Optimus One Pillar of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 19 Yin Zhengmao comes out
After getting married, Wang Daoqiu pretended to study hard during the day and worked hard on Shen Xiangning at night. He worked at home day and night for nearly a month.

In the golden autumn of October, Wang Daoqiu bid farewell to his family and went north to Shuntian Mansion to cheat on the most important exam in his life.

The Ming Dynasty General Examination was held in the second month of the lunar calendar. Why did Wang Daoqiu go more than four months in advance for the February exam? Why didn't he go after spending the Spring Festival at home?To be honest, Wang Daoqiu didn't want to go to Beijing for a winter. How could that hell place be as good as Jiangnan?He also wanted to go there after spending the Spring Festival at home, but reality didn’t allow it!Generally speaking, the Ming Dynasty in the [-]th century was really too backward.

Unlike modern civilization, there are high-speed rails, cars, and airplanes.In the Ming Dynasty in the [-]th century, its main mode of transportation was water transportation, followed by land transportation relying on human and animal power.

Everyone knows the climate in China. Every year when winter comes, the area north of the Huaihe River is a northern scenery, with thousands of miles of ice and thousands of miles of snow drifting.Rivers and lakes are frozen and cannot be navigated.

Faced with this reality, if candidates from the south go to Beijing after the Chinese New Year, since the rivers in the north are frozen during this time, they can only go to Beijing by land.

You can imagine the sour feeling of walking, riding a horse or riding a carriage in this ice and snow for thousands of kilometers to Beijing.What's more, if there is another cold wave on the road and heavy snowfall like in 08, then you will be stuck on the road complaining about the inability of the sky and the earth to respond, lamenting the injustice of fate to you!

Moreover, the medical treatment in this era is still very backward. A small cold can turn into a serious and life-threatening illness.And walking thousands of kilometers in that ice and snow, can you guarantee that you won't even catch a small cold?
Therefore, in every session of the examination, candidates in the south want to avoid the influence of weather on their traveling methods and to save themselves from suffering.They will rush to Beijing by boat on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal before the rivers in the north freeze.In this way, people will not suffer, let alone risk their lives.

Wang Daoqiu did the same this time. He also chose to go to Beijing in advance before the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was frozen in the golden autumn of October.

Starting from his hometown, Wang Daoqiu rejected his wife Shen Xiangning's proposal to follow him.Life is truly precious, but love is even more valuable. If it is for freedom, both can be thrown away.

In his previous life, because his family was poor, Wang Daoqiu was the kind of person who was directly blocked by the girls around him.So when he was in college and at work, he was particularly envious of his buddies who had girlfriends.

Every time he heard those buddies complain about how annoying their girlfriends were and how it would be better to be single like Wang Daoqiu, Wang Daoqiu always thought it was because the buddies were trying to show off to him.

But when he has a wife himself, he knows how clingy girls are.He understood that when his buddies complained in front of him that his girlfriend was troublesome, it was better to be single.Their desire to show off is true, but their annoyance and desire to be single is also true.

So before leaving home, when Shen Xiangning said that she wanted to go to Beijing with him, Wang Daoqiu was free to seduce you, but I was as calm as water and would never waver.

And in order to free his heart, Wang Daoqiu also rejected the annoying fat man Jiang Zhijian's offer to sit on the Jiang family's cargo ship to Beijing.He hired a carriage himself to cross the Qingyan Mountains and go to Guangde County, which is part of Southern Zhili. He then took a boat to the Yangtze River from Guangde, and then took a passenger ship at the Yangtze River Pier to enter the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

Wang Daoqiu's home is separated from Guangde County in Nanzhili by a low and gentle hill called Qingyanling.After climbing over this green inkstone mausoleum, we entered the famous Niutou Mountain in Guangde County.

In the 90s and [-]s, this hilly valley in the Niushan area was known as "Little Hong Kong" and was the core of the Niushan mining area.

In the 90s and [-]s, the most prosperous period here, there were department stores, courts, banks, top-level hospitals, public security bureaus, Changguang TV Station, Workers' Cultural Palace, cinemas, train stations, snack streets, farmers' markets, small commodity markets, large There are more than a dozen schools, large and small...It is like a small county town and can be described as prosperous.

In that era, there were many political and business celebrities here, including a Zhejiang chief envoy, a business minister, and the host of Hangzhou TV station named Li.

