PDLP Chapter 16 The Ninth-Rank Official and the Imperial Examination
Chapter 16 The Ninth-Rank Official and the Imperial Examination
Zhao Qimei heated up the food and brought it up. Wang Xian looked at the small house and smiled.
"Sir, please do not hesitate to ask if you need anything else."
"No need, everything is taken care of. You're so thoughtful. Since you're here, please sit down and have a meal with me. You can also have a couple of drinks with me."
Wang Xian was delighted.
"In that case, I, Wang, will accept the offer without hesitation."
"Seventh Sister, sit down and eat with us."
Wang Xian looked at Chen Yue with some confusion, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he held back. Chen Yue understood what he meant.
Zhao Qimei was her own maid, and in the Tang Dynasty, servants were not allowed to eat at the same table as their masters.
Chen Yue didn't explain to him, and the three of them ate and drank together.
"Lord Wang, my story must have already spread throughout Chang'an City."
Upon hearing Chen Yue address him in such a way, Wang Xian looked flattered and quickly waved his hand.
"Please don't call me that, sir. I'm just a lowly village head, how dare I accept the title of 'sir'?"
"Alright, then I'll call you Mr. Wang. That's how we address you in Penglai. What do you think?"
Wang Xian initially felt a little awkward, but upon hearing the second half of Chen Yue's sentence, he immediately beamed with joy.
"Since it is a custom of your hometown, then it is permissible. What you say is correct. News of the upcoming Shennong City meeting has been relayed back to Chang'an."
Now, from high-ranking officials and nobles to ordinary peddlers, everyone is eagerly anticipating it, making it the most discussed topic among the people, even surpassing Princess Wencheng's journey to Tibet.
Chen Yue smiled. He had researched a lot of information about the Tang Dynasty before he came.
According to the Zizhi Tongjian, in the first month of the fifteenth year of Zhenguan (641 AD), Emperor Taizong of Tang ordered Li Daozong, the Prince of Jiangxia, to escort Princess Wencheng to Tibet.
Now that everything has been settled, it was the hottest topic in Chang'an before Chen Yue arrived.
Throughout history, there have been instances of princesses marrying foreign rulers, which is nothing new. In the eyes of Wang Xian and his ilk, this was a good thing that benefited both countries, and Princess Wencheng's noble character was praised by the world.
In later generations, some people said that sending princesses to marry foreign rulers was a humiliating policy, and that the Tang Dynasty, with its strong national power, should not have done so, considering it a cowardly act.
However, many people also believe that, given the situation of the Tang Dynasty at that time, choosing a woman from the imperial family to marry into the Tang Dynasty would have been a way to avoid a major military conflict, and there was absolutely no problem with that.
Chen Yue made no comment on this, nor would he bother to change any history. He simply felt sorry for the princess from a personal perspective.
"Mr. Wang, did you bring this meal over specifically for something else today?"
Chen Yue didn't talk about Princess Wencheng. After taking a sip of wine, he casually asked a question.
Even if Zhao Qimei was late, he didn't need to personally bring her food. Besides, he hesitated twice just now, which meant he had something to say.
Wang Xian glanced at Chen Yue, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly stood up and bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.
"My lord, you are truly insightful. I have been harboring some resentment for a long time. Today, I am fortunate to meet you, and I earnestly hope that you can offer me some guidance. I would be extremely grateful."
Chen Yue gestured for him to sit down.
"Mr. Wang, there's no need to be so polite. Although I am Shennong's envoy, I am still a person. It's quite boring here in Shennong Temple, and I was just looking for someone to talk to."
"Seventh Sister is lovely, but she's still a naive young girl. Mr. Wang, please feel free to speak your mind."
"Sir, are you familiar with the Wang clan of Langya?"
"The Wang family of Langya? I know a little about them. They were one of the most prominent aristocratic families during the Wei and Jin dynasties. There was even a saying that 'the Wang and Ma families share the world.'"
Once upon a time, it was the benchmark for the elite aristocracy.
