Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

Lu Ci asked suddenly, Di Qing was stunned for a moment, thought carefully, and then carefully replied: "Get ahead and become an official."

His tense expression was regarded by Lu Ci as the little shyness that young men often have when asked about their future ambitions, but he didn't know that the source of this cautiousness was actually because the other party was afraid that the answer would disappoint him.

Lu Ci smiled: "Talk casually, don't panic."

Di Qing said dryly, "No, don't panic."

Regarding his 300 taels of no silver here, Lu Ci raised his eyebrows with great interest, but he kindly did not expose it, but continued to ask: "Would you like to practice literature in the future, or would you prefer to practice martial arts?"

Without even thinking about it, Di Qing said, "Congwen."

Lu Ci smiled noncommittally, and asked: "Why do you want to follow the text?"

If it were any other person, when answering Lu Ci's question, he would definitely throw out some grandiose rhetoric such as "the rise and fall of the family and the country, everyone is responsible, and the world is our responsibility".

The honest Di Qing told the truth without hesitation: "Gongzu, Brother Liu, Brother Zhu...all follow Wen."

Therefore, his biggest dream is to pass the tribute exam, and then to get an official position, it is best to stay in Beijing, like Liu and Zhu, always with the grandfather.

Lu Ci was slightly taken aback.

The answer Di Qing gave was indeed beyond his expectations.

——I didn't expect him to be such a clingy brat.

He resisted the urge to rub Di Qing's head, and asked with a smile, "If you never met me, how would you plan?"

Di Qing frowned inexplicably.

He felt an unprecedented strong rejection of the assumption of 'never met his father-in-law', and even the delicious dishes in front of him became dull and tasteless.

He pursed his lower lip, thought carefully for a moment, and said frankly: "If there is no father-in-law, the government schools in the township will be ruined, and the private schools will be expensive, and only my elder brother can afford to study in the family... I should inherit the family business, farming and hunting Bar."

Lu Ci was too lazy to correct the title of "Gongzu" that he always brought up unconsciously. He just followed his words and imagined the little raccoon slave running around the mountains nimbly, returning with a full load every day, and working hard in the fields. Looking at the appearance of farming, he couldn't help laughing: "Fortunately, I brought you out, otherwise it would be too overqualified for you to be confined to the countryside."

Di Qing's face flushed red: "D-Dang, you can't be praised by your father-in-law."

Seeing that his reaction was interesting, Lu Ci simply added slowly: "Di Di's words are wrong, I never praise others."

Di Qing: "..."

After enjoying Di Qing's flushed cheeks for a while, almost burying his head on the table, and not daring to look at him shyly, Lu Ci accepted it when he saw it, and said solemnly: "You are still young, even if you don't like it There is nothing wrong with reciting the scriptures, practicing strategies, and wielding knives and guns better."

In future generations, at Di Qing's age, he has just graduated from elementary school, and it is the time when his temperament is unstable and he is most playful and active.

Even if Di Qing is more mature, he obviously doesn't have enough judgment to make a clear and reliable plan for his future.

What's more, Lu Ci believes that behind him bringing people out of his hometown in Fenzhou is Di's father's great trust and eager expectation.

Just for this duty of guardianship, he must pressure Di Qing to study honestly for a while, and then make specific decisions when he is older.

But at the same time, Lu Ci also thought that if Di Qing really had the intention to join the martial arts, and judging from his performance, he did have good aptitude in this area, then he might have to add some martial arts and military courses, so as not to waste the golden time.

Lu Ci pondered for a moment, sorted out the suggestions, and then slowly said: "Military officers of the Song Dynasty, there are no more than two kinds of backgrounds, one is from the army, and the other is an official with grace. The latter has nothing to do with you, just Looking at those who were born in the army, they were soldiers of the Imperial Army who moved directly from the squadrons to the generals of the army. The criteria for relying on were military merit and seniority. There is no requirement for military literature and strategy, so most of the military officers who come from the army are illiterate."

Di Qing nodded thoughtfully.

"Let me talk to you about martial arts again," Di Qing listened carefully, and was really thinking about his own words. Naturally, Lu Ci was willing to talk to him more: "In the third year of Xianping, the government once ordered two systems , The position of the museum is to set out the story of the qualifications of the martial arts candidates in detail, but in the end it was discussed but not implemented. Recently, the prince is busy preparing for the system, and I am afraid that he will not have time to take care of it in the short term, let alone reopen it."

