Chapter 264 The Terrible Person The Terrible Person
The people living near the capital have always regarded themselves as people from the capital, as if this would make their status higher than those in other places.
Whenever there is any disturbance in the capital, the people around will always know about it first, which is a convenience.
As soon as the issue of the imperial examination system reform was brought up in the court, it began to spread widely outside, including in the surrounding villages. One old scholar even sat at the door and cursed loudly.
The one being scolded was naturally Su Fengzhang, who proposed the reform. This old scholar had average ability in taking the imperial examinations, but when he scolded someone he quoted from classics and acted with great arrogance. Those who didn't know him might have thought that he and Su Fengzhang had some deep hatred for each other.
At first, the few educated people in the village joined in the cursing, all of them sharing the same hatred for the enemy.
But since when, when the old scholar cursed people at the door, fewer and fewer people responded to him.
The old scholar felt puzzled, thinking that maybe as time went by, everyone had accepted the matter. But how could such an important matter as the imperial examination be changed because of a Su Fengzhang? Wouldn't all his studies in this life have been in vain?
Although he was only a scholar, he had been highly respected in the village over the years. However, once the system was changed, it seemed as if people like them were useless, even though they appeared to be no match for him.
Feeling very curious, the old scholar went out with the help of his crutches, intending to see what those students had been doing recently. However, what he saw made him furious.
It turned out that those brats had been secretly preparing for the supplementary examination behind his back. The so-called supplementary examination was actually a specialized and targeted examination set up outside the imperial examination. Even if one was not good at the Four Books and Five Classics, one could still take the exam if one had expertise.
The old scholar couldn't stand this and immediately cursed, "You are simply disrespecting civility. You are bending over backwards for a few pieces of silver. The Four Books and Five Classics are the orthodox teachings for the imperial examinations. You are neglecting the essentials and pursuing trivial matters. You are not distinguishing between the primary and the secondary!"
"Su Fengzhang himself was born into the imperial examination system, yet now he's thinking of adding more exams. His motives are sinister. Perhaps he's afraid that more and more outstanding scholars will become his enemies in the future, so he's coming up with such a despicable plan."
"No one is allowed to take the exam!"
Several scholars were willing to accept the scolding, but when they saw that he insisted on stopping them, their faces turned unhappy.
They glanced at each other and said, "Third Grandpa, don't be angry. The imperial examination is an examination, and the supplementary examination is also an examination. They are both good things that serve the court. Why should we rank them?"
"That's right, you are a scholar, at least you will never have to worry about food and drink, but the rest of us are not cut out for studying."
"Over the years, there have only been a few people in our village who have passed the imperial examinations, let alone become juren or jinshi. You can't just study and learn to read and end up working as a restaurant manager."
"Master Su's idea is also good for us. It doesn't mean that people are not allowed to take the imperial examination. It just adds more exams. If you want to go, go. If you don't want to go, don't go. If Third Grandpa doesn't like it, no one can force you to like it."
"That's right, Third Uncle, you have to think about us. Being able to take the additional exam is at least one way forward. Do you really want to stop the villagers from making progress?"
"Not only us, your eldest grandson is also planning to give it a try!"
When the old scholar heard this, he was so angry that he almost fainted. He went home and wanted to pull out his eldest grandson and beat him up.
Who knew that even after the man was caught, he was stopped by his family and not allowed to take any action. His wife even scolded him, "If you want to hit him, hit me first. Just beat me to death."
"In my opinion, Lord Su's method is the best. Can you let your child study like you for the rest of his life and still be a scholar now? It will be difficult for him to support the family."
"I was the one who asked him to take the test. If you're not happy with it, just hit me. My grandson is definitely going to take the test anyway!"
The old scholar looked up and saw that not only his wife agreed, but also his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren agreed. He suddenly fell to the ground weakly, gasping for breath and stopped talking.
His son even advised: "Dad, you should be more open-minded. It's not like studying is useless. Those who love to study and can study should continue to study. Those who are not good at studying can find other ways. Isn't this a good thing for ordinary people?"
The wife even said, "Yes, that old man Wang from the village next door is now working in the Ministry of Industry. The higher-ups all praise him for his ideas. This is such a great thing, others can't even ask for it."
The old scholar knew that he could not stop this, so he said coldly: "You can go if you want, but sooner or later you will know that only the words of the saints are the right way."
When he was there, several people reluctantly agreed, but as soon as he left, they started muttering, "The old man must have read too many books and his brain must have been damaged. Why is he stopping his own children from making progress?"
"That's right. Studying is a good thing, but you can't just study blindly. It's not like you can stop studying just to take the supplementary exam."
Such things happen in thousands of households. When personal interests are put at the forefront, few people can stick to their ideals. What's worse, scholars these days start studying just to become nobles, ministers, and sell themselves to the imperial family.
