Jinting Han people

Chapter 78: Burning Second Rank (4k)

Three days later, a gentle spring breeze rustled through the courtyard, and the delicately fragrant, vibrant cherry blossoms swayed like the ebb and flow of a stream. Thick white clouds drifted by, making the midday sun even more dazzling. The inner court of the Taichang Mansion, therefore, opened its doors, letting in the light and fragrance of the flowers, though these were quickly dissipated by the scent of ink within.

The tables on either side of the room were piled high with manuscripts from the Imperial College's shooting test. Officials from the Imperial Household Department were still sorting the papers. They had initially divided the thousands of papers into different categories based on the students' backgrounds, preparing them for review by the Imperial College doctors. The years and youth of many people rose and fell between their fingers.

At this moment, footsteps were heard outside the courtyard. As a person strolled into the inner court, the officials could not help but look towards the door, and then they all saluted, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

The person who came was none other than Zhang Hua, Marquis of Guangwu County. He glanced at his subordinates, waved his hand calmly, and said, "No need to be so polite. Go about yourselves."

The officials lowered their heads again, and only one person stepped forward to lead the way. He said to Zhang Hua, "The gentlemen are in the side rooms. Please follow me, my lord."

Zhang Huaxin followed him forward. After a few steps, the clerk opened a door and the sound of laughter and talking came out from inside.

"Oh? Isn't this Maoxian?" Shizhong Yue Guang stroked his beard and smiled. "Come in quickly. Without you, the Grand Chancellor, how are we supposed to judge the rankings?"

Zhang Hua rolled up his sleeves, slowly found an empty seat, and sat down, saying with a smile, "What are you talking about, Mr. Yan Fu? If we talk about insight, who in the world can compare to you? As long as it's your opinion, I will follow it."

Everyone present laughed heartily. Besides Zhang Hua, there were already eight people seated in the room: Imperial College Master Ji Shao, Minister of Rites Cheng Can, Doctor Master Liu Shi, Secretary Pan Yue, Secretary Zuo Si, Attendant Yue Guang, Imperial Counselor Shan Jian, and Imperial Chamberlain Wang Ji.

These eight people are not as good as Zhang Hua in terms of political rank, but they are still better than him in terms of their status in the literary world.

Including Zhang Hua, these nine were the chief examiners for this imperial examination. Their different positions dictated a different mindset. They could easily decide the political fate of thousands of people, yet they were still leisurely enjoying tea and chatting. But for the majority of the waiting candidates, this period was an agonizing one, desperately praying that their names would be remembered in the fleeting words of these noble men.

But it was obvious that Zhang Hua and the others were not in a hurry. Instead, they started by greeting each other and talking about some interesting things that happened recently.

Liu Shi first teased, "Wu Zi seems to have gained weight. Is it because of Wang Yuanwai's cow heart feeding?" Wu Zi was referring to Wang Ji, and Wang Yuanwai was referring to Wang Kai, the Palace Attendant of the Imperial Guard.

Some time ago, Wang Ji went to Wang Kai's house to compete in archery and make a bet. Wang Ji said he was greedy for the heart of an ox, and wanted to bet 10 million coins for the heart of Wang Kai's 800-li-long ox. Wang Kai, confident that his archery skills were better than Wang Ji's, agreed. However, Wang Ji missed the target with one arrow. Wang Kai had no choice but to kill his precious ox, take out the heart and give it to Wang Ji for his enjoyment.

Wang Ji laughed heartily and said, "Master Zizhen, you are making fun of me. I was just teasing Mr. Wang. I only ate a bite of the ox heart. How can I nourish a human being?"

"Hahaha, you, you kill and don't eat, isn't that a waste of food?"

"I don't want to either! It's just that Mr. Wang's cook is not good enough." Wang Ji shook his head and said, "I don't know how much pepper the chef put in the beef heart. I took a bite and almost couldn't explain it. Maybe this is just a lack of good taste!"

The hall erupted in laughter, all captivated by Wang Ji's sarcasm. Zhang Hua chuckled, "You've been stealing the prince's limelight these past two years. The prince is quite generous by being willing to slaughter an ox for you. What else do you expect from him? If it were me, I'd have poisoned the ox's heart."

