Chapter 100

The next day, Li Gang, waking from his hangover, learned from his servant that Zhang Jie

and Wu Song had finished off the amount of wine that should have been for four people,

and from then on, he never mentioned drinking with Zhang Jie again.

Zhang Jie was happy to be at leisure, chatting with Li Gang every day, and his little life was going quite well.

More than ten days later, the four of them, traveling together, arrived at the capital of the Great Song,

which was also the most prosperous city in the world at this time—Dongjing, Bianliang.

On the flat plains formed by the alluvial deposits of the mighty Yellow River flowing for millions of years,

a city covering dozens of square kilometers lay like a vast, ancient beast crouching on the ground,

swallowing and spitting out goods and people from the Great Song and even all over the world.

Looking at the city wall, which was about 12 meters high, Zhang Jie couldn't figure out

how this city could ever be breached by a mere few tens of thousands of Jin soldiers.

Although the Jin soldiers claimed to have over a hundred thousand when they invaded, that number was just something to listen to.

If you subtract the names of officers who were eating empty pay, the laborers responsible for logistics,

the cannon fodder used to fill trenches, and then subtract the number used for bluffing,

it would be amazing if there were two or three thousand elite soldiers who could fight and dared to fight.

Even if the hundreds of thousands of imperial guards in Bianliang City were all trash,

relying on this number, they should have been able to hold out for several months if they defended to the death.

And by the time the armies from all over the country arrived to relieve the king,

if the Jin soldiers, who had no foundation, didn't want to be wiped out, they would have had to retreat.

In a situation where the advantage was so clearly on our side, to still end up losing everything,

one can only say that the two emperors Huizong and Qinzong, who kept delivering their heads, were truly worthy of the name.

Shaking his head to temporarily forget his disdain for the two emperors,

the four of them followed the bustling crowd and slowly passed through the city gate, which was several meters high, and entered Bianliang.

Once inside Bianliang, the rolling atmosphere of the red dust rushed toward them.

The main road under their feet was several meters wide and paved entirely with bluestone slabs.

On both sides of the road were buildings standing like scales on a fish, with taverns, inns, and warehouses for everything.

Flags for all kinds of rice, flour, grain, oil, and lodging fluttered in the wind.

There were countless peddlers on the street, and all kinds of hawking could be heard endlessly.

Zhang Jie, with his keen eyesight, even saw some young ladies dressed in cool clothing

through the open windows of certain buildings decorated with red lanterns and green hangings.

"Do not look at what is improper, do not look at what is improper."

Having been separated from Pan Jinlian and Yan Poxi for several months,

Zhang Jie, who woke up every morning with a tent pole, forced himself to shift his gaze away from the alluring scenery.

"Brother Renjie, shall we find an inn together?"

Li Gang, who was also shocked by the prosperity of Bianliang and only came to his senses after a while, asked.

"That would be excellent." Zhang Jie nodded.

In this unfamiliar Bianliang, it wouldn't be bad to have an acquaintance to huddle with.

Besides, he still wanted to pull Li Gang into his team of rebels—

no, wait, into the team that would make the Great Song great again!

"Black, it's really black!"

Half an hour later, Li Gang, who had just come out of an inn, muttered and cursed.

He only wanted to open a few guest rooms for the four of them,

but the boss actually wanted to charge him five taels of silver a day.

When his father was the magistrate of Qiantang County,

his annual salary was only two hundred taels of silver.

The silver his family gave him only had a few dozen taels left; how could he use it like that?

And this was even after the regulation from the time of the founding emperor that scholars coming to the capital for the imperial examinations could stay for free at post stations along the way,

with transportation including carts and boats, which had already saved him more than half the cost.

Zhang Jie, on the other hand, was noncommittal.

Bianliang was under the feet of the Son of Heaven of the Great Song, the most virtuous place, so the expenses were naturally the highest in the Great Song.

Here, if you don't have ten thousand strings of cash, do you even have the nerve to call yourself a rich person?

Not to mention that the time was approaching the spring examinations, and candidates from all over the Great Song were gathering here.

For one session of the metropolitan examination, there were at least a thousand licentiates coming to participate.

Plus their servants, pages, and maids, there were at least ten or twenty thousand people.

And scholars who had passed the licentiate examination were rarely very poor.

