5: Chapter 5: Xiaoyu's History Exam Shocks the Teacher

The next day, Class 8 of Gusu High School in Jiang City.

History class, end-of-month test.

This was a key high school, and Xiaoyu's grades were quite good when she first got in.

But over time, her grades got worse and worse; at this rate, she wouldn't even be able to get into a university.

She was at the tail end of Class 8, a bottom-tier student.

"Today is the end-of-month history test. Don't think history isn't important. If your history grades are good enough..."

On the podium, the middle-aged history teacher with glasses spoke while having the class monitor distribute the exam papers: "Maybe you could even get in through special recruitment later!"

In this world, historical culture was somewhat weak, so relevant Universities of History would focus on cultivating new students for the history department, regardless of their grades in math, physics, or chemistry.

The exam papers were distributed, and the sound of pens scratching on paper filled the classroom.

After Jiang Xiaoyu received her paper, her brows furrowed.

Even the basic questions...

The period from the Wei and Jin dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties was an important era for ancient cultural development... Which of the following is a historical phenomenon... best interpretation!

"Ah!" Jiang Xiaoyu rubbed her head. "I don't know this!"

She was completely numb. Yesterday, she was too busy making money and listening to her brother talk about the "tui bei tu," and now she didn't even know the basic questions.

"Let's look further!"

Her gaze drifted down.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, a minimum of 30 wen per day was required for a person to sustain life, while the wealthy needed more.

As prices rose, the minimum cost of living in Lin'an reached as high as 110 wen... This indicates...

Looking at the four choices, Jiang Xiaoyu's head throbbed. "I don't know this either!"

She felt like crying but had no tears. She looked left and right, finding that even the poor students in the class were answering fluently.

She fell into deep self-doubt. 'I'm letting my brother down like this. I must know how to do this!!!'

Seeing Xiaoyu's struggling expression, the history teacher couldn't help but sigh: "If you don't know, just guess. Don't leave it blank. Find where the problem is and catch up later!"

She gritted her teeth and picked an answer at random.

...

Time flew by.

When Xiaoyu turned to the last big question on the exam paper, her expression gradually turned to shock, her pupils constricted, and her breathing quickened.

[Question: Based on historical facts and the background of Li Zicheng's peasant uprising, discuss its major impact on the late Ming Dynasty and subsequent dynasties!]

Looking at the question on the paper, Xiaoyu's lips parted slightly, and her heart began to race.

"A horse in a house is named 'Chuang'—the Chuang King!"

Jiang Zhe's voice kept surfacing in Xiaoyu's mind: "'A horse leaps through the North Gate, a dog howls in the West; when the numbers eight and nine are exhausted, the sun and moon lose their light'... This means Li Zicheng raised his army in Shaanxi and pressed directly toward the capital..."

"When the poplar flowers fall, the plum blossoms wither; five-colored flags divide and come from the north. Alas, the kingly aura of Jinling is exhausted; a branch of spring color occupies Chang'an."

"The fate of the Great Ming ends here!"

"Everything is destiny. If Chongzhen's older brother hadn't died young, Chongzhen wouldn't have taken the throne. If Chongzhen hadn't taken the throne, Wei Zhongxian wouldn't have died so soon. If Wei Zhongxian hadn't died so soon, he could have balanced the imperial court..."

"In the darkness, everything is predestined!"

Last night, her brother had said a great deal about the late Ming, far more than the little bit he mentioned during the livestream.

Xiaoyu's eyes were burning with excitement, and even the history teacher couldn't help but feel speechless upon seeing her like that.

If you don't know it, you don't know it. What's there to be excited about?

Is there really a house of gold inside the exam paper?

History, which used to feel so distant to Xiaoyu, now appeared in her mind like a living prophecy.

Jiang Xiaoyu's face wore a triumphant smile.

She looked left and right; while the other students were biting their pens and thinking about the rules and regulations in the textbooks, Xiaoyu alone was full of confidence.

"Brother, I love you!"

