Top Scholar

Chapter 211: Swapping a Shotgun for a Cannon
As the sun began to set in the west, four hundred-ton official boats plowed through the river like scattered gold fragments, slowly mooring at the dock outside the east gate of Hejiang County.

Before the official boat had even come to a complete stop, the shore was already filled with the sounds of gongs and drums, dragon and lion dances, a sea of ​​voices, and a cacophony of firecrackers...

Officials, commoners, and gentry throughout the county were all ordered to respectfully come out to greet them. When the official boat was moored and the gangway was set up, the gentry and commoners all prostrated themselves in worship, even the dragon and lion dancers were no exception. From the city gate to the dock, it was like a rice field that had been hit by a strong wind, lying flat and neatly arranged.

The musicians changed their tune to "The Phoenix's Cry," with a symphony of strings and pipes filling the air. The panpipes played a melodious and graceful tune, like the cry of a phoenix echoing across the sky…

To prepare for this grand event, Magistrate Lu spared no expense. The entire three-mile-long street, from the city gate to the county government office, was paved with freshly sifted yellow earth. To prevent dust, it was also sprinkled with clean water every two hours.

Starting from the dock, every hundred paces a flower-adorned pavilion, verdant with pines and cypresses, was erected. The most magnificent were those atop the city walls, behind each crenellation stood a colorful flag fluttering in the wind, along with hundreds of red silk banners cascading down like flowing clouds, each inscribed with eye-catching congratulatory messages:

The people of Hejiang County respectfully welcome Your Excellency, the Military Governor, for your inspection!

The people of the entire town look to our ancestor with the same longing as a parched land yearns for rain!

The entire county reverently congratulates Master Zhu on achieving the highest honors in the imperial examinations!

'The teachers and students of Taiping Academy congratulate their headmaster on achieving such great success!'

'Nine chieftains remotely congratulate Lord Zhu on his illustrious name shining brightly in the imperial garden'

'The Hejiang Wine Shop has prepared gifts to congratulate Lord Zhu on achieving the highest rank in the imperial examination!'

'...'

Su Lu stared in disbelief, rubbing his eyes hard, as if he could vaguely see the foot massage parlor opening. He couldn't help but wonder, who was the brilliant person who came up with this idea?

Huang Bingxian clapped his hands in approval and said, "This way of celebrating is truly ingenious! It's clear at a glance, grand and solemn, wonderful, wonderful!"

"Indeed, it cost very little yet created a festive atmosphere where thousands of households celebrated the prosperous era together. It is truly worthy of emulation in the future." Prefect Jia nodded repeatedly and asked Magistrate Lu with a smile, "Is this another one of your brilliant ideas, brother?"

Magistrate Lu hurriedly bowed and humbly declined, saying, "I dare not take credit. This was the ingenious idea of ​​Su, the head of the Hejiang wine guild. He was willing to sponsor the construction of a memorial archway, only asking that his name be left on a banner, which he would remove afterward. I thought this method could both express the will of the people and save public funds, so I encouraged all the villages to follow suit. The elders of various places responded enthusiastically, and even the Nine Tribes Chieftains were not to be outdone, making these banners all over the city a sight to behold in Hejiang."

He smiled sheepishly and said, "In the end, the county actually saved most of the expenses they had prepared."

"Hahaha!" The two officials laughed upon hearing this, praising Magistrate Lu for his ability to adapt to circumstances.

Su Lu suddenly realized... wasn't this the very idea he had come up with last year to promote the Erlang Wine Party?

However, at that time, thousands of Erlangjiu advertising flags had already been planted throughout Taiping Town, and there was also a personal inscription from the county magistrate, so there was no need to use this method to create momentum.

Moreover, he himself was somewhat resistant to this method, fearing it might be counterproductive, so he abandoned it. Unexpectedly, his seventh uncle picked it up and it won him a great deal of applause here.

