Chapter 9: Cousins

Of course, during this era, passing the imperial examination and achieving the top honor was the dream of everyone…

No matter their background.

Whether farmer, merchant, even military officer, or certain figures dwelling in the gray areas of legality — a smuggler who didn’t aspire to become the top scholar wasn’t a good commoner. The name “Provincial Scholar” was sacred. Someone like Yang Xin, who spoke shamelessly about buying the Provincial Scholar rank, was simply crude and unrefined.

But a Provincial Scholar could indeed be acquired.

Though it wasn’t officially permitted. Spending money couldn’t directly get you the Provincial Scholar title. What you could buy with money was Student Status at the Imperial College, and the least respected kind — the Purchased Student Status — and it still depended on opportunity. Only when the state needed disaster relief or the court faced severe difficulties, would they open the door for promising young men from the populace to donate for Imperial College status. These Purchased Student Status holders were different from the legitimate candidates who entered the Imperial College through the county, prefecture, and academy exams. They were the lowest rank; even a properly achieved Provincial Scholar could look down on them. It merely bypassed the narrow bridge of the three-level exams to become a Provincial Scholar, allowing them to directly participate in the provincial imperial examinations. But if they failed the provincial exam, it was still utterly useless. Theoretically, an Imperial College Student could indeed become an official, but in practical terms, the difficulty was immense. After all, there were crowds of Presented Scholars waiting for appointments, and below them, even more Provincial Scholars were waiting.

Purchased Student Status holders? Even less likely.

Before them in line were those with dual status as both Provincial Scholar and Imperial College Student, those who enjoyed hereditary privilege of entrance, and even talented local scholars recommended by their prefectures.

Purchased Student Status?

As lamented by one such student from the Great Ming Dynasty: spent thousands of silver taels and got nothing. Returning home, he couldn’t even face his wife!

In this aspect, the Great Ming was inferior to our Great Qing.

Our Great Qing had clearly marked prices, fair to all, for both academic degrees and official posts; nothing was exempt from purchase. Well, the Provincial Scholar title remained essentially worthless, preserving at least the minimal pretense. Otherwise, with silver, one could climb up from Purchased Student Status all the way to the top. Li Wei, a Regional Commander, was a perfect example. The Qing court ultimately endured the White Lotus rebels and the Taiping Heavenly Army, and weathered the imperialist carving-up and bloodsucking solely by selling offices. If Emperor Chongzhen could have discarded his pride and sold offices widely in the late Ming, while also allowing local gentry to organize Local Militia, perhaps he wouldn’t have needed to climb Coal Hill.

Li Zicheng?

Could Li Zicheng compare to the Heavenly King Hong?

Yet even in the rigid Great Ming Dynasty, which was as stubborn as an elm knot in this regard, there were still plenty of ways to obtain the Provincial Scholar title. Buying it outright wasn’t possible, but gifts were perfectly acceptable. Throw five hundred taels of silver at the Provincial Education Commissioner, and no Academy Examination would be impassable.

Buying a Purchased Student Status only cost three hundred taels.

However, it was clear Huang Ying’s family couldn’t afford five hundred taels. With her father’s shrewdness, if he could secure a Provincial Scholar rank for his son through gifts, he definitely wouldn’t have hesitated to spend the money. The fact they didn’t do so meant they lacked the funds. After all, presenting gifts also required connections, and for a commoner, securing those connections itself demanded a hefty sum of silver. Was Fang Congzhe’s elder brother really dedicated to teaching and nurturing students? What a joke! He was essentially a cash box with a sign. Once enrolled under him, you practically wore a halo wherever you went to take exams. Naturally, everyone flocked to him, silver in hand. Moreover, the Provincial Scholars and Presented Scholars who succeeded under his brother’s banner all bore the mark of the Fang faction. Fang Congzhe, as Chief Grand Secretary, constantly promoted them, thus birthing a political faction centered around him right in the heart of the court.

