White-robed Minister

0035 [Someone is rushing to deliver money]

Two gatekeepers were so bored they started yawning.

They didn't have a strong enough relationship with their superiors, so the West Gate and South Gate, who had the most lucrative positions, didn't get a chance.

Especially in the afternoon, the people entering and leaving the East Gate were mostly not carrying any goods, so it was really impossible to arbitrarily collect city gate taxes under such circumstances.

"They're here!"

One of the gatekeepers suddenly perked up.

He saw someone carrying things ahead, and it seemed they were carrying some kind of cargo.

The other gatekeeper straightened his back and, before the man could get close, shouted, "Put it down! Put it down! What goods are you carrying?"

Xu Lai walked over, leaning on his bamboo cane. Seeing that it wasn't the same two men from last time, he explained in detail, "I am Xu Lai, who has passed the county examination. I'm going to the county government office to pick up my official documents. These things aren't goods; they're my luggage for the prefectural school. You two may search them."

Public credentials, also known as qualification certificates.

You need to show this thing to prove you passed the county exam.

"County exam?"

The gatekeeper suddenly remembered: "You're Xu Sanlang, the top scorer in the county examination?"

Xu Lai smiled and replied, "Exactly."

"Haha, what's the point of searching a scholar? Xu Sanlang, hurry up and go in," another gatekeeper said enthusiastically.

Xu Lai now has another title: Xu Sanlang, who ranked first in the county exam.

The gatekeepers didn't care about any flattery; all they knew was that Xu Lai, who ranked first in the county examination, must be extremely learned!

Xu Lai thanked him and stepped into the city gate.

On his way to the county government office, he unexpectedly ran into his cousin, Bu Chao.

Bu Chao wore a short jacket on his upper body and wide-legged trousers on his lower body, with leggings wrapped around the trouser legs. He had a headscarf tied around his forehead and was carrying a sleeve stick in his hand, looking quite the part.

"Saburo!"

Bu Chao spun around on the spot to show off: "Look at my outfit, don't I look energetic?"

Xu Lai nodded and smiled: "That's really good."

"The New Year's clothes were issued by the county magistrate," Bu Chao said in a low voice. "Wang, the registrar, has been sent to the capital. I heard he's going to report to the Ministry of Personnel. Before he left, he gave everyone new clothes. He's truly a kind man."

That's really kind of you.

Although it's mostly because they're in a good mood, they could easily choose not to send it and just take it away as cash.

Xu Lai asked, "Now that Registrar Wang has left, the county office is without a registrar and a county constable. Who is in charge of affairs normally?"

"Wu and Deng, clerks," Bu Chao said, pulling Xu Lai toward the rented room. "You have so much stuff, put it in my room first."

"Aren't you going to patrol the streets anymore?" Xu Lai asked.

Bu Chao had clearly already gotten used to it: "It won't be a problem for a while."

As Xu Lai walked, he asked, "Has the 'Regent' part of Magistrate Shen's name been removed?"

"I don't know," Bu Chao shook his head.

Wang Houzhi was sent to Beijing from the Guangdong Grain Transport Commissioner's Office; this process did not require central government approval. After arriving at the Ministry of Personnel, as long as he passed the evaluation, he could be transferred to the selection process. Then, through the selection process, he could theoretically be placed in a substantive post.

Shen Zhi, the acting magistrate, wanted to remove the word "acting" from his title, but he needed approval from the central government, which would take some time. He estimated that he had not yet received any definite news.

Xu Lai left his luggage in the rented room and went to the county government office with Bu Chao as his companion.

The journey was smooth, and we soon arrived at the ceremony room.

"Huang Shoufen, my brother is here to pick up his exam certificate," Bu Chao said, bowing and crossing his arms.

Huang Shoufen recognized Xu at a glance: "So it's Xu Sanlang. You didn't come to pick up the official documents. The officer was asking about it yesterday. Please wait a moment."

Not long after, Xu Lai received his certificate of passing the county examination.

"Thank you for the favor," Xu Lai said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

Huang Shoufen advised, "You can stay in the county town first. Master Chen has arranged a boat, which will depart from the south dock at dawn on the 18th. All scholars will be provided free of charge. Not only will there be no boat fare, but meals will also be provided daily."

