Qing Yao

Chapter 104 Turn left after leaving the house, regular class
Ten thousand taels is really excessive. Just considering the price of grain, it would be worth at least several million banknotes.

If calculated by weight, it costs a few dollars per gram, which is about the same amount.

Sending a document directly to the highest level costs millions of dollars; that's an outrageous price.

This really pained Zhao An; if he had to pay the money, it would mean that all his hard work over the past six months would have been for nothing.

Before becoming an official, he was penniless; after becoming an official, he was still penniless. It would have been better if he hadn't become an official at all.

Furthermore, he wasn't sure if the other party could get things done, hence his hesitant expression.

What was Lord Zheng's background?
He was born into the Imperial Household Department as a bondservant.

A "baoyi" is a servant who serves his master, and they are servants for generations.

This background made Lord Zheng particularly good at reading people and understanding them. He was very considerate of others; otherwise, how could he have been placed in the position of Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai?

"Lord Zhao, don't think it's too expensive. To be honest, the person I've found for you is an extremely important person, one you couldn't find even with a lantern. Once that person tells the Emperor what you did today, Lord Zhao, do you think ten thousand taels is worth it?"

After finishing his cheerful remark, Lord Zheng couldn't help but tease Zhao An, "Last time, Lord Zhao spent a thousand taels and was promoted five ranks. This time, spending ten thousand taels will surely make you soar to the heavens!"

"."

Zhao An was tempted. If a powerful person were to mention his matter to the old master, given the old master's muddle-headed nature, wouldn't he be on top of the world?

I'm not expecting to be promoted five ranks like last time, but being promoted two or three ranks and becoming a fifth-rank official would be fine too.

A fifth-rank official was basically a mid-level cadre in the Qing Dynasty. While it's not fair to say they could control everything in a region, they were certainly powerful enough to shake the ground with a single step.

If you achieve some results and then spend a lot of money, you can aim for a provincial position. Once you succeed, the distance between you and the old man will only be two or three levels.

Who knows, he might actually be able to bring out that dragon-headed staff and command millions of his followers.

The idea was good, and the reality was feasible, but Zhao An still had concerns. He coughed lightly and asked Imperial Censor Zheng in a weak voice, "May I ask who this distinguished person is?"

"Ai,"

Lord Zheng waved his right hand, looking displeased, and said, "You don't need to ask about that. In short, if you're willing to pay 10,000 taels, I'll take care of it for you. If you don't, then pretend I never said anything."

Whether you give it or not, Lord Zhao, is your own decision. After all, it's your own business. I'm just trying to help you out of kindness, not for your ten thousand taels of silver. You need to understand that, Lord Zhao."

"That's it," he said, glancing at Zhao An as if he were a fledgling. "Lord Zhao has only been an official for a short time, so there may be some rules he doesn't understand. But he will naturally understand them in time."

Well, they're completely keeping their secrets.

That's true. Which middleman would be foolish enough to let the client bypass them and meet directly with the client?

In official circles, the more mysterious you are, the better.

If Zheng Bowen wasn't a legitimate salt commissioner, Zhao An estimated that this guy was most likely a political fraudster.

In retrospect, they were mostly political brokers.

They are someone who helps the powerful figure behind the scenes make money and also settles disputes for others.

After thinking it over, I mustered up the courage to ask, "If this can't be done, can I get my money back?"

The bottom line is that if it can't be done, at least eight thousand taels should be returned to him, and the other two thousand taels can be considered as feeding your dog.

Without saying a word, Lord Zheng stood up and said nonchalantly while brushing the dust off his sleeves, "If Lord Zhao doesn't trust me, then there's no need for us to talk."

"No, no, that's not what I meant, Lord Zheng, please don't misunderstand."

Zhao An was put in a very passive position.

I figured I'd give it a shot, no matter what. After all, he was a salt commissioner; he probably wouldn't take the money and not do the job.

If he really dared to embezzle that ten thousand taels, given Zhao An's petty nature, he would definitely ambush this guy when he got off work.

However, Zhao An did not want to pay for it himself, so he tactfully told Lord Zheng that he did not have that much cash on hand and asked if he could make an exception for a few days.

Lord Zheng was also generous and gave Zhao An three days to raise the money.

Why so readily?

Because this ten thousand taels was practically free!
Why did Emperor Kangxi allow the Imperial Household Department to monopolize the position of Salt Commissioner?
Besides facilitating embezzlement from the Imperial Household Department, it also turned this office, which was supposed to supervise salt administration, into a secret service office similar to the Jiangnan Textile Bureau.

To be more specific, the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai was essentially the emperor's eyes and ears in Jiangbei. He was required to regularly write reports on what he saw and heard in the area and submit them to the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, who would then select the most important information and submit it to the emperor.

This system was inherited by Emperors Yongzheng and Qianlong.

In addition to local weather, prices, criminal cases, disasters, public opinion, and officials' private affairs, the reports sometimes also need to cover things that might interest those above them.

Otherwise, it would be too boring and wouldn't attract much attention.

If the higher-ups think the report is good, the person who wrote it will naturally be rewarded.

To extend this to Zhao An, it was actually these things that happened at the prefectural school today that caught the eye of Imperial Censor Zheng, who felt it was very necessary to report them to his superiors.

Otherwise, if the higher authorities learned through other channels that a "loyal professor" had emerged in Yangzhou, they would instead blame the censor for his incompetence.

