Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 45 The Future No. Scholar
"Huh! We've finally arrived at Guangzhou!"

Due to the bad news about Zong Chengxue, Wu Lin was depressed because of the loss of his good friend. The others were more or less horrified by the way he died. The atmosphere along the way was very depressing. Except for discussing the three people on Journey to the West, the others almost focused on their journey and said little.

The journey was so fast that they arrived in Guangzhou from Xuwen in less than eight days.

In the Ming Dynasty, Guangdong Province had ten prefectures and one state. The top six prefectures were Guangzhou Prefecture, Zhaoqing Prefecture, Nanxiong Prefecture, Shaozhou Prefecture, Huizhou Prefecture, and Chaozhou Prefecture. The bottom four prefectures were Gaozhou Prefecture, Leizhou Prefecture, Lianzhou Prefecture and the last Qiongzhou Prefecture. The directly-controlled state was Luoding Prefecture.

It can be said that the administrative divisions of Guangdong Province during this era basically formed the geographical distribution pattern of later generations, which includes Hainan Island.

Of course, Hainan Province became independent very late. Until the 1980s, it was still a part of Guangdong Province!
Not to mention later generations, as the provincial capital where the three yamen are located, its grandeur is far beyond the reach of Qionshan.

Everyone got up early in the morning and saw from afar the towering city gate standing in the morning light, majestic and imposing. The gate was about three meters high and wide enough for five horses to run side by side. The city wall made of blue bricks was thick and solid, with battlements on it. Above the gate hung a huge plaque with three large gold-plated characters "Zhenhai Gate", which shone brightly in the rising sun.

There were a lot of people coming and going at the city gate. Because there were too many people, I couldn't take a look at them at first. The most intuitive feeling was the various smells.

The fragrance of fresh fruits and vegetables, the salty smell of seafood, and the rich aroma of spices, combined with the diverse crowds of people, interweave into a vivid picture of the city.

But there seems to be someone who doesn't fit in among this crowd.

"Huh? Who is that?"

"Those eyes...the hair sticking out from under the hat...ah! A monster!"

'Hey, there are foreigners here?'

Except for Hai Yue, who immediately realized that the man with blond hair, blue eyes, high nose and deep eyes was a foreigner, Hai Rui was also stunned.

Is this a person?

Could it be a red-haired ghost?

Fortunately, Wu Lin explained, "Those are the Portuguese from the southeast. Most of them look similar to the Hui people, but some have strange appearances, which may be ominous. You should not look at them too much."

"Flangji" is the transliteration of the Arabic word "Frang", which actually refers to the Portuguese. Since the Portuguese belong to the Latin race and many of them have black hair, the difference between them and the Han people lies in their facial features, so they are mistaken for Hui people. "Red-haired Fan" and "Red-haired Yi" are the names for the later Dutch.

But among the group of people they encountered, there happened to be a person with blond hair and blue eyes, so passers-by all looked at him, and some even looked at him as if he were a monster, with fear between their brows, quickening their pace and avoiding him repeatedly.

Wu Lin's eyes also revealed a hint of disgust, and he murmured, "Governor Lin actually petitioned the Portuguese to trade in Guangzhou. If we let these foreign devils stay, won't the people be uneasy?"

Hearing his words, everyone nodded and agreed with him.

The Ming Dynasty's dealings with the Portuguese were not limited to the Jiajing period. As early as the ninth year of Zhengde, that is, in 1514, Portuguese merchant ships arrived at Tuen Mun Island, Guangdong. At first, they pretended to be kind, bribed local officials with foreign goods, and traded with local wealthy businessmen, allowing them to stay on the coast of Guangdong. But it was not long before their true nature as pirates and colonists was exposed.

They built houses and fences, equipped them with gunpowder and guns, and turned them into a fortress. They also robbed merchant ships and even plundered local children in Guangdong, selling them overseas as slaves. "They refused to leave, robbed travelers, and ate children, causing great suffering to the people of Guangdong."

Thus, the first battle between the Ming and Portugal, the Battle of Tuen Mun, broke out.

At the beginning, the Ming army did not know the power of Western firearms. The Portuguese relied on their weapons to fight in dangerous places, causing the Ming army to be defeated in the early stages of the battle. Later, the commander Wang Hong took action, learned the advanced skills of the foreigners and used them to control them, and finally won the victory of expelling the foreigners with great difficulty.

