Chapter 6: A Very Generous First Meeting Gift

When Lu Beigu came out after changing into dry clothes, the students preparing for the Cold Food Festival holiday were also leaving the county school in small groups.

Some were in high spirits, some hung their heads in dejection, some feigned composure, and most looked at Lu Beigu with complex expressions.

Going against the flow of the crowd, Lu Beigu did not move forward but turned aside to make way, standing quietly under the corridor waiting.

"Congratulations, Brother Lu! Your policy essay received a 'Jia-Zhong' rating!"

"Truly, a true master does not show his face!"

The ones speaking were the two scholars who had just supported him, their faces bearing a mix of embarrassment and reverence.

"Brother Lu, Brother Zhang."

Lu Beigu bowed solemnly: "Thank you both for lending a hand to save me!"

"We scholars ought to do so," said the scholar named Lu Guangyu, "but Brother Lu hid his depth so well; we all misjudged you."

Lu Beigu offered no further explanation.

On one hand, the previous body was indeed a person of mediocre talent; as a top-tier modern liberal arts scholar, the two could not be compared.

On the other hand, if the students of the county school thought he had been hiding his abilities before, that would actually be a good thing for him.

At this moment, a clerk from the county school walked over.

"The Magistrate has ordered me to take you there."

Lu Beigu understood immediately; this was within his expectations, after all, the examination hall was crowded with many voices, and some things were hard to discuss in depth.

And the policy essay he wrote, "The Strategy to Control Xia," in the current Great Song was no different from a strategic analysis report that surpassed its time, enough to attract the attention of this county magistrate who had once served on the northwestern front.

After temporarily bidding farewell to the two, passing through the winding corridors of the county school, Lu Beigu was brought to a quiet side room, after which the clerk closed the door.

The room was not large, but the arrangement was elegant, with tea utensils placed on a low table by the window.

Li Pan was sitting cross-legged on a rush mat, holding a fair copy of Lu Beigu's policy essay in his hands.

With the rise of the citizen class in Song society, chairs began to become fully popular, directly leading to the disappearance of kneeling-sitting culture; even among the scholar-officials, few chose the kneeling-sitting that represented "Wei-Jin elegance," preferring instead to sit cross-legged casually and comfortably.

"I pay my respects to the Magistrate."

"Sit." Li Pan said without raising his head.

After bowing respectfully, Lu Beigu sat down cross-legged; he noticed Li Pan had changed out of his official robes into a set of indigo casual clothes, looking more like an old farmer weathered by wind and frost.

"Your policy essay," Li Pan finally put down the paper, his sharp gaze fixed directly on Lu Beigu, "is not something an ordinary person could write."

The air in the room seemed to freeze for an instant.

"This student merely enjoys reading military books in daily life and occasionally gains some insights," Lu Beigu answered calmly.

The implication was naturally that this time was a half-guess on the topic, containing an element of luck, which also indirectly explained why his previous policy essay scores were so poor.

Of course, whether this reason made sense was actually not important.

Li Pan nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with this explanation.

For Li Pan, whether Lu Beigu had been hiding his abilities before or was deliberately catering to his tastes now, it actually didn't matter.

What mattered was that if Lu Beigu could elaborate on the unfinished meanings within this "Strategy to Control Xia," or even make it practically actionable, it would actually be of assistance to Li Pan's career.

Because Li Pan knew very well that in the current Sichuan, there was a big shot who was very interested in such matters.

He leisurely picked up the kettle, pouring boiling water into the tea bowl to continuously whisk the tea, then casually stirred it with a tea whisk; the technique was very rough.

After finishing these, he handed over a piece of paper placed on the low table.

"Meeting an article that suits my heart, you and I are quite compatible; take this as a gift for our first meeting."

Lu Beigu took it and glanced at it once, instantly stunned in place.

Lu Beigu had thought the county magistrate would commend him for this policy essay.

But he never expected that the paper was actually a certificate for transferring household registration!

If someone did not understand the inside story, they might think, "Isn't it just transferring household registration? What's the difference between the town and the county?"

