gnovel Chapter 14 Reminder
Chapter 14 Reminder
Zhou An never expected that the county examination in Jinling would use this incident as a question.
Moreover, this kind of question can already be considered a preliminary policy essay question.
Is it true that trust is more important than the people's trust? Or is it that the people's trust is more important than trust?
Simply put, the question is: in such a situation, should one maintain integrity, or should one break faith with others for the sake of the people?
This is actually a very difficult question to answer. Most people would probably say that the people should be the priority.
Although the Great Zhou Dynasty did not suppress the Shang Dynasty, it even allowed the sons of merchants to participate in the imperial examinations.
Even Li Bai would be moved to tears if he came.
However, the long-standing disdain for merchants still exists.
However, Fan Da Xiangong's actions still left some hidden dangers.
Because after Lord Fan used this method, grain merchants in nearby prefectures and counties would be cautious and would not easily transport grain there in the event of natural disasters.
This is why, despite such a good example of disaster relief by Master Fan, no one followed suit.
In the long run, this is not good. Normally, when a natural disaster occurs, grain merchants from neighboring prefectures and counties that are not affected by the disaster will transport grain there.
Even if food prices are high, at least it can alleviate the food shortage in disaster areas.
But because of this incident, although grain merchants will still transport grain to make money, they will be later than usual.
This may lead to more people starving to death.
Hai Simian didn't urge him and ate the dish on his own.
"I think it depends on the situation. Given the circumstances at the time, if I were Master Fan, I would have done the same!"
Zhou An said, "Although this will have some negative effects, the court was short of money and grain at the time, and there was no other way!"
This was only a last resort; if there had been any other way, Master Fan would never have done it this way!
Great minds think alike!
Haisi clapped his hands and said, "I think so too. In that situation, even if the granaries were opened normally, there wouldn't be enough food for the disaster victims."
Those bookworms, they've become stupid from reading too much; all they know is to rigidly adhere to propriety, righteousness, benevolence, wisdom, and trustworthiness.
"Ziqin is a man of strong character!" Zhou An said with a smile.
For the Hai family, with their social standing, to say such a thing, they must be a man of strong character.
"Haha, I'm just a little angry. I answered the questions like this and I still ended up ranking 189th!" Hai Simian laughed and scolded.
Qinghe County is a small place, and only fifty people were admitted through the county examination.
Jinling was not only the seat of a prefecture but also the seat of a circuit, so the county examination admitted 200 people, four times the number of Qinghe County.
Even so, it is much more difficult than Qinghe County, as can be seen from the difficulty of the questions.
There's no way around it; if the questions aren't too difficult, the results will be roughly the same. How can we distinguish between good and bad students?
Zhou An felt that if a scoring system were used, there would be more than two hundred people who got full marks on the first two questions in the county-level examination in Jinling.
This last question is the key to whether or not you'll get it on the test.
However, ranking 189th is practically the bottom of the pack, no wonder Hai Simian is so dissatisfied.
Just as Zhou An was about to speak, Hai Simian's attendant entered, bowed, and said, "Young Master, the son of Magistrate Yang and the second young master of the Marquis of Yongyi's mansion have arrived."
"What are they here for?" Hai Simian frowned slightly.
Upon hearing this, Zhou An's heart stirred. Wasn't the Yongyi Marquis's mansion the maternal home of Old Madam Sheng?
Indeed, he remembered that the Marquis of Yongyi's residence was in Jinling, and this was the best restaurant in Jinling, so it was normal to run into him.
"Young Master Yang said he heard you were dining here, so he came over to offer you a toast," the attendant said.
Although Hai Simian was displeased, he couldn't refuse to see the person who had come, so he could only stand up and say, "Huai De, please sit for a moment, I'll go out and greet him."
"Please go ahead, Ziqin." Zhou An nodded slightly.
Hai Simian went outside, and soon a few minutes later a burst of greetings came from outside, which Zhou An could not hear clearly.
A short while later, he led two young men in.
