Chapter 3 The dispute between direct lineage and collateral lineage

The Zhang family in Pucheng is a big family. It was passed down from the time when Zhang Zijun moved to Pucheng in the Fujian Kingdom of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. It has been here for seven or eight generations. The descendants of the Zhang family have reached 10,000 to 20,000 people. They are a veritable local family.

Pucheng Zhang family attaches great importance to studying, so there are many officials in the family.

The clan also has a clan school run by the Zhang family, and anyone who is a descendant of the Zhang family can enroll.

Of course, the treatment of direct descendants and collateral descendants is still different after all.

The direct descendants' families will receive subsidies, while the collateral descendants can only rely on their own families.

This gap is revealed after the enlightenment is completed. To study in the clan school, only a small amount of training is required to study.

But when he reached Zhang Heng's stage, he had to go to the county to become a teacher. The teachers in the county required more than a few studies.

And studying does not just require studying. Students also need to eat and drink. In addition, buying books and the Four Treasures of the Study costs a lot of money.

The Zhang Heng family could not afford the repairs and expenses. During this period, the three Zhang Heng brothers could only study at home. In the early years, when their parents were still alive, the eldest brother Zhang Jin also studied. Later, his parents died, so he could only study at home. The burden on the family was lifted.

Zhang Heng was unwilling to go to his family, not because of his pride, but because in this era there was competition between the direct line and the collateral line of the family.

Clan struggle is like the struggle for imperial power. The direct lineage will cling to its own power, fearing that the collateral lineage will rise and take away the power of the direct lineage. In order to maintain its power, the direct lineage will strictly guard against the collateral lineage. If there is a real threat, they will take advantage of it. The weak branches' despicable tactics will also follow.

Zhang Heng's lineage has been a collateral line since his great-great-grandfather, and now it is even more of a collateral lineage.

Therefore, Zhang Dun's performance when Zhang Heng won the first prize is understandable.

There is a story that is widely circulated.

At that time, Zhang Heng won the first prize, and Zhang Dun also won the Jinshi. Two Jinshi in one discipline was originally something worthy of celebration by the Zhang family in Pucheng, but Zhang Dun would rather retake the exam than be ranked behind Zhang Heng.

Zhang's explanation to the outside world is that Zhang Dun is arrogant and unwilling to lag behind his nephew, but is this really the case?

In the final analysis, it is just a dispute between direct lineage and collateral lineage.

For the direct lineage to lag behind the collateral lines, this is not only a shameful thing for the direct lineage, but also the danger of losing power.

Zhang Heng even suspected that his subsequent difficulties in officialdom might have been caused by the obstruction of Zhang's direct lineage.

After all, the number one scholar is the number one scholar. Zhang Heng won the number one scholar. According to the normal development of the number one scholar, Zhang Heng may be able to make a difference in the central government in more than ten years, and even enter the political hall and become the prime minister.

So at that time, who will have the final say in the Pucheng Zhang family?

Another fact that cannot be ignored is - if Zhang Heng enters the political hall, will Zhang Dun still have a chance?

It's probably very difficult to ask two people from the same family to serve as prime ministers at the same time in the political hall.

Zhang Heng carefully recalled his official career after winning the first prize.

There is nothing wrong with the first conferment, it is just a regular conferment. Zhang Heng does not think that Zhang has no grudges. It is probably that Zhang has no way to influence it. After all, the time between the number one scholar and the conferment is too short, and the level is too high. Zhang Heng thinks The impact is not enough.

But after he was transferred back to the palace from the local level, things became very strange.

——A top scholar actually sat on the bench in the pavilion for ten years!

If Song Shenzong hadn't inspected the pavilion later, Zhang Heng complained to Shenzong in grief and anger, saying that he had been staying in the pavilion for ten years, and he would probably have to stay there.

This incident shocked Shenzong so much that he personally ordered Zhang Heng to be transferred to the position of Judge of Salt and Iron of the Third Division. This was how he got rid of the suffering of being abdicated.

Such things were so rare that he would never believe it if there was nothing fishy about it.

But things are not over yet.

After Zhang Heng arrived at the Third Division, he was immediately targeted again, and then pushed out of the Third Division. After that, he spent his whole life wandering around the local government.

But Chen Xiang, who has been willing to recommend underachievers all his life, actually turned a blind eye to his proud disciple. Isn't it strange?

And what's interesting is that Zhang Dun, who looked down on Zhang Heng, was actually just an illegitimate son himself.

——An illegitimate child can look down on collateral.

Therefore, Zhang Heng couldn’t trust them if they couldn’t be found by the Zhang family.

Since you can’t go to me, who can you go to?

Zhang Heng thought for a while and ran out of ideas.

If two more years pass, he can find his teacher Chen Xiang.

Chen Xiang, whose name is Shugu, was named Mr. Guling because he lived in Guling. Together with Zheng Mu, Chen Lie and Zhou Ximeng, he was also known as the "Four Mr. Guling". He was from Hou Guan (now Fuzhou, Fujian).

In the second year of Qingli, he won the Jinshi title and was awarded the title of chief registrar of Pucheng County and acted as the county magistrate.

After Chen Xiang came, he built 300 schools and gave lectures in person, attracting hundreds of students. Zhang Heng was able to study under him because he took advantage of this good opportunity.

However, there are still more than two years left before the second year of Qingli.

Chen Xiang has no hope either.

But that's okay, because Zhang Heng has other plans.

In Zhang Heng's plan, he not only wanted to win the top prize, but also wanted to go further in the officialdom.

Therefore, Zhang Heng did not want to conflict with the Pucheng Zhang family, especially Zhang Dun.

Zhang Dun is not a very powerful person. If he still overpowers him in the imperial examination, he will probably have to use Zhang's power to suppress him.

Therefore, if you want to reduce the resistance to the Zhang family, it is best to avoid the imperial examination in the second year of Jiayou's reign to avoid direct conflict with Zhang Dun.

Not only that, Zhang Heng also had a little bit of caution.

The saying goes, you have to be famous early.

It turns out that Zhang Heng won the first prize in the second year of Jiayou, but he was already thirty-two years old at that time. Although he was a scholar in his fifties, can the number one scholar in his teens be the same as the number one scholar in his thirties?

Moreover, the list of Jinshi in the second year of Qingli was not simple. By the time of Shenzong, there were a total of six prime ministers, including Wang Gui, Han Jiang, Wang Anshi, Han Zhen, Lu Gongzhu and Su Song!

If, just if, if Zhang Heng can name this list after himself, then when Shenzong launches a revolution, with his prophetic wisdom, maybe he can also take off with him and become a pig in the spotlight...

…

Of course, it was not easy to get the number one scholar this year, because according to the original history, the number one scholar that year was Yang Chi, and Yang Chi's father-in-law was the prime minister Yan Shu at the time.

However, it is not necessary to be the number one scholar, because Wang Gui, Han Jiang, Wang Anshi, Han Zhen, Lu Gongzhu and Su Song are not the number one scholar, so wouldn't they also become prime ministers?

Therefore, as long as he is on the list, Zhang Heng can move up based on his ability.

In this way, he could not only avoid the Pucheng Zhang family, but also be able to enter the official position more than ten years earlier, and then become a son of the times when Shenzong was in power.

Zhang Heng almost grinned as he thought happily, but the sudden rumbling in his stomach interrupted his train of thought.

After leaving home this morning, they walked for more than half an hour and walked a few streets in the city. How could they survive the little white porridge they drank? They were already hungry.
Chapter completed!