Chapter 1340: A Jiangshi Came to Take the Exam Too?

Zhu Hexing, the "lucky one" who had won the lottery of reincarnation, had disliked examinations ever since he was a child. It was not that his studies were poor—he was merely a bit lopsided: excellent in mathematics, middling in Confucian learning, and always scoring sixty or seventy in French, a grade that earned a scolding but not a beating! But all in all, he disliked examinations. Even the various military-studies examinations, which he liked best and studied best, he did not much care for either.

Because he felt examinations were completely meaningless! What did it matter how well one scored? The job he now held was one with no room for advancement, and one in which it was very hard to make progress through his own efforts—even if he scored 100 in every subject, he was still the Crown Prince. And if he happened to do badly, he would get a thorough scolding from his old man.

No one in his situation would like examinations. Nor did he believe there was anyone in this world who could like something as tedious as an examination—until he personally served as chief examiner in Shizhu County.

He had never imagined that the examinations he detested most were, for the people here in Shizhu, an opportunity they had been dreaming of for ten or twenty years—an opportunity that did not depend on reincarnation, did not ask about one's origins, required no mountains of gold and silver, and decided a person's fate by examination alone. So that was how precious it was!

In the ten days just past, thousands of "lettered folk" had flooded into the county seat of Shizhu from every township and village within the county. Most of them had crossed mountains and ridges to get there, and some had even braved the risk of being captured and killed by the roving bandits at Dafeng Fort, hurrying in from several townships in the eastern part of Shizhu County. Was it really worth all that? Risking their very lives for an examination?

Looking at the dozen or so "lettered folk" who had come from Wanshengba Township near Dafeng Fort, carrying firewood knives and bows and arrows, Zhu Hexing felt truly ashamed. Look how hardworking they were! Some of them had beards already white, and they had risked their lives to come take the examination!

And then look at himself—listless even when memorizing a few French vocabulary words. And this was the Crown Prince! Truly shameful beyond words!

However, most of these examination-loving Sichuan "lettered folk" were not very learned, which was why Zhu Hexing had given them the nickname "lettered folk"—meaning they knew a few characters, but nothing more. Their essays were no good, their mathematics no good, their Confucian learning no good either. They had simply never read the "Zilun Gewu Pian," and were basically a bunch of semi-literates!

Even the few whose essays were somewhat better were mostly advanced in age—old scholars who had toiled away in cold studies before the Shun and the Xi entered Sichuan. A few of them held xiucai degrees that had already been invalidated, and when they walked into the examination hall, every one of them wept like a person made of tears.

"Old uncle, don't cry, don't cry! Hurry and take the examination—after it's over, there'll be plenty of time for crying or laughing!" Seeing two sobbing old men, Zhu Hexing hastily spoke up to comfort them—he had already encountered several old men who had cried themselves unconscious in the examination hall during this period!

How troublesome it was when they cried themselves unconscious! They still had to be given emergency treatment!

"Sit down quickly, sit down quickly—the examination is about to begin!" Seeing that the two old men were still wiping their tears, Zhu Hexing quickly pointed to the main hall of the former Shun army brigade headquarters. "Here with us, you arrive, you take the test, and the questions are set on the spot—the questions change every two hours, so no one can even think of cheating. After the exam, don't go away—the papers are graded immediately, and you'll know the results today!"

"Also, the written test is the preliminary examination. After you pass, someone will arrange for you to stay in the county seat of Shizhu and wait to take the martial arts test! If you do well in the martial arts test, then congratulations—you will be an official of the ninth rank, second class, of the Great Ming!"

"What? We still have to take a martial arts test? This old man doesn't know any martial arts!"

"This old man is a scholar!"

When the two old men heard that martial arts would be tested, they cried even harder, and immediately looked about to faint!

Zhu Hexing hastily summoned several of his personal guards. Two guards supported each old man, one on each side, and carried the pair into the examination hall.

No sooner had those two been carried in than several soldiers of the Western Sichuan Army (who could speak both Sichuan dialect and Mandarin) who were in charge of receiving examinees at the main gate began arguing with someone.

Zhu Hexing took a few men out to see what was going on, and at a single glance he too was stunned, because the Sichuan soldiers guarding the gate were blocking a "jiangshi" and refusing to let it in!

That "jiangshi" was none other than Li Jinxue. He had just recovered from a serious illness, his face was bloodless, and he was dressed in a set of burial clothes—he looked rather ghastly!

