Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1165 Epilogue : Descendants of Meng Zhao

My second brother left before it snowed.

Also leaving Huangzhou were Wang Sheng and the second brother's little friend (similar to a book boy).

They all had to return to their hometown in Hebei to take the county and prefectural examinations in February or March next year. If they could pass the examination and become a scholar, they would continue to take the provincial examination in the fall.

If the student is a previous scholar, he will have to take another imperial examination before taking the provincial examination.

The imperial examination was a qualifying test similar to the provincial examination.

If a former scholar did not study for many years and fell behind in his studies, he would not be eligible to take the provincial examination. But it did not matter to the current scholar, who could take the examination directly.

After my second brother and his family left, the house became much quieter.

As a southerner, Xie Yan felt a little excited when he saw the first snow after his time travel.

Although the snow was not heavy.

The winter at this time is not too cold. Since the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the temperature has been warming up.

It has been warming up for a hundred years and has finally returned to the level of the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty.

And it will continue to warm up for another 10 to 20 years, and then it will continue to fall.

After the fall, although there were ups and downs in the middle, it was not until the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China that the temperature returned to its current level.

At this moment, the Ming Dynasty is in an era that is warmer than the entire Ming and Qing dynasties in other time and space!

After the Lantern Festival, Xie Yan will also go on a long journey.

His family arranged four strong servants for him, and he set off on an official "tailwind boat".

My parents and younger sister came to the dock to see me off. My father only gave me some important instructions, but my mother and younger sister burst into tears.

Going up the Yangtze River, the ship reached Hanyang and then entered the Han River basin.

The lower reaches of the Han River, especially the southern region, were relatively poor during the Northern Song Dynasty. Swamps were everywhere, floods were common, and the land was sparsely populated.

After more than a hundred years of governance by the Ming Dynasty, water conservancy projects have long been completed, and swamps have been turned into lakes and fertile fields.

The land was vast and sparsely populated in the past, but now it is densely populated.

When the railway was first built, Hanyang Port took away more than half of the cargo, but the economy only declined for 30 to 40 years. With the civilian use of steam engines and the discovery of surrounding mineral deposits, a large number of factories were opened in Hanyang and Jiangxia, and the three towns of Wuhan in later generations instantly completed a counterattack.

In comparison, Huangzhou is much poorer.

When he arrived in Wuhan, Xie Yan stood on the deck of the official ship, looking at the towering factory chimneys on both sides of the Yangtze River and the people wearing ancient costumes coming and going on the shore. The magical feeling of steampunk became even stronger.

"My grass!"

Xie Yan's literary talent is not good, so he can only use these two words to express his feelings.

"Liu Lang, the officer said he wanted to rest in Hanyang." The leader of the accompanying servants came over.

These strong servants all carry knives and arrows, and they are capable of killing people if they really encounter bandits.

In the Ming Dynasty today, only firearms, armor and crossbows are prohibited for civilians to possess, and all other weapons are not strictly regulated.

As social security deteriorates, the trend of practicing martial arts has resurfaced, and people often carry weapons when traveling long distances.

Especially those caravans, they either recruit their own armed personnel or cooperate with the escort agency for a long time.

Currently, the central officials of the court are arguing over whether to issue a ban on bows.

The public security is too bad. Not only should crossbows be banned, but bows as well.

Of course, bows, crossbows and leather armor have never been banned in border areas and overseas territories; only various types of firearms and iron armor have been banned.

When the official ship docked, Xie Yan also went down for a stroll.

The officials went straight to the post station to drink and take the opportunity to relax. They were going to the provincial capital Xiangyang to deliver official documents.

Generally speaking, only urgent official documents are conveyed by telegram.

Ordinary official documents still need to be delivered by people, which can save a lot of trouble.

But except for the scholars taking the imperial examinations, no official was allowed to eat or drink for free at the post stations along the way!
"Are those all scholars taking the imperial examinations?" Xie Yan pointed at a group of young men who looked like students.

Jian Pu said, "They should be here to take the county and prefectural examinations. Housing is in short supply in Hanyang. If they come too late, they won't be able to find a place to stay."

Xie Yan looked at it carefully and found it quite interesting.

If his brain had not been damaged and he had not forgotten the Four Books and Six Classics, he should have returned to his hometown in Hebei to take the exam by now.

