Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1074
When it was daylight, Coal Dan felt a shake.

"Coal egg, coal egg, get up, go to school."

Opening his small eyes, he looked at his mother with a yellowish complexion in front of him. Mei Dan responded, then got up and let his mother help him get dressed.

Immediately, he used the willow branches taught by his teacher to stick some charcoal ash on the stove, and started washing it under the eaves.

"Poor and fastidious!"

Sitting at the dining table, the old man ate gruel, added a piece of kelp skin, and muttered.

"This is what Mr. taught."

Mei Dan's small face glowed, and he said eloquently: "Brush your teeth and you won't get worms easily. When the teeth are white, you will marry a beautiful wife."

The father did not expect that his son would dare to talk back. He just raised his right hand and suddenly put it down again: "Sir, you are right, scholars must be clean."

"I heard that an official should also look fair. If he looks ugly in the future, no matter how good he is in the exam, he will be gone if he says he won't be the champion."

He said to his mother-in-law: "That Zhong Kui who sings the opera, isn't he? He's so ugly that the emperor doesn't even give him an official position."

The mother-in-law said seriously: "That's right, we are going to be a high-ranking official in the future, so we can be fair and handsome."

The family laughed and sat down and had breakfast.

Gruel, dried radish, kelp skin.

This is a unique diet of the seaside, even porridge is salty in the mouth.

They are boatmen, they go out early and return late, and the afternoon of fishing is no less than that of farming, and except for rainy days, there is no time for rest at all, and it is very dangerous.

The family lives on a small island in the Miaodao Archipelago, which is not as large as Changdao County, but a village under its jurisdiction, with about [-] households.

Fishing in the Bohai Sea is the biggest livelihood.

"Let's go!"

The young father is only 30 years old, but under the weather, his face is no less than forty.

He was wearing a single gown, and applied fish oil on the exposed areas. When he saw his son leaving with his schoolbag on his back, he pulled him over and applied fish oil.

"Mei Dan, although this thing is fishy, ​​it won't hurt you."

Immediately, the father and son arrived at the door of the house, got on the boat and started paddling.

The people in the same village joked: "And you said you were studying in Xiucai?"

"That is, you must read."

Gu Wufeng responded with a smile, and then took his son to Changdao County.

Although there are thousands of fishermen in Changdao County, the real society is concentrated on Changdao. There are thousands of households here, with a city wall, and it is very lively.

Most of the catches are traded here, so it prospers.

Of course, no one can erase the credit of the navy.

Although the navy is not stationed on Long Island, daily consumption and business are done there, and a shipyard has been established.

Although it is only a small boat with less than a thousand materials, its powerful ship repair function has brought many ship merchants who have crossed the Bohai Sea.

The father and son found a remote place to anchor and put down the boat.

There is no berthing fee, which is the key to Long Island's attraction to boat traders.

The social school is not big, only one acre square, and can accommodate thirty or forty school children.

Carrying her schoolbag, Tuan Dan went to school happily.

"Hello sir!"

After everyone saluted, the book was opened.

Social Studies was a school established by the imperial court. The imperial court provided teachers with rice and food, and students only had to go out to study.

There are still differences between social studies and private schools.

Such as private schools, generally pay attention to the importance of academic achievement, and the students who study are basically devoted to it, and generally there are few holidays.

Sociology, on the other hand, mainly focuses on cultivating schoolchildren, enlightening their Confucianism, and establishing Confucian etiquette and morality.

Therefore, social studies will have a holiday during the busy farming season, and during the slack season, classes will be held as soon as possible, and the management will be looser. History and such.

The function of enlightenment is more than the pursuit of fame.

This is exactly the case. Students under [-] will be temporarily exempted from corvee service if they are studying in social studies.

Gu Changfeng wrote a book and started to explain taxes today:
"Shandong is an upper province, and my mother pays three cents. If I want to be exempted from the service, I have to pay three cents. The corvee in my Changdao County is usually in winter, and it lasts for a month, and it lasts for ten days..."

"If you want to serve in the mansion, it can't exceed half a month at most."

"As for other prefectures, it is absolutely impossible to hire people without spending money. This benevolent government is thanks to His Majesty today. He has stipulated that corvée can only be collected in the four months of October, November, December, and January... ..."

"Sir, how do we fishermen pay taxes if we don't have any land?"

Coal Dan raised his hand, his face full of doubts.

Gu Changfeng chuckled and said: "A fisherman only sells his catch. As long as he has copper coins, he must pay taxes immediately, one in ten taxes."

"If you come across those green skins that aren't bad, you'll have to pay more!"

