Chapter 1910 - Civil Service Examination (Part Three)

"The name 'Yuan Shu' isn't good." Yuan Shuzhi shook his head. "Too many people know my name. If I change it rashly, people will surely be suspicious. Fortunately, most people only know how to say it, not how to write the three characters. Today I'll change it to characters with the same sound but different writing." He thought for a moment and said, "I'll call myself Yuan Shuzhi (袁舒知 - imply 'Comfortable Knowledge' rather than the original characters)." Saying so, he picked up brush and ink and wrote three large characters on rough bamboo paper.

Zeng Juan secretly thought: What an old fox!

The next day, he went to the police station to register his household under this name. From there he obtained his household registration certificate and non-criminal record certificate. His theft case had been handled by the Municipal Bureau's Public Security Section. According to regulations, the case file of a processed person should be copied to the police station of their household registration. But since Yuan Shuzhi had no household registration back then, the file remained in the Municipal Bureau's archives. The local police station naturally couldn't find his criminal record. He slipped through easily.

Finally, the day for civil service examination registration arrived. Because Yuan Shuzhi felt he looked a bit old and his hair was graying, he dyed his hair the night before and applied some rouge to his face to make himself look "radiant with youth."

The next day, the two of them arrived at the registration site together. The registration location was at the former Guangzhou Prefectural School—a place neither this old man nor young man could have entered in the past.

The Prefectural School had now been taken over by the Education Department and was being prepared as Guangzhou's first secondary school. For these few days, it was loaned to the municipal government as the civil service registration site.

The courtyard was already packed with people registering. Unlike the police exam, those who came were almost all "men of gowns and caps." Regardless of the quality of their clothes, at least everyone wore a long gown—there were absolutely no "short-coated types."

Large bulletin boards stood around the courtyard listing the recruiting departments, positions, and relevant requirements. The content was identical to the Yangcheng Express public exam special issue. Zeng Juan and his companion naturally didn't need to look again, but for many, this was their first time seeing the full recruitment news. Dazzled by the dense list of positions and requirements, they struggled to take it all in.

"Must subscribe to the newspaper!" Many in the crowded throng silently swore at that moment.

After reading, many people still didn't understand what the relevant positions actually were and surged toward the inquiry desk to ask about specific job responsibilities. Over a dozen naturalized cadres were overwhelmed.

Zeng Juan and Yuan Shuzhi were very composed, calmly taking their household booklets and proof materials to the registration desk.

At this moment, Zeng Juan saw a scholar with "short hair" but wearing a wash-faded blue scholar's robe. Looking closely—wasn't this Hu Ziming, who had publicly cut off his topknot at the trial assembly a few days ago!

Since Hu Ziming publicly cut his hair, he had instantly become a "celebrity" in Guangzhou and even appeared in the Yangcheng Express. Although quite a few people felt gratified by his actions, many privately mocked him as "fishing for fame" or simply cursed him as "crazy for officialdom." Of course, many also felt that regardless of whether he was being opportunistic, the Australians would inevitably award him an official post.

However, half a month after the trial, Hu Ziming remained a poor scholar. No Australian had come to seek him out for a government post. Hu Ziming continued to sport his "short hair" and go to the Wenlan Academy every day to comment on current affairs. People on the street couldn't help pointing at him. His fellow students at the academy, however, didn't mock him—they had suffered Mo Rongxin's oppression and exploitation for years, and his stepping forward had vented some anger for everyone. Not content with silence, Hu Ziming immediately carried out another "heroic feat" at the academy.

After Mo Rongxin, Zhong Aijiao, and others were arrested, several gentry members remained on the Academy Board, and the miscellaneous workers, stewards, gatekeepers, cooks, and various other personnel in the academy were all the original staff. The moment Hu Ziming arrived at the academy, he rallied some scholars to rise up, driving out all the relatives and cronies stuffed in by the various "gods" of the academy. Those who refused to comply were beaten bloody on the spot by the scholars. How could the surviving board members dare to contend with him? They all played deaf and dumb.

Subsequently, he organized the scholars to sign a joint petition to Liu Xiang, requesting the municipal government to "take over the academy." Liu Xiang had already been eyeing the Wenlan Academy greedily; Hu Ziming's rebellion was exactly the golden opportunity he sought. He immediately agreed and took over the Wenlan Academy.

Hu Ziming then submitted another petition: Mo Rongxin and others had controlled the academy for years, and every janitor, cook, steward, and accountant was a personal crony, each enriching themselves; he suggested pursuing every stolen coin and investigating to the end.

Liu Xiang agreed completely. "Swatting tigers and flies"—the flies' accumulation was not necessarily small. He immediately ordered the police bureau to detain all relevant academy personnel, demanding they "voluntarily return stolen goods." Reportedly, they effortlessly recovered tens of thousands of taels of silver, dozens of properties, and countless fields. Hu Ziming had rendered another meritorious service for the Senate.

Naturally, Liu Xiang didn't want to let go of such an activist and intended to recruit him into the system. But Lin Baiguang reminded him that this didn't fit the cadre hiring procedures. Since Guangzhou now had a civil service examination system, he should enter through that channel.

