Chapter 59: The Magistrate's Inspection (Part 1)

At the fifth watch of the following day, Li Yanqing quietly slipped out of the house. The new little maid, Xique, was still fast asleep, completely unaware of the young master's habit of early morning running.

Li Yanqing had been sticking to this running routine for five years using the method taught by Uncle Hu, enduring all kinds of weather. His physical stamina had gradually become extraordinarily robust; in fact, he had conducted an experiment last year and managed to run all the way to Anyang County, which was a hundred and fifty li away, in a single breath.

A joss stick's time later, Li Yanqing arrived at the entrance of the Lushan Town inn, where Yue Fei was already waiting. Yue Fei had started running alongside Li Yanqing four years ago. Li Yanqing had taught him the breathing technique as well, and Yue Fei had benefited immensely from it.

Li Yanqing had likewise taught Tang Huai and Wang Gui, but those two rascals fished for three days and dried their nets for two, refusing to keep up the running regimen. Naturally, they reaped no rewards.

"How long have you been here, Old Yue?" Li Yanqing trotted up to Yue Fei, radiating heat, and asked with a smile.

Yue Fei was in the middle of his warm-up exercises. He twisted his torso and smiled, "I just got here myself. Those two fellows haven't arrived yet, though."

Li Yanqing looked toward the other end of the small town. It was pitch black over there, and nothing could be seen clearly. With the drowsy days of spring and autumn upon them, it was prime sleeping weather; could Wang Gui and Tang Huai possibly manage to get up?

"Do you think they'll come today?"

"I think they should!"

Yue Fei scratched his head and said, "You told A-Gui yesterday that there are martial arts to be learned. He's usually very enthusiastic, and Old Tang is the same."

Yesterday, Li Yanqing had promised to teach Wang Gui a defensive move. Defensive techniques did not require extreme speed, so Wang Gui would be able to master it.

Just as Yue Fei finished speaking, Wang Gui and Tang Huai came running up, panting heavily.

"Old Li, let me see the martial arts manual quickly!" Wang Gui grabbed Li Yanqing's arm and began urging him impatiently. Wang Gui loved martial arts manuals more than anything. He had been so excited the entire previous night that he was simply waiting for Li Yanqing to hand over the secret.

Li Yanqing took three sheets of paper from his bosom—which he had copied last night from Uncle Hu's booklet—and handed them to Wang Gui. "There are three moves in total: one to defend against a sword, one against a saber, and one against a staff. Practice them yourselves!"

Wang Gui received them as if they were precious treasures, unfolding them under the faint glow of a lantern. Tang Huai crowded in close as well. They saw that the three moves depicted on the paper were unusually simple, appearing to consist of nothing more than stepping back a few paces.

"Is it really this simple?" Wang Gui was deeply disappointed; he had thought it would be some brilliant defensive art. Tang Huai felt equally let down, though he kept it to himself.

After studying the drawings for a moment, Yue Fei understood. He said to Wang Gui, "These are moves that distill complexity into simplicity. The key lies in swift footwork and accurate judgment. I believe the prerequisite for practicing this is still mastering footwork and reflexes."

Upon hearing that he still needed to train his footwork and reflexes, Wang Gui instantly lost all his enthusiasm and said dejectedly, "I've always been slow in my movements; practicing this is pointless. Old Tang might be suited for it."

He handed the three sheets of paper to Tang Huai, but Tang Huai rolled his eyes and refused to take them, finding them far too simple as well.

"If you don't want them, give them to me!"

Yue Fei snatched the diagrams from Wang Gui's hands. "I'll go back and practice them, and let the two of you live to regret it."

"I certainly won't regret it!"

Wang Gui stretched his back and let out a long yawn. "Sleeping is still the most practical thing. I'm going to take a nap at the grocery store. You guys go run!"

"I'm going to sleep for a while too. Running and things like that don't seem to suit me."

Tang Huai prepared to slip away along with Wang Gui, but Li Yanqing smiled at Yue Fei and said, "I've made inquiries. The newly appointed Imperial Guard instructor is named Zhou Tong, and he was once an instructor for the eighty thousand Imperial Guards in Tokyo. He's that old man we saw yesterday."

Wang Gui and Tang Huai immediately froze in their tracks. Wang Gui turned back and asked with a ingratiating smile, "Old Li, what kind of tests does he usually give when taking disciples?"

"I only heard that back when he served as an instructor in the Imperial Guards, he loved making the soldiers run. His requirement for accepting disciples is to pass a test of running twenty li in half an hour."

"No way! You're joking with us, aren't you?" Tang Huai looked at Li Yanqing with eyes full of suspicion.

Li Yanqing spread his hands. "Whether I speak the truth is my business, whether you believe it is yours. Old Yue, let's go!"

