White-robed Minister

Chapter 116 0114 [New Idiom: Green Stone Pheasant Feathers]

The process of awarding official positions to successful candidates in the imperial examinations during the Northern Song Dynasty underwent several changes.

In the early years of Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin's reign, the treatment of newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) was poor; their initial official positions could not exceed those of the second-ranked candidates. It was only after Zhao Kuangyin established the palace examination system that the treatment of newly appointed Jinshi improved slightly.

Until Zhao Guangyi returned from his donkey cart trip, the treatment of the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) skyrocketed!

Emperor Zhenzong and Emperor Renzong of Song both continued Zhao Guangyi's policy: the first-ranked person was appointed as the Assistant Director of the Directorate of Works, and the second and third-ranked persons were appointed as judges of the Court of Judicial Review.

The positions of Assistant Director of the Imperial Workshop and Judge of the Court of Judicial Review were both official ranks in the capital. They could either remain in the capital to hold prestigious and respectable positions, or be directly appointed as Vice Prefects in various prefectures!

He was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the second year of the Jiayou era, and belonged to the last cohort of those who received exceptionally high treatment.

After that, the value of the Jinshi degree began to decline!

The top scholar in the fourth year of the Jiayou era only received a salary equivalent to the previous second-place scholar, and his actual duties were not as good as those of the previous third-place scholar.

As Xu Lai spoke with Yang Shu, the other successful candidates also came out one after another.

Currently, only the first and second-class graduates have been dispatched; the rest must continue to wait.

Xu Lai: Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat (the lowest-ranking official in the capital), and Assistant Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture (an official post, the secretary-general of Yingtian Prefecture, second only to the prefect and the vice-prefect).

Peng Ruli: Secretary of the Military Governor (first-class, second-tier candidate), and Military Governor's Assistant of Baoxin Army.

Zhang: Judge of the Court of Judicial Review (a government official in Beijing), Magistrate of Chenliu County.

Zhang Shunmin: Defense Inspector (Second Class, Fourth Rank), Magistrate of Xiangle County.

Liao Zhenggu: Military Inspector (Second Class, Fourth Rank), Magistrate of Chang'an County.

Xu Lai invented the telescope and the hot air balloon, and obtained a trial position as the Chief Clerk of the Imperial Workshop. Now, he has finally put them to good use.

Otherwise, given the circumstances surrounding the Liangyan List, even with the emperor's favor, it wouldn't be easy to proceed.

His current official post is the lowest-ranking official in the capital.

Moreover, he was given a very generous position, actually being the third-in-command of Yingtian Prefecture.

The emperor must have spoken personally!

Of course, it's still not as prestigious as the previous top scholars who could be directly appointed as prefectural judges. Among all the new Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) this year, only Xu Lai and Zhang received official titles in the capital. Zhang did so because he had already served as the registrar of Mengzhou before taking the Jinshi exam.

Zhang Shunmin glanced at Liao Zhenggu's orders, then looked down at his own, pursed his lips, and said nothing.

Liao Zhenggu looked somewhat embarrassed.

He secretly used his connections to secure the position of magistrate of Chang'an County. Zhang Shunmin, who ranked higher than him, was only appointed as the magistrate of Xiangle County.

Congratulations on your success!

Regardless, everyone congratulated Xu Lai first.

"Congratulations to you too," Xu Lai replied in return.

Peng Ruli sighed, "Alas, apart from Xingzhi, there is indeed no one else who can stay in the capital this year. Even Zhifu (Zhang) cannot stay."

Zhang shook his head with a wry smile. If it were a normal imperial examination, he would definitely have been able to stay in the capital.

He also secretly asked the high-ranking officials in the court, but they all said they couldn't help him and could at most help him find a better local position.

After chatting for a while, they went their separate ways.

On the way, Xu Lai said to Yang Shu, "Before I leave the capital, I'll take you to visit the Ouyang family. It's not good to pay a visit to Master Ouyang abruptly, but you can first get to know his son."

"Thank you so much for your help, Xingzhi!" Yang Shu expressed his heartfelt gratitude.

His ranking in the imperial examination was only at the very bottom of the fourth class.

