Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 428: Its potential can be described as
"Thank you, sir, but our family doesn't accept gifts. I'd like to ask you to make a trip. Do you want to come in and have some tea?"

In a valley in the southwestern mountainous area, when a young man, accompanied by a stocky middle-aged man next to him, declined visitors one after another, a stocky woman standing behind them said without leaving:

"With so many things, it would take hundreds of strings to collect them all, right?"

"It doesn't matter if it's hundreds of dollars. Although we are poor, every penny is worth it."

The stocky middle-aged man turned around and spoke to his mother-in-law, but their language was not Mandarin, and others might not be able to understand it.

"There should be no one around, so let's close the door and eat."

Seeing that no one had come for a long time, the young man spoke in Mandarin and closed the door of his courtyard.

There was no sign of reluctance on the young man's face, but he felt that his father was right to urge him.

"Since Jianghuai can pass the exams for high school students, he will definitely be able to pass the imperial exams and Jinshi exams in the future!"

After reading out his son's name, Jiang Da Ri said it very proudly, as if he was the one who passed the examination.

What Jiang Huai meant was why Qi Jingzong didn't let Huang Jing help his family get out of jail.

"Ashamed to say..."

"That can't be the same!" Jiang Da Ri said in a loud voice: "Their parents have been high officials, and they can only participate in the imperial examinations because of the imperial court's amnesty, but you are different."

"Mr. Qi?"

"You are seventeen years old." Although he is young, Jiang Huai behaves very precociously.

Because of this, Yunnan's academic style had already begun to rise before official education entered Yunnan, and it even tended to dominate the southwest region's imperial examinations.

If not for the later implementation of official education in Sichuan Province, Yunnan might have left the other four provinces behind and could not catch up.

"When I go out for a walk later, there will definitely be a lot of people asking me for a drink. When the time comes, I will just twist my head. It's not that I don't want to drink rice wine!"

"Actually, I say this mainly because I want you to worship me as your teacher. If you become a Jinshi in the future, you can help my family get out of jail."

"Therefore, even if Huang Jing becomes a Jinshi in the future, he can only help his own family to deregister. My family..."

The courtyard door opened, and what came into view was Qi Jingzong, the father of the young lady of the Qi family. At this moment, he was wearing a wide robe and long sleeves, standing in the bluestone alley outside the courtyard gate to congratulate Jiang Huai.

"Tuk-tuk!"

Jiang Huai did not expect that Qi Jingzong would come to congratulate him. He was so frightened that he turned sideways and made a gesture to invite him in.

Although his father was happy for him before, he always felt a little inferior.

Jiang Huai expressed his thoughts, but Qi Jingzong asked after hearing it: "You are already sixteen this year, right?"

"Xu Shiqi, after five years of high school, he will be twenty-two."

After all, in his impression, since the imperial court announced seven years ago that children with criminal status in Yunnan can also participate in the imperial examinations, and high school Jinshi can help people escape from their criminal status, or serve as tutors and teach Jinshi to be freed from their criminal status, the entire Yunnan More than 100,000 Confucian students began to participate in the rumbling private schools and teaching movement.

Therefore, the purpose of using his daughter to marry Huang Jing was just so that Huang Jing could take care of these two brothers-in-law in the future.

One to two months after the examination, the palace examination will be held in the capital. The palace examination will be presided over by the emperor himself. Only tribute scholars who pass the examination are eligible to participate. Those who pass the examination are collectively called Jinshi. The palace examination is divided into top three, and the first one will be awarded. The first person will be named the number one scholar, the second person will be the second person, and the third person will be the third flower.

"I won't go in."

Jiang Da Ri walked around the courtyard with great dignity, holding his hands behind his back, as if he was showing off his popularity on the street.

Jiang Huai couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "There are more than 20 students in Xijiang Town, and I am just an inconspicuous ordinary person among them."

Facing Jiang Huai's inquiry, Qi Jingzong also felt ashamed and said: "The imperial court's regulations for the exemption of middle-level Jinshi are only parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, and nephews, and do not include the three clans of father, mother, and wife."

The joint examination after the rural examination was held in the capital in the spring of the second year after the rural examination. It was presided over by the Ministry of Rites. Only candidates from each province could participate. Those who passed the examination were called Gongshi, and the first place in the examination was called Huiyuan.

Although the two boys are young, they are very naughty. Even his daughter, an elder sister, cannot control them. Therefore, he does not expect his two sons to become Jinshi in high school and exonerate the family.

