Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 209 Ministry of Rites Examination Hall
The two letters in Lu Beigu's hands were a letter of recommendation from Zhang Fangping to Ouyang Xiu and a family letter from Song Qi to Song Xiang.

However, after thinking for a moment, he decided to first visit his former teacher who had taught him poetry, now Zhao Bian, the Imperial Censor.

The reason is simple: he was not very clear about the relationship between Ouyang Xiu and Song Xiang.

Therefore, before sending these two letters, it is still necessary to ask someone about the current situation in the government, so as not to end up pleasing neither side.

The only people Lu Beigu knew in Kaifeng, besides his sister Lu Nanzhi whose whereabouts were unknown, were his teacher Zhao Bian.

After all, Zhang Fangping and Fan Xiang are still in Sichuan and haven't returned to Kaifeng yet.

"I plan to first go to the Ministry of Rites' examination hall to submit my family petition and appeal, and then visit Zhao Bian, the Palace Attendant Censor. Brother Cui, would you like to come along?"

Hearing Lu Beigu's words, Cui Wenjing was somewhat surprised, but he quickly replied, "It's not appropriate for me to go with you. You should go by yourself."

"Row."

Lu Beigu nodded. It was one thing for the other party to refuse, but it was another thing for him not to say anything.

After putting away his books, clothes, and other belongings, Lu Beigu left Tianqing Temple while it was still light, carrying two letters, a petition, and a family petition.

Kaifeng has a triple city wall structure, consisting of an outer city, an inner city, and a palace city. Generally speaking, government offices are located in the inner city. However, the place where candidates for the imperial examinations needed to submit their application documents and family reports was not the Ministry of Rites located in the inner city, but the Ministry of Rites Examination Hall located in the south of the outer city.

This place is easy to find because it is located near the central axis of Kaifeng.

The central axis of Kaifeng City is called "Imperial Street" in the inner city and "Nanxunmen Inner Street" in the outer city. In fact, it is a whole street running from north to south, but the name is different depending on whether it is in the inner or outer city.

Since it wasn't too far away and Lu Beigu could tell directions, he simply walked west along the road after leaving Tianqing Temple, without hiring a donkey or mule.

This residential area near Tianqing Temple is much quieter than the bustling city center we passed through when entering the city. The cobblestone streets are lined with ordinary houses with blue bricks and gray tiles, with a few neater-looking gates here and there.

Children chased and played at the alley entrance, women leaned against their doors and chatted idly, and occasionally a peddler carrying a load of goods would walk by slowly, calling out "steamed buns" and "fresh fruits," his voice clear and long in the relatively narrow alley.

The air was filled with the smell of burning firewood and the faint odor of fallen autumn leaves.

After walking for a short while, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a wide river that stretched out before them, spanned by a rather magnificent stone bridge.

This is the Guanqiao Bridge, which crosses the Cai River. Together with the Yunqi Bridge, Yitai Bridge, and Gaoqiao Bridge to the north, this bridge facilitates the movement of people and goods between the southeastern corner of Kaifeng's outer city and the central axis area.

Lu Beigu followed the crowd onto the bridge, its surface worn smooth by countless footsteps.

He stopped and looked down, holding onto the bridge railing.

The bridge was bustling with vehicles and pedestrians, while the scene below was quite different. Boats of all sizes shuttled back and forth, including cargo ships carrying grain, fodder, and firewood, fishing boats carrying aquatic products such as fish, turtles, shrimp, and snails, and many vegetable boats carrying baskets of radishes, spinach, mustard greens, lettuce, cabbage, and other vegetables.

Clearly, just feeding and providing for the millions of people in this megacity every day is an enormous and complex undertaking.

After crossing the bridge, walk north for a while, then turn west to reach East Street.

East Street and West Street are the main east-west thoroughfares. They intersect with Nanxunmen Inner Street, the main north-south thoroughfare of the outer city, together forming a cross-shaped traffic network in the southern part of the outer city.

As soon as he stepped onto this main street, Lu Beigu felt a different atmosphere. Unlike the commercial streets he had seen when he first entered the city, which sold all kinds of goods, East Street was almost entirely lined with shops related to education and culture. Their signs fluttered in the autumn sun, displaying words such as "Exquisitely Proofread Classics", "Famous Writing Brushes from Huying", "Fine Ink from Shezhou", "Chengxintang Paper", and "Newly Engraved Books".