The third-ranked scholars only held nominal official positions and had not yet received actual assignments. Fourth-ranked scholars like Yang Shu had to wait until the third-ranked scholars were all assigned positions.

If he becomes familiar with people like Ouyang Bei and Ouyang Bian, Ouyang Xiu will most likely be willing to give him a helping hand.

The two returned to the Yu residence.

Yu Shanyuan was already waiting at home.

Xu Lai hesitated to speak, "I am a judge in Yingtian Prefecture."

Yu Shanyuan was both amused and exasperated, then cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations, my worthy brother!"

Xu Lai's position is equivalent to that of the secretary-general of a municipal government, and moreover, the secretary-general of a municipality directly under the central government. It's really inconvenient for him to hire a private staff member. If word got out, it would be a laughing stock.

"Thank you for your hard work these past few days, brother." Xu Lai went back into the house and took out five strings of cash.

This was partly as compensation for Yu Shanyuan's stay in the capital, and partly to thank him for helping with the event promotions. Many of the discounts for these promotions were secured by Yu Shanyuan.

Of course, Yu Shanyuan also gained something; he took the opportunity to get to know some of the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). Moreover, these were Jinshi who held certain positions at the upcoming gatherings.

For example, Zhang An was in charge of managing the accounts of the collected funds, and Yu Shanyuan often dealt with Zhang An.

This was a rare opportunity, and Yu Shanyuan was actually very happy.

Yu Shanyuan refused to accept the five strings of cash, saying, "We are friends, there's no need to talk about money."

Xu Lai, however, said, "Let's just consider it a gift for my elder brother's return home."

Yu Shanyuan accepted the money because he had a wife and children at home and often needed it.

Xu Lai didn't have much money left.

But it's enough for now.

Xu Lai and Yu Shanyuan chatted for a while longer, agreeing that once Xu Lai took charge of a region, Yu Shanyuan would become his personal advisor. As for now, Yu Shanyuan would go home and find a teaching job.

Is the top scholar here?

Is the top scholar here?

After being called several times outside, Yang Shu ran to open the door.

Yang Shu asked, "And you are—"

Su Shi presented his visiting card: "Su Shi, the judge of Dengwen Drum Court, has come to pay his respects after hearing your reputation."

"Please come in quickly," Yang Shu said, bowing hurriedly. "My name is Yang Shu, courtesy name Jiezhi, and I am a fourth-class Jinshi this year."

Su Shi returned the greeting, saying, "So you are a newly appointed scholar. I was rude earlier."

Su Shi is currently waiting for the exam. If he passes, he can go directly to the Imperial Academy and will no longer need to be the director of the Petition Bureau.

At this time, Su Shi was not yet famous throughout the world, but he was already quite well-known, and Yang Shu had naturally heard of him.

Yang Shu led Su Shi into the inner courtyard, saying as they walked, "Life is like a wild goose flying across the snow, leaving only fleeting footprints. The goose flies away, never to return." These lines of poetry by Mr. Su are truly moving.

"Haha, this is just a humble work done in my spare time, and it's sure to make a fool of myself," Su Shi laughed.

Yang Shu took a few more steps and called out inside, "Xingzhi, Tiren, Mr. Su is here to visit!"

Xu Lai and Yu Shanyuan, who were discussing future development, immediately went into the courtyard to greet Su Shi and invited him in to brew tea.

Xu Lai couldn't help but take a few more glances at Su Shi, who was not yet thirty years old.

It must be mentioned that Xu Lai's current reputation as a poet is actually far greater than that of Su Shi.

Of Su Shi's existing poems, only the one Yang Shu just recited is remembered. Most of his popular and enduring masterpieces were written after he was demoted.

If Su Shi had not been repeatedly demoted, it would have been a great loss to the history of Chinese literature.

Xu Lai even thought of Xin Qiji.

If I've already time-traveled, how could the Jingkang Incident have occurred? Without the Jingkang Incident, could Xin Qiji have written those poems?

Therefore, copying Xin Qiji's poems is definitely a form of protective plagiarism.