Upon seeing this, Zhou An quickly stood up, but was stunned when he saw one of the young men.
This man was the young master whom Kang He had previously referred to as Brother Fei.
"I was unaware that Ziqin had guests; I apologize for the intrusion. My name is Xu Beiwang, and I have come to offer a cup of wine as an apology."
Xu Beiwang's steps were unsteady. He glanced at Zhou An, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes, but he still smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.
"Young Master Xu, you flatter me." Zhou An returned the greeting with a cupped hand.
"What a coincidence! My name is Fei Guang. May I ask your name, sir?" Fei Guang said with a smile.
"You two know each other?" Hai Simian asked in surprise.
"This gentleman is from the same hometown as Kang Lushi's son; we met when we entered the restaurant earlier."
Fei Guang smiled outwardly, but inwardly he cursed Kang He and his ancestors for eighteen generations.
His father instructed him to cultivate a good relationship with Hai Simian, whose family boasted five members who had passed the imperial examinations—a truly distinguished lineage.
What's more, there's someone who's currently serving as a scholar in the Hanlin Academy.
Although the Hanlin Academy did not have much real power, it was essentially the official secretariat.
Those who were merely nominal scholars in the Hanlin Academy were one thing, but those who actually served as scholars in the Hanlin Academy were frequently summoned by the emperor to consult on policy matters.
If you can establish a connection, a few good words from the other party to the officials might be more effective than an excellent performance evaluation.
However, Hai Simian never thought highly of him and usually ignored him.
If he had known that Zhou An and Hai Simian knew each other, he could have gotten in touch with them through Zhou An.
"My name is Zhou An!" Zhou An simply smiled in return, without saying anything more.
Hai Simian could tell at a glance that Zhou An and Fei Guang were indeed not familiar with each other.
Xu Beiwang and Fei Guang toasted each other with a glass of wine, then took their leave.
Hai Simian saw the two out and returned to the inner room.
"Huai De, these two are both notorious playboys in Jinling. You'd better stay away from them. Especially that Fei Guang, who is also at Jinling Academy. If he comes into contact with you, just avoid him and give him a perfunctory response. Never get too close to him," Hai Simian said.
Zhou An nodded slightly: "Thank you for the reminder, Ziqin. I am not one of them."
"What is your relationship with the son of Kang the Registrar?"
"We only met once. He had returned to his hometown to take the county examination and I had seen him at a banquet hosted by the county magistrate. Later, he invited me to a poetry gathering, but I declined because I was going to Nanjing."
Hai Simian scoffed, "If they don't even dare to take the county-level exam in Jinling, they'll probably only ever reach the provincial-level exam!"
Although the county examination had to be taken in the place of household registration, the sons of officials were exempt.
Kang He, however, returned all the way back to his hometown to participate, clearly knowing that he had no chance of passing the exam in Nanjing.
You can avoid the county exam, but the provincial exam is held by the prefecture government and gathers all the people in the prefecture who passed the county exam. How can you avoid it?
Zhou An ignored these details and asked curiously, "I heard from Ziqin's attendant that one of them is the son of a prefect, and the other is the son of a nobleman. How did they end up hanging out together?"
The Great Zhou Dynasty valued civil officials over military ones. Although nobles and ordinary military officers were different, the sons of civil officials and nobles were two separate groups.
Generally speaking, they wouldn't really hang out together.
"Oh."
Hai Simian sneered, "Fei Guang only cares about him because he's rich."
Zhou An suddenly realized that he had mistaken Xu Beiwang for a sucker.
Although he is now technically related to the Marquis of Yongyi's family, Old Madam Sheng has severed ties with the Xu family, so he naturally won't bother with such trivial matters.
"Come on, let's keep eating, don't let them spoil our fun," Hai Simian urged.
That being said, neither of them were in high spirits, and the party ended abruptly after a short while.
Hai Simian personally escorted Zhou An back to his rented courtyard, told him that he would come to pick him up in three days to take him to Jinling Academy for the test, and then left.