Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 638

The news that the imperial examination will be held in the new dynasty seems to have grown wings. It has only been seven or eight days since the notice was posted, and even Laiyang, Qixia, and Dengzhou prefectures under the rule of the Qing Dynasty have heard of it.

This year is the 58th year of Qianlong, and the Ganzhi is Kuichou.According to the imperial examination system of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the provincial examinations would only be held in the years of Zi, Wu, Mao, and You, but the problem is that last year's rural examinations just ended, and in another month, the capital examinations will begin.

Although the news of the imperial examination in Beihai Town was released, the scholars in the city and the ten li and eight townships did not dare to get involved.

It can be said that scholars in the Qing Dynasty occupied the highest position in rural society, and the spread of rural government orders and moralization mainly relied on them.This is mainly because Jinshi have all gone to work as officials in other places, and there are not many people who live in the countryside; some are county magistrates, some are teaching instructors, and some are serving as aides to officials. .Usually, if you walk in the countryside and see people wearing gold domes, they are mostly scholars. The common people only honor him with the word "Mr."

However, for those students who were cut off in the "Wentong Test", the news of Beihai Town undoubtedly gave them another choice, especially for those poor students.

We must know that the passing rate of the "Wentong Examination" in the Qing Dynasty was extremely low, the national average was only [-]%, which was lower than the Juren Examination.Compared with the admission rate of the college entrance examination in later generations, it is really nothing.

The famous "Son of God" Hong in history passed the county examination at the age of 15, and then failed in the government examination four times, so that he was hit hard and embarked on the road of rebellion.However, for some super academics, it is not difficult for them to be ranked first, such as Yuan Mei, Liang Qichao and Cai E who were admitted as scholars at the age of 12.

In the Qing Dynasty, the government had always strictly limited the number of students enrolled in the "Wentong Examination" in various places, so those who were able to pass the examination of scholars in this year were absolutely lucky; Base.As long as you don't mess around, there is absolutely no such thing as a "poor scholar".

Under the rule of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, each county had a quota of scholars, thirty or forty in large counties, twenty in middle counties, and ten in small counties.If a certain place has a strong academic atmosphere and there are many students taking the exam, it will be more difficult; otherwise, it will be easy.For example, in Tongcheng, Anhui, where culture and education are concentrated, as many as 4000 people took part in the "Wentong Examination" for each subject, and only 25 places were admitted.

Because of the developed sea trade, Dengzhou Prefecture has flourished in culture and education. In the 27th year of Qianlong alone, there were 275 Juren, ranking third in Shandong, so the admission rate of "Wentong Examination" is not even 1%. arrive.

If a person has not passed the Tongsheng exam, even if he has read a large number of books, he can only be called Baiding; if he has become a Confucian scholar by self-taught, he can be called "a scholar so-and-so".

For the large number of "children" groups, although they do not belong to the gentry class, they are still a class. Otherwise, why do you say that everything is inferior, but reading is high?

If this type of person has a lawsuit, he will kneel down and answer like a commoner when he goes to court, but the county magistrate will be more polite when questioning him; It is already a great honor for the county magistrate to make him stand up and answer.If it is just a civilian, no matter how old they are, the county magistrate cannot make them stand up and answer; because this is a system problem, the county magistrate cannot violate the system.

Ninghai Prefecture, the state city.

Guo Yu was wearing a dark green military uniform of the Beihai Navy, with an armed belt and an iron ruler pinned to his waist, and hurriedly walked on the street.Be it the shops or street vendors on both sides, they all nodded and bowed when they saw him, and they all greeted him with smiles.

"Master Guo, come in and sit down, drink some tea and rest your feet. All the things on the street are on your hands."

"Guo Butou, this new official uniform looks really impressive!"

"Oh, it's Brother Yu! The big fat pig that was just slaughtered this morning left two catties of good quality pork belly for you. Look at the fat, it's as thick as three fingers!"

"Guo Butou, some wild goods have just arrived in the shop, and the villains have been saved by Yee, take them back to the old man to stew chicken and soak in wine, it's a big treat!"

Seeing that the street was full of people offering tribute to him, Guo Yu was both proud and irritable, and ignored him, just waved his hands and kept stepping.

