There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 280 The butt determines the head
Zhu Gui was unaware that Susong County had fewer than two thousand Han soldiers. Had he known, he would likely have abandoned all restraint and berated Li Changgui, the general of Shouchun, for missing a crucial opportunity and harboring traitors for his own gain.

Although there is only one Shouchun Town in Anhui, the total military strength of Shouchun Town can reach about five thousand people.

Even if the governor were to cobble together resources and recruit able-bodied local militia, it wouldn't be a problem for him to assemble an army of 20,000 in a short time.

With 20,000 against 2,000, I dare not say I can guarantee a victory, but I can certainly scare away the Han army in Susong County.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in this world; opportunities are often fleeting.

Half a month ago, the Han army launched a surprise attack on Susong County and captured it without breaking a sweat. They then made a show of attacking Taihu and Wangjiang counties.

The Qing dynasty was unaware of the situation, and given the widespread prestige of the Han dynasty, no one dared to gamble on how many Han troops were actually in Susong.

Even if the Han army was indeed short of troops in Susong, it was uncertain whether Zhu Gui could seize the opportunity and recapture Susong County in one fell swoop.

He may have criticized Li Changgui for missing a crucial opportunity, but if he were truly asked to mobilize all of Anhui's troops for a decisive battle against the Han army, he would still be somewhat hesitant and afraid.

Susong County.

The situation has changed dramatically compared to half a month ago. First, everyone in the county, from the scholar to the common people, has become bald.

Because the pigtail braid was cut off, it would look really ugly and strange to not have a bald head.

The queue (braid) was secondary; the issue of the pseudo-Qing clothing worn by the common people was that, considering the hardships of their lives, the newly arrived Han officials did not order its abolition. They simply prohibited merchants and commoners from selling or manufacturing pseudo-Qing clothing in the future.

In a small restaurant in the county, several young scholars with shaved heads and dressed in pseudo-Qing attire were toasting each other.

Before they had even finished three rounds of drinks, one of them couldn’t help but complain under the influence of alcohol: “The Han traitors are hateful. We gentry worked together to help them take over Susong County, but instead of being rewarded, they want to seize our property and land.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than another person beside him quickly advised, "Brother Siju, you've had too much to drink. Don't talk nonsense while you're drunk."

The claim of being drunk is just an excuse. They've only just started their meal and have already had two rounds of drinks; there's no way they're drunk.

Cheng Siju said, “Brother Qian, there’s no need to say more. We both understand that my family has very little land to begin with. If the Han traitors want to divide the land, they can only take away 5,000 mu. But your family has more than 30,000 mu of fertile land. If it’s all divided up, can you really accept that?”

The young scholar, whose real name was Qian Jin and who was addressed as Brother Qian, simply took a swig of wine in silence and shook his head helplessly: "What can we do if we're unwilling? We've already helped the traitors take Susong County. Even if we regret it now, it's too late. If the Han traitors are destroyed by the court, then we will die with them!"

These words sounded rather heavy, and the group of people who had come out for a meal and drinks fell silent instantly.

As the initiator of this gathering, Cheng Mingde stood up and chuckled, "Alright, alright, everyone, eat your food! I'm the host today, so let's not talk about such troublesome things. Try the new dishes from my restaurant. These are chefs we poached from Liuweiju in Weizhou Prefecture. It took my family a lot of effort."

This tactic of changing the subject quickly put everyone's worries behind them, and they started drinking and chatting again, trying out the new dishes.

Cheng Siju took a bite and couldn't help but exclaim, "Brother Mingde often praises the Six Flavors Restaurant in Huizhou, but I always thought it was an exaggeration. After tasting this dish today, I can confirm that it truly lives up to its reputation!"

Although Cheng Siju and Cheng Mingde share the same surname, Cheng, they are not from the same clan. Cheng Siju is a local member of the Cheng family, while Cheng Mingde is from Huizhou Prefecture. It is said that he is from a branch of the Huizhou Cheng family, and after the family separated and moved, he settled in Susong County and built a business there.

Although Cheng Mingde was from an outsider family, and not even from the same prefecture, he was still from Huizhou. In addition, he was generous and his family business was involved in commerce, so he didn't have much entanglement with local bigwigs in real estate interests, and therefore didn't suffer too much exclusion.

After three rounds of wine, there are six dishes.

