Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 102 A gathering of storms! (Subscribe)
Lu Jin is still trying to keep a low profile as much as possible, at least to get through the first wave of suppression from the Yuan court.

Therefore, even though the system has been established, people still dare not call it that to the outside world.

Now, the Executive Yuan and the Privy Council are directly referred to as the Civil and Military Courts to the outside world, and the Cabinet is referred to as the Secretariat to the outside world, with one clerk, one secretary, and several clerks.

It sounds like a makeshift team.
Secretary is not a new word. When the Sui Dynasty established the system of three provinces and six ministries, there were five provinces at the beginning. In addition to the common Secretariat, Ministry of Palace Affairs and Ministry of Shangshu, there were also the Secretariat and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

However, the Secretariat at that time was run by eunuchs, who were mainly responsible for managing books and classics for the royal family and were considered royal librarians.

Li Shanchang was very interested in the exam and asked curiously, "What is the Marshal going to take?"

"Of course it's a test on practical knowledge." Lu Jin gave an ambiguous answer.

Anyway, it is impossible to test the Confucian classics. What can I say about Confucianism at the end of the Yuan Dynasty? It was a mess with all kinds of schools. The Mongols themselves did not study it, and they did not care about it. You can follow any school you like.

It was only after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty that Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism to be the unified textbook for the imperial examinations, and made some deletions to it.

There are too many annotated versions now, so even if you are tested on the meaning of the scriptures, you can get many different answers. Besides, Lu Jin is not good at this.

What test could a traitor like him take? Of course he would be asked to write a policy essay to criticize the Yuan Dynasty. Whoever criticized the Yuan Dynasty best and could point out its shortcomings would be considered to have real talent and knowledge.

Using this kind of test questions can at least unify the candidates' anti-Yuan thoughts. If they can see the shortcomings of the Yuan Dynasty, it means that they have a good vision and their own analytical ability and knowledge.

"And not only civil servants will be tested, but military officers as well," Lu Jin added.

"Military officers also have to take the exam? Is the Marshal recruiting military officers?" Li Shanchang asked in surprise.

"Yes, the system of the Shengwu Army is not yet perfect. We are still lacking some quartermasters, military judges, and training officers."

Lu Jin's order was quickly passed down, and notices were posted in all his territories. Any scholar who was interested in becoming an official in the Marshal's Office, regardless of their background, as long as they were literate and had read books and considered themselves talented, could sign up for the exam.

The examination was divided into two parts, civil and military. The civil examination recruited county magistrates, chief clerks, and a number of clerks in the Marshal's Office, and it was noted that Confucian classics would not be tested.

The military examination does not test martial arts. Those who are admitted are military clerks who are in charge of military supplies, military law, and military education affairs. However, those who have martial arts skills and understand military tactics will be given priority. The minimum requirement is that you can endure hardships, march with the army and participate in battles. Those who are afraid of death should not come!
All candidates who arrive in Luzhou at noon on October 16th can register for the exam. Candidates from Wuwei, Heyang, Hanshan and Chaoxian counties can first meet up in Chaoxian and take a boat to Luzhou. Food and accommodation are at their own expense, but the boat ride is free.

As soon as this notice came out, it really attracted quite a few candidates, mainly because the two items of "not depending on background" and "not taking Confucian classics" gave more people opportunities.

Some scholars who were not well versed in Confucian classics, clerks who had been driven out of the Yuan court, and even some accountants from shops came over. "We can't be county magistrates, but we can do accounting. So it should be okay for us to be a minor clerk in charge of military supplies, right?"
However, those serious Confucian scholars were more interested in this form of official selection. It was an examination and it looked formal at first glance. Marshal Lu of Luzhou was different from those ordinary rebels!
On October 15th, Chang Yuchun finally returned to the bandit's lair and brought his "family", which was actually mainly Lan Yu's family. Chang Yuchun himself was from Huaiyuan, which was farther away than Dingyuan and to the west of Haozhou. It was not easy for him to go back there to bring his family over.

In addition to Lan Yu's family, he also has a dozen trusted subordinates under his control.

The group arrived at Chao County Pier, ready to take a boat to Luzhou, but they found a group of big turbans carrying bags on the pier, also preparing to board a boat.

Chang Yuchun was 1.85 meters tall, with a bow and arrow on his waist and a spear in his hand. Seeing this, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are you doing? Are you going to Luzhou too?"

Seeing his martial appearance, a group of scholars ignored him, but one of them immediately clasped his fists and said.

"We are heading to Luzhou. Marshal Lu of Luzhou has called for scholars to take an examination and be appointed as an official. We are all going to Luzhou to take the examination. May I ask, brother, do you want to go with me to the Marshal's Office and ask for a military officer position?"

"Why are you asking for a military officer position? I am originally a battalion commander of the Shengwu Army." Chang Yuchun said disdainfully.

The scholar was even more respectful after hearing this, and he immediately bowed and said, "So you are the general of the Marshal's Mansion. I am so sorry for your disrespect. I am Hu Weiyong, may I know your name, general?"

Chang Yuchun didn't expect this person to have such a good temper. He didn't even give him a good face, but he was still so enthusiastic. He didn't want to be too excessive, so he immediately said, "My name is Chang Yuchun."

After saying that, he called on Lan Yu and others to get on board and ignored the group of turbans. However, Lan Caiyun, who was about to board the ship at the dock, was stopped by someone.

A skinny, sallow-faced woman knelt at her feet, grabbing a little boy of about a few years old and begging.

"My dear sister, you are from a wealthy family, and from your accent, you are from Dingyuan. Please take this child away. Let him be your servant or do anything else. Just give him food to eat.

