Chapter 109: Mission Accomplished

"Of course, this is just a suggestion. You are the one who has to make the final decision." Mr. Zhang felt his approach was a bit too idealistic. If the child were to stumble and fall, ending up missing out on opportunities in both the city and the countryside, wouldn't that be a disaster?

"There is no hurry. Focus on your studies first. Although a scholar specializes in one classic, one must be proficient in all five; otherwise, one cannot advance in scholarship or succeed in the imperial examinations." He then reassured Su Lu, "By the end of the year, the academy will assess you on the 'Five Classics.' Based on your performance, we will suggest which classic you should specialize in. For instance, we might recommend those with strong analytical skills to study the *I Ching*, while students adept at historical discourse would be better suited for the *Spring and Autumn Annals*... It won't be too late to decide then. Just keep a general idea in mind for now."

"Yes. Thank you for your guidance, sir." Su Lu bowed respectfully and asked, "Sir, what are we studying today?"

"No lessons today," Mr. Zhang replied, already having a plan. "I intend to make the most of our time and help you finalize that set of 'phonetic symbols'!"

"Yes." Su Lu agreed again. He wondered why Mr. Zhang had suddenly thought of this. Could it be that he felt his studies were already in good shape? They were still far from enough... But he could only do as the teacher instructed.

Thus, following Mr. Zhang's direction, Su Lu began by writing down the Mandarin phonetic symbols from his memory.

There were twenty-one initials: ㄅㄆㄇㄈㄉㄊㄋㄌㄍㄎㄏㄐㄑㄒㄓㄔㄕㄖㄗㄘㄙ;
Three medials: ㄧㄨㄩ;
Thirteen finals: ㄚㄛㄜㄝㄞㄟㄠㄡㄢㄣㄤㄥㄦ.

In total, there were thirty-seven, plus five tone marks.

Over the next few days, the two of them worked on using this phonetic system to annotate the seventy-six rhyme groups, thirty-one initials, and 2,821 *fanqie* pronunciations found in the *Hongwu Zhengyun*.

They discovered that the phonetic symbols were insufficient, as the Mandarin pronunciation in the *Hongwu Zhengyun* differed from that of later generations. For example, the entering tone (*rusheng*) characters still existed then but would later disappear, and there were voiced initials that did not exist in later times...

They spent several more days—even skipping their break on the fifth day of the month to go home—to identify ten missing initials and nineteen categories of missing finals. After repeatedly refining the minimal expansion plan, they finally created thirteen new phonetic symbols:

Voiced initial symbols;
Three entering tone ending symbols;
One closed-mouth nasal final symbol;
One entering tone mark.

With these modifications, the number of Chinese phonetic symbols reached fifty, but it was countless times simpler than the original 866 *fanqie* characters.

"...And these symbols can be taught directly to young children, unlike the *fanqie* system, which only scholars can understand." Mr. Zhang examined the finalized scheme, looking extremely satisfied. "Excellent, excellent! This phonetic system of yours is finally ready to be shown to the world!"

Su Lu noticed that Mr. Zhang’s eyes were bloodshot and he had developed dark circles... For the past ten days, Zhang Yanqiu had poured himself into this, even sacrificing his sleep, putting in far more effort than Su Lu.

"Sir, your hard work has been instrumental. This scheme should be credited to both of us." Su Lu was never one to be stingy with credit, especially since the completion of the phonetic system was primarily the work of Zhang Yanqiu, who was well-versed in phonology. Had it been left to him, he didn't know when it would have been finished, and it would certainly have contained errors and omissions; it would never have been this perfect.

That was why he was willing to share it with Mr. Zhang, not to mention it wasn't his own original invention anyway...

Zhang Yanqiu shook his head. "You could have done this work on your own; I merely helped you speed it up. How could I dare to put my name at the beginning? Wouldn't that be deceiving the world and stealing fame?"

"Sir, you are mistaken. If you hadn't valued and facilitated this, this scheme might never have seen the light of day." Su Lu shook his head, standing firm.

