Peaceful Farm Life

Chapter 2477: Chapter 2478: Return to Tianyun (44)

With the support of her husband, Taoming Ye, Su Xing felt more motivated to take the martial examination.

...

In this place, the martial examination is just like the civil examination, with four stages: the county exam, the provincial exam, the capital exam, and the palace exam.

The county exam is held at the county level, and those who pass become Martial Talents; the provincial exam is held at the prefecture level, and those who pass become Martial Candidates; the capital exam takes place in the Imperial City, and those who pass become Martial Imperial Examination Graduates; the palace exam is for those who have already qualified as Martial Imperial Examination Graduates, to further rank them into three grades.

The first grade includes the top three: the first is the Martial Champion, the second is the Martial Runner-up, and the third is the Martial Third-place Winner.

The second grade ranks from the fourth to the twentieth, awarded ”Martial Imperial Examination Graduate by edict.”

Those below the second grade are in the third grade, awarded ”Same as Martial Imperial Examination Graduate by edict.”

The county exam is held annually; the provincial exam is held every two years; the capital exam is held every three years.

This year there is a county exam, next year there will be both county and provincial exams, and the year after that there will be county, provincial, and capital exams together.

If there are qualified candidates from the capital exam, a palace exam will be held the same year.

However, there was one year with no qualified candidates from the capital exam, and the rulers of Tianyun, adhering to the principle of ”better few than mediocre,” decided not to hold a palace exam that year. Of course, such cases are rare, considering the vastness of Tianyun and its abundant talents.

For Su Xing to become a Martial Champion, it would take at least three years. This means becoming a Scholar this year, a Martial Candidate next year, a Martial Imperial Examination Graduate the year after, and then taking the palace exam.

This process cannot be skipped; it must be taken step by step. One must pass as a Scholar before becoming a Martial Candidate, pass as a Martial Candidate before becoming a Martial Imperial Examination Graduate, and qualify as a Martial Imperial Examination Graduate before attending the palace exam.

The martial examination mainly tests: horseback archery, foot archery, mounted spear, weightlifting, endurance, drawing strong bows, and academic knowledge.

The subjects tested in the county exam, provincial exam, and capital exam are the same, but become increasingly difficult. For instance, in the county exam, lifting a hundred jin qualifies you, but in the provincial exam, you need to lift two hundred jin, and in the capital exam, three hundred jin. Likewise, in horseback archery, hitting two out of nine arrows qualifies you in the county exam, four out of nine in the provincial exam, and six out of nine in the capital exam.

The martial examination also includes academic testing, though not as difficult as the civil examination.

Su Xing is already in the Imperial City and is from a family of generals, so she can directly participate in the county, provincial, and capital exams there.

”Three years...” Su Xing genuinely felt it was a long time. She originally planned to complete it in one year, but even if she had the skills to do so, there were no exams to take. It would take at least three years for her to achieve the title of Martial Champion.

However, besides taking this route to become a high-ranking official and see her parents, Su Xing had no other viable path.

This was currently the easiest way she could think of to meet her parents. After all, her parents held high positions; they are the present King and Queen. She couldn’t meet them casually.

Registration for the county, provincial, and capital exams is at the end of February each year, with exams starting in mid-June and results announced in mid-July.

If there are qualified candidates from the capital exam, the palace exam follows one month after the capital exam results are announced.

This year, only the county exam was possible. Thus, Su Xing focused on the county exam, with registration starting on February 27. She decided not to go on the first day to avoid bumping into Taoming Hai, choosing instead to register on the last day, February 29.

Servant girl Redleaf accompanied her.

”Sir, I want to register!” As soon as Su Xing arrived at the registration desk, she addressed the government officer in charge.

The officer, seeing Su Xing looking very pretty and gentle, kindly advised, ”There are not many women participating in the martial examination each year, and they all fail to pass the county exam. Until now, there has not been a single female scholar in martial arts. Ma’am, you should reconsider registering to avoid wasting your efforts.”