Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 37 I Come to See My Husband Today

"This is exactly the truth. Although the weather cannot be reversed, human affairs must be prepared."

Lu Beigu nodded and said, "The bitter cold of the far north makes farming difficult to begin with, and people rely entirely on nomadic migration. If another severe cold snap hits, and the grass doesn't grow, the Hu cavalry will inevitably raid south to survive. Although the Treaty of Chanyuan was signed, we can't expect permanent peace. One day, the cold snap will arrive, and even if it's not the Khitan, there will always be northern Hu people like the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Rouran who will once again migrate south to the Central Plains."

“In times of peace, be prepared for danger; your worries are real!”

The old man sighed, "I never thought I would be here by the Maha Pond today and hear such a novel theory."

"You, young man, are so young, yet you can discern such insights from piles of old papers. You are indeed a man of great ambition. However, I have heard that scholars from Sichuan often come to Mr. Zhang to submit their manuscripts in the hope of quickly gaining a high position. At your young age, are you also thinking of taking this shortcut?"

The old man said sternly, "Let me advise you: if you don't take the official path of the imperial examination, even if you are guaranteed a small official position, you will be stuck in the same place for the rest of your life, and there will be no way to regret it later."

There is a saying that the recommendation system of the Song Dynasty was actually very widespread at the beginning, and allowed senior officials to recommend relatives and retainers to enter the officialdom.

In the third year of the Qingli period, Fan Zhongyan proposed the principles of "clear promotion and demotion" and "suppressing luck" in his "Reply to the Imperial Edict on Ten Matters", directly pointing out the long-standing problems of the recommendation system and dismissing redundant officials on a large scale. The famous story of "Is it better for everyone to cry than for one family to cry?" came from this.

The New Policies of the Qingli Period clearly stipulated the upper limit on the number of people that officials at all levels could recommend each year. Even high-ranking officials such as the Three Commissioners could not recommend more than three people. In the first year of the Jiayou Period, although the number of recommendations had been relaxed, the conditions were still very harsh, and the recommender had to bear joint liability.

Therefore, the only way to recommend someone is to seek help from high-ranking officials, and generally only those who truly have real talents and skills will be recommended.

But even so, those who were recommended could only be "selection officials". This meant the lowest-level positions such as judge, secretary, clerk, and lieutenant. Although these were also officials, they did dirty and tiring work. The so-called "all of them worked hard, their spirits were broken, they were enslaved by others, and there were few left but slaves" was the current working situation of these "selection officials".

If the "selection official" cannot be recommended to the capital, it means that he can only be a minor official for the rest of his life. Basically, his official career is at an end and there is no possibility of further advancement.

Therefore, if the imperial examination system was not a viable option, ordinary scholars would not choose the recommendation system.

But that sounds strange, doesn't it? How could someone be talented enough to be recognized by high-ranking officials, yet still be unable to pass the imperial examination?
Yes, yes.

For example, Su Xun.

Zhuge Liang was a rookie who "accepted the task at a time of defeat and received the order to act in the midst of danger". It was only twenty-one years before he wrote "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital".

But this old man has been taking the imperial examinations for twenty-two years up to now, and has not yet passed the imperial examination.

This person is one of the "Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties". Even though all his literary skill points were put into "prose", making him somewhat biased in one subject, his talent and genius are obvious. He must have done better than most candidates in the imperial examination, right?
However, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't pass the imperial examination.

Even Su Xun did not pass the imperial examination in his first attempt at the provincial academy.

The reason is very simple. No matter how well Su Xun wrote his essays or how hard he memorized the scriptures, in terms of poetry and calligraphy, the top scorers were always able to widen the score gap through extreme operations.

——So don’t think that it’s easy to take the imperial examination in the Song Dynasty!

The old man thought that Lu Beigu also wanted to take this shortcut, so he kindly advised him.

Lu Beigu quickly bowed and said, "That's not the case. I will go to the emperor next year, and I'm just here to pay my respects to you today."

After hearing this, the old man's expression relaxed and he pointed at Lu Beigu and smiled.

"You are so arrogant, kid!"

Lu Beigu smiled but didn't answer.

Obviously, the old man did not like those who came to Zhang Fangping to submit manuscripts in order to seek recommendation, because many of them were just talented in literature.

