Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 9 The Five Clans of Taiyuan
Inside the hall, Zhang Ji sat upright on the couch, drinking water from a lacquer cup, with a look of joy on his face.

"Father!"

"Uncle!"

After making proper arrangements for the young men, Zhang Yu remembered his father's instructions and called Li Song to come and pay a visit.

Seeing his son was handsome and good-looking, Zhang Ji nodded with satisfaction and said, "Wang Changwen is teaching in Taiyuan. You two can go there to study."

"Wang Changwen?"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and asked, "Wang family of Qi County or Wang family of Jinyang?"

There are five great families in Taiyuan, namely the Wang and Wen families in Qi County, the Wang family in Jinyang, the Guo family in Yangqu, and the Linghu family in Langmeng. Each of the five families has its own family school, and each of them has produced two thousand stone officials, making them the great families in Taiyuan.

"Wang family of Qi County!"

Li Song understood and said, "Lord Wang Changwen, whose name is Hong, was the former governor of Hongnong. He was recently dismissed from his post and returned home because he offended the eunuchs. The Wang family of Qi County is good at the "Book of Filial Piety" and "Spring and Autumn Annals". If you can follow Lord Changwen to study, you will benefit a lot."

Seeing that Li Song only had a vague understanding, Zhang Ji pointed out directly, "The Wang family has been in officialdom for generations, and there are many students and former officials. If you two can learn from Mr. Wen, you will get his appreciation and guidance, and at the same time make friends with the scholars in Bingzhou. When you enter the official career in the future, it will be beneficial."

The rich political resources of the Wang family in Qi County are not enough to be summarized in just a few words by Zhang Ji. It is no exaggeration to say that if Zhang Yu could get some political resources from the Wang family, it would be enough for Zhang Yu to easily enter the official career.

Li Song was awakened and bowed happily, saying, "Song thanks uncle for his teachings. I will achieve something in this study trip to live up to uncle's hard work."

"good!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu remained silent, Zhang Ji roughly guessed that his son might have different ideas.

"Bosong, you have traveled hundreds of miles to study, now you can go home and tell your mother." Zhang Ji said.

"promise!"

Li Song glanced at Zhang Yu and knew that the father and son had something to talk about.

After Li Song left, Zhang Ji showed a loving look on his face and asked, "What do you think, son?"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Father, the border is in turmoil, and it is a good time for men to make achievements. So it is better to gather troops, strengthen our forces, and wait for the situation to change."

Zhang Yu was a little hesitant about whether to go to Taiyuan to study. If the situation did not change much, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was bound to happen, and with the long-term conflict between Han and Hu on the border, the military strength of Canhewu needed to be developed, so it was worth thinking about whether it was necessary for him to go to Taiyuan.

Seeing his son's intention to become a powerful person, Zhang Ji sneered and said, "There are few Han people in the border areas. The refugees in Wuyuan County are watched by the powerful people of Wuyuan County below and the governors of other counties above. How can it be Zhang's turn?"

“Even if we recruit refugees, where can we place them?”

"Yu'er, although the Han Dynasty is weak and the border counties are in chaos, it is still the Han Dynasty with tens of millions of people. If we can develop in the Central Plains, it will be much better than living in a small place here!"

"Nowadays, the aristocratic families are in power. Without the help of a noble, even if you have made countless achievements, it will be difficult to get promoted. It is not easy for children from poor families to make a name for themselves. They will always be promoted by the big families. If my son wants to make achievements, he still needs the help of the aristocratic families."

"Sometimes, soldiers speak quickly; on the contrary, some things still need to be expressed with words!" Zhang Ji said cryptically.

Zhang Yu remained silent as he listened to his father's earnest words. Influenced by his memories of his previous life and the chaotic Han and Hu environment he was in, he actually neglected the Eastern Han court.

As his father Zhang Ji said, no matter how weak the Han Dynasty was and how powerless it was to control the borders, if he wanted to achieve anything, he had to integrate into the Eastern Han society and make use of social rules to gain a good position in the coming chaotic times.

What are the social rules of the Eastern Han Dynasty?

That is, the powerful families were in power, and the small nobles and powerful families had to befriend the prominent families in the county in order to obtain some political resources. In order to cultivate students and old officials, the prominent families in the county would not only not exclude these small nobles, but would be keen to absorb talented children of powerful families.

As for why the prominent families in the county are keen on cultivating disciples and former officials, the reason is not difficult to understand.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, in addition to the path of military merit, there were two other ways for scholars to enter officialdom. The first was to be recruited by county magistrates, provincial governors, or the Three Dukes. The second was to be selected as a filial and incorrupt official, a scholar, etc., and become a Langguan of the Secretariat.

No matter which of the above paths you choose, you need to be appreciated by the county magistrate before you can enter the officialdom.

After taking office, the county magistrate would often form deals with local powerful families in order to facilitate the implementation of policies or to govern the local area, such as recruiting the sons of a certain family, or recommending the sons of a certain family as filial and honest, or marrying into the family of a local powerful family.