~~
As Su Lu descended the gangway, he was pleasantly surprised to find that, in the procession of officials and gentry welcoming Shangguan, besides Commander Ma, there were also his grandfather, his eldest uncle, and his seventh great-uncle!
"Grandpa!" After the important figure boarded the official sedan chair and entered the city in a grand procession under the guidance of the ceremonial guard, Su Lu quickly came to the old man and kowtowed.

"Oh, my Qiu-ge'er, I've missed you so much!" The old man straightened his back, his voice became louder, and he looked even younger than he had six months ago. He hugged his third grandson tightly, looking him up and down, left and right, and wouldn't let go with joy.

Su Lu greeted his eldest uncle and seventh uncle again, and Su Daji asked with a smile, "Why did your family come back separately?"

“Qiu-ge’er is riding on Huang Bingxian and Lao Gongzu’s official boat, how can the whole family go up together?” Su Youjin laughed loudly.

"Lord Centurion is truly knowledgeable." Su Lu cupped his hands in praise, "Congratulations, Uncle! Congratulations, Uncle! Our family has another centurion."

“As a trial centurion, one cannot be ambiguous in public.” Su Youjin grinned from ear to ear. At the end of last month, he had just received his official certificate and had been formally appointed as a trial centurion of the Taiping Thousand Household Office, still in charge of his own affairs.

The uncle then asked Su Lu, "What are your plans next? Go home or attend the banquet at the yamen?"

Tonight is a welcome dinner hosted by several officials from the county for the two lords; the formal banquet will be held tomorrow at noon. Therefore, apart from Commander Ma who has been invited, Su Youjin and the others can all go home.

"The county magistrate summoned me, but I don't want to have dinner with them," Su Lu said with a smile. "I'll just say I need to go home to check on the preparations so as not to neglect Master Zhu. I'll go over later."

“You’re like a well-fed man who doesn’t know the hunger of an starving man. So many people are begging to eat at the same table as them, but they’re not even qualified,” Su Youjin said, shaking his head, “like myself.”

"..." Su Lu smiled to himself, thinking that he had almost become dehydrated after having tea with Huang Bingxian. Who knows what kind of trouble would arise if they had a meal together?

By this time, most of the people at the dock had left, so Su Youjin called Su Youli to bring the carriage.

"Get in the car." Su Youxi lifted the car curtain.

"Just two steps, and we can walk back, right?" Su Lu said.

“That won’t do. Our family has some reputation in the county now.” Su Youjin shook his head and laughed, “Walking around all day will make people laugh at us.”

“That’s true. My uncle is now a sixth-rank official; he has to maintain appearances.” Su Lu said no more. The carriage was a single-shaft, simple carriage pulled by Sichuan horses. The frame was made of pine wood, and the wheels were covered with sheet metal. The canopy was made of bamboo strips and covered with hemp cloth.

Although it was just an ordinary carriage, it was clear evidence that the Su family was no longer what it used to be.

~~
After the family got into the car and there were no outsiders around, Su Youjin couldn't wait to spread his tail feathers and ask, "How is it? What do you think of Uncle's new official robe?"

"Why is there not much difference?" Su Lu looked at his uncle's brand-new military officer's robe. At first glance, it seemed to be no different from before. It was still green with a pheasant emblem on the chest.

Unfortunately, military officers' insignia only featured seven different ferocious beast designs, unlike civil officials whose insignia varied according to rank. First and second-rank officials wore lions, third and fourth-rank officials wore tigers and leopards, fifth-rank officials wore bears, sixth and seventh-rank officials wore leopards, eighth-rank officials wore rhinoceroses, and ninth-rank officials wore seahorses.

The position of Trial Hundred-Household Officer was a sixth-rank official, so Su Youjin's insignia still featured a leopard.

"What kind of eyesight do you have?!" The uncle pointed to his chest, his eyes wide, and said, "Look more closely, what changes have you noticed in this tiger?"

"..." Su Lu could only examine it carefully, and after a while he suddenly realized, "He stood up."

