The third day, at the hour of the dragon, the sun rose above the horizon like a red, rounded cake. Though it was already mid-to-late February, the bitter chill of spring still lingered. It was entirely possible that another spring snow might fall in a few days.
A high platform had been set up in the courtyard of the Confucian Academy Office in Linjiang County. Wang Baikui, sporting a thick, jet-black beard, sat in the center. To his left sat Liu Daoming, the head of the County Academy; to his right was Fang Jinxian, the current academy instructor. Below the platform, a group of yamen runners stood in rows on either side. A keen observer would have noticed that these were not the original men who had held these posts; they were clearly the soldiers Wang Baikui had brought with him. The runners stood ramrod straight, their eyes sharp and focused, staring straight ahead. It was evident that Wang Baikui had a knack for managing his troops.
Twenty students stood in two rows before the platform. Aside from one young man in his early twenties, the rest ranged in age from twelve to sixteen. The two or three eight or nine-year-old children seen earlier at the Linjiang Inn had already been eliminated. Out of one hundred and twenty candidates, only twenty had been selected; the attrition rate was exceptionally high.
Chapter 262