Do you know that my grandfather was entitled to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?

Chapter 2 Persuasion

Perhaps because he had lived two lives, Wang You had an excellent memory in this life.

Although I don't have a photographic memory, I can usually memorize a book after reading it two or three times.

However, reading and memory are only the foundation, determining the lower limit rather than the upper limit.

Learning is important, but learning is only part of it; you also need to have your own understanding.

Which of those scholars who participated in the imperial examinations didn't know the Four Books and Five Classics by heart?

But he still failed the exam.

He could recite the Four Books and Five Classics backwards, but he could only use flowery language to write a magnificent article.

This alone is not enough to achieve top honors in the imperial examinations.

Moreover, Wang You has memories from another life, giving him a different perspective on many things than others.

Even if he writes well, the ideas in his articles are difficult for people to accept.

Therefore, Wang You was very self-aware and never considered entering officialdom through the imperial examination.

Instead, they took a different approach and focused their attention on the prodigy exam.

The prodigy test, also known as the children's test, can be traced back to the early Western Han Dynasty.

In the early Western Han Dynasty, due to the chaos of war, the country was in dire need of rebuilding and lacked officials.

To address the shortage of officials, Xiao He stipulated that any student who could recite more than nine thousand characters of scripture could be granted an official position.

Although it was later abolished, the Tongzi Examination was formally established during the Tang Dynasty.

The rules stipulate that boys under the age of ten who are familiar with the Analects of Confucius, the Classic of Filial Piety, and one other Confucian classic are eligible to participate.

This dynasty continued the Tang dynasty's practice of selecting children for imperial examinations, extending the age limit to under fifteen years old.

However, unlike the imperial examinations, it was not a fixed examination; whether or not it was held depended entirely on the emperor's whim.

During the reign of the late emperor, more than a dozen examinations for child prodigies were held, and Yan Shu was one of those who participated.

The current government has been in power for decades, and this event has only been held twice so far.

Wang You, however, was well aware of the future course of events and bet that the emperor, who had no heir, would hold a prodigy examination after having a son in his old age.

He took the initiative to go to school when he was three years old. He could memorize any word taught by his teacher after just one reading and even write it.

By the age of five or six, he had memorized the Four Books and Five Classics perfectly, becoming a renowned genius.

When Kong Lingqiu, the newly appointed educational commissioner of Shouzhou, took office last year, he heard of Wang You's extraordinary abilities and personally tested his knowledge. Wang You answered fluently in all the questions.

Kong Lingqiu publicly praised Wang You, saying he had the talent of a top scholar.

Kong Lingqiu was a descendant of a sage, though from a collateral branch, he was still a famous Confucian scholar of his time.

With his praise, Wang You's fame spread far and wide, and it was said that people in Bianjing, thousands of miles away, were talking about him.

Wang You's gamble paid off. Last year, the emperor was blessed with a son and issued an edict to change the era name to Tianyou, meaning "Heaven blesses the Great Song Dynasty."

At the beginning of this year, an imperial decree was issued to hold an examination for child prodigies, ordering local prefectures and counties to recommend child prodigies to the capital.

Upon learning the news today, Wang You told his father, Wang Min, that he wanted to participate in the prodigy exam.

However, Wang Min was furious when he heard this and forbade him from participating, telling him to study hard and take the imperial examination in the future.

Wang You did not understand his father's actions. In his view, participating in the prodigy test meant that he could still participate in the imperial examinations in the future, which was a double insurance policy.

Only after hearing her mother's explanation did she understand the reason.

He could only blame himself for performing too well, to the point that his father thought he would definitely pass the imperial examination with flying colors.

They worried that after he took the prodigy exam, he would become just another ordinary person, like the other prodigies who had passed it before.

Wang You then brought up the prestige of the child prodigy test—Yan Shu.

She intended to gain her mother's support and help persuade her father.

"I have naturally heard of the deeds of Grand Chancellor Yan, but your father said that was an isolated case. The Song Dynasty has been established for a hundred years, and the examination for child prodigies has been held dozens of times, but only one Grand Chancellor Yan has emerged."

Looking at her son, whose face was full of resentment, Madam Feng said softly, "You should also understand your father's good intentions. Your grandfather passed away early, and your father had no choice but to give up the imperial examination and enter officialdom through hereditary privilege."

Thanks to your grandfather's legacy, you served as an official for nearly twenty years before only reaching the fifth rank.

