The next day, when the sun was rising, the county student members gathered to give lectures, and all the students stood neatly in the open space outside Minglun Hall. Another important task today was to elect a tribute student to go to the Imperial Academy to study.
This is a very serious matter. Theoretically speaking, the significance of selecting a tribute student is similar to an imperial examination. After becoming a tribute student and graduating from the Imperial College, you are qualified to be an official. This is one of the officially recognized official backgrounds of the Ming Dynasty.
The official background of the Ming Dynasty focused on three paths. The so-called three paths refer to the imperial examination, school, and miscellaneous backgrounds. There are three ways to become an official.
The imperial examination is familiar to the world, and it is also the most upright and pure background under the current situation, and has the highest status in the officialdom; and school background generally refers to the Imperial College graduates, who become officials after graduating from the Imperial College, but this kind of background is not in the officialdom
The status is far worse than that of the imperial examination. Most of the miscellaneous people came from official positions, and their status is even lower. There is no need to go into details.
The above situation is reflected at the county school level. The procedure for taking the imperial examination route is the annual examination, and the procedure for taking the school route is the annual tribute.
If you really fail the imperial examination and don't want to persist, you can choose the path of supervising students, which is another way out for scholars.
That's why it is said that the significance of today's Chun'an County School's election of Gongsheng students is, in theory, to give people the qualifications to be officials, which is equivalent to an imperial examination, but the real importance is far less.
In Chun'an County School, Xu Huai, the oldest member of the student body, was standing in front of the crowd. However, several instructors had gone somewhere and were not at the scene. It seemed that they did not want to interfere in the internal election of students.
Xu Xueba politely bowed his hands to his classmates and said loudly: "Now it's time for the annual tribute election. According to the court regulations, the person with the longest seniority should be selected as the tribute student. But I think that my talent and virtue are not enough. Do this.
If Gongsheng enters Taixue, he may make his generosity laugh and lose the reputation of the county, so he is willing to give way to talents."
In the crowd, Xiang Chengxian, who was standing next to Fang Yingwu, chuckled a few times and said in a low voice: "Senior Xu's remarks seem to be exactly the same as last year, every word is correct."
Fang Yingwu had inquired carefully before and found out that Xu Huai was the oldest student member of the county school. He had not passed the exam for so many years and he should be forty years old. But this inability to make progress became his control over Sui Gong.
The advantages.
Because Sui Gong is theoretically sorted by seniority, Xu Huai, an old student, also has the highest priority. As long as he is willing to take the initiative to give up, he will have a great say in who should be given up, plus he himself
Even though he has been a top student for many years, he can influence the symbiosis election.
Thinking of this, Fang Yingwu also whispered: "This is actually equivalent to selling the quota of Imperial College students. Selling one per year is not a good business! I don't know how many gifts I have received from others this year. He is so shameless."
While they were discussing in low voices, Xu Huai, who was in front of him, had already finished his emotion, "In my opinion, classmate Yang Yuanyang is mature and has excellent academic performance. He is a candidate for Gongsheng student. I am willing to give in."
Then someone in the crowd echoed: "Senior Xu is absolutely right!" "This is a good choice!" "Senior Yang is definitely the one to choose!"
Of course Xu Huai is not the only one who is the top student in the county school, but several other top students such as Hong Song and Xiang Chengxian are all interested in the imperial examination. They don't care about the second-rate path of Gongsheng students, let alone the supervising students. Therefore,
I didn't bother to argue with Xu Huai about this matter. At this time, I just watched with cold eyes and just watched the show.
Liu Yandao looked a little anxious and looked at Fang Yingwu who was still standing still. But Fang Yingwu was not in a hurry and asked him: "Who is Yang Yuan recommended by Senior Xu?"
When Fang Yingwu asked about his opponent, Liu Yandao said bitterly and with a bit of disdain: "Yang Yuan's qualifications are among the top five in the county school, and he is really not young now.
