Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 98 Submitting a Document and Awaiting Testing
"What a pity, what a pity! How hateful... If we had known earlier that there was such a talented young man in our family, we would never have let you suffer such difficulties from these people!"

After listening to Zhang Dai's words, Zhang Shuo's expression changed repeatedly. After a long while, he sighed and looked at Zhang Dai with some regret and shame.

He wasn't entirely without fault in his life, but he was resilient and rarely felt frustrated or upset about the past. However, this time, he was genuinely struggling to let go.

Previously, when he held great power, he inevitably squandered it. In particular, during the Fengshan ceremony, he recklessly included his confidants and subordinates in the list of those accompanying him on the mountain, rewarding them handsomely.

However, this did not further his power; instead, it caused him to fall from the peak of his life. Now he has retired and returned home, and even his son is power-hungry and disobedient to his discipline.

What particularly frustrated Zhang was that if he still held power, giving Zhang Dai a better starting point would have been a trivial matter. But now that he had lost all power, he was powerless to do so.

Although he still had some connections, these people might still be willing to follow his instructions on other matters, but they would naturally avoid the Zhang family's affairs if possible. Zhang also could not openly display the terrible human relationships in his family to outsiders.

Moreover, Zhang Shuo is currently carrying a huge burden: he proposed the Fengshan ceremony to the court, but in the second year after the ceremony, he suffered such a great natural disaster. Is there anything wrong with this?
The court officials might not dare to directly attack the correctness of the Fengshan ceremony, as this would be tantamount to denying the achievements of the Kaiyuan era's political system. But as the person who prepared and presided over the Fengshan ceremony, did Zhang Yue perform his duties perfectly?

So Zhang said that he is currently bedridden at home not only because he was angered by his son Zhang Jun, but also because he is pretending to be old and sick.

Under such circumstances, he had to be extremely cautious in every move he made. Of course, the best course of action was to do nothing at all, so he could not provide any help to Zhang Dai in the short term.

“Why do you say such depressing things, Father? I am already better off than many others in this world because of my family background. I should also have some ability to help myself out of trouble.”

During the tug-of-war, Zhang Dai also noticed that his grandfather's hands and feet were still strong and powerful, not as old as he looked. He knew that his grandfather was faking illness and acting pitiful, and understood Zhang Dai's current predicament.

Upon hearing this, Zhang sighed again, and after a moment of silence, said, "Then you should take the preliminary exam first. There are still several months until the provincial exam next spring. I will personally teach you the classics and miscellaneous essays, and you will surely pass the exam next year!"

During the Tang Dynasty, official schools included county schools, prefectural schools, and the National Academy. These schools organized annual examinations, and those who passed were called students, who were then sent to take the provincial examinations in the following year.

In addition to students, there were also those who submitted their applications to local examinations. These were people who had not attended a school but had become self-taught and possessed talents. They could submit their applications to the prefectures and counties, which would then hold examinations to assess them. These local examinations were also known as the preliminary examinations or the prefectural examinations. After passing the preliminary examinations, they would be sent by the prefectures and counties to the capital to participate in the provincial examinations.

The so-called "jie" was a document issued by the prefectural government to candidates proving their eligibility for the imperial examinations; hence, it was also called "qujie". The title of "jieyuan" in later generations originated from this, and today it is called "jietou".

Although Zhang Dai came from an official family, he had never studied at a private school. He had previously planned to enroll in the Hongwen Academy, but this was mainly to retaliate against his wife, Zheng.

Now that he plans to take the imperial examination directly, there is naturally no need for him to enter the Hongwen Academy anymore. The only path he can take is the provincial examination, which will be held in Henan Prefecture. Although his basic knowledge is not up to par, he has a good foundation in poetry, prose, essays, and current affairs, and he can also be flexible in his approach during the provincial examination.

Once Zhang Dai successfully passes the provincial examination and officially enters the preparation process for the imperial examination, his situation will greatly improve, and he will have more than six months to prepare for the exam at his leisure.

His grandfather also said that he would definitely help him pass the imperial examination next year, which meant that he would use every means at his disposal to recommend him!
Even a broken ship has some nails, but Zhang Shuo is currently constrained by the development of the situation and his son's rebellion, so he dares not be too active. As long as Zhang Dai shows his potential and makes people feel that he is worthy of help, those who are familiar with the Zhang family will naturally lend a helping hand.

The provincial examinations were usually held in the autumn. Those who passed were sent to the capital by the prefecture along with their taxes. They submitted family documents, written declarations, and other relevant certificates to the Ministry of Revenue, thus officially becoming candidates for the next examination, either as tribute students or advanced scholars. The advanced scholars of the Tang Dynasty were the same as the provincial scholars of later generations, and those who passed the provincial examinations were called advanced scholars.

Zhang Dai was delayed on his journey for a long time due to the heavy rain, but fortunately he did not waste his time. While staying at the post station, he studied diligently and gained some confidence for the upcoming examination.

Having made the decision, there was no time to waste. Under his grandfather's guidance, Zhang Dai immediately prepared a family petition and submitted it to Henan County for recommendation.