He turned and broke into a run, with Yue Fei following closely behind. Before they had run even a hundred paces, they heard the sound of hurried footsteps behind them. "Wait for us!" Wang Gui shouted at their backs.

Li Yanqing and Yue Fei exchanged a glance, threw back their heads, and laughed out loud together.

......

This run took them from Lushan Town all the way to Zhangji Town and back again, covering a full forty-odd li. Li Yanqing and Yue Fei were full of spirit, glowing with health, and felt not the slightest bit of fatigue. Wang Gui and Tang Huai, however, were exhausted like dogs, panting with their tongues hanging out as they finally dragged themselves back. The ordeal over, the two of them instantly collapsed by the roadside, unable to move another inch.

"I'll go get the book bags!" Yue Fei ran toward the inn across the main road, where their book bags were stored.

"People are laughing at you two, get up quickly!"

Li Yanqing gave them each a gentle kick, but the two of them just groaned and refused to budge. He squatted down and smiled at them, saying, "Normally when I ask you to run, you refuse. If you run using the method I taught you for a month, you won't feel tired anymore, and you'll at least be able to pass Master Zhou's disciple-selection test. Well then, shall we continue running tomorrow?"

"We'll talk about tomorrow when it comes!" Wang Gui forced out a sentence, feeling as though he were going to die today.

"What are you all doing?" A familiar voice suddenly came from behind them.

Li Yanqing turned his head to see their master, Yao Ding, standing not far behind them with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze as stern as ever.

Li Yanqing quickly stood up, bowed to his master, and said, "Reporting to Master, we just got back from our morning run!"

"Morning exercise is faultless, but there's no need to lie sprawled across the official road like two dogs, making yourselves the laughingstock of others and bringing shame to the Lushan School!"

Wang Gui and Tang Huai had already scrambled up in a disheveled state, standing before the master with their hands hanging respectfully by their sides. Yao Ding glared at them and then asked, "Where is Yue Fei?"

"Master, I am right here!"

Yue Fei had already run over from across the main road, clutching four book bags in his arms. Yao Ding said to him, "Later on, you and Yanqing come to my room. I want to talk to you both about the examinations again."

Unlike Li Yanqing, Yue Fei was Yao Ding's grandson. His life's path was basically decided by Yao Ding, and even Yue Fei's father could not interfere.

Yue Fei and Li Yanqing bowed deeply. "The students understand!"

"Go back and tidy yourselves up! Magistrate Jiang is coming to inspect Xiaoxiao Township today and is expected to visit our Lushan School as well. However, it doesn't concern you much; just focus on preparing for your exams."

With that, Yao Ding turned and walked toward the school. It was clear that he did not care much for the magistrate's arrival; someone else would enthusiastically make the preparations anyway, sparing him the trouble.

Early in the morning, Li Daguang had led over a hundred students in cleaning the school grounds. He personally squatted at the school entrance to pull weeds and used well water to wash the flagstone path until it was spotless. He also dispatched eight students to stand at intersections and strictly prohibit peddlers from entering.

Under Li Daguang's mobilization, the entire Lushan School was given a half-day holiday to conduct a thorough cleaning inside and out, in readiness for the magistrate's arrival.

In a classroom dubbed the "White Tiger Hall" by the students, over twenty youths did not take part in the cleaning; they remained hunched over, practicing their calligraphy. In nine days' time, they would face the county examination. Everyone was exceptionally nervous. Although the examination was not overly difficult, every year it still weeded out about half of the students. Children from wealthy families could afford to continue their studies, but impoverished youths had no other choices.

In Yao Ding's room next door, the old man spoke slowly to Yue Fei: "Your academic proficiency is slightly inferior to Yanqing's, so going straight for the provincial examination is unrealistic. However, your level is quite sufficient for the prefectural school examination. I want to hear your thoughts on the matter."

Yue Fei lowered his head and said, "The student also wishes to study at the county school for a year, just like Yanqing, and then take the prefectural school examination at the end of the year."

There were two pathways to entering officialdom in the Great Song dynasty: the imperial examination route and the Imperial Academy route. Relatively speaking, the imperial examination route was far too arduous, whereas the Imperial Academy route was considerably easier.

Especially after Wang Anshi promulgated the Three-Tier System for the Imperial Academy, prefectural schools everywhere had adopted it. The prefectural school served as one of the crucial prerequisites for entering the Imperial Academy, while the county school was the necessary stepping stone to the prefectural school, thus forming a rigorous educational system.

Of course, the two pathways were interconnected; those in the Imperial Academy could sit for the departmental examinations of the imperial civil service, and similarly, those who passed the prefectural preliminary examinations could apply to study at the Imperial Academy.

