Yan Zhenqing and Duan Xiushi left. Not long after, Fengzhou entered the autumn harvest season. City construction was suspended. All the soldiers participated in harvesting wheat in the military fields. In addition, young men and women from Hebin, Yulin, Feng'an and Jiuyuan counties came to
Join the army of wheat harvest in full swing.
This morning, several people on horseback came from outside the east city of Jiuyuan County. They were fruit farmers sent by Liang Yundao to guide Fengzhou in grape planting.
Liang Ling'er had returned to Lingzhou before the locust plague came, and was sent to Chang'an by his father to learn etiquette.
According to the oral agreement reached between Guo Song and Liang Yundao, the Liang family will help Fengzhou grow grapes and become an important source of raw materials for the Liang family's wine.
Two months ago, Zhang Lei rushed to Lingzhou from Chang'an. After tasting the Liang family's wine, they reached a three-party joint investment to brew Meishou wine in Lingzhou. Zhang Lei and Guo Song each invested 30,000 yuan.
, each accounting for 30%, the Liang family is responsible for planting high-quality grapes and making wine, accounting for 40%, and the sales are handled by Meishou Wine Shop.
The first batch of Meishou wine, about 500 shi, had already set off for the capital before the locust plague broke out, and was personally escorted by Liang Yundao. It was this time that Liang Ling'er followed her father to the capital.
The four fruit farmers entered the city, inquired all the way, and soon found Guo Song's mansion. They met Butler Liang at the door. The leading fruit farmer was familiar with him, so he stepped forward and said with a smile: "Steward Liang, we haven't seen him for a long time."
"You are Zhang Qu, why are you here?" Butler Liang asked strangely.
"I came to Fengzhou to plant grapes under the order of the family leader. I made an appointment with Guo Shijun. Is he here?"
Butler Liang probably knew something about it and said with a smile: "My young master is quite busy these days. You guys come in first to have a rest and eat. He will meet you when he comes back."
He led everyone into the mansion and asked, "Winter is coming soon, can we plant grapes?"
"The main purpose of coming here this time is to check the soil quality first and find a place suitable for growing grapes to build a garden. We will stay in Fengzhou for a few days at most, and we have to rush back. We will come back tomorrow in the spring."
Guo Song is also very busy these days. The autumn harvest and the imperial examination are both held together. Other states hold the imperial examination after the autumn harvest, but Fengzhou is located in the north. The autumn harvest is half a month later than other states, but the state examination
The Tang Dynasty was unified in time, so Fengzhou coincided with the autumn harvest and the state examination.
Fortunately, there are only about a hundred scholars in Fengzhou who take the state examination, which is not too troublesome and is relatively relaxed. There are two procedures. First, take the examination in each state. Those with the best scores in the examination are considered qualified, and then proceed.
An interview is mainly a correction method to prevent cheating on the state exam. As long as you really rely on your own ability to pass the exam, you will generally pass the interview.
Then I will go to Chang'an to take the provincial examination after next spring.
The state examination was held in a military camp in Jiuyuan County. One hundred and sixty-four scholars gathered in two giant tents to take the examination. The test papers were shipped from Lingzhou. For this local state examination, the Tang Dynasty established four
There are more than a dozen test centers, and Fengzhou belongs to the Yunzhong test center. The test questions are unified by the Yunzhong test center and then sent to each state.
Originally, it was planned that candidates would take the unified examination in Lingzhou, but due to the outbreak of the locust plague, a large number of victims poured into Lingzhou, and the examination hall was also occupied by the victims. It was inconvenient for candidates to go to Lingzhou, so the examination had to be held in various states, and then the examiners would go there.
Interviews by state.
This year, the imperial court only offers two subjects: Jinshi and Mingjing. Generally speaking, most scholars in the north choose to take the Mingjing exam, while southern scholars choose to take the Jinshi exam. All scholars in Fengzhou take the Mingjing exam, and they mainly focus on familiarity with the classics.
Literature is their main focus. For example, writing poems and poems in Jinshi subjects is not what they are good at. Those are usually the children of famous families or scholars from the Jiangnan area.
The Ming Jing mainly tests the Tie Jing and Mo Yi. The so-called Tie Jing is to uncover a page of the scripture, cover the left and right sides, leave only one line in the middle, and then cover three characters with paper stickers for the test taker to fill in. This kind of question will be used in later generations.
There are also some, but the name is not so elegant, it is called "fill in the blanks", which is famous, and the mo meaning is the explanation of nouns, or the understanding of sentences.
As for Tie Jing and Mo Yi, as long as you are familiar with the scriptures and annotations, you can pass the exam. Ming Jing subjects are the most successful, and most of them can pass the exam at a young age. Jinshi subjects are the most difficult to pass, and there are many gray-haired old people among the candidates.
, so there has always been a saying of "thirty old Ming Jing, forty young Jinshi".
Of course, the treatment is also different. If you pass the Jinshi examination, you will be directly promoted to a ninth-grade or eighth-grade official, while if you pass the Mingjing examination, you will be a civil servant below the ninth grade. In today's terms, if you pass the Jinshi examination, you will be at least a division-level county magistrate.
If you pass the Ming Jing exam, you will become a civil servant, starting from the lowest level clerk.
As for the township heads, I'm sorry, the Tang Dynasty court only had jurisdiction over counties, and villages below counties were governed by gentry.
