The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 248: Imperial Examination

Jiang Han knew very well that the only way to deal with this deeply entrenched group of local gentry was to establish his own talent development system.

Only in this way can the monopoly of knowledge and power by the old gentry be fundamentally and completely dismantled.

In the long run, Jiang Han needs to establish his own academy to cultivate the next generation who are loyal to him.

But he doesn't have the means right now, and he can't wait.

In the short term, the most effective approach is to divide and conquer one faction.

Baoning Prefecture comprises two prefectures and eight counties, leaving quite a few vacant positions.

Jiang Han intends to use official positions to divide this seemingly united group of scholars.

With this in mind, he immediately ordered the immediate transfer of Zeng Rui, the county magistrate who had been the first to surrender to him in Guangyuan County.

(Zeng Rui appeared in Chapter 224)

Jiang Han waved his hand and directly placed the title of "Prefect of Baoning Prefecture" on his head.

Although there is only a one-word difference between the titles of county magistrate and prefect, the difference in prestige is worlds apart!
The county magistrate is a seventh-rank official.

The prefect is a fourth-rank official!
Within the normal bureaucratic system of the Ming Dynasty, even if one's path to promotion from a county magistrate to a prefect was smooth, it would still take at least ten to twenty years of ups and downs in officialdom.

Without support from the central government, most people will never be able to cross this insurmountable barrier in their lifetime.

Zeng Rui, a county magistrate who had only passed the imperial examinations, transformed himself into a high-ranking official in charge of the core prefecture in northern Sichuan within just a few months.

When he received the appointment, he had mixed feelings.

On the one hand, he was indeed overjoyed by his rapid promotion;

On the other hand, he lamented that this prefect was not appointed by the Ming Dynasty court.

But Zeng Rui was very clear in his mind that as an ordinary scholar, it was impossible for him to become a prefect in his entire life.

All I can say is that these rebels are truly generous when it comes to benefits.

After a great struggle, Zeng Rui finally came to his senses.

Since the thieves have already been apprehended, and life is too short to stop now, let's just settle down and get things done properly.

To put it bluntly, Zeng Rui only submitted to Jiang Han because he was good at leading troops and never killed innocent people indiscriminately.

If it were any other bandits who only knew how to kill and plunder, he probably wouldn't have been truly committed to anything.

Zeng Rui locked himself in his study and spent several days racking his brains, personally writing a lengthy "Order to Recruit Talents" for Jiang Han.

"Somebody come!"

He handed the still-wet notice to his subordinate and gave the instructions.

"Post it out as quickly as possible!"

"Make sure to notify every county and township along the route!"

"I want all the scholars in Baoning Prefecture to see this recruitment notice!"

"Now that our lord Jiang Han has recovered northern Sichuan, he is eager to find talented people."

"To relieve the people from their dire straits, we have specially opened a 'special examination' to recruit the best talents from all over the world, without being bound by any conventional standards!"

"Anyone who believes they are talented can apply, regardless of their background or wealth."

"The examination content will not test the interpretation of classics or the eight-legged essay."

"The test only covers three areas: first, agriculture, sericulture, and water conservancy; second, money and grain management; and third, criminal law and regulations. These are all practical skills for governing the country."

"Those selected will be chosen regardless of their literary or martial skills, or in any order of merit."

"The two prefectures and eight counties of Baoning Prefecture are vacant, and the best candidate will be appointed as the head of a county!"

This proclamation, like a boulder, stirred up a tidal wave in the various prefectures and counties of Baoning Prefecture.

Those gentry and powerful families who had been established for hundreds of years naturally scoffed at this.

In their view, this was nothing more than a clumsy performance by those traitors trying to appear cultured.

How dare a peasant-turned-warrior talk about "establishing a special imperial examination"?
It's simply a horror of slipping the world!

A recruitment notice?
As long as these powerful clans don't move, they can only attract a group of students and scholars at most.

Want them to govern the region? Forget it.

However, these aristocratic families overlooked the fact that in the corners of various towns and villages in Baoning Prefecture, there were many talented students who were frustrated and unable to achieve their ambitions due to poverty.

For this group of people, this recruitment notice was nothing short of a ray of light in the darkness, their only chance to change their fate.

The recruitment notice quickly reached Liangjia Village, where the Liang family of Jianzhou was located.

Liangjia Village is relatively wealthy because of the presence of Liang Zhidong, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

The village even had a clan school, which supported dozens of scholars from the clan.

Inside the study, Liang Tingsi, no longer the old and decrepit man he once was, burst into laughter as he looked at the recruitment notice in his hand.

"That's bullshit!"

"Zeng Rui was just a mere scholar who passed the imperial examinations. He only managed to become a prefect by submitting to the bandits."

"Now they even want to incite us scholars who are loyal to the court to join the rebels? They are utterly shameless!"

"Someone, inform the scholars in the clan school that no one is allowed to leave the village without permission during this period!"

"Those who have eaten at my Liang family's place, don't even think about going to those thieves for a share!"

Even without Liang Tingsi's specific instructions, the teachers in the clan school had already started making a fuss.

The teachers spontaneously rallied the scholars in their clan, urging them to "distinguish right from wrong, uphold integrity," and never be misled by traitors.

Most of these scholars had received assistance from the Liang family, so they were all very assertive and resolute in their statements.

He also showed great contempt for the bandit Enke.

With the support of their clan elders, they naturally had no worries about food and clothing. However, the situation was somewhat different in Tuanshi Village, just across the river.