"Do you think this big man can actually succeed?" Compared to Cheng Siju, who was grumbling incoherently, this man was clearly much more timid.

They dared not call the Han traitors at all, but only dared to shout "Great Han".

Cheng Siju put down his wine cup and slowly said, "The King of Han would rather forcibly divide the land of the gentry among the common people and win their hearts than make peace with us gentry. This is putting the cart before the horse!"

Qian Jin asked, "Brother Si Ju, do you think this big man is incapable of accomplishing anything?"

Cheng Siju suddenly shook his head again: "No, I was just saying that the Prince of Han has put the cart before the horse, but since the day he raised his army, his methods and strategies have been completely comparable to those of the founding emperors of previous dynasties. In addition, the Prince of Han is against the Qing and is trying to restore the Han, which gives him the legitimate and righteous cause!"

"In comparison, the pseudo-Qing dynasty was originally a barbarian dynasty. Since ancient times, no barbarian dynasty has lasted for more than a hundred years. The pseudo-Qing dynasty has been stealing the divine artifacts of the Central Plains for 150 years, and it has long reached its limit. Now, in the pseudo-Qing country, corrupt officials run rampant, and there are also White Lotus demons causing chaos. This is a harbinger of the downfall of the country and the chaos of the world."

"The King of Han, by the mandate of Heaven, descended upon this chaotic world. He is destined to overthrow the false Qing dynasty, sweep across the land, and establish a new dynasty for the Han people!"

Good heavens, this so-called analysis was actually just flattery, leaving Cheng Mingde, who was about to smooth things over, completely bewildered.

Cheng Siju had been calling him a traitor to the Han Dynasty, which made Cheng Siju think that the man was very dissatisfied with the Han Dynasty.

As a result, after only a few drinks, he started flattering the Prince of Han without batting an eye, repeatedly calling him a "pseudo-Qing" and comparing the Prince of Han to the founding emperor!
Cheng Siju continued, “The pseudo-Qing dynasty is now nothing but bones in our home, and the unification of our Great Han is only a matter of time. We scholars should seize this opportunity to assist the wise ruler, make contributions, and usher in a new and prosperous dynasty!”

Upon hearing this, Qian Jin, who was more familiar with Cheng Siju, reacted immediately: "Brother Siju, are you preparing to take the imperial examination?"

This imperial examination is not the same as the previous one. The provincial examinations of the Qing Dynasty ended two months ago. Candidates from various provinces either failed and returned home to continue their studies behind closed doors, or they were already preparing to set off for the capital to take the metropolitan examination.

They were no exception; as local scholars from Anqing Prefecture, they naturally participated in this year's provincial examination, but unfortunately, none of them passed.

Even if they passed the exam, it wouldn't be of any use, because they wouldn't even have their queues anymore. Let alone participate in the imperial examination the following year, if they actually went to the territory of the puppet Qing government, they would be lucky if they weren't captured by the puppet Qing government and beheaded as rebels to claim credit.

Qian Jin said that Cheng Siju was going to participate in the imperial examination, which was obviously a special examination held by the Han Dynasty. The timing was also almost the same as the imperial examination of the puppet Qing Dynasty, both of which were held in August.

This was certainly not a coincidence, but rather a deliberate act by the Ministry of Rites of the Han Dynasty. The civil officials of the Ministry of Rites deliberately scheduled the special imperial examination for the second half of this year to coincide with the imperial examination of the pseudo-Qing Dynasty.

Because the pseudo-Qing dynasty was similar to the Han dynasty. In the Han dynasty, it was the first special imperial examination after the King of Han became king. Although the pseudo-Qing dynasty was no longer a special imperial examination, it was still the first time in a true sense that the imperial examination was held after the Jiaqing Emperor ascended the throne.

The special imperial examination held in the sixtieth year of Qianlong's reign was actually a symbolic act of abdication from Qianlong to Jiaqing. Jiaqing was merely a figurehead. Although it was called a special imperial examination, it was actually more like a charade of abdication by Qianlong. Even the questions for the palace examination were set by Qianlong, with Jiaqing watching from the sidelines.

Now, by placing the special imperial examinations of the Han Dynasty alongside those of the Qing Dynasty, the Han is essentially blatantly slapping the Qing Dynasty in the face.

