Top Scholar

Chapter 334 The selection of officials must prioritize moral character.
The next morning, Su Lu and his classmates went to the prefectural government office to register for the imperial examination.

Although the provincial examination was only a preparatory exam for the provincial examination, the level of scrutiny was far more rigorous than that of the previous children's examination.

Firstly, because it was the "entry point" for the imperial court to select officials, and the subsequent provincial examinations were held in the provincial capital and the metropolitan examinations in the capital, there was simply no way to vet the students from the lower prefectures and counties. Therefore, the imperial examinations were in fact a screening process for the later provincial examinations and even the metropolitan examinations.

Secondly, the imperial court repeatedly emphasized that when the provincial education officials conduct the imperial examinations, they should "carefully select candidates, prioritizing moral character and conduct; those who are merely skilled in writing but shameless in conduct should not be allowed to enter the examination hall." This is because "if one is truly filial, fraternal, honest, and modest in life, one will naturally be honest, upright, and loyal when serving as an official."

Therefore, "when taking the test, one must first examine one's character and have concrete achievements before being allowed to enter." This was intended to filter out those of poor character and those who were all talk and no action from the source, thus safeguarding the foundation of the regime.

Therefore, in addition to household registration and school registration certificates, candidates also need to provide three guarantee certificates when registering.

The first type is called "Neighborhood Agreement," which requires the candidate's neighbors to jointly testify to their actual deeds of "filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame," such as whether they support their elders and maintain harmonious neighborly relations.

This required scholars to maintain good neighborly relations, be filial to their parents, be friendly to their brothers, and set an example for society. If they neglected their parents and fought with their neighbors, they could forget about getting this certificate.

Even if they were usually careful, as the exam period approached, the scholars still had to treat their neighbors to a meal, give each person some eggs, and ask them to put their handprints on the application form.

This was simple for the four members of the Su family. Everyone in Erlangtan was family, and Su Youjin had already gone back to treat them to a meal and issued the necessary certificates.

The second form of proof is a "mutual guarantee between teachers and students." It requires students and instructors from the same school to jointly vouch for the candidate's adherence to school rules and good conduct during their studies.

When Su Lu and his group settled in Hejiang, they asked Instructor Hai to issue this certificate.

There is also a third document called "Official Seal," which is issued by the local government of the prefecture or county where the candidate resides, to verify whether the candidate has committed any major offenses from an administrative perspective.

There are ten so-called "major transgressions": First, filial impiety, which means failing to provide for one's parents or speaking disobediently; second, unfriendly behavior, which means insulting elders or mistreating one's own family; third, shamelessness, which means indulging in alcoholism and moral depravity or engaging in promiscuous behavior with prostitutes; fourth, discord, which means forcibly buying land and houses or allowing private debts to be settled; and fifth, disobedience, which means frequenting public offices or soliciting favors for others.

The sixth is immorality, such as gambling for profit and instigating lawsuits to harm others; the seventh is arrogance, such as forming cliques to coerce officials and being arrogant and conceited; the eighth is disrespect, such as engaging in private activities and committing evil deeds and using enemies to obstruct good; the ninth is carelessness, such as taking on corvée labor and arbitrarily dictating local affairs; the tenth is lack of integrity, such as associating with the lowly and being base and despicable.

These ten faults are so common that even the most cautious and honest people would be ashamed to associate with them, let alone scholars.

Therefore, once you commit a crime, the government will not issue a 'no-fault certificate,' and you will not be able to register...

Furthermore, according to regulations, the government must send someone to conduct an on-site investigation and verification before issuing a certificate. As for when the investigation will take place and when the verification will be completed, that depends on whether the husband is sensible or not…

Given the Su family's current status in Hejiang, the county officials were naturally the ones who understood. Zhang, the clerk of the rites department, had already delivered four official certificates stamped with the official seal to the Su family's door.

~~
The ceremonial office of the prefectural government.

By now, most students have already registered and can proceed directly without queuing.