However, he could not change Zhang Fangping. After all, it was well known that Zhang Fangping liked to associate with talented scholars.

Even people like the old man are not in line with the customs of the scholar-official class in the Song Dynasty.

Because it was very common for scholars to make friends through literature and appreciate and support scholars who had not yet become officials.

At this time, Li Pan, who was standing at the door and could no longer wait, straightened his clothes and walked in.

"Your humble servant, Li Pan, the Magistrate of Hejiang County, greets the Transport Commissioner."

Transfer envoy?
Lu Beigu was a little surprised. This official was quite high-ranking, but he didn't know whether he was the transport envoy of Yizhou Road or Zizhou Road. When the old man saw Li Pan, he asked in a cross-examination, "Why did you come to pay a visit to Prime Minister Zhang today?"

Li Pan was certainly not stupid. He guessed that Lu Beigu had been asked this question before.

So he replied respectfully, "It is because I, as a student, have some ideas about how to govern the country and benefit the people. I have not expressed my thoughts in my policy paper, and I would like to discuss it with Prime Minister Zhang in person."

At this time, Li Pan also took the opportunity to introduce Zhao Yan's identity to Lu Beigu, and Lu Beigu hurriedly saluted.

"Meetings, Transport Envoy Zhao!"

At this moment, a senior official in a purple robe walked out from behind the screen.

This person was wearing a purple robe with a curved collar and wide sleeves, which reached his feet. He had a jade belt and a goldfish bag around his waist, a straight-legged stiff hat on his head, and black leather boots on his feet. He had an extraordinary demeanor.

"Meet Mr. Zhang!"

Li Pan hurriedly took Lu Beigu to bow and salute.

"no."

Zhang Fangping stroked the three long strands of beard under his chin and said, "I think this young man is the one you mentioned who wrote the "Summer Protection Strategy"?"

"That's right." Li Pan responded respectfully.

"Feel free to sit down."

Zhang Fangping dusted off his purple robe and sat at the head.

This purple robe is official uniform, that is, daily wear, also known as "provincial wear". It is the clothing worn by officials of the Song Dynasty in daily office and general formal occasions. Officials of the third rank and above wear purple, those of the fifth rank and above wear red, those of the seventh rank and above wear green, and those of the ninth rank and above wear blue.

The saying goes, "The whole court is full of nobles, all of whom are scholars." The "nobles" here refer to court officials of the fifth rank and above.

Li Pan was wearing a green official robe.

Zhang Fangping looked at Zhao Yan, who was about to leave but sat down again, and asked curiously.

"Didn't you just say you were leaving? What? You're not leaving?"

Zhao Yan smiled and said, "I think what this man said just now makes a lot of sense. The Transport Commissioner's Office is free right now, so I might as well listen to what he has to say."

Zhang Fangping was a little surprised to hear this. After all, there were not many people who could be appreciated by an old-fashioned person like Zhao Yan.

"There aren't many people you can admire, so just listen."

Zhang Fangping nodded.

Anyway, the topic was not a secret, and it happened to be related to the economy. As the transport commissioner of Yizhou Road, it was natural for Zhao Yan to attend the meeting.

"I read your article 'Summer Defense Strategy'. It's very well written."

Zhang Fangping picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. His eyes were not sharp, but when they fell on Lu Beigu, he felt extremely oppressive.

The former "Prime Minister of Strategy" and now a high-ranking official in charge of the southwest, his casual words and deeds really make people feel that he is "awe-inspiring without anger". Lu Beigu sat up straight unconsciously.

"You've come a long way, so I won't waste any time on idle chatter. I'm somewhat knowledgeable about military affairs, having written 'Ten Strategies for Subduing the Enemy' some years ago, about employing spies and recruiting archers. I don't want to hear about that."

"As for your 'trade-breaking' strategy, the Qingli Peace Agreement has already been finalized, so it's not wise for the dynasty to rashly engage in trade with Qingtang Tubo. However, as a countermeasure, it does make sense. Just now, Transport Commissioner Zhao mentioned that you explained the theory of cold and warm to him. We'll discuss this later."

"I'd like to hear what you meant by 'the solution to the three difficulties of salt, banknotes, and grain' that you told County Magistrate Li earlier."

(End of this chapter)