Volume 4 is in the ascendant Chapter 442: Mixed Feelings at the Top
Zhao Shuang, Kan Ze and Yan Jun are still young and do not have the knowledge they will have in the future.
However, influenced by the General's Mansion and the State of Chu, in recent years Kan Ze and Yan Jun have increasingly developed their original "side jobs" in history when there was no "white rabbit effect".
After all, the support for the Ministry of Industry, as well as its achievements and status are obvious, and... if they really want to serve as officials and fight on the battlefield, they are only second-rate qualifications!
Facts have proved that their choice was correct, and now they are able to make a splash in the first imperial examination and become an official with a C position.
The second person in the Ministry of Rites, Deng Zhi, was also surprised...
Deng Zhi is only twenty-five years old this year and was born in Xinye, Jingzhou.
Historically, Deng Zhi and his family moved to Shu and settled there when there was a chaos in Jingzhou. Deng Zhi was a late bloomer and was only put to use after Liu Bei entered Shu. Because he lived to be over 70 years old, he could be said to be the backbone of Shu in his later years.
However, now that Jingzhou has returned to Chu, most of the people of Jingzhou who originally moved away have made choices different from those in history, including Deng Zhi's family.
Deng Zhi himself felt that the most reliable subject should be military science. Indeed, Deng Zhi in history was also mainly known for his military achievements. In his old age, he was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry and Acting Grand Master...
However, this time, Deng Zhi just barely got a "B" in the military science department - after all, Deng Zhi was the type who achieved success late in life, and the kind of late bloomer who only came to prominence after "mostly killing off all the more capable people". In terms of historical achievements, there was nothing to be proud of.
But when it comes to Deng Zhi, another of his deeds is very famous - his mission as an envoy to Eastern Wu.
And this was not an ordinary mission. After the Shu Kingdom suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Yiling and Liu Bei died in Baidi City, Deng Zhi was responsible for this mission with extremely important !
What was the situation at that time?
Guan Yu was stunned by Lü Meng's white-clothed crossing of the river, and was defeated and captured in Maicheng. Soochow beheaded him. Zhang Fei was so angry that he whipped his subordinates while drunk, and his rebel general cut off his head and sent it to Soochow. Liu Bei sent troops from Yizhou to seek revenge, but was burned by Lu Xun and lost his armor. Liu Bei himself fell ill and died in Baidi...
Not only was it the most critical time for Yizhou's power, but it was also the time when its relationship with Eastern Wu was the most strained.
At this time, Zhuge Liang rejected all objections, suppressed internal anger and opposition, and decided to make peace with Eastern Wu, pointing out a clear way forward for Shu Han in the future. At the same time, for Deng Zhi, the pressure of this trip can be imagined.
His lord had just been beaten to death, and he was trying hard to make peace. The double pressure from both inside and outside was enough to make him feel helpless.
However, Zhuge Liang did not misjudge the person this time. Although Deng Zhi was turned away at the beginning when he was sent as an envoy to Soochow, he finally convinced Sun Quan after explaining the pros and cons to him, and the relations between Shu and Wu were restored.
Of course, there was an element of force involved, after all, Wei was the biggest enemy, but Deng Zhi's eloquence, mentality, and negotiation logic were also remarkable as he was able to make Sun Quan follow the trend under the circumstances at the time.
In the current Chu State imperial examination, Deng Zhi won the second place in the rites subject because of his amazing answers in the questions about the simulated diplomatic mission!
Deng Zhi was naturally very surprised by this result...at most he felt a little strange. He originally wanted to be a soldier all his life, but he was given a higher evaluation in the Department of Rites?
Well, then I’d better work in the Ministry of Rites in the future!
As for Lu Ji, who ranked first in the rites category, surpassing Deng Zhi, Bai Tu and other officials of the Chu State were much more familiar with him.
He was only fifteen years old, about the same age as Lu Xun when he first met Bai Tu.
Moreover, he is Lu Xun's uncle and Lu Kang's youngest son. Just looking at the age difference, it can be seen that he is still strong despite his age. In many ways, he is Lu Kang 's pride...
In history, Lu Ji was also known as a "child prodigy", in stark contrast to Deng Zhi, a poor boy who achieved success late in life.
It’s just that Lu Ji’s “divine” direction was in the areas of moral governance, ritual governance, and the study of classics, which seemed very “retro” at the time.
If it were during the peaceful years of the Han Dynasty, Lu Ji would definitely have become the true representative of the Jiangdong Lu family. However, in the Three Kingdoms era... Lu Xun, Lu Kang and other "capable fighters" were the most eye-catching!
But even so, the fifteen-year-old Lu Ji also handed in an amazing answer sheet in the Department of Rites. Lu Kang was grinning so hard today that his mouth was almost stretched to his ears...
Lu Ji was also the youngest person to top the list among the seven subjects in the first imperial examination of the State of Chu!
Pan Jun, who had been eyeing this position, felt mixed emotions. Not only did he lose to the 15-year-old boy in the etiquette subject, which he was most confident of, but he didn't even make it into the top three.
Pan Jun was from Wuling, Jingzhou, and was a student of Song Zhong. Yes, that was the great scholar from Jingzhou who, during his time in the General's Mansion, had a debate with Kong Rong because he was dissatisfied with Bai Tu's statement that "killing one person is like killing my father". In the end, he fell into Kong Rong's trap because of Wang Lang's advice. Because he slandered Bai Tu, he was thrown feces in front of the people and his reputation was ruined...
When Bai Tu went to Jingzhou this time, he also visited Song Zhong specially. He never mentioned what happened in the past and just thought that he was just an ordinary retired due to illness. Not only did he send him supplements, but he also nominally encouraged Song Zhong, saying that even if he was in poor health and could not serve as an official, he could still report any opinions to the court in the future.
Whether out of emotion or because he "knew the current affairs", Song Zhong behaved very respectfully and even composed three poems on the spot, praising the King of Chu, Chu learning, and Chu politics !
Even if this incident had not happened, Pan Jun would not have refused to serve as an official because of his teacher's experience. This is also in line with the current mainstream trend. Originally, Lu Kang died in Sun Ce's attack on Lujiang in history...
However, when taking part in the imperial examination, Pan Jun also had the idea of "letting you see how powerful we Jingzhou Confucian scholars are". As a result... although he got A in the rites category, he was not among the top three, which he thought was not worth bragging about at all.
but!
In the criminal science department, Pan Jun actually took the top spot!
Firstly, it is naturally due to Pan Jun's serious review, as he memorized the "Chu Law" by heart. Secondly... Pan Jun's historical evaluation is that he is "intelligent" and "rational", which means that he is good at observing details and making inferences, and has strong logical thinking.
Among those strange questions on inference of guilt, Pan Jun was one of the few scholars who could filter his thoughts and correctly attribute guilt. This was not something that could be achieved simply by memorizing the "Chu Law". In the reasoning questions, Pan Jun's performance was also outstanding.
The top spot in the Ministry of Justice, well-deserved...
However, after seeing the published results, Pan Jun felt mixed emotions.
The direct cause of "killing one man is like killing my father" was that Bai Tu insisted on rectifying military discipline and beheading generals who brought disaster to the people. Although there was no "Chu Law" at that time, it was a representative event of the "Yangzhou Covenant", the predecessor of "Chu Law".
Now as a student of Song Zhong, his performance in the rites department was just mediocre and he got an "A", but he took the top spot in the Ministry of Justice.
Well, I wonder if Song Zhong will write another poem after knowing this...
