Before dawn the next day, dozens of young people from the village came to the village entrance to dry their clothes early, including Xu Yinglong.
Xu Shiyi originally did not allow Xu Yinglong to apply. He felt that it was enough to have one son joining the army, and there was no need to recruit another son, but he could not resist Xu Yinglong's hard work.
Just after midnight, young people from nearby villages also arrived one after another.
There were six large villages in Laodong and more than 20 small villages, a total of more than 400 people came.
Moreover, these more than 400 young people are all surnamed Xu, and they are all descendants of the Xu family of Laodong, without exception.
Xu Shiyi did not go to the fields today. He leaned on the python-head crutches given by his son and stood under the old elm tree beside the sunbathing field at the entrance of the village, watching his son assess and improve the young people in each village.
It is undoubtedly a big event for the imperial court to recruit troops from the Xu family in Laodong.
Not only Dongshan Village, but also men, women, old and young from many villages near and far came over to watch the fun.
The elders of the clan gathered around Xu Shiyi and said nice things to say, making Xu Shiyi so happy that he had never been so prosperous in his more than 40 years of life.
Xu Yingwei really earned a lot of face for his father today.
Near noon, Xu Yingwei finally completed the assessment and selected 270 disciples.
These 270 recruits were all selected according to the new performance book as honest, honest and dull people, and one or two taels of starting silver were given to the recruits' families on the spot.
The folks who received the money were filled with gratitude again.
Seeing this, Xu Shiyi also felt particularly bright on his face.
However, at this moment, greater face came to the door.
Accompanied by the sound of gongs, a group of government officials drove along the stone road into the village, holding wooden signs saying "Quiet" and "Avoid", followed by a small sedan.
"This is?" Xu Shiyi was a little confused. A high official came?
The unsophisticated villagers next to him had even knelt down, fearing the officials.
Only Xu Shiyi and Xu Yingwei and his son were left kneeling in the entire sunbathing area.
Xu Shiyi was debating whether to kneel or not, but Xu Yingwei said softly: "Dad, you don't have to kneel."
After saying that, Xu Yingwei immediately stepped forward to greet him. He had already guessed who the person was. This person was probably the magistrate of Xinchang County. It would be difficult for a magistrate to come to a poor mountain ravine to make friends with a scholar like him.
While Xu Yingwei was walking, the team of government officials had stopped and the sedan was put down.
Immediately, a civil servant wearing a black veil on his head and a green robe stepped out of the sedan.
Xu Yingwei looked over at first glance and saw that he was an unfamiliar face. He was surprised that the original Xinchang County Magistrate, the one who made him a student member of the county, had already been transferred.
Seeing Xu Yingwei walking forward, the county magistrate quickly stepped forward to meet him.
After more than ten steps, the county magistrate clasped his fists and bowed: "I don't know that Mr. Xu has returned to his hometown. I am late to pay my respects. Please forgive me."
The Ministry of Internal Affairs was a new institution in Ming Dynasty.
But no matter what, it is still a government office after all.
Xu Yingwei was a military officer in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Although his rank was only the seventh rank, which was the same rank as the county magistrate, one was a local official and the other was a capital official, so their status was completely different.
Once the affairs of those who are in the seventh rank are exposed, they will basically start as magistrates in the fifth rank.
Therefore, the magistrate of Xinchang County was a little flattering when facing Xu Yingwei, who regarded himself as a lower official, but there was nothing wrong with him.
Seeing the county magistrate paying homage to his son and saying that he would be dismissed from the official position, Xu Shiyi and the villagers kneeling on the ground were all dumbfounded. In just one year, Xu Xiucai had already become such a big official? It was too fast.
In the eyes of Xu Shiyi and the villagers, the county magistrate was a high official, but in the eyes of Xu Yingwei, he was nothing.
Xu Yingwei not only spent time with the current emperor, the prince and the Ding Dynasty, he even personally caught the current minister, so how could he take a seventh-grade county magistrate seriously.
Of course, Xu Yingwei will not put on airs and be arrogant.
At that moment, Xu Yingwei returned the courtesy without being arrogant or humble, and invited the county magistrate into his home.
After the pleasantries were exchanged, the county magistrate was reluctant to get to the point, and only talked about useless official talk.
Xu Yingwei became a little impatient. He and the Qin Wang Shizi in the Shizi Camp had been greatly influenced by Chongzhen without knowing it. They liked to be direct and clear in handling things and hated politeness the most.
At that moment, Xu Yingwei said: "Your Majesty, if you have anything to do, please tell me clearly. If there is nothing else, I am busy, so I will excuse you now. Please help yourself."
"Youzhen, why are you talking to the county magistrate?" Xu Shiyi was startled.
"Weng Xu, it's okay, it's okay." How dare the county magistrate dare to show off in front of Xu Yingwei? He is a close official of the emperor, and his words can be heard directly by heaven. Just one sentence can ruin his career.
At that moment, the county magistrate said: "Master Xu, there is actually something wrong."
Xu Yingwei nodded and said: "Then please tell the county magistrate directly and don't talk about useless things."
The county magistrate frowned subconsciously, thinking that this was too direct and showed no mercy at all. It was damning that such a person could become famous in the officialdom.
But he didn't dare to show it at all on his face.
