Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 23 Whoring for free
"I think it's Brother Gao who's deliberately making fun of me."

Yan Maoqing said with a smile,

"Let's not even talk about the fact that I didn't submit an article. Even if I had, so what? Do you think I, the last place in the third class, would dare to shit on your head, the third place in the second class?"

The third place in the second class is the sixth place on the overall list of this palace examination, which is of great prestige.

This at least shows that Gao Gong's answer to the palace examination was a first-class answer that was qualified to be personally reviewed by the current emperor, and his literary talent and thoughts were comparable to those of the top three scholars.

However, due to the emperor's personal subjective and political inclinations, when selecting the top three candidates from the first-class papers, Gao Gong was not chosen. At most, it can only be said that he was unlucky.

Therefore, in the eyes of most people, Gao Gong was a popular candidate to be selected as a junior official.

These words made Gao Gong somewhat embarrassed. He smiled modestly and then offered his advice:
“Brother Yan, how can you belittle yourself because of one failure in the palace examination? Perhaps you just had an off day. In comparison, this selection of talents in the imperial examination is the best way to reflect your true level. Brother Yan, you should not give up so easily.”

"There's something I don't understand. Why are you so concerned about my affairs, Brother Gao?"

Yan Maoqing believed that he had no close relationship with Gao Gong.

Their only interaction was the conflict at the palace gate a few days ago.

In that conflict that was ultimately resolved thanks to Yan Song's intervention, it seems that the two did not reach a consensus of "becoming friends after a fight."
"I just feel that you and I are the same kind of people."

Gao Gong suppressed his smile, his serious expression even carrying a hint of confession.

"Although there were some misunderstandings between us before, I found that you are slightly different from what I imagined after we got to know each other."

“That day at the palace gate, I saw in you the qualities of integrity, unyielding spirit, outspokenness, and refusal to curry favor with the powerful. In particular, your saying, ‘Extreme strength leads to humiliation, and excessive rigidity leads to downfall,’ was both a reminder to me and a self-admonition.”

"With these qualities alone, you have already surpassed all those hypocritical scoundrels I have associated with before!"

As Gao Gong said these words, he couldn't help but recall the scene at the palace gate that day.

Those who goaded him, those who encouraged him, those who shoved him, those who ran away when things went wrong... their sinister and hypocritical faces were once again on display before my eyes.

In Gao Gong's mind, these people were already equated with insects.

If we are to work with these filthy creatures in the future, how can we govern this country well?
In comparison, Yan Maoqing, this seemingly crazy fellow, stood out from the crowd.

"?"

Upon hearing Gao Gong's words, Yan Maoqing was filled with doubt.

Hey bro, if your eyesight isn't good, why don't you donate it to someone in need?

Can any of these words—upright and incorruptible, unyielding, outspoken, and refusing to curry favor with the powerful—be associated with what I did at the palace gates that day?

And what about the saying "extreme strength leads to humiliation, and excessive rigidity leads to downfall" as a self-admonition?

Are you crazy?
I follow the path of cunning and opportunism that is prevalent in later online novels. I have only one goal: to attain officialdom!
Retire! Retire! Retire!

This important thing must be said three times: It's retiring from office! It's returning to one's hometown! It's merely surviving!

"Brother Yan Nian!"

Seeing Yan Maoqing's puzzled expression but his silence, Gao Gong continued solemnly:
“If this were the Zhengde era of the previous dynasty, when the eunuch Liu Jin was in power, I wouldn’t be advising you.”

"To tell you the truth, my grandfather was an official in the Ministry of Works during the time when the eunuch Liu Jin was in power."

"At that time, the court was in a dark and oppressive state. If officials did not embezzle and bribe the court, they would face great disaster, and their families would also be implicated."

“My grandfather was always honest and upright and unwilling to follow the crowd, which made his situation in the court increasingly difficult.”

"Afterwards, the climate of the court deteriorated day by day, and there was no place for honest officials to stay. My grandfather knew that he was powerless to change it, so he took the initiative to submit a memorial to resign his post and returned to his hometown to live in seclusion, helping the poor and needy. He eventually died peacefully in the fourth year of Jiajing's reign."

