Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 120 The Ten Prefectures of Jiangnan! Jiang Xingzhou arrives in Jinling City!

The sound of dragon boat drums still echoed on the river during the Dragon Boat Festival, but Jiangzhou Prefecture was in an uproar over the case of the confiscation of the Zhao family's property.

Jiang Xingzhou escorted Xue Lingqi to the ferry. This young lady from the Xue family was about to return to Jiangyin County to manage her ancestral property.

Thousands of sails raced across the dock, and the carved gangways of the vermilion-lacquered warships were already lowered.

Xue Lingqi reluctantly lifted the hem of her Yuehua skirt as she was about to board the ship, but suddenly remembered something and turned back.

A breeze swept across the pearl hairpin in her hair, creating shimmering ripples in the twilight.

"But what have you forgotten?"

Seeing her slightly furrowed brows, Jiang Xingzhou couldn't help but ask with a smile.

Chun Tao took a half step back, clutching the brocade bundle, and the shadows of the two, master and servant, swayed on the bluestone slab.

Xue Lingqi parted her lips slightly, then hesitated before lowering her eyes. After a moment, she said, "Although my father is a Duke and a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), he has only written one essay, [Da Fu], and his literary reputation is not prominent in the Jiangnan literary circles."

The words suddenly stopped, and the sound of a pipa played by a musician on a painted boat drifted from afar, mingling with the soft lapping of the river against the shore.

She suddenly looked up, her eyes brimming with tears: "In the Great Zhou Dynasty, people are ranked according to their literary talent. Without extraordinary literary works, even a Duke would find it difficult to be promoted to Prefect."

The Great Zhou Dynasty established itself on literature, and the hierarchy among scholars and officials was clearly defined. Authorized official positions were like ladders to heaven, and no one was allowed to overstep their bounds.

In this world, literary rank is an insurmountable barrier to official promotion.

A student who receives a stipend for a year can barely make ends meet, while a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations can stand before an official without having to kneel.

A scholar who passed the provincial examinations and was appointed to govern a county was walking on thin ice; many waited ten years for a vacancy. Only a scholar who passed the imperial examinations and was appointed to govern a region could govern the people; a Hanlin scholar could draft imperial edicts for the emperor.

As for the Grand Secretaries of the Hall of Literary Brilliance who wrote red ink and the great Confucian scholars who formulated national policies, they were all like the God of Literature descended to earth.

Each advancement in literary rank is like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, leaving countless other scholars behind.

If their literary ranks are equal, they will compete in poetry and prose.

Poetry and prose are powerful weapons in literary combat.

[Dafu] can suppress demons and barbarians, [Mingzhou] can bring peace to the people. The higher the quality of an article and the more articles in that category, the greater the literary fame. Officials use this to advance their careers and rank themselves according to seniority, naturally placing those at the top.

If one has neither literary talent nor literary ability, then one is not even qualified to be promoted in the official hierarchy based on seniority!
Finally, political achievements and merits are considered. Accumulated political achievements can serve as proof for an official's promotion. However, political achievements also allow scholars to reach the upper limit of their official rank.

Xue Chonghu is currently stuck in the position of Prefect of Jiangzhou. He has the academic rank of Jinshi and meritorious service, but he lacks an essay on "Mingzhou" to help him get promoted.

Besides writing it yourself, giving it as a gift also counts! Both the giver and the receiver can showcase their poetic skills!
"It's nothing to worry about!"

However, the time is not yet ripe. I will wait until I achieve great success, and then present my father-in-law with a poem from [Mingzhou] as a betrothal gift!

Jiang Xingzhou held her slightly cool, delicate hand and smiled.

Throughout history, there have been countless poems exchanged between scholars. Not to mention Li Bai and Du Fu, Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen alone exchanged thousands of poems with each other.

He then carefully selected which piece was more suitable to present to Prefect Xue.

Although this future father-in-law is the hereditary Duke of Xue, this is merely a nominal title held by the Great Zhou Dynasty.

His real power was only that of the Prefect of Jiangzhou, which was indeed too low. He should at least be promoted to Governor to be considered a high-ranking official in charge of a region, which would be of great help to him when he served as an official in the Great Zhou court later.

The sound of a night watchman's drum came in the twilight, startling the egrets roosting on the shore.

"Mmm~, I'll wait for you~!"

Xue Lingqi nodded gently, her cheeks slightly flushed, and the bright moon earring on her earlobe swayed gently.

After the imperial examination in the capital, she will be able to officially marry into the Jiang family.