"You have to remember that everything is inferior, only reading is high. As long as you get the honor in the exam, you will have no troubles."

After chattering for a while, he assigned the task of asking the older ones to help the younger ones memorize the Thousand-Character Essay.

After returning to the back room, he breathed a sigh of relief.Take the time to read the book.

As a child student, he only passed the county examination and the government examination. He is considered famous in Changdao County, but there is a huge threshold before he can leap over the dragon's gate.

He gritted his teeth, carried a pair of Shen Zhou's paintings, and hurried to the teaching office in the county seat.

"Oh, Jing Cong, you are exaggerating."

Jiaoyu shook his head, his face full of reluctance, he couldn't put the painting down in his hand.

Shen Zhou is the founder of the Wumen School of Painting, his apprentices include Tang Bohu and Wen Weiming, who are extremely famous in Jiangnan.

On the market, an authentic copy of it costs no less than 500 yuan.

However, because this master of the Wu family is really too generous, no matter who comes to ask for a painting, he will respond to his request, even if he brings a copy, he will stamp it without error, and he is not stingy with private printing.

But there are so many paintings that can't stand it, and it has gone through wars.Authentic works are very rare.

"Students only want to seek fame, and the way of calligraphy and painting is not something students can play at this time."

Gu Changfeng held up his hand and complimented: "I heard that the professor is a master of calligraphy and painting, so I thought that I should not be secretive about it. I want you to keep this painting!"

"Hahaha!" Jiaoyu said with a happy smile: "That's true. Before the fame is achieved, everything is just a side detail."

"Since you want to seek fame so much, since we are in the same class as the chief of Zhidao Academy and have a pretty good relationship, I will recommend you to go!"

Zhidao Academy was founded in the 16th year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, and its original name was "Hunan Academy".

At the end of Jiajing's reign, Zou Shan, the deputy academic envoy, renamed Hunan Academy "Zhidao Academy" and became an academic and political yamen.

Yin Shidan, a cabinet scholar in the Longqing period, came from this academy.

It can be said that in the whole Shandong, its prestige is great.

It is not a disadvantage to ask for a recommendation for a pair of calligraphy and painting.

Gu Changfeng was overjoyed.

"I can't blame you."

Jiaoyu accepted the calligraphy and painting, sighed and said, "I don't know how many Koreans have settled here in Changdao County."

"Seventy-eight out of ten of those who entered the school are Koreans, rich and noble families, how can ordinary people like me compare?"

Hearing this, Gu Changfeng also became emotional: "I don't know why, the household registration is extremely difficult in other places, but there is no restriction in Long Island, those second classes in North Korea are reluctant to part with their sons, and those sons are all here... ..."

"How can I be good in Long Island! Why doesn't the court care about it?"

"Control? How?"

Jiaoyu sighed: "This matter is the imperial court's idea, who can decide in the local area? Even if the governor comes, it won't work."

"Besides, the presence of this group of people is also good for Changdao County..."

Gu Changfeng could only helplessly.

"By the way, the imperial court issued an edict to establish a social school in each township."

Jiaoyu said softly: "If you made a mistake in Zhidao, come back and help me, there are too many social studies..."

Gu Changfeng felt warm in his heart and backed away.

And here, after sending his son to school, Gu Wufeng took a net and went fishing with the fishermen in the village.

But in fact, it is only a few dozen miles offshore, and we dare not go too deep.

Even so, there are endless fish in the sea.

"I don't want to fish anymore."

At this time, his childhood partner approached him and said seriously: "I heard that the shipyard is looking for a carpenter who can repair ships."

"We fish every day, repairing boats is commonplace, and it's just right to be a carpenter."

"I heard that there is one yuan a month!"

Gu Wufeng didn't want to talk to him at first, but when he heard the money, he was immediately moved: "Is it that high?"

"Then there are so many people running the boats that the people repairing the boats are too busy. Can't we just recruit people?"

"You think, with such a big boat, how can there be poor people?"

"Fart!" At this moment, the second-hand man stepped in, and immediately said with his arms akimbo, "What's the point of being a shipbuilder? How much does it cost you to work hard?"

"Let's go fishing, whale hunting."

"whale?"

Noticing that all the fishermen in the village were attracted, Er Laizi said excitedly, "That's right, we often go on the boat and encounter big fish spraying water."

"With such a big head, it costs thousands of dollars just to sell the meat, and the whale blubber can be used to make candles, and the whale skin can be used to make clothes. One head can cost as little as 5000 yuan."

"All of us in the village went to catch one, even if it was divided equally, it would be more busy than getting the head in one year."

