In the early morning, just after Yin Shi, the sun has invaded the entire city of Beijing before the dew has dissipated. Some breakfast shops on the market have opened one after another.
Shops selling fabrics and the like are generally not busy in the morning. The wooden boards (equivalent to rolling shutter doors) embedded in the facades on the roadside are being taken down, and the day's business has not yet begun.
However, a large number of breakfast shops started operating during the ugly season and were specially prepared for the officials who went to court.
Some famous restaurants even accept reservations from dignitaries. They must be prepared and delivered in advance, otherwise it will be too late.
Therefore, most of the people walking around in a hurry on the street are servants of various mansions. This is also a major feature of the capital.
Wealthy families have the best reputation, and the servants who come and go are more beautiful than others, or more polite, more generous, more generous than those who invite troupes, and even more literate than others. It can be said that they compete with each other for beauty and beauty, which is very exciting.
The biggest feature of the prosperity of the market economy is that food, clothing, housing and transportation are as fancy as possible, and you can buy everything if you have money.
Many people with a little wealth love to come to wine shops and teahouses, order a pot of tea, a few drawers of snacks, and listen to stories with two or three friends.
Today is particularly lively, as it is the day when the Ming Dynasty Gazette is released.
"Isn't it a monthly issue?"
Song Guang runs several silk and satin shops, and the daily business is handed over to the shopkeepers. He himself communicates and eats with his partners from time to time to maintain personal relationships.
Drinking in the East Mansion and having tea in the West Mansion, yamen, nobles, and colleagues all require extensive communication.
Teahouses, a place that is somewhat elegant and full of culture and customs, have become the first choice.
He spent more than a hundred silver dollars on food and drink every month.
But compared to the silk shop business, this cost is nothing.
"You don't know, but now it has been changed to a semi-monthly publication."
The waiter at the teahouse said enthusiastically: "There are news from all over the country. I heard that your accent is from Nanzhili? This is the right time. I heard that there is a list of Nanzhili's provincial examinations in the gazette!"
"Oh?" Song Guang became interested: "Then I'd like to listen carefully."
After saying that, he sat down and ordered the waiter to serve snacks.
Although the Nanzhili family was divided into three parts, it was hard to leave. After all, they had been friends for more than 200 years.
Just like the governor's office of Anhui, it has been staying in Nanjing, forcing the court to issue an edict to return to Hefei as soon as possible.
The representative of the broken silk connection is Nanjing Gongyuan.
Scholars from Anhui Province, Jiangsu Province, and Yingtianfu all participated in the provincial examination in Nanjing Gongyuan to select Jieyuanlai.
That's right, these three places are competing for one Jieyuan, and the involution is fierce.
The imperial court had no intention of splitting it up. In fact, the three places were all literary towns. If Anhui was established separately, the number of candidates would definitely increase, which would not be conducive to the unity of the country.
The Jiangnan Guild Hall in Beijing treats the three places equally and does not separate them.
After a while, two business partners came one after another.
One is in the embroidery business and the other is in lacquerware. They are both wealthy owners. They live in the same hometown as him and help each other on weekdays.
At this time, standing next to the desk in the center, a loud "snap" of the wake-up wood attracted everyone's attention:
"Starting from today, the Ming Dynasty Gazette will be published every fortnight. You are very blessed. I am also obsessed with the blessings of the imperial court. I will explain to you a thing or two..."
"This year's Jiangnan Provincial Examination has attracted worldwide attention, and it happens to be the time when the imperial court regains Liaodong. This is a great time!"
"No, isn't the provincial examination held in autumn? Why is it in June?"
Some people raised questions, and the teahouse was full of curiosity.
"The communiqué said that the provincial examination will be rescheduled in autumn, so the provincial examination was scheduled for early June, two months in advance, in order to prepare these candidates to take the provincial examination!"
The storyteller smiled and explained.
The development of the provincial examination has greatly increased its value because it directly awards official positions. Scholars and candidates can apply for it, and it has also been favored by the candidates.
