Chapter 1341: Hokkien Boy and Hakka Boy

"Tell me the truth. If you don't make changes, how long will it take for your people to become generals or prime ministers?" Seeing this, Lin Run regained his composure and asked Lin Zhengying calmly, "Well, let's be realistic and ask you when we can have a scholar?"

“……”Lin Zhengying was speechless.

"Right, you know very well that if you don't make changes, it will never be possible!" Lin Run is a governor who has spent half his life slaying demons and monsters. How could he not be able to deal with a small clan leader?

No one can withstand his fierce attacks.

"Your people will be trapped in this forest forever, living a half-starved and half-full life without dignity like ants! Until a natural disaster occurs, poverty and famine will wipe out all your descendants!" Lin Runji pointed at the old patriarch and said sternly:

"And this is all because of your ignorance and conservatism today! Do you really intend to bear this crime? Can you bear it?!"

Lin Run was the governor of a province, and he was also an elder who had just entered the ancestral hall to burn incense. In front of him, Lin Zhengying had no temper at all, and could only bow his head and accept the scolding.

After scolding him, Lin Zhongcheng slowed down his tone and said, "It's no exaggeration to say that the reason why I was able to come here today was because of the good tomb you chose for your great-grandfather. If someone hadn't been thinking about Feitianyan's porcelain stone mine, how would I know that there is a clan of the same clan in the mountains dozens of miles away from the city?"

"My uncle is right." Lin Zhengying nodded with tears in his eyes. "It is a blessing for our ancestors that you can come."

"Then why don't you cherish it?!" Lin Run glared at him and said, "I will be returning to the provincial capital tomorrow. If you have any problems, I will help you solve them today. If you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again!"

"Hey..." Lin Zhengying wiped his eyes and whispered, "Of course... Juye is the most important."

"This is easy." Lin Run said as he looked up at the hall below. Mr. Zhao and Liu Zixing and his party had finally arrived.

Lin Zhongcheng pointed at Zhao Shouzheng and said, "He is the most powerful official in Chaozhou. Today, I will ask him to express his opinion in front of you!"

"I will follow the arrangements of the Minister!" Mr. Zhao had not yet figured out the situation, but he had already expressed his attitude. He really was incompetent except for being an official.

"Okay." Lin Run nodded with satisfaction, and told Zhao Shouzheng about the fact that the Lin family members were prevented from entering school. Then he bowed and said, "Zhao Zhuangyuan, I, Lin, would like to ask you for a favor on behalf of my family members. Please be flexible!"

"What are you talking about? Whether you are a native or a guest, you are all citizens of the Ming Dynasty. As long as you meet the requirements, how can you not participate in the boy's test?" Mr. Zhao waved his hands and looked at Liu Zixing beside him inquiringly, "Old man, is this true?"

"This..." Liu Zixing was unwilling to admit it, but he couldn't lie with his eyes open, so he said awkwardly: "I haven't heard of this, but it seems that there are indeed no people from this place in the school."

"Whether there is one or not, it must be rectified immediately!" Zhao Shouzheng said decisively: "The imperial examination is to recruit talents for the court. We cannot let the school become a private reserve for certain people to monopolize the steps to advancement!"

After a pause, he said sarcastically, "Besides, no good seedlings have grown in the fields in recent years..."

Liu Zixing became more and more ashamed.

Then Zhao Shouzheng bowed to Lin Run and said, "Please rest assured, Zhongcheng, I will personally supervise the county exam in February next year, the prefectural exam in April, and the imperial examination in July. I will not allow anyone to mess around!"

Liu Zixing and Yue Yunpeng looked at each other and saw helplessness in each other's eyes.

Mr. Zhao's decision was like cutting their flesh.

~~

Because unlike the prejudice of later generations, in fact, although the title of scholar or student is only a qualification to study in the official school, it is of great value. The Tongsheng examination that determines this qualification is divided into three stages: the county examination, the prefectural examination and the academy examination. The county examination is attended by students from all over the county and presided over by the county magistrate. The outstanding students are selected and allowed to go to the prefectural city to take the prefectural examination two months later. The prefectural examination is naturally presided over by the prefect. If the prefect is not there, the co-magistrate will act as the prefect.

The county and prefectural examinations were held once a year. Only those who passed the prefectural examinations could be called Tongsheng. Although the title of Lao Tongsheng was not very harmful but very insulting, in fact, most scholars could not even get the title of Tongsheng.

The students then take the academy exams, which are held twice every three years, and there is one next year. Only those who pass the exams can be admitted to the official school and become a so-called scholar.

Don't underestimate this qualification. Becoming a scholar is like having "merit" and entering the scholar-official class. Although it is only at the bottom, it can enjoy privileges such as exemption from corvée, no need to kneel when meeting the county magistrate, and no arbitrary torture. The government also gives monthly money and food to the best "students" of the government, which is considered to be paid schooling.

It is no exaggeration to say that the scholars have all the privileges that ordinary people want. Otherwise, the Chaozhou natives would not have used excuses to exclude these Hakka people from the Tongzi exam. Isn't it just to have fewer competitors so that more of their own people can pass the exam to become scholars?