But in reality, the intricacies within were very deep, because in the Great Song, the household registration system was not only strongly bound to the imperial examination system but also involved an important matter concerning the vital interests of the Jinshi candidates.

That was the "quota for release" required to participate in the Ministry of Rites provincial examination after passing the prefectural exam!

It could be said that this was an incredibly precious great gift!

This was also the greatest help Li Pan could give Lu Beigu within his authority, fully demonstrating his high regard for Lu Beigu.

And for Lu Beigu, although with his knowledge and talent he could live very comfortably even without taking the imperial examination path, having a stable channel for social class advancement was always a good thing; there was no need to make things difficult for himself.

Therefore, Lu Beigu stood up and bowed, saying:

"The Magistrate's care, this student is endlessly grateful!"

Seeing that he understood the weight of this paper, Li Pan nodded.

He took a sip of tea, his rough fingers rubbing the rim of the cup as he spoke.

"The county examination is not far off now; besides the policy essay, you must also put more effort into poetry, fu, ink definitions, and essay questions on classics; do you understand?"

"This student understands."

Lu Beigu solemnly agreed, but secretly calculated in his heart that the mess left by the previous body was indeed tricky; the scores for ink definitions and essay questions on classics were terrible, and poetry could only be considered barely passing.

Making up for these shortcomings in a short time was almost impossible for an ordinary person.

Fortunately, he was not an ordinary person.

After speaking about matters concerning Lu Beigu's own future, Li Pan fell silent for a moment and suddenly asked:

"You have never been to the northwest; how did you know about the conflict between the Hengshan chieftains and the Xia monarch? And how did you think of using the 'Five Baits' strategy to divide them?"

Lu Beigu's heart tightened; this was not a question easy to answer; he certainly couldn't say he read it in a historical thesis.

However, no matter how he answered, he would not be mistaken for a Western Xia spy.

After all, the geographical distance was right there; at this time there was no radio; only if the Western Xia people were crazy would they cross Guanzhong and Hanzhong to find a county school student in southern Shu to be a spy.

Let alone that Shu had no effective intelligence Western Xia needed anyway, and one need not worry whether an ordinary county school student could access it; even if there were intelligence, did they know what it meant to be separated by thousands of li in ancient times, most of which were mountain roads?

By the time the intelligence was delivered, the mustard greens would have gone cold.

"This student once knew a traveling merchant from the Northwest who told me about the borderlands."

Li Pan stared at Lu Beigu for a long time, then suddenly smiled: "Do you know why I was transferred from the Qin-Feng Circuit to here?"

Lu Beigu shook his head.

"Because I submitted a memorial on state affairs, and some of my proposals coincided with yours; thus, seeing your policy essay today, I feel as though I have met a kindred spirit."

Lu Beigu suddenly understood; no wonder Li Pan attached such importance to his policy essay.

"Your proposal of 'establishing a foundation at the frontier': if we reduce the existing garrison troops in the stockades and increase the local archers, then concentrate the elite forces to form a field cavalry army, it indeed would not increase the fiscal burden, but the original text seems to leave something unsaid; I wish to hear your true thoughts."

Lu Beigu's heart gave a jump.

Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, launched the Chenqiao Mutiny, relying on the army to bully an orphan and a widow to establish the state; deeply aware of the threat to the throne posed by the late Tang and Five Dynasties custom that "the one whose soldiers are strong and horses fat shall be the Son of Heaven," he established the distorted military system of the Great Song that exists today.

This question is of the utmost sensitivity.

——————

① The Song followed the Tang system, where the Jinshi were examined at the prefecture level; not all Juren who passed the prefectural exam could travel to the capital for the imperial exam. Instead, based on factors such as each prefecture's population, different quotas for recommendation certificates were granted, hence the term "Jie'e."

② The Qingli Peace Agreement: Xia abolished its imperial title but retained its state name; the Song enfeoffed its ruler as the Lord of the Xia State, granting him a silver seal gilded with gold, two cun and one fen square, inscribed with "Seal of the Lord of the Xia State," permitting him to appoint his own officials, nominally submitting as a vassal to the Song and observing its calendar.

(End of this chapter)