Chinese New Year

Chapter 1415 Meaning
According to regulations, during the Jin Dynasty, there were four Zhongsheren (中舍人), and in the current dynasty, there are two. These positions were filled by those who were talented and learned, and they were in charge of writing together with the four Zhongshuzi (中庶子).

Besides Guo De, the other person is Yuan Dan.

Guo De was responsible for some of the paperwork and also advised the Crown Prince. When outsiders presented their cases, Guo De was responsible for relaying them to the emperor, and he was also responsible for reviewing the list of officials on duty every day.

Yuan Dan also handled paperwork and supervised the Crown Prince's medical affairs. Because of his good looks, he was also required to serve as an attendant when he went out. If someone came to the palace to pay their respects, Yuan Dan was responsible for arranging all the formalities.

Guo De succeeded Xin Zuo.

Shao Jin recalled carefully that this person was upright, kind to his clansmen, and had never been rumored to have accepted bribes or bullied others during his many years in office. He was morally upright.

Every day, the list of inspectors arrives very early in the morning; he has never taken a day off.

Shao Jin admires such a conscientious and responsible person.

Guo Degang's biggest weakness is probably his lack of ability and practical knowledge. He also has some misunderstandings, but they are not serious.

My uncle said that the most important thing for an official is morality, followed by ability. Shao Jin used to think this was true, but after seeing how Zhuge Hui brought the Guanzhong region, which was full of troublemakers, under control, he realized that sometimes it depends on the situation and cannot be generalized.

Now, there are even more living examples. Guo De's character is good, but his clansmen may not be. Guo De may not even know what his clansmen have done, because no one may tell him these things; everyone just wants to curry favor with him.

Extrapolating from this, Shao Jin also suspected that he was living in a cocoon woven by others. He only gradually discovered many things after getting married, perhaps because more and more scholars from Hebei were coming into his household.

Yuan Dan and Guo De are similar, but Yuan Dan is slightly inferior.

His greatest strength is his eloquence; he handles written matters exceptionally well.

The drawback is that there are regional differences, even though he is not a scholar from Yingchuan.

Of course, some people say that Yuan Dan was a gambler, but that's not a flaw; there are too many people who enjoy gambling these days.

After much deliberation, Shao Jin finally sighed and decided to give his fourteenth brother some compensation: since the output of the Xiangcheng Soap Workshop was increasing day by day, he would send him a batch.

Admittedly, the grasslands are arid and receive little rain, causing many people to dislike bathing. But places with cities are different, especially Liangcheng, Mayi, Pingcheng, and Shengle. These areas have many rivers flowing through them, so they are not so short of water. Wealthy families have long admired Chinese customs, and their lifestyles have changed. They can sell their goods gradually, so that's what they did!

As for Guo De, he will have a private talk with him when he gets back. Given Guo Mingrong's temperament, he'll probably be so ashamed that he'll blush with embarrassment on the spot and resign to return home.

It's a real pity. Guo De often offered advice and remonstrances, forbidding this and that, which made the Crown Prince very uncomfortable. But after thinking about it, he felt that he needed such a person by his side, even if he sometimes disliked him. He wondered if Yang Wu could do this job well.

Yuanzhen quickly processed the pheasant and the rabbit.

He can actually cook! He said he brought some dried bamboo shoots back to Liangcheng to eat, but now he's using them to stew pheasant. It's a dish with bamboo shoots, meat, and soup, plus some wild vegetables. And you know what? It tastes really good.

When Shao Jin lived in the Chongde Hall of the East Palace, he ate food and wine sent by Wang Fu (of the Wang clan of Chen Commandery, the eldest grandson of Wang Hu), the food official. The food and wine were exquisitely prepared and had excellent color, aroma and taste, but it didn't seem as delicious as what he was eating today. He didn't know why.

Yuan Zhen's followers brought more prey. After roasting it, everyone sat together, chatting and laughing, having a great time.

