Prefect Dong looked at Fang Yun and said, "It's still like I said before. It will cost a huge price, so the demon saints should still be arguing. Using that power to kill a human semi-saint may not be worth it for the demon world, let alone you."
"The student listens to the adults' teachings." Fang Yun knew that Magistrate Dong had something else to say. During the scholar examination, Magistrate Dong was the examiner, and calling himself a student was basic etiquette.
Prefect Dong laughed and said, "This is the last day you can call yourself a student in front of me. From today on, you will be made a marquis!"
Fang Yun didn't really care, and said: "I made merit this time because of the literary battle. The Holy Academy has long issued a strict order that no military merit can be claimed without fighting against monsters and barbarians, so I should be granted the title of Literary Marquis, not Military Marquis. Military Marquis is a third-rank official, not only can he lead troops, but also has a large number of private soldiers. Literary Marquis is a third-rank official, he can't lead troops, and he doesn't have many private soldiers."
"What else do you want? I am a Jinshi and have worked hard for many years in Jingguo. My official position is a fifth-rank prefect, but my title is only a sixth-rank county earl! Once your imperial edict comes down officially, I will have to call you sir from now on! We can't mess this up, Lord Fang!" Prefect Dong said with a smile.
Fang Yun was stunned, with a subtle change in his heart, and then he sighed softly. His desire for an official position was far less than that for a civil position, but no matter what, after becoming a marquis, his status was much higher than before. There were some words that could not be said and some things that could not be done. This was "etiquette".
The title of marquis is beyond the reach of 99% of officials. After all, even if an ordinary official is busy all his life, his achievements and literary reputation can never be compared with that of an official who dominates a state. Many Hanlin scholars were posthumously conferred the title of marquis, which has almost no practical significance.
Only by becoming a Grand Secretary, having a great reputation in literature and having many military achievements, can one be granted the title of marquis. Being granted the title of duke is even more difficult.
For example, Li Wenying was only conferred the title of Duke of Zhou five years ago, and then the Queen Mother praised him as Duke of Jianmei. Duke of Zhou is the second rank, and above that is Duke of Guo, the second rank. Once a scholar becomes a great scholar, he will be immediately conferred the title of Duke of Guo.
The last rank is the title of king. There are two types of kings: honorary kings and military kings. The former has many royal relatives, but military kings are different. They will get their own territory, which is roughly equivalent to half a county. They cannot let their descendants inherit, but they are equivalent to the master of a piece of land. Even the monarch has no right to govern their territory. They are real local emperors.
Jing Kingdom currently has only one king with military merit, and the rest are kings with honorary titles, including the heads of various holy families.
"I understand." Fang Yun accepted this fact.
Prefect Dong nodded and said, "Then I'll be frank. You should try to avoid rising up the list of Grand Scholars and don't do anything shocking like the literary competition in a state. Of course, literary competitions between the Academy of Literature and the Palace of Learning are harmless. If you want to hone yourself in the future, it's best to change your appearance and name. Your military achievements will not change."
"Thank you for the reminder, sir."
"The first place in this Juren exam is also the position of Jieyuan. If you want to compete, that's harmless. If you don't want to compete, that's no problem either. I hope you can get Jieyuan. But not full A, just two A will do. More than anyone else, I hope that my Jing country will have a 'full A', far surpassing all the students in history, but your life is more important!" Prefect Dong's tone was full of regret.
"I'll try my best. Who knew that this Grand Scholar Hunting List would actually become my life countdown list." Fang Yun said.
Prefect Dong said, "You are still calm and have not lost your composure. Even if the children of the major families knew that they were being targeted by the demon saints, they would be panicked."
Fang Yun thought that he had seen too many things in the ancient demon heritage. Although he was worried, he would never be frightened by the Demon Saint. What's more, he had a conversation with the Demon Saint before leaving the Holy Ruins.
Prefect Dong said, "Since we are meeting before the imperial examination, how about I test you?"
Fang Yun was overjoyed and said, "Thank you Mr. Dong for your advice."
Prefect Dong said, "I don't need to say much about your poems. As for your interpretation of the classics, Feng Yuanjun has already tested you and praised you endlessly, saying that your progress is miraculous. If you continue to work hard for another two years, you will definitely get first place in the Jinshi examination and be the best among your peers. He is an official of the Academy of Literature, so he doesn't care much about the policies and theories of governing the country. We civil servants have to govern the country, so we value the policies and theories more and put more effort into this aspect. I will test your policies and theories."
"Please follow me to the study." Fang Yun led Magistrate Dong into the study.
Entering the study, they sat down.
Dong Zhifu said: "You have already studied the meaning of the classics, and you should know that the meaning of the classics is to explain the words of the saints. As for policy essays, there are two meanings. One is to discuss politics and propose countermeasures, and the other is to offer advice to the court. No matter what, policy essays cannot be separated from the word "politics."
Fang Yun nodded. The policy discussion actually discussed political issues and provided solutions. However, in the Shengyuan Continent, "politics" also included almost everything such as military, industry, and agriculture, and its importance was second only to the Holy Way.
"I have read your poems and your interpretation of the classics, but I have never seen your policy essays in the imperial examinations. The policy essays in the imperial examinations are very diverse, covering wars, conflicts between two races, conflicts between two countries, farming, justice, public security, and even involving commerce, etc. You know everything. Do you know all this?"
"The students have summarized it carefully." Fang Yun said, accurately pulling out from a stack of papers the policy essay categories he had listed before entering the Holy Ruins.
Prefect Dong took a closer look and said, "Good handwriting! Rumor has it that your handwriting is not good and you almost missed the top two places in the Tongsheng exam, but you knew your shame and then you worked hard day and night. In just a few months, you reached a high level of calligraphy and became a legend. Well, you organized it well. If you can't classify the essays, you can't analyze them better."
Fang Yun said: "That's exactly how I understand it."
"There is more than one question in the policy essay subject. Ten questions are given each time, and one of them is selected by the saints and is required. Candidates can choose two questions from the other nine, making a total of three questions. Three questions may seem few, and each question is only two to three thousand words, but with thinking, it will take at least eight hours to finish writing eight thousand words, and sometimes it may not even be finished in a day, and it takes more time than studying the classics. Do you know why three questions are required in a row?" asked Magistrate Dong.
Fang Yun had never thought about this question before. Now that Prefect Dong asked him, he thought for a moment and said, "Strategy essays are articles on governing a country, organizing the army and pacifying the people. As you, Prefect, are in the government office, you will always encounter many urgent or unexpected things. We can't afford to think about them for too long. They require much more flexibility and experience than classics. Moreover, if we really govern a place, we not only need to be flexible, but also spend a lot of time and effort. This three-question strategy essay is a test of our ability to govern a country."
"That's right. In recent years, the compulsory essays in the Juren exams have varied greatly. However, since the end of the thousand-year pact of non-war, looking at all the Jinshi exams, the compulsory essay questions only require one to choose from three categories, namely the relations between humans and various countries, the strategies for pacifying demons and barbarians, and the pacification of the people." At the end, Prefect Dong's tone was extremely heavy.
Fang Yun said: "As far as I know, in recent years, most of the self-selected topics for Jinshi must be two of these three categories, because one, they can prepare in advance, and two, it is said that people who choose these three topics have a greater chance of becoming Jinshi."
Prefect Dong smiled and did not answer, but said: "When choosing, the policy discussion has already begun." (To be continued...)