Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 43 Evaluation: Excellent; Clerk/Miscellaneous Staff!
The school administrator Cai Chao, the chief clerk Shen Yanqing, the clerk Cui Mingyuan, the instructor Zheng Shuqian, and more than ten other county school instructors were watching the battle from the edge of the rice paddy.

When everyone saw the icy frost on the bamboo-armored cavalrymen, they realized that the plant materials they used were not ordinary.

See here,

In this battle of puppet soldiers where every bush and tree seems like an enemy, the outcome is already clear.

The remaining twenty-three puppet soldiers of the upper-class students were barely clinging to life under the siege of the bamboo-armored cavalry and the thirty puppet soldiers of the newly recruited students of the outer-class students.

"The old scholar Zhou Guangjin of the Upper House has already given his all. This defeat is not due to a lack of skill, nor can it be blamed on his poor command!"
His opponent was simply too strong!

Chief Clerk Shen Yanqing shook his head and gave a smiling critique.

"Jiang Xingzhou's bamboo armor cavalry are equipped with ice bamboo armor, which has been tempered with ice!"

This kind of tempering material is recorded in the classic book "Qimin Yaoshu" and is not a secret - after being stored in a snow cellar for seven days and tempered with morning dew at the hour of Yin, the phoenix tail bamboo becomes as tough as a rock, comparable to black iron.

The properties of this refined material are about five to ten times stronger than those of the unrefined material.

A single, well-trained bamboo armor lancer is extremely elite, with combat power comparable to five to ten ordinary plant puppet soldiers!

Its ability to rampage through the field of plant and tree puppet soldiers is inevitable!

"more than!
The material was stored in an ice cellar for seven days, then thoroughly soaked in the morning dew at dawn. It became incredibly tough, and gained an additional extreme cold effect—extraordinary fire resistance!
Jiang Xingzhou had long known the weakness of the plant puppet soldiers, and spared no expense in tempering them with ice and morning dew for many days!

The weakness of fire attack has been mitigated, meaning it has virtually no weaknesses! Aside from the high cost of the refining materials and the cumbersome production process, it is arguably the most perfect material.

Instructor Zheng Shuqian said.

He suddenly realized that Jiang Xingzhou had once mentioned in the county school classroom that plant puppet soldiers were most afraid of fire, which was the biggest weakness of the "[plants and trees are soldiers]" literary technique.

It turns out that Jiang Xingzhou had already devised a way to fill the gap back then.

"However, the Awakening of Insects has passed, and spring thunder has already sounded. Where did Jiang Xingzhou get such a large amount of ice to refine the bamboo material?"

The clerk, Cui Mingyuan, pondered, somewhat surprised.

Suddenly,

He immediately realized, "Wait a minute, the Duke of Xue's mansion has an ice cellar!"

"good!
Throughout Jiangyin County, there are about a dozen powerful and influential families, including the Xue, Cao, Lu, and Li families, who possess a cellar of frozen ice.

However, looking at the entire rice paddy battlefield, only Jiang Xingzhou's body had been tempered! Other aristocratic students, such as Han Yugui, Cao An, and Lu Ming, had not attempted to temper their own bodies.

The academic official, Cai Chao, wearing a crane-feather cloak, nodded thoughtfully.

"The process of refining these materials is extremely complicated."

In addition to the freezing cold of the ice cellar, it is also necessary to collect the morning dew at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), collecting it drop by drop.

It takes half an hour to collect dew from a three-inch bamboo tube.

Collecting samples for seven consecutive days is going to be tough.

These scions of powerful families in Jiangyin County, how could they possibly have the patience to squat in the bushes for half an hour before dawn?!

Jiang Xingzhou's patience is quite remarkable.

Cai Chao pondered for a moment, understood the reason, and shook his head.

“What Lord Cai said is true!”

It can only be said that when they encountered Jiang Xingzhou, Zhou Guangjin and his group of old scholars from the upper academy had no reason to lose!

Today's Spring Equinox mini-exam is now over.

Jiang Xingzhou received an excellent performance evaluation, and his monthly salary was increased by three dou of millet.

