Du Ruchong frowned when he heard this.
This Wu Xinzhong sounds a bit like those college students in Guangzhou City.
Countries are vying for hegemony with their mouths open, and vying for China's living space with their mouths shut.
What countries are fighting for hegemony?
The European countries are thousands of miles away.
How could it pose a threat to the current Ming Dynasty?
It would be nice if the Ming Dynasty did not attack them.
And what kind of living space is there?
Since ancient times, peasant migration has been strictly prohibited.
This Ming Dynasty is good.
First it was Nanyang, then Northeast China.
Now it is said that they are also recruiting immigrants to go to some new continent.
Emperor Zhu was so upset that the whole country was in a state of panic.
Are the countries still fighting for hegemony?
It would be nice if he doesn’t blow himself up like Emperor Sui Yang in a few years.
Du Ruchong thought to himself.
However, he did not refute Wu Xinzhong.
Emperor Zhu's theory is indeed a bit monstrous and confuses the public.
Now most of the students in several universities in Guangzhou have been brainwashed by this theory.
Go and have a look on the streets of Guangzhou.
Wearing clothes modified from the military uniforms of the Ming Dynasty Army, with a large horizontal sword hanging on his waist.
They were all supporters of Emperor Zhu who thought of "using the sword of the Ming Dynasty to lay the foundation for China for the next three thousand years."
This scene made Du Ruchong very worried.
Such a country of tigers and wolves is not a blessing to the people.
I don’t know if it is a blessing to the people.
Anyway, Wu Xinzhong is quite satisfied with the current situation.
After there was no hope of becoming an official.
Wu Xinzhong concentrated on doing business.
The enrollment of Lanxiang Technical College he runs is very smooth, with more than 100 students already enrolled.
And now he plans to continue to run a college entrance examination assault class to compete with New China.
After leaving the editor-in-chief of "Junzi Daily".
Wu Xinzhong went straight to the university town of Huangpu.
Guangzhou is where Emperor Zhu started his career.
So there are quite a lot of universities in Guangzhou.
The headquarters of the Army Officer Academy and the Naval Officer Academy are both in Huangpu.
besides.
There are also two "national key universities", Daohua University and Guangdong University.
In addition, there is Nanyang University, which is run by the local maritime business in Guangzhou.
Now he is very famous.
They are all concentrated in Huangpu.
Huangpu has now become a "university town".
Moreover, Guangzhou is located in the south, quite far away from both Central and Northern Capitals, so the freedom of speech is a bit excessive.
In a university town.
Many college students have formed clubs.
Some societies have human support behind them.
After all, these college students will definitely become a new force in Ming Dynasty's political arena.
It's normal to start burning the stove in advance.
For example, Wu Xinzhong met a wealthy young man in Guangzhou.
His surname is also Wu, and his name is Wu Wanghai.
I donated a sum of money to Nanyang University and enrolled in it. Now I have opened a "Democratic and Republican Research Society" in the university town, which is quite influential.
Although not many have joined.
But this "Democratic and Republican Research Society" is very famous.
Because as you can tell from the name, many of the views of the Society for Democratic and Republican Studies are somewhat opposed to the monarchy.
In a monarchy like the Ming Dynasty, what kind of democratic republic is studied?
He was really brave.
oh.
According to etiquette.
If Wu Wanghai established an organization such as the "Association for the Promotion of a Democratic Republic" that clearly wanted to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic, then the Guangzhou government could arrest and try them according to etiquette.
But this "Democratic and Republican Research Association" was a sideline.
It was in the name of academic research, studying the republican system of ancient Rome and the current republican system of France - when applying for funding from the university, it was done in the name of "historical research".
So I applied for a classroom at Nanyang University as an event venue.
"Classmates, now the emperor has made a fatal mistake! He actually excluded scholar-bureaucrats over thirty years old from the imperial examination system! He must have lost his mind. The function of the imperial examination system has been completely changed by him. He must have They will eventually be abandoned by China's scholar-officials, and some of the scholar-officials who have no future will definitely start to turn in other directions. Historically."
Wu Xinzhong just walked to the door of the "Democratic Republic Research Association".
I heard someone speaking.
Entered the door and took a look.
It turned out to be Sun Wen, the vice president of the "Democratic Republic Research Association".
Wu Xinzhong knew this Sun Wen.
His father was Sun Yuting, a Taotai master of Yanzheng Road in Guangdong during the former Qing Dynasty.
It can be regarded as a family of officials.
But during the Battle of Guangzhou.
This Sun Yuting is a bit unlucky.
Originally, as a civil servant, there was no need to go to the battlefield, but a cannonball from the Ming army missed the target and killed this unlucky man.
