The Emperor in the Guesthouse

Dong Zhongshu's residence is not hard to find.

As a master who loved to lecture on Confucianism, Dong Zhongshu was extremely famous among the Chang'an.

As a result, a great many people sought to see Dong Zhongshu, and every day there were people lining up outside Dong's residence to wait, much like the group of women outside Liang Garden waiting for Sima Xiangru.

Whether Dong Zhongshu received guests or not, there were always many people outside the Dong residence, who even formed a kind of group.

If Dong Zhongshu were not present, the scholars would either discuss classics and theories, explore national affairs, or compose poems and essays with bamboo slips and fine wine.

Fu is a short essay that involves literary talent and rhythm, focusing on expressing emotions through scenery. Zhang Xuezhou only knows most of the Chinese characters, so it would be quite difficult for him to write fu. He also rarely uses scenery to express his own emotions.

The poems that the students have been writing recently are mostly related to the death of Emperor Jing, which involves lamentations. So, Zhang Xuezhou has no sense of grief whatsoever.

After submitting a bamboo slip as a visiting card at the Dong residence, he mingled among the scholars and pretended to be a scholar for a while.

It wasn't until the scholars urged him to compose a poem that Zhang Xuezhou, looking embarrassed, prepared to move to another location.

"Gentlemen, I am currently deeply saddened by the passing of the late Emperor, and it is difficult to express this feeling in words. I am afraid I will have to keep this to myself for a while longer," Zhang Xuezhou said, declining the offer.

"Brother Dongfang, don't hold back your masterpiece!"

"That's right, that's right! After listening to so many of our poems, it's time for you to show us one!"

"His Majesty enjoys composing poems. If we just talk about it and sing it, it might reach his ears, and this mournful poem might even be used at the national funeral!"

"Indeed, His Majesty is fond of poetry. If we compose good poems, we may have the opportunity to become officials. If poetry can be included in the national mourning rites, it is indeed possible that we could obtain high-ranking positions!"

The various opinions raised by the crowd surprised Zhang Xuezhou, who realized that the Great Han Dynasty's system for selecting talent was completely different from what he had imagined.

Prefect Wen said that one could become an official through recommendation, Zhang Qian said that one could become an official by presenting treasures, and now even composing poems could lead to an official position. These numerous methods truly broadened Zhang Xuezhou's horizons.

Of all these, the only one that didn't involve passing exams or assessments to become an official was...

"Indeed, given the illiteracy rates in many places, if the path to officialdom were truly based on examinations, then those with exceptional talents would likely have little to do with official positions!"

Different social developments lead to different talent selection mechanisms.

Many places are still struggling to make ends meet and cannot select talent through layers of examinations like the Scarlet Alliance State.

Zhang Xuezhou quickly thought through the situation. He didn't want to offend these scholars or leave a bad impression, especially since he would be spending a lot of time here in the near future. So he quickly changed the subject.

"If we're talking about talent in poetry and prose, I'd first name that comes to mind is Sima Xiangru," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Master Dong even praised Sima Xiangru for his exceptional talent in this area; he's sure to be able to compose a superb lament!"

I heard he went to Liang!

"The late emperor disliked listening to poetry and music, so it's natural that Sima Xiangru, being overlooked, would have to seek a better position elsewhere!"

"That's true, I heard the treatment there at Liangyuan is excellent!"

"It has to be good, I'm telling you..."

"But we have to be able to get in first!"

"Getting into Liangyuan is much harder than becoming an official in the imperial court. I've heard that our Emperor not only enjoys fu (a type of classical Chinese poetry), but also highly admires the Confucian School school. There seems to be a trend in the court to promote Master Zhao and Master Wang, and even to invite Lord Shen to take charge!"

The matter of composing poems took a turn. The students admired the beauty of Liang Garden, and when they set their sights on the next best official positions in the court, they inevitably mentioned the current situation of the court.

Emperor Jing died and a new emperor ascended the throne, leading to significant changes in policies.

It is normal for a new emperor to have a new court, and among the teachers of the new emperor were many Confucian School scholars.