Weighing their respective proficiency levels, Yao Ding had decided to let Li Yanqing pursue the imperial examination route while letting Yue Fei take the Imperial Academy route. Since Yue Fei had expressed his willingness to study at the prefectural school, Yao Ding no longer held him to minor restrictions.

Yue Fei bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you, Master, for granting this!"

Yue Fei bowed deeply. "Thank you, Master, for your guidance!"

Yao Ding smiled faintly, then turned to Li Yanqing beside him and said, "I received some news yesterday: the school in Tangbei Township also has two students just like you who are preparing to take the preliminary examination this year."

"Master, is one of them named Zhang Xian?" Li Yanqing's memory of the children's gathering five years ago remained vivid.

"It seems so!"

Yao Ding sighed softly. "I can understand why exceptional students are increasingly reluctant to study at the county school. During last year's prefectural exams, the scholars of Tangyin County were utterly wiped out, with not a single one passing as a provincial graduate. This is by no means a coincidence; the new magistrate's crude interference with the county school has begun to bear its bitter fruit. Originally, I wanted you both to spend another two years studying at the county school, but now I've changed my mind. At the end of this year, go to Anyang County to take the exams! One for the imperial examination, the other for the prefectural school."

Li Yanqing and Yue Fei quickly exchanged a glance, both revealing looks of joy. Their master had finally come around.

Stroke his short beard, Yao Ding smiled slightly at Li Yanqing and said, "Moreover, the preliminary examinations are not as difficult to pass as they used to be, and even the jinshi degree is easier to attain than before. In the past, the provincial examinations admitted at most a little over a hundred people each year, but last year they actually accepted six hundred and seventy jinshi scholars. With the provincial examinations easing up, the preliminary examinations are the same, so I have confidence in you."

"Master, what shortcomings do I still have?" Li Yanqing asked again.

Yao Ding mused for a moment and said, "Over the past few years, I have taught you according to the subjects tested for the jinshi degree, and the preliminary examinations fall within this scope. Whether it is the New Interpretations of the Three Classics, Combined Classics, policy questions, or essays, your foundation is very solid. However, you are still somewhat lacking in practical application, and the same goes for Yue Fei. Even if you are taking the prefectural school exam, you need to practice more problems."

Yao Ding took a sip of tea to moisten his throat before continuing, "I suggest you carefully review past exam questions and examine the answer sheets of successful scholars. If Yue Fei puts a bit more effort into his calligraphy, there shouldn't be any major problems. You both still have more than half a year, which is plenty of time."

Pausing for a moment, Yao Ding added with a wry smile, "Additionally, Yanqing, you must practice your martial arts. Although the preliminary examination does not test martial skills, our magistrate has his own requirements. I am simply afraid that if your martial skills fail to pass muster, this magistrate will trip you up. No matter how well you do on the exams, you won't be admitted to the preliminary tests."

"Master, could it really be like that?" Yue Fei asked in astonishment.

"How could it not be?"

Yao Ding sneered. "In the past, Magistrate Liu explicitly stipulated that those who did not attend the county school were not guaranteed to pass the preliminary examination. Although this Magistrate Jiang hasn't made that exact demand, he will still find ways to make things difficult if your martial skills are substandard. Why do you think Tangyin County failed to produce a single provincial graduate last year?"

At that moment, the bell for an emergency assembly suddenly rang. Yao Ding's expression shifted; this must mean the magistrate had arrived. He hurriedly said to Li Yanqing and Yue Fei, "You two go join the assembly first! Don't be discourteous to this magistrate. His temper is as sharp as a broadsword, and offending him would yield more losses than gains."

Yue Fei and Li Yanqing walked briskly out of the room, seeing the students hurrying toward the open ground. Yue Fei lowered his voice and said to Li Yanqing, "Not a single provincial graduate passed, and it was actually because of substandard martial skills? This magistrate's interference with the imperial examinations is far too flagrant!"

"I heard he is a man of Imperial Commander Tong, with very powerful backing. Even the prefectural government wouldn't dare offend him. Besides, the prefectural exams are after all not the provincial exams, and it's normal for a county's candidates to fail. If the chief examiner claims your essays aren't up to standard, what can you do?"

"You're right. It's just like the jinshi exams in the past—if you deviated from the prescribed rhyming rules for poetry, no matter how well written the poem was, it would be judged a failure. We can't manage other people's affairs anyway; taking care of ourselves is enough."

"Old Li, Old Yue, over here! Over here!"

Wang Gui and Tang Huai were waving at them from within the ranks. As Li Yanqing and Yue Fei approached, Wang Gui and Tang Huai each shoved a wooden training staff into their hands. "These are the orders from above; we must carry weapons to welcome the magistrate."