Chapter 217: Extortion and Graft

The one-month period was soon coming to an end.

The large ships carrying Scholars to Shandong were returning one after another.

On a large ship, Zhou Jin sat on the deck, a book in his left hand and dry rations in his right, seizing the time to study the principles within.

As the saying goes, "Sharpening the spear before the battle, even if it doesn't shine, it will still gleam."

However, the more he read, the more confused he became, feeling only that his head was heavy and muddled.

Suddenly, someone walked up from behind; Zhou Jin turned his head to look and saw it was the middle-aged scholar who had brought him along.

He was called Wang Neng.

"Brother Zhou, isn't it a bit late to be reading these now?" Wang Neng chuckled, pressing down on the book as he teased him softly.

"It is a bit late, but it's still better than not reading at all," Zhou Jin stood up and replied, looking at Wang Neng.

"Then you are mistaken; the more you read this kind of book, the more muddled you will become."

"Oh, I ask Brother Zhou to enlighten me."

"I wouldn't dare call it enlightenment, just some inside information." Wang Neng waved his hand with a smile, then leaned into Zhou Jin's ear and smiled mysteriously, "The content of this examination mostly does not come from the Four Books and Five Classics."

"Ah? Then what does it come from?" Zhou Jin was shocked.

If it didn't come from there, wouldn't he have studied in vain?

"I don't know either," Wang Neng shook his head and analyzed, "But it is unlikely that much will be taken from the Four Books and Five Classics. Think about it, a few days ago, the subordinates of Imperial Study Attendant Zhang were at odds with the Kong Family."

"Afterward, they opened a new school, and it seems they have the momentum to form their own school of thought. Today, when recruiting Junior Officials, they should mostly draw from 'Practical Learning'."

"'Practical Learning'?" Zhou Jin seemed to understand but not quite, yet in the end, he put down the sage's teachings in his hand.

The large ships docked one after another, and the newly arrived Scholars looked at the prosperous Songjiang Prefecture, unable to help but gape in astonishment. The spacious streets, the tall pavilions, and on the docks, merchant ships and cargo piled up like mountains.

Just in the time they were entering, ship after ship sailed out, and then more ships sailed in.

The entire sea surface was packed with ships of all sizes.

Like most people, Zhou Jin's mouth hung open in shock, his face full of bewilderment. Was this really Songjiang Prefecture? Such a grand spectacle was likely no less impressive than Linqing.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Zhou Jin suppressed the excitement in his heart and followed the arriving Scholars off the ship.

At this time, inside Huating County.

Zhang Yunxiu sat in the County Magistrate's office, while the County Magistrate Wei Ming stood in front with a respectful expression, patiently reporting the recent results: in one month, the number of applicants had increased from one thousand to four thousand.

At the same time, the number of merchants coming and going was also significantly higher than last year.

After hearing his report, Zhang Yunxiu stood up and exhorted, "The Scholars have arrived; you, as the County Magistrate, must arrange their lodging well. Tell those inns not to take the opportunity to raise prices, or I will not spare you."

"Understood, understood." Wei Ming nodded hurriedly in agreement.

At the same time, he let out a long sigh of relief in his heart; he had finally managed to serve this ancestor well.

You tell me, for no good reason, why come here to recruit Junior Officials? This is something anyone who can read can do; why recruit so many scholars? But since it was the superior's order, how dared he ask so much?

Just get the job done neatly, and that would be the end of it.

Just as Wei Ming's thoughts were swirling, Zhang Yunxiu suddenly became interested, looked at Wei Ming, and suggested, "Since there's nothing to do today, let's go, accompany me to see the Scholars' lodgings."

"Yes."

The two walked one after the other, wearing simple attire, and entered an inn.

In front of the inn, several young men carrying bundles sat on small stools, and a waiter was busy at the counter processing room tags for them.

Zhang Yunxiu walked up, placed his hand on the counter, and asked, "How much is a medium-sized guest room here for one day?" "One hundred wen." The waiter didn't even lift his head, continuing to busy himself with his work.

"One—one hundred wen? Wouldn't that be three taels a month?" Zhang Yunxiu knitted his brows.

Hearing the coldness in his voice, the waiter lifted his head, sized up Zhang Yunxiu, and explained with a fawning smile, "This guest is joking; calculating by the day and by the month are naturally different."

"If calculated by the month, it would be at most two taels of silver, and our humble shop also includes lunch and dinner; this price is quite fair, isn't it?"

Zhang Yunxiu reluctantly accepted this and then asked about the other guest rooms.

Superior rooms were two hundred wen per day, and ordinary guest rooms ranged from thirty to fifty wen. This price wasn't considered expensive; after all, it was currently the peak season, which was a reasonable increase.

Then, he wandered through two more inns and, finding nothing unusual, turned to leave. Suddenly, he bumped into several Junior Officials in green robes walking in from outside.

The leader was a dark-faced man with a face full of pimples.

As soon as he entered, the waiter acted like a mouse seeing a cat, shrinking his head as he went up to greet him: "Master Zhao Er, everything has been done according to your instructions; everything that needed cleaning has been cleaned, and now you absolutely won't find a speck of dirt."

The pimpled man didn't respond, only gave a cold laugh, patted the waiter on the shoulder, and said, "If you have the final say, then what do I need to do? I say it's clean, then it's clean; I say it's not clean, then it's not clean."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

The waiter understood and pulled the soldier into a side room.

Before long, the man walked out from inside with a face full of smiles, his arm around the waiter's shoulder, while he kept praising the small shop.

Then, the man checked haphazardly for any hidden issues and left in a hurry.

Witnessing this scene, Wei Ming's face immediately became difficult to maintain; he carefully lifted his head and looked at Zhang Yunxiu.

He discovered that this great figure had a smile on the corners of his mouth, but it was filled with utter chill.

He knew that this great figure was truly angry.

"Let's go!" With a squinted smile, Zhang Yunxiu stepped out of the shop.

That evening, Wei Ming returned to the County Government Office and immediately ordered his confidants to strip the status of the few men who had been patrolling the streets that day.

The demotion or dismissal of a few Junior Officials was the most insignificant matter in the vast Huating County.

Even the men themselves didn't know why they had been dismissed.

But soon, the County Magistrate issued a notice, and the reason for the matter was quickly announced: extortion of the common people and abuse of power.

At this, those Junior Officials could no longer sit still.

The imperial court only gave them, these old Junior Officials, such a small salary; with so little silver, how were they supposed to support their families?

This was all common practice.

As long as they weren't killing or setting fires, what was wrong with skimming a little off the top? Suddenly, all the Junior Officials were furious.

Under the instigation of that man with the lump on his head, hundreds of Junior Officials clamored and gathered into a crowd, demanding justice from this County Magistrate.

"On what grounds do we only get one tael of silver in wages, while those who passed the assessment get five?" At the entrance of the County Government Office, that man with the lump on his head clenched his fist and said through gritted teeth, "We are not satisfied! We are not satisfied!!"

"Exactly, exactly. If they gave us housing too, and gave us five taels of silver in wages, who would still go do that work?"

"If you have guts, follow me inside the County Government Office to demand justice from the County Magistrate. Otherwise, whoever the hell wants to do this job, let them do it!"

"Right, demand justice."

The crowd's anger was thoroughly ignited, and they swarmed into the government office in a massive throng.

(End of this chapter)