Escorted by the servants of the Xue family, she boarded the ship bound for Jiangyin County. She gazed longingly at the ship as it sailed downstream and gradually disappeared into the distance.

Jiang Xingzhou watched Xue Lingqi's vermilion-lacquered ship sail further and further away until it became a red dot in the middle of the river before turning away.

After returning to the Xue residence, he went to the academy as usual to study the classics, the Six Arts, and the Eight Arts.

However, he knew very well that his days at Jiangzhou Academy were numbered, and the autumn imperial examinations would soon be approaching.

This year's autumn imperial examination will be held in Jinling, the capital of Jiangnan Circuit.

This land of six dynasties and ten emperors still shines brightly along the Qinhuai River, while the swallows that once flew over Wuyi Lane have changed hands countless times.

On the bluestone slabs in front of the Jiangnan Examination Hall, countless lofty ambitions of Jiangnan candidates have been trampled and crushed.

Jiangnan Circuit comprised ten prefectures: Jiangzhou Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, Hangzhou Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture, Jiangning Prefecture, Shaoxing Prefecture, Jiaxing Prefecture, Huzhou Prefecture, Songjiang Prefecture, and Changzhou Prefecture.

In the ten prefectures of Jiangnan, scholars and talented individuals would gather in Jinling City, a place imbued with imperial aura, during the autumn imperial examinations.

Judging by the time, it's time to pack my bags and set off for the exam.

As dusk settled, Jiang Xingzhou pushed open the carved wooden window of his study. The vermilion annotations on the almanac on his desk were particularly striking—only a few months remained until the autumn imperial examinations.

He asked everyone what they thought.

"Brothers, if not now, when?"

Han Yugui clapped his hands and laughed, the jade pendant at his waist jingling softly with the movement. "Why not follow the ancients' example of 'reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles'?"

"it is good!"

The Xue brothers immediately clapped and echoed their agreement excitedly.

Cao An immediately unfurled a map of the canal transport system to examine the routes along the way.

"Starting from Jiangzhou Wharf and heading downstream, we happened to pass by..."

Lu Ming and Li Yunxiao were arguing about the historical sites along the way.

Gu Zhimian stood silently by the pillar, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the scroll of "A Brief Account of the Scenery of Jinling" in his sleeve.

He has been studying diligently under the lamp for ten years in preparation for this year's autumn examination.

Ten years of hard study, all for this one moment!
At dawn on the tenth day of the fifth lunar month, the morning mist had not yet dissipated.

At the Jiangzhou Prefecture Wharf, a three-masted ship quietly departed from the shore, its blue satin sails reflecting the morning glow, cutting through the shimmering waves on the Caohe River.

Beneath the vermilion plaque at the bow of the boat that read "Wenxing Gaozhao" (meaning "Literary Star Shines Brightly"), dozens of scholars from Jiangzhou Academy, who had been invited to travel with them, boarded the boat and gazed into the distance from the railing.

A river breeze carries the distant sound of temple bells, startling the sandpipers resting among the reeds.

In the stern kitchen, the cook was steaming qingtuan (a type of glutinous rice dumpling), the sweet aroma mingling with the scent of ink filling the cabin.

The accompanying pageboys and maids carried book boxes filled with various classics, including "Commentaries on the Four Books" and "Annotations on the Spring and Autumn Annals".

The old boatman hummed a song about picking water chestnuts as he adjusted the sail ropes.

As the ship passed by, the reeds on both banks grew lush and green.

The chants of the canal workers rose and fell, startling an old man in a straw raincoat who was fishing in a covered boat on the riverbank.

He would never have imagined that this ordinary passenger ship carried the torch of literature and scholarship in Jiangzhou Prefecture.

Along the way, they were not in a hurry. Unlike ordinary candidates who rushed to Jinling day and night, they truly lived up to Han Yugui's words, "reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles." They read and traveled at the same time, first visiting various prefectures in Jiangnan Circuit.

At dawn, the boat passed outside Suzhou city.

The sound of the bell from Hanshan Temple dispelled the morning mist, startling a whole river of egrets.

The group abandoned their boat and went ashore. Among the memorial archways of Hanshan Temple, they were inspired to write poems and inscribed their names.

Someone accidentally knocked over an inkstone, and the ink stained three inches of fallen leaves, creating a natural autumn forest scene.

West Lake, the Su Causeway is shrouded in mist and willows.

Lu Ming was determined to find the site of Lin Hejing's Crane-Releasing Pavilion, but got lost on Gushan Mountain. Suddenly, he saw a boy roasting taro under an old plum tree. While sharing the food, he learned that the boy was a descendant of the tomb keepers of the Lin family.

