Chapter 67: The Preface of Guozijian

  When Jiang Xiaoyao slowly woke up, there was only one oil lamp shining brightly in the room. He tilted his head slightly, and the memories in his mind finally stopped at the moment when an arrow shot towards Zhu Houzhao outside the Tian Prison.

  Jiang Xia remembered that at that time he shouted "Lao Er be careful." Then, with one pull, he pulled him open and ran over to take the arrow himself.

  "Ah..." Jiang Xia let out a soft cry, at the time he hadn't felt any pain, but now he realized that the wound on his chest was really fucking painful.

  Jiang Xia took a look around the room and it was clear that this was his own room in the Xianyao Villa. It seemed he had escaped danger, Jiang Xia let out a slight sigh of relief.

  He looked down and found that there were two more people sleeping on his left side, two beautiful women, whose faces were 70% similar to each other, who were Cui Rusong and Cui Nianslave, the two sisters.

  Cui Nian Nu leaned against Jiang Xia, who reached out and gently stroked Cui's face. These two women had become acquainted with each other shortly after arriving in the Ming Dynasty, and Jiang Xia wasn't even sure what her feelings for them were - whether it was purely a desire to possess their beauty or if she had actually developed emotions for them.

  Jiang Xia, who had too many romantic histories himself, couldn't tell them apart very well. However, at this moment, seeing the two of them lying on his bedside, sleeping so deeply and soundly, it was clear that they had been guarding him for a long time and were exhausted.

  In Jiang Xia's heart, there was a faint warmth. A modern person from the future suddenly crossed over to this great Ming dynasty, and if he said that his heart didn't feel lonely, it would be impossible. But it was precisely this faint warmth that dispersed the loneliness deep within Jiang Xia's heart.

  "Brother Jiang... you absolutely can't have anything happen to you..." Cui Nian Nu murmured softly with her eyes closed, Jiang Xia gently stroked her hair with a tender expression, and smiled faintly.

  Perhaps Jiang Xia's action was a bit big, Cui Nian Nu was slightly startled and seemed to be about to wake up.

  In the backyard of Xiangyang Mountain Villa, Li Dongyang and Zhu Houzhao sat together beside a stone table. Li Dongyang advised: "Your Majesty, you have been guarding here for a day and night, it's better to go back and rest early, after all, the dragon body is important, anyway, the doctor said that Jiang Xia has no major problems, once Jiang Xia wakes up, I will immediately send someone to notify you at the Leopard House."

  After listening to Li Dongyang's words, Zhu Houzhao shook his head and sighed: "Big brother... Jiang Xia. Jiang Xia was injured because of me, this time if I hadn't been so reckless, Jiang Xia wouldn't have gotten hurt either. Without Jiang Xia, I'm afraid I would've lost my life long ago. Since Jiang Xia treats me like that, how can I bear to see him wake up again?"

  Li Dongyang nodded and sighed, "Indeed, Jiang Xia is a man who values emotions extremely highly. Although he appears to be unconventional and unorthodox, in reality, he is a person who can stake his life to save others. I have only known him for two months, yet he was willing to risk his life to rescue me, which shows just how much he values relationships and righteousness."

  Li Dongyang looked up at Zhu Houzhao and said, "Forgive me for speaking bluntly, Your Majesty. This time you have indeed gone too far in offending others. If Liu Jin and the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Zhong Bin had not arrived in time, I fear that we would all be in danger."

  "Yes." Zhu Houzhao also nodded in agreement.

  He recalled the situation at that time, when Zhu Houzhao saw Jiang Xia being shot by an arrow and fainted, he immediately took out his golden token to reveal his identity. Who would have thought that the prison guards of Tian Prison did not believe him? Thinking about it, who would have thought that the emperor himself would sneak into Tian Prison in disguise?

  Luckily, Zhong Bin, who had been feeling uneasy all along, arrived with a team of imperial guards, and Liu Jin, who had also become suspicious while in the Eastern Depot, eventually guessed that the Emperor might be coming to raid the Heavenly Prison and rushed over with his men from the Eastern Depot, allowing Zhu Houzhao and the others to escape completely.

  Thinking of these, Zhu Houzhao felt both frightened and thrilled. As the supreme ruler, he probably thought that such an experience would only happen once in his lifetime and would never come again.

  Zhu Houzhao smiled slightly and said, "Taifu, this time it's my fault. However, I've already written a decree to Liu Jin, withdrawing all the charges against you. You are still my Taifu, the chief minister of the Grand Secretariat."

  Li Dongyang stood up and knelt down in front of Zhu Houzhao, saying: "Your humble minister thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness."

  "Grand Preceptor, please get up quickly." Zhu Houzhao helped Li Dongyang to his feet and smiled as he said: "You are the teacher of Jiangxia, which makes you a close relative of mine. In this carefree mountain villa, there is only the second son of Jiangxia, Zhu Shou, but no Zhu Houzhao, so Grand Preceptor does not need to show me such great courtesy."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Dongyang sat back on the stone stool.

  "He shook his head and said: 'Your Majesty, I thank you for pardoning me of my crimes, but I still have an impertinent request.'"

  "Please go ahead and speak, sir."

  Li Dongyang sighed and said: "Your humble servant is already old, the officialdom's tricks and intrigues have made your humble servant tired of responding, I am exhausted. So I still want to resign and ask for a peaceful life in my later years, please grant me permission, Your Majesty."

