Chapter 38: Case
The county examination will be held today, but compared to the previous times, there are fewer people waiting at the door.
This is normal. There were more than 500 candidates in the first exam, but by the last five, the number had dropped sharply to about 150, and the rest were eliminated layer by layer.
That’s why there are so many people at the door right now, and many of them are here to watch the fun.
Su Fengzhang had gotten up early and was feeling a little sleepy. Uncle Su, noticing his drowsiness, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Erlang, lean back and get some sleep. I'll call you when the case is reported."
Su Fengzhang rubbed his eyes and said no, but Second Uncle Su pressed his head against his shoulder and said, "Go to sleep. Now that your father is gone, Second Uncle will have to take good care of you."
"Second uncle, thank you." Su Fengzhang did not hesitate.
Uncle Su smiled and said, "Why thank me? I'm your uncle, and this is what I should do."
Uncle Su thought so sincerely. He had a good relationship with his eldest brother and was also very open-hearted towards his two nephews.
Su Fengzhang leaned on his thick shoulders and closed his eyes to rest. The waiting time was the most torturous. The scholars around him couldn't help but chat to pass the time so as not to feel uncomfortable.
He heard a voice exaggerating, "When will Hushan County be able to repair the examination halls? We always have to hold exams in the courtyard. If it rains or blows, it will be very troublesome."
"Just be content. Hushan County is pretty good already. At least we have all the seats and benches."
"You don't know, some places in the north are so poor that the county government doesn't even have a courtyard, let alone a testing room."
"It's just a random area. When it's sunny, it's dusty. When it rains, it's muddy."
"Really? Even if you're poor, you can't be so poor that you have to rely on the government, right?"
"Of course it's true. This isn't the worst. The worst is in the border provinces. I heard there aren't even tables and chairs. Candidates have to bring their own. Some candidates from rural areas have to cross mountains and rivers and carry their own tables and benches."
"Some people can't bring their own tables, so when they get to the county town, they try to borrow one. If they can't, they borrow door panels or cutting boards. I heard some even borrowed coffin boards."
"This is too unlucky! We can't hold the coffin lid at all." The students from the south found it incredible.
"There's really no other way because I can't find a board. It's better than piling up bricks. Bricks are not stable when they're just piled up. It hurts my butt when I sit on them, and they're not even flat when I use them as a cushion..."
The surrounding candidates were talking more and more outrageous, but Second Uncle Su was listening intently. Noticing that Su Fengzhang was still awake, he whispered, "Erlang, is what they're saying true? Is there really someone using a coffin as a desk?"
Su Fengzhang had never been to the north, but he had heard about it from Mr. Wen. He nodded and said, "The north is not as wealthy as the south. Some remote small towns are short of supplies, so this is possible."
Uncle Su still couldn't believe it and muttered, "That wouldn't require a coffin lid."
He has lived in the south all his life. Although he is just an ordinary person, his family is relatively wealthy. Apart from anything else, Yuexi Village in Hushan County is located in the rich Jiangnan area. Although they are not extremely rich, they still have enough food to eat and clothes to wear.
Hushan County was relatively better. I heard that before the disaster in neighboring Wei County, the floors of their county school were paved with blue bricks, and the desks used during the county examinations were made of huanghuali wood. They even built temporary examination halls.
Since he had some free time, Su Fengzhang was in the mood to explain.
"Uncle, have you ever heard of the North-South List case during the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Great Zhou Dynasty?"
That happened more than 50 years ago, and two emperors changed in the meantime, so Uncle Su naturally had never heard of it.
"During the reign of Taizu of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the south gradually became prosperous, while the north was plagued by drought. The people were living in poverty and could not even get enough to eat, let alone study. It was natural that literary style declined."
"At that time, the imperial examination in the capital was held, and Emperor Taizu personally ordered the great scholar Gu Sanxing to be the chief examiner. He was highly respected and a famous Confucian scholar in our Great Zhou, and was highly praised among the scholars."
"Who knew that at that time, there was a huge gap between the scholars in the north and south? When the results of the imperial examination came out, all the people who made the list were from the south, and all the northern students failed. The northern candidates were dissatisfied and believed that Gu Sanxing discriminated against the northern scholars and did it intentionally. They went to the Ministry of Rites to complain."
"That incident raged for a whole year, implicating all the civil and military officials in the court, and even led to two major fraud cases during the first year of Emperor Taizu's reign. To the point where Gu Sanxing died by hitting a pillar in the Xuanwu Hall in order to prove his innocence."
"Examination cheating has always been a serious matter, but the North-South List case is undoubtedly the most involved in history. From beginning to end, countless officials were demoted. Candidates of that year were either killed or exiled, and some officials were even executed by slow slicing."
"Gu Daru died by hitting a pillar, but he actually managed to preserve his last bit of dignity."
"That year, Emperor Taizu issued an order to separate the list of candidates for the north and south, allowing for separate admissions. This was the only way to calm the public anger."
