Now that Chu Qiguang had reached the first stage of martial arts, all he needed next was a recommendation from Wang Chengwang to enter Yinglue Academy.
"Still, having Wang Chengwang arrange my admission directly wouldn't look good. It could easily betray weakness and make him doubt my master's standing. It would be best to make use of Wang Cailiang."
At the same time, Chu Qiguang recalled the procedures of the Great Han Dynasty's imperial examinations.
Whether on the civil or martial track, the imperial examinations of the Great Han Dynasty were divided into three major levels.
The first was called the child examination. Those who passed were known as xiucai on the civil track and wusheng on the martial track.
Once one crossed this threshold, their name was officially registered with the imperial court, granting them recognized status. They were exempt from kneeling before officials and could not be subjected to torture during interrogation. Moreover, they received a monthly stipend of rice from the court and were eligible to further their studies at the prefectural school.
Chu Qiguang mused inwardly, 'In the Great Han, once someone reaches the level of xiucai or wusheng, they can talk with the Wang family on equal footing. Basically, selling a thousand Ergous wouldn't trade for a single xiucai.'
The second examination was known as the provincial examination. Those who passed were called civil juren on the civil track and martial juren on the martial track.
The most critical benefit of this stage was exemption from a portion of taxes and corvée labor.
Among them, civil juren could enter the Imperial Academy to continue their studies, while martial juren could enter the Northern and Southern Martial Academies. Furthermore, they were given seats when meeting with a county magistrate, and if they committed a crime, the magistrate had no authority to sentence them; the matter had to be reported up through official channels—from county to prefecture and then to the provincial level—before any action could be taken.
Chu Qiguang thought, 'A juren in the Great Han Dynasty is already practically half an official. Only the provincial level—roughly equivalent to provincial-level officials in modern society—has the authority to punish them. And if luck is on their side and a vacancy opens up, they can step directly into the role of deputy county magistrate. With good performance and a bit more luck, they might even have a shot at becoming the magistrate.'
'If I pass and become a martial juren, even the Wang family will come to curry favor with me, hoping to register their land under my name to evade taxes. When a county produces a juren, it even counts as a civilizing accomplishment for the magistrate—a genuine mark of administrative achievement.'
'If a xiucai is worth a thousand Ergous, then a juren is worth at least ten thousand dogs.'
A juren commanded immense prestige in the county, qualifying as true local gentry, and was about the most powerful figure the vast majority of common folk would ever see.
As for the third and highest examination, it was held in the Great Han capital of Shenjing and divided into two parts: the metropolitan examination and the palace examination.
Once a candidate passed, they became a civil jinshi or martial jinshi and could genuinely enter officialdom.
At the jinshi level, the lowest starting post was a county magistrate—which meant that the worst starting point for a jinshi was already the dream a juren could only aspire to.
'In the Great Han Dynasty, once you reach jinshi, even if you just coast along, you'll eventually manage to become a prefect. In modern terms, that's roughly equivalent to a city party chief. A slight stomp of their foot would cause an earthquake across the whole of Qingyang County.'
'If you understand how to navigate officialdom and do a bit better, you could even become a provincial administration commissioner or governor before retirement. That's the ruler of an entire province, roughly like a provincial governor or provincial party secretary. With a single word, you could haul the entire Wang family off to penal military service.'
'As for the central organs above that—the Six Ministries, the Nine Courts, and all those real power positions at national and vice-national leadership levels—a jinshi degree is merely an admission ticket.'
'A jinshi's value starts at a minimum of a hundred thousand dogs.'
Thinking of this, Chu Qiguang sighed. "Just through examinations, you can test your way into municipal, provincial, and even a faint glimmer of national-level power. It's easy to imagine how fanatic every wealthy family across the Great Han must be about the imperial examinations."
Still, the notion that scholars and martial artists alike could serve as civil officials struck Chu Qiguang as somewhat awkward and unfamiliar. After all, on the Earth he came from, feudal dynasties prioritized civil administration over the military most of the time, and military generals rarely held civil offices.
On second thought, however, the martial examinations in this world also tested classical canons. Furthermore, once admitted to the Imperial Academy or the martial academies, students were instructed by the court in all kinds of practical knowledge required to govern.
Most content tested in the imperial examinations was actually of little help in administrative work; knowledge of bureaucratic paperwork, policy execution, and government institutions was either absorbed from childhood in official clans or learned only after earning examination degrees.
