I studied in modern times

Chapter 995 The Ministry of Rites Examination (1)

Bingchen (the ninth day of the lunar month) in March of the third year of Yuanyou.

On the eve of the imperial examination administered by the Ministry of Rites in the Song Dynasty, Liao envoy Yelü Yongchang finally arrived in Bianjing (Kaifeng) with his delegation and presented his credentials to the Ministry of Rites.

then……

Then, the entire delegation scattered like birds and beasts in an instant.

Half of the people ran into brothels and indulged in their pleasures.

The other half of the group were invited to the homes of wealthy families in Bianjing (Kaifeng) to discuss business.

As for Yelü Yongchang, he immediately moved into Liu Yong's former residence and began to seduce the famous courtesan known by her stage name, Chongniang.
"Who would have thought he was such a romantic!"

After learning about this from Xing Shu, Zhao Xu was also filled with emotion.

He then instructed Xing Shu, "Didn't Yelü Yongchang send back a message some time ago, saying that the Liao emperor wanted to know about the imperial examinations in our dynasty?"

"Scholar, please do me the trouble and help Yelü Yongchang get this matter settled!"

Upon hearing this, Xing Shu paused for a moment, not understanding Zhao Xu's meaning, and then cupped his hands and asked, "Your Majesty is ignorant and does not know if Your Majesty's intention is... to compile some examination records and information?"

Zhao Xu chuckled and said, "With trade between the Song and Liao dynasties so booming these days, what's the point of making this up?"

"Don't even mention it, merchants from all over will eventually bring the situation in Bianjing to the Liao emperor's attention..."

"Even now, there are probably people secretly colluding with the Liao people!"

Once trade begins, information and intelligence will also flow freely.

Due to limitations in technology and the speed of information flow, there may be issues with the accuracy of information from the Middle Ages.

However, as long as you are willing to put in the effort and spend the time, you will eventually get the information you want.

Just as Zhao Xu, residing in Bianjing, could learn about the Liao Dynasty's publicly disclosed information without needing to go through Yelü Ju and Yelü Yongchang.

If Yelü Hongji wanted to, could anything in Bianjing be kept from him?
It's nothing more than a delay of ten days to half a month.

Not to mention, there must be some guys in Bianjing who are colluding with the Liao people.

This is normal!

Just as Zhao Xu was able to corrupt the Liao dynasty's powerful officials, Yelü Hongji was also able to win over Song dynasty officials and merchants.

Zhao Xu had anticipated this.

Even in modern times, there are quite a few countries that have been thoroughly infiltrated from top to bottom by their arch-enemies.

Moreover, in this medieval period?
Zhao Xu never overestimates human nature.

"Ah!" Xing Shu exclaimed in surprise.

But after thinking about it carefully, he lowered his head and agreed with Zhao Xu's statement.

Because it is located on the border fortresses along the current border routes.

There were also quite a few people who secretly traded with the Tanguts and smuggled ironware, copper coins, silk, and tea from the Song Dynasty.

Fan Chun, the transport commissioner of Shaanxi, once compiled statistics on trade between the Song and Xia dynasties. He eventually guessed that at least one-third of the trade volume between the Song and Xia dynasties was carried out through smuggling.

Among those involved in the smuggling trade were not only gentry from the northwest of the Song Dynasty, but also military officers and influential local figures.

For example, the Zhe family in Hedong, the Zhong family on Fuyan Road, and the Yao family on Xihe Road all participated in it.

Moreover, their business is very large!

As for why this happens?

This is naturally because the relationship between the Song and Xia dynasties was complex and intertwined.

The closer to the border, the more complicated the situation becomes.

Take the Zhe family for example—the Zhe family and the Wuzu of Xingqing Prefecture are sworn enemies.

However, the Zhe family and many Dangxiang tribes living outside the borders of Linzhou and Fuzhou are related.

It's perfectly normal for relatives to share things with each other.

Not to mention, the Zhe family also had the mission of investigating the strengths and weaknesses of the Dangxiang and finding out the inner workings of the Western Xia.

This requires the cooperation and assistance of relatives.

