Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 133 0128 [Jie Yuan]

The recorder joins the army, also known as Dalu and Ducao, who is in charge of the judiciary and discipline inspection of a state.

In addition, it also assists the state to obtain the household registration tax book.Together with other departments, it is in charge of the Grain Institute (salary and military pay) and the military treasury (military supplies).

An official with real power, he manages a lot of things, and he can even get a foot in the imperial examination.

Tu Hongyu is a Jinshi who joined the army as a recorder in Yangzhou. It goes without saying that he was a Jinshi who was rolled out from Jiangxi.

Tu Hongyu felt that it was meaningless to correct dozens of papers in a row. The overall academic level of Yangzhou scholars was too low.Just like that, they would be hanged and beaten in Jiangxi, and at most one or two of those hundreds of people won the exam.

Picking up the teacup, Tu Hongyu took a sip of green tea.

This thing has become popular in the Yamen. At first, it was just an arty way, but gradually I found that green tea is really very convenient.

It's in the government office, it's just an office drink, don't talk about a gentleman.

Especially the affairs officers and subordinate staff, they have a lot of paperwork to do, and it is too troublesome to drink group tea, and the steamed loose tea is too astringent.The green tea is just right, make a cup there, and let the handyman come and add water at any time.

After drinking it for a month or two, Tu Hongyu was completely obsessed with green tea, and began to dislike the freshness and naturalness of Tuancha.

"Tu Ducao, let's read this paper." Si Li Canjun came over with the answer paper.

Tu Hongyu said, "Let's put it down."

When Si Li joins the army, he is also in charge of prisons, and is at the same level as the recorder and joins the army in terms of justice.If the prisoner refuses to accept the "above", the two judicial judges will cross-examine and supervise each other.

In addition, Si Li also has the right to review cases that have been completed.

It can be understood in this way that the state judges to supervise and balance the magistrate, the secretary joins the army and the state judges part of the financial power, the manager joins the army and the secretary joins the army part of the judicial power, and the magistrate has the right to assign the manager to join the army.

Layers of supervision and mutual checks and balances.

This kind of decentralization can be seen everywhere, and the higher the level, the more obvious it is.

Tu Hongyu took it over and took a look: "I heard that the emperor may have good ministers, but I have never heard that the British Lord promoted traitors. There are also good ministers, and there are different traitors. This is also the habit of chasing the superior. The sages have words, and the rulers are honest. , Pei Ju was loyal to the Tang Dynasty because he was a sycophant in the Sui Dynasty. The scene is also, the table moves and the scene follows..."

The small composition for the local exam is limited to two to three hundred words, and Ju Ming can't play freely, he must go straight to the topic and write clearly.

He even quoted a passage from "Zizhi Tongjian". Anyway, this thing has not been around for many years, and it is estimated that not many examiners have read it seriously.

Tu Hongyu really didn't see the quotation part, after reading it, he slapped the table and praised: "This guy is very talented, and he is quite impressive, he should be the first among all the volumes!"

"I'm afraid that I might insinuate the officials." Si Li joined the army and said.

Tu Hongyu pretended not to see it, and said: "This article only talks about the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and focuses on Tianbao's traitor, and mentions Pei Ju incidentally. How can it allude to today's saints? You are too worried."

"Indeed." Si Li joined the army and smiled.

Tu Hongyu is also a member of the New Party. He is an elder in his family and had a good relationship with Cai Jing before.

In recent years, the new party has split, and Cai Jing frantically eliminated dissidents. Regardless of whether the new party or the old party hindered him from taking power, he was dismissed.Tu Hongyu was also implicated by his elders, hated Cai Jing to death, and even hated the emperor. Zhu Ming wrote this article to his heart.

The article was selected, but it is not yet known who wrote it.

At this time, the local examinations did not distinguish between poetry rooms and Yi rooms. Anyway, whoever was better at the scriptures would go to the examination papers.

There were more than 1 small essays in the examination papers of hundreds of people, all of which were corrected in less than ten days.

The chief officials of Cao Cao took the papers and ran to the magistrate and the state judge, and everyone dismantled the name together.

Zhizhou basically doesn't care about the examination room, but occasionally participates.There are no clear regulations on invigilation, main examination, and examination papers. It may be that the governor of the prefecture or the prefectural judge is in charge of the examination, and the official Cao will invigilate the examination, or it may be the opposite.

So casual, it's easy to cheat.

Yangzhou is not bad. It is difficult to get a Jinshi if you are the first in the list. If you spend money to bribe the examiner to cheat, it is better to ask the examiner to recommend it.

It was Jiangnan who really cheated. There were too many hopeful Jinshi, and the competition for the number of candidates was too fierce.

The Cao officials checked the ink scrolls with the Zhu scrolls, and quickly announced: "Bai Chongyan is the first in the "Analects of Confucius" question!"

Then he announced: "The Analects of Confucius, Min Zishun is second!"

Ju Ming only took the third place in "The Analects of Confucius".

Yang Zhizhou compared the three-point papers and said, "Ju Ming's article should be judged first, but unfortunately, the technical skills are still a little insufficient."

