Chapter 39: First Place in the County Examination First Place in the County Examination

County Magistrate Cai wore a Liang Dynasty crown on his head, and his special jewelry was three emerald pines on his bun, a silver-plated and gilded sparrow, and a pearl knot in its mouth.

She wore a red silk gown with a green edge, a shawl with a pattern of clouds and sparrows embroidered in the center of her face, a silver pendant with flowers, and a jacket with a pattern of clouds and sparrows.

He wore a leather belt with a jade pendant dangling from it, and a large red and white silk belt. He wore a knee-length silk apron and black-topped, white-soled official boots—the official uniform of a county magistrate.

The color of indigo appears black, but at this moment, Lord Cai standing in the lobby looks particularly majestic.

He dressed so neatly on purpose, naturally to receive the candidates who passed the county examination this year.

Although these twenty candidates were not even considered as Tongsheng, County Magistrate Cai was willing to sell one of them.

After some earnest instruction, the group of examinees were moved to tears of gratitude. Lord Cai nodded with satisfaction and asked someone to bring out some silver, which was both a reward and a gift. Each person was given a silver ingot of five taels, while Su Fengzhang received ten taels.

The others saw this but did not feel much unfair, because Su Fengzhang was the first in the county examination.

"Okay, go back and study hard. The provincial exam is in a month, so you must prepare well." Lord Cai said with a smile.

One by one, the examinees took their leave, and Su Fengzhang followed the crowd. But before he could leave, a yamen runner came over and said, "Mr. Su, Lord Cai wants to see you."

Under the envious gazes of others, Su Fengzhang had no choice but to follow.

County Magistrate Cai was naturally very optimistic about Su Fengzhang, otherwise he would not have personally selected the top scorer in the county examination.

He had read all the test papers and had given a fair and objective evaluation. There was no doubt that Su Fengzhang's essay stood out among the many papers, which made County Magistrate Cai even more optimistic.

In the eyes of County Magistrate Cai, Su Fengzhang had some kind of kinship with him, and they had a good relationship over the years. Su Fengzhang was also a clear-headed person. More importantly, even if his essays were placed in Qingzhou Prefecture, they would not be inferior to those in places with flourishing culture and education.

Su Fengzhang followed the yamen runners through the halls and courtyards. He could still vaguely see the small courtyard where they used to live. A child of seven or eight years old was playing at the door. No one knew who lived there now.

The bailiff took him all the way to County Magistrate Cai's study before taking his leave.

Magistrate Cai sat behind the desk, looking at him with the kindness of an elder: "Nephew, please sit down."

"Junior dare not." Su Fengzhang accepted the title of nephew, but did not sit down directly.

Magistrate Cai stroked his beard lightly, and was even more satisfied with the scene.

Su Fengzhang was still young, not even twenty years old. What was rare was that he won the first place in the county examination at such a young age, but he did not get carried away.

In officialdom, one must abide by the rules and know when to advance and retreat in order to go further. It is rare and precious that Su Fengzhang is not proud or impatient.

He is talented, knows when to advance and when to retreat, is mature and steady at a young age, and is a good seedling.

Magistrate Cai smiled and said, "My dear nephew, there are no outsiders here. Please sit down and let's talk slowly."

Su Fengzhang then sat down next to him, not knowing what this County Magistrate Cai was up to.

"I have chosen you as the top candidate in the county examination this time, not because of any old friendship, but because your essay is truly outstanding. The unanimous comments of the examiners, who have nominated you as the top candidate, demonstrate your extraordinary talent."

"The county exam is just the first step. Next up are the prefectural exam and the imperial examination. Once you pass these two hurdles, you'll be considered a scholar. But a scholar is only the lowest rank in the official career."

"Before meeting you, I was worried that you were young and impetuous, and that you might get carried away after winning the first place. I didn't expect that you, at such a young age, could keep your composure. That's very good."

"If you can remain neither arrogant nor impatient, you will be able to go further in the future. Remember, there are always people better than you. One county first place in the exam is nothing. In Qingzhou Prefecture alone, there are twelve county first places. Remember this!"

Su Fengzhang stood up, his hands clasped behind his back, his face cautious and respectful. "Thank you for your advice, sir. I'll keep it in mind."

Seeing his serious attitude, County Magistrate Cai nodded with satisfaction.

"You have your own ideas, and I will not mention this again."

"The Qingzhou Prefecture Examination is in a month and a half. Although it's been half a year since the Qingzhou flood last year, the damage was still severe. There may be some trouble along the way. It's best for you to travel together and not alone."

This was a kind reminder. Although the public security in Qingzhou Prefecture was good and they had been cracking down on bandits in the past six months, who knew where a group of bandits might be hiding? Scholars were powerless and would be dead if they encountered one.

"Thank you for the reminder, sir."

Su Fengzhang naturally nodded in agreement. In fact, before the county exam, Wenzhu had agreed with him to travel together. He also had to take part in this year's academy exam, so he simply went out early to prepare.

"Mr. Fang Zhiwen, the prefect of Qingzhou, was appointed as the prefect of Qingzhou at the end of last year. I am not familiar with him, but I have occasionally corresponded with him, and I know that he is a man who can get things done."

"If it weren't for Lord Fang's wisdom and ability, and his combination of kindness and authority, I'm afraid the Qingzhou Prefecture Examination this year wouldn't have gone smoothly."