Therefore, the imperial court turned a blind eye to the Zhe family's smuggling activities at the border.

As long as they don't go too far, both the palace and the capital will act as if nothing has happened.

The Zhe family was like this, the Zhong family was like this, and the Yao family was even more so.

Therefore, the Western Army came to have the names of Zhe Family Army, Zhong Family Army, and Yao Family Army!
If the situation was like this on the Song-Xia border, the situation on the Song-Liao border was even more complicated.

Leaving aside other matters, the Han Chinese families of Youyan and the scholar-official and noble families of Hebei have been intermarrying with each other since ancient times, and they are all relatives.

Although they now belong to two different countries and no longer have intermarriages, blood is thicker than water. Who knows if these guys are secretly in contact or exchanging visits?
In the past, the border trade between the Song and Liao dynasties was basically monopolized by the noble families of Hebei and the Han Chinese families of Youyan.

Thinking of this, Xing Shu was suddenly startled and couldn't help but swallow.

Because he remembered—the Cao family of Empress Dowager Cixi and the Gao family of the current Empress Dowager are both from Hebei!

so……

The officials know perfectly well what's going on!

He then obediently replied, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

"Yes!" Zhao Xu, unaware of Xing Shu's thoughts, instructed, "Scholar, remember to carefully select from the essays of the newly appointed Jinshi..."

"Select the best-written articles, those with the most ornate vocabulary, copy them, and send them to Liaodong!"

"Not only in Liao Shangjing, but also in Liao Nanjing, Xijing, and Dongjing, people were sent to deliver gifts and spread the word!"

"We must make sure that everyone in the Liao Kingdom knows the brilliance of our dynasty's literature!"

"promise!"

……

After seeing Xing Shu off, Zhao Xu leaned back on the cushion and softly recited Sikong Tu's poem: "The Han people all speak the language of the barbarians, yet they curse the Han people from the city walls..."

The Han people in Liaodong today are not the same as the Han people in the Hehuang region that Sikong Tu saw back then.

They still wore Han Chinese clothing, read the books of Confucius and Mencius, and practiced Han Chinese etiquette.

They even led the Khitans and Xi people to wear Confucian robes and hats, adopt Confucian etiquette, speak Confucian rhymes, build Confucian temples, and start the imperial examination system.

But they are no longer of one mind with the Han people in the Central Plains.

The regime they served was called the Liao Dynasty, and the monarch they revered was surnamed Yelü.

They received salaries from the Yelü family and served as officials in the Liao state.

Naturally, they would only serve the Yelü family and scheme for the Liao state.

The elite among them even considered themselves loyal subjects of the Liao Dynasty.

They were more loyal and reliable than the Khitans and Xi people.

Just like when Zhao Xu first met that Han scholar-official named Yelü Yan.

Therefore, Zhao Xu knew that trying to unite the Han Chinese aristocratic families of Youyan was useless.

They could not possibly side with the Zhao family.

Neither their own self-interest nor their adherence to Confucianism and Mencius could inspire any sense of loyalty to the Song Dynasty.

After all, if the Song Dynasty unified the world, what would they be?
Traitor?!

But it doesn't matter, Zhao Xu can unite the Khitans, Xis, Bohais, and even the Jurchens.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle: "This world is truly interesting..."

"The Han people are more loyal than the Khitans and Xi people!"

Fortunately, he had seen similar things in modern times and was used to it.

……

The following day was the tenth day of the third month, Ding Si.

The Ministry of Rites examination officially began in the third year of the Yuan You era.

Early in the morning, countless scholars had already arrived at this place from all directions.

This year is a big year for the imperial examinations!
Last autumn, the provincial governor decided that the total number of candidates to be submitted by prefectures and counties across the country would be 6,325.

Looks like a lot?

However, these quotas were not distributed equally among all the military prefectures and states.

According to the system, the Song Dynasty's special examinations for officials included the "Separate Examination" (a special examination for second-generation officials) and the "Holding Examination" (a special examination for current officials), which provided shortcuts for second-generation officials and those already in the system.

Therefore, we must prioritize helping them.

Only after the second-generation sons of high-ranking officials and the current officials have finished dividing the spoils will it be the turn of others.

