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Chapter 294 Recruiting scholars for the country
At the beginning of the seventh year of Jingyang, the imperial examinations that had been suspended due to the death of the Empress Dowager were resumed. Like Ding Weinian's imperial examinations, the emperor once again came to preside in person, and the questions asked were once again deviant.The number of taxes in Guangdong in the past ten years calculated by the Ministry of Household Affairs is given, and the candidates are asked to summarize the patterns and give conclusions.

In the 28th year of Wanli, the summer and autumn grain taxes totaled more than 2600 million shi. Guangdong's official and private farmland accounted for only about 2% of the country's total, and the grain tax was less than 60 shi.As the only port that allows foreign trade, the Guangzhou Shipping Department’s annual shipping quota is only 7 taels.

From the 28th year of Wanli to the third year of Jingyang, Guangdong's taxes were almost the same amount every year. When the weather was bad, the amount was lower, and when the weather was good, it was higher. The difference was about the same.

The city's shipping department simply omitted the weather factors in drawing points, ranging from 5 to no more than 8. Even if a large part of it was tax in kind, it would never exceed 20 taels of silver after being cashed out.

But this stable situation was broken in the fourth year of Jingyang. The grain tax remained the same as before, with a slight decline, 52 shi.But Fanbo's points increased five times, and the total cash value plus goods value reached 100 million taels.In addition, commercial taxes have also increased more than three times, but because the base was too small before, it will still be less than [-] taels after three times.

Is it possible that there were a relatively large number of tribute ships from other countries back then, or that the amount of goods purchased by the Folangji people was abnormal?No need to guess, just look at the data and you will understand.

From the fourth year of Jingyang to the sixth year of Jingyang, Fanbo's draw points have increased year by year in the three years, and last year it exceeded 150 million taels.Commercial taxes have also been rising, exceeding 5 taels, and even grain taxes have also risen, reaching 80 taels.

What is the reason why Guangdong, which is not rich, suddenly becomes a big tax payer?More than 400 tributes who were able to pass the test spent a whole day thinking hard, and less than [-]% of them could give answers, and less than ten of them were reliable.

Of course, even if the Gongshi people hand in blank papers, it will not affect their ability to become Jinshi.According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, there is no such thing as failure in the palace examination, it is nothing more than the difference between the top, second, and third ranks.

Two days later, the No. [-], No. [-], and No. [-] overall picks in Xinhai were announced. What’s interesting is that two of them are from Guangdong.Among the top two, the number of tributes from Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi, Zhejiang and other places is very concentrated, and their rankings are still very high.

So why are the Gongshi CE exam scores in these places generally much better?The answer is simple, the one who is near the water and the tower first gets the moon.

Candidates from Guangdong and Fujian not only know about the changes that have taken place in Guangdong in recent years, but may also have experienced them personally. Some candidates from Guangxi and Zhejiang have also heard about them through different channels.Therefore, you can grasp some context when answering, and you will not miss the target.

When candidates from other regions face new things, they have neither seen nor heard of them, and have no concept at all in their minds. Most of the answers are incorrect.

In fact, the answer is very simple, just four words, Li Zhi’s New Deal!
Li Zhi was appointed governor of Guangdong and Guangxi in August of the third year of Jingyang. After arriving in October, he immediately began to promote the cultivation of sweet potatoes, barley and sugar cane, and also encouraged the construction of sugar mills and breweries.

In just one year, the agriculture in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions showed little improvement, but the amount of external exports increased several times, and the handicraft industries in Guangdong, Fujian and eastern Guangxi also prospered.

At the beginning of last year, when Yuan Yingtai and Li Rumei went to Guangdong together, the speed of the New Deal was accelerated a lot. Not only did it bring the handicraft industry to a higher level, it also made sweet potatoes and wheat not occupy good land, use less labor, and ensure stable output. The characteristics of the system have been brought into play, which has led to improvements in agricultural data.

Except for a few officials, most local officials and people did not know that the emperor was behind the New Deal, or even that there was a New Deal. They only cared about what they saw with their own eyes and heard with their own ears.

Whoever allows them to eat well and earn money is a good official.So Li Zhi went from a foreigner who was messing around to becoming a Qingtian master praised by the locals, and he never mentioned the curses and resistance back then.At this time, the New Deal was the trend in Guangdong, especially in Zhaoqing and Guangzhou. From farmers to businessmen, from landlords to gentry, anyone who had not spent time thinking about how to grow more cash crops and start a business as Governor Li mentioned If there is a factory or something, anyone will be poked in the spine and called a fool.

Even if there are still some relatively conservative landowners, gentry, craftsmen and farmers who are unwilling to try new things, they no longer dare to openly oppose it as before. They can only hide at home and talk secretly with relatives and friends.

Faced with the policy question paper on the table, Hong Tao has yet to give an answer.The examiner spent a whole day carefully selecting them from hundreds of answer sheets, and the emperor had to make the final decision on who should win the first place.

Hong Tao read all the top ten answer sheets and felt that these three were slightly better. However, if he wanted to subdivide one, two, and three, it was difficult to distinguish based on the difference in the answer sheets alone. He had to add some other factors. Such as connections, camps, family background, etc.

"Who is this Liu Lishun?" The first person asked was a candidate from Henan. His understanding and familiarity with the New Deal was no worse than the other two candidates from Guangdong, and was even more comprehensive and in-depth in some aspects.

To say that Henan is 100% an inland province, Hong Tao really doesn't believe that someone can sit at home and outline the New Deal just by reading a few words in the newspaper.

"Long live Lord Shengming, he is a fellow countryman and disciple of Navy Governor Yuan Keli. He moved from Qixian County, Henan Province to Tianjin Wei in order to become a disciple. It took half a year to get his wish." Upon hearing this, Wang An quickly took out a bag from his arms. It’s a small book, and you’ll find the answer as soon as you open the first page.

The work efficiency of Dongchang has improved a lot since he took over. For example, every one of the hundreds of candidates who came to Beijing to participate in the examination was carefully investigated.Everything of some value was written down and awaited the emperor's inquiry at any time.

"No wonder... Yuan Liqing doesn't waste anything. It's rare to be able to teach such a student. But for Liu Lishun, did he go to court to entrust him?"

As soon as he heard that he was Yuan Keli's student, Hong Tao suddenly realized.Both Li Zhi and Yuan Keli had a relatively deep understanding of the New Deal.As their students, of course you cannot be too superficial.

It is certainly a good thing that the New Deal can be understood and supported by more people, and it deserves praise and encouragement. However, if the high school secretly makes some small moves to attract students, it may be counterproductive.

"Long Live Lord may have been busy and forgot. Governor Yuan led the main force of the navy south just after celebrating the festival. My servant did not notice Liu Lishun doing anything else."

"...Okay, I'll just be a favor and Governor Yuan won't be scolded all the time. It's time for him to be in glory for once!"

Wang An didn't have much contact with Yuan Keli, so there was no need to help him cover up anything. Since he said he didn't, there shouldn't be.Hong Tao picked up the ink pen and wrote "[-]" on the edge of Liu Lishun's paper. The number one scholar in the palace examination of the year of [-] was announced.

(End of this chapter)