"Ahem, I'm seriously ill now and don't have much time left to live. There's really no other way. I just hope you can be kind enough to give this child a chance to live and take him away."

The little boy who was led by the woman was about five or six years old. His cheeks were sunken from hunger, but his eyes were big. At this moment, he grabbed the woman's clothes and cried loudly.

"Mother, I won't leave. Let's go beg for food and medicine. Please don't die. Please don't leave me. Wuuwuwuwu~
"Please sister, give us something to eat. We haven't eaten for a long time."

Chang Yuchun had already jumped on the boat. Seeing this, he couldn't help but frown and said, "Sister Caiyun, leave some dry food for them. Let's get on the boat quickly because we still have to rush to Luzhou."

Lan Caiyun looked at the mother and child with a heartbroken heart and said, "But if this elder sister really can't hold on any longer, leaving such a young child behind, how can she survive? How about we take him with us?"

Chang Yuchun frowned and said, "We are going to join the army, how can we bring such a child with us."

Lan Caiyun immediately raised her head and retorted, "You guys go and join the army, and I won't fight with you. Why can't I raise a child?"

Lan Caiyun's father Lan Chun also said, "You are a grown woman, and you haven't even gotten married yet, and you are taking a child with you. How can this be? Give them some dry food and get on the boat quickly." However, Lan Caiyun refused to leave the child behind. Chang Yuchun thought for a while and said, "Why not take them both and hand them over to the Marshal? The Marshal has a lot of things to do, so we can find them some work as craftsmen so that they won't starve to death."

"That's a good idea." Lan Chun praised immediately.

Lan Caiyun was a little confused, "How can the Marshal take care of such a young child?"

"Why not? The Marshal even adopted a little Tartar as his adopted son. If he can adopt a Tartar, why can't he adopt a Han Chinese?" Chang Yuchun said immediately.

"Well, big sister, you can go to Luzhou with us. When we get there, someone will make arrangements for you."

"Thank you very much, all benefactors. Thank you very much, all benefactors." The woman kowtowed to several people quickly, then took the child onto the boat.

After everyone got on board, a man who looked like a scholar at the bow turned around and bowed to Chang Yuchun, saying, "The general is truly kind and righteous."

Chang Yuchun looked up when he heard that, and couldn't help but frowned and asked, "Are you going to Luzhou to take the exam too?"

"Exactly."

Chang Yuchun immediately said sarcastically, "You scholars are really heartless. The mother and son have been begging for a long time, but none of you are willing to help them."

The scholar immediately smiled bitterly and said, "The general has wrongly accused us. It was clearly the woman who was unwilling to entrust her son to you. She only took the initiative to entrust her son to you when she saw that there was a female relative in your group."

Chang Yuchun was stunned when he heard that, and then he looked around again. It was true. Lan Caiyun was the only female relative around. No wonder the woman came to them instead of anyone else.

Chang Yuchun immediately clasped his fists and said, "I see, I have wronged you. What is your name?"

"I am a scholar, Yan Shiguo."

"Chang Yuchun, the commander of the Shengwu Army."

The two men clasped their fists and said their names to each other, and then stopped talking.

On the other side, Lan Caiyun was taking 12-year-old Lan Yu to bring food to the mother and son. Lan Yu took out a few sesame cakes from his bag and handed them to the two. The little boy immediately said, "Thank you, little brother."

"Thank you, young master."

"Eat quickly." Lan Yu squatted beside the child and saw him eating the pancake happily. He immediately said, "Do you want to eat meat? I have duck legs and duck eggs here. If you are willing to call me Master, I will give them to you."

"Young Master, I want to eat duck legs." The child did not hesitate for a second and immediately called out "Young Master".

"Hahahaha." Lan Yu burst into laughter triumphantly, but before he could finish laughing, he suddenly felt a bad wind behind his head, and before he could dodge, he was slapped hard.

"Hey, sister, why did you hit me?"

Lan Caiyun yelled at him, "You have no conscience. You have only had a few full meals, and you want to imitate others to be a master? You are so capable!"

Lan Yu covered the back of his head and said unconvincedly, "What's wrong with being a young master? I can follow Brother Chang to fight in the future and become a general, humph!"

"You are such a person who doesn't keep your word. You are still a general. Where is the duck leg you promised to give them?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't give it to you. I was just about to give it to you, but you hit me." Lan Yu argued as she took out the duck legs and duck eggs wrapped in dry lotus leaves. However, she didn't expect that the child took the duck leg and immediately handed it to the woman's mouth.

"Mom, eat meat. Eating meat will cure your illness. Eat it quickly."

The woman smiled and rubbed the child's head, "Mother doesn't like to eat meat, you can eat it yourself, don't forget to thank this young master."

Lan Yu was also surprised when he saw this, "I didn't expect you to be so filial. How old are you? What's your name?"

"I'm five years old, no, six years old, and my name is Mu Ying."

"Mu Ying? What a nice name. Follow me from now on. When I become a general, I will let you be my vanguard."

"Okay, I'll be your pioneer. Can I have the duck legs?"

"Duck legs are nothing. Just eat whatever you want when the time comes!" Lan Yu said in a boastful tone.

Before he could brag for long, Lan Caiyun slapped him again, "Be quiet, sit still, and set sail."

"Oh."

So, as the sails were raised, the boatman began to row from behind, and Chang Yuchun, Lan Yu, Mu Ying, and Hu Weiyong, these famous figures in history, boarded the same boat and sailed towards Luzhou.

(End of this chapter)