Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 42: Become a student of Yan Song?

April.

Trial opening in Qiongzhou Prefecture.

The prefect, Gu Shanjie, wore a black gauze hat with a golden top, a scarlet fourth-rank official robe, a lark patch on his chest, and a golden lychee belt around his waist. He read out the words of the sage in a sonorous and powerful voice, without any sign of morbidity.

When the disappearance of Inspector Wu Lin became a hot topic, the chief official of Qiongzhou Prefecture "unfortunately" fell ill, and it was Procurator Shao Jing who was busy running around, not distinguishing between his duties and those outside of his job.

As soon as Wu Lingang was rescued, Gu Shanjie's illness was immediately "cured", but his subsequent visit was met with a cold reception.

The prefect was very frustrated. Logically speaking, in kidnapping cases, the hostages would most likely not be returned, especially when they fell into the hands of the vicious Li people. Who could have imagined such a development would happen?

If I had known this, I should have run away earlier...

There is no medicine for regret in the world. Gu Shanjie was discouraged and could only prepare for all the procedures of the provincial examination.

The prefectural examination and the county examination are the two most basic examinations in the imperial examination. Their purpose is to screen out a group of scholars with the most basic abilities. Therefore, the results of these two examinations are called "Tongsheng".

A tongsheng is not necessarily young. A child with yellow hair is a tongsheng, and an old scholar with white hair may be a tongsheng all his life.

But don’t underestimate it, this is already a “scholar”.

Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce.

Perhaps the material conditions of a student are not even as good as those of a farmer who tills the land, but this does not hinder his superior political status.

Furthermore, in local areas, the law stipulates that scholars can meet officials without bowing, but in reality, local officials will also be polite to those who have achieved the title of Tongsheng and are relatively young. After all, no one knows whether they will be able to rise to prominence in the future.
Now Haiyue is sitting at the desk, writing furiously, moving towards this grand avenue.

"'Govern with virtue' in the 'On Government' chapter of The Analects of Confucius?"

"These are truly questions for children. This is truly laziness. If this were put in any other prefecture exam, I'd probably be laughed at..."

"But I like it!"

Haiyue feels that she is a baby in the imperial examination. These question setters must not learn from the late Jiajing period, especially the ones in the Longqing and Wanli periods. They are just playing around randomly. The current situation is good enough!

He writes like a god.

Cheng Wen and Cheng Mo write with ease, and their main focus is on paying tribute.

Because he was so skilled at saluting, he was the first to hand in his paper this time. When Haiyue stood up, she happened to see Gu Shanjie with his hands behind his back, who happened to be inspecting the examination room.

The two looked at each other, and Gu Shanjie immediately came over, took the paper, and marked it on the spot.

After reading one article, the prefect raised his head and nodded repeatedly with approval.

Haiyue waited politely and did not leave immediately, but when she saw the man's expression, she was slightly shocked.

Are you going to pick me as the first in the case again?

He knew his own level clearly. The county examination was fine, but the prefectural examination was a competition among students from the entire Qiongzhou Prefecture, that is, the entire Hainan Island. Considering his age, if his essay was not particularly outstanding, it would be a great achievement for him to get into the top ten. To be the first place was really an exaggeration.

First in the county case, first in the prefecture case, first in the court case.

That’s for the little three yuan!
Gu Shanjie was also a third-class Jinshi, so he could naturally distinguish between good and bad articles, and even more so, he could see the sense of déjà vu.

But that's also what he approves of.

After all, you have to know how to copy. The two eight-part essays written by Haiyue have simple writing style, mature tone, and just the right details. They may lack a little talent, but as examination essays, they are extremely qualified.

The imperial examination system was used to select officials because it was the best way to assess the knowledge and intelligence of the candidates. The county government and the third-level examination, as a preparatory examination, focused more on examining the students' potential.

Gu Shanjie felt that this person had great potential.

You are so talented at such a young age, and you saved the imperial censor. So it’s not too much to give you the first place in the case and ask the imperial censor to say a few good words for you, right?
Haiyue was originally full of confidence, but now she left the examination room in fear. Her expression made the brothers waiting outside feel uneasy as well.

The second brother was the first to speak in comfort: "Thirteenth brother, victory and defeat are common in the military..."

Halfway through her words, Hai Yue sighed: "It's not that I didn't do well in the exam, I was worried that Mr. Gu would give me the first place..."

"what?"

Everyone was stunned.

Listen to yourself, is this human language?
"This prefect is really not very reliable..." Hai Yue muttered, but did not elaborate in the end, and her expression became serious.

Because Wu Lin's advisor, Min Ziyong, walked over from a distance and said, "Shisanlang, you're out so early? Haha, it looks like you'll be able to pass the provincial examination easily. I wish you a bright future and a long and prosperous journey!"

Hai Yue cupped her hands and said, "Thank you for your kind words, Master Min."

