Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 140 Su Xun: I'm going to spar with him!
While Lu Beigu was studying diligently, Su Shi, who was already confident about passing the provincial examination, simply asked for leave and went home.

Water droplets dripping from the eaves formed a beaded curtain, tapping against the bluestone slabs. When Su Shi and Su Zhe, brothers, pushed open the gate of the Su residence, they also brought in a damp feeling.

"Father, we're back!"

Su Shi's voice was as cheerful as ever as he stepped across the threshold first.

Inside the main room, Su Xun sat in a round-backed chair, his back slightly hunched, showing the weariness of a long journey. There were still some mud spots on the hem of his blue robe, indicating that he had just arrived home.

Before Zhang Fangping left office, Su Xun paid him a final visit.

Fortunately, Meizhou is not far from Chengdu, and he could return by land along the river, so Su Xun was not troubled by the rain, although he was quite disheveled on the way back.

Hearing his son's voice, he looked up and his gaze swept over the two brothers.

"Was the journey alright?"

"It's alright. Although the rain hasn't stopped, it hasn't hindered our journey home," Su Zhe replied, putting down his books and taking the soaked oil-paper umbrella from his brother, standing behind the door to let the water drain.

"And what about Father?" Su Shi asked. "Is there any news about Minister Zhang's recommendation for an official position at the Chengdu Prefectural School?"

"The imperial court forbids it."

Su Xun sighed helplessly.

To be honest, if there were no other options, who would want to take the recommendation route?

Su Xun had been taking the imperial examinations for twenty-two years. Now that his two sons were about to take the provincial examinations with him, he still hadn't been able to pass the Ministry of Rites' provincial examination, let alone enter officialdom. How could he not feel anxious?
Unfortunately, he also failed to get through the recommendation route. After the Qingli Reforms, the recommendation system became extremely strict, and even with Zhang Fangping's intervention, he was unable to get a successful recommendation.

Therefore, for Su Xun, if he wanted to become an official, he still had to honestly take the joint examination of the four prefectures, which he had already taken countless times, as well as the subsequent prefectural examinations. There was no other shortcut.

Su Xun looked at Su Zhe and asked, "How are your preparations for the joint examination of the four states going?"

Su Xun didn't ask Su Shi, because he knew very well that Su Shi's ability to pass the imperial examinations far surpassed his own as his father's, and he didn't need to worry about him at all. Sometimes Su Xun couldn't help but sigh that the difference in talent between people was indeed huge. A few years ago, he was the one teaching Su Shi how to take the exams, but now it was Su Shi teaching him.

In fact, among the three men, Su Xun was only good at writing eloquent and vigorous prose; his poetry and prose were only average. As for the imperial examinations, objectively speaking, Su Xun was only at the level of "above the provincial level and below the metropolitan level".

It can be said that compared to his two sons who are full of talent, his only advantage is the wealth of experience accumulated over time.

"I have relied on my brother's guidance during this period, and I should have an opportunity."

Su Zhe blushed slightly. Ever since he heard that Su Shi, who was not very studious to begin with, had stopped studying altogether and spent all his time training him.

Therefore, Su Zhe has made considerable progress during this period.

In addition to the ranking within each prefecture, all candidates from Luzhou, Meishan, Jiaxing and Rongcheng prefectures will also be ranked in a larger ranking. Those who rank in the top 100 in this larger ranking will receive a pre-exam training session before the prefectural exam.

Generally speaking, the educational levels of Luzhou and Meizhou are similar, followed by Jiaozhou, and Rongzhou is at the bottom. Therefore, the proportion of students from each of the four prefectures in the top 100 in the joint examination of the four prefectures over the years is roughly the same.

Su Shi, on the other hand, had consistently ranked first in his class at the Meizhou Prefectural School for the past three years.

"Ah."

Su Xun nodded, his fingers stroking the armrest of the round-backed chair as if he were considering something. Finally, he looked at Su Shi and said, "I still have something to tell you. The joint examination of the four prefectures is alright, but for the imperial examinations, especially the prefectural and provincial examinations, you must be steady and not be arrogant or act recklessly."