Since eating the public food from the Military Control Commission, Guo Yu's family came to the door every day to give gifts, ask for errands, and even a lot of matchmakers who sent their daughters to be wives and even concubines. The house was like a market.However, the people from the military control committee said that people from the Public Security Police Department will arrive in a few days, and he doesn't want to make mistakes at this time.

Walking near the Town God's Temple and turning eastward into a small alley, Guo Yu came to the door of the person he was looking for, but he heard arguing inside through the door.

I only heard an old man say: "Nen writes letters on behalf of people outside every day, and can always earn tens of pennies. He bought pork head meat, floating soup and sesame cakes, and only cared about his own throat and eyes. He didn't take any money to come home. , Do you want me to take care of Nen's wife and children? After all, it's my daughter, that's all. Nen bought pork head meat on credit with butcher Zhang and didn't pay for it, and he came to ask me for it every now and then, where did the bad luck come from!"

At this time, another person said: "Father, if you ate the pork head yourself, you have to pay back the money."

"Fart! If I eat it, I will pay it back. But it's all tender!"

"Are you satisfied with the big bowl of hoozha'er (dumplings) that I sent over the other day?"

"How?"

"The stuffing is made with pork head meat."

"Bastard!"

"Father, I don't have any bastards. Since you have eaten all the pork head meat, you will naturally have to pay back the money."

Guo Yu covered his mouth for a few laughs, and was about to knock on the door when he heard the courtyard door creak open. A man in his early thirties was wearing a patched cotton robe and an old felt hat. , and ran into the alley in a jiffy; behind him, an old man was five or six steps away from him with a broom.

"Brother De Yuan, this is you." Guo Yu saw that this person was Lin Qizong he was looking for, and then looked at the person behind him, it was Lin Qizong's father-in-law, Old Man Li.

"Brother Yu?" Seeing the rescuers, Lin Qizong hurriedly dodged to stand behind Guo Yu.

Old man Li was trembling with anger, and stood at the door pointing at his son-in-law with a broom and said: "Brother Yu, I'll just say a few words to him, and he actually promised me with these bastard words, and the book reads like a dog's belly." Don't you hate it!"

Lin Qizong argued: "Father, I don't eat alcohol, I don't gamble, and I don't go to brothels. I just want to get something good to eat and nourish my brain every day."

The old man Li scolded: "Pig brains! I don't want to raise my wife and children. It's just tiring me. I can afford it! I failed four exams in a row, and I don't know how to earn money to support my family. My daughter doesn't know her previous life." What crime did you do!"

"Father, you don't like your daughter being my wife, so you just go back."

"Damn! What will happen after my daughter quits her?"

"Let father marry another son-in-law."

Old man Li said angrily: "Plague slave! Unless you are dead or become a monk, this will only work!"

Lin Qizong said: "Death is impossible for a while, and it is even more impossible to be a monk. I still have to continue the exam."

Old man Li said angrily: "I don't have money to pay, so Nen will become a monk tomorrow!"

Hearing that both of them said "hanging a mat on the door--it's not right", Guo Yu hurriedly persuaded him: "Old Man Li, calm down, it's a good thing for me to come to see Brother De Yuan today."

"What's the good thing?" Old man Li was still angry, with one hand on his waist and the broom in the other hand.

At this time, the surrounding neighbors had already come out to watch the excitement, Guo Yu said: "Uh, why don't we go in and talk about it?"

Only then did Old Man Li notice the "official uniform" on Guo Yu's body, and he couldn't help but blushed, and hurriedly invited him in, then looked at the foolish son-in-law behind him, and gave him a hard look.

Lin Qizong, whose name is Deyuan, is a native of Ninghai Prefecture. He was enlightened at the age of 6 and passed the county examination at the age of 17. However, he failed to pass the prefectural examination several times.His father was only a tailor, and it was not easy for him to study.At the age of 22, my father died, and I was unable to take the imperial examination for three years according to the system of filial piety; at the age of 27, my mother passed away, and it took another three years, and I wasted more than 30 if I didn't pay attention.

Guo Yu's mother and Lin Qizong's deceased mother were "handkerchief handkerchiefs" when they were young, so the two have known each other very well since they were young.When Lin Qizong's parents died, the Guo family contributed money and energy, and helped a lot.Now that something good happened, Guo Yu wanted to come over and ask.