Chaozhou Prefecture only produced a few successful candidates in each exam, and the gentry were counting on this little private plot to at least give their children and grandchildren some fame. If they became ordinary people, how would they protect such a huge family business?

That is why the gentry in Chaozhou were so particular about the number of school places and did not want their children's test papers to perform too well.

But Lin Zhongcheng had already given them a heads-up before they came, so now they dared not not act like grandsons.

Besides, the Lin family had been abandoned for several generations. How easy would it be to pick up the imperial examination again? Without ten or twenty years, they would not be able to be competitive. At least their generation would not see the internal competition of the boy's examination.

Besides, didn't Mr. Zhao want to arrange a one-stop elite education for their children and grandchildren? That was the key to their family's success in passing the provincial and even imperial examinations.

To offend the young master's father and the governor of a province because of something that happens ten or twenty years later would be a case of losing the big picture for the small.

~~

In this case, there is no need to displease Mr. Zhao. Liu Zixing and Yue Yunpeng immediately expressed their support for Mr. Zhao's wise decision and would never let Lin Zhongcheng down.

"Who are these two?" Lin Zhengying was so moved that he remembered that he had not asked who these two people were, which was really rude.

When Lin Run introduced these two people to him, one was Mr. Liu who had been the governor, and the other was Mr. Yue whose father had been the minister, there was an uproar in the sky again.

“It turned out to be Fu Lao Zai!”

"How dare a Hokkien boy come to a Hakka village? Are you tired of living?!"

"Get out of here, Fuk Lao Tzu!"

Hakka people call Chaoshan people "Fu Lao" or "Fu Lao Zai" because there is a saying that "there is a difference between Fujian and Guangdong, but the customs are the same between Zhangzhou and Chaozhou". This means that although Zhangzhou in Fujian and Chaozhou in Guangdong belong to two different provinces, there is no difference in customs and people. Therefore, Hakka people do not regard Chaoshan people as Cantonese people, but as Minnan people, and call them "Fu Lao Zai" in a contemptuous way.

Of course, the Chaoshan people also contemptuously call them "Hakka boys", and no one is more civilized than anyone else.

The harmonious atmosphere disappeared, replaced by countless vigilant, hostile and angry eyes!

Because of the deliberate propaganda of the tribe, the tribe members regarded the Chaozhou natives as the culprits of their miserable lives. These two guys were naturally the leaders of the enemy!

The guards who followed in couldn't help but become nervous and looked at their respective masters, as if the situation was getting out of control.

Lin Run said to the Hakka people calmly, "This is the second thing I want to solve for you - the conflict between the natives and the Hakkas."

"I know your ancestors had a great feud and many people died. But that generation has long since died out, and even their sons are almost gone. But the hatred left by your ancestors has trapped you in the mountains, making you suffer unilaterally. This is unfair!" He paused, then raised his voice and said:

"Don't advise others to be kind without experiencing their suffering. This court does not force you to be magnanimous. I only hope that you can consider yourselves and your people. Think carefully about whether it is better to put aside hatred, open a mine to make money, and let your children and grandchildren go to school, or whether it is better to keep everything as it is?"

Lin Run pointed at Liu Zixing and Yue Yunpeng and said, "And let me be fair. One of them is a second-rank official, and the other is from a noble family. Their status is much higher than yours. Now, in order to let the people of Chaozhou live a peaceful and happy life, the two of them are willing to put down their airs and face and follow me to Daliao to actively seek peace."

These words made Liu Zixing and Yue Yunpeng feel much more comfortable, and they also gave rise to a noble sense of self-sacrifice. They cooperated with Lin Run to express their opinions, hoping that everyone could put aside their grudges and start over.

Sometimes, people just don't agree with each other, and they become enemies.

Seeing that the high-ranking indigenous masters had surrendered, the tribesmen felt as if they had taken a betel nut gas-relieving pill and they immediately felt relieved.

Lin Run's eyes swept over the Hakka people and knew that the matter was done, and the zombie Taoist priest could not stop it. Finally, he fell on Lin Zhengying, and he saw the color of dusk on the old man's face.

Lin Run looked up at the sky and found that the sun was about to disappear under the eaves on the west side of the house without him noticing.

Lin Zhengying lowered his head dejectedly, and his breath seemed to be about to disappear with the setting sun.

"Old clan leader, you have to think it over carefully whether you should sit down and have a good talk or kick him out." Lin Run stopped his attack to let him catch his breath, so as not to push him too hard and cause trouble if the string breaks.

"It seems that I can't go back tonight, so I have to bother the old patriarch for one night. You guys should have a good discussion tonight. No matter what, give me an answer before I leave tomorrow morning." He patted Lin Zhengying on the shoulder and asked with a smile: "Have you prepared the meal? Your uncle is almost starving to death."

"Hurry up, let's serve the meal!" Lin Zhengying suddenly remembered that the governor had not eaten yet.

So the women brought out the Hakka hot pot that had been prepared long ago and entertained the governor and his entourage.

ps. The third update is finished, please give me your monthly vote!

(End of this chapter)