Chapter 44: The Five Elements and Heavenly Disasters

The examination site was located in the county office because the Department of Agriculture didn't have enough desks and chairs. The county magistrate, who also served as the head of the Department of Agriculture, usually held theoretical exams in the county office's examination room. Magistrate Li Wenzheng was not present, but the chief examiner and proctors were familiar faces from the Department of Agriculture. However, the number of proctors from the county office increased to fifty, and there were additional staff to deliver meals and water.

This time, there was no need to test endurance, so meals would be delivered to the examination room during the test. The exam was to last two days, and naturally, there would be no shortage of test papers.

Zhao Xing found his designated seat in the examination room and waited for the distribution of the test papers. Once they were handed out, there were a total of forty sheets! Thirty of them contained questions, and ten were blank.

Zhao Xing didn't rush to write but first carefully reviewed the questions and requirements, checking for any errors or omissions. The first fifteen sheets were bonus questions, which were straightforward memorization tasks that could easily earn points. For example: "From which ancient book does 'Seventy-Two Phenomena of the Moon' originate, and who compiled it?" Zhao Xing didn't need to think and directly wrote the answer: "From 'Interpretation of Time Training,' compiled in the ninth year of Kai Ping by Great Sinoong Wu Cheng."

Or there might be a sentence extracted from a work, requiring the completion of the preceding or following sentence. For instance: "The peony does not bloom, the yin energy is rampant. _______ Answer: The phoenix does not shed its feathers, the country does not know war; the sage does not descend upon the mulberry, governance is not in the center." This question was about the 'Yin Yang Phenomena,' indicating that if the yin energy in the Yin Yang balance was too strong, some abnormal 'phenomena' would occur, and it was best for the country not to engage in warfare or implement new policies at such times, as the results would be poor.

Zhao Xing answered fluently, quickly finishing the bonus questions. Then came the situational questions for selecting candidates.

"There is wind in the south of the city, violent and rampant, spring and autumn are dry, there is a river in the east of the city, excessive rainfall, summer and winter are flooded, the five grains struggle to survive, how to resolve?"

If it were a basic theory proctor who didn't grasp the reality, they would likely answer directly, "Use Favorable Weather Magic Arts to adjust, and the five grains will flourish." Such an answer might only score 2 out of 10 points, or even none, because it only provided an answer without a process, which was unacceptable for a theoretical exam. Moreover, the answer didn't hit the mark, indicating a lack of clarity on the question or insufficient knowledge of Magic Arts theory.

"The small city often experiences south winds, violent and rampant, blowing away the clouds and rain of spring and autumn, leading to drought. However, there is a river in the east of the city, where cloud qi rises, causing floods in summer and winter. Therefore, this is not a Heavenly Timing issue but an Earth Advantage issue. No matter what Heavenly Timing Sect's Magic Arts are used, they are incorrect."

After understanding the trap in the question, Zhao Xing began to answer. It was actually quite simple; the solution was something that Cao Xi Zhenjun had done before.

"Cultivate the earth veins in the south, adjust the wind with high ground, build canals in the east, guide water around the city, select lowlands in the east, store water in lakes, and then build a Return to Origin Waterwheel, balancing the rainfall across the four seasons. Supplement with Seasonal Order, and in three years, achieve Favorable Weather."

After writing, Zhao Xing was confident he could score full marks, and then continued to answer the next questions.

It wasn't until the last question that he encountered difficulty. This was a situational question involving the Five Elements and Four Seasons' appropriateness and taboos:

"The earth is cold, spring wood is unused, summer yang evaporates, pests thrive, how to resolve?"

The fewer the words, the harder the question. Moreover, it was a linked question. Because it described seasonal disorder and natural disaster phenomena, the question linked both together, so the answer must also be linked, not separated.

The standard answer must originate from the Theory of Five Elements and Four Seasons, and ideally, it should be supported by classical works. Otherwise, using the candidate's own words would lack evidence and persuasive power. Without persuasive power, even if the answer hit the point, points would be deducted.

After realizing this, Zhao Xing began to ponder and consulted various works, striving to find a perfect answer. After a moment, Zhao Xing picked up his pen to answer.

"If spring is excessively cold, the earth is yin, and all trees do not grow, it is necessary to use the earth vein's Bing Fire to adjust. If the earth lacks Bing Fire, then use Ding. If both Bing and Ding are absent, then extend the Heavenly Timing."

"If summer yang is excessively evaporative due to a short spring, pest disasters need to be directly corrected, restoring Heavenly Timing to spring, with the earth fire as Ding, restoring one season, then returning to summer, shortening one season, and returning to the correct Four Seasons."

The standard answer referenced the works 'Four Seasons and Five Elements' Earth Advantage chapter and Heavenly Timing chapter.

This question discussed if the Sinoong official's decree resulted in spring wood being unusable, the earth's power being yin and cold, summer being cool and hot, leading to pest natural disasters, how to resolve it.

The question involved the Five Elements, Four Seasons, and natural disasters. The answer must be based on the Five Elements, Heavenly Stems, and Earthly Branches, providing a relatively perfect answer.

First, use the Earthly Advantage Sect's method to adjust the earth vein's power. The earth vein has different properties, with Bing Fire being the strongest, used to adjust the yin and cold phenomena, followed by Ding Fire, which is also reluctantly usable.

If the environment in that area is really harsh, with no method to guide Bing or Ding Fire, then only changing the Heavenly Timing can quickly pass the spring season to the next season, which is 'extending the Heavenly Timing.'

In summer, excessive yang leads to evaporation, causing various pest disasters. This is due to the short spring season, connecting the previous sentence as a cause and effect.

At this time, don't overthink, directly change the Heavenly Timing, because pest disasters have already occurred, and summer is the most suitable time for pest rampage. Staying in summer has no method to resolve it.

Therefore, it is necessary to restore 'Heavenly Timing to spring.' Can it be changed to autumn or winter? No, because the previous spring used 'earth vein Bing Fire' to resolve the yin and cold issue, leading to a shortened spring season. Now, it needs to be supplemented with one season's worth of spring.

The earth vein as Ding Fire is relatively mild, not causing the yin and cold to reappear, nor will it completely leave the summer season, because to completely resolve pest natural disasters, it still needs to return to the summer season, which is called 'returning to the correct position of the Four Seasons.'

When Zhao Xing answered, he considered the possibility of pest resurgence, so in the time of returning to the correct position, he wrote to shorten the summer season.

Because the heat difference between summer and autumn is not too great, shortening one season of summer and extending one season of autumn is not a problem, and won't have a significant impact. Missing one season of spring and extending one season of summer would cause major issues.

"If the examiner isn't blind, I should get full marks for this question," Zhao Xing checked his work, turned over the sheet, and continued answering.

Time slowly passed, and by evening, many candidates had already started to put down their pens, as most of the staff lacked the ability of Bright Eyes Night Vision.

Zhao Xing also didn't want to waste time in this dim light, so he planned to finish early and submit his paper ahead of time. Therefore, even as the light dimmed, he didn't stop writing.

After finishing all the previous types of questions, he began to review, looking for better answers and potential point deductions. After such thorough checking, he would proceed to the next category of questions.

By the time it was dark, Zhao Xing only had one last category of questions left: this category had only one sheet, and it was the most difficult philosophical question.

"Please match the Five Elements, Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and Four Seasons, and explain the matching philosophy."

If friends don't like these theories, they can skip them, and those who do shouldn't take them too seriously, because some of the mystical frameworks are modified by the author, as the real world has no method to change the Four Seasons, and can't fully adhere to reality.

(End of Chapter)