Without the special imperial examination, the Han Dynasty was merely a rebellious force, at most gaining the advantage of the Imperial Seal, and could be called a rebel king.

But once the imperial examination was held, it truly gained legitimacy and began to transform from a rebellious separatist force into a legitimate separatist dynasty.

It can be said that as long as even one Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) is produced in this special imperial examination of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty will be considered to have a truly solid foundation in the eyes of the gentry and common people, and will be able to compete for the world's power.

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, the officials of the Ministry of Rites of the Han Dynasty were extremely meticulous in selecting and setting the questions for this first special imperial examination. Even the examiners had been approved by the King of Han to give the candidates a break.

Not satisfied with that, the Ministry of Rites specially arranged for some internal officials to impersonate candidates and participate in the special imperial examination.

Although Nie Yu disliked the imperial examination system, considering it the root of all evil, the Han Dynasty's educational system was still immature and unable to cultivate high-quality talent. Moreover, even if he disliked the imperial examination, since the special imperial examinations had already been held, they naturally had to be conducted beautifully; the more beautifully they were conducted, the more the pseudo-Qing would feel embarrassed.

You may not need a grand cause or a legitimate reason, but you cannot be without it.

Although Susong County was a newly occupied county, and had only been occupied for less than a month, the Han officials who came with the army still informed them that the special imperial examination had been held.

Moreover, they were told that the King of Han, out of compassion for the scholars and intellectuals of these newly recovered territories, allowed them to travel to Wuchang Prefecture before December of this year to participate in the supplementary provincial examination.

Yes, it's a make-up exam. The King of Han will set up several special examination halls in Wuchang Prefecture so that scholars from Jiangxi and Anhui provinces can take the provincial examination again.

If you pass the exam, you can go to Jingzhou to participate in the special imperial examination.

What a blessing this is! The imperial examinations are held only once every three years, and this special examination was obtained through the petitions of scholars from Huguang (Hubei and Hunan provinces), making it even more rare.

If we miss this opportunity, we'll have to wait at least another three years.

As a newly restored land, they were captured by the Han Dynasty just as the Enke period was about to begin.

Logically, there was no chance left; they could only wait for the next imperial examination three years later. However, the benevolent Prince of Han granted them an extra favor, making an exception and opening a new examination hall for them, allowing these out-of-province candidates to take the special examination again.

In any case, when Cheng Siju heard this news, he still cursed the Han traitors as hateful, but what did the hatred of the Han traitors have to do with the benevolence of the Han King? The Han King was a great and powerful ruler who founded the dynasty; his only flaw was that his policies towards the people were somewhat misplaced, which was not a serious matter. As long as Cheng Siju could pass the imperial examinations, he could enter the Han court and directly advise the Han King to treat the gentry well and to share the joys and sorrows of the people.

The fact that the pseudo-Qing dynasty failed the provincial examination shows that it was because the pseudo-Qing dynasty did not recognize talent, while the benevolent King of Han must have recognized true talent.

Such contradictory personalities are not uncommon in the Han Dynasty. Scholars under the Han's rule can be broadly divided into three factions based on their stances and positions:

The first faction completely sided with the King of Han and the Han Dynasty, believing that the King of Han was the founding and great ruler of the Han Dynasty.

All policies are the demeanor of a great ruler. On the contrary, being even slightly lenient does not make one a great ruler. Those who follow a great ruler to conquer the world will surely achieve great things, secure honors for their wives and children, and leave their mark on history.

The second faction is slightly different. They do not believe that the King of Han distributed land out of public interest, but they can believe it and they can also go to the countryside to distribute land, showing their love for the people as if they were their own children.

As long as these achievements in serving the people can lead to their promotion, these people can all become people-friendly and good officials who care about the common people.

The third faction was a collection of pure contradictions. They hated the Han king for dividing their land, forbidding them from keeping slaves, and forcibly splitting their clans, preventing them from growing up in the form of clan blood ties.

On the other hand, these people hate the King of Han and wish he would die immediately, but they also fear that if the King of Han really died, no one would take over his position.

The King of Han's son was still too young, and the establishment of the Han Dynasty relied almost entirely on the King of Han's personal prestige.

If the King of Han were to die, not to mention whether the Han dynasty would immediately collapse, the local peasant associations would be a huge problem for the landlords and gentry.

