Jason Allen is already seventeen by nominal age now. At this age, only just passing the Tongsheng exam is, in the eyes of insiders, really quite mediocre in terms of aptitude. Hmm, it’s about the same as getting into junior high at seventeen nowadays. What’s more, the soul inside his body before transmigrating was that of a nearly thirty-year-old double PhD, so he really looked down on this Tongsheng exam, which was about as challenging as moving up from kindergarten to elementary school. However, that didn’t stop the illiterate men around him from casting envious glances his way.

----------- Because passing the Tongsheng exam meant your literacy had been certified, that you could read and write, which in turn meant you could go study at any of the famous academies across the land, and the acceptance rate was actually quite good.

In modern terms, the lack of literacy in the population determined the scarcity of students, and now, with a hundred schools of thought contending, literacy was just the baseline. What was valued wasn’t necessarily book learning. For example, the Mohist Feigong Academy emphasized hands-on ability as much as academics, while the School of Diplomacy’s Lianheng Academy valued eloquence and debate skills even more than knowledge...

So, when Tongshengs went to study at the major academies, although the chance of entering the inner court directly wasn’t high, the chance of being turned away was also very small. Even if they felt your abilities were lacking, they would usually keep you in the academy’s affiliated school to study, and during your studies, they’d even provide free room and board...

The reason for this situation was all because of the meteoric rise of Easton about a decade ago. Back then, Easton went to study at the Confucian Donglin Academy. He was already a bit old for a student, so the examiners didn’t like him to begin with. On top of that, his performance in the initial test was abysmal, and he was met with a string of sarcastic rejections. If it had been someone else, they might have been so ashamed they’d have jumped into a river.

But although this man had no talent for interpreting the classics or profound philosophy, he was a genius in geomancy and feng shui!

After being thoroughly humiliated by the Confucian Donglin Academy that day, he happened by chance to join the Yin-Yang School’s Wude Academy, where he immediately flourished, progressing by leaps and bounds.

------------

Chapter 2: The Gentry Register (Thanks to Gavin for the alliance leader’s support)

Not only that, Easton’s claim to fame was presiding over the construction of Emperor Taizong of Central Tang’s Zhaoling Mausoleum, gathering seven dragons before the tomb, nurturing three qilin underground, and drawing nine clouds atop the peaks, creating an astonishing feng shui formation. As a result, even though Central Tang was surrounded by war on all sides, it enjoyed ten full years of favorable weather and national prosperity!

Naturally, Easton became famous throughout the land!

Now, at the age of thirty-nine, Easton has already become one of the nine ministers of Central Tang. And this guy isn’t exactly broad-minded, so it’s easy to imagine that if the Confucians wanted to promote their teachings in Central Tang, they’d be harshly suppressed, facing immense difficulty at every step.

So, after Easton’s example shocked the world, all the academy heads realized something important from the Confucians’ negative example: even if you raise someone who seems useless to your own school, you might actually be killing off a genius who could have shined in one of the other hundred schools!

Thus, “better to keep the wrong one than let the right one go” became the primary standard for selecting students at the academies.

Therefore, as long as the general environment of low literacy rates didn’t change, the chances of a Tongsheng being admitted to an academy were extremely high.

***

Watching the servant Fourth running over, panting, and the envious looks from those around, Jason Allen was already full of confidence ----------- Come on, back in the day, your bro was a double PhD from MIT. Handling an elementary school entrance exam like this is a piece of cake!

On the day of the exam, he’d even deliberately answered several questions wrong to keep a low profile and avoid drawing attention by taking first place ----------- But seeing the envious looks around him, Someone Allen couldn’t help but feel a little smug himself.

He watched as Fourth clutched the congratulatory notice, then casually reached out to take it and have a look. He found it was a very finely made card, with a bright red background, images of leaping carp and qilin at the sides, decorated with water plants and floral patterns, and in the center, a line of text:

Congratulations to the honorable master Lin, styled Jin, for achieving second place in the Hechang county Tongsheng exam, with continued success in the capital’s imperial exams.

“Second place” was originally a title for the runner-up, but on the card it was just a flattering term—just like how many deputy bureau chiefs and deputy mayors like to be called “chief” or “mayor.” The phrase about continued success in the capital’s exams was a wish for him to keep making the list in future tests.

Looking at this congratulatory card, Jason Allen was stunned. After a long moment, he grabbed Fourth, glanced around furtively, and whispered like a thief:

“Our Hechang county only takes twenty Tongshengs a year, right?”

Fourth nodded, his face beaming:

“That’s right! Young master, let’s hurry home.”

Jason Allen rolled his eyes, let out a deep sigh, and listlessly followed him home. Where in the world could there be such a coincidence? They take twenty people, and he just happens to get twentieth place? Clearly, passing this time had nothing to do with his own talent. Most likely, it was thanks to his cheap old man secretly shelling out a pile of hard cash behind the scenes.