In addition, during the Xining Reform, the number of candidates for the provincial examination was also reduced—according to the Three-Tier System, the Imperial Academy should have 300 candidates for each provincial examination.

Therefore, the quota available for state and county examinations to be distributed is usually less than 70% of the total quota.

In other words, last year's autumn imperial examinations actually only had a little over 4,500 quotas available for allocation across all prefectures and counties.

The Song Dynasty had twenty-three circuits, more than two hundred military prefectures, and over one thousand two hundred counties.

On average, a county receives less than four quotas.

In other words, each county can only have a maximum of four slots for officials to go to Beijing to take the civil service exam.

However, as we all know, nothing can be judged by averages. People are rich or poor, land is fertile or barren, and education naturally varies in quality.

In some prefectures and counties, there can be dozens of quotas for each release test.

Some prefectures and counties didn't even have a quota for relief—such as Yazhou.

This year's imperial examinations were no exception.

Soon, the area in front of Kaibao Temple was crowded with scholars.

It was a huge, densely packed mass of people.

Scholars from all over the country, speaking in various accents, made the streets and alleys in front of Kaibao Temple noisy for a time.

However, onlookers could easily discern the origins of these scholars—because all the scholars were gathered together by officials dispatched by the government, organized by their respective districts.

These officials were holding up flags.

The flags displayed the place of origin of the scholars who belonged to them.

Thus, those who are observant can quickly discern the strengths and weaknesses of education across the twenty-three circuits of the Song Dynasty.

The strongest are naturally the six routes in the southeast!

Looking around, the officials holding up flags from Huainan, Liangzhe, Jiangnan West Road, Jiangnan East Road, Jinghu North Road, and Jinghu South Road were the most numerous.

The flags on Fujian Road are just as impressive as those on Southeast Sixth Road.

There were also quite a few flags from various circuits around the capital.

However, the flags in Hebei and Hedong are already quite sparse.

As for the flags of the other routes, we'll have to search for them carefully.

Among the scholars from all over the country, the most eye-catching group was the one gathered under a banner that read "Xihe Road".

The scholars gathered under the banners on Xihe Road, though dressed in scholar's robes, clearly did not look like Han Chinese.

Even those who looked like Han Chinese clearly had the characteristics of non-Han people.

In addition, their skin had clearly been exposed to the sun.

They all looked very rugged, with calluses all over their hands.

Moreover, they were all tall, strong, and exuded the air of military officials.

Naturally, their appearance immediately attracted the attention of others.

These scholars from Xihe did not hide their true feelings, nor did they show any stage fright.

On the contrary, they all stood tall and proud.

They even began to stare at each other with strange looks from other scholars.

This angered some scholars from other circles.

"There are actually scholars on Xihe Road?"

"Could the Tibetans, Tanguts, and Qiang people of the Western Regions also understand the teachings of Confucius and Mencius?"

Immediately, some people started to laugh loudly in mockery.

When will the quota for Xihe Road be lifted?

"Xihe actually got a quota exemption?"

There were sarcastic and mocking remarks from the privileged children of officials.

As they knew, the Xihe route, before Wang Shao opened the border, was a wild and uncivilized land, unfamiliar with civilization.

Let alone reading, the local tribal leaders probably couldn't even read.

So, all things considered, these people have only studied for about ten years.

The teachers who taught them were probably all incompetent, not even worthy of being called tribute students.

How can we compare to these privileged children who have been immersed in literature and poetry since childhood and have studied under renowned teachers?
Hearing the jeers of the officials mocking them, the scholars from the six southeastern routes raised their heads high and smiled.

Because they knew that this year's imperial examinations had a few more denominators.

For the proud scholars of the southeast, the more people participated in each imperial examination, the more Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest level of the imperial examinations) they could ultimately obtain.

Under the banners on Xihe Road, the scholars of Xihe listened to the sarcasm, contempt, and ridicule of their peers.

Finally, one person emerged from among the scholars of Xihe.

The man held his head high, glanced disdainfully at everyone, and arrogantly said, "How can a sparrow know the phoenix?"