Facing such fat sheep, how could the inn boss not take a fierce cut?

The look the inn boss gave them just now clearly meant, "Stinking outsiders,

coming to our Bianliang to beg for food!"

"How about we go to Daxiangguo Temple to stay?"

Zhang Jie thought for a moment and made a suggestion.

Daxiangguo Temple was the royal temple of the Great Song, covering a large area with many empty rooms.

The abbot and elders of the temple were also quite clever,

and during the metropolitan examinations, they would set aside some empty rooms for the licentiates who came to take the exams.

If these candidates didn't pass, so be it; but if they did, wouldn't they have to thank the Buddha for his blessing?

Building good karma with the vast number of candidates was also one of the reasons why the incense at Daxiangguo Temple was becoming more and more prosperous.

Although Zhang Jie had money in his pocket, why not fleece the free wool when you can!

Li Gang's eyes lit up when he heard this:

"Brother, this suggestion is excellent. Let's go to Daxiangguo Temple to stay."

The four of them immediately rushed toward Daxiangguo Temple.

"Tsk tsk!

This Daxiangguo Temple is truly worthy of being the temple that has been deeply trusted by the royal family since the Tang Dynasty."

Looking at Daxiangguo Temple, which adopted a palace-style architectural style and was overall magnificent and gorgeous,

worthy of being called golden and brilliant, making the clouds and mist lose their color, Zhang Jie clicked his tongue in wonder.

Such a large and magnificent temple—if it could be raided, it would probably be enough to support tens of thousands of troops.

"Amitabha, what business do the four donors have?"

As Zhang Jie and the others approached, a guest-welcoming monk dressed in a gray robe,

with two rows of ordination scars on his head, also discovered them.

"If you wish to ask the Master to pray for blessings or chant scriptures, this little monk can lead the way."

The guest-welcoming monk put his hands together, his face full of a kind smile that made people feel close to him.

Seeing Zhang Jie and the other, whose clothing and aura were both extraordinary,

the smile on the guest-welcoming monk's face became even more radiant.

If he could guide these few people to spend some money in the temple, he could also get a not-so-small commission.

"Amitabha.

We heard that your temple allows candidates participating in the metropolitan examinations to stay, so the four of us have come specifically for that."

Zhang Jie, keeping in mind the purpose of their visit, returned a Buddhist greeting and spoke slowly.

Hearing Zhang Jie's words, although the smile on the guest-welcoming monk's face did not diminish,

it turned into a formulaic smile, and he politely refused: "It is quite unfortunate,

the empty rooms in our humble temple are mostly full, I'm afraid there is no space left."

At the same time, he cursed inwardly: "Poor ghosts!"

A few mere poor ghosts want to come to our Daxiangguo Temple to stay?

Have you not heard the principle that our Buddha does not save the penniless?

Buddha talks about karma, but you need money to have karma!

Thinking of a large commission leaving him, the guest-welcoming monk felt his heart bleeding.

Zhang Jie and his group would at most sleep on the street or be frozen to death;

what he was losing was a large sum of money!

As for whether this would offend these few licentiates?

Are you kidding?

Daxiangguo Temple was the family temple of the royal family, and countless high-ranking officials and nobles came and went;

a few mere licentiates were not even worth as much as a green-haired turtle in the Jinshui River.

Looking at the almost undisguised lack of welcome on the guest-welcoming monk's face,

even the usually gentle Li Gang felt anger rise in his heart.

The guest-welcoming monk's behavior was even more excessive than the inn boss from just now.

Although the boss wanted a high price, at least he had a clearly marked price.

But the guest-welcoming monk's behavior was naked discrimination against those of them who came to stay.

Li Gang said angrily: "Brother Renjie, let's go first!"

"Brother Boji, no rush."

Zhang Jie held back Li Gang, who was about to flick his sleeves and leave.

The guest-welcoming monk's behavior actually made him not want to leave.

If they just left like this, wouldn't it mean he had admitted defeat?

Ever since the Golden Finger arrived, he, Zhang Jie, had not yet known what it felt like to admit defeat!

"Master, please make it convenient for us."

Zhang Jie took a document from his sleeve and handed it to the guest-welcoming monk.

"Could it be that this kid has finally figured it out?"

The guest-welcoming monk took the document with a smile, weighed it,

and found that there was nothing heavy inside.