Now that there is an opportunity, many people are interested. Even many scholars who have passed the imperial examination and feel that they have no hope of passing the jinshi examination are beginning to be tempted.
The moment their hearts were moved was the moment when the Scholars' Alliance collapsed.
This conflict of beliefs caused scholars to argue endlessly with each other, and instead put aside the things that they should have resisted together, and the priorities gradually changed.
Su Fengzhang, who should have been at the center of this storm, became a bystander instead. Except for the cold stares of a few old officials in the court, his life remained the same as usual.
Su Fengzhang didn't care about other people's coldness. For example, when he saw the Minister of Rites, he smiled and asked in a gentle voice, "Lord Li, are you going back?"
The Minister of Rites hated to see him like this. He felt furious and snorted coldly before walking away.
Su Fengzhang raised his eyebrows and didn't care.
Prince Cheng, who followed, laughed and said, "You, please stop provoking him. He's old, and if he gets irritated like this every day, he might even have a stroke."
Su Fengzhang asked doubtfully, "When did I provoke him? I've been asking for peace."
Prince Cheng patted him on the shoulder and said, "If the additional examination hadn't been held in full swing and everyone in Shuntian Prefecture had been replaced, I would believe your nonsense."
Su Fengzhang smiled faintly and said, "The transfer of officials from the Ministry of Personnel is reasonable and based on need. In fact, it proves that these people have worked hard and performed well after taking up their posts. What is there for him to be angry about?"
He Jun came over at some point, and after hearing this, he glanced at Su Fengzhang and said with a smile, "It's just that these people performed so well that they have fewer reasons to oppose the reform of the imperial examination system, which makes them even more angry."
Prince Cheng also said: "The elders are probably worried that the future Jinshi candidates who pass the imperial examinations will have worse prospects than those who pass the supplementary examinations."
Su Fengzhang said, "Since they have such concerns, they will sooner or later agree to directly reform the system instead of resorting to the method of increasing the number of tests. Otherwise, the division will only become more severe in the future."
When he proposed adding more tests, he anticipated the final outcome. After all, once the wall between clerks and officials was broken, it would be difficult to go back. At that time, they would have to compromise for the sake of orthodoxy.
He Jun suddenly narrowed his eyes, stared at him and said, "Su Ziqing, you are a man of many plans. You are truly terrifying."
After saying this, he glanced at Prince Cheng, then realized that he wasn't the one he needed to worry about first, so he turned and left: "Forget it, I'll leave these brainstorming tasks to you. I'm going home to hug my son."
As soon as he left, Prince Cheng said with a smile, "This guy is outspoken, you don't have to pay attention to him."
Su Fengzhang shook his head and said, "If I cared about this kind of talk, I would have jumped into the river and committed suicide long ago."
Everything he does now and will do in the future will be condemned by others. Being thick-skinned is one of the important qualities for an official, otherwise he would have collapsed long ago.
Su Fengzhang asked again, "Why don't we go to Prince Rong's mansion together to visit the prince?"
Prince Cheng nodded, and the two of them went to Prince Rong's mansion together.
Who knew that when they arrived at the palace, the steward of Prince Rong's palace came out and said, "The prince is not feeling well and does not want to see guests. Please ask Prince Cheng and Lord Su to go back first."
The two men looked at each other helplessly. Since the new emperor ascended the throne, Prince Rong has never appeared in public again. They have visited him ten times, and it is not easy to see him once.
"Then please take good care of your health, Your Highness. If you have any errands, please let me know." Su Fengzhang said.
After the two of them left, the butler trotted over to Prince Rong. Prince Rong's face wasn't too bad, at least better than before. He asked in confusion, "Your Highness, Prince Cheng and Lord Su are sincerely visiting, why don't you see them?"
You must know that since the death of the late emperor, Prince Rong fell ill. Although the palace has not fallen into decline, it has become much deserted.
Prince Rong glanced at him and said calmly, "Since everything has been handed over, why bother meeting them again?"
"When we meet, we inevitably have to talk, and once we do, I will definitely take advantage of my seniority." After saying this, he sighed and said, "I felt at the beginning that Su Fengzhang was no ordinary person, and now it seems that is indeed the case."
The housekeeper quickly said, "Your Highness is the elder after all. You have experienced a lot, so what you say naturally makes sense. How can you be accused of taking advantage of your age? Prince Cheng and Lord Su are both young, so that's why we need you, Your Highness, to take the helm."
Prince Rong sneered and said calmly, "Don't mention this kind of thing again. You don't know that as I get older, I become less courageous. My brain is becoming more rigid day by day. Even I can't come up with these ideas."
"He did better than I expected. That's enough."
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