The line "The swallows that once graced the halls of the Wang and Xie families now fly into the homes of ordinary people" from Liu Yuxi's poem "Black Clothes Lane" perfectly captures the influence of these aristocratic families in that era.
Wang Xian was taken aback by what he heard.
"How did the adults know these things?"
Chen Yue said casually.
"You don't need to know that. Your surname is Wang, could you perhaps be from the Langya Wang clan?"
Wang Xian's face immediately showed a look of pride.
"Indeed, I am a member of the Langya Wang clan. It is just a pity that after the suppression of imperial power in the late Southern Dynasties, the Hou Jing Rebellion, and then the Sui Dynasty and the present Tang Dynasty."
"Our Langya Wang clan is no longer what it once was. We, its descendants, will have no face to face our ancestors in the future."
Although the Langya Wang clan is still a top-tier aristocratic family, its power has been diminished by the suppression of the Li Tang imperial power and the rise of the imperial examination system.
These once prominent families no longer wield the same influence as before.
Chen Yue frowned. He was an ordinary citizen from more than a thousand years in the future, and it was really difficult for him to empathize with Wang Xian.
They're doing alright now; the burial master of the Huang Chao family hasn't been born yet.
"What exactly do you mean by telling me all this?"
Wang Xian realized he had gone off-topic and quickly said something.
"My lord, although I was born into the Wang family, I am now just a village head. I have been studying poetry and books for decades, but I have nowhere to realize my ambitions, which is extremely painful."
Your Excellency is a highly respected figure from Penglai. What do you think of the current imperial examination system? In the past, Chen Gong created the Nine-Rank System, which I believe was a groundbreaking achievement.
The imperial court should be run by us gentry to help the emperor govern the country, but now we are being made to take the imperial examinations alongside those other people.
This has forced many of my gentry sons to leave their homes, causing families to fall apart and morale to decline. Whenever I think of this, my heart aches.
As Wang Xian spoke, tears welled up in his eyes. He picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, his face filled with indignation.
Chen Yue felt awkward after hearing this, even though he wasn't a history major.
However, he also knew something about the Nine-Rank System, which was implemented after being suggested by Chen Qun, the Minister of Rites during the reign of Emperor Wen of Wei.
This system selects officials based on three aspects: rank, status, and lineage.
In particular, family background, commonly known as social standing, later became the most crucial factor, thus causing family lineage to gradually become the sole criterion for determining a person's social standing.
The position of Zhongzheng (a high-ranking official) was monopolized by powerful families, who praised each other to ensure that their descendants would be awarded the highest rank for generations. Individual talent ("Zhuang") became irrelevant.
This led to a "clan politics" system that lasted for four hundred years, completely blocking the upward mobility of people from the lower classes.
This situation was only broken with the advent of the imperial examination system, which gave students from poor families the opportunity to enter officialdom.
Chen Yue felt this was social progress, therefore he completely disagreed with Wang Xian's words.
He vaguely understood what Wang Xian meant. Wang Xian seemed to be complaining to him, but in fact he was testing his words. These powerful families were always thinking about restoring the Nine-Rank System.
It would be difficult for them to do it on their own, but if I, the Shennong Envoy, were willing to help them, the situation would be completely different.
"Mr. Wang, the Nine-Rank System was indeed a good choice back then, but it had great limitations and was bound to be replaced by the imperial examination system."
Chen Yue's words caused Wang Xian's expression to change drastically, and he stared intently at Chen Yue.
"My lord, do you also believe that the imperial examination system is superior to the Nine-Rank System?"
Wang Xian simply couldn't accept it. He had come here representing not only himself, but also the expectations of the gentry of Chang'an.
The status of the gentry is declining day by day, and they all know that if this continues, the situation will become even more critical.
Since Chen Yue came from Penglai and enjoyed the trust of the common people, civil and military officials, and even the emperor, if he were to say that the Ninth Rank Examination was superior to the Imperial Examination, the restoration of their ancestors' glory would be just around the corner.