who’ve passed the Academy exam. Ninety-nine percent of us hope to become officials or refined scholars in the future—who would be fond of fighting and killing?"

Luu Xian added, "Choosing Military Skill means not only learning troop deployments but also going to the Criminal Defense Bureau to train in martial arts. Both are time-consuming, making it very difficult to excel at both. In the end, you might end up mediocre in both—neither a scholar nor a warrior, stuck in between."

After speaking, both looked expectantly at Chu Ming: "Brother Chu, have you made your choice?"

Chu Ming lowered his gaze, deep in thought.

He had already finished the military skill and politics volumes of ’Poetry, Politics, and Military’; he’d read about half of the history volume, too. Soon, he would have the entire five-volume work memorized.

For him, whichever he picked made little difference. As long as he could enter the Great Qin Dynasty’s system and access things out of reach for ordinary people, that was enough.

"Can I choose more than one?" After thinking for a moment, he looked up and asked.

"More than one?" Luu Xian’s gaze shifted slightly. "Brother Chu, what do you mean—do you want to pick all four?"

"Is that possible?" Chu Ming asked.

"...It’s not impossible. Actually, you can choose as many volumes as you want. The thing is, the county exam only tests three subjects at a time. Choosing more is meaningless—it’s a waste of time," Luu Xian replied.

"Oh, so it’s because of the county exam—then that’s fine." Chu Ming lowered his head again and continued eating slowly.

"Huh?" Luu Xian and Guan Chong were both stunned. "Brother Chu, what do you mean by that?"

Does he still want to pick more?

The two wondered to themselves, but didn’t pursue it further.

After eating a bit more, Luu Xian returned to the topic of the Academy’s assessments: "Brother Chu, the evaluations at the Academy are divided into monthly exams and the half-yearly advancement exams."

"As the name suggests, the monthly exam is held every month, serving as a check on our progress at different stages."

"The advancement exam is for moving from the Lower Academy to the Middle Courtyard, and from the Middle Courtyard to the Upper Academy."

"Since you’re already in the Middle Courtyard, you should know the difference between the Lower, Middle, and Upper Academies."

"Yes."

"That’s why the half-yearly advancement exam is especially competitive." Luu Xian suddenly lowered his voice, speaking mysteriously: "Moreover, I’ve heard that the next advancement exam won’t follow the usual format. On top of the regular exam there will be a literary duel."

At this, Guan Chong leaned in, listening intently.

"The three academies have fixed enrollments. If you want to advance, you must squeeze someone else out. In the past, advancement was based purely on final exam rankings to decide where you’d go."

"But the new literary duel is different. We junior examinees can choose our own opponents."

"For example," Luu Xian glanced at Guan Chong, "You, Guan Chong, are in the Lower Academy right now. You can choose me or Brother Chu as your opponent. The literary duel tests mastery of ’Poetry, Politics, and Military’, and the results will count for half of your advancement score."

Guan Chong’s eyes glimmered: "If it’s up to me, I’d also pick a weaker opponent."

Who’s weak? Naturally, it’s the likes of Chu Ming and Luu Xian—junior examinees who have just joined, the weakest among the current cohort.

Strength is determined by the monthly exam, after all.

"Right," Luu Xian suddenly grew excited, "That’s what you think, and so does everyone else. Everyone wants to advance, so the weak become the targets."

"People like me, like Brother Chu—we’ve just entered, we can’t compare to those who have been here a year or more, or even several years."

"But wait, Brother Luu—the main subject is ’Poetry, Politics, and Military’. Isn’t that book a recent compilation by the Ministry of Rites? Doesn’t everyone start from the same point?" Guan Chong noted.

Luu Xian shook his head: "’Poetry, Politics, and Military’ may have been compiled recently, but its content is not new. The book merely reorganizes and selects from five previously existing volumes, combining them."

Turning, he looked at Chu Ming: "Brother Chu, though you and I are now in the Middle Courtyard, there’s only five months until the next advancement exam. That means we have only five months to remain in the Middle Courtyard—then there’s a good chance we’ll be demoted to the Lower Academy."

There are many junior examinees in the Lower Academy who’ve been at the Academy a year or even two.

As for three years, that’s very rare.

One can stay at Baiyuan Academy for up to three years. During those three years, you may take the county exam. Those who pass are sent to Xirong County for one year of further study, where they can truly showcase their talents.

Those who fail either stay in Baiyuan County or are assigned to smaller towns as private tutors.

The truly poor students—well, they’re unlikely to ever enjoy the official positions of the Great Qin Dynasty.

"Oh." Chu Ming nonchalantly continued eating.

"Brother Chu, you’re not worried?" Luu Xian asked.

Worried?

Chu Ming paused, then calmly replied: "Quite worried."

But what he worried about wasn’t the same as what Luu Xian did.

He was anxious to finish reading ’Poetry, Politics, and Military’, to make money, to refine and optimize his cultivation technique, to get into Wenlan Hall and read more books, and to deal with matters involving the Chu Family.

As for passing the advancement exam... that shouldn’t be much of a problem.

Hearing this, Luu Xian felt a wave of relief.

As long as he was worried too, Luu Xian felt more balanced.

"Brother Chu, you’ve arrived seven or eight days late and missed quite a few lessons. In another twenty days, we’ll be having the first monthly exam for our intake. If you need any help, just come to me."

"Alright."

...

After eating, Chu Ming returned to Yunqi Courtyard. Ning Hao and Liang Yuan were back as well.

Liang Yuan had changed into a clean scholar’s robe, and the ink had been washed from his face. He actually looked even more the scholar than Ning Hao.

"Junior Brother Chu, you’ve eaten?" Ning Hao and Liang Yuan were lighting an oil lamp, admiring a landscape painting whose ink had dried, and asked casually.

Chu Ming lowered his head, gazing at the ink painting.

"Junior Brother Chu, do you know calligraphy and painting?" Liang Yuan asked.

"Not very much, but this piece displays exquisite brushwork—the lines are fluid, the tones are distinct, the mountains have imposing grandeur, and the water appears lively." Chu Ming looked carefully at the painting and spoke earnestly.

"Oh?" Liang Yuan’s eyes instantly lit up. "Junior Brother Chu, you think this painting is quite good, too?"

"It certainly is. May I ask which master painted it?" Chu Ming continued.