Chapter 96: County Exam 1/3

Since the county government had already posted the notice with the date of the county exam, the next step for the examinees was to register.

In Chongcheng County, under Magistrate Gou, there were two assistants, the county magistrate and the main bookkeeper. These two also held rank as imperial officials, and they wielded considerable power.

Below these two were the record keepers, the bailiffs, and a significant number of clerks, known as low-ranking officials.

The bailiffs were divided into three shifts, while the clerks worked in six rooms, corresponding to the six ministries of the imperial government: Rites, Personnel, Revenue, Public Works, War, and Justice.

For the common people of Chongcheng County who wanted to participate in the county exam, they needed to go to the county government’s Rites room to register and fill out their family history records.

The so-called family history records were actually records of three generations of ancestors, including great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents. To prevent people from using matters like adoption to forge their resumes, they also needed to write down the family history of their biological parents for three generations.

Although this seemed strict, it wasn’t difficult to tamper with, as ancient household registration management was very chaotic.

The original owner’s biological father was the magistrate. At a young age, he followed his biological father’s steward to the county government and knew the situation there very well. He knew that with just a stroke of the pen, the low-ranking officials in the county government could accomplish anything.

When the original owner’s father was serving in Yu County, there was a tragic incident. At that time, a relative of a low-ranking official in Yu County had a feud with a neighbor and begged the official to help him seek revenge. With a mere stroke of the pen, the official turned the neighbor’s ten acres of poor farmland into ten acres of fertile farmland.

Later, when it was time to pay grain taxes, the family turned in all the grain they had, but it wasn’t enough. Desperate, the entire family committed suicide together.

When the original owner’s father arrived in Yu County, he was just like Magistrate Gou before him, completely unable to control the bailiffs and clerks under him. At that time, all the bailiffs and clerks in Yu County followed the instructions of the main bookkeeper.

It’s worth noting that before the original owner’s father took office, Yu County had been without a magistrate for three whole years and had been managed by the main bookkeeper all along.

The original owner’s father had a hard time in Yu County. He almost followed in the footsteps of Magistrate Gou, planning to go with the flow and not take care of anything, until this tragic incident occurred.

In a fit of anger, the original owner’s father personally went to the prefectural magistrate’s office to lodge a complaint, finally bringing all those who exploited the people in the county government to justice.

The original owner had always admired his father, and Li Qingzhi, knowing these things, worked hard to help Magistrate Gou gain power.

And all of the above also illustrates that there are many opportunities for manipulation in this era, not to mention that five years ago, the entire Yu County was flooded.

When the original owner fled from Yu County, he arranged a flawless identity for himself. Now, when he filled out the registration form, there wouldn’t be any mistakes.

In addition, according to the regulations of Daqi, participating in the imperial examination required returning to one’s hometown. However, due to the flooding of the Yao River five years ago, countless people fled to the south, and the court issued an order requiring all places to accommodate refugees. Li Qingzhi had already been adopted into the Li family, so he could participate in the imperial examination in Hexing Prefecture.

After ensuring this aspect was settled, the next step was to find four more people to mutually guarantee each other. If anyone cheated, then all five would be punished together.

Li Qingzhi didn’t need to worry about this, as Zhu Xunmiao had already found the people.

Finally, they needed to find a local candidate to guarantee their participation. This matter was also simple; Li Xiucai was the candidate, and basically all his students in the school would ask him to guarantee.

Coupled with his acquaintance with Magistrate Gou and their good relationship… there should be no problems throughout the county exam process.

Everything was ready, just awaiting the wind’s direction. Li Qingzhi discussed with Zhu Xunmiao and others and chose a day to go to the county government to register.

The copyist in the Rites room, who was mainly responsible for recording various information, smiled when he saw Li Qingzhi and carefully instructed him and others to fill out the information.

It should be noted that ordinary students who came over usually had to give some money before the clerks would help, and they still didn’t have a good attitude…

Although Magistrate Gou had reformed the county government, these customary practices couldn’t be changed.

The identity arranged by the original owner was that his parents had died early, and he had no relatives. After the flooding in Yu County, he was truly alone… Li Qingzhi filled out the information, and the people in the Rites room also wrote down his physical characteristics.

Speaking of physical appearance… he had already changed a lot from the original owner’s appearance.

If he had woken up looking like this back then, the people in Miaoqian Village probably wouldn’t have recognized him.

As for now… he was gradually changing under everyone’s noses, and no one thought anything was wrong. Even those who knew him automatically updated his appearance in their minds.

Without cameras at this time, everyone would think that he had always looked like this.

In the month before the county exam, Li Qingzhi “turned a deaf ear to outside matters and focused only on reading the classics,” continuing his intensive training for the exam.

Initially, he kept asking Li Xiucai various questions, but now he began writing articles and poems incessantly.

Li Qingzhi knew that he was already quite stable enough to participate in the county exam, but he wanted to do his best.

If it were in modern times, he might choose to “lie flat” after experiencing the apocalypse, solely enjoying life. However, this was ancient times.

In this era, if one had no power or influence, who knew what he might encounter in the future or what his children might encounter?

When the original owner’s father thoroughly investigated those low-ranking officials in Yu County, he discovered more than just incidents like the change of poor land to fertile land!