Top Scholar

Chapter 470: With such excitement, who could resist reading? (Seeking monthly votes)

In officialdom, besides close friends from the same year, the only other relationships one can rely on are those from the same hometown and those who are teachers or students.

Fellow villagers, needless to say, when they meet, tears well up in their eyes. But if fellow villagers don't help each other, they'll be stabbed in the back...

As for the teacher-student relationship, although it is not as common as the other two, it is of great value. The so-called "Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher" emphasizes the teacher-student relationship as one of the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues! "Teachers and students are like father and son" is not just a saying.

If Su Lu hadn't come to Wang Shouren's rescue when he was in danger, he would have been condemned as a dog, no matter how many reasons he had. Similarly, if Wang Shouren hadn't tried to rescue Su Lu when he was arrested last year, he would have been called cold-blooded; if he hadn't been able to save him, he would have been called incompetent.

This is an example of a teacher having a responsibility to their students and a student having an obligation to their teacher.

On the long road of pursuing knowledge and taking the imperial examinations, scholars will encounter many teachers, among whom the most important is the chief examiner of the metropolitan examination.

The imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty were extremely competitive. In each major examination, thousands of candidates, whose abilities were actually quite similar, would ultimately only have two or three hundred people on the list of successful candidates.

Many learned scholars, whose writings are exquisite, have repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, wasting half their lives. Take the renowned Zhu Zhishan, for example, who failed the examinations for the sixth time this year.

And then there was the old scholar Zhang Cong, who also failed for the fourth time.

Only half of this year's top scorers passed the imperial examination...

In this situation where success or failure depended entirely on chance, the lucky candidates naturally felt immense gratitude towards the examiners who had promoted them, regarding them as their second parents. Thus, following the old custom, they respected the examiners as their "masters" and referred to themselves as their "disciples," strictly adhering to the master-disciple relationship throughout their lives.

Some might ask, which of the previous county, prefectural, and provincial examinations wasn't brutal? Why didn't the candidates treat those examiners like their fathers?

Isn't that obvious? Because the chief examiner of the provincial examination starts as a minister, and those who do are basically either Grand Secretaries or Ministers of Rites who are about to enter the cabinet.

Given their high position and power, how could those previous examiners possibly take advantage of them? Of course, when it comes to finding a powerful patron, they need to find someone influential to promote them, protect them, and ensure their careers are boosted by a powerful figure.

Therefore, generally speaking, candidates only recognize the two chief examiners of the provincial examination as their mentors. In addition, they will also recognize the co-examiner who actually selected them as their study advisor.

Therefore, after the results were announced, the first important thing for the students was to prepare their "student cards" and visit their master as soon as possible to present them with gifts, thus clearly establishing this teacher-student relationship.

However, if all 350 candidates come to the door one by one, how long will it take the tutor to see them all?

Furthermore, it is important to express gratitude promptly; it would be inappropriate to wait until after the imperial examination to personally deliver a thank you.

In just half a month, the master had to meet with twenty-four disciples a day; he would be exhausted to death...

Thus, a form of "public visit" similar to a group worship ceremony developed. The specific procedure was that the top scholar would lead the group, and all the students of the same year would sign a joint letter of greeting, which would be sent to the two mentors as soon as the results were officially announced the next morning.

The two masters discussed a time and place to meet with all the admitted students, accept their apprenticeship ceremony, and finalize the teacher-student relationship.

In fact, the time and place had long been established as a tradition. Usually, a collective ceremony to thank teachers would be held in the official hall of the Great Ci'en Temple two days after the results were announced.

That way, we'll be polite enough.

However, the two mentors would never treat their disciple so perfunctorily. That was their political reach and base of influence, so how could they not carefully cultivate it?
Over the next ten days or so, the two masters would accept private visits from some of their disciples in batches.

For example, the top ten scholars, including those who ranked first in the provincial examination, were considered the examiner's "favorite students" and would be summoned by their teacher for a private consultation to discuss the merits and demerits of their essays.

The real key is to guide the emperor on the examination techniques, revealing the issues he is currently focused on: border defense, canal transport, or the system of rites? And to provide targeted key points for answering the questions.

Given the master's status and expertise, the key points he highlighted and the essentials he provided, if followed correctly, would guarantee an accurate answer... After all, no one wants their most outstanding student to rank among the top in the palace examination more than the master, as this demonstrates their fairness in selecting officials and their accurate judgment.

This is what we call a community of shared interests. From the moment they established their teacher-student relationship, they were bound together by a shared fate in the officialdom, where one's rise and fall were intertwined.

In addition, those who ranked slightly lower but had a chance of being selected as probationary scholars would also receive a small audience with their master, usually in groups of five or six, for about half an hour. The content of their instruction was no different from that of the master’s favorite students.

After all, an outstanding student can very well become a prized student, so you can't hurt them right from the start.

If there is still time, the master's fellow townsmen students will also have the opportunity to receive the treatment of outstanding students. After all, the interests of fellow townsmen are more aligned, and it is more beneficial to their hometown if they rank higher.

As for the other disciples, the master simply couldn't meet with them all. He could only slowly build relationships with them after the palace examination when he had more time...

Of course, there are also some cunning students, those with connections, or those with exceptional fame who can always break the rules, but these are not included in this discussion.

To be honest, for most students with average grades, there's absolutely no need to join in the excitement before the palace examination... Even if you meet the master, he won't tell you the secrets to the palace examination.

