"With the slanting wind and drizzle, the county examination is quite enjoyable today."
In Zhangzhou Fucheng, outside the county government office, Zheng Sen was sitting in a restaurant with great interest, holding a wine glass with a happy face.
The rain wet the window sill and splashed some water droplets. He felt a bit cold on his forehead, but he didn't take it at all and his interest did not diminish.
Sitting beside him was a fellow magistrate from Zhangzhou named Nan Zihao, a native of Shanxi.
Although the two of them had risen in official positions, Nan Zihao was nearly fifty years old, with gray hair on his temples and wrinkles on his face. It was obvious that this colleague was not good at the job.
He looked at Zheng Sen, sighed slightly, picked up the vinegar jug at hand, poured himself a glass, and drank it all in one gulp.
People really can't be compared with each other.
He was a Jinshi in the same class, and he was a Jinshi in the second class. In the same year, his future was in sight, but he was about to move to the capital to serve as a high-ranking official.
"Futai, this Zhangzhou is densely populated. Although there are not many Jinshi in the two rankings, they can't compete with the four provinces of Jiangnan. But they are just children, but they have thousands of troops."
Nan Zihao sighed: "Just in Longxi County, which is close to Guo, there are nearly 800 people who refer to it, but in my county in Shanxi, it is only half of that."
"North is not as good as south, it's been a long time."
When he said this, he even cried a little in his heart.
Of the eight major customs, only Tianjin is in the north, and it is in the Gyeonggi region. The customs has brought prosperity as well as money.
Although there are children from poor families in every class, to be honest, money is the key to supporting education.
"The north is not as good as the south?" Zheng Sen turned his head and chuckled: "Brother Nan, if we talk about Henan, Shaanxi and other places, then they are indeed not as good as the south."
"But you Shanxi people are different. The name of Shanxi merchants is as loud as thunder. Now that Suiyuan has been established and the Mongolian tribes have surrendered, you Shanxi merchants have become active again and have made a fortune."
"I have colleagues who have spoken out, and Shaanxi businessmen have even mobilized all connections to discredit you. Some people have even sent word that they are going to file a lawsuit and re-settle your old scores."
Regarding this, Nan Zihao became anxious and said hurriedly: "The integration of Shaanxi and Shanxi is really too much."
Then, he laughed again and said: "The emperor is not that confused. No one cares about the affairs between businessmen."
Zheng Sen had a smile on his face.
Shanxi merchants were not only active, except for Huizhou merchants who could compete with them, Fujian merchants could only eat scraps.
As the number of Westerners in Taiwan increased, things like banks were also introduced and gradually learned from the Ming Dynasty.
Shanxi merchants, Hui merchants, Shaanxi merchants, Zhejiang merchants, Ganxi merchants, Chu merchants, etc. have established similar banks one after another, but the ones that can really spread throughout the world are Hui merchants, Shanxi merchants, and Shaanxi merchants.
They set up semicolons in almost every city in the 25 provinces of the Ming Dynasty and the two capitals to communicate with the world.
In fact, the Zheng family has already established a bank, but it is only in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. The rest of the land has lost its position and cannot compete.
He glanced at the closed door of the county government office, and then looked up at the sky. It was already past noon, and the sun was about to set in the west.
"Xiao Er, what time is it now?"
When Nan Zihao saw his appearance, he immediately felt blessed and waved to ask.
"Sir, it's almost the end of the day."
The waiter was stunned for a moment, then he took three steps and then two steps, run quickly, come quickly, and replied crisply.
"Oh? You actually still ring the bell?"
At this time, Zheng Sen noticed the waiter's behavior and couldn't help but wonder.
"Look what you said, this self-ringing bell is not a rare thing nowadays, but it is expensive, and it costs a hundred yuan!"
The waiter smiled bitterly and said: "But now in this business, the biggest fear is whether there are people or not. Other restaurants have them, so my family has to prepare them too."
"You see, storytelling and reporting on the stage with a chiming bell hanging next to it has probably become a trend throughout Fujian."
"And let me tell you, we are not ingenious people, and our food is cheap, but our shopkeeper likes the Western style, and the Han people's food does not have this taste..."
Zheng and Nan looked at each other and smiled.
Looking around, in the whole street, if you search carefully, you can also see a yellow-haired Xiyi.
Without it, there are two of the eight major customs in Fujian, namely Yuegang and Fuzhou, and they are also close to Taiwan Prefecture. It can be said that they are close to each other.
As a result, Fujian people have become accustomed to merchants traveling from south to north and rare things from the West.
"The narrowness of Yuegang was the last resort of the Longqing Dynasty. Now it is not as narrow as Ningbo, Fuzhou." Nan Zihao suddenly said:
"In my opinion, the imperial court will definitely move the customs, and I wonder if they can get to Zhangzhou?"
