Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 209 Early Spring: All Things Shine
As evening fell, Zhang Yue finished his day's work of compiling and left Jixian Academy. When he arrived at the Guangyun Gate of the Inner Palace, he saw Duke Huo, Wang Maozhong, walking past with several generals from the Northern Army.

Upon seeing Zhang Shuo, a shadow crossed Wang Maozhong's eyes. He stood still and waited for Zhang Shuo to approach before sneering, "I have also heard of the selection process. I thought that Lord Yan was a man of great talent and reputation, a literary master revered by scholars, and that his sons would have no trouble passing the imperial examinations. I did not expect that something unexpected would happen. If they fail to pass the examinations this time, it will truly be a pity!"

Zhang Shuo was preoccupied with his own thoughts and had no interest in ignoring Wang Maozhong's sarcastic remarks. He bypassed them and continued walking towards the palace gate.

Wang Maozhong continued laughing loudly from behind: "Even if the young man fails the exam, Lord Yan need not be ashamed of it. I will take him in from the North Gate and teach him to be a good man!"

Zhang Shuo ignored this and continued through the imperial city. When he arrived outside the Censorate, he saw several officials lingering there, seemingly with their own family members participating in the essay re-examination.

When the group saw Zhang Shuo approaching, they all went up to greet him and tentatively asked, "We heard that the worthy grandson of Lord Yan is also taking the exam today. We wonder if Lord Yan has any advice for you?"

“My son is diligent in his studies and his talent is also commendable. As long as he focuses on his studies and does not waste his learning, he will not regret whether he passes the exam or not. Moreover, he is not yet of age, and it is a concern that becoming famous too early may foster arrogance.”

Although Zhang was also quite concerned about the situation inside, he maintained a calm and composed demeanor in front of the group and did not linger there. After answering their questions, he headed straight for the Duanmen Gate.

After exiting Duanmen, he saw his elder brother Zhang Guangzheng waiting there with several servants and young men. He hurriedly went up to him and asked, "Brother, what brings you here?"

"I heard that Zongzhi is embroiled in personnel disputes again, and I am uneasy about it, so I came here to see what the situation is like."

After Zhang Guang approached Zhang Shuo, he asked with a concerned expression.

"This matter is not caused by this child's trickery; he is also involved in other matters. Cui Mianqiang from the Ministry of Personnel is in charge of retaking the miscellaneous essay exam with his students. He is currently taking the exam at the Censorate. There will be no results tonight. Go home and wait."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuo sighed and gestured for his family to go home and await news. Seeing that he was somewhat downcast, Zhang Guang and the others did not ask any further questions, and they all went home together.

After returning home, Zhang Yue dismissed the other disciples but kept Zhang Guang in the hall and said, "Today, I have some mixed feelings on my mind. Would you like to stay here to talk and have some drinks with me, brother?"

Is the situation still very difficult?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guang nodded, and after settling down, he couldn't help but ask another question. After cutting off his ear to plead his case in court last year, he had been recuperating at home, so he was relatively unfamiliar with the personnel changes in the court.

After the servants brought the wine and food, Zhang Shuo first drank it all in one gulp, and then sighed, "The situation is not so difficult, but it is hard to please the emperor. Since we have lost the emperor's favor, even if we try to make things work out, it will be difficult to maintain and we will only become a laughing stock."

Zongzhi is suffering because of me this time. The last time we expelled the Cui family and Yuwen, things were already quite promising. It's just a pity that we couldn't force the Ministry of Personnel to comply, and instead, we only made the emperor more annoyed..."

"Don't be too discouraged. Zongzhi is a child of extraordinary talent and will not be easily controlled by others. Although I don't have your talent, I am quite familiar with the affairs of the family. Among the young and old members of the household, none can surpass this child in talent!"

As early as last year after the family tragedy, Zhang Guang's admiration for Zhang Dai was evident, and now it has only grown stronger.

“If it were any other time, I would probably have been unable to resist refuting my brother’s words. How old is this child? How can he be praised so highly! But today, I have no words to refute him!”

Zhang Yue sighed as he finished speaking, and then said to Zhang Guang, “Brother, do you know what this boy advised me about the other day? He advised me that instead of clinging to the court, I should turn to local affairs.”

At the time, I didn't take his words to heart, but now, thinking back, I realize he truly understood the situation far better than I did, which is why he had such extraordinary insight!

"You...you're seeking foreign affairs?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guang immediately frowned.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuo shook his head and said, "If I were to go out on foreign affairs, I would have nowhere to go, and I'm afraid even the Emperor wouldn't allow me to go. Recently, Jiu Ling was appointed as the governor of Ji Province, but he is a southerner who is attached to his home and does not want to go north. He wants to resign and return to his hometown to take care of his mother."

Now, Henan and Hebei have suffered from disasters year after year, and the two northeastern tribes are secretly communicating with the Turks. Jizhou, situated between the upper and lower reaches, offers ample opportunities for border defense and political achievements. I would like to ask my brother, have you ever felt restless and considered becoming the governor of this region?

Zhang Guang, formerly the Left Vice-Minister to the Crown Prince, was certainly qualified to serve as the Governor of Ji Province. Upon hearing Zhang Yue's plan, he did not hesitate for long and immediately nodded, saying, "If you think I should take the position, then I will accept it without hesitation. I am old and frail, but I am grateful to the Emperor for not abandoning me and for being able to benefit the country. How could I not be willing? In the past, I have served in various prefectures and counties, governing the people and handling affairs with diligence and conscientiousness."