On a moonlit night at the Twenty-Four Bridges in Yangzhou, Han Yugui, drunk and sprawled on a painted boat, insisted on learning to play the xiao (vertical flute). Suddenly, he heard the sound of a pipa (lute) on the water. Lifting the curtain, he saw Cao An holding a ruan (a type of lute) and playing a duet with a singing girl across the boat.

As the music ended, the woman threw a jade flower, which caused the crowd to burst into laughter.

Upon arriving at the Orchid Pavilion in Shaoxing Prefecture, the group drank heartily by the winding stream, using lotus leaves as cups, until they were thoroughly drunk.

On the day the Qiantang River tide arrived, they happened to be traveling to the sea gate when a ten-zhang-high wall of waves crashed in, making everyone tremble.

After more than a month

The ship finally slowly sailed into Longjiang Pass.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the river water was still.

The crowd crowded onto the deck to watch a city wall of Nanjing rise from the mist, its dark walls pressing down on the river like a lurking dragon.

The mist and water of the Six Dynasties permeated every brick of the city, and the cracks between the bricks were seeped with undried blood and ink. The waning moon of the late Tang Dynasty hung on the crenellations, and the chiwen (rooster-head ornament) of the Chaoyang Gate tower was missing a corner—the lingering charm of the Wang and Xie families, the cold glint of a blade that chipped off a corner of it.

The sound of the bell echoed from Jiming Temple, startling a flock of crows perched on the city wall.

Han Yugui gazed at the distant city of Jinling, snapped his folding fan shut, and exclaimed, "What a magnificent city, a capital of six dynasties!"

A long line of multi-story ships stretched out below Yanziji.

Jiang Xingzhou stood at the bow of the boat, his eyes sparkling, his sleeves fluttering in the river breeze.

When the fog lifted, the sunlight pierced through the clouds.

The city of Jinling finally revealed its full form—a majesty that had been accumulated over a thousand years, a murderous aura hidden between the pavilions and towers, which even the rouge and powder of the Qinhuai River could not conceal.

A sudden gust of wind swept away the music and songs from the painted boats.

"People say that there is much war in the north, while the water towns of the south are peaceful and tranquil!"

Lu Ming stood with his hand on his sword, lightly tapped the side of the boat, and laughed loudly: "Gentlemen, can you hear the ghostly wailing beneath Stone City even at midnight?"

He pointed to the arrow marks on the city wall with his fingertips, "Throughout history, the Western Jin Dynasty's Yongjia migration south, the Hou Jing Rebellion of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Sui Dynasty's conquest of Chen, the succession of Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen, and Emperor Wu of Liang starved to death in Taicheng."
Jiankang, Jiangning, Moling, Jinling—the names of the capitals south of the Yangtze River changed like a fleeting horse, but the Yangtze River flowed on endlessly!

Each story recounted adds another, making the flames of war seem endless.

Most of the battles in Jiangnan Circuit erupted in Jinling City. Its strategic location along the Yangtze River was far more crucial than other cities in Jiangnan Circuit, making it a battleground of vital importance.

At noon, the ship finally entered Jinling City and gently bumped into the stone steps of Taoye Ferry.

"Are you all scholars here to take the imperial examination?"

Several tax collectors speaking with a Huai accent jumped onto the deck. They glanced at the ship and saw that it was full of well-dressed and distinguished scholars. They smiled and exempted the ship from the tax: "We're here to wish our future scholars good luck!"

As the autumn imperial examinations approached, scholars from the ten prefectures of Jiangnan Circuit arrived in Jinling City by boat.

Among all the scholars, no one knew how many would become successful candidates in the provincial examinations or the imperial examinations, and how many would become their future superiors!

They dared not offend them.

The Xue brothers were the first to jump ashore, stepping onto a blue brick left over from an unknown dynasty. The brick was inscribed with seal characters such as "Jia" and "Li," which had not been worn away by the vicissitudes of time.

The scholars of Jiangzhou Prefecture stepped onto the damp bluestone slabs of Taoye Ferry and landed on the Qinhuai River, where the air was filled with the fragrance of osmanthus and the scent of ink sticks.

The waters of the Qinhuai River reflect the vermilion buildings lining both banks, while the sound of a pipa drifts from a painted boat.

This is the most bustling part of the Qinhuai River, near the Wensheng Temple.

They turned past the screen wall of the Confucian Temple, and the Jiangnan Examination Hall was right next to the Temple of the Sage of Literature. Suddenly, they saw a dense crowd of people.

