Top Scholar

Chapter 469 Fellow Graduates, We Must Unite

Fireworks lit up the night sky of Beijing as provincial guild halls celebrated the success of the imperial examinations.

The title of Jinshi (进士) has always been a symbol of a province's prestige and prestige.

The province with the most officials enjoys a higher social standing—that's an obvious truth. As for the "substance," the saying "having connections in high places makes things easier" is an age-old truth. Without the protection of local officials, the people of the entire province are simply waiting to be bullied!

Let alone high-ranking officials in the imperial court, even ordinary officials like junior officers or clerks can breathe a sigh of relief if they show a little leniency in their official documents.

Even local officials not serving in the capital could, through connections with their former superiors or fellow graduates, ask for a few words of help to their fellow villagers. Ultimately, whether a province could stand tall and reap real benefits depended entirely on the number of successful candidates in the imperial examinations and the rank of its officials!
For this reason, his fellow townsmen in Beijing naturally offered their heartfelt congratulations to the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations).

Local merchants, seizing the opportunity to build relationships, also brought generous gifts to offer their congratulations. Debts incurred by the candidates due to previous mismanagement were all waived with a wave of the hand… Of course, if they failed the exams, these debts would still have to be repaid.

Therefore, forming cliques among people from the same hometown is a common practice in officialdom, and no one can escape it. As long as it doesn't go too far like what Minister Jiao did, turning local protectionism into regional discrimination, it's fine.

In this sense, the biggest winners of this exam were not Sichuan, but Shandong, Shanxi, and Beizhili. They did nothing, yet not only did their number of admitted students increase significantly, but a large number of candidates from Henan and Shaanxi, who also took the exam in the north, failed, naturally benefiting them.

However, since the top scholar in this imperial examination was from Sichuan, candidates from all provinces still had to gather at the Sichuan Guild Hall. This was to pay their respects to the top scholar and to exchange seniority and get to know each other.

From this day forward, they will be classmates who share both glory and disgrace, and comrades-in-arms in the officialdom for life!

Although those who took the provincial examination in the same year are considered to be from the same year, if one fails to pass the imperial examination, the help one can provide to the successful candidates is ultimately limited. As the saying goes, "A hero needs three helpers, and a fence needs three posts." The officialdom is a turbulent and unpredictable place, and one can never go far alone. It all depends on the mutual support and backing of those who took the metropolitan examination in the same year.

For this reason, everyone will treat their fellow candidates in the provincial examination with the utmost tolerance and enthusiasm.

Among them, the one who received the most enthusiasm and the greatest respect was naturally the current top scholar.

Although the top scholar in the provincial examination cannot be the number one among all his peers, the final ranking will still be determined in the palace examination.

However, according to custom, even the worst candidate in the provincial examination could be guaranteed a place in the top five of the second class, thus securing a position as a junior official. A bright future was practically guaranteed, and his fellow candidates naturally held him in high esteem.

This fellow scholar who won the provincial examination this year is a legendary figure who is famous throughout the world. He became the top scholar in the provincial examination at the age of seventeen and won the top scholar title in the metropolitan examination at the age of eighteen. He is almost the youngest scholar in this year's provincial examination.

Such early success would make anyone envious.

What's even more admirable is that Su Huiyuan could confront the Embroidered Uniform Guard head-on and escape unscathed, and even after offending Liu Jin, he still managed to pass the imperial examination with top honors—his strength was beyond compare! In this dark age where the eunuch faction was rampant and life was uncertain, he was simply a beacon of light, an electric current, and a synonym for miracles!
Therefore, his fellow students treated Su Lu with even greater courtesy than the top scholar, and they arranged to visit him that very evening, not even waiting until the next day.

The first group to visit were fifty fellow graduates from Beizhili.