Your uncle entered officialdom a few years later than your father, and he is now a sixth-rank official, simply because he entered officialdom through the imperial examination.

The two were assigned the same duties, but how could Shouzhou compare to Yangzhou?

Your elder brother's knowledge is only passable; his chances of passing the imperial examinations are slim. Your father is pinning all his hopes for the revival of the Wang family on you.

The official system of the Song Dynasty was very interesting; officials were both official positions and duties.

The rank was somewhat similar to seniority in later generations, determining how much salary one would receive.

Positions like Privy Councilor and Minister of the Six Ministries were all assigned tasks.

Strictly speaking, there is no direct relationship between the position held and the official's rank.

In theory, even a third-rank official could serve as a county magistrate.

Even a lowly ninth-rank official can become a prime minister.

Of course, this is only in theory. In practice, when the imperial court appoints officials, it will correspondingly raise their ranks.

Generally speaking, for the same position, the rank is almost the same.

This led to the situation where Sheng Hong, a sixth-rank official, was appointed as the prefectural judge of Yangzhou, while Wang Min, a fifth-rank official, was appointed as the prefectural judge of Shouzhou.

However, Shouzhou and Yangzhou are not comparable, which shows the difference in their future prospects.

"Now that Mother has said that, I can understand Father's predicament."

But I am not even sure if I will pass the imperial examination with flying colors. If I miss the opportunity and fail the exam, I fear I will only be able to follow in my father's footsteps and enter officialdom through hereditary privilege.

"Pah, pah, pah, what nonsense are you talking about?" Madam Feng quickly interrupted Wang You.

"But what the child is saying is an objective fact."

Wang You said solemnly, "A few years ago, the Emperor issued an edict to strengthen the assessment standards for officials appointed through hereditary privilege and changed the assessment to be conducted every four years."

The reason my father is getting promoted so slowly is because of this.

If my son fails to pass the imperial examination and obtains a government position through hereditary privilege, he will likely never reach the fifth rank.

The system of hereditary appointments in the Song Dynasty was extremely chaotic, and the various pretexts for these appointments were countless.

More than half of the officials in the imperial court entered officialdom through hereditary privilege.

Officials appointed through hereditary privilege were no different from those who entered officialdom through the imperial examinations; in fact, their starting point was often higher.

There was once a prime minister's son who was granted an official position as a sixth-rank official through hereditary privilege.

After the failure of the Qingli New Policies, the government imposed restrictions on the appointment of officials through hereditary privilege.

In the future, officials who entered officialdom through hereditary privilege will not only have to pass examinations, but their post-appointment evaluations will also be more rigorous.

The evaluation period will be changed to once every four years.

In the Song Dynasty, officials were evaluated every three years, and their performance in the evaluation determined whether they could be promoted.

Although it may seem like only one year has passed, officials are not promoted every time they are evaluated.

After several such instances, officials who received their official appointments through hereditary privilege would have one less opportunity for evaluation and promotion than those who entered officialdom through the imperial examinations.

Coupled with the government's attitude, it has become increasingly difficult for officials who were granted hereditary privileges to be promoted.

This is also why Wang Min, despite having a father who was honored with a place in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, was only one rank higher than Sheng Hong.

Wang You knew that it wouldn't be long before Sheng Hong was transferred to Bianjing and became a government official.

Wang Min was transferred to Bianjing only after Zhao Zongquan succeeded to the throne.

Considering the situation at the time, Wang You felt that the reason his father was able to go to the capital was because Zhao Zongquan's position was unstable after he first ascended the throne, and this was a gesture to curry favor with the civil officials.

Wang You's grandfather was a high-ranking official who rose to the rank of prime minister. After his death, he was posthumously awarded the title of Grand Tutor and was highly respected among scholars.

Although he has been gone for twenty years, he still has an influence.

Madam Feng frowned slightly, even though she really wanted Wang You to pass the imperial examination with flying colors and bring glory to the family.

But she had to admit that what Wang You said did make sense.

"I can't persuade your father. You should focus on your studies and stop thinking about these things," Madam Feng said, shaking her head.

Wang You was disappointed upon hearing this, but then heard Madam Feng continue, "You are absolutely forbidden to beg your grandmother."

"Thank you, Mother, I understand!" Wang An was delighted to hear this.

"It's good that you understand. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now," said Madam Feng as she stood up.