'It's essentially like both humanities and science graduates being eligible to test into civil service. And in this world, studying martial arts is just a bit more lucrative.'
Thinking about it that way, Chu Qiguang felt at ease.
With the examination system reviewed in his mind, Chu Qiguang turned back to the immediate task.
"First, I must pass the child examination to become a wusheng. That requires fulfilling two prerequisites: strength and qualification."
"In terms of strength... based on the combined information gathered from Qiao Zhi and the Wang family, passing the martial child examination and becoming a wusheng equivalent to a xiucai requires at least the strength of the third stage of martial arts."
"As for the qualification to take the child examination, since it has already been monopolized by the local gentry and retired officials in the county, I'll need to join Yinglue Academy first and secure their recommendation."
Chu Qiguang murmured, "Strength and qualification..."
"The imperial examinations are held once every three years. The next martial session is this October. It's May right now, which means there are only five months left."
Chu Qiguang stroked his chin. "Within these five months, not only must I win their backing and secure a slot for the child examination, but I also have to break through to the third stage of martial arts."
"Otherwise, I'll have to wait another three years."
At this thought, Chu Qiguang's brows furrowed. Another three years of hardship? How could he wait that long?
Chu Qiguang set his goal: "I must pass and become a wusheng this October."
Qiao Zhi chimed in from the side, "The second stage of martial arts is Strength of a Thousand Jun, and the third stage is Qi Coursing through the Four Extremities. Reaching that in five months... even with your aptitude, it's going to be tough. Fortunately, you swindled a good chunk of silver from the Wang family this time. If you use it all to buy Hundred-Refined Ointment, you should still have a chance of reaching the third stage."
Chu Qiguang's eyes flashed, and he said offhandedly, "I don't plan on buying Hundred-Refined Ointment with the remaining silver."
"Not buying medicine?" Qiao Zhi asked in confusion. "Why?"
Chu Qiguang said, "I plan to bet my entire net worth on buying grain at the bottom, then dumping it at a high price when the war breaks out."
Qiao Zhi grew instantly frantic upon hearing this. "Buy the bottom? Buy what meow-ing bottom! You think this is the floor? You have no idea there's a cellar under the floor, and a cavern under the cellar!"
Intending to probe Qiao Zhi further, Chu Qiguang said, "Don't lecture me about bottoms beneath bottoms. When I do business, I just plunge straight ahead. If I win, it's maidservants and concubines; if I lose, the worst that happens is I find another landlord to fleece. Plunging right in is all that matters."
"You!" Qiao Zhi was about to answer when he abruptly held back, thinking to himself, 'It wouldn't be good to say too much... What if it interferes with Chu Qiguang's development?'
'Then again, would influencing Chu Qiguang a little really be a big deal? If I don't speak up now, am I just supposed to watch him try to catch a falling knife and buy the bottom?'
At that thought, Qiao Zhi stated bluntly, "Forget about buying the bottom. This war isn't going to happen."
Chu Qiguang asked, "How so?"
Qiao Zhi said, "The court will make peace with the wolf race and ultimately open border markets for trade."
Chu Qiguang's eyes glinted at the news. "Border trade? In that case... we could short the grain that's currently surging in price."
Qiao Zhi gave Chu Qiguang a speechless look. "Can't you just behave yourself for once..."
Chu Qiguang shook his head to himself. "No, still won't work. Behind the big merchants stand the prominent clans of this county, all of whom have connections in the imperial court. If I short grain and take their money, I'd probably be forced to cough it all back up the very next day."
Qiao Zhi nodded in hasty agreement. "Qingyang County is no ordinary backwater county. It's packed with prominent clans, and it has produced viceroys, vice ministers, censors-in-chief, and all sorts of high officials."
Chu Qiguang sighed. "I still need to find a way to get official status as soon as possible. Otherwise, my hands are tied no matter what I try to do."
Qiao Zhi urged, "Right, right, exactly. Your top priority right now is to push for the second stage of martial arts, Strength of a Thousand Jun. Reaching this stage takes patient, grinding effort—relying on medicinal tonics, dietary nourishment, martial cultivation, and day-to-day physical conditioning to push your flesh and blood to its absolute limit. That is the second stage."
"If you want to cross this stage within five months, you cannot stop taking medicine."
Chu Qiguang stroked his chin and said, "Even if I spend all of the remaining two hundred and sixty-odd taels of silver on Hundred-Refined Ointment and use it once a day, it'll only last me under ten days. That's still too slow."
Chapter 28