In the past ten years, Yang Yuan's path to imperial examination has been difficult. This year, he probably couldn't bear it anymore, so he changed his mind and wanted to take the path of serving as a tribute student and supervising student. I think he has bribed Xu Huai and is going to campaign for his election today.
Gong Sheng."
Fang Yingwu was extremely sympathetic and sighed: "He is also a poor man who has been frustrated in the examination for more than ten years. He sounds almost like you and is in trouble."
When Liu Yandao heard this, he was seriously injured internally. He secretly vomited a mouthful of old blood and choked on his words.
After waiting for the crowd to stop cheering, Fang Yingwu stepped out of the crowd calmly and with the same politeness, which immediately attracted the attention of the crowd. Everyone knows the conflict between Fang Yingwu and Xu Huai
, but everyone still didn’t expect Fang Yingwu to really jump out.
Fang Yingwu said to Xu Huai, "Senior Xu, I also have a candidate. I think Liu Yandao, Senior Liu, has outstanding character and pure morals. He is the best candidate for Gongsheng. What do you think, senior?"
Fang Yingwu suddenly went out to talk, and Hong Song and Xiang Chengxian were stunned for a while. Fang Yingwu didn't tell them about the sniper attack on Xu Huai today, so they were unprepared at this time. The two couldn't help but think about it together.
Dao, could it be that Fang Yingwu was a temporary idea?
Xu Huai put away his smile and glanced coldly at Fang Yingwu, who deliberately stood up to cause trouble, "The candidate has been decided, Fang Yingwu, it's useless for you to say more!"
Many people in the crowd joined in the clamor and kept scolding Fang Yingwu for causing trouble; some also accused Fang Yingwu, a newcomer and younger generation, of being neither old nor young, and lacking self-awareness.
Hong Song and Xiang Chengxian looked at each other. They both understood that they were unprepared today and probably had no chance of winning. However, they still bravely stepped out of the crowd and supported Fang Yingwu, saying: "Senior Xu's words are too domineering. Just now
You've always been talking to yourself, so how can it be considered an agreement?"
Xu Huai sneered a few times and said confidently: "It's not up to you to decide whether to agree or not. After I report the two candidates to Mr. Meng, Mr. Meng will make the decision."
Hearing what he said, Fang Yingwu and others knew it well. I am afraid that Xu Huai has already opened up Mr. Meng's joints, and the final candidate must be Yang Yuan, whom Xu Huai strongly supports.
Sure enough, after just a moment, Xu Huai returned to the crowd and said with a proud expression: "Sir, I'm sure, the candidate is Classmate Yang."
Hong and Xiang shook their heads. They were too helpless because they had not prepared enough in advance this time. They didn't know what Fang Yingwu was thinking. Is it going to happen?
Liu Yandao was deeply disappointed after hearing this. Fang Yingwu was too unreliable today. He felt that the biggest mistake this time was that he overestimated Fang Yingwu's ability. He was so confused the day before yesterday that he
I will place my hopes on Fang Yingwu!
Fang Yingwu was unmoved. "That's not all. Next, you have to send the candidate to the county government, and the county magistrate will approve it and report it to the stable."
Xu Huai laughed and said: "What do you, a young man, know? I know you have a relationship with the county magistrate, but do you want to rely on the county magistrate to stop us? Stop daydreaming!"
Later, Xu Huai said confidently: "Fang Yingwu, do you dare to make a bet with me? The county magistrate will never draft the candidate. The final selection will be made by the school!"
Fang Yingwu knew that what Xu Huai said was true. In theory, the power of a county magistrate these days is unlimited, and there is nothing that cannot be controlled within the jurisdiction. But in actual operation, the power of a county magistrate is extremely restricted.
This kind of restriction not only comes from the superiors, but also from the local gentry. In a sense, the grassroots level of the Ming Dynasty is a system of co-governance by the county government and the gentry. When encountering powerful local gentry, the county magistrate must also show respect.