As the eldest son of Sun Yuting, Sun Wen, a young man originally named Sun Shanwen, changed his name and lived in seclusion in Guangzhou. However, although the Sun family was a family of officials, the Qing Dynasty was gone, and they did not want to be the grandson of an official in the Ming Dynasty. It was not an option for his family to just sit there and have nothing to do, so Sun Wen went out to take the college entrance examination and planned to learn medical skills. He would have a skill in the future, and he is currently studying at the Department of Medicine at Nanyang University.
Later, I don't know how I got connected with Wu Wanghai, and I wanted to start this "Democratic Republic Promotion Association."
"Zhongshan, Zhongshan, are you free?"
Wu Xinzhong shouted at the classroom door.
Oh My God.
His surname is Sun, he is well-known, his given name is Zhongshan, and he is a medical student!
If Emperor Zhu heard of this, he would not immediately order the Jinyi Guards to arrest him.
Good thing.
The pronunciation is correct.
Just the words are different.
Emperor Zhu can rest assured for the time being.
"Classmates, that's it for today. I have a friend I want to meet."
The relationship between Sun Wen and Wu Xinzhong is still very good.
Sun Wen and others had a good impression of gentlemen like Wu Xinzhong.
Wu Xinzhong also often donated money to Sun Wen and others, and also asked Sun Wen to publish articles in "Junzi Daily" to make him famous.
"What? Mr. Wu, do you plan to open a school to recruit scholars over thirty years old to study medicine, law, and accounting, and also let us students from the Democratic and Republican Institute be teachers?"
Students of the Democratic Republic Research Association are all formal students of Nanyang University, Guangdong University, and Daohua University.
Letting medical students train barefoot doctors would at least be qualified.
There is no requirement for any profound suicide note.
Being able to deal with headaches, fevers and colds, being able to prescribe some medicine, bandage and suture wounds, and having some awareness of disinfection is enough.
Six years after the liberation, the end of the year.
The new year is approaching.
The first month of the seventh year of the Restoration arrived in the hustle and bustle of the year.
By the Qinhuai River.
Inside the Confucius Temple.
A group of scholars who were already over thirty years old gathered together to chat and smoke cigarettes.
"Alas, today the emperor went to the port to send off the first batch of immigrants to the New World. On the way back, someone knelt down to petition, but the emperor ignored them at all."
“The petition submitted was also rejected.”
"The emperor is determined not to let us take the exam."
"Oh, if I had known this, I would have stopped making trouble two years ago. Why are you making trouble? Now I can't even take the exam."
"It was so easy to take the exam back then. A thousand people would get two hundred, but what about now? Even if they can take the exam now, it's hard to pass it. Ten thousand people can take the exam and get two hundred."
"It's better to be an official. Even if you don't get promoted, you can still earn two to three hundred yuan a year as a low-level official. You will have an iron rice bowl in your life, and you will still have a pension when you retire at the age of sixty."
Everyone fell silent while talking.
All that was left was a sigh.
"It doesn't really matter whether we pass the examination or not, but losing our status as a gentleman is fatal. Without fame and future, we can't rely on any connections in the officialdom, and people won't regard us as gentry." .The mayor of the town where I live has already come to say hello, and next year’s land tax will be collected in full.”
"It's the same with me, not even a penny will be reduced."
"It's not a bad thing if we don't charge long-term prices. We people have no fame and no connections. If the local officials don't bully us, who will they bully? Fortunately, local people are now the officials, and the folks in the countryside don't dare to do too much. If it had been before When a foreigner becomes an official, it would be strange if he doesn't peel off his skin."
That's when.
A scholar dressed similarly as a Confucian scholar came in.
The visitor’s name is Hong Xiu, a scholar from Guangdong.
He is thirty-one years old this year.
But it looks a bit delicate.
Appear small.
It seemed like I could muddle through and take the exam again.
However, he took part in the original scholar examination in Guangzhou, but failed.
It's over now.
The name, place of origin and age were left behind.
Although you can try to get away with it, after all, in this sea of scribes and spies, the Ming Dynasty's Grand Scholar's Office may not be able to find out.
but
The Guangzhou scholars who were so easy to pass the exam back then failed to pass the exam.
Now thousands of troops are crossing the single-plank bridge.
If you want to pass the exam, it will be extremely difficult.
Hong Xiu said loudly: "Everyone, the only way out now is to go to university or technical school. New China and Lanxiang have branches in Guangzhou, Zhongdu, and Shanghai. If you sign up and hold my name, the tuition fee will be 80%. fold!"
Hong Xiu said and began to distribute his name cards.
"Hong Xiu, do you do both New China and Lanxiang?"