"Is that the wealthy Mr. Chen who runs a gold and silver shop?" Xu Lai confirmed.

Huang Shoufen nodded: "Who else could it be but him?"

Xu Lai found it amusing.

This Master Chen seems to be extremely worried.

He knew his grandson was prone to offending people, so he arranged for boats and provided free food to take the county's examinees to Guangzhou.

Just to help my grandson build a good connection!

Xu Lai and Huang Shoufen were chatting when Wu Yashi suddenly walked into the ceremony room.

Wu, the clerk who distributed the reward money, warmly grabbed Xu Lai's hand and said, "Scholar Xu, you've finally arrived! Come quickly with me to the office."

The office of the clerk is the office of the chief clerk.

Once inside, Wu, the clerk, brought out a silver ingot: "Five taels of silver, a travel allowance from Registrar Wang. Don't think it's too little, Scholar Xu. Registrar Wang has to be bribed in the Ministry of Personnel, otherwise you'll be waiting for a vacancy for who knows how long."

Wang Houzhi actually gave me silver?

This move surprised Xu Lai.

Because he and Wang Houzhi are unlikely to meet again in the future.

Given the speed of official promotion in the Northern Song Dynasty, even if Xu Lai passed the imperial examination in two or three years, it would still take at least twenty years for him to rise to a position where he could promote Wang Houzhi.

By then, Wang Houzhi will probably be retired.

Therefore, this five taels of silver was absolutely not a political investment, but purely a token of Wang Zhubu's goodwill.

He really is a kind person.

Xu Lai suddenly became rich; five taels of silver were worth seven or eight strings of cash.

Clerk Wu added, "Magistrate Shen has gone to inspect the people's conditions. He gave the order that if Scholar Xu comes to collect his official document, he must come to the backyard of the county government office for a farewell dinner that evening. He wants to see Scholar Xu off."

Well, they're all good people.

Xu Lai could tell what kind of person Shen Zhi was just by looking at the two county exam questions he set.

This guy invited Xu Lai to drink simply because he thought Xu Lai had gotten close to Yu Jing and wanted to use Xu Lai to get closer to Yu Jing.

Because when the county magistrate is evaluating the performance of the prefect, the prefect has a very large say!

Since Magistrate Shen is treating us, let's go eat. We can even save money on a meal.

Xu Lai stayed at the county office and asked Wu, the clerk, to take him around to the six offices. He wanted to get to know more of the county clerks and familiarize himself with the county office's procedures.

He soon met Deng Yashi.

The two bailiffs had a harmonious relationship and seemed to have no conflicts.

He secretly inquired with other clerks and learned that both Clerk Wu and Clerk Deng came from families of clerks with a history of over a hundred years. Even before the founding of the Song Dynasty, their ancestors had already been clerks in Qingyuan County.

Generations of intermarriages have created a complex and intertwined network of relationships!

They are the real decision-makers in Qingyuan County; the county magistrates come and go, but the clerks remain constant.

After spending time in the six offices of the county government until evening, Shen Zhi finally returned from "inspecting the people's conditions" and invited Xu Sanlang to the back residence of the county government as a guest.

Xu Lai was led inside by a servant and discovered that besides Shen Zhi, there was also a beautiful young woman.

Judging from her attire, she should be a personal maid.

That damned Magistrate Shen has completely fallen from grace.

Given the maid's beauty, she was either a gift from a wealthy merchant in the county or arranged by the two clerks.

"Greetings, Scholar Xu." The maid bowed.

Xu Lai responded by cupping his hands in greeting.

Shen Zhi, now living a life of great success, smiled and waved, saying, "Sanlang, come and have some wine."

Xu Lai bowed and sat down, asking, "Mr. Yu (Yu Shanyuan) hasn't returned yet?"

Shen Zhi said, "When he left last time, he said he would return after the Lantern Festival. I estimate he will arrive in a few more days."

The maidservant moved gracefully, first pouring wine for Shen Zhi, then for Xu Lai.