Li Tongpan took it over, nodded and said, "That's true. After all, I'm still young. It's really rare to be able to write like this for the first time in an examination room."

To put it bluntly, when Ju Ming wrote the scriptures, his thoughts and intentions were higher than his ancient prose skills. In some places, he did not perform very well, and he had to practice writing small compositions.

Yang Zhizhou said: "Let's treat him as the third in "The Analects of Confucius."

Next, the "Mencius" volume was opened, and Min Zishun was first, Zhu Ming was second, and Bai Chongyan was third.

It can only be said that stereotyped essays are extremely effective. In previous years, Bai Chongyan's performance in the examinations was always outside the fifth or sixth place, but now he always ranks in the top three.

The imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty really valued policy theory!
Disassemble all the test papers on policy theory, and Zhu Ming's three strategies and one theory were all rated first, thanks to his excellent keyboard skills.

Li Tongpan drew a circle on Zhu Ming's name, and said with emotion: "This Zhu Chenggong is worthy of being a scholar of the Eight Elements. Maybe he won't win this year, but he will be named on the gold list in a few years."

Yang Zhizhou smiled and said: "You are lucky to be his seat master."

Li Tongpan said: "It's just a test, where can I find a teacher."

Juren in the Song Dynasty really didn't pay much attention to tutors, otherwise they would have too many tutors.

Yang Zhizhou said: "There is still a passion for incense."

Yang Zhizhou has received the order to stop talking about the imperial examination, and meet Li Tongpan for a drink, and leave the rest to Officer Cao.

The ink scrolls of those who won the examination must be sealed and sent to the Ministry of Rites in the capital for preservation.The Zhu Juan was kept in the local government, and another copy was copied and posted.

The next day, the list will be released.

Fatty Zheng borrowed his father's carriage and drove Zhu Ming and Bai Chongyan straight to the Gongyuan. Zheng Yuanyi and his sister-in-law also went out together.

Outside the Gongyuan, there were quite a lot of people watching the excitement, but it was far inferior to the scene of the Ming and Qing Dynasties when people were promoted.

"Sister Li, sister Wang, sister Min..." Zheng Yuanyi waved to the female relatives in the distance.

Those female relatives are all accompanied by their husbands or elder brothers to watch the list, and they are all dressed up in a very happy manner.

The women got together, and the men also got together, chatting about topics of interest to each other.

A few guards came running, and the crowd moved out of the way.

There is only one list of candidates, with only eight names, which are already all the places in the three counties of Yangzhou.

In the early Northern Song Dynasty, there were very few scholars, and admission was based on the proportion of candidates.

Today is the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, and there are too many scholars, so we can only rely on quota admission.

Kaifeng Mansion has the largest number of applicants, and the candidates there are all Tianlong people!
Among the eight names, the winners are clear at a glance.

Zheng Yuanyi shouted in surprise: "Brother Zhu is the No.1 Jieyuan!"

The female relatives all looked at Zhu Ming, laughing and chatting in whispers.

They were very courageous, and even those who were married formed a group to surround Zhu Ming and ask various questions.

Do you agree to give or take a kiss between a man and a woman?

Shouldn't the agreed woman show her face in public?

Zhu Ming could only keep bowing and dealing with these women carefully. He was about to become a friend of women in Yangzhou.

"Congratulations brother Chenggong!" Min Zishun smiled, somewhat disappointed in his heart. He was number one in the previous sessions, but now he has become No.2.

Ju Ming replied: "Congratulations, congratulations."

The score for the policy essay was too serious, and Bai Chongyan only got fifth in the exam. No.3 is Ling Guxu, and No.4 is a candidate named Wu Changxin.

The two brothers Wang Chang and Wang Wei who followed Chen Yuan in their studies all failed the rankings.

But Wang Chang's knowledge is higher. The Wang family spent money to entrust the relationship, and the prefect and the prefect jointly sent him to Beijing to take the exam.

The guard also asked for some happy money, but did not smash the door.

If he was hit once and smashed once, the gate of Min Zishun's house would have to be changed every three years.

The common people just came to watch the excitement, and no one surrounded Juren to go home.People in Yangzhou have been numb to Jinshi for more than 20 years, and don't think it's unusual to be a scholar.

Ju Ming was the first in this solution, and he didn't seem to have much limelight, and only a group of female relatives favored him.

The guards also posted the Juren article, and the scholars looked up to read it, nodding their heads from time to time to express their admiration.

After Ling Guxu finished reading Ju Ming's thesis, he came over and bowed: "Brother Chenggong's article is really wonderful, and I admire it!"

"It's easy to say," Ju Ming clasped his hands, "Brother Linggu's strategy is also well written."

Ling Guxu's policy theory is really good. He only ranked sixth in the 3 scripture questions, but he relied on the policy theory to score points in the exam to solve No.[-].

To be honest, Ju Ming feels that Ling Guxu's actual talent is likely to far exceed that of Min Zishun, Bai Chongyan and others.