What Lu Ci didn't say is that even if the little prince is full of ambition and intends to take drastic actions, since there are officials watching at the top, he is only taking the post of supervisor of the country, so he shouldn't be too impatient.

"Among the examinations, there is a subject of 'Military Strategy, Great Yuan and Martial Arts', which aims to select generals. The specific regulations have not yet been determined, but if you have intentions, this should be the most feasible way out in recent years. .”

Speaking of this, Lu Ci saw that Di Qing was already two-eyed mosquito coils, obviously unable to keep up, so he made a final conclusion with a smile: "It's still too early for you to think about which way to go. But as far as I think Although it will be a matter of time before martial arts and related school subjects are reintroduced, people today value elegance and despise martial arts, and in wartime it is also good to use literature to control martial arts. There is almost no difference between those who are drawn from the ranks, and Mo Tai puts his hopes on it. If there is a tribute, it will make a big difference, you should think about it carefully."

Because Lu Ci successively presided over matters such as tribute examinations, examinations, and examinations, he also knew a lot about the martial arts that had been abandoned for a long time.

The sons of Jiangmen entered the officialdom from Enyin and inherited their father's and ancestors' careers. The highest martial rank they earned was Dongtou enshrined official, and the lowest was also borrowed from the third class.And the official examinations they need to pass are as simple as 'stop reading the law and write the family certificate'.

In contrast, taking the martial arts exam is much more demanding: first you have to get the guarantee to get the exam, and then you have to pass four consecutive exams, including "The Seven Books of Martial Arts", "Sun Tzu", "Sima Law" and other military books, And the bow and horse martial arts are good.

It just so happens that after passing through all the trials and tribulations, the standards for conferring officials that he finally obtained are several levels lower than those from Enyin's background.

The post-instruction dispatch system was also extremely unreasonable—the outstanding ones selected according to the standards of both civil and military skills were, under normal circumstances, only assigned to local inspections, county lieutenants, and even in charge of field affairs, taxation, The supervisor of smelting and other matters.Such a long-term wandering outside the army, only doing some mundane duties that ordinary officials can handle, how can we talk about building military merits and becoming a real general?

From this point of view, the biggest advantage enjoyed by the generals' children is that they can get a lot of battlefield practice, plus the teaching from their father and brother.

In contrast, if one can enter the martial arts from literature, on the premise of being able to pass the tribute selection, additionally study military classics and history, and practice martial arts, so as to become "Confucian generals" and "wise generals" in the eyes of everyone. 'if……

Whether it is the reputation of birth, the future, or even the practical aspects, it will be much smoother and more accessible.

Of course, this is also the most difficult of all roads.

"All in all," Lu Ci smiled and pinched Di Qingyin's stern and serious face as he was thinking about something, "Although I am optimistic about your perseverance and aptitude, from the current point of view, you should study honestly. .”

Having said that, seeing Di Qing's obviously moved and serious consideration, Lu Ci also made up his mind. After returning to Beijing, he will quickly find a suitable warrior to teach Di Qing martial arts, so as not to take the best Time was delayed.

There is no rush for the book of war, you can study it by yourself after Di Qing finishes the tribute exam.

And when it comes to the military, the people he knows best...

Without thinking about it, Lu Ci made up his mind that when he went back, he would talk to General Qi Lang, who was quite talkative, to see if he could get his recommendation and find a suitable candidate.

Di Qing naturally had no way of knowing Lu Gongzu's thoughts.

He was already tense and exhausted just by coping with the strict schedule that Lu Ci arranged for him, as well as the successive exams.

Lu Ci got used to this kind of review intensity, and because Di Qing was good at hiding his fatigue, he didn't notice it at first.

Until one time when he woke up suddenly in the middle of the night, sat up on a whim, and checked whether Di Qing who was sleeping on the next bed had kicked off the quilt. , then slowed down the tempo.

As far as Di Qing is concerned, apart from the fact that the exams make his scalp tense, he is afraid that his grades will be too bad and disappoint his father-in-law, and he can't help the fairy days when his father-in-law tutors him alone and is rewarded with a smile from time to time. It feels sweet.