Yuegang is located in Zhangzhou Prefecture, but compared with other customs, it is in the sea, far away from the mainland.
In this way, it would be difficult for the entire Zhangzhou Prefecture to benefit. After all, the customs taxes were collected directly by the emperor, unlike other ports where the local government could benefit a little bit.
"It's difficult -" Zheng Sen put down his wine glass: "The customs is different from the past. It is personally controlled by His Majesty and managed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If we want to move, it will be difficult even for the cabinet elders to intercede."
"However, the most likely place is Quanzhou."
Having said this, Zheng Sen smiled unconsciously.
There is no way, his hometown is in Quanzhou Prefecture, and although the whole family has moved to Beijing, their roots are still here.
The role of customs is extremely important. This is the consensus among officials.
Because for local officials to speak and pass the law, taxation, litigation, settlement and other matters can be fooled, but taxation is the most difficult.
Because this is real money to be given, the key tax collection department is controlled by the Ministry of Finance.
After the customs was established, it was enough to get enough credit to avoid having to worry about taxes. Once you got rich, your style of writing naturally grew, the population increased, and although there were more lawsuits, it was just a minor matter.
While the two were talking, the county government opened its doors and scholars poured out like a tide.
At this time, I saw that the originally smooth street suddenly became congested. It turned out that there were so many candidates and their families that the bullock carts blocked a street.
The local people have experience and have long been accustomed to this scene, but the candidates have different expressions, some are haggard, some are excited, and some even walk unsteadily.
Zheng Sen saw that the young candidates in front of him were pale with anxiety, and with their gray hair, they looked like they were about to live for a long time, and he couldn't help but be speechless:
"You are about to die, why bother coming?"
"People in the world love fame and fortune, how can they give up so easily?" Nan Zihao sighed.
Although there is an unwritten rule in the officialdom that no one can become a Jinshi at the age of fifty, there are many people in their sixties in the exam halls for scholars and candidates.
Because these people understand that although they cannot be officials, they can enjoy great prestige among the people and become gentry by virtue of their fame.
He is just a child, but he can still find a teacher and have no worries about food and drink.
The two looked at each other in silence.
At this time, they also remembered the difficulty of their exams back then.
In the examination room, what is tested is not your knowledge, but your performance. How many people are full of talent but forget to write?
At this time, many scholars had already gone upstairs in the restaurant.
After five exams, although I am exhausted mentally and physically, the anesthesia of alcohol can make me invigorated.
"Today I must drink a lot, no, I need to drink from an ox, to relieve the long-term suffering——"
"After all the hardships come joy, drink -"
"Five leaders, six, six! Come, come, drink for free!" The candidates drank and punched in the tavern, ignoring the politeness and relieving the pressure.
Waves of noise fell into the ears of Zheng Sen and Nan Zihao. When they heard it, they felt more and more deeply.
Everything seems like just yesterday.
"I heard that a new law is being tried in the countryside?"
Suddenly, at a wine table somewhere, several scholars began to discuss examination matters after finishing drinking.
"That's right, I heard people say that in the future, the Eight-part essay examination will only be conducted in county examinations, government examinations, and college examinations. To put it bluntly, the Eight-part essay examination can only test scholars."
"If it's the provincial examination and the proficiency test, then you have to take a new test -"
"Hey, the provincial examination is too far away, so we should take care of the immediate future!"
Zheng and Nan both looked at each other.
There were many reforms during the Shaowu period, but the one that shocked the people the most was the reform of the imperial examination.
From the palace examination, to the general examination, to the provincial examination, it can be said that it has been progressed step by step. The officialdom and the people have long heard about it, and at the beginning of this year, the rules were completely formed.
From now on, the examination time for the provincial examination, the general examination, and the palace examination will be shortened to only three consecutive days.
On the first day, there will be tests on arithmetic, geography, history, astronomy and other miscellaneous subjects.
The next day, I took the exam.
On the third day, I took the national law exam.
These three doors will all be calculated as percentages.
Simple and direct, it can be described as subversive.
Under such circumstances, the officialdom has always been careful, for fear of causing trouble.
But in fact, the public backlash is not big.
Because those who learn the most eight-part essay are those reserve talents.
They account for 95% of the world's scholars.
During the scholar examination, the eight-legged essay was still retained, which reassured them that the ten years of hard work had not been in vain.
In fact, no matter how much the Manchu and Qing dynasties tried, whether it was the Treaty of Xinchou or the Treaty of Shimonoseki, most of the local gentry supported it.
But it abolished the imperial examination and immediately caused the gentry class to defect from the constitutionalists to the revolutionaries.
