Chapter 36: Surrender and Lose Half?
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Most people cannot resist being provoked.
Men least of all!
With so many eyes upon him, the clerk had no choice but to accept, even if he did not wish to.
“Ha!”
“If you are determined to seek death, how could I refuse to bury you?”
“What shall we wager?”
“Anything you like!”
The clerk gave a contemptuous laugh. “Do you truly think you can win? And you still dare to place a wager? If you lose, then have the courage to swear that you will never sit for the imperial examinations again. Dare you?”
“No!”
Du Xiu grew anxious.
Compared with his own dignity, he cared far more about his student’s future.
A child this clever and eager to learn would have countless opportunities to try again, even if he failed this examination. How could he allow the boy’s future to be ruined in a single day?
The other students grew solemn as well.
This was no trivial matter!
To every scholar in the realm, the imperial examinations were the only truly important undertaking in life. If that path were cut off, what purpose would there be in studying?
To study purely for the love of it?
Cheng An remained unmoved.
He merely smiled at the clerk and asked, “And what about you?”
“What?”
“If I lose, I will never sit for the examinations again. But what if you lose? Why not resign here and now and return home? After this, never set foot in a government office again!”
This was a wager with their very lives!
The onlookers erupted.
People had always loved a spectacle, and the greater the commotion, the better.
Someone immediately laughed.
“That seems fair enough!”
“Exactly. He has wagered his future, so you should wager yours as well. That is the only equal bet. Otherwise, would that not be bullying someone weaker?”
“Quite right!”
“Go on, place the wager!”
“Are you afraid?”
The murmurs grew louder and more excited.
The clerk’s face had long since turned scarlet. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Then so be it! There are so many witnesses here today. Do not think you can deceive me, and do not even dream of copying someone else’s work!”
Those words were directed at Du Xiu.
The student himself might lack ability.
But surely a man willing to serve as his teacher could not be completely useless.
“Then you may set the question.”
Cheng An stepped back half a pace, yielding the place to him.
The clerk’s face lit up with delight.
That little brat really was courting death!
How dare he let his opponent choose the subject?
Just wait. I will make certain you regret it!
“After the autumn harvest comes the imperial examination…”
He walked to the center and surveyed the crowd. “Our sovereign takes pity on the hardships of the people. That is why the yearly examinations are held only after the autumn harvest, lest the common folk neglect their crops!”
“Then let the subject be ‘Harvest.’”
As soon as he finished speaking, many people around them nodded approvingly.
“Well said!”
“Even a minor clerk does not forget the emperor’s benevolence. That is what it means to be dutiful!”
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Cheng An pretended not to hear them.
“Poetry or prose?”
“Either will do…”
The clerk raised a hand magnanimously and smiled as though he were being generous. “You are still young, after all. Choose whichever form you like. That way, when you lose later, you will not have another excuse ready.”
“Then I shall do both.”
Cheng An gave a faint smile.
Then he raised his voice and began:
“The Warring States have ended, and the realm has been divided into three. Later, the Zhao house of Zhou united the Central Plains once more, winning the hearts of all beneath Heaven. Within and beyond the court, the people everywhere rejoice in praise! Yet the people’s suffering began with harsh governance. The late emperor could not bear to see them driven from their homes, and thus he extended benevolent rule throughout the land. Now the people are prosperous, and all beneath Heaven sings his praises! Today, the court is secure and the nation is wealthy. Yet we must remain mindful of danger in times of peace. The more fortunate our circumstances, the more diligently we must strive, so that the realm may remain united and the dynasty endure forever!”
It was a simple piece exhorting the ruler to advance virtue.
It was not especially ornate.
Yet it was the result of Cheng An’s diligent study over many days.
Copying the works of famous authors was certainly satisfying.
But he also wanted to find out whether all his studying had truly given him any ability of his own.
After a brief silence, someone offered a fair assessment.
“Not bad!”
“The language is orderly, and the central idea is clear.”
“It is not exactly dazzling, but for a child so young to produce such fluent prose, his natural talent is clearly extraordinary!”