"I won't take part this year. Teacher Wang said he would recommend me to go to Beijing to study in middle school and Taixue. I want to finish middle school and then take the imperial examination."

Speaking of this, Qi Jingzong blushed a little, and Jiang Huai also said in surprise: "Didn't the young lady promise to give the Huang Jing of Juren?"

Qi Jingzong pointed out something and said with a smile: "Participating in the provincial examination will not affect your studies. It is better to take a provincial examination before departure. In case you go to high school and go to middle school in the capital, you can also study and take the imperial examination at the same time."

Suddenly, the courtyard door rang again, and Jiang Dari quickly put away his voice. Jiang Huai tidied his clothes and turned around to open the courtyard door.

Qi Jingzong's words are not unreasonable, but Jiang Huai is very curious about why Qi Jingzong said that.

"This..." Qi Jingzong didn't know that Jiang Huai liked his daughter.

Jiang Huai watched his father playing tricks and didn't say anything to him, but was very happy.

Normally, the rural examination is held every three years in provincial capitals, usually in autumn. Because it is held in autumn and August, it is also called Qiuwei. Only those who have obtained the qualification of scholar are eligible to participate in the provincial examination. Those who pass the examination are called Juren.

"Congratulations to Nephew High School!"

Qi Jingzong shook his head and sighed. When Jiang Huai heard this, the face of the Qi family's young lady also flashed in his mind, and he couldn't help but hesitate: "Even so, do you still want to get married?"

"Among the more than 400 households in Xijiang Town who were born as serfs, you are the only one who has passed the examination."

These things are known to everyone who participated in the imperial examination, so Qi Jingzong came to ask specifically. After all, there are still more than five months until the provincial examination is held. If Jiang Huai is confident, then maybe he can give it a try.

Now that he has passed the student examination, he has become more confident.

In the whole of Yunnan, only the western Yunnan area has implemented official education. This is mainly because the local area has accepted hundreds of thousands of officials and their relatives who were guilty of the Jingnan, and the proportion of sinicization is extremely high.

Qi Jingzong smiled and shook his head, then said: "Is my nephew ready to participate in this year's provincial examination?"

To be honest, if he only has one daughter, it doesn't matter who she wants to marry, but he still has two sons.

He had also considered Jianghuai, but after all, Jianghuai was just a potential student, but Huang Jing was already a candidate.

If Huang Jing hadn't insisted on taking part in the examination, then Huang Jing would have been able to get at least an official position from the seventh rank, enough to protect the three clans in the local area.

Qi Jingzong's hesitation made Jiang Huai look a little disappointed, and then he bowed and said, "I still need to ask Wang Jiaoxi about this matter."

"Okay, then I'll say goodbye and go home." When he heard that Jiang Huai wanted to ask Wang Jiaoxi from the elementary school, Qi Jingzong knew that the matter was hopeless.

"Mr. Qi, take care..."

Jiang Huai came out and bowed to give gifts, while Qi Jingzong also smiled bitterly and shook his head before leaving.

After he walked away, Jiang Da Ri said in a strange tone: "It turned out that he was exchanging his daughter for a person, but the exchange was not good."

Jiang Dari couldn't speak Mandarin, but he could listen, so he naturally knew Qi Jingzong's thoughts on marrying his daughter.

When he was a serf, he often watched the drama of marriages between his own chieftains and other chieftains to exchange benefits.

"Don't be fooled by the Qi family's young lady."

Jiang Dari reminded Jiang Huai, and Jiang Huai nodded, but he was still a little disappointed.

When he heard that Huang Jing could not help the Qi family get out of jail, he thought that Qi Jingzong would end the engagement, but he didn't expect that he had no intention of doing so.

He likes the Qi family's young lady, not the Qi family.

The young lady of the Qi family married Huang Jing. She is a member of the Huang family, so she can naturally get away with it, but her parents and brothers cannot.

What does her parents and brothers have to do with her?

What's more, Qi Jingzong didn't do much to help his family. If he hadn't passed the student entrance examination this time, he might have become a stranger to his family after marrying off his daughter.

Finally, Professor Wang from the school has helped me so much, so if I want to become my disciple, I should worship him.

Thinking of this, Jiang Huai turned to his parents and said, "Where are the things that the Yamen sent just now?"

"In the main hall, you don't want to give it to Qi Jingzong, right?" Jiang DaRi looked at his son warily.

"No, I'm going to school to give it to Professor Wang." Jiang Huai shook his head and mentioned Professor Wang who recommended him to attend middle school in the capital.

