Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 996 Lintel
There are three points in the imperial examination, and each of the three categories of rich, middle and poor gets places.

There are eight rich provinces: Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Shandong, and Guangdong.

In addition, it also covers Beijing and Nanjing.

The central provinces are six, Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Liaodong.

There are twelve poor provinces, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Fujian, Anxi, Gansu, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Suiyuan, Chahar, Jilin, and Heilongjiang.

At that time, people collectively referred to it as the 22 provinces of the two capitals, two Mongolia and two generals.

Compared with the two capitals and thirteen provinces in the pre-Ming Dynasty, the theoretical expansion has nearly doubled.

In addition, like the newly established Mobei Governor's Mansion, its time is too short to be included in it.

Among the imperial examination places, the eight richest provinces compete for 120 places, the six middle-ranked provinces compete for 80 people, and the poorest twelve provinces compete for [-] people.

Twelve rookies pecked at each other, changing the previous mode of running with each other, and almost everyone was glued to it.

Among them, Fujian has 22 places, Shaanxi has [-], Yunnan has [-], and Guangxi has [-].

Gansu and Guizhou each accounted for two people, and the remaining six provinces each had one person, which can be regarded as a great harvest.

Chahar, Ningxia, Suiyuan, Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Anxi have achieved zero breakthroughs, which is unimaginable for the encouragement of local scholars.

For example, in Zhejiang, in the early Ming and Song dynasties, the industry was not prosperous, but in the time of Yingzong, the morale of the province was greatly improved, and Zhejiang Jinshi began to blow out, ranking among the top three.

Therefore, the emergence of Jinshi in these border areas will be unlimited in the future. This is also the original intention of the emperor to re-divide the quota.

Of course, it is undeniable that the emperor played a part in it.

At this time, Huiyuan is Xia Yuan, Dantu County, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu.

All of a sudden, the guild halls in Beijing were full of firecrackers and joy, so that the number of banquets continued to expand, and many tributes had to pay their debts to treat guests.

Zhang Yingxi smiled brightly, and it was not too late for him to be on the imperial list at the age of 30.

The Jiangnan Guild Hall was extremely lively at this time, with a total of 100 people from Anhui, Jiangsu, and Nanjing, 35 from Jiangsu, [-] from Anhui, and [-] from Nanjing.

A quarter of Jinshi came from Nanzhili, which is extremely exaggerated.

Zhang Ying looked at the several layers of firecrackers in front of the guild hall, which was several times that of other guild halls. He was deeply moved for a moment. Fortunately, Nanzhili was divided into three parts, otherwise the public opinion would not be able to stop.

But when he thought about it carefully, Nanzhili should be like this.

Although northern Anhui and northern Jiangsu have suffered from wars, the essence of southern Jiangsu and southern Anhui has been preserved.

After more than ten years of peaceful development, coupled with the governance of the Huaihe River, the Huaihai Plain has recovered again, and Dingkou has increased greatly.

"How can the imperial court live in peace with such a huge monster?"

Zhang Ying held his head high, but he couldn't help but be thankful in his heart. If he and Jiangsu competed for the 135 people, Anhui would have been crushed all the time, and the division was good.

The guild hall was very popular, and wealthy merchants from the capital also showed up one after another, especially the group of Huizhou merchants. The carriages were like flowing water, directly blocking the alley, which was very lively.

Chen Su, a great Anhui merchant, rode in a carriage, and his handsome war horse was used to pull the cart, which made the passing people dumbfounded.

But he sat in the carriage, opened the window, looked at the equally lively Shaanxi Guild Hall, and said with his tusk:

"Shaanxi has taken advantage of it. With 22 people, it is higher than Shandong. It is indeed the hometown of the emperor!"

To be honest, as a native of Anhui, he was very dissatisfied with Anhui being classified as a rich province and competing with Jiangsu and other places for supremacy.

Anhui is so poor, except for Huaibei, it is almost all mountains, and the tax is three cents, which is really too much.

