Top Scholar

Chapter 609 Spending Money
[Kang Hai was the top scholar in the imperial examination, while the top scholar in the previous imperial examination was Gu Dingchen. This is a correction.]

"They say we're not qualified to be chief officials and can only go to be assistant officials to gain experience. This is clearly an excuse, a deliberate attempt to suppress us scholars who refuse to submit!" The group of Hanlin scholars became increasingly frustrated as they spoke. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, when had they ever suffered such humiliation?

"Alas, this is outrageous..." The thought of having to bow and pay respects to officials who were also Jinshi or even Juren when they went to the local areas made them feel extremely disheartened.

"The Hanlin Academy has fallen into disarray, and literature has been lost..." These few words fully express the humiliation and helplessness of the Hanlin scholars, each of them with a worried expression and a deep sense of frustration.

"Let's go back!"

Su Lu and several other Hanlin scholars remained quiet, as they were not among those to be sent to other regions, so they refrained from provoking their seniors.

"Why isn't Brother Hongzhi saying anything?" Kang Hai was quite considerate of the younger generation and took the initiative to chat with the newcomer.

"How dare we interrupt when our seniors are speaking?" Su Lu smiled gently and asked with concern, "Where are you being sent this time, senior?"

Kang Hai shook his head slightly, "I will not be transferred to another post; I will continue to work at the Hanlin Academy."

Before he could finish speaking, a cold sneer came from the side. A Hanlin scholar, who had nowhere else to vent his anger, mocked, "Hmph, of course Scholar Kang won't be sent out to a remote place... You are a favorite of Eunuch Liu, how could he bear to let you go to a remote place to suffer?"

"It's the New Year, so let's keep quiet," a colleague whispered to him.

Others also advised, "You're going to break up anyway, don't make things unpleasant."

"Am I wrong?" The scholar refused to back down, raising his voice even higher. "Why should we all suffer this humiliation while Kang Hai can stay peacefully in the Hanlin Academy? He doesn't even care about being a powerful figure and a disgrace. What's wrong with letting people talk about it?"

Upon hearing this, Kang Hai's smile remained unchanged, but the hand gripping the cup trembled slightly.

“Brother Nanfu, how could you say that about me? I, Kang Dehan, have never asked anyone for favors, much less curry favor with the powerful!”

"Then why are you the only one left out of so many people? Isn't it because your esteemed fellow villager is taking care of you?" Brother Nanfu sneered.

“You really don’t need to beg him; he will take care of you, a fellow townsman and top scholar. You can’t accept his help and then say you have no connection with him!”

"Say what you will..." Kang Hai was speechless. If he went to Liu Jin's house and talked with him all night, he would be unable to clear his name.

Su Lu felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing this. This was the reason why he was unwilling to enter the Hanlin Academy. A group of idle men, regardless of gender or education, would all turn into gossipy old men who talked about other people's shortcomings.

He slammed his wine glass down on the table, the loud bang drawing the man's attention, and said loudly:

"If you want to scold me, senior, you might as well scold me too—I haven't been sent out either, so I suppose you don't think I'm a good person either."

All the Hanlin scholars naturally recognized this newly appointed top scholar and had even owed him favors... If it weren't for his rescue last summer, they would have either died kneeling or succumbed to the heat. Moreover, he was one of only two civil officials who were not afraid of Liu Jin, someone who could save their lives in critical moments, so of course they couldn't afford to offend him.

Nanfu, knowing this, awkwardly laughed and said, "You are different. Scholar Su is someone the Emperor relies on. Liu Jin wouldn't dare offend you, so naturally he won't touch you."

"Is that so?" Su Lu raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I don't believe that you haven't gossiped about me behind my back."

"Of course not, I never speak ill of people behind their backs!" Brother Nanfu quickly denied it, although he had indeed said things like, 'What kind of behavior is it for a Hanlin scholar like Su Zhuangyuan to be constantly fawning over the emperor?'

"Then why, out of so many people, do I only suspect you? Isn't it because you spoke ill of Senior Kang to his face?" Su Luyi echoed Nanfu's words, returning them verbatim:

"You may not have spoken ill of me to my face, but that doesn't mean you didn't speak ill of me behind my back. You can't speak ill of others to their faces and then claim you never speak ill of anyone behind their back!"

"These are all your conjectures..." Brother Nanfu was almost turned into Xiaofu by his rebuttal.

“Yes, so you know that ‘how can one judge the existence of something without seeing or hearing it for oneself?’” Su Lu raised his wine cup and toasted him from afar, saying, “I heard that you are going to Nanjing to serve as an assistant minister in the Ministry of Justice. Please don’t judge cases like this when you get there.”

"Don't worry, I will be impartial..." Brother Nanfu blushed with embarrassment, wishing he could disappear into the ground. He then said to Kang Hai in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Scholar Kang. I was just guessing."

Kang Hai shook his head, not wanting to talk to him any longer. Once everyone's attention had shifted, he thanked Su Lu again.

"Thank you for speaking up for me, my brother. Ever since I visited Eunuch Liu's residence, I've been scolded to death for the past two years."

"The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind; this has always been the case. You'll get used to it, Brother Shan. Come, let's have a drink and wish you a Happy New Year. Don't let trivial words spoil the mood." Su Lu raised his glass with a smile.

"Thank you." Kang Hai raised his wine glass with both hands, gently clinked it with Su Lu's, and said sincerely, "Brother Hongzhi is insightful. I will listen to you and not take those words to heart."

"That's right," Su Lu laughed. "If you hear cicadas chirping, shouldn't you start farming?"