Then, even after he stepped down as Chief Grand Secretary, his disciples and former subordinates could still ensure the Fang family’s interests.

That was a politician for you.

This was politics and the monopoly of powerful families.

“Alright, stop looking so gloomy. Someday soon I’ll go find little sister He Xiang. Maybe after her mistress flays me alive, she’ll be in a good enough mood to grant your brother a chance to become a student!”

Yang Xin patted Huang Ying’s shoulder and said.

The latter glared at him…

“What part of her did you touch earlier?” she demanded, her brows furrowed like icy blades, thick with menace.

“Huh?!”

…

The next morning.

South of the Liangshui River confluence.

“Elder Steward!”

Yang Xin enthusiastically waved a greeting towards the old steward.

The latter looked at him with a face full of shock. Clearly, Yang Xin’s sudden appearance, especially in a manner that made him seem like he’d swapped bodies, left the old steward utterly bewildered.

“Elder Sister Huang!” Miss Wang popped out next.

Huang Ying waved back at her.

The Grand Canal had regained the strong southeast winds. The trackers had already been sent away, and the towpaths along the canal were devoid of other trackers. Every Grain Tribute Boat and merchant vessel raced forward as if in competition, charging towards the final stop of this long journey. Hundreds of sails jostled within the river channel only a few hundred meters wide – and this “hundreds” wasn’t mere hyperbole. Within Yang Xin’s sight, sailboats large and small crowded the canal, densely packed and stretching into the distance. A thousand truly wasn’t an exaggeration. These ships sailed past him, navigating the Liangshui River confluence behind him. Most merchant boats headed straight to the docks on the western shore, passenger boats entering the Empress Xiao River, while official vessels continued past the Empress Xiao River mouth, crowding into the docks lining the bank. There, heavy cargo was unloaded and hauled by porters towards the city to the west…

Zhangjiawan City.

A city wall with a circumference of six li, surpassing most county towns in size.

The vast majority of Grain Tribute Boats unable to snag dock space had to keep heading upstream. Further upstream were two more dock complexes: the upper, middle, and lower docks of Zhangjiawan. Past the Zhangjiawan area towards Tongzhou existed even more docks. Tens of thousands of Grain Tribute Boats on the Grand Canal, along with countless merchant vessels, transported at least four million dan of grain annually, plus goods ranging from timber to silk, tea to porcelain – virtually everything transportable. The economy leaned heavily towards the south, yet the imperial capital resided in the north. This resulted in this city depending entirely on this thousands-of-leagues-long canal for almost everything. It balanced the north-south economy and sustained the empire’s hold over the north to the greatest extent possible.

This was the empire’s vital artery.

To ensure unhindered transport within the annual navigable period of just nine months, countless large and small docks stretched from here northwards all the way to the northern edge of Tongzhou.

But most merchant boats and government-shipped miscellaneous goods landed at Zhangjiawan.

Because the channel upstream noticeably narrowed, while downstream at this stretch, the confluence with the Liangshui River and Empress Xiao River widened the river surface.

Zhangjiawan served, during this period and even up to the mid-Qing Dynasty, as the Grand Canal’s most crucial northern terminal for merchant vessels. It wasn’t until the Jiaqing reign, when flooding shifted the course of the Northern Canal eastward, forming the modern Northern Canal and diverting the channel away from Zhangjiawan Fort, that Tongzhou to the north became the main port.

At this time, however, the Grand Canal still hugged the eastern flank of Zhangjiawan Fort.

For traders and travelers, this marked the actual end of their canal journey.

The Wang family’s vessel would go no further north.

“This young man looks unfamiliar!” the Elder Steward remarked, a faint, ambiguous smile playing on his lips.

“I’m her elder cousin!” Yang Xin stated calmly, pointing at Huang Ying.

“Ah! Elder cousins and little cousins!” the Elder Steward chuckled, his tone layered with meaning.