"But it was also clear from then on that the gap between our south and the north was huge, and it had reached an irreconcilable level at that time."
Su Fengzhang spoke in a low voice. After all, these matters were sensitive and it would not be good if others heard them.
Second Uncle Su turned pale with fear and lowered his voice to ask, "No wonder candidates from the north and south don't take the imperial examination together these years."
In fact, what Su Ershu said was not quite accurate. It was not that they took the imperial examinations separately, but that the prefectural examinations were divided into north and south lists, but the palace examinations were held together. Otherwise, there would be two top scorers in the same session, which would be a laughing stock.
This is caused by the huge gap in economic development levels between the north and the south, and the huge difference in public customs.
Just like Yuexi Village, it is just a small village in Xiahushan County of Qingzhou Prefecture, but many villagers send their children to school. Before Su Fengzhang taught the children in the village, there were five or six children studying in private schools.
Don’t underestimate this number. You have to know that there are only a few people in Yuexi Village. This is simply impossible in the north.
The purpose of dividing the list into north and south is, after all, to take into account the poor fighting capacity of northern scholars and to reduce the proportion of southern scholars.
Second Uncle Su thought too much and asked mysteriously, "Erlang, did Gu Daru cheat? If not, wouldn't his death be too unjust?"
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "Does it matter?"
Uncle Su seemed to understand, but also seemed to understand nothing. He was silent for a moment, then asked, "Erlang, how do you know all this? Did Mr. Wen tell you?"
Even if he was not a scholar, he knew about the events during the reign of Emperor Taizu, and they were definitely not just common rumors.
Su Fengzhang simply said, "These are the notes left by my father."
Su Dianli once went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, so naturally he wanted to find out some information. However, he spent money but failed the exam. He was disheartened and sought a job, but he kept all his notes well.
When he mentioned this, Second Uncle Su also recalled some things and sighed, "Back then, it was me who accompanied my eldest brother to the capital. The capital was huge, with many people. The official language was different from ours, and there were officials everywhere."
Su Fengzhang took the opportunity to ask about the things in the capital. Second Uncle Su became excited. Even though decades had passed, he still remembered them clearly and made up some exaggerated stories in his own mind.
In his words, the capital seemed to be a good place in every way, except that shopping was too expensive.
The two of them asked and answered each other, and time passed quickly.
Once again, the sound of gongs and drums interrupted Uncle Su's memories. He jumped up and subconsciously rushed into the crowd, but was stopped by Su Fengzhang.
Su Fengzhang reluctantly advised: "Uncle, it hasn't been posted yet, don't worry."
"You wait here, uncle will go and help you." Uncle Su insisted on rushing in.
Su Fengzhang had no choice but to follow in. It was so crowded that someone stepped on his heel and almost knocked his shoes off.
Deep down, he didn't understand this impulse. Although there was no announcement or mail for the county exam, as long as the list was posted, he would have known it earlier. It would have been different if he had known it earlier. Was there any need to rush to do it?
Facts have proved that most people feel it is necessary. Some candidates even forget their usual high attitude and roll up their sleeves to rush in. Their enthusiasm is no better than that of Uncle Su.
The yamen runners had to create a circle to prevent them from breaking through the railings.
This time's case was different from the previous ones. It was not a round case, but a long case on a piece of paper with rows of names on it, a total of only twenty names.
It seems more convenient to have fewer names, but the problem is that there are too many people reading a piece of paper, and they are squeezing and shouting. This is a time that requires strength. Fortunately, their respect for the government office makes them restrain themselves from breaking through the wooden fence.
Uncle Su's hair was messy and his clothes were torn into a tangled mess, but he didn't care about the person behind him who was pulling his clothes. He stretched his neck to look forward.
Su Fengzhang was even more miserable. He was pushed over and hardly had to move himself.
The person behind him pushed him and he almost fell face to face with him. The most terrifying thing was that the person was called Gu Nanfeng. The guy dodged as if he had encountered something dirty. The disgusted look on his face gave Su Fengzhang even more headaches.
Before they could get tired of each other, Second Uncle Su rushed back, hugged Su Fengzhang and shouted, "It's a hit, it's a hit, my Second Doctor is a hit!"
As soon as he shouted this, everyone around him shot him envious glances. Su Fengzhang grabbed his second uncle and said, "Really? Then let's get out of here quickly."
If he doesn't go out, his feet will be stepped on. Someone must be jealous and hitting him.
Uncle Su listened to him at this time, his mouth grinning from ear to ear: "Come on, let's go home and celebrate, Erlang, you are the first!"
Behind them, Gu Nanfeng watched the entire film three times, completely distraught. "How could it be? How could my name not be there? Impossible, absolutely impossible."
The person behind him was impatient and pushed him away: "If your name is not on the list, get out of here. You are still blaming me for not doing anything."
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