Hearing his elder brother's quick agreement, Zhang felt a little relieved. The recent political situation had left him feeling increasingly uneasy, so he recalled Zhang Dai's suggestion and decided to try a different approach.

While the Zhang brothers were plotting to change the family's business strategy, Zhang Dai was also carefully crafting two essay topics in the Censorate hall.

Perhaps to avoid being criticized for selecting officials based on his own preferences, Cui Mian set relatively broad requirements for the two essay questions. One of the poetry questions was titled "A Poem on the Splendor of All Things in Early Spring," and the other historical essay question did not specify a topic or date, allowing discussion of topics ranging from the Three Dynasties to the early Sui Dynasty.

One of the major criticisms of the essay questions in the imperial examinations was that the rules were too rigid, making it difficult to produce excellent works. Especially in the examination poetry, Zhang Dai's copy of "Xiangling Playing the Zither in the Provincial Examination" was already the best work among them, and after that, Zu Yong's famous work "Looking at the Remaining Snow on Zhongnan Mountain" was the next best.

However, Zu Yong's poem does not belong to the standard five-character six-rhyme scheme; it is an unconventional work, which shows how difficult it is to come up with a good poem for the provincial examination.

That's why Yao Yi teased Zhang Dai when he was giving out the exam questions. If he could compose another poem on the spot that could rival "Xiang Ling playing the zither," even if the examiners were unwilling, they wouldn't dare to openly reject him.

The other candidates reacted differently upon seeing the exam questions. For those already quite talented, such questions seemed to remove a constraint, allowing them to showcase their abilities more fully.

However, for students like Li Yi who received a formal education in classical Chinese studies, this kind of question-setting was not very friendly. It wasn't that they lacked talent, but rather that they were more accustomed to dancing in shackles.

Because the Imperial Academy had different subjects from the beginning, such as the Jinshi and Mingjing, the Jinshi students mainly studied various types of regulated poems and rhymed prose. Beyond this scope, their advantage no longer existed.

Putting aside the situation of others, fewer rules are also good news for Zhang Dai, giving him a wider range of searches and choices. However, selecting the most amazing masterpieces under these two propositions still requires a lot of mental effort.

He did not immediately pick up his pen and write, but instead sat at his desk with his eyes closed, resting and pondering.

Yao Yi volunteered to be an examiner tonight to put some pressure on Zhang Dai, so he focused most of his attention on the young man. When he saw that the other candidates had already started writing and answering questions, while the young man was still calmly resting with his eyes closed, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

He walked up to Zhang Dai's desk, listened to his even breathing, and wondered if the boy had fallen asleep. So he tapped the desk with his finger and said in a deep voice, "Answer the questions carefully and don't waste the opportunity given to you by Cui Sanqi!"

Zhang Dai's thoughts were interrupted, and he opened his eyes with some displeasure, glancing at Yao Yi. At this moment, another examiner, Wu Gong, stepped forward and said, "People have different writing habits, which is why some are quick and easy. As long as you finish answering the questions by tomorrow morning, I will not punish you!"

Although Zhang Dai did not recognize the official from the Secretariat, he sensed the protective tone in the man's words, so he nodded to him and began to write: "Where does spring arrive early? Spring arrives at dawn in the Forbidden City. The sun shines on the dragon banners on the palace steps, and the wind blows through the jeweled zither in the water clock tower..."

When the two examiners saw that he had finally started answering the questions, they stood aside and observed.

After reading the poem, Yao Yi recited it briefly, a strange light flashing in his eyes. He thought to himself that this young man was indeed quite talented, able to compose a decent poem in such a short time.

However, this poem is merely average, lacking any real talent, and it pales in comparison to the stunning "Xiangling Plays the Zither" that came before.

After finishing one poem, Zhang Dai did not stop, but started a new line and continued: "Where does spring come early? Spring comes in the embroidered door..."

So you were still drafting and comparing.

Upon seeing similar verses, Yao Yi thought to himself.

On the one hand, he marveled at the boy's quick wit and talent, noting that he had composed two poems in such a short time. However, while this new poem added some interest to the previous one, it was somewhat frivolous, vulgar, and inappropriate. It was fine for romantic pleasure, but it was not suitable for examinations.

Zhang Dai seemed to have heard Yao Yi's thoughts, so after finishing this poem, he didn't stop, but continued on a new line: "Where does spring come early? Spring comes in the pond and pavilion..."

"what?"

Upon seeing this, Yao Yi couldn't help but exclaim softly. These three poems, with the same theme and rhyme, were completed in one go in a very short time. Even if none of them were masterpieces, the quick wit and talent displayed by the poets were still astonishing.

However, Zhang Dai's surprise for him didn't stop there. After finishing one poem, he started another, beginning with: "Where does spring arrive early..."

"This this……"

Yao Yi stared blankly at the scene. Just as he was in shock, Zhang Dai finished writing his poem and looked up at him with a slight smile on his lips.

Seeing his expression, Yao Yi's face flushed slightly. He composed himself and tapped the desk, asking, "Are there any more chapters?"

Zhang Dai had been waiting for this very sentence, and immediately, under Yao Yi's increasingly astonished gaze, he picked up his pen again and began to write: "Where does spring bloom early..."

(End of this chapter)