Shaanxi is not far from it, and it has directly become a poor province, taking advantage of taxes and imperial examinations, which is simply enviable and hated.

"I'm in Anhui, and I'm also the hometown of Emperor!"

He shook his head, making up his mind.

We must separate Anhui from the rich provinces, or at least the middle provinces, so as to reduce the burden on the people.

As everyone knows, Shandong, Hunan and other places also want to get rid of the sea of ​​suffering and return to the scope of the central province, and one by one they start to clamor.

There are more than [-] guild halls in the capital, and at this lively moment, they can no longer bear the loneliness.

"He's from Jiangsu again?"

In the mansion, Yu Chenglong couldn't help frowning when he heard Huiyuan's hometown.

Shaowu's champion in 16 years is also from Jiangsu. This is Lianzhuang!
But he shook his head again.

The emperor will not sit idly by, the existence of the palace examination is for balance.

The number of places in the general examination is to balance the poor and the rich, and the ranking in the palace examination is related to the future of scholars.

Non-Hanlin has no cabinet. This has been a tradition for many years, and it is the imperial court's compensation for Jiangnan and other places.

If you suffer a loss in the number of places, you can make up for it in the ranking. It is impossible to take advantage of all the advantages.

The same Jinshi and Jinshi background, a few words in the district, represent a world of difference in the future.

The same Jinshi observes politics in the eight departments, and the Shujishi directly serve as the living man, or serve as the secretary in the cabinet, and do chores for the elders of the cabinet.

Not on a level line at all.

However, Jiangsu is really too much. The reference number is only 370, and 60 people are directly selected, with a ratio of one out of six.

And 400 people will be admitted in the general examination, but it's just one out of twenty.

"Jiangsu should be split up!"

Yu Chenglong sighed, and then told his family to pack their bags and prepare to go south.

He couldn't wait for the imperial examination to begin.

For sea transportation, Yu Chenglong is still quite scrupulous, so when going south, he took the canal.

After [-]% of the grain was transported by sea, the thousands of miles of canals became a paradise for civilian ships, and materials from the south and special products along the river were continuously sent north.

On the surface, the canal connects the north and the south, but in fact, more goods are transported from the north to the south, and goods from the south account for [-]%.

There are millions of people in Beijing, 20 Beijing camps, and a huge group of nobles and hundreds of officials, creating a strong consumption capacity.

Standing on the deck, he looked at the ships of various colors like ants, and his heart was full of emotions.

From Beijing to Hangzhou by boat, Yu Chenglong learned about the list of Ding Weike Jinshi in the 19th year of Shaowu.

The number one scholar is Dong Na from Shandong Plain.

The second place is Miao Tong from Suzhou, Jiangsu.

Tanhua is Zhang Huaichen from Fengxiang, Shaanxi.

The rest of the list of Jinshi was issued in official documents to all prefectures and counties, while the Daming Gazette published it clearly, using two sides, it can be said to be extremely detailed.

"Comfort Shandong!"

Yu Chenglong shook his head and continued to head south.

At this time, if he chooses the land route, it will take more than a month to travel from Fujian to Guangdong and Guangxi, while the sea route only takes three to five days.

If you have family members, you can only choose to take a sea boat.

When I arrived in Guangzhou, I saw a lot of sails on the sea, the prosperity of the wharf rushed into people's hearts, and the heat wave hit people.

As soon as he disembarked, the governor of Guangdong, the chief envoy, the inspector, the Xuezheng, the general soldier, the prefect of Guangzhou, etc., came to greet him one after another, with a very respectful attitude.

Although both the governor and the governor-general are from the second rank, the governor-general holds the title of Yushi of Youdu, which is higher.

Needless to say, it should be welcome.

Although Yu Chenglong was a clean and honest official, he had to obey the greetings in the officialdom.

Xijiang Tower is adjacent to the Pearl River Estuary, and you can see patches of white sails when you look up. The location is considered excellent.