Wang Ji said innocently, "Why do you say that, Maoxian? If I want to steal the limelight, it's Shi Jilun's. When have I ever thought of suppressing the prince?"

Everyone laughed again. It turned out that in the past two years, Wang Ji, who was born in the Wang family of Taiyuan, also joined the trend of competing for wealth in Luoyang.

He first built a large horse farm south of the Imperial College in Luoyang and paved the floor with gold, which is said to have cost 200 million yuan and was called "Golden Steps". He then raised thousands of horses in the stables, and it is said that there were at least 50 thousand-mile horses, so the farm was also called "Bo Le Yuan".

Recently, he has been lavishly inviting guests from Luoyang to his home for a feast, a feast of lavishness and delicacies. One dish, steamed goose gizzards, was so delicious that even Emperor Sima Yan raved about it. It turned out the goose gizzards were steamed with human milk. When the news spread, the people of Luoyang began to say that the "Wang" in Wang Shi's show of wealth had become the "Wang" of the Wang family of Taiyuan.

However, nowadays, when people mention Shi Chong, they obviously don’t think of the competition of wealth or the great robbery.

Cheng Can said, "Ever since Shi Jilun experienced that robbery, he's been staying at home all day, keeping his door closed. He doesn't call people to Jingu Garden every day like before. How can he be so popular?"

He followed up on this topic and asked Zhang Hua, "Mr. Mao, are there any clues in that case? Is it still an unsolved case?"

Zhang Hua smiled bitterly and said, "Of course it's an unsolved case. I don't know where such a daring group of robbers appeared from, committed such a crime, and then disappeared without a trace afterwards. If he didn't commit crimes again, how could the court have any clues?"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Cases without clues are often instigated by others. Everyone actually thinks so, but as to who is behind it, everyone has their own guesses that cannot be expressed explicitly.

"Let's get back to the point." Ji Shao, the Imperial College's chief academic officer, took a few lists from the table and said slowly, "We'd better finalize the grades of the Imperial College's students and the candidates for the Imperial Examination as soon as possible today. This is a matter of national importance, so don't neglect it."

The others all nodded in agreement. Zhang Hua was the Grand Chancellor of Sizhou. He took out the petition and the seal of the Grand Chancellor, picked up his pen and dipped it in ink. Then he said to Ji Shao, "In the Imperial College, let's go pick up the important report from our ancestors!"

Ji Shao nodded and signed up first:

"Jia Mi was born on the fourth day of the eighth year of the Xianning reign."

Then there is family background:
"I come from the Jia family of Pingyang."

"His ancestor, Jia Chong, Duke Wu of Lu, served successively as General of Chariots and Cavalry, Palace Attendant, Minister of the Secretariat, Minister of Works, and Grand Marshal. Because of his contributions to the founding of the state and the destruction of Wu, he was granted a fief of 10,000 households."

"His father, Han Shou of Nanyang, served successively as Sikong Yuan, Sanqi Changshi, and Henan Yin, and was granted the highest rank of Xianghou."

Zhang Hua wrote on the back: "Wang Zuo's House."

Then comes the biography, which is to write some comments about the person being reviewed. Zhang Hua thought about it for a while and wrote:
"He is well versed in classics and history, and is also proficient in the inner world. He is a man of great talent and wisdom."

Finally, it was time to decide on the product. Zhang Hua didn't need to think too much and wrote directly:
"It is advisable to decide the second rank."

Then he used his own seal to dot the red clay, and after evaluating the case, he first stamped it with the "Da Zhong Zheng Seal", and then the "Guang Wu Hou Seal" to indicate Zhang Hua's identity.

Just like that, a second-grade review was completed.

Next came Shi Chao, whose actions were similar to those described above. Zhang Hua commented on his behavior: "He is generous and determined, and possesses extraordinary martial arts skills."

After that came dukes like Chen Zhi, Pei Gai, and Xun Chuo. Zhang Hua would either write "brilliant and outstanding" or "virtuous and capable" or "exquisite and outstanding" or "deeply intelligent". In short, they were all very classic clichés, and there was no difference between them no matter who they were applied to.

