"The wind is slanting and the rain is drizzle. This county test 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 a little water droplets. He felt a bit cold on his forehead, but he didn't care at all and his interest did not diminish.
Sitting beside him was a fellow magistrate from Zhangzhou named Nan Zihao, who was from 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.
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 secretary.
"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: "Only in Longxi County, which is adjacent 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."
Speaking of this, he even wailed in his heart.
Of the eight major customs, only Tianjin is in the north, and it is in the Gyeonggi region. The customs brings prosperity and also brings 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 try to discredit you. Some people have even sent word that they are going to file a lawsuit and settle old scores against you."
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: "Your Majesty is not that confused. No one cares about the business 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 were gradually learned by 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 prefecture and 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 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 costs a hundred yuan!"
The waiter smiled bitterly and said, "But now in 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.
Look around
Go, on the whole street, if you look carefully, you can also see a yellow-haired Xiyi.
Without it, there are two of the eight major customs in Fujian, Yuegang and Fuzhou, and they are also close to Taiwan Prefecture, which can be said to be close to the water.
In this way, the merchants traveling from south to north and the rarities of the West have become a normal thing for Fujian people.
"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 still benefit a little bit.
"It's difficult -" Zheng Sen put down his wine glass: "The customs is different from the past. It is under the control of His Majesty himself 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."
Speaking of 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, passing the legal examination is hanging over their heads. Among taxation, litigation, settlement and other matters, other matters can be fooled, but taxation is the most difficult.
Because this is real money to be given, the main tax collection department is controlled by the Ministry of Finance.
After the establishment of the customs, just getting the glory was enough to ensure that there was no need to worry about taxes. After getting rich, the style of writing will naturally increase, the population will increase, and although there will be more lawsuits, it will only be a trivial 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 swarming in that the bullock cart 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. Shaky.
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 long ago. He couldn't help but be speechless:
"You are about to die, why bother coming?"
"People in this 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 speechlessly.
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 were already upstairs in the restaurant.
After five exams, although I am exhausted and physically exhausted, the anesthesia of alcohol can make me invigorated.
"Today I must drink a lot, no, I have to drink from an ox, to relieve the long-term suffering——"
"After all the hard work comes the sweetness, drink——"
"Five leaders, six, six! Come, come, drink for free!" The candidates drank and punched in the tavern, regardless of politeness, to relieve the pressure.
Waves of commotion 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 implemented 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 held in the county, government, and college examinations. To put it bluntly, the Eight-part essay can only test scholars."
"If you take the provincial examination and take the proficiency test, then you have to take a new test——"
"Hey, the provincial examination is too far away, so we should take our eyes into consideration.
Come to Pakistan! "
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 and the provincial examination, it can be said that it is a step-by-step advancement. 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 rural examinations, general examinations, and palace examinations 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 essay.
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 huge.
Because those who study eight-part essay the most are those reserve talents.
They account for 95% of the world's scholars.
In 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, most of the local gentry supported it, whether it was the Treaty of Xinchou or the Treaty of Shimonoseki.
But it abolished the imperial examination and immediately caused the gentry class to defect from the constitutional camp to the revolutionary camp.
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 didn't have much opinion about taking the provincial examination was because they had already half-footed their feet in the officialdom and understood what taboos were.
If this kind of thing is mixed up blindly, it will be 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 sighing 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 look on her face was bowing down and holding a little girl. She was dressed in ragged clothes, had a sallow complexion and gloomy eyes.
In this busy county, it seems extremely abrupt.
"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 social situations, so he could only drive them 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 angry.
Perhaps seeing the beauty of these two sisters, each of them donated generously, including a pile of copper coins, several silver cents and 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 chief went to the Yamen to call for help.
Nan Zihao frowned: "I guess he is a green-skinned rogue from the county. His sneaky and abducting ways should have been repaired long ago."
Zheng Sen snorted coldly: "Originally, as the prefect, 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 does he worry about?
Sure enough, the government government came forward and Qingpi Wu from Longxi County
The gangsters were beaten until they cried for their fathers and mothers, and then reported directly to the government for exile, preparing to go to the Luzon Governor's Palace.
At this time, the entire Zhangzhou Mansion was shocked.
At this time, Luzon was prosperous.
By the way, after seizing the entire Philippines, King Fort became the governor, managing all civil and military affairs, and 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 many years of conquest, the native people returned to many places, which led to a great increase in the strength of the Governor's Mansion.
Now, 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 the huge bridge, crowded with pedestrians, 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."
"Yeah!" 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 inconvenient at the moment."
"Too close." Jin Bao shook his head: "Too close is not good."
