The special envoy from the imperial court was not a big shot, but a casual official of the seventh rank, named Nian Late Spring.
This man was in his thirties and had a mustache on his chin. He had a great conversation with Magistrate Cheng, talking about some county governance methods.
For the Wang family, and even for Wang Xu, the late spring of the year was relatively dull.
Wang Dafa couldn't help but be frightened, lest he did something careless and offended the special envoy from the imperial court.
Only Wang Xu secretly speculated, guessing that Nian Luchun's attitude might not be because of the Wang family, but because of their stance.
Cheng Guangrong, the magistrate of Liyang County, belongs to a poor family. Even though Wang Xu has been known as a child prodigy since he was a child, and he even became a disciple of Xue Mushan a few years ago, Cheng Guangrong is still relatively distant from him because he was born a country squire.
Now, in the late spring of the year, I could have a pleasant conversation with Cheng Guangrong, but he was stern towards this great Confucian disciple. It was very likely that he was from the Cold Party and naturally disliked him, a reserve member of the Zhu Party.
After all, the Zhu Party and the Cold Party are in opposition. The more people like Wang Xu, the stronger the Zhu Party will be in the future.
This makes Han Dang, who firmly believes that the wine and meat of the wealthy family are stinky and the road is frozen to death, how can he have a good impression of him.
In the late spring of that year, his attitude was dull, not indifferent. I'm afraid it was also because of the Wang family's role in providing relief to the victims, otherwise the attitude would have been even worse.
"Is the incense table ready?"
Stepping into the gate of the Wang family, Nian late spring took a look at the Wang family's mansion, looking at the decoration and specifications inside, and asked sadly.
"Ready, sir, please come in." Wang Dafa was a figure in the countryside, but he seemed nervous when facing the imperial envoy.
In late spring, without saying much, he followed the crowd to the nave. When he saw the incense table placed in front of the nave, he said, "Accept the order!"
Scholars in the Confucian world were in charge, and they believed in the unity of words and deeds, and did not attach much importance to the ritual of kneeling and worshiping.
The Wang family all stood behind the incense table, and in the late spring of that year, the imperial edict began to be read out.
Although it was said to be an imperial edict, in fact, this edict was not issued in the name of the emperor, but only in the name of the Ministry of Revenue.
The imperial edict stated that the Wang family had self-denial, served the public, united the village, spared no expense in family wealth, and had the courage to provide disaster relief. They had set an example for the country gentry and deserved to be commended.
Later, in the late spring of the year, the topic changed again and he said in a low voice: "Wang Dafa, a squire of Jinshan Prefecture, Liyang County, Jiuquan Town, has made great contributions to disaster relief, and is bestowed with a common background.
Mrs. Wang has a good way of teaching her son and has made great achievements in disaster relief. She is bestowed upon her as a seventh-grade imperial concubine.
Wang Xu, the son of the Wang family, had made great contributions to disaster relief and was granted a place in the Imperial College.
The Wang family unites the countryside and has contributed to disaster relief. I will grant you five years of tax exemption. I will grant you a plaque for the home that has accumulated good deeds. I will grant you 20,000 acres of fertile land. I appreciate this!!"
After reading to the end, in late spring, he collected the imperial edict and said, "Wang Dafa, please accept the edict!"
"King Dafa of Caomin, accept the order!"
Wang Dafa received the imperial edict, respectfully placed it on the incense table, and then invited: "Sir Nian, we have prepared wine and food at home. Why don't we leave after lunch."
"No need. I only eat green vegetables and tofu every day. The food and wine you prepared will not be to my liking."
After saying this in the late spring of Nian, he looked deeply at Wang Xu, turned around and left with his troops.
Looking at Nian Lauchun's back, Wang Xu's eyes were filled with displeasure. For a small seventh-rank official, his official power was quite high.
What's wrong with the landlord's family? He's eating your food.
They only eat green vegetables and tofu every day, and the Wang family's lunch will not be to their liking. What do you mean, you take pleasure in poverty, feel ashamed of luxury, and disdain the company of country squires?
Good guy, you think you are Hai Rui. Fortunately, you didn't bring your family. Otherwise, if you had given your family some fruits to eat, would you want to imitate Hai Rui and starve them to death when you go back?
Pedantic, really pedantic.
If you don't know how to deal with squires and still want to be an official, it's no wonder that you are only a seventh-grade casual official with fame but no power.