So, what do you call it when something that should have been reported becomes something that you report for 10,000 taels of silver?
This is like selling yourself to a thief; you'll have to count the money for me and thank me. As for why it's ten thousand taels instead of one thousand?
That's a matter of net worth.

Lord Zheng's report was sent to the Minister of the Imperial Household Department and the Grand Secretary.

Is the Grand Secretary not worth ten thousand taels?

Master Liu Quan's starting price is three to five thousand taels.

Unaware that he had been "swindled" out of 10,000 taels by Zheng Bowen, Zhao An very solicitously invited Imperial Censor Zheng to dine in a private room upstairs.

Several officials had arrived in the private room upstairs, chatting and laughing with Prefect Fang and Magistrate Zhao. Ma Xuezheng from the Prefectural School was also there with them.

Upon seeing the principal arrive, they quickly and quietly moved to the side so that the principal could fully immerse himself in the joyful atmosphere.

The working meal was very lavish, and at the dinner table, Vice Commissioner Ma of the Salt Administration Office even took the initiative to talk to Principal Zhao about his son's academic performance.

They were either asking Principal Zhao to do something that violated the ethics of an academic official, or they were simply complaining that their son only knew how to play all day and didn't care about his studies at all.

"To be honest, Professor, I don't really expect this kid to amount to much, but he should at least pass the imperial examination for me, his father. Now look what's happened, he can't even pass the county examination, let alone the prefectural examination. I'm thinking if all else fails, I'll just donate money to get him a prison degree in a couple of years."

After a few drinks, Vice Envoy Ma didn't mind telling the principal his true thoughts, because he didn't mean to ask the principal to give his child special treatment.

Being an official is actually the same as being a person; as long as you have no desires or wants in your heart, you will have the right mindset.

Zhao An casually said, "There's no need to rush the matter of donating to the academy. Actually, if you want your son's studies to progress rapidly, I, as a professor, do have some ideas."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Vice Envoy Ma immediately took it to heart and hurriedly put down his chopsticks to ask Professor Zhao if he had any brilliant ideas.

Zhao An definitely has a miraculous remedy.

It's nothing more than concentrated attacks, combining mountain and overseas exams with militarized management.

This model cannot guarantee that students will pass the provincial examination and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination), but it can absolutely guarantee that students will pass the Tongsheng examination and become Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level examination).

The reason is that the examination content of the preliminary examination is mainly based on rote memorization, while the provincial examination and the metropolitan examination, which are above the provincial level, do not test rote memorization, but rather the students' understanding of the classics.

Since rote memorization accounts for the majority of the learning, then the "sea of ​​questions" approach will certainly be effective.

To put it bluntly, as long as you, Mr. Ma, are willing to let your son suffer, Professor Zhao can quickly improve your son from a poor student at the bottom of the grade to one of the top ten.

The premise is that no matter what the school does, no matter how much your son complains, you, as a parent, cannot interfere.

No pain, no gain.

Zhao An gave this model a very modern name: the Preparatory Class for the Elementary Examination. He confidently guaranteed that as a professor at the prefectural school, he could guarantee a 90% college entrance rate for students who attended the intensive class.

Nine out of ten students will become scholars!
"Intensive training class?"

Vice Envoy Ma carefully considered the reinforcement methods Principal Zhao had told him, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt it made sense. The reason why his own brat refused to learn was because he had been too indulgent towards him.

Previously, whether it was a prefectural school or a county-level official school, students were raised in a "free-range" manner, meaning that teachers did not pay much attention to the students after teaching what they were supposed to teach.

Whether a student can understand the material and achieve good results depends entirely on their willingness to learn and their exceptional talent.

This naturally leads to most students being unable to achieve breakthroughs in their studies.

But if we teach and reinforce the methods suggested by Principal Zhao, making students do nothing but study all day long, with their minds filled with the teachings of sages, how can they not achieve good results?

"If the academy really intends to run an intensive course, please, no matter what, give my child a spot."

Vice Envoy Ma, who had previously given up because his son refused to study, did not want to lose the opportunity to put his son on the right path. He tactfully suggested that as long as Principal Zhao could guide his son onto the right track, he would be happy to ask for any help he might need in the future.

Zhao An was naturally delighted and further communicated with the deputy envoy on strengthening the team's ideas.

The conversation between the two quickly attracted the interest of Lord Zhao from the opposite office, who curiously asked what the professor and the deputy salt commissioner were talking about.

Vice Envoy Ma told the truth.

"Preparatory classes for the children's exams?"

After hearing Vice Envoy Ma's account of the intensive training program, the officials present all wore solemn expressions. The Prefect, in particular, fell into deep thought before decisively saying, "Lord Zhao's approach to intensive education aligns perfectly with our prefecture's intentions. If the prefectural school truly intends to establish intensive training programs, the prefecture will fully support all expenses."

Looking at the prefect who rarely supports him, Zhao Anxin thought to himself, "You're lucky."

If nine out of ten students become scholars, wouldn't that be your greatest achievement, Prefect Fang?

The intensive courses will be held, and money will be collected.

Because Zhao An wanted to run a special training and intensive class for the sons of officials and gentry.

The tuition and enrichment fee are not much, only five hundred taels per person.

If you think it's too expensive, sorry, there are regular classes available to the left after you leave.

(End of this chapter)