"Is this kid trying to play with me?"

The smile on the guest-welcoming monk's face could barely be maintained.

However, he was at least professionally trained,

and although he was dissatisfied in his heart, he did not flare up on the spot.

He opened the document and scanned the name and ancestral home on it,

until he saw the words stamped with the official seal of the prefecture government below,

and instantly, like a duck whose neck had been pinched, he stammered:

"Zhang, Licentiate Zhang."

"How about it? Does your temple have any empty rooms now?"

Zhang Jie didn't even look at the guest-welcoming monk's livid face and said with a smile.

"Yes, yes, look at this little monk's brain.

It just so happens that a few pilgrims left today, so their rooms have become empty."

The guest-welcoming monk's face fell, and he hurriedly found an excuse.

Looking at the innocent-looking Zhang Jie, he felt like crying:

You are a perfectly good top licentiate, why didn't you show your identity from the beginning, why play the pig to eat the tiger?

Although he didn't care much about a few licentiates, can a top licentiate be the same as a licentiate?

In the entire Great Song, the provincial examination is held once every three years, with thousands of licentiates,

but looking at the dozen or so circuits of the Great Song, there are only a dozen or so top licentiates.

According to the rules, even a top licentiate is not necessarily guaranteed to pass the metropolitan examination.

After all, during the metropolitan examination, strict measures like masking names

and masking household registration are implemented to strictly prevent examiners and candidates from colluding to cheat.

Whether one can pass the tribute examination depends entirely on whether the essays written during the metropolitan examination catch the eyes of the examiners, especially the chief examiner.

But the rules are the rules, and how they are executed is another matter.

A top licentiate is a seed of scholarship selected from a province or circuit every three years.

If a certain circuit doesn't even have its top licentiate pass the tribute examination,

doesn't that mean the literary education of this circuit is far inferior to other provinces?

In the Great Song, where the emperor and the scholar-officials rule the world together, promoting literary education is a natural political correctness,

and literary education is a very important part of the work of the chief official of a circuit.

If even the top licentiate of a circuit doesn't pass the tribute examination,

doesn't that mean the chief official of this circuit is very ineffective in promoting literary education?

Also, the top licentiate is personally selected by the chief examiner of the provincial examination, representing his face.

In this way, dismissing a top licentiate

is dismissing the face of the literary education, the chief official, and the chief examiner of the provincial examination of a circuit.

Such an offensive thing, how could the gentlemen above, who value harmony and blending in, do it?

Plus, no matter how you put it, the talent of a top licentiate is forged from thousands of troops and horses,

so the essays they write will always have substance and won't be complete nonsense.

So as long as a top licentiate doesn't write any rebellious essays,

passing the tribute examination is not just like taking something out of a bag, but it's also a sure thing.

The guest-welcoming monk had now offended Zhang Jie, this top licentiate, which was equivalent to offending a future tribute scholar.

And the palace examination of the Great Song has not dismissed tribute scholars since the second year of Jiayou of Emperor Renzong.

In that year, Emperor Renzong of Song issued an edict stipulating that all candidates who passed the metropolitan examination and obtained the qualification for the palace examination,

except for those with miscellaneous offenses, would no longer be dismissed and would all be admitted as jinshi.

After the eighth year of Yuanyou of Emperor Zhezong (1093),

even candidates with miscellaneous offenses were basically no longer dismissed, only given downgraded punishments.

In other words, Zhang Jie, as a top licentiate, had basically locked in a spot as a jinshi.

By offending Zhang Jie now, he was offending a jinshi.

Yes, he came from Daxiangguo Temple, which was honored by the royal family as a family temple,

but Daxiangguo Temple is Daxiangguo Temple, and he is he.

He is not the abbot or an elder, but just a small guest-welcoming monk.

As long as Zhang Jie says a word to the elders in the temple, presumably the elders would be very willing to remove him,

to give Zhang Jie face, after all, it was his fault first.

Besides, although the position of guest-welcoming monk requires welcoming and sending off people every day, which is very hard,

the kickbacks are also huge, and there are many monks in the temple eyeing this position.

Replacing him is first giving Zhang Jie, this top licentiate, face,

and then replacing him with someone else, and they can also make a profit from this position.

Such a plan to kill two birds with one stone, how could the elders not do it?