This made the new emperor even more confident in the abilities of the Confucian School school, and he was very likely to give important positions to Confucian School scholars.

"Don't even mention that we need to compose poems to please His Majesty. As long as someone from our Confucian School gets promoted, with all the recommendations going through the ranks, getting an official position for ourselves will be a piece of cake!"

"That's true. It's too difficult to stand out by writing good poems, and we can't always produce excellent ones. Recommending someone is a more reliable approach!"

"I wonder if the imperial court will give Master Dong an important position?"

Do you know where Master Dong has gone?

"I haven't seen Master for almost a year!"

"I heard they went to Shu County, which is thousands of miles away from Chang'an City. It will probably take them some time to get back!"

"His Majesty's passing will only take three days for the news to reach Shu County. Master Dong will definitely return to Chang'an City to participate in the sacrificial ceremony, and at most two months to Chang'an City!"

From lamenting his fate to seeking official positions, and then to recommendations based on personal connections, amidst the constant chatter and discussions, Zhang Xuezhou managed to avoid a disgraceful situation and quickly gained information about the Great Han Dynasty.

This gave him a basic understanding of Chang'an City.

"My relationship with Master Dong is passable. If he is given an important position, it should be alright if I recommend him!"

Zhang Xuezhou had the idea of becoming an official after contributing the secret manual of the Crescent Moon Saber to the imperial court, but after being reminded by many scholars, he quickly gave up this idea.

Compared to simply changing one's child's official position, this kind of recommended official position obviously forms a network of connections and is more reliable.

The only pity is that Dong Zhongshu has not yet returned from the Northern Border.

But Zhang Xuezhou wasn't in a hurry. After all, the benefits of being an official weren't something the court could just grant him if he wanted them. Obtaining a magic Law Treasure like Wen Weng's Mountain-Stabilizing Stone would take a long time, and it certainly wasn't something that could be done overnight.

He squatted under the big tree to enjoy the shade; he was clearly going to run away with Dong Zhongshu.

He had previously lost consciousness and was unable to deal with hyenas and other creatures on the grassland, which forced him to go to the Yedie River Holy Land, thus causing a lot of trouble.

If Zhang Xuezhou could obtain a Law Treasure called the Mountain-Stabilizing Stone, he could lie down or go wherever he wanted, making it much more convenient to traverse the wilderness.

Zhang Qian aspired to serve his country, but for Zhang Xuezhou at this moment, that's about the limit of his ambition.

If he could secure the Dingshan Stone without any future troubles, he could immediately abandon his official position and leave without the slightest regret.

"I wonder where Master Dong is now, and whether my cousin has managed to find Master Dong and learn the Southern Ming Fire technique!"

After some tugging and pulling by the students, Zhang Xuezhou escaped the trouble of reciting the poem. Seeing that it was getting dark, he slowly returned to the inn.

He originally thought Zhang Qian was practicing his Subduing Tiger Fist as usual, or pacing back and forth in the guesthouse waiting, but when Zhang Xuezhou returned to his room, he found that there was another person in the room they shared.

He looked up and immediately saw his debtor.

"You live a very frugal life, that's a good habit!"

Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou in, the former crown prince, now the new emperor, paid no attention and gestured for Zhang Xuezhou to close the door.

He made a teasing remark to Zhang Qian, which immediately made Zhang Qian blush.

Zhang Qian never imagined that his trip to Lingnan would bring him directly into the sights of the current emperor.

The visiting card he submitted was not processed by the Office of the Jingzhao Intendant, but was directly presented to the emperor.

The other party reacted extremely quickly; after dealing with the day's affairs, they found Zhang Qian's inn as night fell.

Zhang Qian was overwhelmed with gratitude at the emperor's personal visit, and for a moment he almost thought he would do anything to serve His Majesty.

His expression clearly pleased the new emperor greatly.

For the new emperor, he was indeed following Emperor Jing's teachings, and in selecting talents, loyalty was undoubtedly the top priority, while ability came second.

Zhang Qian clearly falls into this category.