The girl behind him remained utterly blank. She must have recognized Yang Xin – his lunatic singing had impressed her, after all, and he was her lifesaver. Though changed somewhat, a closer look would reveal his identity. Yet here he was, bald-faced lying alongside the Elder Steward, leaving this often somewhat silly and naive young girl stunned once more.

“Elder Steward, please!” Yang Xin made a gesture of invitation.

The latter nodded. His boat sailed past Yang Xin. Yang Xin lifted his head and flashed Wang Wanqing a brilliant smile. Miss Wang snorted haughtily as their boat smoothly circled past his vessel.

Then came Huang Zhen’s ship.

“Worthy nephew!” Huang Zhen nodded equally meaningfully.

His boat then also circled past Yang Xin.

Huang Ying poled the small boat around, following the two larger vessels as they squeezed into the dedicated zone for merchant vessels, nestled between the mouths of the Liangshui River and the Empress Xiao River. The official rank lantern on the prow of the Elder Steward’s boat worked wonders. Merchant boats ahead gave way. Those too slow to react were hastily shoved aside by soldiers on the guiding official boats. Thus, the two boats threaded through the countless sailing vessels. Sails were lowered, and boatmen propelled them with long poles towards the dock, nudging them bit by bit against the shore. Right at the bank lay the southern suburbs of Zhangjiawan Fort. Myriad merchants transformed this peninsula, hemmed in and shaped by the parallel flows of the Empress Xiao River and Liangshui River, into a bustling commercial district, also called Long Street. A broad road ran north through this commercial district, leading directly to the Tongyun Bridge spanning the Empress Xiao River. The northern end of the Tongyun Bridge pierced the south gate of Zhangjiawan Fort itself. The regular passenger docks were also located there, lining both sides of the bridge. But it was hopelessly clogged with boats.

“Through Zhang Bay, the canal’s head for millennia flows,

By ancient ramparts facing grain-laden rows!”

Yang Xin was showing off.

“Zhangjiawan Fort was built during the Jiajing reign of Emperor Shizong! Hardly ‘millennia’!” Miss Wang retorted scornfully beside him.

Her name was Wang Wanqing.

“Just poetic license! Even Li Bai writes ‘three-thousand-foot waterfall plunges down’! Mount Lu’s waterfall is only dozens of zhang high; where does three thousand feet come from?” Yang Xin countered.

“Have you been to Mount Lu?” Wang Wanqing tilted her small head, puzzled.

Yang Xin glanced around and immediately spotted a scholar nearby holding a Folding Fan. Rudely, he snatched it away and flicked it open with a practiced flourish.

“Of course!” he declared arrogantly.

Then, under that scholar’s wide-eyed stare, he hastily stuffed it back into the scholar’s hands. Miss Wang finally caught on and couldn’t help but burst into laughter, her youthful face blooming with radiant brilliance. The scholar, initially furious, saw her smile and instantly adopted an expression of warm courtesy, trying to seize the moment to speak. A Wang family armed Household Servant promptly thrust a hand directly in front of him. Another Servant pointed menacingly to the lantern marked Ministry of War, Vice Minister, on their boat.

The scholar flinched and retreated.

“But there truly is a three-thousand-foot waterfall in the world. Sadly, it isn’t within the Great Ming,” Yang Xin stated.

“Nonsense! How could you know if it’s not within the Great Ming?” Miss Wang said contemptuously.

“Wang Wang ah! Such a small girl couldn’t possibly grasp the vastness of this world! That waterfall indeed exists outside the Great Ming! In a land the Red-Haired Barbarians call ‘America’! Plunging from a height that would truly equal three thousand feet!” Yang Xin pressed.

“What did you just call me?” Miss Wang’s voice turned icy cold.

“Uh… isn’t your character setting supposed to be Silly and naive?” Yang Xin asked, stunned.

“Throw him into the river!” Miss Wang ground her teeth.

She didn’t understand “character setting,” but the word “silly” was impossible to miss.