Chapter 86: Beijing Connections
"Chen'er, have you decided to go to the capital?"
Hearing about her son's sudden transformation, Shen was a little bit unconvinced. The change was too fast.
"Well, I decided to go to the capital to meet the Lord, and then consider my future plans."
Although Shen Yichen has decided to go to the capital, he has not made it clear that he will enter the Imperial Academy. What specific decision he will make depends on how he can take advantage of the power of Duke Cheng!
After all, the difficulty of the provincial examination for Juren is much greater than that of the examination for Xiucai, and he has always disliked fighting a battle that he is not sure of.
"Well, it's time to go see the master, it's time to go see him."
For Shen, it is almost impossible to expect her to change her mindset like Shen Yichen.
So she was even happier that her son changed his mind and went to Duke Chengguo to restore the father-son relationship that had been broken for many years.
"Mother, I'll go to my room and get ready. Since we've decided to go to the capital, we have to leave as soon as possible."
Shen Yichen didn't have much time to make a decision. After all, there were only three months left before the provincial examination. In ancient times, there were no means of transportation such as high-speed trains and airplanes, so the journey was long and arduous.
In the Ming Dynasty, there were two ways to travel from Nanjing to the capital: land and water. The water route was the famous Grand Canal. Under slow conditions, it took scholars three months to go to Beijing for the imperial examinations.
The reason is that after the canal is used for shipping, it is often blocked by low water and frozen in winter. Civilian ships do not have priority on the way and have to stop and wait in line, which takes a very long time.
If you travel by land, the speed depends on how much money you have. If you have a good pass and can ride as fast as possible at all the post stations along the way, you can reach the capital in as little as half a month.
If you have no money, you can only rely on your feet. It may take several months to walk thousands of kilometers, but it will take a long time anyway.
However, the current time point is not the spring examination when scholars set out in autumn to rush to the capital to take part in the metropolitan examination, but the autumn examination when Nanjing can take part in the provincial examination.
In addition, there is abundant rainfall in spring and summer, the flow of the canal increases greatly, and there is no problem of ice-covered period. In addition, there are fewer civilian ships rushing to the exam, and there will be no queues. In theory, the speed of sailing will increase greatly, and it will only take a month to travel from Nanjing to the capital.
Even so, Shen Yichen had to make a decision quickly, otherwise it would be too late by the time he arrived in the capital.
"Okay, Mom will help you prepare as well."
"Um."
Just like that, Shen Yichen returned to his room. In fact, his decision to go to the capital was also influenced by one incident.
It doesn’t matter whether he is included in the family tree or not, and he doesn’t want to be Mr. Zhu, but his mother, Shen, must be given the title of Mrs. Zhu!
The reason was that as an illegitimate child, at most people would look down on him and laugh at him because of his background, and because of his status as Duke Chengguo , many people did not dare to do it openly.
In ancient times, children born to maids were highly accepted. After all, they were not children born out of adultery and were immoral, so the humiliation they suffered was not as severe as imagined.
But my mother, Shen, was completely different. After the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, feudal ethics were extremely oppressive to women. She had an unmarried child without a legal status and was driven out by her husband's family. All these factors made her unable to hold her head up in front of outsiders.
So over the years, the criticism and humiliation my mother has endured is ten or a hundred times more than what I have endured.
The root of the desire to change all this lies in Chengguogong Zhu Yong. It doesn't matter whether there is affection or not, and it doesn't even matter whether they will meet in the future, as long as he can give his mother a name, it's enough !
That night, Shen Yichen and his mother did not sleep well, because they knew very well that going to the capital was not just a journey, but also a turning point in life.
Early the next morning, Shen Yichen made a decision to leave for the capital within three days. However, before leaving, he needed to meet his two mentors and say goodbye to them.
Arriving at the familiar outer courtyard private school, Li Tingxiu was preparing lessons in the study. When he saw Shen Yichen standing at the door, surprise immediately appeared in his eyes.
"Yi Chen, why are you here?"
Now that Shen Yichen has obtained the title of scholar, there is no need for him to continue studying in the outer courtyard private school, unless he goes to the inner courtyard private school.
"Sir, I come here to say goodbye to you."
"Goodbye? Are you going somewhere?"
It was obvious that Li Tingxiu was surprised. Shen Yichen had just won the top three places in the imperial examinations, and the provincial examination was just around the corner. Where would he go?
"I have received a letter from the master and will be leaving for the capital soon."
"The Imperial College in the capital?"
When he heard about going to the capital, Li Tingxiu immediately realized that Shen Yichen was going to the Imperial College in the capital.
If one wants to take the provincial examination, there is also the Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall in Nanjing, so there is no need to go to the capital.
Moreover, it is a family letter from Duke Chengguo, so there are not many options. The most likely option is to study at the Imperial Academy in the capital.
"Well, the master wants me to study at the Imperial Academy in the capital, but I haven't made up my mind yet."
"Why?"
"I want to take the provincial examination consecutively."
Taking the provincial examinations consecutively?
When Li Tingxiu first heard Shen Yichen's idea, he was a little surprised.
The provincial examination is usually held in mid-August, so there are only three months left. It is not known how long it will take to get to the capital. What can Shen Yichen use to prepare and review?
