Baoen Guangxiao Temple in Baoenfang is not far from Gongyuan, so many candidates stayed there during the imperial examination year.
After the provincial examination, nearly three-quarters of the candidates failed and returned home frustrated, leaving the guesthouses in the temple empty.
After the roll call for the palace examination, it suddenly became lively again, just because Wen Tianxiang, the new top scholar, lived here.
Not only was the incense in the temple more than ten times more prosperous, but all the vacant guesthouses were rented out at high prices, making the great monks earn money with tears and blood.
Scholars and scholars rushed to be neighbors with Wen Zhuangyuan. Firstly, they wanted to benefit from literary fortune, and secondly, they wanted to make friends.
Not to mention what experience I'm asking for, it's just that for such a young champion, there is a high chance that he will become a very popular minister in the future. Why not get familiar with him and build personal connections in advance?
What's more, Zhao Guan's family personally praised him as "the auspiciousness of heaven and the auspiciousness of song" and asked him to officially change his name to Tianxiang and the courtesy name songrui, which was abbreviated in the emperor's heart.
After winning the championship, Wen Tianxiang was also very proud, and he was very keen on these social interactions. After all, it is human nature to be proud of a boy. At this time, the Song Dynasty did not seem to be in danger of national subjugation, and he had not yet awakened his sense of worry.
Under the stars and the moon, he visited brothels, drank fine wine, soaked in hot springs, admired beauties, indulged in pleasure, and even wrote a new poem "Qitian Le".
The moon turns to dawn in the Milky Way in the south tower, and the jade flute blows the plum blossoms again.
The parrots are clear, the grape water is warm, and a wisp of swallow fragrance is clear.
Yaochi is full of spring.
Think of peach dew and plump clouds, chrysanthemum waves clearing the sky.
The brocade robes are flowing, and the royal fairy flowers are surrounded by auspicious rainbows.
The people of Yuguan are still young.
Calling the yellow crane at the head of the river, we talk and laugh in the towel.
The sword blows clear, the branches cross the Chudai, and the rain washes the tobacco across the river.
The printing is yellow like fighting.
Look at half an inkstone with roses and a full saddle with willows.
Returning from the sandy road, the golden mink and cicada have small wings.
Look at this wording, it is gorgeous and magnificent, and the life of the romantic young man is vivid on the page, full of sultryness.
Perhaps, at this time, no one except Zhao Mengqi expected that such a carefree and unrestrained person would eventually transform into a representative of the backbone of China.
Everyone just felt that Wen Tianxiang had a bright future and great investment potential, so they naturally followed him more diligently.
However, people's enthusiasm seemed to cool down after they learned that Wen Tianxiang had also been recruited into the Department of Integrity.
You must know that Chen Shang, who was born in Huai'an, Fuzhou, was awarded the eighth rank Xuanyi Lang, who signed the official document of Taizhou Magistrate's Office. Official business of the magistrate's office.
However, the two hundred or so people who entered the Department of Integrity were all from the ninth rank of Chengwu Lang.
At first glance, the difference does not seem to be big. In fact, the official career of an official after first appointment usually affects the speed and height of his official career.
To put it simply, it usually takes three to five years to advance to a level. This step is slow, and it is easy to be slow every step. Although overtaking in corners is possible, it is still relatively rare.
What's more, entering the cage of King Yan, who knows whether it is a blessing or a curse, and engaging in clean government will definitely offend people.
On the other hand, Wen Tianxiang himself was relatively calm, probably with the idea of seeing it before talking. If the situation was really bad, he would probably hang the seal and go home. This was also a routine practice for civil servants in the Song Dynasty.
The day before he reported to the Royal Military Academy, Wen Tianxiang stayed in the guest house and did not go anywhere.
In addition to his younger brother Wenbi, those who lived in the same courtyard with him were Xie Fangde and Gan Tan, who was also from Jiangxi.
Gan Tan, named Guimo, was born in Yichun County, Yuanzhou. He was thirty years old. He was awarded the second grade and was recruited into the Integrity Department together with Wen Tianxiang and Xie Fangde.
In other words, among the four, only Wen Bi did not join the Integrity Department, but was invited by Gu Qing to join the Investigation Department.
They sat together at the stone table in the courtyard, enjoying the last bit of leisure before entering officialdom.
"Erlang, have you really thought about it? This investigation department is unknown, and it was born out of the Imperial City Department. It must have done some stupid things. Scholars like us should go on the right path, why should we be stained with reputation?"
Although Wen Tianxiang respects his brother's choice, he
Still trying to make the final persuasion.
Wen Bi pursed his lips and recalled what Gu Qing said, "As long as you can do things for the country and the people, why care about personal fame and fortune? Who said that only those who stand in the light are heroes!?"