Kang Hai nodded, finished his drink, and a hint of melancholy flashed in his eyes. "To be honest, I would rather be sent to a post outside the capital. In my early years in my hometown in Shaanxi, I was fortunate enough to study practical knowledge under Mr. Shi Cong and Mr. Dong Tian, ​​and I was eager to do something practical for the people."

As he spoke, he sighed deeply and said, "Now that the world is in turmoil, it is precisely the time for scholars to serve the people and save the world, and to display their talents. Unfortunately, I am of low status and have no say in the matter, and I am not in control of my own destiny..."

Seeing the melancholy and resentment in his eyes, Su Lu refilled both their cups and gestured, "Brother Duishan, this is how a scholar should behave, not picking and choosing, overestimating his abilities. This chaotic situation will likely last for a year or two. If you are determined, you will surely achieve your goals and display your talents." The two drank another cup and then ignored the surrounding noise, continuing their conversation...

~~
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, everyone had their own plans. As the princes, nobles, and high-ranking officials of the Fengtian Hall gradually left their seats, the middle and lower-ranking officials in the east and west wings also got up and dispersed.

When the officials arrived at Fengtian Gate, they saw a long table set up beside the gate, and a eunuch ordered them to line up to receive their rewards.

Each official could receive a long red envelope by presenting their waist token. Upon opening it, they found that it did not contain copper coins, but rather twenty shiny silver coins.

They then remembered that during the court assembly, the Emperor had announced that each person would be rewarded with twenty silver dollars. At the time, they had wondered if the eunuch delivering the decree had made a mistake. When did silver become measured in 'dollars'?
Clutching the silver coins in their hands, everyone finally understood what the Emperor meant by "round"...

The officials were delighted at the prospect of acquiring the silver coins. After receiving their thanks, they examined the coins on the spot, praising their exquisite craftsmanship.

"The imperial workshops are truly exceptional. Look at the dragon and the character for it, how exquisite they are!"

"It's so beautiful, is it pure silver?"

Amidst the murmurs, an official from the Ministry of Revenue picked up a silver coin, blew on it, and tapped it lightly twice. Listening to the crisp sound, he nodded and exclaimed, "Listen to this sound! So crisp and clear. It's pure enough to be used as money."

"No matter how high the quality, it's useless!" one official retorted. "There's even the Emperor's portrait on it. Do you dare say it's only worth seven or eight coins?!"

"Sigh..." Upon hearing this, everyone was more worried than happy, looking at the portrait of Emperor Zhengde on the front of the silver coin and feeling extremely distressed.

They're practically starving now. This money could have helped them out, but now they can only look at it, not spend it...

Melt it down and cast it into silver ingots? The sin of destroying the statue would be even greater.

"Sigh, we'll just have to keep it as a statue..."

Just as the officials were all disappointed, Zhang Zhong, the chief eunuch in charge of awarding silver, laughed loudly:

"Gentlemen, please feel free to spend these! These are Zhengde silver coins, officially designated by the Emperor and soon to circulate throughout the land. They are meant to be used as currency!"

"Ah, that's wonderful, that's wonderful!" The officials immediately beamed with joy and then asked all at once:

"Father-in-law, how many copper coins can this silver dollar be exchanged for? And how many taels of silver is it worth?"

Zhang Zhong laughed and said, "His Majesty didn't say that you gentlemen can pawn as much money as you want to spend. I don't believe there's any silver you can't spend!"

At this moment, a Zhejiang official weighed the silver dollar in his hand and said, "The weight and purity of this coin are exactly the same as those of the Western double-pillar coin, and the workmanship is even more exquisite. Therefore, it can be compared with the double-pillar coin and should be valued at least 10% higher!"

"In my opinion, the price should be ten percent higher than that of the double-pillar coin! How can the silver coins of our Great Ming Emperor be valued at the same level as those of foreign kings?"

“That makes sense. Then let’s just treat one yuan as one ounce.”

"Of course it would be great if you could spend it!" The officials were in high spirits, their previous gloom gone.

How could they not be happy? Especially for mid- to low-level officials, this is a huge sum of money!

Now I don't have to get scolded by my wife for taking out a loan to work when I get home...

~~
Su Lu also received one along with the others, and thanked Zhang Zhong with a smile.

Zhang Gonggong almost lost his composure. What others might not know was that these silver dollars were all made by Su Zhuangyuan.

Su Lu still followed his usual approach of piloting, improving, and finally promoting... He first distributed a batch of silver dollars to officials in the capital to test the waters and see how the court and the public reacted.

Su Man, Zhu Zi, and several others also received their rewards and excitedly gathered around Su Lu.

They weren't concerned about the twenty yuan; what mattered was the officials' reaction, which was incredibly encouraging!
Zhu Zihe lowered his voice and said with delight, "If this Zhengde silver dollar is really equivalent to the double-pillar coin, we'll make a net profit of one qian of silver for every dollar we issue!"

“This is still the most conservative estimate…” Even the usually low-key and conservative Su Man couldn’t help but be optimistic at this moment. “Actually, I am optimistic that one yuan can be exchanged for one tael of silver.”

He then said to Zhu Zihe, "Before, you thought minting silver coins was a waste of time and money, with such exquisite craftsmanship and high costs. Now you know, right? There's no safer business in the world!"

Su Lu nodded and smiled, "The core motivation for European countries to mint silver coins is to collect seigniorage—the value of the minted currency is higher than the actual value of the metal, and the difference is the profit from minting! Moreover, seigniorage is very discreet, and as long as it is not excessive, it will not arouse public resentment."

As he spoke, he raised his voice and declared proudly, "If the Western barbarian countries can levy this minting tax, then our Great Ming Dynasty can certainly do the same!"

(End of this chapter)