Oh dear, the works of Jiang Kui, Jiang Jie, and Zhang Xiaoxiang should also be protected.

"When I returned to the capital last month, I happened to come across Xingzhi's poems, which I greatly admired, so I took the liberty of visiting you." Su Shi expressed his admiration right from the start.

Su Dongpo admired our poetic talent?

Xu Lai felt a little embarrassed: "I dare not accept such praise. Brother Zizhan's poems are truly well-written."

The two then began praising each other.

If you praise someone too much, they'll consider you a close friend.

Su Shi took out a copy of the official gazette: "The gazette issued today says that Xingzhi has done something very important."

Xu Lai glanced at it and saw that it was his memorial requesting the cancellation of Xie Enyin's grant.

Some officials' memorials were published in the official gazette, either in excerpt or in full. There were two reasons for this: either the memorial was well-written, or it was controversial and deliberately published to encourage discussion.

Even underreporting requires content review, and finally, it can only be issued after the prime minister signs it off.

The more sensitive the article, the longer the review process will take.

"Do it! Do it!"

Someone was banging on the door again.

This time, it was Yu Shanyuan who opened the door, but the visitors were Xu Anshi, Lu Zhiyuan, and several other students from the Imperial Academy.

Xu Anshi waved the official gazette and said, "Xingzhi, your memorial has been published in the official gazette!"

Well, it's the official gazette again.

The students who had accompanied Xu Anshi made no attempt to hide their admiration: "We only read the top scholar's memorial today. His plan to abolish the silver reward for the emperor's favor is truly brilliant. We are all deeply impressed by the top scholar's academic journey. We were just saying that there will definitely be an idiom in the future, 'Qingshi zhiyu' (青石雉羽), to describe a poor scholar who studies diligently and tirelessly."

Yang Shu laughed and said, "That's a good idiom."

Su Shi commented: "Pheasant feathers as pens, stream water as ink, and bluestone as paper—the hardships endured by ancient sages in their pursuit of knowledge were no more arduous than this."

Throughout history and across the world, storytelling is the easiest way to make people remember things.

Xu Lai's fabricated story of pursuing his studies will likely spread rapidly throughout the country along with this official gazette. Teachers, in particular, will use it to educate and motivate their students.

Who knows, if someone writes the Three Character Classic in the future, Xu Lai's story of pursuing his studies will be included in it.

Before long, another person came to visit.

This time, however, it was several people who had passed the imperial examination in the same year.

They somehow read the official gazette and learned about Xu Lai's arduous studies and his method of canceling the thanksgiving silver. So, before they left the capital, they hurried to visit him.

While we're at it, let's continue to build rapport!

By mid-afternoon, the number of visitors had increased, most of whom had come after reading the official gazette. Xu Lai didn't even recognize them.

Yang Shu was very lucky, and Xu Lai took the opportunity to introduce Yang Shu to these people.

In the evening, everyone decided to go to a restaurant for dinner, and twenty or thirty people went out in a hurry.

Returning home slightly drunk, Xu Lai lit a lamp and wrote a letter to Pianpian, informing her of the official position he had obtained and asking Yu Shanyuan to help deliver the letter when he returned to his hometown.

In fact, Xu Lai had already written two letters a few days ago. One was to Pianpian, and the other was to his family, asking Liang Wensu, who had failed the exam, to take them back for him.

Official documents from the government are faster!

At this very moment, the complete list of the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) has been sent to Jiangxi Province via the imperial gazette. It will soon reach Guangdong.

Our Magistrate Shen must be overjoyed.

He produced a top scholar in the imperial examinations under his jurisdiction. Regardless of whether it was related to him or not, it was definitely a political achievement.

This guy's luck is absolutely incredible.

They do nothing productive all day long, yet all sorts of benefits fall from the sky.

Given Magistrate Shen's character and conduct, he would most likely personally go to Qingxi Village and, incidentally, contribute money to help the Xu family repair their house.

How could the family of the top scholar continue to live in a thatched hut?

We must build tiled houses!

Otherwise, it would be a disgrace to Qingyuan County, and a disgrace to Magistrate Shen!

(This chapter took too much time to research the official system. Apologies.)

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