“Besides…”
An honest, good-natured scholar stepped forward and praised him with a hint of embarrassment. “To write an essay of this quality in such haste—if I were in his place, I doubt I could have done any better.”
At those words, several students who had been preparing to sneer fell silent.
Besides…
The boy was only eight years old!
What had they themselves been doing at eight? Could they have written anything so neat and polished?
Silence settled over the entire area.
Cheng An could even hear the clerk breathing.
“Well?” he asked. “Would this essay qualify for the academy examination?”
The imperial examinations were indeed difficult.
But the academy examination was comparatively easier.
After all, it was merely the entry-level stage. Each year, only a limited number of subjects were tested. In poetry or prose, producing excellence in either one was usually enough to pass.
The clerk had studied as well.
He knew perfectly well that Cheng An’s essay was not poor.
But the wager had already been made.
How could he admit defeat?
So he said, “It is merely neat and orderly. The diction is plain throughout, and it can hardly be called a fine piece of writing. Do you truly think an essay like this would be enough to pass?”
He had a point.
Several people nearby nodded in agreement.
It was undeniable that, in an age when studying was so difficult, Cheng An’s accomplishments at his age were worthy of calling him a prodigy.
But even a prodigy was not invincible!
The essay was indeed somewhat short of a masterpiece. If he encountered a strict examiner, he might very well be rejected.
Du Xiu could no longer stand by in silence.
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He shouted angrily, “You are deliberately making things difficult! To produce something of this quality in such haste—could you have done any better? This is merely a question of winning or losing. Have you no shame at all?”
The clerk was furious and humiliated by the rebuke.
But with his future at stake, he could no longer afford to care about dignity.
He said coldly, “Average is average. Even if he qualifies to sit for the academy examination, that does not mean I have lost. At most, we call it a draw. I will let him enter the academy later.”
The moment those words were spoken, everyone looked at him with contempt.
Only moments ago, they had thought him articulate and composed, perhaps even an honorable man. Now, however, it was clear that he was fickle, narrow-minded, and incapable of generosity.
Cheng An could not help laughing.
Damn it!
Was he trying to claim that surrender counted as losing only half the battle?
Unfortunately for him, the young master was not so easily fooled.
“Teacher, there is no need to be angry.”
He smiled and took hold of Du Xiu’s arm. Then he said calmly, “If the essay is not good enough, then we shall try poetry. If one poem is insufficient, I shall write another… Surely one of them will be enough to win.”
The students watching could not help frowning.
What an arrogant tone!
At that moment, every person present remembered one sentence:
“Surely one of them will be enough to win.”
How much confidence did one need to boast so boldly before a crowd?
“Next comes poetry…”
“Listen carefully!”
Without giving the clerk any chance to respond, Cheng An lifted his head and puffed out his chest.
Then he recited in a clear voice:
“After the rain, the fields lie bright and wide;
My gaze reaches to horizons clear and clean.
The town gate stands beside the ferry crossing,
The village trees extend to where the stream begins.
White waters gleam beyond the fields,
Green peaks rise beyond the mountains.
In the farming months, no one is idle;
Every household labors in the southern fields.”
This was the pastoral poem of Wang Wei, the Buddha of Poetry.
A standard work of rural verse.
It also suited Cheng An’s present circumstances perfectly.
When he finished reciting, the surroundings remained utterly quiet, broken only by the sound of breathing.
“Well?” Cheng An asked. “Would this poem qualify for the examination?”
He looked at the clerk with feigned innocence.
“This…”
No matter how aggrieved he felt, the clerk had no choice but to admit the truth.
It was an extraordinary poem.
Indeed, it was better than the work of many celebrated poets of the present day.
If he dared say that it was not good enough, Cheng An would not even need to do anything. The surrounding students would tear him apart with their words.
“Did you write this yourself?”
Unwilling to concede, the clerk could only steer the poem toward an accusation of plagiarism.
“Ha!”
Cheng An laughed. “Though I have yet to enter public service, I still know that a scholar’s good name is heavier than Mount Tai. A piece of filth like you dares to serve as an official? I truly wonder what fool—what brilliant genius—recruited you in the first place.”
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