Qing Yao

Chapter 135 Big Brother, don't strip me of my official uniform!
It was just a joke with Lao Ding; how could Zhao An possibly borrow money from him and not pay it back?
Upon returning to the prefectural school, the principal summoned Ma Xuezheng, Tong Xundao, and other subordinate officials. After giving several instructions regarding the school's work, he left work early to go home and told his wife about his upcoming business trip. His wife immediately began packing his clothes.

That night was filled with passionate lovemaking.

The accompanying personnel arranged by the prefectural school arrived early the next morning.

One was the Instructor Tong, who was mainly responsible for the principal's daily needs when traveling, as well as liaising with the provincial education authorities and handling trivial matters such as greeting people at local post stations along the way.

Four mounted guards with swords were there to display the principal's official authority and prevent him from being beaten by unruly commoners.

In addition, a coachman.

A group of seven.

To get from Yangzhou to Jiangyin, you don't need to cross the river via Zhenjiang. Instead, you can take the land route to Taizhou and then cross the river at Jingjiang County.

Although Jingjiang County is located in Taizhou, north of the Yangtze River, it is administratively under the jurisdiction of Changzhou Prefecture on the other side of the river, making it essentially an exclave of Changzhou on the north bank of the Yangtze.

The professor's bus was quite comfortable, and the group headed towards Jingjiang after leaving the city.

After traveling more than 200 li for three days, we arrived at Jingjiang County. The villages along the way looked no different from those in Yangzhou. The people's lives were very stable, in other words, relatively peaceful.

They were not staying at an inn, but at an official post station.

Apart from paying for fodder, everything else is free.

Jingjiang County was not under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou Prefecture, so Zhao An, a professor at Yangzhou Prefectural School, had no need to make a special visit. The group went directly to the riverside dock to wait for the passenger ship to cross the river.

The Yangtze River before Zhao An was all too familiar, because a bridge spanning the river—the Jiangyin Bridge—was built here in later generations.

People from northern Jiangsu feel a sense of familiarity upon crossing this bridge, even if their hometown is two or three hundred miles away.

Conversely, it can lead to a feeling of being away from home.

When the ferry arrived, Instructor Tong arranged for the driver to bring the carriage onto the ferry. Since Zhao An and his party were officials, the passengers crossing the river also gave way to them without the need for the boatman to speak.

Perhaps because Zhao An was too young, many passengers looked on with curiosity. When Tong Xundao saw this, he was about to order the guards to reprimand the people for their rudeness, but Zhao An stopped him with a smile: "An official should not disturb the people."

Standing alone at the bow of the boat, feeling the vastness of the river, I felt inspired to write poetry, but I just couldn't.

Even if it were possible, it would likely only reach the level of the mighty Yangtze River flowing eastward.

Jiangyin and Jingjiang face each other across the river, and Jiangyin County is just across the river.

More than a hundred years ago, the famous "Battle of Jiangyin" broke out here. The three anti-Qing heroes, Yan Yingyuan, Chen Mingyu and Feng Houdun, who are admired by later generations, led the people of the city to fire the first shot of the anti-Qing resistance in Jiangnan and held out for a full eighty-one days without any reinforcements in the city!
In this battle, the Qing army mobilized tens of thousands of troops, including Bolo and Nikan, who were later enfeoffed as princes, and Kong Youde, a Han traitor who surrendered to the Qing.

Faced with tens of thousands of Qing troops, the people of Jiangyin fought a bloody battle. All the able-bodied men died, and the elderly and children came out. Later, even prisoners and women from brothels went to the city to help fight.

Until the city fell, not a single person in Jiangyin retreated, fled, or surrendered; the entire city perished in the battle. In the end, only thirteen elderly women and thirty-eight children under the age of seven survived.

All those aged seven and above were executed.

An unnamed woman from Jiangyin left a poem before her death:
"Rotten bones littered the battlefield, and the isolated city, though facing countless deaths, refused to surrender."

A message to passersby: don't cover your noses, for the fragrance of the dead is more precious than that of the living.

How sad, how heroic!
The provincial education commissioner notified Zhao An to report in seven days, but Zhao An arrived three days early, not to offer sacrifices to the Three Dukes, as that would be illegal.

The reason for arriving early was simply to scout out the route.

Let's explore the path of that Master Hu.