To put it bluntly, abolishing the imperial examination is equivalent to taking the backbone of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the countdown to its demise has begun.
The reason why the scholars don't have much opinion about taking the provincial examination is because they have already half-footed their feet in the officialdom and understand what taboos are.
This kind of thing is mixed up blindly, which is a stain and will definitely make the examiner unhappy.
Do you even have opinions on the emperor's new policies, or do you not care about the imperial court?
"Your Majesty's movement is really too big." Zheng Sen sighed.
"Bagu has been around for three hundred years, and most of it has been lost." Nan Zihao sighed.
Is this sighing for stereotypes?
No, this is a sigh for youth.
Suddenly, the bustling restaurant attracted many people.
"Master! Do a good job and give our sisters a bite to eat. Do good deeds and accumulate virtue..."
A young girl with a dirty face bowed her waist and held a little girl. She was dressed in ragged clothes, had a sallow face and thin eyes.
In this busy county town, it seems extremely out of place.
"Go, go, go, this is not the place you should come -" A trace of pity flashed in the waiter's eyes, but he was used to all kinds of society, so he could only drive him away forcefully.
He understood that as long as he let these two people in, he would not only receive a severe beating tonight, but he would also be without food.
this is the truth.
Zheng Sen, on the other hand, was standing high and caught a glimpse of several tall figures looming behind the sisters, looking around from time to time.
Sure enough, the boy's voice made these young scholars lose their temper.
Perhaps seeing the beauty of these two sisters, each of them donated generously, including a pile of copper coins, several silver cents, and several silver yuan, which was considered extremely generous.
The sisters were overjoyed and quickly knelt down and kowtowed.
Seeing this, people on the street also wanted to come and take advantage, causing the restaurant to send many people to drive them away.
Zheng Sen looked grim: "Such a lot of money is a disaster rather than a blessing for those sisters."
After saying this, he summoned his attendant and asked him to follow the sister.
The other officer went to the Yamen to call for help.
Nan Zihao frowned: "I guess he is a green-skinned scoundrel from the county. He is sneaky and deceitful. He should have been repaired long ago."
Zheng Sen snorted coldly: "Originally, as the prefect of Longxi County, I shouldn't say much about the internal affairs of Longxi County, but now that I'm about to step down, it doesn't matter even if I offend Longxi County."
"Futai——" Nan Zihao stopped talking.
But after thinking about Zheng Sen's background, he didn't say more.
If someone can't get along in the officialdom, he just goes home and inherits the title. What is he worried about?
Sure enough, the government officials took action, and the green-skinned scoundrels in Longxi County were beaten to the point of crying for their fathers and mothers, and then reported directly to the government for exile, preparing to go to the Luzon Governor's Mansion.
At this time, the entire Zhangzhou Prefecture was shocked.
At this time, Luzon was prosperous.
It is said that after taking over the entire Philippines, King Castle became the governor and managed all civil and military affairs. It can be said that he had great power.
He implemented the court's ideas, cooperated with the Catholic Church, compromised, and established the court's rule naturally.
Today, the huge Luzon Governor's Palace has completely changed its appearance after a series of institutional reforms.
Luzon has a total of 17 counties and 86 townships.
Among them, there are 56,000 Han people, about 20,000 Western Yi people, and 300,000 native people.
After years of conquests, the native people returned to many places, which greatly increased the strength of the Governor's Mansion.
Nowadays, the military strength of the Governor's Palace has expanded to ten thousand people.
There were five thousand Han soldiers and five thousand native soldiers.
Coupled with the support of thousands of naval troops, the strength of the Governor's Mansion is as stable as Mount Tai.
As governor, Jin Bao was somewhat uninterested at this time.
He stood in front of the window, on top of the huge bridge, with pedestrians everywhere, and a bustling and noisy scene appeared in front of him.
At this time, the chief envoy came quickly to report the situation:
"Governor, this spring's taxes are out."
The Philippines is in a tropical area with high temperatures and rain all year round, so plants grow luxuriantly and three crops a year is normal.
It is precisely because of this that taxes in Luzon are basically calculated in quarters.
"oh?"
"Seventeen counties have had a good harvest. The grain can be worth 1.5 million dan and the money can be 270,000 yuan."
The chief envoy said happily: "As expected, the total tax revenue this year will exceed three million, leaving a lot of money."
"Well!" Jin Bao suddenly said: "Tell me, where is the most convenient place to build a city in Lu Rong?"
"Luzon is high in the north and low in the south. I'm afraid there is no suitable land for building a city."
The chief envoy wondered: "However, in the west, there is also a plain. It is not bad there, but there are more native people, so it is not convenient at the moment."
"It's too close." Jin Bao shook his head: "It's not good if it's too close."