Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

"You've said too little!" Gao Qiu raised his teacup, glanced at him sideways, and said indifferently, "You should say that you would do anything for the emperor."

"Huh?" Gao Zhao was taken aback for a moment, then realized that he had only said "for the court" and "for Gao Qiu," but had forgotten to say "for the emperor." He quickly explained with an embarrassed laugh, "I thought 'for the court' meant 'for the emperor'!"

"Foolish! The imperial court is the imperial court, and the emperor is the emperor; how can they be treated the same?"

Gao Qiu took a sip of tea, slammed the teacup down heavily, and lectured:

"When you serve the court, that's official business, and you receive a salary. When you serve the emperor, you're acting out of loyalty and winning his favor. How can those be the same?"

Gao Zhao suddenly understood, and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Ah, your teachings are truly enlightening! A single conversation with you is worth more than ten years of study!"

"Tch!" Gao Qiu curled his lip and said disdainfully, "Have you even studied? You can't even recite the Analects of Confucius. You didn't learn much from those ten years of studying!"

"Uh..." Gao Zhao choked, cursing inwardly, "This guy's mouth is too venomous!"

I'm flattering you, can't you tell?

How could you come up with such a vicious statement!

No wonder you're a treacherous minister! Just for that mouth of yours, you deserve it!

Gao Qiu was delighted to see him humiliated and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, forget about the hereditary privilege for now. Even if you were granted one now, you'd have to wait until you come of age to become an official. Rather than letting you languish in the officialdom, I'd rather push you a bit higher and at least get you a special post!"

Gao Zhao didn't understand what "imperial post" meant, nor did he dare to ask, but he understood Gao Qiu's words: it meant that he had no chance of getting an official position through imperial favor!

Even if one gains an official position through hereditary privilege, one must wait until the age of twenty to be officially appointed.

Moreover, judging from Gao Qiu's words, even if he reaches the required age, he is not prepared to grant him an official position through patronage, but rather to give him a much bigger one.

Damn it! That tyrant Zhao Ji is going to visit the Five Kingdoms City in fourteen years, don't give me a big surprise!

That treacherous official is so unreliable!

It seems I'll have to rely on myself in this matter. I never imagined I'd end up taking the imperial examination route!

"Alright, go back and study more! It would be truly shameful if I got you an official position, only for you to fail even the Imperial Academy's entrance exam!"

"Ah! There's a test for this?" Gao Zhao was taken aback. He thought this was something that was given to him directly when he reached a certain age. Why was there a test?

"You don't know about the Imperial Examination for Officials?" Gao Qiu looked at him calmly and said, "Not only is there an Imperial Examination for Officials, but there's also a Selection Examination for those appointed to official positions! What have you been doing all day? You don't even know this, yet you want an official position through hereditary privilege?"

Gao Zhao shook his head inwardly, thinking to himself that Zhao Ji was indeed a cruel and ungrateful tyrant! Since he was going to offer him an official position, he should have done so openly. Why add two tests? Wasn't that just making things difficult for him?

It would be so embarrassing if I really failed the exam! Are you doing me a favor or making an enemy?

No wonder you were captured by the Jurchens, you deserved it!

Seeing that Gao Qiu was about to send him away again, Gao Zhao quickly said seriously, "My lord, I have a dream..."

"Just tell me how much you want!" Gao Qiu tapped the table impatiently, glanced at him sideways, and picked up his teacup.

"It's not about money!" Gao Zhao realized it was really difficult to communicate with this uncouth nouveau riche, so he had no choice but to confess, "I want to take the imperial examination!"

"Pfft!" Gao Qiu, who had just taken a sip of tea, spat it out and coughed violently.

Gao Zhao quickly stepped forward, patting his back as he explained, "I know this sounds a bit far-fetched, but I've thought it through carefully..."

"You...cough cough...the bastards you've done these past two years...which one wasn't carefully considered?" Gao Qiu looked at him with a speechless expression.

"This time is different!" Gao Zhao didn't dwell on the topic and continued, "You see, I'm also a clever and quick-witted person... although it's not usually obvious, that's because I'm intelligent inside..."