"Let's not talk about this for now," Mr. Zhang waved his hand, asking Su Lu, "How long do you think it would take for a young child to learn these fifty phonetic symbols? I mean an average person."

Su Lu estimated, leaning toward a conservative timeline. "One hour a day, maybe two or three months."

He then tapped his head, remembering a simple method. "We could also create a mnemonic table to help the children memorize them. For example: ㄅ (bo), ㄆ (po), ㄇ (mo), ㄈ (fo), ㄉ (de), ㄊ (te), ㄋ (ne), ㄌ (le)..."

Mr. Zhang’s eyes lit up again upon hearing this. He was deeply impressed. "This method is catchy and easy to learn and memorize! It will surely greatly reduce the difficulty for young children. I have often heard of people born with innate wisdom, and today I have finally seen it—and it is shockingly profound."

"If you call it innate wisdom, I can accept that with a straight face," Su Lu thought to himself, 'I was born with past-life wisdom, so I suppose that counts as a form of innate talent.' He then smiled bitterly, "But there is no need to call it 'shockingly profound'."

"Hahaha!" Zhang Yanqiu laughed heartily. "Come, let us organize this mnemonic table!"

"Again?" Su Lu groaned. "Sir, is it really necessary to be this rushed?"

"Of course, we must seize the day!" Mr. Zhang stated resolutely. "Opportunity knocks but once!"

"Alright then." Su Lu blinked and said no more.

***

On the morning of the seventeenth of August, the post road from Tuzhen to Taiping Town suddenly became lively.

Dozens of garrison soldiers in multicolored cotton armor, carrying long spears and muskets, cleared the way in the front. Behind them were eight ceremonial attendants in red surcoats, wearing conical hats adorned with feathers. They carried boards inscribed with "Silence" and "Avoid," as well as titles like "Magistrate of Hejiang" and "Academician of the Wenlin Lang." There were also blue flags, red flags, staves for discipline, and gongs for signaling.

Further back, four sedan chair bearers in dark-colored short tunics unsteadily carried a small green-curtained sedan. Following the sedan were several long-term attendants carrying water bottles, spittoons, and chamber pots, surrounded by guards with their hands on their waist knives and chains.

This was the complete ceremonial entourage for a seventh-rank magistrate. In the capital, only high-ranking officials of the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers were entitled to travel in a sedan chair with a ceremonial escort. But in the provinces, as the local administrator representing the Emperor, a seventh-rank magistrate was entitled to a full entourage to display the prestige of the imperial court and inspire awe in the common people.

Ceremonial escorts and the formal entry of officials were things many fifth or sixth-rank officials in the capital envied. Many would pull strings and connections, willing to accept a demotion to a local post just to experience the power of being a local lord.

However, Magistrate Lu Zhaoye of Hejiang had had enough. He had spent eleven full years in this mountain backwater, from the age of thirty-six to forty-seven. The best years of his official career had been trapped in this miserable place, far from the Emperor and filled with stubborn, mountain-dwelling people. Not to mention the people, even his small green-curtained sedan, which he had been using for ten years, creaked as if it were about to fall apart at any moment...

Of course, this stretch of road was exceptionally difficult. The deeper they went into the mountains, the more the road looked like it had been chewed by wild dogs, filled with potholes and gravel. The sedan swayed and bounced as if it were a boat in a storm, aggravating his hemorrhoids and making Magistrate Lu grimace in pain.

"Sigh..." Lu Zhaoye let out a long sigh, silently cursing himself for being delusional.

This was his first time visiting Taiping Town. Although the Yongning Garrison had many matters managed by the county, and the students took their examinations in the county, it was ultimately not within his jurisdiction. He was already overwhelmed with the affairs of his own county; what time did he have to deal with the problems in this mountain hole?

The only reason he had traveled over a hundred miles was, first, that after Zhu Liu took office, he had paid him a visit. In a moment of high spirits, he had promised to inspect the Taiping Academy within the year.