"This is better for us and for him. Otherwise, he'll wear the hat of 'advancement through luck' for the rest of his life."

"Actually, I think we need more 'opportunists.'"

"Opportunists are disparaged as 'opportunistic' because they lack conviction and act purely on calculations of interest," Lin Baiguang said. "Hu Ziming's two actions seem decisive, but actually contain elements of playing to the gallery. The exposure is high, the risk extremely low. Although they had a positive effect, his motives deserve a question mark. Besides, he was at the Wenlan Academy for years and never rose up to protest anything. We kill Mo Rongxin and suddenly he pulls this stunt—I'm very skeptical of his motives."

Although Liu Xiang agreed with his view, he hesitated: "But we shouldn't chill people's hearts..."

"I don't oppose absorbing him into our system, but it's best to let him enter via the public exam route."

So Liu Xiang instructed someone to communicate privately with Hu Ziming, telling him to take the civil service exam.

Having received the Chief's hint, Hu Ziming naturally wouldn't let it pass. Today he eagerly came to the exam site. Hu Ziming was a man of ideas and good at gathering information. Although the naturalized cadre who told him to take the exam didn't specify which position he should apply for, he still applied for the position of Clerk in the Municipal Government General Office. Because he heard this department was directly commanded by Mayor Liu and Deputy Mayor Lin.

Zeng Juan saw the look of satisfaction on his face, presumably because he had already secured an internal guarantee from the Chiefs. While envious, he couldn't help but feel a secret disdain.

Arriving at the registration desk, Zeng Juan quickly completed his registration. But at Yuan Shuzhi's turn, a problem arose. The naturalized cadre saw that the household document Yuan Shuzhi provided stated his age as 40, but the guy looked at least over 50. This recruitment had a specific age requirement—must be under 40 sui.

The naturalized clerk at the registration desk said impatiently to Yuan Shuzhi: "You're getting on in years, old man, what are you thinking! Go home and hug your grandchildren, why are you joining in the fun blindly!"

Hearing this, Yuan Shuzhi exploded. He was terrified of not being able to take the civil service exam—if he couldn't, all his efforts these past months would flow down the river, and he would have no chance to turn his life around. He hurriedly shouted loudly: "What distinction is there between old and young in serving the Great Song?! This humble one considers himself to have some ability and is determined to serve the Senate. Why can you not fulfill our earnest desire to serve?! Is the rule of the Senate inferior to the bogus Ming? In the bogus Ming, even octogenarians could take the imperial exams. Why must our Senate cut off people's path of advancement based on age?!"

His shouting resonated with many scholars nearby, especially the older ones. They chimed in one after another. Some simply started making a ruckus at the registration desk. When the police on duty moved to drive them away, several old men lay down on the ground and wailed loudly. For a moment, the registration area was in chaos. The naturalized clerk was sweating bullets—these individuals, though all had dyed hair and rouged faces, were visibly advanced in years and "virtue." If something untoward happened, wouldn't it damage the Senate's prestige?

Just as things were about to blow up, Elder Dong Yizhi, originally responsible for administration and general affairs at Fangcaodi, appeared. He had been sent by the Education Department to Guangzhou to prepare educational institutions. The Education Department had great ambitions in Guangzhou, wanting not only to promote basic education but also to rapidly build secondary schools and such. Of course, building schools was one thing; claiming several prime pieces of real estate in Guangzhou city was the real priority.

Because he was an Education Elder, he had been asked to help host the civil service exam. The chief examiner appointed by Liu Xiang was Zhang Yunmi, principal of the Guangzhou Cadre Management School. But Zhang Yunmi knew nothing about organizing exams and had to ask for help.

Naturally, Dong Yizhi didn't help for free. Liu Xiang promised full "convenience" regarding land use for the Education Department.

Hearing the commotion outside, he came out to investigate. The moment he emerged, the naturalized citizens immediately cleared a path, and the scholars instantly fell silent.

"What happened?" Dong Yizhi asked.

The naturalized cadre at the registration desk hurriedly explained the situation.

"The regulations clearly say under forty sui. The age on his household registration is obviously problematic," the cadre said awkwardly. "I understand their feelings, but the rules are set..."

Dong Yizhi looked at these elderly men with their dyed-black hair and unnaturally flushed faces, trembling yet still wanting to come out to take the civil service exam. He thought: they are all poor scholars who have been frustrated all their lives. Participating in the public exam is probably their last effort to turn their fate around. To deprive them of this is indeed somewhat cruel.

He pondered for a moment, then said: "Feng Tang grew old easily; Li Guang had a hard time getting enfeoffed. I'll make the decision here: Since they have the ambition to serve our Senate, anyone under 60 sui and in good health may apply. That settles it."

This was truly a golden word settling the universe. Yuan Shuzhi immediately shouted: "Long live the Great Song! Long live the Senate!" Immediately everyone followed suit, shouting. The entire registration area roared like a tsunami, cries of "Long Live" ringing out in a continuous wave.