Chapter 39: The Examination Begins
The twenty-eighth year of Emperor Shizong's reign, the ninth day of the seventh month.
In the square before the Gaolin County City God Temple, flagpoles stood like a forest.
Today was the official opening day of the martial examination.
Achieving high marks in the martial examination and obtaining the title of martial scholar not only provided tax exemptions but also granted privileges that ordinary people could hardly reach.
Therefore, the opening of the martial examination had become a grand event in Gaolin County, though this glory and clamor had little connection to the countless ordinary faces outside the venue.
On the command platform at the north of the examination ground sat the chief examiner and supervisors, with numerous clerks standing at their sides.
Their official robes displayed various colors, vermillion, green, black, and white, arranged in strict order, silently proclaiming the stern hierarchy of official ranks.
Below were this year's martial examination candidates, already lined up according to their registered origins and assigned numbers, standing solemnly in formation. The dark mass numbered several hundred people.
Each was burly with muscled bodies, dressed in various fitted short jackets, belted at the waist, wearing thin-soled quick boots.