"Sixth Brother, he is Qu Tuhe, a year older than me. I wanted him to be a junior general, but the court refused." Yuan Zhen swallowed a mouthful of soup and muttered, "He is very skilled, able to hunt wild animals for days on end, and he is also knowledgeable in military strategy. Why can't he be a general?"

Shao Jin glanced at the boy following behind Yuan Zhen.

If nothing unexpected happens, he is one of the young men who studied literature and martial arts with Yuan Zhen in the Central Plains back then, so it's normal that Yuan Zhen is fond of him.

“Lizhen, he’s too young.” Shao Jin put down the porcelain bowl and laughed, “Becoming a general at sixteen is too astonishing. However, if he has real ability, you can reward him with land, wealth, and beautiful women. After he makes meritorious contributions in the future, he can be rightfully granted the position of general.”

"I see." Yuanzhen looked at Qutuhe happily, scratched his head, and then had someone bring a box of beads, saying, "These are the Fuyu beads that my mother gave me. Take them."

Qu Tuhe shook his head and said, "I have not accomplished anything and am not worthy of a reward."

Yuan Zhen was somewhat unhappy.

Shao Jin smiled and said, "Qu Tuqing is a brave man, and one should not accept rewards without merit. You can keep Li Zhen for now, and reward him when he makes another contribution."

Yuanzhen nodded and had the pearl put away.

Shao Jin patted him on the shoulder.

This silly boy, the reward he received was too generous; he has no sense of propriety. Besides, this is a precious gift from Lady Wang to her son, so Qu Tuhe is hesitant to accept it.

But it was precisely because of this that Shao Jin loved his genuine younger brother even more. Having seen too much deceit and treachery, he sometimes acted childishly, yearning for more sincere emotions, and Yuan Zhen filled that void perfectly.

"Sixth Brother, we didn't actually catch much game today. Although there are many animals in Shangdang Mountain, I feel that there are fewer birds and beasts than in Liangcheng. I'm afraid they've all been hunted to death." Yuan Zhen quickly changed the subject and steered the conversation back to hunting.

“There are too many people from Shangdang,” Shao Jin said. “People started moving out at the end of last year, and more are moving out this year. Didn’t you see them on the road? Maybe things will get better after some people move out.”

"Have the remaining people been registered as citizens?" Yuan Zhen asked, picking up a rabbit leg and gnawing on it. "Li Zhen, you've hit the nail on the head. If he doesn't get too playful, he'll definitely be able to govern the four counties of Liangcheng well in the future," Shao Jin said. "Of course, they should be registered as citizens, and schools should be established more widely."

“Oh…” Yuanzhen nodded and said, “When I returned to the country last year, the Inner Historian kept saying that only registered households are ‘people’ my people, otherwise they are the headman’s people, and it will be like this for another hundred years.”

“What Master Pei said is correct and insightful,” Shao Jin said.

"Sixth Brother, you think so too?" Yuanzhen said happily, "It's a pity he's in his sixties or seventies, he's old, and he might not be able to work for many more years."

"Lord Pei" refers to Pei Shiliu, who at the end of last year served as a military advisor in the Shanyu Prefecture and concurrently held the position of Prefect of Liangcheng.

He had cultivated his career in the north for many years and was well-versed in all matters, but he was indeed getting old and couldn't serve for many more years. His concurrent appointment as the Prefect of Liangcheng was really just a way for him to protect his descendants—the Prefect of Liangcheng could select one person for the civil service examination each year and recommend outstanding talents to the state (though success wasn't guaranteed). Besides this, there were many other hidden benefits, such as recommending students for the Imperial Academy and the National Academy, promoting his former subordinates, etc., too numerous to list. It was far better than simply being a military advisor in the Chanyu's office.

Shao Jin just smiled when she heard Yuan Zhen's words.

******
On March 18, the convoy arrived in Taiyuan.

Shao Guang, the former governor of Bingzhou, entered the capital last month to serve as the Minister of Agriculture—the former Minister of Agriculture, Hu Yun, died in office.

After Shao Guang left, Shao Jie, the prefect of Taiyuan, was promoted to governor of Bingzhou, and Du Chen, the magistrate of Jinyang, took over as prefect. The magistrate of Jinyang was a military student named Hou Mi.