In the Ming Dynasty of this time and space, there is no concept of tongsheng.

The county magistrate presides over the county examination, and those who pass the examination will go to the provincial examination.

Although the prefectural examination was organized by the prefect, it had to be supervised and marked by the education commissioner. Just like the metropolitan examination was organized by the Ministry of Rites, but the Ministry of Rites was not allowed to participate in the supervision and marking of the examination, all of which were intended to separate the organizer and examiner of the imperial examination.

Supervise each other to prevent cheating.

The educational commissioner was unable to be everywhere at once and could only serve as the chief examiner in each prefecture. Therefore, the examination times in each prefecture were different, and the examination questions were also different to prevent leaks.

It is usually held in February and March. The closer to the provincial capital, the earlier the provincial examination will be.

In some remote areas, it may even be delayed until May.

Xie Yan followed and listened to what the students were saying.

"I have inquired about it. The new education commissioner appointed last year supports the reform. The essays for the government examination must be written on the reform."

"Hey, you liberal arts students, how are you doing with the new edition of the textbooks?"

"It's OK. I gave you half a year to study."

"Stop talking. My version of the classic is based on Xunzi, and the annotations to Xunzi have been greatly changed!"

"Isn't the law the really difficult part? The new version of the Great Ming Code has changed a lot. The prefectural exam doesn't matter, but I heard that the provincial exam will also test the Industrial and Commercial Law."

"Are you guys so stubborn? You just memorize the parts that have been changed. They must be the key points of the exam."

"..."

Xie Yan was secretly laughing as he listened to this, and couldn't help but recall the college entrance examination that year.

Perhaps it was because Xie Yan was well dressed and followed by several armed followers, so the students thought he was a child of a noble family.

Soon someone took the initiative to step forward, bowed and greeted him, saying, "I am Lü Gui from Hanchuan County, with the courtesy name Meiying. I have already obtained the qualifications and can take the provincial examination directly. May I know your name, brother?"

After traveling through time, Xie Yan also learned some ancient etiquette. He bowed and said, "I am Xie Yan, with the courtesy name Chaozong, and I am from Hebei."

Lu Gui asked in surprise: "Brother Chaozong, aren't you coming to Hanyang to take part in the provincial examination?" "Heading north, passing by." Xie Yan answered simply without revealing his specific itinerary.

Since they were not from the same hometown who took the exam together, Lu Gui did not have much intention to make friends with him. He looked at Xie Yan again and saw the jade pendant, but did not recognize it as the waist badge of the Royal Bachelor.

Even if I recognized him, I wouldn't think that way because Xie Yan was too young.

Stay in Hanyang for half a day and one night, continue to sail north the next day, and finally take a train in Xiangyang.

During the reigns of Taizu and Taizong, trains only went as far as Nanyang, but now trains are also available to Xiangyang.

Xiangyang is the provincial capital of Hubei. Most of the materials from Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei and Hanzhong now go north through Xiangyang. Its status as a water and land hub has become more prominent, and it has become a city with a population of one million!
Of course, the port was built in the Fancheng area on the north bank, and Xiangyang directly annexed Fancheng.

This place is much more prosperous than Hanyang, which makes Xie Yan look forward to it: What will the capital Luoyang look like?
"Sir, the train station is ahead." The temporary driver reminded.

Xie Yan hurriedly got off the bus and walked towards the train station.

It was a three-story brick building, and the waiting hall was extremely lively.

There were many poor people in the Ming Dynasty, but there were also many rich people and middle-class people, so they had no shortage of money to take the train.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

Even some small vendors transport goods by train. If their goods are not large in quantity, they can buy tickets on the train and are not taxed along the way.

Of course, it must be a small and in-demand commodity, otherwise the profit would not be enough to cover the ticket price.

When I arrived at the platform, the locomotive looked huge and imposing.

In the early days of the Industrial Revolution, machines were big, beautiful, and powerful.

Especially because of insufficient air tightness, steam engines are often built very large, so the slight air leakage can be ignored.

"Senior time traveler is awesome!"

Xie Yan stared at the huge monster in front of him and felt more and more magical.

He bought a premium ticket, which had no berths but more spacious and comfortable seats, and was in better condition.