Later, in the second year of Jiajing, the Ming and Portuguese fought the Battle of Xicaowan. This time they won much more smoothly, but unexpectedly, only seven or eight years later, local officials wanted to trade with this group of greedy bandits again, which naturally caused dissatisfaction.

The Portuguese quickly disappeared outside the city. Everyone withdrew their gaze, treating it as a small episode, entered the city gate, and headed towards the Censorate.

Arriving at the gate, officials were already greeting them respectfully. Wu Lin instructed, "This is Princess Fanglian of Annan. Due to changes in the diplomatic mission, she is now shouldering the responsibility of the diplomatic mission. You must not neglect your duties! In the prison cart behind are a group of serious criminals who are trying to prevent Annan from offering tribute to Your Majesty. Take them to the prison and keep them under strict guard!"

"Yes!"

"Princess, please!" Li Yuying walked in with a veil on her face and dignified steps. She was no longer as casual as when they discussed the plot in private these days. She just glanced back, her eyes full of reluctance.

Haiyue watched her leave, feeling a little disappointed. She had to admit, it was quite nice to have a pretty girl to chat about work with every day. It was a pity that she had to shoulder the important responsibility of a diplomatic mission.

He also cheered himself up and went to report to the education commissioner.

The Supervisor of Education, whose full name is the School Supervisor, was the provincial-level education administrator in the Ming Dynasty. He was usually a deputy envoy of the Censorate, a clerk, or a councilor of the Provincial Administration. In Guangdong Province, Wang Shifang, the deputy envoy of the Censorate, served as the Supervisor of Education.

In the Qing Dynasty, local education became an independent system, and this position became the provincial education commissioner, which had an independent government office and the qualification to submit secret memorials. Its status and authority far exceeded that of the provincial education commissioner in the Ming Dynasty. Ji Xiaolan and Zhang Zhidong both served as provincial education commissioners at the local level.

There is no such good thing now. The office of the Education Commissioner is inside the Censorate, but there are so many people and buildings that I don’t know how to get there for a while.

"How do I get to the education office?"

Haiyue tried to stop them, but no one paid any attention. She took out some change and weighed it in her hand.

"Hey! You two young gentlemen, don't you know the way? I'll take you there!"

Immediately, a sharp-eyed clerk came over and led the way, saying as he walked, "You two young gentlemen, aren't you from here? Since you've just arrived in Guangzhou to take the exam, have you arranged a place to stay? If you haven't chosen yet, I have a number of places you can consider. Many of them are inhabited by scholars, who often discuss poetry and philosophy, and meet with friends through literature. It's a very elegant place!"

Those who reported to the Censorate at this time were basically students from various states who had finished the provincial examination and were coming to take part in the academy examination.

Considering that it is still early, those who arrive so quickly are either making friends through literature and expanding their network, or are worried about accidents on the way and delaying the exam.

The former is wealthy and generous, and is the most popular customer of the broker. The latter comes from a poor family, and after arriving in Guangzhou, the most prosperous city in Lingnan, food and accommodation naturally become a problem, but the broker also knows how to do business.

There is always a place where cheap things can be found.

"We have already made arrangements, so don't bother."

Of course Hai Yue and Hai Rui didn't need it. Wu Lin had already made arrangements. There was no need to refuse such a small matter, as it would seem too distant.

Upon hearing this, the clerk immediately showed disappointment, and his enthusiasm faded a little. He led us to a courtyard and pointed inside: "That's it! Goodbye!"

The two entered the courtyard and prepared to submit written materials to the clerk to obtain the qualification for the academy examination.

This was supposed to be a matter of handling formalities, but unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived at the door, they saw three scholars standing outside. One of them saw the two of them coming and waved his hand and winked, indicating that they should not go in.

There was no need to ask the reason, as a quarrel could be heard from inside.

"I can't do it. You're missing something."

"Your Excellency's actions are quite unfair! Last time you said I was still missing something, and now you say I'm missing another thing. You keep repeating this over and over again. Aren't you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?"

"Hey! What are you saying, you poor scholar? How dare you roar in court?"

"I'm not yelling in court, I'm trying to reason with you..."

"Lin Daqin! I said you were roaring in court, and you were roaring in court!"

When Haiyue first heard the content of the argument, she felt a sense of déjà vu and her face turned a little grim. When the name of the student being bullied came out, her brows raised even more: "Lin Daqin? Isn't this the number one scholar in next year's imperial examination?"

(End of this chapter)