It was so prosperous, but unfortunately in the end it suffered the same fate as many third-tier and smaller third-tier factories of that era, and became a deserted place...The hard work of several generations over the past 50 years has turned into a memory that cannot be returned. This place can only be the eternal hometown in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of Changguang people.

Feeling sentimental about the future prosperity and loneliness of Niutou Mountain, Wang Daoqiu rode a carriage through the Niutou Valley, which was about three to four kilometers long, and arrived at Dushan Town.From here we took a boat to Guangde.

When Wang Daoqiu arrived in Guangde, it was dark, so he had no choice but to stay in Guangde for one night.The next morning we took a boat to the Yangtze River Wharf in Wuhu County, Taiping Prefecture.

When Wang Daoqiu arrived in Wuhu, it was almost dusk.Because there is a thin autumn rain in the sky now, and the dim light is not conducive to night flying.Therefore, for the sake of safety, all kinds of passenger ships and cargo ships passing by Wuhu Pier during this period have docked here to spend the night, and wait until dawn tomorrow before embarking on their journey.

There were passenger ships at the pier, so Wang Daoqiu saved a lot of hotel money tonight.So he looked for a large passenger ship that had just docked, and looked at a well-dressed middle-aged man who seemed to be the owner of the ship and was directing the crew to tie the cables on the shore.He went over and asked: "Brother, please, are you the owner of this ship? Wan Sheng is a candidate who is going to the capital to take the exam. Brother, are you going to the capital with this ship?"

"Oh, it turns out that the young master is the master of Juren. How disrespectful! Master of Juren, I am the owner of this boat. My surname is Xue. I salute you." Upon hearing that Wang Daoqiu was the master of Juren, the middle-aged man He hurriedly said polite words and bowed to Wang Daoqiu.

After the salute, the middle-aged man continued: "Master Juren, the destination of this boat is exactly the Tongzhou Pier in the capital city. Master Juren, if you want to take the ship, you only need to pay three taels of silver to get a second-class room." cabin."

Second class, why does the price of this cabin sound so low?Ma De, the daughter of the richest man in Zhejiang Province, is a bastard, and there is a soft rice king in the world who can't explain it even with a thousand mouths.He has become known to everyone in the country as a soft rice king, and he still lives in second class. How can he live up to his reputation?
So facing the shipowner who let him live in second class, Wang Daoqiu asked unhappily: "Shipman, don't you have first class on your ship?" "Oh, Mr. Juren, this little ship is sailing from Huzhou, Sichuan." It was issued. This road passed through Sichuan, Huguang, Jiangxi, and ended in Nanzhili. Along the way, we stopped at the docks of various states and counties. There were many officials and wealthy businessmen who went to Beijing to take the exam like you. There are many candidates! Sir, you How could such a small ship still have first-class cabins? Not to mention first-class cabins, even the first-class cabins were already full before leaving Huguang. There are only five rooms left in the second-class cabins. There are empty beds.”

"When we arrive in Yingtian tomorrow, there will definitely be a large group of people coming up. After all, Yingtian is the most prosperous city on the Yangtze River. There are many officials and wealthy businessmen. Let alone second-class cabins by then. Even the third and fourth classes will definitely be full. Mr. Juren, there is nothing you can do at this time of year. The canal will be frozen in another month. Anyone who wants to go to the capital must hurry up during this month. Master Juren, if you have to stay in the first class, little man There is really nothing we can do about this ship. Then you should be a little tired and go ask about this ship that originates from this place."

Think about it, what the boat owner said makes sense, as for local boats!Wang Daoqiu thought about it, it was too troublesome to carry a bunch of luggage by himself!So Wang Daoqiu, who was afraid of trouble, said to the captain: "Okay, second class is second class. Please ask the captain to ask a guy to help me unload my luggage. I have a lot of luggage."

"Understand, understand. When you go to Beijing to take the exam, you need to bring a lot of these saint's books. Okay, I'll ask my buddy to help you move them."

After the captain finished speaking to Wang Daoqiu, he loudly called a waiter to come over and ask him to help carry the luggage.After Wang Daoqiu thanked the shipowner and paid the shipowner three taels of silver, he was taken aboard by his waiter.

As soon as he got on the boat and out of sight of the captain, Wang Daoqiu took out a dime of silver to reward the guy who helped him carry his luggage.