"Yes, you can make more money by doing another job."
"Is it better to go to Capital New China or to study at Lanxiang?"
Hong Xiu smiled and said, "It depends on you. If your family has a family and property, and you don't have to worry about food and clothing, then it would be a good idea to go to college. It takes four years to study in college, and there are annual tuition fees and living expenses. It’s a lot. If you can’t afford it, you can go to Lanzhou University. Those who can afford it will pay the tuition. If you can’t afford it, you can sign a contract and pay it back after you find a job in the future. Of course, interest will be calculated. "
"Have you heard about it? The royal consortium plans to open hospitals all over the country and recruit a large number of doctors. There is a future in studying medicine now. This royal consortium is also a royal industry. Being a doctor in a royal hospital is considered an imperial doctor, right? He’s considered an official.”
After hearing Hong Xiu's words, a group of frustrated scholars burst out laughing.
This is a good excuse to comfort myself.
"Okay, then I, Lin Wanrong, will be his imperial physician!"
"Lao Hong gave us a clear path. This royal consortium is building hospitals in various places. Junior doctors are given a monthly salary of almost 50 yuan, which is 50 yuan. In some places, even the county magistrates cannot get this amount."
"The tuition fees can be paid on credit. This is indeed a good way out. It seems that they are not afraid that we will not be able to pay back in the future."
Many scholars dispersed, went back to their hometowns to raise money, and went their separate ways.
The age and number of reference restrictions for an imperial examination seem to have nothing to do with land issues, but its marginal effects are quickly passed on to land and agriculture.
The industry and commerce on the southeast coast are developing rapidly, and there are many opportunities for "overage" scholars.
In addition to going to college or technical school, you can also directly invest money in the industrial and commercial industry to become your own boss.
Of course, the premise is that they have to use their own fields to take out the money buried in the backyard - without the skin of the gentry, they may not be able to save the money no matter how deep they are buried!
It would be better to move into big cities that are more law-abiding as early as possible.
Nowadays, the "rituals" of the Ming Dynasty are still very particular in major cities.
But locally, especially in rural areas.
The inertia of tradition is so powerful.
A rich man who no longer has the status of a gentry.
In these places where "etiquette" is not very important, it is easy to be eaten up and wiped clean.
The silver that has been flowing into China from abroad for hundreds of years has once again been leveraged. From the beginning, it was stipulated that only Ming Yuan was legal tender, and Ming Yuan must be used in various commercial activities, taxes, etc. From the beginning, Emperor Zhu had always hoped to pry up the silver sleeping in the cellars of landlords across China.
This is a wealth that is so huge that it is difficult to count. In history, this wealth has been almost completely transferred from Beiyang to a certain Chiang Kai-shek with the dumping of opium and Western industrial products, the indemnities of several wars, and even after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Becoming a comprador, the country's doors are wide open, foreign goods are dumped, and domestic wealth is plundered through various means.
And now.
Never experienced any of this.
Among the Chinese folk, these hoarded silver.
It always lay in the cellar and became a piece of "dead money".
Zhu Daohua stipulated that those over the age of 30 could not take the scholar examination.
In fact, the original intention is not to promote these "dead money" to become "living money".
But unexpectedly, there was an unexpected gain.
A large number of landowners who lost their status as gentry chose to sell their land, exchange their silver for Ming Yuan, and then flocked to live in big cities such as Guangzhou and Shanghai that were more "proper".
A lot of dead money turned into live money.
The industrialization process of the Ming Dynasty became faster with so much money invested.
Of course.
Social transformation cannot happen overnight.
There are also a large number of gentry who stay in the countryside.
They have also been impacted by the times and changed by the times.
Li Zhongyi went home on vacation from Luojiang Academy in Luojiang County.
Just got home.
Then I heard crying and cursing coming from the Li family compound.
"Sir, please, please. The livelihood of our family of five depends on those acres of farmland. You can't take them all away. How will we survive if you take them away!"
"Xu Fugui, it's useless for you to beg me here. This field belongs to my family. My family has rented it to you for thirteen years. You owe eight years of rent! Eight years! My family has treated you well enough. When can you replace the money you owe? Should I rent it to you again? If I rent it to you, I will go drink the northwest wind!"
"Sir, you can't calculate like this. Seventy or eighty percent of my family's harvest every year is used to pay back the money. I work day and night, but there is only so much that can be dug out of this land. You want it?" I can’t give you more with my life.”
"I don't want your life. Just go. I'll also forgive you the money you owe. Anyway, your family won't be able to replace it in a few lifetimes. I'll show you a clear path to the New World. Now go to the New World to enclose the land. It’s yours to circle as much as you can, so go ahead.”
(End of chapter)