Most promotions are internal, with very few outsiders being parachuted in; this has been the case for at least the last ten years or so.

"Your Highness, please take a look." Shao Jie pointed to the military headquarters not far away and said, "This is the Longxiang Prefecture of Jinci. Each garrison has set up a school to teach elementary education and rhyming books. Thanks to the imperial court, many teachers, writing brushes, ink, books, and paper have been sent, and money and silk have been allocated. There are a total of 64 garrisons in the Right Jinwu Guard and the Right Longhu Guard, and now 39 of them have schools."

Shao Jin nodded repeatedly as she listened.

Compared to the last time, Bingzhou seems to have made some progress, at least in terms of education—of course, this is also inseparable from the substantial subsidies from the imperial court.

"There are still twenty-five garrisons without schools." Shao Jin sighed, "The soldiers work so hard, how can they not receive some reward? After I return to the capital, I will definitely petition the Emperor to allocate funds and provisions and select tutors to come here."

The state and county officials were unimpressed, but the military commanders were overjoyed and thanked them profusely.

“There’s no need for that.” Shao Jin helped them up one by one, then asked, “Are there any outstanding young talents from the two guards of Bingzhou who have entered the Imperial Academy or the National Academy?”

"The Imperial Academy doesn't have it, but the National Academy does," Shao Jie explained. "Each year, there are at least seven or eight students, and sometimes as many as twelve or thirteen. Over the years, seven students have passed the test to master three classics, twenty-one have passed the test to master two classics, and nearly a hundred have passed the test to master one classic."

Shao Jin listened in silence for a long time.

Children of martial artists ultimately fall short in academic pursuits.

Over the years, only twenty-one people have passed the examinations and become ninth-rank officials, and only seven people have passed the examinations and become seventh-rank officials. There is not a single person who has passed the examinations and become a third-rank official. This is probably something that scholars would laugh their heads off.

Moreover, although my father treated the Imperial Academy and the National Academy equally, officials from the Imperial Academy were actually treated with more respect, while those from the National Academy seemed to be considered inferior and had a less promising future, mainly because it was mostly composed of nobles, military officers, and sons of chieftains.

"Are all children of martial artists willing to study?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Your Highness," said Du Chen, the Prefect of Taiyuan, stepping forward. "In the past two years, more and more people have been willing to study."

"Why?" Shao Jin asked.

“The opportunities to earn merit and receive rewards are fewer, and the path of a military man is not easy to take.” Du Chen replied, “Therefore, some people are willing to take a chance on the path of studying.”

People come and go for profit, and people move about for profit. They gamble on becoming officials, on securing titles and privileges for their wives and children, and on bringing glory to their ancestors.

With the world largely at peace, opportunities to distinguish oneself on the battlefield have diminished, but military men still aspire to become officials. So, what choice do they have but to try their luck at the Imperial Academy? However, these men are still too weak in the basics and cannot compete with those from scholarly families in the imperial examinations.

"Are there many remaining men in the two guards of Bingzhou?" Shao Jin asked, putting aside the matter.

"In June of this year, the Longgang and Fukou Longxiang Prefectures were established in Guangping, and the Shimen Longxiang Prefecture was established in Zhao County. The recruitment of soldiers is already underway," Shao Jie said. "The Right Jinwu Guard and the Right Longhu Guard will each send a thousand men, totaling two thousand, who can go to Hebei to serve as soldiers. The recruitment will be completed in no time."

Shao Jin understood immediately upon hearing this.

Everyone was willing to go to Hebei to serve as soldiers. Two thousand positions were allocated, and they were filled immediately without any mobilization.

Thinking of this, he immediately said, "Two thousand men is a bit too few. I will petition the Emperor to increase the number of personnel."

Upon hearing this, the Right Jinwu Guard commanders and generals who accompanied him were overjoyed and said, "Your Highness has treated us so well, how can we not repay him with our utmost sincerity?"

Shao Jin was also pleased to hear this; this was the meaning behind his father sending him.

(End of this chapter)