Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy (Seeking Recommendations and Collections!)

"Within the bell and drum towers, the tolling never ceases throughout the night."

"Inside the Jin examination hall, the golden list is inscribed with names today."

"Truly a fine couplet, Shengzhong, your words are a good omen!"

At the family banquet, You Shixiong and Zhong Shidao clicked their tongues in praise, their spirits high.

As fellow students under the tutelage of Zhang Zai, they had naturally been invited by Huang Shang upon his return to Kaifeng.

After meeting, the two could not help but complain about his unannounced departure last time, yet Huang Shang selectively shared his extraordinary encounters with them.

This was also to lay the groundwork for demonstrating his strength in the future.

In this era, civil officials traveled on horseback, and many possessed martial skills.

They suppressed the power of military generals, not martial prowess itself, so the two did not mind; in fact, they were eager to try, showing a clear interest in sparring.

Huang Shang had no intention of showing off before his peers, so he smiled and bypassed the topic, beginning to inquire about the figures in the same examination cohort.

Zhong Shidao was still young and not participating in this imperial examination, but You Shixiong had already passed the Provincial Examination and was about to take the Departmental Examination.

Thus, it was the perfect opportunity for Huang Shang to learn about the competitors worth noting this time around.

The title of Zhuangyuan meant being number one.

Since ancient times, it has been said that there is no number one in literature and no number two in martial arts; one can imagine how great the temptation of the official number one, the Zhuangyuan, truly was.

In the Song Dynasty, an era teeming with great talents, whether one could top the list often depended not just on talent, but on timing and luck.

In some cohorts, the competition was weaker, making it relatively easier to stand out.

In others, it was truly a battle that reached the heavens.

Take 1057, the cohort six years prior when Zhang Zai became a Jinshi, which was hailed as the greatest list in the millennium of imperial examinations.

The chief examiner was Ouyang Xiu, and among those who passed were the aforementioned Su Shi and Su Xun, Zhang Zai, Cheng Hao—one of the two Chengs—the later frontier-expanding Wang Shao, and Zeng Gong, one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song. One Zeng Gong was not enough; his four brothers and two brothers-in-law all passed the Jinshi examination simultaneously.

It was absolutely insane!

Most exaggerated of all, nine people from that single cohort eventually rose to the position of Chancellor.

To be hailed as the greatest in a millennium was truly well-deserved.

Yet, the Zhuangyuan was not among those famous names.

During the Departmental Examination, Su Shi had the opportunity to surpass everyone and become the top scholar, but he missed it for a rather comical reason.

Because the examination papers underwent the processes of sealing names and transcribing, when the chief examiner Ouyang Xiu was grading, he mistook Su Shi's paper for that of his own student, Zeng Gong. To avoid any appearance of impropriety, he ranked him second.

Su Shi: ???

Sometimes when a person is down on their luck, that is just how it is; there is no reasoning with it.

From this, it is evident that becoming a Zhuangyuan also requires luck.

If Huang Shang were merely seeking an official position, passing the Jinshi examination would suffice.

But the title of Zhuangyuan was linked to the cultivation of Literary Qi.

A single Zhuangyuan title would likely be worth ten years or even more of bitter cultivation, so it was a prize he had to contend for.

Huang Shang knew clearly that while he possessed knowledge, no matter how high his talent for study, he could not compare to Su Shi in terms of raw literary genius.

If even a titan like Su Shi could brush past the Zhuangyuan title for such a ridiculous reason, the only way for him to ensure success was to prepare even more thoroughly.

Fortunately, only two cycles had passed since that star-studded cohort.

Generally, a period of exhaustion follows a great burst of talent, and this was currently a period of stagnation.

Zhong Shidao saw the ambition in Huang Shang's eyes and smiled, saying, "Does Shengzhong know of Shen Cunzhong from Qiantang?"

Huang Shang thought for a moment and nodded slightly.

He had forgotten that there was such a person in the same cohort.

Shen Kuo, courtesy name Cunzhong.

Learned and skilled in writing, he left his name through the ages as a great scientist of the Song Dynasty. He made achievements in mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geography, water conservancy, and even medicine, music, and painting; he was the most outstanding figure in the entire history of Chinese science.