The so-called family record refers to the person's place of origin, age, and official career within three generations; it is a type of political vetting document in ancient times. Zhang Dai was from Kangsu Village in Henan County. His official document was submitted to the county government, which then forwarded it to the Henan Prefecture, where he could then proceed to participate in the provincial examination.

Since the Zheng family had seized the Huixunfang villa, Zhang Dai returned to the Zhang family mansion. He had moved out earlier precisely because he didn't want to live under the same roof as Zhang Jun and his wife, but now that they were gone, he was quite comfortable living in the mansion. From now on, his task was no longer just to drive Zheng out of the Zhang family; he also needed to prepare to surpass his father, Zhang Jun, and take over his grandfather's position. Therefore, while Zhang Jun was offending everyone in the clan, he needed to cultivate good relations with them and gain the support of his family.

The next day, Zhang Dai got up very early and went to the Henan County Office in Kuanzhengfang to submit his application for official appointment. He was received by a county constable in his twenties named Xu Hao.

Henan County was a key county within the capital region, and the county magistrate was an eighth-rank official, often chosen by the sons of high-ranking officials as their starting point. Zhang Dai's previous appointment as the magistrate of Wudang County was a position in an outlying prefecture, merely a ninth-rank official, placing him at the very bottom of the bureaucratic system.

If Zhang Dai were to actually take up the post, even if Li Linfu did not deliberately suppress him, it would be absolutely impossible for him to achieve any political accomplishments during his tenure.

Don't let his current youth fool you; after years of wasting time in other states and waiting for a chance to be selected again, he'll be at least in his thirties by the time he can participate in the selection process and seek a new official position. By then, his grandfather will be dead, and his father will be gone, essentially ruining half his life.

Xu Hao, though young, was appointed as the county magistrate of Chi County, presumably the first official to hold this position. His family background must be quite distinguished, and after a brief conversation, it turned out they were all acquaintances. Xu Hao also had another identity: he was the nephew of his esteemed cousin, Zhang Jiuling.

"It is truly admirable that Liu Lang is selected at such a young age!"

Xu Hao took Zhang Dai's family indictment and chuckled as he wrote it down.

"You flatter me, Magistrate Xu. Magistrate Xu is my age and has already passed the imperial examinations, while I am still waiting to take the exams."

Zhang Dai was not modest. Xu Hao was indeed a child prodigy. He learned from their conversation that Xu Hao had passed the imperial examination in the fifth year of the Kaiyuan era, which was exactly the age Zhang Dai was now, fourteen or fifteen. After serving as an official for several years, he was appointed as a compiler at the Jixian Academy and the magistrate of Henan.

Although the Jinshi examination, which Zhang Dai was preparing for, was more difficult than the Mingjing examination, he hadn't passed it yet. If he were to pass the Jinshi examination, he would certainly be appointed as an eighth-rank official the following year. Considering that he had also served as a mourning official, his rank would probably be even higher than Xu Hao's, directly starting as an eighth-rank official.

Because the timing of the preliminary examination was uncertain, Zhang Dai specifically inquired about the Henan Prefecture. The examination had not yet started, and after the official document was sent to the prefectural office, he could wait for notification to take the exam, which should be in the next few days.

After submitting his application, Zhang Dai returned home to continue his preparations. Although he was somewhat confident in passing the preliminary examination, he still dared not slack off.

After all, he hadn't had a very pleasant falling out with Henan Prefecture before, and now that he was going to take the exam there, he needed to be careful. It would be quite embarrassing if he failed the preliminary exam.

Therefore, he planned to abandon the classical texts, which he was already not good at, and focus on poetry, prose, and policy questions. This was also allowed in the preliminary examination, because the imperial examination originally emphasized poetry and prose over classical texts. After abandoning the classical texts, he could take an additional essay test, which was called "redeeming the classical texts".

When Zhang Dai began preparing for the imperial examinations, his grandfather's advantage as a literary master became apparent.

His family's Jicui Building alone contained a collection of essays and policy questions from the provincial examinations, the Imperial Academy examinations, and the examinations in the capital and Henan prefectures since the Kaiyuan era, as well as some outstanding answers from previous years. With these reference materials, Zhang Dai's preparations were undoubtedly more efficient and targeted.

Over the next few days, Zhang Dai spent his time at home frantically studying past exam questions and learning to use reference books such as "Qieyun" and "Yiwen" to ensure that even if he had to copy texts, he could quickly retrieve the appropriate content from his mind.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, it was permissible to bring such reference books into the examination hall. This practice was only prohibited during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

However, after several days, Zhang Dai did not receive a notification from Henan Prefecture to participate in the preliminary examination. Instead, he received a returned document: Henan Prefecture refused to accept Zhang Dai's application on the grounds that it was submitted late!

Upon learning of this, Zhang Dai was naturally indignant. Although he did not submit his petition to Henan County immediately so that it would be delivered in the same batch, his subsequent submission was not too late. In fact, several days passed after he submitted his petition before the provincial examination was held in Henan Prefecture. Which period did he violate?
Even if it was a breach of contract, why didn't they return it immediately, but instead kept delaying until the final exam? They were clearly keeping him hanging, preventing him from making any other preparations!

He picked up the returned official document and headed straight for the Henan Prefectural Government Office, both to demand an explanation and to see who was obstructing him!

(End of this chapter)