"Tell me the truth, who instigated this?" Gao Qiu took a breath, calmed his cough, and looked at him with a complicated expression, questioning, "Who exactly made you have such a huge misunderstanding of yourself?"

Gao Zhao suppressed the urge to punch him twice and explained, "That's not the point. The point is, as long as you hire two more renowned tutors for me, with this level of skill, we'll be crushing everyone in the exam!"

Seeing that his expression was quite serious and not joking, Gao Qiu could only put his hand to his forehead and pause for a while before waving his hand and saying, "Let's not talk about how you haven't been able to memorize the Analects for years, or how you still can't use the fanqie method in the Guangyun dictionary. I'll only ask you one thing: do you know that the imperial examination system has been abolished?"

"Ah!" Gao Zhao was utterly shocked. What? The imperial examinations were abolished? How could this be? Isn't this the Song Dynasty I know?

Upon seeing his expression, Gao Qiu knew his prediction was correct. He slapped his forehead and patiently explained, "Our Great Song Dynasty has promoted education three times. The first time was the Qingli Education Promotion led by Fan Zhongyan..."

"I know that. In the spring of the fourth year of the Qingli era, Teng Zijing was demoted to the position of Prefect of Baling. The following year..."

"Stop, stop, stop..." Gao Qiu sighed, forcing himself to say, "Fortunately, he can recite 'The Yueyang Tower Inscription.' The Qingli Education Promotion was implemented during the Qingli New Policies, which involved building numerous official schools and inviting great Confucian scholars to lecture. The Imperial Academy was also established at that time!"

Gao Zhao nodded silently; he knew little about this and dared not say more.

Gao Qiu continued, "The second instance was during the Xining era when Prince Shu, Wang Anshi, promoted education, implemented the 'New Interpretation of the Three Classics,' reformed the Imperial Academy, established the Three-Tier System, and allowed students of the highest tier to be directly appointed to official positions!"

Gao Zhao forced himself to remain calm. He knew about Wang Anshi's reforms, but he didn't have a deep impression of the education reforms.

"The third is the education reform promoted by the current emperor during the Chongning era. Official schools were established throughout the prefectures and counties of the country, the imperial examination system was abolished, and the quotas previously allocated to each region were used to enter the Imperial Academy. The Biyong Hall was established as an outer campus of the Imperial Academy to recruit students from all over the country. Students were tested at each level and finally promoted to the upper campus, and then the palace examination was held to appoint officials!"

Gao Zhao was stunned. Wasn't this the school system of later generations? They already had it now?

However, he quickly realized that if this were the case, wouldn't someone like him, who originally had an advantage in educational resources, be forcibly leveled out?

Even if you can find someone to tutor you, the advantage is limited!

Furthermore, the reign title Chongning used by Emperor Huizong of Song was clearly an endorsement of the Xining Reforms!

The version used in the exams nowadays must be "New Interpretations of the Three Classics"!

If even the textbooks are standardized, then it all comes down to talent and hard work, doesn't it?

Although he always said he was very smart, wasn't that just talk? He never actually did it!

This...this tyrant is ruining my future!

No wonder you suffered the humiliation of Jingkang; you truly deserved it!

"Still preparing for the imperial examinations?" Gao Qiu sneered. "If you really have that dream, I'll have someone register you at the Kaifeng Prefectural School! They'll still give me that much face!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhao's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "Going to the prefectural school to register is too much trouble! Sir, just let me go to the Imperial Academy's upper dormitory!"

Gao Qiu's face darkened, and he sneered, "Who do you take me for? Someone who can get you into the Upper Chamber!"

"Who are you?" Gao Zhao's expression turned solemn, and he said loudly, "The one sitting in front of me is, the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Guard, the Military Governor of Fengguo Army, the Duke of Bohai Commandery, with a fief of two thousand households and a real fief of nine hundred households, Gao..."

"roll!"

"Okay, that's it!" Gao Zhao turned and ran.

Gao Qiu watched his retreating figure, his brows furrowed slightly, lost in thought, and murmured, "Why does he seem like a completely different person?"