"He was born into an orthodox Jinshi family, originally from Qingzhou. He was the runner-up in the imperial examination during the Mingde reign, and his talent and learning were exceptional."

This is quite interesting. The flood in Qingzhou caused a great disaster, and the dam broke twice. The original prefect naturally became a prisoner, and this Lord Fang was sent by the court to provide disaster relief.

He was able to stabilize Qingzhou Prefecture in a short period of time, which shows that he has extraordinary means. The frequent activities of the garrison made it more likely that Lord Fang had a very good relationship with the military generals. Otherwise, it would not be easy for him to borrow the officers and soldiers of the garrison.

It can be seen that County Magistrate Cai is indeed not familiar with this Lord Fang. After all, Lord Fang is originally from Qingzhou, but was born and raised in the capital. It has only been three months since his appointment, and the two have very limited interactions.

Lord Cai just gave that much to say, and the rest depended on whether Su Fengzhang could figure it out himself.

If Lord Cai didn't truly regard him as a junior, he probably wouldn't have said these words.

Su Fengzhang did not ask about Mr. Fang's affairs, but instead asked, "I wonder who the academic officer for this provincial examination is?"

Lord Cai gave him an admiring look, but shook his head and said, "Although according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the provincial examination should be presided over by the local academic official, the Qingzhou academic official fell seriously ill and died in this flood, and the court has not yet sent a new academic official."

"From what Lord Fang has said, this provincial examination will not be delayed and he will be the examiner himself. However, the imperial examination in August is uncertain. It all depends on whether the court will appoint a new examiner."

In other words, this time the provincial examination will be a one-man show for the prefect Fang Zhiwen. There may be other academic officials participating, but they will definitely not play a leading role.

This Lord Fang must be a person with a very tough character. If he is not tough, he would not have been able to clean up the chaos in Qingzhou so completely within just a few months after taking office. This kind of decisiveness is not something that ordinary people can do.

This has its pros and cons. The good thing is that the candidates of this year only need to guess the taste of one person, and the tastes of others are not so important.

But the downside is that this Lord Fang was a Beijing official before, so no one is familiar with him and doesn’t know his preferences.

What is even more rare is that the academic officials sent by the imperial court usually set examination papers in a relatively standard manner and were relatively fair in their evaluations.

But it is different when power is delegated to the prefect. Everyone has likes and dislikes. It is possible that Fang Zhiwen admits students based entirely on his own preferences. No matter how well you write, it is possible that you will not be accepted if it does not suit your taste. This was even very common in ancient times.

Seeing his worry, County Magistrate Cai said, "Don't worry. As a prefect, I also hope that talents will emerge from my jurisdiction. After all, culture and education are also..."

The words were not spoken, but the meaning was obvious. Qingzhou was a mess, but culture and education were flourishing. Culture and education were important criteria for local officials to evaluate their political achievements. As long as Fang Zhiwen was not crazy, he would not suppress local students for no reason.

Furthermore, he had a great advantage, that was the first place in the county examination. The first place in the county examination could be awarded the title of scholar, which was a written rule in the imperial examination.

Officials protect each other and are generally not enemies. Superiors are also willing to give face to their subordinates. It is reasonable to admit the top scorers in county examinations from all over the country, and it can also consolidate the common interests of local officials.

It is not difficult to see from County Magistrate Cai's words that Fang Zhiwen has a good impression of him, otherwise he would have lost his position as County Magistrate long ago. From this point of view, Su Fengzhang does not have the advantage.

After thanking County Magistrate Cai again and again, Su Fengzhang left the county government office with a stack of books in his hand. They were gifts from County Magistrate Cai. These books were obviously more valuable than the ten taels of silver.

After leaving the county government office, Su Fengzhang went to the Wen family to pay his respects to his teacher. Now that he had won the first place in the county examination, he naturally wanted to thank Mr. Wen. If it weren't for his dedicated teaching, his journey would definitely not have been so smooth.

Mr. Wen was also happy to see him, and even praised him a few times.

Hearing about Lord Fang's story, Mr. Wen was stunned for a moment. He pondered for a while before saying, "Lord Fang and I were both successful candidates in the same year. When he returned to his hometown to take the imperial examination, I met him a few times."

Su Fengzhang was surprised when he heard this, but then he remembered that Fang Zhiwen was originally from Qingzhou. According to the rules of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he had to return to his hometown for the imperial examination, so it was not surprising that he met Mr. Wen.

Mr. Wen wanted to say a few words, but that was decades ago, and he and Fang Zhiwen had only met a few times. If Fang Zhiwen had not been quite famous among the successful candidates in that session, he would probably have forgotten about it. Now, even if he tried hard to recall it, he really couldn't remember anything special.

Finally, he simply said, "At that time, Lord Fang had clear likes and dislikes, a slightly flamboyant personality, and loved to laugh. He had some of the manners of a son of an official, but he was also quite polite to the peasant candidate. I wonder if he has changed now."

If you are polite to a scholar from a farming family, you will show that he is not the second-generation official who is very prejudiced against family status.

However, the evaluation that he has clear likes and dislikes and a flamboyant personality is quite interesting. He doesn't seem to be the same person as the Lord Fang who was decisive and ruthless in County Magistrate Cai's words. Also, after decades, perhaps this Lord has changed.