In addition to high-ranking officials, some local gentry were present, implying that the officials and the people enjoyed together.

A group of people come and go, and the atmosphere gradually becomes harmonious.

Yu Chenglong couldn't help drinking too much, his cheeks were slightly red, and the corners of his mouth were raised.

The governor of Guangdong and Guangxi sits in southern Xinjiang, and he can be said to be a real official in Xinjiang.

"Huang Gong, please—" Yu Chenglong raised his glass and toasted the old man with a gray beard.

Huang Jin, a native of Raoping, Chaozhou, became a Jinshi in the Renxu Division in the second year of Tianqi (1622).

When Emperor Shaowu ascended the throne and used the old ministers, Huang Jin was recommended, but he backed down on the grounds of his age, and his reputation was even higher.

Now seventy-eight out of ten, he is a clean-spirited man with high morals and high prestige, and everyone in Guangdong respects him.

"The Governor, please—"

Huang Jin drank a glass of wine tremblingly, but did not put down the glass, but raised his head and asked stubbornly:
"Dare to ask Duxian, Lianzhou Prefecture is my old land in Guangdong, why is it assigned to Guangxi?"

"Is there any legal basis?"

The old man was trembling, his chest was heaving, obviously he was very angry.

After being sent to the army, Yu Chenglong was annoyed, but he could only say with a pleasant face: "Mr. Huang, Guangxi Province is exhausted, and there are frequent civil disturbances. Its land tax is not enough to quell the chaos. We need to use money and food from Guangdong."

"But called every year, when is the end?"

"Therefore, the imperial court decided that it is better to teach them to fish than to teach them to fish. After Lianzhou Prefecture was transferred to Guangxi, the imperial court went to Qinzhou to open a port and set up customs, making it self-sufficient in money and food."

"This is a good strategy for long-term stability!"

"Having said that, it's too unfair to me, Guangdong." Huang Jin's tone was a little weaker, but his spirit was still strong.

Yu Chenglong sighed in his heart. How can this group of people lift the old man out as a striker? The older they get, the more stubborn they become.

Saying that, Yu Chenglong stepped forward directly: "Huang Gong, although Guangdong suffered a little loss, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages for the country. You have been the imperial court all your life. Although you are old now, you should give up your selfishness to serve the public." yes."

"Those petty people, who only have their own province in front of them, how do they know the difficulties of the court? The court has its own opinions. I think you can't fail to see it from your perspective, right?"

As soon as morality came under pressure, Huang Jin flinched.

Simply because he was old, Yu Chenglong didn't dare to pursue it at all, but comforted him with a pleasant voice.

A conflict was thus resolved.

The next day, Yu Jackie mobilized the Guangdong treasury and was taken aback by its scale.

Guangdong's reserves can reach 90 yuan per year, and now the inventory has reached 130 million silver dollars, which is the accumulation of the chief ministers over the years.

The warehouses in the counties are also mostly in surplus, and rarely in deficit.

If Guangdong does its best, it will be enough to support the supply of money and food for an army of [-] for half a year.

Since money and food are sufficient, Yu Jackie focuses more on the army.

Guangdong Province has a total of ten prefectures and 75 counties, with a population of nearly 800 million.

There are about 2 soldiers and horses in the patrol battalion.

The [-] Beijing Battalion under the jurisdiction of the Guangdong General Army was brought south from Beijing. It is the most important mobile force and a decisive force in Guangdong Province.

Guangxi's population is only about [-] million, less than half of Guangdong's. It is barely self-sufficient in taxation, but if there is civil unrest, it will exceed the budget and must be transferred from Guangdong.

"Difficult, difficult, difficult—"

He sighed.

Suddenly, the steward came in a hurry, at a loss: "Master, something is wrong, the scholars from Guangzhou City surrounded the post."

There is only the governor's yamen in Guangzhou, and the yamen of the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi is also in Wuzhou, which is the boundary of Guangxi, which fully illustrates the focus of the governor's work.