"Brother, the responsibilities of the Investigation Department are very important to the country. I can't say what they are specifically, but please believe that I can distinguish right from wrong, uphold the right path in my heart, and what I want to do is to benefit the country and the people!"
Seeing his brother's iron determination, Wen Tianxiang could only sigh, "Well, I hope you are not deceived and can embark on the right path."
Gan Tan on the side shook his head, "Song Zhen has always been upright and has a clear mind. How can she be easily deceived by others? She must have her own reasons for making such a choice. Song Rui, you don't have to worry too much. The three of us, let's go It’s just the Department of Integrity. They all work for the imperial court anyway, so there’s nothing to choose from. However, they still have to go to the Royal Military Academy for some kind of training. This really makes people feel worried.”
"This kind of strange and weird thing seems to be the work of King Yan at first glance. It is also strange now. King Yan obviously does not handle the affairs of the government, but his shadow can be seen in major political affairs. I don't know what happened, whether it is an official or a prime minister. Regardless of whether he holds it or not, it seems that King Yan is letting him do whatever he wants."
Wen Tianxiang frowned. He didn't understand the current government affairs and was somewhat dissatisfied with the unruly King Yan.
Xie Fangde looked at his expression and said with a smile, "I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. At least compared with before, the court's work efficiency is getting more and more efficient. For example, in the selection of new scholars, in the past, usually, To abide by the "Five Selections", you have to wait at least more than a year before you can go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to select officials. But now, most of them have their places to go. "
There are 605 new scholars with a wide age range. Several are one year younger than Wen Bi, only nineteen years old. For example, Lu Xiufu, the oldest is fifty-eight years old.
The Investigation Department only wanted young people, no more than twenty-five years old, and they had to volunteer, so few were selected.
For the Department of Integrity, the age limit can be relaxed to about thirty years old, but family background is more demanding, so only more than 200 people were selected.
In addition, more than 150 people, including five people from Lu Shangming, will be sent to Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian to consolidate areas. However, it is said that more than 30 people are unwilling to go and will probably not have the opportunity to become officials in the future.
There were also many people over 40 or 50 years old, and the imperial court was very considerate and assigned them to Pingjiang and Jiaxing to serve as teachers, ministers, etc. If they had real abilities, there would be opportunities for promotion.
After excluding the more than thirty people who already have official positions, there are less than a hundred people left without arrangements, such as Sun Yuanzheng, Tian Zhenzi...
Needless to say, Sun Yuanzheng and his group were kind. Zhao Mengqi was kind if he didn't kill them. As for Tian Zhenzi, it was because his name was too special. Zhao Mengqi remembered that in history, this guy lowered his rank with Pu Shougeng, and seemed to have participated in the massacre of the clan, so naturally he had to Hold him down.
After hearing Xie Fangde's words, Wen Tianxiang couldn't help scratching his head, "This King of Yan doesn't seem to be worried about redundant officials at all. Previously, the Statistics Department hired more than 600 officials, and now it has released nearly 500 more. Can the imperial government's finances bear the burden? "
Gan Tan's thoughts are still relatively mature, "We are still outside the court and cannot understand the internal affairs of the court, but the governors and officials will agree, so it must be certain. Maybe they have found a solution to redundant officials and financial problems." new method."
"Not to mention anything else, but King Yan's ability to make money is definitely the best in ancient and modern times!" Wen Bi said, with admiration on his face.
The other three people couldn't help but laugh, "This is true..."
On the day of the Lantern Festival, the entire city of Lin'an set off tens of thousands of new-style fireworks, all of which were bought from King Yan. Each one cost ten guan.
Then he began to promote briquettes in Lin'an City, sell or modify matching new stoves, and warm houses and heated Kangs.
The Kang thing appeared in the Western Han Dynasty at the latest, but it was only used in the northern region, and it was not available in Lin'an at this time.
Lin'an mainly uses firewood. However, due to the large population, the surrounding mountains and forests cannot withstand the consumption. They were even cut down at the beginning of the southern crossing. Now they mainly rely on the supplies of Yan, Wu, Qu, Hui and other prefectures in the southwest. . .z.br>
Therefore, people spend a lot of money on living fuel, and before Lin'an
The small amount of coal used in the city was basically produced in Huainan. It was transported to Zhenjiang via the canal, and then transported by merchants to the Suzhou and Hangzhou areas for sale. A large amount of coal was transferred at a port in Zhenjiang, so it was named Shitanzhu.
Such long-distance transportation makes coal not cheap, and is more expensive than firewood. Use as little as possible in daily life. Usually, spices are added to make high-end products and sold to the rich. Such coal cakes are called "xiangbingzi" .
When Zhao Mengqi was in Pingjiang Mansion, he noticed that the coal used in people's homes was not all shipped from Zhenjiang, but coal-producing sites were discovered in Changxing County, Anji. After sending people to check, they found several small private mines.