"That's okay, I'll give you some more!" Hearing that his son was going to give Wang Jiaoxi a gift, Jiang DaRi quickly walked into the courtyard and handed Jiang Huai a set of paper, pen, inkstone and ink delivered by the front office of Xijiang Town Yamen.

Western Yunnan is not as good as Luzon. Luzon's official school has only been implemented for a few years and the literary style is too shallow. However, Western Yunnan has gathered hundreds of thousands of literate officials in Jingnan. Even the small town of Xijiang can steadily produce more than 20 people every year. There are many students, so the students are naturally not that valuable.

Xijiang Town simply cannot afford the kind of award from the Luzon Yamen.

"Screw rustle..."

Suddenly there was the sound of armor from outside the alley. The three members of Jianghuai's family stretched out their heads to look out of the alley. The neighbors beside them also opened their doors and looked out of the alley.

Some people thought it was not lively enough, so they ran to the street to watch.

"Why are there so many soldiers?"

Jiang Dayi was speechless, and Jiang Huai said after hearing this: "Wang Jiaoxi said two months ago that some chieftains in the west were restless and attacked the civilians who were building the post road several times, so I asked you to stay at home in the first half of this year. ”

"Now it seems that the commotion in the west seems to be a bit loud. With this momentum, at least thousands of troops have been mobilized."

"Thousands of soldiers and horses?" Jiang Da Ri's eyes lit up: "Then I have to go and see."

"I'll go too!" Jinhua followed her husband out.

"Slow down!"

Jiang Huai looked helplessly at his parents who loved to join in the fun, then left the courtyard door ajar and took a detour to the school with paper, pen, and inkstone.

However, to his surprise, there seemed to be more than a thousand troops coming this time, because the three main roads in Xijiang Town were full of troops marching from east to west, and they were marching in full gear, and they seemed to be attacked at any time. .

Feeling that something was wrong in the atmosphere, Jiang Huai quickened his pace and arrived at the school gate a quarter of an hour later. However, the sight of the school at this moment made him take a breath.

Thousands of soldiers surrounded the place and were heavily guarded.

"Who is coming?"

A flag officer patrolling the street in front of the school saw Jiang Huai and immediately questioned him.

"Student Jiang Huai, come to the school to learn from Wang Huan."

Jiang Huai bowed and saluted more than ten steps away. He still respected the soldiers of the Ming army. After all, if they hadn't destroyed the chieftain of Mornezhai, his whole family would still be serfs. "A student?" The flag officer glanced at the young Jiang Huai in surprise, and then gestured: "Follow me."

"Thank you, General..." Jiang Huai's call of "General" made the little flag officer elated and even his steps became much lighter.

He took Jiang Huai to the front of the school, where two thousand-household officials and a dozen hundred-household officials were standing talking and laughing.

Such a formation made Jiang Huai suspect that the troops passing through Xijiang Town this time might be a guard.

"Boss, this student comes to see General Wude."

The sound of "boss" made all the generals turn around, and the title of General Wude in his mouth made Jiang Huai behind him take a breath.

General Wude is a member of the fifth rank of Sanjie. Although Sanjie does not contain power, the weight of the word "zhengfifuchin" is enough for some magistrates with real power to treat him with caution.

"Is what the old man said true?"

Jiang Huai thought of Wang Huan's bragging, and couldn't help but really doubted whether Wang Huan had really fought with the current Prince of the East Palace.

"I'm going to ask General Takeru if he knows him."

A hundred-household official spoke to two thousand-household officials, and the latter nodded and turned sideways.

Upon seeing this, the Baihu official trotted into the school, and after a while he ran out and said, "Please invite this student in."

"Yes!" Upon hearing this, the flag officer quickly led the way for Jiang Huai, and Jiang Huai was flattered by this move.

This was the first time for him to stay with so many military attachés. Although he was now a student officer and could chat with some county magistrates, he could also meet officials without bowing, but after all, he had not exercised the qualifications brought by these statuses.

In a daze, he was taken into school by the flag officer.

Since it was Sunday, students at the school had already had a holiday, and the school had become a temporary rest camp for the military.

The densely packed tents covered the school playground, and many soldiers who took off their armor were walking back and forth, talking and laughing.

That number will not be less than five thousand people.

"We're here, go in and remember to knock on the door."

Xiaoqi Guan brought Jiang Huai to the door of a classroom on the first floor. Jiang Huai bowed his head to express his gratitude after hearing this, which made Xiao Qi Guan a little embarrassed.