"Why?" Yu Chenglong said in a deep voice.

"In the past few days, there have been rumors among the people that it was you who reported to the imperial court that the Lianzhou Prefecture was transferred to Guangxi, and the scholars have listened to it and believed it..."

"Nonsense—"

Yu Chenglong said in a low voice, the guess is really accurate, who is this tipping off?

For a while, he had a headache.

……

Before the morning mist dissipated, Luanping City seemed to have just woken up. The gates of the city were opened, and merchants who went north from Gubeikou swarmed in, waking up the entire city.

Luanping County is located in Chahar. This newly built city on the grassland was built in less than ten years. Compared with some thousand-year-old cities in the mainland, it can be said to be extremely short.

Although Chahar is at the same level as the province, it is equivalent to a prefecture. Its number of scholars is only [-], which is slightly more than [-] in the big prefecture, and there are only ten candidates.

With the increase in the number of scholars, the number of candidates is also expanding, and will eventually increase to 30 people.

In the huge Chahar, the total number of scholars in the past ten years is no more than [-], and the number of scholars is [-].

"Good news, good news, the master of your family, Zhong Yu Wenjun, was one hundred and eighth in the top three of Dingwei in the 19th year of Shaowu high school, and he was born as a Jinshi—"

When the official documents from the capital hit Chahar, a team of servants came out from the county government office, each carrying silk and red flowers, playing suona and drums, not to mention how festive it was.

For a moment, the entire Luanping city boiled instantly.

The peddlers stopped doing business, the pedestrians forgot their purpose, the merchants shook their heads, and followed the team to a house.

"Good news, good news, the master of your family, Zhong Yu Wenjun, was one hundred and eighth in the top three of Dingwei in the 19th year of Shaowu high school, and he was born as a Jinshi—"

The loud shouts of the yamen servants disturbed the whole street.

Neighbors in the neighborhood cast their eyes and were overjoyed.

"Crack-"

As soon as the owner opened the door, the neighbors in the neighborhood worked together to tear down the door, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its food, fast and ruthless.

This is called changing names.

After the old gate is demolished, a new gate building will be built, and a Jinshi plaque will be hung to show off.

They even erected vermilion flagpoles on both sides of the gate.

After Zhong Fu was stunned, he immediately prepared several baskets of copper coins, and threw them wantonly as if they didn't want any money.

The team that announces the good news naturally has silver coins in hand, but copper coins are not available.

After a while, the prefect magistrate in a carriage also came over:

"Your mansion has a Wenqu star, this is my Luanping's blessing."

After saying that, the yamen servant brought a wooden tray, a small cylinder with five fingers long, which was silver coins wrapped in red paper.

"This is 50 yuan in silver dollars. It's a small favor from the county government. In addition, Chifeng may also give you some rewards..."

"Your Majesty is my first Jinshi since the founding of Chahar. This is the result of God's mercy and His Majesty's gift."

"Such a happy event is enough for hundreds of thousands of Han and Mongolian people in Chahar to celebrate together. The governor can at least give 200 yuan of silver coins as a reward."

When everyone heard that there would be so much money, there was an instant uproar.

The Han people taught their children to read without mentioning it, and even some Mongolians who watched the excitement were moved.

"Abu (Father), I also want to be admitted to Jinshi." The thin boy looked hopeful.

"Enhe, the Naadam Conference is the real hero." The big man taught him a lesson.

"However, you are not good at horseback riding and archery. You will definitely not be able to compete with those warriors. It's not bad to be a Jinshi!"

The big man looked at the plate of silver coins and couldn't stop his longing.

Naadam is not so much.

Seeing everyone's eyes, the magistrate smiled freely:
"The book has its own Yan Ruyu, and the book has its own golden house.

Whether they are Mongolian or Han, they are all citizens of the Ming Dynasty, and only by diligently studying can they shine on the lintel. "

"This county hopes that the second Jinshi Gate Tower will still be in Luanping."

For a time, the crowd surged.

(End of this chapter)