——I really wish the boat would go slower and the days longer.

Such hopes, of course, came to nothing.

Five days later, there were no more difficult and dangerous ships, and they arrived at Mizhou port unimpeded.

When the crew unloaded the cargo in an orderly manner, Lu Ci was not in a hurry to disembark, but led Di Qing to the deck, and sighed: "Three years have passed, the changes here are really not small."

Looking down from the boat, there are rows of thousands of households, the noise of the city is loud, the traffic is busy, and the crowds are like the sea.

Compared with Mizhou in his impression, it is much more prosperous and lively.

It was a warm day with no wind or snow. Lu Cizheng was wearing a thick robe, and with Di Qing who was also wrapped into a rice dumpling by him, he comfortably basked in the sun on the bow of the boat, looking down at the scenery .

Little Lihua, who always likes to lazily doze off everywhere during the day, also climbs up and down curiously, looking outside.

Lu Ci did not have the feeling of "near hometown" that is common to old wanderers who have left their hometown. In addition, at first glance, Mizhou Port has changed a lot, but after careful observation, as the memories are awakened one by one , most of the shops he is familiar with are still there.

However, when Lu Ci's eyes fell on some of the shops with eye-catching signs, he froze uncontrollably.

Sanyuan Bathhouse, Sanyuan Baozi Shop, Sanyuan Bookstore, Sanyuan Cloth Shop, and even Sanyuan Street...

What the hell are those?

The smile that was originally on the corner of Lu Ci's lips quickly disappeared completely.

Before Di Qing noticed it, he barely suppressed the urge to turn around and leave immediately, he looked away calmly, got up as if nothing had happened, held Di Qing's hand, and said calmly: "The cargo is almost unloaded, we Go down too."

Di Qing blinked, pretending not to see the pile of eye-catching 'three yuan' signboards, and nodded obediently.

The author has something to say: Notes (today’s all come from Chapter 14 of the Song Dynasty Martial Examination System in "General History of the Chinese Imperial Examination System Song Dynasty Volume II"):

1. In the Song Dynasty, the martial arts were held again, but the Zhenzong Dynasty was not realized, but it was completed in the seventh year of Renzong Tiansheng.

However, only 20 years after it was opened, it was abolished again.The main reason is that compared with Wen Ju, the martial arts exam is less difficult. For the original masters of writing, it is naturally much easier, and it is easy to pass the exam, so it is regarded as a shortcut to becoming an official.After failing the tribute exams, many scholars turned to military books, practiced bows and horses, and applied for the martial arts exams, hoping to be lucky, or simply ask someone to take the exams for them.And such a person, after passing the exam, will often give up martial arts, rely on the lock test to transfer literary resources, and when they look back at military books and military weapons, they will even be ashamed.

So by taking advantage of this loophole, if people who were born in martial arts exams try to change their literary resources, they will be promoted very quickly, and it will become a shortcut to promotion in the eyes of many scholars, but it will not have the effect of selecting warriors with both civil and military skills.

2. The highest military rank official that can be obtained by relying on Yin Bu is the Dongtou enshrined official, the rank is 45th, from the eighth rank, and the worst is the third class borrowing, the 52nd rank is from the ninth rank; relying on martial arts ability The highest military-ranked officials who can be awarded are only served by three classes, which is only one rank higher than the worst three classes in Yinbuli, which is the 1st rank. The second and third ranks are lower, and those who are later, They don't even have official ranks, and they are all military officials with no rank and no rank.

Let me give you the most striking comparison: Ouyang Xiu was the governor of Wenju, and when he was an official, he was the deputy prime minister, Zhang Jianhou, the military champion of the same period, was only the 52th rank among the 39 ranks of military officials. Deputy envoy Luo Yuan.

3. Martial arts candidates must have the memorials of officials with certain qualifications before they can apply for the exam.Moreover, the officials who play the role have certain qualification restrictions. The officials only include: the generals who marched in the central government and the commanders of the garrisons in various places; Ministers, officials of Zhulu prefectures, in addition to senior military officials such as principals, arbitrariness, and deputy envoys, each can give a military officer.

4. Martial arts examinations are divided into competition, solution, provincial and palace examinations.