Of course, dead people in burial clothes were something Zhu Hexing had seen plenty of! He had seen them back when he was a student at Nianlao Mountain Middle School!

Whenever someone in a family was about to die, the middle-school students had to go and look, following the teacher who taught military physical education—this was called courage training! Later, when he entered the Military Academy, he had to go watch executions. In short, Zhu Hexing was ordinarily not afraid of dead people in burial clothes. But a dead person in burial clothes who had come to take an examination—that did frighten Zhu Hexing a little! Though only a little, because he believed he was a Child of Heaven's Mandate, protected by Heaven's Mandate, and unafraid of demons, ghosts, and monsters.

He merely felt a touch of emotion: this jiangshi must have been a scholar in life, one who had wanted to take the imperial examinations but never could, and had died of despair. Now that he had heard examinations were possible, he had burst out of his grave!

At that thought, Zhu Hexing roared: "What is that jiangshi about? Where did it come from?"

A jiangshi?

The Sichuan soldiers at the gate heard Zhu Hexing's words and knew he had misunderstood. Then they turned back to look at Li Jinxue in his burial clothes—and he really did look like a jiangshi.

One of the younger Sichuan soldiers was also a fellow who loved a joke. He turned to Zhu Hexing and said, "Tongzhi, this jiangshi has come to take the imperial examination—and what's more, he didn't bring his household register, and his origins are unknown, so we underlings won't let him in."

You people even demand a household register from a jiangshi?

Just as Zhu Hexing was feeling somewhat speechless, the jiangshi began shouting in Mandarin with a Sichuan accent: "I'm not a jiangshi! I'm alive! I'm Li Jinxue, from Little Li Village in Nanshan Township, Shizhu County! I even rendered meritorious service for the Great Ming at Niulan Pass, and at home I have a Loyal Martyr Certificate issued by the Western Sichuan Army Command!"

At the mention of the Loyal Martyr Certificate, Li Jinxue himself felt something was off!

A Loyal Martyr Certificate was not exactly something given to living people...

The several Sichuan soldiers blocking him were also startled. They had merely taken Li Jinxue for a madman, not a real jiangshi—they had not expected to actually run into something sinister!

These fellows were now frightened, and step by step they backed away, showing signs of deserting on the spot.

It was the personal guards Zhu Hexing had brought who were loyal and brave. Not one of them tried to run; instead, they took down the flintlock rifles from their backs and began loading ammunition—they were going to shoot the jiangshi dead!

At this point Li Jinxue could not have washed himself clean even by jumping into the Yangtze. Fortunately, he had not come alone—there was a Li Daniu who could explain.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot... This Li Jinxue really isn't a jiangshi! He's not stiff at all—"

A corpse that isn't stiff? That's still a corpse!

Li Daniu also realized that didn't sound right, and hastily added: "He hasn't died... At the Battle of Niulan Pass, he answered the call of the heavenly troops, rose up and slew the rebels, and was gravely wounded. He thought he was about to die, so he received the Loyal Martyr Certificate and thirty taels of silver, and had people carry him back. The burial clothes were also made for him after he was carried back. Who knew that after recuperating at home for a while, he would recover and stop dying—and now he even wants to take the imperial examination and serve the court!"

Hearing this, Zhu Hexing quickly raised a hand to stop the soldiers who had already loaded their bullets and were preparing to fire. Then he beckoned to one man and told him to go check Li Jinxue—to see whether he was warm or cold. If he was cold, then they would have to shoot him dead and rid the people of a menace! If he was warm, then let him go take the imperial examination.

"Tongzhi, that man is still warm—it seems he is not a jiangshi!"

Zhu Hexing nodded. "Since he is not a jiangshi, then he may take the examination!"

With that, he beckoned to Li Jinxue and called him over.

Li Jinxue came before him and gave a respectful bow: "This late-born student Li Jinxue greets the Tongzhi."

Zhu Hexing looked him over, then nodded and said: "Do your best on the exam! Today is the written test, which is not very difficult. After you pass, there will be a martial arts test on the long spear. If you don't know how, this official will arrange for someone to teach you. Once you pass, you will be an official of the ninth rank, second class, of our Great Ming dynasty!"

A full-fledged official of the ninth rank, second class! Li Jinxue was so happy that tears nearly fell. For a farmer under the Shunzhi regime—Li Jinxue, who did not even have the qualifications to be a soldier—an official rank of the ninth rank, second class, was nothing short of ascending to heaven in a single step, standing above the clouds from then on!

(End of Chapter)