Yan Maoqing genuinely liked this story about the Gao family.

It is not hard to see from this past event that the old man of the Gao family was the same kind of person as him, and his decision was indeed wise.

Gao Gong, on the other hand, was a bit arrogant. Even though he wasn't part of the "survival circle," he still tried to force his way in. Just as he was thinking this...

But then Gao Gong changed the subject again, his expression revealing a hint of excitement:
"However, things are different now."

"Although the current emperor is obsessed with Taoist cultivation, if we ignore such private matters, since his ascension to the throne, he has vigorously rectified the court, reduced the number of eunuchs, reformed current abuses, and returned land to the people, which is enough to prove that he is a wise and diligent ruler."

"And following in the footsteps of Grand Secretary Zhang Cong, we now have a wise minister like Grand Secretary Xia to assist in the affairs of the state."

"With a wise ruler on the throne and virtuous ministers in power, it is the time for us to make a difference!"

“Brother Yan, you have now passed the imperial examination and are about to enter officialdom. If you do not seize this opportunity to realize your ambitions, will you regret it for the rest of your life?”

At this point, Gao Gong's face flushed slightly, as if he was a little too excited, and even his gaze toward Yan Maoqing was filled with undisguised fervor.

"..."

Looking at the high archway now, filled with unwavering loyalty and righteous indignation.

Yan Maoqing couldn't help but feel a little reluctant and almost couldn't resist spoiling the plot for him.

He knew better than anyone that Gao Gong's sincere loyalty was destined to be dealt a chilling blow by reality soon.

He only saw the Jiajing Emperor in the early part of his reign, but he didn't know what the Jiajing Emperor would become in the middle and later stages of his reign.

In fact, the Jiajing Emperor has already shown some signs of his true colors. The tragic death of Yang Zui, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, is evidence of this. However, Gao Gong has not yet truly entered the game and is unable to see the true face of the Jiajing Emperor.

Before long, the darkest period of the Jiajing reign will begin.

Emperor Jiajing's pursuit of immortality led to neglect of state affairs and misrule, while Yan Song and his son controlled the government. This situation was not fundamentally different from, and perhaps even worse than, the reign of Liu Jin during the Zhengde era of the previous dynasty.

However, Yan Maoqing was not worried about Gao Gong.

Despite feeling utterly disheartened, judging from Gao Gong's current excited state, he must have felt utterly disheartened in history as well, but he did not become depressed because of it.

He spent a full ten years lying low in the Hanlin Academy, rising from Hanlin Compiler to Hanlin Reader, and then entered the Prince Yu's Mansion to lecture on the classics, thus catching the fast train of Prince Yu, Zhu Zaihou.

After outliving the Jiajing Emperor, he eventually became the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, thanks to his deep teacher-student relationship with Zhu Zaihou.

Therefore, although Gao Gong was impatient, he was not someone who did not know how to assess the situation, and Yan Maoqing did not need to worry about him at all.

So Yan Maoqing suppressed the slight reluctance in his heart and said with a smile:

"Brother Gao, there's no need to persuade me any further. I don't have such lofty ambitions as you."

“I took the imperial examinations just to make a living. There is no salary for a junior official, and I firmly refuse to accept being taken advantage of. Even the imperial court cannot take advantage of me.”

"Freebie?"

This term was quite novel; Gao Gong had never heard it before. After pondering it for a while, he finally understood its meaning, concluding that it was Yan Maoqing's self-deprecating remark.

However, what Yan Maoqing said is indeed true.

The second and third-class graduates went to the Six Ministries and the Censorate to observe government affairs and were respectively appointed as officials of the seventh and eighth ranks, enjoying the same salary during their tenure.

Those selected as probationary officials were not granted official ranks or salaries; they received only meager monthly stipends, barely enough to keep them from starving or freezing to death in the expensive capital.

The reason why almost all the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) flocked to become Shujishi (probationary officials in the Hanlin Academy).

This is because of the established official rule in the court: "Those who are not Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) cannot enter the Hanlin Academy, and those who are not Hanlin Academy members cannot enter the Grand Secretariat."

and so……

Gao Gong suddenly couldn't tell whether Yan Maoqing and he were the same kind of people.

(End of this chapter)