He chose a seat near the window, and four strong servants sat around him.

This premium carriage can accommodate eight people, and the remaining three seats are temporarily vacant.

Then we waited for more than an hour.

There are not many trains and the intervals between departures are very long.

"Please give way."

Two more people entered this carriage.

One master and one servant.

The host was about twenty years old, wearing a cotton scholar's shirt, which was much more simple than Xie Yan's.

Seeing this, Xie Yan asked his servants to help them get their things.

The scholar bowed and said, "Thank you for your help. I am Meng Shu from Gong County, with the courtesy name Shuheng. What is your name?"

Xie Yan responded with, "Xie Yan from Hebei, courtesy name Chaozong."

When Meng Shu bowed, he suddenly noticed the jade pendant on Xie Yan's waist. He was very knowledgeable and asked in surprise, "Biyu Bai Ze?"

Xie Yan smiled and said, "It was a fluke."

Meng Shu seemed a little bit unbelievable, staring at the jade pendant for a few more times, until he saw the number on the jade pendant, then he said: "Excuse me, I'm sorry, you are the Jade Bachelor of the Physics Society. I joined the Astronomy Society, and luckily became the Medicine Jade Bachelor."

Yaoyu is colored glass.

Among the members of the Royal Society, the Medicinal Jade Scholar has the lowest rank.

Although the waist badges of various societies are all engraved with Bai Ze, the shape of Bai Ze varies slightly between different societies.

Upon learning that this person was also a scholar, Xie Yan's followers relaxed their vigilance and even gave up a seat for him.

The two sat opposite each other.

This high-end carriage can seat eight people, but it was not full until it departed.

“Woo~~Bang bang bang bang!”

The whistle sounded and the train started slowly.

Meng Shu couldn't help but be curious and asked, "How old are you?"

Xie Yan replied: "I will be seventeen in two months."

Meng Shu thought Xie Yan just looked young, but when he learned his age, he was amazed and said, "Sixteen-year-old Jade Scholar, only the second since the founding of the Ming Dynasty!"

When Xie Yan corresponded with those pen pals, he did not reveal his age so as not to be looked down upon by those guys.

Of course, Nie Qi and his gang definitely knew that detailed information had to be submitted when recruiting members.

"Brother Meng is also quite good." Xie Yan said.

Meng Shu was obviously very proud of his achievement. He smiled and said, "I still can't compare with you. My achievement was purely accidental. Six years ago, one of my father's favorite students and a skilled craftsman from the Ministry of Industry who specialized in polishing lenses jointly improved the refracting telescope."

"Before they had time to publish their paper, I used their telescope to observe and discover Callisto. Although it is called Callisto, it is actually the third closest satellite to Jupiter. It could not be seen with previous telescopes, and I was the first to come into contact with their improved telescope. By chance, I got a good deal without knowing it."

Xie Yan said: "Brother Meng is too modest."

At this moment, Meng Shu seemed to remember something: "Brother, you are the author of that damping paper? No wonder it sounds so familiar to me!"

"Brother Meng also reads physics journals?" Xie Yan asked with a smile.

Meng Shu said: "Although I was in Hanzhong last year, I have been paying attention to academic journals. Someone used your academic discovery to build a damping balance, which has already caused a sensation in the academic world!"

Xie Yan didn't want to talk about this, so he changed the subject and asked, "Is Brother Meng's hometown in Hanzhong?"

"The ancestral temple is in Xixiang County, Yangzhou," Meng Shu explained. "There are ancestral worship activities in my hometown. My grandfather is too old to travel far, and my father has a public office. So I will return to my hometown to worship the ancestors on behalf of the Meng family of Gong County."

Xie Yan said: "It seems that Taizu and Taizong came from Xixiang County."

Meng Shu said proudly: "My ancestor was a disciple of Taizu and served as a cabinet minister in the early years of the country. Later, he became fascinated with academics, so he resigned from his high position and founded a college in the mountains."

Xie Yan was filled with awe: "It is truly admirable that he resigned from his cabinet position for the sake of academic research."

Meng Shu said: "My family's ancestral motto is to teach our descendants to study hard and not to work as officials. Being an official can only bring temporary glory, but studying academics can benefit future generations."

Xie Yan actually believed it.

(End of this chapter)