Because the members of the peasant association are all peasants, and even the village chiefs in the local township system of the Han Dynasty are elected by the villagers themselves. Letting outsiders take office would not only easily cause resistance from the villagers, but outsiders also do not understand the situation in each village and would not be able to mediate the internal relations between villages.

This raises a problem: although the peasants and common people have been allocated land, their resentment towards the landlords and gentry will not lessen, but will instead become stronger.

Farmers, through their associations and village chiefs, gained some grassroots power, and the local militias were subordinate to the military system.

If the King of Han were to suddenly pass away, the local peasant associations would surely seek revenge against the landlords and gentry, and even the military generals would undoubtedly take the opportunity to use the pretext of avenging the King of Han to take action against the gentry and landlords.

This is not just a possibility, but has happened many times before. Whenever the Han people occupy a new territory and establish a farmers' association there, it inevitably causes a violent backlash.

The reason why the Han Dynasty had so much unclaimed land to distribute was that the peasant associations in the new territories directly disregarded the advice of the land distribution officials and arbitrarily confiscated and exterminated the families of those landowners.

Several groups came in succession, and the land distribution official couldn't stop them at all. Later, the land distribution official directly submitted a memorial, stating that such leniency was unacceptable.

Because the peasant associations were so proactive, they not only killed large landowners, but also small and medium-sized landowners and self-cultivating farmers. They were no different from bandits and rioters.

Left with no other option, Nie Yu issued an order that the land distribution officials could, as needed, deploy Han troops to interfere with and control the peasant associations.

Killing landlords is acceptable, but not all of them. It's going too far to spare even small landlords with some property and self-cultivating farmers.

However, Nie Yu only ordered that the land distribution officials could, depending on the situation, deploy troops to quell the unrest.

The core of the problem is class contradiction. The reforms of the Han Dynasty were gradual and could not be accomplished overnight. Class contradictions and hatred would not simply disappear.

Therefore, these landlords and gentry of the Han Dynasty both wished for the King of Han to die immediately and feared that the King of Han would actually die suddenly, leaving them with a little child who had not even learned to speak properly.

Meanwhile, Cheng Siju, a candidate from Susong who had failed the provincial examination in Anhui, heard about the grace of a make-up examination granted by the Prince of Han and decided to set off soon for Wuchang Prefecture to register for the special imperial examination.

Not only him, but also many scholars and candidates from Jiujiang, Nankang and Ji'an prefectures were determined to take a boat to Wuchang Prefecture to try their luck.

What if you get hit?
Li Shanchang, the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty, also failed the imperial examination in the Yuan Dynasty, but he assisted Zhu Yuanzhang in founding the Ming Dynasty and became the first prime minister of the Ming Dynasty.

The same applies to them; the Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty overthrew the Qing Dynasty.

Li Shanchang failed the imperial examination in the Yuan Dynasty, and they also failed the imperial examination in the Qing Dynasty. Isn't that exactly the same?

Believe it or not, although their thinking was wrong, they did have a chance to pass the imperial examination and become Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) of the Han Dynasty.

The key to the "Enke Enke" is the word "En" (meaning "en" or "en"). Although this was the first Enke in the Han Dynasty, the number of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) to be admitted was already predetermined, along with the number of candidates from their place of origin.

Hubei and Hunan are relatively easy to deal with, as they are roughly split in half. However, the Prince of Han has already allocated the quotas for Jiangxi Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) to the three prefectures of Jiujiang, Nankang, and Ji'an.

As long as they pass the exam, they will be granted the title of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

In any case, these successful candidates in the imperial examinations all had to go to local areas to observe the administration before they could officially take up their posts as officials.

The majority of officials at all levels in the Han Dynasty today were originally students or scholars, with very few having passed the provincial examinations. Their literary knowledge of the Four Books and Five Classics was of little use in governing the local areas of the Han Dynasty.

The scholars of Susong County were quite lucky. Given the current speed of the Han army's deployment and the seasonal temperature changes, they probably wouldn't be able to take over the entire Anhui province before December this year, let alone even half of it.

Therefore, these scholars from Susong County still have a good chance to compete for the Anhui Jinshi quota granted to them by the King of Han.

As for the general trend of the nation and the integrity of intellectuals?
Their position determines their perspective; whoever grants them the title of Jinshi (a high-ranking official) or appoints them to official positions, they will support.

(Working overtime today, only one short chapter)
(End of this chapter)