Qing Yao

Chapter 361 Let him taste the wickedness of society

The person surnamed Xu refers to Xu Ligang, the educational commissioner of Anhui, an ally of the former governor Zhu Gui, and a pure civil official who considered himself a member of the "pure stream" (a group of upright officials).

To put it more vividly, this Mr. Xu went directly into a central government agency after graduating from school and has been moving around in important positions in Beijing. He has never been able to gain experience at the grassroots level, so the bad influences of society have not really reached him.

Similarly, this Mr. Xu was not very familiar with the dangers of society. Due to the relatively closed nature of the education sector, this Mr. Xu, one of the "four giants" of the province, was somewhat intolerant of evil and could not stand the slightest injustice.

Therefore, instead of welcoming the "lucky-to-be-advanced villain" Zhao An to take up his post in the provincial capital, he simply packed up and went to supervise education in other places.

They completely disregarded the unspoken rules of officialdom.

Of course, the school officials were inherently noble officials, so it was not a big deal for Lord Xu to disregard the unspoken rules. The problem was that after Lord Xu returned from his inspection tour of schools, he actually made a big show of wanting to "fight" with Zhao An!
What caused Lord Xu to want to "fight"?
Currently, there is no definitive answer.

All that was known was that as soon as the carriages arrived in the provincial capital, and after learning that all the prominent officials and gentry in the city had been invited by Zhao An to attend the ceremony of the pacification of the capital, the Education Commissioner immediately made a decision: to invite the officials and gentry who had attended the ceremony to hold a poetry gathering at Wangjiang Tower in his capacity as Education Commissioner.

The invitation from the Provincial Education Commissioner was met with suspicion from some officials and gentry, who vaguely sensed that something was amiss, and some even guessed that the Commissioner intended to challenge the Provincial Governor.

It's best for ordinary people like us to stay away from such battles between gods.

However, the provincial education commissioner was responsible for the academic success of all the scholars in the province. I ask you, which family doesn't have children studying? And which family doesn't have children participating in the imperial examinations?
What was the imperial examination system?
The imperial examination was the only way for children to rise above others, and it was also the foundation of the family's fortune for decades to come!
Even if you are a high-ranking official of the first or second rank, if your descendants fail to pass the imperial examinations for three consecutive generations, your family will decline no matter how great your family's status is.

Even the blessings bestowed by a virtuous person will not last beyond five generations.

Therefore, in a practical sense, offending the provincial education commissioner is more serious than offending the provincial governor, because no matter how powerful the provincial governor is, he is not as fatal as the provincial education commissioner's slightest stroke in the imperial examination.

Even the provincial governor did not have the power to revoke a scholar's degree; he could only report it to the education administration office for processing.

What does that mean?

No matter how many times the people appeal, in the end it's still the village head who will solve the problem for you. If the village head doesn't solve it, no one else will help.

Similarly, no matter how high the rank or how much power a provincial governor holds, he does not have the authority to directly revoke the mere title of Xiucai (a scholar who has passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). This authority can only be exercised by the academic officials.

Between two evils, choose the lesser. With no other choice, the officials and gentry, who had just returned home from Fubiao, had to bite the bullet and go to Wangjiang Tower to attend the poetry gathering.

The poetry gathering was originally intended to celebrate the autumn scenery, but after a few drinks, the academic official couldn't wait to take the opportunity to elaborate on the topic.

First, he lamented the decline of morality and the loss of traditional values. Then he said that officials nowadays do not cultivate virtue and governance, but instead pursue strange and frivolous skills, and allow merchants to compete with the people for profit. This is not the behavior of a local official and also goes against the teachings of the sages to value agriculture and despise commerce.

Although no names were mentioned, everyone present could tell that the Provincial Education Commissioner was alluding to the Provincial Governor.
However, no one dared to take the bait, and they all sat there feeling uneasy.

The provincial governor can block the future of their children, but the provincial governor can also block their future.

A son with a credit card and a father with a credit card—it's a dilemma!