“Sun Jing and Wang Dayong from Daming Prefecture… Zhang You and Bian Wei from Hejian Prefecture… Yan Cheng and Tian Lan from Baoding Prefecture… Hou Yizheng and Ma Yunzhong from Shunde Prefecture… Greetings, Huiyuan! I have long admired your name, which is as famous as thunder in my ears.” The fifty successful candidates introduced themselves one by one.

"It's an honor to meet you all. Gentlemen, please just call me Hongzhi," Su Lu said politely. In fact, he had never heard of any of these names before, and he couldn't remember them all even if he tried his best.

"Haha, Brother Huiyuan, have you heard of us before?" the group of fellow students from Beizhili laughed.

"I haven't been in the capital for very long," Su Lu said with a smile. "But I do know a few people, such as Brother Zixian."

“That’s because I visited you earlier.” Zhang Xingfu, last year’s top scholar in the Shunzhi examination, laughed and said, “When I first saw you, Brother Hongzhi, I knew you were no ordinary person. In the blink of an eye, you have indeed soared to great heights and become the top scholar in the country!”

"Brother Zixian, didn't you also pass the imperial examination with flying colors?" Su Lu said with a smile, "Congratulations!"

"I only ranked around two hundredth, it's really nothing to brag about," Zhang Xingfu said modestly. He was indeed much more low-key than when he came last time; it seems that good grades are indeed a source of confidence.

“Alas, the provincial examination only determines whether you stay or leave, and your ranking is only temporary.” Su Lu laughed and said, “If Brother Zixian and the others write a brilliant policy essay during the palace examination, they will definitely be ahead of me.”

"Hahaha, that's too difficult." The other students couldn't help but laugh. "In previous years, the top scholar was guaranteed to be in the top two or five. There's no room for so many people ahead of the top scholar."

"Well, you can't say that. The top scholar in the Hongzhi era was like that, but in the Chenghua era, there were still two top scholars who fell to around tenth place in the second class."

"You said it yourself, that was during the Chenghua era." Everyone laughed. "Don't worry, they'll most likely be among the top three scholars, or at the very least, they'll be among the highest-ranking scholars."

"Okay, you said it yourself. If I don't pass the exam, you have to treat me to a meal," Su Lu said with a smile.

"And what if you pass the exam?" "I'll treat you to dinner."

"Hahaha, it's a deal!" All the classmates were very happy. Hui Yuanlang was not a bookworm. This was a sign of a promising future!
They exchanged greetings and ranked each other by age with their fellow Sichuanese classmates. Some even took out paper and pen to record everyone's personal information so they could be engraved on their names later.

The full name of the "Chi Lu" is "Tong Nian Chi Lu," which is a roster of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) from the same year. It records each person's name, place of origin, age, family background, ranking in the metropolitan and palace examinations, and the names of their tutors and mentors. The "Chi Lu" was a booklet that was printed by raising funds, with each Jinshi receiving a copy for easy contact in the future, and it also served as proof of their honor in the imperial examinations.

As everyone was talking, another group of Chinese scholars arrived together; they were fellow graduates from Zhejiang Province who came from the nearby Zhejiang Guild Hall.

"Shao Rui and Jiang Xiao from Hangzhou Prefecture... Xu Ai and Xu Wenyuan from Shaoxing Prefecture... Tang Long and Lu Zhen from Jinhua Prefecture... Greetings, Brother Huiyuan, I have long admired your name, it is as famous as thunder in my ears." The Zhejiang natives who passed the imperial examinations also introduced themselves one by one, forming a very large group of forty-five people.

"It's an honor to meet you all. Gentlemen, please just call me Hongzhi." Su Lu returned the greeting politely, trying his best to remember everyone's name.

Given his current status, being able to casually call out the names of people born in the same year in a short time would be a big plus in their eyes.

Moreover, he had an acquaintance among his fellow Zhejiang natives in the same year... Xu Ai, the brother-in-law of Yangming, also participated in this imperial examination and ranked 120th.