Only the sound of rustling writing could be heard in the big tent. Cao Wannian was sitting in the last row. Due to his special situation, after Guo Song wrote to the court, the Ministry of Rites approved that scholars from the occupied areas could take the exam in any state in the Tang Dynasty.
Guo Song inspected the examination room and then went out. There were five invigilators in each examination room. One hundred and sixty-four scholars were searched before entering. The number of people was small, so cheating could basically be eliminated.
Guo Song met Du Zongwen, the invigilator and inspector outside the examination room. Du Zongwen was Du Fu's eldest son and a director in the Ministry of Rites. He and several colleagues were sent to Yunzhou to supervise the state examination, and they happened to be assigned to Fengzhou.
Du Zongwen's father Du Fu died of illness ten years ago, and his two brothers also died successively. Only Du Zongwen took care of his mother Yang.
Although he is the son of Du Fu, his literary talent is average and far inferior to that of his father. Fortunately, the Du family is a well-known family. He was recommended to join the Ministry of Rites and became a director. He received a salary of six dollars a month to support his wife, children and mother.
Got to be very poor.
He took the initiative to come to Fengzhou to invigilate the exam this time. Fengzhou is a borderland and has a higher subsidy of three hundred cash per day. In addition, food and accommodation are arranged by the local government. After this trip to the state to take the exam, he can get ten cash.
The additional subsidy is also a considerable amount of income for the family.
"Master Du, you must be used to it in Fengzhou!"
Du Zongwen nodded and said with a smile: "It's much better than I imagined. Thank you very much for your kindness."
"You're welcome. Chief Du is willing to come to Fengzhou, a place with difficult conditions, to invigilate the exam. This is admirable in itself. In addition, I personally admire your father's poetry and prose. I will treat Master Du well both in public and in private."
Du Zongwen let out a long sigh and said, "My father is brilliant in literature, but it is a pity that my son is relatively dull and has not been able to inherit his talent and learning. He even has no money to engrave and print many of my father's poems and essays. I just watch the papers rot. My son is really incompetent and unfilial."
"
Guo Song was surprised that such a thing still existed. The poems and essays left by Du Fu could not be engraved and printed?
He quickly asked: "How much does it cost to engrave and print?"
"It costs 300 guan to engrave a board, and another 100 guan to print a roll. The main reason is that manual mounting is expensive. If you print a hundred rolls, it is cheaper. Printing a thousand rolls is even cheaper, but it still costs 500 guan. I really don't think so.
Not coming out."
Guo Song nodded, "I will bear the cost of printing the engravings of your father's poems. I will write you a letter later. You take the letter and go to the Meishou Liquor Shop in Xishi to find proprietor Zhang. He will spend the money needed to print a thousand volumes first.
, if there is not enough for reprinting, I will bear all the printing expenses."
Du Zongwen was stunned, and after a long while he stammered: "How can this be so embarrassing?"
Guo Song said calmly: "I am printing a collection of poems for Du Gongbu. It has nothing to do with you. If you wrote the poems yourself, I would not pay a penny. Do you understand?"
Du Zongwen was silent. Of course he understood that Guo Song was giving face to his father and had nothing to do with him. He sighed and said: "In any case, I am still very grateful to Guo Shijun for his help!"
The printing of Du Fu's poetry collection was just a small episode for Guo Song, which he quickly forgot in this busy season, but it was an unforgettable event for Du Zongwen. The big stone that had been weighing on his heart for ten years finally fell to the ground, and he
I got the letter written by Guo Song and couldn't sleep all night.
At noon, Guo Song received a message from Butler Liang's entrustment, saying that the grape growers sent by Liang Mansion in Lingzhou had arrived.
This was something Guo Song had been looking forward to for a long time. He had a quick lunch at the government office and then hurried back to his mansion.
Soon, Guo Song met four grape growers in his mansion, all of whom were in their thirties or forties. Manager Liang introduced Guo Song with a smile: "The leader is Zhang Qu, the manager of Liang's vineyard.
, is also famous for growing grapes in Lingzhou, followed by his three brothers, Zhang Er, Zhang San, and Zhang Si."
The four of them knelt down and saluted Guo Song. Guo Song quickly asked them to stand up and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work. I thought you would come here next spring, but I didn't expect you to come now."
Zhang Qu bowed and said: "We are mainly looking at the water and soil conditions now to find a suitable land for growing grapes. We will bring seeds here in the spring of next year, and then we will officially start planting grapes."
"Having traveled along the way, do you think the soil in Fengzhou is suitable for growing grapes?" Guo Song asked again.
"There is no problem at all. The soil in Fengzhou is the same as that in Lingzhou, and there is sufficient sunlight during the day, a large temperature difference between day and night, and sufficient water sources. These are the conditions for producing high-quality grapes. We are confident that we can grow the best grapes."
Guo Song nodded, "There is a lot of land in Fengzhou, but I suggest it is best to investigate near Jiuyuan County, mainly for the convenience of labor."
"I understand, little man. We will leave the city later and go to the east to look for a piece of land that is more suitable for growing grapes."
Guo Song said happily: "I will arrange a guide, and the food and accommodation will be at my house for the next few days. I will give you a generous reward after the end."
The four of them were overjoyed and bowed together: "Thank you so much, envoy!"