Generally, when a new scholar encounters such a big exam year, he will choose to skip this provincial exam to give himself enough time to prepare. Not only did Shen Yichen not skip it, but he also had to travel thousands of miles to the capital to take the exam. Wasn't he a little too hasty?
"Yi Chen, it may not be safe to take the provincial examinations consecutively."
"If I don't pass the exam, I'll have to wait for three years anyway, so I might as well give it a try."
Shen Yichen acted very relaxed. Even if he didn't take the exam, he would have to wait for three years for the next provincial examination. It would not be a waste to give it a try.
“But the mental state of taking the exam again after failing is completely different.”
When saying this, Li Tingxiu showed a bitter smile. He had experienced failure in the imperial examination, which led to increased pressure when facing the imperial examination later, and he could not adjust his mentality.
That's why I finally chose to work as a tutor in the Chengguo Mansion. On the one hand, it helps me adjust my mindset, and on the other hand, teaching and educating people can also give me a sense of accomplishment.
"Sir, you may have forgotten that I failed the exam for many years."
"ah……"
Li Tingxiu laughed in silence. He had really forgotten that Shen Yichen had taken the exam for the position of Tongsheng for many years before. He had a lot of experience in failing the exam...
"In that case, I will not say any more. Let's meet again in the spring of next year!"
"Sir, have you decided to take part in the Yichou examination in the tenth year of Zhengtong (1445)?"
Now it was Shen Yichen's turn to show a look of surprise. Li Tingxiu had missed several examinations in the past ten years since he failed the Gengxu examination in the fifth year of Xuande (1430), and even decided not to take the imperial examination again.
Unexpectedly, he would change his mind and decide to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination next year.
"Well, seeing you has given me the fighting spirit."
"I hope that next spring, I can pass the imperial examination with you and create a good story."
Listening to the students' passionate words, Li Tingxiu just smiled faintly. He no longer had the same enthusiasm as Shen Yichen.
After saying goodbye to Li Tingxiu, Shen Yichen did not leave immediately. Instead, he walked through the corridor he often walked and stood outside the lecture hall window looking.
This time, he found that the lecture hall was much emptier and those familiar figures were no longer there.
Have they left already?
For some reason, Shen Yichen felt empty inside when he saw this scene. He once again experienced the feeling of parting after graduation in his previous life.
After leaving Duke Cheng's Mansion, Shen Yichen went straight to Lin Zhen's villa and told him again that he was going to the capital and preparing to take part in the provincial examination.
Compared to Li Tingxiu, Lin Zhen's path to the imperial examination was much smoother in the later period. Moreover, as the top scholar, he had already stood at the pinnacle of the literati, so he did not stop Shen Yichen's eager idea too much.
If I really fail the exam, I will just consider it as an opportunity to gain experience. After all, I am still young.
"Yi Chen, your teacher has experienced the ups and downs of officialdom. Although I no longer have great ambitions to retire and return to my hometown, I also understand that the capital is the place where young people can show their talents."
"Other teachers can't help you much. After you leave, send a few letters to my old friends in the capital. They may be helpful to you in the future."
To be honest, Shen Yichen knew very well that after retiring as the top scholar, Lin Zhen would definitely have a deep network of contacts in the civil service group in the capital.
However, this time he came to say goodbye purely for the sake of teacher-student friendship, without any interest involved, and he had no intention of relying on the teacher's connections.
Maybe Shen Yichen is not the kind of person who would do anything to achieve his goal.
This is how they treated Zhao Hongjie, and this is also how they treated Lin Zhen.
"Sir, I am very grateful for your kindness."
Shen Yichen doesn't take the initiative to use people close to him, but he refuses to take shortcuts when they are available, which is stupid and pedantic.
So after Lin Zhen brought it up, he agreed without any false courtesy.
And he bowed deeply, because Shen Yichen knew very well that these few short letters might be worth others' ten years of hard study!
"You and I are teacher and student, there is no need for courtesy."
Lin Zhen smiled and raised his hand, motioning Shen Yichen to stand up.
He also admired Shen Yichen's straightforward character, who accepted help without hesitation and kept the favor in mind. Unlike many hypocritical people, who talked about morality but did despicable things.
"These letters are written to my former teacher, Lord Wang, the current Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, my teacher, Lord Qian, the President of the Hanlin Academy, and my old friend Lin Hengjian, who is from the same hometown and the same age."
"Yi Chen, when you arrive in the capital, remember to find a good time to visit them."
"Don't worry, sir. The students have memorized it well."
Shen Yichen nodded respectfully. Lin Zhen was willing to use his connections to recommend him. Of course, it was impossible for him to think of these people only when he needed help, or to ask them to help him proactively.
Connections are just like building bridges. How you operate them and how much help you can get ultimately depends on your own abilities.
Don't think that you can just sit back and wait for the big guys to force food into your mouth just because you are a disciple of the top scholar. These are the officials with real power in the capital, completely different from the officials who have lost power and retired officials in Nanjing, and they are likely to be too lazy to look at you.
Lin Zhen was worried that Shen Yichen was young and didn't understand the ins and outs, so he specifically reminded him to visit respectfully and leave a good impression, so that he could get help at the critical moment.