Generally speaking, scholars from Zhejiang were known for their arrogance, but they had a rather favorable impression of Su Lu. Firstly, Su Lu was a disciple of Yangming, making him one of their own; secondly, Su Lu had worked against Liu Jin, whom they deeply disliked, and the enemy of my enemy is naturally my friend.

With Xu Ai acting as a go-between, the two sides quickly became close.

However, Su Lu noticed that Zhang Zhi, the top scholar from Zhejiang this year, and the old scholar Zhang Cong were not present. Upon inquiring with Xu Ai, he learned that the two had indeed failed the exam again…

There's no way around it; the competition in the Southern Examinations is just that fierce. No wonder they look down on the candidates from the Northern and Central Examinations...

Not long after the Zhejiang candidates had taken their seats, fifty of their fellow candidates from Shandong arrived together. This time, Shandong also had a great success, with a number of successful candidates roughly the same as those from Beizhili. However, among them were seven or eight successful candidates from Liaodong Commandery.

Yes, during the Ming Dynasty, the Northeast was part of Shandong.

Upon learning of this, many Sichuan scholars were surprised and asked in bewilderment, "Shandong and Liaodong are separated by Beizhili, how did they become one family?"

"Because the most convenient way to get from Dengzhou and Laizhou to Liaodong is by boat. That's how we took the boat to Shandong to take the imperial examinations," the Liaodong students explained. "Traveling to the capital by land would have been much more arduous."

"So, do you have a choice between taking the exam in Shandong or in Beizhili?" the Shandong students laughed.

"Is there even a question?" the Liaodong classmates chuckled sheepishly. "Didn't we have no other choice?"

"Aren't Shandong and Beizhi both taking the Beijing exam? What's the difference?" a fellow student from the south asked.

"There was really no difference during the provincial examination, but the difference was huge during the provincial examination—the number of candidates from Beizhi was the same as that from Nanzhi!" said a fellow student from Shandong indignantly.

"I see." Nanfang Tongnian immediately understood.

"Although we have a large quota, there are also many people from other provinces who are registered as provincial examinees. Just how many people from the Imperial Academy alone are taking the provincial examination in Shuntian Prefecture?" The students from Beizhi immediately retorted indignantly, "Every year, half of the quota is taken up by you outsiders!"

"Alright, alright, let's stop here. I think we should try to find common ground while respecting our differences." Seeing that educational inequality was an age-old problem, and that arguing further would only lead to a falling out between classmates, Su Lu quickly stepped in to mediate.

"Everyone should have heard about the state of affairs in the court. If we, as newcomers to officialdom, want to survive in this difficult environment, and even to know what to do and what not to do, we must unite and be of one mind. We must not say anything that is detrimental to unity, nor do anything that is detrimental to unity. Only in this way can we support each other and persevere to the end!"

"Brother Huiyuan is right!" The other students immediately realized, "Yes, what are we here for today? Why are we having this habitual attack on each other again?"

"From now on, we must establish a rule: no one should speak ill of another's hometown in front of their classmates." So Su Lu established this rule, and everyone unanimously agreed.
At this time, his classmates from Nanzhi and Jiangxi also flocked to the Sichuan Guild Hall. Upon hearing Su Lu's words, they cheered loudly.

“Brother Huiyuan is absolutely right.” The classmates from Nanzhi spoke from experience: “Once a regional attack occurs, they will surely fall apart.”

"Who can argue with that?" People from Jiangxi, who have suffered greatly from regional discrimination, also strongly agreed.

~~
More and more people from the same year arrived, and the courtyard was soon overflowing with seats, so everyone had to stand and talk.

They came to visit Su Huiyuan together tonight, not only to get to know each other, but also for a very important purpose... to ask him to follow the old custom and take the lead in submitting invitations to pay a public visit to his mentor tomorrow!
P.S. I took my child out to eat today, and the car battery died, so I couldn't start the car. I called for roadside assistance and they replaced the battery, but it still shows "battery discharging"... What's going on?
The next chapter will be in a little while.

(End of this chapter)