Therefore, he instructed everyone not to go to the "guesthouse" of the Education Bureau after entering the city, but to find an inn in the city to stay at. Afterwards, he asked Instructor Tong to inquire about the "heated discussion" at the Education Bureau regarding the Yangzhou Prefectural School's payment of seven thousand taels of silver. Instead of letting Instructor Tong go empty-handed, he gave him three hundred taels of silver as operating funds.

Money makes things easier. That evening, Instructor Tong found out the exact details: the Education Bureau had accepted the seven thousand taels of silver.

It's more accurate to say that it was collected by Master Hu rather than by the government.

This put Zhao An's mind at ease, and the next day he formally paid his respects to Master Hu with a formal letter.

As a provincial-level official, the Xuetai shared office space with the prefectural governor and county magistrate, allowing him to manage both affairs without any conflict.

After identifying himself at the gate and receiving five taels of silver as a doorman's money, Zhao An was quickly led into what appeared to be a side hall.

"Lord Zhao, please wait here for a moment. The old master is currently talking with professors from Suzhou and Changzhou."

The person who brought Zhao An in was clearly someone close to the old master, because his manner was one of treating Zhao An, a seventh-rank professor, as an equal, rather than flattering him like a servant.

It's estimated that he might be some relative or disciple of the old master.

"Thank you for your trouble,"

Zhao An smiled and took out a small leather bag that he had prepared beforehand from his sleeve and stuffed it into the man's hand. "This is a small token of my appreciation for the old master. I hope you can pass it on to him."

Inside the calfskin bag were two silver notes worth five thousand taels each, and an additional silver note worth two hundred taels was attached to the outside of the bag.

The one inside belongs to the old master, and the one outside belongs to this young man in front of me.

The man glanced at the silver notes attached to the bag and gave Zhao An a big smile: "Then Lord Zhao, please have some tea here first, and I will pass it on to you."

"well."

Zhao An nodded repeatedly, and after the man left, he sat down comfortably to drink tea.

They gave him seven thousand taels earlier, and now they're giving him another ten thousand taels, making a total of seventeen thousand taels. That's an astonishing amount, and I don't believe Master Hu won't be swayed by it.

Once the wavering is broken, things will be much easier.

However, no matter how long they waited, Grandmaster Hu did not appear. Just as they were about to go out and ask someone what Grandmaster Hu was busy with, the guy from earlier arrived and informed Professor Zhao to come to the front hall for a meeting.

"The old master instructed you to go immediately, sir. Please come!"

The guy from Renmin University was very polite, and his smile was very sincere. It seemed that the old master had given him some instructions, so he was particularly enthusiastic towards Professor Zhao.

"Very well, please lead the way!"

Zhao An felt relieved and followed the other party to the front hall of the government office. When he arrived, he saw several officials wearing seventh-rank official robes sitting in the hall. He guessed they were professors from other prefectures and officials from the education administration office.

Teacher Lou isn't here. I wonder if he thought of some pen pal on the way and went sightseeing with someone.

The old man sitting in the center must be Master Hu, because his official robes, which belong to the second rank, are very conspicuous.

Zhao An dared not delay, and stepped forward, knelt down and bowed with a flourish: "This humble official, Zhao Youlu, professor of Yangzhou Prefectural School, pays respects to the Venerable Master!"

After the ceremony was completed, the old master did not tell him to stand up. Just as he was wondering about this, he heard the old master Hu's voice: "I have been an honest official all my life. I hate those who offer and accept bribes the most. I just told you professors that the examination is a matter of great importance to the country. Whether it is the provincial examination this time or the provincial examination next year, we academic officials should be honest and dedicated to our duties."
As the saying goes, "A light load makes a light bag, and all things can be entrusted to the heavens and the sun! If you tarnish the examination hall and ruin your studies for those riches, how can you live with yourselves? How can you face the court and the emperor?"

Before Zhao An could react, the old master slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Zhao Youlu, you are a professor at the prefectural school, yet you bribed me with ten thousand taels of silver. Do you want me to collude with you and join forces with you in your corrupt ways?"

You think I, the Imperial Envoy and Provincial Education Commissioner of Jiangsu, can't arrest you?! Where are you? Remove this man's hat and robes, and send him to the Jiangyin County Jail for impeachment!

(End of this chapter)