Second, the Taiping Academy had achieved excellent results this year; twelve students had passed the county exam. Although only five passed the prefecture exam, Magistrate Lu knew full well that it wasn't a lack of ability, but rather circumstances beyond their control. As it turned out, three of those five became *xiucai* (budding scholars), proving that the quality of students at Taiping Academy was indeed high! That was why he decided to inspect it to see if there were any promising talents he could cultivate in advance.

"Plucking and supporting child prodigies" was the most beloved elegant pursuit for local officials of the dynasty, but it had to be done early. Once they became *xiucai*, it would be too late. Even if he wanted to promote them then, he wouldn't be able to...

It just so happened that before the autumn harvest, he was required by custom to tour the countryside to inspect the crops, so he could have a clear idea of the grain collection for the year. Otherwise, the people below would collude and treat him like a fool. Lu Zhaoye looked at his inspection route and realized he was only a few dozen miles from Taiping Town, so in a moment of impulse, he had someone notify Zhu Liu.

But he had never expected the mountain road to be this difficult.

"What is it, Master?" Hearing Magistrate Lu's groans, the attendant asked outside the sedan window.

"My old ailment has been jolted out..." Magistrate Lu whispered.

"Oh no, is it that bad? Slow down!" The attendant hurriedly shouted to the bearers, "Keep it steady!"

"Sigh, if I had known the road was this hard to travel, I should have taken a boat." The attendant sighed along with his master.

"The sedan chair makes my illness flare up, but a boat would be the death of me." Magistrate Lu shifted his weight, sitting on only half his butt, leaning against the side of the sedan. "I shouldn't have come to this godforsaken place."

"Should we turn back?" the attendant suggested.

"I've already come halfway!" Magistrate Lu retorted irritably.

"Yes, yes, I am foolish." The attendant thought to himself, 'As if going there means you won't have to come back.'

"I hope Brother Dejia has some good seedlings in his hands, otherwise this trip will be a total loss," Magistrate Lu groaned.

"Indeed, the Master will have to suffer for three to five days." The attendant, being experienced, knew the master’s condition usually took three to five days to subside. He cursed, "The Yongning Garrison is truly something; they can't even fix this rotten road. What if there were a war?"

"Enough, say no more." Although his words hit home, Lu Zhaoye still scolded him. After all, the garrison had been very enthusiastic. Last night, Lu Zhaoye had stayed in Tuzhen, and the centurion named Li had hosted a grand feast for them, and even led his men to escort them all the way today. He had to give them some face.

However, thinking back, he suspected his flare-up had a lot to do with the whole roasted lamb and dog meat stew he had eaten last night...

As he was silently cursing his own gluttony at his age, the Centurion Li rode over and said, "Magistrate Lu, our Thousand-Man Commander and Principal Zhu are here to welcome you!"

"Oh, does that mean we are almost there?" Lu Zhaoye felt a surge of energy.

"Twenty miles more," Centurion Li replied.

"Sigh..." Lu Zhaoye’s spirits immediately withered. Why were they all so eager? It had given him false hope. He then asked curiously, "Huh? There was no need for the Thousand-Man Commander to be so polite, was there?" Since they were not in the same system and their jurisdictions were distinct, there was no need for the Taiping Thousand-Man Commander to come out twenty miles to welcome him.

"Perhaps it is because our commander's eldest grandson is also studying at the academy," Centurion Li said softly.

"I see." Magistrate Lu realized, "It seems that it's not just the hearts of parents that are pitiful, but the hearts of grandparents as well."

"Who can say otherwise?" Centurion Li agreed deeply. Why else would he have hosted such a grand reception and provided a personal escort? Wasn't it all so that Magistrate Lu would look after his grandson? He didn't know that Magistrate Lu was blaming his hemorrhoid flare-up on him...

*(PS: The phonetic scheme in this chapter draws inspiration from the Taiwanese Minnan Pinyin scheme. It's just for fun, please don't overanalyze it. The remaining two chapters haven't been proofread yet. I couldn't help it; it was already past 11 p.m. when I finished writing.)*