In fact, there is really no difference, after all, they were both given the second-grade rank.

Then, for the children of the lower-ranking families, the third rank also began to appear on the rank certificates. But Zhang Hua felt something was amiss. Suddenly, he put his pen down on the inkstone and asked Ji Shao, "Come to think of it, isn't the Prince of Anle in this class? Why don't I hear his name?"

"Oh?" Ji Shao put down the list, drank a glass of water slowly, and then asked with a smile, "Mr. Mao is still concerned about Huai Chong?"

"He's my neighbor, after all. How could I not know?" "Then you're focusing on the wrong thing." Ji Shao pulled five examination papers from the table and said to Zhang Hua, "Prince Shiping recommended him to take this year's scholar examination, so his name isn't on the Imperial Academy list."

"Scholar's essay test?" Zhang Hua was surprised. He took the test paper from Ji Shao's hand and quickly looked at the name on the paper. It was indeed Liu Xian, which made him feel frustrated.

As one of the decision-makers of the Western Jin Empire, Zhang Hua has actually been keeping an eye on the Prince of Anle from time to time since that trial meeting.

At first, it was just a subconscious concern. After all, the two were neighbors, and Liu Xian had had visions before.

But as Liu Xian grew older, Zhang Hua gradually began to feel a sense of worry. Because Liu Xian did not sink into depravity as he had expected, but successfully came of age, got married, and entered the government, just like a seed under a rock that managed to branch out into the sunlight.

Zhang Hua thought that this might be detrimental to the stability of the empire.

But the empire was plagued by internal troubles. A young prince of Anle, with no connections, was of no importance within the empire. Zhang Hua had no reason to suppress Liu Xian. But if he could create some subtle obstacles in Liu Xian's way, he would be happy to do so.

Unexpectedly, due to a slight negligence, I even missed the opportunity to set a trip up the enemy.

Zhang Hua began to scan the five questions that Liu Xian answered.

To be honest, apart from the wording of the article, the views in it are a bit radical and sarcastic, but this is actually not uncommon in this day and age.

Later generations often think that the gentry had absolute power in the Western Jin Dynasty, so they did not allow people to discuss the decline of loyalty and filial piety, and the pros and cons of the Nine-Rank System. However, this was not possible in the Cao Wei Dynasty, which vigorously controlled speech and directly punished people for their speech, and it was even more impossible to do so in the Western Jin Dynasty.

Scholars also consider the long term and have moral conscience. They know that governing a country must also give hope to the poor. Therefore, many people advocate abolishing the Nine-Rank System, such as the former Inspector of the Imperial Capital Liu Yi who passed away not long ago, and Wang Rong who advocated that all gentry should first go to the grassroots level for training.

Liu Xian's ideas were common among these people, though not the most prominent. However, in Zhang Hua's view, this was already a dangerous signal.

After reading it, he hid his emotions and looked up to ask several colleagues in the room: "Has it been passed?"

Zuo Si stroked his beard and said, "This Prince Anle is a brilliant writer with gorgeous rhetoric. He is quick-witted and writes with lightning speed when he comes up with impromptu strategies. He wrote five strategies that would take others two hours to complete, but he only took an hour and a half. He is truly a prodigy. I think it's not too much to give him a top ranking."

Zuo Si came from a humble background and had wasted many years trying to make it to Luoyang, so he placed great importance on talent and writing. Liu Xian undoubtedly suited his taste in this regard, so Zuo Si expressed his support for him very directly.

Pan Yue said, "The writing here is certainly good, but I think what's rare is that this child, at such a young age, is so well-versed in classics and history. This isn't something that can be achieved by sheer talent; I'm sure he's worked very hard."

Pan Yue achieved success at a young age, renowned for his brilliant writing and beautiful lips. He entered officialdom at an early age. Later generations referred to him as "as talented as Pan Jiang" and "as handsome as Pan An," referring to Pan Yue. However, as he grew older, he languished in officialdom, long denied promotion, and now his face was sullen. He was referring to Liu Xian, but judging by his expression, he was clearly referring to himself.