"I have never been saluted by a birth attendant."

After that, he knocked on the door for Jiang Huai himself, and pushed the door open after hearing the word "come in".

When Jiang Huai walked into it, what he saw was several military attachés who had taken off their armor, and familiar faces sitting in front of them.

"Jiang Huai, you came just in time. Come and thank Governor Wang. If it weren't for Governor Wang, I wouldn't be able to help you go to middle school in the capital!"

Sitting on the chair, a thirty-year-old man with an ordinary appearance and a medium build but an empty right sleeve spoke quickly, and his words shocked Jiang Huai.

There are only three people who can be called governors in Ganya County...

One is Qu Neng who once crossed Gaoligong Mountain, the other is He Fu who accompanied the Mu family and his son to guard Yunnan, and the third is Wang Xuan who has protected western Yunnan for more than ten years.

The first two have already been knighted, so calling them governors is ironic. Only the latter, although he has been promoted many times, is still stuck in the title of governor and has not been able to go further.

Jiang Huai looked around and saw that the man sitting in front of Wang Huan had thick eyebrows and a broad face. His eyes were firm and his temperament was very stable. He seemed to be younger than Wang Huan, in his early thirties at most.

"Young man Jiang Huai, please see the King's Governor!"

In front of Wang Xuan and Wang Huan, Jiang Huai did not call himself a student because that status was not worth mentioning.

"Get up." Wang Xuan said with a smile, his voice was a bit honest, which was different from the coldness Jiang Huai thought.

"Is he the student you recommended?"

After signaling Jiang Huai to stand next to Wang Huan, Wang Xuan asked about Wang Huan himself.

Wang Huan nodded when he heard this and grinned: "I feel that he will definitely be able to help us speak in the future."

Wang Huan's words made Jiang Huai speechless. If he wanted to help Wang Xuan, he had to at least become an official in the court and be no lower than the fifth rank.

To be honest, although Jiang Huai is somewhat confident in himself, he is not yet confident enough that he can become a full fifth-grade Beijing official.

"Since he is the person you recommended, I have no doubts."

Wang Xuan nodded, looked sideways at Jiang Huai and said, "Are you participating in this year's Autumn Boudoir?"

"This...I haven't decided yet, so I wanted to ask Wang Jiaoxi..."

Jiang Huai was a little stumbling when he spoke, but this was normal and no one laughed at him.

"Why do you suddenly want to ask me this?" Wang Huan was surprised. He remembered that Jiang Huai was not so eager for success, and didn't he say yesterday that he wanted to settle down for a few years before taking the provincial examination?

"It's like this..." Jiang Huai told the story about Qi Jingzong coming to him just now and persuading him to join Qiu Gui, but he did not say anything about Qi Jingzong asking him to become a disciple.

He had a feeling that if he told this matter, Qi Jingzong would definitely not be able to live with it.

"This old loach definitely wants you to become his teacher and help him get out of jail in the future!"

After hearing everything, Wang Huan immediately started to curse. This is why Qi Jingzong left in a hurry after knowing that Jiang Huai wanted to ask Wang Huan.

"His arm was lost in the Battle of Tieling."

Wang Xuan spoke to Jiang Huai in a deep voice, which made Jiang Huai's breath hitch.

If he knew that Wang Huan's hand was lost in the Battle of Jingnan, he would definitely not ask about it. Now he couldn't help but worry about Qi Jingzong, fearing that he would lose his life because of his words.

"Forget it, it's all in the past. They didn't break any laws or disciplines. Besides, his brother is dead and they don't want to be friends with him."

Wang Huan knew that Jiang Huai liked Qi Jingzong's daughter, so he deliberately acted more open-minded and was worried that Wang Xuan would trouble Qi Jingzong.

"It's good if you can look away." Wang Xuan was very calm. After comforting him, he looked at Jiang Huai.

"Let's do this. You pack your things on May 15th, and I'll have someone pick you up to gather in Yongchang. This time, Western Yunnan recommended seventy-six students to study in middle schools in the capital, but among them there are only twenty students like you. Seven."

"Although Qi Jingzong has evil intentions, his suggestion is reasonable. It won't take a few days to participate in Qiu Gui. You can give it a try when you pass through Kunming this time. It doesn't matter if you fail. In the future, the imperial examination will mainly focus on science and policy theory. , the proportion of classics and historical books will only decrease year by year.”

