Ming Dynasty man

Chapter 72 Meeting Zhang Ao Again
Li Jing got up and walked over, pulling Zhang Ao up: "It's just a little effort, you don't need to be polite."

Zhang Ao sat blankly for a while, then suddenly beat his head hard and sighed: "Oh! If I had known that I would meet my benefactor, I shouldn't have had a drink last night. Otherwise, I could have bought my benefactor a drink!"

Li Jing waved his hand and said with a smile, "If you want to drink, I'll just invite you. I promised to invite you to drink before."

"How dare you waste your money on Engong! That's right! Where have you been, Engong these days? I heard that there was a conflict between the Shen family and the Xu family because of bear bile, and you were also implicated in Engong. Alas! If I hadn't talked too much back then How could the Xu family know about benefactor hunting bears?" Zhang Ao sighed.

"Things are over, why mention this? I'm doing well now, how about you?" Li Jing smiled.

Zhang Ao smiled bitterly and said, "How do you think I can live like this? It's just a day-to-day counting."

"How old are you this year?" Li Jing asked.

"26, do you think I look like 62!" Zhang Ao sighed.

Hearing that Zhang Ao was only 26 years old, Li Jing was shocked. He thought Zhang Ao was over 40 years old.

"You are so young, why don't you want to find another way out?" Li Jing asked.

Zhang Ao shook his head and said, "There is no way out. I have no room, no ridge, and no strength to restrain a chicken. What can I do?"

"Then what do you usually do for a living?" Li Jingqi asked.

"Helping someone write a letter or something, I helped someone write Spring Festival couplets in the past few days, and exchanged some wine money." Zhang Ao sighed.

"Have you ever read?" Li Jing asked in surprise.

Zhang Ao smiled bitterly and said, "I was a scholar in the past few years."

"Scholar?" Li Jing was overjoyed, he really found a treasure, he didn't expect this poor man to be a scholar.

Li Jing had heard of the title "xiucai" before, but he didn't know exactly what it meant.

Until one time he chatted with Shen Zheng and asked Shen Zheng why he didn't let the children of the Shen family study and become officials. If someone from the Shen family became an official, wouldn't they need to be afraid of the Xu family?

At that time, Shen Zheng smiled bitterly and told Li Jing that the generation of the Shen family had no reading materials at all.

Li Jing asked a little strangely at that time: "Didn't Jixian read books?"

Shen Zheng told Li Jing with a wry smile that even Shen Jixian failed the Tongsheng test at Shen Jixian's level.

Li Jing didn't know what Tongsheng was, so he asked.

Shen Zheng told Li Jing that if he wanted to be an official in the Ming Dynasty, he had to take the scientific examination.

After passing the Tongsheng examination, you will be eligible to continue the examination. At this time, you will take the county examination. If you pass the examination, you will be a scholar. Generally speaking, each county will only admit a limited number of places for each examination.

Only those who have won the show can take the next test.

The next step is called the government examination, which is equivalent to the provincial examination.

Winning Juren means that you can be an official, but it only means that you can be an official, and whether you can be an official is not certain.Even if you can become an official, it's impossible to be a general. You don't even think about being a scholar, because you don't have the qualifications.

If you want to be a high official, you must pass the Jinshi examination, that is, the national examination.

Jinshi still needs to continue the examination, which is the palace examination.

The emperor came to be the chief examiner in the palace examination. After the examination, the emperor selected talents according to their grades.

Later, Li Jing also learned that in fact, the Jinshi examination does not require qualifications for juren, as long as you are a scholar, you can participate.

To put it bluntly, being a scholar is equivalent to having an admission ticket.

The National Examination Admission Card, if you pass the exam, you will be a civil servant.

But the civil servants in the Ming Dynasty were not so easy to pass the exam. The civil servant exam was only taken once every three years, and only about [-] people were admitted at a time in the whole country.

With such a small admission rate, of course many people fail the exam.

What if I fail the exam?
It doesn't matter, wait three years and take the exam again.

After taking the test, you will become an old man.

Therefore, most civil servants in the Ming Dynasty were old men.

According to the current standards of civil servants, no matter what, they must have a bachelor's degree. That is to say, a scholar is equivalent to a bachelor's degree.

Li Jing's bandits were basically illiterate, how could Li Jing not be overjoyed when a college graduate suddenly appeared.

It's just that Zhang Ao is not Li Jing's person yet, and whether he can join is still unknown.

You know, the social status of a scholar is actually very high.

For example, you don't have to kneel when you meet an official, you don't have to pay food, you don't have to do corvee, and so on.

Once he joins the ranks of bandits, the government will inevitably revoke his reputation after learning that, and all the efforts he has made before will be for naught.

Li Jing had to find out Zhang Ao's background before he could know whether he could win him over.

After thinking for a while, Li Jing asked, "Since you are a scholar, why don't you go for the test? Even if you win the exam, you will have a bright future."

Zhang Ao smiled wryly and said, "I really want to, but I can't even eat. How can I have the money to take the scientific examination? And I'm in mourning now, so I can't take the scientific examination. After my filial piety is over, three years I have passed the one-time Grand Competition, and I have to wait for another three years. With my current family situation, my studies would have been wasted after a few years."