Min Ziyong looked around and whispered, "Shisanlang, can you please speak further?"

"please!"

After they were away from the crowd in the examination hall, Min Ziyong complimented him again and finally revealed his intention: "Dong Weng once said that Shisanlang is gifted and intelligent, like unpolished jade and unrefined gold. If he could enter the Imperial College, he would become a great man in time!"

"Studying at the Imperial College?"

Haiyue was quite moved when she heard this.

He did not like the imperial examination which was mainly based on eight-legged essays, and he even disliked memorizing model essays. But just as many people in later generations did not want to take the college entrance examination, they still had to take it, right?
Since you have chosen this most stable path, you must work hard for it.

Being able to study at the Imperial Academy, the highest institution of learning in the Ming Dynasty, is undoubtedly the dream of local students, and of course he also wants to go.

However, Min Ziyong's next words stunned Hai Yue: "Dong Weng has always been friends with Yan Jiexi, the former chief priest of the Imperial College. This time, he can write to the capital and ask for a place for Shisanlang!"

"Yan Jiexi... Yan Song? Yes, he just resigned as the head of the Imperial College not long ago?"

Hai Yue confirmed it: "Inspector Wu wants to recommend me to Lord Yan, who once lived in seclusion in Mount Qin?"

"Shisanlang has indeed heard of Mr. Jiexi's reputation. It's him!"

Min Ziyong stroked his beard and smiled, with a hint of reserved pride in his tone.

There are different levels of recommendation. It is completely different to be recommended casually and to be directly recommended to the former Minister of Education of the Ming Dynasty, who held an unlimited and noble position, and to be accepted as his disciple!
Yan Song is no longer the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, but the right vice-minister of the Ministry of Rites. Although he is inconspicuous among the high-ranking officials in the court, all the scholars and literati praise him for his ten years of seclusion in Qianshan to cultivate his reputation and for the various reforms he implemented in the Imperial College.

How honored it would be to have such a teacher?

"Let me be Yan Song's student?"

Haiyue was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

It’s no wonder that Yan Song is now a well-known upright person in the world.

Yes, Yan Song was an absolutely upright person in the first half of his life.

Many people even couldn't imagine that Yan Song and Wang Yangming were friends. In the 1519th year of Zhengde, that is, in , Prince Ning rebelled in Jiangxi, and Wang Yangming went to quell the rebellion. At that time, he specially invited Yan Song to assist in military affairs, and Yan Song did his best. Later, the two went on a night tour to enjoy the moon, climbed Mingyuan Tower together, wrote poems and enjoyed the scenery, and they were in great affection.

Because the historical evaluations of these two people are completely different, later generations rarely discuss Yan Song and Wang Yangming together, and even think that they are not from the same era.

The suppression of the Ning Wang rebellion took place eleven years ago. Wang Yangming passed away last year at the age of fifty-seven. Yan Song was eight years younger than Wang Yangming and was forty-nine years old this year. At fifty, one knows the will of heaven, which is basically the old age of most people. But this old man is very lucky and has only reached the halfway point of his life.

During the Zhengde period, Yan Song had a miserable life. The only thing he had to show for it was that he was unwilling to go along with the eunuch party and lived in seclusion in Qianshan, where he made the acquaintance of many upright people.

After Jiajing ascended the throne, as a large number of officials lost their power, Yan Song finally began to emerge. In the fourth year of Jiajing, he was promoted to the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, and began his journey of having many students all over the world.

This step was extremely critical. The Imperial College was in charge of talent training. As the chief academic officer, Yan Song could naturally cultivate his own network through the teacher-student relationship, which provided a solid foundation for the Yan Party's later dominance.

And these four years of serving as Jijiu further earned him a good reputation among the literati. Even though he has been promoted to the position of Vice Minister, the literati still address him as Yan Jijiu when mentioning his position.

This showed that Wu Lin's arrangement was well-intentioned; at least he was eager to repay the life-saving favor. However, Hai Yue was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I am deeply grateful for Inspector Wu's kindness, but I do not wish to be recommended. I hope that as a tribute student, I can enter the Imperial College with my true talents and knowledge, so as to live up to my education!"

He could enter the Imperial College, but forgot about being tied to Yan Song. Even if this was a path that would allow him to rest easy for the next thirty years, he would never accept the harm Yan's party was doing to the country and the people.

"Oh?"

Min Ziyong was stunned for a moment, and he was really impressed: "Shisanlang is young and determined, and he is self-reliant and self-reliant, without relying on others. It makes me ashamed!"

"Ashamed!"

What else could Haiyue do? She could only smile cheerfully.

Min Ziyong hadn't expected the other party to refuse, and the reason was so legitimate. He couldn't repay the favor, but instead wanted to make friends: "The prefectural exam is over, and the academy exam is coming soon. Shisanlang is going north, right? We're also going back to Guangzhou Prefecture. How about traveling together?"

(End of this chapter)