It's just that Ling Guxu is usually boring and doesn't talk much, so he doesn't seem very outstanding.

The rest of the scholars, regardless of whether they were good or bad, came over to chat after reading Ju Ming's article.

Some people even copied it on the spot, planning to take it home and study it.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

After bidding farewell to everyone, Zhu Ming and Bai Chongyan went back by car, and the Zheng family set off firecrackers to celebrate them.

"You two nephews, please go to the main entrance." Zheng Lan came to greet her in person.

The old man was very envious. It would be great if these two young people were his grandsons.

There are also many descendants of the Zheng family, and they have been nurturing them with all their strength since they were young. Why can't they grow the seeds of study?

Not to mention the banquet that day, after eating and drinking, Zheng Hong asked his servants to bring two brand new boxes and cages for them to go to Beijing for the fashion book exam and change clothes.

Zheng Yuanyi clasped her hands behind her waist, and said with a smile, "I picked this one myself. The two elder brothers will definitely be able to enter high school if they go to Tokyo!"

"Thank you, little lady!" Bai Chongyan cupped his hands.

Zhu Ming said: "You look very pretty, my sister has a heart."

Zheng Yuanyi smiled even more happily: "I have been choosing for a long time, as long as my brother likes it."

Today the sun is quite poisonous, and everyone sits in the shade of a tree drinking tea.

"Meow!"

A mother cat ran over with a few kittens.

Zheng Yuanyi hugged and stroked it twice, then let the cat play by itself.

Playing and playing, the mother cat picked up the kittens one by one, put them all at Zheng Yuanyi's feet, and then ran away in style by herself.

Zheng Yuanyi complained: "This raccoon slave is very lazy, doesn't know how to raise children by himself, and always throws it in front of me."

Ju Ming joked about popular science: "The cat regards you as a family member, so it asks you to help take care of the child. When you have a child someday, the cat will also help you take care of it. It is very powerful."

"Really?" Zheng Yuanyi reacted suddenly, blushing, "I'm not married yet, even if I have a child, I won't let the cat help me look after it."

Zhu Ming casually picked up one and put it on his lap. The kitten still wanted to resist, stretched out its tender paws, and stopped when it was turned over and pressed.

Bai Chongyan has a lot of experience in rushing for the exam. He reminded: "When you go to Beijing, you can take one or two servants and let them go out with tea on their backs. The car and boat at the post station along the way can be free of charge with the post ticket. Taxes will not be levied on those vehicles and boats. But the servants should not bring too many, two is best, and three will make the couriers unhappy."

"Understood." Zhu Ming nodded.

Lifting people to bring goods through the toll booth does not enjoy the privilege of tax exemption. The real tax exemption is the post station.

This situation changed a little in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, candidates from all walks of life in Sichuan and Shaanxi were really tax-free.It was crazy at that time. Juren from Sichuan shipped whole boats and boats to Jiangnan for sale, even some of them were in the food business.Once the Sichuan-Shaanxi Juren is admitted, merchants rush to cooperate, and they can make a lot of money [-]%.

Unlike now, Juren can at most bring one or two servants to Beijing with a small amount of light goods on their backs.

It is also necessary for the Eight Immortals to cross the sea, each showing their magical powers, and all Juren carry local specialties.Here in Yangzhou is tea, and in other areas there are brocades, silk sand and so on.

The Juren in Jiangnan was even more interesting. They went to the Lianghuai Salt Fields to buy private salt, and then transported the salt to the capital as a Juren.

The number of Juren in the south of the Yangtze River is large, and every year when Jinshi is a scholar, a large amount of private salt enters Beijing, and the imperial court makes repeated orders, requiring Juren not to bring salt into Beijing to sell.

Bai Chongyan said: "I didn't sell even a catty of this year's top-quality tuancha. I saved all of it and prepared to sell it in Tokyo. I didn't pay taxes halfway, and I could earn two to three hundred guan tea!"

"Hahaha, brother Juncai is in business." Zhu Ming laughed.

Bai Chongyan said: "It's just selling goods by the way. The prices in Tokyo are too expensive. If you eat a little bit better, you can spend at least one hundred Wen a day, and you can spend hundreds of Wen. If you stay in Tokyo for a month, dozens of money will be gone. If you pass the exam Scholars, the expenses are even greater, before the salary is paid, I am afraid that the poor children will have difficulty even eating."

Zhu Ming said, "Then I'll take some dried shiitake mushrooms to Tokyo, I'm afraid Junzi Tea won't be easy to sell."

Bai Chongyan also said: "In Tokyo, there are many streets where you can set up stalls, but the real business is only those few streets. You have to get up early every day and choose a suitable location. Don't set up stalls in the middle of the street. I've tried it, but it's not as good as the ones at both ends of the street. There are other things to watch out for..."

The two scholars who had just won the exam actually talked about business experience, and they even had the knack of setting up a street stall.

Fatty Zheng was envious when he heard it, only at this time would he regret that he didn't study hard and missed the opportunity to make money by bringing goods to Beijing duty-free.

(End of this chapter)