Li Jingjing nodded, knowing that the ancients paid great attention to filial piety, and many things were delayed because of filial piety.

But Li Jing had a question in his mind. Zhang Ao said that he didn't have a room or a row of land.So what did his family rely on to maintain life and provide him with education.

Hearing Li Jing's question, Zhang Ao raised his head suddenly, with a gleam of hatred in his eyes.

After a while, Zhang Ao slowly lowered his head, sighed and said, "My family used to have more than 20 mu of fertile land, but it was raped by the Xu family a few years ago, and the two elders got seriously ill in a fit of anger. In order to treat my parents, I I spent all my savings in the family, and finally sold the house, but in the end I couldn't save the old man."

Li Jing patted Zhang Ao's shoulder lightly.

Li Jing didn't ask Zhang Ao why he didn't report to the officials.

The Xu family is very powerful, covering the sky with one hand in Lin County, even a wealthy family like the Shen family is forced to flee far away by the Xu family, how can Zhang Ao, a small scholar, be his family's opponent?
After thinking for a while, Li Jing said in a deep voice: "Zhang Ao, from now on there will be no such family as the Xu family in Lin County, you don't have to worry about it anymore, I will give you some money, you can buy some property, study hard !"

"What? There is no more Xu family in Lin County..." Zhang Ao was shocked when he heard this, and suddenly thought about it, and then asked softly. "Engong, could it be that you are going back to Lin County this time...?"

Li Jing nodded slightly.

Seeing Li Jing's solemn face, Zhang Ao knew that Li Jing was not joking, and was stunned for a long time, then suddenly faced the southwest and knelt down on the ground, crying and saying, "Father! Mother, your elder brother's revenge, benefactor has avenged it for you!"

Then Zhang Ao turned to Li Jingyun's hoe, choked, and said, "Engong reports this great hatred for my family. Zhang Ao has nothing to report.

Li Jing shook his head, gently opened the box next to him, pushed it in front of Zhang Ao, and said lightly, "Zhang Ao, I don't need anything in return. If you want to continue taking the scientific examination, you can take it yourself, and take as much as you think you need." How many."

This small box has been opened by Li Jing before, and it is full of rare treasures, many things Li Jing has never even heard of, let alone seen, and the value is even more unknown.

Under the reflection of the fire, the inside of the box exudes various lusters and colors.

When Zhang Ao saw it, he was immediately fascinated and dazzled by it.He stretched out his hand involuntarily, groped into the box, picked up a blue-black gemstone, and said tremblingly, "I can take whatever is inside here? This is an opal! It's a priceless treasure! "

Seeing Li Jingjing nodded, Zhang Ao bravely took out another green stone: "This is emerald, the color is so pure, such a big one is worth at least a thousand taels of silver."

To say that Zhang Ao knows quite a lot.

It's a pity that every time he took something, Li Jing sighed in his heart.

Zhang Ao took a dozen or so things in succession, then stopped suddenly, with a pensive look on his face.

After a while, Zhang Ao threw the things in his hand into the box, and said, "The things in here are all treasures, but unfortunately I'm afraid I'll be killed instead of spending them."

Li Jing smiled, this person didn't seem to be confused yet.

"Don't worry, since I said to give it to you, I won't regret it." Li Jing smiled.

Zhang Ao shook his head and said: "Of course my benefactor wouldn't lie to me, otherwise why open the box? I don't know what's in the box. I dare not take it, because I wouldn't dare to exchange these things for money even if they were given to me. The so-called innocence is full of crimes. I am a penniless poor man. If such a thing suddenly appears in my hand, don’t others suspect it? He took a reminder."

Li Jing shook his head and thought, "I'm really not as generous as you think. If you take the contents of this box, the first thing I do is take your life. I didn't kill you because you were greedy for money, but because I was afraid of you." Once caught by the government, tell the origin of the thing, tell me my name, then Hongshanling will really never have peace. Fortunately, you are smart enough to figure out that these things are hot."

After pondering for a while, Li Jing said: "You don't take the things in the box, and I don't have any money to give you, how will you live in the future?"

Zhang Ao remained silent, pondered for a while and said, "Engong, I have a question in my mind, I don't know if Engong is willing to tell me."

"Tell me, what questions do you have? Let's see if I know." Li Jing smiled.

"Yesterday, I heard a news from the guard that the officers and soldiers encountered evil spirits while suppressing the bandits, and all the food and grass tents were burned out, so they had no choice but to retreat. I wonder if this is the work of a benefactor?" Zhang Ao pondered. Say it all at once.

Li Jing asked in surprise, "Why do you think I did it?"

Zhang Ao smiled lightly and said, "I only became suspicious when I remembered the mask that Engong wore on his face just now."

Li Jing smiled and said: "How can I be so powerful, there are so many officers and soldiers, how can I repel them by myself."

Zhang Ao didn't answer, and suddenly turned over and fell to his knees: "Zhang Ao has been rescued by benefactor many times, and Zhang Ao has avenged him even more. Zhang Ao has nothing to repay. He is willing to join benefactor's command and be driven by benefactor."

(End of this chapter)