Knowing everything is the same as not knowing anything... This is a proven truth.

~~
Therefore, for most of their peers, the public audience three days later was the only opportunity to see their teacher before the exam, and no one dared to miss it.

They came to the Sichuan Guild Hall tonight to sign their names on the "Disciple's Signature".

In addition, we need to discuss the betrothal gifts, that is, the gifts for becoming an apprentice.

So the more than three hundred classmates, some sitting and some standing, started discussing it in the courtyard of the guild hall.

Of course, the main speakers were the 'star pupils'...

"Since it's a ceremony to formally become an apprentice, of course we'll give a tuition fee."

"Is your middle-division exam so easy? Ten strips of dried meat per person? Even a teacher could eat that much before retirement!" "What, another regional attack?"

"Okay, okay, I won't say anymore."

“Then celery and longan are even worse…” Zhu Zihe then asked, “Does anyone know how the elders presented them?”

“Of course I know, but they are all kinds of things,” someone replied. “Some lords don’t like big gifts, but others will be unhappy if the gift is too small. However, the main type is still the Sho Phaya gift.”

"Actually, you're all being redundant. Why make things so complicated?" Jing Yang said with a smile. "Just think about our leader's nickname, and it'll be clear what gift to give."

"The poorest Grand Secretary in the world." The other students couldn't help but laugh. "Indeed, we've all been so happy today that we feel we should thank our Master generously, but we've forgotten that our teacher is known for being incorruptible."

"Our teacher is truly incorruptible. He served as an official for decades and has no surplus wealth. If we rashly offer him a generous gift, we will surely be reprimanded by him."

“Teachers can scold us, but we cannot remain silent about our feelings,” said an older Chinese scholar.

"There's no need for that; it's an insult to the teacher." But most of his classmates disagreed.

So it was finally decided that each person would give four clean handkerchiefs and one old book to their two mentors.

Of course, don't buy the used books separately. It would be more meaningful to pool your money to buy two sets and give them away together later.

~~
It was past midnight when his fellow students dispersed. With the help of his adopted sons, Su Lu prepared the documents for the previous audience, the gifts for the teacher, the gift box for the "disciple's card," the sealed tube for the gifts, and the door bag for the doorman...

The responsibility is heavy, so it is essential to consider everything carefully and make thorough preparations beforehand.

The next morning, the Ministry of Rites opened its doors and posted the yellow list. People from the guild hall were already waiting outside the Ministry of Rites to verify the list again, especially to confirm whether the top scholar was named Su Lu.

Although the possibility of misreporting is almost zero, official procedures must be handled with absolute certainty, and one cannot take things for granted; no step that can be omitted must be skipped.

After confirming that everything was correct, Su Lu took a sedan chair to pay his respects to his master.

According to regulations, he was still riding in a sedan chair carried by two bearers, which in the capital would naturally only be considered a roadside sedan chair.

But if the sedan chair carries a flag bearing the words "Sichuan Provincial Scholar" and "Newly Recruited Provincial Scholar," then it's the most dazzling person in Beijing today.

Walking down the street, without the need for gongs to clear the way, people would readily make way for him, casting admiring glances at him.

"Wow, is this this year's champion? Is his surname Su?"

"Wow, he's a top scholar in the provincial examination! If he also becomes the top scholar in the imperial examination, wouldn't that be a triple crown?!"

"That's amazing! No one has ever won all three titles in a row, right?"

"It seems that Grand Secretary Shang won the imperial examination back then..."

"Who cares? It's ancient history."

"Go, esteemed scholar! Keep up the good work and achieve the highest honors in all three categories!"

As Su Lu traveled in the sedan chair, he was constantly bombarded with such encouraging words. Before yesterday, almost no one in Beijing knew him.

Well, if he didn't carry the flag, nobody would recognize him today.

He needs to get used to the Ming Dynasty's way of expressing solemnity as soon as possible...

When the sedan chair reached the entrance of Shifuma Hutong, the servant carrying the flag slowed down, and the sedan chair bearers came to a steady stop.

"Lord Huiyuan, we've arrived at Grand Secretary Wang's residence." Manager Peng from the Sichuan Guild Hall, who was temporarily acting as a personal attendant, said softly through the sedan curtain, "But it seems there's a bit of trouble."

"What's wrong?" Su Lu asked.

"Someone is blocking the entrance to Grand Secretary Wang's house..." Steward Peng looked like he had seen a ghost.

"What?" Su Lu exclaimed in surprise, lifting the sedan curtain and whispering, "Aren't the Grand Secretary's residences guarded by the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"See for yourself."

Following the steward's directions, Su Lu saw an old man in his seventies cursing in a Henan accent at the entrance of the residence bestowed by the late emperor inside the alley.

"Wang Ao! You get out here right now! I'll stab you right in the back!"

Two imperial guards dressed in red robes stood at the gate, leaning on their embroidered spring knives, but showed no intention of moving forward to drive them away.

Because the seventy-year-old man was wearing a python robe and a jade belt, he was actually a first-rank official.

The alleyway was crowded with onlookers—a high-ranking official was blocking the doorway of another high-ranking official's house, shouting that he was going to stab him.

With such a lively scene, who could resist watching?
P.S. The reason the battery died, of course, is because I've been staying home writing every day for months without going out, boohoo. I need some monthly votes to console myself~~~~
To be continued in the next chapter...

(End of this chapter)