Three or five students often stop and chat quietly in front of the gate. Occasionally, a porter carrying a box of books or a mule cart loaded with bundles of books will pass by, the ruts rolling over the bluestone road with a dull rolling sound.

The reason it was so different was that the Imperial Academy, the Imperial University, and the Imperial Examination Hall of the Ministry of Rites of the Song Dynasty were all located near East Street.

Therefore, East Street has become an important gathering place for the cultural heritage of Kaifeng.

As for the difference between the Imperial Academy and the Imperial University, it's quite simple.

The Imperial Academy only admits the sons of officials of the seventh rank or above; commoners are not allowed to enroll. Currently, it maintains a size of seventy or eighty students per year. The students of the Imperial Academy are generally not interested in studying, and it is common for them to wander around. The academic atmosphere is lax, and teaching is basically a formality. The officials of the Imperial Academy, such as the supervisors and lecturers, are just figureheads who receive salaries but do not really care about anything. The academy is in a state of being a mere shell of its former self.

The Imperial Academy, like the local state and county schools, was a product of the "Qingli Education Promotion" and was established only twelve years ago. It was founded by Fan Zhongyan to eliminate the malpractices of the Imperial Academy and select true talents. It was built next to the Imperial Academy, and there were no restrictions on social status. Commoners could also enroll. In the fourth year of Qingli, the first batch of 200 students were enrolled, and great Confucian scholars such as Shi Jie and Sun Fu were hired as lecturers. The academy adopted a teaching system with separate halls such as the Hall of Classics and the Hall of Governance, and had a strict system of monthly and annual examinations. At present, it has reached a scale of more than 600 students.

Of course, although the two schools are different, the process for students in these schools to take the imperial examinations is the same as that for students in local prefectures and counties. They must first pass the preliminary examination to obtain a quota before they can participate in the provincial examination of the Ministry of Rites.

Following the directions of passersby, Lu Beigu quickly found the Ministry of Rites Examination Hall on the south side of East Street. This place was across East Street from the Imperial College and the National Academy.

He entered the room along with other out-of-town candidates who had also come to submit their documents, and waited in line at the designated spot.

Inside the gate, in front of the screen wall, there was a row of long tables where several minor officials in official robes sat upright, responsible for collecting and verifying documents.

When it was Lu Beigu's turn, he presented his family petition and his application for resignation with both hands: "Lu Beigu, a candidate for the imperial examination from Luzhou, has come to submit his family petition and application for resignation."

A clerk with a slightly sallow complexion and a goatee took the document and scanned it with sharp eyes.

He first carefully checked the official seal of the prefectural government and the signature of the prefect on the petition. After confirming that there were no errors, he began to examine the place of origin, names of three generations, ages, and physical characteristics on the family petition line by line.

When he saw the description of physical characteristics, he deliberately looked up at Lu Beigu.

"He was seven feet tall, with a dignified and imposing appearance, a face like jade, handsome eyebrows and eyes, a prominent nose, and a neatly trimmed beard."

The clerk with the goatee jotted down the names and categorized the two documents into different file compartments with swift movements.

"Alright, the verification and entry have been completed. The petition has been archived. The family petition will be checked and copied again after the provincial examination. If the candidate passes, it will be copied again before the palace examination."

Then, the goatee-bearded clerk handed over an iron plaque engraved with a number.

"Keep your license plate safe. Don't lose it. If you do, there's a risk of someone impersonating you to take the test, and it'll be a lot of trouble to verify."

"Thank you, sir."

Lu Beigu took the number plate and felt a weight lifted from his heart. He had successfully completed the first step of the Ministry of Rites' provincial examination "examination qualification review".

He did not leave immediately, but hesitated for a moment, then bowed to the goatee official again, lowering his voice and speaking respectfully: "May I ask, sir, do you know the location of the residence of the Imperial Censor Zhao? I am a student of Zhao, and I have come to the capital to pay my respects to my esteemed teacher."

(End of this chapter)