The county magistrate said at that moment: "It's like this. The imperial court issued an official letter three days ago, stating that the Imperial College has been reformed. The former Imperial Master Qian Qianyiqian, who was the Imperial Wine Offering Officer, has resigned. From now on, the Imperial College's Imperial Wine Offering Officer will be personally appointed by the Holy Master.
The subjects that the Imperial College students will take exams for may also be different. Does Mr. Xu know this?"
"I know this." Xu Yingwei said, "This matter has been decided a long time ago."
The county magistrate continued: "There are more than a hundred students in this county who meet the requirements, and they will go to Nanjing to take the exam in the near future. However, the reform of the Imperial College is an unprecedented cultural and educational event, and the county's teachings and academic integrity are not guaranteed.
Mr. Xu is the only one who has ever served you, so could you please give me some advice on the students in this county?"
"That's it?" Xu Yingwei said with a dumb smile, "You can just send someone to inform me about such a small matter. I am still a student member of Xinchang County, and I should do my best to contribute to the county's cultural and educational affairs."
"So, I would like to thank you, Mr. Xu." The county magistrate was overjoyed when he heard this.
If more of the students in Xinchang County can pass the exam with Xu Yingwei's advice, then he will also have merit as the county magistrate, and the Chief Secretary and the Chief Inspector will inevitably give him a distinction.
…
Preparations for the Imperial College examination are in full swing.
For the first time, Chongzhen personally served as the examiner of this examination.
Because of this, several imperial historians wrote memorials angrily against Chongzhen.
These censors believed that Chongzhen had broken the imperial examination system. Since ancient times, the emperor had only served as the examiner for the palace examination. When had he served as the examiner for the imperial examination?
If a bunch of talented people take part in the exam, are they worthy of having the emperor personally serve as the examiner?
But Chongzhen didn't even look at it, and just threw the memorial into a corner.
Chongzhen not only served as the chief examiner himself, but also appointed three deputy examiners, namely the prince Zhu Cixiang, the Gewu Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the former magistrate of Bozhou in Fengyang Prefecture, Song Yingxing.
Yes, it is the Song Yingxing who wrote "Tiangong Kaiwu".
Song Yingxing came to Beijing ten days ago under the imperial edict, and was immediately appointed as the Chief of the Gewu Department to Shizhong.
So far, Song Yingxing is one of the only officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who is not a scholar of Prince Qin.
However, Song Yingxing once served as a county schoolteacher in Fenyi County, Jiangxi Province for four years, and performed extremely well during that period, so he was confident about this Imperial Examination.
Song Yingxing asked: "Your Majesty, what you want is for Cheng Wen to decide whether to stay or go, and to determine the superiority of things, right?"
"Yes." Chongzhen nodded and said, "The students in various provinces, prefectures and counties mostly studied classics and history, and practiced mostly Chengwen. There were few people who dabbled in the study of objects, so they suddenly settled on the study of objects.
It would be too unfair to them to stay or stay, so this examination is still based on Cheng Wen to determine whether to stay or not, and then to determine who is better based on the examination of things."
"The Holy Spirit has a clear vision." Song Yingxing praised, "I also think this is the most appropriate move."
Fang Yizhi asked: "Your Majesty, the study of objects is very complex, how should we set the examination questions?"
"This matter is simple." Chongzhen said, "Gewu studies can be divided into many disciplines, such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, medicine, astronomy, history, agricultural administration and other disciplines."
"Are all these subjects required to be tested?" Song Yingxing and Fang Yizhi asked in shock.
"Yes, they all have to be tested." Chongzhen nodded and said, "The Imperial College term is three years. In the first two years, you will take basic courses and study all subjects. In the last year, you can choose one or several subjects for specialized further study."
Zhu Cixiang frowned and said: "But Father, as you just said, there are very few students in various places who are involved in the study of Physics. If they are asked to take the study of Physics at this time, and they have to take so many subjects, the results may not be satisfactory."
What Zhu Cixiang meant was that if the test were taken this way, most students would only get zero points.
"This matter is simple." Chongzhen had already prepared for it, and smiled and said, "Anyway, this exam is still decided by Cheng Wen, so after the first test is completed, the second test will not be taken for the time being."
"We will take the second test after students have studied the study of objects for a period of time."
"Next year, the admissions examination for the Imperial College will be based on the test scores of various subjects to determine admission."
Speaking of this meal, Chongzhen said again: "Fang Qing, Song Qing, you can hurry up and compile the teaching materials, which are the teaching materials for each subject I just mentioned."
"Compiling teaching materials?" Fang Yizhi and Song Yingxing were a little confused, "Aren't they going to set exam questions?"
"There is no need to rush the exam questions. If they are given too early, the questions will be leaked, so I decided to wait until the last day before the exam to determine the questions." Chongzhen waved his hand and continued, "But the textbooks for the students of the Imperial College must be compiled as soon as possible. Once
All students will be able to get textbooks as soon as they enter school. I have high hopes for this batch of students."
"I have received my order." Fang Yizhi and Song Yingxing heard this and bowed to the ground.
Looking at Fang Yizhi and Song Yingxing who turned to leave, Chongzhen suddenly sighed.
Zhu Cixiang asked: "Father, do you think of the Western missionary Bu Mige?"
"No, my father was thinking of Tang Ruowang, the Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty. This man is also very knowledgeable and can be regarded as a professor of the Imperial Academy." After a pause, Chongzhen said again, "But when it comes to Bu Mige, a year has passed.
There are many, he should be back soon, right? But I don’t know who can be found for me?”