“That’s right!” Su Youjin nodded and smiled, “Although both the sixth and seventh rank leopards are named ‘Biao,’ the seventh rank leopard is crouching with its tail drooping. The sixth rank leopard stands with its head held high and eyes open, and its tail curled up, looking very majestic!”

"Look here again." Su Youjin pointed to his blue belt and said, "Although it's still a plain silver belt, the number of belt buckles has increased from eight to ten!"

The belt buckle is a decorative piece on the belt. For someone of my uncle's rank, it's plain silver with five pieces on each side. Below that, there's an even lower-ranking black horn belt, used by officials of the eighth or ninth rank.

The belts were not differentiated by rank between civil and military officials. Prefect Jia and Commander Ma were both fifth-rank officials and wore silver belts with embroidered patterns. Military Commissioner Huang was a fourth-rank official and wore a plain gold belt.

The highest-ranking official Su Lu had ever seen was Han En, the commander of the Luzhou Guard, a third-rank official who wore a gold ribbon. However, Su Lu had never seen him in his official robes. As for the second-rank officials with rhinoceros horn belts, princes, and first-rank officials with jade belts, ordinary people would never see them in their entire lives.

In addition, the materials for the robes of officials of the sixth rank could be ramie or gauze, and they were allowed to embroider a one-inch wide lotus scroll pattern on the lapel and cuffs; officials of the seventh rank were limited to plain gauze or plain silk, and there were no patterns on them.

In short, with his uncle's explanation, Su Lu deeply understood the strict hierarchy of official robes in the Ming Dynasty and realized that his uncle's official robes had been updated and upgraded in several details.

It's a minor facelift...

"What's so great about that? He just collects fees from street stalls." The old man couldn't stand it anymore and rolled his eyes.

"Father, what you're saying is worthless now," the eldest uncle said with a wry smile.

"It wasn't worth much to begin with. If it were, you'd be attending a banquet tonight," the old man snorted.

"Sigh..." Uncle sighed helplessly, "Indeed, the rank of our military officers is worthless."

He then encouraged Su Lu, saying, "Brother Qiu, bringing glory to our family still depends on you students..."

As they spoke, the carriage stopped. Su Youxi lifted the curtain and said with a smile, "Sixth Uncle, Commander, we've arrived home."

As he spoke, he and Su Youli helped the old man down from the carriage.

Su Lu also jumped off the car and saw a large mansion in front of him. There were two layers of blue stone steps in front of the door, and a plain blue stone drum on each side.

The newly cast bronze door knockers on the two double elm wood doors with eaves were polished to a shine. Although there were no extra decorations, they were already ten times better than the old gate of the Erlangtan residence!

Su Youpeng, who was standing at the door acting as a doorman, saw Su Lu return and shouted inside, "Brother Qiu is back!"

A commotion erupted in the courtyard. Just as Su Lu was about to enter, a chubby little cannonball hurtled straight towards him!
"Sanguo!" Little Jinbao is already five years old. He has grown quite a bit taller, but he is still chubby.

"Hey, Jinbao!" Su Lu quickly caught Jinbao; goodness, he was quite heavy. It was clear the family's meals had really improved...

The eldest brother helped the old lady, while the younger sister and aunt each led a child who could already walk around, and they all came out to greet them.

Holding Jinbao in her arms, Su Lu smiled broadly upon seeing her long-lost family. "Grandma, Aunt, Big Brother, I'm back... uh, and Auntie too."

"Oh dear, Qiu-ge'er, where have you been?" The old lady tremblingly stretched out her hands, and Qiu-ge'er quickly went over to let her touch his face.

The old lady, tears streaming down her face, said, "Grandma misses you so much."

"Grandma, I've gone to school in Luzhou, so I don't come back as often," Su Lu said loudly.

"Oh, so you really did go to learn how to slaughter pigs." The old lady suddenly realized, "No need, now that the family is better off, Grandma has had enough of pig intestines."

(End of this chapter)