Lin Qizong relied on his good calligraphy to write letters for others on weekdays.This little money is enough to support the family, but it is definitely useless to take the imperial examination; in the Qing Dynasty, the children's examination was held twice every three years, one for the year-old examination and the other for the scientific examination. No matter how you save it, you have to pay eight or nine taels of silver.In addition, this guy is a greedy eater, and he will cook something good for a meal every few days, which is called "brain nourishment".

After Guo Yu entered the courtyard, Lin Qizong's wife wiped away her tears and came out from the west room of the main house to greet him.Although Lin Qizong was a boy, he was not a scholar after all, and there were not so many rules in his family.Guo Yu and others brought tea, drank a few sips, and then told Lin Qizong about the military control committee's notification of the imperial examination.

Lin Qizong was silent for a while, and said with a troubled face: "Brother Yu, I heard about this a few days ago, although the notice stated that you can take a boat for free, free board and lodging, but after all, you have to go to sea! It’s not the same as going to Terengganu.”

"How is it different?"

"Although Fucheng is more than [-] miles away from Zhoucheng, it is by land. Everyone walks together, but their legs and feet are tired, so there is no danger. But to Beihai Town, you have to take the sea road, and there is North Korea in the middle. I am afraid that there are countless people. Thousands of miles away, if you encounter wind and waves halfway, your life will be in danger."

Guo Yu smiled slightly when he heard this, and said with an inscrutable look: "Brother De Yuan, you probably haven't seen the big iron boat of the Xin Dynasty, have you?"

Lin Qizong shook his head. Although the ships from Beihai Town came to Longmen Port last year, they were all motor sailboats. The Thunder God went to Europe, and the Jinglei also went to Southeast Asia and South Asia.In the first few years, Jinglei came to Rongcheng, but Rongcheng is more than 260 miles away from Ninghai Prefecture, which is already out of reach for many ordinary people.

Guo Yu then told the story about the big iron boat that he had heard from the Military Control Committee. Lin Qizong listened so intently that even Old Man Li, who was sitting in the east room sulking, was attracted to come over.

"It's better like this. Brother Deyuan, take your household registration card and go to the military control committee to register first. In a few days, the big iron ship will come to Longmen Port. Director Li asked me to pick up people. I will say hello to his old man tomorrow. Take you to see it together, and you will be relieved when you see it."

The household registration card was issued by the four-county military control committee after door-to-door registration. It was the same size as Guo Yu's employee card, but without a photo. It registered the house number, age, name, and household head information. It was considered a temporary household registration book. At present, it is used together with the Baojia house certificate issued by the Manchu government.The "Director Li" Guo Yu mentioned was Li Bi, the person in charge of the Military Control Commission, who was Cao Guifu's direct report, and had a meeting almost every two days.

"This"

Guo Yu hit the iron while it was hot: "Brother De Yuan, you can write well. This is a once-in-a-thousand-year good thing! The Manchu court has been playing for only a few years. If you still want to test for fame over there, I advise you not to do this." think."

Lin Qizong was still hesitating, so old man Li spoke first: "Brother Yu, the government of the new dynasty really doesn't charge money?"

The reason for this question is that the imperial examinations in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were open to everyone on the surface, but in fact they had a financial threshold.It was said before that after more than 100 years of accumulation in the Ming Dynasty, the Liu family in Zhucheng did not have their children step into the threshold of "Zhusheng" until the year of Tianqi. The main reason is that the cost of cultivating a scholar is too high.

Not to mention the expenses of being taught by a private school since childhood, at least a few taels of silver are spent for each children's exam, and those who live in the countryside spend even more, including transportation, board and lodging, test papers, guarantees, tuition and miscellaneous fees, and bad rules. .If you pass the county examination, you will need more to take the government examination and college examination. In addition, if you pass the county examination, you will have to give a "student seal" to the county teacher, and you will have to pay the school teacher and guarantor. Renting a dress to participate in the "study ceremony" will cost 200 taels of silver in total.

"No charge. There is not even a test paper fee. According to Director Li, everyone who goes there will also be given a stipend."

"Subsidy? How much is it?" Weng and his son-in-law asked almost at the same time.

Guo Yu was amused, and said, "Ten silver dollars."

Old man Li stared wide-eyed, and hurriedly elbowed his son-in-law's back, Lin Qizong hurriedly said, "I'll go right after lunch!"

Guo Yu then declined the invitation of Weng and his son-in-law to have dinner at home, only saying that there was still something to do.He said in his heart that the account of your pig's head meat has not been settled yet, so don't get involved.