A fragrant breeze wafted by, and Xu Lai sat up straight, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Shen Zhi clinked glasses with Xu Lai and said with a hint of boastfulness, "The report of merit from the commander was sent to the capital before the New Year. If there are no mistakes, I should be able to remove the 'Acting' title from my resume."

"The county magistrate has done a great service and deserves a reward from the imperial court," Xu Lai echoed.

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhi laughed heartily.

Xu Lai's opinion of him dropped even further because of this behavior!

For the first few days after meeting Magistrate Shen, he seemed quite good, handling things steadily and flawlessly—Xu Lai was unaware that it was Registrar Wang who had come up with the idea.

But now they are performing increasingly poorly.

Not only were the county exam questions poorly designed, but how could someone who hadn't even been officially promoted yet want the whole world to know? And to brag about it to someone who was just a commoner!

And this beautiful maid, she was brought out to show off as soon as we accepted her, as if she were something special.

While Xu Lai expressed his disdain, he then wondered: Is it possible that this was the true level of the civil officials of the Song Dynasty?

The famous Qingli Reforms were ruined by a banquet.

The Qingli New Party, which had gained the upper hand at the time, celebrated its reforms prematurely, even before they had yielded any results. Wang Yirou, whom Fan Zhongyan had recommended for an official position, was even seen embracing a prostitute and composing a poem at the banquet: "Drunk, I lie in the North Pole, sending away the Emperor and Buddha; the Duke of Zhou and Confucius are driven into slavery."

It's one thing to write such a poem, but to actually dare to share it is another.

Then, the Qingli New Deal fell apart!

Shen Zhi drank one cup after another, gradually becoming drunk. He put his arm around Xu Lai's shoulder and said, "Sanlang has entered the prefectural school. You should get closer to Master Yu. I've heard that Master Yu not only personally presides over the annual examinations at the prefectural school, but also frequently inspects the school and teaches the students."

"Definitely, definitely," Xu Lai replied perfunctorily.

Shen Zhi chuckled and said, "If the opportunity arises, Sanlang can put in a good word for me."

Xu Lai continued to give a perfunctory reply: "That's how it should be."

"Someone come here!"

Shen Zhi waved drunkenly.

His strong servant, whom he had brought from his hometown, appeared carrying a silver ingot on a tray.

Ten taels of silver.

Shen Zhi put his arm around Xu Lai's shoulder and said, "This is the travel allowance for Sanlang. Take it and buy some books. If you pass the imperial examination, we can serve as officials in the same court!"

Xu Lai bowed and thanked him, accepting the gift without any hesitation.

Given Shen Zhi's personality, this money certainly didn't come from his own pocket; it most likely belonged to the Qingyuan County government's official funds.

Official funds mainly came from government profits and were used for official receptions, banquets, subsidies and rewards, and gifts to passing officials. To put it bluntly, it was the slush fund of the government offices, and some greedy local officials simply pocketed the official funds.

If Xu Lai doesn't accept the money, Shen Zhi will either embezzle it or use it for food and drink.

After a round of drinking, Magistrate Shen was so drunk that he could barely speak and had to be helped back to his bedroom by his maid.

Xu Lai pocketed the silver, bowed, and took his leave. Wu Yashi specially sent an archer to escort him away.

Back at the rented room, Uncle Zhang and Bu Chao were both there.

Xu Lai took out the five-tael silver ingot and handed it to Uncle Zhang, saying, "Go and buy a few treadle looms and bring them back to Qingxi Village to have the carpenter make replicas. Also, hire a woman who knows how to weave and teach the villagers how to use treadle looms. Give the rest of the money to my father; he knows what to do with it."

Uncle Zhang was stunned upon hearing this: "Why didn't I think of buying a treadle loom to take back to the village? This is wonderful!"

"Where would you get money? The money you saved from selling wild game and furs was all used to repay a debt of gratitude," Xu Lai said with a smile.

Uncle Zhang chuckled.

Xu Lai then said, "I'm taking a boat to Guangzhou on the 18th. You all stay in Qingyuan County and work hard. Don't... make too much money; you're all just unfortunate people."

"I know that," Bu Chao said hurriedly.

Who knows?

People always change, especially in that kind of environment.