His arrogance immediately stung some people.

Immediately, some scholars shouted, "Hey!"

"You crude barbarians! This is the capital, the most virtuous place, where the emperor selects his officials. How dare you be so insolent!"

The man licked his lips, looked at the scholar who had reprimanded him, glanced at him, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips. He said, "I am Bao Cheng, grandson of Bao Shun, the current Grand Master of the Palace, Governor of Hezhou, Military Commander of Huizhou, and Chief Inspector of this Commandery!"

"Who are you to dare insult me?"

"Dare to fight me one-on-one!?"

As he spoke, Bao Cheng was about to take off his robes and engage in a duel between the nobles of Xihe with that man.

Fortunately, people around him quickly pulled him away.

But it was during this process that Bao Cheng's sleeve was pulled open, with a whoosh...

A huge stack of paper money fell down!
Each Jiaozi (paper money) was worth 100 guan (a unit of currency).

The paper money that fell out of his sleeve numbered in the dozens.

This amounted to several thousand strings of cash.

To be honest, in Bianjing (Kaifeng), having several thousand strings of paper money is nothing.

However, it would be far too exaggerated for a young man to have several thousand strings of cash fall out of his sleeve.

The moment these coins fell out.

Whether they were scholars from the six southeastern circuits or sons of officials, they all put away the contempt in their eyes and became serious.

Because they all knew that the imperial examination system was actually a way to make money.

With enough money, and with consistent investment, even a once barren land of imperial examinations can be transformed into a strong path for future examination success.

Fujian Road is the best example!

In the early years of the dynasty, a single imperial examination in Fujian Province might not produce even one Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest level of the imperial examinations).

But now?

There were quite a few Fujianese who held high office in the imperial court and were appointed prime ministers.

why?
Fujianese people are wealthy and willing to spend money to pass the imperial examinations!

They directly sent people to recruit talent from academies and private schools across the country.

With money as your guide, you'll be successful in everything you do.

Xihe Road seems to have similar potential.

After all, anyone who pays even a little attention to the current global situation knows that Xihe produces cotton.

They even monopolized cotton in the Song Dynasty!
The young masters knew that just by growing cotton, Xihe Road was already close to achieving financial self-sufficiency—in the eighth year of the Yuanfeng era, the imperial court still needed to allocate more than four million strings of cash to Xihe Lanhui Road every year through the Ministry of Revenue.

In the first year of the Yuan You era, the amount had already reached just over three million strings of cash.

Last year, it decreased to just two million guan.

I heard that this year, the central government funding needed for Xihe Road may only be a little over one million guan.

While maintaining its financial self-sufficiency, Xihe Road was able to purchase tens of thousands of horses annually to support its army, local households, and vassal states with a force of over 100,000 men.

In the past, the sons of high-ranking officials only heard about this matter from their elders and did not have any direct experience with it.

Now, when they saw with their own eyes the paper money falling out of Bao Cheng's sleeve.

The legend reflects reality.

They knew that Xihe had truly risen to prominence!

……

The little incident that occurred in front of Kaibao Temple quickly subsided.

Scholars from all walks of life began to put away their contempt and disdain for the scholars of Xihe.

Even the guy who clamored that the scholars of Xihe were "barbarians" slunk away into the crowd of scholars on his street after seeing the paper money fall from Bao Cheng's sleeve, and never showed his face again.

Without him!

That's how realistic Song Dynasty society was—everything revolved around money!
If you have money, you can show off!

Moreover, the scholars of Xihe not only had money, but also power!
His father and grandfather were either high-ranking officials of vassal states or renowned military officers of the Song Dynasty.

In a sense, they are also sons of high-ranking officials!
He was an internal member of the ruling group and one who truly shared the world and wealth with the Zhao Emperor.

In contrast, most scholars came from humble backgrounds.

How dare they continue to mock these rich and powerful young masters who even know how to come to Bianjing to take the imperial examinations?

Some people were even looking at Bao Cheng and the others with envy.

Some of the more astute among them were already considering whether to approach them, cultivate good relationships with these newly wealthy sons of officials, and even establish marriage alliances.

(End of this chapter)