Seeing that none of the officials and gentry were willing to speak up and agree with him, the provincial education commissioner was naturally annoyed. The reason he wanted to "challenge" as soon as he returned to the provincial capital was not because he did not understand the meaning of patience, but because Zhao An invited officials, gentry and wealthy merchants to attend the ceremony of raising troops. This was not only an open attempt to win over local forces, but also a provocation of the tradition of civil administration by the style of military men.

Historically, the first thing local officials, even those from prefectures and counties, would do upon assuming office was to visit the Temple of Confucius and have heart-to-heart talks with the students and scholars, in order to show their respect for education.

As a result, Zhao An has not set foot in the academy since taking office. Instead, he has been making a big show of promoting industry and commerce in the province and going to Fubiao to review and inspect troops. In the eyes of the provincial education commissioner, this is putting the cart before the horse!
The Qing Dynasty valued learned and courteous scholars, not those money-grubbing merchants and illiterate, uncouth warriors!

As the top official in Anhui's education sector, the university's education department naturally could not tolerate such absurd behavior that seriously undermined tradition and was highly likely to mislead people.

In addition, since he already despised Zhao An, he decided to settle both old and new scores together.

Zhao An had the power to submit a memorial directly to the emperor, and so did the Superintendent of Education!
He composed a poem on the spot.

Two lines read: "The boatman may have been favored by the wind and clouds, but is he truly a rare talent in the academic world? My fellow students, lacking in talent and shallow in foundation, how can they compare to those who have cultivated their literary skills with deep knowledge and fragrance?"

What does that mean?

It directly points out that an official who came from a humble background as a student of the Imperial Academy was promoted to a high-ranking local official by flattering the emperor. What's laughable is that this kind of official didn't even pass the imperial examinations in the same year, and his foundation was so shallow that it couldn't be more shallow. How could he compare to an official who relied on his real talent and learning to cultivate his skills in the Hanlin Academy and rise through the ranks by working hard?

It couldn't be more blunt; it was practically saying that Zhao An was inferior to Xu Ligang.

This left many officials and gentry present extremely embarrassed. Some echoed with dry laughter, some lowered their heads and remained silent, some simply watched the spectacle, while others felt their scalps tingle, fearing that they would be unwittingly drawn into the vortex of the "battle between the two platforms."

Those who cheered were naturally the officials in the education system, as well as the students and children of the Academic Commissioner who were highly regarded by the Prefectural School.

I thought the magistrate would just grumble and be done with it, but he took it a step further and actually spread a theory of "morality not matching position" in public.

The core of this theory is that Zhao An was promoted to the Imperial Academy by chance, but his background was improper and he had no knowledge whatsoever, which is a fundamental moral failing.

It was also pointed out that after Zhao An took office, he did not cultivate morality, did not value culture and education, and only dealt with merchants, which was a failure of political morality.

Furthermore, Zhao An's invitation to officials and gentry to inspect the troops violated the tradition of civil administration and was considered an immoral act.

"If such an official still has any sense of shame as a scholar, he should know his shame and resign, and take the initiative to petition the court to resign! Only in this way can he preserve his dignity. Otherwise, his immoral behavior will incite a popular uprising in the future and he will be impeached by the censors. At that time, he will end up disgraced and ruined, which is shameful, ridiculous, and pathetic!"

The academic official, shaking his head and looking indignant, seemed to be saying that he wanted the corrupt official to resign.

Who else besides Zhao An could be considered a corrupt official?

"My lord," said Xu Xuetai, "you are merely a student of the Imperial Academy. Even if you were granted the title of Jinshi by the Emperor's grace, you are still a fake Jinshi, incomparable to the regular second or third-class Jinshi. Furthermore, Xu Xuetai also said..."

Liu Peng paused consciously, unsure whether the provincial governor would overreact to what was said below.

"What else did you say about me?"

Zhao An looked on with great interest.

"My lord, Xu Xuetai also said that you probably don't even have a single copy of the list of fellow graduates from the same cohort of the imperial examinations. You are practically all alone in the court, with no foundation whatsoever. In fact, you don't even have as many connections as your students who passed the provincial examinations. He said your official position is like a tower built on sand, which will collapse in the blink of an eye."

"College Records?"