Two people had already expressed their support for Liu Xian to be promoted to the second rank. Although Zhang Hua was disappointed, he still had a smile on his face. He turned around and asked Ji Shao and Shan Jian, "What do you think?"

Ji Shao picked up the list again and stated, "This prince of Anle is a disciple of Ruan Shishu. Before Ruan Shishu left, he told Ji Lun (Shan Jian) and me to help him if we could. Our families are old friends, so how can we go against the wishes of our elders?"

Shan Jian was also stroking his beard and said, "That's exactly it."

Ji Shao and Shan Jian were descendants of Ji Kang and Shan Tao, two of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, respectively. Ji Shao's adoptive father was Shan Tao, demonstrating the close relationship between the Seven Sages. If Ruan Xian had given them advance notice, the two would have had no reason to refuse. Furthermore, Liu Xian's countermeasures were indeed excellent; they simply used their old friendship as a pretext to silence criticism.

Zhang Hua was speechless. He could only turn his attention to Le Guang. Although his hope was slim, he still asked, "What do you think, Lord Yanfu?"

Le Guang also came from a poor family. He lost his father at a young age and studied in poverty, but he had a gentle temperament and was able to converse and comment with scholars, and almost everyone was impressed by him.

Without the support of family background, Le Guang, through his eloquence alone, convinced important officials at court, including Pei Kai, Wang Rong, Wei Guan, and Jia Chong. Later, while serving as an official, despite his lack of significant achievements, he was admired and remembered by officials and citizens everywhere. Scholars dubbed him "Water Mirror" and ranked him alongside Wang Yan as a leader in pure conversation.

Wang Yan also joked that in terms of conversation and logic, he was still too long-winded compared to Le Guang.

It can be said that Le Guang was recognized as the number one scholar in the Western Jin Dynasty. His opinion of Liu Xian was enough to determine the attitude of the entire scholar community towards Liu Xian.

Le Guang pondered for a moment, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, and then said, "Seeing the writing is like seeing the person. This person is bold and ambitious, sharp as a divine needle. Although he lives among the rich and powerful, his sharpness cannot be concealed."

He paused here and said, "It should be bright and clear."

After these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.

Under the current Nine-Rank System, the highest rank for aristocratic family was the Second Rank. However, with the recent surge in the number of Second Rank officials, a growing consensus has emerged within the literati community: those who achieved the Second Rank through family background are nothing special, possessing no talent, learning, or filial piety. Only a very small number of truly exceptional individuals, possessing both talent and virtue, are truly second-rank officials.

This kind of public opinion was reflected in the Nine-Rank System, which resulted in the addition of a new rank.

That is, above the second rank and below the first rank, a new second rank was established, which was not easily awarded. It often took three or four years for one person to get this evaluation.

Now, judging by Le Guang's intention, he actually supports giving Liu Xian Zhuoran the second rank. Zhang Hua couldn't help but ask, "Don't you think that's too much, Lord Yanfu?"

Le Guang glanced at Zhang Hua and slowly closed his eyes. It was obvious that he had expressed his opinion and was not going to change it.

Zuo Si smiled and said, "Indeed, I've heard that Liu Xian is not only exceptionally talented, but also deeply filial. It's no exaggeration to say he possesses both talent and virtue. It's rare that Lord Yanfu is willing to support him, so how could I possibly spoil his enthusiasm? I agree with Zhuoran."

"can."

"agree."

"agree."

The other examiners in charge of the scholar examination also expressed their opinions.

In this situation, even though Zhang Hua was the Grand Justice, it was not easy for him to go against public opinion.

He took out a biography, wrote down Liu Xian's birth date and family background, and then wrote the eight words "strong, wise, decisive, virtuous and far-sighted" on the biography.

At this moment, he felt a mixture of emotions, unable to articulate what they were feeling, but he quickly concealed them. He then hastily wrote the words "Zhuoran Erpin" in the column for the designated rank, and affixed his two seals.

The dust has settled.

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(End of this chapter)