Upon hearing that Xiao Sanyuan's family had come to register, Clerk Jiang quickly came out from the inner room, ordering people to process the registration as soon as possible while inviting the four people inside to be served tea.

"You're finally back! Your grandfather has been eagerly awaiting your return these past few days, worried that you might miss your chance," said Jiang Sili with a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for your concern, Grandfather and Mr. Jiang. The journey is indeed long," Su Lu said with a smile.

"It's good that you're back in time. You still have two days to rest before the exam," said Jiang Sili with a smile. "Of course, with your talents, you'll definitely be fine."

"Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Jiang," the Su family members said with smiles.

Su Lu then asked, "Is my grandfather at the yamen? I should hurry and report in, so as not to worry him."

"Yes, I'm here," said Clerk Jiang with a smile. "I'll pass on the message for you."

"Thank you for your trouble," Su Lu said gratefully.

~~
At the entrance of the signing room.

"Haha, Hongzhi, you're finally back!" Governor Lu greeted Su Lu with a broad smile.

"I am late, sir, and I apologize for causing you concern." Su Lu quickly bowed and greeted them.

"Of course! I've been worried sick about you these past few days, and I was even thinking of sending someone to look for you. I was relieved to hear you were back yesterday." Prefect Lu warmly took his arm and led him inside.

“We arrived in the city yesterday afternoon, and my father-in-law and Uncle Zhu had already gone there. I could only send someone to inform my teacher. I am truly sorry,” Su Lu explained.

"I heard your father-in-law is going to be promoted to the position of Provincial Judge of Shanxi?" Prefect Lu asked with an even more intimate smile.

"I only heard about it last night," Su Lu said with a smile. "My father-in-law said it's most likely a reward for your work on the river repair. I wonder what kind of reward you will receive this time?"

"I won't have that anymore." Lu Zhaoye waved his hand, showing great self-awareness, and said, "Last year, I was promoted to prefecture out of turn, just so that I could do a good job repairing the river. If I repair it well, that's only right. There's no reason to reward someone for the same thing twice. If I don't repair it well, then I'll have to take the blame." He didn't sit back behind the desk, but instead sat next to Su Lu in a row of official hat chairs against the wall.

After the attendant served tea, Lu Zhaoye said enviously, "Your father-in-law is a trusted minister of the court. He goes everywhere with a mission. Now that the river is repaired, he will be promoted immediately. He is not someone like me who is just a nobody."

“Sir, your achievements today are already worthy of our admiration,” Su Lu said sincerely, trying to comfort him.

“That’s true. In the past ten years, I haven’t heard of anyone from the Imperial Academy becoming a prefect, let alone someone like me who is only a regular Imperial Academy student.” Lu Zhaoye also stretched his neck with pride, then sighed softly and said:

"But this also means that my career has reached its peak. Alas, at fifty one knows one's destiny; the sages were indeed right..."

“Sir, you’re only fifty-one. That’s the time to work hard,” Su Lu encouraged him. “You might get promoted after you finish your term.”

"I've given up hope." Lu Zhaoye waved his hand with a wry smile and said, "I might not even be able to last one term."

"What's wrong? Have you run into some trouble?" Su Lu asked softly.

“What other difficulties could there be? No money, that’s all.” Lu Zhaoye sighed. “With money, any official position is easy to hold; without money, any official position is difficult to hold.”

"Now I know why Jia Yidan suddenly had a sudden outburst of filial piety and insisted on resigning from his post to go home and serve his elderly mother." He said angrily, "Because the prefecture is starving, the river repairs have caused a huge famine. And the garrison eunuch, Eunuch Wei, keeps increasing the levies every year. He's like a pig being castrated and its ears cut off—suffering from both ends. He couldn't take it anymore and had to run away!"

Lu Zhaoye spat angrily and said, "He clearly made me take the blame, but he still extorted a huge sum of money from me. He's a real coward!"