Liu Penggao's words brought it up, and Zhao An remembered: "That's right, it seems the Ministry of Rites didn't give him the contact list of his classmates from last year's special imperial examination!"
Last year, Heshen served as the chief examiner for the metropolitan examination and the examiner for the palace examination. A total of 185 people were selected as Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). However, due to various special reasons, Zhao An was selected a month early and ranked last.

Even though he was ranked last, he was still a classmate of the 184 Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) mentioned above. However, Zhao Andu became the second-rank Anhui Provincial Governor and Acting Governor, yet the Ministry of Rites did not send him this classmate correspondence book.

Did the Ministry of Rites forget about it, or was someone deliberately obstructing it? The Jinshi (进士) classmate directory was not only a symbol of their status as Jinshi in the same year, but also a tool for classmates to increase their feelings and interact with each other.

If a classmate makes a mistake while serving as an official in a certain place, it's no big deal. Just flip through the yearbook and see which classmate can help. A simple phone call will solve the problem.

Because, in the same year, they also had extremely important connections in the officialdom.

Students graduating in the same year are always willing to help each other.

Local officials have to find connections with officials in Beijing, while Beijing officials have to ask their classmates in local positions for "gifts," otherwise they can't afford the expenses in Beijing.

Zhao An didn't have this classmate directory, which really proved what Lord Xu said about his shallow foundation in the court.

When trouble comes, apart from seeking out top-tier bigwigs like Heshen and Fu Chang'an, you can't find even a tiny caterpillar.

We can't always rely on He and Fu, can we?
Some things can actually be handled by a sixth or seventh-rank official in a ministerial-level government office.

Without a classmate contact list, Zhao An would undoubtedly face more difficulties in getting things done, and would also invisibly increase his expenses.

Can the filial piety gift from a mid-level official be the same as the monetary gift from a chief official?

We definitely need to ask the Ministry of Rites about this; we can't just suffer this loss without knowing the truth.

Zhao An was too embarrassed to ask, and he didn't know how to ask.
Everyone knows how he obtained his Jinshi degree.

While feeling depressed, he also found the behavior of the school administrator Xu Ligang ridiculous. He was just like the brainless villainous supporting character in those short dramas of later generations who had nothing to offer except his family background and could only shout "My dad is so-and-so". He was childish and laughable.

Of course, it could also be simply outdated or pedantic.

Now that Zhao An is enjoying the Emperor's favor and is also blessed by the Four Divine Artifacts, no matter how many tricks Xu Ligang plays, he can't really pose any threat. At most, he can annoy him and refuse to cooperate with the temporary donation.

Besides that, there's been a distorted and corrupt trend sweeping through the education sector in Anhui.

This is a problem. Although Zhao An has cultivated a strong image of himself as an upright official, he can't stop the corrupt practices that are constantly being spread in the education sector. Over time, some people will inevitably begin to doubt his reputation as an upright official.

Moreover, if the education sector is at odds with him, Zhao An will not receive the support and assistance of local elites in Anhui, which will have a significant impact on the subsequent overall Zhao-ization work in Anhui.

However, Xu Xuezheng was also an honest official, as incorruptible as Zhu Gui. Old Song conducted a lot of investigations in private, but he couldn't find any problems with his conduct or finances.

It's like a hedgehog, very difficult to approach.

After thinking for a moment, I decided to ignore the academic affairs officer who was jumping around. No matter how you make short dramas, I'll just swipe my finger across them and not watch them, okay?

Isn't it nice to watch young ladies dance and dress up?
Of all the problems in Anhui, none are less important than Xu Xuezheng!
The problem is that the tree wants to stop, but the wind won't calm down.

The poetry gathering at Wangjiang Tower was quite a spectacle, but Zhao An remained completely silent and showed no reaction whatsoever. This left Xu Xuetai feeling like he had punched a cotton ball, which was extremely disappointing.

An idea came to him, and he sent someone with an extremely formal and literary visiting card to the provincial governor's office.

The content was not a casual greeting, but rather a lengthy discussion of the ancient rules that subordinates should follow when paying homage to their superiors, as described in the "Rites of Zhou" and the "Book of Etiquette".