In principle, the mountains, forests, lakes and swamps all belonged to the imperial court, but Zhao Mengqi still compensated several private mine owners with some money, took back these mineral sites, and began to expand mining.
The reserves of this coal mine are not large, but without a lot of industrial use, Zhao Mengqi estimates that it will be enough for Lin'an to use it for at least several decades.
It’s not meant to completely replace firewood, but it can at least reduce Lin’an’s fuel pressure and allow people to stay a little warmer in winter.
Moreover, this industry has also created a lot of jobs, and it can earn pretty good profits by selling high-end stoves to wealthy people and renovating greenhouses.
In addition, Yanwang's industries also have many new products on the market, such as distilled and refined sugarcane wine and fruit wine, canned seafood in sealed clay pots, dry seafood, oil made from oysters, reading glasses made of natural crystals, cotton-padded jackets, and refined salt. , snow candy, candy, soap, perfume, cream...
Most of them are not cheap and are in the mid-to-high-end market, but there is no shortage of wealthy people in Lin'an.
The most sensational thing was the public sale of new horse-drawn carriages.
The cheapest one costs 5,000 guan, and you also need to purchase an additional horse. The minimum price for a horse is 300 guan. Moreover, each drive must be registered, and the horse also has an independent identification number plate.
The registration of a horse is basically free, but for license plates, an ordinary one requires an annual fee of 30 guan. If you want an auspicious number or a leopard number, I'm sorry, but you have to pay extra!
In addition, the imperial court also publicly announced that it would relax the etiquette requirements for carriages. As long as there are no more than five draft horses, there is no limit. As long as the carriage does not comply with the official regulations, it can be as luxurious as you want.
It is said that the Qian family not only bought six cars at once, but one of them is currently the most expensive, worth 200,000 yuan!
Many people lamented that King Yan was ruthlessly killing his father-in-law and was not merciful at all.
Nowadays, the wealthy families in Lin'an City are embarrassed to go out without a new-style carriage.
During the Qingming Festival trip some time ago, there was a large number of luxury carriages of various colors along the West Lake. There is no need to count them, there are at least three or four hundred carriages.
In fact, Lin'an City has the convenience of water transportation, and there is not that much demand for horse-drawn carriages at all. However, after this thing became a status symbol and a show-off for comparison, it had little to do with the actual demand.
As a result, Lin'an streets, which were already crowded, often suffered from congestion.
To this end, I heard that a city management office will be established under the Military Patrol Yuan, which will be responsible for planning and managing new traffic rules, as well as the improvement and regulation of city appearance.
As for the new city area, it is also changing day by day. More and more buildings are nearing completion, and many court and royal workshops will be moved there.
Solid and flat concrete roads are scattered everywhere. A new harbor five times larger than the canal wharf has been built next to the Qiantang River to replace the old wharf. However, it is estimated that it will take a year and a half to be completed.
Therefore, in these days, the people of Lin'an always have new things to talk about, and even though King Yan rarely enters the city, there is always no shortage of people talking about him.
More and more people believe that King Yan is the reincarnation of the God of Wealth, but people in the officialdom have a much more complicated view of King Yan.
Looking at the dwindling money bag, can you not have a problem with King Yan who is cutting their leeks?
What's more, King Yan still holds the sword of integrity in his hand, and he doesn't know when he will cut it down...
When it came to the matter of King Yan making money, Wen Tianxiang and the four of them couldn't help but chat for a long time.
As dusk approached, Wen Tianxiang said to Wen Bi, "Let's go and visit our father and mother and say goodbye."
Although the literary family has been flat for several generations,
Although he is an ordinary citizen, he is also a well-known scholarly family in his hometown of Luling, and his family background is still very good.
Although Wen Tianxiang's father Wenyi failed the imperial examination twice, he was knowledgeable and well-known in his hometown.
Several neighboring towns and villages heard of his name and were highly praised by other literati. From then on, Wenyi started teaching at home and people from far and near came to listen and study.
In addition to the two brothers, there is also a third brother Wen Tingsun, who is four years old, Wen Tianxiang, a fourth brother Wen Zhang, who is eight years old this year, and three sisters, Yisun, Shusun and Shunsun.
This time the two brothers rushed to take the exam together, so Wen Yi and his whole family came to Lin'an.
However, because the third brother Wen Tingsun died of illness before the examination, Wen Yi became depressed due to the pain of losing his son, and needed to recuperate due to poor health. In addition, there were too many children. In order not to affect the two brothers' preparation for the examination, they rented a yard in Baoenfang. I live somewhere else, not far away.
The two brothers passed the exam at the same time. Wen Yi's mood improved a lot and his health also improved. However, the doctor said that he still needed to cultivate himself, so the Wen family had to stay in Lin'an for a long time.