A young scholar named Wu Xi's eyes lit up when he saw the notice.

Wu Xi was a student in the seventh year of the Tianqi reign. His family was poor, and his elderly mother was bedridden for many years.

Below him were three younger siblings who were still nursing, and the entire burden of the family rested on his shoulders. Wu Xi was intelligent from a young age and well-versed in literature; he was the most promising talent in the village to pass the imperial examinations.

But just as he was preparing to take the provincial examination, his family suffered a sudden misfortune.

His father, Wu Mingda, fell off a cliff in an accident and died on the spot.

The father's unexpected death left the already impoverished family completely without any source of income.

Wu Xi could only tearfully give up the provincial examination and return home, where he farmed and observed the mourning period, barely managing to support his family.

Now he is twenty-five years old, but he is still all alone.

As a scholar, Wu Xi should have been the most sought-after person in the village.

However, when matchmakers from the surrounding villages heard about his family's situation, they all avoided him like the plague.

When Wu Xi saw the recruitment notice at the village entrance, his heart, which had long been worn smooth, began to pound violently.

"The two prefectures and eight counties of Baoning Prefecture are vacant, and the best candidate will be appointed as the head of a county!"

He carried his hoe and ran home as fast as he could, telling his ailing mother everything that had happened.

But after hearing this, his elderly mother's face was filled with worry:

“My son, those are, after all, a group of rebels, not the right path for our Great Ming Dynasty.”

"If you go, and by any chance the imperial court sends troops to attack you back, you'll be beheaded!"

"At my age, I'm not afraid of death, but you lot..."

But things are different now, and Wu Xi is very determined:

"mother!"

“Our family is almost out of rice to cook. Hongyu and the others are so hungry that they are pale and thin and can only eat wild grass and tree roots to fill their stomachs.”

"Now, the opportunity is right in front of us, and my son, confident in his quick wit, is determined to give it a try!"

"If it works out, our whole family can live a good life!"

"What if we lose?"

He gave a bitter laugh.
"At worst, it'll just be a scar the size of a bowl. If it doesn't work out, we can always start over in the next life!"

Seeing her son's resolute determination, the elderly mother on her sickbed could only nod with tears in her eyes.

She has been ill ever since her husband died in an accidental fall.

She knew her son's talents very well.

He passed the imperial examination at the county level before he came of age, and even in the neighboring Liangjia Village, few could compare to him.

If it weren't for his family's burdens, Wu Xi might have passed the imperial examination and become an official in the court long ago.

With her mother's approval, Wu Xi left most of the family's dry food and gave it to her younger brother, Hongyu.

Wu Xi patted her younger brother's head:

"Take good care of Mother. I'll be right back!"

"When you pass the imperial examination, I'll ride a tall horse to pick you up and take you to the city!"

And so, with two hard, coarse grain cakes on his back and his tattered book box on his back, he resolutely embarked on his journey to Baoning Prefecture to take the imperial examination.

Wu Xi thought to himself that if he ate the two pancakes sparingly, breaking them into small pieces and eating a little bit each day with river water, it should be enough to get him to Baoning Prefecture.

However, when he arrived at Jianzhou City, starving, he had only taken a few steps into the city when several officials dressed in black robes set their sights on him.

Wu Xi was startled and instinctively clutched the pancake in her arms tighter.

"Hey, you over there with the book box, stop right there."

A clerk quickly caught up and shouted at him at the top of his lungs.

Upon hearing this, Wu Xi became even more alarmed.

He thought he had encountered a greedy and unreasonable petty official in the city who wanted to steal his travel expenses.

Without saying a word, Wu Xi took off and dashed into a side alley, trying to shake off the minor official.

Upon seeing this, the official quickly gave chase.

The two chased each other through the alley for most of the day, but Wu Xi was eventually cornered in the alley by the official.

Already starving, Wu Xi was seeing stars and leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

"What do you do?"

"I am a scholar who has been ordered to go to Baoning Prefecture to take the imperial examination. How dare you block my way in the street?"

"Let me tell you, all I have is a tattered book chest. If you want any benefits, you'd better look elsewhere!"

To his surprise, the official opposite him waved his hand after hearing this.

"Don't be afraid, sir."

“We were sent by the newly appointed Prefect Zeng, and we are here specifically to wait for you scholars who want to go to Baoning Prefecture to take the imperial examination.”

Wu Xi looked puzzled after hearing this:
"What are you waiting for us for?"

The minor official calmly explained:
"Prefect Zeng gave instructions, saying that the journey was long and he was worried that the scholars taking the exam might not have enough money and that something unexpected might happen on the way."

"So he specifically set up several transfer points in various prefectures and counties."

"Once all of you scholars have gathered, the government will arrange carriages to safely transport you to Baoning Prefecture."

It turned out that Zeng Rui had realized a problem shortly after the recruitment order was issued.

Those who came to take the exam this time were likely students from impoverished families.

These students may not have the ability to travel alone to Baoning Prefecture, a hundred miles away, to take the exam.

Therefore, Zeng Rui specifically asked Jiang Han to mobilize horses in the army and set up special transfer points in various prefectures and counties to be responsible for transporting these impoverished scholars in a unified manner.

And so, Wu Xi, a poor scholar who was barely able to afford food, rode in a stable carriage for the first time.

With a heart full of trepidation and excitement, he traveled to Baoning Prefecture, a hundred miles away, to prepare for this "special imperial examination" that could change his life.

(End of this chapter)