The text is a lengthy and detailed account of several hundred words, including phrases such as "superiors should wear official robes to greet you outside the second gate," "subordinates should bow and yield three times before being promoted," and "when presenting documents, one should raise the tray above one's eyebrows to show respect."

Finally, he indirectly expressed his hope that Zhao An, the provincial governor, would follow ancient customs and restore etiquette, so that Xu Xuezheng could choose an auspicious day to pay his respects in accordance with propriety; otherwise, it would be improper and damage the dignity of the court.

Looking at the visiting card, Zhao An was both amused and exasperated. He then felt he needed to make his stance clear to the other party, so he coldly said in front of the officials from the Education Bureau, "Go back and tell Lord Xu that if he wants to see me, he should follow the current rules, submit his petition, and wait in line. If he is not seen, Lord Xu should stay quietly in his own office."

The custom of handing over one's documents and queuing to be seen was for low-ranking officials when meeting with the provincial governor, and it did not apply to the education commissioner.

Enraged, the provincial education commissioner smashed an entire tea set in his study, berating Zhao An for being crude, uncultured, and ill-mannered, deeming him an incorrigible child.

Zhao An's blatant disrespect towards Xu Ligang was something Xu Ligang couldn't swallow, yet he refused to pay a visit. Instead, he acted like a sulking child, picking on Zhao An.

Xu Ligang would meticulously review every word of any official document issued by the governor's office or the provincial governor's office to the education commissioner's office, and then reply with a formal dispatch from the education commissioner's office. This reply was not to discuss official business, but specifically to point out errors in Zhao An's official document.

For example, when Zhao An used the phrase "swift and decisive" in a document, Lord Xu commented: "The word 'swift and decisive' is too harsh and lacks the virtue of benevolence and leniency. It should be changed to 'swift and efficient'."

Zhao An demanded that all localities "take concrete action," to which Lord Xu commented: "Take concrete action is a bit too colloquial; official documents should use 'real' or 'strength.'"

Even when Zhao An wrote "no delay" in an official document about flood prevention, Lord Xu still argued: "The word 'no delay' sounds a bit too harsh; you could use 'cannot' or 'must not' instead."

The most outrageous instance was when Zhao An issued a document encouraging Anqing and Wuhu to develop their shipbuilding industries, ending with the words "this order".

As a result, the provincial education commissioner actually wrote a thousand-character essay to examine the ancient system and found that the term "this order" was not used in ancient times. It was a bad habit of the clerks in the Ming Dynasty. He suggested that the provincial governor change it to a more elegant ending such as "those who must arrive at the post" or "the right edict to notify".

Such nitpicking wasn't just a one-off occurrence; Zhao An received several such complaints every day. These meticulous corrections were endless, driving the clerks in the yamen (government office) to their wits' end.

At first, Zhao An found it novel, but later Xu Ligang also gave him a headache. He directly ordered the office director, Lao Song: "From now on, these kinds of nonsense documents from the Education Bureau should be filed directly. There's no need to report them. Damn it, they're wasting my paper!"

I can't afford to mess with you, so I'll just avoid you, okay?

Unfortunately, Zhao An was determined to "tolerate," but Lord Xu took advantage of the situation. Seeing that his official documents pointing out the errors were ignored, he couldn't help but send someone to ask the provincial governor what he was thinking. Was he unwilling to learn humbly, or did he think his corrections were wrong?

If you feel something is wrong, shouldn't you point it out?

Zhao An ignored him.

As a result, Magistrate Xu lost his temper and publicly declared in the provincial education office that a good but ignorant official had emerged in the province. This good official was only a ninth-rank education official last year, but after paying a thousand taels of silver as punishment, he began to rise rapidly in rank.
They stripped Zhao An naked!

Meanwhile, many poems mocking Zhao An as a complete incompetent fool emerged from the prefectural school.

It’s tolerable, it’s unbearable!

"You surnamed Xu, do you really think I can't do anything to you?!"

Zhao An slammed his fist on the table in anger and stood up, "Notify the provincial treasury to cease all funding for the Education Bureau from this day forward, including the salaries of all education officials, including the Education Commissioner!"

(End of this chapter)