"I know, Father."

Su Shi looked indifferent and then said, "I have already told the professor that I will not participate in this joint examination of the four prefectures. The training camp is of no use to me. I might as well rest and prepare for the prefectural examination."

Su Xun hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Su Shi's words sound a bit arrogant, but that's the truth. And Su Xun, as the father, was far less accomplished than his son, so it was really not a good time for him to say anything.

Realizing he had embarrassed his father, Su Shi quickly changed the subject, saying, "By the way, isn't Minister Zhang about to step down? Who will be taking over as the Prefect of Chengdu? Father, would you like to pay him a visit?"

"No need," Su Xun said with a wry smile. "It's Song Qi, the 'Red Apricot Minister.' If I go to pay him a visit, won't your mother lock me out when I get back?"

The two brothers, Su Shi and Su Zhe, looked at each other in bewilderment.

Song Qi had more than ten wives and concubines, and countless maids and singers he kept. His fondness for holding indescribable banquets all night long was widely known among the literati of the Song Dynasty.

If you go to visit Song Qi, you will only be dragged to a banquet by him and indulged in the pleasures of the feast, and you will not gain anything else.

After all, Song Qi and the other "Four Friends of Tiansheng" had experienced a sudden decline after dominating the court before the Qingli Reforms, and had never been able to return to the central government in recent years. With the passing of his old friends, Song Qi's desire to enjoy life to the fullest became extremely strong; he basically just wanted to live a life of leisure and enjoy each day as it came. So, expecting to enjoy pure wine and women with Song Qi was possible, but expecting him to recommend anyone for an official position was simply impossible.

"Did that Master Zhang say anything else?"

"We only discussed prose and didn't talk about anything else."

Su Xun paused, then looked at his youngest son, Su Zhe, and asked again, "Last time, Minister Zhang mentioned that Lu Beigu of Luzhou is a rare young talent. Did you have any interaction with this young man during your trip to Luzhou to attend the New Year's Gathering?"

Su Zhe pondered for a moment, and the image of the figure under the vigorous old plum tree at the Luzhou State School, Mr. Baisha Li Tian's approving gaze, and the nighttime conversation in Dormitory No. 7 flashed through his mind.

“Father, what Zhang Xianggong said is true.” Su Zhe said, “Lu Beigu participated in this New Year’s gathering as the top scholar in Hejiang County. His talent and knowledge are extraordinary.”

"Oh? Tell me more."

The main room fell silent for a moment, with only the soft sound of raindrops falling from the eaves.

"Lu Beigu is quick-witted. During the elegant gathering of the winding stream, his poem 'Do not dislike the dripping ink, for there are dragons and snakes on the paper' is unrestrained in its conception and elegant and vigorous in its brushwork. It was highly praised by Mr. Baisha, who said that it had the style of Li Bai's ink splashing and achieved the natural and exquisite beauty."

Su Xun nodded slightly: "Mr. Baisha has always been discerning, so to receive such praise, his poetic talent must be quite remarkable."

"However, what is most remarkable about him is not his poetic talent, but his historical commentary." Su Zhe then changed the subject, "The topic that Mr. Baisha posed on the spot was precisely 'On the Six States'."

"On the Six States?"

Su Xun's eyes suddenly narrowed. He had written an essay this year entitled "On the Six States," which argued that "the problem lies in bribing Qin" and criticized the current abuses. Hearing this now, he couldn't help but feel a strong curiosity and a desire to compare.

"Exactly."

Su Zhe recited it to him.

Su Xun pondered for a moment. Lu Beigu's viewpoint was completely different from his argument that "bribing Qin led to the downfall of the country," and even subtly touched on a deeper level of thinking about the system itself and the changes of the times.