  "This......" Zhu Houzhao hesitated for a moment, thought about it and nodded: "This is also possible. I will allow the Grand Tutor to no longer serve as the Minister of Revenue and the Chief Assistant of the Imperial Cabinet, but the title of Grand Tutor must be retained, and this position cannot be changed for life."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Dongyang did not kneel this time, but instead made a fist and bowed to Zhu Houzhao.

  Zhu Houzhao smiled and asked Li Dongyang: "What are the Grand Tutor's plans next? Is he preparing to retire and return home, or does he have other plans?"

  "The old minister is prepared to stay in the capital and instruct Jiang Xia well, hoping that he can take the imperial examination as soon as possible and enter the court to serve Your Majesty......" Just then Li Dongyang suddenly remembered something. He stood up and bowed to Zhu Houzhao: "By the way, I also want to ask Your Majesty for a favor."

  "Oh? What kindness is this?" Zhu Houzhao asked.

  Li Dongyang smiled and said: "The old minister wants to let Jiang Xia enter the Imperial Academy as the old minister's protege, and hopes that Your Majesty will grant it."

  "Enter the Imperial Academy?" Zhu Houzhao thought for a moment and hesitated slightly, saying: "Taifu, the current Imperial Academy is not like it was in the past."

  "This humble minister understands that in the early days of the great Ming dynasty, the Imperial Academy was a necessary path for scholars to become officials, and all the talented people in the world gathered here. Now, the Imperial Academy has become complicated with various types of students, including those who are admitted through protection, recommendation, examination, and precedent, and it is indeed no longer comparable to its former days. However, Your Majesty, entering the Imperial Academy still has one advantage."

  "What benefits?" Zhu Houzhao asked in puzzlement.

  Li Dongyang subconsciously wanted to stroke his beard, but only then did he remember that his whiskers had been shaved off by Jiang Xia with a big knife, along with his eyebrows...

  Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but laugh at Li Dongyang's appearance, but since Li was his teacher, he didn't dare to laugh too much, so his face turned red with suppressed laughter.

  Li Dongyang also smiled and shook his head, saying: "In three months, it will be the triennial imperial examination. As long as Jiang Xia enters the top 20 in the national examination at the Imperial Academy, he can directly enter the palace examination without participating in the children's test, county test, and provincial test."

  After listening to Li Dongyang's words, Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up instantly. He nodded and said: "The Taifu is right." However, as soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao became somewhat worried and said: "But... can Jiang Xia enter the top twenty of the National Academy examination? If not, I'll let the Libationer of the National Academy send the exam questions to me for review first, then I..."

  "There's no need for that, Your Majesty seems to have forgotten, the Imperial Academy is not what it used to be."

  Li Dongyang and Zhu Houzhao looked at each other and burst out laughing.

  The Guozijian was the imperial academy of the Ming Dynasty, and it can be considered as the highest institution of learning in the Ming Dynasty. In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, the main ways for the government to select talents were through the imperial examination, recommendation, and selection. Among them, the status of Guozijian was the highest. Generally speaking, officials would be selected within the Guozijian, and sometimes even the emperor would directly appoint students from the academy to official positions.

  However, as the imperial examination system developed, more and more talented individuals emerged through it, so the imperial examination became increasingly valued. Later, not only could successful candidates be appointed officials after the announcement of the results, but there was also a common practice in the court that "one cannot enter the Hanlin Academy without being a jinshi, and one cannot enter the Grand Council without being a member of the Hanlin Academy." This common practice meant that even if one wanted to become an official or a high-ranking official, they had to go through the imperial examination system. As a result, the advantages of the Guozijian were lost, leaving only the empty title of "imperial student".

  Further back, the identity of the Guozijian's Sheng became more complicated. There were Yin monitors, namely the sons or brothers of officials above the third rank in Beijing or those who were allowed to enter the monitor by imperial grace. Li Dongyang was a first-class official and naturally had the qualifications for Yin monitoring, but Jiangxia was not his direct descendant, so he asked Zhu Houzhao for a favor.

  In addition, there are Gongjian, Jujian and Lijian. "Gongjian" refers to the students who were selected by the local government schools to enter the Imperial Academy. "Jujian" refers to those who passed the imperial examination in the capital but did not get a jinshi degree, and were chosen by the Hanlin Academy to study in the Imperial Academy. "Lijian" refers to those who obtained the status of shengyuan through donations.

  As a result, the Imperial Academy was filled with all sorts of people, and had long been looked down upon by the students in the imperial examination system. They once ridiculed the Imperial Academy as a gathering place for the sons of officials and aristocrats, full of the smell of copper and silk.

  Although the composition of Guozijian is complex, it's not that anyone who wants to enter can do so. After all, it's the highest institution of learning in the Ming Dynasty. Being able to study inside not only requires strong personal connections but also comes with many privileges. Directly entering the imperial examination is one such privilege. Even if one cannot directly enter the imperial examination, the top 100 students from Guozijian can directly enter the provincial examination. Obtaining a gongshi identity is relatively easy and is absolutely the first choice for children of officials to obtain a diploma and gain prestige.

  Now the Guozijian is no longer as good as it used to be, and the strength of the students inside is naturally inferior. It's precisely because of this that Li Dongyang has confidence in Jiang Xia entering the top 20.

  Then Zhu Houzhao and Li Dongyang discussed some national affairs, Li Dongyang was an old minister after all, many insights made Zhu Houzhao suddenly enlightened. In the end, Zhu Houzhao and Li Dongyang agreed that he would not hold official positions in the court, but if there were major national events, Zhu Houzhao would still summon him to the palace for discussion, and Li Dongyang naturally agreed.

  The two of them chatted excitedly when Cui Nianshu suddenly ran out and shouted: "Wake up, Brother Jiang woke up..."