Even if such people are sent out, they will not be able to survive for a few years before they come back. Any official who wants to make political achievements can not deal with the gentry and the gentry. Who knows that Cheng Guangrong, who has been a county magistrate all his life and was born in the cold party, also has to deal with the gentry?
Just look at it calmly and never dare to offend.
"This young man doesn't seem to like us very much."
When he left in late spring of the year, Wang Dafa held the imperial edict and said something strange.
After Wang Xu heard this, he smiled and said indifferently: "We are not money, how come everyone likes it? Even if we are money, some people regard it as dirt. You'd better clean up as soon as possible and enshrine the imperial edict in the ancestral temple.
With this holy decree, the three major families in Jiuquan Town can only obey us in the future."
"Yes, yes, this matter is important."
Wang Dafa quickly found someone to invite the three elders and decent people in the town to enshrine the edict in the ancestral temple in front of the whole town.
Wang Xu did not participate in this, but was thinking about the Imperial College.
Guozijian, as its name suggests, is an institution of imperial learning established by the imperial court, a place dedicated to cultivating talents for the country.
In the Imperial College, a ten-year education system is implemented. Only officials of fifth rank or above have a quota to select outstanding children and send them to the Imperial College.
After entering the Imperial College, you do not need to take the county examination "Tongsheng Examination", the government examination "Xiucai Examination", or the state examination "Examination of Juren". After ten years of hard work, you can directly participate in the general examination as a juren, and those who are awarded the gold list will directly be Jinshi.
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To sum it up, the admission quota for the Imperial College should be regarded as the favor of the imperial court to officials above the fifth rank.
An official of fifth rank or above is at least a magistrate. No matter how knowledgeable your descendants are, they all have a quota to enter the Imperial College. In the future, they will at least be a juren.
In this way, even if you are not good at school, you will still have a place in the family after your father's death, and you will not be defeated in one fell swoop.
However, the Imperial College also has another name, called a nursing home.
In the beginning, when the Imperial College first appeared, the officials with quotas sent their most favored sons to the Imperial College. The elites gathered together, and many of them became Jinshi.
Later, because the people who came out of the Imperial College directly surpassed the two levels of Tongsheng and Xiucai, and even a fool could be a scholar, the quota of the Imperial College changed. It became a place for meritorious disciples who were ignorant and unskilled to gain fame.
Many people believe that people who graduate from the Imperial College are not as knowledgeable as those who have passed the exam all the way, nor are they as valuable as those who have passed the exam all the way.
Gradually, the officials with quotas changed from selecting the most proud heirs of the family and sending them to the Imperial College to study, to replacing them with second-class talents, allowing the first-class talents to pass the normal scientific examinations and climb up the ladder step by step.
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The current Imperial College is such an embarrassing phenomenon.
The students there are all meritorious students. They have lived in poverty for ten years and have been awarded the honorary title without taking any exams, and then they have been waiting to be replaced.
When there is a vacancy, start from the eighth-rank official position, slowly climb up, strive to make political achievements, and get someone with the same background as Jinshi.
Because he is different from those who normally pass the exam, his fame is due to the protection of his fathers, so this kind of fame has always been looked down upon among scholars.
People who think that there is no hope for the imperial examination and can only take a sideways path will never enter the Imperial College. The reward of a quota for the Imperial College is also useless to Wang Xu.
"This wave of rewards seems huge, but in fact it is only 20,000 acres of fertile land, tax-free for five years. It is something that the imperial court paid with real money. As for Tongjuren's background, the seventh-grade imperial concubine is just a false name. The county magistrate
Those who hold the title of Juren with eight serious qualifications are not eligible to be officials, let alone those who have the same honorary background as Juren.
However, it is not all without gain. The Wang family has a seventh-grade imperial concubine, and she is from Tongjuren. Not to mention the distance, Liyang County can be considered unimpeded. The county magistrate is only a seventh-grade official, and the seventh-grade imperial concubine is not the same.
At the same level, if you want to bring trouble against the Wang family, you must at least come forward from Jinshan Mansion.
With this card in hand, some plans can be carried out. The current Wang family's financial resources are still a bit weak, so I have to appropriately strengthen the Wang family's strength."
Wang Xu's eyes were thoughtful. He came from modern times and could not only copy poems, but also many things.
For example, making glass, making salt by local methods, and making steel by local methods, there are many ways to make a fortune.
There was no action before. It was just a small country squire with a weak foundation in the Wang family and no fame. Taking out those things was not to amass wealth, but to seek death.
Now, with the support of great scholars behind them, and the Wang family having transformed from a country squire to a prestigious county magnate, some things can be done.