Lin Qizong and old man Li knew that Guo Yu was different from before, and it was affection if he could talk about it, so they sent him to the alley with great gratitude.

After leaving the alley where Lin's house was located, Guo Yu turned around Shizi Street and passed a brothel called "Fengmingyuan", Zhang Bustard, dressed up in fancy clothes, suddenly came out of the doorway and stopped him with her hand.

This man said he was a bustard, but in fact he was only in his twenties.She walked up to Guo Yu, smoothed the slightly curled collar of the other party without any notice, looked him up and down and said, "Tsk tsk, people rely on their clothes and horses on their saddles. Brother Yu is wearing this suit, which is better than those masters." All stylish."

Guo Yu hurriedly took half a step back, and said in his mouth, "Hey, what are you doing, don't touch me!"

"Little heartless, how long has it been? Nen just forgot about me." Zhang bustard said while leaning forward and said: "If you want to tell me, brother Yu just doesn't know how to feel sorry for himself, in such a cold day Son, won't you find a shop to have a cup of hot tea to rest your feet? Go, go to the slave's house, let the slave take good care of you."

The woman was about to pull her arm as she spoke, Guo Yu broke free and said, "Zhang bustard, don't do this with me, you must have something to ask me for. Otherwise, you will never be a slave to me before. "

The woman spat, and said shyly, "Don't you be shameless? Nen patted her chest and asked herself, it's not like I haven't served you before. Let's go in and have a glass of wine with my slave to warm up."

After finishing speaking, he pulled Guo Yu's arm again.How could Guo Yu dare, he broke free and said with a straight face, "Zhang Bust, if you want to play with me again, I'll yell."

Bustard Zhang covered her mouth with a handkerchief and smiled, "What are you calling for? Whom are you calling for? You're really calling out. There's only one official servant on this street."

Guo Yu's face was flushed, and he thought that this woman is really not a fuel-efficient lamp, and he would not have come to this street if he had known.Zhang bustard had had enough of playing around, so she leaned over and said softly: "The slave family knows that tenderness is afraid of attracting people's gossip, but the slave family is not such a narrow-minded person. Brother Yu hasn't married a wife yet, right? If you find someone you like, The money is not enough for slaves to give."

"Really?"

"But there is one thing, Brother Yu, you have to pay attention to your bones when you are tender, and you are not allowed to touch those messy women. If that is the case, I will not rely on tenderness."

While Zhang bustard was speaking, she had already taken a small bag from the big teapot behind her, which contained about ten taels of silver, and stuffed it into Guo Yu's hand.

"Oh, where can I find someone like this slave, what a Wang Baochuan!"

Guo Yu stared, threw the silver into the opponent's arms, and said angrily: "Go! Leave! I will go with Wang Baochuan whoever you love, and go back to Nen's "cold kiln" to nest! Hey, I'll take Nun back to the military control committee for a few days!"

Although Guo Yu is only nineteen this year, he has a father who has worked as a job to guide him, so he is very clear in his heart.In the past, he and Zhang Bust used to be sticky, but that was in the past; now that Beihai Town is here, as the old man said, they have to be completely reborn.

Bei Haijun has been in Ninghai Prefecture for a few months, and he has never seen a Bei Hai soldier buying and selling for free on the street, eating and drinking for free, and he has never seen a Bei Hai soldier enter a casino to visit a brothel.

Just for this point, the common people in Ninghai Prefecture have to give their thumbs up, and there is no one who is not convinced.Guo Yu's father made it very clear that you are now a member of Beihai Town. If you want to be promoted and get the same salary as Cao Guifu, then you can't make mistakes and you have to learn from other soldiers.

Bustard Zhang squinted her eyes, tilted her head to look at Guo Yu's leaving back, and muttered to herself, "You little boy, you don't care about wine, sex, wealth or wealth. Hmph~~ I was kicked in the head by a donkey!"

　[-]. Turning canopy, the canopy that floats with the wind, was later used as a metaphor for life drifting.[-]. Bannermen were not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations in the Qing Dynasty before Qianlong.Therefore, it is pure nonsense that some books say that bannermen in the years of Kangxi and Yongzheng participated in the imperial examination.Even when the ban was lifted during Qianlong, there was still a different amount, which was different from that of the Han people.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)