“Judging rise and fall by the system.” Su Xun finally spoke slowly. “This young man is quite bold and his vision is indeed sharp. He dares to speak frankly about the advantages of the Qin system, and he does not shy away from saying that its decline also stemmed from the rigidity of the system. ‘Breaking the old system is sharp, sticking to the old system is rigid’ can be said to be incisive and has revealed the key to the rise and fall of countless people throughout history.”

He raised his head, his gaze fixed intently on Su Zhe: "And then? What was Mr. Baisha's assessment?"

"This article has sparked great controversy," Su Zhe said truthfully. "Mr. Baisha did not participate in the evaluation, and the teachers of the state school had differing opinions and heated debates. In the end, Lu Beigu's article won by one vote, taking first place in the literary gathering. My argument focused on analyzing the geographical situation of the six states and the strategy of forming an alliance against Qin, which was sound. However, Lu Beigu's argument had novel viewpoints and a powerful momentum. In particular, the concluding line, 'Those who reform in later generations, should they not be cautious?' is quite thought-provoking and has a greater warning significance."

Su Xun paused, as if remembering something, and asked, "What kind of person is this young man? Is his temperament as sharp and outspoken as his writing?"

Su Zhe recalled the late-night conversation at the school and said, “Father, although his writing is sharp, he is not an arrogant person. After the gathering, he took the initiative to invite me and several of my classmates from Meizhou and Luzhou to have a late-night conversation, discussing the rise and fall of dynasties throughout history and the advantages and disadvantages of the current situation. During the conversation, his concern for the country was very deep, and his vision was also very far-reaching. He even discussed the contradiction between people and land in our Great Song Dynasty, the tax burden, and even the strategy of expanding the sea frontier and opening up overseas trade to solve the internal problems.”

"Maritime frontiers? Overseas trade?"

Su Xun frowned, clearly extremely surprised by this viewpoint, even somewhat astonished.

Su Xun had traveled extensively since his youth and was quite knowledgeable. His thinking was not entirely conservative, but the direction proposed by Lu Beigu was something he had never heard of before.

“Yes.” Su Zhe nodded. “He believed that although towns and cities were thriving, exquisite handcrafted goods were hard to sell. If the court were determined to expand the sea frontier, just as the Han and Tang dynasties did, and established numerous maritime trade offices to encourage merchant ships to go to sea, exchanging silk and porcelain for money and grain from overseas, it might alleviate the land shortage and eliminate the need to be confined to the fields and compete with the people for profit. At that time, he also wrote a poem called ‘Partridge Sky,’ the concluding line of which, ‘What has become a memory of the Southern Dynasties? Nothing more than deceitful schemes within the inner court,’ is also thought-provoking.”

Su Xun nodded slightly: "Prime Minister Zhang showed me Lu Beigu's 'Strategy for Defending Against the Summer' before. His thoughts and ideas have indeed far surpassed the scope of ordinary scholars. I should go and exchange ideas with him during this training camp."

After hearing Zhang Fangping and Su Zhe mention Lu Beigu, Su Xun's interest in this seemingly talented young man who was quite adept at policy discussions indeed grew significantly.

After all, Su Xun's forte was precisely to use argumentative essays to discuss matters of the past and present.

This inevitably aroused his desire to compete and challenge him.

If Lu Beigu's poems, prose, and lyrics were particularly outstanding, Su Xun wouldn't have such thoughts. He wasn't good at lyrics, and his poems and prose were only at the level of passing the imperial examinations. He certainly wouldn't make mistakes in the rules of prosody, but it was unrealistic to expect him to write any poems that would be passed down through the ages.

"In that case, Father should indeed participate in the training camp after the Four States Joint Examination. I just don't know if Lu Beigu can make it into the top 100."

"Hard to say."

Su Zhe said, "With my elder brother's full guidance, I think I have made great progress. Even if Lu Beigu becomes a disciple of Mr. Baisha, he may not be able to make faster progress than me. After all, we just entered the state school this year."

"If you ask me, it's because they can't even get into the top 100 in a test like the Four States Joint Examination."

Su Shi then said with a touch of arrogance, "That doesn't make him any kind of extraordinary talent."

(End of this chapter)