These words made the people who said them excited.

Although everyone is not well-educated, there are only thirty or fifty families in the whole village, and each family has at least a hundred silver dollars.

This can last for three to five years.

"Wufeng, doesn't your kid go to school? You don't need money for pens, ink, paper and inkstone? You don't need money for a good husband? You have to fish every day until the year of the monkey?"

The second lieutenant began to persuade one by one: "Big head, don't you want to marry a wife? Others can have a sister in exchange for marriage, but you are alone, do you still want to be a son-in-law?"

"Catch a whale, and you've got everything."

"Brothers, I have inquired clearly. We don't have whale harvesters in Changdao. There are whale collectors in Dengzhou Prefecture. There are also whale collectors in Liaodong..."

Erlaizi's words made everyone lose their mood for fishing.

Who has nothing to worry about?

Catching a whale can overcome any difficulty.

At night, the men of the village got together and decided to hunt whales.

The group of people were experienced and asked the blacksmith to make two huge hooks, with ropes tied behind them and inflated sheepskin floats.

Once the whale is hooked, it will not let go, and kill it when it is exhausted.

The desire for life makes the fishermen full of momentum and fearless of death.

They even dared to dive directly into the water and insert large iron hooks into the whale's flesh.

In just ten days, they captured their first whale.

It was also the first whale to be seen in the Long Island County Chronicle.

It caused a sensation throughout Changdao County.

Thousands of catties of whales were packaged and bought by merchants for 5000 yuan in silver dollars.

The whole village became rich in an instant.

In this way, a whaling boom was immediately set off, and then swept across the entire Shandong Peninsula.

People compete to be proud of whaling.

When fishermen have money, they are more willing to buy big boats to go out to sea, so as to catch more whales and get rich.

The shipbuilding industry in Shandong suddenly sprang up, and more and more people became sailors.

Even sailors sometimes couldn't bear the loneliness, and went fishing privately, stealing the fishermen's business.

This provoked public outrage, violated the rules, and was impeached by the court directly by the local government.

This matter is very simple for the cabinet. Those who demote officials will be demoted, and those who will deduct their salaries will be deducted.

For the civilian court, soldiers cannot be privately owned and will not be tampered with. This is an important red line for the army.

Even sailors are no exception.

Du Yinxi, the chief assistant of the cabinet, took advantage of this to come to the inner court and began to communicate with the emperor.

In order to secure a stable position in the cabinet, the close relationship with the emperor is an important guarantee.

Du Yinxi deeply understood this truth, so he came to the inner court every now and then, even if they were talking about trivial matters.

"Whaling!"

Zhu Yixi suddenly remembered: "This thing is very popular in Heilongjiang. I heard from Bai Wang that no less than a hundred whales are slaughtered every year."

"If it weren't for the sea seal, their number would have doubled."

"There are very few whales in the Bohai Sea, so they have to travel far."

Du Yinxi glanced at the arm-thick candle in the palace. Wasn't it the emperor who brought up the spermaceti culture?

"Your Majesty, the fishermen are sailing out to sea. Some are fishing, and some are probably doing business and trying to evade taxes!"

"tax evasion?"

Zhu Yixi was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Can they escape? The sea is not safe!"

"In addition to tax evasion, the sea is too big and fishermen are running around. People with bad intentions can come and go at will, colluding with each other and infiltrating."

Du Yinxi began to analyze from the political point of view: "In the past, in order to avoid being hunted by the government, those robbers and bandits either threw themselves into Taoist temples or became robbers in the mountains."

"Now you can go out to sea at will, but once you go out, you will find a needle in a haystack."

Obviously, Du Yinxi felt that such a loosening of control would be detrimental to public security.

Politically it has always been absolute.

Since there is a risk, it should be blocked. As for the survival of the fishermen, hasn't it always been like this in the past?

It's just going back to the past.

"Take it and die."

The emperor said in a deep voice: "Going out to sea to fish is a good thing. If the imperial court strictly controls it, I am afraid it will cut off the fishermen's livelihood."

"As for the issue of order, just work harder on land, and relax on the sea!"

After speaking, the emperor said again: "Looking at it now, the commercial tax in Shandong may increase again this year, which is a happy event."

Thinking of Shandong, he thought of Jinan again.

Daming Lake, Ming Lake is big, there are lotus flowers in Daming Lake, and there are toads on the lotus flowers, poke and jump!

He suddenly wanted to go to Shandong.

Jinan is known as the city of springs.

He basically walked around Yuquan Mountain and Beijing these years, and he was really tired.

(End of this chapter)