Meanwhile, at home, Jiang Zhe, who was sitting on the sofa holding the 'Lao Gan Ba' egg fried rice Xiaoyu had made for him, let out a sneeze. "It seems the weather is getting cold. I should buy Xiaoyu some clothes."

Inside the classroom.

Xiaoyu's thoughts flowed like a spring, and her pen moved as if guided by a god.

From the background of the late Ming uprisings, the Little Ice Age, the struggles over people and goods, and factional disputes, she even drew from the perspective of [National Fate] to introduce the "tui bei tu"—[Sun and Moon Lose Their Light]—to present the prophecies of the early Tang masters Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang.

During her analysis, she specifically used [A horse leaps through the North Gate, a dog howls in the West] to point out the location of Li Zicheng's uprising: Shaanxi, clearly marking the route of the rebellion!

When giving the impact, Xiaoyu directly wrote that [Five-colored flags divide and come from the north], meaning Li Zicheng's peasant army directly replaced the regular army of the late Ming.

She even provided [A branch of spring color occupies Chang'an], signifying the successful transition to the short-lived Dashun Dynasty!

Then she wrote hundreds more words with great flourish.

What even Xiaoyu herself didn't realize was—

How much the answers her brother gave exceeded her level as a high school sophomore?

The nearby students took a moment to look at Xiaoyu. Seeing her writing furiously and catching a glimpse of the dense, tadpole-like characters on her paper, they were all stunned.

"She's just writing nonsense, right?"

"Are there really that many words to write?"

Suddenly, the students fell silent.

It was because the history teacher had curiously walked from the podium to stand behind Xiaoyu. He watched her work, shaking his head repeatedly when he saw the basic questions.

But...

When the teacher saw the big question at the end of the section, he looked puzzled. "It doesn't seem to be the standard answer!"

This was immediately followed by surprise. "These answers, these arguments... they're quite interesting!"

And after that, astonishment. "How does she have such a deep understanding of the 'tui bei tu'?"

"'A horse in a house is named Chuang; Chuang becomes king—Li Zicheng!'"

After the history teacher peeked at these words, he was completely dumbfounded.

He looked dazed. "Huh? It can be interpreted like this... interpreted like this... and it seems there's no problem. The early Tang's Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang predicted the late Ming... My goodness!!!"

The more he thought, the more shocked he became!

Isn't the tui bei tu just ordinary Sinology?

How did it suddenly predict the late Ming?

Having studied history for most of his life, he had never seen anyone explain the 32nd hexagram of Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang's tui bei tu so thoroughly!

"This range of knowledge far exceeds that of a normal high school student. This is definitely not Jiang Xiaoyu's own answer!"

Just then.

The bell rang to collect the papers, and everyone was forced to stop.

Xiaoyu finally put down her pen with satisfaction. Only then did she realize the teacher was behind her. She quickly defended herself: "Teacher Wang, why are you here? I didn't sneak any candy during the exam."

Old Wang shook his head gently and picked up Xiaoyu's exam paper with a serious expression to read it carefully—

The basic questions were indeed a disaster, but the last question was absolutely brilliant!

"Student Xiaoyu, you didn't know anything for the basic questions at the beginning, but you were stunning at the end. Moreover, your way of thinking is very novel and completely correct!"

"Forgive my bluntness, but the answer to the last question isn't yours, is it? Or rather, where did you learn this from?"

Looking at Teacher Wang's serious face, Xiaoyu's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly became very nervous.

Even the students were startled by Teacher Wang's appearance and state. Some of the bolder students leaned in to get a good look at Xiaoyu's paper.

Everyone who saw it let out a cry of amazement.

"So strong!"

"This answer is incredibly strong!"

"A simple late Ming topic was directly referenced using the tui bei tu, and the reference is so good I can't even argue."

"The key is—the prophecies of the great masters Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng actually reached the late Ming. That's freaking unbelievable!"

Old Wang glanced at the male student who had sworn. The boy shrunk his neck back, and then Old Wang looked at Xiaoyu again. "Student Xiaoyu, can you tell the teacher where you got this answer from?"