For every enemy puppet soldier killed, the evaluation is top-notch.

Those who achieve nothing, whose puppet soldiers are killed, and who receive poor performance evaluations will have three dou of millet deducted from their monthly salary.

Jiang Xingzhou, controlling his bamboo-armored cavalry, wiped out seven or eight of the opposing plant and wood puppet soldiers in one go before stopping.

The remaining puppet soldiers were left to Han Yugui, Li Yunxiao, Gu Zhimian, and other newly recruited students to deal with, allowing them to practice controlling the Peach Blossom Halberd Guards, Xiao Hao Swordsmen, and Old Vine Armor Soldiers. Half an hour later, the Spring Equinox Mini-Exam ended.

After this battle, the old students of the upper dormitory were quite dejected and went to the county academy with their heads down.

This time, no old scholar dared to boast that he had cultivated his literary skills for more than ten years.

The hundreds of elderly students in the inner quarters who watched the match also felt a deep sense of unease.

The newly recruited students from the outer dormitory were in high spirits, and almost no puppet soldiers were lost. They won a great victory in this battle and were able to hold their heads high in front of the students from the upper dormitory.

The clerk Cui Mingyuan, with a large bunch of copper keys hanging from his waist, traveled side by side with Jiang Xingzhou.

"Jiang Sheng, there is a job in the county government's archives. Every year, more than ten students are needed to clean the books in the archives, remove the bookworms, and repair the missing parts of the books."

It won't interfere with your studies at the county school; you can go whenever you have free time.

I see that you have good patience and can stay focused on your work.

This job allows one to read books in the county government library, which is very beneficial for those taking the imperial examinations in midsummer.

The monthly salary is twenty taels of silver, and one can earn enough to work for a full month.

Would you like to go?

Cui Mingyuan asked with a smile.

"Of course I would be happy to, thank you, Master Cui!"

Jiang Xingzhou was taken aback, but immediately agreed.

This is a good assignment.

The library of the county government office is one of the largest collections of books in Jiangyin County, almost comparable to the Langhuan Pavilion of the Duke of Xue's mansion.

Moreover, there are some rare and unique copies, such as the complete set of "Jiangyin County Annals," which contains information on Jiangyin's history, culture, mountains, rivers, and geography, and is only available in the county government's library.

"Let's call a few classmates and come along!"

Cui Mingyuan handed Jiang Xingzhou a servant's token from the county government office, then walked away.

This kind of work, cleaning out the books in the storeroom, was a temporary chore that paid little. Only poor students would be interested in it, hoping to earn some extra money to supplement their household expenses and for their spiritual practice.

He came from a humble background, so he naturally knew the value of books and that only wealthy families could collect so many.

It was extremely difficult for a poor scholar to get a free pass to study.

I really longed for this kind of odd job that allowed me to earn money and read books at the same time.

"Brother Jiang, is there any odd job of cleaning and organizing books in the county government's library?"

Gu Zhimian, with his sharp ears, heard what the clerk Cui Mingyuan said and his eyes lit up. He leaned over and asked Jiang Xingzhou.

"Yes, twenty taels of silver a month! Brother Gu, are you in?"

Jiang Xingzhou nodded and asked with a smile.

"I'll definitely go. I can even borrow books from the county government office! The county government office's library has tens of thousands of sets of books, making it one of the largest libraries in the country."

I've heard that it contains genuine works by scholars who passed the imperial examinations, even those who became Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), as well as original manuscripts by Grand Secretaries and Hanlin scholars! I, Gu Zhimian, am incredibly fortunate to be able to see so many genuine works!

This is greatly beneficial to one's enlightenment and spiritual practice!

Gu Zhimian readily agreed; in the past, he would never have had the chance to go inside and take a look.

"Cheng, please also invite Zhang Youyi and the others. Tomorrow, we will meet at the clerk's office in the county government."

Jiangxingzhou Road.

Among this batch of newly appointed students, only five or six, including Gu Zhimian and Zhang Youyi, came from poor families. These students from humble backgrounds usually got along well with each other.

They were naturally called upon to take any menial jobs that could earn them some silver coins.

(End of this chapter)