People are so enthusiastic about the provincial examination. In addition to being convenient once a year, the bigger reason is the competition among Jinshi.
In the past, most of the county magistrates were awarded the title of examiner and supervisor of students, but now the Jinshi went to the county one after another to gain experience and compete for their official positions.
Unable to compete with Jinshi, the candidates could only take the provincial examination and passed the test together with the scholars.
However, many candidates couldn't let go of the provincial examination, and always wanted to give it a try. They couldn't afford to miss the provincial examination, so they wanted to get the best of both worlds, so they suggested changing the time of the provincial examination and the provincial examination.
The hot summer has become the time for the provincial examination, which happens to be the same time as the college entrance examination in later generations.
Only then did everyone clear up their doubts.
"Jiangnan Jieyuan, his name is Xia Wanchun, his courtesy name is preserved in ancient times, he is only twenty-one this year, he is from Huating County, Songjiang Prefecture, he has been known as a child prodigy since he was a child, he knows the Five Classics at the age of five, and can write poetry at the age of seven..."
"His father is Xia Yunyi, who was also a famous scholar in the south of the Yangtze River. He was a Jinshi in the tenth year of Chongzhen (1637). He served successively as county magistrate and head of the Nanjing official department..."
For a time, the teahouse was filled with exclamations, and they were inexplicably shocked that Xia Wanchun won Jiangnan Jieyuan at the age of twenty-one.
As we all know, the literary style in Jiangnan was prosperous, and its talents were comparable to those in other provinces, so that the situation of imperial examination immigration was born.
Obtaining Jiangnan Jieyuan also means that this young man will become a popular candidate for the conference and palace examinations next year.
At that time, he was only twenty-three years old, and his future was unlimited.
"Songjiang Mansion is now gradually catching up."
The lacquerware friend shook his head, not feeling happy, but a little worried.
"It doesn't matter, who am I, Suzhou, afraid of?"
Song Guang was calm. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou alone had won nine top prizes and stole the show.
Of course, if historical development is followed, by the Qing Dynasty there were twenty-six champions, which is even more exaggerated.
Talking along the way, people became very interested, chattered, saliva flew, mouths were dry, and the tea business was booming.
The guys are so busy, the shopkeeper is laughing like a chrysanthemum, and a pot of tea can earn a lot of money.
The storyteller continued, starting from Jieyuan, Yayuan, to the third, fourth, and fifth Jingkui, and the sixth place was Yakui, with great relish.
Shuntianfu's explanation of the provincial examination also greatly increased everyone's interest.
The provincial examinations in other provinces were simply ignored.
Finally, the storyteller continued: "Starting from this summer, the Fujian Chief Secretary's Office will allow people to use sweet potato flour to pay grain taxes, and every ten kilograms will be worth one kilogram..."
Many people don’t know much about sweet potatoes, not to mention that they are only from Fujian, so naturally no one cares.
In the imperial study, Queen Sun Xueniang walked outside the inner door and saw Zhu Yixi still processing the memorial.
There were many memorials on the table covered with a yellow tablecloth, but they were all neatly placed there. The emperor was wearing a bright yellow round-neck robe, looking very calm, and his movements were elegant and unhurried.
A eunuch nearby saw the queen, bent down beside the emperor and said a word, and then withdrew with several others.
Zhu Yixi also raised her head and looked at the queen with a smile, and said, "Is the queen okay today?"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
The Xia Wanchun in the book left a deep impression on me, and I will never forget it till now. He sacrificed his life at the age of seventeen, was full of ambition and talent, and dedicated his song "Farewell to the Clouds" to everyone:
I have been a tourist for three years, and today I am in Nanguan again.
Infinite mountains and rivers and tears, who said the world is broad?
It is known that the road to the spring is close, and it is difficult to leave my hometown.
On the day of Yipo’s return, the spiritual flag can be seen in the sky
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