Before the vermilion gates of the Jiangnan Examination Hall, a newly posted notice for the autumn examinations, its pale white surface detailing the examination dates, required identification documents, and other information, was displayed.

In the fifteenth year of the Tian Shou reign, in the Jiangnan Circuit, the autumn provincial examination was held.
First session on the ninth day of the eighth lunar month

Documents proving the place of origin, a guarantor's certificate, and a portrait are required.
Everyone looked around for a while.

As dusk fell, the misty vapor from the Qinhuai River gradually seeped over the stone railings.

The crowd stopped at the riverbank, and saw the crimson lanterns on the painted boats lighting up one after another, creating a warm red glow in the deepening night, like a galaxy fallen to earth.

"Why don't we choose a place to stay right here on the banks of the Qinhuai River?"

Han Yugui swiftly unfolded his gold-plated folding fan and lightly tapped the rows of vermilion buildings along the riverbank. "It's only a hundred steps away from the examination hall, saving us the trouble of traveling back and forth. If we lived too far away, I'm afraid we would miss the important autumn examination."

Jiang Xingzhou clapped his hands in approval: "Brother Han, your insight is brilliant. We've arrived early, so we can still make our selection at our leisure."

These scholars from Jiangzhou Prefecture certainly had an advantage.

Although the inns along the Qinhuai River were already packed with guests, there were still vacancies in the best rooms.

If we had delayed for another month or so, and the students from all the prefectures had flocked here, I'm afraid even the floorboards in the riverside houses would have had to be rented out by the foot of the floor to the scholars taking the exams.

"This"

Gu Zhimian and Zhang Youyi looked at each other hesitantly, their faces showing reluctance.

Suddenly, a corner of the blue cloth bundle on Zhang Youyi's shoulder came undone, revealing an undergarment covered in patches.

For students from impoverished backgrounds like them, the rent for rooms along the Qinhuai River was an astronomical sum.

Why not share an apartment?

Han Yugui tapped his folding fan in his palm. “This place has three courtyards, with rooms in the east and west wings. The most remote rooms are large communal sleeping areas. If more than ten people share the cost, each person will only pay a few coins.”

He glanced at half of the students in plain clothes present and said gently, "It saves on expenses, and you brothers can also exchange ideas on craftsmanship. Isn't that a win-win situation?"

The autumn imperial examinations are just around the corner; achieving success on the honor roll is the real goal.

Among the group, besides half being from aristocratic families, there were also some from ordinary families. The dozen or so of them pooled their money to rent a large house, which saved them a lot of money.

Gu Zhimian squeezed the empty money pouch in his sleeve, whispered a few words with Zhang Youyi and the others, and finally solemnly bowed in agreement.

The scholars from Jiangzhou Prefecture walked along the bluestone path and filed into the vermilion building with its upturned eaves.

The glow of the lanterns flowed across their blue robes, as if gilding each person's garment with a faint golden edge.

Jiang Xingzhou was no longer the same as before; he was now quite wealthy and rented an elegant private room by himself.

He pushed open the carved window lattice, and outside was a quiet courtyard, shaded by several osmanthus trees, with occasional breezes carrying their fragrance—a perfect place to calmly read.

The Xue brothers and Han Yugui and others lived next door to each other, which was quite convenient.

The innkeeper was quick and efficient, and soon the room was tidied up. The newly changed mattresses had a faint scent of soap.

The desk was fully equipped with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

Jiang Xingzhou arranged the book box and hung a scroll of "The Humble Abode" on the wall.

Then, he took out a copy of "The Doctrine of the Mean" and was about to sit down and review it for a while before resting when he suddenly heard a light knock at the door.

Looking up, one sees Han Yugui's maid, Qingfei, holding a celadon bowl in her slender hands, the rising steam carrying a sweet fragrance.

She lowered her eyes and said softly, "Young master, this is freshly cooked millet porridge with added egg custard and lotus seeds. It is very nourishing and gentle."

"The master, mindful of your long journey, specially instructed me to bring you a bowl."

Jiang Xingzhou accepted it with a smile and said gently, "Please thank Brother Han for me, Miss Qingfei."

He gently stirred the rice porridge with a spoon. The porridge was soft and smooth, and the steamed egg custard was delicate. The warm and comforting taste helped to dispel some of the chill of the late night.

"Hey! If you need anything, young master, please let me know!"

Qingfei murmured softly, her cheeks slightly flushed. She curtsied and quietly withdrew, leaving only a wisp of fragrance floating in the room.

After leaving the room, she instructed the waiter to send porridge to the young masters in each of the private rooms.

(End of this chapter)