Above The Sky
Chapter 809 - 809 38 The First Civil Service Exam in Xiawei Territory_2

809: Chapter 38: The First Civil Service Exam in Xiawei Territory_2 809: Chapter 38: The First Civil Service Exam in Xiawei Territory_2 Don’t underestimate this technique!

You must know that aside from the Imperial Capital, Glory City, and other major cities and frontier fortresses, many Lords in other places have no means to accurately distinguish the actual identities of their Domain Residents.

They can tally up, compile into records, and distribute identity tags, but to confirm that Roland is Roland within a few seconds to prevent test substitution is quite a difficult task.

Speaking of which…

could it be that the exams were postponed to address this issue?

Roland shook his head, dismissing the distractions.

Whether it’s some entirely new Sublimation Skills or Alchemy, it doesn’t hinder his examination anyway.

Entering the examination venue, into a private booth, and after waiting twenty minutes for the hour to strike, the examination began.

The exam this time, as commonly referred to by the public, is for tax officials, whereas from the Lord’s Mansion’s perspective, the term used is ‘public servants’, which naturally includes tax officials but also encompasses other positions, determined by the exam results.

Generally speaking, it entailed working for the Lord’s Mansion and city hall, so no one was particularly concerned.

The exam was divided into five parts; the first part consisted of questions about mathematics and economic tables.

It wasn’t hard; people who could read had all learned mathematics, and even tax-related issues had been prepared for, so everyone could answer them.

Roland himself found it quite easy; after all, he had a legitimate degree in mechanical Alchemy, scooping all forty points.

But the second part was a bit odd—the content of this part was very diverse, including national geography, basic Alchemy, Bio-Alchemy, and various laws…

It wasn’t that these were hard per se, just diverse.

The questions even included agricultural issues like “How many years does it take for the Golden Leaf Tree to mature and its leaves to be used for medicine,” emphasizing a wide range of topics.

Roland himself was a person who loved learning and knowledge, or he wouldn’t have stolen money to go to Falling Star Hills to study, so he did okay in this aspect, but it was quite perilous.

Especially that tree-planting question; though he was a native of Xia Hui Territory, he wasn’t a farmer, so how could he remember so clearly?

It was just that Roland had recently bought medicine for his father, so he remembered the pharmacist’s complaint about those damn mongrels from Fiery Flame Land forcing him to plant new trees, now needing to wait another five years—based on this, he conjectured and filled in three and five years.

The third part was back to normal, consisting of basic questions about agriculture and mining, various mining and processing methods for ores, and planting procedures for various cash crops.

Overall, it aligned with the needs of Xia Hui Territory and was within everyone’s area of revision.

Roland breezed through it, confident of another full score.

However, the fourth part, once again, became peculiar.

In this section, there were no questions with standard answers.

Instead, it asked ones like “What is your opinion on the before and after handling of the grain disaster in South Ridge by the capital (Nauman City)?” “Your views on the relationship between Fiery Flame Land and The Empire?” “Your vision for the future development of Xia Hui Territory” were broad and ostensibly considered questions that sent shivers down one’s spine upon careful thought.

Seeing these questions, Roland jolted—Lord, isn’t this criticizing the authorities above us!

Are you really not afraid of Nauman City and the Imperial Capital coming after you?

Oh, forgot, our Lord is the legitimate progeny of Nauman City, with the second Prince behind him.

Then it’s no problem.

It’s also fortunate that information in Falling Star Hills is well-connected, and Roland knew a bit of news and background about Ian.

By the time he wrote this far, the other examinees in the booths probably saw these questions too, and the scratching of pens abruptly ceased in unison.

Roland thought amusedly, guessing that pretty much everyone was scratching their heads just like himself, looking around unsure of how to answer.

But unlike the anxious other examinees, Roland himself was rather sharp.

He was very clear that since the Lord provided the questions for you to answer, not responding would certainly result in the most deductions, and answering incorrectly would at worst lead to some reeducation; only the most ludicrous replies could lead to punishment.

But then again, these questions were undoubtedly there to gauge the inclinations of the examinees…

So with that in mind, he would answer honestly, or at least embellish his truth slightly; otherwise, if he truly passed the exam but failed to show such inclinations in practice, it would constitute the crime of deceiving the Lord.

By then, the punishment would certainly be more severe than just losing points on an exam.

Therefore, Roland earnestly wrote down his true thoughts.

“I think Nauman City is a bit laissez-faire.

The use of biological warfare has been discovered for a long time, but the Capital Region hasn’t made policies to massively purchase grain aside from ensuring the main territories under The Empire’s control.

It’s practically driving the Mountain People to revolt!”

“Fiery Flame Land and The Empire treat each other as dumping grounds.

Since the war over the resources of the Labyrinth in the great desert began over the last hundred years, every situation is blamed on the other side: convenient and straightforward, and the citizens approve.

Personally, I certainly detest Fiery Flame Land, but I suspect this may also be The Empire’s intended goal, with both sides having a tacit understanding.”

“The future development of Xia Hui Territory will surely still be agriculture, at most adding some industrial production facilities for the war.

However, I have heard the new Lord is an Alchemy Genius, and he must have his own plans in this area.

We will follow the Lord!”

After penning these answers, Roland didn’t even bother checking them again—after all, the intent was clear enough, and surely no one would expect any profound insights from candidates in such a rural place within Xia Hui Territory, a countryside’s countryside region, right?