The division of power boundaries between the county magistrates and local gentry is invisible and intangible, but it does exist in people's hearts. If you cross the boundary, you will break the rules, and you will have to bear the consequences.
The quota of Gongsheng students is an internal matter of the county scholars. According to the past custom of Chun'an County, the county school recommends candidates. The county magistrate does not interfere much. It is basically left to the county students to handle it. It can be regarded as a kind of political privilege of the scholars.
If Wang Zhixian of this county really dares to forcibly designate Gongsheng students, it will be an act of public outrage. But if the scholars in this dynasty are excited, they will be able to do anything, and any official will have to stay away.
Moreover, being a mere tribute student may be important to the person involved, but in the eyes of a magistrate who came from the imperial examination, it is really not a big deal. For this reason, it is not worth breaking the traditional rules and causing others to look at him.
Therefore, Xu Huai does not believe that Wang Zhixian will personally help Fang Yingwu select candidates. Not only Xu Huai and Xu Xueba, but others around him do not believe it. If Fang Yingwu thinks that relying on the county magistrate can forcefully appoint candidates for Gongsheng students, he is really wrong.
Already.
Fang Yingwu thought for a moment, and then said: "You are right, the county magistrate will never draft the candidates. The final selection will be made by the school."
This sentence seems to be a repetition of Xu Huai's previous sentence, almost word by word.
After Xu Huai heard this, he just thought Fang Yingwu had given up. He smiled proudly, "You are so ignorant and fearless. Now you know that the sky is high and the sky is high. I will ask the servants to send the candidates to the county government!"
The onlookers dispersed in twos and threes and kept talking about Fang Yingwu. They all felt that his performance was a bit anticlimactic. Fang Yingwu's aggressive questioning at the beginning made it clear that he wanted to attack Xu Huai on the Sui Gong matter. But they did not expect that even
Without three axes, Fang Yingwu was quickly defeated.
Xiang Chengxian complained in a low voice: "You plan to use Sui Gong to confront Xu Huai? Then why didn't you explain it in advance? This caught us off guard and left us with no power to fight back."
Fang Yingwu replied nonchalantly: "You two brothers are very interested. In fact, I don't need to trouble you today. I am enough for you."
Hong Song asked: "What kind of medicine did you buy in the gourd? I don't believe you would admit defeat in vain, without any back-ups."
Fang Yingwu still said mysteriously: "Brothers, please be patient for a moment. You will know when the time comes that it won't work if you say it."
Hong Song pointed at Liu Yandao and said: "Of course we are not impatient. You should think about how to appease Mr. Liu. I think you have screwed him up this time."
Fang Yingwu said indifferently: "That's not necessarily the case."
In the afternoon, the students were studying in Minglun Hall. Suddenly a servant came in and said to Xu Huai: "Mr. Meng asked me to tell my friend Xu that the county government's parents approved it very quickly and he has been sent back to the county school.
"
Xu Huai immediately turned around and said to Yang Yuan, the only candidate for Gongsheng student: "Congratulations, classmate Yang!" Students from all around also gathered around to congratulate Yang Yuan for having the opportunity to study in the Imperial College.
The servant looked very strange, "Gentlemen, please don't rush to congratulate me. In fact, the county magistrate has been selected."
"What?" Xu Huai and everyone around him were shocked. The magistrate actually vetoed their candidate? Could it be that this time the magistrate planned to go beyond the rules and interfere with the Gongsheng candidate unreasonably? Was he taking the wrong medicine?
The servant continued: "The magistrate's comments also said that he believed in the county student members, so he asked the gentlemen to continue to nominate candidates." Everyone was temporarily confused again. From this sentence, it seems that the magistrate still follows the rules. What is going on?
Fang Yingwu slowly squeezed in front of Xu Xueba and once again repeated what Xu Huai said in the morning: "You are right. The county official will never draft the candidates. The final selection will be made by the school.
out."
Xiang Chengxian suddenly woke up, figured out the key, and burst into laughter. Fang Yingwu's idea was simply too sinister.