"It's too much trouble for you, sir." Su Lu was speechless for a moment. Sure enough, every gift from fate comes with a hidden price.

"Yes, it was so difficult for me." Lu Zhaoye exhaled a long breath and said, "Last year, I begged and pleaded with everyone in Luzhou City. I borrowed from all seven major families in Luzhou, and even your family borrowed a thousand taels of silver. That was just enough to get by."

"Then, right after the New Year, Eunuch Wei sent someone again to say that we still need to prepare two thousand taels of gold this year... He might as well just kill me!" With that, he kicked his legs, his eyes glazing over.
"Even if I scrape every last drop of land in Luzhou to give him this year, what will I do next year? Sigh, I think I should just follow Jia Yidan's example and resign from my post..."

"Sir, must we always grant the eunuchs' every request?" Su Lu asked softly.

“Eunuch Wei said that if we can’t raise the money, Eunuch Liu will dismiss him. But before he’s dismissed, he’ll definitely deal with all of us prefects and governors.” Governor Lu said helplessly, “At that time, it won’t just be losing our positions; we might even go to jail.”

The garrison commander oversees the Imperial Guards in various provinces and is responsible for monitoring officials. Governor Lu, who is usually "not very discreet," must have a lot of dirt on him.

“Hongzhi, you have always been resourceful,” he said, looking at Su Lu expectantly. “Do you have any ideas on how to make money? Please give your teacher some pointers.”

It seems he still can't bear to part with the prefectural governor's hat that he worked so hard to earn.

“…” Su Lu pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded and said, “Yes.”

"Tell me quickly!" Lu Zhaoye's eyes lit up immediately.

"It's the Chishui River that you built, sir. It's a river of gold." Su Lu said confidently with a smile, "As long as it's used properly, it's guaranteed to bring in a lot of wealth."

"Tell me in detail." Lu Zhaoye rested his arm on the coffee table, perked up his ears, and leaned his head toward Su Lu.

“Teacher, please look.” Su Lu pointed to Lu Zhaoye’s teacup and said, “This is Sichuan. There is a severe shortage of copper and lead for minting coins, but well salt is plentiful, as if it were free.”

Pointing to his teacup, he said, "This is Guizhou, which produces copper and lead, but not salt... The price of a pound of salt here is several times that of Luzhou."

As he spoke, he pointed to the two teacups with his middle and index fingers and said, “The two places are only a few hundred miles apart, but because of the treacherous mountain roads, lead and copper cannot be transported out. Although some salt can be transported in, it is carried by people and horses, and the price is extremely high. The whole of Guizhou has been suffering from a salt shortage for a long time.”

Finally, he dipped his finger in tea and drew a line connecting the two teacups, saying in a deep voice, "But now that we have the Chishui River, we can connect them!"

"Hmm." Lu Zhaoye stroked his beard and nodded, then asked, "You mean, we can exchange goods and services through this Chishui River?"

"Yes!" Su Lu nodded emphatically. "I did some rough calculations in my spare time. A crooked boat can transport salt on the way out and copper and lead on the way back. A round trip can yield a profit of more than a hundred taels!"

"Is it really that profitable?" Prefect Lu gasped. "If you sail over a thousand ships a year, you'd surely earn at least a hundred thousand taels of silver!"

“With more sailings, the profit might not be as high, but seventy or eighty thousand taels shouldn’t be a problem.” Su Lu laughed, “Such a profitable business is right here, yet you’re complaining about being poor. You’re too honest.”

"You little brat, you've gone too far! How dare you call your teacher stupid?" Lu Zhaoye laughed heartily, then said with a sigh, "But this business of yours is too difficult to do, otherwise someone would have done it long ago."

“Indeed,” Su Lu nodded, “Salt trading requires salt permits, and the private trade of copper and lead is also prohibited, so no one is doing this business until now.”

As he spoke, he smiled at Lu Zhaoye and said, "But my grandfather was an official."

(End of this chapter)