After receiving the reward, the clerk immediately beamed with joy. He said flatteringly: "Master Juren, thank you! Thank you for the reward. Master, I want to tell you that there are still empty beds in the five cabins on the ship." Three of the second-class cabins are occupied by wealthy businessmen. Those people are not fastidious. You are a decent man, sir, so you cannot live with them. The other two are occupied by candidates who went to Beijing to take the exam like you. , the two Juren masters each have their own advantages and disadvantages. One is older and has a good temper, but as he gets older, he coughs and phlegms more, is not very hygienic, and is also noisy. The other Juren master is in his early 30s. He is relatively clean, but he has a bad temper and is fierce. Master Juren, those five rooms are like this, so which one do you want the younger one to send you to?"

Information!The reward value of this dime of silver.After thinking about it carefully, I realized that the elderly person kept coughing and spitting, and I couldn't bear to hear that sound all the time.After all, it would take half a month for this wooden sailboat to reach Beijing under normal weather conditions!

As for the middle-aged scholar in his early thirties who has a bad temper, he has a bad temper. If he dares to mess with me, I can’t beat him to death!

After thinking about this, Wang Daoqiu said to the waiter: "Go to the young man's room!"

"Okay, master, please follow me, and I will take you there. Master, please watch your steps."

"Thank you"

...............

In this way, Wang Daoqiu followed the crew and arrived at the door of a room on the second floor at the top of the cabin.As soon as he arrived here, the boatman first put down Wang Daoqiu's luggage, then he knocked on the door and shouted: "Master Juren, Teacher Juren, there is another Master Juren here at Wuhu Pier. Please let him live in your house." ,OK?"

As soon as the shop assistant finished speaking, there was a response from inside, and then a short and thin middle-aged scholar came out after opening the door.As soon as the middle-aged scholar came out, he yelled at the boatman: "Aren't there four rooms on this floor with empty beds? Why do you have to take people to my room?"

"Sir, you've been living on this ship for two days. Don't you know what's going on with the four rooms? Three of them are occupied by businessmen. This young master is as famous as you. Respectable man, can he live in the same house as those despicable businessmen? And the old gentleman, he is old and often coughs and spits. You said I won't take this young gentleman to you, I will still Where can I get it?”

Hearing the middle-aged scholar's scolding, the boatman hurriedly explained with a mournful face.After the middle-aged scholar listened to the boatman's explanation, he was reasonable.He stopped pestering the boatman and asked Wang Daoqiu with an arrogant expression: "Boy, you look very young. Are you eighteen? You are a candidate at such a young age. Boy, are you lying?" Boatman?"

Old bacon, question Lao Zhi’s academic qualifications!Wang Daoqiu didn't bother to explain to others how arrogant he was. He just took out his certificate of election from his body and handed it to the other party.

The middle-aged old scholar took Wang Daoqiu's certificate and took a look at it: Wang Daoqiu, born on February 25, the ninth year of Jiajing, a resident of Tandu Village, Furong Town, Changxing County, Huzhou, Zhejiang, male Ding, born in the 1th year of Jiajing, Zhejiang Province Provincial Examination No. [-]….

When he saw this information on Wang Daoqiu's certificate, the middle-aged scholar was stunned.Damn it, I am the Jieyuan of Zhejiang Province at the age of 17!And I only passed the Yingtianxiang Examination when I was almost thirty, and my score was only No. 30.Just comparing the test scores, I am so crazy about others!
Knowing the huge gap between his test scores and Wang Daoqiu's, the middle-aged old scholar immediately corrected his attitude.

He respectfully returned Wang Daoqiu's election certificate to Wang Daoqiu, and said in a low-key voice: "Xiangong Xie Yuan, what a formidable young man! At the age of seventeen, he surpassed all the talented people in Zhejiang and ranked first in the ranking. Not talented Yin Zhengmao. , named Yangshi, nicknamed Shiting, from She County, Huizhou Prefecture, South Zhili..."

"What, what did you say your name was?"

Damn it!The old bacon said he was Yin Zhengmao, which frightened Wang Daoqiu.Anyone who is familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty or has watched the TV series "Ming 1566" will definitely know the name "Yin Zhengmao". What an awesome all-rounder he represents in both civil and military affairs!Damn it, Damn it, even a boat could hit him, Yin Zhengmao, a versatile civil and military man who could bring peace to the country with his literary skills and his military skills.

God, you are really talented!Ma De, you are so kind to Lao Zhi, could it be that Lao Zhi is really the reincarnation of your son?

(End of this chapter)