"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief, for your advice..." Jiang Huai bowed respectfully. Upon seeing this, Wang Xuan also turned back to Wang Huan, not treating Jiang Huai as an outsider at all.

"The scale of the white-clothed rebellion in Mengyang and Mubang this time is relatively large. I have gathered soldiers and horses from Qianya, Nandian, and Yongchang to prepare to go deep. It will probably take a long time."

"I stayed in Xijiang today specifically to see how you were doing. Now that I see you doing well, I feel relieved."

After saying that, Wang Xuan stood up, and Wang Huan also stood up.

Wang Xuan glanced at Jiang Huai, glanced around him, and then smiled and said: "Okay, master and disciple, let's have a good chat. We will leave Xijiang Town early tomorrow morning."

"Remember to ask your soldiers to help us clean up the school's drainage ditches and weeds." Wang Huan said carelessly, and Wang Xuan nodded with a smile, and then walked out of the classroom.

After he left with the military attachés, Jiang Huai breathed a sigh of relief, looked sideways at Wang Huan, and said in a somewhat complaining voice: "Teacher, it was so hard for you to hide this from me..."

"I hid it from you?" Wang Huan looked disgusted: "Didn't I tell you during class that I fought with His Highness the Crown Prince?"

"Who knew what you said was true? Besides, you didn't say that you and Governor Wang knew each other!" Jiang Huai was about to burst into tears. He was still a little scared when he thought about it now.

"Should I tell you my birthday and birth date?" Wang Huan got angry and looked at Jiang Huai and said:

"Don't interact with those Jingnan criminals from now on. These people are very discerning. They appear to be gentlemen on the surface, but secretly they are filthy."

"Back then, if they had given us a way to survive, we would not have gone south."

"Besides, to be honest, I just heard that Qi Jingzong came to see you, and I was still a little worried, for fear that he would marry his daughter to you."

"Fortunately, he was blind and didn't marry his daughter to you, otherwise I would have regretted it."

Wang Huan did not elaborate on his relationship with Wang Xuan, but only advised Jiang Huai not to get too involved with Qi Jingzong and the others.

Jiang Huai also understands the truth. Wang Huan said something about Jing Nan in class, but the inside and outside of his words were about how they were forced by the court and finally had to go south.

However, his strength alone is too weak after all. For those in Western Yunnan where Jingnan's sycophants gathered, although they did not dare to talk openly about Jingnan's affairs, they would always secretly discuss their "innocence" in private. .

Jiang Huai did not believe that they were innocent. After all, among the people he came into contact with, at least eight out of ten people who had the background of Jingnan's criminal officials looked down upon them, the former serfs.

Although his tone is gentle on the surface, he secretly dislikes him very much. Only the young lady of the Qi family does not dislike him, so Jiang Huai likes the young lady of the Qi family.

but……

Jiang Huai still couldn't help feeling uncomfortable when he thought that Qi Jingzong still wanted to marry the young lady of the Qi family to Huang Jing.

He was too young, and even though he tried his best to hide it, Wang Huan still noticed him.

Wang Huan patted him on the shoulder: "Don't think about that little lady of the Qi family. I said you are just a toad in the latrine and have never seen the world."

"Just wait. When you go to the capital, in less than a month, I guess you won't even be able to remember the appearance of the Qi family's young lady."

"Students are not like that..." Jiang Huai replied with a red face, but Wang Huan patted him on the shoulder: "When you go to the capital, remember to go to the sixteenth floor to play."

"Sixteenth floor? What is that for?" Jiang Huai was confused, but Wang Huan smiled: "You will know when you go there, but remember to bring more money, you can learn a lot of things."

"Well..." Although he didn't know what the sixteenth floor was, Jiang Huai still listened to Wang Huan's words.

But Jiang Huai was very confused as to why someone like Wang Huan would appear in western Yunnan, so he asked curiously: "Teacher, how come someone like you comes to a small place like Xijiang Town."

"Of course it's because of the good climate here. After coming here, my broken arm feels much better."

Wang Huan touched his hand, then slapped Jiang Huai on the butt: "Okay, go home, you can keep the paper, pen, and inkstone."

"Then the student takes his leave."

Jiang Huai was startled when he was suddenly slapped on the butt. He left his things behind and quickly walked out of the classroom.

Watching him leave, Wang Huan touched his beard, but then he thought that the hand had just slapped his butt, so he quickly moved away.

When Jiang Huai walked away, Wang Huan put his hands on his waist, trying to figure out the iron plate hidden in his robe, not knowing what he was thinking...

(End of this chapter)