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Chapter 112: The General Examination and the Beijing Inspection

"...What your Majesty said is absolutely true, I will teach you!"

"Okay, get up and talk. I have a few ideas. Master Li, let me hear if they make sense. The name of the newspaper is not suitable. The late emperor and I never had any intention of moving the capital. Replacing the capital with Xingzai may attract criticism." Except In addition to the paper, Hong Tao was not satisfied with the name of the newspaper. It was not that it was bad, but it was more sensitive.

Where should the capital of the Ming Empire be located? Since the founding of the country by Zhu Yuanzhang, there has been no unified opinion at the top level.Initially, three capitals were selected: Nanjing as the southern capital, Fengyang as the central capital, and Bianliang as the northern capital. In the end, Nanjing had to be the capital because Fengyang's infrastructure and transportation conditions were too backward.

It is said that Nanjing is the base where Zhu Yuanzhang made his fortune. Why wasn't the capital directly established here?The answer is simple. According to historical records, all dynasties with their capital in Nanjing did not last very long and were relatively unlucky.

It’s not very scientific to say that I don’t believe in luck or Feng Shui at all.After Lao Zhu died, he passed the throne to his grandson. As a result, his son quit and started a rebellion. Although he did not change the dynasty, he also moved the capital to Beijing.

However, most of the officials of the Ming Empire were from the south, especially the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. They had become accustomed to the local climate, humanities, and food since childhood, and were very reluctant to live in the cold, windy, and sandy north.But the emperor wanted to leave because of his evil intentions, and it was impossible not to go, so he could only hold his nose and follow.

Although people have left, they still miss their hometown, so the call to move the capital has never stopped.There was a time when Beijing was called Xingzai, which means palace, and government officials had to add the prefix Xingzai to indicate that Nanjing was the real capital.

More than 200 years have passed, so I guess I should be used to it.The result was not that most officials in the court were still from the south, and the topic of moving the capital had never disappeared.For this reason, the Ming Dynasty has always maintained the two-capital system, that is, one leadership team in Beijing and another leadership team in Nanjing, and important government departments are also on each side.

At this time, if you blatantly put the word "Xingzai" on the name of the newspaper, it will be easier to arouse people's associations and make you vulnerable to attack.If there is a debate on this issue, it will be difficult for the emperor to hide behind the scenes and control it. He must come out and take a stand.

Support moving the capital?That's impossible; if you don't support moving the capital, you have to deny "Xing Zai Wei".No matter how he expressed his stance, Ma Jinglun would be in trouble, and the nascent newspaper would be killed.

"...It is better for your Majesty to come up with a name, and I will tell Ma Jinglun." As a cabinet scholar, Li Zhi immediately understood the emperor's meaning and agreed with it. However, he did not want to bear this burden and planned to settle it once and for all.

"Uh... how about calling it "Ban Yue Tan"? It costs a lot of money to print the newspaper every day. It is more suitable to publish it every half month, and the article has time to polish it carefully." Hong Tao didn't want to take advantage of this, but he has a strong hobby in naming. , after holding it in for several times, he still couldn't hold it back and blurted out.

"...I thought..." When Li Zhi heard the name and its explanation, his old face was suddenly filled with furrows, and he muttered but couldn't think of words of praise right away.What a stupid name. It has no literary talent at all.

"Master Li, there's no need to worry about it. I don't read much, and I'm not even as good as a boy. But as I just said, newspapers are not just for scholars. It doesn't hurt to have a more vulgar name."

Hong Tao knew that the name he chose was not in line with the taste of the ancients, and he was too lazy to listen to those insincere flatteries, so he just called it "Ban Yue Tan". When he is firmly on the throne of the emperor, he will nominate him with a pen. Let's see who dares to laugh!

The farce of kings being virtuous and ministers being loyal has not completely dissipated, and the new year has arrived again. 1607, the third year of Jingyang, the third year of the new emperor's accession to the throne, was also a very important year in Hong Tao's plan.If we consider the first three years as an internship period, then starting from this year we will become a full-time employee.It's just that before becoming a full-time official, he still has to pass a major exam. There are two exam items, the Imperial Examination and the Beijing Examination.

The imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty was divided into five stages: children's examination, college examination, rural examination, general examination and palace examination.Each stage is a clearance mode, and you must obtain approval from the previous stage before you can challenge the next level. The final BOSS challenge is once every three years.

People who study in various places pass the local childbirth examination and obtain the qualification of childbirth.Tongsheng may be a child or an old man several decades older. There is no age limit.

Children are eligible to take exams at the next level, state or county level, called hospital exams.Those who pass are called scholars and are qualified to receive state welfare.

Scholars in the Ming Dynasty could receive about one tael of silver per year as a food subsidy, two quotas per household exempted from official labor, the qualification to raise slaves, immunity from criminal offenses, and the privilege of not kneeling before officials.

There are still many benefits. People are willing to study hard if they have some conditions. Even if they fail to pass the examination, becoming a scholar can make the family burden much easier, and their social status is far higher than that of ordinary people.

Once you have the status of a scholar, you can take the provincial-level examination, called the provincial examination.Those who pass this level are called Juren, and their welfare benefits are immediately improved by more than one level. They are commonly known as Juren Masters!

Why are you called Master?Because Juren is already qualified to be an official, it is a class jump and he has risen to the circle of the ruling class.Even if he has no official status for the time being, he is accepted by the circle and has a bigger stage.

From Juren to higher up, there is a national first-level examination called the National Examination.At this time, candidates should pack their bags and prepare for a long journey, because there is only one exam location, the capital.

After passing one level, it is not finished. Those who pass the test need to take another palace examination. The emperor will personally set the test questions. Only those who pass the test are called Jinshi, Jinshi, and Jinshi. They are also called the top three in later generations!

In movies and TV shows, there are often scenes of people going to Beijing to take exams. There are many scenes of poverty, no money to pay for room and board, and scenes of falling ill and being left alone in an inn.

It seems reasonable to think about it. In ancient times, transportation was not developed. If you came to Beijing from Guangdong, Fujian, Yunnan and other places to take the exam, it would take half a year if everything goes well. The cost of food, accommodation and hiring boats and cars along the way would definitely not be expensive. It is really unaffordable for ordinary people's families.

But don’t forget, those who come to Beijing to take the exam are all Juren!He doesn't have to pay taxes, do hard labor, don't have to pay public taxes, hang out with dignitaries all day long, and if he doesn't have enough money, he will become an official at any time.Is it difficult for this kind of person to get some travel expenses?You don't even have to open your mouth to borrow it, there are a lot of people rushing to give it away.

Even if you don’t know a rich person, you don’t have to worry.All states and counties provide subsidies for local students to come to Beijing to take the exam. Those who are close to each other will receive less subsidies, and those who are far away will receive more subsidies. This is generally enough to cover the expenses along the way.Of course, don't spend too much money, it won't be enough even for traveling.

(End of this chapter)