The role of the disciples and former officials is not only to take care of the nephews and nephews of the county magistrate after he leaves office, but also to assist the county magistrate in governing the local area and become his minions who have penetrated deeply into the local area.

The county governors trained their students and former officials according to this logic, and the central government officials also trained their former officials according to this logic. In order to advance, the lower-level officials were often willing to become the students and former officials of the nobles. It was not difficult to understand the Confucian scholars. The big families monopolized educational resources, established student relationships with the children of small tyrants and gentry, and controlled the lower classes in multiple ways.

Such a closed social operation logic made Zhang Yu, who came from the later society, feel lucky for himself. At least he traveled back to a poor family, rather than a poor boy. If he really traveled back to a poor boy, he would have no choice but to join the army and fight to the death.

"Yu'er, the Han and the Hu will open trade soon, and the border will be peaceful for a while. You still need to go to Taiyuan to study and see if you can be valued by Lord Changwen!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu was still silent, Zhang Ji continued, "Although Duke Changwen was demoted for offending the eunuchs, he will surely be reinstated in the future given his abilities. Therefore, if you can gain the Duke Changwen's appreciation and become his disciple, you will have a bright future!"

Zhang Yu selectively listened to his father Zhang Ji's teachings.

As a frontier warrior, Zhang Ji had his own limitations in thinking and experience. After all, no one in the world could have expected that after the death of Emperor Ling of Han, such a huge empire would collapse and quickly enter a period of competition among many heroes.

From a long-term perspective, his father's plan to arrange for him to study in Taiyuan was very reasonable. In Bingzhou, Taiyuan has always been the political, economic and cultural center. Staying in a family in a border county would not only limit his vision, but also isolate him from the central government's news.

Although Zhang Yu did not know how his uncle Zhang Yang became a local lord in the late Han Dynasty, Zhang Yu knew very well that if he could make a name for himself in Taiyuan and establish a relationship with the Wang family, it would be of great help to his future development.

"I'll remember your teachings, father!" Zhang Yu straightened his back and replied.

"good!"

Zhang Yu's agreement made Zhang Ji feel relieved.

His son's temperament has changed a lot since he had a serious illness half a year ago. Not only has his character become more stable, but he also has his own ideas. If his son is unwilling to go to Taiyuan to study, Zhang Ji will not be able to force him to go.

"The journey to Taiyuan is long and far, so I asked my second uncle to bring people to escort you to avoid any accidents on the way."

After sitting for a long time, Zhang Ji's old thigh injury relapsed and he felt some nerve pain, so he changed his posture, reached out to take the small wooden hammer, and gently tapped his thigh.

"Remember that Taiyuan is not like Chanhewu, and you must keep the word 'rules' in mind. Sometimes when you are offended, you need to endure it, so as not to be rejected by the scholars of Taiyuan."

Zhang Yu got up from his seat and said disapprovingly, "Rules are made by people and followed by others. One day, they may have to follow the rules I made."

Zhang Ji looked up at his son and said, "Stop talking nonsense! Only Envoy Zhang dares to speak like this in Bingzhou!"

Zhang Yu straightened his clothes and said with a smile, "Why can't this envoy be me?"

Hearing this, Zhang Ji was slightly stunned. He didn't expect that his son would have such great ambitions.

"Yu'er, remember to pack your luggage!"

"I remember!"

Zhang Yu put on his shoes and said, "I'll teach the young man archery today, and I'll clean up later!"

"Then go!"

Zhang Ji stood up and shouted, "You will be traveling for a long time this time, remember to choose a smart boy to serve you."

"Oh, right, there are many wealthy families in Taiyuan, and there are many outstanding girls among them. If my son can win the favor of a girl from a wealthy family, he will have a bright future with the support of his wife's family in his career!"

Zhang Yu rolled his eyes and ignored the second half of his father's words.

A real man cannot make his way in the world by living off others!

Zhang Ji looked at Zhang Yu's back as he pushed the door open and left, shook his head and smiled, and sighed to himself: "The revival of the Zhang family is due to this boy!"

Half a year ago, Zhang Yu, with Zhang Ji's consent, specially selected six teenagers from the village, spent half a day teaching them martial arts and knowledge, and used strict rules to control their words and deeds. After several months of training, the six teenagers not only became much smarter, but also became outstanding teenagers in the village.

Of course, from Zhang Ji's perspective, it is not difficult to see that his son is cultivating confidants, and cultivating confidants in a semi-military manner. Zhang Ji naturally supports his son's behavior. After all, he is old and his son will become the owner of the dock sooner or later.

At the same time, it was because of his son's outstanding performance that Zhang Ji made up his mind to ask Guo Yu to write a letter of recommendation for Zhang Yu. And Zhang would have to repay Guo Yu one day.

"Jiangzuo Yice": At the end of Emperor Ling's reign, there was a great chaos on the border. Emperor Shenwu secretly raised loyal soldiers and taught them military strategies. My father was afraid and said, "You cannot revive my family, and will definitely bring great disgrace to my clan!" His uncle Zhang Yang heard about it and called Shenwu to blame him for his loyalty, but Shenwu never changed.

(End of this chapter)