Examination for the Grade of Questor (Province of Britannia)

Artifact

OFFICE OF THE PROCONSUL Imperial Civil Service Examination Candidate: Lucius Aemilius Paullus Grade: Questor (Probationary) Province: Britannia PROMPT I: Regarding the collection of the Annona. A village in the northern highlands reports total crop failure due to blight. They request a three year exemption from grain levies. As Questor, how do you proceed? CANDIDATE ANSWER: I would grant a one year reprieve to ensure the survival of the peasantry. In exchange, I would secure a pledge of increased production for the following two years. I would also petition the Proconsul for a small shipment of seed grain from the central stores to facilitate recovery, thereby demonstrating the benevolent nature of the Emperor's rule. EXAMINER NOTE: (Red Ink) Naive. The central stores in Londinium were looted during the riots of 842. There is no seed grain. To grant a reprieve is to admit we cannot feed the garrison. You do not petition for what does not exist. You seize the seed stock regardless of the blight. Let them eat the dirt; the legions cannot. GRADE: FAIL PROMPT II: A tribal chieftain in the west has ceased the payment of the tribute in silver, though he continues to provide nominal oaths of loyalty and a yearly gift of hounds. He claims the mines are exhausted. What is the appropriate response? CANDIDATE ANSWER: I suggest a diplomatic mission to investigate the mines. If they are indeed exhausted, I would propose a new treaty based on the export of wool and hides, shifting the tax burden to commodities that the region can currently sustain. This preserves the peace while maintaining the flow of wealth to the capital. EXAMINER NOTE: (Red Ink) The chieftain is not lying about the mines; he is lying about the loyalty. He has already hired three mercenary companies from the coast using the silver he stopped paying us. He is not shifting the tax burden; he is funding a secession. The correct answer is the immediate execution of his eldest son and the burning of the village. Peace is a luxury for empires that can still pay their soldiers. GRADE: MARGINAL PROMPT III: The primary military road between Eboracum and the coast has fallen into severe disrepair. Local magistrates claim they lack the funds for reconstruction. How do you mobilize the necessary resources? CANDIDATE ANSWER: I would implement a temporary labor levy upon the local landowners, utilizing the corvée system. To supplement the cost of materials, I would request a special appropriation from the Imperial Treasury in the capital, citing the strategic necessity of the route for troop movements. EXAMINER NOTE: (Red Ink) The Treasury is a fiction. The gold now resides in the gardens of the East or the pockets of the Gothic generals. As for the landowners, they have already fled to their fortified villas or joined the chieftain mentioned in Prompt II. You cannot levy the ghosts of a dead economy. The road is gone. We simply pretend it still exists on the maps so the Emperor does not weep. GRADE: FAIL FINAL EVALUATION: Candidate Paullus possesses a commendable grasp of the textbooks from the Golden Age. He is entirely useless for the current administration. He believes in the Empire as a functioning entity rather than a series of decaying habits. He is too optimistic to be a bureaucrat and too soft to be a governor. RESULT: REJECTED (Signed) Praetor Valerius, Chief Examiner