However, he recalled that later generations evaluated him as having poor character, a sycophant who trimmed his sails to the wind; Wang Anshi had held Shen Kuo in very low regard.

Recalling this, Huang Shang did not pay much attention to Shen Kuo.

Scholarship is independent of character, and it was not because Shen Kuo was not a Zhuangyuan in history, but because a person who spreads their focus too thin inevitably neglects one thing while attending to another.

The examination was not merely about displaying one's learning; there were many tricks to it, and Shen Kuo clearly would not focus on those, so he was not a competitor for the Zhuangyuan.

You Shixiong also mentioned a few names, among them the historical Zhuangyuan of this cohort, Xu Jiang.

Although this person was not very famous, he was formidable, having become a Zhuangyuan at twenty-seven. He was skilled in both literature and martial arts and eventually rose to the position of Chancellor.

Huang Shang did not know Xu Jiang, but he noted down the names of these people one by one, preparing to study them to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

You Shixiong was very much looking forward to Huang Shang becoming the Zhuangyuan, so he spoke everything he knew without reservation.

Zhong Shidao hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said, "There is someone, Shengzhong, whom you should perhaps keep an eye on. He hails from the Xiangzhou Han Clan."

The Xiangzhou Han Clan!

An aristocratic family!

It is common knowledge that aristocratic families rose to prominence during the Eastern Han Dynasty, reached their zenith in the Jin Dynasty, and began their decline during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

With the fall of the Tang Dynasty, these aristocratic families had largely exited the historical stage.

Yet, they still existed; for instance, the Yang Family Generals were, in fact, a branch of the Hongnong Yang Clan.

The Xiangzhou Han Clan was naturally far inferior to the Hongnong Yang Clan; their ancestors could only be traced back to the mid-Tang period, but with generations of officials, they had managed to accumulate a solid foundation.

By this generation, they had finally reached their peak.

Han Qi.

Chancellor Han Qi!

Observing the wary expression on Zhong Shidao's face, Huang Shang raised his brows slightly: "Please speak plainly. Once it reaches my ears, it shall never go further."

Zhong Shidao glanced at the page Murong Fu standing behind them, then, meeting Huang Shang's gaze, he nodded slowly: "Han Zhongyan, courtesy name Shipu, is the eldest son of Chancellor Han. He holds the position of Directorate for Palace Buildings Registrar through his father's influence, and now he intends to sit for the imperial examinations again. That in itself would be fine, but he once criticized you for being arrogant and relying on your talent, and he is quite dissatisfied with you..."

"Father's influence" refers to obtaining an official post due to the rank of one's father.

However, the Great Song placed such immense importance on the status of a jinshi that these "second-generation officials," provided they had even a modicum of learning, would still take the examinations themselves to serve as capital for their future promotions.

As the eldest son of the current Chancellor, whether for the sake of his father's reputation or his own future, a jinshi degree was indispensable.

In history, Han Zhongyan also became a chancellor.

He was the first chancellor to serve after Emperor Huizong of Song ascended the throne.

At the time, a certain official once evaluated the four chancellors of Emperor Huizong using four words:

Mediocre, corrupt, foolish, and overbearing.

Han Zhongyan corresponded to "mediocre," while Cai Jing was "overbearing."

Of Emperor Huizong's chancellors, Huang Shang only knew of Cai Jing; there was no helping it, as he was simply too notorious, and he hadn't thought of Han Zhongyan at all.

But he knew that if Zhong Shidao was issuing a solemn warning, it meant Han Zhongyan truly held a grudge against him.

It was strange; the two had nothing to do with each other. Where could this grievance have come from?

At the same time.

In a private room at Hui Xian Pavilion.

Xu Feng strode inside: "Sister, I followed your method and investigated. The death of Chen Sheng is related to Han Zhongyan, the eldest son of the current Chancellor, Han Qi!"

Xu Yue felt puzzled: "These two are worlds apart in status; what exactly is going on?"

Xu Feng said: "Han Zhongyan is surrounded by a group of scholars currying favor with him. Among them is a man of great renown named Cai Jing. I suspect that this dog is the one who dealt the lethal blow!"

Xu Yue pondered: "This is interesting. It involves three successive chancellors..."

Xu Feng clenched his fists: "I love this kind of excitement. For the sake of Huang Shang, let's take them down!"